“W-would you like something to drink?” Nadia offered nervously.

  He shook his head, stopping her automatic move toward the kitchen. “I prefer to drink straight from the vein.” He winked at Ray.

  “Why did you come here?” she demanded in a lower voice.

  “To collect Anya, of course.” He bobbed his head slightly.

  Ray’s icy glare turned to include me. I didn’t flinch though, I was used to her anger.

  “Me?” I snapped to attention. What did he want with me? I had been with him the night before and he hadn’t said anything then.

  “Yes you,” he grinned wickedly. His eyes didn’t stray too far from Ray. I couldn’t tell if he was watching her to make her mad or for his own protection. I decided not to ask.

  “What do you want with Anya?” Ray asked before I could.

  His eyes darted to me for the briefest of seconds, saying everything. “I’ll go get dressed,” I mumbled.

  I wasn’t surprised at all when Ray followed me back into the room. Her eyes were practically bulging out of her head. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to come here,” she gasped.

  “He just came here to get me,” I mumbled as I pulled off my dirty shirt from the night before.

  “Why?” Her voice clipped off angrily.

  I shrugged awkwardly, trying to stay balanced on one foot as I peeled off my pants. I shifted through a pile of clean clothes until I found a pair of faded jeans with half the button missing. They were Ray’s, but they were the only ones in the pile. “Can I wear these?”

  She nodded absently, barely looking to see what I wanted to wear. “Did you invite him here?”

  “No.” I fastened the half button that only managed to stay closed sometimes, but there were no holes in the pants. “I didn’t tell him to come here and I don’t know what he wants,” I added before she could ask.

  “Then, why would you even be thinking of going with him?” I heard something raw in her voice but I couldn’t dwell on it, I just couldn’t.

  “I’ll be fine, Ray.”

  “Hmph,” she scoffed.

  “If he wanted me dead, I would already be maggot food in the alley trash cans.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  I pulled a folded orange shirt from the pile and shoved it on to cover my bra. “Ray,” I stopped on my way to the doorway to stand directly in front of her so she could see how serious I was, “try really hard not to worry about me.”

  “You realize that isn’t possible, right?”

  “I’ll be back later tonight,” I promised, already turning away from my over protective sister.

  “Promise?” She reached out to grab my arm.

  “Yeah.” I raised my eyebrows at her in irritation.

  “Bad idea,” she whispered.

  “I heard you the first fifty times.” I yanked my arm from her tight grip and hurried out to join Ryan.

  “Ready?” he asked comfortably from the table. Nadia sat with him, her eyes impossibly wider than normal. She had a mug gripped in her hands but the thick black liquid was still to the top.

  “I’m ready.” I didn’t smile or even look at Nadia. She would understand later. She wasn’t like Ray.

  “Great.” He stood up gracefully, his chair not making a sound as it slid away from the table. How did he do that?

  I decided it wasn’t important enough to ask. Especially with Nadia looking so nervous and Ray fuming just beyond the curtain. She hadn’t come back out from the bedroom. We just needed to get out of the shrinking apartment.

  I stood awkwardly, careful not to look at him, I didn’t know where else to look, though. When I did accidentally look at Ryan, he was smiling calmly.

  “Well, um,” Nadia stood up, her chair scraping loudly on the old linoleum. I winced. “You guys have … uh … have fun,” she stammered.

  I tried not to roll my eyes as I stalked to the front door. I didn’t hear Ryan following behind me, but I was sure he was right there. He was so light on his feet- it was unnerving.

  I opened the door and slipped out into the hallway as quickly as I could. The sound of the door clicking behind me was the only indication that I wasn’t alone.

  “Where are we going?” I asked impatiently. It made me more nervous than I cared to admit to be following a vampire blindly like that. Especially Ryan.

  “You’ll see,” he answered elusively. He jogged lightly down the dingy steps, eager to be free of the dirt.

  I glanced back at the closed door but I had already made up my mind. I took a deep breath and hurried to catch up. The sun was starting to go down, but it was still plenty light outside. We just didn’t have to deal with the really hot sun now.

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  I didn’t like the way his eyebrows wriggled. His idea of a surprise was most probably not the same as mine.

  “A surprise.” I raised both eyebrows. “Excellent.”

  He chuckled lightly, his shoulders trembling slightly with his amusement. “You’ll love this, my pet,” he promised seductively.

  “I’m not your pet,” I grumbled but kept close to his heels as if I really were his little lost puppy dog.

  I kept my questions to myself as we walked along the busy sidewalk. It was getting late and people were hurrying to their various destinations. The city didn’t really need its strict curfew for the few normal people to stay inside after dark.

  The freaks and trouble makers came out at night. I had no problem putting myself in that category. I was half vampire. How much worse could a human be? I wasn’t even as cool as the SH, at least they were incredibly powerful. I didn’t age very fast and I healed pretty quick; but overall, I was still weak. Rueben and Ryan had always kept us hunted down like dogs and here I was following the wolf into his lair.

  Everything that Raven had ever accused me of came crashing down on me. I was weak and selfish. When Ryan had first approached me at the bus station, I listened to what he said more out of fear than anything else. But the things he said made sense.

  “We’ll kill Rueben together,” he had whispered. “Together.”

  “Why would I trust you?”

  “Oh,” he smiled wide, “don’t trust me, Anya. Definitely don’t trust me.”

  “You’ve always wanted us dead.”

  He shook his head slowly. “I only kept close to you because Rueben did. If I had wanted you to be dead- you already would be.”

  I clicked my teeth closed. What could I say to that? He was a powerful vampire. We had often wondered ourselves how three half humans managed to elude them.

  “Rueben, too, for that matter.”

  “Rueben too?”

  “He doesn’t really want you dead.”

  “Then, why is he chasing us?”

  “Watching. Making sure you don’t cause him any trouble.”

  I didn’t want to admit that what he said made sense. “You want Rueben dead?”

  His eyes flashed with intensity. “I do.”

  “But, why? You’re both vampires.” Weren’t they both on the same side?

  He smiled, but it didn’t come close to his eyes. I had heard most humans say that vampires were irresistible, but I doubted they were talking about Ryan.

  He kept his dark hair long but slicked back in a ponytail. His eyes were usually narrowed into angry slits and I avoided looking at him too closely so I wasn’t sure what color they were. His skin was dark, as if he’d spent too many hours out in the sun. But his smile was the worst, always he was just seconds from a sneer.

  “I’ll be in touch, Anya,” he spoke softly.

  “Anya,” his harsh voice brought me back to the present. “Where did you go, kid?” he teased.

  I looked around at where we had ended up. We were several feet in a secluded space between two tall buildings. The fading sunlight barely touched us at all. Why had he brought me here?

  “Here.” He nodded to a shadowed corner.

  A young woman stepped forward, her eyes wide. Her hair hung in dirty clumps around her dirt streaked face. This probably wouldn’t end well, I realized with a sinking feeling. I took a step backwards but Ryan shook his head.

  The woman held out her hand to reveal a small bag of white powder. I sucked in a quick breath. Raven’s face tried to butt into my thoughts but I pushed her away.

  “Oh, look, a treat for both of us,” Ryan taunted.

  I stepped forward to take the bag. My hands shook, but I kept my eyes only on that white powder. I couldn’t let anything else matter. Ray might not approve, but this was my salvation. At least while we lived in the city. After we left …

  I opened the bag and sprinkled the powder into my hand. I leaned down to press my tongue onto my sweet escape. I wouldn’t use after we left the city, I promised myself.

  I heard the sickening sound of blood leaving the woman’s body and entering Ryan’s mouth, but I couldn’t bring myself to care that much. My lips turned up into a smile even when I told them to grimace. I tried to get my feet to carry me back to our apartment, but they wouldn’t even hold my weight as I stood there.

  I slid down the stone wall until I was sitting with my legs stretched out in front of me. My mind was already getting fuzzy and it wouldn’t be long before nothing mattered anymore. My eyes closed, but I could still hear the soft sounds of Ryan drinking blood.

  I wondered vaguely what it tasted like; the blood. I had felt what it was like to drink blood through Rueben. It was a wonderful feeling of warmth and energy. It wasn’t something dirty and disgusting. Those were just my human feelings taking over. Once I got over that, I could understand why they drank blood. It wasn’t just because they were hungry, but also just to make them feel alive.

  My thoughts soared higher and higher until I was out of that dirty alley. I was out of the city; just flying over the tops of the buildings. I stopped in a large open field flowing green and sprinkled with pink and purple wild flowers.

  I dipped my face low into the grass and inhaled the sweet fragrance. This was what happiness felt like. Complete happiness smelled like wildflowers on a perfect spring day. I laid back to stare at the cotton candy clouds, my heart as full as it had ever been.

  Chapter 5

  When I finally came back to the alley, I was alone again. Ryan was gone, but he had left the woman lying there beside me. My head was still hazy, but I knew enough to get out of the alley. I needed to get back to the apartment. The police might not care about a dead woman, but she might have had family or someone looking for her.

  Or, I scrambled to my feet as my thoughts spun out in my foggy head, there were other vamps in the city. I couldn’t just sit here and be an easy target. I lurched forward on the first step, but straightened myself out quickly. The alley seemed longer on the way out than it had before.

  By the time I made it back to the street, I was stumbling again. No one paid any attention to me though. The only person that said anything at all was a wall of a man who yelled at me for running into him. “Sorry!” I mumbled, trying to let go of him without falling to the ground.

  “Watch what you’re doing little lady,” he answered gruffly.

  I pressed myself closer to the wall. I needed something to hold onto- something not living. It wasn’t far back to our apartment, but it seemed to take an eternity. I pulled hard on the door until I realized it pushed open. I leaned my shoulder heavily into the door and almost fell onto the steps that were waiting just inside.

  I sat down on the bottom step to catch my breath before I went up the rest of the way. I really hoped that Ray wouldn’t be there. She would be able to tell right away that I had used. I didn’t want to fight with her now. I considered just sleeping out on the steps, but she would probably come looking for me anyway.

  I don’t know how long I sat there on the bottom step. The light faded outside the dingy window and most of the people had stopped moving. My mind cleared up more and guilt crept in. Ray was going to be so pissed.

  Worse than pissed. She was going to be disappointed. I cringed but pushed myself up anyway. I couldn’t stay out here any longer. They were already going to be worried since I had left with Ryan.

  The door opening made a loud screeching noise. I winced and peered around the apartment quickly. No one was sitting at the table. Weird. Maybe they were already sleeping. Guess that meant I got the couch.

  It was strange that they hadn’t waited up for me, but I wasn’t going to dwell on it. I was fine with that. It was better that having to deal with Ray’s accusing eyes.

  I shuffled over to the uncomfortable couch and flung myself out on it. Sleep sounded great. Maybe I would get lucky and Rueben would stay out of my dreams. I had just closed my eyes when the front door banged open.

  “Hey,” Ray called loudly. “You’re back.”

  “Yeah.” I opened my eyes but avoided eye contact. “I’ve been here. Where were you? Where’s Nadia?”

  “There were …” she hesitated.

  My heart sped up. “Were what?”

  “You won’t remember any of this tomorrow anyway,” she accused, “but we had some visitors tonight.”

  I sat up too quickly, sending all the blood that was in my head down to my stomach. “Here?”

  “I’ll repay the favor tomorrow.”

  I stared blankly at her. “I’m coming.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Raven.”

  “No.” She held her hand up. “You need to meet me at the bus stop tomorrow. 1:00. Can you do that?” I nodded mutely, then she disappeared into the bedroom.

  I laid back down, horror growing heavier in my stomach. She hadn’t told me about Nadia. Where was she? I felt too heavy to stand up though. What if she needed me? What was wrong with me? Was I as selfish as Ray accused? I buried my face into my arm. Yes, but I would meet her at the bus stop tomorrow; where we always met when there was trouble. We’d clear things up later- when my head was clearer.

  ****

  The wind came on suddenly and violently. I pulled my jacket tighter but it didn’t do much to block out the chill. Where in the hell was Raven? It was not like her to be late. My irritation changed to worry and then back to irritation just as quickly. I shifted my weight from foot to foot impatiently. Where was she?

  “Hey!” Raven shouted from behind me.

  I whirled around in anger. “Where have you—” My words were cut short when I saw her.

  She was clutching her stomach, trying to keep it in place, but blood was seeping through her fingers. “I got caught up.” She smiled sheepishly.

  I snapped my mouth shut and ran the rest of the way to meet her. “Who did this?” I demanded.

  “Jon C.,” she said with a grimace.

  “Jon C?” She nodded. We pulled each other along down the street. “You need a hospital?” I asked as we waited for the bus.

  “No, I’m fine,” she said quickly. “You can just sew me up.” She smiled but I could see the pain she tried to hide.

  I chewed on the inside of my lip and tried not to sigh.

  “I think it was an accident,” she told me in an off-hand way. She wasn’t fooling me. I bit hard on my lip and regretted it when I tasted blood. I made a face but Raven didn’t notice, or maybe she thought I was reacting to her ridiculous statement.

  The bus pulled up and we climbed inside. The driver didn’t even look our way. Raven held her own down the aisle, but she slumped low in the seat. I glanced often at her as the bus lumbered through the city streets.

  I hated the city. I resolved yet again to leave it as soon as she was healed. I clenched my teeth together to stop myself from asking what had happened. Explanations would come later.

  “Anya,” Raven said softly.

  “Yeah,” I half grunted.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I winced away from the question. We had sworn long ago to never lie to each other but I didn’t want her to worry. A quicker heartbeat would make her blood flow faster. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I said, avoiding a lie.

  “You worry too much, I’m fine.” I wanted to remind her of our “no lie” policy but I clamped my mouth shut. “You hear me?” she asked when I didn’t say anything.

  “You know, Ray,” I said slowly, “when your guts are spilling all over a public bus seat I wouldn’t consider that fine.” I said it harshly so she knew I was mad. I turned my head to stare out the window. Now was not the time to fight with her. I needed to wait until I had her sewed up.

  I pouted my lips. Why was she always getting herself hurt? Didn’t she realize that I couldn’t survive without her? We were in this together, I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t at least try to be more careful.

  “It’s just a little blood,” she told me. She was irritated but hiding it well.

  I snorted. “Humph!” I didn’t turn back toward her. “A little blood is a paper cut, you were stabbed.” I looked over at her then, to make sure she wasn’t getting herself too worked up.

  “I’m fine,” she insisted again. She smiled when she caught me looking at her.

  She wasn’t fine, not yet, but I would be able to sew her up. I was used to it. When the bus pulled up on 52nd, I helped Ray out and we both made our way to the tiny box we called an apartment. The only good thing about the whole place was that it was cheap. That didn’t matter anymore though, we were leaving the city. No matter what she said, we were leaving.

  “I know what you are thinking,” Raven said from my side.

  I was intent on the ground in front of us, so she didn’t see my face. “Bet you don’t.”

  “We are not leaving the city.”

  I tightened my lips into a hard line. I really hated when she did that. “What? You can read my mind now too?”

  “No. I just know you too well Anya. You’ll be blaming the city for my carelessness.”

  I shook my head. “If we didn’t live in this stupid city, carelessness would give you a bruise or embarrassment … or both,” I said in mock horror.

  “We can’t leave the city Anya.”

  “Sure we can. We get on a bus and we stay on it till we get past the sign.”

  She laughed. “You know what I mean.”

 

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