Diego looked up at me, and I signaled for him to join me. He nodded and retraced his trail a little ways. Then he made an enormous leap - I wondered if I could have jumped that high, even as young and strong as I was - and caught a branch about halfway up the closest tree. Unless someone was being extraordinarily vigilant, no one ever would have noticed that Diego'd made a side trip off his path. Even stil, he jumped around in the treetops, making sure his trail did not lead directly to mine.
When he final y decided it was safe to join me, he took my hand right away. Silently, I nodded toward the gingerbread house. One corner of his mouth twitched.
Simultaneously we started edging toward the east side of the house, keeping high up in the trees. We got as close as we dared - leaving a few trees as cover between the house and ourselves - and then sat silently, listening.
The breeze turned helpful y gentle, and we could hear something. Strange little brushing, ticking sounds. At first I didn't recognize what I was hearing, but then Diego twitched another little smile, puckered his lips, and silently kissed the air in my direction.
Kissing didn't sound the same with vampires as it did with humans. No soft, fleshy, liquid-fil ed cel s to squish against each other. Just stone lips, no give. I had heard one kiss between vampires before - Diego's touch to my lips last night - but I never would have made the connection. It was so far from what I'd expected to find here.
This knowledge spun everything around in my head. I had assumed Riley was going to see her, whether to receive instructions or bring her new recruits, I didn't know. But I had never imagined stumbling across some kind of... love nest. How could Riley kiss her? I shuddered and glanced at Diego. He looked faintly horrified, too, but he shrugged. I thought back to that last night of humanity, flinching as I remembered the vivid burning. I tried to recal the moments just before that, through al the fuzziness.... First there was the creeping fear that had built as Riley pul ed up to the dark house, the feeling of safety I'd had in the bright burger joint dissolving entirely. I was holding back, edging away, and then he'd grabbed my arm with a steel grip and yanked me out of the car like I was a dol, weightless. Terror and disbelief as he'd leaped the ten yards to the door. Terror and then pain leaving no room for disbelief as he broke my arm dragging me through the door into the black house. And then the voice.
As I focused on the memory, I could hear it again. High and singsong, like a little girl's, but grouchy. A child throwing a tantrum.
I remembered what she'd said. "Why did you even bring this one? It's too smal ." Something close to that, I thought. The words might not be exactly right, but that was the meaning. I was sure Riley had sounded eager to please when he answered, afraid of disappointing. "But she's another body. Another distraction, at least."
I think I'd whimpered then, and he'd shaken me painful y, but he hadn't spoken to me again. It was like I was a dog, not a person.
"This whole night has been a waste," the child's voice had complained. "I've kil ed them al . Ugh!"
I remembered that the house had shuddered then, as if a car had col ided with the frame. I realized now that she'd probably just kicked something in frustration.
"Fine. I guess even a little one is better than nothing, if this is the best you can do. And I'm so ful now I should be able to stop."
Riley's hard fingers had disappeared then and left me alone with the voice. I'd been too panicked at that point to make a sound. I'd just closed my eyes, though I was already total y blind in the darkness. I didn't scream until something cut into my neck, burning like a blade coated in acid.
I cringed back from the memory, trying to push the next part from my mind. Instead I concentrated on that short conversation. She hadn't sounded like she was talking to her lover or even her friend. More like she was talking to an employee. One she didn't like much and might fire soon.
But the strange vampire kissing sounds continued. Someone sighed in contentment.
I frowned at Diego. This exchange didn't tel us much. How long did we need to stay?
He just held his head on the side, listening careful y. And after a few more minutes of patience, the low, romantic sounds were suddenly interrupted.
"How many?"
The voice was muted by distance, but stil distinct. And recognizable. High, almost a tril . Like a spoiled young girl.
"Twenty-two," Riley answered, sounding proud. Diego and I exchanged a sharp glance. There were twenty-two of us, at last count, anyway. They must be talking about us.
"I thought I'd lost two more to the sun, but one of my older kids is... obedient," Riley continued. There was almost an affectionate sound to his voice when he spoke of Diego as one of his kids. "He has an underground place - he hid himself with the younger one."
"Are you sure?"
There was a long pause, this time with no sounds of romance. Even from this distance, I thought I could feel some tension.
"Yeah. He's a good kid, I'm sure."
Another strained pause. I didn't understand her question. What did she mean, are you sure? Did she think he'd heard the story from someone else rather than seeing Diego for himself?
"Twenty-two is good," she mused, and the tension seemed to dissolve. "How is their behavior developing? Some of them are almost a year old. Do they stil fol ow the normal patterns?"
"Yes," Riley said. "Everything you told me to do worked flawlessly. They don't think - they just do what they've always done. I can always distract them with thirst. It keeps them under control."
I frowned at Diego. Riley didn't want us to think. Why?
"You've done so wel ," our creator cooed, and there was another kiss. "Twenty-two!"