Chapter Twenty-Nine

The day Granny was due back from her conference, Skyler and I were hanging out at my house. It was starting to feel like we might be getting back to normal. Or as close to normal as we’d ever be. I was having a hard time with the fact that she’d brought a vampire into my life and the consequences of that.

“Thanks for inviting me over,” Sky said.

Since when did she thank me for hanging out? Since the vampires.

“You’re welcome,” I said, a little stiffly. Then, “It’s what we do, right?”

That got a real smile from her. “Right.”

Skyler was teaching herself to crochet and swearing every five seconds while I tried to finish a novel that I’d started at the beginning of summer.

“I’m hungry,” Sky said. “How about you?”

Famished, I thought.

She went to the pantry and got out ingredients. “I feel like making brownies.”

But there was more than chocolate and sugar on the kitchen counter. My stomach gave a weak gurgling noise when I saw the blood. “None for me, thanks.”

“It’s pig’s blood,” she said. “Granny M got it from the butcher.”

I wanted to be grossed out, but instead, I watched those brownies bake like a dog watched a bone.

When they were out of the oven, the treats were a pretty reddish-brown color, like red velvet cake.

Skyler snickered at my hungry look. “They need to cool for ten minutes or so.” She wandered into the backyard, but I sat at the kitchen counter and watched.

The smell of blood was overwhelming me. I reached over and scooped out a handful before bringing it to my lips.

“The brownies should be…” Skyler stopped when she saw me with brownies dripping from my mouth. “Jesus, Tansy,” she said. “Get a plate.”

“More,” I growled. “More blood.”

She edged away from me. “What’s wrong with you?”

I growled at her. “Blood. Now.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “Maybe have some water?”

“I want blood,” I wailed.

She edged closer to the door. “Granny left you something,” she said. She went to the fridge and rummaged in it before pulling out a different silver flask.

“Is that the tonic?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Just like the one she gave me.”

She handed it to me, and I unscrewed the cap, sniffing it. “It smells different than the one Evelyn gave me. This one’s more like honey and flowers.”

The scents of orange blossoms and honey fresh from the hive and something I couldn’t describe wafted out of it. I took a sip, the taste lingering on my tongue. I drank it slowly. It made me want to laugh and to cry. It made me want to live. It tasted like hope in a silver flask.

I felt calmer afterward. “Sorry about the brownies,” I said, studying the mess I’d left.

“I can make more,” Skyler said. “You know, there’s probably a market for edibles like these.”

“A market?”

“Did you see how many sick and hungry girls there were at The Drainers’ shows?” I nodded, and she continued. “He doesn’t feed them well. He likes them hungry. When he’s the only one who can give them what they need, he can use it against them.”

Despite the coldness between us, I was touched.

“This is really good. Maybe we could sell it to the ones who could afford it. Kind of a pay-what-you-can plan.” We’d make it for free to help those who couldn’t. But I was broke after not working for so many weeks, and selling something like this would be a way to make money.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” I started to say, but Skyler stiffened.

“When someone says that, there’s usually only one way to take it,” she replied.

“I was just trying to understand what you saw in Travis,” I said. “When you first met him, I mean.”

“He’s tall, good-looking, and a musician,” she said. “There’s something about a guy and an instrument.” Truth. Vaughn was living proof of that, but he and Travis were polar opposites.

“And after that, you heard him play live, and the music compelled you,” I said. “I understand that. Even I had a hard time resisting it.” I thought of the way my heart sped whenever Vaughn picked up an instrument and nodded. “And musicians are sexy.”

“He made it seem like he couldn’t live without me,” she said. Then we both snickered. “Not like that,” she continued. “After Connor broke up with me…”

“Via geographical relocation,” I said. “Like a big ol’ chicken.”

“‘Geographical relocation’ sounds so much better than ‘he bailed,’” she said. “Maybe you should start writing books instead of just reading them.”

I laughed. Now there was a way to make money. Or maybe I could go back to being a cater-waiter, where the real money was.

She continued. “Travis was so take-charge. He knew what he wanted. It was powerful. He was powerful.”

“Power,” I said thoughtfully. “He has the power. And we need to take it away.”

“Exactly,” she replied.

“We need to hit up another one of his shows.”

“Vaughn won’t like it.”

“Vaughn’s not here,” I said.

“We can talk more about it later,” Skyler said.

“Later?” I asked.

“Opal Ann and I are going to the movies,” she replied. I waited for an invitation, but it never came.

Finally, I said, “Okay, have fun.” I smiled, but inside, I was hurt.

I walked outside with her, squinting in the bright sunlight before waving goodbye. Thankfully, I managed to keep my lunch where it belonged.

I dropped the smile I’d been faking and went back inside. My best friend and I did almost everything together. I wasn’t jealous that she was making new friends, but our friendship was in need of repair, and hanging out, doing normal things, would have helped.

I decided to curl up and read. It seemed like it had been months since I got lost in a good book. I fell asleep halfway through it.

…

When I woke up, my head was throbbing.

I sat with a groan, an army of steel-toed ants crawling through my brain.

My mouth was dry. I wanted more blood. I started for the fridge, but dizziness made me stop, and I gripped the countertop so I wouldn’t fall over. It finally passed, and I reached into the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, chugged it, then rummaged through the fridge until I found more elixir.

Granny came home, her arms loaded with book bags. “Where’s Skyler?”

“She said she was going to the movies with Opal Ann,” I said. I checked the time and frowned. “They should have been back by now.”

I explained about the blood cravings. Granny nodded. “I did make that elixir for you,” she said.

I snorted in frustration. “It doesn’t work for nearly long enough.”

“Probably,” Granny agreed.

“I have to find Sky,” I told Granny. “She needs me.”

She shook her head. “Tansy, I know you love Skyler,” she said. “But you’ve got to stop hovering. And there are other girls who need you, too.”

She was right. No matter how worried I was about Skyler, I had other people to think of, too.

But no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop worrying about Skyler. If we all worked together, we could triumph over the vampires. I knew we could.

My phone chimed with a text from Skyler. At first I was relieved. Until I read it.

Went to find Travis. I have a plan.

No. No, no, no. I’d been so naive. My best friend had lied to me.

While I was making plans on how to defeat Travis, she was just playing along, waiting until my guard was down, so she could go back to the guy who considered her little more than an appetizer.

Another chime. It’s not what you think. Opal Ann and I are going to stop him. Permanently.

They were going to get themselves killed.

I slipped out of my room and knocked on Granny’s door.

“I need your help.”

Skyler hadn’t gone to face the vampires alone. Opal Ann was with her, but I wasn’t sure either of them would make it out alive.