I sense someone watching me, and look across the room where Ethan is now sitting with Eliza. She’s right up close to him, her arm draped over his. He seems tense though, and I continue to shoot daggers at him with my eyes, to show him that I am not at all happy with how he allowed Lucas to do this to Amanda.
The vampire sitting at the head of the table begins to speak, “Well, what have we got here?” he asks, taking in the sight of me holding onto Amanda for dear life.
“This is Tegan, Father,” says Eliza, “she’s an old friend of Ethan’s.” So they are related. The vampire at the head of the table is Eliza’s dad. I try not to think about the fact that they only look about five years apart in age. Clearly that’s nothing unusual in the world of the vampires.
“And she is familiar with Lucas’ human,” he says, his voice is like cold steel, it slithers over me in a highly unpleasant manner.
“Yes,” Ethan replies, “Tegan and Amanda are friends.”
“Interesting,” says the vampire. Then he rises from his seat and comes to stand in front of me. He holds out his hand, “Come and sit with me child, I would like to talk with you.” Then he takes in a long, deep breath that makes me shake to my very core. Please, please, please don’t let him recognise my scent. I have a feeling that this vampire is ancient, far older than any of those present.
This makes me nervous, because if he is hundreds of years old then he might have encountered a human like me before, a human with my special variety of blood. I try my best to remind myself that my mother’s spell has hidden what I am deep down inside of me, there’s no way this vampire could know what I am.
I take his hand and he leads me to where he had previously been sitting, I sit on the chair beside him. Once we are comfortably seated he takes a moment to study me.
“My name is Jeremy,” he says after a minute. Instantly I understand who he is, as I recall Finn telling me of the new vampire Governor of South Tribane. Jeremy Whitfield. The very same vampire who kidnapped Rebecca. Also the very same vampire who has taken a sudden and unexpected interest in me.
I almost can’t move for a second, but I snap myself out of it and try my best to appear calm. I cannot let him know what I’m up to, and I have a feeling that this vampire is so old and experienced that he does not need to be told things in words to discover information. I have a feeling every single move that I make is telling him something new and interesting about me. Damn, why didn’t I buy one of those NLP books when I had the chance? That way I’d at least know how to disguise my inner thoughts more effectively.
I remain silent while he continues to speak. “It is surprising that I have not come across you before now, tell me Tegan, where in the world have you been hiding?”
My chest freezes with panic. Does this vampire know what I am? But then he starts laughing. “Goodness child, you look scared to death.”
I pull myself together, and try not to sigh in relief. He doesn’t know what I am, he’s just wondering how he has not encountered me before, since apparently I have quite an appetising scent. Like a very special sort of vampire cuisine, and surely a vampire as important as the one sitting before me would have his pick of the most
tasty blood donors in the city.
“That’s probably because I don’t live here any more, I moved away a couple of years ago. I came back to pay a visit to my dad.”
“And when will you be leaving again?” he asks, his gaze wandering over me.
“In a week or two,” I answer.
“So soon,” he says with a tut, “we will have to do something to remedy that. In fact, I’ve been looking for a new human to bring into my home.”
I look to Ethan in panic, he stares back at me and there is a confidence in his eyes that makes me feel a little less frightened.
“I’m afraid Tegan’s ownership already lies with me, Jeremy,” says Ethan in a steady voice.
Jeremy glances between the two of us. “Is that so?” he says, and there is a slight hiss to his words.
“Yes,” both Ethan and I say at once. I give him a small smile as Jeremy glares at him in assessment.
“Very well then, I would not wish to thread where my loyal warrior has already marked out his territory,” says Jeremy. He stands now, and trails a cold finger down my cheek. I suppress a shiver. “Come daughter,” he continues, talking to Eliza, “we will return home. Thank you Ethan for your hospitality this night, it has been quite an enjoyable evening.”
“But Father, I would like to stay a little while longer,” says Eliza, she almost sounds like a whining teenager being forced to leave the party early by her strict parent.
Jeremy doesn’t breathe a word, he just stares at her in reprimand, and then she gets up silently and follows him from the room. The majority of the other vampires present go with them, seemingly they belong in Jeremy’s entourage. Only a few stragglers remain, alongside Ethan, Lucas, Delilah, Amanda and myself. Ethan is beside me the second Jeremy and his crew have left, taking me tightly into his arms. He buries his face in my hair, breathing deeply.
After a moment I ask, “So what was all that about ownership?”
Ethan smiles with both his mouth and his eyes, he looks happy and amused at the same time. “Jeremy wanted to take you as a blood donor, I told him I had already made my claim on you so that he could not do it. It is highly disrespectful for a vampire to take the blood donor of another.”
“But I’m not your blood donor,” I say in protest.
His eyes take in my entire face. “No you are not, but he does not know that, and I would prefer it if we kept it that way.”
I swallow. “All right then.”