A Job From Hell (25 page)

"There's something else you should know," Aidan whispered. "I'm torn whether to turn you because Rebecca's memory stil lingers in my mind as if it al happened yesterday. Sometimes I wake up confused, unable to distinguish between the past and the present."

He was stil into the bloodsucker. So much for eternal, exclusive love. "She's gone. Do you want to raise her? Is that why you stil keep her clothes?" I glared at him as more pangs of jealousy washed over me. The pendant around my neck felt like hot iron, heavy and unpleasant. Aidan opened his mouth to speak. I held up a hand to stop him. "No, don't answer that. It's none of my business. I don't want this gift you have to offer, Aidan. Kil ing the entire town isn't real y my thing. I mean, where'd I get my nails done?"

"You wouldn't be like that." I could hear the hesitation in his voice. So, he had no idea how I might turn out.

I raised my glance to the canopy of trees filtering the soft glow coming from above. "Great, I'm sitting under the ful moon with a vampire, talking about his zombie bride. I guess it could be worse. You could be shape shifting into a wolf right now."

"Werewolves aren't real."

"Yeah." I snorted. "That's a good one. After the creatures I met in the last month, I wouldn't be surprised to find myself shaking hands with a trol this very minute."

"Your sense of humour is one of the things I like the most about you. But let's get back to the nitty-gritty. As mates, we can feel each other's emotions. I know you're jealous of Rebecca even though you have absolutely no reason to be."

I jumped up from my sitting position, cheeks burning. "I'm not—"

Aidan cut me off. "We can teach you how to live a fairly normal life, but there's stil a chance you won't be able to control the blood craze. I don't want you to hate me for turning you into a loathsome creature of the night. That's the reason why I can't stop thinking about Rebecca. It's not obsessive love but hate. Once we have the book in our possession, things wil be different."

I ran my hand over the moonstone pendant as more pictures of bloodsucking vampires flooded my mind. As much as I wanted to assure him I didn't see him as a monster, I couldn't. He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, seduced by the gorgeous Rebecca. How could I ever blame him for that? But that didn't make him less of a monster.

"This turning thing isn't going to work for me. I'l just get your little old book and be on my way back to Normal Vil e," I said.

He shook his head. "If only it worked that way."

I groaned. "Please, no more. I think I know al there is to know about vampires."

Aidan got up from the tree trunk and inched closer, halting a few inches away from me. "Real y? But you haven't even asked the obvious question."

Maybe I didn't want to know the answers. Ah, yes, what the heck. I might as wel go al the way. I looked up at his dark shape. "You guzzle down a pint of cold blood every night? Or do you prefer it hot like coffee? Maybe sprinkle a little anti-clotting agent in place of creamer?"

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Aidan said, dryly.

I took a deep breath, summoning up the courage to ask what I felt was a key issue here. "Do you feed on the life essence of humans?"

Aidan cringed. "Feeding straight from the source is kind of medieval, don't you think? I drink only donor's blood, although it doesn't taste the same as the real deal. It took me a long time to get used to it."

The pendant burned, scorching my skin. I could feel rage bubbling up inside me. He was a monster, no matter how he put it. How could I ever introduce him to my parents? My emotions kept changing from trust to distrust, from understanding to fury, as though there were two different people inside me, fighting to take control over my feelings and actions. I tried to sound nonchalant, like it didn't matter, but it did. "So, you rob the local blood banks?"

Aidan hesitated. "Let's say I have connections."

"I can't imagine being on a warm protein liquid diet, and believe me, I've tried plenty of weight loss plans in my time."

"Morning wil break soon. We need to get back to the house before the first rays of light appear." He reached me in two short strides and held out his palm. I grabbed it and let him pul me up. His stare made me feel uneasy.

"Let's go then."

"You haven't put on my mother's necklace," Aidan said, pul ing it out of my pocket. His breath tickled my cheek as he touched my throat, brushing Deidre's pendant. A voice shrieked inside my head. Aidan stumbled backwards. I raised my hands to cover my ears against the ear-piercing screech.

Aidan approached slowly, his face resembled a mask of fury. "Take that off." I gawked at him, wide-eyed. He took another step forward until he stood mere inches away, towering over me. "Amber, that thing's infused with magic. Whatever it's for, it's not doing you any favours. Take it off now."

With shaking fingers I unclasped the pendant. The metal burned and twisted like a snake in my hands as I dropped it to the ground. My mind cleared as though a heavy cloud had just lifted. I inhaled to calm my racing heart.

Aidan clasped his mother's necklace around my neck and placed a kiss on my forehead. "It's just a necklace," Aidan said, as though sensing my hesitation. "I'd never influence you in order to take advantage."

I let him hold my hand on the way back. Trudging down the path to the house, something clicked into place. My rage had disappeared, and curiosity had taken its place. "Do you sleep during the day?" I asked, resuming our conversation. That much I knew already, but I needed to hear it from him. Just the usual gathering of facts.

"Unfortunately, yes. I wish it was just a myth."

I laughed. "Guess Bram Stoker got it right."

"Finding the book wil give me my life back. I haven't seen the sun rise in hundreds of years." He pointed at the dark horizon. "It's the first thing I want to do with you by my side. We'l have eternal youth and—"

"Perfect skin." I giggled.

"Yes, al of it. No more blood, no more fearing sunlight."

His talk of a future together made me feel awkward, insecure, so I decided to change the subject. "If you stay outside you burn to ash?" The thought both scared and fascinated me.

He smiled. "I don't know. But I've heard the pain's unbearable, so I'd rather not find out."

The house was as silent as a tomb. We entered the kitchen through the backdoor and climbed up the stairs together. In front of my room, Aidan stopped and pressed his lips against mine whispering, "Promise you won't run away."

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck, hating myself for giving in so easily. I wished he'd ask if he could come in to spend more time with me. If only a few minutes. After Cameron's stunt I needed to feel loved again. Aidan pul ed back.

"Sleep wel ." He smiled, then turned on his heel. Holding my breath in case he changed his mind, I waited until he disappeared up the stairs before returning to my room, ready to get some sleep.

***

The day seemed too long. I couldn't eat or sleep because my thoughts kept circling around my encounter with Aidan. He'd said we were meant to be together. I'd read enough magazines to know no guy would ever make such a grand statement, unless he fol owed a hidden agenda. Aidan lied to get my cooperation. I was wil ing to cooperate, but only if he promised to help me return unscathed from wherever I was supposed to travel.

As much as I fancied the idea of eternal youth, I wouldn't turn into the Princess of Darkness. My parents would never get over that blow.

From behind the curtains of my window on the first floor, I watched Harry Timble examine the scrubs around the house, a black cat meowing around his ankles.

"Is this your work, kitty?" he said as he pul ed out a dead squirrel from behind a bush. "Such a good girl. You get them al , don't you, dearie?"

The old man reminded me of my father who had worked so hard to give Dal as and me the best education possible. I missed my parents so much. So, I vowed to focus on damage control and get out of this situation as soon as possible. No more Aidan. No more wishing we could be together. We lived in different worlds. It would never work out.

I retreated to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee and stared out onto the back garden, my fingers playing with Aidan's pendant. The house was empty and silent. For the split of a second I was tempted to invite Harry in for a cup of tea, but then decided against it. One thing was obvious, the old man didn't know what was going on in Aidan's house. With so many questions stil unanswered, I didn't trust my curiosity. I couldn't start poking around and risk arousing the old man's suspicion.

I waited until Harry headed for the garbage bins in the garage, the cat stil meowing at his feet, and then left the house, fol owing the path to the place where Aidan had shown me a part of his former life only a few hours ago. But I didn't walk as far as the tree trunk. Risking being kidnapped by the Shadows was out of the question if I was to have my old life back.

Pul ing my cardigan tighter around me, I sat on the damp ground. Although the sun shone through the canopy of loose branches above my head, the freezing north wind made me shiver. In broad daylight, the woods looked divine. The dried leaves scattered across the ground gave the impression of a shaggy rug. Morning dew glittered in the grass. I sat there for a while, inhaling the clean scent of oncoming autumn and sorting through my thoughts until a plan emerged. I loved Aidan, but a relationship was out of the question. The Shadows had been right. I was a mortal and didn't belong in Aidan's world. Even if he wanted to protect me, Aidan had trouble written al over him. My parents mattered far more than a deadly romance. My death or disappearance would break their heart. To spare them the pain, I'd give up the love of my life.

Harry was nowhere to be seen as I fol owed the path back to the house. Would Aidan expect me to resume my job as a housekeeper? Probably not since I'd handed in my notice. I stil needed the money, but my lack of funds was the last thing on my mind.

I cuddled on the sofa in the living room and waited. The grandfather clock on the wal ticked, its unnerving sound cutting like a razorblade through the silence of the empty room. I napped through the afternoon, waking several times only to fal asleep again, dreaming mostly of Aidan.

When darkness final y descended, I got up from the sofa and switched on the lights, chasing away the ominous shadows cast by the heavy furniture. In the kitchen, I found some old sandwiches. The cheese tasted sweaty, but I ate it anyway, then turned on the cold-water tap and poured myself a glass of water to rinse my mouth. After a quick shower, I changed into my favourite jeans and a shirt. The jeans smelt earthy from the woods. As usual I'd forgotten to wash my clothes, but at least the shirt was clean. I combed my wet hair, leaving it to dry natural y, brushed my teeth, applied make-up and examined myself in the bathroom mirror.

The dark shadows under my eyes were obvious. The red lipstick didn't do my flaky skin any favours, but Aidan wouldn't notice any of these because I wouldn't let him see me up-close. From now on, I'd keep my distance. No more talking about love bonds and a future together. My obsession with him had to stop because I had a job to do, which was retrieving the book so I could get the hel out of here.

I returned to the living room and sat down. Aidan hadn't told me where he usual y slept, but I guessed it was somewhere in the house; maybe even in his own room or in one of the many other chambers upstairs. I thought of Harry and Greta, and for the first time it occurred to me that Aidan felt safe here and that he might find this century rather pleasant because people were less superstitious. Since nobody seemed to question his routines and habits, it made pretending to be normal easier.

Time passed slowly. Eventual y, I heard the first creek of approaching footsteps. I sat up, rigid, suddenly nervous like a teen on my first date.

What would Aidan look like? Would he find me pretty tonight? It didn't matter anyway because I had no interest in getting close to him.

The door opened and the dark shape of a guy entered.

I lifted my gaze. My smile froze on my lips. "What're you doing here?"

I smel ed the visitor long before I woke up, my heart beating too fast, the sweet scent of blood beckoning to me more than any other because it was so similar to my mate's. I got up with a groan and reached the food supply in a few strides, downing the content of a bag in one large gulp.

Since Amber's arrival, the bloodlust was growing stronger, and biting her hadn't helped ease it one bit. In fact, it had made it stronger because I hadn't drunk fresh blood in a long time. My true powers tingled beneath my skin, ordering me to drink more of the good stuff so they would ripen to reach their ful potential. But to ful y embrace my real vampire nature I would risk turning into what Rebecca was. I had drunk blood from a source before and then waited it out a few weeks until the addictive need for it subsided. But this time it was different. This was the curse of having a mortal mate; her blood would always seem sweeter, more tempting than that of any other mortal.

Unfortunately the same applied to her family. Kil ing Amber's brother was out of the question though. How could I persuade the in-laws I was the right one for their daughter when, instead of focusing on smal talk, al I could think about was how not to kil them? I could only imagine what I'd say to the prospective in-laws, "Hel o, it's a pleasure to eat, I mean, meet you." I had to find the book—and fast—before I turned Amber and half of her family with or without their consent.

Kieran waited for me outside my room, leaning against the railing, an unnerving grin playing on his lips. "Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smel the blood of an Englishman. Be he 'live, or be he dead, I'l grind his bones to make my bread."

Walking past, I hissed, "Shut up."

"You're right. The lyrics don't fit. I'l change the end: Be he 'live, or be he dead, I'l drain his blood from his head."

I punched his shoulder.