Shadow Lake Vampire Society - Wendi Wilson Page 0,55

I asked, looking from him to Levi, to Sasha, and back again.

“She fell off the wagon,” Levi said, drawing my attention. “She got involved with some more… traditional vampires and started drinking human blood again. Dean Purty told her she had to clean herself up if she wanted to come back here, and she promised she was back to only animals.”

“I’m disappointed Chef Chloe has been aiding Sarah’s relapse,” Sasha said, joining the conversation. “I know I vetted her, Charles. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Sasha,” he replied, shaking his head. “I was fooled by her, as well.”

“What will happen to them?” I asked. “Will you make them leave?”

Dean Purty frowned. “I’m afraid I cannot. If I send them away, I can’t control them.”

I wanted to make a smartass remark about the stellar job he’s doing controlling them as it is, but I bit my tongue. I couldn’t forget that I was standing in a room with three vampires. It didn’t matter how nice they seemed. Any one of them could kill me with a flick of their wrist.

“I need to be able to keep my eye on both of them,” Dean Purty continued. “I need you three to help me.”

Levi and Sasha nodded, and I stared at each of them with wide eyes. “What am I supposed to do if I see something else? They won’t hesitate to wipe my memory.”

Or kill me, I added silently.

“Do not try to interfere or follow them,” the dean replied. “Just let one of us know if you see anything suspicious from Sarah or Chloe.”

“What about the others?” I asked. “Lars helped Sarah kidnap me. And Micah and Naveen helped load me into the boat.”

I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I was really disappointed. When the others had invited me and True to sit with them, they’d been nice. Well, all except for Micah.

“Sarah controls them with an iron fist,” Levi answered, “so you’d be smart to watch out for them. But I don’t think they’re drinking from the kids. I haven’t smelled human blood on any of them.”

“You can… smell it?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“I smelled it on Chef Chloe when she arrived,” Dean Purty added, “but I decided it was better to keep her here where I could watch her instead of sending her away. I hope I haven’t made the wrong decision.”

“You haven’t, Charles,” Sasha assured him, then looked at me. “The three of us, along with Barbara, have this under control. Plus, the others can help keep an eye on things. We will reign Sarah in and keep closer tabs on Chloe. We just ask that you keep your eyes open, Piper. Nothing more.”

I nodded at her, then looked back at the dean. He gave me an encouraging smile, and I took a deep breath. “I assume Levi told you about my vision?”

He nodded, and I continued, “Do you think it’s real? That I saw my future, and a... vampire is going to attack me?”

Dean Purty rubbed a tired hand over his forehead. I wondered, in passing, what he and Levi had been doing that took them away from the camp. “There’s no way to know for sure, Piper. What you saw could have been a trick of your mind as it tried to process what you saw Sarah and Chloe doing. Or you could have some witch blood in you, and it was a vision of the future.”

“I’m sorry. Did you say witch?” I asked, my eyes bugging wide.

“It’s possible,” Dean Purty replied, not even flinching at my outburst. “Take, for instance, Miss King.”

“True? She’s a witch?”

“She’s not practicing, of course, but she does have familial ties to a prominent coven in New Orleans. That doesn’t mean she carries the gene, but it’s possible.”

I thought about True and the story she told me about her vision. She had the gene, but that wasn’t my story to share. Levi must have kept that to himself when he told the dean about overhearing my conversation with True and telling me the truth.

“There’s no way I’m a witch,” I said, refocusing on the conversation. “I would know. Right?”

“Either of your parents could carry the bloodline—”

“My dad!” I shouted, cutting him off. I’d been so traumatized I’d nearly forgotten. “Sarah said she knows who killed my dad.”

I couldn’t believe I’d glossed over that important fact until now. I barely restrained myself from slapping a palm to my forehead. That should have been the first thing I mentioned. My eyes searched their