“Are you going to sleep all night?” he asks, poking me lightly in the shoulder.
“Grumph,” I reply, trying to roll to my other side to ignore him. Unfortunately, like a good girl, I’d fastened my seat belt so I have limited maneuverability.
“Wake up. We’re here,” he instructs.
“Here?”
“In England. The town of Bristol, to be exact.”
“What time is it?”
He glances at his watch. Rolex, of course. “It’s just before three A.M. local time. We’ve got to get to our safe house before the sun rises.”
I yawn, stretching my hands above my head. “Safe house?” I ask. I can’t believe we’re in England. That I slept through the whole flight. I didn’t even get a chance to enjoy all the luxuries the plane had to offer. Darn. Maybe on the way back . . .
Magnus nods. “You know I can’t get caught out in the sunlight. I’ve arranged with a local vamp coven for us to stay with them until nightfall. Then we’ll travel by car to Glastonbury. It’s about an hour trip.”
“Oh. Okay,” I say. I had forgotten about Magnus’s aversion to the sun. This meant our trip was going to have to take longer than I anticipated. I had stupidly assumed we’d get to England, grab the Grail, and head straight back to America, arriving just after school ended. Hopefully Rayne will be able to keep up the twin charade a bit longer.
I unfasten my seat belt and follow Magnus out of the plane. There’s a limo (of course!) waiting and a properly dressed chauffeur opens the door for us to climb inside.
Once settled and on our way, Magnus turns to me. “So how are you holding up?” he asks, to his credit sounding genuinely concerned.
“Fine.”
“No. I mean, really,” he insists. “It’s okay. You can tell me. I’m sure it’s been a bloody terrible experience for you. It’s hard enough for those who have been properly trained. But to go through all this completely unprepared . . . Well, I can only imagine how hard it must be.”
I nod slowly. “It’s really strange,” I admit. “My mom thinks I’m on drugs. I’ve got all these weird cravings. I feel sick to my stomach all the time. It’s hard to see under fluorescent lights and the sun beats down on my skin as if it could blister it at any moment. And,” I add, reluctantly, “I feel like I’m dying of thirst.”
There. I said it. I admitted I wanted—make that needed—blood. I’m officially a freak of nature. But then again, so’s he.
Magnus nods sympathetically. “I’m sure you’re ravenous by this point. I had some wine for you on the plane, but I didn’t want to wake you. Figured you needed all the sleep you could get.” He pats me lightly on the knee. “Hang in there. When we get to the coven, we will be able to feed.”
Oh goody. I can’t wait.
19
The Coven—England Style
Ten minutes later, we pull up to an old English manor. An ancient scary-looking one like you always see in the movies, with wrought-iron gates and scads of unhappy ghosts going around and haunting everyone. But Magnus assures me the vampires who live here keep the place clean of any sort of poltergeists.
The interior of the mansion is less ostentatious than the American coven. It’s also not underground, which means all the windows have had to be boarded up to make sure no sunshine slips in. An old vampire (I mean, they’re all old, technically speaking, but this one actually has the liver-spotted hands to prove it) greets us, bowing low to Magnus.
“Well met, good sir. I hear you will be taking over Coven Six,” he says in a low, respectful voice. His accent reminds me of the ones you hear vampires use in the movies. Like from Transylvania or something.
Magnus returns the bow. “Indeed. But first I must attend to some important business in Glastonbury. So I do thank you for allowing us weary travelers a place to rest.”
It’s so interesting to me how formal vamps are when they chat with one another. It’s like there’s some secret vampire-speak they’ve all mastered. Then again, I guess in the era when they were growing up human, that’s how people really talked. They probably prefer it and only learn slang to keep up appearances among mortals.
“Of course. It is an honor to host you and your blood mate,” the grandpa vampire says. The tux he’s wearing totally screams Dracula wanna-be, but I’m not opening my big mouth this time. I mean, really. For all I know, the guy is Dracula.
Drac escorts us down the hallway and up a large winding flight of stairs. The place looks very badly kept up, to tell you the truth. There’s cobwebs everywhere. If I end up stuck as a vamp forever, I’m living in the luxury New England coven instead. Way more my style.
The doors to the bedrooms look like vaults in a bank, each with its own keypad lock. Drac picks a door, seemingly at random, and enters a code. The door swings silently open into a blackened room.
Magnus bows low again. “Thank you, my good sir,” he says.
Drac returns his bow and then retreats down the hall. Magnus ushers me into the room.
Where there is only one bed.
“Um.” I scan the room. “Hmm.”
“What’s wrong?” Magnus asks, shutting the door behind us. He’s standing directly behind me, and I can feel his breath on my neck, which is a tad disconcerting. I step into the room to add space between us.
“Doesn’t Drac have a second bedroom? I mean, this is a mansion, right?”
“Drac?” Magnus repeats, raising an eyebrow in question.
I blush. Forgot that was just my nickname for the guy. “You know, our illustrious host.”
Magnus grins. “He does look a bit like the legendary Dracula, doesn’t he?” he admits. “We all used to tease him about that in our younger days . . .”
“Um, can we walk down memory lane later, Mag? Right now we need to concentrate on the big picture,” I interrupt. I don’t mean to be rude, but there’s a pressing issue to be dealt with here. “We have one room. One bed. And two of us.”
Magnus nods. “Indeed. I am sure our host has assumed that we would share a bed, as we are blood mates, after all.”
“Well, we all know what assuming does, right? Makes an ass out of you and me.”
“I’m sorry, Sunny. But if I were to ask him for a second room, it would raise far too many questions. Questions that might undermine my newfound position as coven leader.”
“Ah,” I say, realizing what he’s saying. “So if you were to say you screwed up and did an unauthorized bite on some poor innocent girl like me, then people might say you’re unfit to be king?”
He nods. “Indeed. And while I do not relish the idea of taking over the coven, it would be better that I do so than to let those seize control who do not have the coven’s best interests at heart.”
“Gotcha,” I say. “So we have to play loving blood mates in front of the other vamps.”
“Basically, yes.”
“And that means sharing a bed.”
“Yes.”
For a moment I wonder if he’s lying. Just making it up so he can be in a position to get his groove on with me. But then, that’s a huge charade to come up with just for a little booty call. And really, he doesn’t seem the type to have to trick his dates into bed, not with his looks and appeal.
“Okay, fine,” I say. “We’ll share a room.”
“I can sleep on the floor,” he volunteers, going all knight-in-shining-armor chivalrous again.
I shake my head. “I appreciate the gesture, but there’s no need.” I gesture to the bed. “It’s like king-sized plus. I’m sure we can both fit comfortably on it.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“Yup. Positive. And speaking of beds . . .” Even though I just woke up a short time ago, I already feel sleepy again. I kick off my shoes and crawl under the covers on the left side of the bed.
In turn, Magnus pulls off his shirt, revealing those killer abs that make me drool every time, then joins me in bed, keeping his distance on the right side.
So now we’re in
the same bed, but chasms apart. And while I freely admit I’ve never shared a bed with a guy, even platonically, it doesn’t seem that weird. And I completely trust Magnus, for some unknown reason, not to do any funny business.
“Get some rest,” the vampire says, turning over to his side to face me. “We’re going to have a busy night tonight finding the Grail.”
“I will,” I say, yawning. I cuddle into my plush feather pillow. This bed is truly deluxe and I feel suddenly very warm and safe. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he says simply. Then he smiles a sleepy little smile and my insides involuntarily go to mush. “I am happy to do it.”
“No, I mean for everything,” I babble on, not quite ready to shut my eyes for some reason. Not quite ready to stop looking into his beautiful blue eyes, if we’re being completely honest here. “You’ve got a ton on your plate with the whole taking over the coven thing. And bringing me here to England on what could be a total wild goose chase is probably the last thing you wanted to do this week.”
He reaches over and brushes a strand of hair from my eyes. “It’s no bother. Really.”
“You know, Magnus,” I say, feeling warm and cozy from his touch and for once deciding not to fight the tingly feelings. “You’re really a nice guy. If I did want to be a vampire, you’d totally be my first choice for blood mate.”
He smiles again, though this time I’m half convinced his eyes look a little sad. “Go to sleep, Sunny,” he whispers, leaning over to kiss me softly on the forehead. “Go to sleep.”
I do.
20
A Rave Mistake
I sleep like a rock and wake on my own when the sun sets, feeling well rested, though ravenously hungry. I open my eyes. Somehow in the middle of the day, Magnus has shifted in his sleep and is currently lying with his arm draped over me, spooning me into him. Surprised at the nearness and more than a bit uncomfortable, I squirm out of bed, waking him in the process.
He rubs his eyes sleepily. “Is it nighttime?” he asks.
I glance at the bedside clock. “Yup. Eight P.M. on the dot.” I wonder if he has any idea I was just in his arms. Hopefully not, as that would be très awkward.
“Excellent.” He rises from bed and grabs his shirt from the floor, pulling it over his head. “Time to head to Glastonbury.”
Since we’ve both slept in our clothes, there’s not much getting-ready time and moments later I follow him out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
“What’s Glastonbury like, anyhow?” I ask as we step outside the mansion. The limo is still waiting for us, go figure. I wonder if the driver got any sleep.
“It’s a very quiet village, home to many artisans and spiritualists,” Magnus explains as we get into the limo. “Quaint, actually. A pleasant holiday spot for most tourists.”
“Cool.” I always wanted to visit one of those stereotypical English country towns, with stone cottages and antique shops.
“Once a year they have a major festival with big-name musical acts,” he continues. “The crowds descend on the town in droves. Usually more than a hundred thousand people show up, if you can believe it. They camp for three days in a field, listen to music, dance, and do God knows what drugs. It’s meant to be quite insane.”
“Sounds cool. When’s the festival?”
“Oh, they don’t hold it until the end of June or so. Never in May.”
I frown, disappointed. “Too bad. It sounds like a blast.”
“Believe me, it’s for the best. With a hundred thousand people crowding the town, the druid order makes itself scarce. We’d never find them and thus never find the Grail.”
“Oh. Well, then I guess it’s a good thing it’s not that time of year.” Obviously, getting the Grail is much more important than partying at some big English rave.
“Indeed.”
“Still, it would have been kind of cool to see. A hundred thousand people standing in a field, all one with the music. You don’t get that in America.”
Magnus pauses for a moment, then says, “If you really want to see it, I can take you in June, if you like.”
I glance over at him, completely taken aback. Is he making postvampire plans with me? Does he honestly think we’ll be hanging out with each other after I turn back into a human? Is it even possible to keep some kind of relationship . . . friendship going between a vampire and a human? And if it is possible, is that what I want to do?
Do I want to keep hanging out with Magnus after I’ve been rehumanized? I’ve only known him a few short nights, but if I’m being completely honest here, I do kinda like having him around. He’s funny and interesting and loyal and chivalrous, and yummy as anything. What’s not to like? Then again, what will I do when he eventually gets assigned another blood mate? Will he drop me like a hot clove of garlic when the Council assigns him a real, willing partner? His true queen? And how will I deal with that?
No, I decide to myself. It’s better to make a clean break of it. Once I turn back into a human, that’s it. I’m severing all ties. Forgetting vampires even exist and going on with my normal boring everyday life.
“Um, Sunny? You know what I was just saying about taking you to the festival?” Magnus says, interrupting my whirling thoughts. I glance over. He’s staring out the tinted window.
Okay, here goes. Time to make the break. I swallow hard. “You know, Mag, you really don’t have to—”
“I think we may see it after all.”
“Huh?”
Magnus leans back into his seat. “Look out the window.”
I scramble over him to cup my hands over the glass and peer outside. Then I gasp.
The festival, it seems, has been moved up a month.
Everywhere I look, there’s people. All types of people. Young people. Old people. People with dreadlocks. People with mohawks. People dressed in designer clothes and people dressed as Goths. Hippies, ravers, stoners, metalheads. All swarming the streets with sloshy plastic cups of beer.
“Oh my gosh,” I cry. “The festival is . . . now?” The second I voice the question I realize how obvious the answer is. We’re in the middle of a swarm of people.
I sink back into the leather seat. Great. Just great. I make it all the way to England and it just happens to be on the one day of the year when the druids I’m seeking go into hiding. Once again, my lack of luck astounds me.
“Wow. This sucks,” I say mournfully.
“Indeed,” Magnus agrees, as always not the most optimistic of blood mates.
“What are we gonna do?”
“Well, there’s no way to find the druids in this mess,” he says, peering out the window again. “They’ll have gone underground. We’ll just have to wait it out.”
“But it’s Thursday night. And I turn into a vampire on Saturday. That doesn’t give us much time.”
Magnus reaches over and squeezes my knee. I know he means it to be comforting, but it’s totally not. “I know, Sun,” he says. “It’s a complete disaster. I’m so sorry.”
I look out the window again, feeling the tears well up in my eyes and drip down my cheeks. Of all the unfortunate things to happen, this has got to be the worst. My one chance for redemption has been ruined by a massive flock of English raver kids. Don’t they have school? Don’t they have lives? Why are they here, set on ruining mine?
I try to resign myself to life as a vampire. It won’t be that bad, will it? I mean, I’ll have riches beyond my wildest belief, unimaginable powers. That’ll be fun, right? And hey, if we’re being honest here, sunshine is completely overrated. As is college. And getting married and having a family. And . . .
Oh, what’s the use? No matter how you slice it, this absolutely blows. I don’t want to be a vampire. I’m sure it’s a fine lifestyle choice for some people. But it’s just not me.
The sobs come in full force now. Choking, rasping gulps of sorrow that rack my body. Soon, I’m crying so bad I’m actually shaking. All this time I’ve held out hope that somehow the p
rocess could be reversed. And now that I know I’m doomed, the magnitude of my situation hits me like some Acme anvil in a Road Runner cartoon.
This sucks.
This totally sucks.
This totally, utterly, and unbelievably sucks.
Suddenly I feel arms around me, pulling me away from my dark pit of despair and enveloping me in a warm, safe embrace. I press my head against Magnus’s shoulder and just let him hold me as I cry. Let him stroke my back with his fingers as I choke out my sobs.
“Shh, shh,” he soothes. “It’s going to be okay.”
“It’s not going to be okay,” I cry. “I’m going to be a vampire forever.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” he whispers. “We can find a way. Or wait till the festival is over. The place could be completely evacuated tomorrow, which would give us plenty of time to find the Grail.”
I sniff, wishing I had a Kleenex to wipe my nose. I hate getting all slobbery like this. I pull away from Magnus’s hug, so I can look him in the eyes. He gazes back at me, solemn and concerned.
“You really think we have a chance?” I ask, brushing the tears away with my sleeve.
He nods slowly. “I do,” he says. “And Sunny, I don’t want to sound negative here, but even if we don’t, which I don’t think will happen,” he adds, probably in response to my crumpling face, “but worst-case scenario,” he reaches over and cups my face in his hands. I suck in a breath. “I want you to know that I won’t abandon you. I won’t leave you to fend for yourself. If you have to stay a vampire, I promise you now, I will be your blood mate in every sense of the word. As long as you want me or need me, I will keep you safe. You don’t have to be afraid. I will never leave you.”
This promise, this confession, this ultimatum from the beautiful creature in front of me is almost too much. My heart breaks and soars all at the same time. I don’t know whether to throw up or throw my arms around him.
“Th-thank you,” I murmur. “That means a lot to me.”
He doesn’t reply. Well, not with words anyway. He just leans in and kisses me.