The Accidental Vampire(46)

do?

"What about daylight?" Elvi asked suddenly, sitting up in her seat. Please God, she

thought desperately, let me see the sun again. Her garden had always been her haven,

where she could retire from life's troubles and just relax, digging in the earth with the

aroma of flowers and herbs around her. She had missed it terribly.

"Daylight can be a problem," Victor admitted apologetically. "But only in so much as

sunlight damages skin, which makes the nanos work harder, which means you must

consume more blood."

"But I can go out in it?" she asked, holding her breath.

"Yes, but I wouldn't recommend long periods of exposure and you must increase your

blood intake," he said firmly.

Elvi didn't care. She'd drink an ocean of blood just to be able to feel the sun on her face

again. What else, she wondered. What else had she given up these last five years

because she'd thought vampires had to live a certain way?

"So we can eat, we can go out in sunlight…" Elvi peered at Victor and added, "And

religious relics don't harm us."

Victor smiled and shook his head. "We can eat, we can go out in sunlight, we can walk

in churches and touch crosses and holy water without bursting into flame, we don't

sleep in coffins filled with dirt, we have reflections…" He paused and glanced to the

others. "Is there any other ridiculous myth I've forgotten to address?"

The men all shook their heads, but Elvi wasn't paying much attention, her mind had

fixed on the part about not sleeping in coffins.

" We don't sleep in coffins filled with dirt." His words sang in her ears. No coffin. She

could sleep in a bed. A big, soft, comfortable bed without sides and a lid on it. With

lots of pillows and a huge down‐filled comforter and—

Elvi stood up abruptly. "I have to go."

"What?" Victor asked. He and the others stared at her with amazement.

"I have to go," Elvi repeated, her head swinging around, eyes finding the clock. She had

thirty minutes before the furniture store closed for the night and she wasn't waiting

until tomorrow to buy a bed.

Spinning on her heel, she hurried for the stairs, hardly aware of the screech of wood

on ceramic tile as the men all got up from the table. She needed her purse. It had her

car keys and wallet. There was a small furniture store just up the block from the

restaurant, but it closed early, however there was another on the outskirts of town

that was much larger and still open. It was a fifteen‐minute drive away, which left her

fifteen minutes to shop. She had to move!

"What is happening?" Elvi heard Alessandro ask as she raced up the stairs. No one

answered. Instead, there was the pounding of footsteps on the staircase behind her as

the men hurried to catch up.

"Elvi," Victor called.

Elvi ignored him and hurried to her room. She charged inside and raced to her dresser

to grab the purse that sat on top, then turned back just as Victor burst into the room,

the others hard on his heels.

"What—?" Victor's question died a quick death as his gaze landed on the coffin in the

center of the room. He blanched.

Following his gaze, the others stared in horror. There was a moment of silence, then

Edward moved forward to examine the casket, saying, "I haven't heard of one of our

kind sleeping in one of these since… well, for a good hundred years anyway."

Elvi glanced at him with surprise. "You mean vampires really did sleep in these things

at one time?" She'd briefly thought that had been completely wrong.

Harper nodded and moved to run a hand over the shiny wood. "Houses used to be

large and drafty and not as well put together at times. Some slept in coffins or tombs

to ensure they were protected from any sunlight creeping in."

"Why?" she asked with a frown, and then glanced accusingly at Victor. "You said we

could go out in sunlight."

"Yes, but I also said it means consuming more blood. Before blood banks that was a

risky proposition. The more we had to feed, the more likely the chance of discovery,"

he explained patiently. "We avoided sunlight at all times and anything else that used

more blood."

"Oh," she murmured.

"You have been sleeping in this?" Victor asked, now moving to the coffin as well.

Elvi flushed and nodded.

"For five years?" he asked, lifting the lid to peer inside.

She nodded again.

"This is another cheesecake emergency," Alessandro murmured with a shake of the

head.

"Yes," Victor agreed, mouth grim as he gently lowered the lid back down. "And it's

growing late. The stores will soon close."