Crave 02 - Sacrifice by Melinda Metz, Laura J. Burns

surprised by how modern he seemed when I finally met him, and he was all ‘I
am
modern, crazy girl.’”
    Sam laughed, the same warm laugh she’d heard in her visions of Gabriel’s life. Sam had been some strange cross between big brother, best friend, and surrogate father to Gabriel. That’s what he was now, to Shay.
    “You know, it would’ve been more useful if I had gotten visions of Gabriel’s modern life,” Shay said. “If I’d seen Richard and Tamara, and the way Ernst really is now. . . .”
    “You would have refused to come anywhere near here,” Sam said.
    “Yeah. If I’d known how much they hate you, I would have realized that they wouldn’t welcome me.”
    Sam sighed. “Even Gabriel didn’t realize that. Perhaps because even after everything that happened, he still managed to love me enough to want to keep my daughter safe.”
    “He was in denial about how Ernst and the others would feel,” Shay said. “Believe me, I know denial. My mom has spent my whole life in denial about my disease—she would never admit to herself that I was terminal.”
    Sam was silent. Shay took a deep breath, or at least as deep a breath as she could. There seemed to be a permanent block in herlungs now, something that kept her from drawing in enough air. Maybe that’s why she was hallucinating. She didn’t have to look to know that Sam was gone again.
    Not that he’d ever really been there.
    “I guess I can give up on searching for any more of your stuff,” she said aloud. “Tamara told me there wouldn’t be any.”
    The box with the locket was hidden,
Sam’s thought seemed to say. Or maybe it was Shay’s own thought. She couldn’t tell anymore.
It was hidden away so none of the other vampires could find it. So Ernst couldn’t find it.
    “So it’s true. You’ve plundered our possessions,” Ernst said.
    Shay opened her eyes, squinting against the light. Ernst hadn’t been there a second ago. “Are you another hallucination?” she asked.
    “Hardly.” His voice was clipped, but not angry.
    She wanted to ask him how Gabriel was, but she knew that was ridiculous. If they’d managed to convince Ernst that Gabriel was returning her to her prison the night before, showing any concern for Gabriel now would only make him suspicious again.
    Shay tried to move, to sit up. It felt wrong to lie down while her main captor watched. She should show more strength, more defiance. But she couldn’t even lift her head.
    “I’m worse than I was when Tamara was here,” she murmured. “I must’ve fallen asleep. How long has it been? Is it daytime again—is that why it’s you and not one of the others?”
    “I’m not here to answer your questions,” Ernst said.
    Shay closed her eyes again. Maybe she’d drift back to sleep and he would be gone when she woke up again.
If
she woke up again.
    A cool, wet sensation wormed its way through her lips, into hermouth. Shay choked, coughing, as the water hit her throat. She sputtered, then swallowed. It had been so long since she’d drunk that her body didn’t feel sure what to do.
    Ernst frowned, then reached over and grabbed her under the arms, hauling her to an upright position. He leaned her back against one of the shelves so that she was sitting up and held out a water bottle.
    Shay reached for it. She could swear she did. But her hands stayed where they were, down at her sides. Not even a single finger twitched.
    “Sorry. Guess I’m too far gone,” she croaked. It was weird how she didn’t care. Caring took energy, and she had none left.
    Ernst rolled his eyes. He knelt down and held the bottle up to her lips, tilting it so more water ran into her mouth. This time her throat remembered how to swallow, and she drank eagerly—until he pulled the bottle away.
    I’m not saying thank you,
she thought.
    “Just like your father. Petulant,” Ernst said.
    Shay felt a stab of surprise. It wasn’t what she had expected to hear. “I never saw Sam acting