Blood & Tears (Jane #3) (3 page)

This chair is the epitome of
reading chairs. It's one of those that you might see at the garage
sale of an old librarian lady or something. It was massive, though
the seating area was actually quite small, and completely
overstuffed—so much so that you could see a bit of stuffing poking
through the worn seams. When you sat it the chair, you sank into
oblivion, cradled by its cushiony love. The arms were wide and
rounded, perfectly suited for draping one or both legs, and they
were padded so you could sit sideways and be just as comfortable as
you would otherwise.

I plopped down, twisted around,
put one leg over the arm and the other over the back so that I was
laying with my head cushioned on the other arm and opened my book.
From where I was sitting, I could see Annie and she could see me,
but we both carefully avoided each other's glances. I bit my lip,
wondering if I should attempt to make conversation, but then I
decided against it. She looked interested in her book and I was
interested in mine. I scanned the first page. This was an older
book and had clearly been read numerous times. The pages were worn
and yellowed by age, the cover was creased so badly the picture had
flaked away, and I have no idea how the glue continued to hold the
pages in place. I'd read my own version of the book several times,
but my copy was currently in storage, thousands of miles away in
the United States.

"Lord of the Rings?"

Her voice was so unexpected in the
muted quiet of the lounge that I actually jumped in my chair and
dropped the book. I was glad my skin was still tanned from my time
in Los Angeles or the color rising to my cheeks would have been
even more noticeable. I leaned over and picked it up, the pages
bent and crumpled from the fall.

"Um, yeah. It's one of my
favorites."

Annie nodded, looking at me
beneath her dark lashes. Her light brown hair cascaded around her
shoulders as she studied my face. After a brief moment, she jerked
almost imperceptibly and her eyes widened a bare fraction, as if
she just realized she'd spoken to me. I'm sure if I had still been
human, I never would've noticed. Her lips pressed together in a
thin line and she lowered her eyes back to her book, apparently
done with our conversation. I watched her for a full minute after
that, but she took no more notice of me, so I went back to my book.
I'd only read a page when she took a breath and ventured a few more
soft words.

"I've read it seventeen times."
She gestured to the book when I looked up. "That's why it's so
wrinkled. And page fifty-two is ripped. Sorry about that." She
blushed, lowering her head.

"It's alright. I've read it a
bunch of times, too. My own copy is pretty beat up, but it's back
in the States."

"Oh, right. I heard you had stuff
there."

I nodded, not sure how or even if
I should continue the conversation. Every time we spoke in the
hall, it was awkward and weird. But she seemed to be interested in
talking, and I didn't want to let the chance to get on her good
side disappear like smoke in the wind, so I determined to press
on.

"Yeah. Steven and I left a bunch
of stuff in storage when we went traveling. Which is probably a
good thing, considering I would have lost everything when I got
chased out of Russia..."

She opened her mouth to respond,
then shut it immediately. Her eyes probed mine, as if searching for
the answer to a question. I could see her lips move very slightly,
forming words that I couldn't read. After a few strange moments,
she gritted her teeth, took a deep breath through her nose, then
looked me directly in the face, her eyes intense.

"How did he die?"

The question startled me. I
assumed everyone in the sanctuary knew that. News travels fast
among vampires and secrets are extremely hard to keep. Hence the
reason everyone assumed Felipe and I were dating, even though we
weren't.

"You don't know?" The words flew
from my mouth before I could stop them. I flinched when I realized
they sounded almost nasty.

She shrugged, looking almost
ashamed. "Someone in the hall said something about a mob, but I
haven't heard anything else."

I frowned, a sort of half pout
kind of thing. Annie was a very important person in the vampire
sanctuary. She was in charge of the dormitory, which was one of the
most vital parts of the sanctuary. Was Father Bellini keeping
something from her? I narrowed my eyes, examining Annie's face. If
he didn't trust her, he would never have put her in the position
she was in.

"Yeah, it was a mob. We were
living in a little town in Russia and they decided they didn't like
us. When they found out he was a vampire, they freaked out. I was
working at the local pub and he was at home when they decided the
time had come for us to, uh, leave. Some men chased me and beat me.
Before he could get there, one pulled a knife and slit my throat. I
kind of passed out at that point, but Olga told me that he turned
me. It left him so weak, he couldn't fight off the mob. They
dragged him to the square, keeping him drugged up with coffee, and
tied him to a post. When the sun came up..."

My voice wavered before completely
failing me. Tears were forming at the corners of my eyes as I
relived the experience. My eyes were on the book in my hands,
though the page was too blurred to read. I felt Annie kneel beside
me and her warm fingers encircled mine. I gripped them gently and
forced a smile. She had found a tissue somewhere and dabbed my
eyes. After I'd composed myself, I turned to face her.

"Did you know Steven
well?"

She shrugged again, a small, jerky
movement. "Not really..."

"But?" I could tell she wanted to
say more. Though she didn't say it or show it on her face, there
was a vibe around her that was begging for someone to let her
speak.

"I..." She looked at me,
pleadingly. It was a baffling moment. I didn't know what she was
asking for, but I nodded and made sure she knew I wanted to hear
what she had to say. She took a deep breath, and continued,
clutching at my fingers, her words rushed and desperate as if
they'd been cooped up in solitary confinement for way too long and
were finally allowed the chance to run free.

"I saw him whenever he came here.
Before he met you, that was quite a lot. We didn't talk much, but
when we did... He had a way of making me feel like I was the only
girl in the world, you know? Like I mattered and he cared what I
had to say. No one ever does that. Not even Joe. Steven would sit
with me in here and we would just talk. Though, I guess I did most
of the talking. He knew more about me than anyone else. I don't
know why it was so easy to talk to him. Maybe it was because he
never made me feel stupid for anything I said or acted like I was
wasting his time."

She got quiet for a moment, her
fingers loosening their grip on mine a bit. "The last time he came,
though, we didn't really talk. He was only here for two days and he
spent most of the time with Joe. I wanted to talk to him so badly,
but he was too busy. And then he married you and never came
back."

The last held no accusation, no
anger. It was pure, unadulterated defeat. She felt she had lost the
game and it was no one's fault but her own. No tears streaked her
face, but I could tell that she had cried plenty over Steven, and
not just for his death.

"I'm sorry," I
whispered.

The gasp that escaped her lips
almost made me grin. She had completely forgotten who she was
talking to. Shaking her head, she removed her hands from mine and
placed them in her lap. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. It's
mine. I grew too attached. I do that a lot."

I reached down and took her hand
back. "It's not your fault. We all do it. I've had my share of
unrequited loves, too. Not that your love was misguided. If I
hadn't come into the picture, who knows what would have happened
with you and Steven."

There was another awkward silence
between us, but it wasn't as loaded and uncomfortable as they had
been before. A barrier had been broken down and I could feel the
trickle of friendship making its way through. I decided to risk it
and ask her something very personal.

"How did you end up here? And in
charge of the dormitory, no less?"

Her soft locks bounced as she
raised her head and smiled at me. "Funny story, really. I used to
live in Texas a few decades ago. I—"

I held up a hand. "Wait a minute.
A few decades? You don't look more than twenty-five, and you're not
a vampire. I've seen you leave during the day."

She grinned, her smile stretching
literally from ear to ear. I'd never see such an expression on her
face, but it was such a look of pure joy that at that very moment I
made it my life's mission to see that she smiled a true,
unencumbered smile as much as possible. "Let me finish,
silly."

I held up my hands again, but this
time in surrender. "Alright, it's your story. Please,
continue."

"So," she said as she scooted
around on the floor, getting more comfortable. "I was in Texas,
going to college. I've always been really shy, so I didn't go out
much at night. But one night, Dr. Zhivago was playing at the
theater, so I went. It's always been one of my favorite books, and
I adore the movies, too. It was dark outside when it finished. I
took the long way home so I didn't have to walk through any of the
alleys that were so scary at night." She laughed a little, bitter
laugh. "Didn't do me much good, I guess. I was almost home when I
was attacked. I don't remember much about it. I know there were two
or three men, but I don't know what they did. I don't think I want
to know. All I remember is waking up on the ground. My clothes were
torn. I couldn't move. I knew I was dying. I could feel my heart
failing and I couldn't breathe well enough for it to do any good. I
saw a shadow beside me and felt a hand on my cheek before I passed
out again.

"When I woke up, I was home again.
The sun was shining on my face from the curtain my mom had opened
and I felt like it was all a bad dream. I had a few bruises and my
muscles were sore, but nothing major seemed to be wrong, so I had
breakfast with my parents as usual and went to school.

I was sitting in my room that
night when Victoria showed up at my window. She told me what
happened—that I'd been beaten almost to death, that my neck had
been broken and my lungs were pierced, that she was a vampire and
had given me her blood. I didn't believe her. Why would I? I didn't
feel like a vampire. I felt fine. I had been out in the sun and
though I did start to burn quicker than normal, it wasn't anything
extreme. So I told her to leave and she did.

"Weeks went by and I noticed
little things that seemed different. I could hear better, see
better. I was stronger. The sun seemed brighter and did hurt a bit
more than it used to. I felt hungry no matter how much I ate. You
know how when you want something specific to eat but can't figure
out what it is, you have that craving that sits in the back of your
mouth? Or maybe it's your brain." She paused, thinking that over
for a moment before shrugging. "Anyway, I knew something was wrong.
And I suspected Victoria had something to do with it.

"Late one night, I snuck out of my
house and went to the park. I had a feeling that she had been
watching me, so I hoped she'd show up, and she did. I told her all
the things I'd noticed. She nodded, then bit her wrist and shoved
it in my face. You can understand how shocked I was. I mean, why
would anyone bite their own wrist, much less try to force someone
else to smell it? But once I did smell it, I knew what I was
craving. Before I knew what I was doing, I latched on and drank.
Victoria stayed in Texas with me most of the time while I finished
school, teaching me about vampires, and then when I graduated, I
moved here."

She stopped and looked up from the
floor.

"Wait, so you're a vampire who can
stand the sun?"

"Half-vampire. The Fathers think
it's because Victoria didn't drain me. I would likely have died if
she didn't do anything and I had to have been close enough for the
blood to take over, but they think I wasn't as close to death as is
standard for a vampire to be turned. So I'm vampire, but not as
strong as you guys are, and I can be in the sun for a bit before it
hurts too much."

"That's really freaking
cool."

She laughed at the admiration on
my face before looking at her watch. "Wow. It's time to eat. You
hungry?"

We walked to the dining room
together, the barrier between us broken to pieces and the river of
friendship flooding through to water the parched fields.

FOUR

Felipe joined us at dinner and we
had a nice little time. Annie was open and quite chatty once you
got past the walls she'd put up. As we were heading out, we ran
into Jax. His slightly awkward, but sweet exchange with Annie and
her blushing replies had me nudging Felipe and grinning. We said
goodbye to her and the three of us headed to the meeting room we'd
used the day before. Father Bellini wanted to brief us on the
information he'd gathered from the junk in the metal
chest.

"Alright," he said after we'd all
been seated around the table. "Here's the deal. The information you
collected yesterday has confirmed our fears. There are pockets of
new vampires all over. They are set up like miniature covens, each
with between two and ten vampires, and a collection of humans to
use for feeding purposes and potential converts. Task forces like
this one are being formed at our other sanctuaries. So far, we have
sixteen covens for you to take out."