All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire(107)

 

Carlos cleared his throat.

 

Ian broke eye contact and removed a few large photos from the folder. He slid them down the table. "This is a property in upstate New York that Roman recently purchased. There's a mansion, numerous other buildings, a pool, tennis courts, and three hundred acres."

 

"Wow." Teddy grabbed a picture. "It's huge."

 

Toni studied a picture of the main house. "It's beautiful." She passed the photo on to Sabrina.

 

"Impressive." Carlos looked at an aerial shot of the extensive grounds. "Roman must be extremely wealthy."

 

"Aye, but this is no' meant to be a show of wealth. Roman's keeping it a secret. He and Shanna realized some time ago that the children would need a safe place to be educated and learn their special skills."

 

Teddy looked up from the photo he was examining. "You plan to turn this mansion into a school?"

 

"Aye." Ian handed them the rest of the photos. "You understand the need for secrecy about this? The children attending this school will be unique."

 

"What about were-children?" Carlos asked. "Would they be welcomed there?"

 

"Yes." Ian nodded. "Any child with abnormal abilities. Or children who simply know too much. Heather's daughter falls into that category."

 

"This is so cool!" Teddy thumbed through different photos. "A school for future superheroes! Would they live on campus?"

 

"They could." Ian shrugged. "Some of the Vamp children could be teleported there if they wanted to live at home."

 

"This is great." Toni passed another photo to Sabrina. "I can't wait to introduce you to Constantine. He's so smart and sweet. And he can already levitate and teleport."

 

Sabrina remained quiet, frowning at the photos.

 

"Look at this." Carlos pointed at a picture of a lake. "There's an island here. It would be the perfect place for my kids to practice their panther skills without putting any other kids in danger."

 

Toni leaned forward to look. "That's an excellent idea."

 

"The main problem Roman and Shanna face," Ian continued, "is finding teachers and administrators who can be trusted."

 

"Count me in," Teddy said.

 

"Me, too," Carlos said. "I'd love to bring my orphans there."

 

Ian gave Toni a questioning look. "What do you think?"

 

"I think it was very wise of Roman and Shanna to plan ahead like this. I don't think Tino could be happy in a normal school." She turned to Sabrina. "This would be an interesting place to run, don't you think?"

 

Sabrina slowly stacked the photos. "It's a beautiful place. And an interesting idea." She gave Toni a worried look. "But this was not our plan. We wanted to help children who were homeless, starving, and suffering. This Constantine has a billionaire dad to take care of him. What about the children who have nobody? We can't turn our backs on them just because these mutant children are more interesting."

 

Toni's cheeks turned pink. "Don't call them mutants, please."

 

Sabrina's eyes narrowed. "You're not planning on having any, are you?"

 

An awkward silence fell upon them. Ian watched Toni carefully, but she avoided his eyes. Her blush reddened. Was she embarrassed to be involved with him?

 

Sabrina pushed the stack of photos away. "This is admirable, but it's not our plan. Toni and I have been working on our own plan for ten years."

 

Toni closed her eyes with a pained expression. A twinge of panic crept into Ian's gut. What if she decided to completely leave the Vamp world behind? What if she left him?

 

He grabbed the stack of photos. "There's three hundred acres here. We can build more buildings. We doona need to turn children away."

 

Toni finally looked at him. "We could fit a regular orphanage in there?"

 

Ian took her hand. "We would have to okay everything with Roman. But I do want ye to keep both worlds. Ye shouldna have to choose one or the other."

 

Her eyes glimmered with moisture. "That would be good."

 

"Look at this field behind the mansion." Carlos showed a photo to Sabrina. "It would make a perfect soccer field."

 

She snorted. "I can see where your priorities are."

 

"Come on, Sabrina." Teddy leaned forward. "This is the coolest opportunity ever."

 

She sighed. "I'll think about it. I still need some time to adjust to…everything." She glanced warily at Carlos and Ian. "And I still have a year of school left. That is, if I can go back to school without my uncle trying to lock me up."