Page 81 of Vampire's Cupcake
Emeric frowned.“You want me to wait here for two days?Thano told me to guard the shop.I only followed--" He pointed a thumb at Elijah.“--since he read the note and more or less ran here."
“No, I meant, if you're gonna attack.Can you wait two days?Then the sheriff won't be in the hotel, and Elijah should be safe hiding there."
Emeric looked at Elijah again.“We don't plan an attack.We're guarding the border as they are guarding the border.The leaders agreed.We'll leave the humans to destroy themselves while keeping ourselves safe."
Eli didn't know how much more his body could take.Nausea rolled over him.“What about Fisherman's Lake?"
Emeric shrugged.“If they're smart, they'll too guard their border toward Last Hope."
“But...People in Last Hope will starve."
There wasn't an ounce of compassion on Emeric's face.“They closed down your only grocery store.The board wants you to starve."
Did they?No, they had to be acting out of ignorance.Making the people starve would mean making themselves starve, and no one wanted that.
“I'll let you get on with your day."Emeric bowed, and then he was gone.
Elijah looked around.“Is he gone?"
“Don't know."Though if his job was to guard the shop, he'd most likely gone there.“Do you think they want us to starve?"
Elijah shrugged.“I think you should get the fuck out while you can."
* * * *
Thano was watching the men guarding the road into Last Hope.They were strutting around like Eli's two roosters did in the chicken coop.Romeo had said he shouldn't let them out yet.Give it another day, so they'd know where they live.
Did the humans think guns would save them?breed weren't immortal, but they were stronger, faster, and harder to kill.And the punishment they'd mete out if the humans tried to take them out would be severe.
Thano dropped the shadows, curious about what would happen when they spotted him.It took a few seconds before they did.One of the men turned, saw him, and stiffened.He raised his gun, and the other followed suit.When a couple of seconds went by without anyone pulling the trigger, Thano was almost disappointed.He wanted to rip their throats out.Wanted to punish them for making Eli think he needed to be here instead of with Thano.Last Hope didn't deserve him.
He gathered the shadows again.
“Thano."Emeric's voice sounded next to him.
“Aren't you guarding the shop?"
“Darcia is there.The paper is an eviction note.Eli has two days to remove all his things from the shop.People are panicking."
“Eli?"
Silence stretched.“I don't know him well enough to say if he's panicking or not.Shocked, I think.The hotel owner is helping him."
“Elijah."Oh, look at that, Thano had finally learned his name.
“Yes.Eli asked us to keep him safe."
“Safe?"
He could sense Emeric shrugging even if he couldn't see it.
“He wanted us not to attack the hotel, should we attack, and he asked us to wait two days because then the sheriff wouldn't be there anymore."
Eli believed the sheriff was the biggest problem then.“A lot of things can happen in two days."
“Mmm.I wonder if the sheriff finding somewhere to stay in two days is linked to Eli having to leave the shop in two days."
Thano nodded, though Emeric wouldn't be able to see him.Silence stretched.
