“Oh, well, beggars can’t be choosers, I reckon,” Heather said in her thick accent, I just assumed she had to be happy just to be out of that portal.
“I’ll go turn on the shower for you,” Amanda offered to Brandon and stepped into the adjoining bathroom.
“I hate to ask you ladies to leave, but this gown isn’t closed in the back so....”
Brandon didn’t need to say more. Heather shot out the door like a firecracker. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and followed her, closing the door behind me. I was glad his mom was there to help him get up and make sure he could walk okay. She’d worked in a nursing home, after all, so she should be good at that sort of thing.
“So... yer sister? She nice? I mean, she seemed kinda nice but also a little wound up. Pro’ly ‘cause her fiancé’s gone, ya think?”
“She’s nice. She’s great. You’ll like her.”
“That’s good. Them other fellers is nice. I like Jamie. Elliott’s a little bit of a... knucklehead. But he ain’t bad. I ain’t sure what to make ‘a Aaron. I like ‘im just fine, but he’s a little... quiet, ain’t he?”
“He can be. He’s got a lot going on in his head.” I laughed when she called Elliot a knucklehead. I can see where she’d get that impression. “Elliott acts dumb to make people laugh sometimes, but he’s really smart. He’s one of my best friends.”
“Really? And yer datin’ his son?”
“Yeah. We were friends before I met Brandon. Before Elliott met Brandon. It’s complicated.”
“I’ll say. I know he died and come back, but I guess I missed the part where they didn’t know each other before then. And that’s Brandon’s mama?”
“Yes. Elliott hadn’t seen her since before Brandon was born. He didn’t know about Brandon before he passed away.”
She was shaking her head. “Almost as complicated as my family.”
I decided to go ahead and ask about that. I sank down on the floor, figuring it could be a while, and Heather sat down beside me. “So... how were you related to Mina?”
Before she could answer, Amanda came out. “He seems fine in the shower. I’m going to go find a snack machine.”
“There’s one down there in the lounge,” Heather pointed down the hall.
“Thanks.” Amanda took off. I wondered if that was where Dax and Tara had gone to.
Heather was quiet, and I thought she might not answer me, but eventually she did. “She was my sister. I saw them monsters in the woods couple weeks before they attacked our place. No one would listen to me. Then... they come in the night. Tore up everyone. Only left me and Mina, and my brother’s little girl. I was already Transformin’ by then. I could feel it in my bones, you know?”
I nodded, not because I had firsthand knowledge of a slow Transformation but because I’d heard others speak about it. I was shocked to hear Mina was her sister. “So when the Vampire’s attacked, that’s how you became a Hybrid? I didn’t know that could happen.”
“Neither did I. Maybe someone’ll explain it to me. Anyhow, I was this. But Mina and the baby, that’s what we always called her, they was somethin’ else.”
“They were Vampires.”
“Yep. And they was accepted right quick by the clan. But not me. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I’d fall in with some Hunters till they decided I was the enemy, and they’d run me off. Then, I’d take up with a clan of Vampires, and they’d eventually kick me out. It was frustratin’. Eventually, Mina had gained enough with her group to let me back in. She married the leader, feller named Jethro. He died, though, and after that, they turned on me again. Their new leader, guy by the name of Jess, threw me in the portal, thinking he’d git rid of me. Guess it worked.”
“Wow—that’s terrible. Mina just let them do that?”
“Reckon she didn’t have no choice. They said they’d throw her and the baby in there, too. Weren’t no choice to be made then. She’d a done anything for that baby. Anything.”
A lump formed in my throat as I realized who she was talking about. “What was the... baby’s name?”
Heather’s face lost all sense of amusement. “You already know.”
I had to close my eyes as a sickening feeling came over me. I couldn’t get her name out of my mouth at first. When it did come, my stomach rolled over. “Bonnie.”
“One and the same. That little monster was the most murderous creature I ever laid eyes on. I seen her destroy a whole Indian village, seen her take out grown men like they’s kittens. I was right glad to hear it when yer friends told me she ain’t no more. And Mina, too fer that matter, after what she let ‘em do to me.” She had tears in her eyes, but they didn’t fall away. Heather took a deep breath. “Only problem is, that there was the last of my folks. So... if’n y’all decide I ain’t wanted, I don’t know what I’ll do. Be on my own again, I guess. But the world’s changed so much....”
“Don’t worry about that.” I reached for her hand, and she flinched at first, but then let me have it. “There’s a place for you with us, especially now that you know how to throw shields. We’ll get you a second round of Transformation serum, if you want, and you’ll be able to do even more cool things. You can stay with us for as long as you want.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at me and squeezed my hand. “What’s Transformation serum?”
I laughed. This girl had a lot to learn. “I’ll explain it all in good time, my friend. For now, we just have to worry about getting the guys out of the portal and stopping Holland, the Vampire Queen.”
“Sounds simple enough, so long as yer sister can get someone else inside the portal when it opens.”
“We’ll find a way.”