Lanai went inside the house, looking around. There was an entry hall, and past that there was a living room with candles sitting all around. On the coffee table were two glasses and a bottle of red wine. It was Lanai's favourite.
Brian took her into the living room and pulled her down onto the couch beside him. He smiled at her and poured her a glass of wine, before pouring one for himself. She took a sip of the wine, astounded at its sweetness. Lanai had never tasted a wine so sweet. Even the finest orchards surely could not have produced something so.nectar-like. She picked up the wine bottle and inspected the date. It was from the eighteen-hundreds, a rare treat for Lanai. But even then, there was something odd about it. The date was the same year that she had become a vampire. Frowning slightly, she set the wine bottle back on the table and lost herself in her thoughts.
Lanai laughed at her sister's words, shrugging them off as if they meant nothing to her. There was no way her beau could be evil! He was kind, and caring. He doted on Lanai, and gave her all sorts of gifts from his travels. Even though he could be slightly possessive at times, he had never shown himself to be a violent man.
"But sister!" Jaheira cried. "He's as evil as they come! He carries a knife in his belt, he won't let your mother speak with you, and you think he's still as sweet as sugar! How daft are you, Lanai? What makes you think that everything in your life will work out exactly as you want it to? I am sorry to burst your precious bubble, sister, but life is not like that. He is evil. Get rid of him, before someone else does it for you."
"Is that a threat?" Lanai hissed at her sister. "I'll tell father you were threatening me! He wants this marriage almost as much as I do. It's only you who won't get over the fact that I'm marrying him. You know what I think, Jaheira? I think you're jealous that he's mine and not yours. I think you just want him all for yourself. Because that's the way it's always been, right, sister? I've always gotten what I wanted, and you've always been jealous of me for it. You won't admit it, but you're jealous of him."
"I would not be jealous of that creep if he were the handsomest man alive! He is evil and if you cannot see it then you are blind! Yes, I have been jealous of you before. And I'll probably be jealous of you again before our lifetimes are over, but I am not jealous of that horrid, little rat you call your beau. And I'm not the only one who sees it. Mother knows he's evil too. She wants you to leave him alone, but you won't do it. You've always been stubborn like that. Mother wanted to find something about him that would show you and father that he's an evil creep, but she can't. She loves seeing you happy, Lanai. But she would stop this happiness if only to see you end up happy overall. Why won't you see that, Lanai? Why won't you see?"
"Laurie," Brian said, shaking Lanai out of her reverie. "I have something to tell you. It's something about me that I didn't mention at first. But.you need to know. My name's not Brian. I'm London Beaumont. And I know what you are." "What I am?" she said, trying to keep her false identity intact. "I'm a person, Bri-I mean London. I'm a normal woman who's just been lied to. Why did you lie?" "This is not the time for questions," he said shortly. "Goodbye." Something hard and heavy slammed into Lanai's head, and she fell onto the floor, unconscious.
-----------
Jaheira and Aubrey walked down Duvour Street, pretending to be going for a midnight walk. So far they had seen nothing at all, not even an owl. The night was quiet and still, with no breeze to stir the leaves on the trees and only the moon to light their path. It was the perfect night for a hunt, Jaheira thought smugly. Which was probably why Lanai had been caught tonight. It made sense, after all. Especially if the person who had captured her was a vampire. Or a werewolf. But werewolves were not all that common in this part of the country. It was too vampire-ridden for the wolves.
Aubrey took Jaheira's hand, interlacing their fingers. She pulled out of his grasp, baring her fangs dangerously. He grinned, the moonlight glinting off his fangs. Shaking his head, he whispered, "We're supposed to be a couple of teenagers out on a late-night walk. If we're going to be convincing, we're going to have to hold hands, Jaheira. And unless you want Lanai to be killed, we have to be convincing."
She grimaced, muttering some curses under her breath, but allowing the other vampire to take her hand. At least he wasn't wrapping his arm around her shoulders, she thought grimly. That would have been even worse that having to be out on a weekend night with her worst enemy, trying to save her sister from the horrible fate that was in store for her. Jaheira knew it was for the best of Lanai, and that was the only reason she was letting Aubrey hold her hand. She couldn't deny that being convincing might be the only thing that would keep Lanai alive.
They stopped in front of a large house. It was plain looking, an average house. The building looked as if it had been lived in for a long while. The large windows were freshly cleaned, and the door was concealed in shadow beneath the porch's overhang. It was as boring a house as you could get, which made it the perfect place for a dark creature to harbour. Aubrey led her up to the front door, and rapped on it three times. His knuckles turned white from the force at which he had knocked, but he made no sign that it hurt him. They waited in absolute silence for a few seconds, not daring to breathe. Then, after what seemed like ages but was probably only a few seconds, the door opened slightly, and a pretty woman was facing them. She smiled in greeting, brushing back a stray strand of her fire-red hair.
"Hello," she began. "Who are you? Do you have an invitation?"
Aubrey returned her smile and shook his head slightly. Then he looked at her from beneath his dark eyelashes, "We were asked to be at this residence at twelve twenty tonight. So, here we are. We were invited by someone who said he lived here. Alicia and I met him at a bar, and he gave us this address and said to meet him here tonight at twelve twenty. So, we're here. May we come inside?"
The woman frowned slightly, a crease appearing between her eyebrows. "You say you were invited? At twelve twenty? Well, I didn't get any message about anyone being invited over. Who invited you, did you say?"
"Oh, I don't remember. Something with a 'B' in it, I think."
"All right. Well, let me check with him. Other wise you can't come in. Or you could come back at a later date, and I could tell him that you stopped by and he was busy. Which would you rather?"
Aubrey paused, before grinning at her, shielding his fangs. "Aw, did you hear that, Alicia? We came here looking for a little bit of fun, and wouldn't you know that it would be cancelled! It's just our luck, really. We always are invited to parties that don't turn out. I just wish it didn't always happen like this. It's too bad, really." He frowned and gave the woman puppy-dog eyes. "You're sure you can't just let us in?"
"Well," she paused, frowning again. "All right. You can come in." She held open the door and Aubrey and Jaheira entered. "I'm Lindsay Culvetti. London and I live here together, along with a few other room-mates. I'll go get London then, shall I? He'll want to see his guests as soon as possible. Wait here, won't you? I'll have to go get him."
She gestured at a couch. Jaheira and Aubrey sat, taking in their surroundings. The table in front of them had two glasses of wine on it, and a wine bottle. It looked as if there had already been some sort of get-together here. But Jaheira tried desperately not to think of all the things that could go wrong, instead choosing to think about how many ways she would injure whoever had taken Lanai. So they waited and waited, hoping and dreading the person who might at any moment come into the living room.
Brian took her into the living room and pulled her down onto the couch beside him. He smiled at her and poured her a glass of wine, before pouring one for himself. She took a sip of the wine, astounded at its sweetness. Lanai had never tasted a wine so sweet. Even the finest orchards surely could not have produced something so.nectar-like. She picked up the wine bottle and inspected the date. It was from the eighteen-hundreds, a rare treat for Lanai. But even then, there was something odd about it. The date was the same year that she had become a vampire. Frowning slightly, she set the wine bottle back on the table and lost herself in her thoughts.
Lanai laughed at her sister's words, shrugging them off as if they meant nothing to her. There was no way her beau could be evil! He was kind, and caring. He doted on Lanai, and gave her all sorts of gifts from his travels. Even though he could be slightly possessive at times, he had never shown himself to be a violent man.
"But sister!" Jaheira cried. "He's as evil as they come! He carries a knife in his belt, he won't let your mother speak with you, and you think he's still as sweet as sugar! How daft are you, Lanai? What makes you think that everything in your life will work out exactly as you want it to? I am sorry to burst your precious bubble, sister, but life is not like that. He is evil. Get rid of him, before someone else does it for you."
"Is that a threat?" Lanai hissed at her sister. "I'll tell father you were threatening me! He wants this marriage almost as much as I do. It's only you who won't get over the fact that I'm marrying him. You know what I think, Jaheira? I think you're jealous that he's mine and not yours. I think you just want him all for yourself. Because that's the way it's always been, right, sister? I've always gotten what I wanted, and you've always been jealous of me for it. You won't admit it, but you're jealous of him."
"I would not be jealous of that creep if he were the handsomest man alive! He is evil and if you cannot see it then you are blind! Yes, I have been jealous of you before. And I'll probably be jealous of you again before our lifetimes are over, but I am not jealous of that horrid, little rat you call your beau. And I'm not the only one who sees it. Mother knows he's evil too. She wants you to leave him alone, but you won't do it. You've always been stubborn like that. Mother wanted to find something about him that would show you and father that he's an evil creep, but she can't. She loves seeing you happy, Lanai. But she would stop this happiness if only to see you end up happy overall. Why won't you see that, Lanai? Why won't you see?"
"Laurie," Brian said, shaking Lanai out of her reverie. "I have something to tell you. It's something about me that I didn't mention at first. But.you need to know. My name's not Brian. I'm London Beaumont. And I know what you are." "What I am?" she said, trying to keep her false identity intact. "I'm a person, Bri-I mean London. I'm a normal woman who's just been lied to. Why did you lie?" "This is not the time for questions," he said shortly. "Goodbye." Something hard and heavy slammed into Lanai's head, and she fell onto the floor, unconscious.
-----------
Jaheira and Aubrey walked down Duvour Street, pretending to be going for a midnight walk. So far they had seen nothing at all, not even an owl. The night was quiet and still, with no breeze to stir the leaves on the trees and only the moon to light their path. It was the perfect night for a hunt, Jaheira thought smugly. Which was probably why Lanai had been caught tonight. It made sense, after all. Especially if the person who had captured her was a vampire. Or a werewolf. But werewolves were not all that common in this part of the country. It was too vampire-ridden for the wolves.
Aubrey took Jaheira's hand, interlacing their fingers. She pulled out of his grasp, baring her fangs dangerously. He grinned, the moonlight glinting off his fangs. Shaking his head, he whispered, "We're supposed to be a couple of teenagers out on a late-night walk. If we're going to be convincing, we're going to have to hold hands, Jaheira. And unless you want Lanai to be killed, we have to be convincing."
She grimaced, muttering some curses under her breath, but allowing the other vampire to take her hand. At least he wasn't wrapping his arm around her shoulders, she thought grimly. That would have been even worse that having to be out on a weekend night with her worst enemy, trying to save her sister from the horrible fate that was in store for her. Jaheira knew it was for the best of Lanai, and that was the only reason she was letting Aubrey hold her hand. She couldn't deny that being convincing might be the only thing that would keep Lanai alive.
They stopped in front of a large house. It was plain looking, an average house. The building looked as if it had been lived in for a long while. The large windows were freshly cleaned, and the door was concealed in shadow beneath the porch's overhang. It was as boring a house as you could get, which made it the perfect place for a dark creature to harbour. Aubrey led her up to the front door, and rapped on it three times. His knuckles turned white from the force at which he had knocked, but he made no sign that it hurt him. They waited in absolute silence for a few seconds, not daring to breathe. Then, after what seemed like ages but was probably only a few seconds, the door opened slightly, and a pretty woman was facing them. She smiled in greeting, brushing back a stray strand of her fire-red hair.
"Hello," she began. "Who are you? Do you have an invitation?"
Aubrey returned her smile and shook his head slightly. Then he looked at her from beneath his dark eyelashes, "We were asked to be at this residence at twelve twenty tonight. So, here we are. We were invited by someone who said he lived here. Alicia and I met him at a bar, and he gave us this address and said to meet him here tonight at twelve twenty. So, we're here. May we come inside?"
The woman frowned slightly, a crease appearing between her eyebrows. "You say you were invited? At twelve twenty? Well, I didn't get any message about anyone being invited over. Who invited you, did you say?"
"Oh, I don't remember. Something with a 'B' in it, I think."
"All right. Well, let me check with him. Other wise you can't come in. Or you could come back at a later date, and I could tell him that you stopped by and he was busy. Which would you rather?"
Aubrey paused, before grinning at her, shielding his fangs. "Aw, did you hear that, Alicia? We came here looking for a little bit of fun, and wouldn't you know that it would be cancelled! It's just our luck, really. We always are invited to parties that don't turn out. I just wish it didn't always happen like this. It's too bad, really." He frowned and gave the woman puppy-dog eyes. "You're sure you can't just let us in?"
"Well," she paused, frowning again. "All right. You can come in." She held open the door and Aubrey and Jaheira entered. "I'm Lindsay Culvetti. London and I live here together, along with a few other room-mates. I'll go get London then, shall I? He'll want to see his guests as soon as possible. Wait here, won't you? I'll have to go get him."
She gestured at a couch. Jaheira and Aubrey sat, taking in their surroundings. The table in front of them had two glasses of wine on it, and a wine bottle. It looked as if there had already been some sort of get-together here. But Jaheira tried desperately not to think of all the things that could go wrong, instead choosing to think about how many ways she would injure whoever had taken Lanai. So they waited and waited, hoping and dreading the person who might at any moment come into the living room.