Aurora Sky Vampire Hunter - By Nikki Jefford Page 0,9

Fane who looked at me in disbelief as though seeing a ghost emerge through the snow. He dropped his cigarette and took several steps forward.

"Aurora?"

A smile hovered on my lips. So he did know my name.

Fane's companion looked me over with a scowl. "Chum of yours, Francesco?" he asked in a British accent.

Fane ignored his friend. He stepped closer. "What are you doing out here?" He gazed into my eyes. When I didn't answer he looked beyond my shoulder. "Do you live nearby?"

"Yes."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"No."

Fane's bystander made a sound of exasperated impatience. He looked a lot like Adrien Brody, the clean-cut version in The Pianist, with pale skin, narrow cheekbones, and a lanky, thin frame.

"I'll give you a ride home," Fane said.

I screeched the moment he grabbed my arm. "No!" I wasn't so out of it that I'd get into a moving vehicle with someone other than my mom.

Fane's friend sneered. When he spoke he sounded all snotty British. "It's not enough that you're hanging out with those adolescent twats at Denali, now you're consorting with a girl who is clearly insane."

Fane let go of my arm and glared at his companion. "She was recently in a car accident."

The scowl became further pronounced. "A car accident occurs every second - 103,680 a day - over 35,000 fatalities annually in this country alone." He walked around me as he spoke, studying me as though I was a marble sculpture at the Louvre. With my pale skin, I was nearly white enough.

He stopped directly in front of me and stared me in the eyes. "Happens all the time. Get over it."

Fane crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe it's time you got over it."

"This isn't about me."

"It's always about you," Fane said. He turned to me. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"I'm not going home."

"Oh, really?" Amusement danced over Fane's eyes. "And where exactly are you going, Aurora Sky?"

I lowered my lashes and tried to think. "I don't know."

"I say you leave her out here to freeze," his buddy said.

Fane rolled his eyes. "I'll be right back. Go pick out your movies. Try to find something with more action and less subtitles."

Fane took my arm and led me down the hill. "Here we go - back home."

"I don't want to go back home. She'll want me to decorate and eat cookies."

Fane laughed. "Clearly you come from a dysfunctional family."

He removed his hand when we reached the sidewalk. When there wasn't a vehicle in sight I nodded my consent to cross.

Fane followed my lead and shadowed my steps. When we reached the opposite side of the road he smiled. "Made it."

Dressed in his usual black jeans and ribbed tee, he was as dark as doom against the fading light. Even the snow didn't stick to his long leather jacket.

I didn't know why he was doing this. I kept expecting him to offer to sell me drugs to ease the pain. But there was no pain, only a numb sense of nothingness, and he made no offers.

"Did you die?" he asked.

I craned my head sideways to look at him.

"You know, white light opening in front of you welcoming you into the heavens?"

"No, there was no white light."

I looked away. The snow hadn't let up. If anything, it fell thicker and faster. The flakes were like particles of light broken into tiny fragments across the sky.

My voice dropped. "But there was a white room. I didn't like the white room."

"I'm not much for hospitals, myself," Fane said. He kicked a mound of snow and it scattered like dust. "Avoid them like the plague." His words ended on a laugh.

We worked our way through the crowded neighborhood and started up the hill that led to the woods.

"Got any Christmas plans?" Fane asked.

I didn't answer. I didn't want to think about the gifts my mom would give me in an attempt to buy my forgiveness. I didn't want to moon over my upcoming orientation with the agents.

As we walked through the woods I imagined Fane taking my hand in his. I wasn't sure if Valerie was his girlfriend or if they were just fooling around. Either way, he kept his distance, returning me home as though I were a lost puppy.

Well, I wasn't lost.

Once our feet hit the road, I stopped and turned to Fane. "You can go back now," I said.

"Is your house nearby?"

"Yes."

Fane leaned forward. "Very well, Aurora. I'll wait here in case you try to wander off again."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not