[i]‘Be calm, be calm…’[/i]

Mila met Lisette’s questioning stare with a mask of absolute composure. She looked perfectly at ease, as if she were confident that there was no reason why she shouldn’t have her way on such an insignificant matter. But inwardly, her thoughts were racing to come up with her next move, in case the other vampire spotted the trace of tension in her jaw or the subtle hint of desperation in her eyes. She could feel Lisette’s eyes boring into her own, trying to find any excuse to be suspicious. They stared at each other like two territorial animals, waiting for the other to step down. The tension was almost unbearable. [i]’Maybe she knows. She’s playing with me. She's-..[/i] 

All of a sudden Lisette threw up her hands. 

[i]“I say we let her go, Bookie.”[/i]

And just like that, the tension was gone. Mila released an inaudible sigh of relief, her features relaxing completely now. She straightened her posture a little, drawing herself up to her full height, and gave a slow, appreciative nod – though, there was a suggestion of triumph in the way she lifted her chin a little higher and looked at Lisette with satisfaction.

“Good,” she replied easily, as if the younger vampire had pleased her by answering correctly, rather than actually [i]granting[/i] her anything. 

[i]“Poor girl wants her alone time. We can go find some fun ourselves.”[/i]

“Undoubtedly. Go on, I’ll find you when I’m finished.” Her words were almost imperious, and it might have been as if she were the one dismissing them. If she was going to subject herself to the company of these two, she had better start off on a better foot by asserting some level of authority from this point on. If Lisette thought she would be [i]allowing[/i] the older vampire to do anything, she was sorely mistaken. 

Booker had a curious look on his handsome face as he gazed from Mila to the girl and back again. But he eventually met Lisette’s gaze with a shrug of his own. “Whatever suits her, I don’t care. I could go for another round right now anyway.”

[i]“Do you want to go halfsies?”[/i]

“Do you half to ask?” he drawled, a lethargic smirk on his face as he let her tug him along. 

[i]“Don't forget to give us the gritty details,”[/i] Lisette was saying, as Mila stood and watched them head down the street, wanting to make sure they were out of sight and earshot before-..

[i]”Mila…?”[/i]

The relief that she had finally let ease into her expression slowly vanished, just as Lisette’s words gradually faded away. There was a beat of silence and then all of the dread that Mila had thought she had overcome came rushing back suddenly, loud and horrific and paralyzing. She saw Lisette whip her head around and knew she could see the dead giveaway shock on her face. Mila gave an anguished cry as the other vampire pushed past her and she turned to grab at her, thinking she was about to throw herself at Charlie. But Lisette was only staring at the girl with a grim expression, looking not too pleased to have had the wool almost pulled over her eyes. 

[i]”It knows your name.”[/i]

Now she was circling slowly and dangerously around Mila, like some sort of predatory cat, while the older vampire stared down the street at Charlie with a pained look on her face. The girl’s hands were over her mouth. She had dropped her guitar case. Mila knew with an awful pang of guilt that she didn’t even know the [i]half[/i] of it. She must have recognized her old roommate’s silhouette and had obviously reacted with unpleasant shock. She didn’t know to fear Booker and Lisette. Not yet. Mila squeezed her eyes shut, no longer concerned with hiding the agonized look on her face. She’d killed her as soon as she’d entered her life, and it hadn’t mattered that she’d tried to leave. 

Her eyes flew open as Lisette’s voice came purring into her ear, soft and deadly. 

[i]“Mila, Mila, Mila.”[/i]

‘Powerless’ was not a word to describe the immaculate, aristocratic vampire, who had seen more than three hundred years in her lifetime, had devoured more souls than she could count, had the ability to ensnare her prey with just a look. But now as she stared at Charlie and felt Lisette’s fingers on her cheek, her cool breath on her neck, Mila felt an unpleasant shiver down her spine and realized that she had backed herself into a corner. 

[i]“Care for one more race?”[/i]

“No, w-wait-…” she whispered in a small voice, suppressing another shudder as Lisette caressed her jaw. “Charlie!” She called her name suddenly, loud enough for the girl to hear. 

[i]”Winner takes all.”[/i]

Mila didn’t wait for the other vampire to pull her hand away before she was off like shot at an astounding speed. She was by Charlie’s side in the blink of an eye, one hand on her shoulder, the other clutching her arm. “Charlie…!” she said again, looking at her with uncharacteristically wide, melancholy eyes. “Oh, Char…” But then she suddenly let go of her again as if she’d touched something hot. “I-I’m sorry, I-…” There wasn’t time to explain everything. Mila grabbed her arm with her vice-like grip and swiftly pulled her to one side of the alley, placing her so that her back was against the wall. She stood just a few feet in front of her in a protective stance, her teeth sharp and glistening threateningly in the direction of her former companions. 

She suspected that the time for reasoning was over, but she said anyway, “Not this one.” Her voice was low and intimidating. “She’s… I’ve already claimed her.” She winced at the words as soon as she’d said them, knowing how vile they would sound to the girl. They sounded awful to her, herself. But she had to use the kind of language that Booker and Lisette could understand. [i]‘I have an emotional connection to her,’[/i] was not going to cut it. In fact, it was laughable. 

Booker was already laughing. He sauntered over slowly to stand at a healthy distance from Mila and the human, his face lit up with curiosity and amusement. “You’re kidding me…” he laughed again, running a hand through his dark, tousled hair and grinning at the pair of them as if they’d just finished a comedy skit. “You know, I [i]told[/i] Lisette that you were acting funny, but I never could have guessed… But [i]Mila[/i],” he chuckled, appealing to her almost good naturedly, “Can you be serious? Then again, you always were on the possessive side, weren’t you. A little too fond of pets, are we?”

She glared at him with narrowed eyes that shifted between he and Lisette, watching both of them carefully. “Nothing’s changed. I’ll go with you, but you have to leave her to me.”