Wandering over to the table, I pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning forward, eager for more information.
“Well, I guess, one swipe of the tongue would close the wound, but wouldn’t be enough to heal the skin.” He shook his head. “That would be dangerous business, though. We’re very careful about those in the know.”
Gah!I had so many questions, most of them about Ego, but I really needed to make sure Benji was safe before we moved on. “So Benji…”
“In the months it took him to persuade me to feed from him, we became friends. He’s a very smart young man. And like me, he enjoys books for the sake of knowledge and for entertainment. I ended up using him as my donor three months in a row, and voila!” He entwined his arms in the air dramatically, like a dance. “His youthful appearance became…”
“Like a teenager,” I supplied.
Lysandro grimaced. “Yes. I suppose. Anyway, the owners of the bar worried continuing to grant him entrance would draw the attention of the authorities since he looked so young after our sessions, and other vamps felt like I’d staked some kind of claim.”
He shook his head like the mere idea baffled him. “So here we are. I’ve moved him to Willowhope, let him take over my house, and I’ve given him a job here. It’s been more convenient than I would’ve expected, especially since needing to stay in town with Ego’s needs.”
“So you and Benji are living together?” I asked, trying to piece his explanation together.
“Goodness, no. I already had this room, so I’ve moved all the way in here.”
“So he stays with you here?” Seeing the protest on his face, I rushed on, “Because he said he meets with you here sometimes.”
“Well, of course. To feed.”
That…actually made sense. “Okay. If he’s twenty-seven, then I guess he’s old enough to make his own decisions.”
“Considering he’s older than you, that’s very generous,” he teased. “I’m sure you’ve come to see me with more pressing needs, though.”
I huffed. “Is Ego in danger?”
He tilted his head. “After the way he got in your face last night, I’d expect you to be more concerned if he’s a danger to you and others.”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m worried about him. He seems so…”
“Depressed,” Lysandro said. “Had I not felt the presence of another of my kind in my territory and gone to him, I fear that he’d have already slipped away or gone mad. Leaving him the way he did, his Maker essentially murdered him in the slowest and cruelest way possible. It would’ve been more of a kindness to rip his throat out.”
The idea of Ego dying in a blood bath at the hands of such a monster made bile rise up my throat. I gagged it back down. “What does he need?”
“The support of his family and friends, and to listen to me.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. We both knew the chances of either of those happening any time soon were zilch. “That’s not likely.”
I thought about how upset Sky had been this morning when he came in from yoga. He knew something was wrong with his cousin. Their bond was more like twins than cousins, so Ego wasn’t nearly as slick as he thought he was. “You have any other ideas?”
“Could you talk to him?”
I barked out a laugh. “I’m not sure if you caught it, but I’ve never much cared for the popstar diva, so I wasn’t exactly nice to him. I’m not sure I’m the one to reason with him.”
Lysandro smiled slowly. “Then what do you think about pissing him off?”
Intrigued, I said, “Do tell,” then sat back and schemed with my newest friend—the old vamp.
Chapter 10
Ego
Scotty’s arrivallast night had been…a lot. I wasn’t ready for Sky—or anyone else—to know I was back in Willowhope. It would make this whole new life I had to figure out too real. By the time he’d left, Lysandro had convinced him to leave it under wraps for now, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last. Scotty was close to Sky’s found family, and had no allegiance to me, so I either needed to fess up—before he did it for me—or leave town.
It wasn’t all bad, though. He’d almost reassured me that Dead Air’s music wasn’t completely shit. Not that I cared what anyone else thought of it. It was an outlet for all of the anger I felt from having my life ripped away. A place to dump my frustration in a way that felt semi-normal to me. Something to do after Lysandro left each night, instead of just pacing this mini-castle like a captured beast.
Since I knew how much Scotty didn’t care for me, it had been nice of him to sit here into the wee hours of the morning, pulling up his favorite Dead Air songs, and showing me the pillar that had betrayed me. After he and Lysandro left, I made sure the lights were even dimmer before I recorded.
