Bite Club Page 0,115

seventeen, four were judged most guilty, including Vassily. Nobody said what had been done to them, but really, nobody had to. She just assumed.

Shane got a special hearing in front of Amelie and Oliver in closed session, with Mayor Richard Morrell as an official council member. Claire wasn't allowed in. Neither was Myrnin, not that Myrnin would have bothered to show up, anyway. Claire sat in the waiting room with Eve and Michael and Amelie's assistant, Bizzie O'Meara, waiting for some word.

The doors finally opened, and Amelie and Oliver came out and walked straight past them, ignoring the waiting trio. Richard followed, looking like he had a headache and the town had just run out of aspirin, but he didn't look angry or upset. That was good.

Shane followed him. He wasn't in handcuffs, at least, and when he spotted Claire, he said, "Don't look so worried. I'm on probation."

"What kind of probation?" She held out her hand, and he took it with his left; his right was still bandaged tightly, and it must have hurt, because he didn't move it much.

"The kind where you don't do anything stupid or bad things happen," Shane said. "Everybody agrees that Glory screwed with my head. Not everybody agrees that it's all better now. So I have to prove that I'm not going to go pick fights with vampires anymore."

"Jeez, Shane. You've done that since you were twelve," Eve said. "That's going to be a tough habit to break."

"You know what I mean." Shane's dark eyes met Claire's for a second. "They're right about it. I still feel...you know, angry. Uncomfortable. I guess it'll take some time."

Michael stood up. "You're okay with me?"

"As okay as I ever am. I wish you weren't...what you are. But you're always my bro." He took a deep, unsteady breath. "Gloriana couldn't have made me do what I did, you know. Not without it being part of me, all twisted up with who I am, how I was raised, what my dad was like. I've always hated vampires. Blamed them. It's hard for me to look at you and not think about all that. I'm trying. That's all I can do."

Michael held out his hand, his left, and Shane took it, then hugged him.

"That's all you can do," Michael agreed. "You're my brother."

"Some brother."

"Brothers fight." Michael shrugged and let go. "Just remember, I could have taken you if I'd wanted to."

"Dream on, fang boy. Dream on."

While they were talking--if taunting was a conversation--Claire spotted Amelie loitering in the hallway, speaking with Oliver in low tones. She headed that way. "Ma'am?" she said. "Could I ask you something?"

"I trust it's not a favor. I am not feeling very generous just now." Amelie looked tired and peeved and--like Richard--in need of a very big aspirin. "Well? Declare it."

"I...got a call from a recruiter. At MIT."

"MIT," Amelie repeated. "What is this MIT?"

"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It's...the fantastic school I wanted to attend. They've accepted me. It's very important, and they...said they'd take me."

Amelie's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. "When?"

"At the beginning of next year."

Silence. Claire held her tongue, waiting; Amelie was thinking, but she was also testing her. Wanting her to babble nervously. Well, she wasn't going to. She wasn't going to show any weakness. Instead, she mimicked Amelie's stillness, her direct stare.

Amelie smiled. It happened slowly, almost imperceptibly, but it definitely happened. She nodded slightly and said, "And the question is, doyou want to go to this MIT?"

"It's what I've wanted my whole life," Claire said. "It's always been my dream."

Amelie didn't fail to notice the past tense in her verbs. "Wanted," she repeated. "Been."

"Ishould go. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And if I don't go now, they won't take me; they've got way too many people, good people, trying to get in."

"So," Amelie said. "What do you think you should do?"

"Ask you for permission to leave Morganville," Claire said. "Permanently, maybe."

Amelie considered that for a few seconds. "And do you believe that you, of all people, need my permission to leave? You know Morganville's secrets. You can leave more easily than anyone, except possibly Myrnin. I'm quite sure you've identified many ways to slip away undetected."

She had, of course, and Amelie knew it; Claire didn't confirm or deny any of that. She just waited. Funny, she thought.A year ago, I would have been shaking. Now she didn't feel afraid at all. Amelie could kill her if she wanted. She'd always had that power. There was no point in fearing it.

Claire suddenly