Black Sun [New Horizon Trilogy]

09 ~ Drowning In Guilt

Chapter Nine

Drowning In Guilt

By the time Claire had finished what Amelie deemed as work, her eyes were achy and her back stiff, and the sky outside had already started to darken. Shane had sent her two texts; one telling her that he had gone to work, the other a few hours afterwards telling her that he had finished work and would pick her up from the lab if she wanted him to. Claire felt a cold tremor run up her spine, and she wondered who would've been the one that told him that she had gone to work. Surely Shane wouldn't have just automatically assumed that she had gone back without a word after all this time.

Her own, internal question was answered once she stepped outside the Founder's building, and she saw Eve's black hearse sitting idly against the curb. She might have thought it was Shane - Eve might've blabbed about her relocation to the Founder's Square - if it weren't for the Gothic newly turned vampire sitting on the roof of the car, her eyes hidden behind thick-rimmed sunglasses, and her limbs covered in black lace that clung like skin to her body. For a moment, Claire was awestruck. Eve had been cool before, but since becoming a vampire, her coolness had just - well, it had sky-rocketed way above. It just seemed to suit her, not just because of her fashion sense, but her mannerisms too. The way she sat on the top of the hearse, one leg folded over the other with her hands in her lap as she tilted her head up to the sky, the last of the blushing orange already blending into a darkening black.

"Is it really safe for you to be out?" Claire asked as she approached Eve, her hands stuffed in the back pocket of her jeans to keep her fingers warm.

Eve looked down, and behind her glasses, she raised an eyebrow. "If any vamp wants to fight me, we're technically even now. I'll kick ass."

"No, I mean because the sun isn't completely down yet."

"All good," she assured and pushed her sunglasses onto her head, and Eve winked, flashing her blue and purple eyelid. "It bugged me a little when I first got out of the car, but I'm fine now. How was work?"

"Good," Claire said quickly, and she forced a yawn, stretching her arms above her head as Eve slipped down from the car. "I'm exhausted, though. Myrnin was rambling about weird formulas and equations all day."

"Mmh-hm." Eve murmured, cocking an eyebrow as she opened the car door, and Claire hurried to slide into the passenger side. "You know, CB," she began when they were seated, and she quickly reapplied her navy blue lipstick before starting the engine. "I'm not Michael, and I'm definitely not Shane. You can talk to me, and I won't get mad at you."

Claire took her time buckling her seatbelt, and she realised that she'd been nodding her head involuntarily at Eve's words. She didn't want to keep her new occupation from any of her housemates, she was just anxious about their reaction. "Okay, can I tell you a secret?" Claire asked, her words rushed.

"I won't tell a soul."

"Amelie's made me her secretary, and the only reason she did it was to prove to the other vampire officials that I'm worth keeping alive." She blurted, and she found that Eve's eyes had gone wide. "Myrnin has come with me to Founder's Square, but only because we still have to work together like we used to. But for the next few weeks Amelie has me working in her office going through personal records and - oh! Today I went through the files of that journalist and that man from the recording studio. The journalist - Angel? She's been arrested for trespassing and stuff before, but other than that, they're pretty harmless. I was expecting some sort of hairy background, you know? But they're just ordinary people, but I'm starting to worry that if Amelie wants me to keep doing this record thing then I'm going to find some information on someone that might be alarming and I'll have to tell Amelie and - oh, I'm rambling now, aren't I?"