Heart of the Vampire (Vanderlind Castle) (7 page)

Chapter 11

“Who is he?” Fred asked. We were sitting in his car in the school parking lot. I had repeated what Blossom had told me almost verbatim
, and so far Fred was taking it pretty well.

“No one you know,” I replied quietly. “He doesn’t go here.”

“So, you’re with this guy? You’re together?” he asked, a bit of anger backing the hurt in his voice.

“No, it’s not like that,” I said. “We’re... well...” I wasn’t sure what I actually wanted to reveal. “We can’t be together.”

“Why not?”

“A lot of it has to do with his family,” was the best I could come up with.

“No one in my family has a problem with you,” Fred grumbled.

I wasn’t sure how to re
spond to that. I went with, “I’m sorry.”

“So you’re dumping me for some guy you can’t date?” I didn’t blame him for sounding a bit incredulous.

“I know,” I sighed. “It sounds completely ridiculous to me, too. I mean, you’re so great and understanding and everything, I feel like I’m making a huge mistake.”

“You are making a huge mistake,” he said with conviction. “I would never let my family keep us apart.”

“It’s not that simple,” I assured him. But defending my relationship with Jessie wasn’t the point of the conversation. I had to give Fred something to make him feel better and then just end it. “You see, even though things are complicated with...” I caught myself before saying Jessie’s name. “Even though things are complicated with him, I didn’t feel like I was giving our relationship a real chance, and that’s not fair to you. I care about you too much to do that to you, so that’s why we can’t date anymore.” In my head I added,
Plus if things don’t go well over Thanksgiving, this way it’s just your ex-girlfriend that disappeared. Not your girlfriend.
I couldn’t say that out loud, of course, but the thought was there.

Fred thought about it for quite a while, his head nodding up and down in little bobs. After
two or three minutes, he finally said, “So if it wasn’t for this guy, then you’d probably be in love with me?”

“I...” I ran out of words immediately. How could I explain the feelings I had for Jessie? It was impossible when I couldn’t even explain them to myself. But still, I shouldn’t have tried to date Fred in the first place. That wasn’t fair. He wasn’t a distraction
; he was a person and deserved kindness. I remembered what Blossom had said about Fred. About how he understood competition. He knew all about winning and losing. No one enjoys defeat, but people learn to accept it. “Yes,” I told him, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. “I’m sure that if I hadn’t already given my heart away, it would probably belong to you.”

Fred flashed me a small smile. There was a glimmer behind it that I didn’t quite understand. “If you love this guy, that’s cool,” he said. “But he sounds like kind of a
tool to me.”

“No, he’s not,” I assured him. Fred had no idea.

“No, I know the type,” he said, fully convinced of it. “And you’re too smart to let some guy treat you bad. At least not for too long.” He gave me a sly smile. “Give me a little time, and I bet I can win you back.”

When I finally got home, I had to scramble. Showering, blow drying my tornado of hair, trying on two dozen different outfits—it all took up time. It’s hard enough meeting the parents of some guy I’m trying to date, but what the heck was I supposed to wear to meet a vampire mom? How do you dress for that? I finally settled on my brown skirt with the white stitching, dark brown tights, Mary Jane–style black flats, a white blouse, and purple cardigan. I looked a little on the wholesome side, but I was hoping Mrs. Vanderlind would like me better for dressing traditionally. I mean, she was over a hundred years old; I wasn’t exactly going to show up bra-less with thong underwear peeking out of the back of my jeans.

The one thing that I thought was going to be a total pain, but was actually surprisingly easy
, was googling the time for sunset in Tiburon, Ohio. I figured if I arrived at the Vanderlind Castle a little before 6:30, I would probably be safe but not have to hang around for too long waiting for Jessie to get up.

“Where are you off to?” my mom asked as I grab
bed my bag before heading out the door.

I almost said, “Got to work,” but that was an obvious lie because I have to wear a yucky green polo shirt with the Cup of Joe’s logo when I’m working. I was way t
oo spiffed up to say I was heading off to study, so I said, “I’ve got a date,” because it was the only thing that popped into my head.

“Fred?”

“Uh... No. We kind of broke up a little,” I hemmed.

“Sounds like you broke up a lot if you have a date with someone else already
.” Mom laughed. “I thought you two were getting along.”

“We were,” I told her. “And we still are, but we decided to just be friends.”

Mom blinked twice. I could tell she was holding back from peppering me with a million questions. She finally settled on, “Was that your idea or his?”

“Mine,” I replied. “He was just getting serious faster than I was
, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“And you having a new date right away won’t?” She widened her eyes at me.

“No, it’s not like that,” I said. “It’s not exactly a date so much as I wish it was a date.”

“I see,” Mom said. “Do I need to know his contact info?” My mom was pretty savvy when it came to safety. She didn’t pry into my life but always wanted to have a way of contacting the people I was spending time with, especially romantically.

“Not yet,” I assured her. “We’re meeting in public, and you know, I’ll be careful.”

“I know, sweetie. Now give me a kiss before you go so that I can still feel a bit like a mom.”

“Okay.” I restrained myself from rolling my eyes. There was no way my mom was not a mom, but I didn’t mind the affection.

“You look nice, by the way,” Mom said after I’d pecked her on the cheek and was headed for the door.

Good
, I thought. If my mom approved of my outfit then maybe I had a fighting chance with Jessie’s mom.

My hopes began to sink as I got closer and closer to the Vanderlind Castle. It didn’t matter what I was wearing or how clean I
’d washed my hair, I wasn’t a vampire. Mrs. Vanderlind wasn’t going to like me no matter what because I was not a member of the undead. There was no way around that. And her son was in trouble because of me. I was the one that crashed his party. I was the one that he was protecting when he fought Viktor. I was the one who had actually staked Viktor, if we were being exact about the details. Fortunately, only Jessie and I knew that.

Pulling my ancient VW Bug up to the tall iron gates
of the Vanderlind Castle felt super weird. I was terrified to enter, and I was unable to drive away. There was a guard in a small wooden booth to the left of the gate. He was wearing the dark purple uniform that all the Vanderlind servants wore. I wondered about him. How did he get a job doing security for a vampire family? Did he answer an ad on Craigslist? I knew the Vanderlinds didn’t hire locally ever since the disappearance of Colette Gibson, but was the guy from the United States? Was he even human? The sun hadn’t quite set, so he probably wasn’t a vampire, but was there some other kind of supernatural creature? I was just summoning my courage to say something to the guard when he opened the gate and waved me through. That was probably for the best. I wasn’t sure how I would have phrased my question anyway without coming off as totally rude.

While pulling up the gravel drive to the castle
, I had to concentrate on keeping the bug on the road. With its massive gray stones looming over me, the castle was pretty intimidating. It looked like it had definitely withstood a siege or two. There were four turrets, one in each corner, and very few windows. At least on the front of the building. I knew for a fact that on the ground floor there was a very large window that faced out the back onto a patio and the Tiburon River. Blossom and I had used it to sneak into a party a few months earlier, and that’s how I got tangled up with vampires in the first place.

I’d always been fascinated by the castle, ever since I was a little girl. But so were a lot of people. I mean, there aren’t a lot of ancient European castles in North Central Ohio. The fact that my great grandmother and her sister used to work there made the connection to the place even stronger
, and the fact that I might have been having a few of my great, great aunt’s memories as dreams really locked it all into place. I was connected to Vanderlind Castle even before I knew that Jessie existed.

There was a bit of a parking area with a town car and a red sports
car that looked very fast. I didn’t know where to leave my bug but figured behind the town car was a good spot. I hoped that my bug was reasonably concealed from anyone who happened to be on the road driving by. A large percentage of the population of Tiburon knew what kind of car I drove, and I really didn’t want to have to explain why it was parked outside a building that nobody local was ever allowed to enter.

I could literally feel my heart pumping in my chest as my shoes crunched along the gravel and I headed for the front door. Vanderlind Castle had a massive wood door for an entrance that probably
, at some point in history, had been protected by a portcullis. In an attempt to modernize their home, the Vanderlinds had a smaller, normal-sized door installed in the middle of the massive one. I had just approached the small door and was considering whether I should use the large metal ring suspended from the big door as a knocker or look for a bell when the door was pulled open by the tallest man I’d ever seen.

“Hello, Viggo,” I said smiling, relieved to see a familiar face. “How are you?”

“I am wery vell, Miss Aurora. Thank you for asking,” was his reply. “Mr. Wanderlind told me to expect you.” He opened the door wider and ushered me in.

Viggo had helped me escape the dungeon of the castle with Blossom’s unconscious body. I had been dragging her down the tunnel of a secret passage when the giant had come to our aid. He could carry her like she weighed no more than a child. He’d also stood guard to protect me when Viktor was out for my blood and Jessie couldn't be there. Like an idiot, I’d treated him badly, calling the cops to report a strange man
lurking in our backyard. I hadn’t known he was there to protect me. I’d thought he was keeping an eye on me so I’d leave Jessie alone.

“Sorry about the other month,” I told him. “You know, when I sicced the cops on you.”

The large man shrugged. “It was kind of funny vhen you think about it.”

I smiled at him, appreciating a giant with a sense of humor. “Is Jessie up yet?” I asked.

“Not yet, but he vill be with you shortly.”

The front door open
ed into a large, beautiful room that I had actually already seen when Blossom and I had snuck into the castle. Unlike the building’s facade, the interior of the room was made out of a pale sandstone with tiny flecks of gold sparkling in it. There were two enormous chandeliers suspended from the vaulted ceiling, and they sparkled with hundreds, if not thousands, of cut crystal prisms making tiny rainbows dance across the walls. I’d only seen pictures of the interiors of European castles, and none of them were nearly as bright and cheery. The Vanderlinds had done some modifications over the years to make the living space more comfortable.

The most obvious modification to the castle was the wide, sliding glass door that had been fitted into the back wall of the room, leading out onto a patio and the shores of the Tiburon River. The sun was just sinking below the horizon
, so rays of natural light were still pouring into the room. That was until a servant stepped forward and drew closed the massive curtains that covered the glass. The big room was still bright, but the rainbows flitting across the ceiling were instantly dimmed. I felt a brief pang of sadness that Jessie never got to see them.

Standing there looking around, I waited, expecting further instruction from Viggo. When none came, I tried, “Is there someplace I should go to wait
, or is it better to just stand here? What am I supposed to do?”

“Colette?” a female voice said behind me causing me to whirl around. There stood a flawless woman who
, I had no doubt, was Jessie’s mother; she had his wavy black hair and penetrating gray eyes. She was wearing a deep green silk dress that showed off her sleek frame. “It’s been ages,” she said rushing up to embrace me. “You haven’t changed a bit. Always such the beauty. I would have recognized you anywhere.”

Chapter 12

It’s always bizarre when a stranger hugs you; it’s made even worse when that stranger is actually a vampire and you catch her taking a deep breath in through her nose. I realized with some shock that Jessie’s mom had just sniffed me. Not like a lover might enjoy the intimacy, but like a hungry man smelling a steak. A very loud alarm bell went off in my head. What was I doing there in a house with at least three vampires that I knew of? I hadn’t even told anyone where I’d gone. I could disappear without a trace, and the Vanderlinds would never even be suspected. All they’d have to do is ditch my car. Viggo would never say anything. He was too loyal to Jessie. And the guy at the gate would probably never talk. Especially if he knew what was healthy for him. Narcing on a vampire probably doesn’t lead to a long life “Uh... I think there’s been a little mistake,” I told her, trying to politely squirm out of her arms. “I’m not Colette Gibson. Her sister is my great grandmother, Lily.”

Jessie’s mother gave me a tight smile, breaking our embrace but still holding on to both of my hands. “Don’t be absurd,” she breathed. “You’re Colette Gibson. Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you? It hasn’t been that many years. My Jessie wouldn’t risk his life for anyone less.”

“Oh,” I said and then, not being able to think of anything else, snapped my mouth shut. My lips were in danger of trembling. I tried to calm myself. Everything was fine. Of course, Jessie’s mom was in on our deception. She was probably just as eager as Jessie was to have the Bishops believe I was Colette. Her son’s life depended on it.

“What are you doing here?” a familiar male voice demanded. I swung around to see Jessie descending the castle’s wide main staircase. There was an immediate, intense pain in my chest, my brain instantly convinced that I’d somehow misunderstood his invitation and I was not welcome. On second glance, I realized it wasn’t Jessie but his older brother, Daniel, and he wasn’t happy to see me. “Are we going to start letting everyone into the house now? Are traveling salesmen welcome?” he asked no one in particular. Then turning to his mom
, he continued with, “Didn’t someone in the family almost get pinched once for taking too much of an interest in the Fuller Brush salesman?”

Daniel was like Jessie in build and deportment but not nearly as beautiful, in my opinion. Where Jessie’s lips were full and smiling, Daniel’s were thin and straight. Where Jessie’s eyes were
wide and kind, Daniel’s were narrowed with suspicion, dislike, and distaste. Daniel’s hair was not thick and wavy like his mom’s and his brother’s. He’d been overlooked on that genetic gift. While still black, Daniel’s hair was thin and straight. He wore it slicked back in what I assumed was an attempt to conceal premature balding. Maybe part of his bad mood was having to face eternity with a receding hairline.

It was strange seeing Jessie’s mother and brother standing side by side. They looked exactly the same age
, and it wasn’t because his mother had been careful about wearing sun block. It was because after Jessie’s grandfather had been turned into a vampire, he decided that he didn’t want to spend the rest of eternity alone. After each of his children had their twenty-fourth birthday, he turned them into the undead. If things had gone according to plan, Jessie would have been turned at twenty-four as well. But a scarlet fever epidemic and the senior Vanderlind’s own impatience ruined his plans. Jessie would be forever the same age as I was at that exact moment: seventeen.

Mrs. Vanderlind ignored her son’s rude behavior. “You remember Colette, don’t you?” she said, smiling pleasantly. “You’re brother’s fiancée?”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re going along with this nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense to Jessie,” she told him. “We love who we love.”

“Which, in your case, would be no one,” Jessie said, appearing on the stairs. “Or maybe just yourself?”

Glaring at him, Daniel snarled, “You always were the comedian of the family. Maybe that’s why the Bishops like you so much. They want a little comic relief.”

“They’re not so crazy about me anymore,” Jessie told him. “That should put a smile on your face.”

As a matter of fact, it did cause Daniel to smirk a little, but
it made his mother frown. “I’m sure once you speak to them and they meet Colette then all of this nonsense can be cleared away. They can’t hold falling in love against you,” she said firmly.

Jessie walked over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. “I wouldn’t hold
my breath.”

I felt horrible. Did my existence really jeopardize Jessie’s position in the vampire community? I knew I would have to ask him about it when we were alone. There were actually a few thing
s we needed to talk about, I thought, remembering Fred.

“Let me introduce you,” Jessie said, breaking me out of my fretful thoughts. “Miss Aurora Keys, this is my mother, Alice Vanderlind. Mother, this is Aurora.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, unsure if I should offer to shake hands after she’d just given me a hug.

“But we’ve met before,” Mrs. Vanderlind insisted. “Haven’t we, Colette? I remember it well.”

Jessie gave his mother a mildly amused look. “She goes by Aurora now.”

“Of course
, she does,” was the reply. “And why not?”

I really wasn’t sure how I was supposed to jump into the conversation. I had to assume his mother didn’t really think I was Colette Gibson.

Jessie shook his head in a bemused sort of way. “Come on, Aurora,” he said, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. His touch sent a thousand little tingles racing through my arm and down my spine. “We’ve got a lot to work on.”

“Let me know if you need any help,” his mother called after us as Jessie led me away.
“Should I send in refreshments?”

“No, thank you, Mom,” Jessie told her.

I had to smile to myself a little, and Jessie noticed my amusement. “What is it?” he wanted to know, giving my hand an extra squeeze. Just having him hold my hand made my anxiety all but disappear.

“Mothers never change,” I told him. “Your mom sounds exactly the way my mom would.”

Jessie smiled back at me, his gray eyes twinkling as he led me down a hallway off of the great room. “And my mom’s been at it for a hundred years. You’d think she’d be over it by now.”

“I wonder if I’ll be like that when I have kids,” I mused.

The twinkle in Jessie’s eyes faded. Just slightly, but I still noticed it. He forced his smile back into place before saying, “I bet you make a wonderful mother.”

I gulped and tried not to lose my smile
, either. Vampires couldn’t have children. Not after they were turned. Because Jessie and his brother never had kids and Jessie’s sister was never made a vampire, their family line was effectively at an end. I guess that wasn’t such a big deal when you could live forever, but it would be weird not to even have the option to have children. That annoying, practical part of my brain whispered to me,
How are you going to have children if you’ve given your heart to the undead?