Dead Reckoning

even knew I had a brother. In Ocella’s time, people were reckoned practically grown at thirteen. They were even married that young. Ocella never understood some of the changes in society that came with the centuries. And Alexei and Ocella are both dead now.” Eric shrugged. “There was another side of that coin, you remember? Alexei used his youth, his childlike looks, to disarm all the vampires and humans around him. Even Pam was loath to put him down, though she knew how destructive he was, how insane. And she’s the most ruthless vampire I know. He was a drain on all of us, sucking the will and force from us with the depth of his need.”
    And with that unexpectedly poetic sentence, Eric was done talking about Alexei and Ocella. His whole face turned stony. I recalled my main point: our irreconcilable differences. “What about the fact that you’re going to outlive me for, like, forever?”
    “We can take care of that easily enough.”
    I just stared at him.
    “What?” Eric said, almost genuinely amazed. “You don’t want to live forever? With me?”
    “I don’t know,” I said, finally. I tried to imagine it. The night, forever. Endless. But with Eric!
    I said, “You know, Eric, I can’t . . .” And then I stopped dead. I’d almost insulted him unforgivably. I knew he felt the wave of doubt emanating from me.
    I’d almost said, “I just can’t imagine you sticking around after I start to look old.”
    Though there were a few more topics I had hoped we’d cover in our rare tête-à-tête, I felt the conversation was teetering on the edge of Disaster Canyon. Maybe it was lucky there was knocking at the back door. I’d heard the car coming, but my attention had been so focused on my companion that I hadn’t really registered its meaning.
    Amelia Broadway and Bob Jessup were at the back door. Amelia looked the same as ever: healthy and fresh faced, her short brown hair tousled and her skin and eyes clear. Bob, not much taller than Amelia and equally lean, was a small-boned guy who looked kind of like a sexy Mormon missionary. His black-framed glasses managed to look retro instead of geeky. He was wearing jeans, a black-and-white plaid shirt, and tasseled loafers. He’d been a very cute cat, but his attraction as a guy escaped me—or rather it showed itself to me only now and then.
    I beamed at them. It felt great to see Amelia, and I felt relieved that my conversation with Eric had been interrupted. We did have to talk about our future, but I had a creepy feeling that finishing that conversation would make both of us unhappy. Postponing it probably wouldn’t change that outcome, but both Eric and I had enough on our plates of problems. “Come on in!” I said. “Eric’s here, and he’ll be glad to see you both.”
    Of course, that wasn’t true. Eric was completely indifferent about ever seeing Amelia again in his life—his long, long life—and Bob didn’t even register on Eric’s radar.
    But Eric smiled (though not a large smile) and told them how glad he was they’d come to visit me—though there was a bit of a question in his voice, since he didn’t know why they were here. No matter how long a talk Eric and I had, we never seemed to cover enough ground.
    With a huge effort, Amelia repressed a frown. She was not a fan of the Viking. And she was a very clear broadcaster, so I got that with as much volume as if she’d yelled out loud. Bob eyed Eric with caution, and as soon as I’d explained the bedroom situation to Amelia (of course, she’d assumed they’d be upstairs), Bob vanished into the room across from mine with their bags. After a few minutes fiddling around in there, he ducked into the hall bathroom. Bob had gotten good at evasiveness while he was a cat.
    “Eric,” Amelia said, stretching unself-consciously. “How are things going at Fangtasia? How’s the new management?” She couldn’t know she’d hit a nerve. And when Eric’s eyes narrowed—I suspected that he thought she’d said that on purpose to rile him—Amelia was staring at her toes as she touched them with the palms of her hands. I wondered if I could do that, and then my mind snapped back to the current moment.
    “Business is going all right,” Eric said. “Victor has opened some new clubs close by.”
    Amelia understood immediately that this was a bad development, but she was smart enough not to say anything. Honestly, it was like being in the room with someone who was shouting her inmost