Free Secret Vampire by Lisa J. Smith Page A

time, and I want you to do the same. And the next time we do it ..."
    I'll die, Poppy thought. Well, at least I know how long I have left as a human.
    James's lips slid back to reveal long, delicate fangs, and he struck at his own wrist. There was something snakelike in the motion. Blood welled up, the color of syrup in a can of cherry preserves.
    Just as Poppy was leaning forward, lips parted, there was a knock at the door.
    Poppy and James froze guiltily.
    The knock came again. In her muddled and weak ened state, Poppy couldn't seem to make herself move. The only thought that resounded in her brain was Oh, please. Please don't let it be ...
    The door opened.
    Phil.
    Phillip was already speaking as he poked his head in. "Poppy, are you awake? Mom says-"
    He broke off abruptly, then lunged for the lightswitch on the wall. Suddenly the room was illuminated.
    Oh, terrific, Poppy thought in frustration. Phil was peering through the filmy draperies around the bed. Poppy peered back at him.
    "What is going-on?" he said in a voice that would have gotten him the lead role in The Ten Com mandments. And then, before Poppy could gather enough wits to answer, he leaned in and grabbed James by the arm.
    "Phil, don't," Poppy said. "Phil, you idiot ..."
    "We had a deal," Phil snarled at James. "And you broke it."
    James was gripping Phil's arms now, as ungently as Phil was grasping him. Poppy had the dismayed feeling that they were going to start head-butting each other.
    Oh, Lord, if she could only think straight. She felt so brainless.
    "You've got the wrong idea," James said to Phil through clenched teeth.
    "The wrong idea? I come in here and find the two of you in bed, with all the curtains drawn, and you're telling me I've got the wrong idea?"
    "On the bed, Poppy interjected. Phil ignored her.
    James shook Phil. He did it quite easily and with an economy of movement, but Phil's head snapped back and forth. Poppy realized that James was not at his most rational right now. She remembered the metal chair leg and decided it was time to intervene.
    Let go," she said, reaching in between the two boys to grab for hands. Anybody's hands. "Come on, you guys!" And then, desperately, "Phil, I know you don't understand, but James is trying to help me-"
    "Help you? I don't think so." And then to James: "Look at her. Can't you see that this stupid pretending is making her sicker? Every time I find her with you, she's white as a sheet. You're just making things worse."
    "You don't know anything about it," James snarled in Phil's face. But Poppy was still processing something several sentences back.
    "Stupid? Pretending?" she said. Her voice wasn't very loud but everything stopped.
    Both boys looked at her.
    Everyone made mistakes then. Later, Poppy would realize that if any of them had kept their heads, what happened next could have been avoided. But none of them did.
    "I'm sorry," Phil said to Poppy. "I didn't want to tell you-"
    "Shut up, " James said savagely.
    "But I have to. This-jerk-is just playing with you. He admitted it to me. He said he felt sorry for you, and he thinks that pretending he likes you makes you feel better. He's got an ego that would fill Dodger Stadium."
    "Pretending?" Poppy said again, sitting back. There was a buzzing in her head and an eruption gathering in her chest.
    "Poppy, he's crazy," James said. "Listen-"
    But Poppy wasn't listening. The problem was that she could feel how sorry Phil was. It was much more convincing than anger. And Phillip, honest, straight forward, trustworthy Phillip, almost never lied.
    He wasn't lying now. Which meant ... that James must be.
    Eruption time.
    "You . . ." she whispered to James.,"You . . ." She couldn't think of a swear word bad enough. Some how she felt more hurt, more betrayed than she had ever felt before. She had thought she knew James; she had trusted him absolutely. Which made the betrayal all the worse. "So it was all pretending? Is that it?"
    Some inner voice was telling