Growing Wildflowers | WLW

Buttercup

My eyebrows pull together, and I look at John for answers.

He motions to his nose. "Their blood smells different." He looks to Aurora. "Take her to the basement. I'll deal with whoever's at the door."

Aurora nods once and nudges me to follow her. She leads me to an unassuming door and flips the light switch. "I'll come get you when it's safe, sweetie," she says.

I open my mouth to say something, but fear paralyzes the words in my throat, so I nod instead and make my way down the flight of stairs. I stand around the corner to avoid being seen if someone swings the door open to check but reality dawns on me almost instantly. This is stupid. If John is right and it's a vampire at the door, they already know I'm here. They were probably listening when they knocked.

The front door creaks open and John says, "Oh!" but nothing else.

A voice responds but I don't recognize it. "John, long time no see. We thought we'd find you here." Footsteps sound against the floor and tap into the kitchen. There's more than one vampire here but I can't be sure how many. Without hesitation, the same voice says, "Bring the girl upstairs. We need to speak with her."

By the time I reach the top of the staircase, Aurora is pulling the door that I'm pushing.

My eyes search hers for an answer to my unspoken question but the only thing I find behind her long lashes is fear. She swallows and forces a shaky smile before she nods toward the living room.

"The elders are here to speak with you," she says.

My heart drops. They've given up hope on me already. They're here to take me into their vampire prison for putting the fate of every bloodsucker in danger. Or, they found out about Crystal and have come to end my life for screwing everything up twice. I don't know how vampire law works. I don't know how severe my punishment will be.

I glance at the back door. Could I outrun them with a head start? No. Even if they don't catch me right away, they'll track me forever. I'll never be able to get away from them.

Aurora must sense what I'm thinking because she takes my hand in hers and shakes her head. "Come see what they want," she urges. "No use in panicking yet."

I nod, but I don't speak. Only follow her into the living room where everyone refuses to sit. Instead, they stand like statues, their arms crossed over their chests or hanging by their sides. John is the only one utilizing the couch, letting his head hang with the heaviness of his anxiety.

There are two of them. One woman, one man. They don't feel right. They've been vampires too long. They don't know how to blend in anymore.

The man takes a step forward, extends a pale, bony hand to me. He looks more like an alien than human; bald, lanky, and smells heavily of cologne. He's wearing a black button up with the sleeves rolled up and small glasses tinted purple. Everything about him is cold, even the smile that's plastered to his face as I shake his hand.

"Call me Leroy."

The woman steps forward and I'm glad she does, because I'm too scared to respond. She has curly hair and brown skin. She's shorter than me and wearing a flowy red dress—an odd choice for the weather but I don't mention it.

"Did you let the girl go on purpose?" she asks.

I stare back at her, taken off guard by the intensity in her eyes the same shade of red as her dress.

"Excuse her," the man says before I respond. "Leah's a bit excited." He narrows his eyes at her. "Apparently, her manners go out the window when we need to conduct an interrogation."

"An interrogation?" I hardly choke the words out. I've heard horror stories of interrogations.

John jumps to his feet. "Whoa, whoa, whoa now. We told you everything you need to know, and I don't think—"

The woman clenches his shoulder, and he crumples into his seat. "Sit down, young man."

Aurora pulls me back so she's shielding me with her body. "Enough!"

The elders look at her.

"You will not hurt my family in my own home. Do you understand?" Aurora looks from Leah to Leroy and continues when they don't respond. "There's no need to escalate the situation," she continues. "What are you here for today? We're more than willing to cooperate with reasonable requests."

John is still hunched over on the couch, clutching his shoulder, glancing between Leroy and Leah as the woman with wild eyes steps closer to Aurora, her lip curled over her teeth. She opens her mouth to speak when she's only inches away, but the man clears his throat from the back of the room to silence her.

"You're right, Aurora. There's no need for so much hostility so early in our companionship."

The woman snaps her head at him, and he puts a hand up to stop her.

"The truth is... We're here to conduct an interrogation on Gwendolyn Iona Flynn." He shifts his bowtie. "If you promise me to be truthful, I'll promise you to be as understanding as possible. Do I have your promise to be truthful?" he asks me.

I nod, too scared to find my voice.

He chuckles. "Good thing. Leah here is a spitfire so I wouldn't try anything sneaky." He lets out a bored sigh. "Ready then? Let's get to it."