Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions (34 page)

I was afraid I wasn’t ready, and the fear was a steady, hot spike that made my throat dry and, horribly, made my fangs ache where they lay flat. I didn’t know if I was ready to see her. I didn’t know if Oliver would care to stop me, if I went off on her.

But when Eve stepped through the door, the fear slipped away, leaving relief in its wake. She was okay, and back to her fully Goth self, and what I felt wasn’t hunger, other than the hunger anybody felt in the presence of someone they loved.

The shine in her eyes and her brilliant smile were the only things that mattered.

I had just enough time to put the guitar aside and catch her as she rushed at me, and then she kissed me, sweet and hot, and I sank into that, and her, and the reminder that there was something else for me other than hunting and hunger and lonely, angry music in the night.

“Don’t you do that again,” she whispered, her black-painted lips close to my ear. “Please, don’t. You scared the hell out of all of us. I didn’t know what to do.”

I relaxed into her embrace, and breathed in the rich perfume of her hair, her skin, the subtle tingle of blood beneath. I didn’t like to think about that last part, but maybe Oliver was right. Maybe I needed to stop denying it, or I’d end up in an even worse place, in the end.

“I didn’t know what to do, either,” I whispered back. “I’m sorry. I could have—”

“Stop.” She pulled back, staring at me fiercely. “Just stop it. You could have hurt me, but you didn’t. You didn’t hurt anybody, except that stupid machine. So relax. That’s not you, Mike. That’s some B-movie monster.”

But I was the B-movie monster too. That was what Oliver meant, in the end; I was exactly that, and I had to remember it. It was the only way any of this would work.

I forced a smile. “I thought you liked B-movie monsters,” I said. My girlfriend punched me in the arm.

“Like, not love,” she said. “You, I love.”

I held out my hands, and she twined her fingers with mine. Warm and cool, together. “I don’t know how to do this,” I said.

She laughed a little. “Dating? Because news flash, big guy: we’ve been doing it awhile.”

“Being this. Being me. I don’t know who I am anymore.”

She stepped closer, looking up into my eyes. “I know who you are. More importantly, I know
what
you are,” she said. “And I still love you.”

Maybe she didn’t know. Maybe she’d never looked into the heart of the red and black tormented
thing
that lurked deep inside me. But looking at her now, at her utter sincerity and fearlessness, I couldn’t help but think that maybe she did, after all. Know me,
and
love me.

Maybe, in time, she’d be able to help me understand and love my monster too. Because, in the end, it was always Eve. And always had been.

And I bent close, put my forehead against hers, and whispered, “You make me real.”

From the doorway, Oliver cleared his throat, somehow managing to make it sound as if he wanted to gag at the same time. “You’re free to go,” he said. “Congratulations. You’ve passed.”

“Passed what?” Eve asked, frowning.

“They wanted to see if I’d hurt you,” I said. I focused past her, on Oliver. “You were my test. And I won’t hurt her, not ever. You can count on that.”

He raised his eyebrows, without any comment at all, and left.

The vending machine suffered another accident the next day. And then the next. It wasn’t just me. My best friend, Shane, took to the idea of vandalism with frightening enthusiasm. So did Claire (surprisingly), and Eve . . . but it wasn’t just the four of us sabotaging the damn thing, because at least twice when I went to enact some mayhem, I found it was already nonfunctional.

The last time, I saw someone walking away from the machine, which had a snapped electrical cord. He was wearing a big, flaring coat, but I knew him anyway.

Oliver paused at the door, looked back at me, and nodded, just a little.

And that was the last time they fixed the machine. The next day, it was gone. I felt a little tingle of phantom hunger, of disappointment . . . and relief.

Because some things just aren’t meant to come out of a can.

About the Authors

CLAUDIA GRAY
(“Giovanni’s Farewell”)
is the pseudonym of Chicago-based novelist Amy Vincent, author of the
New York Times
bestselling Evernight series and the upcoming novel
Fateful
. Gray has worked as a lawyer, a disc jockey, a telemarketer, a journalist, and a waitress, and very much hopes this book-writing thing works out so she doesn’t have to go back to any of those jobs. Ever. You can visit her online at www.claudiagray.com.

CARRIE RYAN
(“Scenic Route”)
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of several critically acclaimed novels and short stories set in the same world as “Scenic Route,” including
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
,
The Dead-Tossed Waves
, and
The Dark and Hollow Places
. Her first novel was chosen as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and a Best of the Best Book by the Chicago Public Library. A former litigator, Carrie now writes full-time and lives with her writer-lawyer husband, two fat cats, and one large Rott-Lab in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are not at all prepared for the zombie apocalypse. You can visit Carrie online at www.carrieryan.com.

KAMI GARCIA
(“Red Run”)
is the
New York Times
and internationally bestselling coauthor (with Margaret Stohl) of
Beautiful Creatures
and
Beautiful Darkness
, Books One and Two in the Caster Chronicles. Kami draws heavily on her Southern roots for her Southern Gothic paranormal novels. She is very superstitious and lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, two children, and her dog, Spike (named after her favorite character in
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
). You can visit her online at www.kamigarcia.com.

JACKSON PEARCE (
“Things About Love”
) is the author of
Sisters Red
,
Sweetly
, and
As You Wish
; the story she penned for this anthology is set in the
As You Wish
universe. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with a lot of secondhand furniture and pets who like to sleep on her keyboard when she’s trying to write. You can visit her online at www.jacksonpearce.com.

RACHEL VINCENT (
“Niederwald”
) is the author of the Soul Screamers series, where the characters from “Niederwald” originate, as well as several other stories in that world. She is also the author of the
New York Times
bestselling adult series Shifters. Rachel lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, two black cats, and a large cast of fictional characters, including
bean sidhes
, reapers, and cat shape-shifters. You can visit her online at www.rachelvincent.com.

MELISSA MARR
(“Merely Mortal”)
is the author of the
New York Times
and internationally bestselling Wicked Lovely series (a film of which is in development by Universal Pictures). She has also written a three-volume manga series (Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales), a number of short stories, and her adult novel,
Graveminder
. All of her texts are rooted in her lifelong obsession with folklore and fantastic creatures. Currently she lives in the Washington, DC, area with one spouse, two children, two Rott-Labs, and two Rottweilers. You can visit her online at www.melissa-marr.com.

KELLEY ARMSTRONG
(“Facing Facts”)
has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the #1
New York Times
bestselling Darkest Powers young-adult trilogy as well as the Otherworld and Nadia Stafford adult series. Armstrong lives in Ontario, Canada, with her family. You can visit her online at www.kelleyarmstrong.com.

SARAH REES BRENNAN (
“Let’s Get This Undead Show on the Road”
) is the author of the Demon’s Lexicon trilogy, a series about demons, magicians, urban England, and two very troubled brothers. The first book was named a Top Ten Best Book by the American Library Association, was among the top ten for Best British Children’s Fantasy, was long-listed for the Carnegie Medal, and received three starred reviews. She was into literary fiction until at the age of thirteen she stumbled across the combination of magic, teenagers, and city life that was Margaret Mahy and Diana Wynne Jones in her library, and she’s been writing books like that ever since. She lives in Dublin, Ireland, which she uses as a base for many strange adventures, and she can always be found online at www.sarahreesbrennan.com.

Award-winning author JERI SMITH-READY
(“Bridge”)
lives in Maryland with her husband, two cats, and the world’s goofiest greyhound. Her novels include the Shade ghost series for teens, where Logan’s story begins and continues. She has also written several novels for adults, including
Wicked Game
and
Eyes of Crow
. When not writing, Jeri can usually be found—well, thinking about writing, or on Twitter. Like her characters, she loves music, movies, and staying up very, very late. You can visit her online at www.jerismithready.com.

KIMBERLY DERTING
(“Skin Contact”)
lives in the Pacific Northwest, where the gloomy weather is ideal for writing anything dark or creepy, leading to her debut novel,
The Body Finder
, and its follow-up,
Desires of the Dead
. She lives with her husband and their three beautiful (and often mouthy) children, who serve as an endless source of inspiration. In “Skin Contact,” you can find out more about Rafe, a character first introduced in
Desires of the Dead
. For more about Kimberly, you can visit her online at www.kimberlyderting.com.

ALLY CONDIE (
“Leaving”
) is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling
Matched
, a dystopian novel that is the first in a trilogy. She is a former high school English teacher who began writing because she missed being in the classroom and hearing her students’ stories. In addition to writing she loves reading, running, and listening to her husband play guitar. She lives in Utah with her family and blogs at www.allysoncondie.com.

JESSICA VERDAY,
New York Times
bestselling author
(“At the Late Night, Double Feature, Picture Show”)
, wrote the first draft of
The Hollow
by hand, using thirteen spiral-bound notebooks and fifteen black pens. The first draft of
The Haunted
took fifteen spiral-bound notebooks and twenty black pens.
The Hidden
took too many notebooks and too many pens to count. When not searching for cannibal Girl Scouts, she spends her days and nights buying stock in pens and paper. The dedication for “At the Late Night, Double Feature, Picture Show” is:
For Lee, because you took me to my first Rocky Horror live show. For Tim Curry, because quite frankly, you are the shit. And to David: Sorry about the leg!
You can visit her online at www.jessicaverday.com.

MARGARET STOHL (
“IV League”
) is the
New York Times
and internationally bestselling coauthor (with Kami Garcia) of
Beautiful Creatures
and
Beautiful Darkness
, the first two books in the Caster Chronicles.
Beautiful Creatures
, named Amazon’s Top Teen Title of 2009, is currently in development by Warner Bros. Studios. Studying American literature while living on Emily Dickinson’s street in Amherst and earning an MA at Stanford, Margaret came to her love of the South much as she comes to her love of everything—through books. Margaret spends most of her free time traveling to faraway places with her husband and three daughters, who are internationally ranked fencers. You can visit her online at www.margaretstohl.com.

MARY E. PEARSON
(“Gargouille”)
is the author of several award-winning books, including
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
, which is being made into a movie by Twentieth Century Fox. She is a native Californian and writes from her home in Carlsbad, where she lives with her family and two very spoiled golden retrievers. Her book awards and honors include the Golden Kite Award, the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults, the New York Public Library’s Best Books, the International Reading Association’s Choice Books, and the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award. Her other novels include
A Room on Lorelei Street
,
The Miles Between
, and her newest book,
The Fox Inheritance
. For more information on Mary and her books, visit www.marypearson.com.

JENNIFER LYNN BARNES
(“The Third Kind”)
is the author of eight books for teens, including
Raised by Wolves
, the Squad series, and
Tattoo
. She wrote her first YA novel when she was still a teenager herself, and since then, her books have been published in a dozen countries worldwide. Jen grew up in Oklahoma, lives in Connecticut, and generally tries to avoid road trips because she has no sense of direction whatsoever. You can visit her online at www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com.

RACHEL CAINE
(“Automatic”)
is the internationally bestselling author of the Morganville Vampires series as well as the Weather Warden and Outcast Season adult urban fantasy series; “Automatic” is based on the Morganville Vampires series and features Michael Glass and his Goth girlfriend, Eve. In 2011, Rachel premieres a brand-new adult urban fantasy series, the Revivalists, with the release of
Working Stiff
, the story of a young funeral director who discovers her new bosses have an illicit business in reviving the dead . . . for profit. Rachel lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband, award-winning fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, and their ginormous iguanas, Darwin and Popeye. You can visit her online at www.rachelcaine.com.

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