Page 123 of Castings & Curses

“Oh, I believe that.”

He leaned close. Hands still on her hips, Priya rocked back on her heels but held her ground.

His dark brown eyes widened. “Come back inside where it’s warm.” His voice dropped into a dangerously inviting silky tone. “Let’s chat a while longer instead of standing out here in the freezing cold, arguing.”

“What?” If he thought she was going anywhere with him he was a fool. “No.”

Drawing back, he gave her a crooked smile. “See. It doesn’t work. I can’t make you do anything.”

“What? … Well ….” She sputtered, still incensed.

“Priya.” Miles held up his gloveless hands in surrender. “I cannot mesmerize or charm or whatever else vampire feat you’ve heard of. Okay, yes, I’m pretty strong, but I’m a new vampire. I have no special talent. In fact, I’m so young I have to take naps during the day.”

“Naps?” Nonplussed, her indignation cooled. Her arms collapsed to her sides. The idea of Miles taking a nap seemed so ordinary and very un-vampire. “So vampires do sleep? Does sunlight bother vampires? I’ve heard rumors—”

“Strong sunlight saps newbies. I’ve been told the first century is the roughest. And yes, most of us sleep. The Primes and those with five or six hundred years under their belts don’t seem to need rest.”

“Primes never sleep?”

Miles executed a one-shoulder shrug. “They can sleep if they want, but it isn’t a necessity. Why don’t you text a friend and tell them you’re with me? Take my picture and send it to them. Give them as many details as you wish.” Slowly, as if expecting her to bolt, he moved around her, opening up an escape route, then took a few hesitant steps away. “But I am going with you.”

She realized he wasn’t going to back down from the argument. Her face felt numb from the cold. If she headed for the shoppers, he would follow. Going the long way around would only earn her frozen fingers and toes.

“Fine,” Priya conceded. Turning, she walked alongside him.

Neither spoke until they reached the end of the block.

Miles broke first. “No picture? No text?”

“No. It’s too cold to take my gloves off again. I’m trusting you.” She shouldn’t. The sane thing to do was take the picture and let Scarlett know what she was doing. The even saner thing would be going home and figuring out a rational plan of attack with her best friend, or even her boss, Marin. Yet the incessant tug to help the little girl kept Priya’s booted feet moving forward.

They waited for a delivery van to pass before crossing the street. Frank Sinatra singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas reverberated through its windows.

“If you had sent my picture, would it have been to Scarlett?”

Priya startled. “Are you messing with me? You can read minds. I just thought about Scarlett and now—”

After a heavy sigh, he said, “You told Santa that’s who was waiting for you.”

Feeling foolish for jumping to conclusions, she grimaced. “Oh. Right. Under normal circumstances, I would have sent her all your deets, but she would have blown up my phone and sent a war party out searching me if she knew I was with a vampire.”

“So she’s a witch also?”

“Elemental. I wouldn’t recommend messing with her. She plays it down, but she is one of the most powerful witches I know.”

“Thanks for the heads up. What’s your favorite movie?”

Caught off guard by the abrupt change in conversation, she asked, “Excuse me?”

“Just trying to learn a little more about you.”

“The Matrix.” She crossed her arms, hunching her shoulders against the brisk wind. The sounds of traffic faded behind them.

“Awesome movie!” He made a deft move to her other side, taking the brunt of the wintery blast.

“What’s your favorite?”

“The Fifth Element.”

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