Page 20 of Secret of the Vampire
Strolling up to me until I could see the black specks in his brown eyes, he studied me for an uncomfortable minute before he finally spoke again. “My name is Marcus. And as I told you a few moments ago, I am your uncle. Your great uncle to be exact.” Then he frowned. “Or is it great-greatuncle?” After a moment, he waved a hand through the air. “Eh, it doesn’t really matter. The fact of the matter is I’m your family.”
How was that even possible? This guy hardly looked any older than me. Only vampires lived that long. And he was no vampire. But I somehow knew that what he was telling me was the truth. Still, I denied it, despite the fact that the lie tasted like metal on my tongue. “You’re no blood of mine.”
“Oh, but I am, Alex. You see, you and your sister are direct descendants of my brother, Victor.”
I didn’t know much about my family past my mother, aunt, and cousins who lived here in New Orleans. My father was a mystery to me. Mom would never talk about him.
“Victor’s wife, and your great-grandmother, was also named Alice. I imagine that’s where your sister gets her name. And she was one of the greatest witches I’ve ever known.” He paused, his eyes clouding over. “They had a daughter, Kim, who then gave birth to your mother.”
Alice.
Like my sister.
His expression cleared. “Yes, I’m looking forward to meeting her, too.”
I backed up a step, like that would be enough to keep him out of my head. “So, you ARE some kind of vampire.” Vamps were the only supernatural creatures I knew of that could read the thoughts right out of your head, sometimes before you even realized you were thinking them.
But he shook his head. “No. I’m not a vampire. No fangs. See?” He bared his teeth at me, and I took another step back.
“What are you then?” I asked him, putting off the whole family talk thing. I suddenly didn’t want to know. I seriously didn’t. Because as much as I wanted to believe he was lying to me, I knew in my bones that every word coming out of his mouth was the truth. “I know you’re not a warlock. And, actually, I have my doubts that you’re even human.”
“And you would be right.”
“So? What are you?”
He paused only for a brief second before he told me. “I’m a djinn.”
A djinn.
A fucking djinn.
I’d learned about them, of course. My mother made sure Alice and I were educated not only about math and science and history, but about vampires, shifters, faeries, and yes, djinn. Out of all the creatures we learned about, the djinn scared me the most.
They moved as fast as vampires and could read minds like one, apparently. They were also as strong as vampires, only they practiced magic like witches. No, not magic. Sorcery. Dark sorcery. They played between worlds and could kill a human with a snap of their fingers.
And he was implying that I was one of them. “What do you want from me?” I asked him.
He looked me in the eye. “We’re family, Alex. I came to get you and bring you home with me.”
Like that was supposed to mean something to me. “I’m not your family.”
“You’re my blood. You and your sister.”
“That doesn’t mean shit. I’ve never met you before tonight. You’re a stranger to me.” The memory of my magic caressing his made a liar of me, but I pushed those thoughts away. “Besides, I already have a family.”
He barked out a laugh. There was no humor in it. “What? Your little coven?”
“Yes,” I told him.
“Your High Priestess is an old woman. And she has you all living down here in the swamps and hanging out with vampires because she can’t protect you on her own.”
“Maybe she just likes the gators.”
His mouth turned up at the corners, like he was fighting a smile. Then he shrugged as if to say,perhaps.
We stared at each other, neither making a move toward the other.
I didn’t know what to think about what he was telling me. I wanted to call him out. Tell him he was lying. And I could.
