His gaze met mine.
"Trista is a lot older than you. If some thirteen year old was following you around everywhere and watching you in your backyard, would that be romantic?"
He frowned. "No, I guess it wouldn't be."
"And do you understand that no matter what you do, Trista has said she's not interested, so she's not interested?" I asked again, needing this kid to understand this wasn't romance, and it wasn't smart, whether he was stalking a human or a vampire.
After a moment of hesitation, he managed. "I guess I do."
"And I'm sure you have other stuff to focus on. Stuff that maybe you've been neglecting to focus on Trista?" I pushed, really hoping the answer was yes.
He sighed. “I did just get into a cool program for video game design.”
“See?” I said, relieved. “You’re already on the right track.”
Zack looked at Trista. “Mark my words. I’ll be back in a few years, and we will be friends.”
"If she wants to be," I told him, raising an eyebrow.
He blushed again. "Yeah, if she wants to. I might not have handled this well, but I'll be older and wiser next time."
Trista smiled kindly. “I look forward to it.”
After shifting back into a porcupine, Zack climbed out from under Trista’s robe and did his little waddle walk out of the backyard and disappeared into the trees. I waited, hoping not to see him peek back out at us, then let out a breath of relief when he didn't. At least we were able to help with the situation... before a bunch of pissed vampires tried to deal with it themselves.
Not that I thought Trista would hurt him. I kind of got the impression she wouldn't hurt a fly. I might not like that she was blocking me from reading her, but my gut was telling me that a woman who handled an annoying kid like that so patiently,probablydidn't slaughter her boss.
Trista turned to us with an ecstatic expression on her face. “Thank you so much, you—”
“Trista!” A man bellowed from inside.
We all jumped. The angry man's voice fell as out of place here as a tropical rainstorm. It crashed through the strange serenity of this homey little vampire mansion and felt both unnecessary and unwanted.
Trista's face fell and she sighed. "Excuse me, I have to handle that." Then, she turned and walked back inside.
Carol and I inched forward, following her, peering in the door as Dreven stormed into Trista’s study. He didn’t appear to notice us, but that was often the way when someone was charging around with a chip on their shoulder. “You don’t get to make coven decisions, Trista!” he yelled. “I am the highest ranking vampire and Iwill rule.I don't want you to so much as decide what the coven has for breakfast without my say so. You understand me?”
“Dreven, I wasn’t—”
He wouldn't even let her talk. “This isn’t a popularity contest!”
"I know it's not." She sounded a little irritated. "I'm just trying to do what's best for the coven."
"Best?" He sneered. "You've always wanted to do what's best for us. But you know what, Quillan didn't allow you to, and neither am I. Because you're many things Trista, but not a leader."
"I am a leader," she said, holding her head high. "And I was going to prove it to Quillan. Now, I'm going to prove it to everyone."
He smirked. “You're just mad because Quillan was replacing you with that young Faith. You knew damn well your spot in this coven would soon be replaced with her. It's pretty damn convenient than he died before he could. Isn't it?”
Carol shifted slightly beside me, and it was enough movement to catch Dreven’s attention. He blinked a couple of times, then his whole demeanor changed. “Ah, the lovely Karma. And a friend.” Clasping his hands together, he strode forward. “I need your assistance. You couldn’t have had better timing.”
I stiffened. Our assistance? Why did I feel like I'd rather eat a bug than help this man with anything? And why did it bother me that this little conversation showed me that Trista actually had a motive for killing Quillan.
Darn it.
NINETEEN
Emma
