Fate of the Vampire (17 page)

The vampire made a grunt of disgust in the back of his throat before saying “You’re a very stupid girl.”

I said nothing. He hadn’t asked a question, but if he had, I was sure that I would have agreed with him.

“This complicates things,” he said, but mostly to himself. “I never would have believed Jessie would have degraded himself in th
is manner.” Then, turning his attention back to me, he added, “Stupid mortal. This is your fault. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” was my reply.

The vampire looked off into the darkness as if wishing to be away from the sight of me. “We never had this conversation,” he told me. “This is all just a dream. You won’t remember any of this by the time you wake up in the morning.”

I nodded. I didn’t feel like I could do anything but agree with him. But deep down inside, I was terrified. Not for me, necessarily, but for the vampire I loved. “What about Jessie?” I managed to ask, although it was extremely hard to part my jaws and get the words out.

The vampire gave me a surprised, angry look. I could tell he wasn’t used to being the one that was questioned, especially by a mortal. “Go back to bed,” he snarled. “I will deal with Jessie Vanderlind.”

I woke with a start. I was alone in bed. My head felt weird, and for a few seconds, the room was spinning. I had the thought that I might be sick.

I could remember the vampire. I could remember his horrible eyes very clearly but also in a way that was fuzzy. Was it a dream? I wasn’t sure. I reached for my dream journal and started writing as madly as I could for fear that the details would slip away like dreams often do. I couldn’t see the page as clearly as I wanted
, so I reached for my bedside lamp. It was then that I froze in mid-stretch for the switch.

The curtains to my bedroom window were open. I leapt out of bed, dashed over
, and yanked them shut. I stood there, trembling in the cold, trying to remember if I’d shut them before going to bed. I usually did. I was pretty sure I’d done it before crawling under the covers. I peeked out through a crack in the drapes. Was he out there?

I covered an early shift at the cafe. Joe had called me first thing. Everyone who was scheduled either had the flu or a sprained ankle or had thrown a shoe or whatever excuse they had, legitimate or false, for not showing up to work on Christmas Eve. In a way it was a good thing because my bank account had definitely taken a hit in my effort to drag Jessie into the world of modern communication. He had a computer. It wasn’t like he was unwilling to embrace technology. And sure, the castle had zero cell reception, but he did leave the castle from time to time, so I really didn’t know what his deal was. Once, when I asked him about not having a cell, he said, “I don't have that many people in my life that I need to call.” But that was before he started dating someone as spazzy as me. I needed access. I needed to text once in a while.
Oh God,
I said to myself while on break,
I really am giving him the female equivalent of lingerie.

As the morning wore on, the dream of the scary, scar
-faced vampire faded until it was more of a memory that I’d had a bad dream rather than a memory of the actual dream. The one thing I could distinctly remember was his eyes. When Blossom and I were nine or ten, we’d found an old copy of
The Amityville Horror
and read it by flashlight in a blanket fort we’d built in her room. It scared the poop out of us. I couldn’t remember much of the story, but I did remember that there was a demonic pig with glowing red eyes. The thought of a pair of red eyes glowing in the darkness spooked me for months. My crazy dream of the glowing-eyed vampire reawakened this childhood fear.

Blossom called while I was hopping out of the shower that afternoon after my shift. “Hello?” I said, answering the phone with one hand while toweling off my hair with the other.

“Are you co-hostessing this party or not?” she demanded without even bothering to say hello.

“Co-hostessing?” I repeated, slightly confused.

“Yes. Or are you too busy wrapping your legs around Dreamboat?” she said. I could tell she was miffed.

I felt I was on the verge of tumbling into a trap. I had never been called a co-hostess for one of my best friend’s parties before, but Blossom must have been feeling a bit ignored. She had temporarily sworn off boys
, and I suddenly had a hot and heavy boyfriend. It was a complete role reversal from how things usually went. The fact that she had blown me off numerous times in the past whenever she was first smitten with whatever random dude she’d started dating obviously did not enter into Blossom’s memory.

“I’m just drying my hair now,” I told her. “I was going to get ready and then head over.”

“Do your hair and then get over here,” she said. “We can primp once everything’s set up.” She knew better than to have me fix my hair at her place. Blossom was blessed with wavy blonde hair that obeyed her every whim and command. She and her mother didn’t have enough hair products between them to put a dent in my wild mane.

“Okay,” I said automatically, then thought of Jessie. He and his cousin were supposed to pick me up at my house before the party. I opened my mouth to say something but then shut it again. I would just call Jessie’s house like normal girlfriends do and leave a message for him to meet me at the party. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

Actually, it ended up being kind of a big deal. Viggo did not answer the phone and whoever did sounded very put out that I was calling and actually wished to leave a message. I wondered why the family didn’t just buy an answering machine and briefly thought to get Jessie one for Valentine’s Day. But then I remembered that in just a few more days he would have a cell phone, and all this calling and leaving a message with an anonymous staff member who may or may not deliver it would stop.

When I arrived at Blossom’s, Sheila was already there. I wanted to ask my best friend about the need for me to “co-hostess” when she already had help but decided to just bite my tongue. “Is that what you’re wearing?” was the first thing out of Sheila’s mouth when she saw me.

I looked down at my sweater and jeans. I did have a nice outfit to wear over to the Vanderlind
s’ but hadn’t thought to dress up for an outdoor party in the middle of winter. “Yes,” I told her. “This is what I’m wearing. Can’t you see it or are you having some eye problems?”

Sheila gave me a flat look. “I just thought with having such a fabulously hot and wealthy boyfriend, you might try to put some effort into your appearance. Guess I was wrong.”

“Merry Christmas!” Blossom said, interrupting our little spat. “Who wants a little sample of my special holiday punch to get the party started?”

“Yes, please,” Sheila said without hesitation.

I knew by “special punch” Blossom meant she’d doctored it with whatever alcohol she could scrounge. I also knew that if I declined, it would elicit some kind of disdainful reaction from Sheila, and I just wasn’t in the mood for more of that so I said, “Sure. Count me in.”

Blossom doled out the punch into punch glasses from an actual punch bowl with fruit in a frozen ice ring and everything. Her mother was a caterer, after all. The three of us said “cheers” and clinked glasses before all taking large swigs. If I was being honest, the punch was on the verge of being disgusting. It tasted like Seven-Up mixed with cough syrup, complete with a burning sensation on the back end.

“Mmmm. It’s good,” Sheila said, taking another sip. She actually sounded convincing.

I coughed a little as the punch stripped some cells off the back of my throat but managed a “Mm-hmmm” in agreement.

We got back to work and when neither of them was looking, I tossed my glassful down the sink and then continued arranging the veggie platter. “God,” Sheila said a few minutes later when she saw my empty glass. “Drink much?”

I made a mental note that the next time I
decided to ditch a drink I would do it in smaller increments. “I was thirsty,” I said lamely. Even if I actually was thirsty, the punch was one of the last things on the planet I would drink.

“Lush,” she said
, rolling her eyes before jerking open the refrigerator and rooting around.

We eventually got the party pulled together, which also involved shoveling snow off the back patio plus dragging out heat lamps and folding tables from Mrs. Coster’s very crowded garage. To be honest, I was expecting Sheila to stand around, not doing much but feeling at liberty to make snide comments as she deemed was necessary, but she actually pitched in and did her fair share.

It seemed like a lot of work for a bunch of teenagers who would have been just as happy with a few bowls full of chips and a place to pee. Typical Tiburon High parties were mostly about drinking, a bit of smoking, and lots of talk about hooking up. I seriously had to wonder why it had been so important to me that Jessie attend in the first place. I was becoming convinced he would think less of me after seeing me in a crowd composed of drunk high school football players and giggling girls.

Guests started arriving around seven. Groups of girls first and then groups of boys about a half hour after that. It was early for a high school party, but it was also a Christmas Eve party
, so I guess kids were willing to make an exception.

“So, where’s this boyfriend of yours?” Sheila asked at about a quarter to eight. I could tell from a slight sway in her stance that the punch was already hitting her hard.

“I don’t know,” I told her as I grabbed a half empty bottle that was just about to tumble off the edge of one of the folding tables we’d set up for food. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” It wasn’t like Jessie to be late. I wondered if he’d received my message about not picking me up.

“Yeah, right,” she said with a superior smile
, and I suddenly remembered why it had been so important to me that Jessie make an appearance. She continued. “I’m sure you’ll get a phone call at any moment and he’ll have come down with a horrible case of … Holy crap!” Sheila gasped. She was staring past me toward the gate that led around the side of the house to the front yard. “Is there a male model convention in town or something? Who the hell are they?”

I turned to see who Sheila was staring at with her mouth practically hanging open. It was my Jessie, looking gorgeous in a cable knit blue-gray sweater, dark jeans, black boots, and his long, dark coat. His black hair was ruffled, of course, and I knew he had just flown over. Next to him stood another ridiculously good-looking boy, but not much like Jessie at all. He was roughly Jessie’s height, and they looked around the same age, but the newcomer had blond hair that hung down below his chin. He wore a black leather jacket, dark jeans, and black motorcycle boots. He wasn’t even close to clean shaven. The thing that threw the whole handsome biker look off was his shirt. It was a white button down but without a collar. It looked like an old-fashioned shirt from the time when men used tabs to attach starched collars, but he’d just forgotten to put his collar on. It was an odd contrast to the leather. I assumed the new guest was Dorian.

“That’s my boyfriend and his cousin,” I informed Sheila. It was my turn to wear a superior smile.

“Seriously?” she said, stunned and amazed. She reached over and squeezed my arm in an excited sort of way. “I’m so glad we’re friends.”

The party, which was just getting warmed up with kids talking loud and music being selected, got quite subdued. Everyone turned to gawk at the newcomers. Jessie and Dorian stood there, confidently observing the crowd. They may have looked like teenagers, but their body language betrayed them as much older
—if anyone bothered to notice.

I hurried over to Jessie. “Hi,” I said, feeling awkward and shy. I knew my cheeks were turning red. There were already about twenty guests at the party
, and I felt every single set of eyes was on me. “Did you get my message?”

Jessie regarded the crowd for a second longer before turning his attention to me. “Yes,” he said, bending to place a small kiss on my lips. “I’ve been missing you,” he whispered in my ear
, and I felt a wave of warmth wash over me that had nothing to do with the heat lamps. He then opened his stance to include the other vampire. “Miss Aurora Keys, I’d like to introduce you to my cousin, Mr. Dorian Vanderlind. Dorian, this is Aurora.”

“I’ve heard so much about you, Aurora,” Dorian said, taking my hand and bending to kiss it. I couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were gray, the same as Jessie
’s. He was looking at me rather hungrily, and that was never a good thing from a vampire. I wanted to yank my hand away. But Dorian held my hand firmly in place, his lips hovering above my flesh. “I’m sure everything I’ve heard is true.”

“Easy there, cousin,” Jessie said, putting one hand on Dorian’s shoulder and using the other to gently release me from the vampire’s grip. “We’re not at court, you know.” Turning to me, Jessie added, “Dorian has always been a fan of intrigue.”

Dorian smirked. “Especially if it’s of my own creation.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, although that wasn’t really how I felt. I wasn’t sure what to make of Dorian Vanderlind.

“I’m so glad I was included in your invitation,” he said. “I have to admit, I find your situation quite fascinating.”

“You mean someone like Jessie being with someone like me,” I said, unwilling to utter the word
“vampire” with so many kids standing nearby.

“Well, yes. There’s that,” Dorian admitted. “But really what perplexes me is the institution of love in general.”

“Institution?” Jessie asked. He’d obviously heard his cousin’s opinion about the subject a few times before.

“I’m being serious,” Dorian insisted. He turned back to me. “You love my cousin, then? You’re willing to admit to it openly and freely?”

I felt my face go bright red. “Yes,” I said in a very faint voice. “I love him.”

Dorian gave me an incredulous look. “Jessie said the same thing
about you not half an hour ago. I just can’t understand it. The whole notion is so provincial.”

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that statement. I didn’t understand how being in love could be considered provincial. Fortunately, that was when Blossom and Sheila came over. I could tell they were nervous. They kept giving excited little shoves to prod
one another forward. “Hi,” Blossom said to Jessie. “I hope you remember me. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Of course
, I remember you, Blossom,” Jessie said with a smile. “Thank you for including us in your festivities.”

“Hi, I’m Sheila,” my favorite frenemy said, sounding like an over-caffeinated cheerleader. She stuck out her hand. “I’m surprised we haven’t met before. But I’m sure Aurora’s told you all about me.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sheila,” Jessie said, shaking her hand but not lingering over it. “I’d like to introduce you both to my cousin Dorian.” He turned to his cousin. “Dorian, may I introduce you to Blossom and Sheila.”

Dorian
looked at the girls as if they were a pair of annoying small dogs yipping at his feet rather than two over-eager young women. A glare from Jessie caused him to quickly adjust his attitude. “How do you do?” he asked.

Both of my friends were quick to let him know that they were just fine. They practically tripped over each other in their eagerness to provide the new guests with glasses of punch and tried to tempt them with numerous snacks, all of which the boys declined.

After the initial fluttering, both girls calmed down a bit. Additional guests arrived, and Blossom reluctantly broke away to greet them. She took her hostessing duties seriously, even when there were super hot guys to potentially distract her.

“So, what school do you go to?” Sheila asked Dorian, in an attempt to make conversation.

“I don’t attend high school,” he informed her.

“Really? Are you like homeschooled or what?” she wanted to know.

“I’ve completed my education,” he said, without further detail.

Sheila looked a little confused, unsure if the boy was snubbing her or just being formal. “I guess you’re older than you look.”

Jessie cleared his throat in an attempt to conceal a small chuckle.

I could see Sheila gathering her resolve to steer the conversation in a more flirty direction when something just past where Dorian was standing caught her attention. “What’s she doing here?” Sheila demanded in a very annoyed voice.

I turned to look at who had caused her ire, and it was Haley Scott entering the party with a couple of friends. I had no idea why the mere presence of Haley had Sheila in such a twist. It didn’t appear to be very rational. “Excuse me,” Sheila said, storming off in the direction of the new guests.

Dorian looked after her with amusement. “I haven’t interacted with mortals in so long,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice. “Is this how young women usually behave? It’s really quite fascinating.”

“You haven’t been interacting with mortals?” Fred asked, entering the conversation unannounced. I hadn’t even realized he’d arrived at the party. “What does that mean? Have you been living in your mom’s basement playing World of Warcraft with demigods or something?”

“Humans,” Jessie said quickly. “He meant to say he hasn’t been hanging out with humans.”

Fred wasn’t letting it go. “What have you been doing? Studying apes in the jungle?”

“Yes,” said Dorian, completely
unfazed. “I just got back from Rwanda. How did you know?”

“You’re kidding,” Fred said in a flat tone that made it clear he knew Dorian was kidding. “Is that where you got that shirt?”

Dorian narrowed his eyes. I saw a small glimmer in them that definitely held some malice.

“Fred,” I said, interrupting whatever male hormone
–fueled competition was building between them before it got out of control. “Have you met Jessie and Dorian Vanderlind?” I asked, although I knew he hadn’t. “Dorian is visiting for the holidays,” I told him. “They’re cousins.”

“So you’re Aurora’s boyfriend,” Fred said, looking Jessie over. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” That was a lie, but I couldn’t exactly tell Jessie that in front of Fred.

“How do you do?” Jessie said. “Aurora’s told me about you, as well.” I had mentioned Fred’s name once to Jessie. He knew I’d started dating someone when he had broken up with me for my own safety. He’d warned me not to give him any more details about my ex-boyfriend, but apparently the few that he knew, he’d committed to memory. There was some awkward silence as the boys all sized each other up.

“Fred,” Blossom said, appearing out of nowhere and linking her arm in his. She must have sensed something was brewing. “I’m having trouble with one of the heat lamps. Would you please help me?” She led him off before he could give an answer either way.

After that, things relaxed a little. I even had a half cup of punch cut with a lot of ginger ale to take the edge off. Jessie and Dorian stood around observing everybody and appearing haughty. I had no idea what stick they had shoved up their butts, but it was like having two Mr. Darcys at a country dance. People were trying to be friendly, and the vampires were not.

To be more accurate, it was mostly the girls who were trying to be friendly. Especially to Dorian. He was, after all, to all appearances
, unaffiliated. I had more than one acquaintance pull me aside and say something like, “Oh. My. God. You are sooo lucky. How did you ever start dating a Vanderlind? And how can I get one?” I wondered how they would react if they knew either of the handsome boys could rip their throats out with their bare teeth. It was best not to find out.

The guests kept getting louder and louder. It was not even nine o’clock, pretty early in the evening for the party to get rowdy, but I guess Blossom’s killer punch was accelerating the process. People were starting to get stupid. A couple of jocks were tossing around cans of soda like they were footballs. Every time one of the boys missed a pass, the can would hit the ground, cracking in small places and spraying fizzy streams of liquid everywhere. They thought it was hilarious. I wondered if designated drivers had been selected or if people were going to have to figure out inventive ways to get home. Mervin wasn’t around for late
-night emergency shuttling.

Dorian eventually wandered away from Jessie and me. He started talking to a few of the girls. Of everyone vying for his attention, Sheila was working the hardest. When she wasn’t trying to sit in his lap or laughing a bit hysterically at his slightest joke, she was racing over to me to ask “What do you know about Jessie’s cousin? Is he dating anyone? Is Dorian going to be staying in Tiburon for a
while?” and things like that.

At first
, I thought there was little harm in it. Dorian definitely wasn’t interested. He tried to talk a few times to Haley, of all people, but he really gave the appearance of a person sitting in a theater trying to endure a bad play. Then Sheila started trying to dance around in front of Dorian in a provocative manner, and I began to get concerned. Her dancing was awkward at best, and I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for her.

“What’s he doing?” Jessie said, squinting over at his cousin with a disapproving look on his face. He turned to me. “This isn’t going well. We should leave soon.”

I took a closer look at Dorian. He was staring intently at Sheila, but there was also a look of disdain in his eyes. An alarm bell went off in my head. Before I had time to give it a second thought, I was in front of him. “What do you think you’re doing?” I said in a low hiss.

“What?” he said, looking up and trying to appear innocent.

“You’re using your influence on Sheila,” I said, not caring to check my tone, even though I was accusing a vampire of misdoings.

Dorian released a cruel chuckle. “I am doing no such thing,” he informed me. “Manipulating the simpleminded holds no challenge for me.” He waved a vague hand in Sheila’s direction. “She’s doing this of her own accord.”

“Look out,” Fred called, thundering through the cluster of girls around Dorian as he attempted to catch a soda can that somebody had lobbed in our direction. The can bounced out of his hands and slammed down on the patio, spraying soda all over me and the vampire.

“You idiot!” Dorian said, jumping to his feet.

Fred looked at the dripping vampire, doing little to conceal his amusement. “Sorry, dude,” he said before turning to lope off.

But even an athlete like Fred wasn’t quick enough to elude the lightning fast reflexes of a vampire. Dorian grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back to stand in front of him. “Sorry
, dude?” he said, his eyes blazing with anger. “That’s what passes for good manners these days? You splash this young lady and myself with soda, and the only thing you think to do is say ‘Sorry, dude.’ Do I understand you correctly?”

I had to admit that Fred was acting weird. He normally wasn’t such a jerk, but I think it probably had a lot to do with Jessie being at the party. “Yeah,” he said. “You understand me, Lord Fauntleroy. It’s just a party foul. What do you expect me to do?”

“I expect you to apologize sincerely and then ask the young lady if you can get her a towel or something to assist her,” Dorian said with a snarl.

“I’m fine,” I insisted. Actually, the soda had soaked me pretty good, but it wasn’t worth having Fred’s throat ripped out. “I brought a change of clothes with me anyway.”

They both ignored me. Dorian wouldn’t release Fred’s arm. He glared intently into Fred’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” Fred said after a few moments. “I was being inconsiderate.” I couldn’t tell if he was under Dorian’s influence or if he just saw something in the vampire’s eyes that let him know he was dealing with a dangerous creature.