“It will be cool. You'll see,” she assured him, ushering him inside.
Kia introduced Virgil to Osiris and Dark Star, the blood-bonded couple she had met the last time. They were just as warm to him as they had been to her.
He'll see how nice everyone is here,
Kia thought, watching him talk with Lady Margaritte, who had come over to join their little circle.
Damon's party scene was for a specific type of person, she admitted, but surely
this
event wouldn't weird anyone out. Certainly not someone like Virgil.
A cold hand gripped the back of her neck. Kia flinched, but then she realized who those cold, strong fingers belonged to. She smiled and stood absolutely still.
“Hey,” Virgil said to the person behind her. “Back off.”
“I don't think Kia wants me to,” Damon said.
Kia let out a long, dreamy sigh. She felt his lips near her ear.
“Do you want me to back off, Uptown Girl?”
Kia reached up so that she could rest her hand on the back of Damon's neck. She shivered with the reference to the night in the park, a secret they shared. He had just given her a nickname evenâlike real couples had for each other.
Damon moved his hand down to her hip and stepped next to her. Virgil frowned and fiddled with his pockets.
“I heard you've been getting to know the court,” Damon said. “I thought I might find you here.”
She grinned, unable to hide her happiness at the fact that he'd been looking for her, and then realized Virgil was still standing there. She didn't want Damon to think she was with Virgil. But she couldn't be all-out rude either.
“Damon, this is Virgil. He's new.”
Damon nodded. “Virgil. I guess I can't blame you for wanting to protect Kia.”
Virgil just looked at Damon and didn't say a word.
Okay, now who's being rude?
she fumed, glaring at Virgil. Why did he have to look so young? So high school. Damon might be able to figure out her real age.
“So you were looking for me?” Kia asked, turning her back on Virgil.
“I can't stay. I wanted to give you this.” He pulled a flyer out of his coat pocket. Another “invitation only” party at the same loft space in Brooklyn.
“Thanks,” Kia said, smiling up into his dark eyes.
“Hang on,” he said. He took the flyer back and scribbled something on it. “E-mail me so I know you're coming.” He stepped away from her. “Got to go.” He hurried back out to the street.
Kia watched him leave, wondering if she should follow him.
“That guy,” Virgil said. “I've seen him at the other clubs.”
“What?” she said, turning around.
“He acts like he owns you,” Virgil grumbled.
“Does he?” Kia asked, smiling. Even Virgil could see how much Damon liked her.
“There's something... I don't know . . .
off
about him,” Virgil said.
Was Virgil just jealousâor did he sense that Damon was the real deal? A true vampire?
“Come on,” Kia said, leading him to a banquette. “They're going to start the ritual.”
They found seats and Virgil leaned back against the velvet banquette, looking as if he were trying to disappear. Luckily, he drank the fake blood when it was offered.
“You see?” she said, once the ritual was over. “That wasn't so weird.”
“Hmm.” Virgil's response was noncommittal, and Kia wondered if he was only pretending that he was okay with the scene.
“Everyone here is so nice,” Kia went on. “We're like family to each other. When I was upset, Osiris and Dark Star were really supportive and sweet. And we didn't even know each other.”
“Do you know each other now?” he asked. “Do you know anything about anyone here, other than their taste in clothes?”
Kia felt her face grow hot. “I know what's important. That they give me support when I need it. That this is a community that doesn't judge. Not like most people I know. They let me be me.”
“Do they? How much do you let them know about you, Kia? Do they know the simple stuff, like where you live? That you're in school? Most of these people are a lot older than us.”
“So?” Kia said coldly. “That's all superficial.”
“Do they know that you have an amazing ability with color, that you see things that other people don't, which is why your paintings are so beautiful? Do they know that you're screwing up right and left at school? Do they know about your mom?”
“Shut up,” Kia hissed. She stood up. She had to get away from him. But she didn't want to leave him behind either. She didn't want to risk that he would start talking to the vampires about her. What if he blew everything?
“I think you should go,” she said.
“I think
we
should go,” Virgil said, standing up.
A commotion at the front door stopped Kia. She glanced over to see what was going on.
A woman in jeans and a knit sweater pushed her way toward the center of the room. “Andy!” she shouted. “I know you're here.”
“You're in the wrong place,” Lady Margaritte told the woman. “This is a private party.”
“Oh, I'm in the right place,” the woman said, fury and disgust exploding from her. “I know he's here. I know all about this sick stuff.”
“Please,” Lady Margaritte said. “We want no trouble here.”
“There you are.” The woman stalked over to Osiris, who had just come out of the back room with Dark Star. He started at seeing her, looked around as if he were trying to find some avenue for escape, then stepped behind Dark Star, who was far too small to give him cover.
“Get away from him,” the woman told Dark Star.
“You smell of the Mundane world,” Dark Star sneered. “Your kind has no power here. Not over me and not over Osiris.”
“Are you kidding me?” the woman said, her voice nearly a shriek. “What B movie did you get that from?”
“Kathy, please, go home,” Osiris said. “We'll talk about this later.”
Dark Star turned and looked at Osiris in shock. “You know this Mundane, Osiris?”
“Know me?” Kathy demanded. “We've been together for, like, five years.”
Now Dark Star stumbled away from Osiris.
Kathy faced the room. “Want to know more?” she said, her eyes flashing with a bitter anger. “This guy you call Osiris? I don't know what he pretends here, but
Andy
is a computer programmer at an insurance company. Fascinating, don't you think? Really dangerous, huh?”
She took a step toward Osiris again. “This little play world is why you don't want us to live together, isn't it? And your freak playmate.”
“You're the freak!” someone shouted from the back.
“Get rid of her, she's poisonous!” another person called.
“Osiris, don't let her define you!”
“Your identity is yours!”
“Take her blood,” a voice shouted.
“Blood!” a few people shouted. “Blood!”
For the first time Kathy looked frightened. Kia's stomach clenched.
“We should stop this,” Virgil said, taking a step.
“No,” Kia ordered, grabbing his hand.
People stomped and clapped. “She's a threat!” people shouted. “Get her out!”
“This is our world.” A gaunt vampire stepped up to Kathy and pushed her toward the door. “You're not welcome.”
“Please,” Lady Margaritte begged. “No violence.”
“Our world!” people chanted, drowning her out. “Our world.”
“We have to protect it! Protect our own!” someone cried.
Now the whole room was filled with shrieking, screaming vampires.
They're right,
Kia thought,
everything was fine until the Mundanes came in and ruined it.
“Our world!” Kia screamed.
“Stop!” Lady Margaritte cried above the shouting. “We don't behave this way.”
No one paid attention. Kia pushed forward into the crowd and saw Kathy's face streaked with tears, Dark Star gleefully shoving her, Osiris standing on the bar clapping. For one moment Kia stood still.
They've been together for five years.
And this is their breakup.
Kathy stumbled, and one of the men near the door gripped her arm and dragged her out. A cheer went up when he turned and clasped his hands over his head in a sign of victory.
Kia frowned, suddenly exhausted. She knew they were rightâshe knew they had to protect their turf, keep their world together by acting together, but still . . .
Lady Margaritte sat crying at the end of the bar.
Kia turned to look for Virgil and realized he was gone.
Kia got home earlier than usual that night. After the scene with Kathy there was a big debate on how to proceed: do a cleansing ritual (Lady Margaritte's idea), have Osiris and Dark Star renew their blood-bond vows (Dark Star's idea), drink heavily (Osiris's solution), and a lot of talk about how to keep the Mundanes from destroying things.
Kia didn't have much to contribute to the discussion so she split. Her head hurt, and the boots she had worn pinched her toes.
“Kia, get in here.”
Her father was sitting in the living room, and from the tone of his voice, she knew she was in trouble.
Now what?
Kia dropped her purse on the floor and sank into the chair. “I'm beat, Dad. Can this wait?”
“No, it cannot.” He stood and paced. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Kia's mouth dropped open. He had never spoken to her like that before.
“I'm sorry,” her dad said. He ran his hands through his hair a few times. “Let me start over.” He paced some more, then sat on the coffee table in front of her.
He leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor. She could practically hear his brain trying out and discarding multiple phrases, only she had no idea what he was about to say.
He stood again. “Maggie phoned.”
“Is something wrong with Mom?” Kia asked, terror pushing out every other thought.
“What? No, she called about you.”
“Me? What would she have to say about me?” Kia thought about the last few weeks. She'd made visits to the apartment and she and Maggie got along fine.
“Did you think no one would find out about the fact that you've all but dropped out of school?”
Kia's blood froze.
“Your school sent a notice to the apartment. Maggie didn't want to upset your mother, so she waited until she could talk to me without her overhearing.”
Of course. The school had her mom's apartment as the official address. How could she have been so stupid?
He started pacing again. “I know I've been out of town a lot.” He shook his head. “Maggie couldn't wait to berate me for that. As far as she's concerned, I'm the worst father in the entire world.”
Was that what he was upset about? The fact that she skipped school made him look bad? She almost laughed.
He turned to face Kia again. “I thought I could trust you,” he said. “I've got so much on my plate; this case is ... well, it's make or break for me on this case. And I've been so proud of the way you . . . And it was all a lie.”
“Iâ” Kia started. But she wasn't sure what to say, so she decided it was safer to say nothing. Not until she figured out a strategy.
“Maggie thinks you're into drugs, into some weird scene.”
“I don't do drugs,” Kia said vehemently. “You can ask anybody.”
“Then what are you doing when you're not at school?” her dad asked. “Where do you go? Who are you with?”
Kia shrugged. “IâI just stay here.”
Her dad stared at her. “Gee, Kia. I wonder why I don't believe you.”
Kia stood up. “But it's true,” she said.
“Well, from now on, I'm keeping extremely close tabs on you. Maggie is going to be checking up on you when I'm out of town. No more sleeping over at Carol's or Aaron's. Ohâand your job is history.”
“What?” Kia's skin crawled with horror. “You can't do that.”
“Already done,” her dad said. “I called NightTimes and talked to some guy named Stevo. He knows you're no longer allowed to work there.”
Kia thought she might throw up. “The one thing in my whole sucky lifeâand you're taking it away from me.”
“You proved you can't handle school and a job. That you can't be trusted. That you're not responsible.”
Kia's nostrils flared. She felt like a dragon, like flames were going to shoot out of her. She wished they would.
Damon. How will I see Damon?
“Starting tomorrow, everything will be different,” her dad said. His voice softened. “We're worried about you.”
“No, you're not,” Kia said. “If you cared about me, you'd see that this is important to me. I need to work there. I needâ”
Her dad's jaw tensed. “You need to do what I tell you. You are still a teenager. My rules rule here.”
“Fine.” Kia stomped out of the room.
She slammed her door shut and flung herself onto her bed. Gripping her comforter, she rode the sob like a wave as it worked through her. She buried her face under a pillow, not wanting her dad to hear her cry.
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, her face crumpling as the horrible fate sank in. There was nothing for her except that world.
She curled into a ball, then as a familiar craving stole into her body, she slammed her feet onto the floor and went into the bathroom. She watched her hand grab the razor. She lifted itâand stopped.