Demon Night

saw it in the blood that rushed under her skin. “Yes. And he admitted that he’s been approaching it in the wrong way. That we could—”
    “And you believed him? I told you what he said to me. That you’d ‘come around.’” Her chest was heaving; the room was too warm. Jane was angry, but calm—in comparison, Charlie felt like a rabid bitch. She tried again. “He’s playing you, Jane,” she said as evenly as possible. “And you’re letting him.”
    “I’m not blind. He fucked up, he admits it—but he’s willing to change. And this is my work, Charlie. This is why he chose me in the first place. I can make a difference.”
    Charlie’s control dropped away. “This was my life,” she hissed. “His ‘fuck-up’ was my life .”
    “And you’ve already said that being a vampire isn’t bad. That you are doing okay.” With agitated movements, Jane stood and pulled on her underwear, her shirt. “This is something I can do…for you, for a lot of people like you.”
    “Like me?” Charlie echoed, sitting back on her heels.
    Jane shot her a dirty look. “Don’t take offense to that. You know I mean vampires. And you can’t tell me you like the idea that you’re dependent on someone supplying you blood. And what goes with it.”
    No, Charlie couldn’t. “It doesn’t have to be that way for me, though. Drifter can—”
    “And what about the others? Are Guardians feeding them, too?” Jane sighed, dragged her fingers through her hair. “Then there are the healing aspects of it. The research needs to go on.”
    “Then do it somewhere else,” Charlie said, desperate. How had she ended up on the defensive? She was too far behind, or not understanding. Why the hell would Jane ever go back to Sammael after what he’d done? What wasn’t Charlie getting ? “Why does it have to be with Legion? Why can’t it be with…with—” Oh, fuck fuck, she couldn’t think. It started with “R.” From the hallway, she heard Ethan offer a name in a low voice, and she finished with “Ramsdell Pharmaceuticals? They’re connected with the Guardians. I’m sure you could do the same work, but it wouldn’t have to be with Sammael lying to you and using you.”
    Jane yanked on her jeans. “He’s not going to lie to me anymore. I’ve told him that I want to know everything that’s going on with the research, and that if anyone is there against their will, it has to stop or I’d leave. And I told him if I catch him in a lie, I’ll leave. It’s that simple, Charlie.”
    Charlie stared at her, and the boiling frustration and anxiety within her just seemed to vanish, leaving her cold, empty.
    That was what Jane had told her, too: Stop, or I’ll give up on you. And Charlie had quit, because the thought of not having Jane had hurt more than the pain of stopping had.
    But did Jane really believe Sammael would be the same? “If it were ‘that simple,’” Charlie said quietly, “you wouldn’t be going back to him.”
    “Maybe not.” With another sigh, Jane slid on the bed next to her, wrapped her arms around Charlie’s shoulders. “You know I love you.”
    “Yes. And you love him.” That was why she wasn’t getting through to Jane. Charlie couldn’t fight that if her sister wouldn’t fight it, too.
    “And I love him.” Jane’s arms tightened. “And I’m pissed, and I want to know what’s going on, and I don’t really have any idea what I’m doing. But I can’t figure it out from here. It may be that once I get up there, I’ll just kick him in the nuts and come back.”
    Charlie couldn’t respond, couldn’t make a joke.
    Jane said, “I’m trying not to be stupid about this—”
    “Well, you’re failing. This is the fucking stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
    “Will you just listen to me? Jesus, Charlie.” Jane bounced up off the bed, began pacing. “First, I want to hear from your Drifter or Ethan or whatever his name is what he knows about the blood, and vampires, and what he thinks Legion is doing. So that if Dylan does try to pull something over on me, I’ll have a better idea of it.”
    Charlie banged her forehead repeatedly against the mattress. “You accept that he might try and you’re still going back ?”
    Jane made a turn at the table and continued as if Charlie hadn’t spoken. “Then I’ll call you every night, and send an e-mail every day, letting you know what I’m finding. Because I don’t want you to worry.”
    “No, I won’t do that at all.”