Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

In the Sun

"Come on," I murmured to Zane. I was beginning to feel very awkward because of all the things Phoebe had just said about Zane.

He slowly opened the door and stepped onto the concrete driveway with his bare feet. There was a look of agony on his face and he stumbled. I quickly caught his arm before he fell over.

"What was that all about?" I asked in shock. I mean Zane never tripped. I thought it was impossible for vampires to trip.

"It's the sun," he gasped. I had noticed the sun, which was why I had suggested that we talked inside. It was an uncommonly sunny day for here in Jasper Lake. I began to help him make his way to the door when a fit of coughing seized him. The cough's racked his entire body and made him tremble like a leaf. Suddenly he doubled over and the coughing became even more violent; blood started coming up with the coughs as if he were suffering from tuberculosis. He kept walking towards the door as if it were a source of salvation.

I was starting to freak out! Like SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON??? I wrenched open my front door.

"Get in! Get in!" I exclaimed and Zane staggered through falling to the floor. I quickly closed the door and turned to face him. He was sitting against the wall his chest heaving, his eyes blood shot, and his lips colored red with his own blood.

"What happened out there?" I asked crouching down in front of him. He turned his face away from me.

"I told you it was the sun," he said. I looked at him with a bemused expression on my face.

"I've never seen the sun affect you like that." I alleged.

"It's because of the human blood. Vampires who drink as much human blood as I've been lately are extremely sensitive to sunlight and almost never go out during the day unless it is absolutely necessary. I haven't been out in the daylight in nearly two weeks," he replied.

"But you were out at your house while we were burning the bodies and you were fine," I said. He shut his eyes and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I built my house in that part of the Tallais forest for the tree cover. Almost no sun reaches the ground in that spot. This is the first time I've been in direct sunlight," he muttered breathlessly.

"Remind me to get you a good pair of sunglasses when this is all over," I said in a feeble attempt to make him feel better. He managed a smile.

"Lori! Are you gonna explain what the hell is going on or what?" Phoebe screamed from the living room. I neglected to reply to her scream and turned back to Zane.

"Can you stand?" I asked. He pushed himself up off the floor and walked past me towards my living room.

"I'm fine for the moment," he said. I trotted after him and replied, "Well that's great, but I only asked you if you could stand."

We came into the living room to see Phoebe sitting rigidly in her recliner. I motioned for Zane to sit down on the couch. He took a deep breath through his mouth and perched precariously on the arm of the couch. He reminded me of a cross between L from Death Note and a giant bird of prey. I sat down on the middle cushion and looked carefully at Phoebe. She had her lips pursed dramatically, waiting for an answer as to why Zane was currently sitting in the living room. I breathed in slowly and held it for a bit before letting it out.

"He needed help," I said quietly. Phoebe made a choking sound.

"Well that's for sure," she said. I glared at her.

"He needs our help." I asserted. She glowered.

"Why us?" she asked critically. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Who else does he have?" I asked. She stared at me for a moment.

"He...well he...has no one," she whispered. I nodded and reached for Zane's hand which was drumming idly against the arm of the couch. His skin was colder than ice. Phoebe growled exasperatedly. "Well what's the problem?" she asked reluctantly. My, my, she is dense. Zane suddenly smiled and a small laugh escaped his mouth. Phoebe gave Zane a sideways look.

"Oh I see. He's gone mad. This is no time to be laughing." Zane smiled again.

"I may be mad, but I was only laughing because I heard something amusing," he said freely. In a voice that did not match his nervous hand twitching and uneasy position.

"I didn't hear anything," Phoebe harrumphed. Zane's black eyes shimmered in the weak amount of light coming through the curtains.

"No, you wouldn't, would you?" he said condescendingly. I finally got it! I thumped him in the thigh with my fist. He swayed slightly on his perch and then regained his balance.

"Stop listening to my thoughts!" I demanded. He gave a short laugh and smiled at me. I looked away from his charming smirk before it had time to make me melt. Phoebe was staring at us like a doe caught in a pair of headlights.

"I'm sorry Lorelei, but I can't help it. I don't have to concentrate to hear your thoughts I just do," he insisted. I endured his adorable face just long enough to glare at him.

"Well how about you concentrate on not reading my thoughts," I said. Suddenly I saw realization slide across Phoebe's face.

"You thought something funny and he heard it! That's why he was laughing!" she said as if it were some sort of revelation. She paused for a moment in apparent thought.

"Since when have you been able to read minds?" she asked, pointing a tentative finger at Zane. I almost told her that it was rude to point. Zane looked at me curiously and said, "I never really found pointing rude." I hit him again in the leg with a little less force. Phoebe was wearing an expression on her face that told us she was getting tired of being so left out and that she wanted her questions answered. Zane sighed wearily and rubbed his right temple before turning towards Phoebe.

"I used to be able to read minds before I stopped drinking from humans. I lost the ability when I stopped and now it's back," he said in a flat voice. Her chin lifted slightly as she grasped the concept.

"Well that's just great. Now do please tell me what he's doing here and don't just say 'he needs help,'" she said pointedly as I opened my mouth to do just that. I took a deep breath and tried to think of a good way to say this.