Blood Ties Part 8

And so I do, casually wandering through the halls with him, pa.s.sing various vampire guests (who I catch sniffing the air suspiciously, but thankfully, they don't attack) until we reach the front door.

"Are you ready?" I ask, pulling out the Mini Cooper key I absconded from Elizabeth's pocket after knocking her out.

"As I'll ever be."

We make a run for the car, jumping in and peeling out of the driveway. As we go, we see Tanner running out the front door, waving the cup, a panicked look on his face.

"Master Jayden!" I hear him cry. "You need to take your blood!"

But I just step on the gas. Once we're a safe distance away, I shake off the glamour, returning to my own body again. Jayden stares at me with wide eyes. "It really is you!" he cries.

"Yes, I told you that."

He slumps back in his seat. "Which means I kissed you, not her," he moans. "This is so embarra.s.sing. Don't tell Magnus, okay? I don't want to p.i.s.s him off."

I scowl, my mind flashing back to the discussion I overheard with Tanner and Lucedio. Did Magnus really order Jayden to be killed? I want to trust that he wouldn't do something like that. But he's lied to me so many times before... And if he didn't think there was any way for me to find out...

I realize Jayden's still waiting for an answer.

"It's no big deal," I snarl, involuntarily reaching up to touch my fingers to my lips, still swollen from the accidental kiss. "Just don't do it again."

But even as I say the words, I wonder if I really mean them...

12.

"Sunny!"

I run through the Tokyo security exit, throwing my arms around my sister in uncontained excitement. She squeezes me back, so tightly, for a moment I feel like I'm a half who's just managed to find her whole again.

"Oh, Rayne, it's so good to see you!" I cry. "Thank you so much for meeting me."

"Of course!" she exclaims. "How could I not, after what you told me on the phone? My G.o.d, what was Magnus thinking, leaving you there like that-with those horrible English b.i.t.c.hes? Sometimes I do not know what goes on in that vampire's head."

Her words sober my enthusiasm. I've been wrestling with questions throughout the twelve-hour flight and I still haven't come up with any solid answers. Half of me wants to believe there has to be some other kind other explanation-like that Tanner was acting on his own, pretending to be following Magnus's orders or something. But why would the bodyguard bother to risk his hard-won Blood Coven membership and full-time job just to end some inconsequential vampire's life? It doesn't add up.

Unfortunately, the only other option, however, is that Magnus lied to me once again, after swearing he was trustworthy and actually getting mad at me for not trusting him. Sure, he probably had good intentions, knowing I'd never be able to let Jayden go without some kind of closure, even if that meant his actual death. Knowing him like I do, I can just picture his thought process now-realizing that finding the Grail in Tokyo would be like finding a needle in a haystack and that it would be kindest for all involved to just end things quietly and painlessly. So we could all move on. Except, you know, the guy he basically murdered in cold blood.

Seriously, if he lied to me again-even if he truly believed it was for my own good-if he ordered the death of my friend-he and I are done. Forever. End of story. No discussion.

"Hey, Rayne," Jayden says, walking up to the two of us. My sister regards him with a critical once-over. "Hey, Jayden," she replies coolly. "You behave yourself on the flight? No snacking on the other pa.s.sengers?"

Jayden holds up his hands and grins. "Total Vamp Scout," he says. "Though, to be honest, I wasn't very prepared. After all, Sunny yanked me out of Vampire Manor so fast I couldn't even make myself a nice to- go cup." He chuckles at his own joke. At least he seems to be feeling better, though he still refuses to look me in the eye.

"Don't worry, we'll find you some blood about town," Rayne a.s.sures him. "I'd lend you my donor, but I'm guessing you and Sunny need to keep a low profile here."

I nod. "Yes. If Magnus finds out I defied him and came here, he'll be so p.i.s.sed," I tell her. Not to mention it would give him another opportunity to get rid of the compet.i.tion. "Best to keep it all on the down-low."

"No problem," Rayne replies. "First we need to get you to your hotel. The vampires are all staying at this super amazing Park Hyatt in Shinjuku. It's where that old Bill Murray movie Lost in Translation was filmed. Completely luxe, with the most amazing views fifty- something stories up. You would have loved it."

"Sounds sweet. But we're not on vacation. We just need a place to crash."

"I know, I know." She waves me off. "You can't afford it anyway. And I already maxed out my personal credit card getting you your flights. Normally I'd have used my Blood Coven Black Amex, of course, but I didn't want Magnus's moronic secretary to see the charges and put two and two together."

"Right. So where are we going to stay then?" She grins. "I scored you an awesome ryokan." "A re-what?"

"A ryokan. It's like a traditional j.a.panese B and B. They originated back in 1603, during the Edo period."

"Please tell me they've renovated since then..."

"Come on," she says. "Grab your bags. We need to catch the next bullet train into town. It's like a forty- five-minute commute."

"How many days have you been here again?" I ask, impressed by her working knowledge of a city whose language looks like a five-year-old's scribbles to me.

"Only two," she confesses. "But I've been reading about j.a.pan my whole life. It's only the coolest country ever, you know. So much culture, history..."

She's not fooling me whatsoever. "Um... Since when have you cared about culture? Or history, for that matter?"

She grins saucily. "Touche. To be honest, it's really all about the cosplay."

"The what?"

"You'll see..."

About an hour and a half later, we finally figure out our way via subway to the ryokan, which is nestled in a traditional urban j.a.panese neighborhood called Asakusa. The neighborhood is a fascinating mix of old and new and I can't stop staring at everything we pa.s.s. The main drag, I suppose, is not that different from New York City-except for the billion bicyclers crowding the streets-but behind it, the streets are narrow and crowded with a mixture of curio shops and tiny sushi bars alongside smoky karaoke booths and loud clanging "pac.h.i.n.ko" parlors-where, according to Rayne, j.a.panese businessmen go to gamble. Neon lights blaze, intermixed with softer j.a.panese lanterns. There is also an obscene amount of vending machines, selling not only things like cigarettes, but girlie magazines, lingerie, and alcohol. Which should make things seem seedy. But actually everything's so freaking clean and bright it's hard to smell any degradation. For example, though there are zero trash cans anywhere in sight, there's also not a sc.r.a.p of trash on the ground.

"Asakusa is best known for its Senso-ji temple," Rayne, my tour guide, explains, as we take a right onto a narrow street, then an immediate left. "So you get a mix of tourists and neighborhood people here." She looks down at her map, then up at the building in front of us. "We're here!"

I have to admit, the ryokan is charming on the outside, like a quaint apartment building nestled on a quiet residential street. On its front porch is an old- fashioned rickshaw and I wonder if anyone actually still uses those today or if it's just a tourist thing like the bike rickshaws you see everywhere in New York and other cities.

We step inside the front door, into a small but cozy lobby, and are greeted warmly by the Okami, who is basically the landlady-or manager of the place. In halting English she welcomes us to the ryokan and has us sign the guest book.

"First time in Tokyo?" she asks kindly, making me immediately feel at home.

"Yes," I admit. "All of us."

"You need something, you let me know."

After we sign in, she hands me a long wooden bar with a key attached, much like the bathroom pa.s.ses we get at school, and introduces us to an elderly j.a.panese gentleman who, she says, will show us to our room. We head up a tiny elevator and down a hall decorated with ancient-looking artwork and sculptures and stop outside a sliding wooden door. I grin at Rayne. This is pretty cool, I have to admit.

"Please. Your shoes," he instructs.

We take off our shoes and slip into wooden sandals. Then he slides open the door to our room. I'm exhausted at this point and cannot wait to throw myself onto a big cozy...

Um...

"Where's the furniture?" I demand as we step into a room not much bigger than the size of a double bed. Which would be fine, I suppose, if there were actually a double bed there. Instead, there's only a low wooden table on a woven straw floor, surrounded by multicolored cushions. I crane my neck to search out an actual bedroom-thinking maybe Rayne sprung for a suite-but all I see is a tiny sci-fi-looking toilet in the next room.

"Thanks," Rayne says to the host. "I think we're all set here." He bows and makes his exit.

"What the h.e.l.l, Rayne?" I demand, looking around the room.

"I told you, this is a ryokan," my sister reminds me. As if that should make me feel better. "It's a traditional j.a.panese-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I interrupt grumpily. I'm tired and frustrated and can't believe there's no place to sleep. "But why no bed? Didn't traditional j.a.panese people have to get a good night's sleep, too? And why is it so tiny?"

Rayne rolls her eyes. "It's a small island, Sunny. They've got to make room for everyone."

Right.

"Whoa, that toilet is cool," Jayden says, coming out of the bedroom. "There's, like, a water fountain b.u.t.ton on it."

"It's a built-in bidet," Rayne informs him. "So I hope to G.o.d you didn't drink out of it."

"And where's the shower?" I demand, peeking into the bathroom.

"Um." Rayne bites her lower lip. "Well, traditionally they used public baths..."

Oh my G.o.d, I am seriously going to kill her.

"Look, it's not that bad," she protests. "You move the table aside when you want to sleep. And there are futons-here in this closet-that you pull out and sleep on." She looks up at me, her eyes shining. "Come on, you have to admit, it's kind of cool, right? Like you're living in authentic ancient j.a.pan."

"Please. Cool is sleeping at the Park Hyatt on a fluffy bed with Egyptian cotton linens," I point out. "Not glorified indoor camping with no shower."

Rayne scowls. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Sorry, I guess the dog ate it, along with half my ankle while I was narrowly escaping for my life back in England."

From out the window we can hear a man burst into very bad karaoke song. Awesomeness.

"Look, you just need a good night's sleep is all." Rayne points out the obvious. "The sun's almost up, after all, and Jayden looks like he's about to pa.s.s out."

Jayden stops, mid-yawn, snapping his mouth closed. "Sorry," he says sheepishly.

"Okay, fine," I say with a scowl. "We'll stay here for now. But you've got to find us a regular non- traditional hotel for tomorrow. Also some kind of blood supply for Jayden. Or else he's going to end up snacking on that karaoker out there. Which, I suppose, wouldn't be totally awful, come to think of it."

"What about giving him some of yours to tide him over?"

I glance down at my bruised and battered arm. "I would. But one, we left England in such a hurry I didn't have time to retrieve the draining kit. And two, my supply's more than a bit low. I'm thinking I might like to save a tiny bit for myself to use on those pesky little bodily functions like heartbeat and circulation and stuff."

"Right." Rayne plops down on a cushion and plugs in the electric teakettle on the table. "Well, I can't get any from the Blood Coven, that's for sure. It's tightly rationed when you're overseas and they'd be sure to ask questions. What we really need is some kind of Blood Bar. Like the one I infiltrated back in the spring."

I sit down across from her, cross-legged. "Do they have those here?" I ask eagerly, forgetting for a moment I'm mad at her. "Do you know where one is?" Maybe my sister's nerdy j.a.pan fetish will actually pay off for once.

But no, she shakes her head. "Let me do a little Googling," she says, pulling her iPad out of her bag. "Oh, cool, is that ancient j.a.panese Wi-Fi you're logging into there?" I ask sarcastically.

"Shush, you Ugly American, and drink your d.a.m.n tea."

I glance over at Jayden, who's slunk into a corner of the room, staring down at his hands. "Are you okay?" I ask.

He looks up at me with hollow eyes. "Just... hungry..." he confesses. "You may want to keep your distance."

My heart aches for him and suddenly I can't be mad anymore. He's gone through so much in the past few days. "I'm sorry," I say, crawling over to him. "I know it's been an awful week. But I promise we're going to figure this out, okay? I'm not going to give up. We'll get you turned back into a human, if it's the last thing I do."

He gives me a hopeful smile. "Oh, Sunny," he says. "What would I do without you?" And my heart breaks all over again.

"Well, you'll never have to worry about that," I a.s.sure him firmly, so as not to crumble into a teary mess. I reach out to squeeze his hand.

"Okay, lovebirds, listen up," Rayne interrupts. "I've found something that might work."

"Oh?" I crawl over to her and look down at the iPad. "The Vampire Cafe? Are you kidding me?"

Rayne chuckles. "It's a theme restaurant. Supposed to be like Dracula's lair or something. But according to some of the vampire forums I just read, they supposedly have real blood on tap for the more... discriminating customer."

"That's awesome. Thanks, Rayne!" I turn to Jayden. "What do you think?"

But my friend is already pa.s.sed out cold. I glance out the window. Sure enough, the first rays of sun are peeking through. I rise from my seat and pull the bamboo blinds closed.

"I guess he's out for the day," I tell my sister. "So we'll hit the cafe tonight, if that works for you."

Rayne nods. "I'll do my best to sneak away," she says. "But for now, I've got to get back to the Park Hyatt. They've got me and Jareth on day-missions, since none of the other vampires can go out then." She glances at her watch. "My shift starts in less than an hour."

As she rises to her feet I step over to hug her. "Thank you," I say. "And I'm sorry I complained about the accommodations. They're really quite charming, to be honest."

"It's okay. I'm used to you being the lame twin," she teases as she hugs me back. I shove her away playfully.

"Now get the h.e.l.l out of here and let me sleep."

And so she climbs out of the room, sliding the door shut behind her. I reach into the closet to pull out the futon mattresses. Once I've got them set up into a cozy little nest, I drag Jayden's sleeping figure onto one of them and pull a down comforter over his body, to further block out any stray rays of light. Then I curl up onto the other mat beside him and close my eyes.

But tired and jet-lagged as I am, I can't sleep. And so I lie there, watching Jayden toss and turn in restless slumber.

"Sunny," he murmurs in his sleep. "Oh, Sunny..." My heart full, I reach out and lay a hand on his arm, hoping my touch will soothe him, even in his sleep. A moment later, it seems to work and his body relaxes into a deeper phase of rest. I watch him for a while longer, taking in his tousled hair and sooty lashes brushing against his pale skin. He looks so innocent, so sweet. How could I have even thought to be mad at him?

"I'm going to make this work," I promise him softly as my own body succ.u.mbs to my exhaustion at last. "I refuse to make you pay for my mistakes."

13.