The Vampires' Last Lover (Dying of the Dark Vampires Book 1) by Aiden James, Patrick Burdine
Authors: Aiden James, Patrick Burdine
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headed to Atlanta, Nashville, or anywhere else in the country. Whatever menace had traveled across the Atlantic surely wouldn’t be deterred from tracking me down in another city or, it was starting to seem, as long as I resided on planet earth.
The complicated decision of leaving with Tyreen, Peter, or with the vampire ‘emissaries’ I assumed were presently sleeping somewhere in the Smoky Mountains didn’t have an easy answer. I was searching for the right answer when my phone rang.
“Txema?”
The familiar voice sounded distant, as if the connection wasn’t so good.
“Momma?”
“How are you, honey?” My mother’s voice sounded clear then. “Papa and Grandma are worried sick about what’s going on out there. I am too.”
“I’m okay. I’m safe,” I told her, gazing out my dorm room window at the deserted courtyard below. “Don’t worry, Momma. I’ll be sure to stay inside my dorm, and the only time I’ll go out is during the daylight hours to eat at the cafeteria we visited when you, Papa, and Jon were here for orientation. Peter, my boyfriend, is staying here with me.”
“I’m sure your boyfriend would do everything he could to protect you,” she said, and then chuckled nervously. She grew silent on the other end of the line.
“Momma, are you still there?”
“Yes… Txema, your father has made the decision for you to come home,” she told me, her voice hushed. Apparently, this had been a decision reached with much discussion, not an easy compromise. “He has already arranged for a flight for you to Richmond, first thing tomorrow morning.”
I didn’t know what to say, even though leaving school was already a given. I considered myself very independent and having that decision made without my input by not one, or even two, but
three
different parties flew all over me like a shit storm on a plumber who just broke through a sewer line. That’s one of Papa’s favorite expressions, and it seemed very appropriate right then.
Taking it out on my mother wasn’t an option I’d consider. If anyone had tried to make sure I had a say in this decision, it would’ve been her or my grandmother. And deep down, I understood. The seriousness of what was happening here, and maybe one of Grandma’s intuitions that we all took very seriously overrode all else.
“Okay,” I replied, releasing a low sigh. I glanced over at Peter. He looked up from the John Grisham novel he’d been reading while lounging on Tyreen’s bunk bed. He nodded at me with a concerned expression on his face.
I was beaten.
“What time is the flight out of Knoxville?” I asked.
“7:45 tomorrow morning on Delta, Flight 1107,” she said, clearing her throat before going on. “I have emailed the confirmation to you, so you can print out the ticket and your boarding pass. Be sure to get there early. The news reports are saying a lot of students are leaving, since classes are canceled until December.”
News traveled fast, especially terrible news.
I sighed again. “Okay. I’ll be on board that flight.”
“Good,” she said and the heaviness lifted from her tone. “Your father will be greatly relieved. We’ll meet you at the airport.”
“I’m coming back here,” I blurted out, feeling desperate to claim some amount of control over the situation. “I still want to finish school at UT once this whole thing gets worked out.”
“Why, of course, Txema,” she said, chuckling again, though more from amusement this time. “But, this murder spree will have to be over and done with. Do you understand me?”
“Yes… yes, I do.”
“So, I won’t need to worry about you not making the flight. Right?”
“Yes, Momma, I promise to uphold the tenets of the Articles of Faith and be an obedient child.”
“Txema! This is
not
the time to get sassy with me!” Just like that, my smart mouth stripped away the thin veneer covering my mother’s worry. “We’ve already paid good money for the ticket,
The complicated decision of leaving with Tyreen, Peter, or with the vampire ‘emissaries’ I assumed were presently sleeping somewhere in the Smoky Mountains didn’t have an easy answer. I was searching for the right answer when my phone rang.
“Txema?”
The familiar voice sounded distant, as if the connection wasn’t so good.
“Momma?”
“How are you, honey?” My mother’s voice sounded clear then. “Papa and Grandma are worried sick about what’s going on out there. I am too.”
“I’m okay. I’m safe,” I told her, gazing out my dorm room window at the deserted courtyard below. “Don’t worry, Momma. I’ll be sure to stay inside my dorm, and the only time I’ll go out is during the daylight hours to eat at the cafeteria we visited when you, Papa, and Jon were here for orientation. Peter, my boyfriend, is staying here with me.”
“I’m sure your boyfriend would do everything he could to protect you,” she said, and then chuckled nervously. She grew silent on the other end of the line.
“Momma, are you still there?”
“Yes… Txema, your father has made the decision for you to come home,” she told me, her voice hushed. Apparently, this had been a decision reached with much discussion, not an easy compromise. “He has already arranged for a flight for you to Richmond, first thing tomorrow morning.”
I didn’t know what to say, even though leaving school was already a given. I considered myself very independent and having that decision made without my input by not one, or even two, but
three
different parties flew all over me like a shit storm on a plumber who just broke through a sewer line. That’s one of Papa’s favorite expressions, and it seemed very appropriate right then.
Taking it out on my mother wasn’t an option I’d consider. If anyone had tried to make sure I had a say in this decision, it would’ve been her or my grandmother. And deep down, I understood. The seriousness of what was happening here, and maybe one of Grandma’s intuitions that we all took very seriously overrode all else.
“Okay,” I replied, releasing a low sigh. I glanced over at Peter. He looked up from the John Grisham novel he’d been reading while lounging on Tyreen’s bunk bed. He nodded at me with a concerned expression on his face.
I was beaten.
“What time is the flight out of Knoxville?” I asked.
“7:45 tomorrow morning on Delta, Flight 1107,” she said, clearing her throat before going on. “I have emailed the confirmation to you, so you can print out the ticket and your boarding pass. Be sure to get there early. The news reports are saying a lot of students are leaving, since classes are canceled until December.”
News traveled fast, especially terrible news.
I sighed again. “Okay. I’ll be on board that flight.”
“Good,” she said and the heaviness lifted from her tone. “Your father will be greatly relieved. We’ll meet you at the airport.”
“I’m coming back here,” I blurted out, feeling desperate to claim some amount of control over the situation. “I still want to finish school at UT once this whole thing gets worked out.”
“Why, of course, Txema,” she said, chuckling again, though more from amusement this time. “But, this murder spree will have to be over and done with. Do you understand me?”
“Yes… yes, I do.”
“So, I won’t need to worry about you not making the flight. Right?”
“Yes, Momma, I promise to uphold the tenets of the Articles of Faith and be an obedient child.”
“Txema! This is
not
the time to get sassy with me!” Just like that, my smart mouth stripped away the thin veneer covering my mother’s worry. “We’ve already paid good money for the ticket,
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