Accidental Sire (Half-Moon Hollow #6)

I stood, hooking my purse over my shoulder. “Thanks, Libby.”

Libby’s hand shot out, catching my wrist before I could walk away. “If you screw me over here, I will deploy my mom guilt in ways you can’t even imagine.”

“Thank you for the warning.”





9




New vampires need quiet time to themselves to help gain perspective. But don’t call it “time-out.” They find that very insulting.

—The Accidental Sire: How to Raise an Unplanned Vampire

I didn’t feel completely safe until I’d gotten several blocks from the office, and not just because I didn’t want Jane to see me wandering around unchaperoned. Dr. Hudson was still lurking out there somewhere with his medical instruments of terror.

The farther I walked, the more I felt the weight on my shoulders slip away. I’d forgotten what it was like to choose which direction I would walk, how quickly I would get somewhere. The stars above seemed to twinkle a little brighter. The air smelled . . . well, OK, it still smelled like car exhaust and doughnut grease, but still, it was nice to be outside.

I had about twenty miles before I reached River Oaks. When I left the city limits, I sped my pace up to a jog, heading off the county road and cutting across the woods. I grinned to myself as the few remaining leaves on the trees brushed over my head. I carefully picked my way over the roots and fallen limbs I could spot so easily in the dark.

I felt like Little Red Riding Hood, skipping through the woods. But the Big Bad Wolf could suck it. He was no threat to me. I was the apex predator here, in the dark. Unless Jed did that mutant shark thing again. Because I was sure sharks trumped vampires.

Libby had been right. I needed this. I needed a little bit of space, some time to think, without worrying about whether Jane could hear me. In the distance, through the trees, I could see a weird, rounded shape against the branches. A water tower? What kind of weird-ass town put their municipal water supply out in the middle of nowhere?

Still, I bet the view from up there was pretty fantastic, even better than the sights we saw from the tops of Jane’s trees. I climbed up the rusty rungs of the ladder, taking two steps at a time without much effort. I could feel the tower swaying ever so slightly as I moved around the catwalk. I could see the whole town from up here, every tiny glowing light, like a little galaxy.

I rounded the tower, pleased to see an old-fashioned drive-in theater, the screen just visible on the horizon. It was close enough that I could see Brendan Fraser’s face smiling at me through the darkness. I gasped, sinking to the metal grate and hanging my arms over the rail.

Just as I got comfortable, my purse started buzzing. It had been so long since I’d carried a cell phone I almost panicked. I couldn’t remember how the damn thing was supposed to work. The fact that it was basically a preschooler’s toy phone complicated matters. I hit the giant green button to accept the call. Ophelia’s voice came echoing out of the receiver.

“Hello? Meagan? I do not appreciate you ignoring my attempts to respond to your maddeningly vague e-mail. You could at least pick up the phone.”

“Hey, Ophelia, sorry. I’m just struggling with my Fisher-Price phone.”

Ophelia snorted. “Jane did issue you the KidPhone, then? I told her that was too cruel, even to me.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’d think with buttons as big as those, I’d be able to use it, yadda, yadda. Why am I doing your snarky work for you?” I sighed. “And thanks for calling me back. I know my e-mail was vague, but I didn’t want to set off the Council alarms.”

“Ooh, subversive. You surprise me, Meagan. Fine, I’ll bite. Why am I calling you?”

“I was going through your probationary file.”

“Intrusive,” she commented.

“And I saw this e-mail that you sent Jane, a little bit before I was turned.”

“Meagan, I send out a lot of e-mails.”

“I believe you told Jane that it was none of her blanking business who you blanking had contact with when it wasn’t on the blanking campus?”

“Oh, yeah, I do remember that. I took particular delight in using the f-word as all of the parts of speech.”

“Good for you, but can you tell me what Jane did to deserve such a display of profane grammar?” I asked.

“Tina asked me for a copy of all my contacts in the area. She said Jane asked her for it. I sent my masterwork of obscenities . . . And now that you mention it, Jane responded in an e-mail that she didn’t know what I was talking about. I thought she was simply being obtuse, but then . . . I got distracted with Jamie and the mixer and your situation, and I forgot all about it. That’s not like me.”

“You’ve had a lot on your mind,” I told her.

“I juggled illegal business transactions, working for a shadow government, and raising my sister alone, while looking completely fabulous. I think I can handle my freshman year.”

I tried for a placating tone. “You are a total badass. I want to be you when I grow up.”

“Of course you do. Everybody wants to be me.” She sniffed.

“And so modest, too.”

“Meagan, if I’ve taught you anything during our too-brief friendship, it’s that modesty is for losers,” she said. “I’m assuming Jane has you documenting my rudeness in triplicate, so the Council can hold it over my head?”

“Actually, no, it’s just not adding up. There’s a missing link in the communication chain, and it’s driving me crazy.”

“Well, if I can help in any way, let me know. It’s been downright tedious without you here. I mean, I enjoy Keagan and Morgan’s company, but . . . I got used to your being around, that’s all.”

I grinned into the darkness. That was as close as I would ever get to Ophelia saying she missed me.

“Meanwhile, if you need me to come to the Council office for any reason, please just say the word. Between midterms and the police presence on campus, I could use a little space.”

“Police presence?”

Ophelia sounded exasperated. “Ever since that building burned off campus. The remains found in the basement were vampire, apparently. So the police, naturally, are focusing on the most concentrated population of vampires in the area. And because of my history, they’ve taken a particular interest in questioning me. They seem to think I had something to do with it.”

“You . . . didn’t have anything to do with it, did you?”

She deadpanned. “Meagan.”

“I’m just asking!”

“I would never leave that sort of evidence, honestly. It’s like you barely know me.” Ophelia’s voice trailed off. On the other end of the line, I heard a door open, followed by two distinct thumps, like shoes hitting the floor, and the rasp of a zipper. Ophelia gave a little gasp.

“Augh, Jamie is there, isn’t he?” I groaned. “You have to warn me when you start messing around like that! So I can immediately hang up!”