Had I only imagined that I felt the brush of his soul leave his body? Surely vampires had no souls—that was part of the point—but I'd felt something leave. If not a soul, what? If a soul, where did it go for the daylight hours? Who watched all the vampires' souls while they lay dead?
There was a knock at the door, probably the other boys. I stood up, pulling my robe in tight. I was cold, and wasn't sure why. I went to answer the door. The cut on my tongue had almost stopped bleeding.
31
I dreamed. In the dream, someone held me in their lap. Smooth dark arms wrapped around me. I looked up into my mother's laughing face. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. I snuggled against her body, and the clean smell of her skin was there. She'd always smelled of Hypnotique bath powder. She bent and kissed me on the lips. I had forgotten the taste of her lipstick, the way she brushed my mouth with her thumb, and laughed because she'd gotten bright red lipstick on my small mouth.
Her thumb came away with something brighter than lipstick. Blood dripped down her thumb. She'd pricked her skin with a safety pin. It was bleeding. She held her thumb out to me and said, "Kiss it, Anita, make it all better."
But there was too much blood. It ran down her hand. I stared up at her laughing face, and blood ran down it like rain. I woke sitting bolt upright on the velvet couch, gasping for breath. I could still taste her lipstick on my mouth, and the smell of Hypnotique bath powder clung to me.
Larry sat up on the love seat, rubbing at his eyes. "What's wrong? Did we get our wake-up call?"
"No, I had a bad dream."
He nodded, stretching, then frowned. "Do you smell perfume?"
I stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"Perfume or powder or something; do you smell it?"
I swallowed and nearly choked on my own pulse. "Yeah. I smell it."
I flung back the extra blanket and threw the lumpy pillow across the room.
Larry swung his legs off the love seat. "What is wrong with you?"
I went to the window and flung the drapes open. The bedroom door was closed, and Jean-Claude was safely inside. Jason was sleeping in there. I stood in the sunlight and let the heat sink into me. I leaned against the warm glass, and only then realized that I was wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and my undies. Oh, well. I stayed in the sunlight for a few minutes, waiting for my pulse to calm down.
"Serephina sent me a dream. The smell is my mother's perfume."
Larry came to stand beside me. He was wearing a pair of gym shorts and a green t-shirt. His curly red hair stuck up in all directions. His blue eyes squinted when he stepped into the light. "I thought only a vampire that had a connection with you, a hold on you, could invade your dreams."
"That's what I thought," I said.
"How could I smell perfume from your dream?"
I shook my head, forehead against the glass. "I don't know."
"Has she marked you?"
"I don't know."
He touched my shoulder, squeezing. "It'll be alright."
I stepped away from him to pace the room. "It won't be alright, Larry. Serephina invaded my dreams. No one but Jean-Claude has ever done that." I stopped, because that wasn't true. Nikolaos had done it. But that was after she'd bitten me. I shook my head. Either way, it was a very bad sign.
"What are you going to do?"
"Kill her."
"Murder her, you mean."
If Larry's earnest eyes hadn't been staring at me, I'd have said, "You bet." But it's hard to contemplate murder with someone staring at you like you've kicked their favorite puppy.
"I'll try to get a warrant," I said.
"If you can't?"
"If it's her or me, Larry, then it's her. Okay?"
Larry looked at me sadly. "What I did last night was murder. I know that, but I didn't go in planning to kill someone."
"You stay in this business long enough and you will."
He shook his head. "I don't believe that."
"Believe what you want, but it's still the truth. These things are too dangerous to play fair."
"If you really believe that, then how can you date Jean-Claude? How can you let him touch you?"
I shook my head. "I never said I was consistent."
"You can't defend yourself, can you?"
"Defend which one? Killing Serephina or dating Jean-Claude?"
"Either, both. Hell, Anita, if you're one of the bad guys you can't be one of the good guys."
I opened my mouth and closed it. What could I say? "I am one of the good guys, Larry. But I'm not going to be a martyr. If that means breaking the law, so be it."
"Are you going to get a warrant?" His face was very neutral as he asked. He looked older suddenly. Even with his orangey curls sticking up, he looked solemn.