Part 8 (1/2)
CHAPTER 7.
I've been looking everywhere for you,” Blaise said. ”I had to call Mrs. Ross to find out you were here.”
Her black hair was wild and windblown, tumbling over her shoulders. She had taken off her red bow tie and unb.u.t.toned the top b.u.t.ton of her dress s.h.i.+rt . There was color in her cheeks and dark light in her gray eyes. She looked extremely beautiful and very, very witchy.
Thea and Eric had moved apart and Thea had the feeling they were both blu s.h.i.+ng.
”We were just . . .” Eric said. ”Um. Heh.” While Blaise scrutinized him, he picked up the blue blanket and started refolding it. ”Uh, can I show you aro und?”
”I don't care much for animals unless they've been s.h.i.+sh-kebabed.” Blaise surveyed the room with one hand on her hip.
Oh, she's in a terrific mood.
Thea's palms were getting damp. She wasn't sure what Blaise thought of the embrace she'd walked in on ... but Thea was supposed to be leading Eric o n, wasn't she?
Her eye fell on the Kleenex daubed with Eric's blood. Un.o.btrusively, she reached for it and crumpled it in her hand.
”So you left the dance,” she said to Blaise. ”Where's . . .” Who'd actually been Blaise's date tonight? Sergio? Kevin? Someone else?
”There is no dance,” Blaise said. ”They shut it down. Leave it to Randy-he was always a royal pain.” Then her face changed; she blinked and put on a sweet smile. ”And who are you, darling?”
In the doorway to the corridor, Rosamund backed up, Madame Curie clutched t o her chest. She didn't say a word, but her hostile green eyes never left B laise.
”Uh, sorry,” Eric said. ”That's my sister. She's- shy.”
”So this is a family affair,” Blaise said. ”How nice.”
Thea said, ”I think it's time to be going home.” She needed to talk to Eric, but alone, not with a disgruntled munchkin and a suspicious witch looking o n.
She glanced at Eric, feeling a little shy herself. He looked the same.
”Well-see you at school.”
”Yeah.” Suddenly he smiled. ”You know, that's something else I was going t o mention. If you're even thinking about going to Davis, you might want to get into honors zoology. It 's a good cla.s.s.”
”Um-we'll see.” She was aware of Blaise watching her.
But outside, all Blaise said was, ”Sorry if I was rude. But I've been lookin g all over for you, so I could tell you what a great time I wasn't having. A nd”-she shook her midnight hair out with a charming smile;-”it's so much fun to be a b.i.t.c.h when you want to be.”
Thea sighed, then stopped in her tracks. ”Blaise, the car!”
Kevin's silver-gray Porsche looked as if it had been through a war. The fr ont b.u.mper was caved in, the pa.s.senger door was mangled, and the winds.h.i.+el d was cracked.
”I had a little trouble,” Blaise said coolly. ”It's all right, though; I met a guy tonight named Luke Price, who's got a Maserati.” She looked at Thea, then added, ”You don't disapprove, do you? Of treating humans that way?”
”No-of course not. I just don't want to get expelled again.”
”It's not illegal to have an accident. Here, you have to get in through the dri ver's side now.”
She drove, not seeming to choose any particular direction. Thea sat quietly, acutely aware of the probing glances cast her way every so often.
”So,” Blaise said at last in her silkiest voice, ”did you get it?”
”What?”
”Don't be funny.”
Thea held out her hand with the crumpled Kleenex on her palm. ”I didn't fill the vial; that was ridiculous. But I used my ingenuity and got enough.””Hmm.” Blaise's tapering fingers, tipped with blood-red nails, dosed delicat ely on the tissue. Startled, Thea s.n.a.t.c.hed it back and the Kleenex tore. She ended up with only a corner.
”Hey-”
”What's the problem? I just want it for safekeeping,” Blaise said smoothly.
”And so how did everything else go?”
”Fine,” Thea said. Her palms were getting damp, but she managed to keep her voice airy. ”I think he's hooked,” she added, trying to imitate Blaise's mos t languid and arrogant tones.
”Oh, really?” They had ended up on the strip, which meant the car was now c rawling through traffic. Neon highlighted the curious half-smile on Blaise'
s lips. ”And what was that about Davis?”
”Nothing. It's where he's going to college, so of course he'd like me to be wi th him.”
”He's already thinking about the future. Well, that was fast work. Congratula tions.”
Thea didn't like the way she said it. More than ever, she wanted to protect Eric from Blaise-but she wasn't sure how. It depended on how much Blaise s uspected.
”You know, I think it's the pop that's the most fun,” Blaise went on reminisc ently. ”Human boys are all different-but in the end, they're all the same. An d when they give in completely, you can almost hear it. There's a 'pop.' Like a balloon breaking.”
Thea swallowed, staring at the huge golden lion in front of the MGM Grand Hotel. Its green eyes reminded her of Eric. ”Really? Sounds interesting.”
”Oh, it is. And after the pop, they just kind of collapse, and everything they are, their whole self, just sort of pours out in this internal hemorrhage. And after that, of course, they're useless. Like a stag that's too old to mate. The y're just-over.”
”How nice.”
”You know, I think Eric's ready for that pop. He's already in love with you; I could see that. I think it's time.”
Thea just sat. A vampire girl, wearing a dress with a black rose design, threa ded her way through stopped traffic. Finally, Thea said, ”Blaise ...”
”What, is that a problem with you? Are you having difficulty with that? Are you a little soft on him, maybe? Are you a little too fond of him?” ”Blaise- ”.
”Are you in love with him?” Shock waves went through Thea, and the last q uestion seemed to vibrate in the air. At last she whispered, ”Don't be ri diculous.” ”And don't you try to fool me. Remember who you're talking to.
I know that dopey look you get when you're mooning over some animal. I s aw the way you were holding him.”Thea felt desperate. It wasn't just Blaise she was afraid of here. Night Worl d law couldn't be clearer about the penalty for loving a human. Death. Not on ly for her, but for Eric, too.
There was only one thing Thea could do. She turned and looked at her cousin directly.