by Serena Robar
“My, my, my. I’m gone for one week and I catch you in the arms of another woman.”
I turned in surprise as Piper strolled through the door with Carl right behind her.
“What are you doing back so soon?”
She looked around the room, noting Thomas’s condition and Lucy in the kitchen. “Apparently missing all the fun, it would seem. Are you okay?”
I felt tears fill my eyes. Piper came home because she was worried about me. My e-mail must have tipped her off that something was terribly wrong and she couldn’t stay in England knowing I was facing danger alone.
“You came home because of my e-mail.” I smiled brightly through the tears.
“Uh, no. I came home after Thomas called me. Your e-mail was pretty demanding and not a little annoying.”
I glanced over at Thomas, who suddenly found a spot on the carpet so fascinating he couldn’t seem to look away from it.
“Thomas.” I used my warning tone.
“Okay, I tracked down Piper in Europe. I was at my wit’s end, Colby. You wouldn’t talk to me. You certainly wouldn’t listen to me and you were in grave danger.”
“So you called my best friend to what? Straighten me out?” I asked incredulous.
Piper took this moment to intervene. She waved her hand as though trying to clear the air. “No, no. It wasn’t like that at all. He called me to get more details about Ileana and when he told me you weren’t listening to him I asked what he’d done wrong. So he told me and I straightened him out.”
I looked questioningly at Thomas, who nodded in agreement. “She really did.”
At this point Sophie cleared her throat and suggested Ileana, Angie and Sage head upstairs to clean up after their ordeal. Piper took the hint and followed Ileana, peppering her with questions. Carl pulled out his cell phone and called the Tribunal to arrange pickup for Lucy’s body, leaving Thomas and me alone in the living room.
He stood up, painfully slow and grimacing the entire time, and made his way over to me on the couch. I tried not to wince when I saw how injured he was but a tiny part of me watched his progress with satisfaction. He’d taken a beating by some California vampires, and surfer vampires at that. I’d managed to terminate Lucy without much casualty. Of course, she was a crazy, lone vampire, but still. It was something.
“So, who kicked your butt?” I teased and he smiled through a cut lip.
“We were jumped by five vamps. Ileana and Sophie took on Lance while the others were focused on me.”
“Must be that new cologne you’re wearing,” I quipped smartly, gently sweeping his hair off his bloodied forehead.
“No less than I deserve,” he admitted, causing my hand to still a moment.
“How do you figure?”
He stopped my hand and tucked it into this. “Colby, you were right.”
His admission filled my head and I almost felt dizzy with the power of the moment. So much so that I pretended to swoon on the couch.
He gave my hand a swift tug. “Very funny.”
“I’m just so, so very shocked, is all.”
He nodded toward me. “I deserve that. I just couldn’t see things clearly. You’re not the girl I met a year ago. Scared, shallow, self-centered …”
“Whoa there, stud, so not helping your case here,” I warned him dryly.
“What I mean is that you’ve changed. No, not changed really. You had the skills all along. You’ve just …” He struggled to find the right words but he didn’t need to. I understood what he meant.
I leaned forward and touched my forehead to his. “Thank you.”
He smiled deeply, the dimple I loved flashed and my heart surged.
“You’re a good Protector, Colby. The best. No one, including me, could do it better. Tina wasn’t your fault.”
I knew that but I was swelling with pride because now Thomas recognized it as well. I didn’t need his approval or his acceptance but it was wonderful to have all the same.
“You know, we should probably check you out from head to toe. Make sure there aren’t any serious injuries hiding beneath all those clothes.”
“Hmmm, you could be right. I wouldn’t want to risk a serious internal injury by being neglectful.”
I stood up slowly and gently pulled him to his feet. His hand still in mine, I guided him up the stairs to my bedroom. “It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”
Thomas smiled shyly. “Colby? Do you still have that purple bikini?”
Seventeen
After several hours of close scrutiny and one swimwear fashion show later I declared Thomas fit as a fiddle. We left my room and walked down the stairs. I wondered aloud, “I bet Margaret is the inside guy at the Tribunal.”
“Colby! Do you have any proof?” Thomas was shocked.
“Well, none other than the fact that she hates me. But you have to admit, it’s fishy. She’s a known bigot and she’s in a position of power. Aren’t you always telling me not to provoke her because she would be a powerful enemy?”
I led him down the stairs.
“I meant she could screw up your paperwork and get you in hot water with Holloway, not she would try to use her connections to have you killed,” he said, exasperated.
“Oh.” I was a bit disappointed by his confession. “I still think she’s up to something.” She had screwed up my paperwork in the summer and told Mr. Holloway she thought I killed Tina. She was far more dangerous than Thomas suspected.
We stepped onto the main landing and headed around the stairs to make our way to the library.
“Well, that may be, but you can’t go around accusing her without any proof. Anyway, who says Lucy didn’t bribe Tribunal Security or hypnotize them?”
“Hmmph.”
We opened the secret door and I said saucily, “You know, you were much more agreeable upstairs.”
We joined the rest of the house in the recreation room.
“I still don’t understand why Lucy killed Tina,” Sage said.
“Probably read her e-mails online,” Ileana said to no one in particular, as she painted her toenails.
“How’d you know?” I said.
“Tina used the same computer Lucy did the day she was killed. I suspect Lucy never logged off her e-mail account. You can just click through the history tab and go right back into the mail if it’s still the same day and you don’t log out first.”
She looked up at our shocked faces.
“What? You think since I live in England in a family manor I don’t have broadband or know how to use a computer? Tina always looked at everyone’s history cache. She was nosy. It’s how I figured out Lucy was the killer. Not that any of you bothered to use deductive reasoning.”
Ileana turned to Sage and said, “I’m sorry, I know you two were close and all, but she was nosy.”
Sage nodded slowly, “Yes, she was. And she had the worst habit of borrowing my clothes without asking. Even so, I do miss her. Our summer together was one of the best.”
I looked at her, surprised. “Just one summer? This summer?”
“Oh yeah, remember she said she wished she could be a vampire and it came true? Lance was really hot for her and kept hounding her. She’d blow hot and then cold. She really couldn’t decide how she felt about him. Finally she refused to come out of her room at night, would only be up during the day so she didn’t have to see him.”
“And Cookie was okay with this?”
“She wasn’t thrilled, but she still had me to keep the party going. She loved Tina and only wanted her to be happy. Remember, at this time Tina wasn’t Undead yet. She knew about all of us but she didn’t care. Cookie took her in out of the kindness of her heart. Tina really wasn’t cut out for the vampire life, being vegan and all.”
“What about Lance?” Piper prompted.
“Yeah, anyway, he finally managed to get Tina to go for a walk on the beach with him and he changed her. Cookie was pissed. I’d never seen her so angry before. But when Tina woke
up, she was so happy. It was really weird. I think she glamorized the whole vampire thing in her head.”
We all nodded and Angie asked, “What happened to you, Sage? Why did Cookie turn you and not want to turn Tina?”
“I’d made my way from Iowa to California to see the ocean. I always wanted to see the ocean before I died. I was diagnosed with leukemia. With about six weeks to live, I was walking on the beach outside her house the evening when we met. She came out of the house to enjoy the ocean mist when she saw me kicking up the surf.
“We chatted and she turned me that night. She knew she couldn’t make full-bloods and explained how it would be for me. I certainly didn’t want to die but I wonder if I made the right choice sometimes.”
“Of course you did,” Sophie interjected, “if you don’t mind me saying so, mum. Eternal life in exchange for no life seems like more than a fair exchange.”
Every half-blood exchanged looks with the others, keeping our opinion to ourselves. Sophie would never know what it was like to be a half-blood, though she dedicated her life to serving one. It was not a life filled with glory or power. It possessed its own set of miseries and shortcomings but still, I was happy Sage was with us. Glad I wasn’t alone anymore.
“What was the deal with the crazy vampire lore I sent you, anyway?” Piper spoke up, while we were lost in thought.
“Ohmigosh, the prophesy!” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before.
I went to the computer I last saw Lucy using, checked the history cache as Ileana suggested and found the site I was looking for. I clicked on the link. User had logged out. Crap! Apparently Lucy learned her lesson. I clicked on a couple of other links and found a board site requiring user ID but could still access the first page. It was a reader board for some group calling themselves The Prophet Seekers.
Piper was reading over my shoulder. “Looks like Lucy belonged to a vampire clan led by some ancient full-blood who’s collecting vampire texts. This ancient claims to have a bunch of texts similar to the lore I found.” Piper looked at me and added, “Other than the lore from Ileana’s home, we still have no idea what other texts say implying you’re the one.”
“Only the looniest of vamps believes that silly lore. To think Colby is the prophesied one who could end vampire existence? Quite ridiculous, really,” Ileana scoffed.
“Why ridiculous?” I demanded. Hey, I could destroy vampire existence if I put my mind to it. Well, I could.
“Oh Colby, don’t get defensive. You’re a fine half-blood and all. But there is no way you could possess the power to eliminate the entire vampire world. You couldn’t even figure out Lucy was a killer and you decorate in all pink. No, no, I don’t believe it for a moment.”
My eyes narrowed but before I could call her out Piper asked Ileana a pointed question. “You know, I found vampire lore in your house, in your private library. Care to explain that?”
“Oh, all right.” She sighed. “My father was a bit eccentric. He, well, he sort of worshipped vampires. Was obsessed with them actually. He found what he believed would be the Holy Grail to all vampires, this snippet of text.” She sighed again, wearily. “All it got him was an Undead daughter and a shortened life span. Vampires, in my experience, are not a trustworthy lot.”
I nodded in agreement, much to Thomas’s annoyance.
“So that’s why you had the lore? It was something your father found?”
“Yes, once I was changed I left my ancestral home and tried to keep a low profile. The vampire who created me didn’t acquire a license so I didn’t think he was going to tell anyone. Not that it mattered, he was killed shortly thereafter trying to raid another ancient’s private library for more texts. I married the man I was betrothed to and he alone knew my secret. He loved me very much and we made plans. He sent me to one of his summer estates and vowed to join me later. That way I was kept in hiding and out of the way, as it were. Except, he died before he could join me. I stayed hidden and concocted the pregnancy plot. I knew I could eventually pass as my daughter.”
“But you married several times after that,” Piper couldn’t help but interject.
“All fake marriages. I was a recluse and my husband left me a rich widow. I made up the weddings, the men, all of it. I even made up their deaths. Quite frankly, by the last husband I had run out of suitable accidents and resorted to an infected bug bite. But through it all I always had my maids.” In a rare show of affection, Ileana patted Sophie on the arm, causing Sophie to blush to the roots of her hair.
“It’s my honor, mum. I will serve as my mother served before me. It’s my birthright,” Sophie proclaimed with pride.
I felt sad for Ileana. Being practically alone all those years, hiding from the world to keep her secret safe, with no one but a maid for company. It was almost enough to forgive her prickly nature. Almost.
Piper seemed to rally and announced, “I almost forgot. I brought home presents.” She ran upstairs and returned shortly with a brown shopping bag.
“Sorry, didn’t have time to wrap them,” she apologized as she started handing out what appeared to be T-shirts. I held up the one she gave me. It was white with pink lettering. On the front were our Greek letters and “Psi Phi” printed out over them. But the caption underneath held my attention. We’re not like the other girls.
“What do you think?” Piper asked excitedly.
I looked at Thomas and declared, “I think they’re perfect.”
And now for a special preview from Serena Robar’s next exciting novel …
DATING FOR DEMONS
Available from Berkley!
I found it hard to believe that such a big guy was even attempting to look inconspicuous while obviously following me, but there he was, again. This time he was feigning interest in some flamingo sunglasses while I cruised the Sunglass Hut. He was handsome in a bad boy, no, scratch that, in a Piper sort of way. I giggled at the thought. My best friend Piper Prescott would love the serious, dark vibe this guy was emitting. It would appeal to her whole, I’m-not-goth-I’malternative persona.
I took a deep breath once more and relaxed. He wasn’t a vampire at least. Of that, I was sure. And he smelled like oatmeal raisin cookies with a hint of cinnamon. It was my experience (admittedly limited experience) that men who smelled like cookies were probably not evil. Yeah, it was pigeonholing an entire smell-type but hey, stereotypes existed for a reason, you know.
He may not be a vampire, but that didn’t mean I shouldn’t be cautious. It seemed every other night I was being attacked by some ancient vampire who followed The Prophesy, and occasionally they brought a human pet or two with them. They believed Colby Blanchard (that would be me) was the one who would bring the end to their existence. Tell a friend. Film at eleven. Sheesh, start a small revolution by emancipating half-blood vampires and suddenly, everyone thinks you’re up to no good. It’s not my fault that half-bloods were considered an abomination by all. But not anymore. I was a half-blood and proud of it. No one who dressed as well as I did was an abomination. Period.
No, this guy wasn’t a vampire, and I thought it unlikely that he was a pet. Pets tended to be very robotic and couldn’t think for themselves. They were under a vampire spell and looked spaced-out all the time. Nope, this guy could never be anyone’s pet.
Maybe he was just shy and wanted to meet me? Probably. I mean, I looked pretty hot today with my spray-on tan and Psi Phi tank top. Sure it’s the middle of April and still a bit chilly for the Northwest but when you’re dead, er, Undead, a couple degrees didn’t matter much. Call it a perk, if you will.
I made my way upstairs to the food court. I wanted Piper to meet me before the sun went down, but no, she was doing some homework and couldn’t break away until the evening. As a half-blood, I was able to walk around during the day. Sure, I had to wear an SPF of about a gazillion, but I didn’t mind.
I wasn’t thrilled to meet Piper after dark though. What with all the kill-the-prophet-chick going on. I mean, putt
ing your best friend in danger meant she wouldn’t be your best friend for long. That was unacceptable. I needed Piper. I needed her like I needed sunlight, wait a minute, I didn’t actually need sunlight and should really avoid it. Okay then, I needed her like I needed food. Hmm, I didn’t need food either. Well, I needed Piper and I really shouldn’t have to justify keeping my friends safe.
I reached the third floor and found her standing in line at Hot Dog on a Stick. I picked out a table and waited for her, shaking my head when I saw what she was wearing. Why, oh why did she have the fashion sense of a transient?
She sported Lucky Dungarees jeans with a white leather belt, ritually studded with metal brads in a uniform pattern. She’d paired a long-sleeved black mesh shirt, ripped at the collarbone and along one elbow, with a fitted burgundy tank over a black bra. Piper was short, around five four and curvy. That was to say she had a small waist, huge boobs and rounded bottom. She was wearing black Converse high-tops, natch. We wouldn’t want to spread our wings and wear another pair of shoes or anything.
Still, with her shoulder-length jet-black hair, burgundy undertones and fondness for eyeliner, she had a style all her own. With her row of earrings and nose pierced, she was exotic, in a don’t-sit-next-to-me-on-the-bus sort of way.
“Dew?” I inquired as she sipped some liquid through a straw. Piper lived off Mountain Dew.
“Nope, cherry lemonade.”
I made a gagging sound in the back of my throat. Piper sure loved syrupy sweet drinks. And apparently, fried food on a stick. She’d bought a hot dog as well and it was smothered in mustard. I shuddered.
“Did you drag me all the way to the mall to insult my taste in beverages or did you have a real reason to meet here?”
She plopped down next to me, maneuvering her drink, plate and the monster size tote bag at her side.
“Bag lady,” I muttered under my breath.
“I heard that,” Piper said, not bothering to look up from her task of finding a portion of floor that was not sticky to deposit her tote.