Page 144 of Envious Of Fire
A Change of Heart.
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It’s on a street behind the grocery store next to its loading bay doors that George takes Kyle to a parked limousine.
Kyle stops. “A limo?”
“And a hired driver,” says George, pulling open a door. “I’d expect champagne, wine, and an assortment of cheeses inside.”
“Cheeses?”
“I know they taste like nothing to our kind, but they came with the limo service, and I am not one to waste.”
Kyle glances at the closed grocery store, its dark back side, a stack of empty pallets next to two large dumpsters. “I need to change my clothes, don’t I? I’m not dressed for any kind of—”
“A change of clothing awaits you at the House of Vegasyn. Everything is taken care of. You need only come.” He holds the door open patiently.
After another moment of hesitation, Kyle finally slips into the limo. George closes the door, after which Kyle realizes the windows are completely blacked out. Nothing can be seen. The inside of the vehicle is traced with a strip of white-blue light, all the surfaces polished and smooth, a side couch facing a bar with bottles of iced beverages, wine, champagne, as well as crackers and cheeses, as promised. For as welcoming as the limo appears to be, Kyle enjoys none of it, staring ahead at the small window through which he sees the back of the driver’s head, and soon George’s when he sits in the passenger seat and mutters, “Go.”
The lights inside the vehicle dim. The limo moves.
“Please,” says George through the partition. “Have a sip of champagne. I would hate for it to go to waste. It is paid for.”
Kyle stares at the bottle, at the empty flutes lined next to it, rolls his eyes. “So if I don’t drink any, it’s wasting Markadian’s dime? Why should I care?”
“Insolent,” mutters George.
Kyle hears him, doesn’t care. “Forgive me if I’m not in the mood for fucking champagne.”
“It will ease your nerves,” says George, then gently closes the partition, ending their conversation.
Kyle sits in silence for a short time. He regrets leaving his phone at the house during the chaos that ensued the moment he returned from the desert with Drake and Mikey. He didn’t think he’d need it anyway. Their plan was just to hunker down in the church with Cade and Layna making fleeting use of that book Elias got from his mom. Now Kyle feels completely and helplessly disconnected from everyone. Did the vampires leave Nowhere after George forbade them from taking Mikey? Are they all safe now, just like they’re supposed to be?
Kyle pulls open the partition. “Who’s that Mance guy?”
“Who?” asks George, staring blankly ahead as they drive.
“Mance. The weird guy in the cowboy hat.”
A look of complete mystification clouds George’s face as he stares off like he’s in a dream.
Kyle frowns. “Uh, hello? George?” Still silence. Is George just refusing to answer? “I know you know him. You guys came together to collect me. He knew your name.” No answer, even still. It’s like he’s in a trance. Kyle sighs. “Earth to George?”
George’s head turns, as if just now hearing Kyle. “We will arrive shortly. Drink the champagne as the driver continues to direct our vehicle to the House of Vegasyn. One sip will do.”
After a brief pause of abject wonder, Kyle asks, “Is the … Is the champagne drugged or something …?”
“Yes,” answers George.
Kyle sits back, at a loss. “Why in the hell would I drink any of it, then?”
“The champagne contains a modified extract ofNymphaea caeruleathat will put you to sleep, more commonly known as blue lotus flower, grown in our gardens. As you are still not a formal resident of the House of Vegasyn, it is important to me that you continue being ignorant of its precise location.”
Kyle stares at the champagne bottle.
The empty flutes next to it.
A totally different understanding in mind.
