Pink’s gaze flicks to the bunch of roses in my hand and his face falls. Oh, that’s not good. Has Ned told him that he never wants to see me again?
“Come in,” says Pink as he steps aside.
My stomach is in knots. Is being invited in a good sign? Or does it simply mean that Ned is going to break my heart face to face?
Pink leads me to a large kitchen, complete with a large pine table. Ned is not here. But Sammy is. And Lello. And Sammy’s boyfriend, Blue. The one who is scared of me, and ran away last time. This time, he gives me an uneasy look, but quickly turns his focus back to Lello.
Lello, who is Ned’s best friend. Lello, who is sitting at the table with his face in his hands and crying his heart out. With a handwritten note in front of him.
A wave of dizziness washes over me, and I lose my balance. Pink catches my arm and steadies me.
“What the fuck is that?” I gasp.
Lello jumps at the sound of my voice. He looks up at me in alarm, and then snatches the note and hides it under the table.
“Sorry! Ned said you weren’t to see it!” he exclaims. “I was supposed to come and tell you.”
Despite the absolute horror of this moment, I’m profoundly touched that Ned realized that any note would be traumatic and triggering for me.
“What does it say?” I croak hoarsely.
“He has left. He has gone to find a castle to hide in and have a Long Sleep for ten years.”
Relief bubbles through me so intensely that I nearly laugh. He has not done the worst. Anything else can be dealt with. Okay, deep breath. Think. He has left, I understand that bit, but what the hell is a Long Sleep? I open my mouth to ask, but then it hits me. I get the gist. I think it was in the Underworld films where the vampires took turns sleeping for long periods of time. Leapfrogging through the centuries, they called it.
So I guess that is what Ned is doing. Ten years is not as long as one hundred, but it is still an awfullylong time. I will wait for him, of course, but he is going to miss the kids growing up.
Pink clears his throat. “He…he still hasn’t been feeding properly. He is weak. I…I’m worried he won’t wake up.”
And just like that, all my tentative relief evaporates, and my veins turn to ice. No, no, that can’t be right. Pink has to be mistaken.
“Surely he knows what he is doing?” I say.
Pink slowly shakes his head. “Ned is very young for a vampire. He is a baby and barely knows anything and he is…”
“An idiot?” I finish for Pink.
Pink nods and licks his lips. Shit, this is a disaster. We have to find him. But presumably, if his friends knew how to, they wouldn’t be sitting here crying.
“I can take you to him,” says Gray, making me jump a mile. I swear he wasn’t here a second ago.
“Can you?” I ask as I whip around to face the demon.
Gray nods solemnly. “He is in France. I can take you through the shadows.”
I force a swallow down my too dry throat. “How long would it take?”
Gray lifts up his hand and snaps his fingers. It makes me flinch, but it is clear enough. Instantaneous. Which is a whole lot quicker than getting to an airport. And every second counts. I need to get to Ned before he slips into the Long Sleep thing.
“Take me!” I cry.
The demon nods, grabs my suit jacket, and then the world spins and darkens. Gravity twists and sound becomes solid. My mouth opens, but before I can scream, everything returns to normal.
Except I appear to be in a very large wine cellar. One that’s draped with red velvet and scattered with candelabras. As I turn around, trying to take it all in, I’m greeted by the sight of a large bed covered in blood red silk sheets.
Ned is sitting on the edge of it, cigarette hanging from his bottom lip as he stares at me in shock.
“Those things will …” I start automatically.
