I didn't even see Micheal move; he was that quick. Until that moment I thought he was just a normal guy, one that disappeared during the day. But nobody moved that fast.
And nobody was that strong, either. Micheal grabbed Oliver by he shoulders, lifted him into the air, and launched him headfirst down the hallway to crash into the far wall. I dived out of the way, so did Justin, and Eve, although Eve was diving toward Oliver, and not away. Justin got hold on her ankle and dragged her backward.
Micheal went after Oliver. As the vampire was rolling to his feet, Micheal smashed into him. Oliver was strong, and fast, but in this house Micheal was unstoppable.
"You fool!" Oliver screamed at him. "Do you understand what I said? Ana has the book!"
"I don't care!" Micheal shouts.
"You have to care! If you don't give it over, they'll rip all of you apart to get it! I'm trying to save you!" Oliver shouts.
Micheal slammed his dust into his face two of three times, quicker than I could blink. Oliver went down again, scrambling at the floor. Vampires bled, after all, but didn't look right- not red enough, and too thick. Micheal had hit him so hard one of his fangs broke off and skittered away across the floor.
"Eve!" Micheal yelled, and tagged him by one foot by the hallway toward the door. "Revoke the invitation! Do it!"
Justin lunged for Eve, pulled her to her feet, and shook her hard. That didn't work. She just stared right past him, her face still and dead. I moved him out of the way and stalled Eve hard.
Eve yelped, clapped a hand to her wounded cheek, and blinked. "Hey! What the hell..?" And then she looked past me to the furious battle going on in the hallway.
"Eve!" Micheal yelled again. "The invitation! You have to withdraw it now!"
"But I didn't-" Eve didn't waste time arguing. "Hey! Oliver! Get the hell out of our house!"
Oliver went still. Completely still, like a dead man. Micheal picked him up by an arm and threw him out into the dark. I heard the vampire hit the pavement outside and curse as he rolled back to his feet and came to the door. He bounced off a solid cushion of air in the doorway.
"You're not welcome" Micheal grated. "And by the way? Eve quits"
He slammed the door in Oliver's snarling face, and collapsed against it, shaking. He didn't look all powerful anymore. He looked terrified.
"Micheal?" Eve asked, breathless. "You okay?"
"Peachy" he said, and got it together. "Eve, stay away from the door. He got you once; maybe he can do it again. Ana! You too. Stay away from the door" he grabbed me by the arms ab pulled me down the hall - which was now a mess. He shoved me into a sitting position on the couch.
"Ana?" He asks.
"Um...yes?" Things were moving too fast. And I didn't know what he was waiting to hear.
"The book?" Micheal asks me.
"Oh. Yeah. Well- see, there was this floor in the library where they were going through books, and professor Wilson was stealing things, and-"
He held up his hand to stop me. "Do you have the book?" He asks me.
"Yes" I nod my head.
"Please tell me you didn't bring it here" Micheal groans.
I blinked. "Well- yes" I say.
Micheal fell into the armchair, leant forward, and buried his face in his hands. "Sweet baby Jesus, do you not pay any attention to what goes on in this town? You really have the book?"
"I...guess so" I got up and started to retrieve it, but he raised his head and grabbed my wrist as I moved by him.
"No" he said. "Leave it, wherever it is. The less we know, the better. We need to figure out what we're going to do because Oliver wasn't kidding around. He wouldn't have come here if he hadn't intended to kill us all for that book. As it was, he took a big chance. He knows how powerful the protection is on this house"
"That how come you could beat him?" Justin asked. "Because you know, I'm your best friend, but you're just not that badass"
"Thanks, asshole. Yeah. I'm part of the house, and that means I can use what the house has. It's strong. Really strong" Micheal says.
"Good to know. So what's the plan?" Justin asks.
Micheal took a deep breath, then let it out. "Wait for daylight" he says. "Eve. You ever seen Oliver outside in the sun?"
"Um" she thought hard. "No. Mostly he stays in his office, or the bar area, away from the windows. But I didn't think vampires could be awake during the day!"
I thought about the church I had been chased into, and the elegant, ancient woman sitting in the pews. "I think they can" I said. "If they're old. He must be really old"
"I don't care how old he is - he's not tanning" Justin said. "We wait for dawn, and then we get Ana and the book out of here"
"She can't go home. They'll go there first" Eve said. And I went cold.
"But- my parents! What about my parents!" I shout.
Nobody answered for a second or two, and then Justin came and sat down next to me. "You think they'll listen? If we tell them the truth?" He asks.
"What, about Morganville? About vampires? I laughed, and it sounded hysterical. "Are you kidding? They'd never believe it!
"Besides" Eve sat down on the other side and took my hand. "Even if you convinced them, they'd forget all about it once they were out of town. It's hard to be paranoid when you don't remember they're out to get you"
"Ouch" Justin agreed. "Okay, then. Running out for one thing, we can't throw Ana's parents to the vampire wolves right?"
"So what do we do?" Eve asks.
"Trade the book" I say. And they all looked at me. "What? I was going to, anyway. In exchange for some things"
"Like what?" Micheal asked, amazed.
"Like- Brandon not holding Justin to his deal. And Monica and her gang backing off me. And protection for all forms on the campus, so students are safe" I blushed, because they were all staring as if they'd never seen me before. "That's how Oliver knew I had the book. I messed up. I was trying to make a deal, but I thought he was just, you know, a good guy who could help. I didn't know he was one of them"
"Oh he's not one of them" Micheal says. "He is them"
Justin frowned. "How do you know that, man?"
"Because in a way I'm one of them" Micheal replied. "And something in me wants to do what he says"
"But- not a big part, right?" Eve ventured.
"No. But he's definitely in charge" Micheal says.
Justin got up and walked to the windows, twitched back the curtain and looked out. "No kidding" he said.
"What you got?" Micheal asked.
"Vamp city, man. Check it out" Justin motions Micheal over.
Micheal joined him at the window, then Eve. When I squeezed in, I gasped, because there were dozens of people in view, all standing or sitting facing the house.
"Justin" Micheal said, and jerked his head over to Eve who was going to the other windows. And he loped off after her.
"Micheal-" I felt like crying. "I didn't know. I thought I was doing something good. I really did"
He put his arm around me. "I know. It's not your fault. It may have been a dumb idea, but at least it was a sweet one" he kissed my cheek. "Better get some rest. And if you hear voices, try not to listen. They're going to be testing us"
I nodded. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know" he said quietly. "But we'll think of something"
I curled up on the corner of the couch, piled under a blanket; Eve took the other end. Nobody felt like going upstairs to bed. Justin paced a lot, talking in low whispers with Micheal, who hadn't once gotten out his guitar.
I didn't mean to fall asleep, but I did, eventually, as the night spun on toward morning. Voices whispered to me, get up and open the door the voices said.
I whimpered in my sleep, sweaty and sick, and I felt Justin's hand on my forehead. "Ana" I opened my eyes and saw him sitting there next to me. He looked tired. "You're having a nightmare"
"Don't I wish" I muttered, tried to swallow, and discovered I was thirsty as hell. I felt feverish and weak too.
"Micheal!" Oliver's voice came faint through the front door. "Something you should see, my boy! Look out your windows!"
"Trap" Justin said, instantly, as he reached out to grab Micheal's arm as he walked by. "Don't man"
"What's he going to do? Make faces at me?" Micheal asks.
"If you start doing what he wants, it's hard to stop. Just don't" Justin sighs.
Micheal considered it for a few seconds, then pulled away and went on to the windows. Where he stared out, there were red and blue flashing lights shining on his skin.
"What is it?" I asked, getting up.
"Cops" Micheal said. He sounded blank and shocked. "They've got the whole street blocked off. They're moving people out"
"What people? Vampires?" Eve wanted to know.
"Fine. Don't listen to me, but if they tell you to jump off a cliff..." Justin said.
"They're evacuating the neighbourhood" Micheal said. "Getting rid of witnesses"
"Oh shit" Justin said, and jumped up to look over my shoulder, wrapping his arm around me body and pulling him into me.
"Well, the cops aren't vampires, and the protection won't keep them out" Micheal shrugs.
As I watched, the six police cars, all with their lights running in blood red and blue flashed, were joined by two long, skeletal fire trucks. One at each end of the block.
"Oh shit" Justin said. "They wouldn't"
"Yeah" Micheal said. "I think they would. If this book is important, I think they'd do just about anything to get it"
Oliver's face suddenly popped up in front of the window. We all screamed - even Micheal - and jumped back. Justin tried to push me behind him, and I smacked him until he left me alone. I wanted to hear what he had to say.
"It's nearly five o clock" Oliver said, his voice muffled by the glass. "We're running out of time, Micheal. Either invite me in and give me the book, or I'm afraid this is going to get unpleasant"
"Wait!" I balled my hands into fists. "I want to trade for it!"
"I'm very sorry, my dear, but that opportunity has come and gone. We're in much rougher waters now. Either you hand over the book, or we'll come in and get it. I promise you, this is the best deal you're likely to get" Oliver said.
Micheal yanked down the shade. "Justin. You, Eve and Ana get into the pantry room. Move it"
"No way!" Eve declared. "I'm not leaving you"
"They can't hurt me, except by hurting the house itself. They can't kill me. Understand? You guys are the vulnerable ones. And I want you safe" he tells her, holding her hand.
He kissed her hand, darted a self-conscious look at me and Justin, and kissed her on the lips too.
"Huh" Justin said. "Thought so" He took my hand. "'Micheal's right. Better get you girls someplace safe"
"You too, Justin" Micheal said.
"No way!" He argued back.
"Not the time to be proving anything, dude. Just take care of them" Micheal shoos us away.
Justin steered me and Eve into the kitchen, loaded us with water and pre-packaged food like pop tarts and energy bars, and helped us stack things into the dark.
I didn't know if Justin really might have followed Micheal's orders, but just as we were pushing the last of the supplies into the narrow doorway, there was a loud crashing of glass in the living room.
"What the hell?" Justin blurted, and ducked out to see what was going on. I went after him, and when I looked back Eve was following too. But we didn't get very far because the kitchen window smashed into splinters, and me and Eve stopped and turned to look.
Oliver was standing just outside the window. And I heard more glass breaking all around the house.
"Girls" he said. "Sorry I had to do this. Truly I am. But you're not giving me much choice. Last chance, invite me in and we can end this peacefully.
"Bite me" Eve taunted. "Oh wait, you can't, can you? Not from way out there!"
His eyes flared, and his fangs snapped down. He was giving a clear sign he didn't find us very funny.
"The book" he said. "Or your lives. That's the only deal you're going to get, Anastasia. I suggest you make the right choice quickly"
"It's okay" Eve said. "They can't come inside"
"That's true" Oliver said. "But then, I'm hardly all alone"
And he stepped aside, as a policeman in uniform, broke out the remaining glass with a nightstick and hopped up on the windowsill to climb through. Me and Eve both screamed and ran.