Almost To Die For Part 7

I considered what I might like to know the most. "Am I . . . are you . . . human?"

In the darkness, his expression was hard to read, especially since I kept finding myself being drawn to the way his short hair was black enough to seem almost a part of the night. His head was tipped downward as he considered my question. When I dared to look at the rest of him, I marveled at the smooth hardness of his marble white skin.

"Are we human? " he repeated. As he spoke, those cat-slit eyes caught my gaze intensely. "You seem quite desperate for that answer to be yes. Why? I wonder."

My mouth opened, though I wasn't sure what to say. Before I could formulate a response, he began again.

"You say you're still part of the coven, but where are your friends who were so intent on protecting you earlier? It took very little for them to turn on you, didn't it?" He paused, watching me. But what could I say? He was right. He nodded as though he heard my thoughts or perhaps saw my answer in my eyes. "Trust me, this is a very ancient, ingrained character trait of your adopted people, and it shows little sign of improving over time."

I frowned, feeling the sting of his remarks and a little insulted as well. I mean, I was at least half human, wasn't I? "You said you'd answer honestly, but you haven't answered my question at all."

He dipped his head as though in acquiescence, but his tone held something else entirely. "I haven't. But neither have I lied to you, my lady."

"That's a technicality," I said. It was hard to resist the urge to poke him with the toe of my shoe, because there was something about Elias that seemed open to teasing. I had to remind myself I didn't know this guy at all, and it was possible he could be quite dangerous.

Despite the threat of the sharp canines, I sensed a mischievous twinkle in the smile that spread across Elias's face. "It's a hard habit to break, this desire to misdirect. I spent centuries doing only precisely as I was told, nothing more."

"And you're still doing it." I laughed. This time I couldn't hold back the urge and nudged him playfully. "Answer the question, Elias. Are you human?"

He startled when I mentioned his name, almost as if instead of giving him a gentle poke, I'd slapped him in the face. Straightening, his eyes narrowed. His words, when they came, were very precise and clipped. "I am not. Nor have I ever been. Not the way you seem to be asking, at any rate."

Not human. I s.h.i.+vered, withdrawing deeper into myself. Not human.

"Now grant me a question of my own, my lady. Is it better to serve in heaven or rule in h.e.l.l?"

Confused, I looked up to ask him what he meant, when suddenly I heard a shout in the distance.

"Get away from her, demon!"

The coven had found us. I could hear footfalls cras.h.i.+ng through the underbrush. People were shouting. Magic was revving up; I felt it like static electricity building in the air. I stood up to ward them off, to tell them that it was okay, that Elias and I were just talking-- But he was already gone.

Nine.

If it was possible, Mom was even angrier. Apparently, it was one thing to fail miserably as a witch, but another thing entirely to talk to a vampire in the forest alone.

". . . irresponsible! I can't believe you talked to him when you know nothing about who they are, and what they are capable of!"

I tuned out most of Mom's argument, but I couldn't ignore this. "Oh yeah? And whose fault is that?"

Mom's lips pursed like they always did when she was mad and didn't want to say anything.

We had gone back to the cabin. A potluck meal had been laid out, but almost no one was eating. The large, open room smelled of five-bean ca.s.serole and roasting peppers.

People collected in small, subdued knots of conversation near the food tables. Mom had corralled me on the opposite side of the room and had been berating me in harsh whispers. Every so often, eyes strayed in our direction, people trying to eavesdrop subtly.

I'd mostly shut down. I hated being the center of attention even when it was something cool, like my birthday. Now everyone was staring at me like something you might find on the bottom of your shoe.

I'd failed the test. I'd expected that. But I came here not knowing why, thinking I was just some big witch-fail. Now from what I could tell, the way magic reacted to me might not entirely be my fault. I was half vampire. Didn't that have something to do with it? Shouldn't Mom have warned me? "I told you that I couldn't do magic," I said. "Didn't it ever occur to you that maybe that was because I was a damp . . . a whatever, a half vampire?"

"Dhampyr," Mom said quietly. She'd been twisting her lips and staring at the floor, but now she looked me in the eye. "Yes, it occurred to me."

"Why didn't you tell me? I mean, you knew I was going to fail."

"No, I didn't," Mom insisted with a sniff. "You might have pa.s.sed. You are half human and Parker blood is strong."

"Not strong enough," I said.

Mom put her hand on my shoulder kindly. "You have the gift. I've felt it in you. If they'd only give you another chance, I'm sure--"

I shrugged out from under Mom's touch. How many times did I have to explain all this? I was a failure, plain and simple.

"I know you can feel magic," Mom said. "You're not entirely lost to me."

I had been starting to walk away, ostensibly to get something from the potluck tables. I wasn't hungry, but I didn't want to talk about any of this anymore. Mom's words stopped me. It was true. How had Mom known?

When I turned back to look, Mom was nodding her head. "See. This is why I never gave up on you. I know you're a witch, not one of them."

Them! Ugh! Mom made it sound like that nice, albeit naked, guy in the woods was some kind of monster. I hated how horrified Mom sounded. With a shake of my head, I turned my back on Mom. I slid the door open and headed outside. If only I had my license! Then I could hop in the car and drive home, just get out of here.

At this rate, I'd be thirty before I got my driver's license. I could hardly stand to be in the same room as Mom. How could we ever get enough time together behind the wheel for me to qualify?

c.r.a.p. As if there hadn't been enough fallout already.

I walked through the sea of parked cars and started down the road. I had to get out of here and I couldn't stand to drive home with Mom. My thought was to walk to the main road and see if there was some kind of public transportation. This was some crazy way-outer-ring suburb, and I knew most buses in the Cities stopped only at the first-tier suburbs. Still, maybe I could hitch. Heck, I was half vampire--perhaps I could sprout bat wings and fly home!

Silently, Nikolai appeared at my side.

"Hey," he said, startling me out of my reverie.

"Jeez, you scared the c.r.a.p out of me," I said, after catching my breath. "Where'd you come from?"

"You shouldn't be out here alone," he admonished. "You never know what might come out of the woods."

"Oh, you mean like you?"

"Ha," he said, but his smile had just enough of a trace of mischievousness to give me pause. "No, I meant like our visitors."

"The vampires."

Nikolai put a finger to his lips. "Don't say their name, especially that one. Their hearing is incredible."

I halted my insistent march toward the road. "You sound like you know things about them."

"Are you kidding? My people have been hunters for centuries."

"Vampire hunters? You mean like Buffy?"

Nikolai shook his head. "We can't talk about this out in the open. I came out here to make sure you were okay. Let's get back inside."

To the awkward? No way. I knew Nikolai had his own car and a license, and, it seemed, he also had a lot of information about my people. "I can't deal with my mom right now. Would you give me a ride home?"

He smiled as if he'd wanted to offer all along. "Sure."

I used my cell to leave a message on the landline at home. That way, once Mom had cooled down and wondered where I'd gotten to, she wouldn't have to worry. Not that it probably mattered, given that Mom considered me one of "them" now.

Nikolai showed the way to a decrepit Toyota. I thought it might have been green under all the rust and duct tape. The engine made an ominous sound when it started up. The radio blared a heavy metal station, which Nikolai quickly switched off. I felt a little self-conscious as I put on my seat belt.

I'd never really been alone with Nikolai before. Bea would be so jealous! But I could feel a serious case of nerves building. I didn't know how to act or what to do. Should I compliment him on the retro cool pink furry dice hanging from the rearview? What were you supposed to say to a guy when you first got into his car? The worst part was Bea would know. Of course, she wasn't here, and it wasn't even entirely clear if we were still friends.

"Hey, I got you a present," Nikolai said, rummaging through the backseat while the car idled noisily. The interior smelled of patchouli and old fast food. Nikolai kept the floorboards in the front pretty neat, but the backseat was strewn with schoolbooks, papers, and empty pop cans. From somewhere in the chaos, he unearthed a thin, brightly wrapped package. Flicking on the overhead dome light, he said, "Here!"

I took the pretty, light gift with a shy smile. "You didn't have to get me anything. You really shouldn't have."

"Come on, it's your birthday. Of course I did."

Nikolai or someone had wrapped the gift professionally. Cartoonish, brightly colored dancing kittens decorated the paper. Thin pink and yellow ribbon had been curled into festive bows.

"Open it up," he insisted.

I carefully found the tape and undid the edges.

He sighed dramatically. "Aw, rip into it, would you?"

With a smile, I pulled the paper until it shredded in my hands. Not sure what to do with the paper, I handed it to Nikolai, who tossed it into the back.

Finally, a CD case was revealed. I inspected the label. Horrified, I discovered it wasn't a band I recognized. I felt mortified that I couldn't express genuine enthusiasm. The more seconds pa.s.sed, the deeper I was aware of my social faux pas. "Um," I finally said, alternately trying to see his reaction and avoiding making eye contact. "Thanks! I'm sure I'll like it. I just . . . um. Who is this?"

He laughed. "You know, most girls would have just completely faked it. I love that you're honest. Not like the rest of them," he said somewhat wistfully, and trailed off as if lost in thought. After a shake of his head as though to clear it, he tapped a finger on the CD case. "This is my band. It's not a hundred percent professional or anything, but we rented a real recording studio. Most of our stuff is MP3s that we're selling online, but I burned them all on here and made up liner notes and cover art for you."

My eyes widened. "That is so cool." I looked more closely at the CD. Sure enough, there was Nik standing among a group of guys all decked out in leather on the cover, looking really . . . s.e.xy. "This is you? Wow."

"Well, wait until you hear it. And then, if you like it, maybe you could post a review? That'd be awesome."

I agreed, although why anyone would care what I thought I didn't know. Maybe I could make a niche on the Web as the half-vampire chick and be really big with "other siders" or Witches' Bane or whatever they called themselves.

"It's a really nice gift," I said, looking around for somewhere to put it. I didn't carry a purse and it was too big to fit in the back pocket of my jeans. Besides, I didn't think sitting on it was a good idea. I might have slipped it into a front pocket of one of those oversized s.h.i.+rts I usually wore, but instead I was wearing a very skin-hugging halter top and a blouse without pockets. Looking down at my own decolletage suddenly, I felt another blush brewing. Especially since when I looked up, I saw that Nikolai was looking there too.

"That's a beautiful necklace," he told my chest. Reaching out a finger, he looped it around one strand and slid the G.o.ddess pendant out from her hiding spot between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

I think he pulled my breath right out of my chest too.

"It has a lot of power," he said, caressing one of the stones in his fingers. As he leaned closer to examine it, his long hair nearly brushed my skin. I could smell his shampoo, clean and spicy. "Did you make it?"

When he looked up, his eyes were right next to mine. We could have kissed, except I was completely flummoxed. "Uh, no," I managed to say. "Bea did."

"She's quite the artist," he said, letting the necklace drop. He didn't immediately move away, and I noticed the stubble on his chin and how his eyes held the fiery color of liquid amber.

I started to reach a hand up to touch his face, but stopped myself in time. "Your eyes . . . I've never seen a color like that."

He looked away, as if embarra.s.sed. "It runs in the family--Algerian, I guess."

"Oh, well, they're beautiful." Beautiful? Did you say that to a boy? "I mean, handsome."

"Do you get tired of people noticing your eyes?" he asked. His gaze searched mine for a moment; then he looked away and muttered something I almost didn't hear, but which sounded like, "And talking about your stupid destiny?"

I touched his arm so he'd turn and look at me again. "Yes. My mom never shuts up about it."

He nodded. "Kirov boys are always hunters."

"Parker girls always pa.s.s their Initiation."

We shared a smile and a kind of sad laugh, and then he said, "Sucks about the Initiation." I had nothing to say to that, but luckily, he added, "Anyway, I hope you like the music."

"Oh, um, yeah." Heat flooded my body. I felt like we were standing on the edge of something deep and real, but I didn't know how to take the next step.

"Uh," I said, groping. "I can't wait to listen to the CD. Are you the lead singer?" I thought I saw his nod, but I continued babbling nervously. "That's just so awesome. I don't know anyone who has a CD. Did you write your own music? Wow. But, uh, we should probably get going. I've got school tomorrow. I totally flunked a precalculus test today, so I should really study. I mean, not that I really want to, but, you know. . . ."

G.o.d, I felt stupid. How idiotic must I sound right now? He probably thought I was a complete dork. I sucked at being a witch and I sucked at talking to boys. Wow, what a capper for an all-round suck-a.s.s birthday.

Somehow getting the hint, Nikolai turned off the dome light. "Tonight was kind of weird, huh? " he said, as he switched on the headlights and adjusted the mirrors.

I laughed, relieved at the darkness and the change of subject. My total botch-up tonight wasn't my favorite thing to talk about, but at least it was more familiar ground. I shrugged off his concern. "Don't feel bad. I knew it was going to happen." When he gave me a curious look, I added, "Seriously. I haven't been able to do magic, like, ever."

"No, I meant with the vampires. I've never seen so many of them. Up close."

"Oh."

Nikolai nudged the car out onto the long, narrow path.

To crack the window, I had to use a manual crank handle. As I struggled with the clumsy contraption, I wondered what his vampire-hunting family would think about him giving me a ride home. I bet there were rules about hunter/vampire interactions.

But I was only half, so did that count? I still couldn't quite wrap my head around it all. I didn't even really know what it meant to be a vampire. "So your family hunts vampires? What's that like?"

"We don't really do it much here. But my dad was big into it, mostly when he was in Russia. Eastern Europe has a lot more of them. Romania is riddled, really."

"Yeah? " Why hadn't I ever heard of this? You'd think it would make national news: a vampire plague in Romania.

But Nikolai just nodded like it was common knowledge. "Yeah."

His last noncommittal words hung in the air between us, and Nikolai seemed to be studying my face now. I didn't know what kind of reaction he was expecting. Was I supposed to be mad that his dad presumably killed a bunch of Romanian vampires? It wasn't like I had any friends who were vampires. Well, okay, I knew Elias and Ramses, but none of us had exchanged more than a few words. I glanced out into the night. Was Ramses okay? Had Elias evaded the coven?

My heart thudded dully at that last thought. What would they do with him if they did catch him?