knew where I lived that meant she could hurt Ryan any time. Or Madison.
Madison. I had to call her, tell her to stay indoors, not to let Beatriz in. Or did that matter? Did immortals, like the mythical vampires of lore, need permission to enter somebody’s house?
Instinctively, my hand reached for my cell, but I couldn’t find it. I had left it in my purse, and my purse was at Bécquer’s house.
“Madison is safe,” Bécquer said.
“How did you guess I was thinking of her?”
“And Ryan will be too,” Bécquer continued not bothering to answer a question that needed no answer. “I made a deal with Beatriz. If she ever touches you or your children, she is dead. Besides, she’s leaving Pennsylvania tonight, she promised.”
“And you believe her?”
“I do. Beatriz has risked a lot to become immortal. She won’t want to antagonize me further as I am the only one who can protect her from the Elders.”
“The Elders,” Matt repeated. “Federico said they will kill her for stealing your blood.”
“Don’t worry, Matt. I’ll speak in her defense. Let’s hope I’m convincing.” He turned to me, “As for Ryan, I’ll follow your request, Carla. I won’t contact him. But tell him that if he ever needs me, I will always be there for him. Or is that too much to ask of you?”
I considered retracting my request, for I could see in his dark stare the pain it had caused him to accept it and he had just saved Ryan’s life. But the incongruity of the implausible events of this long day had finally caught up with me, and I felt too weary to continue the discussion. So instead, I nodded. “I’ll tell him.”
• • •
I asked Ryan to call his sister as soon as I reached the car, for despite Bécquer’s words of reassurance, I needed to talk with Madison to believe she was all right. When Ryan’s cell didn’t work, which was not surprising after its immersion in the water, I drove us home dangerously fast along the narrow, winding road that left the lake.
The possibilities of Beatriz going after Madison were slim, I reminded myself. Besides, even if she had gone to my house looking for her after taking Bécquer’s blood, Madison would not have been there. Abby’s mother was supposed to pick her up at eight to drive her to her Halloween party. It was past ten now. Madison was at the party, she had to be, and Beatriz could not reach her there.
Immortals only sense humans when they are close, Federico had told me. Beatriz did not know where the party was, or that Madison was going to a party for that matter, and she couldn’t trace Madison’s mind, because she had never met her.
But no amount of reasoning could convince me Madison was safe, not even hearing her voice on the phone when we finally made it home. And so, despite her complaints that I had agreed to let her sleep over at Abby’s, I insisted on picking her up.
Madison was not happy to see me. And once the wave of relief at seeing she was unharmed wore off, I wasn’t happy to see her either, for I soon understood why she had been so upset by my change of plans. Madison was wearing the skimpy outfit that, earlier that day, I had strictly forbidden her to wear.
I shook my head in disbelief and motioned her to the car.
“It’s not what you think,” Madison told me after sulking for a while.
“And what’s that?”
“That I planned to wear this dress all along. I didn’t, really.”
“Why did you wear it then?”
“Courtney had the same cat costume I bought at the mall. She posted her picture on Facebook before the party. I couldn’t wear it after that.”
“Of course you couldn’t.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew you wouldn’t understand. Besides, you were not home so I couldn’t ask you, could I?”
“No. But you knew I would have said no. Yet, you ignored my wishes.”
“You mean I’m grounded?”
“Yes.”
She thought about it for a moment. “Could we do the grounding in two
Madison. I had to call her, tell her to stay indoors, not to let Beatriz in. Or did that matter? Did immortals, like the mythical vampires of lore, need permission to enter somebody’s house?
Instinctively, my hand reached for my cell, but I couldn’t find it. I had left it in my purse, and my purse was at Bécquer’s house.
“Madison is safe,” Bécquer said.
“How did you guess I was thinking of her?”
“And Ryan will be too,” Bécquer continued not bothering to answer a question that needed no answer. “I made a deal with Beatriz. If she ever touches you or your children, she is dead. Besides, she’s leaving Pennsylvania tonight, she promised.”
“And you believe her?”
“I do. Beatriz has risked a lot to become immortal. She won’t want to antagonize me further as I am the only one who can protect her from the Elders.”
“The Elders,” Matt repeated. “Federico said they will kill her for stealing your blood.”
“Don’t worry, Matt. I’ll speak in her defense. Let’s hope I’m convincing.” He turned to me, “As for Ryan, I’ll follow your request, Carla. I won’t contact him. But tell him that if he ever needs me, I will always be there for him. Or is that too much to ask of you?”
I considered retracting my request, for I could see in his dark stare the pain it had caused him to accept it and he had just saved Ryan’s life. But the incongruity of the implausible events of this long day had finally caught up with me, and I felt too weary to continue the discussion. So instead, I nodded. “I’ll tell him.”
• • •
I asked Ryan to call his sister as soon as I reached the car, for despite Bécquer’s words of reassurance, I needed to talk with Madison to believe she was all right. When Ryan’s cell didn’t work, which was not surprising after its immersion in the water, I drove us home dangerously fast along the narrow, winding road that left the lake.
The possibilities of Beatriz going after Madison were slim, I reminded myself. Besides, even if she had gone to my house looking for her after taking Bécquer’s blood, Madison would not have been there. Abby’s mother was supposed to pick her up at eight to drive her to her Halloween party. It was past ten now. Madison was at the party, she had to be, and Beatriz could not reach her there.
Immortals only sense humans when they are close, Federico had told me. Beatriz did not know where the party was, or that Madison was going to a party for that matter, and she couldn’t trace Madison’s mind, because she had never met her.
But no amount of reasoning could convince me Madison was safe, not even hearing her voice on the phone when we finally made it home. And so, despite her complaints that I had agreed to let her sleep over at Abby’s, I insisted on picking her up.
Madison was not happy to see me. And once the wave of relief at seeing she was unharmed wore off, I wasn’t happy to see her either, for I soon understood why she had been so upset by my change of plans. Madison was wearing the skimpy outfit that, earlier that day, I had strictly forbidden her to wear.
I shook my head in disbelief and motioned her to the car.
“It’s not what you think,” Madison told me after sulking for a while.
“And what’s that?”
“That I planned to wear this dress all along. I didn’t, really.”
“Why did you wear it then?”
“Courtney had the same cat costume I bought at the mall. She posted her picture on Facebook before the party. I couldn’t wear it after that.”
“Of course you couldn’t.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew you wouldn’t understand. Besides, you were not home so I couldn’t ask you, could I?”
“No. But you knew I would have said no. Yet, you ignored my wishes.”
“You mean I’m grounded?”
“Yes.”
She thought about it for a moment. “Could we do the grounding in two
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