Page 70 of The Last Vampire
Except it is not the same horror as the first time they met.
The pain in her expression is now personal. She looks the way he felt when he was betrayed by the vampire he admired above all others.
“Just—go,” he says, turning his back to her.
Without hesitation, Lorena runs.
WILLIAM TRACKSTrevor’s scent to the fourth tower common room.
As he approaches the stairs, the boy keeps looking back, like he can sense that he is being followed.
This confirms the vampire’s suspicions that there is something different about him. William is determined to find out what it is.
When he climbs the first step, Trevor looks behind him again—and this time, he sees William.
The mortal stumbles.
“What—what are you doing here?” he asks.
The vampire can hear the boom of Trevor’s heartbeat. He eyes the thick artery in the boy’s throat. He is so hungry.
Yet he cannot trust Trevor enough to make him his Familiar.
If he starts drinking, he will have to finish.
“Why were you so convinced we would find ink in one of the blank books?”
“Because I found a drawing,” says Trevor, then he cups his throat like he wants to stop himself from speaking.
“Show me,” William compels him.
Trevor reaches into his bag and pulls out a green book. Then he opens it to one of the pages near the end and reveals a drawing that makes William’s hand shake as he takes the text.
A black fire with red smoke.
The Legion of Fire.
William stares deeply into Trevor’s shiny brown-green eyes. The boy looks petrified by his lack of self-control.
“What does this mean to you?”
“It’s my father’s family crest.”
Then Trevor’s family are or once were members of the Legion. William feels a modicum of relief that his hatred of the boy is justified. “Why have you been holding on to this book?”
“I think it might be the reason I was drawn to this school. Maybe the LUB can help me find the purpose for my life.”
William has no intention of returning the text to Trevor. “Forget this interaction ever happened. Forget the book and what you saw in it.”
“Yes,” says Trevor, and his gaze drifts as the compulsion works through his mind.
“And forget about asking Salma to the dance.”
CHAPTER 22lorena
“HowdareDarcy interfere with Jane and Mr. Bingley?” I demand when the reading period ends and discussion time begins.
William and I haven’t spoken all day—not at breakfast nor at lunch. I feel like I’ve been holding in my ire until this moment.
