Sinead was a waifish slip of a young woman, with skin so pale and perfect it could only have been achieved with complete avoidance of the sun. She had soft, round features and bright green eyes that threatened to take over her face. She was petite—thin and delicate—and she seemed to be the perfect height for Sean to use her head as an elbow rest. Her hair was black, short, and slicked back against her head. On the whole, she resembled some sort of fey creature that might dissolve into mist and vanish with a strong breeze.
While Sean remained fairly blasé, Sinead seemed to spring to life as soon as she spotted Siobhan, pausing mid-step while straightening up to her full (still rather diminutive) height and clutching her hands together in front of herself. She jerked back into motion, loping across the diner to the booth and throwing herself down on the bench Siobhan was sitting on. She looped her arms around Siobhan’s neck and reeled her into a hug that may very well have strangled her had she been a regular human.
Jack suddenly felt like chopped liver, as Sean slid onto the seat beside him with no fanfare whatsoever. It was quite an impressive contrast.
With Sinead still wrapped around her neck, Siobhan stated, “Jack, meet Sinead and Sean. Sinead and Sean, meet my boyfriend, Jack. And Barton.”
Sinead squealed in surprise as Barton sat up, shoving his head onto the bench from where he was sitting beneath the table. At last, she relinquished her hold on Siobhan as Barton nudged his head into her lap, so she could instead scratch his ears with both hands. “Oh, who’s a pretty boy?” she cooed, and Barton’s tail thumped noisily against one of the table legs.
Siobhan recoiled slightly as Sinead abruptly leaned right into her face, peering at her curiously. “I could’ve sworn your eyes used to be brighter,” she mused thoughtfully, slowly leaning back again. “I guess it really has been a while.”
Siobhan forced a smile and shrugged. “Weird how time can fly sometimes.”
Cautiously, the waitress approached again and visibly sighed in relief when, at last, they actually ordered. There was coffee all around and a great deal of breakfast food, despite the late hour.
Their conversation meandered from topic to topic as they caught up with what had been going on in their lives. Sinead was working as a courtroom stenographer, since it was a job that could be done even with fairly delicate health. Siobhan wasn’t sure why she had half-expected Sinead’s lacking immune system to have improved since they last saw each other, but she didn’t put much thought into the denied expectation. And she made blankets and winter accessories occasionally. She wrote down the name of her online shop on a napkin.
Sean worked no less than three part-time jobs, determined to keep himself as busy as he could to burn off the never-ending supply of energy that always buzzed beneath his skin. Some days, he was a valet. Some days, he was a waiter. Some days, he was a bouncer at a club, which seemed more than slightly strange, considering he was built like a cornstalk, but he had always been a bit like a mongoose, so Siobhan supposed she wouldn’t question it too much.
When they prodded at Jack, he settled on saying he was a personal assistant for a very wealthy woman. He tolerated it with good-natured exasperation when they ribbed him about being a fancy gofer. In a sense, they weren’t wrong, even if lately his job consisted of ‘go for this angel, go for that angel.’ Ah, the strange places life occasionally took them…
Of course, the conversation turned to Siobhan and her life eventually. She admitted readily to just living in the house of Jack’s employer and laying around looking pretty, but it was Sean who said, “I thought you were a bartender. What happened with that?”
Siobhan rubbed the back of her head and cleared her throat. “Well…”
“Uh oh,” Sinead sighed. “What happened?”
“I’m not actually human anymore,” Siobhan stated, throwing it out there because she knew it was the most likely thing to stun them into silence and let her simply keep talking.
As they gaped at her, she plowed onwards. “There was an accident at the cabin a couple months back, and I would’ve died. But Jack was in the area and found me because Barton was barking. Jack’s a vampire, and to save my life, he turned me. Since then, I’ve been busy helping with casual emergencies around the manor. As far as the owner of the bar is concerned, I got very sick and had to quit for my own health.”
She fell silent after that, folding her arms and leaning back at an angle against the wall, so she could watch both of her siblings expectantly.
It was Sean who burst out laughing, slumping down on the table as if he had begun to melt. As he howled with hilarity, he managed to get out in between peals of laughter, “Yeah—yeah, I can buy the whole ‘very sick’ part. Siobhan, what the fuck?” He folded his arms on the table and let his head fall down onto them as he laughed.
Sinead reached over to Siobhan and pressed a hand to her forehead. “You don’t feel like you’ve got a fever,” she mused, “but you’re definitely delusional.” Her brow furrowed in concern before she swung her attention to Jack, and concern turned into anger. She pointed an accusing finger at him.
“And you!” she snapped, and Jack recoiled slightly at the sharpness of her tone. “You’ve just been, what, encouraging this? What was it actually? She hit her head, you took her to the ER, and you decided you liked being her knight with shining fangs too much to get her actual help after that?”
“Hold on a second—”
Sinead didn’t give him a chance to protest, her words steamrolling right over the top of his. “That’s gross, and you should be ashamed of yourself!”
“Sinead—” Sean tried, only to nearly leap out of his seat when the accusing finger was instead leveled at him.
“He’s being a creepy, enabling bastard!” she argued sharply. “Am I supposed to be polite about that?”
With a slow sigh, Siobhan dragged her hand down her face. She had expected them to think she was joking. She had prepared for that outcome. She hadn’t expected this response, and she flashed Jack a tiny, apologetic smile as Sinead continued to glare furiously at him, as if she could melt a hole through his face with the power of her gaze alone. Jack looked less than impressed by Siobhan’s apology.
Siobhan straightened up, waving her hands to catch Sinead’s attention. “Slow your roll,” she huffed, slamming one hand down on the table. “No need to go attacking people.”
“But—”
“How about I show you where I’m living?” Siobhan interjected sharply, pasting a smile onto her face. “It’ll be fun! It’s huge.”
“Siobhan,” Sinead tried to reason, only to fall silent as Siobhan pressed two fingers to her lips.
“Shhhhh,” Siobhan cooed gently. “Just come see that place. You’ll feel better about all of this afterwards. Alright?”
Sinead’s eyes narrowed slowly, and then she huffed and folded her arms, her eyes dropping to the table. “Fine,” she relented. “This house had better be fucking spectacular, Siobhan, I swear to god,” she groused, just so she could have the last word.
Siobhan relaxed slightly. True, the manor was spectacular. Her siblings wouldn’t be able to deny that. But even more importantly, she knew of someone living there who would be undeniable proof that non-humans existed. Two someones, actually. They would probably make Siobhan’s story look a lot more convincing.
They left soon after. Everything had become a bit too awkward to carry on a proper conversation anymore.
*
Periodically, Siobhan peered in the rearview mirror to make sure that Sean’s car was still following them.
“I don’t think they’re going to suddenly take the next exit,” Jack assured her wryly after the sixth time she checked the mirror. “Especially with how dead set Sinead is on making sure you’re safe.” Siobhan stuck her tongue out at him and sat back in her seat.
When they were nearly to the manor, she began prodding at the mental bond with Gabriel, just to let him know that she was very expectant. She felt a flare of something l
ike muted curiosity, which turned to confusion as she just carried on being expectant at him. And she kept right on doing that, even once the truck was parked and Sean’s car was pulling to a halt, and all of them were spilling out onto the driveway. She kept right on being expectant at him until Sean and Sinead were beginning to get confused.
She held a finger up, both to silence any questions they might have asked and to silently say ‘hold on.’
There was one more pointed jab of expectancy, and then she heard feathers in the air, and Gabriel landed gently in front of her, his arms folded and his expression exasperated as he asked sharply, “What?”
And then, he noticed Sean and Sinead.
He blinked at them, head cocked to one side, wings still partially extended behind him. In return, Sean and Sinead gaped at him, as if… well, as if they had just seen the archangel, Gabriel.
“Guys, this is Gabriel,” Siobhan informed her siblings pleasantly, and behind her, Jack was very nearly strangling himself into silence as he tried not to laugh. “Gabe, this is my sister, Sinead, and my brother, Sean.” She pointed to one and then the other as she introduced them.
Bemused, Gabriel lifted a hand and waved briefly before his hand fell back to his side. And then, to make things even better, Anael landed behind him a moment later, wondering, “Why is everyone just standing here?” before she realized that the newcomers were perfectly normal, everyday human beings, rather than something on the more supernatural end of the spectrum.
Siobhan repeated her introduction for Anael.
“They have wings,” Sinead eventually managed to breathe, so quietly the words were hardly even audible, her tone awed. “So many wings.”
Siobhan grinned. “What was that about me being delusion?” she asked as sweetly as she could manage.
“And me being an enabler,” Jack added helpfully. “Can’t forget that part.”
“I think I’m going to pass out,” Sinead managed faintly, as if Siobhan and Jack hadn’t even spoken.
“Please don’t,” Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. “If that’s all I’ve been badgered out here for, then I’m going to take myself back inside, where I won’t cause a scene.”
“Wait wait wait!” Sinead shouted abruptly, skittering forwards a few steps, heedless of the way Sean tried to grab her arm and pull her back. “Can—” She paused, hesitating, before she swallowed and steeled herself. “Can I touch them?” she asked, breathy with wonder.
Gabriel looked reluctant at first. Sure, he was willing to let Siobhan quite literally climb all over him, but he knew her. He didn’t know her siblings from a hole in a wall. But then, he sighed, and one pair of wings spread, arching forwards slightly.
With a look of awestruck wonder on her face, Sinead carefully trailed her fingers along one of his wings, cautious not to disorder any of the feathers.
Anael watched curiously for a moment before she silently extended one wingtip towards Sean, watching him with an expectant sort of amusement.
Sean jerked back from wherever his thoughts had drifted, most likely several thousand lightyears away. He blinked at Anael’s wing. Blinked at Anael. And then at her wing again, until she tittered delicately, and he finally lifted a hand to trace his fingertips along one of the long primary feathers.
With a force of will, Sinead pulled her hand away from Gabriel’s wing, finally allowing him to fold them to his back again and step away. Sean continued marveling over Anael’s wing for a moment before he too pulled his hand back, clutching them together tightly behind his back to keep himself from reaching out once again.
“You’re a vampire,” Sinead stated blankly, staring at Siobhan. It was followed by, “Your eyes are sort of glowing,” in much the same tone. “Like theirs.” She looked at Gabriel and Anael as she made the observation. “But not his.” Her gaze swung back towards Jack again. “Are you an angel, too?”
Siobhan snorted before she could help herself. “Ah, no,” she replied. “Not even close. It’s…” She trailed off, and then cleared her throat. “It’s a really long story,” she settled on with a sigh. Explaining vampiric angels to her siblings just seemed like a step too far, as if their brains might implode from the information. They probably wouldn’t, but Siobhan wasn’t willing to risk that, and she supposed it wasn’t imperative for her siblings to know it anyway. Filling them in on every detail of how the world was possibly ending seemed cruel, unusual, and unnecessary.
Sinead wilted slightly. “Oh. Okay.” She paused, mouth still open to speak but hesitating to form the words. “Can we see you again?” she finally forced out in a rush. “Soon?”
Siobhan found herself nodding without any conscious thought. “Of course.”
A grin split across Sinead’s face, and she engulfed Siobhan in another potentially strangling embrace. She reached a hand out to beckon expectantly, and with the utmost reluctance, Sean joined in on the hug.
Watching them get into Sean’s car again and drive off was harder than Siobhan had expected it to be.
*
Everything was quiet on the balcony. Barton was sound asleep. Jack was browsing on his phone. Siobhan was pointing out constellations for Anael and explaining the stories to her. Gabriel seemed content to listen.
And then, he cocked his head to one side, his expression bemused. “Wait. How come you didn’t just show them your fangs, if they didn’t believe you about being a vampire? Wouldn’t that have been easier than having them drive all the way here with you?”
Siobhan looked at him, blinking slowly.
…That hadn’t occurred to her. Possibly the most obvious solution, and she hadn’t even thought of it. She glanced over to Jack to see him sinking down in his chair and practically burying himself in whatever he was reading, and she was gratified to see that he hadn’t thought of it either. At least they were both idiots, rather than just her.
She cleared her throat sharply and tried her best to sound prim, offended, and matter-of-fact as she informed Gabriel, “If they couldn’t even decide whether or not my eyes had really changed colors, how was I supposed to expect them to accept the fangs without question?” She folded her arms and stuck her nose in the air, only to immediately have to drop her arms and grab the balustrade as she nearly unbalanced herself and almost fell off.
“They already thought I was delusional,” she carried on blandly. “Who’s to say they wouldn’t have thought I started wearing fake fangs to make it more convincing? So bringing them back here was the only sure fire way to make sure they believed me.” She nodded once, firmly, as she finished speaking.
“…Uh huh.” Gabriel patted her on the shoulder, not even bothering to hide the smirk on his face. “Whatever you say.”
Never before had Siobhan wanted to punch him in the face quite as much as she wanted to punch him just then.
CHAPTER SIX
“I used to sunbathe now and then.” Siobhan flopped backwards on the bed, sprawling over Jack’s lap. Her gaze was focused on the window, the curtains drawn over the late morning light and seeming to glow.
He lowered his notebook, peering over it at her, and he dropped a hand to his lap to begin running his fingers through her curls. “Okay?” he coaxed, once it became apparent that she wasn’t going to keep speaking without prompting.
“I sort of miss doing that,” she sighed, squirming her shoulders against one of his legs as she got comfortable. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a night owl and I always plan to be—duh—but there’s still nothing quite like that feeling of being slowly baked.”
“The sunburn would’ve been milder, and it still would have taken longer to heal,” Jack reminded her wryly. “You would do that gross flakey thing. Like a giant snake.”
Siobhan’s tongue poked out of her mouth, and she blew a raspberry at him. “And then only the Vampire Lords could deal with me,” she sighed, more than a little overwrought in its woefulness. “They have experience with giant snakes, after all.”
Well, there was a mental image.
Jack shuddered melodramatically, finally setting the notebook down on Siobhan’s chest, using her as a table as long as she was taking up his lap. “Ew,” he decided, very succinctly.
“You’re the one who made the comparison,” she pointed out, the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth once again.
“It was a horrible idea,” he conceded. “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
The Vampire's Bond Trilogy: The Complete Vampire Romance Series Page 41