The Hunted (37 page)

He snorted again. ‘Yeah, Elena, it says he wasn’t hungry at the time.’

I groaned and flicked him in the ear. ‘Seriously—think about it.’ I listed the points on my fingers one by one. ‘He said he was curious about what I was and yet didn’t kill me. He got a good whiff of my blood and then just stood there shocked, but still didn’t kill me. When I asked him to make my death quick he seemed genuinely shocked by the request and he still didn’t kill me. His exact words were, “Why would I kill you?”. That’s important, don’t you think?’

‘I guess so,’ he answered, glancing out the window and then looking back at me. ‘So … what are you going to do?’

‘Honestly, I have no idea. I guess we have to just play it by ear and see what happens.’

‘You mean wait for him to jump through your window again?’

I smiled. ‘Do you have any other bright ideas?’

‘Yeah,’ he said, nodding emphatically. ‘We go to the shed right now and grab a hammer, some nails, an electric drill, and some screws, and we bolt the bloody window shut.’

I slapped him lightly on the shoulder. ‘I thought you liked the idea of meeting vampires.’

He nodded again. ‘I do, but have you noted how close my bedroom is to yours? It’s across the hall. That’s exactly three footsteps away. And just for your reference, you’re quite slim, Elena, hardly a decent meal at all. Once he’s finished draining you, who do
you
think he’s going to come after?’ He pointed to his own chest. ‘Me, that’s who. He only has to take three minuscule steps before he’s chowing down on yours truly.’ He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. ‘Yep, it’ll just be me in that room alone, me and my yummy tasting blood.’

I laughed loudly and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. ‘You’re such an idiot, Lucas.’

He frowned. ‘I am not. I’m just too beautiful to be eaten.’

‘Relax. I think if he was going to hurt me or you, he probably already would have. Besides, now that he knows I’m part Vânâtor, there’s a good chance I’ll never hear from him again anyway.’

‘I doubt that, somehow.’

‘What makes you say that?’

He looked at me like I was daft. ‘Didn’t you notice the look on his face this afternoon at the IMI?’

I shook my head. ‘I couldn’t see much at all actually. I kind of had our father standing in front of me, remember?’

‘I remember that, but I also remember how he looked at you, E. It’s the same way I look at the chicks when I’m surfing through the late night porn channels. There was hunger and curiosity in his eyes.’

My face screwed up in revolt as he smiled at me and winked. ‘Now I don’t know for certain if his kind are attracted to your blood or not, given what’s in it,’ he continued regardless of the fact that I was trying not to imagine my brother watching lurid acts of fornication while I slept innocently across the hall, ‘but he looked like someone determined to get what he wants and he looked like he wanted you.’

I got over my disgust long enough to choke back a laugh of disbelief.

‘I’d watch your back if I were you,’ Lucas said, more
seriously. ‘It’s no wonder that mum and dad are trying to keep you away from him if his intentions are based more on stroking than choking—if you know what I mean.’

My smile was extinguished. ‘You’re gross.’

He nodded in acknowledgement. ‘That’s the problem with home schooling. There’s not enough contact with the outside world.’

I grimaced. ‘You worry me, Lucas.’

He nodded again in agreement.

Jeesh.

The front door opened from downstairs and the noise of people entering the premises floated up the stairs. There was a rustle of plastic bags and the smell of take out wafting across the air.

I breathed in deeply.

Oh, good. Noodle Box.

‘Kids? We’re home. Are you here?’ There was a decidedly uncertain tone to Susan’s voice.

‘Coming!’ Lucas shouted, almost immediately.

He pushed himself off from the bed and tucked his hands inside his pockets. He opened his mouth to say something and then thought better of it.

‘Lucas?’ I said, grabbing his arm as he turned on the spot and headed for the door. ‘You promise not to say anything, right? At least not until we are sure that William is dangerous.’

He looked down at the floor for a minute, as if he had found something distinctly tantalising to watch amongst my pile of dirty clothes. ‘What if it’s too late by then?’ he said suddenly and quietly, taking me by surprise. ‘What if by the time you realise that William and his friends are dangerous you are already dead?’

I smacked my lips together and made a popping noise. ‘Then I guess I won’t have a chance to be upset about it. Will I?’

‘That’s not funny, E.’

‘Okay then, how about this? We keep this to ourselves for now. If William contacts me again, then you and I will go and meet him together and then we can decide between us whether or not he’s dangerous. I promise I won’t do anything on my own.’

‘Seriously? You’re not playing with me right now?’

‘Why would I? Admit it. You are just as curious about them as I am.’

‘I’ll admit that, but if we get caught, Elena, you’re taking the full wrap for this. I’m going to plead complete ignorance. I’m too young to die. At least you’ll be able to heal from whatever punishment mum and dad dish out.’

I shook his outstretched hand. ‘Okay, it’s a deal.’

Lucas scratched his chin again and pointed to the splintered wood of my bedroom door. ‘What are you going to do about the door?’

I looked up at where he was pointing. ‘Oh that,’ I answered, smiling at him. ‘That’s totally your fault.’

He frowned ‘Say what? I wasn’t even here!’

‘Oh come on, Lucas. If I’m eventually going down for associating with vampires, because let’s face the facts, I will, then you can take the rap for a damaged door.’

‘Like hell I will,’ he said, defiantly shoving his hands in his pockets.

‘Go on Lucas, take one for the team.’

‘What team?’

I grinned. ‘The team that’s going to pummel your ass if you don’t.’

He kicked at the pile of my clothes on the floor with his sneaker and stared at me moodily. ‘What am I supposed to say when they notice it? I was playing with knives and I missed?’

‘Yep, that’ll do it. At least it’s a totally believable story. Why do you think Susan gets up you every time you touch her knives in the kitchen?’

‘Because I don’t use the bread board?’

‘No, because you can’t be trusted with sharp objects. Now go downstairs, suck it up and take it like a man.’

‘You know they’re going to make me pay for a new door right?’

‘It’s a good thing we own a hardware store then, isn’t it?’

*          *          *

A good couple of days passed without any contact from William, not that that surprised me. It was exactly as I had suspected. That one sniff of my blood had obviously turned him off me for life. Not that I blamed him. What vampire would want to know a half-breed like me? I was technically half his enemy, half of a creature that he hunted. He hadn’t killed me when he realised the truth, but he’d obviously decided that I was way too much of a freak to try and contact me again.

The alarm clock beside me started beeping loudly, jogging me away from my inner turmoil and reminding me of the responsibilities that came with ‘pretending’ to be normal. Sometimes, I truly hate my life.

I groaned, rolled over and slapped the alarm’s off button with a heavy thud of my hand. I didn’t feel like going to work today. Actually, come to think of it, I never felt like going to work. But I’d have to get over that quick smart seeing as how I had to learn to support myself for, gee, let me think … eternity?

I rolled off the mattress, my feet touching the cool floorboards. For an instant I just considered ducking back under the covers and pretending I was sick. That was never going to work. I’d never been sick a day in my life, all bar the exception of Tuesday, where mentally, I had made myself physically ill.

I sighed. I needed the money anyway, and given I only worked for eight hours a week, I couldn’t really afford to miss even one day. I only had about two and a half thousand dollars to my name and that wasn’t nearly enough to buy myself a decent motorbike. If I hadn’t taken out half of the guttering system on the house late last year, it would be closer to four. That Ducati 1198S Superbike I wanted seemed further and further away.

I reluctantly pushed myself off the bed and scooted over to the dresser with heavy feet to find my work outfit. It was going to be another cool day today judging by the way my skin goose pimpled under the caress of the morning breeze, so I grabbed my black cardigan as well.

I dressed hurriedly, aware that the house was already filled with the noise of breakfast being started downstairs. I couldn’t loiter around today. Susan and George were determined to fulfil their parental duty of upholding my grounding and driving me to work. At least if Kayla were taking me, I could have a more leisurely,
edible
breakfast.

An odd smell was emanating from the kitchen as I bounded down the stairs. My nose wrinkled in disgust. What were we all doomed to suffer through today?

‘Good morning,’ Susan said, relatively cheerfully as I entered the kitchen.

‘Is it?’ I replied.

She frowned at me heavily. ‘Is that your stock standard answer? Can’t you just say
good morning
in return?’

‘Well, when it is a good morning, then I will.’

She flipped over something brown in the frying pan and then settled one hand on her hip, looking me over intently. ‘So then tell me, Elena, what’s wrong with today that prevents you from just responding like everyone else?’

I looked at her as if the answer was obvious. ‘Well, for a start, it’s still morning and I’m out of bed. I’m suspicious of anyone remotely chirpy before ten o’clock, and its Saturday today. I have to work. Does that cover it?’

‘Oh, heaven forbid,’ she answered dryly as she shoved me towards the dining room table. At least she and George appeared to have gotten over their acting weird towards me. They’d spent Tuesday night and all day Wednesday treading on the proverbial eggshells. I think they thought I was going to spontaneously combust from learning that I was a veritable genetic fruit salad.

In hindsight I was actually okay with learning that I was half-vânâtor. As people sometimes say, there was no point getting upset over spilt milk. I was what I was, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that. The only thing that really upset me was that William seemed to be ignoring me. Not that I really expected any different, but I had hoped that he would see past my freaky genes and explore the reasons why he’d sought me out in the first place. It seemed grossly unfair that he had had his curiosities satisfied by a whiff of my blood, yet I was left wanting and annoyingly unsatisfied that I might never see him again. I suppose that meant that the very simplest notion of all was to move forward and deal with the rejection like an adult, but it’s hard when the shoe is on the other foot.

Well how about that? I’m actually acting mature for once. Go figure
.

The phone on the dining room wall started ringing.

I looked up as soon as it started ringing. I couldn’t help it. I’d been doing that all week, wondering if I’d ever hear from William Granville again.

‘I’ll get it,’ Lucas said, jumping out of his chair and snatching up the receiver. ‘Hello?’ There was a short pause before Lucas held the phone outstretched to me. ‘It’s for you.’ He grimaced. ‘She’s still not talking to me yet.’