Girls That Growl (11 page)

Her own flesh and blood. Bitch.

I can't believe how much everything sucks. I thought be-coming a vampire would make all my problems go away.

So how come now I seem to have more problems than ever?

13

"I'mready to go to England," I tell Jareth, cradling the cell phone between my head and neck as I peel out of the driveway in my Volkswagen Bug a few minutes later. I've so got to get one of those earpieces before I suffer permanent neck injury. "Let's go tonight. I'm on my way over to the coven now. I'll be there in ten minutes."

There's silence on the end of the line."Ithought you didn't want to go until Friday," Jareth says at last.

"Don't you have school tomorrow? What are you going to tell your mother?"

"Screw school," I retort, anger burning in my belly. "I have eternity to get my diploma. No big deal if I flunk this semester. And Mom's easy. I'll just have Spider say I'm stay-ing at her house. Worst comes to worst, Sunny can play both of us. She owes me. I mean, whatever it takes, right? The cheerleaders need their antidote. Though honestly I think atfeast one of them would be better off put to sleep. Think we can selectively apply it?"

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A car honks as I cut in front of it at the last minute. I give thedriver the finger. No one messes with Rayne McDonald, mad vamp gone postal, tonight.

"What's that honking? Are you talking while driving again."

"Uh, no. I'm, uh, well, maybe. I'm fine though. Not a problem."

"You sound angry," Jareth says. "Did something happen?"

"No! Well, yes, but it wasn't my fault! I mean, all I was tryingto do was protect her ..." I trail off as the lump in my throat makes it nearly impossible to speak. I swerve to miss a black cat crossing the street.

Nice. Some bad luck to go along with my bad day.

"Rayne, you don't sound fit to drive. Pull over and I'll come get you."

Oh great. Now he's going to start in on me. This is the last thing I need. I'm so sick of everyone trying to play Raynie's Dad. (Besides my actual biological father, of course.) I'm not helpless. I'm not in need of discipline. I can take care of myself. Everyone just needs to eff off and leave me alone. Trust me that I can make good decisions and take care of myself.

I slam on the brakes to avoid colliding with the car in front of me, which for some ridiculous reason decided to stop in front of a yellow light.

"Learn to drive!" I yell out my window, my face burning with rage. I've half a mind to get out of the car and go bang on his window, fangs bared. Scare the life out of him.

"Rayne, pull the car over. Now!" Jareth yells into my ear, interrupting my horror-movie fantasy.Grr .

"No! I told you I'm fine. Stop being so damn overprotective," I growl back. "I'm a vampire. Your blood mate. Not some child. Stop treating me like one."

A pause on the other end of the line. "I didn't mean to imply ..."

The light turns green and we start going again. I swerve to the left to try to pass the yellow-light stopper, but then real-ize there's a truck in the other lane. I swerve back, growling to myself. In response to my aggression, the other car sud-denly slows down, forcing me to slam on my brakes again. My tires squeal against the pavement.

"What was that noise?" Jareth demands. "Rayne! Pull over the car. Now! You're scaring me."

"I'm
fine!
God, it's bad enough I have one random guy in my house trying to masquerade as my father. I don't need you to play long-lost Daddy, too."

"I'm not trying to father you. I just don't want you an angry splatter on the side of the road. Is that so much to ask?"

"I'm a vampire! I'm not going to splatter," I remind him. "I'm hanging up now. I'll be there in ten. Pack your bags for England." I click the End button and toss the phone onto the seat. A second later it starts ringing again. I reach for the ra-dio and turn it up full blast, allowing Morrissey's crooning to drown out the ringtone.

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When I look up from the radio, I see the other car for the first time, coming out of nowhere, headlights blinding me. I have a split second to realize I must have swerved into the wrong lane while turning on the radio. I spin the wheel. Un-fortunately, I end up spinning it right into a guardrail.

The car slams into the barrier. I'm thrown forward. The air bag goes off with a poof, slamming into my face. A mo-ment later I swim into blackness.

+++

"Rayne, Rayne! Wake up!"

"Mmmm," I moan. "Five more minutes, Mom." "It's Jareth, not your mom. And you've been in a car accident."

I open my eyes, suddenly remembering my close en-counter of the guardrail kind. I'm sitting in the driver's seat still, an inflated air bag pushing into my chest. Jareth is outside the car, peering in with a concerned expression on his face.

"Don't say I told you so," I mutter as I crawl out of the vehicle. I take a look at my car. The hood's crumpled and there's smoke coming out of the engine. Great. Mom's going to kill me.So's Sunny, considering we share this car.

"Rayne, are you crazy?" Jareth demands. "Did you hit your head too hard? Why would I say I told you so? I'm just glad you're okay!"

I roll my eyes. "I'm a vampire, remember? I can't die. And look, my injuries are already half healed." I gesture to the bloody cuts on my arm, sealing up before my eyes. Way cool. I should try skydiving next.

Or some other extreme sport.

"I know, but . . ." Jareth stares at me, looking helpless and upset. Part of me wants to go over and hug him, but the other part, the angry, bitter, hates-the-world part, doesn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"I'm fine. What I'd like to do is go to England now."

"But you've just been in an accident. We need to get you to a doctor or something."

"I'm fine!" I repeat. "Stop smothering me!"

Jareth takes a step back, as if he's been slapped. He stares at me, then shakes his head. "You know, Rayne," he says, "sometimes when people first become vampires they don't adjust smoothly. It takes some time and counseling to get used to their new existences. We have a great coven doctor who specializes at making transformations smoother—"

"You want me to go to see a shrink?" I cry.

"Well, we don't really call them that in the vampire world, but—"

"You do. You think I'm crazy!"

"No. I think you're angry. Angry enough to put yourself in a situation where you could get seriously hurt."

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"For the last time, I'm a vampire! I can't
get
hurt. Can you get that through your thick skull? And secondly, for your information, I have plenty of reasons to be mad."

"I'm sure you do," Jareth says, reaching over to stroke my cheek. "But that doesn't mean you want to live your life likethis."

Iwhack his hand away. "Maybe I do, okay? What are you going to do about it?"

The anger inside of me is building to frightening propor-tions. I just want to lash out and hurt someone, but there's no one who deserves my wrath. So I slam my fist into my car. Then kick it with my boot. I may not have vampire strength, but I still manage a few satisfying dents. I keep kicking, chan-neling all my hatred into my Volkswagen Bug.

"This is for you, Mandy! You self-centered bitch!" I bel-low as I kick. "And this is for you, Mom! How dare you side with David over me! And David! You're not my
dad, you
bastard! And this is for—"

"Rayne! Stop it! Just stop it now!" Jareth cries. "Destroy-ing your car is not going to help things!"

What does he know? It's helping a lot. And he should be grateful I'm not kicking his ass instead.

He grabs me. I kick and scream, but he's too strong for me to escape. He may not have his vampire superstrength, but he's still a guy. I struggle to free myself for a few minutes, then reluctantly give up, suddenly weary of the whole ordeal.

I just want to go home. To my own bed. But I have no home or bed. I'm an undead creature of the night. Destined to roam the earth alone.

"Come on," Jareth says, loosening his hold. "Let's go back to the coven."

+++

The next morning I wake up in a beautifully carved four-poster bed. The room is richly decorated, with fancy jewel-toned paintings and a fire roaring in a mammoth stone fireplace. My head still feels thick and foggy, but at the same time I feel very relaxed. Almost drugged.

"Are you feeling better?"

The voice makes me turn my head. I realize Jareth's sit-ting at my bedside, reading some self-help book.

He sets it down on the coffee table. "You had quite a fit out there, Rayne."

"Yeah, sorry," I mumble. Wow. In the comfort of this cozy room I'm feeling pretty dumb and immature about what I did."Idon't know what came over me. I was just so mad."

"Inoticed," Jareth says wryly. "You have some issues you need to work out, my dear."

I sigh. "I know. I'm sorry. You must think I'm the biggest loser."

"Not at all." Jareth crawls into bed next to me and strokes my head. "You're just going through a tough time. It's natural for a new vamp to have some adjustment issues. You've got new hormones raging through your body. It'll take a while for them all to settle. It's a bit like hitting puberty and it affects different vampires in different ways."

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Great. So what do I have, PMS? Pre-Monster Syndrome?

"Well, I promise to be better behaved from now on," I say. "Really."

"I still think you need to see a counselor. We have a great one in the coven. He'll help you deal with some of your anger issues. Give you methods to control your rage."

Yeah, right. I'm so not seeing a shrink. "Uh, maybe. Sure. We'll see when I get back from England."

Jareth pauses, mid-stroke. "Um, about that," he says. "I think it might be better if I go myself."

"What?"

"You're in no shape to travel. I want you to stay here in the coven until you've seen the doctor and he's prescribed you some medication."

"No way! I can't take a mental holiday while the cheer-leaders are running around eating people!" I protest.

"I think you need it," Jareth determines. "But don't worry. I'll go to England and get the antidote myself."

I struggle to sit up in bed. My cuts are all healed, but my head still hurts. "But it's my job. My duty. My destiny. After all, I'm the slayer."

"Rayne, you don't always have to be so tough. Relax. Let someone who loves you do something for you for once."

"No. I'm going and that's all there is to it."

Jareth frowns. "I'm sorry, Rayne, but that's not going to happen."

"You can't stop me."

"Actually, I can. I've set a guard outside this door."

"What?" I cry. I run over to the door and try to yank it open. It doesn't budge. "You've kidnapped me?"

Jareth rolls his eyes. "Oh, Rayne, stop being so overdramatic. This is for your own protection."

"But I need to go to England!"

"You don't. I said I'd go and I will. In fact, I'll leave tonight, just as scheduled. I'll get the antidote and bring it back."

"But what if you can't?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"But ..." I realize my protests are useless. The bastard isn't going to give in. I wander back over to the bed and slump into my pillows. I'm trapped here, helpless, while he goes and saves the day. Just because
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I happened to run into a guardrail. I'm not sick. I don't need help. I just had a car accident. I shouldn't be under house arrest for it.

Jareth's such a jerk. And he treats me like I'm a child. I bet Magnus never treats Sunny like that. In fact, I bet Sunny gets to do whatever—

A lightbulb goes off over my head. Could it work? Could it really work?

"Jareth, you're right," I say, reaching over to take his hand in mine. I stroke his palm with my fingers. "I do need a little rest and recovery. And of course you can get the antidote without me. I mean, you're so big and strong and wonderful and all."

He looks at me, his eyes clouded with suspicion.

"And I'm so lucky to have you to take care of me," I con-tinue. "You and Sunny. You're the best friends a vampire girl could have." I pause for dramatic effect, then add, "If only she were here right now. By my bedside. Keeping me com-pany while you're away."

Jareth smiles, totally buying my act. Sucker. "Do you want me to send for her?" he asks. "I'd be happy to."

"Oh, would you, my darling?" I coo, looking up at him with round, innocent eyes. "I'd be forever grateful to see my sister in my time of need."

Jareth nods and pulls out his cell phone. I grin to myself. So he wants to play Daddy, does he? Well, get ready for a lit-tle
Parent Trap.

14

God, my legs are cramped. Hiding in the airplane bath-room until we got over international waters seemed like a great idea at the time. Two hours later I'm not so sure. So I decide to take a chance.

Hopefully we're far enough out that we won't have enough gas to turn back.

"Surprise!" I cry, jumping out in front of Jareth, who had been sleeping in the fully reclining leather seat of the coven's private jet. He jumps up with a start, his eyes wide as they fall upon me.

"Rayne!" he says, obviously flustered. "What—I mean how—I mean—"

"Why am I here, standing in front of you when I should be under coven arrest? What am I thinking coming to England instead of seeing the shrink? How did I escape your big, burly vamp guards and manage to sneak onto a top-secret, high-security vampire plane?"

Jareth runs a hand through his hair. "Urn, yes. I suppose all of the above."

"I'm here because you need me. I'm the Slayer. It's my job to find the antivirus and save the cheerleaders. And I'm not going to let anyone, including you, stop me from accomplish-ing my mission."