Secret Vampire by Lisa J. Smith Read Free Book Online

fangs sold at novelty stores. They looked very strong and very sharp and very real.
    Poppy screamed.
    James clapped a hand over her mouth. "We don't want that nurse back in here."
    When he lifted the hand, Poppy said, "Oh, my God; oh, my God...."            ,
    "All those times when you said I could read your mind," James said. "Remember? And the times when I heard things you didn't hear, or moved faster than you could move?"
    "Oh. my God."
    "It's true, Poppy." He picked up the orange chair and twisted one of the metal legs out of shape. He did it easily, gracefully. "We're stronger than hu mans," he said. He twisted the leg back and put the chair down. "We see better in the dark. We're built for hunting."
    Poppy finally managed to capture an entire thought. "I don't care what you can do," she said shrilly. "You can't be a vampire. I've known you since you were five years old. And you've gotten older every year, just like me. Explain that."
    "Everything you know is wrong." When she just stared at him, he sighed again and said, "Everything you think you know about vampires, you've picked up from books or TV. And it's all written by humans, I'll guarantee that. Nobody in the Night World would break the code of secrecy."
    "The Night World. Where's the Night World?"
    "It's not a place. It's like a secret society-for vam pires and witches and werewolves. All the best peo ple. And I'll explain about it later," James said grimly. "For now-look, it's simple. I'm a vampire because my parents are vampires. I was born that way. We're the lamia."
    All Poppy could think of was Mr. and Mrs. Ras mussen with their luxury ranch-style house and their gold Mercedes. "Your parents?"
    "Lamia is just an old word for vampires, but for us it means the ones who're born that way," James said, ignoring her. "We're born and we age like humans- except that we can stop aging whenever we want.
    We breathe. We walk around in the daylight. We can even eat regular food."
    "Your parents," Poppy said again faintly.
    He looked at her. "Yeah. My parents. Look, why do you think my mom does interior decorating? Not be cause they need the money. She meets a lot of people that way, and so does my dad, the society shrink. It only takes a few minutes alone with somebody, and the human never remembers it afterward."
    Poppy shifted uncomfortably. "So you, um, drink people's blood, huh?" Even after everything she'd seen, she couldn't say it without half-laughing.
    James looked at the laces of his Adidas. "Yes. Yes, I sure do," he said softly. Then he looked up and met her gaze directly.
    His eyes were pure silver.
    Poppy leaned back against the pile of pillows on her bed. Maybe it was easier to believe him because the unbelievable had already happened to her earlier today. Reality had already been turned upside down-so, honestly, what did one more impossibil ity matter?
    I'm going to die and my best friend is a bloodsuck ing monster, she thought.
    The argument was over, and she was out of energy. She and James looked at each other in silence.
    "Okay," she said finally, and it meant everything she'd just realized.
    "I didn't tell you this just to get it off my chest," James said, his voice still muted. "I said I could save you, remember?"
    "Vaguely." Poppy blinked slowly, then said more sharply, "Save me how?"
    His gaze shifted to empty air. "The way you're thinking."
    "Jamie, I can't think anymore."
    Gently, without looking at her, he put a hand on her shin under the blanket. He shook her leg slightly, a gesture of affection. "I'm gonna turn you into a vampire, kid."
    Poppy put both fists to her face and began to cry.
    "Hey." He let go of her shin and put an awkward arm around her, pulling her to sit up. "Don't do that. It's okay. It's better than the alternative."
    "You're . . . freaking . . . crazy," Poppy sobbed. Once the tears had started, they flowed too easily she couldn't stop them. There was comfort in crying, and -in being held by James. He felt strong