The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,67

course, Stephanie, Anders, and Teddy Brunswick, and then came the people she'd never met un l li le more than half an hour ago - Alessandro and Leonora Cipriano, and Edward and Dawn Kenric.

Alessandro and Leonora, both olive-skinned and spor ng long, dark hair, were similar enough in looks that they could have been brother and sister, but a brother and sister would never find any and every excuse to touch each other. Nor would they look at each other the way these two did, devouring each other with bronzed brown eyes full of love and desire.

In contrast, Edward and Dawn Kenric were fair-skinned and fair-haired. They were also more conserva ve in behavior. They s ll shared the same touches and exchanged passionate looks, but only when they thought no one else was looking.

Harper had told Drina that Edward had been the most arrogant, annoying bastard he'd ever known, un l he met Dawn, but that finding her had changed him considerably, and he now actually called him a friend.

Altogether, what they had was a small army in that room, Drina thought grimly as she took in their numbers. That being the case, she wasn't terribly surprised when Tiny suddenly said, "Surely it isn't necessary for all of you to be up here? Shouldn't some of you be downstairs watching the doors and windows?"

"Most of us will go downstairs once your turn is under way," Edward said, reminding the mortal of what they'd apparently decided earlier. "Then we'll take turns watching over you until it's finished."

"Yeah, but why are so many here for the start?" Tiny asked with a frown. "We don't need this many people, surely? Even little Stephanie here could probably bench-press me with one hand."

Seeing the distress on Mirabeau's face, Drina said, "Maybe, but you're a big guy, Tiny, and pre y strong for a mortal. Once the nanos hit, you'll be even stronger. And in pain . . ." She shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid but thinking they'd be lucky if he didn't toss someone out a window in his distress.

"Don't worry, son. It will be all right," Leonora Cipriano crooned and moved over to hug the big man and pat his back as if he were a five-year-old who needed soothing.

Drina glanced to Harper in ques on, and he murmured, "She's eighty-six or thereabouts, just turned the summer before last."

Drina nodded with understanding. The woman might look twenty-five now, but in her head, she was s ll the grandmotherly old woman she'd been before her turn. To her, Tiny was just a boy.

"Well, let's get to it," Teddy said bracingly, as Leonora released Tiny and stepped back to Alessandro's side.

"Right." Tiny glanced to Mirabeau, and seeing the worry on her face, reached out to caress her cheek.

"It's all right, Beau. By this me tomorrow, it will be over. Or maybe the next day," he added with a frown. "Marguerite told me that different people take different lengths of time to turn."

"That's true," Harper murmured.

Tiny nodded and glanced around. "So, you'll need some rope, right?"

"All taken care of," Kenric announced. "We brought chain. Speaking of which, we le it in the garage. I'll go get it."

"Chains?" Tiny asked, eyes widening as the Englishman hurried out of the room.

"Si," Alessandro began, nodding. "The Lucian, he say is best we - "

"Rope is some mes used, but chain is be er," Leonora interrupted, slipping her hand into her husband's and giving a shake of her head when he glanced to her in surprise. She then turned back to Tiny, and added, "They used rope for me and I snapped the e on my right wrist before the end of the turn and I was just an old woman, so when Lucian suggested chain, it seemed a good idea."

"Right," Tiny repeated weakly, but he was star ng to look a bit gray around the gills, and Mirabeau was beginning to wring her hands with worry as it was brought home to her what a dangerous endeavor the turning could be.

Edward hadn't dallied about collec ng the chain. Leonora had barely finished speaking when he returned with several lengths of heavy-duty chain made up of large, thick links. Even Drina had to bite her lip when she saw it. An elephant would have had trouble snapping them.

"Well, let's get started," she said with forced cheer, thinking it was be er just to get it done than to delay. The more time he had to think, the more anxious Tiny