by Rayns, Lisa
Tina folded her bottom lip in a pout. “What are you saying? That I’m not welcome?”
“Of course not,” I lied. “I’d love to have you. I was more thinking of you and if you needed money or something. I’m sure you’d rather spend your vacation somewhere other than here.”
Tina smirked mischievously. “How much are we talking?”
“Candy,” I called through the open door. “How much cash do you have on you?”
Candy appeared at the door. “Fifty thousand dollars…and twenty-five cents.”
I smiled at Tina. “Is that enough?”
Tina let out a high-pitched cackle. “Yeah, like she’s just going to hand over fifty…” The smile left her face, and she stopped talking when Candy handed her a backpack full of wrapped bills. Tina stared at the money anxiously. “Well, I suppose I could go to––”
“Good morning, ladies.”
Candy jumped on the alert when Armando moved to the shade of the living room. “Armando, we have a guest. Will you inform Draven please?”
Armando nodded with a solemn understanding and headed up the stairs to divert the disaster. I felt an ominous shiver run up my spine when Tina chucked the bag into my lap like it was a basketball.
“Who is that?” she asked with robust interest.
“I hear Hawaii is nice this time of year,” I continued, pretending I didn’t hear her.
“Hm!” Tina scoffed. “Are you trying to keep him all to yourself? Or is it Candy here who’s afraid of a little competition?”
Candy started to giggle but then bit her lip and went inside.
Tina’s eyes were devilish when she turned on me. “Fifty thousand dollars and a quarter to leave him alone? Really? Is that what this is about? Is he yours? Are you afraid my beauty will steal him away from you? Tell me what’s going on here if you want me to reconsider your offer.”
“No, he’s not mine,” I admitted, “but he’s not your type.”
Tina smirked at me. “Is he Candy’s then?”
“Well, no, but––”
“Ahh…so he’s single, you say?”
I could tell by the look in her eye that she’d made her decision. I sighed with defeat and accepted my good hostess role in accordance with my family’s unwritten laws. “Well, I’m glad you’re staying then. Why don’t you come in and meet everyone?”
Draven and Armando had assembled in the living room, and they both stood when the girls entered. Tina flashed a glare at Draven, indicating she still remembered him and the way he’d blown her off. Then she smiled sweetly at Armando who responded by mumbling in French. One of Tina’s hair flips later, and the large vampire crumbled at her feet.
Candy excused herself first, saying she had work to do.
“And we’ll be upstairs…cleaning the attic,” Draven said. He took my hand and hastily led me out of the room.
I lay in his arms, trying to remember what I had been mad at him for but it didn’t come to me. Tina’s sudden appearance had me too distracted. “Is this safe?” I finally asked.
“Armando and Tina?”
“Yes. I mean, what if there is screaming and running through the streets?”
“The streets around here would probably be okay,” he teased. “I don’t know, but he is about ninety. I’m not going to be the one to tell him not to go for it.”
I giggled at the thought. “Yeah, I guess. So what do we do? Cross our fingers and wait?”
Draven smiled seductively. “We could do other things.”
“Yeah, but you’re just a tease.” When he leaned over to kiss me, I suddenly remembered why I was upset. Sitting up, I pushed away from the kiss. “What was wrong last night? I thought we had everything worked out but the look in your eye told me there was something else. That’s why you made me sleep.”
Draven sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. “It’s nothing. It’s just a feeling, a very bad feeling.”
I swallowed nervously. “It’s about the Elders, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know if it’s about the Elders or about Coty. All I know is that it involves Armando.”
“Could it have been a premonition about Tina?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything to you. I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Well, don’t get upset. I just wanted to know. Hey, weren’t you just about to kiss me?” I pulled on his hand and returned to his air-conditioned arms. After the promised kiss, I fell restlessly asleep.
Lissa called to me frantically from a scenic picture on the wall in the attic. “Hello! Remember my letter! You cannot marry Draven until you go to France. You cannot go to France until you have looked into the eyes of the Lord of the Underworld. The answer lies there! Why haven’t you done it yet? You have to listen to me! Draven will die if you don’t! And not only Draven, but Armando, Coty, Tina, Candy, and you!”
I snapped awake and reached out. “Draven?”
“I’m here,” he said, turning from the dark window.
“Draven, I need to go back to the mansion.”
He looked at me curiously. “You didn’t like it there.”
“I know but it’s important.”
“All right. Come and see this first.”
Curiously, I stumbled to the window. Tina and Armando were dancing very close under the yard light. “I guess that’s good, right?”
“I hope so.”
“You bitch!”
The high-pitched squeal pierced my eardrums at dawn, causing a bolt of pain to shoot through my head. I sat straight up and blinked in the dim room, trying to focus. Tina stood at the end of my bed with her hands on her hips. She wore the same yellow dress, and her day-old makeup had started to run.
“What’s wrong?” I groaned.
“Vampires?”
After my initial shock, I lay down and buried my head under my pillow.
“You’re not going to say anything?”
I pulled the pillow off and raised my head, trying to think of what to say. “Uh…don’t tell anyone,” I offered innocently.
“How could you not tell me?” Her anger made two deep lines form between her brows.
“Armando! Draven!” I yelled, hoping to put the explanation off on someone else––anyone else.
“They’re not here. They fricken disappeared. One second they were here, the next they were gone!”
With a sigh, I sat up and looked at my own day-old clothes. “Can I shower before we do this?”
“No!”
I rolled my eyes to pretend she was overreacting. Without caffeine, I wasn’t ready to deal with my hysterical cousin. “Why are you mad at me? I told you he wasn’t your type.”
Her face twisted in disgust. “The hell he isn’t!”
My mind spun with her contradiction. Confused, I stared at her. “What?”
“You could have told me about him two years ago, but noooo,” she drawled like a teenager. “You wanted to keep the sexy vampires all to yourself!” She folded her arms over her chest before she smirked and added, “Bitch.”
Laughter poured out of me as I covered my mouth with my hand. I’d never seen my cousin show so much emotion or call me anything but Dear Cousin. I figured bitch was a step up. “You were right, you’re a great actress. Are you always so theatrical in the morning?”
Tina’s anger melted away, and she laughed with me. Pushing her disheveled hair off her face, she plopped down beside me on the bed. We both lay on our stomachs when she stared at me seriously. “I love him.”
“What?”
“I can’t explain it. No one’s ever been that honest with me, no one’s ever been so caring and tender.”
Ignoring the creaking steps on the stairwell, I shook my head. “Vampires can affect your moods, Tina.”
“He told me that too. That’s why they left. So I could see how I felt about him when he was gone.”
I sat up, one brow rising. “What else did he tell you?”
“Every
thing.”
“Everything?”
“Breakfast is ready,” Candy said, stepping into the doorway.
Tina grinned smugly and sat up. “He told me about her.”
Candy took an uneasy step backward.
“If she knows, she knows,” I told Candy. “Please don’t go.”
“Yes, Milady,” she said as she entered the room and leaned against a wall.
I glanced at Tina when Candy used the servant girl term but she didn’t appear to notice or care. “What else did he tell you?”
“He told me about his surrogate in France, his castle, his money, his every wish, and…and then he told me about Coty.”
“Wow.” Though astonished, I was grateful that I wouldn’t have to explain everything. “Where did they go?”
“To break up with his surrogate.”
“What?” I gasped at her satisfied smirk.
“Well, he can’t have two women in his life,” she explained matter-of-factly.
“What exactly are you saying, Tina?” I asked suspiciously.
“He’s asked me to marry him and…be Coty’s mother.”
“He doesn’t know you very well, does he?” I snickered.
She frowned, appearing hurt by my response. “He knows me better than anyone,” she insisted.
I stared at Tina and wondered if an alien being had taken over her body. “After one night?”
She nodded. “He’s very perceptive. You don’t know what my life is like. When men see my face, that’s all they care about. Yeah, I act easy, and they buy me things but it is all an act. Armando sees that. He thinks I’m beautiful inside.”
When a tear came to her eye, I straightened, perplexed by the person who looked like my cousin. “Did you say yes?”
Her eyes ballooned, and her face heated with a light red hue. “Are you kidding me? Who could turn down a man like that? He’s so…perfect! I really do love him.”
“And you’re ready to become a mother?”
“I don’t know about that, but you should hear the way he talks about Coty. He makes me want to wrap the boy up in my arms and keep him forever.”
I didn’t buy it. “This is a real child, Tina. Once he gets attached, you won’t be able to just change your mind and move on.”
“I know that,” she said seriously. “You’ve always had a family, Elizabeth, and I admit I’ve been jealous of that. My parents divorced when I was born, and I’ve felt abandoned my whole life. This is my chance to have a real family.” A new spark of purpose appeared in her eyes. They seemed softer, kinder.
I felt dumbfounded. Had one night with Armando completely transformed her into…a real person? After a deep breath, I smiled at her and held out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Elizabeth and this is Candy.”
Tina laughed and shook my hand. “You know, Candy, knowing what you do gives your name a whole new meaning.”
Candy curtseyed. “You see, Milady, I was made for this job.”
A wave of laughter filled the room as we laughed like three old college buddies.
After our showers, Candy and I met in the kitchen wearing T-shirt and jeans. Tina waltzed in in a fancy red dress––the flirty type I’d worn when I wanted to make Draven jealous. She smiled brightly when she sat down at the table to eat with us.
“So why do you stay in a haunted house?” Tina asked nonchalantly.
“I was only kidding about the ghosts, Tina.”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. It’s haunted and your ghost wants you dead.”
Candy and I both turned to stare at her.
“What?” I exasperated, feeling uneasy.
“Yeah. I had a few hours to try to sleep after the boys left, but her voice kept suggesting that I kill you. Is that freaky or what?”
“What exactly did the voice say?” Candy asked.
“She kept repeating, ‘kill her, she’s not good enough for him.’”
I dropped my fork, my heart quickening as Krista’s dream came back to me. “You’re not good enough for him,” the smooth female voice had said. I shook my head and buried it in my hands, wincing at the memory of the stabbing. Again, I tasted the blood in my mouth and started to gag.
Tina laid a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Dear Cousin, I told her to fuck off, of course.”
For once, she didn’t use sarcasm when she called my by the pet name, and I could hear that she actually meant it; I was dear to her because we were family. I smiled at the gesture but didn’t feel reassured. History was trying to repeat itself, and if I died again, this time Draven would die too. I had to get to the mansion to do whatever it was Lissa wanted me to do.
I watched the time tick by as the girls finished their breakfast and cleaned up. Impatience built inside of me until I thought I’d implode. When will you be back? I finally thought. I need to go to the mansion.
“As soon as we can. His surrogate had gone missing and we just found her…she’s dead, I’m afraid. She took her own life.”
Gasping, my eyes widened. Is Armando all right?
“He is upset,” Draven continued, “and he wants to make the arrangements to ensure she gets a proper burial.”
Whenever you get here is fine. Tell him…I’m so sorry.
“I will. I love you.”
I love you too with all my soul.
Candy went to work in her room while Tina babbled excitedly about Armando, Coty, and the wonderful life they would have. I didn’t tell her about the surrogate. If she were going to be my sister-in-law, I thought it best to let Armando handle that how ever he saw fit.
At sunset, the vampires finally came down the stairs, and I ran into Draven’s arms, hugging him like he’d been gone for an eternity. I hugged Armando too and whispered how sorry I was. He thanked me and smiled before he took Tina into an embrace. He whispered into her ear, and when Tina’s eyes filled with horror, I knew he’d been honest with her.
“Let’s give them a minute,” Draven said, leading me into the kitchen. “Did you want to go to the mansion now?”
I gazed sadly toward the living room and shook my head. “I better wait to make sure she’s okay.”
“You are so compassionate.” He smiled before his lips met mine.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I returned his kiss until I felt pleasantly content. “Did Krista ever say anything about ghosts? I mean, was she being haunted?”
That pained look gathered on his face as he closed his eyes. “No. She heard voices but they were in her head. She knew that.”
My mind tossed his words around while I grabbed a soda from the fridge. If they were in her head, how had I heard them in the dream? I’d only been a bystander.
“Where is this coming from?” he asked suspiciously. “What happened?”
Tina heard a voice this morning, and it wanted her to kill me. Maybe it is a ghost, Draven. I couldn’t say the words out loud, considering how crazy they sounded but if vampires were real, why couldn’t ghosts be?
“Will she harm you?” he asked gravely.
“Tina? No.”
“Let’s go to the mansion anyway.”
“All right. Just let me check on them.”
“Sit down,” Tina yelped, her eyes aglow when we walked into the room. “Armando was just about to tell me how he became a vampire!”
Even though the two had apparently worked through the death and were feeling better, I found myself too interested to leave so I pulled Draven down beside me on the other leather sofa. He didn’t object.
“It happened a year before I turned Draven. I wasn’t exactly a church-going boy back then so when a beautiful woman asked me to her home, I accepted. After she had her fun, she held me down and sucked the life out of my neck. She was surprisingly strong for a woman. As I lay there dying, she fed me her own blood out of her wrist. I didn’t tell anyone, of course, but it was a very confusing time for me. I hadn’t yet come to grips with outliving my family, and I felt alone it the world.”
> “A woman?” Draven asked apprehensively.
“Yes. A woman who takes what she wants, regardless of the consequences. I believe you know her as Anna.”
“Who’s Anna?” I asked.
Draven looked at me uneasily for a moment and then stood. “You wanted to go to the mansion, didn’t you?”
“No,” I insisted, shaking my head. “I want to know who Anna is.”
“Me too,” Tina said.
After an irritated glance at his brother, Draven sat and pulled me close to him. “Armando and I met Anna in Argentina. She was a worldly woman who fancied impressionable young men. I went on one date with her before I ever met you, and she was rude to everyone we encountered. She hung around, and I tolerated her until I met you.” He kissed my forehead before he turned to Armando. “I, however, did not know she was a vampire.”
“Was she upset…when you broke it off?”
“Hardly,” Armando interjected. “She was your…Alicia’s bridesmaid.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, remembering the two women in the room with Alicia. “Was she blonde?”
“How did you know?” Armando asked.
“She was beautiful enough to be a vampire.”
Tina beamed. “Does that mean I’m beautiful enough to be a vampire?”
“Of course you are,” Armando insisted, leaning over to kiss her. Lust flashed in his eyes, and he seemed to forget the conversation and the other people in the room.
I shook my head and hugged Draven. “I’m ready––”
When a guitar solo interrupted me, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. Unknown caller. Frowning and wanting to get away from the make out session, I stepped into my room beside the fireplace and closed the door. “Hello.”
“My God, Elizabeth! Are you all right?” a frantic male voice asked.
“I’m fine. Who is this?”
“I can’t believe you’ve survived. Did that vampire hurt you? I’ve been searching for you for over a week. I’ve been worried sick!” he said with a familiar yet fake French accent.
“Ben?”
“Yes, it’s me. Not to worry though, I’ll be there shortly.”
Alarm seeped into my skin, and my pulse sped up. “Be where?”
“Beware of what? I’m well prepared for that fiend, I can assure you.”