It might have seemed romantic, if Ada hadnt done her level best to destroy them.
Amelie loosened up enough to smile at her, which was nearly a first. She looked a lot younger when she smiled, and even prettier. You did very well, she said. I know that I asked much of you, and I know that you may not forgive me for offering such a difficult choice, but I had the town to consider, and there were pressures you cannot imagine that forced us to take these drastic steps. I had every confidence you would succeed.
Claire felt awkward and a little flushed. She still resented being forced into this; she really hated the casual way Amelie had threatened her friends and family. And she didnt, at this moment, much care about being nice, so she said, Dont ever do that again. Dont ever threaten the people I love.
The other vampireseven Myrninlooked uncomfortable, shocked, or outright angry (Oliver). Not Amelie, though. Her eyebrows rose. The people you love are constantly at risk, as are all people everywhere. Even mine. You should come to terms with that fact, Claire. I am only one thing that threatens their safety. As they occasionally threaten mine. It is the way of all life.
Claire balled up her fists, but she wasnt like Shane. She couldnt lash out. She just had to breathe through the surges of anger that made red flashes across her eyes until it stopped.
Amelie must have known she wasnt going to get thanked; she nodded to the others, turned, and left. She hadnt been alone, Claire realized. Her two usual bodyguards were with her, standing just off in the shadows, and they followed her up the steps and out of the lab.
That left Myrnin, Oliver, and the other vampire, who now bowed stiffly toward her. Frederick von Hesse, the vampire said, in what had to be a German accent. So nice to formally make your acquaintance. This is impressive work. Tell me, how did you come to understand so much of the hermetic arts?
I dont, Claire said flatly. A lot of it doesnt make any sense at all.
Oliver laughedactually laughed. I like this new Claire, he said. You should work her this hard all the time, Myrnin. Shes interesting when shes forthright.
Claire, possessed by the spirit of Eve, shot him the finger. Which made him laugh again, shake his head, and walk up the steps.
Gone.
Leaving her with von Hesse and Myrnin. Von Hesse had a little in common with Oliver in that he, too, looked like an aging hippie, but it was mostly the fact that his hair was shoulder length, blond, and frizzy. He looked older than most vampires, with a lined face and droopy blue eyes, but he had a nice, if tentative, smile. I apologize, he said. I did not mean to offend you.
Claire sighed. You didnt. For some reason, it was hard for her to stay mad at von Hesse. Oliver, no problem, but this vampire seemed a little . . . nervous? Fragile, maybe. Im Claire.
Yes, yes, of course you are. Youve done an amazing thing, Claire. Truly amazing. He stood back from the table, admiring the glowing machine. I never thought it would be possible without the interface of an organic
Please dont start with the brains again, Claire said. Im tired. Im going home, okay?
Myrnin, who hadnt said much, suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened, shocked, and for a panicked second wondered whether hed suddenly decided to snack on her neck . . . but it was just a hug. His body felt cold against hers, and way too close, but then he let go and stepped back. Youve done very well. Im extremely proud of you, he said. There was a touch of color high in his pale cheeks. Do go home now. And shower. You reek like the dead.
Which, coming from a vampire, was pretty rich.
Can I take the portal? Claire asked. Myrnin moved the concealing bookcase and unlocked the door in the wall, swung it open, and bowed so low he practically scraped the floor. He also dug her cell phone out of the pocket of his baggy shorts and handed it over. Claire stepped up and concentrated until the living room of the Glass House was in focus. Nobody was up yet, it seemed. It was still dark outside the windows.
Before she stepped through, she looked at Myrnin and said, Thanks for taking care of me.
He smiled faintly, but in a pained sort of way. I didnt, he said. I put you at risk, all because I do what Amelie says. And Im sorry for that. But she was right. It had to be done. And it had to be done quickly. I couldnt have done it alone, Claire.
Good-bye, said von Hesse, waving. Claire awkwardly waved back, and stepped through the portal.
Home.
She took in a deep breath and looked behind her to see what seemed like a solid wall. She might have dreamed all of it, except that she was still shaky and felt oddly empty.
The house smelled so good. Chilithat was normaland somebody must have done laundry down in the basement, because she could smell the fabric softener. Too much, as usual. That was Shanes trademark.
She wanted to go straight up to him, but the stairs seemed like too much. Way too much. She could hardly stand up, much less climb.
She compromised by walking to the couch, moving the game controllers, and collapsing on the sagging cushions. There was a blanket draped over one end in an untidy mess, and she wrapped herself up in it and immediately felt better. Safer.
She wiggled around under the blanket, found the cell phone shed stuck in her pocket, and speed-dialed Shane.
Lo? He coughed and tried again. His voice was husky and low. Hello? He must have looked at the screen, because all of a sudden he sounded wide-awakeand alarmed. Claire? Where are you?
Downstairs on the couch, she said, and yawned. Cant come up. Too tired.
Stay there. He hung up, and she heard the thump of footsteps overhead. In just about a minute, Shane was coming down the steps at nearly a run. His jeans were on, but that was allno shirt, and it made her warm all over to see him that way. He skidded to a stop next to the couch, staring down at her, then crouched to put their eyes on a level. Hey, he said. You okay?
Sure. Just tired. As proof, she yawned again. How long have I been gone?
Forever, Shane said, and there was something wrong with his voice; it sounded strange and choked. Dont do it again, okay? Scared the shit out of me. Out of all of us. He smoothed hair back from her face, and she reached up to do it to him, too. His hair really was getting emo length, mainly from laziness and his never wanting to go get it cut.
You didnt do anything crazy, right? It was hard to keep her eyes open, but touching him felt so good. So amazingly good.
Michael had to pound me a couple of times to convince me not to go stage a rescue. Shane shrugged. He hits like a girl, for a vampire.
He was trying not to hurt you, dummy.
Yeah, I know. Scoot over.
She did, and opened up the blanket. He slid in next to her, turned on his side, and kissed her before she could protest about needing a shower and toothpaste and all that stuff.
He wrapped her in his arms, so close, and she felt his breath stirring her hair. Youre safe now, he said. Youre safe.
She drifted off again in seconds into a deep, warm, dreamless sleep, feeling good for the first time in what seemed like years.
SEVEN
Eve woke them up when she clattered downstairs at ten in the morning. Shane groaned, rolled over, and fell off the couch with a thump, tangled in the blanket. Eve stopped on the steps and leaned over the railing. Wow, Grace, that was impressive. You really stuck the landing. . . . Claire? She blinked, then practically flew down the rest of the steps. Claire! Youre back! Youre okay! She stepped over Shane, who was still trying to get free of the blanket, and pulled Claire up to hug her like a rag doll. We were so scared; we didnt know how to get to youeverybody was looking She stopped and held Claire at arms length. Ew.
Yeah, Claire said. I need a shower.
I dont think a showers going to cut it. Maybe fire hoses, and those brushes they use on elephants. Eve stepped back and offered Shane a hand up as he finally got untangled.
Speaking of elephants, you sounded like a herd of something coming down the stairs, he said. What the hell are your shoes made of? Hooves?
And good morning to you, too, grumpy. Nice bedhead. He flipped her off. No coffee for you. Eve turned back to Claire and hugged her one more time. Youre sure youre okay?
Im fine, Claire said, and yawned again. I will be once I get clean.
Yeah, big endorsement of that. Ill have breakfast ready for you!
Shane grabbed Claires hand. She smiled at him, oddly shy, because the glow in his eyes meant he was up to something, or thinking about being up to something. But he finally shook his head and said, Go on, before I do something I probably shouldnt.
That sounded interesting. She wasnt that tired. But yuck, getting clean sounded even better. So she kissed him quickly and ran up the steps toward the bathroom.
See? she heard Shane yell at the kitchen. She doesnt stomp around like a cattle stampede!
Bite me, Collins! No bacon for you, either!
Things were back to normal. Claire breathed a huge sigh of relief, and felt something that had been completely knotted up in her gut start to relax.
The shower felt so good it was hard to actually get out again, but the creaky hot-water heater finally convinced her by spritzing in ice-cold bursts when it was about to give up altogether. The bathroom was wreathed in so much steam it was like a sauna, and Claire enjoyed the feel of it against her skin as she shaved her legs and underarms and applied lotion and generally felt human again.
Someone knocked on the door.
Yeah, just a minute! she called. Im almost done!
Mom?
Claire stopped in the act of finger-fluffing her hair and turned toward the door. All of a sudden, the heat of the bathroom faded away, and the knot in her stomach came back. What? Michael, is that you?
Whoever it was, the voice didnt call out again, and when she went to the door and pressed her ear against it, she didnt hear anything at all. Weird. Really weird.
Claire put on her new, clean clothesjeans, an orange camisole, and a pretty flowered sheer top that shed scored at the resale shop. She unlocked the door and peeked out into the hallway.
Deserted.
She opened the door all the way and stepped out, accompanied by clouds of escaping steam. All the doors were shut, including Michaels at the end of the hall. She didnt see any sign of life up here, but Eve and Shane were still yelling back and forth downstairs.
Weird.
Claire left the door open and went to her room for her shoes. As she opened it, she found Michael standing in there with his back to her.
Michael? Finding him in her room was more than a little shocking. He was really good about giving her privacy, even if it was technically his house; he always knocked and waited for permission before coming in, which he rarely did anyway. Something you wanted?
He turned slowly to face her. She was blindly afraid for a second that something awful had happened to him, some kind of accident, but he looked . . . normal.
Just kind of dazed.
Whats happened here? he asked her. It shouldnt be like this. Why is it like this?
II dont understand. It looks okay to me. I mean, sorry about the bed. I meant to make it up. What are you
Who are you? Michael interrupted her, and took a step back when she came toward him. Whoa. Stay right there. Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?
Claires mouth opened and closed, because she had no idea what to say to that. Was he kidding? No, she didnt think sothere was real confusion in his face, real panic in his blue eyes. IIm Claire, she finally said. Claire, remember? Whats wrong with you?
I dont He pulled in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and clenched his fists tight. She saw something strange pass over his face, and then he looked at her again, and he was back to being the same Michael she knew. Claire. Oh, crap, Claire, Im sorry. That was weird. I think . . . I think I was sleepwalking. I was dreaming it was three years ago, and my parents were still here. This used to be their room. I was thinking how weird it was that their stuff wasnt here. He laughed shakily and wiped at his forehead like he was sweating, although Claire didnt think he was. Wow. Didnt like that much. It really felt wrong.
She still felt afraid, for some reason. But . . . youre okay now?
Yeah, Im fine, he said, and gave her that dazzling Michael Glass smile that put girls on the floor from a distance. Sorry if I scared you. Man, I havent sleepwalked in ages. So weird.
You knocked on the bathroom door, Claire said. You . . . you asked if I was your mom.
I did? Sorry; that is supercreepy. Youre much shorter than my mom.
Brat, she said, surprised into a giggle.
Thats no way to talk to a vampire.
Bloodsucking brat.
Better, he said. I cant believe I just barged in here. Im really sorry. Wont happen again.
Its okay; you couldnt help it. But she still watched him all the way down the hall, until they were downstairs. Having a vampire do something that strange, even if it was Michael, gave her a serious case of the chills.
In the kitchen, when they were all together, everything seemed fine. Michael was the same, and Eve and Shane sniped back and forth at each other with the same casual sort of loving cruelty that they always had. Claire found herself doing nothing but watching them, looking for anything odd. Out of place.
Hey, Eve said as she set a plate of bacon and eggs down in front of Claire on the table. Space Ghost. You in there anywhere?
Claire blinked and focused on her. Well, Eve would never freak her out, because Eve was always . . . Eve. Todays eyeliner was dark blue, and heavy, and her rice-powder makeup and navy lipstick probably should have looked weird, but instead, they just looked cute. And normal. Sorry, Claire said. Still tired, I guess. That was really, really hard.
Spill. Tell me everything. Eve was going through a phase where she wanted to eat everything with chopsticks. Claire watched her unwrap a set of cheap bamboo ones, scrape them together a few times, and dig into her eggs. Did you have to do anything gruesome?