Ageless by Cege Smith Page B

until it’s much too late for him to
do anything about it,” Elysa said with a dark chuckle.
    Violet tried to focus on what they
were talking about, but then she saw two dark shadows emerge from
the darkness behind her grandparents. She had a moment of pure
conflict. On one hand, she didn’t want to go anywhere with Elysa,
but on the other, no matter how awful her grandmother was, she
didn’t want any harm to come to her. Then she saw features emerge
on the faces, and she realized with a dizzying disappointment they
weren’t the faces that she was hoping to see. These were strangers;
huge, ugly, menacing strangers.
    “Grandmother, watch out!” she cried
out.
    Riveka looked over her shoulder and
grimaced. “Really, Elysa?” She didn’t look the least bit threatened
or concerned. If anything, she looked more annoyed.
    “If you expect me to stay a step
ahead of the Montrose brothers AND keep your granddaughter safe,
Riveka, I had to call in reinforcements.” Elysa put her hands on
her hips, and she and Riveka glared at each other. Finally Riveka
looked away and sniffed. “Fine, but they aren’t riding with us. The
passenger car is small enough already.”
    Violet was in awe at her
grandmother’s spunk. Riveka was fearless. It made Violet feel a
small wedge of admiration. She realized that she didn’t know a lot
about Riveka at all, but a lot of that had to do with the fact that
her grandmother didn’t like to talk about her background. She had
told Violet once during one of the rare visits when Violet was
young that it wasn’t the past that defined you, but the path you
chose for yourself.
    Nicholas had already sprung up to
the exterior platform of the passenger car. “C’mon, Riveka. Surely
you can yell more inside. It’s time to go.” He grinned as he leaned
out and Violet was surprised to see her grandmother purse her lips,
but say nothing. Riveka took her husband’s hand and gingerly
stepped across the gap and onto the railcar.
    Violet looked around and realized
that she had been left alone on the platform with three vampires.
The two recent arrivals were eyeing her in a way that didn’t make
her comfortable at all. Quickly she rushed over to the passenger
car and threw her duffel onto the floor of the car behind her
grandfather. She gratefully accepted his hand to pull her onboard.
He gave her a small hug before pushing her toward the
door.
    She looked over her shoulder at
him, but he gestured for her to go ahead. Then Violet made her way
through the small doorway. Once inside, she looked through the
large window and saw that Elysa was still on the platform talking
with the two men and gesturing toward the passenger car. That
didn’t make Violet feel the slight bit comforted.
    “Elysa seems to be a good girl, but
she spends entirely too much time with the wrong crowd,” Riveka
said, settling herself onto one of the cushioned sofas. Violet saw
that the front part of the car was set up as a small sitting room
with a plush sofas separated from two wingback chairs by a small
coffee table. As one moved toward the back of the car, there were
two booths, one on each side, and a kitchenette area along the back
wall. Past the kitchenette was a small hallway that led to the door
at the back of the car. It was luxurious and cozy all at the same
time.
    Violet sat down on the edge of a
sofa, facing her grandmother, and set the dress down on the cushion
beside her. “I’ve never been on a train before,” she said, not
meaning to speak the words out loud. She heard a loud whistle that
pierced her eardrums and made her wince. She felt the slow rocking
as the car began to move. She looked back at the platform and saw
that trio of vampires were gone. It made her uneasy wondering where
on the train they had settled.
    Her grandfather slipped inside and immediately
headed to the back of the car to pour himself a drink. Violet
desperately wanted one at that moment. She looked back at her
grandmother and found Riveka