Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

rescue. I knew there were many reasons for Ava to concern herself with my happiness and well-being, not the least of which was her concern that I wouldn’t be able to step into her shoes and give her the freedom to leave and fulfill her own destiny. Then, at minimum, she would have to wait until Marla was capable of becoming the daughter Daddy needed.
    When Mrs. Fennel left the dining room at breakfast, Ava whispered, “I’m taking you two to school today, but you’re not going.”
    “What?”
    “You’ll cut a day and spend it with me. I have a class in nineteenth-century American literature we’ll attend, and then a big break until my biology class. We’ll have lunch in Westwood, just enjoy the day, and you can see what it’s like to be in college, not that it’s anything I want to do much longer,” she added. “Daddy thought I needed more background, whatever that means.”
    “That’s great,” I said.
    “Just keep your mouth shut about it,” she said, watching the door.
    I pretended to zip my lips, and she laughed. Marla, who was straining to hear us whisper, looked annoyed.
    “Don’t say it,” she quipped when Ava turned to her. “I know. Be patient.”
    We both laughed at that, so loudly that Mrs. Fennel popped in again to see what was happening. We quickly returned to our food. She stood there full of suspicion but then retreated. We smiled at each other. It really felt wonderful to have Ava finally thinking of me as a real sister and the two of us being little conspirators.
    Later in the car, when Marla heard I was going to cut school and go with Ava, she pouted. “It’s not fair,” she moaned. “I hate school just as much as Lorelei does.”
    “I don’t hate school, Marla.”
    “Lorelei will promise here and now to do something similar with you after I’m gone,” Ava told her. It wasn’t enough to satisfy her, but she didn’t moan and groan about it anymore.
    Every time Ava talked about her leaving and my stepping into her shoes, I had a creepy feeling in the base of my stomach. It was as if hundreds of little wires inside me had snapped and were pinging. I knew that any night now, she might decide to take me out with her on a monthly hunt. The time after that, she might accompany me, but it would be my job, as Daddy liked to say, to “bring home the bacon.”
    I didn’t know if I would be better off knowing the exact night we would go out together on her regular monthly hunt or not. I didn’t ask her about it, and she still hadn’t said anything specific. I tried to put it out of my mind and enjoy my day with her at UCLA. It was aspectacular California morning, with barely a wisp of a cloud violating the sea of light blue. The breeze was cool and refreshing. It carried the sounds of other students’ laughter as they went to and fro on the campus, and the music from nearby car radios.
    Maybe it was because of my excitement about being with her and being on a college campus, but everything looked sparkling and fresh. There was a different energy there. The students were buoyant and loose. Perhaps it came from their being on their own. That sense of freedom was infectious. There were bells for classes and rules to follow, of course, but no one was standing in the hallways ready to pounce on them for not wearing something proper or for talking too loudly. The teachers I saw seemed to be just as casual, too. Why wasn’t Ava happier about being there? I would be, and I hoped Daddy would send me to college, too.
    “Let’s get this over with,” she said, referring to her class.
    “Aren’t you getting anything out of it, enjoying anything?” I asked.
    She tilted her head and looked at me askance. “You’re kidding, right?”
    I shrugged. Was I missing something? Was I supposed to feel the same way about my education? It was clear to me that I didn’t, but ironically, every difference between myself and Ava only made me feel more insecure, even frightened. Were these differences big enough to cause me to fail Daddy?
    “The real school is out there,” she said, nodding toward the street.
    “The more you know, the better you’ll be out there,” I said.
    “Who told you that? Did Daddy tell you that?” she asked, pouncing on me.
    “No. I just thought it was true.”
    She smirked. “Get real, Lorelei. Ninety percent of what these people learn and do here has nothing to do with survival, and survival is the only graduation I want to attend.”
    Daddy had stressed the