"Go faster," he told James as they left the lights
behind and entered a dark and featureless desert.
"Come on. This car can do ninety."
"Here we are. Las Vegas," Ash said as if making
Poppy a present of the whole city. But Poppy didn't
see a city, only a light in the clouds ahead like the rising moon. Then, as the freeway curved, she saw
that it wasn't the moon, it was the reflection of city
lights. Las Vegas was a glittering pool in a flat basin
between the mountains.
Something stirred in Poppy despite herself. She'd
always wanted to see the world. Faraway places. Ex
otic lands. And this would have been perfect-if only
James had been with her.
Up close, though, the city wasn't quite the gem it
looked from a distance. Ash got off the freeway, and Poppy was thrown into a world of color and light
and movement-and of tawdry cheapness.
"The Strip," Ash announced. "You know, where
all the casinos are. There's no place like it."
"I bet," Poppy said, staring. On one side of her was
a towering black pyramid hotel with a huge sphinx
in front. Lasers were flashing out of the sphinx's
eyes. On the other side was a sleazy motor inn with
a sign saying "Rooms $18."
"So this is the Night World," she said, with a twinge
of cynical amusement that made her feel very adult.
"Nah, this is for the tourists," Ash said. "But it's
good business and you can do some fairly serious
partying. I'll show you the real Night World, though.
First, I want to check in with my cousins."
Poppy considered telling him that she didn't really
care to have
him
show her the Night World.
Some
thing about Ash's manner was beginning to bother her. He was acting more as if they were out on a
date than as if he were escorting her into exile.
But he's the only person I know here, she realized
with a dismayed sinking in her stomach. And it's not
as if I have any money or anything--not even eigh
teen dollars for that crummy motel.
There was something worse. She'd been hungry for some time now, and now she was starting to feel breathless. But she wasn't the dazed, unthinking animal she'd been last night. She didn't
want
to attack
some human on the street.
"This is the place," Ash said. It was a side street,
dark and not crowded like the Strip. He pulled into
an alley. "Okay, just let me see if they're in."
On either side of them were high buildings with
cinder-block walls. Above, tiers of power lines obscured
the sky. Ash knocked at a door set in the cinder block
a door with no knob on the outside. There was no sign
on the door, either, just some crudely spray-painted
graffiti. It was a picture of a black dahlia.
Poppy stared at a Dumpster and tried to control
her breathing. In, out. Slow and deep. It's okay,
there's air. It may not feel like it, but there's air.
The door opened and Ash beckoned to her.
"This is Poppy," Ash said, putting an arm around
her as Poppy stumbled inside. The place looked like
a shop--a shop with herbs and candles and crystals.
And lots of other weird things that Poppy didn't rec
ognize. Witchy-looking supplies.
"And these are my cousins. That's Blaise, and
that's Thea." Blaise was a striking girl with masses of
dark hair and lots of curves. Thea was slimmer and
blond. They both kept going out of focus as Poppy's vision blurred.
"Hi,"
she said, the longest greeting she could
manage.
"Ash, what's wrong with you? She's sick. What have you been doing to her?" Thea was looking at
Poppy with sympathetic brown eyes.
"Huh? Nothing," Ash said, looking surprised, as if
noticing Poppy's state for the first time. Poppy
guessed he wasn't the type to worry about other peo
ple's discomfort. "She's hungry, I guess. We'll have
to run out and feed-"
"Oh, no, you don't. Not around here. Besides,
she's not going to make it," Thea said. "Come on,
Poppy, I'll be a donor this once."
She took Poppy by the arm and led her through a
bead curtain into another room. Poppy let herself be
towed. She couldn't think anymore-and her whole
upper jaw was aching. Even the word
feed
sharpened
her teeth.
I need
...
I have to
...
But she didn't know how. She had. a vision of her own face in the mirror, silvery eyes and savage canines. She didn't
want
to be an animal again ,and
jump on Thea and
rip
her throat. And she couldn't
ask how-that would give her away as a new vam
pire for sure. She stood, trembling, unable to move.
CHAPTER 15
C
ome on, it's okay," Thea said. She seemed to be about
Poppy's age, but she had a gentle, sensible air that gave
her authority. "Sit down. Here." She set Poppy on a
shabby couch and extended her wrist. Poppy stared at
the wrist for an instant and then remembered.
James, giving her blood from his arm.
That
was
how to do it. Friendly and
civilized.
She could see pale blue veins under the skin. And that sight blasted away the last of her hesitation. In
stinct took over and she grabbed Thea's arm. The
next thing she knew she was drinking.
Warm salty-sweetness. -
Life. Relief from pain. It was so good that Poppy could almost cry. No wonder
vampires hated humans, she thought dimly. Humans
didn't have to hunt for this marvelous stuff; they
were full of it already.
But, another part of her mind pointed out, Thea
wasn't a human. She was a witch. Strange, because
her blood tasted exactly the same. Poppy's every
sense confirmed it.
So witches are just humans, but humans with special powers, Poppy thought. Interesting.
It took an effort to control herself, to know when
to stop. But she did stop. She let go of Thea's wrist and sat back, a little embarrassed, licking her lips and
teeth. She didn't want to meet Thea's brown eyes.
It was only then that she realized she'd been keeping her thoughts shielded during the entire process.
There had been no mental connection as there had
been when she shared blood with James. So she'd
mastered one vampire power already. Faster than
James or Ash had expected.
And she felt good now. Energetic enough to do the
Netherlands skippy dance. Confident enough to smile
at Thea.
"Thank you," she said.
Thea smiled back, as if she found Poppy odd or
quaint, but nice. She didn't seem suspicious. "It's
okay," she said, flexing her wrist and grimacing
gently.
For the first time Poppy was able to look around
her. This room was more like a living room than part
of a shop. Besides the couch there was a TV and
several chairs. At the far end was a large table with
candles and incense burning.
"This is the teaching room," Thea said. "Grandma
does spells here and lets the students hang out."
"And the other part is a store," Poppy said, cau
tiously because she didn't know what she was sup
posed to know.
Thea didn't look surprised. "Yes. I know you wouldn't think
there'd be enough witches around
here to keep us in business, but actually they come from all over the country. Grandma's famous. And
her students buy a lot."
Poppy nodded, looking properly impressed. She
didn't dare ask more questions, but her chilly heart
had warmed just a tiny bit. All Night People weren't
harsh and evil. She had the feeling she could be
friends with this girl if given the chance. Maybe she could make it in the Night World after all.
"Well,
thanks
again," she murmured softly.
"Don't mention it. But don't let Ash get you run
down like that, either. He's so
irresponsible."
"You wound me, Thea. You really do," Ash said.
He was standing in the doorway, holding the bead
curtain open with one hand. "But come to think of
it, I'm feeling a little run down myself...." He raised
his eyebrows insinuatingly.
"Go jump in Lake Mead, Ash," Thea said sweetly.
Ash looked innocent and yearning. "Just a little
bite. A nibble. A nip," he said. "You have such a
pretty white throat...."
"Who does?" Blaise said, pushing her way through
the other half of the bead curtain. Poppy had the feeling she was only speaking to focus attention on
herself. She stood in the center of the room and
shook back her long black hair with the air of a girl
used to attention.
"You both do," Ash said gallantly. Then he seemed to remember Poppy. "And, of course, this little
dreamer has a pretty white everything."
Blaise, who had been smiling, now looked sour.
She stared at Poppy long and hard. With dislike
and something else.
Suspicion. Dawning suspicion.
Poppy could
feel
it. Blaise's thoughts were bright
and sharp and
malicious,
like jagged glass.
Then suddenly Blaise smiled again. She looked at
Ash. "I suppose you've come for the party," she said.
"No. What party?"
Blaise sighed in a way that emphasized her low
cut blouse. "The Solstice party, of course. Thierry's
giving a big one.
Everybody will
be there."
Ash looked tempted. In the dim light of the teach
ing room his eyes gleamed dark. Then he shook his
head.
"No, can't make it. Sorry. I'm going to show Poppy
the town."
"Well, you can do that and still come to the party
later. It won't really get going until after midnight."
Blaise was staring at Ash with an odd insistence. Ash
bit his lip, then shook his head again, smiling.
"Well, maybe," he said. "I'll see how things go."
Poppy knew he was saying more than that. Some
unspoken message seemed to be passing between
him and Blaise. But it wasn't telepathic, and Poppy couldn't pick it up.
"Well, have a good time," Thea said, and gave
Poppy a quick smile as Ash piloted her away.
Ash peered ahead at the Strip. "If we hurry we
can watch the volcano erupting," he said. Poppy gave
him a look, but didn't ask.
Instead, she said, "What's a Solstice party?"
"Summer solstice. The longest day of the year. It's
a holiday for the Night People. Like Groundhog Day
for humans."
„Why?"
"Oh, it always has been. It's very magical, you
know. I'd take you to the party, but it would be too
dangerous. Thierry's a vampire Elder." Then he said,
"Here's the volcano."
It was a volcano. In front of a hotel. Waterfalls
crashed down its sides, and red lights shone from the
cone. Ash double-parked across the street.
"You see, we've got a great view right here," he
said. "All the comforts of home."
The volcano was emitting rumbling sounds. As
Poppy watched in disbelief, a pillar of fire shot out
of the top. Real fire. Then the waterfalls caught fire.
Red and gold flames spread down the sides of the
black rock until the entire lake around the' volcano
was ablaze.