chapter Six
What do you want to know?
Even as I spoke the words, I immediately regretted them. I didn't want to speak about myself, but I'd let those beautiful gray eyes get to me. There was no other explanation for why I'd just given her carte blanche with my life. Not like I was going to answer every question she asked, I wasn't that foolish. Then she smiled at me and batted those eyes at me again and I knew I was a goner.
“How old are you?”
Interesting. I would have thought she'd have started with my experience or my resume. Instead she wanted to know my age. Well, that I could manage.
“I'm twenty-one.”
“Do you have any family?”
I felt like I'd just been sucker punched. Had I just said I could manage her questions? Man, what an idiot I was.
“Yes.” I kept my answer short, hoping she would get the message and leave that line of questioning alone. No such luck.
“Where do they live?”
“Europe.”
“Really? You're from Europe then?”
I could see the excited light in her eyes and I felt like a heel for not giving her what she wanted, but I knew I couldn't.
“I'm American.”
She pursed her lips and I had a sudden vision of those lips on mine. I shook myself mentally. Sixteen! I reminded myself sternly. Even if she was of age as a vampire, she was still too young for me.
“You don't want to talk about your family?” she asked gently, like she could understand. Even though our circumstances were very different, I had a feeling she would somehow understand. But I wasn't in a confiding mood.
“I don't.”
“All right then. We won't speak about your family. Instead, tell me about your work. Do you enjoy being a protector? I know it's not an easy life and you're constantly in danger.”
“We're all in danger,” I told her. “You don't have to be a protector to face danger.”
“Yes, but most of us don't consciously and deliberately put ourselves in the path of danger,” she pointed out.
She was more intelligent than I'd given her credit for. I filed this knowledge away somewhere in my mind for future reference. I got the feeling she played up the bimbo part and it would be so easy to underestimate her. I made a mental note not to make that mistake.
We spent the morning talking about different topics and I found her a witty and intelligent conversationalist. She was so different from the surly teenager I'd encountered the first time we met and as we conversed, I began to see why she'd reacted the way she had. Even though she was reserved and normally quiet spoken, she was fiercely independent and I recognized that determination not to rely on anyone in her. It wasn't anything she said per se, it was just that for the first time in my life, I felt like I'd met a kindred spirit.
The thought was disconcerting. I didn't want to get attached to her because I knew that once the mission was over, we would go our separate ways. I'd lost too many people in my life; I wasn't willing to add another to the list.
When there was a slight lull in our conversation, I said an abrupt goodbye and beat a hasty retreat. I could feel her looking at me in confusion and slight hurt, but I needed to get away.
***
Later as I climbed up to her room, I wondered what explanation I was going to give her for the way I hurried off. She had the entire attic floor to herself and when I got there, her door was already open.
“Come inside, Dylan. Hurry!”
I heard the excitement in her voice and it echoed the excitement I felt at the way she called my name. It didn't sound any different from how most people called it, but it had felt different. And I knew I was being paranoid.
I entered the room and discovered she'd dressed in skin tight skinny black leather pants and a black tank top. She had on a biker jacket and was in the process of zipping it up when I came in. she looked up from her task and flashed me a quick smile before focusing on what she was doing.
I used that time to study her and felt my throat close up at the sight of her. She looked every inch the vampire, from the top of her tightly pulled-back ponytail to the tip of her leather-soled boots. This was like vampire uniform and I was similarly attired myself. But even as she stood there, it looked to me like there was something a bit off about her. It was nothing I could put my finger on, but it niggled at the back of my mind. Trying to ignore it, I pointed to the sky roof above her bed, which was wide open.
“Are you ready?”
She nodded expectantly and her eyes sparkled. “Thus far, I can say it's the only thing that's great about being a vampire.”
That struck me as odd and I turned to look at her. “You don't like being a vampire?”
“Who does?” She shrugged carelessly. “It's not like I had much of a choice on whether I wanted to be immortal or not.”
“You want to be mortal?” I sounded incredulous. I couldn't imagine it.
She looked away and worried at her lips before asking quietly, “Don't you think it would be nice to be normal for once?”
I actually thought about it. Normal? What was that? It definitely wasn't a state I'd ever experienced. Even born to a completely vampire family as I'd been, I had felt like a freak, an aberration of nature. I didn't think normal existed and I told her as much. She just shrugged and gestured up to the sky roof.
“Have you removed the shield?”
“Not really, but I've made it so that you can pass through.”
She rolled her eyes, “Why, thank you, kind sir.”
I couldn't help smiling at her slight British accent. It was almost unnoticeable but became stronger when she was upset, and now when she'd been using sarcasm.
She walked to the foot of her bed and like a bullet, shot out of the roof. I shot out after her and saw that she'd already gained some distance. I made sure she was within sight but gave her the space I knew she was craving. Don't ask me how I knew, I just did.
I moved in the air and watched as she cavorted, moving with grace and abandon. It was not flying exactly. Vampires don't fly. But we have the ability to move through the elements to get to where we're going. Besides, since I discovered I could teleport, it wasn't an activity I'd practiced for a long while. But watching Luanne, it was almost like she was dancing in the sky. From where I was, I could feel her joy and excitement, and it was contagious.
I allowed her to swirl and dance around in the night sky until she wound down, then I made to move toward her. All of a sudden, I couldn't explain it, but I felt a burning urgency to get to her. My instincts had saved my life on more than one occasion and I wasn't about to ignore it now. Thank goodness I didn't. A few seconds more and I would have been too late.