Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down Read Online Free PDF Page B

to display her shapely legs to perfection. 
    “I can’t get over this, Anja.  Why didn’t you tell me you were thinking about becoming Elder?” she asked, when he didn’t so much as look twice at her. 
    “Because I had no idea I’d get it.  It’s crazy, really.”  I shook my head. 
    “Should I call you Your Grace now?” she teased.
    “I really wish you wouldn’t.  I’m still the same old Anja, you know that better than most,” I said carefully, knowing Gunnar was outside talking to two of the new security detail in the back yard.  My gaze slid over Rob’s form as he puttered around in the kitchen, putting the kettle on and taking down three mugs without asking.
    “How can you say that?  You’ve got real power now.  Don’t you see how exciting this is?”
    “Oh, I’m all kinds of excited,” I said, holding up a hand.  “But I’m still the same person.  I don’t want you treating me any differently than before.  The same goes for you, Rob.  None of that Your Grace stuff.”
    “Should I call you miss then?” he said mildly, not even bothering to duck when I threw a wadded up napkin at him. 
    “But this is good, this is better than good.  We’re golden now, right? ”  I looked to them for confirmation.  “We don’t have to pussyfoot around the Order anymore or keep people up in the attic when they need Sanctuary.  We’ll just approve all the petitions that come our way and no one can be killed for not having license and registration.”
    “That law exists for a reason,” Rob pointed out, bringing the three steaming mugs to the table and sitting between us. 
    “I know, but it’s not like new vampires are getting turned every night.  We’ll have to keep an eye on it.  If we start to get too many, we can make it a requirement for them to move to a less populated area or something.”  Sure there’d be some fine tuning to work out, but my nights of sitting glued to the computer waiting for the Order to get dispatched on a call were over. 
    “It’s true, as Elder you can you can approve any amount of petitions you want – up to a point,” Rob replied.  “It might start out easy peasey to keep the Order from killing unlicensed vamps, but you’ll have to answer to other Houses at the Gathering.”
    “Why would they care how many vampires we have?”
    “Because of the treaties,” Jenessa replied.  “There are agreed upon numbers so that no one house grows stronger than the others.”
    She had to be kidding me.  What good was being Elder if I had to answer to a bunch of other Elders?  “That’s stupid.  Are we supposed to have the same number of vampires in the whole West as a tiny country like England?”
    Jenessa shook her head.  “No, it’s based on geographical area.  True, you can support more vampires here, but there are still limits.”
    “I still say we’re in better shape than before.  We’re doing the same work without having to sneak around.”
    “I agree with you completely,” she nodded, blowing across the top of her tea.  “The less I have to buggar with the Order’s computers the better I’ll sleep during the day.”
    “And it would be difficult to continue on your… jaunts with the added security detail I’ve added,” Rob pointed out.
    “ About that…” I said, staring down into my cup.  “Are you absolutely sure I need a whole pack of red shirts with me everywhere I go?  Can’t I just take them with me when I go to the Hart or to meetings and stuff?”
    “We’ll have to see about that.  Like it or not, you’ve a certain standard of living to maintain now, and top notch security is part of it.” 
    “I know,” I sighed, slumping in my chair, until I remembered something.  “Hey, I’m looking for a new magistrate, by the way.  Any ideas?” 
    We started a lively discussion on who the likely candidates were in the area and I started a new list on a fresh piece of paper.  As the night wore on, it turned into