Part 17 (1/2)

Here we go, Lina thought as she turned, her shoulders stiff, her posture rigid, her smile forced. ”So nice to meet you... Bambi, is it? And my goodness, what gigantic t.i.ts you have! What are those, triple-D's?”

She froze, her eyes widening, her heart suddenly shuddering to a halt. ”Oh, my G.o.d,” she whispered when she saw who approached from behind her, who Rene's houseguest was. ”Brandon!”

She flew across the room, grinning broadly, her eyes flooded with sudden tears. He blinked at her, shocked, and then she plowed into him, throwing her arms around his neck. She leaped against him, wrapping her legs around his waist, staggering him momentarily, and felt his arms encircle her, his hands slipping against her b.u.t.tocks to support her, as he had in her dream.

”Brandon!” she cried, her face buried against his neck. She kissed him, taking his face between her hands and pressing her lips over and over against his cheeks and brow, his nose and mouth. He smiled, kissing her back, but there was pain apparent in his eyes, the sudden lift of his brows, and in the ragged intake of his breath against her lips.

”What is it?” she asked, alarmed, dropping her feet immediately to the floor and drawing away from him. He stumbled, his knees buckling, and she got an arm around to support him. ”Oh, my G.o.d, Brandon!” she gasped. ”What is it? What's wrong?”

He shook his head, holding up his index finger as he tried to reclaim his breath. Give me a minute.

Lina looked over her shoulder at Rene. ”What happened to him? What's wrong?”

”You two know each other?” Rene asked, walking toward her. He smiled somewhat wryly. ”I take it so, chere. I'll be d.a.m.ned.

This world just keeps getting smaller by the minute.”

”Oh, my G.o.d,” Lina whispered, shocked, as she drew back the last of the bandages covering Brandon's wound. She looked into his eyes, at the pain that was still visible and obvious there. ”We have to get you to a hospital.”

At this, Rene shook his head. The girl who had come out of the bathroom, introduced as Brandon's twin sister, Tessa-who Lina had met of a sort the night before outside of Jackson's apartment building-shook her head.

”No, we don't, chere,” Rene said, just as Tessa had opened her mouth to speak. ”He's going to be fine. He just needs to rest.”

Lina stared at him, her eyes wide. Is he drunk? she thought. Is he out of his G.o.dd.a.m.n mind? ”He doesn't need to rest, Rene- he's been shot!” she exclaimed. ”A bullet punched through his chest!”

She and Brandon had been sitting side by side on a couch, but she stood now. ”Come on, Brandon. I'll take you.”

To her utter astonishment, he shook his head. No, Lina, he signed, and his brows lifted, his dark eyes imploring. It's alright. Please don't be upset. It will be healed in a couple of weeks. It's already much better today. You don't understand- ”You're right-I don't,” she snapped. ”What the h.e.l.l is the matter with you-all of you? Bullet wounds don't just heal in a couple of weeks! You... you could get an infection! You could have fragments left in there, or internal bleeding, nerve damage-G.o.d only knows what!”

No, Lina, Brandon signed, his expression gentle. I'm not like you. That won't happen to me.

She blinked at him, stricken, something about his words, the look on his face, sending a creeping chill along her spine. I'm not like you.

”What are you talking about?” she whispered.

”If you take him to the hospital, chere, they'll just make it worse, like they did for me,” Rene said.

She turned to him, wide eyed with shock. ”Rene, they saved your life. Is that what this is about-your leg? I'm sorry you lost it. I know it's eating you up inside, and it breaks my heart for you, but you can't do this to Brandon. You can't fill his mind with that s.h.i.+t, make him afraid to get help. He could die, Rene. He could-”

Lina.

Her voice cut abruptly short as she heard a soft voice in her mind-a voice that was not her own. It was a man's voice, quiet, deep, and gentle. She'd never heard it in her life, and yet it was suddenly, poignantly familiar to her. She turned, staggering in surprise. ”Brandon...?” she gasped. He rose to his feet. Lina, listen to me, he said inside of her mind, his mouth motionless, his lips lifting softly in a smile. I'm not like you. None of us are.

Chapter Twenty-one.

”You're all crazy,” Lina whispered. She'd sat again, watching as Brandon had signed to her, telling her things that he called the truth-about himself, his sister, his family, and even Rene. Things that made her head spin to consider; her gut ache to even think about. Things that sound too f.u.c.king nuts to be possible.

She blinked against stunned tears and shook her head. ”You can't honestly expect me to believe this. That you're all vampires, like... like something out of a comic book or... or a G.o.dd.a.m.n horror movie?” She stood, her brows furrowed. ”You're all crazy.”

She started to leave, to storm toward the door, but Brandon rose to his feet, catching her by the hand. Again, she heard his voice in her head, pleading and plaintive. Lina, please...!

”Stop that!” she cried, jerking loose of him. ”Stop doing that! How are you doing that?”

He reached for her, but she shoved him away. Again, he reached for her, brus.h.i.+ng his hand against her cheek, and she pushed him. Lina, I love you, he signed, folding his hands against his heart.

He touched her again, caressing her cheek with the cuff of his knuckles and she tried to turn away from him. I love you, he finger-spelled with his free hand, leaning toward her, kissing her softly. His lips lingered, the kiss deepening, his tongue slipping gently, sweetly against hers.

I love you, he finger-spelled again as he drew away. His hand left her face and he signed. Among my family, there's a rite of pa.s.sage called the bloodletting. It's where we feed for the first time-when we kill someone for the first time. I was supposed to have my bloodletting five years ago, on the night Jackson took you to the casino boat in Indiana. My family wanted me to kill you.

Lina recoiled at this, gasping in shock.

I couldn't, Brandon signed. I don't want to kill anybody. That's why I got Jackson to leave the farm with you. Then I hid in his house all night until the ceremony was over, and the bloodl.u.s.t had faded within me.

The bloodl.u.s.t. This is insane, Lina thought. I can't believe I'm standing here, listening to this. But the more he explained, the more it made sense. She remembered the night Jackson had brought her to Indiana to gamble. Neither of them were particularly enthusiastic about the prospect, but had gone anyway. Brandon gave me three hundred bucks for it, Jackson had told her on the drive north. Said his father wanted me to have it. They're having some kind of big party there tonight. He'd spared his sister a wry smile and a wink. Must not have wanted us around.

My grandfather had Jackson fired to punish me, Brandon signed. After that, my dad was able to keep me from the bloodletting for awhile. I started taking Wellbutrin-Jackson helped me get it-to help control the bloodl.u.s.t, because it could dampen it, keep it from growing inside of me.

Oh, G.o.d, Lina thought, blinking against new tears. That's why he was taking the medicine?

I knew I wouldn't be able to get away with it forever, Brandon told her. So I came up with a plan to get out of there. I applied to Gallaudet. Jackson helped me with the enrollment. But my grandfather found out last year, and that's when he broke my hands.

Lina stared at him, stricken. He told me once they were healed, I would go through my bloodletting, Brandon said. He was going to make me kill someone, Lina, whether I wanted to or not. That's why I ran away. You saw Caine and Emily, what happens to us when the bloodl.u.s.t takes over. I don't want to be like that... His hands trembled. A monster, like them.

Lina looked over his shoulder toward Rene and Tessa. ”If that's true,” she said quietly, her voice hoa.r.s.e and unsteady. And I can't believe it is, she added mentally. I can't oh, Christ, I just can't! ”If what Brandon's told me is the truth, then you're both murderers. You... you kill people so you can feed on them.” She glared at Tessa. ”Illegal immigrants your family tricks into working on their farms-like they're G.o.dd.a.m.n cattle to you.”

Tessa's dark eyes swam with shame, glistening with sudden tears, and she blinked down at her feet. ”It's not her fault,” Rene said, draping his hand against her shoulder. ”She didn't know any better than what they told her. Her whole life through, she heard that's the way it's supposed to be. I never had anyone to tell me all that. I had to figure out everything about who I am- what I am-on my own.”

”So you've never killed anyone?” Lina challenged, locking gazes with him. She'd never stood against Rene, not in all of the years she'd known him, and for a moment, his face clouded, hurt.

”I can't say that, chere, no,” he said quietly, and then his brows narrowed slightly. ”But then again, neither can you. n.o.body here's got themselves a guiltless life. Do you want to sit and split hairs all afternoon or do you want to do something to help your boy? Because out of all of us, chere, you're the only one who can.”

No. Brandon shook his head. He finger-spelled it. He signed it, snapping his two forefingers closed over his thumb. He jerked back the cover on his bra.s.s-plated notebook and wrote it in big, block letters: NO.

”Brandon, do you want to be laid up here for weeks, as feeble as a kitten, waiting for these Elders of yours to coming sniffing around?” Rene asked, frowning at him. ”Lina says thanks to 'Jude Law,' they're probably well on their way, and from what I understand from pischouette here, they don't sound like they'll be coming to pay you a friendly sort of visit.”

”They'll kill you, Brandon,” Tessa said. ”It's not a question of if they find us. It's when.”

Then I'll go, Brandon signed to Lina. Tell Rene to give me the G.o.dd.a.m.n car keys, and I'll leave, head west-California, Oregon, something. That's been my plan all along.

”You can't leave, Brandon,” Lina said. ”Not like this-you're hurt.”

”You need to heal, pet.i.t,” said Rene.

I don't have time to heal, Rene, Brandon wrote angrily in the notebook. He ripped the page out and thrust it forward, holding it out so Rene could read.

”I know you don't,” Rene replied. ”That's why you need to feed.”