Page 22 of From the Shadows
The conversation stopped dead. Diego was about to say something, when Shay piped up. “That’s not fair, and I think you know it. Everyone is doing their best, Jeremy, and I know you think their approach was wrong, but you can’t argue with the results.”
“I guess,” Jerm grumbled. He lifted his head and turned his attention to Gabe. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it’s fine,” Gabe said.
“No, it isn’t,” Diego corrected. “Jerm was on me to be nicer to Shay, and he was right, but maybe he ought to lead by example, huh?”
A small nod. “I’m sorry, Gabe.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. I know I’m not the most patient man in the world, and I get that I don’t have much information about snakes.”
“Shay does!” Jeremy said. “He knows lots.”
“I study after I’m done for the day,” Shay said, his cheeks red. “And I’m thinking about getting more books.”
“Oh? What are you interested in learning?” Borne asked.
Now Shay’s face had gone scarlet. “How to help each of you if you need me.”
The table grew quiet again. “Really?” Martin asked, awe obvious in his voice.
“Yeah. It’s like…. I don’t know. I want to fit in here, because all of you are amazing, and… I guess I just want to be useful.”
“But you are,” Ranna replied vehemently. “You’re part of our small, super dysfunctional family. You cook for us, you clean, you take care of the laundry. At first, I thought you’d be, like, you know, a maid or something, but you aren’t. You are so very much more.You fit in here, with us, like no one else I’ve ever known. I mean, you got Diego to stop being such an ass—jerk.”
Jerm snorted, and Diego knew he was well aware of what Ranna was going to say.
“No. Diego did that by himself,” Shay defended.
Diego cleared his throat. “They’re right. I was a jerk, and if it wasn’t for you, I’d still be one.”
“I wanna know what’s going on!” Jerm demanded.
“It’s grownup stuff,” Shay told him. “Hey, I think there might be some apple pie in the kitchen with your name on it. Want to come with me and take a look?”
“Apple? Yeah!” Jeremy got up and trailed behind Shay as they headed for the kitchen.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Diego sighed and turned to his crew. He hesitantly explained how he was turned into a vampire, then told them about the hospital, and finally what Shay had done to help him out.
“I’ll understand if you don’t want me to be part of the team anymore,” he finished.
They were quiet for several agonizing moments, before Borne spoke.
“See? Told you he was dumb.”
Ranna snorted. “Do you think you’re the only one with bad crap in your background? None of this was your fault. A newly turned vampire can’t control his hunger, but one who’s hundreds of years old? He’s stupid for denying himself like that. If your control had slipped, even a tiny bit, what you did at the hospital could have looked like a Sunday picnic. You never,everstarve yourself. That way leads to horrors you don’t even want to contemplate.”
“How do you know these things?”
She glared at Diego. “Because, unlike you, I don’t hide away in my room waiting on a mission. I get out, meet people, learn things. There’s a vampire coven in the area, and I’ve spent some quality time with one of the boys there. He taught me a lot about what it means to be a vampire.” Her cheeks flushed. “Plus a few other unique uses for his fangs.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell us? Why not ask for help?” Gabe wondered.
It was a question that had rolled around in Diego’s mind many times over the few hundred years of his life. The answer was always the same.
“The shame, I guess. I ended the lives of so many people. Young men and women who didn’t deserve what I did to them.”
“But how were you able to stave off the hunger after that? You should have gone feral, taking anyone you could.”
