Rachel Caine - Fall of Night

‘Can I get you anything?’ Claire asked. ‘Liz, are you going to be okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ Liz said, and burst into more wet tears. So, the only injury was probably to her heart, and her ego. ‘I’m sorry. I should have known better, shouldn’t I?’

‘Everybody makes mistakes,’ Claire said. ‘You won’t make that one again.’

‘No.’ Liz made a strangled gulping sound and blew her nose. ‘I’m never looking at another man again. Ugh. They’re all evil. Evil!’

Claire knew some who weren’t, but this wasn’t the moment to disagree. It was the required Friend Solidarity moment. ‘All evil,’ she agreed. ‘Can’t trust them. Look, are you sure you’re okay? You’re sure he didn’t hurt you or anything?’

‘He ripped my heart out !’ Liz cried, and more blubbering ensued, and Claire assumed that meant a no, at least in the physical assault sense. ‘You go on. I’ll be fine.’

Liz said that last in a theatrical, heroic whisper. Claire rolled her eyes, because she knew that her role was to insist on staying, make her some breakfast, dry her tears, listen to the story of the Great Failed Romance over and over again, get her chocolate, and not say anything that wasn’t total agreement. She’d done it with Liz before, in high school, and she just couldn’t face it. Not today. Not missing Shane the way she did.

So she took Liz at her word and said, ‘Okay, then, I’ll see you tonight! Are you going to class?’

‘No!’ Liz wailed.

Claire escaped while she could.

She was halfway toward campus when her cell phone gave a chime, and she checked the message. It simply said, DON’T COME IN 2DAY. Not Professor Anderson’s phone, weirdly enough; it was some unknown and blocked number. Probably, Claire realised, Jesse’s … which maybe wouldn’t be associated with Professor Anderson, and therefore not monitored. More intrigue. It made her head hurt.

Well, on the plus side, she had a free day, since Anderson had demanded she devote all her credit hours to independent study. Not a bad thing, really. But no way was she going to stay penned up in the house with Liz, either. She knew how that day would go, and she really wasn’t up for rewatching The Notebook and getting sugar-blitzed on ice cream.

Instead, she spent a completely stress-free afternoon of wandering the campus, buying coffee, hanging out at the cafeteria and surfing the ’net … and running into Nick.

He was sitting by himself, studying, and as she walked past him with her mocha she didn’t think he’d seen her … until he looked up and smiled.

She stopped. It wasn’t a decision, exactly, more of an instinct she couldn’t control. He had a very sweet, and slightly unhinged, smile. Like Myrnin’s actually. ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘What’s up?’

‘The opposite of down is the dumbest possible answer I can come up with,’ Nick said. ‘Or, you know, nothing. Which would also be true.’ He kicked out the chair across from him. ‘Need a seat?’

She hesitated, as if she was committing to something, even if it was just sharing a table. ‘Sure,’ she finally said, and settled. She didn’t relax, though. Nick nodded, and kept his expression completely neutral – she supposed he was afraid he might scare her off. Which was true. If he’d done anything else, she might have just picked up her mocha and bolted. ‘Are you studying?’

‘Trying,’ he said. ‘But funnily enough, all I can think about is pizza. You ever have days like that? Pizza days?’

‘Pizza days, ice cream days, hamburger days … why don’t we ever crave things that are good for us?’

‘Nobody sane has broccoli days. That’s crazy talk.’

They chatted for a while, awkwardly but calmly, and then a third person arrived to break the tension, and her friendly banter made things seem okay. Before too long, two more people arrived, and it was a group, and the group was just … fun.

Before she realised it, they’d ordered pizza (for Pizza Day) and had debated the merits of nerd favourite films, and discussed what kind of roof and tunnel hacks were being planned for the semester in their various dorms, and a ton of other things that just made her feel … at home.

Until the phone rang.

She didn’t even really pay attention to the caller ID, she just answered it, still laughing over something that the black-haired girl Jacqui had said, and then had to block her ear from Simon laughing about it to say, ‘Hello?’

‘Claire?’ It was Eve, and she sounded stressed. ‘Hey, uh, sorry to bother you, but I’m just giving you a quick heads-up …’

‘About?’

‘Um, things are kind of a little bit crazy here right now. So, apparently Myrnin sort of disappeared? And he might possibly be heading toward you. Just so you know.’

Claire sat up straight, then picked up her backpack and took the phone away from the still-laughing table full of people to a quieter corner. ‘What happened?’

‘All I know is that Myrnin got pissed off and left, and Amelie’s not in a real good mood. She’s scary when she’s angry. So, she wants Michael to go after and make sure Myrnin comes home fast, and safe. And of course be sure that he doesn’t do something crazy enough to make the wrong people pay attention. And I guess I’m going with Michael? Because why not. You have any guest beds?’

‘I’ve got floor space,’ Claire said. She felt a completely conflicting mixture of elation and terror … Myrnin, on his own, wandering in the world? And why was he heading toward her ? But it meant she’d see Michael and Eve again, and that could only be a good thing. ‘When are you coming?’

‘Uh, we’re actually in the car right now. It’s a road trip, because, y’know, vampires don’t do really well with the flying, surprisingly. I guess it’s the fear of people opening up the window shades and all the frying and screaming. Plus, it seems like a lot of them have a fear of heights.’ Claire heard Michael’s indistinct voice in the background, and Eve added, ‘Not him, though. He says.’

‘Tell him I said hi.’

‘He’s blowing you a kiss. Okay, actually, he isn’t, but he ought to, so I’m saying he did. But the point is, we’ll be there in a couple of days, since Michael says he doesn’t plan to sleep. If Myrnin pokes his crazy head up before then, call me and try to keep him, you know, stable.’

‘Is he un stable?’

‘I don’t know, how can I tell? You’re the crazy whisperer!’

She had a point. Claire couldn’t help but smile about that. ‘So, Shane’s coming with you?’

There was a long moment of silence on the other end. Too long. And then Eve said, ‘He – he’s working, sweetie. I’m sorry, it’s just going to be us … Um, Michael, honey, is that a cop car? … Oh shit. Okay, gotta go, love you, ’bye!’

Before Claire could say anything else, Eve was gone into the wireless void.

Working ? Shane was working, and he wasn’t coming with them? That didn’t make any sense. He’d have blown off any job to get a ride out of town with his two best friends. Especially if they were heading toward her.

It was upsetting. And worrying.

Claire put her phone away and hitched her backpack to her shoulder. She cast a wistful look back over at the table. They were all talking animatedly, unaware she’d even stepped away. It had been kind of a false friendship, she thought; she’d felt like she was one of them, but really, she wasn’t. They wouldn’t miss her.

Nick did. He was watching her, and he raised his eyebrows and mouthed, you okay?

She nodded and pointed a thumb toward the exit. Gotta go .

He looked as if he might get up, but then Jacqui said something to him, and he answered her, still watching Claire, and settled back down in his chair.