“Lucky.”
I flared mine back and felt like an idiot.
“Nicky.”
I pushed past him, then wished I could go back out onto the porch to fight with him. I’d take that over Solange’s pale, worried face any day.
“Lucy, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Sol. I just needed supplies and to feed the cats.” I dropped my bags, felt Nicholas come up behind me. She looked so relieved, it gave the guilt sharper teeth. No one else could make me feel so bad without saying a single word. Bruno was doing a pretty good job though, looking like a disappointed parent before he went out to patrol.
“I’d have fed your bloody cats,” Nicholas muttered. He saw my drugstore bags, looked at me incredulously.
“You went to buy lipstick? At a time like this?”
“Yeah, that’s right, and an exfoliating mask. Don’t be an ass. I went for supplies.”
The sun filtered in through the window, and he flinched away, even though it was specially treated glass and he was in no danger. He looked tired enough to fall over. Even the shadows under his eyes had shadows.
“You should be in bed.”
“I was in bed,” he said pointedly. “Until you went shopping.”
“I needed nose plugs.” I lifted the pair hanging on a string around my neck. “And they’ve already come in handy.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Why?” He grabbed my wrist. “Why, Lucy?”
I tugged back but couldn’t break his hold.
“Because.” I stopped pulling. I’d only dislocate my own wrist. “I ran into Kieran Black. Literally.”
They both stared at me.
“What?” Solange finally squeaked.
Nicholas turned my hand over. His eyes flared, went the color of frost, at the blood on my knuckles. I shrugged sheepishly.
“I nearly broke his nose.” I half smiled. “I’ll have to try harder next time.”
He dropped my hand, stepped back. There was something fierce in his face, even when he smiled faintly.
“I guess I should be glad I’m not the only one you punch.”
I made a face at him and dropped into a chair. I was starting to ache in muscles I didn’t know I had. There were still roses everywhere, and the smell was overpowering.
“Did he hurt you?” Solange’s face was stony.
“No, I’m fine.” I watched Nicholas trying not to weave on his feet. He looked as if he were standing on a particularly wave-tossed boat. “Go back to sleep,” I said with more gentleness than I’d planned. I paled when something occurred to me. “You didn’t tell your parents, did you?”
“No,” Solange said. “I only just found your note. I didn’t even get a chance to tell Nicholas. He just stumbled out of his room, all freaked out.”
We both turned to look at him. I thought he might be blushing— if vampires could blush, that was.
“The house smelled wrong,” he muttered. He glared at us. “Shut up.” Then he went up the stairs. I raised my eyebrows.
“He’s getting weirder.”
Solange snorted, pulled out a handful of nose plugs, air freshener sprays, and a bowie knife from my plastic bags.
“So are you.”
I waited until we were alone before I hustled Solange into her room.
“What are you doing now?” she muttered when I shut her door and pressed my ear to the wood for a moment to make sure no one was listening. And by no one, I meant Nicholas.
“Okay, I should totally be a spy.” I grinned at her. “All I need is some funky accent and I could be a Bond girl.”
She groaned. “What did you do?”
“I stole this from Kieran, right after I punched him.” I pulled out a small book from the inside pocket of my jacket. It looked innocuous enough, slender as a poetry chapbook, with a simple font and a sun illustration on the front cover. It was the title that stood out: A Field Guide to Vampires.
Solange read it, blinked, read it again, and then stared at me. “A Field Guide to Vampires? Is that a joke?”
I laughed out loud. “Nope. Just a little souvenir from the Helios-Ra.” We sat on her bed and set the guide on the blanket in front of us. We skimmed the index, snorted at the pompous introduction and the pseudo medieval oath new recruits had to take. There was a bunch of stuff on hunter protocol that could come in useful someday. There was also a whole section on the Drake family, and a page devoted just to Solange, listing her stats, like she was a rare kind of frog one could search for in a swamp.
“It’s kind of creepy.” She made a face. “I’m starting to feel like the bearded lady at the carnival.”
“I would never let you grow a beard,” I assured her, trying to lighten the mood. If she hunched her shoulders any tighter, her collarbone would shatter. “I’m way too good a friend for that.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“All in a day’s work.”
“I can’t believe they study us like that. I mean, did Kieran sit in a classroom and learn that I wear cargo pants and like pottery? And how do they know that anyway? And I’m not solitary, damn it, I just don’t like crowds.” She paused. “Okay, so maybe I am solitary, so what? And my nickname is not ‘Princess Solange.’ Give me a break.”
I tugged the book out of her hands before she could twist it in half. It flipped open. “Hey, no way. I’m in here too.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You are not.”
“I totally am.”
“Okay, that’s going too far.”
“Apparently, I’m brash and reckless.” I snorted. “Better than being a mindless droid to some secret society.” I did a double take. “Did you know one of my strengths is annoying Nicholas?”
She laughed despite herself. “Okay, that part’s true.”
“Shut up, he’s the one who annoys me.” I tapped the book thoughtfully. “Hmmm.”
“Oh, God. That‘hmmm’ is never good.”
I ignored her and reached for the phone. “They know all about us, shouldn’t we know a little about them too?”
“How? You can’t just phone up a secret society.”
“Maybe not. I mean, Kieran might not have a MySpace page, but he has to live somewhere, doesn’t he? He’s not like Black Ops or anything, right?”
“I guess not. Wait, what are you doing?” she asked as I dialed 411.
“Shh. Hello? Kieran Black in Violet Hill. Address unknown.” I covered the mouthpiece. “I need a pen.” She ran to her desk and practically threw one at me. I wrote on the back of the guide. “Thank you,” I said before hanging up.
Solange and I smiled at each other, and it felt like the smile of two lionesses about to take down a gazelle.
I pushed each number as if I were squishing a bug. Kieran picked up on the first ring.
“Mom, for the third time, I’ve got the milk—”
“It’s not your mom,” I interrupted, smirking at Solange.
“Who is this?” he asked suspiciously.
“It’s Lucy.”
He made a very gratifying choking sound. “What? I never gave you my number.”
“You’re listed, genius. So you can add that to your little guidebook. I’m not only reckless, I’m resourceful too. And Solange isn’t solitary, she just doesn’t like you.” She had a weird look on her face. “Are you okay?” I whispered to her. “Lie down.” I could hear Kieran shuffling the phone, probably searching his pockets.
“You took my guide!”
“Yup. You want it back? Meet us tonight.” Solange’s eyes widened. I waved away her concern.
“I can get another guidebook,” he told me.
“Yeah, but how would it look for a new recruit to have lost it to one of your profiles?” I had him there. “Besides, you owe me, Black.” And there.
He sighed, like an old man. “I don’t actually owe you, Hamilton.”
“Do so. ”
“Does Solange know you’re doing this?”
Interesting. “Yes, she
knows. Don’t you think she’s tired of playing monkey in the middle for you people? Ow, what?” That last part I said into the air since Solange had grabbed the phone from me, scratching me in the process.
“My nickname is not ‘Princess,’ ” she said witheringly. “Fine. After sunset.” Her voice hardened. “Come alone.”
CHAPTER 9
Solange
Saturday evening, sunset
That night every single one of my brothers was in a foul mood. My parents were worse.
“We have some leads,” my father said tightly from where he stood by the fireplace. “Though not nearly as much as I’d like.”
My mom was wearing her leather vest, the one with all the hidden compartments. Not a good sign. She only wore it for serious hunting or ass- kicking.
“Your father and I have to follow them, as will Hyacinth and your uncles.” Aunt Hyacinth might have been off to track assassins, but she still looked stylish in her riding habit and jet cameo. Her only concession was a pair of pointy granny boots instead of silk dancing slippers. “Geoffrey is in his lab with the Hypnos sample. Ruby is . . . indisposed.” Which was a polite way of putting it. “Bruno will patrol with his men.” Mom looked at my brothers. “Every single one of you will stay here and look after your sister. Except for Sebastian, who’s already left on an errand.”
I gaped at her, horrified. “Mom, no.” My brothers were insufferable enough as it was. Six of them duty bound to follow me would make us all crazy. Lucy cringed sympathetically.
Mom glanced at me. “Solange, you have to take this seriously.”
“Mom, I do. You know I do. But you don’t have brothers, you don’t know.”
Logan contrived to look off ended. “We’re wonderful brothers.”
The others ignored me, nodding solemnly at our parents. I groaned. I was going to have to get Lucy to break all of their noses before the night was through. Good thing she’d had so much practice. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful or didn’t adore my brothers— it was just that Drake men were arrogant, unbending, and liberally laced with white- knight complexes, especially when it came to their baby sister. I watched my mom strap her scabbard on, the leather strap between her breasts, the sword at her shoulder. It made me feel small, frustrated, useless. I couldn’t even Google bounties or Helios-Ra because I’d find nothing but gaming Web sites and bad movie clips. I admit I had already Googled Kieran, but nothing came up.
I followed them to the basement stairs. They’d take the underground tunnels that connected all the farms, with exits in the forest and out near the town, as well as farther into the mountains.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go.” I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if they were hurt on my account. Dad put his hand on my shoulder. He wasn’t tall, but he had the solid, regal bearing of a medieval king.
“We’ll be fine,” he assured me, and I nearly believed him. I watched them go, feeling utterly wretched when I heard the heavy steel door clang shut. My brothers positioned themselves in a half circle around me, staring.
This was already a disaster.
“All right.” Lucy shouldered her way to my side and made a waving motion as if they were annoying flies. “Shoo!” She narrowed her eyes. “I said shoo.”
They dispersed, mostly startled into moving. Only Logan remained, leaning casually against the wall.
“Darling, I’m not some insect to be chased away.”
“Darling?” She snorted amiably. “You’re not ninety years old, either.”
He straightened. “I’m charming,” he informed her. “And women like endearments.”
“Women know you just can’t remember their names, but they like your pretty face enough not to care. Now give your sister some space before she short-circuits.”
He winked at her before sauntering away. She winked back. I knew they were trying to keep the mood light for my sake.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. You know how I love to boss your brothers around. Let’s go upstairs.”
I waited until we were safely ensconced in my room with the stereo playing loudly to cover our voices.
“How are we going to do this?” I asked. “I can’t believe Mom and Dad sicced them all on me.”
“It’s okay, we can totally do this.” She started to pace between my desk and the closet door. “We just have to keep them distracted somehow.” She paused. “Connor will be on his computer all night. Maybe we could ask him to track Kieran down online, keep him busy.”
“That’ll definitely work. And maybe you could try convincing the others to watch a movie or something? Make it sound like I’m sulking and just want to be left alone?”
She nodded. “Brilliant. I’ll be right back.”
She wasn’t gone long, and by the time she came back I could hear the sounds of some action movie on the television in the far family room. It was conveniently on the other side of the house from the sunroom, which had a door to the backyard.
“I made it really loud,” she informed me proudly. “Logan looked a little suspicious but he’s watching it. Connor’s online and Nicholas was up in his room, so I thought it was probably safest to leave him there. If he’s brooding, it could buy us some time.”
I shook my head. “No amount of brooding or distraction will keep him off our trail.”
She snorted. “As long as we act suspicious, he’ll follow us for a while without saying anything and think it’s his idea. Besides, it might be good to have a little vampire instinct on our side.”
“You’re kind of evil, you know that?” I grinned at her.
“I’ve been practicing,” she shot back with her own grin. “So are you ready to do this?”
I nodded, pulling on a black sweater so I’d blend into the shadows better. “You know this is definitely one of our dumber ideas?”
“Please, would you rather sit around here and worry?”
“Hell, no. Let’s go.”
“That’s what I thought.” She poked her head out the window. “I don’t think we can climb down from here.”
“Not without you falling on your head.” I pulled her away. “I’ve seen you in gym remember?”
“Hey, you don’t even go to my school.”
“In that class you had at the park, that time you tripped on your shoelace and took out a row of girls in pink shorts.”
“Oh.” She made a face. “Right.”
“We’ll use the back stairs and go through the sunroom.”
For some reason we had to stifle giggles as we crept down the stairs. I felt like I was in some bad silent movie. Lucy clutched my hand and we used the movie’s car chase to cover our movements. My brothers were still young enough that they shouldn’t be able to distinguish our heartbeats over that kind of volume, even if they thought they could.
The backyard was dark—we remembered to avoid the motion-sensor light. We stayed low, moved quickly.
“How do we know we can trust him?” Lucy worried, not sounding quite as confident and cavalier now that we were getting closer to the edge of the forest.
“I think we can.” I didn’t know why I thought that, I just did.
“Oh man, is it wrong that now I really hope Nicholas is following us?”
I shook my head mutely. I was kind of hoping the same thing. Vampire hearing would be an advantage right now. We crouched in a thicket and waited. My palms were damp. Lucy fidgeted anxiously. Even the crickets sounded sinister.
The crack of a twig underfoot had us clinging to each other.
“Solange? Lucy?”
Lucy popped up, scowling. “You scared the hell out of me.”
Kieran jerked back. “Likewise.”
I stood up much more slowly, wondering why I felt shy. This totally wasn’t the time. He looked at me for a long moment, then nodded. Lucy stared at him, then at me. If she said anything I was going to kill her. She pursed her lips but mercifully stayed silent, instead staring over his shoulder suspiciously.
“
You don’t have to do that,” he told her. “I’m alone.”
“Forgive me if I don’t entirely trust your motives,” she shot back grimly. “You tried to kill my best friend.”
“I did not!” he exclaimed hotly. Lucy had the ability to make most guys revert to being ten years old. That should’ve been in their stupid field guide. “She wasn’t even out in the garden.”
“Technicality,” Lucy grumbled. “You came for the bounty.”
“Yeah. It’s my job.”
“You should get a new one. Your boss sucks.”
“Here’s your book,” I said quietly, handing him the guide before they started to pull each other’s hair.
“Thanks.” Neither of us said anything else. I was starting to hope Lucy would snap at him again, when he finally glanced away. “Why’d you want to meet?”
“You have to know we didn’t break the treaty.”
“Look, like I told your mental friend here, I don’t make the rules. I just graduated. And anyway, isn’t it all part of your coup? To be queen?”
“Is that what they’re telling you?”
“You don’t want to be queen?”
“No,” I said emphatically. “I don’t. Look, I’m the first girl born to the House of Drake. That’s all. It’s only a big deal because of people like you. I didn’t ask for this.”
“Then don’t let them turn you into a vampire.”
“Oh, sure, she’ll just die instead,” Lucy said waspishly. “Nice plan.”
He blinked at me. “You really would? That’s not a myth about the ancient families?”
“No, it’s not a myth. And I really don’t want my family being hunted because of me. Can’t you do anything?” I wasn’t sure why I was asking him for help; I only knew that we really had no other options. I had to do something and this was it. Problem was, he didn’t look entirely convinced. “If you really believe we should be hunted down, why don’t you just kill me now?” I took a step closer to him, opening my arms.