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.“Shouldn’t we wait for Jason?” I asked, looking anxiously around, but not spying the combatants.“If he wins, he’ll find us.If he loses, we don’t want to be here.”It was infinitely sensible, and the exact logic I should have used when fleeing the vampire and Nicolas, but it left my heart empty.Nicolas turned the key in the ignition, but before he had a chance to pull into the street, the back door flew open, and something fast and heavy fell into the backseat.I screamed.The sound echoed through the car, or at least, that’s what I thought at first.Then I realized Nicolas was screaming too.“He’s dead,” Jason said, panting.My racing heart remained unconvinced, so I shifted in my seat to make sure it really was Jason back there.It basically looked like my cousin, but with a lot more cuts and bruises than the last time I had seen him.“I’ll be okay,” Jason said.“I heal quickly.Let’s just get to a threshold before we run into more of them.”“Do you know where Kaitlin lives?” I asked Nicolas.He shook his head.“Then I’ll guide you.”31IF I HADN’T ALREADY BEEN sure how good a friend Kaitlin was, I would have been sure when I showed up at her door with bruises around my neck, blood trickling down my leg, a bloody younger brother, and a slightly worn vampire hunter.She didn’t even say anything.She just stood aside for us to come in.I noticed she did not specifically invite us, though.That was smart–a vampire wouldn’t have been able to come through the door without the invitation.She also wore a gold cross around her neck–one of those I had given to the entire cheerleading squad back in tenth grade.Kaitlin lived in a small apartment with a combined living/dining area, a small kitchenette, and three closed doors which led to two bedrooms and a bathroom.The furniture in the living room was old, mismatched, and free.I headed straight for the orange armchair, Jason landed hard on the plaid love seat, and Nicolas took a more tentative seat on the purple couch.“Anyone want a soda?” Kaitlin asked.Nicolas and I nodded, but Jason shook his head as he took a swig from the flask at his hip.He grinned at her, and she gave him an uncertain smile in response.“What happened tonight?” I asked.“That guy came out of nowhere, and he specifically wanted to kill me.”Nicolas nodded his agreement.“He didn’t even notice I was in the room when I set him on fire.”“What have you been doing since yesterday morning?” I asked Jason.“Did someone find out you were poking around?”“I paid a visit to our three suspects,” Jason said.“I saw Dr.Shore first, and he wasn’t a vampire yesterday evening.Since it takes twenty-four hours for a vamp to turn, someone got to him right after I left.”My face paled.“What about the other two?”“Robert, the hairdresser, was clean.I couldn’t get to the sheriff.” Jason gave me a significant look.“Did you tell him about Luke?”“No, but he figured it out.He tried to call me yesterday, but we didn’t talk until today, and that’s when he told me Luke couldn’t have been our vamp.”From somewhere in the kitchen, Kaitlin fumbled a tray of ice, and the contents spilled to the ground.I couldn’t imagine what she thought of our conversation.It was one thing to know sorcerers were real and lived in the community, another to have them sitting in your living room, casually discussing vampires.“What I want to know,” I said, slowly, “is whether our guy sent Dr.Shore after me to kill me, or to try to convince me he was our guy.Surely, he didn’t think I was that stupid.”Jason seemed to consider the question for a long time.“There are a couple of possibilities.He may have been getting desperate, because he thinks we’re too close to him, which is likely, but also, Dr.Shore didn’t turn well.It may have been an accident that he went tearing after you like that.”There was a tense silent for a minute, while I tried to figure out if I would ever be safe again.Too close.too close [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]