I know, right? Couldnt be cooler. Eve beamed. Oh, and actually, they were out of the bacteria special, so I got you the ham and cheese. Thats usually the safest one.
Safe being a relative term when it came to UC food. Thanks, Claire said. Tomorrow Im making spaghetti. Yes, before you ask, with meat sauce. Carnivores.
Eve made a chomping sound with her teeth. Michael just smiled. The smile faded as he asked, You dont have to go see Amelie tonight, do you?
No, probably not. The books been sitting in that shop for who knows how long. It can wait until tomorrow. I have to go to the lab anyway. Amelie will be a nice break, after my mandatory crazy-boss time.
Eve got herself a cold Coke from the fridge and popped the top as she dragged Claires bag off of a chair and dumped it in the corner. How is crazy boss man, anyway?
Myrnins . . . well, Myrnin, I guess. Hes been getting a little weird.
Sweetie, coming from you, thats alarming. You have an awfully large scale of weird.
I know. Claire sighed and sat down, propping her chin on both fists. She debated how much to say, even to her friends, but honestly, there werent any secrets. Not in the Glass House. I think hes under a lot of pressure to get the machine fixed; you know the one
Ada? Eve asked. Ugh, seriously, hes not bringing that back to life, is he?
Not . . . exactly, no. But Ada wasnt all bad, you know. Well, Ada was, the personality, but the machine did all kinds of things that the vamps need, like maintain the borders of the town, give alerts when residents leave, wipe memories when they want it done . . . and run the portals. The portals were the dimensional doorways that ran through town. Myrnin had discovered some freaky way of accelerating particles and constructing stable tunnels through space-time, something that Claire was still struggling to understand, let alone master. It wasnt quite magic, but sometimes there didnt seem to be much of a boundary between magic and Myrnins science. Its important. Were just trying to, you know, take the Ada factor out of the equation and get the mechanical piece working without the mind-of-its-own part.
Killer computers. Eve sighed. Like we didnt have enough trouble in Morganville already. Im not so sure any of those things youre talking about are good for us, Claire Bear. You feel me?
If by us you mean the regular humans, yeah, I know. But Claire shruggedfact is, having those safeguards lets them trust us, at least a little, and trust is all that keeps this town going.
Eve didnt have a comeback to that. She knew Claire was right. Morganville existed on a teetering, dangerous balance between the paranoia and violence of the vampires, and the paranoia and violence of the humans who outnumbered them. Right there, at the balance point, they could all coexist. But it didnt take much to tilt things to one side or the other, and if that happened, Morganville would burn.
Claire chewed her lip and continued. Were getting it done; really, we are, but hes got some kind of deadline hes not telling me about, and Im worried hes going to . . . do something crazy.
He lives in a hole in the ground, dresses funny, and occasionally eats his assistants, Eve said. Define crazy.
Claire closed her eyes. Okay. I think he wants to put my brain in a jar and wire it into the machine.
Dead silence. She opened her eyes. Michael was staring at her, frozen in the act of opening the refrigerator door; Eve had put her Coke down, her eyes as wide as anything ever drawn in animation. Michael finally remembered what he was doing, reached in, grabbed a green sports bottle, which he carried to the table, and sat down. Thats not going to happen, he said. Im not going to let it happen. Neither will Amelie.
Claire wasnt so sure about that last part, but she was sure Michael meant what he said, and that made her feel a little better. I dont think hes serious about it, Claire said weakly. Well, not most of the time. But he keeps going on about how the brain is a much better CPU
Not going to happen, Michael repeated flatly. Ill kill him first, Claire. I mean it.
She didnt want Myrnin dead, but it did make her feel better to have her friend say it. Michael was a sweetheart most of the time, but the truth was, there was something cold inside himand it wasnt just that his heart didnt beat. It was . . . something else. Something darker. Mostly, it didnt show.
Sometimes, she was grateful it did.
Shanes late, Eve said, changing the subject. Wheres Mr. Barbecue McStabby?
Working late, Claire replied. Somebody canceled on the night shift, so he had to work dinner service. He said it was okay; he could use the overtime. And he doesnt like you to call him Mr. McStabby, you know.
Have you ever seen him cutting up that meat? He is like an artist with slicing. And that knife is as long as my arm. Mr. McStabby it is.
They debated it for a while, with Michael staying out of it and sipping his sports bottle ofprobablyblood, until Eve got the sandwiches out and they ate a cold, and somewhat mushy, dinner. After that, Claire fidgeted around, too restless to study, missing Shane, until Eve finally snapped at her about pacing and moving stuff, and she went up toward her room.
On an impulse, she didnt go there; she stopped in the hallway, reached out, and found the hidden catch to the secret room. The paneling clicked open, and she went in and shut the door behind her. No knob on this side, but that was okay; she knew where the release was. She ran up the narrow flight of stairs and came out in the windowless, dusty room that theyd always figured had been Amelies retreat, when shed once lived in this house. It looked like her, somehowold Victorian furniture, tapestry hangings, multicolored Tiffany lamps that were probably worth a fortune. It was always a little cold in here, for some reason. Claire stretched out on the old velvet sofa, staring up at the ceiling, and thought about how many times shed come here with Shane. It was their private place, where they could just get away from everything, and the blanket draped over the back smelled like him. She pulled it over her and smiled, feeling like the ghost of Shane was here with her, snuggling up close.
She had no idea shed fallen asleep at first, and then she thought she was dreaming, because someone was touching her. Not molesting her or anything, just a fingertip being drawn down her cheek, across her lips . . . a slow, gentle sort of caress.
She opened her eyes to see Shane crouched down next to her. His hair wasas usualmussed, hanging long around his face, and he smelled like barbecue and wood smoke, and his smile was the most beautiful thing shed ever seen.
Hey, sleepyhead, he said. Its three in the morning. Eve thought vampires stole you, but thats only because you didnt make your bed this morning. I think Im a bad influence.
Her lips parted, and his finger paused there, tracing her mouth slowly. She didnt speak. His smile got wider.
Miss me?
No, she said. I wanted some peace and quiet. I didnt even know you were gone.
He clapped his hands over his chest like shed shot him, and fell on the floor. Claire rolled off the couch on top of him, but he refused to open his eyes until she kissed him, long and thoroughly. She licked her lips as she pulled away. Mmmm, barbecue.
Hungry?
Eve brought UC sandwiches.
Shane made a face. Yeah, glad I missed that. But I wasnt exactly talking about midnight snacks.
Boys. Is that all you think about?
Midnight snacks?
Is that what the cool kids are calling it these days?
He laughed, and she felt the rumble of it through her skin. Shane didnt laugh often, except when they were together; she loved the light in his brown eyes, and the wicked way his smile curled up on the ends. Like I would know, he said. I never was one of the cool kids.
Bullshit.
Such language, Miss Danvers. Oh, wait, shitIm a bad influence.
She settled her head down again, ear against his chest, listening to the rush of his breathing. Tell me what you were like in school.
Why?
Because I missed it.
You didnt miss much, he said. Me and Mikey hung out a lot. He was Mr. Popular, you know, but really shy. Girls, girls, girls, but he was pretty choosy. At least, up until our junior year.
What happened in your junior year? she asked before she thought.
Shanes fingers kept stroking through her hair as he said, House burned, my sister Alyssa died, my family went on the run. So I dont know how Mikey was the last two years of school. We caught up some when I came back, but it wasnt the same. Something happened to him. Sure as hell something happened to me. You know. He shrugged, even with her weight on him, but then, she wasnt much of a burden, and he was a strong guy. Theres not a lot to say about me. I was a pretty boring dumb-ass.
Were you in sports?
He laughed. Football, for a while. I liked hockey better. More chances to hit people. But Im not really a team player, so I ended up in the penalty box about twice as much as everybody else. Not as much fun. He was quiet for a few seconds, then said, I guess you know Monica was after me for a while.
That surprised her. Monica Morrell? You mean, after you, in the sense of
I mean she slipped me really dirty notes and tried to rip my clothes off in a broom closet once. Which I guess to her was love. Not so much for me. His face got hard for a moment, and then relaxed. I blew her off, and she got pissed. You know the rest.
Shane believedand Claire had no reason to doubt itthat Monica had set the fire that had burned his home and killed his sister and destroyed his familys life. That wound was never going to heal; he was always going to hate Monica with an intense passion that was two seconds from violence. Not that Monica didnt egg him on, most of the time; she seemed to enjoy Shanes rage.
Claire couldnt think of much to say, so she kissed him again, and it felt sweet, warm, a little distracted on his part. She shouldnt have brought it up, she thought. He didnt like to think about those days at all. Hey, she said. I didnt mean
I know. His smile came back again, and she thought he was back in the here and now, with her, instead of in the bad old days. Glad you werent here for all that, actually. I wasnt really all that good to know then. Plus, if you want to know the truth, I was kind of a jerk in junior high.
All boys are jerks in junior high. And mostly in high school. And then they grow up to be jerks. She kissed him again. But not you, Mr. McStabby.
Oh, man, Eves not letting that go, is she?
Not remotely. She felt herself smiling, too. Shane always brought out some crazy streak in her she didnt think she hadthat was probably what worried her parents so much about the two of them. But Claire liked it. When she was with Shane, she could feelfeel the blood pounding in her veins, feel every nerve awake and alive and hungry to be touched. Everything was brighter, clearer, cleaner. A little crazy was a good thing. Want to make out?
Maybe I should take a shower. I smell like sweat and barbecue.
You smell great, she said. I love the way you smell.
Youre getting sappy, you know that? And maybe a little creepy.
Oh, shut up, you like it.
He did, she could tell, especially when they were under the blanket, curled together on the couch, and Amelies refuge was their own, their private, sweet, warm heaven where nothing could intrude.
Well, except for Claires cell phone alarm, which was set for seven a.m.
That sucked.
Morning was hard, partly because neither one of them had slept much, and partly because Claire just didnt want to ever leave the room, but she finally managed to kiss her way free and get down the stairs to the closed door.
It didnt open. Shane! she yelled. I have to go!
His evil laugh drifted down to her, movie-campy, but he pushed the button and let her out. She beat Eve to the shower, of course; Eve was not voluntarily an early riser, and it was her day off, so Claire could take her time in the hot water, and get herself pulled together without knocks rushing her along. When she opened the bathroom door and stepped out, she found Shane sitting on the floor next to it, blocking the hallway with his legs. He had on his rumpled jeans, but hed left off the shirt.
So not fair. She loved looking at his chest, and he knew it.
We have got to get a second bathroom in this monster, he said, and kissed her on his way through the doorway. You take way too long.
Do not! she said, outraged, but the wood had already closed between them. I take half the time Eve does!
Still too long! he called from inside. Girls.
She banged on the door, then winced and hoped it wasnt loud enough to wake Eve or Michael, and went down the hall to her room. Shane had been right: she had never made the bed yesterday, but she did it today, putting the pillows right and everything. Then she pulled out old, ratty clothes and her worst high-tops.
There was no sense in wearing good clothes to Myrnins lab. They were just going to get splashed with icky stuff, or stuff that burned holes, or stuff that never came out, no matter how creative you got with laundry add-ins. Claire gulped a bowl of cereal in the kitchen, standing over the sink, and started to wash the bowlbut it was Shanes kitchen day, and with a grin, she put the dirties down unscrubbed.
Served him right for trying to make her late.
She dumped most of the contents of her backpack, except for the things that were relevant to her project with Myrnin, then added in the slim history book and took off.
It was a beautiful morning. Shed missed sunrise, but it was still a little cool, and the sky was a beautiful clear blue with only a few scrubby clouds on the horizon. At this hour, the sun seemed friendly, not like the scorching monster it would become by noon. Claire skipped down the steps and out the gate, and set off for Common Grounds first. No Oliver, and this time both the baristas were new employees. Her name was spelled wrong again.