His voice lingered over the words as his energy coiled through the phone to trail around me, caress my shoulders, and gently coax me in. Roman didn’t just want my help. I could feel it, and the thought scared me shitless. He was the godfather of vampires, someone you just didn’t say no to. He was no Dredge, but I had the feeling he could be far worse if he wanted to.
“Roman . . . I’m not sure what you’re asking—”
“Eight thirty. My driver wil pick you up.”
“No, I’l drive. I’ve been there before.” I refused to be at the mercy of anyone else’s transportation.
“Very wel , as you wish. But come alone. We have several matters to go over, so plan on staying late.” And then silence as he hung up.
I stared at the receiver, then slowly replaced it on the cradle. The drowsy pul of dawn beckoned, and I tapped Erin on the shoulder. She startled out of her fixation on the screen, and as she looked up at me, I could see the tinge in her eyes that marked her as a vampire. She was beginning to develop her glamour—al vampires did, at some point during their early years. Even with her rather plain looks, Erin would be gloriously magnetic in a year or so, and humans would have a hard time resisting her.
“It’s nearing sunrise,” I said. “Time to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep on the bed with you. It’s not proper. I’l sleep on the floor.” She motioned to the bottom of the bed. “This wil be fine.”
“Wait.” I ran upstairs and brought down a spare sleeping bag from the closet. Spreading it out, I tossed on a couple pil ows and a lace throw. “There, that should work for you. Sleep now, my daughter.”
Holding out my hand for her kiss, I watched as she knelt and pressed her lips to my fingers.
Then she silently crawled into the folds of the sleeping bag and—as I made myself comfortable in the bed—she had already sunk into that darkness that claims every vampire with the rising sun.>“Yes, she is. Erin cal ed me from the park. She just went out for a walk and got a little confused. I decided to bring her home with me so we could spend some time together. She’s fine. I’l drop by tomorrow night.”
Sassy paused. Then, hesitantly, “Are you sure? I can come get her.”
“No—don’t worry. Erin’s going to play slumber party here. I’l cal you tomorrow night.” Another lie. I was planning on showing up unannounced, without Erin. That ship had sailed and gone. Erin would never spend another night at Sassy’s.
“If you’re sure . . . A strain in Sassy’s voice caught my attention. A tension that hadn’t been there before. I listened to the nuance below it. She was hungry. Sassy was hungry and longing to hunt. I knew the feeling al too wel , but I kept my hunting within strict perimeters. Sassy had crossed the line.
As I murmured good-bye, I wondered again: Did I have the right to put an end to Sassy’s hunting? She was becoming the predator, but did that mean it was my place to play judge, jury, and executioner?
True, she had asked me to end her life if I noticed her slip over the edge. But would she want that now? Would she stil be wil ing to stand there, waiting for the stake? Would she walk into the sun if she realized just how far she’d crossed the line? But the fact remained, from what Erin said, that Sassy was now kidnapping and torturing the innocent. And that was unacceptable.
“Menol y?”
I turned back to find Erin staring at me. “Yes?”
“Sassy and I’ve talked many times about right and wrong . . . good and evil. She didn’t want to be a vampire in the first place. She wasn’t given a choice. She told me more than once that she doesn’t want to wear a black hat, as she put it. She said that as much as she loved me . . .
Here, Erin hung her head and a bloody tear streaked down her face. I reached out and lifted her chin, nodding for her to go on. “She told me that she doesn’t think she has much of a future left.
That it’s too hard for her to control the desire to hunt.”
“I’m sorry, Erin. I’m so sorry.” I knew that my daughter and Sassy had formed a romantic bond, even though I’d encouraged them to wait before sealing their relationship—at least until Erin had spent long enough in the life to know what she wanted.
Erin shrugged. “I am, too. I came out of the closet to my family about being gay and a vampire and they drove me out of their lives a few months ago. I’m alone in this world and stil unsure about myself. Sassy’s al I’ve got.”
“No, no she isn’t.” I put my hands on her shoulders. She was a little tal er than I, but looked so unsure and hesitant. “You have me—I’m your Blood-Mother. You have Tim and Camil e and Delilah. They al care about you, and Tim’s your best friend. We are family. Don’t ever forget it.”
“Tim’s married now. He . . . he belongs in the world of the living, not in our world.” She bit her lip, and I realized just how disconnected she was feeling from everything that had ever meant anything to her.
“Tim and you were best friends,” I said slowly. “Unfortunately, things do change once you cross over the veil and become a vampire, but that doesn’t mean that every relationship you had has to vanish or die with your old life. Tim may have married Jason, but he stil cares about you. He misses you. In fact, he’s waiting for you to adapt enough so that you can be friends again, no matter how the friendship has to evolve.”
She considered my words. “I suppose you’re right. I guess I expected everything to go on the same, just with me being a vampire. I didn’t have time to think it through.”
“Are you sorry you asked me to turn you?” I touched her arm, lightly, praying she wouldn’t say yes. I’d sworn I’d never sire another vampire and had broken my rule only because Grandmother Coyote had warned me that I needed to break through my own fears for the sake of destiny.
Whatever the future held for Erin, I had a feeling it was far more than she dreamed of.
Erin mul ed over my words. I liked that she was no longer so eager to please that she’d blurt out anything she thought might make me happy. She was growing into her fangs.