Fangs for Freaks by Serena Robar Page A

access. The house’s whitewashed wood and its faded blue shutters had a welcoming quality that seemed downright homey.
    Cautiously I approached the house from the beach access. I was surprised to see numerous college coeds sporting the latest beachwear. They were laughing and barbecuing. Something was not right here. I debated leaving and waiting for Thomas, but quickly shrugged off that idea. Surely I could handle this.
    “Hi,” one of the masses said to me.
    “Come on up and join the party,” another added.
    Wow, an invitation to snoop around. What more could I ask for?
    “Hi,” I answered, “My name’s, uh …” Do I give my real name or do I give a fake name? Seconds ticked by and I finally blurted out, “Brittany.” Okay fine, so I panicked and they were playing “Toxic” on the radio. Sue me.
    “Want a burger, Brittany?” a rather hunky blond in cargo shorts inquired.
    “Thanks, but I’m good. Do you live here?” I asked him.
    “Nah, this is Cookie’s place. But everyone hangs out here. See those chicks over there?” I looked in the direction he pointed.
    “Yeah.”
    “That’s Tina and the dark-haired girl is Sage. They live here too.”
    “Wow, seems like quite a party house,” I answered absently, staring at the two teens in question. These were my half-bloods and they were far from chained in a cellar. They were laughing and enjoying the summer rays, with no vampires in sight to keep them in line. What was really going on here?
    “I think I’ll go say hi,” I said and wandered off in their direction. I was offered beer in a Solo cup on my way across the porch and pretended to take a sip. Ugh, not very cold, but I wasn’t much of a beer fan anyway.
    I reached the dark-haired gal named Sage first.
    “Hi, Sage,” I started the conversation as though we already knew each other. I was betting on the fact that she met so many people she wouldn’t remember if she knew me or not.
    “Oh hi,” she said brightly, confirming my suspicion that she was going to pretend she knew me because I said her name.
    “I see Tina. Is Cookie around?” If I was going to pretend I knew her, I might as well go whole hog and pretend to know the entire household.
    “Oh, you know Cookie? She’s such a night owl.” Sage laughed, tossing her hair back over her shoulder.
    I took a gamble and said, “Yeah, vampires are like that.”
    She stepped backward and glanced around her nervously. “That’s funny. Night person, vampire. Ha ha.”
    “Yeah, I’m a laugh riot.” I stared at her a moment before continuing. “Listen, Sage, I’m here to rescue you.”
    She looked confused. “Rescue me? What do you mean?”
    I sighed deeply and explained, “I’m here to take you and Tina back to Psi Phi House. I’m the Protector.”
    If anything, she looked more confused than ever.
    “I don’t know anything about a Psi Phi House or any Protector. Besides, why would I want to do that? This is my home.”
    “But you’re a prisoner here,” I argued. She obviously didn’t know anything about me or the changes in the law. Were they drugging these girls?
    “Hardly.” She snorted. “Cookie takes care of us. I get to party all the time and hang out with friends. If that’s a prison, lock me up and throw away the key.” She giggled a bit at her own joke.
    I counted to ten in my head to keep from throttling her. She should be weeping with relief and thanking me profusely for taking her away from vampire suppression. Instead she was whining about how much fun she would be leaving behind.
    “Do you get to come and go as you please?” I asked.
    “Well, no. Cookie wants to make sure we’re safe so she has someone escort us around town. You know how vampires feel about half-bloods.” She leaned forward and whispered the last sentence in a confidential tone.
    Boy, did I ever.
    “So, you get to party all the time and hang with friends. Sounds like a pretty good deal. She lets you do that out of the goodness of her own