to!”
“Ebon!” He’d bolted straight out of the room, and indeed from the house. I caught up with him on the driveway. “Where are you going?” I demanded, grabbing his sleeve and hauling him to a halt. “You’re supposed to be my bodyguard, remember?”
“Yes, but—!” Ebon was rather wild-eyed. He raked one hand through his hair, causing havoc to the carefully gelled spikes. “Your family is very, um, that is, surprisingly, er—”
“Insane?” I supplied.
“I was going to say devoted.” Ebon shook himself, seeming to calm down a little. “But I truly do have urgent business, I’m afraid.”
“Really? What?”
“I would prefer not to say.”
I gave him a long, level stare.
“Ah—” Ebon had the expression of a girl forced to ask for a tampon. “Actually,” he muttered, “I’m hungry.”
“You’re—oh.” I’d thought he’d been pushing his ground beef around unenthusiastically. “Okay. Let’s find you someone to eat then.” I scanned the desertedfront garden. “Crap. Where’s a lurking vampire hunter when you need one?”
Ebon looked at me a bit oddly. “You … are comfortable with this?”
“Ebon, you’re a vampire. I’m kind of familiar with the basic concept.” I shrugged. “Besides, I’m going to get hungry eventually, so it’s not like I can afford to be squeamish.” Ebon’s look had turned into a flat-out stare. “What?”
“You truly aren’t hungry,” he murmured. “I didn’t believe—well.” He shook his head. “In any event, I must ask you to wait while I … relieve myself.”
An idea burst into my head. I’d never thought anything I’d learned in math class would actually prove useful, but a bit of elementary geometry—two straight lines converge to a point—might answer some questions. “No way. I’m coming with you.”
“No, you must not.” Ebon’s expression turned darkly brooding. “I do not wish you to have to witness my beast—”
“Hello! Fellow vampire here!” I waved my hands in the air. “I’ve got to learn how to do this stuff too, you know. I’ll, like, shadow you.”
“No, I—” He stopped abruptly, as if an idea had juststruck him too. “I suppose you have a point,” he conceded. “Very well. First we must find a suitable donor.” He threw back his shoulders, a hunter preparing to stalk his prey across the night … and pulled an iPhone out of his pocket.
“You are kidding me.” I watched as he tapped through screens with practiced swipes. “There’s an app for that ?”
“Hakon keeps a regional list, to help his Bloodline keep to previously bitten humans. This is a convenient way to distribute the information.” His mouth quirked. “There’s a corresponding wiki for reviews as well, but that’s strictly unofficial.” He scrolled down the screen. “Here we are. The closest donor is … yes, one Lorraine Mitchell. I believe you’ve met?”
“Lorraine? You want to eat Lorraine? Hang on.” I frowned. “How did you know about that?”
Ebon raised one eyebrow and cast me a dark, mysterious smile that insinuated possession of strange psychic powers.
I waited.
When it became obvious that I wasn’t buying it, Ebon’s mystic expression slid into slight embarrassment. “I must admit I was following you,” he said. He shrugged one shoulder. “I have been stalking Lilith forsome years now, on Hakon’s orders. Fortunately for us all, I came across her as she was unearthing you from your grave.”
I remembered the gunshots I’d heard, when I’d first woken up in my coffin. “That was you? You chased her away?”
“I am, in fact, more dangerous than I appear,” he said a touch testily. “In any event, after driving Lilith off, I shadowed you. I have been watching over you for a few nights now.”
“Huh. Would have been useful if you’d introduced yourself a bit earlier,” I said, thinking of Mr. Paper Clip and his werecat spy. “I could have used the help.”
“My apologies, but
“Ebon!” He’d bolted straight out of the room, and indeed from the house. I caught up with him on the driveway. “Where are you going?” I demanded, grabbing his sleeve and hauling him to a halt. “You’re supposed to be my bodyguard, remember?”
“Yes, but—!” Ebon was rather wild-eyed. He raked one hand through his hair, causing havoc to the carefully gelled spikes. “Your family is very, um, that is, surprisingly, er—”
“Insane?” I supplied.
“I was going to say devoted.” Ebon shook himself, seeming to calm down a little. “But I truly do have urgent business, I’m afraid.”
“Really? What?”
“I would prefer not to say.”
I gave him a long, level stare.
“Ah—” Ebon had the expression of a girl forced to ask for a tampon. “Actually,” he muttered, “I’m hungry.”
“You’re—oh.” I’d thought he’d been pushing his ground beef around unenthusiastically. “Okay. Let’s find you someone to eat then.” I scanned the desertedfront garden. “Crap. Where’s a lurking vampire hunter when you need one?”
Ebon looked at me a bit oddly. “You … are comfortable with this?”
“Ebon, you’re a vampire. I’m kind of familiar with the basic concept.” I shrugged. “Besides, I’m going to get hungry eventually, so it’s not like I can afford to be squeamish.” Ebon’s look had turned into a flat-out stare. “What?”
“You truly aren’t hungry,” he murmured. “I didn’t believe—well.” He shook his head. “In any event, I must ask you to wait while I … relieve myself.”
An idea burst into my head. I’d never thought anything I’d learned in math class would actually prove useful, but a bit of elementary geometry—two straight lines converge to a point—might answer some questions. “No way. I’m coming with you.”
“No, you must not.” Ebon’s expression turned darkly brooding. “I do not wish you to have to witness my beast—”
“Hello! Fellow vampire here!” I waved my hands in the air. “I’ve got to learn how to do this stuff too, you know. I’ll, like, shadow you.”
“No, I—” He stopped abruptly, as if an idea had juststruck him too. “I suppose you have a point,” he conceded. “Very well. First we must find a suitable donor.” He threw back his shoulders, a hunter preparing to stalk his prey across the night … and pulled an iPhone out of his pocket.
“You are kidding me.” I watched as he tapped through screens with practiced swipes. “There’s an app for that ?”
“Hakon keeps a regional list, to help his Bloodline keep to previously bitten humans. This is a convenient way to distribute the information.” His mouth quirked. “There’s a corresponding wiki for reviews as well, but that’s strictly unofficial.” He scrolled down the screen. “Here we are. The closest donor is … yes, one Lorraine Mitchell. I believe you’ve met?”
“Lorraine? You want to eat Lorraine? Hang on.” I frowned. “How did you know about that?”
Ebon raised one eyebrow and cast me a dark, mysterious smile that insinuated possession of strange psychic powers.
I waited.
When it became obvious that I wasn’t buying it, Ebon’s mystic expression slid into slight embarrassment. “I must admit I was following you,” he said. He shrugged one shoulder. “I have been stalking Lilith forsome years now, on Hakon’s orders. Fortunately for us all, I came across her as she was unearthing you from your grave.”
I remembered the gunshots I’d heard, when I’d first woken up in my coffin. “That was you? You chased her away?”
“I am, in fact, more dangerous than I appear,” he said a touch testily. “In any event, after driving Lilith off, I shadowed you. I have been watching over you for a few nights now.”
“Huh. Would have been useful if you’d introduced yourself a bit earlier,” I said, thinking of Mr. Paper Clip and his werecat spy. “I could have used the help.”
“My apologies, but
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