by Gayla Twist
“That’s my boyfriend and his cousin,” I informed Sheila. It was my turn to wear a superior smile.
“Seriously?” she said, stunned and amazed. She reached over and squeezed my arm in an excited sort of way. “I’m so glad we’re friends.”
The party, which was just getting warmed up with kids talking loud and music being selected, got quite subdued. Everyone turned to gawk at the newcomers. Jessie and Dorian stood there, confidently observing the crowd. They may have looked like teenagers, but their body language betrayed them as much older—if anyone bothered to notice.
I hurried over to Jessie. “Hi,” I said, feeling awkward and shy. I knew my cheeks were turning red. There were already about twenty guests at the party, and I felt every single set of eyes was on me. “Did you get my message?”
Jessie regarded the crowd for a second longer before turning his attention to me. “Yes,” he said, bending to place a small kiss on my lips. “I’ve been missing you,” he whispered in my ear, and I felt a wave of warmth wash over me that had nothing to do with the heat lamps. He then opened his stance to include the other vampire. “Miss Aurora Keys, I’d like to introduce you to my cousin, Mr. Dorian Vanderlind. Dorian, this is Aurora.”
“I’ve heard so much about you, Aurora,” Dorian said, taking my hand and bending to kiss it. I couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were gray, the same as Jessie’s. He was looking at me rather hungrily, and that was never a good thing from a vampire. I wanted to yank my hand away. But Dorian held my hand firmly in place, his lips hovering above my flesh. “I’m sure everything I’ve heard is true.”
“Easy there, cousin,” Jessie said, putting one hand on Dorian’s shoulder and using the other to gently release me from the vampire’s grip. “We’re not at court, you know.” Turning to me, Jessie added, “Dorian has always been a fan of intrigue.”
Dorian smirked. “Especially if it’s of my own creation.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, although that wasn’t really how I felt. I wasn’t sure what to make of Dorian Vanderlind.
“I’m so glad I was included in your invitation,” he said. “I have to admit, I find your situation quite fascinating.”
“You mean someone like Jessie being with someone like me,” I said, unwilling to utter the word “vampire” with so many kids standing nearby.
“Well, yes. There’s that,” Dorian admitted. “But really what perplexes me is the institution of love in general.”
“Institution?” Jessie asked. He’d obviously heard his cousin’s opinion about the subject a few times before.
“I’m being serious,” Dorian insisted. He turned back to me. “You love my cousin, then? You’re willing to admit to it openly and freely?”
I felt my face go bright red. “Yes,” I said in a very faint voice. “I love him.”
Dorian gave me an incredulous look. “Jessie said the same thing about you not half an hour ago. I just can’t understand it. The whole notion is so provincial.”
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that statement. I didn’t understand how being in love could be considered provincial. Fortunately, that was when Blossom and Sheila came over. I could tell they were nervous. They kept giving excited little shoves to prod one another forward. “Hi,” Blossom said to Jessie. “I hope you remember me. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Of course, I remember you, Blossom,” Jessie said with a smile. “Thank you for including us in your festivities.”
“Hi, I’m Sheila,” my favorite frenemy said, sounding like an over-caffeinated cheerleader. She stuck out her hand. “I’m surprised we haven’t met before. But I’m sure Aurora’s told you all about me.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sheila,” Jessie said, shaking her hand but not lingering over it. “I’d like to introduce you both to my cousin Dorian.” He turned to his cousin. “Dorian, may I introduce you to Blossom and Sheila.”
Dorian looked at the girls as if they were a pair of annoying small dogs yipping at his feet rather than two over-eager young women. A glare from Jessie caused him to quickly adjust his attitude. “How do you do?” he asked.
Both of my friends were quick to let him know that they were just fine. They practically tripped over each other in their eagerness to provide the new guests with glasses of punch and tried to tempt them with numerous snacks, all of which the boys declined.
After the initial fluttering, both girls calmed down a bit. Additional guests arrived, and Blossom reluctantly broke away to greet them. She took her hostessing duties seriously, even when there were super hot guys to potentially distract her.
“So, what school do you go to?” Sheila asked Dorian, in an attempt to make conversation.
“I don’t attend high school,” he informed her.
“Really? Are you like homeschooled or what?” she wanted to know.
“I’ve completed my education,” he said, without further detail.
Sheila looked a little confused, unsure if the boy was snubbing her or just being formal. “I guess you’re older than you look.”
Jessie cleared his throat in an attempt to conceal a small chuckle.
I could see Sheila gathering her resolve to steer the conversation in a more flirty direction when something just past where Dorian was standing caught her attention. “What’s she doing here?” Sheila demanded in a very annoyed voice.
I turned to look at who had caused her ire, and it was Haley Scott entering the party with a couple of friends. I had no idea why the mere presence of Haley had Sheila in such a twist. It didn’t appear to be very rational. “Excuse me,” Sheila said, storming off in the direction of the new guests.
Dorian looked after her with amusement. “I haven’t interacted with mortals in so long,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice. “Is this how young women usually behave? It’s really quite fascinating.”
“You haven’t been interacting with mortals?” Fred asked, entering the conversation unannounced. I hadn’t even realized he’d arrived at the party. “What does that mean? Have you been living in your mom’s basement playing World of Warcraft with demigods or something?”
“Humans,” Jessie said quickly. “He meant to say he hasn’t been hanging out with humans.”
Fred wasn’t letting it go. “What have you been doing? Studying apes in the jungle?”
“Yes,” said Dorian, completely unfazed. “I just got back from Rwanda. How did you know?”
“You’re kidding,” Fred said in a flat tone that made it clear he knew Dorian was kidding. “Is that where you got that shirt?”
Dorian narrowed his eyes. I saw a small glimmer in them that definitely held some malice.
“Fred,” I said, interrupting whatever male hormone–fueled competition was building between them before it got out of control. “Have you met Jessie and Dorian Vanderlind?” I asked, although I knew he hadn’t. “Dorian is visiting for the holidays,” I told him. “They’re cousins.”
“So you’re Aurora’s boyfriend,” Fred said, looking Jessie over. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” That was a lie, but I couldn’t exactly tell Jessie that in front of Fred.
“How do you do?” Jessie said. “Aurora’s told me about you, as well.” I had mentioned Fred’s name once to Jessie. He knew I’d started dating someone when he had broken up with me for my own safety. He’d warned me not to give him any more details about my ex-boyfriend, but apparently the few that he knew, he’d committed to memory. There was some awkward silence as the boys all sized each other up.
“Fred,” Blossom said, appearing out of nowhere and linking her arm in his. She must have sensed something was brewing. “I’m having trouble with one of the heat lamps. Would you please help me?” She led him off before he could give an answer either way.
After that, things relaxed a little. I even had a half cup of punch cut with a lot of ginger ale to take the edge off. Jessie and Dorian stood around observing everybody and appearing haughty. I had no idea what stick t
hey had shoved up their butts, but it was like having two Mr. Darcys at a country dance. People were trying to be friendly, and the vampires were not.
To be more accurate, it was mostly the girls who were trying to be friendly. Especially to Dorian. He was, after all, to all appearances, unaffiliated. I had more than one acquaintance pull me aside and say something like, “Oh. My. God. You are sooo lucky. How did you ever start dating a Vanderlind? And how can I get one?” I wondered how they would react if they knew either of the handsome boys could rip their throats out with their bare teeth. It was best not to find out.
The guests kept getting louder and louder. It was not even nine o’clock, pretty early in the evening for the party to get rowdy, but I guess Blossom’s killer punch was accelerating the process. People were starting to get stupid. A couple of jocks were tossing around cans of soda like they were footballs. Every time one of the boys missed a pass, the can would hit the ground, cracking in small places and spraying fizzy streams of liquid everywhere. They thought it was hilarious. I wondered if designated drivers had been selected or if people were going to have to figure out inventive ways to get home. Mervin wasn’t around for late-night emergency shuttling.
Dorian eventually wandered away from Jessie and me. He started talking to a few of the girls. Of everyone vying for his attention, Sheila was working the hardest. When she wasn’t trying to sit in his lap or laughing a bit hysterically at his slightest joke, she was racing over to me to ask “What do you know about Jessie’s cousin? Is he dating anyone? Is Dorian going to be staying in Tiburon for a while?” and things like that.
At first, I thought there was little harm in it. Dorian definitely wasn’t interested. He tried to talk a few times to Haley, of all people, but he really gave the appearance of a person sitting in a theater trying to endure a bad play. Then Sheila started trying to dance around in front of Dorian in a provocative manner, and I began to get concerned. Her dancing was awkward at best, and I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for her.
“What’s he doing?” Jessie said, squinting over at his cousin with a disapproving look on his face. He turned to me. “This isn’t going well. We should leave soon.”
I took a closer look at Dorian. He was staring intently at Sheila, but there was also a look of disdain in his eyes. An alarm bell went off in my head. Before I had time to give it a second thought, I was in front of him. “What do you think you’re doing?” I said in a low hiss.
“What?” he said, looking up and trying to appear innocent.
“You’re using your influence on Sheila,” I said, not caring to check my tone, even though I was accusing a vampire of misdoings.
Dorian released a cruel chuckle. “I am doing no such thing,” he informed me. “Manipulating the simpleminded holds no challenge for me.” He waved a vague hand in Sheila’s direction. “She’s doing this of her own accord.”
“Look out,” Fred called, thundering through the cluster of girls around Dorian as he attempted to catch a soda can that somebody had lobbed in our direction. The can bounced out of his hands and slammed down on the patio, spraying soda all over me and the vampire.
“You idiot!” Dorian said, jumping to his feet.
Fred looked at the dripping vampire, doing little to conceal his amusement. “Sorry, dude,” he said before turning to lope off.
But even an athlete like Fred wasn’t quick enough to elude the lightning fast reflexes of a vampire. Dorian grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back to stand in front of him. “Sorry, dude?” he said, his eyes blazing with anger. “That’s what passes for good manners these days? You splash this young lady and myself with soda, and the only thing you think to do is say ‘Sorry, dude.’ Do I understand you correctly?”
I had to admit that Fred was acting weird. He normally wasn’t such a jerk, but I think it probably had a lot to do with Jessie being at the party. “Yeah,” he said. “You understand me, Lord Fauntleroy. It’s just a party foul. What do you expect me to do?”
“I expect you to apologize sincerely and then ask the young lady if you can get her a towel or something to assist her,” Dorian said with a snarl.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. Actually, the soda had soaked me pretty good, but it wasn’t worth having Fred’s throat ripped out. “I brought a change of clothes with me anyway.”
They both ignored me. Dorian wouldn’t release Fred’s arm. He glared intently into Fred’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” Fred said after a few moments. “I was being inconsiderate.” I couldn’t tell if he was under Dorian’s influence or if he just saw something in the vampire’s eyes that let him know he was dealing with a dangerous creature.
Dorian released him. “Thank you,” he said. “I accept your apology.”
Fred walked away rather quickly, even though I was sure his ego was smarting.
“I think we need to get going,” Jessie said, appearing at my elbow. “My mother is expecting us.”
“I think I’ll stay here awhile longer, if you don’t mind,” Dorian said, his eyes not leaving the departing Fred for a few seconds. Eventually, he turned to look at me. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on your little friends.”
Chapter 23
“Do you think we should have done that?” I asked as Jessie and I walked to my car. We’d quickly said our goodbyes, and I’d changed into my nicer outfit before heading out the door.
“What?” he wanted to know.
“Left Dorian with all those kids.” Jessie’s cousin was definitely not blending in well with the other guests at the party.
“They’re safer with Dorian there than they would be without him.” Jessie unlocked the passenger side door for me and held it open.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked as I climbed in. “He didn’t look like he wanted to help keep anybody safe.” I restrained myself from adding Especially Fred.
“Of course he does,” Jessie said, closing my door and heading around to the driver’s side. “Why do you think I invited him to visit?” he asked as he climbed in next to me. “He’s at least a relative I know I can trust.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dorian doesn’t visit every Christmas,” Jessie explained. “I asked him to come because something is very wrong in Tiburon, and I thought the town might need a little extra protection.”
“You invited a vampire to Tiburon to help protect the town against vampires?” I asked, slightly incredulous. “Isn’t that a bit like the NRA?”
It was Jessie’s turn to be confused. “The National Rifle Association?” He started the car, the engine protesting against the cold.
“You know, whenever there’s a shooting, the NRA announces the best way to stop the shootings is to have more guns.” When Jessie still looked confused, I explained. “Tiburon has a vampire problem and you think the best way to solve it is to bring in more vampires.”
“You may be right,” Jessie said with a rueful laugh as he pulled the bug out onto the street. “But to be honest with you, I really couldn’t think of what else to do.”
We drove along for a few minutes in silence. Finally, I said, “I’m sorry if you didn’t have a very good time at the party.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glance over at me, eyebrows slightly knitted.
“I know all my friends must look very immature to you,” I told him. “I understand why you weren’t talking to any of them. I just feel bad that I forced you to go and that you had a lousy time.”
“Aurora, being around young people socializing is actually pretty refreshing for me,” Jessie said. “I wasn’t socializing because I was too busy scanning the skies in case of attack.”
I stared at him. “You think that could happen?” I asked. “A vampire could just dive out of the sky and snatch some kid out of the center of a party?” I pressed the button on my side of the car to double check that the door was locked.
“I don’t know if it could happen,” Jessie t
old me. “But it’s beginning to feel like a possibility.” He pulled up to a red light then turned to look at me. “When kids started disappearing without a trace, it made me nervous, so I reached out to Dorian and asked him to visit. I know he comes off as arrogant sometimes, but I trust him.”
“That’s good,” I said in a small voice, thinking of the way his cousin was staring daggers at Fred.
“I was beginning to think I was overreacting until that taxi driver disappeared, and then you told me about the man you saw in the cemetery. Then I knew I’d made the right decision.” The light turned green, and he started driving again.
“Who was that man?”
Jessie frowned, shaking his head slightly. “I’m not sure, but he sounds like trouble.”
I had the definite feeling Jessie was keeping something from me. I looked down at my hands and realized they were shaking. “We have to go back,” I said. “My friends … We can’t leave them unprotected.”
“Aurora, there are thousands of people that are unprotected in Tiburon right now. We can’t follow everyone all the time,” he told me, reaching out and squeezing my trembling hands. “The person at that party I was most worried about protecting was you. Dorian can handle the rest.”
“Will you stay with me tonight?” I asked, gathering my coat tighter around my neck and peering furtively out the window at the black sky.
