Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions (Wicked Lovely 5.50)

The fourth member of the band, Pez the drummer, came outside and beamed beatifically upon all of them. He looked as if he was not entirely certain who any of them were.

Christie clapped her hands together in a way Christian thought was meant to display enthusiasm. It actually reminded him of a teacher calling her class to order. “Boys! Are you excited to be on your first tour?”

“Oh, we’re on tour,” Pez said, regarding the tour bus with an enlightened air. “I was wondering why our new house had wheels.”

Bradley, Christian, Josh, and Faye all shared a moment of embarrassed silence.

“I’m really excited to be on tour!” Bradley announced finally, saving the day and flashing his trademark boyish grin.

Christian had to briefly stop watching the screen in order to roll his eyes.

“As you can see,” Bradley said, dimming the smile expertly from dazzling to bashful, “I’ve been working out.”

Christie frowned. “Do you always work out covered in glitter?”

“Actually,” Christian said, “it pains me to admit this. But he really does.”

Christie’s nose almost twitched as it turned toward him, like a hound on a scent.

“Chris,” she said.

“Christian,” said Christian.

“Chris, darling,” Christie said firmly. “How do you feel about this?”

Christian blinked. “Well, he does get a lot of glitter in the carpets, but in the end I guess it’s his business.”

On the screen, Faye’s face was perfectly serene. In the darkness of the tour bus as they watched the interview, Faye’s snort rang out like a gunshot. Christian flinched.

“I meant about the tour,” the interviewer said patiently.

“Oh, well,” said Christian. “I am obviously excited to meet the fans and thrilled about this opportunity—”

“Where do they put your coffin?” Christie inquired brightly. “Do they store it in the luggage hold?”

Bradley’s shining blond head turned. “In the luggage hold?” he demanded. “Like an animal? No way.”

He leaned over and hooked an arm around Christian’s neck. Christian leaned away.

“Chris is one of the band,” Bradley announced. “His coffin rides in the tour bus with us. Anyway, you know, he’s cooped up in the coffin all day long, he needs to be amused. I play knock-knock jokes on the coffin lid for him. We have a blast together.”

Now that Bradley had moved to snag Christian, Josh’s face was clear, thin and pale behind his wire glasses. It expressed exactly how thrilled he wasn’t about having a coffin in the tour bus with him.

Just as clear was Christian’s murmur of “Put me in the luggage hold. I beg you.”

“One of the stops is in Birmingham, near the area where you grew up,” Christie continued. “The word is that you haven’t been back there for almost two years, since your mother threw you out of your home.”

Christian’s mouth tightened. “My mother didn’t throw me

out.”

Christian’s mother had not thrown him out. But they had all been uneasy around him after the change, and his fifteen-year-old brother Rory had stopped hero-worshipping him and become afraid of him instead. He’d had nightmares every night Christian stayed in the house, and Mum had said, well, you’re eighteen, after all . . .

Eighteen forever. Rory was the one with the future.

Christian had left. They hadn’t thrown him out, it hadn’t been like that, but he’d had to leave, and he’d liked playing guitar in his garage band, and there had been auditions for a boy band.

He had never thought it would spiral out of control like this, but as soon as he had signed the contracts, Faye had been in control. He’d been a very new vampire, not sure who or what he was.