Theo stopped with the cookie halfway to his mouth.“Huh?”
“He likes you.”
Theo froze.He felt the blood drain from his face, saw Celeste react, and felt her rub his back as if she worried.
“He…”
“It’s an offer, of course.He knows you can reject it.But please consider it.”
“C-consider it?”
She nodded.“That’s what I’m asking.He’s a benefactor, and he seems to like you.He only ever comes here when he’s hungry, and he’s never been picky.This is the first time he’s asked me for anything, Theo.You’d be doing me a favor.”
There it was.Celeste had taken him in, given him a job, and helped him enroll with the enthusiasm no one in Theo’s life had ever mustered for his academic pursuits.It had all seemed too good to be true, but Theo didn’t have the luxury of looking a gift horse in the mouth.
He tensed.“Sure.Yeah, sure.It’s fine.”
Celeste looked at him for a long time.“That’s good.”There was a pause as if she wanted to say more.“You should get going soon, get to class.School’s still good, right?”
Theo nodded, unable to contain the smile that flashed over his face.“Yeah.It’s…lots of reading, but I like it.”
“Good.”She stood.“I’m packing you a few more of those.”She motioned to the chocolate chip cookies.
Then she was out of there, leaving Theo to come to terms with what he’d just agreed to.
The irony.He finished his cookie.Maybe I’m cursed.Or I need to run again and never stop.
That was his backup plan, he knew he’d do it if things got too bad.If Celeste turned out to have been lying to him all along.
But for now, I really do have to get to class.
4
Theo
Theotookthetramhome.Rather than risk the questions about what exactly that job of his was that were likely to come up if he’d stayed at the dorm, he’d rented a small apartment in the Valley.The studio was a half-hour tram ride from Madame Celeste’s and just big enough for him, his books, and his laptop.
Theo should have used that time on the near-empty tram to mentally let go of the previous night and prepare for another day of mostly studying in New Elvenswood’s University Library.He’d missed almost three years of school when he’d been with Bernard, and New Elvenswood offered summer courses in English Lit and Film Studies—just the kind of thing that might help him catch up.
And yet, as pale light started flushing the horizon with tender peony and pink, Theo couldn’t get the vampire out of his head.The vampire who booked me…when?I didn’t even ask.
Theo had never seen hair so pale that it was almost metallic, not unless it came out of a bottle.He wasn’t a hundred percent sure that wasn’t the case for the vampire, just knew the guy hadn’t seemed that kind of vain.Then again, I’m clearly shit at reading vampires.Otherwise I wouldn’t have had to run and move to a whole new city.
Theo slumped in his seat, looking out at the city, where the shops were starting to open.He had really blue eyes too.Ice blue, but sort of dark.No, hard?Like when you look at a frozen lake and know you’ll hurt yourself if you fall.
This Peter person had looked at Theo a lot with those eyes, and not at all in the way Bernard had.Bernard had always had that hungry look, but Theo had only been able to recognize that later on.
Instead, Peter had appeared to be cataloging and dissecting every gesture, every word, every involuntary reaction of Theo’s.Theo wasn’t sure whether it scared him or not.
Doesn’t matter if he scares me.I’ll be seeing him again if he’s as interested as Celeste says, and I’ll just have to deal with it.With him.
Theo shivered as New Elvenswood passed by outside, the streets, houses, and people bathed in the lilac of predawn.In the distance, gold and copper light gilded roofs, windows, and streets alike.
Theo pulled himself out of his daydreaming when the tram came to a halt at his stop.As he rose to get off, he realized he’d been running a hand over the side of his neck where the odd vampire had bitten him.
The bite site didn’t hurt at all.When Bernard had done it, Theo had always been sore, right up until the moment Bernard had bitten him again.The pain had been a shackle, a constant reminder.
At his place, Theo had a quick shower and shoved an apple into his school bag along with Celeste’s cookies.He headed out, and twenty minutes later, he was among the first people in the university library, so he had his choice of workspaces.
