“But— “
“No buts. What would happen if they found out about you?”
“They’d kill me, if I’m lucky.” He shuddered at the thought.
“It’s for your safety.” I pulled the brush through my hair, and grimaced when it tangled in the blue strands. “Only contact me if it’s life and death. Okay?”
Aym nodded reluctantly, his wings drooped with sadness. “Stay safe. And trust no one. Demons can hide anywhere.” He hopped over to my shoulder, and patted me on the cheek with the leaf shaped tip of his tail. “Remember, you can’t sense them the way you do with us imps. They’re sneaky.” He shimmered out, leaving a small spot of maroon glitter behind. I leaned heavy on my hands, staring in the mirror at the cursed key from the chain around my neck. “I bet they didn’t picture this when they said the weight of the world on your shoulders.” I sighed at my reflection.
Chapter 4
“There’s like nothing.” Kaito sat on my bed, phone in hand, and stared intently at the screen. “How can there be nothing? No Facebook, no Twitter, no Insta. Nothing!” He threw the phone on the bed with a frustrated sigh. “Told you. They’re vampires.”
He’d been searching for info on the newcomers all night, and came up empty handed. I pulled the top over my head, and shimmied it down to my hips. “Maybe they’re Amish.”
Salma fluffed up some pillows on her bed, and straightened the duvet. “Maybe Tanya’s right.”
We stared at her in disbelief. It wasn’t like her to agree with the elite. And especially not the diva herself, Tanya. Salma studied us for a moment, a dismissive hand in the air, and huffed. “Don’t give me that look. It’s more plausible than vampires.”
“But still.” I padded over to her, and put the back of my hand against her forehead. “Are you sick? Do you need to lay down?”
She slapped my hand away with a grin. “Stop it. We’re late for class.”
“Yes, mother.” Kaito tucked the phone into his pocket, raked a hand through his hair, and followed her to the door. “You coming?”
“Uh huh.” I confirmed, and laced up my worn-out boots. “Gotta stop by the cafeteria first,” I got to my feet, grabbed my favorite cardigan from the dresser. “I needs my coffee.”
“Okay, but hurry up.” Salma closed the door behind us, and we rushed the stairs. I curved into the cafeteria, focused on the coffee machine at the back. A quick two-finger wave to Opus, The Boston born ginger behind the counter. Elbow deep in dishwater he hitched a brow in recognition. With a paper cup filled to the brim, I made my way to one of the tables. The warm, bitter taste of coffee entranced me from the very first sip. This is the good stuff. I exhaled delightfully, and leaned back in the chair, warmth spread through my body. Tanya sat a few tables away, admiring herself in the pocket mirror glued to her hand.
My phone vibrated on the table, screen blinked with a message from Salma. Two short words; Class! Now!
I smiled over the edge of the cup. My phone buzzed, again.
“Come on. Is there really no rest for the wicked?” I huffed, and downed the last of the coffee. The chair rattled at my annoyed departure, sending tingles up my thighs.
I swerved into the corridor, and I swear my intentions were good. I was on my way to class, but the hairs on my neck rose, and ripped me from my stable trot toward class. Crap! Imps. Eyes darted across the faded wallpaper in search for the miniature demons. They seemed to prefer elevated areas to spit from. Freud probably had a few fun theories about that. The smell of vanilla and honey swirled around me. Since when did imps use aftershave?
“Are ya lost?”
“Ah!” I spun on my heels, fists ready to… Honestly, I have no idea what they were planning on doing. It’s not like they could hurt anyone. Looked cool though. I realized I was staring at my fists with, what I could only guess, was a dumb expression. So, I looked up, ready to scream and run away if needed.
“Calm yer tits, cookie. I canny hurt ya.” A guy, a few inches taller than me, wrapped me up in a deep Scottish accent. Purple tips danced softly in the yellow light of the chandeliers when he flipped back his layered bangs. All dressed in black, his ripped jeans hung loose on his narrow hips.
“Vampire fan?” I lowered my fists, the tension in my neck nipping at my nerves. His laughter bubbled, and popped between the walls, luring a smile to my lips.
“Hell na. They’re rude, and rarely sparkle.” Silver rings gleamed when he scratched the corner of his lip. “Dare I mention,” he lowered his voice to a whisper, and leaned closer. “They ain’t real?”
I faked a gasp. “Oh, don’t say that. You’re driving a stake through so many young girls’ hearts.”
“Aye!” He pointed finger guns at me. “You made a punny.” He squinted, and studied my face. “Need help?”
“Sure.” I croaked, my voice not cooperating. Bangs tickled my forehead when I shook my head, and laughed. “I mean, no. Class. I have class. I have to go.” I stumbled over the words. Not sure if I should stay and deal with the imp, or stay to chat with the emo, who studied me under thick lashes. Phone buzzed, tickling my hand. I flipped it to check the screen, Salma again, and she used an excessive amount of exclamation points, which meant she was mad. I cleared my head with a rough shake, pushed the phone into my back pocket, and smiled. “Nice to meet you, I’m Mira.” I offered a hand.
His delicate fingers closed around it. “Tell, and ya might wanna wait before ya decide about the nice part.”
He moseyed down the hall, and I mentally slapped myself to get my feet moving.
Mr. Klein gave me a not so happy glance when I entered the classroom.
“Sorry I’m late, but…Uhm... I didn’t want to come.” Might as well be honest.
The teacher lit up, and nodded. “Ah, Mira. Honest as always.” Totally unfazed by my statement, the fifty-something teacher pointed to the back of the class. A light brown stain decorated his wrinkled shirt right next to his striped tie. The smeared pattern told the story of failed attempts to wipe it clean. Poor guy. I grinned at the raised caterpillars above his eyes, and
crisscrossed down the aisle. I flopped into the chair next to Kaito who beamed with every inch of his face. Yeah, that meant gossip.
“What?” I asked, mentally preparing for an elaborate he said she said story.
Kaito bounced slightly in the chair, tapping my arm. “I’ve got some hot news, you’re not gonna believe— “
“Kaito!” Mr. Klein snapped, turning away from the whiteboard.
“Sorry, Mr. Klein.” Kaito shrugged, and turned to me. Disappointment plastered all over his pouty face. “I’ll tell you later.”
Chapter 5
My imp warning system stayed quiet when we left the classroom. Thankfully. The tension in my back released with a flood of warmth. I fell into Kaito’s arms like a rag doll, legs splayed out behind me. “I’m dying. Tell my boyfriend I loved him. Tell the children not to cry.”
Kaito gave a dramatic gasp. “No. Please god, no. Don’t walk toward the light. There’s a chocolate cupcake that needs you.”
I sprung to my feet. “Point the way. Mama needs some suga’.”
He snorted, and laced an arm around my shoulder. “Meatloaf in the cafeteria today. Wanna grab a burger instead?”
I stared at him in fake shock. “Do you not know me at all?”
“Burger it is.” He ushered me to the doors.
Salma jogged up beside me, arms full of books. “How can you think about food already?”
“Easy. I love food, and when you love someone, you think about them all the time.” I twirled out of Kaito’s grip. “Like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince.”
“More like waiting for a nice juicy steak.”
I shrugged, and wiggled my eyebrows. “It’s meat either way.”
Salma sighed, and quickly changed the subject. “We need to start working on the group projects for biology, and with the new schedule, we need to make sure we get the classrooms down. I don’t want
you to be late again.”
We groaned in unison. She glared at us between the flipping of pages in her notebook. “We have chemistry, and P.E before lunch, and then it’s American literature, art history and psychology.”
“Shoot me now.”
Kaito put a finger gun to my head, and pulled the trigger.
“See? Now that’s a real friend.”
Salma rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll let you fail, and get kicked out. Is that better?”
“Yupp. Thanks.” I grinned.
“Oh. Oh. Me too.” Kaito bounced, and flapped a hand in the air.
She exhaled, and shook her head. “You’re hopeless. Both of you.”
“By the way,” I patted Kaito’s chest with the back of my hand, “what were you saying in class? Hot news?”
“Right! I snuck by admins office earlier. You know, to steal some of the good coffee.”
“Uh huh?” I stepped through the door, and caught sight of the blonde witch that ran over my foot. She sat at the back of the classroom, engulfed in a discussion with a redhead I didn’t recognize.
“Altair was arguing with the blonde guy.” He measured with his hands, to make it clear who he was talking about. “They said your name. A lot.”
I forced my attention away from Witchy. “He told on me? What a dick.”
Salma and Kaito paused in midmotion, between standing and sitting, at our desks. Salma nailed the disapproving glare Gran used to give me when I was little and got into trouble, and Kaito’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“You’ve got some splainin’ to do.” Kaito settled into his chair, elbows on the desk, eyes pinned on me.
I strained a muscle stopping myself from doing an over the top eyeroll. “I snuck out of the room yesterday, and Lux, that’s his name by the way, caught me. No biggie.”
He held up a palm. “Wait! Back up. You snuck out? Why? Not to see Daniel, I hope.”
“No.”
Kaito refused to bury the grudge he held against my ex-boyfriend. He’d muttered something about honor, and white knights, when he found out Daniel dumped me.
“You left the room after curfew?” Salma’s indignation could be heard from a mile away.
I ran my fingers across the cool surface of the desk, before answering. I was walking a thin line, but had no choice.
“Cramps.”
Salma’s forehead creased. Living together for as long as we had, she knew I was lying. Every crease, and every line on her face told me so.
“Okay. Don’t need to know more.” Kaito’s nose wrinkled.
“Thank you. That’s the reaction I hoped for from Mr. Blondie, but nooooooo. He had to be all let’s go to the infirmary, you need aspirin.”
Salma still didn’t say anything, she studied my face intently, a quiet anger behind thin slits. I lowered my head, eyes nailed to the pen in my hand.
Mr. Herrow entered the classroom, a strained smile on his tired face.
“Look. His hair grew back, just like I said. Pay up.” Kaito nudged Salma in the back with his pen, but she ignored him, and instead slid a book over to me, pointing to where I should start reading. Happy the focus was off me, I ignored the chill wafting from Salma. She rapped her pen against the note pad.
A brick house toppled through the door fifteen minutes into the droning lecture about the dangers of chemistry. Hazel eyes rushed the room, his nutmeg hair, a charming mess around his broad forehead.
“Am I late? Did I miss it?” He expelled.
Mr. Herrow heaved a sigh, the marker poised a few inches from the whiteboard. “Take a seat, Aris.”
“Yes, sir.”
Apparently, the new guy managed to make a lasting impression on Mr. Herrow in that split second, and it wasn’t a good one. Mr. Herrow returned to writing, hand swiftly moving across the white surface. Aris maneuvered his massive frame sideways between the desks.
He stopped next to Kaito. “Is it okay if I sit?” Mischievous eyes sparkled down at Kaito, and for the first time since I’d known him, he blushed.
“Uhm. Yes?”
The guy jimmied into the chair, his trunk sized arms rested on the sleek surface, a wide grin pushed on freckled cheeks. “Hi. I’m Aris.” He put out a hand, and I let mine get swallowed up in a brisk handshake.
“Mira.” I nodded to my friends. “Kaito, and Salma.”
He playfully slapped Kaito’s arm, and nearly sent him flying through the window. “Nice to meet ya.”
“S-S-Same.” Kaito stuttered, rubbing his arm. Salma’s shoulders shook in silent laughter, so to hide my own, I turned to face the front of the room with one last glance at Kaito’s bewildered face.
Chapter 6
“Monster. Wait up.” Kaito jogged up next to me, panting as if he’d just ran a marathon, and not six feet down a hallway.
“How you liking your new desk buddy?”
“Did you see the arms on him?” He hooked his arm in mine, and dragged me along the corridor, away from the classroom. “He could break my neck with one of those massive hands.” He beamed, and wiggled his manicured brows. “And I’d let him.”
I looked over my shoulder. Aris stepped out of the classroom surrounded by the elite members of our football team. I didn’t blame them, he had the build of an offensive lineman. Daniel threw me a wave, his dark hair had that messy I just got out of bed look that I always loved on him while we were dating. Now… He was still cute, but more like a friend you’d seen naked, and never wanted to see naked again, kind of cute. I waved back, and hitched my thumb in the air. Sure, they had Martin, who was huge, but Aris had a few inches on him in every direction.
A nervous twitch at the back of my neck coiled every muscle in my body. “Hang on.” I struggled free from Kaito’s grip and beelined into the girls’ bathroom. What’s with all these imps? Usually I got the warning maybe once or twice a month, but I’d never had two, maybe three, show up in a day.
“Where are you?” My voice bounced between the white tiled walls. A toilet flushed, and drove my heart to my head.
The blonde witch emerged from one of the stalls. A sharp sneer spread across her lips. “Oh. It’s you.” She sauntered over to the sink and washed her hands. “Looking for someone?” A glare through the reflection of the mirror drove heat to my cheeks.
“Uhm. No. No. I was just… My phone.” I patted my pockets, pretending to search and find my phone. I pulled it out and wiggled it in the air.
“Give it a rest. I don’t really care.” She turned to face me, and threw the water off her hands.
Unsure if she meant to or not, I wiped away a few drops from my face. “Then why even ask?”
She shrugged in answer, and I had to fight the urge to chuck my phone at her. Fists curled into balls along my sides. With the flick of her hair, she shoved the door open, and left. A frustrated exhale shook my body when I stomped over to the remaining stalls, and forced open every door. The stalls stared back at me, empty. A speck of pink on the tile was all I needed. “Got you.” I covered my hand with the sleeve of my cardigan and grabbed at the vague outline. The imp shimmered in. It hissed, and hawked. A rasping sound at the back of its throat.
“Oh, no you don’t.” I spun before it had the chance to spit its disgusting venom my way. I slammed my hand down, catching the imp by the neck on the edge of the sink. Its head popped off with a loud socking sound, and rolled a few feet on the floor, before dissolving into a puddle of pink glittery liquid. Easy kill, probably a low-level imp. I was almost insulted that he’d send something like that after me. The body exploded into glitter, and soaked through my sleeve. The door opened, and Abriella stepped in. Eyes widened for a second. “Oh. It’s you.” She winched up her purse, and rifled through it. A bright smile split her oval face when her hand emerged holding a lip gloss. “Never leave home without it.” She beamed, and sauntered over to the mirror. The red pen skirt stretched when she leaned over the sink. Eyes drifted to me. I froze, and hid my wet sleeve behind my back.
A gent
le arch of her brows. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts again.” The drip of water from my sleeve pecked at my eardrums.
“Okay.” With one last look in the mirror, she tucked the lip-gloss back into her purse. “I’ll see you around.”
The door closed, and I hurried to get the cardigan off me, to wring out the water in the sink. I paused, hand to the door, to make sure the tension was gone, and left the bathroom.
“There you are.” Kaito expelled. “What took you so long? No, wait. I don’t want to know.” Deep lines appeared on the bridge of his nose, and he pulled on my arm. “Come on, time to get disgustingly sweaty.”
Chapter 7
Less than an hour later I blasted the gym doors open. Heart pounded like a drum against my temples. Lungs strained to supply me with oxygen. I thought I was gonna die, my feet dragged across the floor. Sweat, and rubber spiked the air in the gymnasium. The squeaking of shoes came to a halt on the green floor, after my grand, and gasping, entrance. Curious glances tossed my way.
Sending me out to run the damn trail in the woods was a cruel and unusual punishment. The helpful and attractive guy I wasted butterflies on yesterday sure played fast and loose with his life. While sending daggers across the room, hoping Cas felt them hit his back, I contemplated murdering him in countless ways. He turned, brows hitched. The butterflies in my stomach did the Macarena, and didn’t give a crap about my villainous thinking. Just my luck to have him be a teacher.
“He’s really not kidding around.” Odell, one of the juniors, was splayed out on the floor, chest moved in a rapid tempo. I sagged down next to him with a nod.
“Have you two given up already?” Cas called from the weight training group.
“Yes, Coach.” Odell raised his arm in the air. “I’ve officially given up. I’m ready to accept my faith. Bury me ass up, so you have a place to put the flowers.” His arm fell limp over his chest.
Before Limbo (After Life Book 1) Page 3
