"This place is going to feed you a pack of lies. They want to change us ... al of us. It's a ploy by the government."
"They aren't feeding me anything. They made it clear, it's my choice. Now go away before you get me thrown out of here."
"Trouble is my middle name, Cuz."
"Chan." Del a made that low snarling sound again.
"You are no fun," he said, and then took off, moving so fast he left only a cold wake of fear behind. Kylie found a tree to lean against. Del a stood there, head tilted as if listening and staring off in the direction Chan had disappeared, no doubt making sure he'd left.
Slowly, she turned to Kylie. Her eyes had faded back to her own shade of black. The moon found its way from the clouds, al owing Kylie to read the emotions in Del a's face.
"I'm sorry," Del a said, and her expression matched her words.
Kylie couldn't answer; she hadn't even gotten her breathing under control. Back stil against the tree, she wrapped her arms around herself to fight off the chil that had nothing to do with the temperature.
"He wouldn't have hurt you," Del a said.
"He cal ed me a snack," Kylie insisted, managing to eke the words out from her shaking lungs.
"He enjoys scaring people. He wouldn't have done anything."
Kylie arched a brow in disbelief. "Is he ... does he belong to one of those gangs that harm humans?"
"No, he just likes to act out sometimes."
"Is that why you kept getting between us?"
"I did that because I could smel how afraid you were."
While Kylie couldn't total y buy into Del a's words, she sensed Del a believed it. Or at least she wanted to believe it. The normal noises of the woods returned. A few insects chirped in the distance. Del a stood there almost fidgeting. "Can I ask you a big favor?"
"What?" Kylie asked.
"Don't mention this to anyone? Other supernaturals aren't supposed to visit." The pleading in Del a's voice seemed to cost her.
"What if he comes back?" Kylie could almost smel the scent of raw meat that had lingered on his breath.
"He won't. I'l make sure of it." Pausing, Del a studied Kylie's face. "Please. If they find out, I could be sent home and I real y need to be here right now."
Kylie remembered how Del a had protected her and for reasons Kylie didn't quite understand, she trusted the vampire to protect her again. But did she trust her enough to put her life in her hands? Probably not, but her gut instinct made the decision for her.
"Just make sure he doesn't come back. I don't want to become another blood spatter on his shirt." Saying the words sent another chil down Kylie's back.
When the chil hung on longer than it should, she wondered if the cold stemmed from her panic or was it from something else? Was someone else here? Someone other than ...
"Thanks." Del a smiled. "I knew I liked you. Come on-let's get to the bonfire before they send someone after us."
They started walking again, but every other step had Kylie looking over her shoulder. What frightened her more-finding a ghost or Del a's cousin
-she wasn't sure.
* * *
The smel of wood smoke grew stronger as they made their way through the woods. The half moon shifted in and out behind clouds, shrouding them either in moon shadows or complete darkness. The strange animal sounds kept playing in the distance-lions, elephants, and even wolves. But thankful y, the cold faded into the darkness.
Del a never seemed to lose her way so Kylie stayed close, ignoring the feel of thorns and bushes catching on her jeans. Final y, a reddish glow appeared between the trees.
Able to think clearly at last, Kylie took advantage of their last few minutes alone to ask Del a a few questions. "Is ... your cousin the one who did this to you?"
Del a looked over her shoulder. "Did what to me?"
"Turned you into a vampire."
"Oh. No. I was born with the virus. But yes, it was probably the contact with him that activated it."
"I thought you became a vampire by getting bit? Or is that just a myth? I mean, I realize there's a lot of myths about supernaturals. I saw you could eat pizza. And you were in the sun."
Del a smiled. "The sun and I don't get along, but sunscreen mostly takes care of that. I can eat-not like I used to. I mostly need blood. And yes, some humans can be turned by being ... bit. There are parts of the myths that are true. However, most of us are born with the virus. But it takes being exposed to another vampire before the virus is activated."
Kylie tried to understand. "So you knew you were a vampire al your life?"
Del a chuckled. "Hardly. The virus runs in my family but we never knew anything about it because it only affects one in fifty family members, and even then it may not be the active virus. Everybody thought Chan died in a car accident when he was in France. Then one night I saw him, at this party. Freaked me out."
"I can imagine." A lot of this was freaking her out.
"Anyway, he of course could sense that I had the gene and having come in contact with him, he knew I'd turn and get sicker than hel . He showed up to help me. He told me that I was a vampire. It was a big friggin' shock to my system. Sort of like what you're going through right now."
"Yeah, but I haven't been sick. We're not sure if I'm anything."
"Yeah, denial is a big part of it," Del a said. "I remember. I swore I just had a bad case of the swine flu."
Kylie bit back another denial and let Del a continue. "I went through it al . Of course with vampires it's worse. The change is damn painful." She moved a few branches out the way and held them back for Kylie to pass.
"So your parents don't know?" Kylie asked.
"You kidding?" Del a asked. "They would freak."
They kept walking and Del a continued. "I got real y sick at first. The doctors didn't understand it, either. Chan explained everything to me. He hid in my bedroom and took care of me for almost two weeks. I owe him big for that."
"Enough to leave your family for him?" Kylie asked, remembering what Del a and her cousin had argued about. Then Kylie recal ed her own family drama and sympathized with Del a's plight. Losing someone you loved hurt like hel . An image of her father flashed in Kylie's mind and her chest tightened.