Brother Blood

Chapter 24: what Grant has been up to

Grant and Stefa: hours away.

My head pounded like I had a heartbeat again. Whereas Conor's orders had been more literal, Stefa's offered me no wiggle room and I obediently followed her without the ability to complain. We had been running for hours, and while I wasn't tired, the silence allowed me time to worry about all the stupid things Aidan and Conor could do to fetch me.

Of course I didn't want to stay with Stefa, but I wasn't sure that I was worth a trade for Conor. Stefa seemed to think that Conor would give himself up, and while Conor might, I knew that Ralph and Mel would not.

Stefa was convinced that Aidan would also come for me, which had left me a bit confused. Aidan? I tried to think through all our interactions for this apparent connection, but the thing that stuck out was the warble in his voice when he asked if I was all right. I wished we would have had longer to speak, but Stefa had taken the phone.

We stopped running abruptly and Stefa cocked her head, listening a moment. Before I could ask, an SUV sped around the corner, stopping as soon as they saw us. I had no idea that anyone knew where we were; Stefa hadn't made any calls that I had seen.

"Come along, Grant," she told me.

A sharply dressed vampire opened the door and I hopped in, followed by Stefa. She combed her fingers through her hair and sighed. The man returned to the driver's seat as the woman typed away on her phone, sparing the briefest glance of disdain toward me. I wondered if they knew who I was, though I imagined that any vampire close to Stefa would know I was Peter Danube's son.

I couldn't think about my father. While I was in Stefa's clutches, he wouldn't hesitate to kill me. I wasn't sure I could blame him. There was nothing I could do if Stefa ordered me to murder a human.

"Do you need anything, ma'am?" the driver inquired.

"No, I'm quite all right. Grant, do you need anything?"

"No." I closed my eyes. "Ma'am," I added when there was a hint of tension in the air. The tension dissipated.

"Where to?" the woman questioned. "The clan would like to meet us, if possible."

"I bought that old theatre in Des Moines. I'd like to stop there. At least, that's where I told Conor to meet us," she laughed.

"Do you think he'll come?" the man inquired. "He seemed skittish before."

"Conor will come," Stefa replied.

She sounded so sure. I didn't know what to believe. If Ralph forbade him from coming, it would take a strong amount of will to leave. I wanted to ask Stefa why she was so convinced but I didn't want to remind her that I had free will for the time being. I wished I could sleep this headache away, but of course, vampires didn't sleep.

"Grant, when was the last time you drank Conor's blood?" Stefa inquired.

I opened my eyes reluctantly. "The day we met you for coffee," I replied. "Nearly three days."

"Have you had anything else?"

"I caught a quail the day after with Aidan," I said with a pang of sadness. Regardless of the outcome, such outings were unlikely to happen again.

"Oh gross," the woman laughed. "Stefa, you've brought a humanist."

"Hannah, he's only been a vampire a month," Stefa chided. "He was a hunter, you know this. Give him time."

"I suppose," Hannah replied doubtfully. "He had no trouble spilling our blood."

"And now your kind has spilled mine," I pointed out. "There's no use in discussing what I was before. I assume you all were different people before."