a surprised frown. “What the fuck did you do to your hair?”
Glory thumped Mirren on the head, slid off his lap, and stood with her hands on her hips, studying Randa and ignoring her mate’s grumbling. “I like it. Turn around.”
The couple dozen people sitting in the big dining room swiveled to look as well.
Terrific.
She turned slowly, letting everyone get an eyeful.
“I think it was a good move.” Glory picked some dishes off the table next to Mirren and took them to the sink. “I mean, your red hair is gorgeous, but it’s such an unusual color it drew attention to you, even when you stuck it under a cap. You can blend in better now, and once all this crap is over, you can always strip the dye out and grow it back out. Or you might decide you want to keep it this way so you can—”
Mirren interrupted. “Glory, st—”
“Yeah, yeah, vampire. ‘Stop,’ he always tells me. He thinks I talk too much.”
Mirren raised an eyebrow, but he looked more amused than angry. “You guys patrolling downtown tonight, or you want the Opelika run?”
“We need to talk first.” Will put an arm around Glory and hugged her. Randa had seen them together a couple of times before Matthias’s attack had driven everyone underground, and they seemed close. Not close enough for Mirren to get jealous—even Will wasn’t that much of a playboy. He just had an easy way with people, except her.
Had that been her fault? Maybe so. But he’d done his part too.
Cage and Hannah were already in the conference room—Hannah had known they needed to meet. Aidan was talking to Mark, she said in her solemn, adult-child way, and would be there soon.
“Mark thinks he wants to leave, but he will die if he does.” Hannah fiddled with a tassle on her pink boots, still a little girl in so many ways. “He will use drugs again, like he did before he met Aidan. He has to stay here even though his future…” She stopped and shook her head, a frown wrinkling her smooth forehead.
Cage leaned toward Hannah. “What do you see in his future?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice rose on the last word, and she threw her Hello Kitty purse across the room. It hit the concrete wall and spilled little girl purse things on the floor: a tube of lip gloss, a pen, a notebook, a mirror. Randa slipped out of her chair and began gathering the items and putting them back in the bag. Will leaned over and handed her a pink cell phone that had skidded near his foot. Not that they could get signals down here, but they all still carried phones. She and Will exchanged uneasy glances.
Cage spoke softly to Hannah. Her adult familiars, who’d acted as her parents for the past three years, had reluctantly left her behind to return to Atlanta. She was using a substitute feeder she shared with Cage, and Randa wondered how much of her frustration was not being able to control her psychic abilities and how much was losing the fams she’d come to think of as more family than familiar. Maybe Cage could help her.
Being a vampire might give you immortality—as long as no one chopped off your head, scrambled your brains, tore outyour heart, or threw you into a sunlit field—but it exacted a terrible toll on family. For a few moments, Randa let her mind go to a dangerous place, to her twin brother, Rory. Until last month, she’d been able to keep up with her dad and brothers by following Rory’s blog. She knew their next-oldest brother, Robbie, was engaged and that the eldest had his first baby on the way. Rory was unsettled after his army discharge, playing in a band and trying to find himself.
They all thought Randa had died, and life inevitably had gone on.
A month ago, Rory had stopped blogging for no reason she could discern. Before Matthias had invaded Penton, Randa had hoped to take some time off, drive to Tennessee where he was living, and try to spot him. Just to make sure he was OK. Now that wasn’t going to happen, not for a while.
The Penton scathe
Glory thumped Mirren on the head, slid off his lap, and stood with her hands on her hips, studying Randa and ignoring her mate’s grumbling. “I like it. Turn around.”
The couple dozen people sitting in the big dining room swiveled to look as well.
Terrific.
She turned slowly, letting everyone get an eyeful.
“I think it was a good move.” Glory picked some dishes off the table next to Mirren and took them to the sink. “I mean, your red hair is gorgeous, but it’s such an unusual color it drew attention to you, even when you stuck it under a cap. You can blend in better now, and once all this crap is over, you can always strip the dye out and grow it back out. Or you might decide you want to keep it this way so you can—”
Mirren interrupted. “Glory, st—”
“Yeah, yeah, vampire. ‘Stop,’ he always tells me. He thinks I talk too much.”
Mirren raised an eyebrow, but he looked more amused than angry. “You guys patrolling downtown tonight, or you want the Opelika run?”
“We need to talk first.” Will put an arm around Glory and hugged her. Randa had seen them together a couple of times before Matthias’s attack had driven everyone underground, and they seemed close. Not close enough for Mirren to get jealous—even Will wasn’t that much of a playboy. He just had an easy way with people, except her.
Had that been her fault? Maybe so. But he’d done his part too.
Cage and Hannah were already in the conference room—Hannah had known they needed to meet. Aidan was talking to Mark, she said in her solemn, adult-child way, and would be there soon.
“Mark thinks he wants to leave, but he will die if he does.” Hannah fiddled with a tassle on her pink boots, still a little girl in so many ways. “He will use drugs again, like he did before he met Aidan. He has to stay here even though his future…” She stopped and shook her head, a frown wrinkling her smooth forehead.
Cage leaned toward Hannah. “What do you see in his future?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice rose on the last word, and she threw her Hello Kitty purse across the room. It hit the concrete wall and spilled little girl purse things on the floor: a tube of lip gloss, a pen, a notebook, a mirror. Randa slipped out of her chair and began gathering the items and putting them back in the bag. Will leaned over and handed her a pink cell phone that had skidded near his foot. Not that they could get signals down here, but they all still carried phones. She and Will exchanged uneasy glances.
Cage spoke softly to Hannah. Her adult familiars, who’d acted as her parents for the past three years, had reluctantly left her behind to return to Atlanta. She was using a substitute feeder she shared with Cage, and Randa wondered how much of her frustration was not being able to control her psychic abilities and how much was losing the fams she’d come to think of as more family than familiar. Maybe Cage could help her.
Being a vampire might give you immortality—as long as no one chopped off your head, scrambled your brains, tore outyour heart, or threw you into a sunlit field—but it exacted a terrible toll on family. For a few moments, Randa let her mind go to a dangerous place, to her twin brother, Rory. Until last month, she’d been able to keep up with her dad and brothers by following Rory’s blog. She knew their next-oldest brother, Robbie, was engaged and that the eldest had his first baby on the way. Rory was unsettled after his army discharge, playing in a band and trying to find himself.
They all thought Randa had died, and life inevitably had gone on.
A month ago, Rory had stopped blogging for no reason she could discern. Before Matthias had invaded Penton, Randa had hoped to take some time off, drive to Tennessee where he was living, and try to spot him. Just to make sure he was OK. Now that wasn’t going to happen, not for a while.
The Penton scathe
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