Blood Bound

Chapter 9: The calm before the storm

"Boo!"

I squeak with fright and jump to the side, my foot sliding on a piece of ice hidden with the slops of snow. Someone grabs my arm and steadies me with surprising ease.

"Seriously, you're so easy to scare," says a familiar snarky voice.

I look up at Sophie's smirking face and a smile breaks out on my own, with relief sweeping over me.

She's standing in the alley, shielding herself from the sun. I take notice of it and am going to ask about it but she cuts me off.

"I'm fine, we can walk around in dusk as long as the actual rays don't shine down on us." she explains.

"Where the hell have you been?!" I hiss under my breath, relief being swiftly shoved aside by anger. While I'm glad to see that her head is still attached to her body, I will nonetheless demand answers for her sudden disappearance.

Sophie raises an eyebrow, evidently astonished at my bold outrage.

"Biting back now, are we?" she smirks and then pulls me towards the street. "We can't talk here," she explains. „Sometimes the streets listen."

We walk together in silence, Sophie in front of me and leading the way. She has her hood over her head to shield herself from the remaining days's sunlight and I hear her breathe a sigh of relief when the setting sun disappears behind a tall building. She walks into a busy coffeehouse, filled with people who are all trying to get their last caffeine fix of the day. She finds an empty table at the far back and sits down, motioning me to do the same.

"So," I say icily as I take a seat opposite her. "Care to tell me why you vanished into thin air and not tell me beforehand?"

Sophie pulls a bewildered look. "Why so bold all of a sudden?" she asks, waving to a waitress to come take our orders. "You on new meds or something?"

"That's none of your business," I hiss, although I feel flushed at the remark and at my own boldness. I don't know why I feel so irritated, Maybe it's because the memory of desertion is too painful, too vivid in my heart. She has, after all, left me before. "And stop changing the subject!"

Sophie puts her hands up in surrender, chuckling. Does she look impressed by me? Her eyes don't look menacing, so I guess that's always a plus. I think my shrink would be so proud of me now!

"I had to leave because I was starting to make a scene," she leans in close and speaks in a low voice so that no one but me can hear. I have to lean in as well because the chattering of the guests around us is way too loud. "Rule number three of vampire law: Don't create unnecessary attraction that will make the humans suspicious. I had fed on and killed two humans in two months and it was almost becoming a pattern."

"True. The police thinks you might be a serial killer," I nod, remembering the reports on their website.

Sophie scoffs. "The police is pretty much useless in these matters but they might give valuable information to hunters. They're the ones who can notice our patterns and track us down. That's why I had to leave."

The waitress comes over and asks what we would like. Sophie asks for regular coffee and I order my favorite chai latte. I hold my tongue until she leaves.

"But why didn't you let me know?" I can hear the hurt in my own voice and I hope she hears it too.

"I thought you would understand," she says irritably. "The hunters could have tracked you too if you were seen with me too many times."

"How could I have known about that?" I fire back, equally angry at her sorry attempt of an excuse. "When you haven't even told me everything!"

"You don't need to know everything!" she snaps, eyes darkening and glaring.