Real Vampires Dont Wear Size Six Page 5

Chapter Five

  "You have got to be kidding me. That's your bribe?" I stared at Spyte.

  "Yes. " He frowned down at Penny, who was gnawing on his thumb. "Alesa assured me that was one of your heart's desires. That's how we get people on the give-up-your-soul train. Dangle something they really, really want in front of them and - bam! - they're ours. Ouch?" Black blood began to ooze from the wound Penny had made.

  "Penny! Don't drink a demon's blood. I'm here to tell you it can have bad consequences. " I was relieved when I saw her back away from the droplets. Spyte tossed her to his other hand with a grimace.

  "That wasn't nice, Glory. Demon blood is delicious. " He sniffed, then stuck his thumb in his mouth to lick off the blood.

  "Nice? You expect me to be nice to you? I've been a size six before, for about five minutes. It was nice. I even loved it. But I won't sacrifice my friends for it. No thanks. " I put out my hand and realized I could almost reach Rafe's arm. "Please let us go now. " I looked up at the sky. We had a few hours before dawn, but not so much that it didn't occur to me that these demons could leave me like this to fry when the sun came up. And Penny. What would happen to her? Fear slammed into me like a stake in the heart.

  Caryon smiled. "Aw, Glory, don't worry. We aren't here to terminate you. " He exchanged glances with Spyte. "Yet. "

  "You said you can't force the issue. " I hated that my voice quavered.

  "A technicality. Unfortunately. " Spyte frowned when Penny began to dig her claws into his palm. "But we can offer incentives. You'll see. The first one is a surprise. Next time you're in your shop, or even at home, look around. You might see something unexpected. " Spyte handed Penny to me. "I do like the rat. She's a tough little thing. I'm keeping an eye on her. "

  "And, Glory, don't dismiss our proposition out of hand. You don't have to harvest souls from your friends, you know. Just from the people you meet who you think deserve hell. You'd be doing a public service. " Caryon smiled, giving me another glimpse of jagged fangs that made me shudder. "Simon Destiny ring a bell?"

  "Simon? I figured he was already marked for hell. " He served a goddess who came from down there, so it was a no-brainer.

  "Oh, he is. But he's playing for the wrong team. Lucifer wants him on ours. We have kind of a competition going on down there. Each god and goddess in the Underworld has its own turf. And collects its own, um, victims. " Big smile from Spyte. "Nobody trusts each other on the accounting thing so we have a scorekeeper. He posts quarterly stats. Right now, well, let's just say Luc doesn't like to fall behind and leave it at that. " He and Cary shuddered and didn't that make me wonder how Lucifer expressed displeasure.

  "It spices up what could be a rather dull existence. " Caryon sighed. "You know roasting, filleting, slicing and dicing. And the screams are endless. " He arched a brow at Spyte. "Some of us have started to tune it out. "

  "Can I help it if I got caught with my iPod during playtime? Drawing and quartering is so archaic. And when they get out the cattle prods . . . I mean who wouldn't yawn? Get over it, Cary. " Spyte huffed.

  "I'll get over it when the job's done. We're working off seventy demerits here. Demerits you got us, Spyte. " Caryon turned his back on his cohort. "New recruits give us some bragging rights, points. "

  "And entertainment," Spyte added.

  "Exactly. " Caryon rested his hand on Spyte's shoulder. "Simon's so deliciously bad. Worth a bundle to Luc. All the Energy Vampires are. And we have a feeling you could recruit Simon for us, Glory. You know you'd love to bring him down. " He winked. "And I do mean down. "

  "Not denying that. But why do you want immortals anyway? Seems like you'd have a long wait. Like forever. " I dropped my arm so Penny could scurry down my leg and into the brush again. She could hide there until these yahoos left. If they ever did. I glanced at the sky again.

  "You know as well as I do that immortals bite the big one all the time. Like Miss Penny's sire did the other night. He's down there serving time right now. " Caryon raised his voice. "Bet that makes your undead heart sing, doesn't it, furry one?"

  Penny walked out from behind a bush, back in human form again but obviously shaken. She sucked it up though and actually walked right up to stand next to me and squeezed my hand.

  "Sure does. Tell me he's roasting over a pit or something. "

  "Or something. " Spyte smiled and looked her over with that nasty X-ray vision of his. Oh, how I wanted to rip out his throat. I'd even risk sucking in some demon blood to do it.

  "We don't share all the details of the joys of hell with potential, um, members, Penny, dear. " Caryon whipped a black card with gold letters out of his breast pocket. "Here's my number. Call if you wish to talk. About anything. "

  "Don't touch that!" I strained against the freeze that kept me glued to the ground. But Penny just grabbed the card and stuck it in her pocket.

  "I have a question for you. " Penny glanced at me. "Why bother Glory here? Why don't you just recruit this Simon character yourself?"

  "Hmm. Good question. She's a smart one. " Caryon glanced at Spyte. "It's like this. We can't steal players from another team directly, you see. Stupid rule, but it's one we can't go around. "

  "That's right. So we have to get insignificants like Glory here to do the dirty work, so to speak. Leaves our hands clean. " Spyte's laugh sent chills down my spine. "As if that concept matters down there. But somehow fair play is the one thing Luc insists on. Can you believe it?"

  "No. " I didn't believe any of this. "You're wasting your time here. I am not working for the Devil. Period. "

  Spyte laughed again. "We'll see. Oh, yes, we'll see. " He looked down and set my favorite boots on fire. I felt the heat lick at my toes and bit my lips to hold back a scream.

  Penny did screech and pulled off my jacket to smother the flames. "You creeps! What was that for?"

  "Just a little reminder of who you're talking to and where we're from. This isn't a game, people. Take it seriously. " Caryon waved a hand. "We'll be going now. You have a lot to think over, don't you, Glory?" Caryon ran a finger tipped in a black claw over my cheek, then simply vanished. Spyte gave us a little wave then disappeared as well.

  "Son of a bitch!" Rafe jerked free and ran to me. "Are you all right?"

  "I'm okay. Boots? Not so much. " I fell to the ground, my toes stinging but not really hurt. Not like my boots were. They were a melted mess. Ralph Lauren black patent, found on sale, now history. I handed Penny the ruined jacket and risked singed fingers to pull down the zippers and get the boots off. Damned demons.

  Rafe examined my toes, reassured himself that they were just a little pink, then stomped around the hillside. Of course it was futile. The demons were gone, the only other sign they'd ever been there the cloying scent of sugar that clung to the air, like we were downwind from a donut shop. Mortals would think that was yummy. Me? Since I couldn't eat a donut, it was nothing but more torture.

  "That was strange and scary as hell. " Penny sagged against me. "Uh, literally, I guess. " I could feel her shaking as I hugged her and met Rafe's eyes over her head. He looked like he wanted to flame another bush. "When he threw me from one hand to the other, I almost died. Again. "

  "You certainly got to practice your shape-shifting. But a rat?" I pulled back and looked at her.

  "We have them in the lab. It was all I could think of. " Penny's hand went to her pants pocket. "Those demons blew my mind. "

  "Penny, give me that card. " I gave her a stern look.

  "No way. It's cool. A demon's card. It's going in my 'Oops, I'm a Vampire' scrapbook. " She held her hand over her pocket. "I'm not going to call him. Are you kidding me? My grandpa is a Baptist preacher. He'd have a cow and calves. " Penny sighed. "Of course what would he do if he saw my fangs?"

  "You won't let him. And just because you're a vampire now doesn't mean you're bound for hell. I go to church. As many Sundays as I can. Night services. " I felt Rafe's arm go around me. I t
urned to him. "You okay?"

  "Sure. I'm worried about you. Getting attention like this from Lucifer is no joke. No, they can't coerce you, but evil is their specialty. They can apply lots of pressure indirectly to get what they want. Like the hot foot just now. " He leaned down to kiss my cheek. "That bitch Alesa sicced them on you as payback for playing hard to get when she was inside you. Now they'll see you as a personal challenge. " Rafe's frown was so fierce Penny stepped back from him. "They'll be back. I guarantee it. "

  "Way to make me feel better, Rafe. " We climbed into his car. Penny peppered me with questions about Alesa that I didn't want to answer as the dawn dragged at me. Rafe drove fast, anxious to check with Trey on how the closing had gone. Reality. Unfortunately, we hadn't faced the last of it.

  "Jenny called me six times while I slept. " Penny shoved her cell phone in my face as soon as I rolled out of bed. "I don't think I'll ever get used to just dying at dawn. "

  "Can I brush my teeth before I deal with you and your sister drama?" I pushed her out of the way and staggered into the bathroom.

  "It's not drama. It's my life, Glory. " Penny stood in the bathroom doorway.

  I ignored her and grabbed my toothbrush. I squeezed toothpaste, leaned against the sink, looked up and screamed.

  "Glory! What happened?" Penny grabbed my arm and turned me to face her. "The demon's back?"

  Okay, Penny was real. I touched her face, clear of makeup, and patted her tangled hair. Hairdresser. Calling her first thing. Then I slowly turned toward the mirror above the sink. No, not possible.

  "L-l-look. What do you see?" I pointed at the mirror.

  "You trying to torment me? I already brushed my teeth and washed my face. Talk about a freak-out. Checking the mirror and nobody . . . " Penny stared at the mirror and then at me. "Oh. My. God. "

  "What do you see, Penny?" I held on to the sink to keep from falling to the floor.

  "You - you have a reflection. How did that happen?" Penny waved her hand in front of my face but it didn't show up in the mirror, only as a brief distortion in my reflection.

  Me. My reflection. Of my face. I was seeing my face for the first time, except in that computer monitor, in more than four hundred years. I leaned closer. Scary. Not that I looked old. No, I was still a dewy twenty-two, though I guess I looked older by today's standards. I'd had no access to face creams or even decent soap back in the day. My hair was wild and I brushed it back. I needed my own appointment with the shifter who cut my hair. I wouldn't mind some highlights too and, geez, my brows could stand a serious plucking.

  "Glory, snap out of it. " Penny shook my arm. "Has this happened before?"

  "No. " I dragged my eyes from the mirror. "The demons said they had an incentive for me to become a size six. I guess this is what they were talking about. "

  Penny stepped out of the bathroom and did a quick tour of the small apartment. "Well, there's sure no full-length mirror in here. Guess to get the whole effect you'll have to go down to your shop. "

  "Full effect. " I glanced back at my rear. "Those bastards. They want to torture me. Want me to look at myself and see how big I am. " I picked up my toothbrush again. "Size six. Who wouldn't want to be a size six?"

  "Yeah, I know what you mean. I haven't seen that number since I was thirteen except in the shoe department. " Penny glanced down at her faded sleep shirt. "Jenny's a six. "

  "Of course she is. So's one of my best friends. Size six is gorgeous. Worshipped by the masses as perfection for some reason. " This was a hot-button issue for me. Totally unfair, this obsession with size. Big bones, heredity. There were so many factors that went into a woman's size. My own was the result of Jeremiah Campbell not warning me that I'd be stuck when he turned me. And he'd chosen a day when I was bloating, for crying out loud. Stuffed me like a Thanksgiving turkey for weeks before my V-day too. Men. They just don't get it.

  "It's so unfair!" Penny peered over my shoulder, as fascinated by the fact that she couldn't see herself as I was that I could.

  "Exactly. " I waved my toothbrush in front of the mirror, still thrilled that I could see the hand holding it, my face behind it, the whole enchilada. "But I'm not giving in to those evil demons. I'm not working for the Devil. I'm at peace with my chubby thighs. " Couldn't believe I said that with a straight face.

  "Guess we might as well be, we're stuck with them. " Penny waved that black card in front of me. "You want to call Caryon and tell him so?"

  "No, thanks. I'm ignoring him and his torments. Tonight we deal with your sister. Did Josh call too?" I brushed my teeth, listening as Penny described the message from the frat boy. Seems he'd left a long apology, then a stammering request for a real date. If she could forgive him.

  I rinsed out my mouth and turned to face her. "Call him back and say no. "

  "I already called him back and said yes. " Penny glared at me. "He's cute. He's nice. I want to give it a shot. " She toyed with that damned black card. "And his blood smelled delicious. "

  "That last sentence just sealed your fate, Penny. Not gonna happen. When is he supposed to pick you up?" I managed to snatch the card. I wasn't ripping it up. The number might come in handy.

  "It is gonna happen, Glory. " Penny turned and stomped into the living room. "We're meeting in your shop at nine tonight. Hitting a late movie. Deal with it. "

  "Deal with this. " I was on her heels. "You will not taste his delicious blood. You will not drink from mortals. You will only drink synthetics while you live under my roof. "

  "You're kidding me. I can't believe all those vampires I saw at Damian's stick to synthetics. In fact, it was obvious that they didn't. " Penny's hands were fists. "There were mortals around that I'm sure were providing meals for some of them. "

  Okay, I had to admit even Jerry did the mortal thing from time to time and Damian's crowd had been known to keep mortal pets. Nice that he'd let Penny see that. "You're right. A vampire with experience can drink from a mortal. " I grabbed one of Penny's fists. "But you, my dear, are about five minutes old and haven't learned to control your blood-lust. Put you close to a mortal and you're liable to go too far. You want to kill Josh?"

  She sighed and unclenched her hand, drawing it away from me. "I did. When he left me on that hilltop. But now I just want a date with a cute guy. Is that so horrible?" Her eyes filled with tears. "I want to be normal. "

  "The normal train left the station the night you were turned. " I pulled her down to the couch. I hoped this didn't turn into a sobfest. "Tell you what. Meet Josh. I'll follow you every step of the way. I'll do you a favor and stay out of sight unless I see you start something that will become dangerous to him. I'm afraid that's as close to a normal date as you're going to get right now. " I hit the fridge and grabbed a cold bottle of synthetic. "Did you drink one of these yet? You need to fill up before you get close to him. "

  "Thanks, Glory. I'm sure you have better things to do tonight than trail after me. " Penny twisted off the top of her bottle.

  "I do, but I'll deal. " I opened my own bottle and noticed I was running low on regular synthetic. "Hey, stay away from the Blud-Lite, it has alcohol in it. "

  "Glad you warned me, though I kind of figured that out from the name and the label. " Penny smiled. "Blood with alcohol. They make vampire drugs too?"

  "Yes. That Simon Destiny the demons want is a vampire drug dealer. Vampire Viagra is his big moneymaker. "

  Penny grinned. "You're kidding. Vampires need Viagra? My illusions are shattered. "

  "No need. " I smiled back. "I don't know if you're, um, experienced or not . . . " I remembered that nineteen in this day and age wasn't the same as it had been way back when. I'd married at sixteen, been widowed at twenty, and had found Jerry and bliss at twenty-two.

  "I'm not a virgin. " Penny winked. "I even lived with one of my lab-rat boyfriends for a while last year. My parents stroked out, but they got over it. Sending me away to college when I was so young, the
y had to get used to the fact that I was going to try everything I could as fast as I could, you know?"

  "Not really, but let's try to slow down on the vampire thing, okay? Just know that vamp men have got it going on and on. " I actually flushed. "Never mind. " I sat on the couch. I could see myself in a mirror. Wow. I grabbed my purse and pulled out the compact I carried strictly for the powder. I opened it and gazed into the mirror I'd never bothered to look in before. My skin was so pale. When summer got here, maybe I'd try one of those spray tans.

  "Earth to Glory. " Penny sat beside me. "You've really not been able to use a mirror in hundreds of years?"

  "Nope. " I snapped the compact closed. "Wonder how long this'll last. The demons have got to know I'm not harvesting souls for them, no matter how bad the person is who crosses my path. "

  "But maybe you'd be doing a service. For the Lord. " Penny looked serious.

  "Penny, don't even think about it. The Lord wouldn't want you to even speak to a demon, much less trust one. You can't do anything connected to hell without payback. I had a demon inside me and I got to know their kind way too personally. It's an impossible situation. There's no way I could just merrily send bad guys to hell and not get sucked down there myself. Besides, who am I to decide who is good and who is hell-worthy? I sure don't want that kind of responsibility. "

  Penny's phone rang. She picked it up off the coffee table. "It's Jenny. I've got to answer this. "

  "Fine. But you can put her off if she wants to meet. Until after your date with Josh. " I sat back and waited for her to answer the phone.

  "Hey, sis. " Penny listened to her sister exclaim over how hard it had been to reach her. "Yes, I was in the lab. Had to turn off my phone. "

  "Someone saw you outside the house late last night. Bein' pushed into an SUV. Are you okay?" Jenny's voice sounded a lot like Penny's only with a bit more Texas twang.

  "What? Outside the sorority house? Someone's been taking those weird sleeping pills again. " Penny laughed and rolled her eyes at me. "What would I be doing lurking outside your house? And in the middle of the night?"

  "I know. Sounds nuts, doesn't it, Pen?" Jenny laughed. "So where are you? Can you meet for coffee? I got the cutest new blouse to show you. And there's this math test comin' up. I just can't get the hang of this one type of equation. I know you could explain it and it would click. We are always on the same wavelength. Am I right?"

  Penny's eyes filled and she shook her head. "Can't meet tonight, Jen. Sorry about the math test. Judith in your sorority can help you. Go to her. I've got a date. Really cute guy. I'll tell you all about it later. Oops, got to go. He'll be here soon and I'm gonna jump in the shower. " She ended the call, then sobbed.

  "Aw, Penny, I'm sorry. " I rubbed her arm.

  "M-m-math! I always help her with math. But now I can't because I might bite her on the neck and d-d-drain her dry. " Penny fell over and cried on my shoulder.

  "No, you can't because you have a date. All in all, you handled that very well. " I patted her back as my robe got damp.

  "I lied to her. " Penny sat up and wiped her eyes.

  "Get used to it. It will become your way of life with mortals. " I glanced at the clock, then got up and walked toward the bathroom. "If you're serious about going on this date, we'd better get moving. My hot water heater is ancient. It has only one long hot shower in it or two short ones. I'm taking a quickie, then you're next. Wash your hair and let me see what I can do to fix it. "

  Penny jumped up. "You really hate the way I look, don't you?"

  "I didn't say that. "

  "Didn't have to. First you take me to your shop and pick out new clothes. Next, you tell me to wash off my makeup and then give me your lipstick, muttering about your hairdresser the whole time. Now you tell me you're going to fix my hair like I'm a freakin' Barbie doll!" Penny stomped toward her bedroom. "Give me some space, Glory. You're my mentor, not my mom. " The door slammed.

  "Thank God!" I yelled down the hall. Well, how was that for gratitude? I gathered up some clothes and went into the bathroom, stopping for several minutes to study my face in the mirror. Size-six Glory had had cheekbones, none here. No, not tempted. The price was too high. But having a reflection was so unbelievably cool. How long would I have this unexpected treat? No telling. But I was going to make the most of every second. I stripped and tried to see more of me in the small glass. Forget it. There was way too much Glory and not nearly enough mirror.

  I hurried through my shower and jumped into my clothes, then knocked on Penny's door.

  "I'm sorry, Penny. I'm bossy. What can I say? I took my mentoring job off the rails to where it didn't belong. " I turned the knob and poked my head inside. If she'd run again . . . But, no, she was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

  "I'm not an idiot. "

  "That's obvious. " I sat on the foot of the bed.

  "I know I look better in green than in horizontal stripes. "

  "It's not polite to read my mind. " I sighed and jiggled her bare foot. "But I have a clothing store. I'm really into fashion and have been trying to disguise my own figure flaws for centuries, Penny. So maybe I wanted to pass on some hard-won information. "

  "I get that. " She sat up and looked at me. "I want to look good for this date. Really good. I know nothing can come of it. He's a mortal, I'm a freak. But for once I'd like a hot guy to be into me. A guy who doesn't buy his clothes at Goodwill or pay more attention to his hard drive than to the woman sitting next to him at the computer. "

  I grinned. "I am so there with you. " I held out my hand and helped her get up. "Now go shower, wash your hair and blow it dry. I'm going to nip down to the shop and pick out a few things for you to try on. Okay?"

  "I'd love that. Last night that cute guy Trey really looked at me, danced with me too. And I know it was the green blouse and your lipstick. " She poked me on the arm. "I admit it. You seem to know what you're doing. "

  "Wow. Ya think?" I grinned at her while she dug into the clutch I'd given her the night before.

  "Here's my credit card. Put whatever you think I'd look good in on there. I have a nice limit. My grants are big. " She grinned back at me. "I did mention I was a genius, didn't I?"

  "Yes, you did. " I gave her a quick hug. "Feel free to raid my makeup bag while you're at it. It's on my dresser in my bedroom. Please stay away from the Goth look. " I picked up the worn bra on the foot of the bed. "And, Penny, we're going to have to buy you some new underwear soon. Been a while since you've lived with that boyfriend?"

  "Yes. " She sighed. "And it didn't last long. He was more of a slob than I am. Imagine two geeks who never remembered to buy the coffee or wash the sheets living together. It was a nightmare. " She brushed past me on her way to the door. "I was much happier with a cleaning service and my battery-operated friend. "

  "Too much information, Penny. " I shoved her toward the bathroom, stopped to throw on my own makeup, then headed downstairs. I loved a makeover and Penny was ripe for one. It took me a little longer than it should have because the full-length mirrors in the shop kept stopping me. Oh, woe is me. That could not be my hips and butt. In the fifties and sixties, I'd worn a panty girdle. I'd hated it, but maybe it was time to pull it out again. Of course it would push everything up to a muffin top . . .

  I was thoroughly depressed - which I figured was what the demons had wanted when they'd given me my reflection - by the time I took Penny my clothing choices for her date. She actually accepted my advice without argument. At nine o'clock she was blown dry, dressed right, and ready to meet Josh. He didn't recognize her in the pale blue cardigan and dark-wash jeans.

  She tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, remember me? I'm Penny, the girl you - "

  "Sorry, guess I had way too much to drink that night. " Josh turned red to the roots of his blond hair, then he smiled. "Looking good, Penny. " He glanced around the shop. "First time I've been in here. I'm not sure I get the vintag
e thing. I mean, they're like strangers' hand-me-downs. "

  "Vintage is cool, Josh. " Penny led him toward the door. "Retro chic is very in right now. But obviously not for everyone. " She smiled as he opened the door. "What movie did you want to see?" She totally ignored me as I lurked near the dresses.

  I signaled my night clerk and headed out after them. Josh helped Penny into his SUV, acting like a gentleman. I was glad to see him treating her with respect. But I wasn't so happy as I probed Penny's mind. She'd forgotten to block her thoughts and they were all about trying to control her fangs as he shut her inside the dark car and strolled around to get in. Penny had a bad case of the "I want to taste a mortal" cravings.

  I jumped into my convertible I'd parked at the curb and followed them at a discreet distance. Yes, this felt weird, but I wasn't about to let Penny dine on this guy. He pulled into a space at a mall that had a multiscreen cinema and parked. Soon they were headed for the theater. I paid for my ticket and tried not to roll my eyes when I saw we were actually going to see the latest vampire flick. I wondered whose idea that had been.

  Josh bought popcorn and drinks. Penny forgot and sipped hers, coughing until Josh pounded her on the back. Too bad. She'd been pretty cool up to that point. After that she just pretended to drink, shaking her head when he offered her popcorn, though I saw her nose twitch and her eyes water. I could sympathize. It smelled delicious. I had to give her props for playing mortal like a pro as I trailed them into the theater, one of dozens of women and a few men. Josh was really taking one for the team with this show. Obviously it was a chick flick.

  I settled two rows behind them, ready to critique the vamp action on the screen and in front of me. No fangs on the vamps? Like I'd gnaw a vein open. But the fight scenes were great. Loved the werewolves. I was so engrossed, I almost missed Josh making a move on Penny. Hmm. His arm was around her and she leaned into him. Sweet.

  Then I got caught up in the movie again. A love story. I'm a sucker for romance. Especially since my own love life is a twisted tale of - Wait a minute, where had they gone? Penny and Josh had managed to slip out before the movie was over. And I wasn't going to get to see which guy this girl picked? Damn it!

  I jumped up and stepped unapologetically on numerous feet to get out of there. I ran across the lobby to the parking lot and saw that Josh's car was missing. How long had I been watching the screen and not my fledgling? I looked around and realized no one was nearby so I shifted into my bird form, flying up so I could look for that black SUV. Oh, great. There are only thousands of black SUVs in Austin. I tried to figure out the logical places Penny might go with Josh.

  His place? He'd said he had roommates. Definitely not my place, though I'd given her a key and the alarm code for the building. So her old place? Totally a possibility. I landed next to my car and quickly shifted back, then hit speed dial for Damian.

  "Hello, Gloriana, how goes the mentoring?"

  "Oh, fine, fine. " No way was I admitting failure to the head of the council. "You are paying me a stipend for this, aren't you? This girl's really racking up expenses. Synthetics, utilities, not to mention part of the rent. I was about to bring in another roommate when you dumped her on me. A paying roomie. " I heard Damian say something about submitting receipts. "Sure, whatever. You know, I was following her over to her old place to pick up the rest of her stuff and lost her in traffic. Could you give me that address?"

  "Certainly. And as to a stipend . . . Well, I suppose that could be arranged. Half your rent, anyway. " Damian rattled some papers. "Here's her address. " He read it to me. "The council is impressed that you were willing to do this. But there are still concerns. There have been reports of more demons scented in the area. Do you know anything about that, Gloriana?"

  "Demons? You know how I hate those things. If I do run into them, I'll tell them to fly straight back down to hell where they belong. You know that, don't you, Damian?" I got into the car and started the engine, thinking about the address and trying to figure out where it was. I knew it was near the university, but that was a big area. Fortunately, Austin is laid out logically with numbered streets.

  "Yes, Gloriana. Just be careful. Your last run-in with a demon should have convinced you how serious a problem they can be. By the way, Florence and Richard should be back soon from their honeymoon. " Damian seemed inclined to chat and I didn't have time.

  "I know. Can't wait to hear all the details. Listen, got to go. Penny's waiting. Talk to you later. " I hung up and headed out. If Penny hadn't taken Josh back to her place, I had no idea where to look. And if she had, what was I going to do? Burst in on them? She already thought I was overprotective and interfering. But she had no idea what a dangerous situation she was in. Talk was cheap. Until she experienced it, she probably didn't believe me about bloodlust. It wasn't easy to control even in an ancient vampire. For a new one? Impossible.

  I got onto a freeway and gunned my turbocharged motor. And what else was up here? My fledgling couldn't even sit through a whole movie on a first date? I'd be damned if I'd mentor a slut. Okay, I realized that was a little bit of the pot calling the kettle. But, hey, rational thinking had been left back at the mall parking lot.

  Maybe Penny was discovering the famous vampire libido along with the bloodlust. I hated to rain on that parade, but she just wasn't ready for it. Not sex with a mortal anyway. If I could hook her up with a paranormal, she could have at it. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw the exit for Penny's street and crossed two lanes of traffic to take it. In minutes I'd found her address and followed my sense of smell to the right apartment in the vintage building. I should have known Penny would be on the ground floor. That height aversion.

  She'd put on music and I heard her laughter behind the door. I knocked and she stopped laughing. I waited, tapping my foot in time to the tune, a top-forty hit. I knocked again, hard enough to rattle the doorframe. The music clicked off.

  "Open up, Penny, or I'll knock it down. " The door jerked open and Penny stood there, her fangs gleaming in the light from a dozen candles.

  "What the hell are you doing here?" Penny growled.

  "Thought you'd given me the slip? As if. " I shoved past her to see Josh sitting on the couch, the telltale look on his face that meant she'd whammied him. Yep, my little fledgling had put the guy into a trance. I didn't see fang marks yet. I turned and reached behind her to slam the door shut.

  "First, you tell me. Why the whammy, Penny? What's Josh going to do while you have him under your little spell?" I stared hard at her.

  "What do you think? That I'm so desperate I've got to put a guy in a trance before he'll have sex with me?" She flounced over to the couch and sat close to him, even put her hand on his thigh. "I'll have you know he was all over me before I did this to him. "

  "Yeah, I'm sure he got the message that you were good to go when you agreed to leave the movie before it was over. " I sat across from her in a sagging leather chair. A fat orange cat stared at me from under a table across the room. I ignored it.

  "I'd seen it before. Jenny dragged me to it the first week it was out. I wasn't into vampires then and this time I could see how fake it was. " She rubbed Josh's leg. "Isn't he cute? He offered to take me to the vamp movie because he'd heard girls like it. You did such a great job of making me look good, he couldn't keep his hands off me. "

  "You do look good. " I shook my head. "But then you had to screw things up, didn't you?"

  Penny frowned. "What do you mean? You're the one who burst in here, checking up on me. "

  "Come on. Admit it. Josh is sitting there looking zoned out for only one reason. " I leaned forward and gave Penny a hard look. "Despite my warning, you were about to test drive your fangs on this mortal, weren't you? You think I can't see them?"

  Penny swallowed and looked everywhere but at me. Finally she turned, chin up. "Yeah, so what? I can control myself. I'm not your ordinary fledgling, Glory. I can do this. Watch me. " She put
her hand on his jugular.

  "Stop right there. " I gripped her wrist. "This isn't some intellectual exercise, damn it. This is bloodlust. Your eyes are dilated. Your fangs are down and I can see you're about to lose it. "

  "So?" Penny snarled. "Feel him. He's so incredibly warm and that's his heart pounding under my hand. Then there's the smell. " She inhaled and a look of near ecstasy came over her face. "God, but he's, he's driving me crazy. He's alive!"

  I kept my grip on her, though she was trying to pull away. "Forget it, Penny. You can't do it. Let him go. Plant the idea in his mind that he liked you, but he can't call you again because you dumped him. You just can't forgive him for leaving you on that hilltop. It's the right thing to do. "

  "No. I want to see him again. He - he makes me feel alive. " She leaned against him, gasping when he fell over to land on the couch. "Geez, this is ridiculous. " She grabbed him and straightened him back to a sitting position.

  "That's because he's basically unconscious with his eyes open. " I sat on his other side to keep him propped up. "Give it up, Penny. Don't you think it's a little creepy to accept a date with a guy and then take advantage of him by drinking his blood?"

  "Maybe. " Penny showed me her fangs. "But he left me on that hilltop, you know. No excuse is good enough for that. Especially considering what happened there. So maybe he owes me this. I can hear the blood going through his veins, his heart pumping. It's calling to me. I . . . I want it. Need it. Bloodlust? What the hell? It's fantastic. " She kept brushing her thumb over his jugular, then leaned in and inhaled again before she shuddered, forcing herself to sit back.

  I knew what she meant. Wasn't immune myself. But I'd had a long, long time to gain control over my urges. In a way, I almost envied her the newness of this experience. But it was a dangerous thing, easy to get out of hand.

  "Slow down, Penny. I get it, I really do. But you're letting your baser instincts take over. That's not like you, is it?" Not according to what she'd told me, this genius teen.

  "Maybe becoming vampire has changed more about me than just my sleeping and drinking habits. " Penny sighed, still staring at Josh like he was the last cookie in the jar. "Come on, Glory, you saw that movie. So much blood. Is it weird that it made me thirsty?"

  "No. Even though I knew it was all faked, it made me thirsty too. But I can ignore my thirst when I have to. " I wondered if I should give in on this. At least I was here to stop her before anything too drastic happened. "You had two bottles of synthetic before your date. You aren't really hungry, Penny, just drawn to the real deal. Am I right?"

  Penny frowned like she was doing a gut check. "Guess so. " She kept stroking his jugular. "I can feel his pulse. So strong, so warm. "

  "I may be sorry, but I'm going to teach you how to drink from a mortal safely. Even I realize I can't dog you every waking moment. " I glanced at Josh. He was a healthy mortal, a fairly big guy who could spare a pint or two.

  "No, you can't. Better to train me than to just ignore the fact that I'm going to have this bloodlust issue. " Penny actually smiled, sure she'd won something here. "Do I just lay his head back?" She gazed at him hungrily. "Oh, God, thanks, Glory. I thought I was going to have to fight you for him. "

  "And that wouldn't have ended well, Penny. " I didn't say that I knew I could take her. Let her keep her illusions. "Forget the neck for now. Too dangerous. Pick up his wrist. " I grabbed his other arm for a demo. "Find his vein. You can see it and feel it, of course. Easy, isn't it?"

  "Sure, it's practically calling my name. " She pulled his arm up close to her mouth and her eyes closed. "Mmm. "

  "Now open your mouth and your fangs will know what to do. " I sighed, not allowing myself to join in on the fun. "I'll tell you when to stop and you'll obey me if I have to physically pull you off to get you to do it. "

  "Got it. I don't want to kill him, Glory. He's told me over and over again how sorry he was about that night on the hill. He'd just had too much to drink. He never should have been driving at all. " Penny's hand was shaking as she held his wrist. When her fangs sank in, she was obviously surprised. Then her eyes closed and she moaned. I didn't need to read her mind. A new vampire's appreciation of real blood bordered on orgasmic. Penny gulped and sighed and clung to Josh's arm like she'd never let it go. But I knew she'd have to and well before she'd want to.

  "That's enough. "

  Her eyes popped open and she glared at me. She kept drinking.

  I stood, one hand on Penny's shoulder, one on Josh's arm.

  "I said let him go. "

  Penny's mental message was colorful and boiled down to "Ain't no way. "

  "You asked for it. " I gripped her hair, giving it a sharp tug, then ripped Josh's wrist away, leaving her mouth smeared with blood.

  "Bitch!" Penny snarled and hit at me, trying to make contact with Josh's bleeding wounds again.

  "I'll slap the shit out of you, Penny. Calm down. Take a breath. I need to show you how to close these punctures. " I gave her hair another hard jerk and her eyes watered.

  "You calm down. He's mine. Give him back. " Her eyes narrowed and we were playing tug-of-war with poor Josh's arm. She didn't have my strength though and even one-handed, I was winning.

  "What's going on here?"

  Both of us froze, Penny's face smeared with blood, Josh's arm between us. I knew at once who stood in the doorway staring at us in horror.

  I paused to toss Josh off the couch and out of Penny's reach, then grabbed the newcomer before she could run away screaming. I clamped a hand over her mouth and wrestled her inside, kicking the door closed behind us.

  "You wanted to see your sister, Penny? Well, here she is. " I stared into big blue eyes, well aware that all the excitement and blood in the room had my fangs on full display. Yep, that did it. Jenny, Penny's twin, slumped to the floor.