How to Cure a Vampire Bite without Losing Your Mind
Chapter 20

In the six weeks that passed since we’dbeen in the laboratory, there were only two moments altogether when I worriedwhat my family might be up to. Those worries were quickly banished byruthlessly focusing on the task at hand, i.e. replaceing a cure for Orcus Locke.My family had been stowed away in some obscure corner of my mind, and I hadn’t botheredlooking at them since. Today, however, the day immediately following my idioticsnog-fest with Orcus, the rest of the Tourney family came galloping to thefore.

I had been sitting in my allottedbedroom organizing charts of our successes and failures, and putting in certainchemical equations that I knew Orcus would later criticize, when the knock cameon my door. Raechel poked her head in, and I felt a sinking feeling in mystomach. Her face was passive, and she’d said calmly, “Your mother is on thephone.”

I’d groaned, and marched after mybest friend towards the waiting telephone (conveniently just down the hall;have to hand it to the Lockes, they think things through). As I put thereceiver to my ear, my mind raced with a million scenarios, all involving mesimply dropping the phone back onto its hook and walking away. I didn’t though.I took a deep breath, and said:

“Hello.”

“You have some explaining to do,young lady,” said my mother’s voice angrily.

“What have I done now?”

“Don’t you take that tone with me!”

“I’m sorry.” I put an obnoxiouscheeriness into my voice, and repeated, “What have I done now?”

There was a stony silence, and then Helensaid, “Why are you at that boy’s house?”

“That’s not your concern, Helen.”

“I’m making it my concern,” shesnapped.

“Who told you?”

“That is irrelevant.”

“No, it’s very relevant. Who toldyou?”

She paused. “Fine. Carson told us.Your father called the school to speak with you, and Carson explained you wereout, and told us how to reach you. Now, young lady, what do you have to say foryourself?”

“On what count? Being at Orcus’home? Carson told you, didn’t he?”

“He was vague,” she said crisply.

“I can’t be any clearer, then; you know that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You have to take whatever Carsonsaid at face value,” I told her. “If Carson wasn’t detailed, I can’t beeither.”

Helen was silent a long moment. “Soit is government work?”

“Yes. Very important; secret stuffthat could have the whole family assassinated.” Well, that bit wasn’t true, butit wouldn’t hurt to lay it on a little thicker than it actually was. “I mean,we’re talking the rough stuff, not just bullets in the head. Dismemberments,dissolving bodies in acid, unexplained disappearances…the works, Helen.”

“Well,” she said, “it seems you’refinally more than just a waste of cash.” I ignored the barb. “I want you tostay away from that Locke boy,” she continued. “He’s trouble.”

“I can’t very well avoid him, Helen.He’s kind of my partner on the job.”

“If I hear you’ve been shirkinggovernment work, you little shit, to go cavorting—”

I took the plunge. “So I shouldn’ttell you about our snog party yesterday?”

“Mallory Eleanor!”

“Yeah.”

“How could you?!”

“Well, it’s sort of complicated.”

“Complicated?!” she repeated.“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It mean it’s complicated. In anycase, how would you suggest I go about being elusive? I’m in his house. Itdoesn’t get much closer than that.”

Helen snarled into the phone. ‘If Ireplace you’ve disregarded me, Mallory Eleanor, you will pay the piper.” And thenshe slammed down the phone.

I looked at Raechel. “Did you hearthat?”

“Yes.”

I dropped the phone onto the hook.“So I’ve been paying the piper a long time, I suppose, as I usually ‘discard’everything she says.”

Raechel nodded. “Just so we’re clearon this, she knows it’s ‘disregarded’, right? ‘Discard’ isn’t actuallysomething that’s really a thing for metaphor and stuff.”

“You have a way with words,” I saidflatly. “And also, yes.”

“What are we going to do when yourmother refuses to send you to a college?”

I shrugged. “I suppose I’lleventually have to tell her that I’ve got that embassy internship in London. Doyou think she’ll be very upset?”

Raechel nodded. “Yes. She will befurious.”

Orcus would need to know aboutCarson talking to my mother, and he would need to know immediately. My motherwanted information, and Carson, while being very clever and quick-witted, wasvery lonely and very single. If he was as clever as we thought, he’d know Orcuswas telling him bed-time stories, and he would have no moral compunction inpassing the real information along to my mother (before anyone asks, we hackedinto the Pentagon and collected his information; he was assigned to Blackthorn“due to habitual disregard for and resentment of superior officers.” It’s not afantastic leap to make where Paul Carson is concerned.) Yes, Orcus needed toknow, and we needed to make a plan.

I ran it by Raechel, and she agreed.While she went off to see Grandfather and Phyllida about waking Sebastian, Imade straight for the lab; Orcus rarely left, and it didn’t take rocket-scienceto guess he would be there now. It made matters worse that he was quite pleasedto see me.

“I wondered when you’d arrive,” hesaid lightly.

“Excellent,” I said quickly, “I gota phone call from my mother.”

He paused and fixed me with a stare.“Should I guard myself?”

“No,” although it would serve himright, “it’s important we take this into consideration.” When he motioned forme to continue, I told him about the phone call, about what my mother had said,and my suspicion that Carson would let loose his tongue. Orcus’ face was coldand expressionless, and his eyes seemed a bit darker than usual.

“He knows,” he said when I’dfinished my story. “He knows what we’ve been up to. I spoke to him thismorning, and he didn’t quite cover the mouthpiece on the telephone when he letit slip.”

Things were only going to get worse,I decided. “If he knows we’re not telling the truth, why is he pretending tobuy it? Blackmail?”

“It is a logical conclusion,” Orcusreplied, dropping onto a stool and pulling me close. He’d been very touchysince yesterday, and I couldn’t quite account for it. If I hadn’t known he wasa strict teetotal, I’d think he was drunk.

“Blackmailing teenagers wouldn’twork.”

“Legally we are adults.”

“Yes,” I said, “but we’re still inschool.”

“That won’t matter if Carson brandsus to the big-wigs on Capitol Hill as traitors.”

Could things get any worse? “Whatexactly did he say?”

Orcus shrugged. “We think thevampire son has a disease, we’re looking for what sort of sickness it could be,of course, we’re bluffing, we’ve guessed at the game; that sort of thing. He’llget what he can from your mother about you – ”

I hummed my interruption, and Orcusdidn’t seem at all perturbed. I started kicking myself mentally. If pretendingto be receptive made him that much easier to deal with, I should have thoughtof it a long time ago. “Helen knowsnothing. I told her it was government, and it could have the family trounced.She let it go after that. And you can bet that Raechel’s parents won’t betalking, either. Or her brother.”

Orcus looked extremely pleased.“Well done, darling,” he said. “I suppose Carson knows nothing of yourdilapidated relationship with your mother?”

“Not unless Hoare told him, andHoare hates him as much as I do. Why should he tell?”

“Fear of sacking, torture, gettingwhacked. . . .” Orcus laughed at my expression. “Darling, you of all peopleknow that the government is one massive mafia. It has its soldiers and spies onthe ground, and its connections everywhere; saying no could, quite literally,be the death of dear Mr. Hoare.”

Much as I hated to admit it, Orcuswas right. It wasn’t that I was worried for Mr. Hoare’s life; he was myfavorite teacher, to be sure, but he was safe as far as all this went. What hadme nervous was the thought of what Carson might do with the information he got,whatever nature it might be. “They’re all afraid of your family,” I finally said.

Orcus laughed. “A particularadvantage. I do think that as soon as Carson drops our name to his superiors,whatever case he’ll have built up will disappear.” His herbal eyes glinted. “Myfather does have his uses, you see.”

I tried to think nothing of thatremark, with no success. Raechel had been very right: Mr. Locke would need toknow of our suspicions, if he didn’t know already.