Mere Mortals by Erin Jade Lange

Author:Erin Jade Lange
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Three

She Said

A tiny bell jingled as I pushed open the door to All Hours, and a flush filled my cheeks as I traded the night chill for the cozy warmth of the coffee shop.

“This is your third visit today. You may have a caffeine problem, princess.”

Lina was perched on the counter, legs crossed under her, using a rag to polish an antique-looking copper kettle.

“Why do you bother with heat?” I asked, pulling my scarf away from my neck.

“Customers tend to enjoy temperate climates.” She didn’t look up from her polishing, and I found myself irritated that she was doing it so slowly. Still pretending.

The door closed behind me, jangling the bell once more before it sealed shut. I frowned up at it.

“And the bell? You can hear people walk through this door from a block away.”

“Superpowered hearing but no power to outshine this spot.” Lina sighed, holding up the kettle in the dim shop light.

“So you admit it,” I said. Not that I needed her confirmation at this point. “You’re vampire.”

She met my eye finally. “Took you long enough.”

“If you were expecting this, why not just tell us sooner?”

“I try to mind my own business . . . and stay out of Sal’s. I figured it was best to let you come to it on your own. To be frank, I expected you back here ages ago. But I suppose you’re not as quick as you used to be.”

Was she talking about my physical speed, or was that a crack at my intelligence?

The smirk she gave me as she hopped off the counter told me it was probably both.

She was lucky I needed something from her, or I would show her just how quick-witted I could be.

Lina gestured to a table, and we sat in opposite chairs. She leaned forward, eyes alight with both curiosity and invitation. I sensed in that moment that I could ask her anything, but a million questions were competing to get out, causing a bottleneck in my throat so that not one could squeak through.

“Coffee?” Lina asked, and no sooner had she said the word than she was behind the counter, her hands already working the brewer. Once the coffee was poured, I blinked, and two steaming mugs were on the table between us, not a drop spilled. I wondered if I’d have been able to see her move even with my old immortal eyes.

But then she lifted her coffee to her lips, and I could see only a human, because what vamp would drink anything other than blood?

The thought that I might lose my taste for coffee when I returned to immortality gave me a fleeting moment of sadness.

“How do you do that?” I asked, nodding at her cup. “Doesn’t everything just taste like ashes?”

“A little. But after a time, you can sort of taste through that. Same with smells.”

“And do you still drink—?”

“No.”

“But how . . .”

“It’s no longer necessary.”

“And sunlight?”

“Glorious.”

“Stakes?”

“Those still sting.”

I grinned. “As if any mortal could get close enough to try, at your speed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.