Jane Bites Back_ A Novel - Michael Thomas Ford [49]
“She deserves a normal life,” Jane said. “Not this.” She hoped Byron wouldn’t reveal that Lucy had already agreed to become a vampire if he wished her to. What happened next depended upon it.
Byron sat up. “Then make your choice,” he demanded. “Come with me or I turn the girl.”
At that moment the closet door flew open and Lucy emerged. “You’re too late!” she cried.
Byron stared at her, his mouth open. Then he looked at Jane. His face was a mask of confusion.
“I already turned her,” Jane told him.
“No,” said Byron. “You wouldn’t.”
“You were right,” Jane told him. “She does remind me of my sister. So much so that I decided I can’t live without her. This way we can be together forever.”
Lucy approached the couch. “You said you loved me,” she hissed at Byron. “But you were only using me to get to Jane.”
She knelt on the floor at Jane’s feet. Jane placed her hand protectively on Lucy’s head, stroking her hair. In response, Lucy opened her mouth, revealing two shiny white fangs.
“You see?” Jane said to Byron. “You have nothing left to threaten me with.”
“I could still kill them,” said Byron.
Jane laughed. “And risk being branded a traitor?” she said. “You know the rules as well as I do. You’d be hunted to the ends of the earth.”
She actually didn’t know if this was true, but she had heard as much, and hoped Byron had as well. She waited for him to respond, and was surprised when all he did was stand up and go to the door. He didn’t look back as he left the house.
“What was that?” Lucy asked after a minute had gone by with no sign of his return.
Jane shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think it means he believed it.”
Lucy reached up and removed the set of plastic vampire teeth she’d been wearing. “Thank God they still had some of these at the drugstore,” she said, rubbing her gums. “I thought with Halloween over they’d be out.”
“You played the part very well,” said Jane. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” Lucy said. “You did all the work. Frankly, I can’t believe he fell for it.”
“We took away his options,” Jane said. “Without you or Walter he had nothing to threaten me with.”
“Except that Walter doesn’t know about you and I’m not a vampire,” Lucy reminded her.
“But Brian doesn’t know that,” Jane reminded her. “And there’s really no way for him to find out.”
“He must have been a real jerk when he was alive,” Lucy commented.
Jane considered telling her that she’d just escaped being made a vampire by one of the most famous romantic figures of all time. Lucy would probably love that. But the less the girl knew about Byron, the less she would know about Jane. Jane still wasn’t ready to tell her everything.
“Do I really remind you of your sister?” Lucy asked.
Jane nodded. “Yes,” she said. “You do.”
“What was her name?”
Jane hesitated. Should she invent a sister to keep her life a mystery? Lucy would believe whatever she was told. She deserves a bit of truth, Jane told herself.
“Cassandra,” she said. “Cassie.”
“Cassie,” Lucy repeated. “It’s a pretty name.”
“She would have liked you,” said Jane.
They sat together, looking into the fire. Jane thought about Cassie. Lucy really was quite like her. Both had a fine sense of humor. Both took life as it came to them. Both made her feel as though she had someone in the world whom she could trust.
“What do we do now?” Lucy said.
“We wait and see,” said Jane. “Mr. George is going to do whatever it is he’s going to do. We’ll deal with it when it happens.”
“I can’t believe I thought he liked me,” said Lucy. “What an idiot.”
“No more than I was once,” Jane told her. “I believed him as well.”
“But he does love you,” said Lucy.
Jane shook her head. “He doesn’t,” she said. “He just wants to believe he does. He’s starting to realize how lonely it is spending eternity alone.”
“Eternity,” said Lucy. “That’s a long time.” She laughed at her own joke. Jane, despite the silliness of it, did too. Then Lucy grew serious. “Will you really live forever?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Jane answered. “Legends certainly say so, but I’ve found that legends are often just