Page 53 of Redeemed
We sidle into the room. It’s barely bigger than the two queen-sized beds and, weirdly, one wall is painted orange. There’s nothing soft or warm or welcoming about the place, but then I haven’t been overcome by the urge to damage Connor, so I’ll take what I can get.
There’s only one chair in the room and I wave Cliffe into it. David and Connor sit on one of the beds, and I remain standing. My nerves are jangling. I figure I’ve got twenty-five words to make this right.
“Cliffe helped me out.” Talking is easier if I look at the floor. “And I figure we need allies right now.”
“The more the merrier?”
I slide a glance at David. His brows are drawn, but like he’s puzzled rather than angry.
“Though you make a good point about Lydia,” I add.
Cliffe’s so tense I’m afraid she might shatter and I’m pondering where to go next when Connor speaks up.
“Let’s table this. You’re welcome to hang with us for now, Cliffe, and once we get things settled, we’ll come up with a solution that works for everyone.”
She inhales, her smile shy. “That’s fair.”
Connor and David exchange glances. “Meanwhile,” Connor says, “we have some new information.”
He goes on to recap what they learned from Lydia and the Morrigan, about a magical bonfire, rumors and lies, and some guy named Dash Dolivo. They’re just winding down when someone knocks on the door.
David and Connor both tense, but I wave them off. “It’s Sheena. I texted her from the road.”
“Why not take an ad in the LA Times,” David murmurs, but I ignore him.
I let my oldest friend in and the first thing she does is slap me. Hard.
“Don’t you ever go on walkabout without saying goodbye again.” Still scowling, she wraps me in a hug.
“I’m sorry.” I whisper the words in her ear and she pulls a handful of my hair.
“You better be.”
I let her go and she immediately grabs my wrist. “Who’s that?” She’s pointing at Cliffe.
I make introductions but I leave out the part where Cliffe might join our pack. Now that I’m here, in the same room as David and Connor, I’m wondering if I made a mistake bringing Cliffe along.
“It’s not like you to pick up strays,” Sheena says. Cliffe’s expression doesn’t change, although she had to have heard.
“Leave it.” David gives Sheena a stern look, which shuts her up but also makes her eyebrows rise.
“I’m glad you’re here, Sheena,” Connor says. “We need to plan our next steps.”
I’m too antsy to stand still. “I left Delia Packard a voicemail. She should be getting back to me soon.”
“Why?” Connor asks at the same time as David says, “Bad idea, Guido.”
I glare at them both. “According to Delia, if I turn a human, I’ll be better able to fight Jacques when I need to.”
David’s fiddling with his hair like it’s going to change the subject for us and Sheena’s eyes are narrowed.
“Turn a human into what?” Connor speaks slowly, as if he can guess the answer and doesn’t like it.
“Into a vampire,” I say simply. “One of her scions wants her lover to join her in her undeath, and I said I would do it.”
Connor’s on his feet and about eight inches from me before I can react. “No fucking way, Trajan. You’d be agreeing to take responsibility forever.”
I speak to him, because he’sthisclose, but I’m really addressing all of them. “Delia will monitor the new vampire, as he will become part of her household.”
