In the Dark Read Online Free PDF

chairs upholstered in velvet, an oriental rug on the
polished hardwood floor, gilt-framed mirrors, art pieces by Renoir
and Matisse. Wide picture windows looked out over the skyline to the
mountains and Puget Sound. Through a set of sliding glass doors I
could see a balcony so large it held a pool. It reminded me of photos
of old gentlemens’ smoking rooms. The only thing I could call
modern in the whole place was a small TV. Not a flat-screen and
covered in dust.
    It dawned on me
to wonder how old Sebastian was. As old as smoking rooms? Or older?
He looked around eighteen – but Kent had looked about twenty.
    “You’re
welcome to stay until this is resolved. I doubt anyone will find us
here.” He swung his long coat off and hung it up beside a rack
of decorative knives.
    I stood where I
was, silent, arms crossed.
    Sebastian
glanced at me, an odd mix of curious and wise. His movements and
expressions seemed older – older than what, I didn’t
know, because every time I looked at him I saw a teenager.
    “You may
sit,” he said, as if I might just be shy.
    I stood. I
wanted to cry, or be held, or sit down, or scream, but I couldn’t
decide which one and they all seemed like too much effort. Sebastian
waited for me to move, then let me stand while he went over to a rack
on the wall.
    He didn’t
walk, really, so much as float. Not pretentiously, though, like an
actor or someone trying to impress. Sebastian didn’t seem to do
it on purpose.
    The way he moved
set my alarms off, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. I
shifted uneasily. I’d trusted him because of his fangs –
what did that prove? He drank blood too? Reeeal good reasoning there,
Ian.
    While I stood,
Sebastian took off a sword I hadn’t noticed before. Probably
due to the long coat. He handled the large edged weapon with perfect
ease, hanging it reverently on the rack he’d gone to. The
nervous feeling crawled up the back of my neck.
    “Who are
you?” I asked, even though it was dumb. He could tell me
anything he wanted.
    “Sebastian
Cain.” He settled into a chair. The way he moved reminded me of
Gypsy.
    Gypsy!
    “My cat!”
I said out loud.
    He cocked his
head at me. “Your what?”
    “My cat,
Gypsy. She’s still at home. Will she be all right? I mean, no
one would try to hurt a cat, right? But she’s all alone, and
you said the house might not be safe . . . I really should go get
her.”
    He gave me a
funny look. Like he was trying to imagine the inside of my head.
    “My cat!”
I said again.
    He resettled in
his chair. “Your cat, I am sure, will survive one day without
you. And no, I don’t think anyone would try to hurt it.”
    “ Her,” I said. “Are you sure? Really?”
    His lip twitched
when I corrected him, blue eyes blazing with humor more than his face
showed. Actually, his face didn’t move much at all. “I am
certain she will be fine. She is only a pet, after all, and perhaps
important to you, but not to anyone else.”
    I bristled.
Maybe some people treated their pets like objects, but Gypsy meant as
much to me as Kent. But I couldn’t think of a reply to give to
Sebastian, and in this case, it wouldn’t hurt if she seemed
unimportant.
    “I guess
if you’re sure.”
    “I am.”
He gestured to a chair. “Sit. You are the only witness I have
to this crime and I must question you.”
    “What are
you, a vamp-cop?”
    He smiled with
his eyes again, which made me uncomfortable. His whole face stayed
rock still – except for those eyes.
    “No. I am
willing to look into this for you, if you would like. I find it
interesting, and I believe I can offer more skills than you have.”
He gestured to the chair across from him. “Please.”
    Tears welled up
in my eyes again. I’d nearly forgotten why I came here. Now I
remembered.
    “Ian?”
Sebastian prompted when I just stood and cried.
    I dropped into
the chair, arms wrapped so tight around myself that my shoulders
ached. I cried. I wailed until my lungs and throat