Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick (20 page)

Brianna and Michael looked at each other and laughed, sharing a knowing glance that said they didn’t believe a word. “Yeah, okay.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” What was Blake telling them about us? Did Blake think we were an item? Albeit, he was the sexiest man alive, to the point where the temperature wasn’t the only thing that heated up when he walked in the room, but us dating wasn’t an option. How many times did that have to be spelled out to him? It just wasn’t a smart thing to do, for either one of us.

“Sydney, be real. You know Michael’s cousin has it bad for you, and you’re not exactly swimming in a pool of men wanting to date you. Go for it!” So said my sister, the fink.

Out of anyone, she should be the one not to push the issue, or mention the abysmal dead pond that consisted of my suitors. She was right, to my embarrassment. No one had asked me out on a real date for a long time. Too long, actually, but that was my business.

Sisters were supposed to stick through everything together. Teasing me in front of Michael wasn’t exactly my idea of sister solidarity. I felt slighted, and a bit snarky.

“I think both of you should just mind your own business, if that’s the way you’re going to be.”

I grabbed my purse, and said goodbye to Aunt Judith, who happened to remain quiet during the discussion of my love life. I took my leave with what little dignity I had left.

Brianna caught me right before I opened the front door to leave. “Sydney, wait! I’m sorry. You didn’t need that from me. No.” She put her hands up when she saw me open my mouth. “Let me finish. We shouldn’t be pushing you, or prying into whatever it is going on between you and Blake. It’s none of our business.” She put up another finger to stop me from speaking. “Whatever it is, you’re right. It’s your personal life. But all I’m saying is, you should consider it. At least think about giving Blake a chance.”

Ugh, having a conversation about Blake with my little sister wasn’t going to help. Heck, having a conversation about him with myself wasn’t going to help, either. There wasn’t a lot of time before Kieran’s party started. The ticking clock in my head forced my agreement to not be late. She wouldn’t accept any excuses why I wasn’t jumping head first into a relationship with Blake, anyway. An offended vampire might lead to tantrums, and possibly bloodsucking and torture. I didn’t want to find out whatever it was that humans did that ticked vampires off. It was time to go.

“Fine, I’ll think about it. The only reason I’m even contemplating anything with Blake is because of you, Brianna. We’ll talk later. The old stuffies are going to get bent out of shape if I’m late.”

Pulling my Jetta into the underground parking structure, and carefully looking around for a parking spot, I admired the cars that filled the garage. Most were very expensive, European automobiles. What do vampires do for a living, being able to afford such cars? After driving down two levels below the main floor, there was finally an open stall next to a space with three racing bikes sharing the same spot.

I took the elevator up to the ninth floor, as directed. Liam said Kieran held his parties in the very posh apartment building, of which he had converted all six apartments on the floor into one, his. Liam didn’t say if the apartment was where Kieran rested during the day as it was one of many properties he owned around the city. It would probably be rude to ask a vampire where they slept. I wondered if I could use ignorance as an excuse for offending a vampire?

A man in a white, button-up shirt with a skinny, black tie stood besides the double doors that led into the cave of evil, manipulative vampires. I didn’t say that out loud, did I? My insides were cramping with nerves. Not a good reaction to stress, but my body had a mind of its own.

There were people in front of me in the hallway, waiting while the doorman reviewed their invitations before they were allowed to go through the doors.

Invitation?

Liam didn’t say to bring the note from Kieran, and he’d never sent a formal invitation. When it was my turn, the doorman opened the door and gestured for me to enter, making me a bit confused.

“Welcome, Ms. Sedrick. Master Kieran is awaiting you.”

How the heck did he know me? We’ve never met. Spooky. I smiled in his general direction to stop myself from asking him just that. I didn’t want to look directly in his eyes and be forced into a conversation with a vampire servant. From across the hallway, it was evident he wasn’t a vampire. He wasn’t wearing the telltale sunglasses to hide red, glowing eyes. From my nonchalant inspection of the skin above his shirt collar, there weren’t any visible bite marks on his neck. Did that mean he wasn’t a bite addict? Did vampires bite humans in other places than the neck? That could be kind of sexy with the right vampire.

Why that thought crossed my mind, I’d never know. Allowing my imagination to run wild would just cause me more trouble than I was willing to get into. This was a business meeting, not an open invitation to fulfill a lifelong, dark fantasy of mine involving a sexy vampire that didn’t actually drink blood, a bed of red rose petals, wine, and a pan of double-fudge, chocolate brownies. That was before being bitten by the rogue werewolf, of course.

Upon entering the foyer to the large apartment, emphasis on large, I spotted vampires and humans everywhere. The vampires at the party didn’t bother with sunglasses, which meant every human present knew what they were surrounded by. Were they being mind-controlled into not caring? Some of the humans had bite marks on their necks, but not all. The bitten humans wore their blood donor status like a badge of honor, not realizing how stupid they looked, and how desperate.

In the room past the greeting area, a table sat filled with a wide variety of finger foods, ranging from bacon wrapped shrimp to deep-fried artichoke hearts. Next to the food table was an assortment of beverages, those served for humans. Slowly making my way through groups of mingling humans and vampires, I noticed that they were all impeccably dressed. The color of the day? Black, and more black.

While going through the masses, it was almost impossible not to look anyone in the eyes. My presence had a domino effect on them. Everyone seemed to stop whatever they were doing, either talking to one another or groping who they were with, to look at me. Some of their expressions were less than friendly, which from what Grandma’s journal said, they wanted me to know they didn’t like me being there. A pasty white female vampire with long blond hair, wearing a skimpy black dress that showed off way too much cleavage, turned toward me and actually hissed like a cat. What made Kieran think having me at his party was a good idea?

After serving myself a glass of white wine and turning around, my eyes zeroed in on a man who held himself differently from the rest. His posture oozed power, strength, and control. My Selected senses singled him out of the crowd. Somehow, he was brighter to me than the rest. The man stared, surveying me up and down with the assessment of a predator observing his prey. He was the only vampire present exuding enough power to have been the coven leader. All the partygoers gave him a wide berth, and none tried speaking with him or got too close. I stood watching, noting the way the vampires positioned themselves around the room with their human companions. They were available to Kieran if he was to look for them, but none of them were doing anything to gain his direct attention.

Well, here goes nothing. My approach to the vampire coven leader was abruptly blocked by two beefy vampires wearing black tuxedos. They were the powerful one’s guard dogs. When I stepped up to them, they stared at their leader for direction on how to handle me. What would they do if he told them to drink my blood or lock me in a cell? Before my imagination ran wild with possibilities that would only make me more edgy, he waved them aside to let me pass.

He smiled. It wasn’t a normal, warm, I’m happy to see you smile. It was more like an alien attempt at giving a welcome hello. His lips were full and generous. As he opened his mouth, his fangs hung down past his bottom row of teeth. How vampires didn’t constantly puncture their own tongues with those bad boys was a mystery.

“Sydney, I’m so glad you came. I’m very pleased to finally meet the infamous new Selected.”

“Kieran?”

The man tipped his head back and laughed, a deep rumble coming from his chest. The laugh seemed a bit artificial, like he had practiced the gesture over and over again for the benefit of his human companions. The joy he was trying to express hadn’t quite reached his red eyes.

“You presume correctly, my precious one. The dress looks wonderful on you. My assistant, Sara, picked it out for you.” The head vampire of the coven winked at me, another awkward gesture, and said, “I’m not really one for women’s fashions. Are you warm enough?”

Did Kieran know that even in the midst of all these people, in a large room full of moving bodies that should have been sweltering if it was filled with humans, I felt cold? Yes, he knew it.

Understanding reflected in his eyes. “Ah, yes, dear Sydney. Despite having first laid eyes on you only a few moments ago, there are many things about you I’m aware of. We have many things to discuss, and there are a few persons in my employ you need to meet.” He laughed again with an awkward jerking motion of his head.

He took my elbow gently in his hand, and turned me toward another doorway leading off the main room.

“There are also a few of my people you need to stay away from, but we’ll get to that in a while.”

What could I say to that? I followed him silently. He kept his hand on me while leading us toward the door. I tried not to pay too much attention to the cold emanating from his skin, seeping through the dress, chilling me to the bone. It was colder in the apartment building, being close to so many vampires, than it was outside in the winter’s night. My skin broke out in goose flesh. I kept my jaw clenched to keep my teeth from chattering. As we neared the room, my stomach started to twist and tighten. The toe of my sandal caught on the carpet, and before my body fell too far forward, Kieran caught me up in his arms.

He looked concerned, like he thought something was wrong with me. Apparently vampires didn’t trip over themselves.

“Are you all right?”

Still wrapped in his arms, I stared up into his eyes.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”

He took the wine glass, allowing me to right myself and make sure my dress was still in the position it was meant to be in. Being the talk of the party as the silly human with body parts falling out of her dress because she was unable to keep her balance in big girl shoes wasn’t my idea of making a good impression.

Kieran stepped back, giving me some space, but didn’t take his hand from my lower back. He gestured for us to continue toward the door.

The closer we got to the door, the more intense my gut started to burn and twist with pain. My whole body started to feel like it was on fire. We continued forward. Sweat was pooling in my shoes and my hands were becoming slick, making it difficult to hold onto the wine glass Kieran had handed back to me. The door loomed before me. For some reason, my Selected senses started to kick in. Danger was in that room. An evil entity lurked somewhere behind that door.

I stopped again. The pain and burning didn’t go away. Kieran studied me with concern, and intrigue.

“I don’t think we should go in that room,” I said, trying not to let on how much pain I was in. “It’s time for me to leave, I’m sorry. Something’s making me feel sick all of a sudden.”

I started to fall again. This time it wasn’t because of the carpet. The pain was taking over as my body went into shock. My vision started to blur, and the last thing my eyes made out was a group of Knights surrounding us. I could see they were all wearing their telltale black tuxedos, right before my consciousness decided to go on break.

A little while later, a human nurse woke me up as she wiped a cold, damp washcloth over my forehead. Lifting my head off the pillow was like trying to lift a pile of bricks attached to my neck. A blood pressure cuff encircled my bicep, and tiny patches stuck to my chest. My heart rhythm was going across the screen in waves, green bleeps sounding with every beat. Clear tubing was wrapped around my ears with two prongs, delivering a low dose of oxygen through my nostrils.

But I wasn’t in a hospital. From the look of the room, I was still at Kieran’s apartment building. The nurse stepped away, revealing the vampire leader, standing behind her next to the bed. He dismissed her with a curt nod, then turned to face me.

“Are you feeling any better?” he asked as he pulled up the chair from the desk with a computer screen on top of it.

I tried to sit up, but my strength had poured out of me before waking. My elbows slipped out from under me, and my body flopped back down onto the bed. Waves of nausea hit me. Nope, still feeling like doggie-doo.