Ageless (6 page)

Listening to Margo’s tirade, Violet
wandered over to the bed on wobbly knees and sat down on the edge.
She wasn’t sure if she was going to vomit or pass out. Finally
noticing Violet’s distress, Margo moved quickly to her side. She
pushed a piece of Violet’s long hair behind her ear and smiled
gently at her. “I’m going to help you through this, Violet. Me and
Jonah, we’ll make sure you’re okay. But we have to start getting
you ready for tonight; otherwise, we are both going to be in
trouble.”

Violet was mute as Margo pulled her
up from the bed and pushed her into the adjoining room, which
turned out to be a bathroom. Violet quickly determined it had to be
at least twice the size of her dorm room. Margo turned on the water
in the shower and pointed at the thick terrycloth robe hanging next
to the stall. “You’ll feel better after a shower. Once you’re done,
I’ll help you fix your hair.” Margo slipped out of the room,
leaving Violet alone with her thoughts.

As overwhelmed as she felt, at that
moment a shower sounded perfect. Violet slid the silky nightdress
up over her head and tossed it on the floor. Then she stepped onto
the tiled floor of the shower. The water was the perfect
temperature and she could feel the tension draining out of her
shoulders. She couldn’t believe it was all real; magic, vampires,
the mythical Fountain of Youth. It seemed like someone was playing
some kind of massive prank on her, but deep down she knew it
wasn’t, even if she hadn’t seen her own skin glow like a lantern
was underneath it.

As the water poured over her, she
held up her hand and looked at it in the brighter light of the
bathroom. It looked normal, just the same as it had for the last
seventeen years. What did it mean to be a living, breathing map?
Was the secret location for the Fountain of Youth just going to
spring into her mind one day? And what would happen to her if it
didn’t?

Then there was the matter that she
was moving around in the company of vampires. No matter what Margo
tried to convince her of, the scene in the den of Mike’s house was
one of pain and violence. She couldn’t believe that someone would
willingly choose that. She wondered where the others were taken,
then decided it was better if she didn’t know.

She wanted to believe Margo, but
how could Violet trust her knowing that Margo had been lying to her
the whole time? She also wasn’t sure that she understood Margo’s
place in the whole scheme, other than the obvious affection between
her and Jonah.

This thought brought her right back
to the Montrose brothers. Listening to Margo’s story and obvious
awe of them, it sounded like whatever circles they ran in, the
brothers were like vampire royalty. That made Violet even more
anxious. Yesterday, she had been a nobody. Today, she was a pawn in
an ancient game where she didn’t know the players or fully
understand the stakes. Even after what Margo had shared, she was
woefully short on information.

She slowly turned the knob to turn
the water off. Her only option, if they were unwilling to let her
leave, was to find a way to escape. That could prove to be
difficult considering it appeared that Margo was doing double duty
as teacher and babysitter. Violet dried off and slipped into the
warm robe. As it grazed her bare skin she remembered the look of
desire in both of the brothers’ eyes and shivered.

“You done yet?” Margo’s voice
rattled through the closed door.

Violet opened the door and found
Margo standing there with her fist raised, ready to knock. Margo
looked relieved. “Okay, slowpoke. We don’t have a ton of time. You
have to look your very best.” She gestured for Violet to sit down
on the small chair in front of the vanity mirror.

Violet wasn’t going to argue. Not
yet. She sat down primly and closed her eyes as Margo started
pulling a comb through the tangles of her thick hair. It felt good.
When she was little, her mother would comb her hair and sing her a
lullaby to get her to fall back asleep after a nightmare.
Unfortunately, this bad dream wasn’t one she was going to be able
to wake up from anytime soon.

“So are you going to tell me what’s
going on tonight, or are you going to make me guess?” Violet
finally said.

Margo had already started looking
in the mirror at Violet’s hair strategically placed in different
ways on her head. “Think of it as an early birthday party, so
that’s why it’s important that you look absolutely gorgeous. Plus
Jeremiah wouldn’t think to have it any other way.”

“So what exactly does Jeremiah have
to do with this?” Violet asked suspiciously.

“He’ll be escorting you to the
party,” Margo said with a look of pity on her face.

“What?” Violet found herself
alternating between pleasure and anxiety. She was flattered that
Jeremiah was interested in her, but at the same time appearing on
the arm of someone as important as Jeremiah was supposed to be was
nerve-wracking. “Why can’t Jonah escort me?” She blushed when she
saw a speculative look cross Margo’s face.

“I’m surprised, Vi. A lot of women
go for the powerful, domineering type,” Margo said. “Jeremiah
definitely doesn’t lack for company when he wants it.”

“Considering the conversation we
had at Mike’s, I thought you’d approve of me having an interest
in
any
guy,”
Violet said. “Unless there’s something going on between you and
Jonah.”

Margo looked at her in the mirror.
“There isn’t anything going on between me and Jonah” she said
lightly. Her fingers moved through Violet’s hair and massaged her
temples.

“You two seemed pretty cozy
earlier. Are you sure about that?” Violet pushed.

Margo was definitely avoiding the
question. Violet wasn’t sure why she cared; regardless of what
Margo thought, the only preference she had between the brothers was
Jonah’s more laid-back attitude. But if there was something going
on, Violet had little doubt that she’d lose out to Margo. Men were
always drawn to Margo’s beauty and quick wit. Even though it wasn’t
intentional, Violet often felt ugly and clumsy in
comparison.

Margo laughed as she pulled open a
drawer in front of Violet and pulled out several small cases.
Inside one was a plethora of bobby pins and barrettes. “Jonah and I
had a flirtation a long time ago. But whatever that was burned out
quickly and instead he became my best friend.”

“It’s not like I care,” Violet said
with a shrug. “I’m not looking to date anybody anyways, especially
not a vampire.” She tried to be nonchalant, but then she remembered
the stomach flips when Jeremiah’s lips touched her hand. She pushed
the thought away.

“Okay, whatever you say,” Margo
said. “Jeremiah’s not my favorite guy, but you could do a lot worse
than the most powerful vampire on the planet. And he’s almost too
good looking. Most girls would jump at the chance to be you
tonight.”

“Good thing I’m not
most
girls then,” Violet
said with a frown. Margo usually couldn’t pass up a chance to play
matchmaker for her, and but now she seemed much more reluctant in
her comments about Jeremiah.

They were silent for a while, and
Violet watched as her hair was swept up into intricate braids that
circled her head. She was shocked by the person emerging under
Margo’s careful care.

“You are going to be a knockout.
There are representatives here from three other covens and Jonah
said there may be two more that will be able to make it in time. No
one will be able to keep their eyes off you when I’m through,”
Margo said with a confident smile.

“It’s not their eyes I’m worried
about, especially given my natural
aroma
,” Violet said faintly as she
considered what Margo’s words meant. She was going to be in a house
full of vampires.

Margo looked surprised. “Violet,
you are the guest of Jeremiah Montrose. Even though you’re mortal
there’s no way anyone would touch you. Believe me, Jeremiah’s
temper is legendary.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel
better about having him escort me tonight? I can’t tell you how
much better you are making me feel about all of this, Margo,” she
said sarcastically.

She could tell that Margo was
annoyed, but trying to control it. “I’m not Jeremiah’s biggest fan
doesn’t mean you shouldn't be interested in him. To his credit, he
always puts the welfare of his coven above all other things. You
are going to have to get over this perception you have of vampires
being these old, nasty, bloodsucking monsters.” She flipped her
hair over her shoulder. “Most of us are nothing like
that.”

“So you want me to believe you
because you’ve presented me with a fairy tale that’s supposed to
make me suddenly think vampires are swell?” Violet snapped. “I
slipped in a pool of blood last night. Blood was everywhere, all
over the walls, and I still don’t know what happened to everybody
that was there. You’ve conveniently left that part out. I could
care less if they supposedly wanted whatever happened to happen.
That seems to contradict this picture of lovely, fuzzy, bunny
vampires that you are trying to sell me on.”

Margo put her hands on her hips and
glared at Violet in the mirror. “Look. I had nothing to do with
that and neither did Jeremiah. That’s not who we are or what we do.
Which Tesla, Mike, and the others would have been able to discover,
despite their stupidity, if Jonah’s priority last night hadn’t been
saving
your
skin.
But if you want to keep believing something different, fine. Have
it your way.” Margo spun on her heel and left the
bathroom.

Violet was shocked. Margo blamed
what happened to her friends on Violet! The idea was sobering.
Violet slowly got up and tiptoed into the bedroom. The red dress
was on the bed with a pair of matching ruby red heels and a sheer
wrap that looked like it was made from spun silver. Margo was
nowhere to be found. Violet felt a moment of panic. Then she gasped
as Margo appeared by her side.

“Here.” Margo thrust a set of ruby
earrings into her hands. “I’m loaning these to you for the evening.
I have to get ready too. Get dressed and I’ll be back to do your
make-up. Jeremiah will be knocking on that door at eight o’clock
sharp. You don’t want to be late.”

Violet started to say something but Margo was
already sailing out the door.

Less than an hour later, she stared
at the woman looking back at her in the mirror. The image of
herself didn’t even look real. Violet smoothed away imaginary
wrinkles on her hips and tried to tear her eyes away from her
image, but couldn’t. Her honey-blond hair was half-up and half
down. It seemed like hundreds of tiny braids corralled her heavy
locks into a neat waterfall of curls that cascaded down her bare
back. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide, accentuated
by the subtle flairs of color that Margo had added that made her
eyes seem even bigger. Her lips looked plump and full with a just a
tinge of red shot through them.

The reason for her disbelief was
mostly the dress. The halter strap slipped behind her neck and the
bodice was fitted and exposed a healthy amount of cleavage which
Margo had insisted on dusting with glittering powder. The dress
skimmed her hips and then the A-line skirt fell so that it just
brushed the tops of her shoes. The heels added three inches to her
five foot five frame and although she still just came up to Margo’s
shoulder, she felt gigantic. The final effect was the shawl that
Margo wrapped carefully around her shoulders. It was like it wasn’t
even there, but the shimmering effect made it almost appear as if
Violet was floating.

Margo was fussing with the back of
her hair when Violet heard a heavy rap on the door. Margo looked at
the clock on the nightstand and shook her head with a roll of her
eyes. “He’s early.”

Violet’s breath caught in her
throat and she caught Margo’s hand as her friend slid past her to
go open the door. “Margo?”

“It’ll be fine, Vi,” Margo said.
“Just follow Jeremiah’s lead and it’ll all be fine. Jonah and I
will be close by if you need us.” She patted Violet’s arm and then
quickly went to the door, which opened just before she reached
it.

“What’s the holdup?” Jeremiah said
coolly as he stepped into the room. He was dressed in a black
tuxedo that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His
hair was swept off to the side and Violet felt her heart beat a
little faster as she took him in. He was magnificent.

“We were just finishing up,” Margo
said with a bow of her head. Violet still couldn’t believe that her
friend deferred to anyone. It wasn’t Margo’s style.

His eyes found hers across the
room, and Jeremiah stopped. Violet felt warm under his gaze as she
watched his eyes slide over her. A slow smile appeared across his
face, and she could tell that he was pleased. He didn’t move, but
held out his hand. “Shall we, Violet?”

She wanted to run into the bathroom
and shut the door. She was afraid of this man and the storm of
emotions that she felt inside. But now wasn’t the time to get on
anyone’s bad side. Violet carefully crossed the room and lifted her
hand to settle into his. He drew her closer and brushed his mouth
against her hand, just like he had done earlier. His eyes never
left hers. Then he slid her hand under his arm. Violet looked for
Margo, but her friend had disappeared. She and Jeremiah were alone.
As she stared up into his violet eyes, she knew that she was in
trouble.