Morganville (Justin Bieber)

Chapter 88

It was hard to imagine how my day - even by Morganville standards - could get any worse ... and then the vampires holding me hostage wanted breakfast.

"Breakfast?" I repeated blankly. I took a look at the living room window, just to prove to myself that, yes, it was still dark outside. Getting darker all the time.

The three vampires all looked at me. It was bad enough having that kind of attention from the two I hadn't properly met yet - man and woman, eerily pretty - but when the cold, old Mr. Bishop's eyes focused my way, it made me want to curl up in a corner and hide.

I held his stare for a full five seconds, then looked down. I could almost feel him smiling.

"Breakfast," he said softly, "is something to be eaten in the mornings. Mornings for vampires are not controlled by sunrise. And I like eggs."

"Scrambled or over easy?" I asked, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt. Don't say over easy. I don't know how to make eggs over easy. I don't even know why I mentioned it. Don't say over easy. . . .

"Scrambled," he said, and my breath rushed out in relief. Mr. Bishop was sitting in the comfortable chair in the living room that my housemate Michael normally occupied while he was playing his guitar. Unlike Michael, Mr. Bishop made it look like a throne. Part of it was that everybody else stayed standing -  me, with her boyfriend, Justin, hovering protectively by my side; Eve and Michael a little distance away, holding hands. I risked a glance at Michael. He looked . . . contained. Angry, sure, but under control, at least.

I was more scared about Justin. He had a pretty well-documented history of acting before thinking, at least when it came to the personal safety of those he cared about. I took his hand, and he sent me a quick, dark, unreadable glance.

No, I wasn't sure about him at all.

Mr. Bishop's voice pulled my attention back to him with a cold snap. "Have you told Amelie that I've arrived, girl?"

That had been Bishop's first command - to let his daughter know he'd come to town. His daughter? Amelie - the head vampire of Morganville - didn't seem human enough to have family, not even family as scary as Mr. Bishop. Ice and crystal, that was Amelie.

He was waiting for an answer, and I hastily got one together. "I called. I got her voice mail," I said. I tried not to sound defensive. Bishop's eyebrows drew together in a scowl.

"I suppose that means you left some sort of a message. " I nodded mutely. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the arm of the chair. "Very well. We'll eat while we wait. Eggs, scrambled, as I said. We shall also have bacon, coffee - "

"Biscuits," drawled the woman leaning on the arm of his chair. "I love biscuits. And honey." The vampire had a molasses-slow accent, something that wasn't quite Southern and wasn't quite not, either. Mr. Bishop gave her a tolerant look, the kind a human would give a favorite pet. She had the icy glitter in her eyes, and moved so smoothly and quietly that there was no way she was regular-flavored human. Not hiding it, either, the way some of the vampires of Morganville tried to do.

The woman kept smiling, dark eyes fixed on Justin. I didn't like the way she was looking at him. It looked - greedy.

"Biscuits," Mr. Bishop agreed, with a quirk of a smile. "And I'll indulge you further by agreeing to gravy, child." The smile vanished when he turned back to the four standing in front of him. "Go about your business, then. Now."

Justin grabbed my hand and practically dragged me toward the kitchen. However fast he was moving, Michael was there first, pushing Eve through the door. "Hey!" Eve protested. "I'm walking here!"