Eleventh Grade Burns (25 page)

“No, Dorian.” He wouldn’t let Dorian feed ... and he would continue to keep their interactions to himself. He wasn’t sure why, exactly, but Vlad wanted to handle this on his own. Besides, Otis and Vikas had enough on their plates.

“You can’t blame a vampire for trying.” His sly smile slipped into a more serious purse as he shook his head. “I must leave. The urge to feed from you is becoming too intense. It’s almost unbearable now.”

Vlad nodded at this, still questioning Dorian’s motives. “Does this mean you’re not going to attack me anymore?”

Dorian flashed him a smile as he turned to leave. “For now, my young friend. Sleep well.”

V
LAD FINISHED JOTTING DOWN THE DETAILS of his day and closed his journal with a snap. It was getting full. Soon there would be no more room to write at all.

But there was no time for musing about how full his journal had gotten. Vlad had an appointment. A very important appointment. One he’d kept almost every night and certainly every weekend night for the past four months. In fact, the past few months had been oddly full of btiss—no sign of D’Ablo, no interference by Dorian, not even so much as a sniffle from Eddie. Vlad’s life felt, for lack of a better word, normal.

He dropped his journal on the chair and made his way to the arched windows, then stepped from the belfry and floated gently down to the ground. He had made it a block from school when a wooden stake whizzed by his head and stuck fast in a tree trunk.

The corner of his mouth rose in a smirk before he turned around. That one was close. But he knew Joss wouldn’t get it much closer. Ever since the hospital, their fights were the equivalent of sparring and showing off.

Vlad turned, searching the darkness for Joss. When he found him—merely a shadow within the shadows—he darted forward with vampire speed, clotheslining the slayer. Joss made an
oof
sound and fell to the ground.

It was like a play, a theatrical representation of what vampires and slayers were meant to do. The players moved back and forth across the stage, knowing that when the sun rose, when the curtain came down, life would resume and the play would be all but forgotten.

As a courtesy, neither of the players mentioned Meredith.

A bead of sweat dripped into Vlad’s left eye, but he brushed it away with the back of his hand and high kicked Joss in the center of his chest. Joss did a windmill kick, knocking Vlad’s feet out from under him. But neither stayed on the ground for very long.

Vlad took to the trees, hopping almost silently from treetop to treetop in a circle around Joss, who stood at the ready scanning the darkness for any clue of where he’d gone. In a breath, Vlad dropped from a branch, ripped the stake from the tree’s trunk and slashed forward, stopping with the sharp, silver point pressing into Joss’s back.

The sun peeked over the horizon. Joss turned with a grin, taking his stake and slipping it into the leather holster on his belt. Normalcy returned to the stage. “Morning, Vlad.”

Vlad could barely contain a chuckle. “Morning, Joss. How was your night?”

“Oh, not bad. Had to fend off this vicious bloodsucker, but that’s about it.” He shrugged casually, a twinkle in his eye. It was so good to see the old Joss again, the one from before Joss had learned Vlad’s secret. But really, their friendship was even better now. No more hiding things, no more lies. Joss knew Vlad was a vampire, and though he wasn’t okay with it, he was okay with Vlad.

Vlad smirked. “Bloodsucker, eh?”

Joss straightened his shoulders in an effort to make himself look bigger, tougher. The scary thing is, it worked. Nobody would’ve pegged Joss as a muscular kinda guy, but in his position, he had to be. “More like a mosquito, really. Bothersome, but no real threat to me.”

He rolled his eyes in response. “You had it easy. Some guy kept trying to poke me with a toothpick.”

They locked eyes and laughed out loud. Then Joss slugged him gently in the shoulder and said, “You comin’ over for breakfast?”

“Actually, I have to pack.”

They both knew what he was packing for. They both knew Otis’s trial was tonight, but neither wanted to talk about it. Joss had pretty much decided that he loathed every fiber of Otis’s being, and Vlad just wanted to forget the trial was coming up at all.

A look of sympathy came over Joss’s face. “Oh. Well ... see ya.”

Vlad walked home alone, and quietly stole upstairs to his bedroom. A heavy feeling filled his chest. He was escorting Otis to his death today, and no one—not Nelly not Henry, not anyone but the vampires involved—knew that it was coming.

Through his open bedroom door, he heard Nelly and Otis talking at the bottom of the stairs. Nelly’s voice sounded clueless and concerned. “Promise you’ll take care of him and hurry back soon.”

Otis didn’t speak for several seconds, then finally lied as well as he was able. “We’ll be back before you can miss us.”

As he listened to Otis ascend the stairs, a horrifying thought occupied his mind.

He was about to lose a father for the second time.

I
MUST ADMIT, I DO FEEL A BIT BETTER about your letting Joss survive after yesterday’s test.” Otis’s tone matched the bemused smirk he wore. He was in an awfully good mood, considering they were in the midst of packing for a trip that likely would end in his demise.

“What’s with all these quizzes, tests, and extra assignments lately, anyway? Am I being punished for letting Joss live?” Vlad tossed some socks into his duffel bag and shot Otis a mock-angry look. “Oh, I see. That’s your plan, isn’t it? Do me in with a bunch of quizzes. Bore me to death.”

“If I wanted to do you in, Vladimir, I can think of a few other ways.”

“Don’t I have enough people after me, Otis? Joss, Principal Snelgrove...”

“Don’t forget D’Ablo.”

“There’s somebody I could live without.” Vlad furrowed his brow. “Speaking of which, he’s been decidedly absent for a while now. Quiet, compared to how he usually is. I don’t trust it.”

Otis folded a T-shirt and placed it in Vlad’s duffel bag. “Think he’s working on some sordid plan to do you in?”

“Count on it. I’m that guy’s favorite hobby.”

“Maybe he’s changed.”

They exchanged looks and burst out laughing.

Vlad shook his head. “The question isn’t if he’s planning anything ... it’s
what.”

A smile danced on Otis’s lips. “You’re very wise for being only sixteen years of age.”

Vlad met his smile with one of his own. “I learned from the best. This really old guy I know, goes by the name Otis. You might know him.”

Otis rolled his eyes. “I’m hardly old.”

“Oh, really? What year were you born?”

“Age is more than just a number, Vladimir.”

Vlad grew quiet for a moment, thinking about the immense age difference between Otis and Nelly. He wondered if he would just go on aging or if at some point in his life, time would freeze for him as well. “Have you told Nelly? Y’know, that you might not be coming back?”

“No. There’s no need to upset her right now. She’ll learn of my death soon enough.” His words seemed so final, like there wasn’t even a remote chance that he’d survive his trial. He withdrew a parchment envelope from his inside jacket pocket and handed it to Vlad. “If you would. It’s for Nelly. To explain why you’ve returned home without me.”

“But, Otis. .. ”

“Please, Vladimir.” Otis’s somber gaze showed that he meant business. It also meant that he didn’t want to entertain any far-fetched notions of him possibly surviving his trial proceedings. “For me.”

Vlad gripped the envelope in his hand and offered his uncle a small nod. Just moments ago they were laughing, and now, a solemn feeling hung in the air. He would be escorting Otis to his funeral in just a few hours.

“Who wants cookies? I just pulled some out of the oven, and I thought you boys might...” Nelly’s voice was almost singsongy as she entered the room. Her face dropped as she looked at each of them. “What’s wrong? You both look upset.”

Vlad and Otis exchanged looks and at once, Otis said, “Not a thing, darling. Vlad’s just feeling rather sullen about going on another trip without you. I must admit, I share his troubles. Is that chocolate chip I smell?”

Nelly’s smile returned and she held up the plate of freshly baked goods. Otis plucked one from the plate and took a bite. “Mmmm. Warm chocolate chip cookies. Not even AB negative can compare.”

Nelly practically floated down the stairs and, just before he turned to follow, Otis flashed Vlad a look that said everything, without speaking or using telepathy. Don’t
ruin
this day for her. Give her one last moment
with
me to hold onto. Please.

Before zipping up the duffel bag, Vlad slipped Otis’s letter inside and hoped beyond hope that Nelly would never have to see it. He carried the bag downstairs and dropped it next to the front door before retiring to the kitchen for a few cookies of his own. Once he was there, he put on a pleasant smile and endured chatter about the vacation Otis and Nelly had been thinking about. He pretended that Otis was really coming back from New York and that when he did, he was going to propose to Nelly and they were going to live happily as a family. He pretended that everything was just fine, and that he and Otis had years left together, and after he pretended for a while, he began to believe it.

That is, until he saw the sad glimmer in Otis’s eyes when Nelly wasn’t looking.

Then he knew the truth. That Otis really was going to his death. That they would never be a family and that he would be the one to tell Nelly of Otis’s passing. His heart felt lifeless and heavy, hollow and cold. There was nothing to look forward to now. Otis Otis, the strange teacher in a purple top hat who’d stepped into his life as a threat and was now his uncle, his mentor, his friend, was about to leave him forever. And there was nothing anybody could do about it.

Vlad looked up from his tormented, distracted thoughts to Otis, who smiled and squeezed his shoulder. “
I’ll miss you too
.”

A half hour later, after they’d eaten all the cookies they could eat, Otis kissed Nelly goodbye while Vlad loaded his bag into the car. As if in a hurry to get his demise over with, Otis all but ran down the front steps and slid into the driver’s seat. He barely spoke all the way to Stokerton International Airport. He didn’t utter a word during the entire flight. He grunted V Bar’s address to the cabbie once they left baggage claim at LaGuardia, but all the way there, he did not speak. He did, however, grow paler and paler the closer they got to his trial.

“Vladimir,” he finally managed to say once they’d exited the cab in front of V Bar. “Avenge my death, would you?”

Vlad was still blinking at Otis’s casual tone when Otis stepped into the bar. He’d said it like it was an afterthought. Pick up some milk on your way home, don’t forget to pay the electric bill, and oh, be a dear and avenge my death for me, would you? But then, he couldn’t imagine what must have been going through his uncle’s mind at the moment. Vlad shook his head and followed Otis inside.

Enrico greeted them both with handshakes. He offered them drinks, but neither Vlad nor Otis was feeling particularly hungry. After a small amount of chatter, Enrico said, “It’s about that time, my friend.”

He led them outside and down through the cellar door on the sidewalk, into the cellar. Once Enrico touched the glyph that opened the hidden room, Vlad noticed that something was different. The large table was covered with a black cloth. Several large candleholders stood in the corners of the room, casting a soft glow over the gathered group. It looked as if they were attending a funeral. In a way, Vlad thought with a gulp, they were.

The chairs that had been placed at the back of the room had been removed. Apparently, there would be no audience to Otis’s trial.

Even Dorian, who’d seemed unusually kind at the pretrial, was decidedly absent from these proceedings.

Once they were shut inside the room, the small girl named Em spoke. “The council calls Otis Otis before us. You have been accused of killing a fellow vampire, your father, Ignatius; of disfiguring a council president; of revealing your true nature to two humans—one Nelly, last name unknown, and one Henry McMillan; and of aiding and abetting the known fugitive Tomas Tod. How do you plead?”

Otis’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “Innocent of all charges, good council.”

There was a murmur among the council and a distinct feeling of unease in the air. Even Vlad raised an eyebrow at his uncle’s words. Otis was definitely innocent of blasting D’Ablo’s hand off (that was Vlad’s fault) and of aiding and abetting Vlad’s dad (who was no longer with the living, but some people apparently cannot take a hint), but letting Nelly and Henry in on the secret that he was a vampire? Oh yeah. Way guilty. Still, Vlad admired his uncle’s guts. It had to take a lot of them to face the Council of Elders, let alone lie to them.

Em raised her eyebrows a bit and then said, “As head of this council, I am dismissing the charge against you of taking a fellow vampire’s life. Ignatius had a bounty on his head, placed there by this council, and as such, you are due the reward monies from collecting on that bounty.”

Otis looked surprised and at the same time, mildly relieved. “I’d like the monies placed in a trust for my nephew’s college fund, if the council would see to it.”

With nods from several members, Em said, “Your request is granted. Five hundred thousand dollars will be placed in trust for your nephew’s college fund.”

D’Ablo stood, eliciting disapproving glances from almost every member of the council. “On the charge of disfiguring a council president, I call a witness. Vladimir Tod, take the stand please.”