Shiver (Night Roamers) (17 page)

We decided to
drive to Caleb’s house to talk to Celeste. Duncan still claimed he didn’t know anything about Susan’s death but ventured that she might.

“
So, where did you get the blood to feed?” I asked Duncan, after we’d settled back into Nathan’s car. “It’s pretty obvious that you fed.”

“
Yeah, so fine, I fed,” he said, looking out the window of the Mustang. “I had to.”

“On who?” asked Nathan
. “You didn’t kill anyone, right, bro?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Well, then how did you get it?” I asked, still thinking about Susan and how he’d attacked me earlier. I wasn’t certain that he even knew if he’d killed anyone after that episode.

Duncan ran a hand over his face
and then turned back to look at me. “Listen, I didn’t kill anyone, okay? I wouldn’t kill another human being. Ever.”

“
How then?” I asked, crossing my arms under my chest.

“I went to Club Nightsh
ade,” he mumbled, turning back towards the window. “There are a lot of willing girls hanging out there, ones that will do anything you want. It’s pretty dark and disturbing, actually.”

“You hooked up with a
chick at Nightshade last night?” laughed Nathan. He stuck a knuckled fist out towards Duncan to smack. “Way to bring it, Dunc!”

Duncan
ignored his fist. “It’s nothing to be proud of. In fact, I didn’t even want to feed, but I was weak and if it wasn’t for Celeste, actually, she was the one who dragged me there.”

“Celeste,” I muttered. “She seems to enjoy
dragging you to all kinds of places.”

Including her bed…

He shrugged. “Yeah, well, I can’t argue the fact that she did save my life. After your buddy, Ethan, attacked me.”

“He’s
not
my buddy,” I snapped. “Besides, you had sex with her three times. Twice, before you were even injured.”

Duncan turned back to look at me. “I told you
, I don’t even remember the first two times. I swear to God, I really don’t remember anything.”

“I have to
go with Nikki on this one,” chuckled Nathan. “How can you not remember being in bed with Celeste? I mean,” he shook his head. “Come on.”

“She’s a vampire,” he answered. “Obviously, she can manipulate people to do whatever she want
s.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Can you manipulate people to do your bidding now?”

He turned back around and smiled devilishly. “I don’t know, care to find out?”

From the look on his face
, I knew he wasn’t joking around. I could feel my own face heat up.

“
Duncan, who do you think killed Susan?” asked Nathan.

He turned to him
. “I don’t know. I suppose it could be any of the vampires living at Caleb’s. Celeste says the others are getting antsy and much more volatile.”

“She told me
they don’t like to stay in one spot for too long,” I said. “I wonder how Caleb works that out, being a cop and all.”

“I’m sure he’s very
convincing at his job interviews,” said Duncan.

“How many
vampires actually live out at Caleb’s?” I asked.

“Seven,
I think, including Caleb and Celeste,” said Duncan.

We drove the rest of the way in silence
and I tried not to think of Ethan, but it was next to impossible. I hadn’t even realized how much I’d wanted him, until today. Now that he’d basically stabbed me in the heart, I felt hollow and ashamed of my own weaknesses. I should have known that crushing on someone who wasn’t even human was setting myself up for certain doom.

As if reading my thoughts, Duncan turned around. “Are you
doing okay, Nikk?”

I nodded.

He stared at me for a second and touched my leg. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Falling for Ethan wasn’t your fault. Even I understand that now.”

I gave him a weak smile and he squeezed my knee.

When we arrived at the large colonial mansion, it seemed so ominous, even in the daylight. We sat in the car and stared at it.

“What are we doing here again?” asked Nathan
, rapping his knuckles on the steering wheel.

I swallowed. “Finding answers.”

“Come on,” said Duncan, getting out.

We got out and followed Duncan up the porch. Before we could
even knock, however, the front door opened.

“Well, what an int
eresting surprise,” purred Celeste. She appeared to be wearing nothing but an oversized hot pink T-shirt that left little to the imagination. Her long, red hair was loose and she looked like she’d just enjoyed a tumble in someone’s bed. I wondered if the vampires fooled around together when they weren’t hunting humans.

“Obviously
, it wasn’t too much of a surprise,” said Duncan, pushing past her, into the house.

“Hi
, Celeste,” grinned Nathan, staring appraisingly at her outfit.

I scowled. From the l
ook on my brother’s face, he was still putty in her hands, vampire or not.

Ignoring me, s
he locked her arm through his and I followed them into the house. “I missed you, Nathan,” she said, giving him a pouty look. “You never called me back.”

“We’ve been busy. Did you hear about Susan?” he asked.

Her eyes widened. “Yes, what a shame – I went to school with her last year.”

“She was a nice girl,” he said.

“I’m sure,” said Celeste.

I followed them to
a large sitting room, where Duncan was already seated and looking pensive.

“You okay?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “Just still trying to absorb everything, you know?”

Celeste looked at him and then
turned towards Nathan. “So, he told you everything, I take it?”

Nathan nodded. “Yeah.
Got to say, it’s a little hard to believe.”

She smiled. “You’re not frightened?”

He paled slightly. “Should I be?”

“No,”
said Caleb, entering the room. He was dressed in a long, blue robe, his hair tousled, like he’d also just woken up. “You have nothing to fear; not from me or Celeste, at least.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “Does our mom know what you are?”

Caleb’s lips turned up. “No, not yet. But soon, she’ll know everything.”

“Yeah, soon when you decide to change her into a vampire completely,” I snapped.

He studied me for a minute and then let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know why you’re so against her…surviving. She’s an extremely sick woman. This is the only shot she’s got to stay alive.”

“How can you be sure?” I said
, clenching my fists. “What about chemotherapy? What about seeking medical help, instead of being condemned to living a life where you have to drink blood and stay out of direct sunlight?”

“It’s not so bad. In fact, life has many rewards when you’re a Roamer. I’m sure you’ve figured out some of these already, ha
nging around Ethan,” he answered with a small smile.

I blushed
at the knowledge in his eyes and looked down.

“Okay, I’m extremely lost,” said Nathan
, moving away from Celeste. “Are you trying to say you’re going to change our mother into a…vampire?”

Caleb turned to Nathan. “As I’ve explained to Nikki, your m
other has cancer. The moment we connected, if you want to call it,” he said with a sad smile, “I sensed it. The worst thing is, that it’s terminal, Nathan. She won’t survive another two years without my help. She’ll just wither away… and die.”

Nathan’s face fell. “What? Did she tell you this? How do you know?”

“She doesn’t even know. Not yet,” he answered.

“What if he’s lying?” I said to Nathan. “What if he just wants our support
to help him with mom?”

“That’s absurd,” snapped Caleb. “Why would I go to that extreme, just to turn your mother into one of us?”

“To get our support,” I repeated. “So we won’t try and stop you.”

His eyes flashed. “I don’t need your support. Have you talked to your mother lately? She’s
happier than she’s been in a long time. She suffered the abuse your father put her through for many years and now I’m trying to give her everything a woman like her deserves. When I offer her this gift, I doubt she’ll refuse it.”

“This gift of yours, it sounds pretty morbid to me,” I said.

Nathan ran a hand through his hair. “This is some heavy shit. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Nathan,” said Celeste, putting her arms around his waist. “Everything will work out
for the best, I promise. Your mother will live and we can be together.”

“
Excuse me, Celeste,” I hissed. “Do you mean you and Nathan or you and Duncan?”

“Yeah, I’m a little curious about that, myself,” muttered Nathan.

S
he gave us both a bewildered look. “Oh, for the love of God! I saved Duncan’s life! That was the only reason we bonded.”

I scowled at her. “What about the two times before he was injured?”

She threw her head back and laughed. “You’re unbelievable,” she said. “You’re acting like a jealous innocent virgin, yet you’re stringing Duncan AND Ethan around. You of all people shouldn’t be pointing fingers.”

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” interrupted Duncan
, his eyes filling with anger. “We came here today to find out if you know what happened to Susan.”

“
To be truthful, we really don’t. Have you asked Ethan?” replied Caleb.

I
shook my head. “No. But I doubt very highly that it was him.”

Caleb frowned. “Why?”

I took a deep breath. “Because we were together, until early this morning.”

“
As I was saying…” said Celeste, under her breath.

I stole a glance at Dunc
an and could see his anger. I felt horrible, especially now that I was beginning to realize how much he still cared for me. I decided to change the subject.

“Who and what is Faye?” I asked.

Caleb turned back to me. “Why?”

“Because s
he was with Ethan this morning at the Ruth’s Diner.”

“Stay away from her,” said Caleb. “She’s very dangerous.”

“What is she?” I repeated. “Duncan said she’s some kind of shape-shifter?”

Caleb nodded. “She has the power to change form as well as manipulate people. Not only is she a shape-shifter, but she also feeds on humans.
I’m not talking just the blood, either.”

I grimaced.
“What’s going on between her and Ethan?” I asked.

Celeste smiled. “Probably just sex. He’s a very promiscuous guy, Nikki. I could have told you that
from the beginning.”

The pot calling the kettle black
, I thought.

Just then, another
young guy entered the sitting room. He was tall with longish, sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes. He also looked like he’d just gotten out of bed and wore nothing but a pair of black velour drawstring pants.