Chapter 3

Athena made a ta-da pose with her arms. Claire gaped at the other two.

"But-but she was standing in direct sunlight, and she wasn't even affected!" she spluttered.

"Yes, that is one of the advantages of being the first vampire. Sunlight has no effect on me, other than tanning my skin," explained Athena.

Claire's mouth just hung open. She would've thought that they were playing a joke on her had Oliver not been there. He didn't really seem to have a sense of humor at all—or if he did, it was somewhat twisted. Oliver seemed to be under a considerable amount of stress. His fingers were massaging his temples, and his face wasn't its usual cold mask of stone.

Unintentionally, Claire felt herself feeling bad for him. He didn't usually show his feelings so when he did it had to be pretty serious. Claire's mouth had gone dry, and she cleared her throat before asking, "So you are the oldest vampire there is?"

"Yes. I am the very first vampire. Nobody in the world is older than me."

"Not even Bishop?" Bishop was an evil vampire who'd released the disease that had nearly caused Amelie to lose control of Morganville. It had slowly eaten away at the vampires' sanity. Claire and her crazy—yet genius—boss, Myrnin, had found a cure before it was too late. Now, Claire wasn't sure where Amelie was keeping Bishop, and she didn't care to find out.

At the mention of Bishop, Athena clapped her hands together with a little hop. "Oh, how is the old traitor? He tried to kill me, but he was my first turn. Last I heard Amelie was at war with her father. Oh, and I must speak with her as soon as possible."

Claire's brow rose, Athena was completely different from all the other vampires. She was practically human in the way she acted.

"I will personally arrange a meeting with the Founder," Oliver said with a respectful bow to Athena.

"Thanks, Ollie!" cried Athena as he left the room. Her radiant smile lingered as she stared after him. Then her black eyes blinked and swiveled to look at Claire with curiosity. "I've heard much about you, little Claire. You and your companions have become quite a major gossip subject among my people."

Not quite knowing how to reply to that, Claire stared down at her feet. An awkward silence fell in the room. Claire risked a glance at Athena, and she saw that the pixie-vampire girl was examining her closely.

"I see what Amelie likes about you. On the outside you seem so ordinary, nothing to worry about. But the inside is strong and courageous."

Blinking, Claire muttered, "What?"

Athena's brown hair waved as she shook her head. "You can't see it in yourself. Those like you never can." A wistful expression came over her pixie features.

Oliver brought her out of her reverie when he opened the door and announced, "The Founder has agreed to meet with you, Madam." Madam? Really? Claire laughed inwardly. "She is on her way now."

"No, wait. I wish to meet her somewhere more private." Athena paused for a moment. "I've heard that when Myrnin and Amelie built this place, that they installed a number of special houses. Founder Houses I believe they're called. Why don't we go to one of those? Surely, Amelie keeps one for her own comfort."

"Actually, Madam, no. The Founder has allowed human residents to use the Founder Houses. In fact, Claire shares one with several roommates."

"Ah, yes, I've heard of the Glass House. Owned by young Michael, correct? My sources tell me he is one of our newest fledglings."

Claire was stunned that Athena knew so much. Then again, it wouldn't exactly be all that surprising if Athena were psychic. Weirder things had happened in Morganville.

Just then, Claire could almost see the light bulb lighting up above Athena's head. "Why don't we conjugate in the Glass House? I've heard much about Misters Glass and Collins, along with Miss Rosser."

Claire's stomach plummeted to the floor. Oh God. They're going to kill me for bringing the most powerful vampire in the world into our house for coffee, Claire mentally slapped herself. Oliver hesitated, looking like he wanted to object, but seemed to think better of it and slipped back out to call Amelie again.

Athena settled her tiny frame on the desk, pushing the mess aside to clear a space to sit. "I hope you don't mind, little Claire."

Claire felt her jaw clench in annoyance. Athena was even smaller than Claire, yet she addressed Claire as little Claire. But she swallowed her feelings and mumbled, "No, of course not, Madam."

"Oh, please, call me Athena. I do hope we can be good friends." Kicking her feet back and forth like a fidgety child, Athena grinned kindly. Claire nodded uncomfortably. The door opened to reveal Oliver, his face expressionless. When he spoke, his words were crisp and concise.

"The car ready, Madam."