Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 122

I sighed. "Okay."

"Goodnight, mom," said Nathan.

"I love you both, but if you wake me up to talk about vampires again, I'm getting rid of cable!"

Chapter Nineteen.

"Okay, I'm not leaving you alone anymore," said Nathan as he paced back and forth in the kitchen. We were both too shook up to sleep.

"Fine," I said, taking a sip of coffee.

He wagged his finger. "We should talk to mom and see if she's willing to move back home, too."

My jaw dropped. "But what about Duncan and our new jobs?"

"What about... there's a vampire after you, Nikki? Or should we call you 'Miranda'?"

I sighed. "What if he follows us anyway? He said he's been looking for me and now that he's found me, we are supposed to be together."

"How romantic," snickered Nathan. "If you ask me, I think he just wants to get into your pants."

"He almost did," I mumbled.

"Good thing I heard those groans and whimpers coming from your room, which was gnarly, by the way. Do you know how disturbing it is to hear your sister getting it on with a vampire?" He shuddered. "It's sick."

I smiled. "Thank you for being a nosy brother, Nathan. You probably saved my life. At least, my virginity."

"Thank my stomach. If it wasn't for mom's leftover pasta salad calling to me in the fridge, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Probably not."

He sat down by the counter. "I just don't know what else to do. You know, I wonder if we should see if Abigail is still in town. She might have some ideas. She's the only other person who'd believe us."

"We should probably go and pay her a visit in the morning," I said.

He looked at his watch. "The sun will be up soon. I'm going to grab my sleeping bag and camp out in your room for the next few nights. Hopefully, that h.o.r.n.y vampire gives up and decides to go after someone else."

"Oh, my G.o.d," I whispered in horror. "What if he killed all of those girls in the paper? You said they were all similar looking. Maybe he was looking for me?"

He snorted. "Or worse yet, you are not the real Miranda and he decides to kill you when he figures it out."

I glared at him. "Oh, thanks, Nathan. Just when I think it can't get any worse."

"Hey, I'm just trying to keep everything in perspective. I mean, we shouldn't rule anything out," he said with a yawn.

His yawn triggered one from me. "True, but I hope you're wrong," I said as we headed out of the kitchen and back upstairs.

Ten minutes later, Nathan was snoring on the floor but I was still awake. I stared at the door to my balcony, which was now closed and locked. Part of me still longed for Ethan and I wondered if I'd have the strength to say no if given the chance to surrender to him again.

Chapter Twenty.

"Wake up, Princess of Darkness," teased my brother the next morning.

"Very funny," I mumbled. I looked at my alarm clock to find it was already after eleven o'clock.

"I talked to Duncan already," said Nathan, between bites of a banana. "We're supposed to meet him at the marina around four o'clock."

I yawned. "Did you tell him about last night?"

"I told him some things but left out the part where you were sitting on Ethan's lap, panting away."

I groaned. "It was pretty bad. I'm so disgusted with myself."

"You were certainly enjoying it last night." He grimaced. "Heck, I was the one disgusted."

"Come on, you know very well that it wasn't me, last night. Aren't I typically the frigid and shy twin?"

His lips curled up. "True. I'm usually the one fighting off the opposite s.e.x."

I got out of bed. "I'm taking a shower now. At least you don't have to follow me everywhere during the day. Vampires don't like the daylight."

"As far as we know," he said. "But this is real life. I wouldn't count anything out."

"I've only run into Ethan at night. In fact, he usually hangs out at the diner after dark."

His eyes narrowed. "What in the h.e.l.l does he order? Steak Tartare?"

I grimaced. "Gross, no, he only orders coffee; he and his five friends."

"Oh, h.e.l.l, more vampires?"

"I think so, although the others never say a word. They just sip coffee and stare at the rest of the customers."

"Probably planning a strike."

"I wouldn't doubt it. Look, I'm taking a shower. I'll meet you downstairs in a little while. Is mom awake?"

His face darkened. "No, that's another thing that's still bothering me. This isn't like her, at all."

"I know. We'd better keep an eye on her. Maybe give the sheriff a heads-up, too," I said.

"He already thinks we're nuts," said Nathan. "Can you imagine if we tell him about last night?"

I bit my lower lip. The sheriff would never believe us. "Let's keep it to ourselves, for now."

"We're going to have to."

Nathan left my room and I took a hot shower. When I was done, I slipped on a white sundress and a pair of sandals. After I dried my hair and added a little makeup, I stared at the results and frowned. I definitely looked like I was going on a date.

I'm doing it solely for Duncan, I told myself.

"You getting dolled up for Duncan or trying to catch a vampire?" joked my brother when I stepped into the kitchen.

I scowled. "For your information, I am doing it for Duncan."

"Wow, you look very fresh and lovely this morning," said mom as she walked into the kitchen.

I smiled. "Thanks, mom. By the way, it's the afternoon, now."

She removed her sungla.s.ses and looked at the clock. Her face fell. "Oh."

"Your eyes still bothering you?" I asked.

She nodded. "I have an eye appointment today. I was lucky to get one on a Sat.u.r.day."

"I thought the entire town would be shut down with everything going on," replied Nathan.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The town barbeque thingy," I said. "We're meeting Duncan there later this afternoon. Want to join us, mom? It should be a lot of fun."

"Yeah, actually, I do." Her eyes lit up. "Maybe I'll see Caleb there."

"He's the sheriff. He's probably heading up the security," said Nathan.

"I'm sure. I'll probably just meet you both there after my eye appointment. Keep your cell phone on so I can find you."

"Just call me when you're done and we'll come look for you, mom," said Nathan.

"Okay. This should be fun," she said, turning on the coffeemaker.

"Either of you want eggs?" asked Nathan, opening the fridge. "I don't know about you two, but I'm craving a late breakfast."

"No, that's okay," she replied, picking out one of her gourmet coffees from the carousel on the counter. "I'm hungry, but nothing sounds good. I think I'm just going to grab a bite in town before my exam."

Nathan and I looked at each other, both of us obviously wondering the same thing, was she craving something rare and b.l.o.o.d.y?

"Nikki, are you hungry?" asked mom.

"Uh, just some toast."

"Okay."

Mom made some for me and then took off with her coffee, while Nathan made himself a monster omelet. After watching him down a half dozen eggs while I nibbled on my toast and jelly, we decided to take a drive over to Abigail's, to see if she was still in town.

"I think this is her place," he said as we drove up the dirt road to the next cabin over. It was older and much smaller than the one we were staying at, but kept up nicely. With all of the flowers and shrubs surrounding the cabin, it seemed inviting.

"Yeah, there's her truck," I pointed next to the cabin. "Obviously she didn't skip town just yet. Lucky for us."

We got out and walked up to the porch. I could hear a dog barking somewhere inside and smiled. "At least we know she's not living alone."

"I don't blame her," said Nathan, swatting at a mosquito. "Not with Ethan and his band of freaks flying around at night. h.e.l.l, maybe we should consider getting a dog."

"Something tells me a dog isn't going to frighten a vampire," I said. "If anything, it might put the dog's life in grave danger."

"No doubt," he replied, ringing the doorbell. We waited and rang it again, but n.o.body answered.

"Maybe she's fis.h.i.+ng on the dock?" I asked.

He stared over my head towards the side of the cabin and nodded. "Good thinking. Let's go check it out."

We went around to the back and looked out towards the lake, but there was still no sign of anyone.

I looked up at Nathan and frowned. "You know, I'm getting this creepy feeling, that something isn't right."

"Don't get all paranoid, Nik. She's probably taking a walk or over at a friend's nearby."

"Yeah. Let's hope so."

We walked to the back door, and this time, I pounded on it. When n.o.body answered, I looked through a small kitchen window and saw a dog sitting inside in a kennel, whining.

"Aw... poor thing. She's got her Golden Retriever caged up. Maybe Abigail really is getting ready to leave town, today."

He sc.r.a.ped his teeth over his lower lip and nodded. "Makes sense. Heck, I'm surprised she's still here."

"Let's wait on the porch for a little while," I said, walking towards the front of the cabin again. "If she is heading out, we need to catch her beforehand."

We both sat down on the wooden rockers on the porch and stared pensively towards the dirt road. After about fifteen minutes, I glanced back at her empty truck and sighed. "Something isn't right, Nathan. I just have this horrible, horrible feeling."

He stood up. "I know. I'm wigging out a little here, myself. You know, she's pretty old. What if she had a stroke or heart attack, and is lying inside, unable to move?"

I rose to my feet, too. "Oh c.r.a.p. Check the door."