“Not a hefty feat,” I muttered. Billy, too, had been turned and then abandoned by his sire, left to fend for himself some hundred years or so before we met. His flagrant disregard for The Code couldn’t be helped, given his circumstances, but even he couldn’t get away with working alongside a human that closely.
“What was that?” Leslee asked, her tone making it clear that she didn’t need the clarification.
“I look forward to meeting Miss Amato,” I said, lifting my voice to a more appropriate volume and clearing my throat.
“She’s incredible.” A fifth fangling I hadn’t noticed yet chimed in, voice filled with awe. He looked older than the others, but forhis slumped posture and unfortunate bowl cut. His nametag said Benedict.
“I’ll fetch le mademoiselle for you, Professor,” Frederick purred, but his brother stomped a foot in the dirt with a shriek.
“Miss Amato specifically said not to disturb her again!” A rogue, indignant curl quivered on Alfred’s forehead.
“I’m sure she’ll make le excep . . . shion!” Frederick slurred his syllables together, pursing his lips obscenely in the fake French word. His brother snarled and lunged.
Before either of them could land a hit, I snatched the collars of their dress shirts. “Be still,” I hissed, fixing their quickly dilating red eyes with a commanding stare. I waited until their feet slumped on the gravel drive, jaws slack, gaze blank, before releasing them. They swayed in place, awaiting my next command.
“Oy, this bugger hypnotized Alfie and Freddie!” The beefy fangling dropped my luggage like so many bales of hay, pushing his sleeves up as he sprinted toward me. With a wave of my hand, I ensnared the rest of the fanglings, my budding headache roaring to life at the exertion. One newly turned vampire had enough power and bloodlust to take down a small militia on their own. I was challenged with six—all without a sire.
“That is enough. All of you are to quietly and politely carry my things to my room. You will deliver me my evening meal and leave me in peace until our first lesson tomorrow. Nod if you understand.”Five heads nodded in unison. I waved my hand in the opposite direction this time, releasing the nest.
Something strange twisted in my gut as I watched the boys gather my things and march in an orderly line into the hotel.
“You didnae hav’t do that.” A soft Scottish brogue sounded at my shoulder. The driver—Alex. Ah, there was number six. “They would’ve done what you asked after they worked off their excitement.”
Leslee stood behind him, comforting hands on each shoulder. Something in her gaze made me want to turn away, to hide. “Alex is right,” she added. “They’re good boys.”
“They must learn to control themselves as any of us did.” I sniffed, adjusting my traveling coat and brushing invisible dirt from the front.
“Your teacher hypnotized you?” I couldn’t see Alex’s face beneath his hair, but his mouth was turned down in a tight line.
“I won’t depress you with my teacher’s lessons.” I nodded stiffly to the witch and the fangling before finally walking into the hotel, their pitying gaze burning through my back.
Inside, I was pleased to discover my room matched the photos I’d seen. Maroon striped wallpaper met dark wood wainscotting, peppered tastefully with reproductions of the Dutch masters. My luggage rested on the available stands, the wardrobe doors left open should I wish to unpack. A plush, square sofa and lounge set surrounded a reclaimed wood coffee table, stain glinting in the flickering low light. I was reminded briefly of the tavern rooms I’d rented in my past life—of the laborious work drafting lessons by candlelight.
The bed was plush and inviting, although I’d slept in my coffin for long enough now that the thought of all that softness made my back ache.
And there was my burial case itself, resting thoughtfully on a raised wooden bed, a rolling tray filled with my grave dirtbeneath that. My journey had been tiring, and the dawn would come soon, but there was still the matter of my dinner.
The only fangling remaining was the willowy one with all the hair. He levitated in a cross-legged position, hands crossed over his chest, waiting.
“You.” I snapped my fingers at him, expecting some recognition in his disdainful gaze. He arched a brow, the expression quickly swallowed by his wavy mop. “See that I’m brought dinner expeditiously. I don’t wish to wake hungry.”
“Breakfast?” he asked, voice like the wind through eaves.
“Yes, I suppose I’ll take breakfast as well.” I unfastened my coat, hanging it in the wardrobe before snapping open my suitcase. “You do keep a live supply, correct?” Some vampires, like Billy, preferred blood donation bags, but I’d never acquired the taste. It was like sipping flat, stale beer when I knew there was champagne in the next room.
William nodded.
“That will be all.” But when I turned around, the boy was still there, hovering a few feet above the lush carpeting. “I’ll expect a more attentive ear in the future, Master William. I said, ‘That will be all.’”
The fangling dropped his legs to the ground, slouching from the room but not before muttering, “Billy tips for breakfast.” The door slammed behind him, rattling the paintings and light fixture.
“Billy tips,” I muttered. “Outrageous.”
I certainly had my work cut out for me.
Two
The next evening, at the crack of sunset, the room’s phone pulled me from sleep with its raucous chirping. I ignored it, eyes still closed, body in its mimicry of death. But once it seemed to tire itself out, it was less than a split second before it picked up its cry again.
