Free Stake That by Mari Mancusi Page A

couches and little end tables with tea candles are scattered around the room. The candlelight is all the illumination the place has got and so all the inhabitants look a bit haunted and hollow-eyed. Or maybe that’s just due to the fact they’ve been half drained dry a few minutes earlier.
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    I make a beeline for an empty couch across the room. I plop down, pulling my feet up and under me. Jareth heads to the bar on the far side of the room and returns a moment later with some juice and Ritz crackers.
    “No Oreos, huh?” I ask as I take the plate from him and start chowing on the crackers. I slurp down some juice.
    “Could you at least try to chew with your mouth closed?” Jareth hisses, taking a seat beside me. I roll my eyes. God, how can someone so sexy be so uptight and annoying? I , mean, it’s not like we’re on a date, right? My actions should not have any reflection on him. And even if they do, who cares? We’re at a freaking bite bar in the worst section of town. I say, in this sitch, it’s safe to leave Miss Manners at the door.
    Choosing to ignore him, I instead glance around the room, hoping to pick up some revealing scraps of conversation that might clue us into Maverick’s evil plan. But it seems luck is not being a lady tonight. No one’s saying a word.
    “Wait a second,” Jareth says, his eyes falling on two girls across the room. They’re both gothed out and channeling Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan in their scrawniness, but they’re definitely human.
    “What?”
    “I recognize those two. They’re donors for my friend Kristoff.”
    “Yeah?” I ask, peering at the girls. “But that doesn’t make sense.” FYI: A donor is a human who voluntarily signs up to be a regular blood source for a vampire. Each vamp has his own stable of donors. This way they don’t bite unwilling people, like you see in the movies. It’s all very civilized and there are blood tests and contracts and the donors make pretty good dough for their services.
    But why would two donors be at the Blood Bar? They al-ready get sucked by their vamp on a regular basis. There’s no way they have that much blood to spare.
    “That’s a huge contract violation,” Jareth says, peering at the girls. “What if they came down with some disease? They could infect Kristoff.”
    “Do you want to say anything to them?”
    “No. It’s not my place. And it would blow our cover. But I will certainly be reporting the incident tomorrow to Kristoff. He will have to let them go.”
    I stare at the two girls. They don’t look all that well—even for Donor Chicks, who always look slightly anemic. Even un-der the dim lighting I can see the dark rings around their eyes and a slightly green tone to their skin.
    Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice in Wonderland would say… .
    ***
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    Anyway, that’s all to report for now. More tomorrow, I’m sure. At least Jareth and I seem to have reached some kind of truce. We’re never going to be BFFs, but at least we’re not at each other’s throats. Well, maybe that’s a bad analogy … I mean, let’s be honest here. Annoying or not, I’d let him be at my throat any day of the week. ;-)
     
    POSTED BY RAYNE MCDONALD @ 1 A.M.
    ONE COMMENT:
     
    AstrydGrrl777 says …
    You got bit by a vampire! How cool is that? I’m sooooo jeal-ous! What did it feel like? I mean, I know you kinda de-scribed it, but we want details! Lots of intimate, personal, embarrassing details! Come on, girl! Spill!!
     
11
     
    TUESDAY,JUNE5, 1:33 A.M.
     
    I Can’t Breathe!
     
    OMG! So I’m like almost asleep and I hear a car pull up. Mom! I jump out of bed and run to my window, hoping to get a good look at the date.
    The front spotlight flickers on, illuminating two figures on the front porch. Two figures kissing, to be precise.
    At first I’m overjoyed that my mom