Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down (9 page)

“And you knew, you knew this whole time and you never said anything.  Anja, how could you do this to me?” 

Mad at me
.  Ah well, I deserved it.  “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“So you let me keep dating a
vampire
without telling me.  Sure, that makes total sense.”

“No, I mean, I wanted to keep that part of it from you because his job is dangerous and I didn’t want you drawn into it.  I even warned him off of you for your own good.”

“That’s why he disappeared, isn’t it?  That was you?  And here I thought it was because he freaked out when we started to get too serious too fast.”

“Well, it was fast…”

“Damn it, Anja, that wasn’t your call to make!” she all but yelled, quieting with visible effort after she realized how deserted the street was.  “No offense, but my relationship has nothing to do with you.  You’re my sister, and I love you, but stay out of my love life from now on.”

“I’m sorry.”  My head hung miserably, what else could I say?

“Jesus, what am I going to do now?  I invited him to come and live with me.”  A short bark of hysterical laughter bubbled out of her throat before it cut off with a squeak, her eyes flying wide with panic.  “I invited him in…  He can come in whenever he wants now, can’t he?  And I invited him into Mom and Dad’s…”

I grabbed a hold of her shoulders and gave her a light shake.  “Hanna, it’s okay
.  He’d never come after you, even if you go back there and break things off with him.”  I knew that deep in my bones or I never would’ve allowed him to keep seeing her in the first place. 

“How can you be sure?  You barely know him.”

“I know him pretty well.”

“Oh that’s right, my sister the vampire groupie.  I forgot you knew about him before we’d even met.  I guess that makes Bishop one too then, right?”

“I don’t want to talk about Bishop.”

“He has to be,” she continued undeterred.  “Is that what his super secret job is about?  Vampire stuff?  And here I thought it was some kind of espionage.  Are they all a bunch of vampires?  What is it… the Order?”

“I wouldn’t be throwing that name around if I were you.  In fact, the less you know about it, the better.”

“How come you get full disclosure then?  How come I’m left in the dark like an idiot and you get to know the ins and outs of the undead club?”

“It’s complicated.”  I waited for her to press me for more details, unsure how I could answer without implicating myself as a registered member of the undead club (id chip and all!), but her thoughts tumbled in another direction.

“How, how can I be in love with someone like that?” she wailed, hands fisting in her hair as she fell back against the front of the nearest building. 

“Someone like that?”

“A ruthless killer.  What does that say about me that I never once noticed a single sign?”

“Not all vampires are ruthless killers.”  Though he was, in fact, a killer – I’d seen it myself.  I didn’t think that was what she meant though, she meant a killer without reason.  The Order’s reasons for killing might be stupid and archaic, but they had all kinds of reasons. 

“How can you say that?  By definition they have to feed off of others to survive.”  She wasn’t wrong there, but I couldn’t think how to make her feel okay with it.  “Oh
, God… he’s fed off of me too, hasn’t he?”

“I… that’s not something we really talk about, but I doubt it, not like you’re thinking.  He told me once he doesn’t think of you like that.”

“Oh, he told you once, did he?  Well, that makes me feel better.  I guess I have nothing to worry about.”  She stared at me long and hard.  “You’re so naïve, Anja.  He’s a vampire.  He can’t be trusted.  Everything that’s come out of his mouth has been a lie.  For all I know he’s been feeding on me from day one and that’s why he wants to move in with me, because he likes my flavor.”

“It’s not like that.”

“How would you know?  I noticed you’re not with Bishop anymore.  You can’t tell me it has nothing to do with him being a vampire.”

“It doesn’t.”  I swallowed uncomfortably.  “I told you, it’s complicated.”

“No, it’s simple.  I have to be out of my mind insane to have feelings for a dead guy.  He can never love me back, he’s not even a human being for chrissakes.”

“I’m one too.”  It just came out.  Once the words were said though, I didn’t want to take them back.

“You’re what too?  In love with a dead guy?  Join the club.”

“No, I’m a vampire too.”  I waited for that to sink in, speaking when I saw I had her full attention.  “That’s why I know all about Mason’s secret, and that’s why I couldn’t tell you any of it
. I was protecting my own secret too.”

“No… not you.”  Her eyes widened with a different kind of fear, as if she doubted her own sanity.  “You’re my sister.”

“I’m still your sister, and I’m undead too.”

“But how…?  When?”

“It happened last month.”  God, was it only a few weeks ago?  Several, at any rate.  It already felt like I’d been dead for ages. 

“Who did it to you?  Was it Bishop?”

“No, it was Jake.  Do you remember him?” 

“Jake…” she blinked, confused.  I was pretty sure she didn’t remember him at all, she’d been pretty out of it the night he’d healed her with his blood.

“It’s a long story, but basically I’ve been a vampire since before you even met Mason.  So when I tell you there’s nothing to worry about with him, I know what I’m talking about.”

“That’s why you quit going to school…”

“It’s part of it, yes.  The point is, it doesn’t make me a ruthless killer just because I need blood to survive.”

“Don’t say that.”  Her brow twitched in distress.  “I don’t want to think of you all bloodthirsty and gross.”

“It’s the truth.  And it’s part of who I am now.  I’m not saying it’s easy.  It’s hard not to lose control sometimes, especially for a newbie like me, but it can be done.  Mason’s been around long enough to learn control.”

“Super, so he won’t
eat me the next time he wants a midnight snack and he’s too lazy to go down to the kitchen.  Awesome.”

She looked so small and alone, huddled against
a building, arms wrapped around herself against the cold that I could barely feel.  Maybe she couldn’t handle the truth?  “I can make you forget, if you want.  I can erase this whole conversation and tell Mason to leave you alone if you don’t want to see him anymore.”

“You don’t know Mason as well as you think if you believe you can tell him to do anything he doesn’t want to do,” she snorted.

“I know he’ll listen to me if I need him to.”  My compulsion would see to that if he refused.

“No, I’d rather know about it all.  I wish you’d told me about this sooner
.  That’s a big part of this reaction, you know.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”  We leaned against the building in silence, her breath steaming in the night, mine – not so much.  “What are you going to do now?”

“I have no idea.  How can I possibly trust him now?”

“He’s the same man you fell in love with
.  He just has an alternative lifestyle.” 

Hanna actually laughed at that, and I thought I saw a chance there for her to accept it and be happy.  Just as quickly it was gone though, and the glum expression returned. 

“We should head back to the car.  I can give you a ride home if you don’t feel like going back up to Mason’s.”

“I have my car here, but thanks all the same.”  Still, she fell into step beside me, heading back in the right direction.  “What’s the deal with the car and the bodyguards
really
?  Is that something to do with being a vampire?” 

“Yes and no.  It’s not like you get a free pack of bodyguards and car service with every newly turned vamp, but I’m in sort of a unique position.”

“What position is that?”

“I’m the Jarl of the Northwest.” 

“Which means…”

“It means I offer my protection to the vampire population as best I can, give them counsel, and try to keep the Order off their backs.”

“I thought the Order was there to protect and serve.”

“It’s not like the normal cops.”  I was about to suggest she ask Mason more about them before I remembered I’d advised her not to pry into Order business.  “Let’s just say they’re dangerous, and I do my best to make sure no one ends up tangling with them.”

“No offense, but how are you able to do that if you’re a newbie?  Why would they care what you have to say?”

Boy, she really knew how to ask the hard ones.  “That’s a whole other can of worms I’m not sure we should get into right now.” 

“Oh no, you started this.  Now tell me everything.”  She came to a stop and I hesitated over how much to tell her.  The more people who knew my secrets, the more dangerous it was for me, but it was my sister asking.  I wanted her to accept me for who I’d become; the least I owed her was the truth. 

After a furtive check to make sure we really were alone, with no sign of my protectors within hearing distance, I launched into a condensed version of my circumstances, including what it meant that Jakob was an
Ellri
.  When I was through, I didn’t know what to expect, especially given her reaction to Mason’s news earlier, but she took the deeper details of my double secret life in stride. 

“Wow.  I can’t believe you’ve been dealing with this the whole time and I had no idea,” she said finally, as we resumed our stroll back towards her car.  “I’m really proud of you for holding it together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.  I don’t know if I could have handled it half as well as you have.”

I didn’t realize how much I’d needed her validation before she said the words, but once said, they opened a floodgate of emotion and I pulled her into a teary hug.  I tried not to notice when she froze for an instant, instead focusing on the way she relaxed and hugged me back.   

“I’m glad you know,” I smiled, pulling back with a sniff.  “It’s nice to be able to talk to you like this.”

“Who would have thought it, my baby sister, a big bad vampire.”  She shook her head, looking to the heavens.  “You were scared to death of Dracula when you were a little girl.  I had to threaten to beat up Billy Parker when he chased after you with plastic fang teeth in Foster Park, do you remember?

“I remember.”  A soft breath of laughter escaped me as I recalled simpler times.  “You can’t tell anyone about this, you know, and I mean
anyone
.” 

“Who’d believe me?”

I caught hold of her will, for her own safety as well as mine.  “I’m serious.  Not Mom or Daddy… You can’t tell anyone about the existence of vampires, do you understand?”

“I understand,” she nodded, and I hated the spacey tone of voice she replied with, but it had to be done.  While I was at it, I made sure she didn’t discuss my Sire with anyone either, not even Mason, even though he already knew that secret. 

Before I let her go, it occurred to me that I could compel her to be okay with all of it.  While she seemed to have accepted my news to some degree, I could tell she still had a world of doubts with the whole vampire thing, especially where Mason was concerned.  I could easily smooth things over between them – I already had a hold of her will – but I remembered she’d asked me to stay out of her love life.  Plus, as much as I hated that hesitation when I’d hugged her, she had a right to those feelings.  In the end all I did was escort her back to her car, waiting for her to drive off safely before I gave Mason a call. 

“How is she?  Is she buggin
’?” he demanded as soon as he picked up the call.

“She’s dealing, but it’s a lot for her to take in
.  She needs some time to process it all.”

“Is she pissed though?  She seemed kinda pissed to me.”

“Mason… I’m sure she’s mad about part of it, but she has a right to be.  Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I guess so.  But do you think she’ll get over it, or…”

Part of me wanted to reassure him, but the rest of me didn’t want to give him any false hope.  “I wish I could say yes, but I really don’t know.  If it helps, I told her about me too, so she knows it doesn’t make you evil.”

“You did?”  I
managed to stun him into silence for a good twenty seconds.  “Thanks, Anja, you didn’t have to do that.”

“No, I did.  She had a right to know.  Listen, she won’t tell anyone about any of it, I took care of that, but I’d give her some space right now if I were you.  She’ll come and talk to you when she’s ready.  You know Hanna, she’s not shy when it comes to giving you a piece of her mind.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.  Thanks, Anja.  I owe you one for tonight.”

“I’ll remember that.”  Hopefully, I’d never need to call in that favor.

Half afraid of where Jakob might show up next, I decided to call him the next night with details on the opening for
Nightshade
, Jarrod and Leander’s new club.  For the first time I got his voicemail, and left him a message while I went to take Ellie out hunting.  I was almost tempted to go back to that tavern and see if Chad was in the neighborhood, but decided it probably wasn’t a good idea.   

We’d just gotten back to the apartment when my phone rang.  “Hey, Jakob.  Did you get my message?”

“I did indeed.”

“Will you come with me to the club opening?  No one has to know who you are if you don’t want them to, and it might be nice for you to hang out with people like us for a change.”  Maybe if he met some of the local vamps it might encourage him to come out of hiding sooner than later.

“I can’t, petal.”

“Fine,” I sighed.  “Are you ever going to tell me why you really don’t want to be seen?”

“When the time is right.”

“How come you’re here then, if you’re so worried about being recognized?  How come you’re not in Kansas or something?”

“Because this is where you are,” he replied simply. 

“Why did you take off so suddenly last night?”

“You made it perfectly clear how unhappy you were with my offering to your family.”

“Since when has that ever stopped you from sticking around?” I snorted.

“I thought it simpler to absent myself before your sister brought her beau around.”

So it
was
because of Mason’s ties to the Order.  “I thought you weren’t afraid of them?”

“It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with timing.” 

For someone who claimed to have an open book policy, he sure talked in circles sometimes.  “Okay, well I’d better go.  I’ll see you soon.”

“When?”

“I don’t know.  You know where to find me if you get desperate to see me tonight.”  There, let him stew over that for now, I thought to myself. 

Ellie materialized at my elbow the instant I was off the phone.  “Are we going to the party then?” 

“Sure, I don’t see why not.  As long as you can behave yourself.”  I assumed my invite was good for my entire household. 

“Why, you think I’ll make a holy show of m
’self?”

“I’m not sure what that means, but maybe, yes.” 

“Please.”  An overly dramatic roll of the eyes was given.  “How badly do I have to mind my p’s and q’s in the company of vampires?  I thought it was the humans I had to watch m’self around.” 

“You still have to keep to a certain standard though.  You can’t go around eating anyone’s date or acting all vampy, even if it is a vampire club.  It’s still a public place and you never know who could be in there besides our kind.” 

Her face scrunched up in distaste.  “Where’s the fun in that?”

“I’m serious, Ellie.  You have to behave like a normal person while in public.” 

“And if I promise to do all that, can I go then, Mum?”  She fluttered her eyelashes at me, hands clutched together under her chin until I couldn’t keep from laughing. 

“Yes, you can.  I’ll see if Maggie wants to go too and we can all go together.  How are you settling in here
.  Do you like San Francisco so far?”

“What I’ve seen of it, yeah.” 

“Well, maybe you’ll meet some people tonight and make new friends?”

* * *

I admit, I sort of hoped Jakob would change his mind and come to the party after all, but the night came and I didn’t hear a peep from him.  We ladies got all gussied up in our finest.  I wore the elaborate beaded gown Bishop bought me in England and Jakob’s diamond choker around my neck, figuring if there was ever a time to dress to impress, this was it. 

Maggie looked very much the lady beside me, in a demure dress of pale rose
satin with a lacy overlay that covered every inch of exposed skin.  I guess I could understand why she didn’t want to bare all after being forced to parade around on Jasper’s arm in the most revealing outfits, especially around a group of vampires. 

Ellie wore a crazy get up, borrowing my red leather skirt and pairing it with two pairs of tights, the black ones tattered to reveal the silver ones beneath.  Despite the fact that I counted at least three different strappy tank tops on her, most of her upper body was bare and covered with sparkly body glitter.  Her
auburn hair was pulled up into two buns, each bisected with a pair of chopsticks, miniature Chinese cats dangling from the ends.  Her eyes were deeply smudged with a sooty red that matched the skirt, completely changing the look of her face from imp to temptress.  I knew I was going to have my hands full with her. 

Gunnar and Isak wore matching suits of course.  So far I hadn’t seen them in anything outside of that work uniform and I resolved to take them shopping for less conspicuous clothes. 

The club was nearly invisible from the street, reminding me of a speakeasy during prohibition.  There was a door set below street level with a single sign set above it with the name
Nightshade
painted in elegant white script, completely unlit.  The common passerby on the street would probably pass right by without giving it a second look, but a vampire’s sharp eyes could pick it up no problem. 

The moment we stepped inside it was clear the club was far more upscale than the Bleeding Hart.  A uniformed girl took our coats and wraps, and I “signed” for them by swiping my identity chip over a portable reader clipped to her belt.  There were no overhead lights in the club itself.  Instead, it was lit by strategically placed uplights next to the deep, blue (almost violet) velvet curtains surrounding the room, and from the flickering candles on the round tables giving it an intimate glow.   There were footlights on the small stage where a live band played soft jazz, the muted trumpet leading the combo through a lazy rendition of
Scarborough Fair
.

Our party was shown to one of the bigger corner tables, plenty of room for all of us to sit, but Isak remained standing at the edge of the table, his eyes sweeping the room for what… I have no idea.  Gunnar seemed comfortable sitting though, largely ignoring his brother to chat with Ellie about whether or not they’d find sweeties on the menu. 

“Isak,” I whispered, once we’d all settled into the booth.  “You’re making me nervous standing around like that. 

“I’m doing my job, miss.”

“I understand that, but don’t you think you could do it sitting down?  Gunnar, help me out here, will you?”

Gunnar
said something in rapid fire Danish, and Isak slid stiffly into the booth, one leg out as if he expected to bolt back up to his feet at any second. 

“Thanks,” I smiled encouragingly.  “I doubt you’ll have anything to worry about though, this is an invitation only party.  Do you think you could at least try to relax?  You’re making me nervous as anything, constantly surveying the room like a terminator.”

Isak stared at me blankly, clearly not getting the reference.  Gunnar said something again in Danish, and he nodded, relaxing.  I understood about a third of the words spoken thanks to my smattering of German, but I pretended like I understood it all.

The band picked up tempo
for the next song and Ellie’s face lit up.  “I know this one!” she cried out in delight.  “I’m for the dance floor, any takers?”  Already squeezing past Gunnar, she was on her feet before I could voice a reply. 

“I’ll go with,” Maggie volunteered, waiting patiently for Gunnar to move out of the way before she followed suit.  “Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for her,” she leaned close to say, before letting herself be dragged away by a bouncy Ellie. 

“Who’ll watch out for you?” I wondered aloud to a nearly empty table as Isak and Gunnar’s attention followed the girls. 

Jarrod (or was it Leander?), appeared at the end of the table, dressed in a dove gray
tuxedo, complete with tails.  “Now you’re here, the evening can start properly,” he beamed, bowing formally over my hand.  “You look especially lovely tonight, Anja, if I may say so.” 

“You may,” I winked back at him, feeling particularly festive myself.  “And you look fiendishly handsome yourself.”  I deliberately didn’t name him, sensing he’d be crushed if I guessed wrong.  “Where’s your brother at?  I thought he’d be right by your side.”

“Leander’s around here somewhere, pressing the flesh.  He’ll be jealous he didn’t get to greet you first.”

Ha, I was right, it was Jarrod I was speaking to!
  “You’re sweet,” I smiled.  “I have to say, this place looks fabulous.  You really did a fantastic job.  It reminds me of something from another era.”

“Ta muchly,” he beamed.  “It did turn out rather well, didn
’t it?  It’s modeled after a place we owned back home in the land down under.  Ah… I miss the good old days.”  He gave a long, drawn out sigh. 

Leander bounded up to his brother’s side, full of enthusiasm.  “Hullo, Anja, you look right spiffy tonight.  Have you asked her yet?”

“I was nearly about to when you so rudely interrupted.”

“Ask me what?”  I hoped like anything they didn’t want me to say a few words.  Speaking in public tied my stomach in as many knots as performing did. 

Jarrod bent at the waist, almost genuflecting as he spoke.  “Rumor has it, you’ve a voice to charm the angels down from the heavens.” 

I wondered who they’d been talking to for that impression, but I had sung in front of an entire room of people in England.  I supposed the word could have gotten around.  “Well, I don’t know about that…”

“We were hoping you’d favor us with a song or two tonight,” Leander added, mimicking his brother’s subservient stance.

Wode
tìan
.  How the heck was I supposed to bow out of that gracefully?  “I really hadn’t planned on anything like that tonight.” 

“You can sing anything you like.  Our band is top notch
. I’m sure they can pick it up, even if they’ve never heard of it before.”

“I haven’t performed regularly in a long time.”   

“She’s being modest now,” Leander grinned, elbowing his brother in the side.  “Go on, give us one song.” 

“It’s just that I don’t have anything prepared…”  I hated letting them down, but something like that I had to psyche myself up for.  The last thing I wanted to risk was getting sick backstage right before going on – not the best way to instill confidence in my position.  “Perhaps another night,” I said more firmly.

They looked like they might have said more, but my boys flanked me, arms crossing over their chests.  I could have kissed them!  “It’s just as well, the polly’s chomping at the bit to give her a go.” Leander gave an easy come, easy go shrug.

“Who’s Polly?”

“He means politician,” Jarrod replied.  “That’s him over there, Terry Byrne, the magistrate.” 

My head swiveled around to see who he pointed at, catching sight of the man standing at the edge of the stage, whispering furiously to a member of the band.  He was thick through the middle, barrel chested, on the shorter side, the wispy, brown hair on the top of his head starting to thin when he’d been turned.  His sharkskin suit seemed to glow under the footlights, revealing a mauve tone under the slate blue when he moved.  As we watched, he took to the stage, commandeering one of the microphones and adjusting it lower to match his lack of height. 

“I wonder what he’s doing up here anyway?” Jarrod frowned, open scorn in his voice.  “I’d have thought he’d be down south, sucking up to the new Elder.”

My head swung back around fast enough to make my neck crack.  “There’s a new Elder already?”

“I dunno, is there?” Jarrod blinked back.  “What have you heard?” 

I shook my head, waving him away, I wanted to hear what the man had to say. 

“Ladies and gents, if I could have your attention,” he cleared his throat, giving a pointed look to the members of the band who were still playing.  “I’ll just be a quick minute before I turn you back to the great band.  In fact, let’s have a round of applause for these guys, can they jam or what?”  The applause was hardly what I’d call robust, but I think that had less to do with people’s reception of the music than of the man interrupting it. 

“Great, great,” he smiled nervously, removing the microphone from the stand to hold it as he
shuffled to the edge of the stage.  “It’s no secret that we’re living in tumultuous times these days.  I think we all mourn the loss of our Elder, Thomas Lyons, may he rest in peace.”

There was a low murmur of
agreement, and I raised my glass (though it only held water).  “To Tommy Lyons, he was good people,” I called out, recalling his earnest efforts to make me feel comfortable in the short time I’d known him.  The ripple of assent grew louder and many more glasses were raised in tribute.  Of course, I’d also managed to catch the magistrate’s attention with my remark, and he peered into the room until his eyes lit upon me.  They were dark, and steady, even though the rest of him never stopped moving, like a shark.