Reborn to Bite (Vampire Shadows Book 1) (23 page)

Trent laughed. "You're only just now worrying about Mike?"

Sabine looked up at Trent, wearing the worry on her face. "I've had a rough night, okay? He has all my stuff. What if he hates me now?"

Trent shook his head. "I've known Mike for a long time. Mike doesn't keep his opinions to himself. He's forthright. One of the things that makes him a great leader is that we always know where we stand with him. You saved his wife's life, remember?"

Sabine relaxed a little. "I can't let the others see me like this."

Trent ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. She closed her eyes and relaxed into his touch.

"You know, everyone you keep close is going to find out your secret sooner or later," he said, focusing his fingertip massage on her forehead for a moment before raking a gentle path over her scalp.

Sabine moaned. "God, that feels good," she whispered, listening to his heartbeat.

She hated that the steady rhythm would have excited her if she had been hungry. But his fingers moving through her hair turned her to putty in his hands. She shifted in her seat so she could put her head in his lap, getting a disapproving stare from an uptight looking woman. A man nodded and smiled at Trent.

Sabine flexed her power a little and used glamour to make the rest of the passengers ignore them. She stopped when she felt the power overreach and almost cause several car accidents. The fear that she might hurt all those people shot through her.
Nobody should have this much power. Power corrupts.
She'd felt herself becoming someone she didn't recognize ever since the night she was first turned. Her conscience tormented her, wondering how she could guide herself, and wishing that her parents hadn't been so miserable. Where could she find an anchor for her wayward spirit? Could she depend on anyone to be a mentor? A guide? Would anyone be her "steady rock"? She sighed, and tried to relax. No, she couldn't depend on anyone but herself. But what kind of guide could she be? She must be the weirdest vampire on the planet, to be angsting over all this stuff. She sat up straight in her seat and looked at Trent. "Do you think I'm weird?"

Trent smiled at her. "Definitely."

She frowned and smacked him lightly on the arm, being very careful to make it a gentle hit.

He smiled, taking her wrists to hold her from hitting him. He pulled her upright, and she hid her face in his shoulder.

"You know I mean it in a good way," he whispered, nudging the side of her face with his.

She pulled back and looked him in the eye, and didn't resist when he pulled her sunglasses off so he could see her glowing eyes. She let him press his lips to hers, knowing that it was wrong. She melted into him, letting herself be drawn into his embrace. The bus lurched to a stop and started again, and she hardly noticed. She fell into a trance, totally absorbed in his kiss. She sighed when he pulled back.

"This is our stop," Trent said, lifting Sabine to stand. He led Sabine out of the bus, and they watched as it pulled away.

Sabine had a sudden thought. "What happened to your car? We left it at the park! Wouldn't they have towed it by now?"

Trent laughed. "Charlie called me in Nevada and I told him where to find it. It's probably at home right now."

She sighed in relief.

He smiled, putting his arm around her. "It's nice that you cared enough to think about it."

She didn't want to say what was on the tip of her tongue as they walked. She cared more about
him
than his car. He must know already. Why tell him she cared about him too? On some level, she knew she was just filling the void in her heart with a warm body. He wasn't Mr. Right. He was just Mr. Right Now. But really, he was just the first guy she had been with who hadn't run away screaming or become obsessed. Was she falling for him just because he was her only option?

"So you think I should just tell everyone," Sabine said, swinging her arm with his.

"Control the flow of information. Think about it. If you keep it a secret and they find out from someone else, you lose their trust. If you take the time and prepare them, tell them what they mean to you, and what this means to your relationship with them, you have the best chance of making it work."

"You sound like a relationship guru."

Trent shrugged. "I've just been there before. A couple of times."

"What if I lose Doug?" Sabine asked, and she stared up at him while he pondered what to say.

"He's not a love interest, is he?" Trent's expression was unreadable. His thoughts were behind a wall as well.

Sabine wondered if he was sizing up Doug as competition, but shook her head. "No. When we were kids, we were best friends. We used to talk about everything. There was this one night when I was sixteen. I was about to try to kiss him and he just got up and ran out."

"You made the first move?" Trent asked.

Sabine sighed, and nodded. "And I was devastated. He never told me why. I hid from the world for a while. Then we were picking colleges and he was gone."

"So you never even got to first base."

She shook her head at him. "No, but we had a solid friendship for years. He was the only person I could think to run to when my parents died, but I couldn't find him. I made some new friends, but they were witches and disappeared on me."

Trent nodded. "Regina and Michaela."

"I have to tell you, my life has improved a thousand percent since meeting you."

Trent smiled at her. "You definitely make life interesting."

"You know, there may be someone out there right now, buried like I was. Maybe dead."

"What made you think of that?"

"Just thinking about how I got here. I want to find the grave if there is one, and dig up the victim."

"So are you going to tell everyone what you are tonight?"

Sabine took a deep steadying breath and let it out. "I'll think about it."

Sabine walked into the room where everyone had assembled. She wore black jeans and black leather knee-high boots, a black bare-midriff bustier and dark glasses. She carried her long black leather coat and her two duffel bags, dropping them next to her.

Tiana wore a little princess costume, and sat on Doug's knee on the sofa.

"You're leaving?" Justin asked after swallowing a bite of pizza.

"I am," Sabine said. "Thanks for coming together so I could do this all at once."

The group murmured and exchanged glances and shrugs.

"Nice to meet you Sean and Petra, by the way."

Justin and Taylor's parents, sitting with the teen werewolves, raised their wine glasses to her.

"As you all probably guessed, I'm not your typical girl. Doug, you've known me for the longest, and I really hope this doesn't freak you out too much. And Tiana, I don't want you to be scared, okay?"

Tiana snuggled into Doug, but nodded.

"Okay, so here goes," Sabine said, pausing to take a deep breath. "So the thing is, the day before Halloween a year ago, a vampire attacked me. He drained me and turned me. Then, that Halloween, he made my friends, who turned out to be witches, resurrect me and kill me again."

Everyone seemed too quiet, like they were waiting for the punch line. Except Esmerelda, Mike and Trent. They were smiling.

"Apparently killing you didn't stick," Val said, stepping away from the wall, her hands loose and ready for a fight.

Trent walked over and took Sabine's hand. "Over the last couple of days, I've gotten to know Sabine. I've seen her fight to protect and save people. She's not what you'd expect from a vampire." He turned to look at her. "She's totally the opposite."

"Trent's in love," Justin said, laughing.

Val walked towards the bathroom. "Excuse me while I vomit."

"What's with the glasses?" Charlie asked.

Val stopped to watch Sabine.

Sabine reached up and hesitated. "I have a slight problem with my eyes, and I didn't want you all freaking out."

"What about fangs?" Tiana asked, sitting forward on the sofa.

"And you were out during the day," Doug added.

Sabine shrugged. "I'm not a normal vampire. The resurrection did something that stuck. If I have enough energy, I can go out during the day for a while. As for the fangs, I have them."

Tiana got up, and Doug moved to hold her back. "Please, Daddy? Sabine's not a monster, is she?"

Doug looked for a moment at Sabine, then shook his head. "Just be careful."

Tiana walked up to Sabine, and Sabine knelt to be at the little girl's level.

"Open up," the little girl said.

Sabine chuckled. "Oh, I bet your dad has his hands filled with you."

Doug nodded. "You have no idea."

"I think I do," Sabine said, then opened her mouth. She let her fangs descend and held her mouth open. "Aaaaah."

Tiana reached up and touched a fang, wiggling it. "It's not a fake like at McDees!"

Sabine fought back the sudden, surprising urge you bite down on the little girl's hand. The feel of Tiana's pulse called to the thirst, even though Sabine felt like she couldn't take any more power or she'd burst. She concentrated on holding her mouth steady, fighting the thirst, and not giving in to the urge to bite.

Sabine reached up and took the girl's hand away before closing her mouth gently. "You, little one, should never put your hand in a vampire's mouth. Do you understand why?"

The girl nodded, looking sheepish. "Because they'd bite me."

"Right," Sabine said. "It's kind of like being in the lion cage at the zoo and wiggling a big juicy steak in front of the lion's face."

"Oh," Tiana said, suddenly nervous. "But you didn't bite me."

Sabine rubbed the girl's arm. "I know honey, but the bad part of me - somewhere deep inside - wanted to. You don't have to worry though, I'll never bite you. Even when you grow up and get obnoxious like Val."

Tiana giggled.

Most of the people in the room sat there stunned at what had just happened. A little girl had wiggled a vampire fang and stepped away unharmed.

"So what's with the glasses? Covering up vampire eyes?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, you could say that," Sabine said. She stood and removed the glasses with her eyes closed, then slowly raised her eyelids. By the looks on everyone's faces, she guessed that her eyes were still black and glowing. The chorus of "Wow", "Freaky" and "Amazing" was echoed by almost everyone but Val, who watched with gritted teeth.

Esmerelda's granddaughter Elise was having what looked to be a silent conversation with Esmerelda.

Esmerelda stood. "Sabine has saved my life at least twice. She's our friend, no matter what she is."

Everyone broke out into a frenzy of chatter. All talking at once, their questions and speculations blurred into a fog of words.

Tiana tapped on Sabine's arm.

"What is it, honey?" Sabine asked, kneeling again.

"Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt, sweetie?"

"Being a vampire."

Sabine took a deep breath and let it out. "Sometimes, but most of the time it's just like being yourself in a very weird dream."

"So you'll never get older?"

Sabine shrugged. "I don't know. I've met a few vampires, and they said they were really old, but looked like they were my age. I'm different from them, so I don't know if I'll get old or not."

"Are there any young vampires?" Tiana asked.

"I'm only twenty-five."

"That's old. I mean someone more like my age, or even a teenager."

Sabine laughed. "Okay, kid. Maybe I'll introduce you to Shelby. She's nineteen I think," Sabine said, patting the girl on the head. She stood and saw that Doug had stepped forward.

Doug lifted Tiana and held her on his hip. He stared for a minute into Sabine's eyes before speaking. "Remember when you were sixteen and we were watching that horror movie at your place?"

Sabine blinked back sudden tears. This was it. He was leaving. She'd never see him again. Her only tie to her childhood and "normal" humanity was going to walk through the door. She swallowed back the pain that she'd buried in a corner of her heart for the last nine years and nodded.

Doug sighed, seeing the change in her expression. "I had a vision of you like this. Those eyes, the fangs. I'd been seeing things that came true, and I was afraid. That was one of the scariest visions I've ever had."

"You were afraid of Sabine, Daddy?"

"I was," Doug replied.

Tiana looked worried. "Are you still afraid of her?"

Sabine stared at him, waiting for his response. He was psychic? She thought back to the rooftop when she'd seen him for the first time since becoming a vampire. He had sensed when she was trying to read his mind. He stared at her eyes as he spoke, disrupting her thoughts.

"I should have known you'd somehow turn being a monster into something positive. Using your powers for good and all. If anyone could pull off something like that, it would be you."

Sabine felt numb, not sure what to make of what he was saying. "So, you're not scared of me?"

Doug smiled. "Should I be?"

"Of course not!" Sabine said. Her glowing eyes pleaded with him to believe her.

"Listen, it's way past someone's bedtime here," Doug said, inclining his head towards a still wide-eyed Tiana, "and I should tuck her in for the night."

"But I'm not tired at all, Daddy!"

"Maybe I'll tell you a bedtime story about Sabine when she was your age." Doug said, smiling.

"Oooh!" Tiana said, her eyes sparkling.

Sabine chuckled. "I can only imagine. Good night, Tiana. Dream great things."

"Good night Sabine," Tiana said over Doug's shoulder, hugging her dad as he carried her to the stairs.

"Doug?" Sabine asked, moving to him.

He turned back to her.

"Are we okay? I mean... can I call you? Talk about things, like the old days? I really miss our friendship. More than you know."

Doug took a breath and nodded, not meeting her gaze. "Yeah. I'd like to catch up. As long as there's no biting involved."

Sabine smiled. "I haven't shown you my bottle-cap removal trick."

He laughed. "Okay, with that one exception." Then he marched up the stairs. Tiana smiled over his shoulder and waved her little hand.

Sabine waved back, watching until they disappeared upstairs. Then she picked up her bags and walked to the door as the werewolves' clamoring debate raged on around her.

Trent held the door open, taking one of Sabine's bags. "I'm assuming you'll let me give you a ride?"

"Sure," Sabine said, turning to face the group. "Bye everyone. If you ever need me, you have my number."

Sabine made a call to Gabe on the way to the hotel to check up on him. He wasn't answering, so she called Heather to see how she was doing with the ward on her house and Claudia. All was well.

The clerk at The Fairmont's check-in counter pondered her exotic outfit and dark sunglasses at night. "Do you have a reservation?"

Sabine reached out with her power, just enough to nudge the clerk's mind. "I don't need one. Give me a room near Lorenzo Di Gastini's."

The clerk looked at the reservations for a minute. "The closest I can get you is on the seventh floor in the tower."

She read the clerk's mind, discovering that Lorenzo had rented a balcony suite on the fourth floor. She sighed. "That's fine."

Sabine had more thoughts to tune out as they made the ascent to her floor. The guests of the hotel had a lot on their minds. She started to get a headache, unable to tune out the voices. It felt like being at a poetry slam with seven hundred people on stage at once.

"What's wrong?" Trent asked as they got off the elevator and Sabine leaned against one of the hallway walls.

"I just need a minute," she said, rubbing her temples. It didn't seem to make the throbbing go away.

Trent hooked the straps of the duffel bags over his shoulders and reached over, sweeping Sabine off her feet.

Sabine let out a groan at the change in equilibrium and sagged in his arms. He carried her to the room and shifted her weight, taking the key from her and opening the door. He marched in and placed her on the bed before dropping her bags.

"Okay, I can tell something's not right. Talk to me Sabine," he said, kneeling over her.

Sabine moaned. "I don't know. I can't make the voices stop."

"Has this ever happened before?"

"Not since my apartment. Before the jog."

She pushed off the sunglasses and pinched her eyes shut, trying to think happy thoughts.

"Let me see your eyes," Trent said, holding Sabine's face.

She tentatively opened one eye to look at him, then another. The light in the room blinded her.

"Just like I thought. They're glowing even more now."

Sabine's brows furrowed, and she looked at him. As an automatic reaction, she tried to read his mind.

He blocked her. "Try to read my thoughts."

She concentrated, and felt his mental barrier crumbling.

"Harder. Push harder Sabine."

She let out a little more energy and his mental block fell away.

You need to vent your energy. You have too much,
Trent thought and smiled at her as he knew she heard him.

She smiled as she felt her headache slightly dissipate.

"You need to do more. How about contacting the other vampires? Send them a message to come to this room."

Sabine reached out, finding Claudia right away. She wasn't sure how to make a telepathic connection with her vampires, but Claudia guided her so she could have her energy contain an emotion that would tell them to come. She sensed Lorenzo first, and then Melina, then Shelby and Ernesto. Finally, she found Deirdre and Ethan, in the kitchens downstairs.

She let her emotion into the energy. She relaxed a little and looked up to Trent. "I feel better! How did you think of that?"

"It was what Esmerelda said about you not venting energy," Trent said, standing.

Sabine felt the half-dozen vampire auras approaching. Trent opened the door and the vampires filed in, Shelby and Melina thanking Trent for holding the door.

Sabine stood and faced her new Family, and couldn't help but notice the look of fear in their eyes as they stared at her. She could sense it in their auras too. She waved at them timidly. "Hi guys, thanks for coming."

"You have the eyes of an Ancient," Lorenzo said, holding Melina close.

"How do I make it stop?" Sabine asked.

"What happened between the time we saw you last and now?" Melina asked.

"We had a run-in with some werewolves," Sabine said, adding "I kind of maybe overfed on them."