nothing, but I could feel her watching me. I had no idea who would send a funeral arrangement to us without a card. I was ready to side with Mom on this one. It was a mistake, not something sinister.
"So I'm taking Kerry and Cecelia to Mathias' house today, right?"
"Unless you want to come to the street fair," Mom said, laughing. She knew I hated the crowds at the street fair. I'd always been uncomfortable in crowds, but since I'd started being able to see auras and know things about people based on their auras, crowds were worse.
"Um, yeah, I'll pass. You guys are coming to Mathias' place after the fair to watch the fireworks on the beach, though, right?"
Mom nodded. "Don't forget to take the potato salad when you go. I won't have time to come back for it."
"No problem. Call me if there's anything else you want me to have for the cookout."
"It's really so nice of Mathias to host this cookout, don't you think, Tawnya?"
"Sure, Loraine."
I could see something wasn't quite right with Tawnya this morning, but she didn't want to share whatever it was with Mom. Tawnya had a lot of secrets she kept from Mom, but since she also kept my secrets, I had decided I couldn't expose hers. "I'm gonna get ready. I'll see you guys later."
Tawnya leaned into my room a few minutes later. "Mairin, have you seen the newspaper lately?"
I shook my head. "I try not to read it." What was the point? I saw the murders first hand. The newspaper couldn't horrify me any more than my dreams.
"Something is killing people in alleys in East Hampton. And now a funeral arrangement shows up on our front porch. Do you have any theories?"
"Should I have a theory?" I asked.
"How about a dream to tell me about?"
I flopped onto my bed. "Yeah, I've been dreaming about the murders in East Hampton," I said. "But the dreams are coming too late for anyone to do anything about them."
"Maybe the authorities could do something if they knew who was doing it," Tawnya said.
A chill ran down my spine. "It isn't Mathias."
"You don't know that, Mairin. He is what he is, no matter how you feel about him. Have your dreams shown you who the killer is?"
"I can't see the killer's face in my dreams, but I know it isn't Mathias."
"I know you trust him, Mairin. I've even begun to like him, but we cannot forget for one moment what he really is. To do so is to invite death to the table."
I was torn. I could tell Tawnya how I knew for certain it wasn't Mathias, but that would mean admitting he spent almost every night with me. I was pretty sure if she knew I'd invited a vampire to stay in our house every night she'd freak out and Mathias would be banned from our home. I knew he'd abide by such an injunction, too. I wasn't willing to risk losing my nights with him.
"You'll have to trust me this time, Tawnya. It isn't Mathias. I'm certain enough to stake my life on it."
"You do that every time you're alone with him, Maire," she said. "You don't know how hard it is for me to let you go with him, knowing what he is. Especially after you got hurt last spring."
"That wasn't Mathias either," I said. "It was the demigod I told you about."
"But Mathias is the reason you were there. That makes him culpable, Maire."
I shook my head. We were never going to agree on this issue. I knew Mathias would have died because he believed Braden threatened to harm me and then offered to protect me and my family if Mathias would lose the fight. Braden had then threatened to kill me when Mathias decided I was worth living for. It was only Mathias' desire to remain worthy of my affection that kept him from killing Braden after that threat. Tawnya simply refused to believe there was any good in a vampire.
"Look, Tawnya, we can fight about this, but it won't fix the problem. I know the killer in East Hampton isn't Mathias. I've been dreaming of it, though it's been staying in the shadows of my dreams and I haven't seen its face yet. I only know it is not Mathias."
"Just promise you'll be
"So I'm taking Kerry and Cecelia to Mathias' house today, right?"
"Unless you want to come to the street fair," Mom said, laughing. She knew I hated the crowds at the street fair. I'd always been uncomfortable in crowds, but since I'd started being able to see auras and know things about people based on their auras, crowds were worse.
"Um, yeah, I'll pass. You guys are coming to Mathias' place after the fair to watch the fireworks on the beach, though, right?"
Mom nodded. "Don't forget to take the potato salad when you go. I won't have time to come back for it."
"No problem. Call me if there's anything else you want me to have for the cookout."
"It's really so nice of Mathias to host this cookout, don't you think, Tawnya?"
"Sure, Loraine."
I could see something wasn't quite right with Tawnya this morning, but she didn't want to share whatever it was with Mom. Tawnya had a lot of secrets she kept from Mom, but since she also kept my secrets, I had decided I couldn't expose hers. "I'm gonna get ready. I'll see you guys later."
Tawnya leaned into my room a few minutes later. "Mairin, have you seen the newspaper lately?"
I shook my head. "I try not to read it." What was the point? I saw the murders first hand. The newspaper couldn't horrify me any more than my dreams.
"Something is killing people in alleys in East Hampton. And now a funeral arrangement shows up on our front porch. Do you have any theories?"
"Should I have a theory?" I asked.
"How about a dream to tell me about?"
I flopped onto my bed. "Yeah, I've been dreaming about the murders in East Hampton," I said. "But the dreams are coming too late for anyone to do anything about them."
"Maybe the authorities could do something if they knew who was doing it," Tawnya said.
A chill ran down my spine. "It isn't Mathias."
"You don't know that, Mairin. He is what he is, no matter how you feel about him. Have your dreams shown you who the killer is?"
"I can't see the killer's face in my dreams, but I know it isn't Mathias."
"I know you trust him, Mairin. I've even begun to like him, but we cannot forget for one moment what he really is. To do so is to invite death to the table."
I was torn. I could tell Tawnya how I knew for certain it wasn't Mathias, but that would mean admitting he spent almost every night with me. I was pretty sure if she knew I'd invited a vampire to stay in our house every night she'd freak out and Mathias would be banned from our home. I knew he'd abide by such an injunction, too. I wasn't willing to risk losing my nights with him.
"You'll have to trust me this time, Tawnya. It isn't Mathias. I'm certain enough to stake my life on it."
"You do that every time you're alone with him, Maire," she said. "You don't know how hard it is for me to let you go with him, knowing what he is. Especially after you got hurt last spring."
"That wasn't Mathias either," I said. "It was the demigod I told you about."
"But Mathias is the reason you were there. That makes him culpable, Maire."
I shook my head. We were never going to agree on this issue. I knew Mathias would have died because he believed Braden threatened to harm me and then offered to protect me and my family if Mathias would lose the fight. Braden had then threatened to kill me when Mathias decided I was worth living for. It was only Mathias' desire to remain worthy of my affection that kept him from killing Braden after that threat. Tawnya simply refused to believe there was any good in a vampire.
"Look, Tawnya, we can fight about this, but it won't fix the problem. I know the killer in East Hampton isn't Mathias. I've been dreaming of it, though it's been staying in the shadows of my dreams and I haven't seen its face yet. I only know it is not Mathias."
"Just promise you'll be
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