She dropped the basket of flowers. I said, “Here we go again. This is getting old. I’m going to have to make a recording. I will not hurt you, I did not kill Jack, and no, I am not human. Anything else?”
I went over and picked up the spilled flowers. I sighed and said, “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
We led her to a home in the middle of the woods. It was gorgeous and creepy at the same time. It was a black mansion. There was an iron fence around it.
Mrs. Wine had regained focus and was leading the way. The steps creaked. The porch seemed to be a wraparound. The door opened up into a large room with many doors and a grand staircase.
Aunt Claire’s mansion had been more boarding style. It was boring compared to this. I stared with an open mouth.
Mrs. Wine accidentally ran into a lamp. She said, “Oh fiddle sticks! Sometimes I wish I could see in the dark.”
I asked, “Is it really that dark in here?”
“Yes, I can’t see my hand and its right in front of my face.”
Everything went bright and my eyes quickly adjusted. She led us through a door which entered a long hallway. The walls were black but not hauntingly. They were welcoming and beautiful. The hallway ended at a gate. The gate creaked as it opened. We stepped into a room that seemed to be a darkened plant nursery.
There was a table and chairs in a corner. She set the flowers town and sat in a chair. A servant came and poured a glass of wine.
Mrs. Wine said, “Give them some, too.”
“But, madam, they’re minors.”
“It’s alright.” The servant poured some wine for us and left. “It’s alright because I doubt your systems could handle it.”
I smiled. I said, “My system handles alcohol just fine. As long as it isn’t in your system if I drink your blood, it won’t even affect me. When I do, I can get wild.”
Mike said, “I like it when you’re wild.”
Mrs. Wine said, “Apparently teenage hormones are still there.”
“Yep. Only if drama starts, the fights can be a bit nastier.”
I took a sip and it wasn’t bad. I liked Aunt Claire’s blood wine better, though. Mike made a face and set it aside. I asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, why aren’t you running around like a terrified chicken or screaming accusations at us?”
“I don’t know. You just don’t seem murderous…”
Mike said, “That’s what they all say.”
“You did on the tape. That’s why I didn’t recognize you right off.”
“You smell sick, but you don’t look like it. Doesn’t she, Mike?”
“Yeah.”
She blushed. “I have a disease. My past caught up with me.”
“How’s that?”
“Well, I quit school when I was fifteen. I was taking a short cut through an alley. There was a gang near the middle. I started to run but a woman stepped away from the crowd. She seemed so nice. She’d asked, ‘What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in school?’
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The Heart of Jade
مصاصي الدماءJade lived a normal life until she turned thirteen. Then she learned the truth of her heritage. She finds love, but will it be destroyed? A horrible disaster threatens to expose vampires to the whole world. Will Slayers and Hunters ruin her honeymoo...
