Vampires Rule (16 page)

“It’s not too late,” Jersey urged. “It isn’t
too late until the object of your affection is dead. Don’t make the
same mistake that I made. Don’t take love for granted. It may not
always be there.”

Jack began to rise from his seat, acting on
impulse. He didn’t know what he was going to say to her, but he had
to say something. The feeling he would never see her again if she
walked out the door ripped a hole in his gut.

A flash of anger touched her face when she
saw him rising. There was a layer of contempt and a shadow of
loathing. She didn’t want to talk to him. She wasn’t going to
listen to a word he had to say. It was over. He had already lost
her.

Jack sank back down. Feeling like a total
idiot, like everyone in the cafeteria had seen Silver reject him,
he decided to question Jersey for a change and turn the tables.

“Tell me about the woman you were in love
with.”

Jersey put his total attention on his food.
He finished his salad and moved to a gooey piece of chocolate cake.
He took his time removing the plastic wrap. Instead of using his
fork, he broke off a small part of cake and popped it into his
mouth.

Jack considered repeating the question, but
there was no need.

“She died,” Jersey said.

“How did it happen?”

Jersey sucked the frosting from his fingers.
“The bell is about to ring. You don’t want to be late for your next
class.”

His next class was English, and they both
knew it. Jack looked around the lunchroom. They were practically
the only ones left, and Jersey wasn’t finished eating.

Jack shrugged. “I think I’m okay. I have a
feeling the teacher is going to be a few minutes late today.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“I told you my biggest secret. Tell me
yours.”

The amused glint returned to Jersey’s eyes.
“Admitting I’m a werewolf isn’t enough for you? It would be for
most people.”

“I was a vampire. Werewolves aren’t a big
deal in my book, although I never thought I’d be having lunch with
one.”

Jersey nodded. “Likewise. Vampires aren’t on
the top of my list either.”

“I’m not a vampire anymore, but you are still
a werewolf.”

“Which brings us to a puzzling question. How
did you manage to become mortal again? I didn’t think that was
possible.”

Jack shook his head, refusing to be led from
the scent he was following. “Maybe someday I’ll share the story
with you. First, I want to hear about the love of your life and how
you lost her.”

With a defeated look, Jersey hung his head.
“Okay. You win this time. She was my wife, and we were very much in
love. I had believed I would grow old with her. On our wedding day
I never imagined I would find myself not growing old with her, not
growing old period. I’ll be like this forever.”

Jack pressed. “How did she die?”

“I killed her.”

For the first time in his life, Jack cut
school. After his enlightening conversation with Jersey, he decided
to skip English class. Jersey wouldn’t report him. A werewolf in
disguise wouldn’t want the principal asking questions. Besides,
after his admission that he killed his wife he couldn’t possibly
expect Jack to act normal around him.

Jack sat in the car for a long time before
sliding the key into the ignition. He didn’t know where to go. He
couldn’t go home without Billy getting on his case. Funny, he felt
more alone now that he was human than he had as a vampire.

Life as a vampire had been a lot easier than
life as a mortal. It hadn’t been a full month yet since his return.
Hard to believe a few weeks ago he had thought being human would
solve all his problems. Now he was racking them up. He had a
teacher who was secretly a werewolf, a cold-blooded killer for a
school janitor, and Silver wasn’t speaking to him. Oh yes, and his
brother wanted to kill him every time he turned around.

He drove with his brain on automatic, no idea
where he was headed. When he found himself in front of Silver’s
house half an hour later, he wasn’t really surprised. He made sure
Andrew Reign was gone before he parked the car out front. Vanessa
had been understanding and kind on his last visit. He was hoping to
find a sympathetic ear.

In seconds, he was knocking on the front
door. During the time it took for Vanessa to answer, he
reconsidered what he was doing. Talking to Silver’s mother might
not be the best idea. He turned to go. Before he could completely
reverse direction, Vanessa was there with a smile and a plate of
cookies.

“You caught me on my baking day,” she said.
“Get in here. It’s freezing.”

She led him to the dining room. They sat at
the table with the plate of cookies between them. She offered him a
glass of milk, but he declined. He wasn’t hungry either. Guilt over
hurting Silver and fear of being surrounded by werewolves at school
had stolen his appetite. He chewed on a cookie to be polite; he
hardly tasted it.

“Why aren’t you in school today?” Vanessa
asked.

“I found him, the one who killed my
parents.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”

“His ugly face is burned into my memory
forever. Besides, I think he wanted me to know it was him. He’s
working as the school janitor. He actually smiled at me, kind of
daring me to do something. I remember looking up at that same face
while I was dying.”

Vanessa shivered. “He’s at the same school as
my daughter? He could be the lead werewolf. He’s at the school
because of Silver. Does she know?”

“I wanted to tell her, but she’s not exactly
taking my calls right now.”

“You did the right thing.”

“It doesn’t feel like I did.”

“You protected my daughter, put her safety
before your own selfish desires, and I won’t forget that.” Vanessa
picked up a second cookie. She pinned him with a hard stare. “How
did you do it? How did you break my little girl’s heart?”

It was the last thing he wanted to talk
about. “I stuck with the truth mainly, told her I wanted to be
normal and I couldn’t be normal with her around.”

“Ouch. I guess that would do it.”

Curious about his parents, Jack changed the
subject to what he considered a safer one. “You knew my mom and
dad, didn’t you? Billy mentioned something about all of you working
together. He also told me that you trained him.”

“It was either train him or let him get his
fool head ripped off. Anyway, I worked with your mom and dad a few
times. Your mom loved to talk about you and Billy. She was so
proud.”

He noticed Vanessa didn’t say his father was
proud of him. Hardcore masculine to the extreme, his father’s idea
of an emotional scene was patting his sons on the back. Way to go,
buddy. He couldn’t remember his father ever saying he loved him. He
had been a man of few words.

“How does it work?” he asked. “I don’t
understand how my parents made a living. How does Billy survive
without a regular job?”

“We have a couple wealthy benefactors. They
have a website that tracks werewolf and vampire activity. When
people die in Nebraska or in a nearby state under mysterious
circumstances, we get an email and we go to work.”

“How do you get paid?”

A smile tilted her lips. “The money is wired
to a secret account outside of the country. As a matter of fact, I
would be surprised if your parents didn’t still have an account
with a hefty sum in it. Billy is probably using it to keep afloat.
He doesn’t take as many jobs as we do. His main focus has been the
werewolf responsible for your parents’ deaths. I imagine he’s
tickled pink to know where the beast is working now.”

Jack shrugged. He didn’t want to have to
explain his troubles with Billy to her. If he brought up their
fight, he would have to tell her he had growled. She could follow
that clue to the next and eventually she would figure out he was
regaining his powers. Although he liked her, he didn’t completely
trust her. At this point he didn’t trust anyone—except for
Silver.

He asked, “Is there some way for us to find
out if the janitor is the lead werewolf? Is there a test we can do
on him?”

She stared off into space for a moment,
thinking. Her eyes finally returned to his. “The lead werewolf is
supposed to be extremely clever. We could set a trap, see if he’s
smart enough to be the leader.”

Great. He wanted to convince Silver to give
him the magic rock to use against the janitor, but she wouldn’t let
him have it unless he could prove his theory. Without the rock, he
wasn’t sure he could kill the werewolf. It had taken out two
seasoned hunters (his parents) without a problem. He would need his
old vampire powers to kill it, and even then it was iffy.

He thanked Vanessa for her hospitality. She
offered to send him off with a few cookies, but he turned her down.
Within seconds, he was walking to his brother’s car. He glanced at
his watch. School was about to let out. Silver would be on her way
home soon, and he didn’t want her to catch him at her home.

****

“Where the hell have you been?” Billy greeted
him at the door with a sour expression. “School got out hours
ago.”

It was dark outside. Jack had gone to the
mall, lost track of time. He hadn’t bought anything. For some
reason he felt like being surrounded by total strangers. He had
needed time alone to think about everything going on in his
life.

Billy stood there, arms folded, waiting for
an explanation. His dark eyes were narrowed, creasing his forehead
with a deep frown. He said, “I was worried about you, idiot. Next
time you want to screw around and be late, pick up a phone.”

Since when was Billy concerned for his
welfare?

“Vanessa called me,” Billy explained. “She
filled me in on the legend, told me why you have unnatural powers.
Question is why didn’t you tell me? I thought you were turning into
a vampire again. I already sharpened my stakes.”

Jack blinked at him, speechless.

Billy disappeared into the living room for a
second and returned with a shotgun. “You remember how to handle one
of these, don’t you?”

Their father had taught them how to shoot
when they were in grade school. Jack nodded. “Why do I need a
gun?”

“After Vanessa told me about the legend, she
asked me to train you. You need to be prepared for anything. She
seems to think every crackpot werewolf and vampire in the area will
be hunting for you.”

Vanessa Reign snaps her fingers and Billy
jumps. Interesting. Billy’s entire attitude and demeanor had
changed after one conversation with the woman. Jack made a mental
note of it, just in case he needed her to use that special power at
some point.

Billy pressed the shotgun into Jack’s hands.
Jack tested the weight of it. It had been a long time since he’d
held a weapon. He checked the safety, made sure it was on before
pointing it at the far wall. Looking down the barrel, he imagined
the werewolf janitor on the other end.

Problem: since when could you kill a werewolf
with a shotgun?

“What am I supposed to hunt with this?” he
asked, annoyed.

“It’s loaded with silver bullets that have
been blessed. A blessed silver bullet can slow a werewolf down long
enough to grab a sword.” Billy hesitated before adding, “Seeing you
were a vampire, I didn’t think you’d want to hunt them, at least
not yet.”

Not ever. Jack planned to remain loyal to
them, especially his former friends. Barring, of course, they
didn’t do something stupid like attack his brother. Then all bets
were off.

“Remember that time you bagged a deer?” Billy
asked.

Jack nodded. It was the only time his father
had looked at him with pride in his eyes, the only time he had
displayed any emotion other than anger towards Jack. He’d put his
arm around Jack’s shoulders, dangerously close to a hug, and said,
“Way to go, son. Someday you’ll be a great hunter.”

Jack shook the memory loose and said, “Well,
let’s go.”

“Hold on. There are some things I need to
tell you first. You may have been a vampire, but you don’t know
werewolves. I’ve been hunting them for nearly a decade, so pay
attention to what I tell you. Learn from my mistakes.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I bet you dreamed
about this moment. When we were kids and I was constantly telling
you what you should and should not do, you were fantasizing about
being the big brother. Now here you are. I’m seventeen and you’re
the adult.”

“Don’t be stupid, Jack.”

“It’s a fact.” He leaned the shotgun against
the wall so he wouldn’t be tempted to use it. “Admit it. There’s a
little kid inside of you right now jumping up and down for joy. You
get to live the dream of every young sibling. You get to take
control and boss me around, and there isn’t anything I can do about
it because legally you are older. In the eyes of the law I can’t do
anything.”

Billy stared at him, lips compressed.

Jack waited.

An exaggerated smile formed on Billy’s face,
and he nodded like a madman. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m thrilled to
have a brother who was a vampire up until five minutes ago.” He
dropped the phony smile and the sarcasm. “You think this is easy
for me? I looked up to you. I thought you were the best brother
ever.”

Jack remembered complaining about it to his
mother. She would smile and tell him it was his job to take care of
his baby brother, to show him the ropes and be a good role
model.

Billy continued his rant. “And I loved you.
Then one night my whole world is ripped away from me. My mom, my
dad, and my brother are murdered practically in front of my eyes. I
heard the screams. You have no idea how long I hid in that closet,
waiting for you to return or for the monster to find me too.