Sinjin, A Vampire Romance

Chapter Nine

Bryn

"Mah maternal grandmother came from the oldest an' noblest line o' the fae," Odran continued narrating an overly long and tedious story, revolving around the particulars of his family and its fae ancestry. "Och aye, mah grandmother could trace her lineage all the way ta Aimil an' Beileag," he finished before facing me expectantly.

"Who?" I asked, even though I actually couldn't have cared less.

"Aimil an' Beileag," Odran repeated, as if that were answer enough. Then, apparently realizing I wasn't up on fae history, he added: "They were the original male an' female o' fae bluid. They are the founders o' the fae."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked with a sigh. His incessantly long, historical account about random people and places failed to interest me in the least.

He stopped ambling forward and turned to glare at me before crossing both of his monstrous arms over his enormous chest. The sunlight reflected the strands of his golden mane of hair and almost made it glow, like a halo. "Ye share mah bluid, sista ta the queen," he explained with narrowed eyes and a tightened jaw. "As yer veins poomp fae bluid, Ah thought ye should learn 'bout yer kinfolk, an' where ye come from."

"My father wasn't fae," I argued immediately. I hated the idea that the fae, residents of the Underworld, had any claim to me whatsoever. After enduring a hell of a time just accepting that my mother was of fae heritage, and I was tainted with their blood, I couldn't reconcile the truth. Instead, I chose to focus on my father who was one of my own tribe. "My father was an Elemental, and one of my people."

"Aye, boot ye also cannae neglect that side o' ya 'twas provided by yer mother," Odran insisted with his left eyebrow keenly arched.

"I can neglect that side of me if I choose to," I answered stubbornly, holding my chin up higher as I crossed my arms against my chest and mirrored the expression he was currently giving me. "As far as I'm concerned, that side of me is dead; just as dead as my mother is."

Odran didn't respond right away, but scrutinized me in a detached sort of way. "Ye are a difficult one, lass, Ah will say that mooch fer ya," he said finally. With a sigh, he dropped his arms from across his chest and rubbed the back of his neck as if he were frustrated with the conversation, or maybe, with me. Probably with both.

"Well, I never asked for that history lesson to begin with," I rebutted. Shaking my head, I stifled a yawn, and mentally made a note to try to get some more sleep at some point. It had become well beyond apparent that Sinjin didn't like the idea of keeping himself company at night. That meant the only time I could sleep was during the day. And on that subject, it wouldn't have surprised me in the least to find that Odran suffered from ADD just as much as the vampire did.

But, as to sleeping or not, the subject was basically moot because I had other plans and sleeping didn't figure into them. No, my plans centered around first getting the hell out of Kinloch Kirk and, more specifically, out of Scotland. I was long overdue to get back to my own people; and I was tired of waiting around, wondering whether or not Luce would make contact with me. I was also tired of wondering if I'd done something wrong that might account for his protracted silence. Now I intended to take things into my own hands and be responsible for my own destiny. The time for waiting and procrastinating was over. Now was the time for action.

I'd been formulating a plan in my mind ever since Sinjin had retired earlier this morning and handed over his post to Odran. Unfortunately for Sinjin, he had to play the part of the sacrificial lamb when it came to my escape, but c'est la vie. If someone had to die, better him than me ...

Bryn, I interrupted my train of thought. There has to be another way! Sinjin shouldn't have to die just because you want to escape.

There's no way around it, I argued with myself.