Zamani by Angelic Rodgers Read Free Book Online Page A

their own way.   If she is as powerful as you claim she
is, I am not surprised she wants to use the memorial as her new starting
point.”
    “She’s ready to train once the memorial is
over.   I’ve planned a sort of
awakening party for her.   She is
reluctant to feed, but I think once she gets past the memorial and meets some
other donors she’ll be more comfortable.”
    They made arrangements for Zofia’s first meeting
with Alex and Lucy headed home.

 

Chapter
Eight

 
    The memorial service
attracted a lot of curious onlookers, so Alex and Lucy were easily able to
attend undetected.   As they
approached Our Lady of Guadalupe on North Rampart, they could see a group of
people filing into the church.   Even
though they had arrived early, they still were lucky to get a seat.
    “I don’t know most of these
people.   I guess all you have to do
to have a big service is be brutally murdered by an ex-girlfriend.”   Alex kept her sunglasses on, even in the
church.   She felt safer behind the
tinted lenses.   She’d chosen a well-made
black suit for the occasion.   Lucy
had told her not to worry about the expense. Alex found a suit online and it
arrived quickly, but Lucy decided it could be improved.   She took Alex to a tailor she knew who
was also a donor.   He was only too
happy to make adjustments to the suit so that it looked custom made for Alex. She
had never been curvy, and now she was leaner than ever due to her new
metabolism.
    Getting dressed the morning
of the memorial, Alex had had to pause and grip the counter in front of her
before putting on the tie Lucy picked out to go with the suit.   She and Liz often joked that she would
dress like this for their wedding. Anger washed over her at the thought of the
wedding she’d never have now.   The
anger and despair hit her hard and almost made her change her mind about going
to the service.   She wasn’t sure she
could control herself.
    Lucy broke her out of it,
showing up in a breathtaking low cut but tasteful black lace dress.   She tied Alex’s tie for her. The pair of
them looked like a young couple in mourning only because Lucy insisted on
wearing a hat with a black veil.   Otherwise, they could have been going to the symphony.    Lucy left the VW van at home,
opting instead to have a car service pick them up and take them to the
ceremony.   She wanted to be able to
leave the ceremony and call the service to pick them up if needed rather than
having to park the van and make their way back to it. This was the first time
that she would be with Alex in a crowd of people she knew from her previous
life and she worried that it would be too much for her.
    They sat toward the back; it
was obvious that everyone else had decided to show up early, as well.   The crowd, already quite large, was
still growing.   Alex craned her neck
enough to see the first two rows in front left open for family.   She wanted to move up, to sit next to
Liz and her father, but she knew she had to stay put.
    Looking around, she recognized
a few regulars from Oz, the bar where she worked, as well as a few regulars
from The Ruby where Liz worked. Everyone was subdued, whispering condolences
back and forth and hugging tearfully.   She took great care not to look too long, lest someone meet her
gaze.   She didn’t want to chance
anyone recognizing her.
    The buzz of voices stopped,
and she followed everyone’s gaze to the front pews. And then she saw Liz. She looked
frail and pale in black as she walked in, flanked by Alex’s dad, Robert James,   on one side, and Liz’s, Eliot Camp, on
the other. Kirby and Mike walked behind them, and Alex’s stepmother Lila
brought up the rear, looking irritated that Robert was not with her.   Alex choked back a sob, swallowing hard,
as Robert hugged Liz close to him.   Alex was his only child.   When she and Liz first became a couple, he had welcomed Liz into the
family.   Alex was glad that he and
Liz loved each other;