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Damon let out a wry chuckle. "Youll never be free, brother. Youre tethered to blood, to humans. They make you desperate and needy--they make you a killer. "
At the wordkiller, a man with a rust-colored beard and sun-dyed cheeks glanced sharply at us from across the aisle. I forced a benign smile.
"You're going to get us in trouble," I hissed under my breath.
"Yes, well, youve got only yourself to blame for that," Damon replied. He closed his eyes, signaling the end of our conversation.
I sighed and glanced out the window. We were probably only thirty miles outside of Mystic Falls, but it felt as though everything Id known before had simply ceased to exist. Even the weather was new--the rain shower had ended, and the autumn sun now poked through wispy clouds, penetrating the glass that separated the train from the outside world. It was curious: While our rings protected us from the sun searing our flesh, the burning orb made me feel slightly drowsy.
Pushing myself to stand, I took refuge in the dark aisles that led from compartment to compartment. I passed from walking between the plush velvet seats of the first-class cars to the wooden benches of second class.
Finally, I made myself comfortable in an empty sleeper cabin, drew the curtains, closed my eyes, and opened my ears.
Hope those Union boys get out of New Orleans and leave it to ourselves
Once you see those beauties on Bourbon Street, your Virginia virgin won't look the same
You've got to be careful. There's voodoo down there, and some say it's where demons come out to play
I smiled. New Orleans sounded like the perfect place to call home.
I settled into the makeshift bed, content to relax and let the train rock me into some sort of slumber. I found that I fed much better after I had rested.
Chapter 5~6
Chapter 5
A day later, the train screeched to a stop. "Baton Rouge!" a conductor called in the distance.
We were getting closer to New Orleans, but the time was creeping by far too slowly for my liking. I flattened my back against the wall of the car, noticing passengers hastily packing up their belonging as they prepared to vacate their quarters, when my eye fell upon a green ticket, emblazoned with a large boot print. I knelt down and picked it up. Mr. Remy Picard, Richmond to New Orleans.
I tucked it into my pocket and jauntily walked back through the train, until I felt someone gazing at me curiously. I turned around. Two sisters were smiling at me through the window of a private compartment, their expressions bemused. One was working on a piece of needlepoint, the other writing in a leather-bound diary. They were being watched with hawk-like intensity by a short, plump woman in her sixties, clad in all black, most likely their aunt or guardian.
I opened the door.
"Sir?" the woman said, turning toward me. I locked my gaze onto her watery blue eyes.
"I believe you left something in the dining car," I said. "Something you need. " I continued, copying Damons low, steady voice. Her eyes shifted, but I sensed that this was different from the way the conductor had responded to my words. When Id tried to compel the conductor, it was as if my thoughts had collided with steel; here, it was as though my thoughts were breaking through fog. She cocked her head, clearly listening.
"I left something " She trailed off, sounding confused. But I could sense something in my brain, a sort of melding of our minds, and I knew she wouldnt fight me.
Immediately, the woman shifted her bulk and stood up from her seat.
"Why, ah, I believe I did," she said, turning on her heel and walking back down the hall without a backward glance. The metallic door of the car closed with a click, and I pulled the heavy navy curtains over the little window to the aisle.
"Nice to make your acquaintance," I said as I bowed to the two girls. "My name is Remy Picard," I said, surreptitiously gazing down at the ticket poking out of my breast pocket.
"Remy," the taller girl repeated quietly, as if committing my name to memory. I felt my fangs throb against my gums. I was so hungry, and she was so exquisite I mashed my lips together and forced myself to stand still. Not yet.
"Finally! Aunt Minnies never left us alone!" the older girl said. She looked to be about sixteen. "She thinks we arent to be trusted. "
"Arent you now?" I teased, easing into the flirtation as the compliments and responses volleyed back and forth. As a human, I would have hoped such an exchange would end with a squeeze of the hand or a brush of lips against a cheek. Now, all I could think of was the blood coursing through the girls veins.
I sat down next to the older girl, the younger ones eyes searching me curiously. She smelled like gardenias and bread just out of the oven. Her sister--they must have been sisters, with the same tawny brown hair and darting blue eyes--smelled richer, like nutmeg and freshly fallen leaves. "Im Lavinia, and this is Sarah Jane. Were going to move to New Orleans," the one girl said, putting her needlepoint down on her lap. "Do you know it? Im worried Ill miss Richmond horribly," she said plaintively.
"Our papa died," Sarah Jane added, her lower lip trembling.
I nodded, running my tongue along my teeth, feeling my fangs. Lavinias heart was beating far faster than her sisters.
