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Maybe he’s finally decided to bleed me to death.
My gaze falls to the vial of my saliva on the table. If Edward can get my venom into Mariah’s system before he kills her, he could facilitate her turning without involving me at all.
It would be a far cleaner, and more efficient way to accomplish his goal.
And Edward is nothing if not efficient.
I close my eyes in defeat.
“All these years, I’ve wondered how long it would take for a vampire to starve to death,” he says. “Perhaps, one of these days, if my investment pays off, you and I will get to find out.”
Chapter Fifteen
Mariah
My grandmother places a plastic thimble at the center of the kitchen table.
“See if you can call it to you,” she says.
I focus my attention on the thimble. It trembles and tips over. I’m so startled by the movement that I lose my concentration. It rolls to the edge of the table and falls to the floor.
“That was good,” she says. My grandmother is very impressed by my ability to manipulate objects with my mind, both here in the spirit realm and in the real world.
“Try again,” my mom says. I sigh.
“I don’t understand how I managed to blow up an entire cellar full of wine, but I can’t even make a thimble roll my way.” Edward blamed the broken bottles and lost product on a small earthquake and shoddy construction.
I’m not sure if he knows what really happened, or who he was trying to cover for. He hasn’t said anything to me about it, though I haven’t exactly made myself available to the Radcliffs since the incident with the photo albums.
“Trauma and necessity are powerful triggers,” my grandmother says. “But smaller tasks require specific intent. Keep practicing.”
She places the thimble back on the table. I take a deep breath and try again.
Things haven’t been the same between Will and I since he bared his fangs to me. Instead of immediately running to meet him in the vines as soon as I arrive in the spirit realm, I head to the guesthouse to say hello to my family. After visiting with them for a while, my mom walks me out to the fields.
Will keeps his hands to himself for the most part or holds mine chastely as we walk about the vineyard. He looks at me like he knows something terrible is going to happen, and I hate it.
I want us to go back to the way we were, when I thought I was falling in love. I do love him. That hasn’t changed. But the fear he instilled in me that night lingers in my body like muscle memory.
Maybe he really is a demon, and I just didn’t want to believe it.
“How come I still can’t see the future?” I ask my mom. We are on our way to the edge of the field where Will usually waits for me, but he isn’t there. It’s the middle of the day, so he’s probably not expecting me. I don’t often take naps in the afternoon, but today’s birthday, and I wanted to spend it with my real family.
“Maybe you will someday,” she says. “For whatever reason, right now, your powers are manifesting differently. Honestly, sweetheart, it’ll be a blessing if you don’t inherit the sight. It breaks your heart far more often than it helps you.”
“Will thinks Edward is planning something terrible for me.”
“Edward is always cooking up some grand plan,” she says.
I stop walking. “Mom, is Will a ghost?”
She gazes pensively out at the vines.
“Mom, for once, just be straight with me, please.”
She takes my hand in hers. “Will told you what he is.”
“So, he really is a demon? Or a vampire? Is there even a difference?”
