by Melinda Metz
“Has someone been standing guard out there all this time?” Shay asked. “But my hands are tied. And any one of you could snap me like a twig.”
Millie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well, yes. But you’re human.”
“Half,” Shay muttered.
“Are you all right?” Millie asked again.
“No. My arms are aching from this,” Shay admitted. “Why do I have to be tied?”
Millie hesitated. “I don’t really know. It seems pointless to me.” She glanced around the room—which was a storage room for things like office supplies and paper towels, Shay now saw—and picked up a letter opener from one of the shelves. She stabbed it through the duct tape that bound Shay’s wrists, breaking the bond in about a tenth of a second.
“Thank you.” Automatically, Shay reached for the locket around her neck, the locket that had come from her father, Sam. It was what she always did when she was upset, but this time the movement sent pain shooting from her shoulders down both arms. She winced. “Where’s Gabriel? Is he okay?”
Millie’s eyebrows drew together. “Why do you care?”
“I care about him,” Shay said. “Just like you do. I know you . . . did he tell you that?”
The vampire girl took a step backward, toward the door, wary. “He told us your father kidnapped him and used his blood to feed you.”
“Stepfather,” Shay corrected her. “And I had no idea where the blood was coming from. But it gave me visions—during my transfusions—and I saw you in them.”
“Okay, now you’re freaking me out,” Millie said, twisting the beaded bracelet she wore.
“I’m sorry. Sorry. I just don’t understand.” To her horror, Shay felt herself beginning to cry. She swiped angrily at the tears, the motion sending pinpricks through her hands. They’d gotten numb when they were tied behind her. “I saw your family in my visions, and there wasn’t any evil or . . . Look, I liked you. I liked Ernst. I don’t know why you’re all treating me this way.”
“Because you shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t even exist,” Millie said.
“Everyone keeps saying that!” Shay burst out, her breath coming fast. “But I do exist. I’m right here in front of you.” She held her arms out wide. “And I didn’t ask to have a vampire father and a human mother. I didn’t ask to be sick all my life.”
Millie didn’t reply, just continued twisting her bracelet around and around.
“Now I need a place to be safe, because of what I am. You’re Sam’s family and Sam was my father,” Shay continued. She wasn’t sure why she kept saying that to these people. They obviously didn’t care. “That meant something to Gabriel,” she murmured. “He loved Sam.”
“I loved him too,” Millie said, taking her by surprise. “I miss him.”
Shay stared at her, stunned by this simple kindness.
“But what he did was wrong. To breed with a human—it’s . . .”
“Verboten,” Shay finished for her. Gabriel had told her that, had tried to make her understand what a big deal it was. And Shay had thought he was being bigoted. Why hadn’t she listened better?
“Yes.” Millie gazed at her for a long moment. There didn’t seem to be anything else to say.
“Can you get me some water?” Shay asked. “Or food?”
“We don’t have any food,” Millie told her.
Shay’s heart sank. If she didn’t eat, the weakness would take hold even sooner. “Water, then?”
“Okay. I’ll find some.” Millie left, and Shay heard the lock turn in the door behind her.
Luis had said that lock was wonky. Should she try to get out?
Sure, why not? Get out into the nest of vampires so they can kill me for trying to escape, she thought. Shay took a deep breath. It wasn’t a good time to try. The vampires were still awake, so it wasn’t dawn yet. When the sun came up, they would fall into the death sleep. She’d seen Gabriel like that many times now, and she knew that almost nothing could wake him up. If she could last until morning, she’d have the whole day to figure out how to leave.
And what then? a voice inside her head whispered. I can’t live without Gabriel’s blood. The amount of time the strength lasts is getting shorter. Even one day without feeding from him might be too long.
“Cross that bridge later,” she murmured. For now she needed to try to rest, and to drink the water that Millie brought back, and to preserve whatever strength she had for the daytime.
And to call for help.
Shay gasped, yanking her cell phone from the pocket of her cords. With her hands free, she could call someone!
Mom, she thought immediately, reaching to dial. Then she froze, her finger hovering over the keypad. Her mother had helped Martin capture Gabriel, had helped him steal Gabriel’s blood and give it to Shay—all without telling her. Shay knew that Mom had only done such terrible things out of desperation, to keep her sick daughter from dying. Well, and maybe out of anger at Sam, the vampire who’d abandoned her when she was pregnant with Shay. She didn’t know how much Sam had really loved her.
Mom still thinks Martin was trying to help me too, Shay thought. She doesn’t know he only cares about how his vampire research will land him in the history books. She doesn’t know he backhanded me across the face when I got in his way.
Shay’s heart sank. She loved her mother, but there was no time now to explain the reality of the situation. She needed help, not a family feud.
“Olivia,” Shay whispered. She hit speed dial 2.
Her best friend, Olivia, knew what was going on—well, not the part about Gabriel being a vampire. Or Shay being half vampire. Or them being in Tennessee. But she knew that Shay had taken off with a guy, and that they were running from Martin, and that Martin was a bastard. And Olivia would help. She’d proven that already.
“Oh my God, what’s wrong?” Olivia barked into the phone a second later. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t even think about that,” Shay said, trying to keep her voice low. Vampires had incredibly sensitive hearing. “Liv, I’m in trouble.”
“Why? What happened?” Olivia asked. “Did Martin find you? Kaz drove by your house, and he said Martin’s car was back. I figured it meant he gave up on looking for you.”
“No, it’s not him. It’s—” Shay stopped talking. What could she say? I’m being held captive by a bunch of vampires. Nobody would believe that, no matter how good a friend they were.
“Is it that guy? Gabriel? Did you have a fight or something?” Olivia yawned as she spoke. “Where are you, Shay?”
“I’m with Gabriel. We didn’t fight or anything. But his family . . .” His family thinks I’m an abomination. Oh, and they’d hate you, too, for being human.
“Shay. What do you need? Should I come get you? What?” An edge of annoyance crept into Olivia’s tone.
“No! You can’t come here,” Shay said, realizing it was true. If Olivia came, Ernst would kill her. And if she sent the cops instead, then the authorities would find out about the vampires. And they’d kill them, or study them, or lock them away. Which, frankly, would be fine with Shay right about now, but the police wouldn’t know that Gabriel was special. And they also wouldn’t know that Shay needed his blood to live.
“Do you need help?” Olivia asked, frustrated.
“Yes,” Shay whispered. She desperately needed help, but there wasn’t any. If anyone discovered the vampires, it was a death sentence for Gabriel—and for Shay.
“What about your mom? Should I call her? She calls me all the time. And, not that you asked, but she’s on her way home from Miami. She said she talked to you and you made it clear that even if you were there, you weren’t going to meet up with her. She’s losing it, Shay.”
Shay bit her lip, feeling a stab of guilt. After she took off with Gabriel, Shay had sent her mom on a wild-goose chase, searching for Shay in the wrong place. “I know. But she can’t help me. God, she definitely can’t come here. If they hat
e me, they really hate her.” Shay felt a chill run up her spine. She hadn’t even thought about that. It was a good thing she hadn’t called Mom.
“Who hates you? What the hell is going on?” Olivia sounded completely awake now, and pissed off.
“It’s Gabriel’s family. They’re, um . . .”
“Shay.”
“Sorry. They’re just . . . Can you tell my mom that Gabriel’s family knows what she did?”
“What? His family knows your mother? I don’t get this at all.”
“Just call her and tell her that. Tell her she’s in danger. They know what she did and she’s not safe. Okay, Liv? Please just tell my mom that.”
“Shay—”
“Crap!” Millie’s voice cut through the air like a knife. Before Shay could even turn toward the door, her cell phone was gone from her hand, snatched by Millie so fast that Shay’s brain couldn’t even process it. “Who did you call? Who?”
As bad as the two vampire guys had been, this was worse. Millie was an inch from Shay, grabbing her neck, face twisted with anger and fear.
“No one!” Shay gasped. “It’s not the police! I didn’t tell anyone, I swear. I just called my friend. Check the call log.”
Millie just stood there, breathing hard, staring at Shay. Her green eyes glittered with anger.
Shay swallowed hard. The girl’s hand on her neck was like a cement collar—hard, cold, immovable. Vampires were strong. Millie really could snap her like a twig. “Look, I was calling for help. But then I realized that I couldn’t tell anyone to come because you would kill whoever showed up. Or else they would kill you. Either way, I lose.”
“You don’t lose if they kill us,” Millie said.
“Yes, I do. I can’t live without vampire blood,” Shay told her. “You die, I die. And, anyway, if Gabriel dies, what’s the point of anything? I ended up here because I wanted to save his life.”
Millie’s grip relaxed a tiny bit, and Shay suddenly realized how weak her own knees were. “I swear. It was just my friend. I didn’t tell her anything. She wouldn’t have believed me.”
Millie’s eyes narrowed. “Was it your stepfather?”
“No!” Shay said quickly. “I hate him. I’m the one who got Gabriel away from him. Didn’t he tell you that?”
“Yes,” Millie said after a moment. She let go of Shay’s neck, and Shay slid down to the floor, trying to calm her racing pulse. “He told me that you unchained him and helped him escape from Martin. And that you stole blood from a hospital to nurse him back to health,” Millie added. “Why would you do that?”
“I cared about him,” Shay said. “And I felt responsible. Martin had him there because of me—he gave me Gabriel’s blood, and I didn’t even know it. I owed it to Gabriel to make sure he recovered.”
“None of that makes any sense,” Millie said, but she sounded as confused as Shay felt.
“I know it doesn’t.” Shay drew in a long breath. “You expect humans to act like Martin, not like me. But we’re not all bad.”
Millie looked doubtful.
“You probably haven’t seen a human in eighty years,” Shay said. “Ernst never lets you interact with the university people who provide the lab’s funding. He keeps you away from humans.”
“I see the people I feed from,” Millie told her.
“But you don’t talk to them. And you don’t feed from people very often. You order your bags of blood on the Internet,” Shay said. “Gabriel told me all about it.”
Millie handed Shay a bottle of water. “He told you way too much.”
“He knew I wouldn’t spill your secret, and I won’t. It’s my secret too,” Shay said, trying to get the cap off. Her hands felt useless. “My point is, Ernst taught you we’re all a threat, but I for one am not.”
Millie grabbed the bottle and opened it. “I do watch TV, you know,” she said. “I see how humans are.”
“TV reality isn’t actual reality,” Shay said. “Anyway, you probably think that if any of those TV people found out you were a vampire, they’d kill you. Maybe a lot of them would. But I wouldn’t.” Shay raised the water to her lips with trembling fingers.
“It’s not my decision. I have to tell Ernst about your phone,” Millie said.
“Please, Millie. I’m sorry. I did call my friend for help, but as soon as I started talking, I realized there was nothing she could do.” Shay sighed. “What is Ernst going to do about it now, anyway? Kill me?”
Millie stared at her for a long, silent moment.
“I need vampire blood,” Shay whispered. “I won’t live without it. Why would I send anyone to hurt your family when I need them?”
“Do I have to bind your hands again?” Millie asked.
“No.” Shay sighed. “I didn’t mean to take advantage of your kindness. I just panicked.”
Millie’s eyes narrowed as if she were trying to figure out Shay’s angle. Then she turned abruptly and left, turning the wonky lock behind her.
“I need to talk to Ernst,” Millie said, pushing into the common room. Her face was pinched, as if she was worried, and when Gabriel tried to meet her eyes, she looked away.
“He’s in the caves,” Richard replied.
“But it’s almost sunrise,” Millie grumbled.
“He wanted to check on the Crag Five Colony before the death sleep,” Luis said.
Millie sighed in frustration. Gabriel frowned. He’d assumed that Ernst had simply gone back out to the lobby, to lock up for the day. It was disorienting to not know where his family was, how they felt. Everyone here shared the communion. Everyone except him. “Why?” he asked.
“There were three infected bats,” Richard told him. “The disease spreads rapidly. If more of our colonies become ill, we’ll lose our reason for studying here. We’ll have to find another cave, secure new funding.”
“Or refocus our research on finding a cure for the white-nose syndrome,” Gabriel said. “We can—”
“I’ve already been discussing it with the Duke people,” Richard said, cutting him off.
Gabriel froze, surprised more by the fact that Richard had spoken with their university colleagues than by the spread of white-nose syndrome to their bats. Since they’d come to the Tennessee facility, more than a decade ago, it had always been Gabriel’s job to handle the human contact necessary to keep up their masquerade as scientists. Not that it was a lie—they all had advanced degrees, and they all had more experience than most humans ever would. But their identities changed from time to time, so people wouldn’t notice their eternal youth. The research on bats and sonar was really only an excuse to live in dark caves and isolation. And Gabriel was the one who spoke to the professors who funded their research. He was the only one Ernst trusted around humans. Until now.
“That’s a big step for you,” Gabriel said quietly.
Richard was watching him with a mixture of worry and triumph, as if he himself couldn’t decide which to feel. “It didn’t bother me.”
“You only had to talk on the phone. Face-to-face, you would’ve had trouble,” Luis said.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Millie cut in. “None of us know how we’d handle interacting with humans. Gabriel’s the only one who’s had to deal with them in person.”
“And look how well that turned out,” Richard muttered.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Gabriel demanded.
“You courted this disaster! You went looking for humans,” Richard growled. “Did you think it was a good idea, visiting those websites? Agreeing to a secret meeting?”
“They knew about Sam.” Gabriel sighed, collapsing back onto the couch. He was exhausted. Outside, dawn approached. He could feel the coming of the sun like a weight around his neck, dragging him down to the earth. When the sun rose, the vampires slept like the dead.
But not Gabriel. Not today. He had to fight the death sleep. I’ve got to get to Shay.
“You should have told us. We would’ve gone with you to the m
eeting, and we would’ve killed them.” Luis sounded more sympathetic than Richard, but only a little.
“How many times must I apologize?” Gabriel asked. “It was a mistake.” A mistake that had led him to Shay. Could he really regret that? Even the awful weeks of being chained to that table, held captive by Martin, seemed a small price to pay. He’d never been in love through all the centuries he’d lived. And now that he was, nothing else mattered.
“What’s wrong?” Richard asked Millie.
Gabriel’s attention snapped back to his family. Millie’s expression was worried, but he couldn’t feel her emotions. Richard could.
Millie’s gaze flicked to Gabriel, then back to Richard. “Nothing,” she said. “I mean . . . I checked on the girl. It upset me.”
Gabriel nodded his thanks. He’d asked her to make sure Shay was all right. Of all the new family that he’d made with Ernst and Sam, Millie was the one he felt closest to. He’d been like a big brother to her as she grew from a small girl to the twenty-year-old who gave up the sun, the same way Sam had been his big brother. He knew Millie recognized his worry for Shay. He only hoped she would forgive him for what he was about to do.
“What about daytime?” Luis was asking. “None of us can watch her. We’re vulnerable during the death sleep.”
Ernst could keep watch, Gabriel thought. But that would be a disaster for me. With Ernst’s great age had come the power to fight the death sleep, though it wasn’t easy even for him. “Haven’t any of you noticed how weak Shay is?” Gabriel asked. He had to make sure none of them thought it necessary to have Ernst stand guard. “She hasn’t had any food. Any blood. She probably wouldn’t be able to walk out of here even if every door was unlocked.”
“We should just kill her,” Richard said. “It’s insane to keep a human in our midst.”
“She’s locked in and she’s weak,” Millie said. “And, anyway, she needs our blood to live. If she leaves, she dies. She knows that.”
“I knew it—you talked to her,” Richard spat. “I can smell her scent on you. Tomorrow you won’t be on guard duty again.”