by Kasi Blake
Andrew looked upon him with a sense of overwhelming gratitude. He walked over to Jack and put an arm around his shoulders. Carefully, he steered Jack away from the others. “You saved our lives tonight.” His voice sounded raw, strangled by smoke. “I was wrong about you.” He shook Jack’s hand. “But I will still kill you if you touch my daughter in any way I deem inappropriate. Understood?”
Jack nodded. He restrained the smile itching to stretch his lips. Silver’s father had practically given them his blessing. He hadn’t totally put the mental shotgun away yet, but he’d set it aside. Good enough for now.
Andrew held a book in front of Jack’s face, showing it to him with a look of pride. It was small and bound in dark brown leather with a name engraved in gold on the front. “This is Lovely’s diary. I wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for you.” He pushed it at Jack. “Take it. Read it. You deserve to have the answers you want.”
Jack wiped his hands on his jeans before accepting the book. There was something sacred about it. The leather felt rough beneath his fingers. He held it tight and stared down at it with awe, his newfound treasure. Within these pages was the story of the girl he loved.
And he did love her, although he wasn’t ready to admit it just yet. He had to be sure of her feelings first and at least close to sure they were meant to be together. No need to rush things.
Jack couldn’t wait to read every single word in the diary. He wanted to read everything Lovely had to say about Silver, along with everything she’d written about him. The fire raged behind them, lighting up Andrew’s dirty face. Silver and Vanessa huddled together in the background, tears in their eyes as they watched their home burn.
Jack’s joy turned to sadness. He wished there was something he could do for them. Maybe he should have tried to put the fire out instead of running up the stairs to warn the occupants. It was possible he could have saved Silver’s home.
Jack looked for Cowboy, but his former friend was long gone.
“You invited people to move in with us without asking me?” Billy stood in the doorway of Jack’s bedroom, arms folded.
Jack was on the bed, legs crossed at the ankles. He rested the open diary on his chest and looked up at his annoyed brother. “I didn’t think you’d mind. You like the Reigns. Besides, didn’t they let you live with them for a few years?”
“That isn’t the point. You still should have asked me.” Billy walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. He picked up the diary but didn’t handle it with the same care that Jack had. Instead of awe, Billy’s expression held faint disdain. “So this is it. Vanessa told me about the fire, and Andrew mentioned he gave you the diary. Blew my mind. Anything interesting?”
“Loads.” Jack’s hands itched to grab the diary. He couldn’t stand the sight of Billy holding it. Giving into the illogical urge to snatch it away from his brother, he took the book back. Once he had it safely between his hands, he relaxed. “I haven’t gotten very far. Lovely just wrote about how she came to this world and how she fell in love with two guys at once. There hasn’t been any talk of Silver yet.”
“Well, keep reading. You’ll find something.”
“I wish she would talk about the lead werewolf, maybe give me his name.”
“Life is never that easy. Anyway, Vanessa told me about the English teacher. Why didn’t you tell me about him? According to Silver, you are fighting tooth and nail to clear the guy. He’s a werewolf. You were a vampire. Don’t you have to hate him? Isn’t there an unwritten law or something?”
Jack’s eyes went to the book. The pages were calling to him, and he desperately wanted answers. He wanted to soak the words into his brain, every single one until he found satisfaction.
Billy waited for an explanation.
Jack refused to give it to him.
With an exaggerated sigh, Billy left. He didn’t say anything else. His amused expression said it all. He was going to leave so Jack could return to the precious diary. Sometimes his little brother wasn’t as dumb as he looked.
Later that night Jack woke to a strange sensation. He could feel his vampire friends, minus one, waiting outside for him. They were linked again, forever bound by the vampire in him. Jack automatically reached for the diary. He had placed it beside him before falling asleep. Now he picked it up and moved it to the nightstand drawer where it would be safe, at least for the moment.
Going to the window, he stared into the darkness. It only took him a second to spot them; Cowboy and Summer were standing by the fence. Two sets of piercing eyes watched him in return. Without saying a word they summoned him, and he couldn’t refuse. He hoped for their sakes that they hadn’t come to start trouble because he had a house full of hunters.
He decided not to involve the others just yet. Despite their recent behavior, he didn’t want to see Cowboy or Summer hurt. For ten years they’d been family to him. That strong bond was hard to break; although, Cowboy had come close when he’d set the house on fire.
Jack glanced at the clock while struggling into his coat. He could smell the oncoming sun. His friends were cutting it close. If they gave him any trouble, the hunters only had to keep them outside long enough for the sun to finish them off.
He went down the stairs on quiet feet and eased the front door open. After crossing the threshold, he ran across the yard to meet his friends. Hopefully the others would sleep while he got rid of them.
Cowboy approached first, jabbing the air with his finger. “She’s dead! Thanks to you, Lily is dead. It’s your fault. You killed her.”
The bottom dropped out of Jack’s world. His insides turned to ice. Cowboy had to be lying. He was just about twisted enough to make up a horrible lie to hurt Jack because he knew how much Jack loved Lily.
Jack shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”
Summer drew closer, her eyes flooding with tears. “He’s telling the truth!”
“How did it happen?”
“Werewolf,” Cowboy said with a harsh laugh. “She got it into her head it would be great to be human again. She left us a note saying she wanted to feel the sun on her face. She got that crap from you, didn’t she? Before we could stop her, she went out and got herself attacked by a werewolf. It tore her to shreds!”
Bile rose in his throat, and tears filled his eyes.
Summer sobbed before yelling, “We were too late to stop it! Her dying words were all about you.” Hysterical laughter followed the statement. “She still thought it was going to work, never gave up hope. She talked about joining you at school, all this meaningless junk about being study buddies and having lunch together. She was such an idiot.”
Lily was dead?
In his mind he could picture Lily on her mission to find a werewolf. She must have suffered horrible pain. The two times he’d been attacked by a werewolf had hurt like hell. Poor Lily. They were right. Her death was on his head.
Cowboy hit him in the jaw.
Jack didn’t see it coming. He fell to the ground, a hand on his aching face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, testing to make sure his jaw wasn’t broken. Other than being sore, it seemed okay.
The front door burst open. Andrew and Billy raced outside with rifles in hand. They pointed them at Cowboy and Summer, fingers on the triggers, eager to start shooting.
Jack jumped to his feet, intentionally blocking his old friends. “Don’t shoot. It won’t do you any good. They’re vampires, you know, and they were just leaving.”
Andrew said, “We were just going to blast them to get their attention. We have stakes too.”
“I saw that one attack you,” Billy said with a little growl tagged onto the end.
“They came to deliver some bad news.” Jack’s shoulders slumped. “Let them go.”
Before the last syllable left his mouth, they were gone. Cowboy and Summer vanished into thin air. Sometimes he forg
ot how fast they appeared to human eyes.
He went back to the house without another word, the horror of what had happened resting uncomfortably on his shoulders. Billy asked if he was okay. He didn’t stop to answer Billy or to talk to Silver when she asked the same thing seconds later. There was a huge hole in his heart. The only thing he could think about was losing Lily. Even though he’d known they wouldn’t be able to hang out like they used to, he had believed they would find a way to stay in touch.
And she had died because of him. He should have noticed the way her eyes had lit up when he was describing the sun. He should have listened to the wistful way she’d talked about missing sunlight. If he’d been paying attention, she’d still be alive.
Jack went straight to his bedroom and fell back on the bed, coat still on. He stared at the ceiling. Hot tears slipped from the corners of his eyes. It was useless crying over her; she was gone. Tears wouldn’t bring her back, and Lily wouldn’t want him acting like a baby over her. She’d want him to laugh over the crazy stunts she’d pulled.
Since he was wide awake, he figured he might as well read the diary. He jerked the drawer open and pulled the book out. The book opened to a blank page. Letters began to form as if written by an invisible hand.
Jack stared at it, stunned. He wondered if the Reigns knew the book could do this. He read the new page three times, unsure of the meaning. I see Silver and the boy, and I see them with a shared power. When they touch possessions, they will have visions of their own. This power will be the proof of what I see. This is just the beginning. No one will ever be able to do what they can do together.
He lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. Did Silver know about the ‘shared’ power? If so, why hadn’t she told him?
Maybe she had doubts about him.
Maybe there was a chance he wasn’t the boy Lovely had envisioned.
That would mean there was another boy. Jack’s eyes popped open, and he scowled. No way was he going to let another guy sweep in and steal Silver away from him. He hadn’t been happy to have his future already planned out for him, but now he’d rather have a clear destiny than to lose her.
He’d lost Lily.
That was enough.
He wouldn’t give up Silver, not ever.
Chapter Sixteen:
THE HOMICIDAL JANITOR
The next morning Jack rode to school with Silver since they were living in the same house. She drove so he wouldn’t have to borrow Billy’s car. Even though his brother always gave him the keys without making a fuss, Jack hated asking. When they arrived at school, they found flowers lined up against the school building in memory of the three missing teens. The police were calling them runaways because no one believed a word the witnesses said about flying zombie creatures.
Jack walked Silver to each of her classes, and he insisted on carrying her books. All day her cheeks hosted a wild pink blush. The other kids stared at them as they walked down the hallways, a few of them pointing while others whispered. By lunchtime, everyone in the school knew they were a couple. The news spread faster than Jack could run.
“This is so intense.” Trina blocked them as they tried to enter the cafeteria. “Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?”
Silver shared an amused glance with Jack before bursting Trina’s bubble. “We are not engaged.”
“Oh. I guess the other things I heard aren’t true either then.”
“What did you hear?” Jack asked.
“That you’re going to Prom together.” Trina listed the rumors on her fingers. “You have a cabin where you meet every other weekend, and you’re having a baby.” Upon seeing Silver’s shocked expression, Trina added, “I squashed that rumor real fast.”
“Thank you.” Silver glanced around the crowded room.
“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Trina said. “I’m sitting with Lauren and Braden today. They’re like an old married couple now, so I’m sure they won’t mind having the company.”
Jack bought Silver lunch, even though she had her own money. Once again he insisted, reveling in the new feeling of being her official boyfriend. They sat at the vacant end of the table nearest the doors. She took a bite of the greasy pizza and opened her carton of milk. It took a few minutes for her to notice he wasn’t eating. He sat with elbows on the table, watching the other students interact.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m people watching. Human behavior still fascinates me.”
“Oh wow. He was right.”
“Huh?” Jack dragged his gaze away from the other students to look at her. “Who was right about what?”
“Your upper lip curls when you say the word human as if you aren’t one of us. You really need to work on that.”
His hand went to his mouth. “Sorry. Bad habit.”
“Do all vampires sneer when they talk about people?”
“It sort of comes with the territory. We also can’t say the word werewolf without practically choking on it.”
“I’ve noticed.” Her eyes took a trip around the room. “What do you find so intriguing about them?”
“I was trying to figure out who they are by observing the way they interact with each other. There are certain small groups that migrate away from the others. I may not be a vampire anymore, but I can still smell fear. I still have no idea who half these kids are, but I could point out the alpha dogs real fast.”
“You need to stop saying the ‘v’ word. We need a word to replace it with when it comes up in conversation in case someone is listening.”
He removed the plastic wrap from his sandwich and took a bite. He chewed twice before he made a disgusted face. It tasted like sawdust. “Yuck.” He dropped the sandwich and wiped off his tongue with a napkin. “What word do you want me to use?”
“Let’s try using the word kid.”
“Okay, we’ll try that.” He smiled wryly. “Part of me kind of misses being a kid, and I miss the kids I used to hang out with.”
Her smile faltered. “It works. Good.”
She turned her full attention to the horrible food, and Jack realized he’d said something wrong. He replayed the words in his head. Was she upset because he confessed he still missed his friends? Lily was dead. Of course he missed her. He probably always would.
“You got quiet all of a sudden,” he said.
“Just thinking.”
Silver pointed out a variety of people around the room to Jack. She told him what piece of the puzzle each person represented, as if she wanted to help him figure out where he fit in.
“The two guys flicking paper footballs over there are Tyler and Steven. They are the biggest class clowns the school has. Each has been trying to outdo the other for years.” She sipped some milk through a straw before adding, “Last year they were both put in the same class. The school won’t make that mistake again. Their pranks almost literally drove the teacher nuts. I thought they were going to have to commit the poor woman over the summer.”
Jack laughed.
Silver continued. “The cute couple heading for the door…that’s Lauren and Braden, the ones Trina mentioned. They have been the ‘it’ couple for almost three years. If you want to find one of them, look for the other one. They are always together. They like to pretend they’re married.
“And that girl over there with the black hair and the green halter top is Mary Brass. She and I have been friends since third grade. She’s good in a fight, but don’t tell her anything you don’t want everyone else in the school to know.”
Jack gestured to a small group giggling in the corner. She explained they were the drama club kids. “The petite, dark-haired girl is Claire. She has wanted to be a famous movie star since Kindergarten. You can’t talk with her for more than five seconds without hearing about it in depth. She spends a lot of time in the bat
hrooms crying about one thing or another. Whoever put together the words ‘drama’ and ‘queen’ was talking about her.”
Silver tossed her half-eaten pizza aside.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked.
Silver forced a smile. “Everything’s great.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I was thinking about the janitor. When and how should I go up to him?”
Jack had already set a plan into motion. He caught the eye of a fellow student across the room and gave him a quick nod. It was time for the kid and his friend to do the job Jack had paid them to do.
The kid grabbed a handful of green gelatin and threw it. The second kid dumped the entire contents of his milk carton on the student sitting next to him. It started a chain reaction. Food began to fly from every direction. Jack took Silver’s hand and pulled on her. They slipped under the table together.
She gaped at him, half-smiling. “I have two questions for you. How and why?”
“When the janitor comes to clean up the mess, we’ll both be here to see him. Just let me know when you’re satisfied the dagger isn’t going to burn.”
“It will burn,” she corrected him.
He didn’t have a single doubt he was right. The werewolf janitor had killed his parents. He was the lead werewolf. Once Jack proved the fact to Silver, they could work on killing the monster.
Principal Hardwick barreled into the lunchroom with three teachers in tow. They rounded up the students throwing the most food items and sent everyone else back to class early. The two freshmen Jack had paid to start the fight had vanished out the back door a few minutes ago.
Jack and Silver remained hidden beneath the table.
A couple minutes passed before Jack heard the tell-tale sound of metal dragging across linoleum. The janitor brought his metal bucket and mop into the room. His stringy hair obstructed their view of his face as usual. He lifted the mop out of the soapy bucket and slapped it against the floor. Moving it back and forth in a chaotic rhythm, he began to whistle off-key.
“Let’s do it,” Jack said.
