She nodded wordlessly. For the life of her, she couldnt have forced out a single word just then. His eyes were dark, the color of rich brown velvet, with a thin rim of gold. Shed looked into his eyes a lot recently, but shed never noticed just how beautiful they were.
Shane stepped back as the door opened again. Michael turned first toward them, offering up a mute apology, then faced Claires parents.
Mr. And Mrs. Danvers, Mr. Bishop would like for you to join him for dinner, he said. But if you have to go home
If Michael was hoping theyd changed their minds, Claire could have told him that wasnt going to happen. As long as her dad had the idea something funny was going on, he wasnt about to do the sensible thing. Sure enough, he got to his feet, holding his coffee cup. I could do with some breakfast. Never tasted Claires eggs before. Kathy? You coming?
Clueless, Claire thought in despair, but then again, shed been just as bad when shed first come to Morganville. She hadnt taken the strong hints, or even the outright instructions, seriously. Maybe shed gotten that from her parents, along with the fair skin and slightly curly hair. In their defense, though, Mr. Bishop was playing with their heads.
And they were scared for her.
She watched as her parents followed Michael into the other room, and then helped Eve get the eggs and bacon and biscuits onto serving dishesnice ones at that. The lumpy gravy couldnt be helped. They poured it into a gravy bowl and hoped for the best, then silently carried it out into the dining area, which was really a corner of the living room.
Claire was struck again, as she was at the oddest times, how the mood of the house could change at a moments notice. Not just the mood of the people in itthe house itself. Right now, it felt dark, cold, foreboding. Almost hostile. And yet all that dark emotion seemed directed at the intruding vampires.
The house was worried, and on guard. The solid Victorian furniture crouched hunched and deformed, nothing warm or welcoming about it. Even the lights seemed dimmed, and Claire could feel something, almost a presencethe way shed been able to sometimes sense Michael when hed been trapped in the house as a ghost. The fine hair on her arms stood on end, and her skin pebbled into gooseflesh.
Claire set the eggs and bacon down on the wooden table and backed away. Nobody had asked her, Eve, and Shane to take seats, although there were empty places at the table; she caught Eves eye and retreated back to the kitchen, grateful to escape. Michael stayed by the table, putting food on plates. Serving. There was a tight, pale set to his face and a cold fear in his eyes, and God, if Michael was panicking, there was definitely reason for a total freak-out.
As soon as the kitchen door closed again, Shane grabbed her and Eve and hustled them to the farthest corner of the room. Right, he whispered. Its officialthis is getting way more than creepy. Did you feel that?
Yeah, Eve breathed. Wow. I think if the house had teeth, itd be chomping down right now. You have to admit, thats cool.
Cool isnt getting us anywhere. Claire?
What? She stared at him blankly for a few long seconds, then said, Oh. Right. Yeah. Ill call Amelie again. She dug the cell phone out of her pocket. It was new, and came with a few important numbers preloaded on it. One of themthe first on speed dial, in factwas a contact number for Amelie, the Founder of Morganville.
The head vampire. Claires boss, sort of. In Morganville, the technical term was Patron, but Claire had known from the beginning that it was just a more polite word for owner.