Page 13 of Fang Girl

As we ascended, I felt Ari tense beside me. "What's wrong?"

"It's quiet," she said softly as we ascended the elevator. "More than usual."

I squeezed her hand. The band was loud, and there was obviously a party going on upstairs. Was it just my vampire hearing that picked that all up?

The elevator doors opened to reveal the transformed ballroom. Black roses and blood-red ribbons draped every surface, and the chandeliers had been dimmed to cast everything in a seductive glow. The band was set up on stage, and we’d play later in the evening.

I watched Ari's face as she took it all in. Her eyes widened at the elegant crowd, then suddenly narrowed as she caught sight of something across the room. Following her gaze, I saw one of our feeders heading toward the back room, accompanied by Dario. Double shit. I should have warned her about that part.

"Victor," she whispered, gripping my arm. "That woman... her neck?"

The woman’s neck was marked with fang bites, and not just one.

"Oh my god, is that Riggs? Can we go say hi?" Kylie exclaimed, completely ignoring our conversation.

At the bar, I saw the slight shine of Riggs' fangs as he smiled at something his companion said.

"Actually," I said, trying to steer them away, but Ari's journalist instincts were already firing. I could see it in the way she scanned the room with new understanding—the too-pale skin of many guests, the careful way they handled their drinks, the back room with its steady stream of visitors.

"The whole band?" she whispered, looking up at me with those clear eyes. "That's why there are no ghosts at all. That's why..." she glanced at the back room again.

“No ghosts?” I asked.

She bit her lip. “This wasn’t the way I meant to tell you.”

Kylie was drifting away toward the dance floor, so I pulled Ari over to a table near the wall.

“Tell me,” I said.

She looked at me with her big blue eyes. “You know how they used to call me Creepy Ari in high school? Do you remember why?”

“You always talked to the walls…” I paused, my thoughts catching up with my words. “Ghosts? You were talking to ghosts?”

"I see dead people, Victor. All the time.” To my surprise, she laughed under her breath. “Except… when I’m with you.”

“Because I’m a vampire?”

She shrugged. “Honestly I don’t know. But I haven’t seen a single ghost since we arrived, and I would assume that's because the band… are all vampires?”

I nodded.

“This is actually... kind of fascinating?”

I blinked. "You're not freaked out?"

"Let's just say I'm getting used to supernatural surprises." She squeezed my hand. "But you're explaining everything later."

"Everything," I promised, pulling her closer. "Starting with how incredibly beautiful you look tonight."

A warm blush spread through her cheeks as she leaned into me.

Then a scream cut through the room.

Ari pushed me away. “That’s Kylie,” she gasped, her eyes sweeping through the room.

Her friend was nowhere in sight, and the rest of the party carried on like normal. The door to the feeder room was ajar, and a terrible feeling swirled in my gut. I cut across the room to it, Ari fast on my heels.

I could hear Basil’s voice in my head, “Bad idea bringing your human here. Once she sees the feeder room, she is going to hate you.”

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