Michael left me on the steps of the hotel to endure the wrath of Francesca alone. I saw her in her baby pink juicy velour tracksuit standing on the steps of the hotel waiting for me. I wasn’t supposed to leave the hotel without a chaperone.
“Lorna I am very disappointed in you.” Francesca looked furious. She saw the tear in my clothes where the monster had sliced my shoulder. The color drained from her face as she spun me around to inspect the wound.
“Francesca,” I whined, “I’m fine, I healed almost instantly.”
Francesca spun me around and forced me to look her directly in the eyes, “Do you realise how lucky you are. Those things have killed countless humans and vampires! Do you think I want you to wind up-” Francesca hesistated and lowered her voice, “Do you think I want you ending up like your cousin Emma?”
I shook my head.
Francesca took a deep breath and said, “You’re grounded for a week young lady.”
“You can’t be serious!” I said. I was way too old to be grounded.
Francesca folded her arms across her chest and said, “This is serious Lorna. You are not to leave the apartment for the next week. You are still a very juvenile vampire you can only go out with a chaperone. Now go to your room right now.”
“But Francesca!”
“Go!” Francesca snapped pointing at the elevator doors.
With my tail in between my legs I conceded defeat and began the slow walk down to my apartment. I couldn’t believe I was grounded. I hadn’t been grounded since I was a little kid! Plus how was I going to get to the bottom of Emma’s murder sat in my bedroom. Sulkily I got into the elevator and pressed my floor, as the doors closed someone yelled for me to hold the doors open. Quickly I pressed the button and the doors opened and in stepped that guy I had saw earlier- the teenage kid that kind of looked like Zac Efron. He thanked me and pressed a different floor level. I was too busy in my little bubble of woe to notice that Zac Efron look-a-like was staring at me, really staring.
“Your contacts are very realistic.” He commented in a strange accent.
“They’re not contacts.” I said nonchalantly.
The door pinged and the doors opened onto my floor. I stepped out and walked out into the corridor where Magda was waiting hands on hips scowling at me. I winced for a second thinking I was going to get another lecture but she caught sight of the man in the elevator. In one swift movement she turned on heel and went back into her apartment. Glancing over my shoulder I stared at Zac Efron who seemed to have recognised Magda. I followed Magda back into the apartment and found her in the kitchen washing up as if nothing happened.
“Who was that man?” I asked.
“No one.” Magda replied curtly.
“You both seemed to know each other.” I replied.
“We did once.”
“Who was he?”
“His name is Leandro, he’s your great-grandfather.” Magda replied in a matter of fact tone.
My jaw nearly hit the ground. Was she joking? That guy looked fifteen! There was no way he could be my great-grandfather he looked like Troy fresh from the first high school musical movie. I thought Leandro would be some ancient fossil with a gray beard and a false set of fangs.
“He looks a bit young.” I said.
“Leandro is one of the most ancient and powerful vampires in the world.” Magda said sharply.
“Really?” I said finding it impossible to hide my disbelief.
“Shouldn’t you be in your room thinking about what you have done?” Magda said.
I saw the pain in her eyes and realised she wanted to be alone. Nodding I left. A few hours later Michael sauntered into my room.
“Were your parents hard on you?” He asked.
“They grounded me, can you believe that? I’m actually grounded.”
“Seems pretty tame.”
“Tame? Michael have you forgotten that my Uncle is going to kill you if we do deliver Micah?”
“I’m following up my own leads.”
“Do you want to tell me about them?”
“Not really.”
“Why?”
“Because I think you are still in love with Micah.”
“What!” I burted out.
Michael gritted his teeth and pulled out his gun and placed it on the bed stand next to me. His eyes met mine and lingered for a few second before turning away.
“I’m going to take a shower.” He replied.
I sat in bed staring at my laptop blankly. Michael thought I was still in love with Micah. Am I still in love with Micah? My break up with Micah only seemed a few weeks ago but in reality a decade had passed. I loved Micah but I don’t know if I would call it love-love. Not the same love that Michael and I share although there is a much more physical element to this relationship then the relationship Micah and I shared. Micah was handsome but he never stole my breathe away or made me feel weak at the knees. Michael just had to look at me and I was falling. Perhaps Michael was jealous.
The bedroom door swung open and Michael came back in wearing a pair of loose sweat pants. He sat down on the bed next to me closing my laptop and moving it aside. Taking my hands in his, he looked me in the eye and said,
“Outside this hotel is a world of monsters that I want to protect you from but I cannot protect you is you fly off into the city alone trying to find your ex-boyfriend. As your husband and mate I am asking you, please, please do not stray out of this hotel without me again.”
Michael’s eyes pleaded with mine and it almost broke my heart to see him look so worried.
“I promise I won’t.” I said.
“If anything happened to you..” He said rawly.
“It won’t.” I replied softly.
Michael leaned forward and kissed me with aching passion that made me want to cry. Winding my arms around his neck I fell back into the pillows pulling him with me. His mouth moved over mine with urgency and need, horsely he breathed,
“I wish the sun wasn’t rising in a minute. I wish I could lay here with you and make love to you the way I should have done last night.”
He laced his fingers through mine and brought them to his lips. Outside the sun was rising and I could feel my eyelids drooping. Michael whispered “I love you.” And I was gone.
“Can I please leave.” A man’s voice groaned.
“Keep quiet for god’s sake.” Keira’s voice rang out waking me up.
My eyes opened and Michael was gone. Keira was only sent down here when there was no one about to feed me. My vampire parents insisted that someone else always prepared my meals and Keira my cousin always insisted I should drink from a vein not a bag. Sleepily I walked into the living room to see Keira dressed up in dress way to short teetering on heels that were way too high. A middle age business man lay on my couch pale and semi-conscious.
The man on the couch groaned and touched the weeping wound on his neck. Keira got up and kneeled down next to him gently pressing her perfectly manicured finger against his mouth.
“Shhh… don’t be scared little lamb.” She said softly.
“Get him out of here before he bleeds all over the furniture.” I snapped.
“But you haven’t had your dinner.” Keira replied.
“That is not dinner- that is disgusting.”
“You’re never going to get strong on that bagged piss water.”
“Francesca and Magda said it doesn’t taste any different from drinking straight from the source.”
“Parents lie, sugar cheeks. Didn’t they once tell you that the nasty slayers would come and kill you if you were caught drinking from a human? ”
It was true, the treaty was held with very little regard by my vampire family. They constantly fed off the blood of humans and had no problems doing it in front of Michael and the other archangel soldiers. Vampire politics was something I still couldn’t get my head around.
“I’d prefer the bagged piss water, please.” I said.
Keira groaned, “That’s no fun.”
“I’m not a fun person.”
“Boring people don’t sleep with franken-vamps in the store room.” Keira sighed.
My heart stopped. She knew I had slept with Michael. Keira waved a dismissive hand in the air saying,
“Don’t worry your secret is safe with me, although I have to ask was he any good?”
“Pardon?”
“At sex- was he any good? I always imagined the great archangels soldiers would have the anatomy of a ken doll. Obviously I was wrong.”
I didn’t know what to say, I felt the color rising up in my cheeks. Keira suddenly laughed and said,
“Oh, I didn’t realise you were- inexperienced.” She said in mock low tone.
“I’m not talking this nasty talk with you any longer-”
“Why did something happen? He seemed to run off and leave you at a million miles per hour.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I hate when boys do that. They always say it’s them but you know it’s not. All that bullshit about overwhelming love blah blah- it’s never true,”
Her words sank their claws into my heart and I could feel the pain.
Keira sighed, “In my experience when a guy runs away from sex it is either because he is embarrassed or because he is running late for something. Usually the latter. Meetings, business, wives, blah blah blah. Even most one night stands don’t run away like that.”
Keira stopped when she saw my pale face and broke out into a fake sympathetic smile.
“Don’t worry sweet pea, I’m sure he still loves you.”
“Get out.” I said.
Keira shrugged and threw the man over her shoulder and left the apartment. I ran into the bathroom and burst into tears. Too many nights were starting in tears.