Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

and I’m not about to now. I’ll consider when things calm down,” he said. “Lorelei has farther to go in her education,” he added.
    No one had to tell me that he didn’t mean my school education.
    “Everything’s been going fine here until this incident,” he continued. “You’ll all get the news out. It’s important that everyone understand that what was done had to be done. No one here is trying to do or be anything more.”
    “I strongly doubt anyone would suspect you of that, Sergio,” Mr. Biggi said. He looked to Mr. Taggert, who had yet to say anything.
    “However, if they farm here,” Mr. Taggert said, “it will be very bad, Sergio, very difficult for you to continue.”
    “Well,” Daddy said, softening a bit, “not right away. It’s a city, a huge population, from which we draw.”
    “You’re not saying there’s room for them, are you?” Mrs. Everstreet said. “Remember what happened in Paris just ten years ago.”
    I looked at Daddy. What had happened in Paris?
    He glanced at me. “Thank you, Lorelei. You can go do what you like now,” he said.
    I rose.
    “You’re looking quite beautiful,” Mr. Biggi said. “You’re surely going to be one of your father’s favorites.”
    “Quite striking, Sergio. Don’t risk losing her,” Mr. Taggert said.
    “I won’t,” Daddy said sharply. He looked at me with an expression that said,
Go.
    I returned to my room. Ava was waiting there for me, standing by the window and staring at the bloodstain Mrs. Fennel had not yet washed away. Maybe she wanted it to be there forever as a reminder for me.
    “What happened?” Ava asked.
    I told her about the questions and what I had told them.
    “I think Uncle Biggi wanted us to move,” I said.
    “Really. What did Daddy say?”
    “He was adamant that we wouldn’t.”
    “Good. Uncle Biggi is a wimp. Brianna never liked him, either.” She looked at me harder for a moment, and then her eyes softened. “I’ve got to spend more time with you now, and you with me, Lorelei. Some of this is my fault.”
    I didn’t say anything. Lately, I thought we were becoming more and more estranged and I thought that she resented me. I was happy to hear that she wanted us to spend more time together.
    “We’ll do something together this weekend. Just something sisterly,” she quickly added.
    “Okay. I’d like that.”
    “I’m taking you two to school and picking you up on Monday. It might be a strange day there.”
    “How do you mean?”
    “How do I mean?” She rolled her eyes. “Mark Daniels won’t be there, Lorelei. He doesn’t come back.”
    “Oh. Right. I wasn’t thinking of that.”
    She shook her head. “I’m not criticizing you,” she said, “and I’m not speaking like some jealous sister, but you either are ignoring your powers of foresight or youdon’t have them. Later,” she said before I could respond, and left.
    What she said brought back a fear I’d had ever since I could remember. I didn’t have the same confidence she had and, from what I could remember of Brianna, she had as well. Even Marla had more confidence than I had. They were all secure in their faith in themselves, in their belief that they would please and satisfy Daddy. They would live up to his expectations. I looked for some self-doubt in Ava but never found it. I was simply more afraid than they ever were that I would not be the daughter Daddy expected.
    Nothing more was said about Daddy’s meeting with the elders or what had happened the night before. We all went about our business as if nothing unusual had happened. Only I seemed to be thinking about it, but perhaps that wasn’t unusual. I was the one he had come after, and I was the one who was almost lost. A few times, I approached Daddy with the intention of apologizing, but I didn’t know for what. I wanted to thank him as well, but he didn’t look as if he wanted to hear any more about it, so I retreated from that idea.
    On Monday morning, as she had promised, Ava drove Marla and me to school.
    “What you do now,” she told me as we drove, “is be just as surprised as anyone else that Mark Daniels isn’t there. If asked, you just say that you don’t know anything. He never called you, nor did you ever see him anywhere but in the building. Don’t say anything else or encourage any further discussion, understand?”
    “Yes, Ava.”
    “However, if you overhear anyone else speak about him, especially his family, you listen carefully. Daddy