Star Gods, стр. 60
He closed his eyes, opening his mind fully to catch all the night sounds around him—the rubbing of branches in the light spring breeze, a concerto of crickets that surrounded him, the hoot of a passing owl, and the unmistakable rustle of bat wings overhead. Through it all came the sounds of laughter, of voices and the crackling of the bonfire.
Roam closed out all the other sounds to listen for only one, then smiled when he heard her familiar throaty laugh. His heart pounded, threatening to make his legs as weak as jelly. Opening his eyes, he gazed over the treetops to where the bonfire roared with life and vitality, growing ever larger with every dry branch that touched its flames. His eyes were, as usual, partially covered by his bangs, but still allowed him to see all who were in the clearing, including the one he sought. What good was it to be a vampire if he didn’t use what he was given?
“Why don’t you just go there instead of sitting here watching?”
“Jeez, Rove!” Roam grabbed hold of the branch he was sitting on, looking behind him where one of his identical brothers’ hovered in the night. Roam stared into deep blue eyes the same as his own, which were currently laughing at him. “I didn’t even hear you come up.”
“One of the many benefits of being a vampire,” Rove answered with a grin, giving Roam a small shove so he could take a spot next to him. “You would have heard me just fine if you hadn’t had your attention elsewhere. I don’t understand why you can’t just go over there. You can’t spend time with her sitting up here.”
“Stay out of my mind, Rove,” Roam responded by slamming his mind closed, then as an afterthought, sent a zap that caused his brother to swear under his breath. Vampires, especially family, could tap into another’s thoughts. Some vampires were only able to receive someone else’s emotions, but the Gustavos were able to hear each other’s thoughts as if the other person were speaking to them aloud. The mind zap was something only Roam could do, causing his brothers to wrack their minds as they tried to figure out just how he did it. Of course Rune, Roam’s youngest brother, always said they should all be able to do the mind zap since they are identical triplets, or at least given something equally annoying to counter attack with. Roam had no idea how it was done. It was just something he could do.
Rubbing the side of his head with one hand, Rove punched his brother in the shoulder with the other. “Someday I’m going to figure out just how you do that.”
“Serves you right. You shouldn’t have been in there.”
“I wasn’t looking,” Rove answered, still rubbing his head. “It shows on your face.”
Roam gave his brother an apologetic look. “It’s that noticeable, huh?”
“I haven’t figured out how Maya hasn’t noticed.”
Maya Stewart had been their best friend since kindergarten. She was someone Roam shouldn’t be thinking about in the way that he was. Shrugging his shoulders, he gazed over toward the bonfire. “Maybe she’s not interested in me that way.”
“I don’t think that’s the case...” His sentence trailed off, and Rove’s head suddenly snapped up as he looked toward the fire, smiling.
Roam opened his mind again only to hear a familiar voice. “What’s Rune doing there?”
“What we should be doing,” Rove answered as he placed his scuffed-up shoes on the branch, shoving off. Soaring over the treetops, he twisted in the air, ending with a somersault before landing in a grove of trees not far from the clearing. It was a good thing that non-vampires couldn’t see them when they flew, but checking an area before landing was a good thing. It certainly would be a surprise to suddenly materialize in front of someone else.
Show-off, Roam sent telepathically as he watched Rove gesture for him to follow, then disappeared into a throng of teenagers just beginning to celebrate the beginning of spring break.
Chuckling, Roam stood on the branch, kicking off. He loved the feel of the air around him hugging his body as he soared over the trees. After all, how many humans could fly? Looking at the ground, Roam landed soundlessly in the same spot as Rove.
As a vampire, all his senses were heightened. He could feel more pain, see farther, hear for miles, and smell things others didn’t even know existed. As he began to move between classmates and friends the smell of beer permeated his nostrils, almost making him gag. Vampires didn’t drink as a rule. Alcohol messed up their senses, making it possible to walk straight into unforeseen danger.
Hearing Rune laugh, Roam turned to find his younger brother and Rove in the center of several girls. Each standing just shy of six feet, it was easy to spot them among a bunch of girls averaging about five-foot-four. Roam noticed tonight they had dressed almost exactly alike, something they didn’t normally do, but wasn’t difficult when it came to black. He stood watching them, shaking his head, and smiled as he was bumped in to. He didn’t even have to turn to know it was Maya. He could tell by her scent. He had known she was there long before she attempted to sneak up on him.
“Still can’t surprise you, no matter how hard I try,” Maya said as she handed Roam a Pepsi, drying her hand on her own black jeans and pulling down the sleeve of her pink hooded sweatshirt.
“I already told you that isn’t possible.”
“I know. You can smell me. Do you have any idea just how creepy that is?”
Roam turned, smiling down at her. “Yes, I do. You never fail to tell us.”
Crinkling her nose at Roam, her freckles seemed to dance. She tossed her straight, shoulder-length blonde hair like she