The waiter returned. I ordered haddock and chips, and Alexander ordered mahimahi. He said he’d never heard of it, but the name piqued his interest.
“How is Hannah coping with Vigo’s death?” I asked.
He looked pensive. “I don’t know. She didn’t cry for him.”
For once, he wasn’t speaking about Hannah with bitterness.
“She’s not evil,” I said.
“No, she isn’t.” He wasn’t admitting that he’d been wrong about her, but it was progress nonetheless. She had done her part to help him stop Vigo, after all.
“I figure you guys plan to leave as soon as possible but …” Even as I said the words, I knew it was a mistake, that I was only making things harder for us both. But I couldn’t help myself. “Maybe you should stay a few more days so that James and Hannah can see more of the city.”
I glimpsed the sadness in his eyes. My heart sank.
“According to Ms. P., the portal has begun to waver. Leaving tonight is the safest option. The portal may not be there tomorrow.”
“I understand,” I said, feeling a wave of despair crash over me. “I’d like to be there when you go through, if that’s okay with you.” I knew that watching him go would tear me apart, but I had to do it.
He raised a brow. “Who said I was going through?” My heart slammed against my rib cage. “I — I just assumed. Are you saying you’re not going?”
He took my hand across the table. “It wasn’t much of a life, Amy. You said it yourself. I will start afresh here, in this world of possibilities.”
I couldn’t grasp what I was hearing. I felt joy rising inside me. It was all I could do not to leap across the table into his arms. “I thought you felt you had to go back.”
“Not anymore. I’ve given it much thought. If I return and Vigo does not, it will confirm Leander’s claim that I killed him. That would enrage his coven. If neither of us returns, it will remain a mystery.”
“That makes sense,” I said, nodding emphatically. Alexander was staying. Here. I couldn’t believe it.
“But that is not entirely the reason,” Alexander added. His eyes met mine. “I want to be with you, Amy. I would like to do this again — this thing you call dating. If you are not opposed, of course.”
“No, I’m not opposed,” I said, grinning.
Hannah bounced on her toes as we waited in line, excited to go in and see what our nightlife was like. I wondered if, deep down, she grieved Vigo, or if she had grieved the brother she’d grown up with a long time ago.
When James and Hannah had said they wanted to go dancing, I’d suggested Club Teen Scene.
“Can I let two of my friends know we’ll be here in case they want to come and meet you?” I asked them. “They’re huge fans of yours.”
They beamed, and agreed.
When we got inside the club, James and Hannah took in the place. The flashing lights and pumping dance music must have been like nothing they’d ever experienced.
“Where is the music coming from?” James asked, looking around.
“A … music machine,” I explained. I doubted explaining a DJ’s role would help. “It’s prerecorded.”
“Remarkable,” Hannah said. “And no one is dancing with a partner. Is it considered improper?”
I smiled. “Not at all. See that couple over there? They’re dancing together.”
“They’re not dancing!” James exclaimed. “They’re ruining themselves in front of everyone. How will they ever find marriage partners?”
I laughed. “All of that’s acceptable here, believe it or not. You should try it while you have the chance. No one will know.”
Hannah caught James’s arm. “Why not?”
She walked James onto the dance floor and slipped her arms around his neck. Her movements were graceful, while James watched her with a shocked expression. Then James started to move, trying unsuccessfully to imitate the motions of the dancers around him.
I turned to Alexander. “I hope you can dance better than he can.”
“I’m afraid that James is the dancer of the family. I do not dance.”
“Not at all?”
“No. I’ve always thought it a frivolous activity.”
“Well, I think it’s fun.” I grabbed his hand. “Come on. You don’t have to do anything fancy.”
He didn’t resist when I pulled him onto the floor. I started to dance a little. Alexander just stood there, observing me and the other dancers.
I leaned close to him. “You should move a bit.”
“How?”
“Just nod your head to the beat. And move your shoulders like this.” I showed him.
He complied, doing exactly what I’d done.
“You’re a natural!”
We hadn’t been dancing long before Katie and Luisa showed up. They stood by the dance floor staring at James and Hannah. Laughing, I dragged my friends up to them.
I shouted the introductions. “James, Hannah, these are my best friends, Katie and Luisa!”
“Enchanted.” James bent over their hands. Katie and Luisa were mesmerized.
Hannah gave them a closed-mouth smile and European cheek kisses. “We are learning how to dance like you people,” she told them.
“You’re doing great,” Katie said, and Luisa gave a nod of agreement.
I glanced at Alexander and caught him looking down at me with a tender expression. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve Alexander’s love, or how it was even possible that we had found each other across the dimensions. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that we were together now.
As it turned out, James was funny. I hadn’t thought so from reading the books — his jokes seemed to fall flat on the page. But in person, it was a different story. It really was all about the delivery.
After we spent a few hours at the club, we went to a diner for snacks and milk shakes.
“That’s it, I’m never leaving.” James gulped his strawberry shake. “Is that not the best thing you’ve ever tasted?”
Katie and Luisa nodded. I could tell they were having the time of their lives. They hadn’t said much all night, or bombarded James and Hannah with questions. They mostly just stared at them. I hoped this night would make up for me keeping secrets from my best friends.
“It’s delicious,” Hannah said. “To think, Alexander will be able to have them every day if he likes.”
“I will not allow myself such excess” was Alexander’s response. “Not after the few first weeks, anyway.”
“I only wish we didn’t have to leave so soon,” James said. “There are many things we could learn from this world, so many experiences we could enjoy.” His gaze rested on Hannah. “But we have work to do.”
“Now that Vigo’s gone, there’s a chance for peace in your world, right?” Katie asked.
“That depends on who takes power,” Alexander answered her.
“I am going to assert my claim to leadership,” Hannah said. “If I am successful, we will have peace.”
Hannah as leader of the vampires? It had never occurred to me. Nor had it ever been mentioned in the books.
It would be perfect. As leader, she could broker a peace with the humans, and Otherworld Chicago would become a very different place. It was so perfect that I was afraid to hope for it.
“Will the vampires accept you?” I asked.
“Some of them consider me a traitor, and my relationship with James treason. But I am Vigo’s sister, which means I have a blood claim.”
“There will undoubtedly be a power struggle,” James said. “It took Vigo years to take control.”
“Vigo won through murder and intimidation,” Hannah pointed out. “I would not take the leadership that way.”
Alexander waved his hand. “Then you will have no chance. Vampires understand nothing but violence. You cannot deny that.”
“We will make them see differently,” James vowed.
“But your opponents will not hesitate to
kill whoever gets in their way,” Alexander insisted. “Hannah, you undoubtedly remember the terror sprees when Vigo came to power. And that was before Leander became a contender. You know he’ll stop at nothing to take Vigo’s place.”
“I realize that. I will promise that anyone who is found to have killed another vampire in order to affect the election will be executed. But I will not have anyone killed for refusing to support me. Absolutely not.”
James flinched. “But we said no violence at all, Hannah.”
She looked at him, and I saw the love in her eyes. “Whether there is violence or not will be up to our opponents. If our supporters are attacked, we will need to offer them protection — and we cannot do that with mere words. There is violence in a vampire’s blood, James. I believe that we are capable of evolution, but it will take time. It would be a mistake to forget our nature.”
He touched her face. “There isn’t violence in you, my love.”
She pressed his hand to her cheek, and avoided his gaze. In that moment I saw that Hannah loved him desperately, but she struggled to fight her vampire instincts. She adored James for his pacifist nature, but she didn’t share it.
I wasn’t sorry to know this about Hannah. She would need that killer instinct if she was to survive the power struggle. The only question was whether James could still love her once her true nature emerged. Maybe she wondered the same thing.
James steered the conversation on to lighter topics, asking about all aspects of our world. Katie and Luisa answered his questions eagerly. I noticed that James had a special way with people, a way of making them feel they were important and listened to. That would help him gain allies, both human and vampire. But would those qualities help him stay alive when Hannah’s bid at leadership made him a target?
Alexander had gone quiet. I couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling, knowing that he would never see his cousin again. Alexander would have no family left. All he would ever know about James’s fate would come in Book Three.
He wouldn’t be there to protect James anymore, and I knew that would be hard for him. But James had to carve out his own fate. Just as Alexander would … here, in my world.
It was time.
The early morning streets were virtually deserted, littered with the results of last night’s partying. It was still dark out, minutes away from sunrise. Katie and Luisa had gone home when we left the diner, so it was just the four of us now.
Alexander held my hand as we walked, gripping it tighter than necessary. I wished there was something I could say to make this less difficult for him.
When we reached the base of the bridge, Alexander said, “There it is. We shouldn’t get any closer.” He was looking down at the sensor he’d gotten from Ms. P. “It’s moved a few inches.”
“I see it.” I wouldn’t have spotted it if I hadn’t been looking closely, but there was an area near an embankment that had a slight waviness to it, like when you looked down the street on a humid summer day.
Alexander and James stood in front of each other, a lifetime of brotherhood between them.
“Good luck, cousin,” Alexander said. “I believe that you’ll achieve your goal.”
James hugged him. “I don’t know if you mean that, Alex. But I’m glad to hear you say it.” James took a step back and turned to me. “Take care of him, Amy. My cousin is more sensitive than he would have you believe.”
Alexander just shook his head.
Hannah came up to me. “Thank you for helping us.”
“You’ll be a great leader, Hannah.”
Alexander moved in front of her. “It may not make a difference now, but I apologize for how I treated you. I should have given you and James my blessing.”
She smiled, and it wasn’t the half smile I’d seen before but a full one, fangs and all. “It does make a difference.”
There was nothing more to say. James took Hannah’s arm, and they disappeared into the portal.
Alexander stood there in silence, unable to tear his eyes away from the portal.
“You’ll miss him,” I said, slipping an arm around his waist.
“Very much.”
“I have a feeling that Elizabeth Howard’s writer’s block will be over soon. We’ll be able to follow what’s happening in James’s life in Book Three.”
“I suppose so. But it will not be easy to read about the scrapes my cousin will get himself into without being able to go to his assistance.” He took a breath. “At any rate, I expect to hear from Elizabeth soon. She will emerge from hiding once she knows the threat has passed.”
“I wonder if Elizabeth will try to keep you and Vigo as characters in Book Three, or if she’ll have to leave you out. Her readers are going to be really upset if she doesn’t show them what happened to you. I know I would be.”
“I imagine she will have to do what other writers do. Make something up.” Alexander turned and looked at me. “Or perhaps she could borrow from your fan fiction.”
“I’m done with fan fiction.” I only realized it as I was saying the words. “I’m ready to write something completely my own now.”
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“Um, let’s see…. It could be about a girl who falls in love with a character in a book, and then finds out that he’s real.”
He lifted a brow. “And would there be vampires in this book, by chance?”
“No, I’ve had enough of vampires. Maybe I’ll add zombies instead.”
At that, he smiled.
We stared at the portal for a while, watching it shimmer as the last traces of night evaporated from the sky.
“We should go.” I squeezed his arm.
“Yes. It’s time to go.”
“I never expected I would say this,” Alexander said as we walked away from the portal, “but I have great hope for my world. I think its story will end well.”
“What about our story?” I asked.
He stopped walking and turned to me. He lifted my chin, planted a soft kiss on my lips, and then smiled.
“Ours has just begun.”
Also by
ALLISON VAN DIEPEN
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Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Allison van Diepen
Cover art by Shane Rebenschied
Cover design by Christopher Stengel
All rights reserved. Published by Point, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, POINT, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Van Diepen, Allison.
The vampire stalker / by Allison van Diepen.
p. cm.
Summary: Fictional character eighteen-year-old Alexander Banks stalks vampires until incredulously he leaps through a portal into real life where he finds love and friends who want to help, if they can.
ISBN 978-0-545-28375-5
[1. Characters in literature — Fiction. 2. Love — Fiction. 3. Best friends — Fiction. 4. Vampires — Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.V28526Vam 2011
[Fic] — dc22
2010028519
FIRST EDITION, JUNE 2011
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E-ISBN 978-0-545-38883-2
The Vampire Stalker Page 18
