He sat down at the table, watching me as I aired out the greens. “All good. What you up to?”
“Making a sandwich.… Not really hungry, though.”
“Then why are you bothering?”
“To keep my hands busy, to take my mind off wondering what Gabriel and the others are doing.”
“Well, if you want something better to do with your hands, I can think of far more exciting options than mangling veg—”
The scrape of his chair over the tiles as he stood up made me cringe, and I readied myself to bat him away. To my surprise, he rustled about in one of the cupboards and placed down two tumblers next to me, pouring a large amount of neat vodka into each.
“I don’t really drink,” I said.
“Humor me, have a glass. You never know, you might enjoy my company. Seems I’ve got a bit of ground to make up.”
I supposed one glass couldn’t hurt, but one. I still wasn’t completely comfortable alone with Jonah. I set down the sharp knife and the tomato I was butchering and made an effort to lift my spirits. We exchanged a “cheers,” tapping the tumblers together, and I sipped at the clear substance that reminded me of paint stripper.
He downed his glass quickly. “Jeez, Cessie. Not much fun, are you?”
I scowled at him and took another sip. I creased my brow as it hit my throat. It was difficult to resist spitting it out.
Rolling his eyes, Jonah produced a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and refilled his glass.
I eyed him curiously. “You smoke, you drink, I saw your reflection in the rearview mirror … not exactly fitting the usual Vampire stereotype here,” I stated.
“Nope. Interestingly, as you may have noticed, we don’t explode in sunlight either.”
“I guess I don’t understand,” I said.
Jonah chugged back his shot, and his expression hardened as he clutched the base of the tumbler, setting it down on the counter. “Vampires were human once. Our Pureblood Masters turned us; they infected us with their venom. By the time they were done, virtually everything about who we were before was erased. Our very DNA coding changed, and we became something else—marauders, bound with immortality and abilities to aid us in our subservience. But, like all things—immortal or not—we still have a physical form and we need fueling. We exist on blood; blood is the giver of life, after all. That bit is accurate enough.”
I shuffled uncomfortably, not sure what to say. “Well, looks like TV has mostly got it wrong.”
Jonah filled his tumbler once again. Swishing the brown substance around he said, “People have it wrong. It’s simply a game of Telephone over many years. Humans who encountered Vampires told each other about these beings who they couldn’t comprehend. With no explanation, factual accounts were reduced to stories, and over time became nothing more than myth.” He stopped for a moment, and when he continued his tone was lighter. “The whole Vampires-can-fly thing is a good example. We can’t fly. But perhaps someone, somewhere, saw a Vampire jump a vast distance. The story gets recycled over and over, until eventually that Vampire was flying, not jumping. Stake through the chest thing is right though, so don’t try to test that theory on me.” He grinned.
“Noted.” I nodded. While this was all very interesting, I was worried about Gabriel. “So where have they gone, do you know?”
Jonah lit a cigarette before necking his drink. “Michael received word from Thomas. They’ve gone to meet him,” he said.
“What?” I stammered. My grip around the tumbler tightened. “Why are you sitting here giving me a 101 on the life and times of Vampires, when you know that? It’s insane! It’s a trap!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, for sure. They know Thomas failed to escape and they used him as bait to try and capture Michael back—you know, when they caught me instead.” He snarled. “If he is still around since this little rendezvous was organized, after his attempted desertion, it would only be because they still deem him useful in some way.”
“So why have they gone? Come on! We have to go!” I had already slid my glass along the shiny surface and begun rushing in the direction of the door, when suddenly Jonah was blocking me, his hands on my shoulders.
“Trust me, if they needed us, we would be there. My job tonight is to keep you here and safe. Gabriel’s no fool, he’s got no intention of getting caught in the middle of an ambush. You need to trust me.”
I couldn’t take Jonah’s word for it; I needed to find Gabriel, but preferably with Jonah, Ruadhan, and Brooke in tow. So I tried again. “The second they get near Thomas, that will be it! Why would they risk themselves like that? And how can you sit here while they do? Gabriel saved you, all of you. You owe him!”
Jonah held his cigarette in the corner of his lips, his hands still firmly placed on my shoulders. He puffed out a stream of smoke from his nose and stepped back, surrendering his hands as if I had a loaded gun that I was about to shoot. “We need to know what the Purebloods and their clans are doing. Thomas will know their movements at least. Gabriel’s fully aware of the risks involved, but it’s a chance he’s prepared to take to find out what they are planning. You are forgetting a very important fact: he’s not a Vampire. He has his own talents, and a good plan. He is safe,” he said.
“Then why has he taken Michael and Hanora with him? If he’s so safe, he wouldn’t need them!” I argued.
“He doesn’t need them. They won’t be anywhere near when he meets Thomas, they will be meeting someone else.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused.
“A friend, delivering a message from him instead. Thomas’s Gualtiero plans on ending him in the worst possible way; he knows this. There’s no saving him now, nothing we can do for him. But Gabriel can offer him something. Peace in his final moments, in exchange for information. Not a bad deal considering the alternative.”
Jonah raised his cigarette back to his lips, inhaling deeply. “If you go out there, assuming you could convince me to take you, it will end badly for all of us. I’d be right next to him if I thought there was any chance they might not come back.”
There was nothing I could do. There was no point leaving because I didn’t have the faintest idea where they had gone. I had no choice but to sit it out and wait for them to return.