Shiver (Night Roamers) (24 page)

He sucked on his lower lip for a while and then his eyes lit up. “You know what? Let’s check the cellar. I mean, shit, they must have one of those? Don’t vampires like dark, dank places?”

I shrugged. “
Honestly, I don’t know. These vampires are different than the others.”

He
raised his eyebrows. “Others? You mean they’re different than what…the fictional ones?”

I smiled sheepishly.
“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

He snickered and began walking away. I quickly followed.

We went back down the steps and next to the kitchen, we eventually found another set leading to the cellar. As we began to descend the rickety staircase, I heard an unearthly growl from somewhere down below.

“Did you hear that
?” I squeaked, pausing on the steps.

He nodded. “Sounds like some kind of animal.”

“I don’t think we should go down there,” I whispered, my eyes straining to see down into the darkness.

He sighed.
“I don’t either, but we have no choice. I mean, what if mom’s down here?”

I bit the side of my lip and nodded
. “Okay. Yeah, fine. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Every step creaked against our weight, making it all much more ominous.

“We should have brought a flashlight,” I told him, trying not to fall.

“We weren’t exactly planning this to begin with,” replied Nathan.

There was another growl, followed by a pained moan.

“Oh, crap, Nathan!” I whispered loudly. “This is nuts. We’re going to get ourselves killed!”

He raised his hand. “Shush.”

The cellar was large and filled with old
boxes and jars of things I didn’t even want to know about.

“Look,” he pointed
when he reached the bottom first.

On
the other side of the basement or cellar, whatever the hell it was, we saw a single door with a light shining underneath. As we stared at it, another moan escaped from the other side, one that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

“Stay behind me,” whispered Nathan.

We stepped quietly towards the closed door until we were just outside. When Nathan put his hand on the knob, I had another panic attack.

“No,” I whispered, on the verge of hysteria. “We should think about this. We don’t know who or what is in there.”

“We don’t have any other choice,” he whispered. “Every second that ticks brings mom closer to an eternity spent as a blood hunter. Look, if you’re too chicken, I’ll just go in myself.”

“
I’m not chicken,” I snapped, secretly praying that the door was locked.

“Right,” he whispered, turning the knob. When he started pulling the door open, my chest tightened up, making it hard to breathe.

Crap.

I did not want to know what was on the other side of that door, but
of course it was already too late. Nathan swung it open and both of us froze in horror at what was waiting on the other side.

“What is it?” I squeaked, unable to stop gawking at the hideous creature sitting with its back against the wall. Thankfully, it was caged in some kind of makeshift prison and there were thick metal bars separating us.

“Jesus,
” shuddered Nathan. “I have no fucking clue.”

It was very thin and
wore a pair of dark jeans that seemed to hang from its bony hips. I stared at its gaunt face, which looked shrunken and withered past the point of being alive. When it opened its eyes, I felt as if the air was sucked right out of me.

“Oh, God!” I chok
ed, recognizing the crystal blue eyes. “Ethan?”

His lips curled up into a grim
smile and then his head fell forward as if he’d expended the last of his energy.

I rushed to the cell and tried
desperately to open it. When that didn’t work, I began to shake it in frustration.

“What the hell are you doing?” barked Nathan, trying to pull me away.

“It’s Ethan!” I cried. “We have to help him!”

Nathan turned towards Ethan and scowled. “
If it really is that asshole, why should we help him after everything that’s happened?”

I didn’t care
what he’d done at that point. My heart cried out and I wanted nothing more than to save him. “He needs us! Please, we have to help him.”

Nathan raised his hands
in exasperation and moved away from me. “I’m not helping him. In fact, I think he’s well beyond help. I mean, look at him!”

I turned t
o look at Ethan and it broke my heart. It looked as if someone had sucked the life right out of him, either a vampire or something far worse. Then it hit me…

“Faye,” I whispered.

Ethan opened his eyes, again and blinked quickly, as if trying to answer my question.

I reached an arm through the bars. “Ethan,” I cried. “
Come here, let me help you!”

Ethan shook his head and closed his eyes.

“Are you fucking crazy!” hollered Nathan, pulling me back away from the cell again. “What in the hell are you thinking?”

“He needs me,” I sobbed. “He’ll die if we don’t do something.”

“So let him,” snapped Nathan. “You can’t save him, and from what I can see, he needs more than just a little blood to bring his skinny ass back. It would probably kill you to even try.”

“He’
s right,” murmured a smooth voice behind us.

We both turned to see Drake standing in the doorway, staring at us
with his now-familiar cocky, disarming smile.

“Stay the fuck away from us
, vampire,” snapped Nathan, raising his knife.

Drak
e sighed in and then walked around Nathan towards the prison cell. “You have nothing to fear from me, mate. I’m here to help Ethan.”

“Yeah, right,” said Nathan.
“It’s kind of a coincidence that you showed up here the same time as us.”

“I just finished having breakfast,” he replied with a dark smile. “Which is lucky for Ethan
, as well as you.”

“Can you
save him?” I asked, wiping the tears from my face.

Drake tore off the lock
without breaking a sweat. “I’m going to bloody well try. This bloke and I have been friends for far too long to just let him dry up into a pile of dust.”

Ethan open
ed his eyes and I saw a flicker of amusement in them.

Drake crouched down next to Ethan and laughed
. “Looking pretty rough, mate; not a good look for a randy vampire such as yourself I must say. Remind me to never get on Faye’s bad side. Now, smile and show me some teeth.”

Ethan opened his mouth and Drake offered him
his wrist.

“
You’re just lucky I’m such a good friend. Now, remember to go slow or I’ll have to kick your bloomin’ ass,” he said as Ethan closed his eyes and began to feed.

Nathan and I watched in st
unned silence as Ethan slowly began to change. First his cheeks began to fill out, then his legs and arms; finally his chest and muscles began to take on the shape I’d remembered. When it was over, he lay breathless and pale, as did Drake.

“Have to
refuel,” groaned Drake, as he struggled to get up. He actually looked like he was ready to pass out himself. “Anyone care to volunteer?”

“I don’t think so, pal,” snapped my brother. “I didn’t sign up to be on anyone’s menu now or in the future.”

“Such a delightful character,” breathed Drake.

“
Drake, are you going to be okay?” I asked him.

He
staggered over to me and then steadied himself using the wall. “You know,” he murmured, staring down at me. “If Ethan wasn’t so smitten by you,” he teased, “I’d take you away from all of this and make you forget about that bloke.”

I cou
ld tell by the look in his eyes he wasn’t lying, either. My cheeks turned pink.

“I hope we meet again, under better circumstances,” he said, grabbing my hand.
His was so cool, it gave me goose bumps.

“I agree
,” I said as he kissed my knuckles.

“You saved my life, friend, but
that means we’re even and I no longer owe you,” said Ethan, coming up behind me. He slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me back against his body.

“He’s not very good at saying
‘thank you’,” chuckled Drake with a gleam in his eyes. “Is he?”

I
opened my mouth but couldn’t respond because I was so flustered, especially now that Ethan seemed to be claiming me once again.

Ethan
reached out a hand and gave him a slight shove. “Thanks. Now go and feed before you make yourself more dangerous around Nikki than you already are.”

“You know me
all too well,” said Drake. “Take care of this little lady and stay away from the shape-shifter. Didn’t I warn you about her before?”

“Yes,
I should have listened.”

Drake turned to my brother and chuckle
d. “Nice seeing you again, Nate. I hope you get over your attitude. Not all of us are the monsters you may think we are.”

My brother glared at him. “It’s Nathan.”

“Nathan,” he said and turned back to me. “Nikki, you’ve got your hands full with these two blokes,” said Drake. “You sure you don’t want to come with me? I’ll be heading back to New York soon. You’d be like… a breath of fresh air.”

Before I could respond, Ethan cut in. “Goodbye
, Drake,” he said.

Drake laughed and turned to leave.
“Try to stay out of trouble, all of you.”

“Easier said than done,” mumbled Ethan.

I stepped out of Ethan’s grasp as soon as Drake left and turned on him, my confusion now replaced with anger. “What in the hell is up with you?”

He stared at me in confusion
. “What?”

Nathan, sensing I was about to explode, backed
away towards the door. “I’ll meet you upstairs, Nikk, and you… Fangs,” he said to Ethan. “You hurt my sister, in any way, I’ll skin you alive.”

Ethan shook his head in exasperation
.

“
I’ll be right up, Nathan,” I said.

“
Now, tell me what’s wrong?” asked Ethan once we were alone.

I scowled.
“What’s wrong? Do you even have to ask?”

He sighed
and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’ve had a rough night and don’t have time for games. What exactly are you referring to this time?”

I tapped my foot on the ground
, angrily. “Yeah, I know you had a rough night, lover boy. Before you were turned into a…a… mummy, you were worked over by a couple of girls. You don’t recall that?”

His eyebrows shot up.
“What?”

I
folded my arms under my chest and leaned forward. “Oh, you don’t remember that part of your adventure?”