Page 8 of Sound
Rage burns like an inferno inside me.
“You are pathetic.” Chortling happily, she spins on her heel and stalks out, locking the door behind her.
I hang off the bed, angry tears dropping down my face while my hair is like a curtain pooling on the floor. A wet nose bumps on my white-knuckled grip on the bed. Sniffing, I tilt my head to the side and see Salmon through the curling strands.
‘It’s okay, buddy.” Hiccupping, I pull another shuttering breath into my lungs. “It didn’t even hurt that much this time.”
Salmon gives me a sad meow, and I know he doesn’t buy the lies I’m trying to sell him either.
6
Étienne
Shifting restlessly from one foot to the other, I scan the area for the hundredth time. Leaving my brothers behind might not be the brightest of ideas but staying put isn’t an option, the need to be here too strong for me to resist. It has to be magic conjuring me forward—at least that is what I tell myself as I lurk in the shadows like a feral beast. The heir to the French court stalking a human girl in a ruined church while waiting for a cat to show up as if I’m meeting an informant … Yeah, I’ll be a laughing stock for centuries to come.
I’ll laugh at myself too.
"Je suis tellement idiot!" Calling myself an idiot is not the worst insult that comes to mind.
Pushing off the tree I’m leaning on, my shoulders turn but my gaze stays locked on the abandoned place. Reluctantly, I lean back on the trunk, folding my arms over my chest. I stood here so long already that another few minutes won’t make a difference. Still, my feet won’t move.
Is she there now? Can she see through the illusion cast over the damn place? Is she laughing at how pathetic I look, like I’m some love-sick puppy unable to tear my eyes from the place? Anger clouds my thoughts and I almost miss the movement at the side of the church.
The hard punch of my heart against my breastbone is not missed by the cat staring at me from across the street. Its head cocks to the side, its tail swishing in agitation. My fangs throb in answer to its aggressive movements. We face each other for a long moment before it turns and disappears.
I’m across the street before the thought to move registers in my brain. Following just the end of the thick tail, I round the corner and skid to a stop before I find the cat not even a foot away from me. It has never allowed any of us this close. I freeze so I don’t spook it. Maybe I can grab it if I lure it into a false sense of safety.
As if reading my thoughts, the damn cat darts further away.
Glancing around to make sure no one will witness my embarrassment, I crouch down to bring myself closer to its level. Feeling all types of idiotic, I swallow a growl and take a deep breath. The damn creature leans eagerly forward as if in anticipation. I frown at the reaction and it jerks back, acting as innocent as a shark waiting to bite your head off.
“Are you a friend or a foe?” It looks at me like I’m a simpleton, tail flicking mockingly behind it. I cannot find the means to disagree with it. “This was a very dumb idea.”
Snarling at my stupidity, I start to climb to my feet, but the cat darts next to me and bumps its head where my hand is gripping my knee before retreating out of reach. Pausing, I eye it suspiciously. It looks back at me with a sense of expectancy.
“Do you know the girl that plays the violin?” Its unblinking stare is my only answer. “Do you belong to the girl that plays the violin?” Rephrasing my question in hopes of a reaction, I get one.
My body lurches and I almost land on my ass. The cat hisses at me, sounding more feral than any beast I’ve ever heard. Laughter shakes my shoulders but I cough to cover it up when its hackles rise and its tail flicks faster in anger, ears pinned to the back of its head.
“Okay, okay.” Lifting both palms up in surrender, I fight the smile lifting my lips. “No one owns you, I get it. We share the same sentiment on that front.”
The cat’s orange eyes narrow at me like it doesn’t trust my words. This night is by far the craziest one I’ve had in my life. In my very long life since I’m a vampire.
Shaking the head to clear it, I sigh. “You helped me get through the wards so I could see the girl.” Pausing, I watch for a reaction and I’m stunned when the cat nods its head slowly. “You are here with me because I’m alone.” The realization hits me like a ton of bricks.
The cat nods again, eyeing me warily.
I’ll think about why it doesn’t want my brothers around later. Pushing my senses wide, I check for anyone sneaking in behind my back, but the coast is clear. Just me and the cat facing each other under the crescent moon. I watch the creature in contemplation. There is no way for me to know if it’s telling the truth, but deep down I feel that it is. For some crazy reason, I’m crouched in the dirt next to an abandoned church talking to a cat. It’s a good thing I am here in America.
I’m unfit to rule my kind, bloodlines be damned.
“Is the girl trying to trick me? Is she luring me here?” Voicing my fears, I’m taken aback by another angry hiss, the cat baring its pointy teeth at my face.
A knot loosens in my chest at the reaction.
“Is she in trouble? Is that way you’ve been trying to guide us here?” Choosing my words wisely, I stare at the cat.
It watches me for a long time, and just when I think I need to ask a different question, its head lowers in a slow nod.
