Fangs And Fame (38 page)

“
What do we do about all of this?” Tytus asked.

“
First,” I said, “Tytus, you need to help Malena find this Angelica girl she’s looking for.”

“
Why?” Tytus asked bluntly.

“
Because,” I said. “She’s the only human alive to come from the Vidic bloodline.” It took him a second, but I could tell by the look on his face that Tytus was right there with me. “She’s Damir’s niece,” I explained. “Damir’s brother fathered her before he died. At least, that’s what Stanislav believes. And what better way to convince Stanislav that bringing vampires into the open and putting humans in their place is a bad idea than to find his long-lost great, great, great – whatever –
human
granddaughter?” Tytus bit his lip in thought, and Trey got to his feet and walked over to the window slowly, gazing outside for a long minute.

When he finally turned around he asked,
“Does Damir know?”

I shook my head.
“Not yet, but he’s about to.”

Trey

IT HAD BEEN THREE days since Tytus had left to join Malena and her search. The tour would have been over now, if not for the fact that we’d had to reschedule the night Stanislav had held O’Shea and Kacie captive. We were back at that same venue now, putting on the show that hadn’t happened the first time around. It felt great to be on this stage with O’Shea at my side. The last time I’d been here, he’d been beaten, drained, and left to die. I’d asked him earlier if it bothered him at all coming back here. He’d basically told me that it only would have bothered him to bring Kacie back here. As it was, Kacie was safe in Clearwater, and Antonio was keeping an eye on her for us. O’Shea had shared my sentiment. He just wanted to get out there on the stage and kill it for the fans that were dedicated enough to come out a second time just to see us play.

It was the last night of the tour, and the fans were more than eager to have us back. They screamed every word of the fast songs back at us, and cradled their lit cell phones in the air to wave back and forth like the rolling tide during the slow ones. They were the perfect crowd, and we were just trying to deserve that. When the main set was over, Aurora had made us over into our zombie selves and sent us back out to perform the encore. We were playing
“Filtered Ache,” and I was trying to memorize exactly how I felt being on the stage in that moment. Another tour had come and gone now, and although that had meant some long nights and a lot of miles on the road, I knew I would miss it as soon as it was over. I would miss the constant goofing off with my brothers, and the chance to play the music we were so passionate about in front of enthusiastic crowds like this one almost every night. I would miss the way these kids were performing the songs right along with me, like they’d written the words themselves. I would miss sharing a tour bus with Aurora, and the way she’d managed to make it feel like a home somehow. I would miss sneaking into empty rooms backstage with her to steal a kiss, and the way she usually convinced me to drink from her just to get me through the next show. So many things were running through my head as I sang the words to the song.

“I know that it’s a sacrifice

The way to you now is clear

I’ll take a breath and take a chance

Push aside my every fear.
”

I was slamming on my guitar when I could have sworn I heard Aurora in my head, calling my name. I looked around for her, but she hadn’t come back out to the seat in the first row after zombifying me and the guys. I’d never been able to communicate silently with her during shows before. I don’t know why I thought it was starting now. There were just too many people for that. I shrugged it off as needing to feed or something, and I threw myself into the final chorus of the song.

“I’ll forgo all that I am

Don
’t want to face the night alone

I know it won
’t be easy

Seeing you … feels like coming home.
”

And with that last note, and the eruption of screams from the crowd, the Until Sanity Tour was officially over. The feeling was bittersweet – finishing a tour usually was – but the journey of these past few months had been no ordinary tour. I put my guitar on a stand and moved to the edge of the stage to join my bandmates and brothers in our final bow. I was waving at the fans, and mouthing ‘I love you, too’ to a particularly eager one in the third row when I heard Aurora’s voice again.

Trey!

I cast my eyes around, half-expecting to find her among the first few waves of fans, but she was nowhere to be seen. Was I really imagining it? I couldn’t be sure. The reality was that plenty of people were screaming my name. Out loud.

I smiled and then gasped as cold water suddenly poured over my head. I ducked instinctively, and most of it missed my face, but the rest of me was soaked. Chase
’s laugh rang out loud and clear from directly behind me, and I shook my head, sending drops of water flying. I laughed and looked up just as Chase dropped his now empty water bottle on the stage at our feet. I gripped the back of his neck playfully and pulled him into a choke hold.

Trey!

There it was again. The voice was unmistakably Aurora’s. I was certain now. I released Chase and searched for her again, frantically this time. I finally saw her at the side of the stage, skidding to a stop just out of sight of the crowd. She’d come running, but I couldn’t imagine why. Then the expression on her face registered in my brain. Sheer panic. I’d never seen that look on her face. Ever. Then she looked right past me, and I spun around to see why.

Stanislav Vidic and three of his cronies were walking out onto the stage from the other side.

I’d been so caught up in the rush of the performance that I hadn’t even sensed them coming. I immediately pushed O’Shea behind me, putting myself in a defensive position between the guys and the vamps. I didn’t want to think too hard about who might have tried to get in the Synod Elder’s way before he took the stage, and what he might have done to get past them. In response to the still cheering crowd, Stanislav began clapping and nodding, smiling and gesturing to us as if he were just another adoring fan. He had a microphone in his hand and raised it to his mouth to say, “Bravo! Bravo! What a wonderful spectacle, wouldn’t ‘you agree?” He raised his hand toward the guys and I, and the audience roared in approval. They had no idea the show – or at least the end of it – had just been hijacked.

Aurora was at my side now, standing with me to separate the vampires from my brothers. Her sudden appearance on the stage resulted in an even louder response from the crowd. Stanislav looked absolutely thrilled.

“We’re not doing this,” I said into my microphone, staring straight at the Synod Elder.

“
Oh, but I think we are,” Stanislav responded into his microphone, gesturing with a grandiose sweep of his hand to the adoring crowd. “Trey has a little announcement to make to all of you,” he continued without hesitation. “Would you like to hear it?” The crowd was relentless in their cheering. “You see?” he added, smiling victoriously at me. “They can’t wait to hear what you have to say.”

“
Let’s take this backstage,” I offered. “These people are innocent. Leave them out of this.”

“
They’re a big part of this,” Stanislav argued. “Besides, does it seem like they want to be left out?” I wracked my brain for a way out – anything to stop the inevitable. “You’ve already disappointed them once,” he continued. “You cancelled the show on them last time, and now you want to deprive them of the pleasure of sharing in our dirty little secret? It’s shameful, really.”

“
What secret,” I asked. I hoped I might buy some time, but Stanislav wasn’t having it.

“
If you’re really going to be such a coward about it, I’ll make the announcement for you,” he said, which caused the crowd to become eerily silent in just seconds. “You see, ladies and gentlemen, I am a vampire.” The crowd’s reaction was exactly what one might expect after a declaration like that. There were some claps, a few whistles, and one girl in the second row even hollered out, “Do you sparkle?” The last one earned a decent laugh from the fans. Stanislav smiled patiently before he held up a hand to silence the laughter. “The best part of my announcement is that your beloved Trey and his darling Aurora are also vampires.”

I
’m not sure whether it was the looks on our faces, or the sheer ridiculousness of the situation that caused the span of silence following Stanislav’s proclamation. The next voice I heard come over the speakers belonged to Jonas, who was standing somewhere behind me.

“
Um, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re
Zombies
.”

The crowd was in an uproar, and I risked a glance in Jonas
’s direction just long enough for him to shrug, as if to say ‘Just go with it.’

“
Can you believe this guy?” Chase said into his mic, pointing a thumb in Stanislav’s direction and shaking his head. “Wouldn’t know a zombie if it devoured his brain.” The fans were eating it up, convinced we were playing around – this being the last show of the tour and all. I saw it in Aurora’s face, the hint of a smile, and I realized we might be able to make this work.

“
Your precious Trey has been lying to you,” Stanislav interjected, desperate to get back control of the situation and the crowd. “He’s been lying to you the whole tour.”

“
That’s your plan, now?” O’Shea asked. “You’re going to gain the crowd’s favor by bashing our singer? In what world did you think that was going to work?”

Stanislav
’s marble expression was beginning to crack at the idea of being thwarted for a second time. “It’s not too late to join with me,” he said to Aurora and me, backpedaling. “We’ll be great together. The three of us can bring about a new era for vampires everywhere.”

“
I think we’re just over the whole vampire thing,” I said in exasperation. “Haven’t you heard? Zombies are the new vampires!” I threw my fist in the air. “Am I right?”

The fans erupted with enthusiasm to my statement.

“Team Zombie!” Chase shouted in his mic, which encouraged the fans to begin chanting ‘Team Zombie!’ over and over. Chase folded his arms over his chest, grinning at Stanislav with that cocky smile he’s so good at.

“
This isn’t over,” Stanislav insisted.

“
Oh, I’m pretty sure it is,” I retorted. “Now get off my stage.”

He turned on his heel, but I knew he meant what he said. He
’d be waiting backstage to finish what he’d started. Right now what mattered was clearing out the venue so the fans wouldn’t become collateral damage if things went wrong. Aurora stood in a defensive position just a few feet away, her eye on the hidden area off stage as the guys and I tried to look as happy as possible. We stood together one last time in the middle of the stage. I raised my microphone and said, “We hope you enjoyed the show, and the theatrics afterward.” I paused briefly to allow for the screams and whistling. “You guys have been the most amazing crowd. I know we had to postpone on you before, but hopefully we’ve made it up to you tonight. Please be safe while you’re traveling home. We love you all. Good night.” With that, the guys followed me as I caught up to Aurora and we made our way off the stage and down the short set of stairs. Stanislav and two members of his crony fan club were waiting, just as I’d suspected. Stanislav looked
different
. There was a new level of crazy in his eyes, like he’d come completely unhinged. I could only assume that wouldn’t bode well for us.

He clapped five or six times, one eyebrow
arched. “Well played,” he said when he’d finished the awkward clapping. “You’re more adept at influencing your humans than even I believed. The sad truth of it is that we really would have been great together. I see now that you’re never going to understand.... It’s my fault, really. I should have known that you were too young to see the big picture. Vampires have been oppressed for far too long, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let ungrateful children, such as yourselves, ruin our chances of rising to power.”