Sinjin by H. P. Mallory Page A

smiled with delight. And as to the subject of our marriage: Christa is advocating that the four of us have a double wedding.
    I wasn’t sure who Christa was, but figured I’d probably find out at some point, not that I really cared to. Anyhow …
    Well, perhaps, you can convince her to speed up the date of her nuptials, Rand added as he glanced at Jolie and offered her a sexy smile . I am an impatient man!
    Tuning out of their private conversation, which was venturing into vomit-inducing territory, I considered the nature of Sinjin and Rand’s relationship. As far as Rand was concerned, he didn’t like Sinjin and certainly didn’t trust the vampire. Initially, I found it curious that Rand was so convinced the dapper vampire was only out for himself, but the more I thought about it, the more his opinion immediately made sense to me. In my experience, most vampires were out for themselves. More importantly, Rand was exactly right about Sinjin harboring feelings for my sister because even I knew he absolutely did. Jolie was either hopelessly naïve to deny it, or maybe it was more a case of wishful thinking on her part. Clearly, she cared for the vampire in some fashion, even if she didn’t reciprocate his ardor.
    Despite the extent of Jolie’s feelings for Sinjin, or his for her, one thing I knew was that Sinjin absolutely couldn’t be trusted. He was a snake if ever I’d met one. His easy manner and cool, calculating confidence were purely facades. Even though I couldn’t penetrate the safeguard of his defenses, I’d already received enough clues to learn that what existed in Sinjin’s mind was very different to how he tried to present himself.
    Hoping Rand and Jolie’s vomit-inducing mental conversation was finally terminated, I concentrated on Rand again. I hoped to glean more clues regarding the impenetrable vampire from Rand, since Sinjin clearly refused to allow me anything. Although I didn’t get actual words or images from Rand’s mind, I sensed there was a long history between the two of them; and I also deduced that their shared history wasn’t a particularly happy one. I was offered no clues regarding the specifics between Sinjin and Rand from Rand’s bank of memories, but I definitely felt that Sinjin had to have wronged Rand at some point in the past. That notion came from the deeply embedded anger that flowed rampantly through Rand whenever he thought about the vampire. That anger hinted to a long and difficult former relationship with Sinjin. Whatever had happened between Rand and Sinjin was a mystery; one I definitely intended to solve.
    With an inward smile, I realized the creatures of the Underworld weren’t quite as much of a united front as I ’d previously thought. It seemed as though each faction of creatures was somehow prejudiced against one another and allowed that disharmony to exist even in Jolie’s council of advisors. And warring factions from within a kingdom were definitely a weakness, if ever I’d seen one.
    Do you really think you’d actually be able to use all this information against Jolie? Your own sister? I asked myself. If it comes down to it, Bryn, whatever you’re learning about her people now could mean the destruction of not only them, but her too!
    I am fully aware of that, I retorted mentally before that irritating voice inside my head decided to pipe up again.
    Jo lie is your own flesh and blood …
    But I had to force those thoughts aside because I knew if Jolie were in my situation, she would do exactly the same thing I had to do. She would devise a way out of her predicament and her plan would, no doubt, include a report of all our comings and goings to her own people. Even though I didn’t know how or when I would see my tribe again, my plan remained the same. At the end of the day, the ties that my sister and I had to our own people were much thicker than the blood she and I shared.
    My attention centered on my sister and Rand as a wave of melancholy