across him in the middle of nowhere.” He paused for a moment, then said, “If they were working for Augustine and he really is dabbling in witchcraft again, then maybe he somehow managed to work a locator spell…but who knows.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the seat, muttering, “This is all just surreal. I feel like I’m watching it from somewhere outside my body.”
Joey patted her thigh in a comforting gesture. “I understand, believe me. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was in your position, just a regular kid who suddenly found out that all the monsters are real.”
“How did you find out?” she asked, raising her lids and looking at Joey.
“Like the cliché says, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’d been taking a short-cut home from my friend Mike’s house during Christmas break my sophomore year. We were on the football team together and hung out like, every day. But that one night I’d lost track of time and was worried about getting in trouble because I was late for dinner.” Joey grinned a little at that. “That’s almost funny now, that there was a time in my life when getting yelled at by my mom was the worst thing I could imagine. Anyway, I was heading home a different way when I got snatched by a bunch of vamps, and they brought me to Augustine.”
“What happened then?” Lu sat up straighter in her seat, attention focused on Joey.
“Augustine was holding Alastair prisoner. Apparently endless torture hadn’t managed to coerce even the slightest bit of obedience out of Allie, so Augustine was trying a new tack. He had Alastair’s older sister Margaret there, too.” He glanced past Lu and said, “She’s your half-sister actually, Allie. Same human mom, but Meg’s dad was definitely of the wing-free variety.”
“Wing free variety?” Alastair echoed.
“I mean her dad was human, while yours was a full-blooded angel. Anyway, your sister had also been turned by Augustine, shortly before you.”
“His sister was also a vampire?” Lu asked. Alastair had turned away from the window and was paying close attention to what Joey was saying.
“Is, not was,” Joey said.
Alastair finally spoke, his voice a whisper. “What did Augustine do?”
“He gave you a choice. Turn the puny human, meaning me, or watch as your sister was slowly and painfully dismembered in front of you. You made the only choice you could,” Joey said, meeting Alastair’s eyes in the darkness.
“Why would he make me do that? For what possible reason?” Pain shook Alastair’s voice.
“To Augustine it was just a little experiment,” Joey said. “The bond between maker and progeny is extremely powerful, but you’d never established a bond with your maker like you were supposed to. So, he had this crazy idea that maybe creating progeny of your own might somehow trigger the bond you’d failed to establish with him.” Joey shrugged and added, “That’s what he said, anyway, but who knows what he was really thinking. Maybe he was just bored and thought this would be an entertaining way to mess with you.”
The Impala merged smoothly onto I-5 south, speeding past a tanker truck and climbing steadily toward the summit. Joey continued, “Plus he probably figured, if you and I did establish a bond I’d become additional leverage in his ongoing efforts to control you. If there was something you cared about, he could take it away from you and use it to threaten you. Like he was doing with Meg the night I was turned.” Joey’s tone was light, even.
“How are you not angry about what happened to you?” Lu interjected. “You tell the story like you’re totally detached from it.”
“Oh believe me, I’ve run the full gamut of emotions in mourning my own death. Anger, denial, you name it. But after six years, I’ve finally arrived at acceptance. What happened, happened. It can’t be undone.” Joey grinned then and added, “Plus, killing every vampire we meet
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the seat, muttering, “This is all just surreal. I feel like I’m watching it from somewhere outside my body.”
Joey patted her thigh in a comforting gesture. “I understand, believe me. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was in your position, just a regular kid who suddenly found out that all the monsters are real.”
“How did you find out?” she asked, raising her lids and looking at Joey.
“Like the cliché says, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’d been taking a short-cut home from my friend Mike’s house during Christmas break my sophomore year. We were on the football team together and hung out like, every day. But that one night I’d lost track of time and was worried about getting in trouble because I was late for dinner.” Joey grinned a little at that. “That’s almost funny now, that there was a time in my life when getting yelled at by my mom was the worst thing I could imagine. Anyway, I was heading home a different way when I got snatched by a bunch of vamps, and they brought me to Augustine.”
“What happened then?” Lu sat up straighter in her seat, attention focused on Joey.
“Augustine was holding Alastair prisoner. Apparently endless torture hadn’t managed to coerce even the slightest bit of obedience out of Allie, so Augustine was trying a new tack. He had Alastair’s older sister Margaret there, too.” He glanced past Lu and said, “She’s your half-sister actually, Allie. Same human mom, but Meg’s dad was definitely of the wing-free variety.”
“Wing free variety?” Alastair echoed.
“I mean her dad was human, while yours was a full-blooded angel. Anyway, your sister had also been turned by Augustine, shortly before you.”
“His sister was also a vampire?” Lu asked. Alastair had turned away from the window and was paying close attention to what Joey was saying.
“Is, not was,” Joey said.
Alastair finally spoke, his voice a whisper. “What did Augustine do?”
“He gave you a choice. Turn the puny human, meaning me, or watch as your sister was slowly and painfully dismembered in front of you. You made the only choice you could,” Joey said, meeting Alastair’s eyes in the darkness.
“Why would he make me do that? For what possible reason?” Pain shook Alastair’s voice.
“To Augustine it was just a little experiment,” Joey said. “The bond between maker and progeny is extremely powerful, but you’d never established a bond with your maker like you were supposed to. So, he had this crazy idea that maybe creating progeny of your own might somehow trigger the bond you’d failed to establish with him.” Joey shrugged and added, “That’s what he said, anyway, but who knows what he was really thinking. Maybe he was just bored and thought this would be an entertaining way to mess with you.”
The Impala merged smoothly onto I-5 south, speeding past a tanker truck and climbing steadily toward the summit. Joey continued, “Plus he probably figured, if you and I did establish a bond I’d become additional leverage in his ongoing efforts to control you. If there was something you cared about, he could take it away from you and use it to threaten you. Like he was doing with Meg the night I was turned.” Joey’s tone was light, even.
“How are you not angry about what happened to you?” Lu interjected. “You tell the story like you’re totally detached from it.”
“Oh believe me, I’ve run the full gamut of emotions in mourning my own death. Anger, denial, you name it. But after six years, I’ve finally arrived at acceptance. What happened, happened. It can’t be undone.” Joey grinned then and added, “Plus, killing every vampire we meet
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