“You’re a soulmate.” His eyes were deep and searching.
“Yes,” I replied slowly. “That’s what I just said.”
He turned back to the steering wheel, thinking.
“So …” I continued, “do either sirens or soulmates have a clan I need to visit?”
“No.” He wouldn’t look at me. “Soulmates are not a recognized clan, and you are the last of the sirens.” I raised my eyebrows at that.
All sirens die young. I guess I was no exception.
***
The car ride was quiet while Andre brooded. It was only as we entered the city of Peel that he broke the silence.
He pulled a business card out of his jacket’s inner pocket. “This has my contact information. Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions about your … transition. All fledgling vampires have mentors. Mentors used to be those vampires who were responsible for the change, but since creating vampires was outlawed and since your circumstances are unusual anyway, consider me your new mentor.”
“Oh goody.” One failed date, an Awakening, a death, and a rebirth later, and now Andre was my mentor.
“Let’s meet up tomorrow evening so I can begin to train you.”
“Why is turning someone into a vampire not allowed anyway?”
He took his time answering and chose his words carefully. “Because the devil owns all vampires’ souls. And at some point, we realized this and cauterized our acts.”
Perfect.
Andre drove past the security gates and onto campus grounds, and I remembered the trouble we ran into when we left Peel Academy earlier that evening.
“Aren’t you going to get into trouble for being on campus?”
His lip quirked, and he snickered to himself. “Cute question.”
“Oh really?” I asked, annoyed.
He glanced over. “Trust me, no one’s going to cross me.”
The car pulled up to my building, and I opened the door and got out.
“Gabrielle.”
“Yeah?” I turned back to look at him.
“Be careful.” His eyes looked worried.
“Don’t worry,” I replied, “I’m resilient.”
“I wasn’t talking about you.”
I swallowed and closed the car door, watching him as he drove off, his engine echoing along the empty streets even after the car vanished from sight.
***
I stood there for a long time afterwards, my thoughts far away.
My skin prickled, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. I put a fisted hand to my mouth, muffling my rising scream.
He was here. The man in the suit. I could sense him before I saw him.
I looked down the cobbled street and there he stood under a streetlamp.
I nearly stumbled from shock. He had almost always sought discretion when he appeared before me. Now, his obvious presence felt more menacing than before, as though he no longer feared making contact with me.
I stayed still, staring at him. To run seemed foolish. I couldn’t hide from him.
He spoke to me, his words tickling my skin as though he stood right next to me.
“Hello Gabrielle.” The man inclined his head in greeting. “I have waited a long time for this night.”
I met his terrible gaze. “What do you want?” I whispered.
“You.”
Chapter 10
“Why?” I recoiled at the thought.
He just smiled. “… Although it appeared that I almost lost you a couple nights ago. Heinous thing death is. Luckily, you’ve now cheated it.” His gaze never wavered, and even from the distance his eyes were deep and dreadful, hiding all sorts of unpleasant secrets.
“How did you know that?” My voice shook, and any semblance of bravery crumbled.
“I’ll be watching you Gabrielle.”
He winked, and his form was blown away by a fierce wind that tore at my hair.
I rubbed my tingling ear, wanting to wipe away the closeness of his words. They felt too much like a lover’s caress. My hands trembled, and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.
It was strange walking back into my building. A different woman sat at the security desk, and she didn’t bat an eyelash when I walked in and signed my name on the activity log, even though it was late.
I could really get used to this newfound autonomy the school offered.
When I stepped onto my floor, I had the misfortune of running into Doris, who was her usual catty self.
She looked me up and down. “Are you a zombie now, or a bloodsucker?”
I ignored her, and kept walking to my door.
I heard her call to my back. “I hope you know that everyone thinks you’re a sorry freak.”
My ability to put up with crap was spent after the evening’s events. That, at least, was the only excuse I had for what I did next.
I turned, quicker than her eyes could follow, and was on Doris in an instant. I pushed her against the wall, and it pleased me to hear her pathetic whimper. My reflexes were now quicker than my emotion, and it was only after I had pinned her that I felt some dark, primordial excitement pulse through me.