Page 10 of Mostly Shattered

The vampire is scary. Mainly, I think it’s his fangs. And because Anthony told me that vampires liked to drink people, and I need to stay away from them because I’m people. He also said that I would be a tiny snack to a vampire because I’m so small. Like an appetizer.

But Constantine’s eyes don’t look mean. They’re not kind or anything like that, but they’re not all angry red, as I’ve seen in some of the comic books that my brother showed me.

“Do you want me to eat you, little castoff?” he asks with a small smile. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him smile.

I violently shake my head no.

“Good, because I do not eat my friends,” he answers.

“Are we friends, Constantine?” I ask in surprise. I didn’t know I had a vampire friend.

“Sure. And you should call me Costin. That’s what my friends call me.” He stands, keeping his icy hand in mind.

“Tamara!” Anthony is closer now.

“Young Anthony,” Costin says to get his attention. “I’m taking your sister back to the house to have her hand looked at.”

“Tamara, are you all right?” Anthony asks, hurrying to me.

“Costin put me out,” I say, using my vampire friend’s name.

“I’ll take her to the house. We don’t need you,” Anthony tells the vampire as he lifts me into his arms and starts jogging through the trees toward the estate.

“Be more careful,” Costin orders behind me.

Anthony ignores him. I cling to my brother, holding tight. I hear him whisper, “I’m sorry Tam-tam. I’m sorry. We’re going to be in so much trouble.”

My hand hurts, but I don’t want to get my brother in trouble. He slows as we come to the estate. The great windows are all lit as if to cast light on the yard outside. I see figures moving around.

“I’m okay,” I lie. “We don’t have to tell them.”

“Let me see.” He holds my hand to the light and tries touching the burn.

I flinch and struggle to keep back the tears.

“No, you’re hurt. We have to tell them. Don’t worry. I’ll take all the blame,” he says. “I should have never let you hold the magic. It could have killed you.”

I cry harder. “I don’t want to be killed.”

“Hey, look at me.” He takes my face in his hands. “I don’t know why you can’t do magic, but I swear to you, here and now. I’m going to find a way to make you immortal like me. You’re not going to die. Okay?”

I nod, believing him. My brother would never lie to me.

He begins walking me inside to face the elders.

“I promise, you’re going to live forever with me,”he swears. “Besides, you’re all right for a little sister. We Devines got to stick together.”

Anthony is so smart. I nod my head and swipe at my nose. “Yeah, we got to stick together.”

Chapter

Three

The last thing I want is to have a conversation with Uncle Mortimer about my future accommodations. I don’t know what is supposed to happen when we die, but I hope it is nothingness. I don’t want to be an angry ghost haunting people like Conrad. Spending an eternity watching what I can’t have sounds like the thirteenth level of Hell.

Actually, it sounds like my current life.

Not that I know the actual levels of Hell, but I’m pretty sure Dante’s Divine Comedy got them wrong. If I remember the literature correctly, to paraphrase, he thought disloyalty to your appointed master was the worst sin, more so than violence.

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