End of Days (31 page)

“Don't think,” she said. Her eyes closed again. Her head tipped back. Mine tipped forward. “Just do what comes naturally.”

So I bit her.

I took it from her yelp that this wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting. Fortunately she wasn't loud, or the whole shoreline would have woken. I'd finally get to meet an angry mob, or at least the summer-camp version. The rush I got from the taste of her blood sent shock waves through my body.

Luna gasped. Then she tightened her grip and drew me in closer. I felt her head shift. Pain jabbed my neck like two hot nails. The skin burned. Then an airy feeling filled my head. I couldn't think of anything but the rush. It was thrilling. And horrifying. She was drinking from me, and I from her. I was getting weaker. We both were. My vision went blurry. My hand was on the back of her head, my fingers massaging her warm skin. I could feel her pulse. It was quickening. My head fell back and the stars overhead started to swim. I had no strength left. I had to lie down. Somehow we managed it together so we were resting in the canoe. I closed my eyes and felt her body lying against mine. Her breathing was like my breathing. Slower now. Her heartbeat was more settled, but still strong. One hand remained on my chest, and her head nestled in the space between my arm and shoulder.

“What just happened?”

She hummed a soft sigh. “I don't know.” Then her eyes opened. They were warm. Glowing. “But we have to do it again sometime.” Her teeth were still down. The same one as before had strayed outside her lip and was pressing against the front of it.

“I think I need a minute,” I said, and looked up at the stars. They were back in their usual arrangement. I took a deep breath and smiled. The rush was passing, but with no feeling of disappointment, of ending. Instead there was only deep contentment. A warm restfulness. Not even dying felt this good.

“You mean that?” Luna asked. She nestled her head a little deeper into my shoulder. I kissed the top of it.

“Do I mean what?”

“That this is better than dying?”

I must have been thoroughly exhausted. I was certain that I hadn't spoken a word.

“I heard you,” she said.

An honest mistake. I was zonked.

“That's a funny word,” she said.

I knew I hadn't spoken that time. This was odd.

I felt her hand pinch me. “What's so odd about it?”

She raised her head so that her chin sat gently against my chest. I smiled. Nothing about this was odd. It was perfect. She was perfect. I saw her smile. It was beautiful. Just for me. Then her eyes popped to full width, then somehow got bigger.

“I can hear you,” she whispered.

Unbelievable!

Her head shook back and forth. Her mouth started to move as if she were going to say something, but nothing came out. Her hands were touching me. I could almost feel what she was thinking. Surprise. Wonder. Then fear.
She could hear my thoughts.

I was stunned. Then embarrassed. Her beautiful neck was still in front of me. The two puncture wounds I'd put there were healing. To see them, and smell her blood, made me ravenous. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help it. Nor could I hide it. She could read my
mind. I felt my face heating up. A smile crept back onto her lips. Her eyes sparkled. Beautiful shades of olive and pale emerald. They were moist and happy. Then mischievous.

That's nothing to worry about.

“I'm not worried.” I realized as the words left my mouth that she hadn't spoken out loud.

I didn't.

The thought was as clear as the sound of my own heartbeat. I wasn't imagining this. It was real. I could hear her thoughts, too. I looked at her face and pulled my hand through her long, beautiful hair. This was really happening.

Yes, it really is,
she thought.

She smiled, and my senses were suddenly flooded. Her hands found my sides. She squeezed me. I couldn't imagine it was possible to feel more complete than I did at that moment.

I love you,
she thought. And I thought the same. And she held me tighter.

I think I must have slept, although I'm not sure, because I didn't dream. I just thought of Luna. We didn't speak. There was no need. But a kind of physical paralysis had come over me. I wasn't aware of it until I felt Luna's breath on my neck again.

You still owe me a kiss,
she thought.

I wasn't sure that I could pull it off.

Why?
she asked.

I thought of my answer before I had a chance to stop myself.

You've never kissed anyone?
She paused. Her smile was electric. “Oh, that's so cute.”

Cute.
I had nothing against the word, but it had never been an ambition of mine to be described that way.

You'll get over it,
she thought. Then she leaned in and kissed me.

I'm not going to say it wasn't pleasant. The whole lip-smushing experience was quite exciting. It didn't compare to the thrill of our vampires' kiss, but I soon discovered that kisses of the normal kind had an addictive quality all of their own. After one, I found I needed another. And another. I was beginning to feel as if the canoe were just about the best invention since God made air. I could have spent weeks like this. The whole time we shared thoughts. Well, one thought, over and over. But that was all right. It was a good thought. We were in love. It was nice to say it, and better to hear it, and better still to feel that it was true.

Just before midnight, we were interrupted by the sound of our canoe banging against something solid.

Luna sat up.

“What is it?” I asked. I peeked over the gunnels. The water had pushed us into a dock down from the camp. We were bumping up against a large powerboat.

“I'd better get us back,” she said.

I let her go, thinking how terrible it was that some moments had to end.

“That's very romantic,” she said. Then she climbed into the back of the canoe and started paddling.

Do you want to try?

I didn't, and I let her know.

This is going to take some getting used to.

You're tellin' me. I wonder how long it will last.

I have no idea,
Luna thought.
But I like it.

I did, too.

She smiled, then paddled us back to camp.

Charlie and Suki were on the farthest dock along the shore. I could see a huge waterslide beside them. It looked like fun, except that it involved landing in the water.

You just need more practice swimming,
Luna thought.

This was true. I needed practice with lots of things.

“Not as much as you think,” she said. “Not that we won't practice more anyway, but we should check in with those two first and see what's up.”

I glanced down toward Charlie and Suki. They were sitting together, holding hands, their feet dangling in the water. I wondered if he'd bitten her.

I hope not.

As we got closer, I could hear Charlie whispering. “Man, I miss this . . .”

I felt a pang of guilt. And then sympathy. This had come from Luna.

Charlie saw us coming and put his hand in the water, then scooped a handful and splashed it our way. “I was starting to think you two lovebirds were going to float down to Burleigh Falls.”

Should we tell him?
Luna asked.

No,
I thought. I didn't want him to know about this. Not until I was sure that things with him and Suki were solid. I was worried that he might get jealous. It was bad enough that his girlfriend was struggling and wasn't one of us. If we told him about this connection, it would just be one more thing that Luna and I shared that Suki and he couldn't.

“How were things at your cottage?” Luna asked.

“We didn't stop in,” Charlie said. “But I gotta tell ya, it would be a perfect place to hide from Hyde.”

“But?”

“But Dan is there with his family.”

Dan was one of Charlie's older brothers. He had a gaggle of kids. I doubt he would have wanted us showing up to make things even more chaotic.

“So what happens now?” I asked.

Charlie shrugged, then he saw the marks on my neck. And on Luna's.

“You didn't! Isn't that supposed to kill you?”

“It hasn't yet,” I said.

“Let's hope Daddy Abbott doesn't notice.”

My stomach wasn't thrilled with the idea. Fortunately Charlie got the conversation rolling in another direction.

“I think we should call,” he said.

I assumed he meant Ophelia.

“We should get back to the apartment,” he added.

“Who? All of us?” I glanced at Suki, then at Luna.

Charlie looked as me like I'd just won the village idiot award. “Well, I didn't come here to work on my tan.”

Are you cool with this?
I asked Luna.

What? With leaving? You bet! I don't want that thing showing up here. We need to stick together, and get someplace safe.

I agreed, and pulled my cell phone from my pocket, but I couldn't get a signal.

“What is it?” Charlie asked. “Is the battery dead?”

“No. I'm not getting any coverage.”

I felt Luna's hand come to rest on my arm. “I could have told you that.”

I guess it explained why I hadn't heard from Ophelia. I felt a twinge of guilt in my stomach. She must have been worried sick.

“So what do we do?” Suki asked.

“Do you feel up for a drive?” Luna asked her.

A drive?

How do you think we got here? We'll just take our car.

What do we tell your father? If we just leave, he'll murder us!

No,
thought Luna,
he'll murder you.

Suki was the only one with a license, which meant Luna and I were crammed into the back of the car. It was a BMW—90 percent engine and 10 percent tire. The backseat was like an afterthought, small, cramped, with just enough leg room for a small house cat, but that was okay, it kept us close. There was a lot of nervous energy in the car. No wonder Charlie broke the rules so often at school. It was fun.

Until the phone rang. Everyone but Luna checked their pockets.

“That's me.” I scanned the display. Ophelia was calling.

Are you going to answer?

I hit the button with the green phone on it and said hello.

“Oh, Zachary, thank heavens. Why did you turn your phone off?”

“I didn't. We came up to the lake to get the girls. There's no reception up here.”

“So Charlie's with you? And Luna?”

“And Suki.”

“I suspected as much. Is everyone all right?”

I said yes.

A wave of relief poured through the speaker of my phone. “I need to speak to John.”

John? I thought for a second Ophelia must have meant Luna's father, then I remembered his name was Gerald. “You mean Mr. Entwistle?”

“Yes. I need to speak with him.”

Luna was listening. So was Charlie. I looked at both of them. Charlie shrugged. Luna didn't. She was wondering what I was wondering. Why would Ophelia think Mr. Entwistle was with us?

“He's not here,” I said.

There was a short pause. “So who's driving?”

“Suki.”

Smart money would have bet she was in her headache pose right now.

“So is John following you? He's not answering his phone.”

“No. We haven't seen him all night.”

This time the pause was longer. “I beg your pardon.”

“We haven't seen him all night.”

It might have been static, but I could have sworn I heard a faint “Oh, no.”

“What is it?” I asked. “What's going on?”

“I don't know. John left to get you just after sunset. He took the ambulance. That was hours ago.”

I looked at Charlie. I heard Luna's thoughts running parallel with mine. Mr. Entwistle had left for the camp to get us and hadn't arrived. There could only be one reason. And I knew what it was.

“Get home right away,” Ophelia said. “I mean here—to the apartment.”

I said we would. Then she hung up. I felt another surge of sympathy from Luna as I put my phone away. And fear. She didn't know Mr. Entwistle well, but she could feel my distress and was worried.

Charlie was watching me closely. “He knew where we were going, didn't he?”

Probably.

“So Hyde got him.”

I didn't think so. My guess was, he had told Ophelia he was coming to find us, but instead went after Hyde knowing we wouldn't be able to follow. It would have explained his odd behavior and the things he'd said when he came to see me that morning. It was his way of saying good-bye.

Do you think so?

I do.

Luna squeezed my hand. “Step on it,” she said to her sister.

Suki didn't disappoint. The engine roared. What would have taken Charlie and me almost an hour on the Shoe-Leather Express she covered in about twenty minutes. The only thing that slowed us down were all the fire trucks on Clonsilla as we approached the apartment. Police cars and ambulances were gathering, too.

“That's smoke,” said Charlie.

It was. It got thicker as we got closer to home.

“Hurry,” he said.

“I can't,” Suki exclaimed. “There's police everywhere. You want to get pulled over and spend the next few hours explaining why we have a car full of medieval weapons?”

She had a point. The two-handed sword and voulge were tucked along one side of the car. They were too long to lie flat against the floor, so the handles of both would be obvious to anyone who looked in.

As we rounded the corner near Gordon Avenue, I could see the apartment. It was being consumed in a pillar of fire. Gouts of flame burst from the windows, and a thick, billowing cloud of black smoke poured from the roof. The fire trucks were setting up. Men scrambled with ladders and hoses. The police were there. Someone in a paramedics uniform was waving for us to turn down Victory Crescent instead of driving past the building.