A Grave Exchange by Jane White Pillatzke Read Free Book Online Page A

vehicle, my scar began itching badly . I covered my left wrist with my hand .
    “Allow me , Miss Steele.” The man held the car door for me.
    I smiled , but somehow , I didn’t feel comfortable at all . I put it down to my nerves and all of this being such a new situation , and climbed into the passenger seat .
    As he was about to shut the door , he said , “My name is Fausto . If there’s anything I can do for you, you have but to ask .”
    B efore I had a chance to respond, he quietly shut the door . I suddenly felt chilled and rubbed my arms furiously to try to warm up . The slight pain in m y scar grew into a full-blown ache, and the blood red tear drop felt extremely hot to the touch. What did it me, I wondered. Was the pain an indication something bad was about to happen to me? Like, some sort of signal or forecast? I reflect ed on what Lucius had told me, and wonder ed how he deal t with the loss of his family, all the while knowing he’d lost them because he’d finally stood up to a k ing who did not deserve to wear a crown . History was full of tyrant rulers, but Lucius’ liege sounded like he’d been one of the worst. As I sat there musing , Lucius climbed into the car . Without a word to me, he started up the engine and fired up the dashboard heat er. A few moments later, wonderful warm air blew from the vents, and I sat forward, holding my hands, palms out, before them.
    “ Will you tell me more?” I asked him as he put the car in gear and we headed off down the drive.
    He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Such as?”
    “Such as, where you are from , for starters .”
    As he drove down the winding , country road , I studied him. He looked like he was mulling over my question . I decided not to push him. He’d speak to me when he was ready. While I waited, I returned my gaze to the countryside passing by the window and watched as a shower of dancing leaves f e ll from the trees . T heir vibrant colors of red, gold , and orange made them appear as sparks of flame falling to the earth . Shuddering , I started rubbing my wrist .
    “I come from a land far away, a land most humans will never see . It’s impossible to see , unless you are like me, or unless you are a spirit or witch or fairy . . . then , perhaps , you could find it . But my home is protected from humans.”
    “Why ? I t’s not like a human could win a fight with a vampire . ”
    Lucius looked over at me and gave me a sad smile . He took my hand and lifted it to his lips .
    “I’m right, aren’t I?” Sometime during the night, I had come to the conclusion Lucius fit my idea of what a vampire must be like—the eyes, the teeth . . . I’d imagined none of it. His appearance really had changed, albeit only for a moment. As crazy as it sounded, as insane as I would sound, should I share my theory with anyone else, it was the only answer that fit. I gave him a pointed look. “You are, aren’t you?”
    “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I am what humans refer to as a vampire.”
    He looked so uncomfortable, I decided to allow that point to rest, for now.
    “What do you call your home ?” I asked. “Is it a place I may have heard of?”
    “So many questions , little one.”
    I studied his profile, noting how quiet he had become, and how his eyes had grown dark and somber .
    “ I come from a town called Escuro de l a Luna.”
    I opened my mouth to ask him what it meant , when he spoke again .
    “It means Dark Moon.” His smile softend his severe expression. He still held my hand, and now he lifted it again, placed tiny kisses on my fingertips, bit them playfully . “You are as curious as a cat .”
    I shivered as I remembered how said cat’s story ended and did not respond. Instead, I sat there quiet ly, reflecti ng on all I’d learned . Before I knew it, we were on the outskirts of town , very close to the Humane Society where I worked as director . Lucius pulled into a parking spot on the quiet street and climbed out of