Page 53 of Mysterious Teacher: Songbird
“We’ll find a place, somewhere close enough to a major city, but far enough to have a good buffer zone around the house.”
“Does that mean we’ll all live together?”
Sonya smiled. “We’ll discuss that with your father.”
“I hope we do. It only makes sense.”
“I happen to agree with you. This war isn’t over, not by a long shot. And we can’t fight alone. We’ll need reinforcement. We need an army.”
“Right,” April muttered without conviction, her mind already elsewhere.
“Don’t worry, April. Everything will be fine. We’ll gather up enough people. I have no doubt.”
“I guess.”
“Are you all right? What’s really on your mind?”
“I wanted to say...” April hesitated, not sure she wanted to bring up the matter. “Yesterday, during all the fighting...”
“Yes?” Sonya clipped her suitcase shut.
“In all the excitement. In all the action. All that noise. All the shouting.It was all so chaotic.”
“It was. That’s how fighting often is. It’s easy to lose your way and know what your next move should be.”
“I think that in all the mixed emotions, I... I cried outMom. I hope you weren’t offended. I didn’t mean to...”
Sonya looked at her, smiling but visibly pained. “Why would I be offended? It’s quite natural to call out for one’s mother when in crisis. It happens all the time.”
“Okay. Good. I just wanted to be sure...you know...that it was okay.”She looked down at Sonya’s closed suitcase. “I mean, in a way, you are the closest thing to a mother that I’ve ever known.”
“It pleases me to hear that, April.” She grabbed the handle of the suitcase and hoisted it off the bed. “Now, let’s get a move on.”
April watched her walk out of the room, a sense of emptiness taking over her. She had hoped to talk more about their relationship, but...maybe another time.
“Are you coming, April?”Sonya called from the hall.
She left Sonya’s bedroom and met her and her father out on the front porch. The lingering smell of burnt buildings was strong, reminding her of the night they’d spent fighting.
World Unified Studios; it wasn’t just a front for some Russian spy. It was the cover for an ancient vampire’s coven with a Russian spy as a decoy.
In the hours since the fighting ended, she’d learned more about the bloodsucking world and its connection to various aspects of the entertainment industry. Producers and directors had blood on their hands. Casting directors had a particularly horrifying part, recruiting young, impressionable men and women looking for fame.
“If all of California is infested with these beasts...” Dr.Ang shook his head, unable to finish his thought.
“I know,” Sonya said. “It seems like an impossible task, but we have to start somewhere.”
“Yes, one coven at a time,” April said, suddenly feeling so much older than her years. “We go out there and take them down, one by one.”
*****
