Call of the Vampire (18 page)

“I was running through the woods, screaming for the cops.”

“What?” Blossom made a confused face. “Why?”

“Some kid told me he saw some guy grab you. Then someone said the cops were busting the Tib.”

“Wait,” Blossom interrupted. “The cops busted the Tib?”

“It turned out to be a false report, but everyone scattered, and I couldn’t get anyone to help, and then I was running through the woods like a nut job shouting for the cops. All because you didn’t want to interrupt me talking to some guy. Does that make any sense to you?”

“Well, not after all that happened,” Blossom admitted. “Thanks for trying to save me, anyway. Even if I didn’t need it. Sorry if you were freaked.”

“Yeah... well... you know, we’re best friends.” My anger was fizzling out.

“Where’s your car?” Blossom asked, scanning the street in front of the house.

“Oh.” I turned and looked behind me. “It’s around the corner.” I waved in a vague direction.

“Why’d you park it there?”

“Uh...” I really didn’t have a good answer. “I don’t know. I just did.” Before she could question me further, I added, “I’d better get going before my mom has a freak-out of her own.” I hurried back down the steps. “Goodnight.”

I was acting weird. Blossom would have picked up on that. But she probably would just credit it to me being mad at her or something else involving her. She could be surprisingly self-absorbed, but for once, it was to my benefit.

“How’d that go?” Jessie asked, stepping out of the shadows as I headed down the drive.

“She was completely oblivious to any danger whatsoever,” I said, walking quickly to get out of eyesight of her house.

“That’s good.” He fell into step next to me.

“Yeah, she left the party without telling me. I’m both furious and relieved.”

“That seems reasonable.”

I kept walking, my pace brisk, my fist clenched. It had been a stressful night, and I needed to release some of my anxiety and anger with a little physical exercise. Jesse stayed by my side, not saying anything, just letting me have a moment.

After about six blocks, he asked, “Would you like to keep walking, or should I take you back to your car?”

This made me stop as I considered what he was asking. “Would we fly there?” I asked hesitantly.

“Of course.” He grinned, his eyes twinkling. “It’s really the only way to travel.”

The idea of him sweeping me in his arms and whisking me over the rooftops was enough to wash away all the fear and fury I was feeling. “Okay,” I agreed, feeling suddenly shy.

Jessie’s smile grew even broader. “Good.” He stepped closer. “Now put your arms around me.”

I knew I was blushing deeply, but I inched forward a little and lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck. It was so like an embrace that I think I may have inadvertently tipped my head back a little and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, the earth was falling away from beneath my feet, and the wind was whistling through my hair. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

At first, I kept my eyes closed and my face pressed into Jessie’s chest. After a few moments, his strong arms wrapped around me gave me courage, and I was able to peek out. The sky had cleared, and a smattering of stars decorated the night. The houses and buildings were the size of cars, and the cars were like matchboxes. “We’re up so high,” I gasped.

“I don’t want anyone to see us,” was his reply. “And besides,” he said, his voice all husky, “I like it when you cling to me.”

“I swear I’d still cling to you if we were only ten feet off the ground,” I informed him, earning a throaty chuckle for my efforts.

Jessie set me gently down next to my car. I hated to let go of him, but after several seconds, I couldn’t make the excuse that I was unsteady on my feet anymore, and I reluctantly unwound my arms from his neck. “You had something you wanted to tell me about Colette?” he said.

I nodded. “I do, but I also really have to get home. I don’t want my mom to worry.”

“And it’s a conversation that will take longer than a couple of minutes?”

“I think so,” I told him. “And I probably should show you something I have in my room.” If I had my journal in front of me it would help as I tried to untangle the meaning behind my dreams for Jessie.

“Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow night?” Jessie suggested.

I hated to say goodnight, but he was probably right. “Okay,” I agreed.

“You’re safe to drive?”

I thought about it. I was still pretty shaken up from everything. “Do vampires drive?” I asked, hesitantly.

“Some do,” Jessie said with a solemn frown. Then he broke into a grin. “And I happen to be one of them. I love to drive.”

I handed him my keys, delighted that the end of our evening had a brief stay of execution. “Do you know how to get there if you’re not flying?” I asked in a teasing voice.

He turned his head to the side to scrutinize me out of the corner of his eye. “I think I can figure it out.”

Jessie actually walked around to the passenger’s side to open the car door for me. That was a first. I’ve been on dates where I’m lucky if I’m in the car completely before the guy starts driving.

“This car is practically as old as me,” Jessie said as he started the VW up.

“It’s not that old,” I exclaimed, elbowing him in the ribs.

“Just barely,” he replied.

We drove along in companionable silence for a few minutes, both of us grinning. I finally broke it with, “How did you know where I was? With Viktor, I mean. How did you find me?”

“Viggo,” he said simply. A car passing us in the opposite direction flashed their lights. “What do you think that’s all about?” he wondered aloud.

“Most people need their lights on to see when it’s dark,” I said, reaching over and flipping on the Bug’s headlights. “I assume that’s not the case with vampires.” When he didn’t give me a response, I returned to, “So, you were saying about Viggo?”

“I told him to still stick close to you. Even after you called the cops on him.” He glanced over at me, giving me a stern look.

I shrugged it off. “If you’re going to assign someone to be a bodyguard, you should at least inform the person he is supposed to be guarding.”

“Anyway,” Jessie said, choosing to ignore my comment, “he caught a glimpse of Viktor slipping through the woods tonight and figured things were about to get ugly.”

“Aah.” The conversation where the boy told me that a SWAT team was about to descend on the Tib suddenly made sense. Viggo could have easily masqueraded as an entire SWAT team and then some.

About a block from my house, I said, “You’d better pull over here.”

Rather than question me or ignore my decision, like a lot of guys would, Jessie pulled quickly over to the curb. Leaving the engine running, he turned to look at me. “What’s up?”

“If my mom looks out the window when I pull in, I don’t want to have to explain who the guy was driving my car.”

Jessie’s lips twitched slightly to the side. I couldn’t tell if he was suppressing a grin or irritation. “I guess this is goodnight then.”

I wanted desperately for us to kiss goodnight, but I wasn’t sure if Jessie felt the same way. Our first kiss had been both wonderful and heart wrenching. Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to try again. “Goodnight,” I whispered, leaning just a fraction of an inch toward him.

Jessie was staring deep into my eyes. It was obvious he knew what I wanted. “Aurora, I...” he stuttered.

“What?”

He cleared his throat. “I haven’t eaten in a really long time.” With that, he was out of the car. “See you tomorrow night,” he whispered before taking wing.

It was disappointing, but understandable. I was all for kissing, but kissing might have led to snacking. Not a good idea. I was a little afraid to get out of the car once my vampire protector was gone. The street was so dark and quiet. Instead, I awkwardly climbed over the stick shift and then drive the rest of the way home.

“Where the hell have you been?” Mom practically shouted as I walked in the door from the garage. “I was about to call the police.”

I immediately walked over and put my arms around her. “I’m sorry,” I said, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “I lost my phone, so Blossom and I were retracing our steps trying to find it.” I knew she was about to demand that I should have called using Blossom’s phone, so I cut her off with, “I would have called you on Blossom’s phone, but she forgot it in the charger.”

“You could have used a payphone,” Mom insisted. “You do know they exist, right?”

“Yeah, but none of them actually work. Or the receiver's missing. Or they’re so disgusting you would never want to put it next to your face.” I could tell her relief in my being safe was overcoming her anger. “I’m really sorry, Mom. I’ll call to cancel my service right now, and I’ll pay for a new phone out of my wages. Okay?”

Mom gave me a stern look, but I knew I had covered all the bases pretty well. “Don’t be so careless next time.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

She was so worried and mad and relieved that she hadn’t looked at me too closely. Between fighting off the vampire, crying hysterically in Jessie’s arms, and flying through the air, I knew I was a mess. While it’s never a good thing to get clobbered, I was lucky that Viktor had hit me on the side of my head and not on the face because a black eye would have been really hard to conceal. “I’m bushed,” I told her, giving her a kiss on the temple. “See you in the morning.” With that, I frisked quickly upstairs.

“Goodnight, sweetie.”

I couldn’t believe it. I was in the clear.

I had a bit of panic as I was getting undressed to take a shower. My Pools of Light was missing. I knew it was a small loss compared to what I could have lost during my night of terror, but I still felt it quite painfully. It was only after my shower, when I was gathering my clothes off the floor, that I realized it was tangled up in my bra. I snatched up the pendant and covered it with kisses, I felt so relieved.

Once in bed, I couldn’t sleep. Again. My head throbbed, and my brain was going a mile a minute. I took some aspirin and, once my mom was in her room, snuck back downstairs for an ice pack. That helped quite a bit and eventually I was able to drift off.

I had the dream again, the terrifying one in the woods where I was running for my life. That was no surprise, given the events of the evening. I was in the woods, running and crying. The creature was after me. I knew that if it found me, it would rip me to shreds. My lungs were burning with each breath. Between the dark and my tears I was practically blind. The heel of my shoe got caught on something, and I pitched forward, sprawling on the ground. I quickly crawled behind a fallen log, losing my shoe in the process. The creature was somewhere nearby. I could hear it sniffing the air. I tried not to move; I tried not to breath; I just tried to stay perfectly still.

Minutes dragged by, and nothing happened. Maybe the creature had left. Maybe it had picked up the scent of some other animal in the dark. Slow, carefully, I inched up to peer over the log.

The woods were very quiet. There weren’t the chirps and rustles one usually heard on an early fall stroll. The moon was full, and the clouds that had been darkening the sky drifted away. My tears dried, and I was able to see more clearly. With all the trees and undergrowth, at first I saw nothing. Still, I didn’t move. The beast had to be somewhere. I realized there was a large stick quite close at hand, and I tried to gently pick it up for a weapon. I was quiet, very quiet, but it wasn’t enough. Something out there in the dark had heard me and turned in my direction.

With a gasp, I realized it was not the beast, but Jessie. I recognized his broad shoulders and commanding stature. He had come looking for me. He didn’t know there was a predator on the loose. I had to warn him.

“Jessie!” I shrieked, springing to my feet, ignoring the pain in my ankle. I ran to him, off kilter, with my one shoe still caught in the tree root. “We have to run. There’s something out here. Some type of beast.”

He came toward me, striding quickly, his arms open wide. I flung myself at him, so relieved and still so terrified. And then he was holding me. Holding me so tightly. “It’s okay now,” he said, gazing down at me, his handsome eyes shining in the moonlight.

“I love you,” I whispered. “I love you so much.”

“I know.” He smiled, a set of long fangs appearing silver in the moonlight.

I woke up when I started screaming. Just when Jessie’s fangs were about to plunge into my flesh.

The next morning, I told my mom I didn’t feel well and even called in sick to Cup of Joe’s. My boss got very annoyed when people cancelled at the last minute, but I had been a model employee for at least a year, so he was easier on me than he would have been on a slacker.

I stayed in bed for most of the day, only getting up for the bathroom and snacks. My skull was bruised and tender, but I didn’t show any discoloration at my hairline, so that was good. I wrote my dream down in my journal, then regretted it and considered tearing out the pages.

Did Jessie Vanderlind kill my Aunt Lettie?

Jessie was so kind and so brave, fighting Viktor to save me, that it was impossible for me to believe he’d killed someone. Especially someone he still loved so dearly eighty years after what was most likely her death.

A horrible little corner of my brain suggested that maybe that was why he still loved her. Regret.

It just couldn’t be true. My heart kept insisting that it wasn’t true. But my dream was still pretty vivid in my head. I could almost feel his fangs piercing my flesh. The whole thing had been terrifying, but for some reason I still didn’t fear him. He was a vampire, but I trusted him with my life.

I obviously needed my head examined.

By the time nine o’clock that evening rolled around, I really didn’t know what to think. I was jumpy and afraid while simultaneously desperate to see Jessie. I’d fixed my hair a new way to cover the purple that had started seeping into my hairline, bruising from Viktor’s blow. It was only parting it on the right instead of the left and letting my forelock cover a portion of my forehead, but I wondered if Jessie would notice. My mom told me that boys who really like you will notice the little details about you. They’ll say something when you’ve changed your hair even slightly. Boys who don’t like you, or are just horny and hoping to score, don’t notice you. Not the real you. Not the subtle you. They’ll notice when you’re wearing a tight top, but they won’t notice that you changed your toenail polish from pink to silver. There’s that expression,
The devil is in the details
, but it’s also true of love.