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“I have secrets, too,” she says, an unusually guarded expression on her face. “I wouldn’t want some truth serum person pulling them out of me before I felt ready to share them.” She reaches out, covering my hand gently with hers. “But you can trust me with your secrets, Baron. I promise. I won’t share them or hold them against you. And if you want to go back to pretending you’re as happy as a clam out there in the swamp, I’ll go along with it.”
I arch a brow. “Did I ever seem ‘happy as a clam?’”
She grins. “Of course not. You seemed cranky, but reasonably content with your surly lot in life. So, we can go back to pretending that’s the truth when we’re together. I don’t have a stomach for lies but…” She shrugs as she withdraws her hand from mine and swipes at her lips, managing to miss the tiny speck of dill sauce that’s held me in thrall. “Pretend can be a lifesaver. There were times, when I was a kid, that pretending I was the long-lost daughter of a kind man who looked like a young Santa Claus and owned a giant library he’d named after me was the only thing that kept me going. We need hope to survive. It’s better to find hope in reality-based things, I guess, but when reality drops the ball, our imaginations are always there.”
“That’s why you love books,” I say, pulling a fresh napkin from the metal container on the table.
“That’s why you love books,” she counters, her lips hooking up on one side. “You’re a bigger fan of hope than you think, Grumpus. And that gives me hope.”
I grunt and echo, “Grumpus. Is that my nickname?” I guide the napkin to her lips, swiping up the spot of sauce, an unexpected grin breaking across my face as her eyes dance with delight. “There was sauce. On your lip.”
“I know. I left it there on purpose to see what you’d do. Thank you for saving me from my own sloppiness,” she says, beaming at me in a way I know anyone who might glance our direction would take the wrong way. I’m sure we look like a couple in the thick of courtship, but of course, we aren’t. We’re just…friends?
My heart twists at the thought. It’s been a long time since I made a new friend.
I don’t deserve Annie’s friendship any more than I deserve her affection, but maybe I could let myself have that much, let myself be there for her in some small, but reliable way. I’m about to tell her as much—her truth serum effect is more powerful than usual tonight—when the smile falls from her face.
Her focus locks on a spot over my shoulder and her eyes widen with fear.
“What’s wrong?” I turn to follow her gaze and my question is answered by the scorched mark on the side of the empty cottage across the street from the pita stall.
If we hadn’t spent the day reading up on demons, I might have walked right past it without a second glance. There have been a number of fires in Nightfall over the years and they’ve each left their mark.
But this isn’t old damage. This is a fresh burn, with what looks like a demon rune scratched in the center of the charred wood.
As Annie tosses the remains of her meal, I cross the street and pull out the small pad and pen I keep in my coat pocket. I’m finishing a quick sketch of the rune when a flash pops from behind me. I look up to see Annie staring at her cell phone screen with puckered lips.
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Do you remember which rune this is?”
She shakes her head. “No, I don’t. There were too many. I was just…” She tips the phone my way, sadness filling her eyes. “You didn’t show up in the picture.”
“I’m a vampire, Annie,” I remind her gently. “I don’t have a reflection.”
“I knew that. I just didn’t realize…” She shrugs uncomfortably. “I’d like to have a picture of you, is all. In those two or three minutes a day you’re not scowling, you’re really nice to look at.”
I brush her hair from her forehead, wanting to tell her that she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, that she’s the sunlight I’ve missed every day since the night I was turned. Instead, I say, “We should take this to your place. Casey should know at least one demon’s been in town.”
She sighs. “Absolutely. And Blaire might be able to read the rune without us going all the way back to your place. She’s been studying runes with our magic tutor.” She wrinkles her nose. “I guess I should get back to my studies, too. As much as I’d rather disappear into the library and never be asked to turn wine to grape juice again, this is my birthright. I should give it a sincere effort before I declare myself an un-gifted witch and leave the magic to better women.”
There are no better women, I know this for a fact.
But I also know that’s one of the many things I want to say that are better left unsaid. And thankfully, the truth spell seems to be broken…for the moment.
I extend my hand. “Travel with me? We’ll get there faster.”
Annie reaches for my fingers, but pulls back at the last moment, snatching both of her hands back to clutch her mid-section. “Um, you know, I’m not sure I should. I’ve never done the turning into a bat or mist thing before, but I’m pretty sure it will make me sick. I’ve had a funny tummy lately. You go ahead and tell Blaire and Casey I’m on my way.”
I’m about to assure her that particulate travel is completely safe—and that I’ll be careful not to take the corners too quickly and unsettle her stomach—when she lifts a finger in the air and adds, “That’s actually better anyway. If we split up, I can run and grab Sophie. She won’t want to miss this. She’s crazy about Amy. She’ll want to know if our niece is in danger the moment the rest of us know.”
She backs away with a quick wave. “See you soon. Tell Blaire I’ll be home in ten, fifteen minutes tops. And don’t let Amy out of your sight.”
“Be careful,” I call out, raising my voice to be heard over the garbage truck trundling by. “If you can’t find Sophie, don’t walk alone. Call the house and I’ll come back to fetch you.”
She smiles one of those fond, loving smiles I don’t deserve and calls back, “Of course. I promise. See you soon, Grumpus.”
Warmth filling my chest at that nickname I shouldn’t enjoy, but secretly do, I dissolve, splintering into millions of pieces, each one vibrating with the longing to stay by her side, insisting she needs my protection.
But Annie isn’t the one being threatened. It’s her sister and niece who are in danger. That demon burn mark was so fresh there was still a lingering scent of char in the cool winter air. The best way to serve Annie at the moment is to make sure the people she loves are safe.
