That was a long week.
Andranik calls Cher his “sirelis”, which makes me want to barf. He has no right to use sweetheart names with her.
The big brother in me rises up. It can hardly be separated from the trapper in me, who also wants to see this vampire strung and quartered. It’s when I turn to the last page that those two parts of my personality combine into one irate bull who will stop at nothing to set this right.
Cher usually doesn’t address the journal entries, since they are all made for her alone. But this one causes sweat to form on the nape of my neck.
“Avet,
If you read this, know that I love you. You and Keran might hate me for falling for a vampire, but trust me, I hate myself more. I had a plan. I think I’m still working on my plan, but it’s more complicated than I realized.
Andranik is my boyfriend. He’s a vampire who drinks only from me.
I can picture your face as you read this. It’s fine, Avet. I’ve got everything under control. I have a plan. His venom slows me down a bit, but it’s not that bad.
I’m working on something. You have to trust me. You might think I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into, but I do. I know what I’m doing.
Andranik is taking me away for a while so we can figure this out. If I’m not back by the time I am reported missing, then it’s safe to say my experiment went wrong.
I’m okay with this risk. I would rather try and fail than accept that this is the best we can do.
~Cher Bear”
9
SAFE SLEEP
I need to sleep. There’s no questioning my slippery hold on sanity at this point. Though I read Cher’s note to Avet over and over, the words begin to blur in my mind. Cher was being drained by Andranik so he didn’t have to keep finding random victims. He kept her alive as a traveling blood snack, and she was more than happy to volunteer. Whatever plan she has that she thinks she is in control of, it has clearly gone awry.
“It’s good news,” I tell Avet as I try to convince myself. “If Andranik has it in his mind that he wants to drink from one person, it means he’s most likely kept Cher alive. I was worried we were chasing down a dead body, but there’s a very good chance Cher is still breathing.”
Avet glares at me. I can tell I have said the wrong thing. “You call this good news? My baby sister—your baby sister—is a shell of a person now. A vampire’s venom is meant to slow a person down. Cher knows that!” He shakes his head. “I called a friend. She’s on her way. She knows more about this sort of thing than I do.”
I instantly tighten up, standing to pace. “You’re bringing someone in on this? That’s not usually how we operate.”
Avet tosses the diary on his bed. “Yeah, well, how we operate is by the book, and this is well outside those rules. It’s time to think outside the box, which is her specialty.”
“It’s a bad idea. If other trappers find out your sister invited a vampire in to feed off her, do you really think they’ll help us?”
Avet closes his eyes. “We have to try. I don’t know about other trappers, but I know Sevan. She hears the whole story before sharpening her weapons.”
I blink to keep my vision from blurring over. It’s nighttime, and I need to sleep. I’ve been powering through on half a night’s rest, if that, for too many days in a row. “We don’t work well with others. You know that. Remember that job five years ago? That was a disaster.”
Avet’s nose raises. “You don’t work well with others. I’m a delight.”
“A delight they want to throw through a window after the first sign of conflict.”
My chest feels tight. I have to sleep soon. Like, now.
Avet scoffs. “Whatever. Either way, we need help on this. Sevan is smarter than most. She does those fancy things you do, like studying.” He taps his temple. “She can get into their heads. That’s how she traps.”
The room tilts, so I grip the wall to keep from falling over. My words scrape across my throat. “The draught, Avet. I need the potion. I can’t stay awake much longer. There’s a girl. Maybe ten years old. She’s going to be mauled by a brown wolf with gray streaks while she’s in her bedroom. She’ll be asleep and then scream when the wolf attacks.” I don’t want to relive the details of my prophetic night terrors, but Avet has to understand why I need the draught now. “That’s all I see when I sleep. If I sleep.”
Avet’s eyes widen as he scrambles to my side. “Oh, sorry. I forgot. I’ve got it right here. Careful, Keran. Let’s sit you down first.” His hand shoots out to my elbow, but the promise of someone being there to steady me convinces my knees that they don’t need to hold me upright anymore.
I hate it when this happens.
Avet catches me before I collapse to the floor, swearing over and over. “I’ve got you, Keran.” He grunts. “You’re too heavy to be the damsel in distress.” He lowers me to the edge of my bed, holding my head to his hip while he unscrews the cap of the thermos. “Drink, Keran.”