“Meow,” it said, obviously bored with me already.
The room was clearly a home office. There were loaded bookshelves lining the walls; a Mac and several file folders called the desk home; and a table in the center of the room was covered in loose-leaf paper and photos.
There was a book open on the floor, next to the desk. I walked into the room, bent down to pick it up, and realized it was a journal.
Mr. Charles’s journal.
Okay, I know I shouldn’t read it. Honestly, there is almost nothing worse than that kind of violation, but I couldn’t help myself.
The last entry was dated yesterday.
Plan is in place. AJ has been suspended and feels alone. I am gaining her trust.
What!?
My heart hammered in my throat. I flipped backward in the book to the previous entry.
I suspect AJ might be a Serpentine descendant. She hasn’t shown me physical evidence yet, but I believe with some persuasion I can get her to open up. She is my key to becoming immortal.
I flipped through to the beginning, where Mr. Charles outlined how he was going to gain my trust.
Master led me here to find the chosen one. I have studied all students for a year and have found one prospect that I believe could be the one.
Have decided I need to leave bread crumbs to see if she responds.
I. Leave AJ note asking her to work with me on thesis.
II. Alienate AJ from friends and family: Must get AJ suspended from school in order to work with her alone. Cheating on test? Yes! How? Test key? Copying? Both?
My hands started shaking as I read on.
III. Continue to gain her trust. Make her feel safe with me so I can take her willingly to the elders. Much easier if she is willing.
My stomach turned. I tossed the book down, and it nudged the mouse, bringing the computer back from sleep. And let me just say, I had no idea what panic was until I saw the Photoshop program on-screen, with the freshly doctored pictures of Mr. Charles and me.
I had to swallow my bile. I turned to run away. And ran right into Mr. Charles instead.
Chapter 23
“Um,” I said, stumbling backward. “Hi, Mr. Charles.” Stay strong, AJ. Think.
“AJ, I think you can probably call me Morris now, don’t you?”
He smiled, but his eyes weren’t as warm as usual. They were kinda bugging out with excitement. He seemed a little tweaked, like a junkie looking for a fix, and that had me freaking out a bit.
“Bridget is on her way to pick me up. I told her I’d be waiting outside.”
His smile deepened. “That’s not true, AJ. I just saw Bridget on the square a few minutes ago with Lindsey.” He stepped into the room. “I don’t want you to be frightened of me. I’m the one person you can be yourself around.”
Fear gripped me and my head began to swim. I grappled in my purse for my phone, but Mr. Charles was too quick. In one motion he knocked my bag away and pulled my arm behind my back.
“I know this is a shock to you,” he said in a hushed voice. “But I think if you’ll examine the situation, you’ll see that fate brought us together.”
His breath was hot on my neck as he pulled my hair away. He traced my birthmark and sighed. “I knew it! This is my proof. The clan elders have been waiting for you.”
“Proof of what? What clan elders? Dude, you need to put down the crack pipe,” I said, grasping to keep my charade going. But there was no fooling him. He knew.
He had always known.
“AJ, you can stop the facade now. It’s time to meet your destiny. The leaders of your clan sent me here to find you and bring you back. Once I bring you to them, they’ll turn me. I’ll finally be immortal.”
“You really are high. You seriously can’t believe you’ll be immortal? Surely you know that, being an occult expert and all. If they’ve promised you immortality, they were yanking your chain,” I said, finally giving up the act.
He laughed. It was deep and gravelly and I felt it almost as much as I heard it.
“I know you’re scared, but honestly, they won’t hurt you. They need you alive.” He grabbed my burned hand and pulled off the bandage. “You’re the key holder, just like they suspected. They can’t get to the runes without you.”
“Are you forgetting that the Frieceadans hid the runes and the Serpentines killed the Warlocks off before they found out where the runes were located?”
“You let me worry about that. We need to leave. I almost screwed things up with that Facebook page. I programmed the wrong damned date. We were supposed to be gone before the pictures hit the web. Now we have to hurry.”
I felt something cold and hard pressed against my back. “This is just my little insurance policy that you’ll cooperate. We’re going out the back door.”
“I’m confused,” I said as he nudged me out of the bedroom with the gun. “How did the clan elders know about me?”
“Well, your father, of course.”
My father? Rage pushed through my veins, flashing red behind my eyes. My senses sharpened so quickly, my head buzzed and the floor seemed to swirl beneath my feet. Mr. Charles’s grip tightened, and he poked the barrel of the gun deeper into my kidney.
The voice spoke to me again.
Set your instincts free and let them guide you.
Suddenly I knew why the voice was familiar. It was Octavia.
You can do this.
With her words something inside me snapped. Like a choreographed dance move, I popped my shoulder down and jabbed him with my elbow, causing him to lose balance and stumble backward. Then I wrenched my arm free and knocked the gun from his grip. And I ran like hell.
I was fast, but not fast enough. Why hadn’t I worked on honing my super speed? Why had I been so determined to forget my vampire side that I hadn’t worked on any of my super skills?
I reached the kitchen only to be tackled before I could get to the door. “I really wish you hadn’t done that, AJ,” Mr. Charles said. “Now I’m going to have to medicate you.”
I felt a pinprick in my arm and the red behind my eyes flashed bright, my fangs descended, and I seemed to levitate from the ground, tossing Mr. Charles to the side. I floated above him for a nanosecond, and his eyes widened with excitement. And so did mine.
Holy shit! I never would’ve denied I was a vampire if I had known I could fly!
The rush was amazing but short-lived.
I wish I could say that I flew away to safety, but obviously I need to work on my flying skills because I fell. And as luck would have it, I landed right on top of Mr. Charles.
My head was spinning, my stomach was churning, and I could feel my fangs receding. What the hell was that about? Usually I couldn’t make my fangs recede to save my life, but when I needed them most, they disappear?
Mr. Charles chuckled as he readied the syringe and wrapped his arms back around me. “Okay, let’s try this one more time—”
I sensed a movement behind me as strong hands wrenched me free of Mr. Charles’s arms.
“What the—?” Mr. Charles shouted in surprise as the syringe flew free.
For a brief moment, I thought I was being rescued. Then I saw the red eyes of my savior and realized that Noah James was not done with me.
“She’s mine,” he hissed at Mr. Charles.
“You haven’t been released, Noah. You can’t have her until after the clan uses her,” Mr. Charles said, all too knowingly.
“Her wall of protection is gone. I released myself,” he spat.
My wall of protection?
Noah turned to me. “Do you know my favorite part of being a vampire?” he asked.
“No clue,” I said, realizing this was not going to end well.
“Watching you sleep,” Noah said.
I shivered.
“You’ve got such an innocent little face, but you and I both know there’s nothing innocent about you.”
He disappeared only to reappear behind me. His breath was m
etallic, like ice on my neck. “I miss eating fruit the most. But you’ll be a nice substitute. I bet your blood tastes like honey.”
Focus. Feel. Smell. Do not fight your instincts.
He gripped my arms and pulled me to his chest. Fear-laced adrenaline pumped through me. I closed my eyes and jumped, hoping to throw Noah off balance just enough to loosen his ironclad hold.
My body propelled to the ceiling, knocking Noah into the wall. I bared my fangs and hissed like a pissed-off cat. Then I dove straight down toward Noah.
“No!” Mr. Charles yelled. “Noah, don’t! If you kill her, the elders will punish you,” he warned.
“It’ll be worth it,” Noah said, dodging my assault. “Come on, tease. Can’t you do better than that?”
I had no idea. This was all so new to me. I had spent my entire life avoiding the reality that I was a vampire. I had never worked on any of my skills other than hearing. Hell, if the flying was any indication, I didn’t even know what skills I had.
Noah’s laughter filled my head. I realized he was getting to me, trying to weaken me. I needed to concentrate. If he could figure out how to sharpen his powers over just a few days, then surely with a little focus I could do the same. After all, technically I had seventeen years’ experience over him.
That’s right. You are better, stronger, smarter. Stay in control. Focus.
I closed my eyes and began to ascend again. I would dip if I stopped concentrating, so I worked hard to stay in control. My senses opened up and suddenly I knew what Noah’s next move was going to be. He darted toward me, and I moved to the left, never once opening my eyes.
He crashed into the wall, putting a hole in the plaster.
“Bitch,” he spat.
I ignored him and kept in focus. Surprisingly, I managed to stay in the air. I took a deep breath. “Do you miss breathing, Noah? Do you miss smelling fresh herbs and flowers, or maybe the smell of Twittany’s cheap perfume?”
Noah growled and lunged again, but I deftly avoided his attack. His frustration and anger were tangible. And I could read him like a book, so I was ready when he dove for the butcher block, grabbed a knife, and chucked it at me.
I caught it and chucked it right back. It impaled him in the arm and pinned him to the wall.
His scream was so high-pitched, it burst the windows and broke my concentration. I opened my eyes and saw his eyes burn bright. He pulled the knife out, and his arm healed on the spot.
I felt myself falling slightly, and I struggled to regain my focus. But Noah saw the opportunity and pounced, bringing us both to the ground in a pile of shattered glass. He held the knife to my throat.
“What will happen to you when I bite your pretty little neck?” he asked, licking my throat.
I swallowed the bile as it rose. “I don’t know.” My voice was shaky. “Lucky for me, I’ll never find out,” I said, grabbing a large shard of glass and ramming it into his heart. Thank God the whole wooden stake thing was just a myth.
As the shard entered his chest, there was no shriek, only the flash of surprise in his eyes. His features softened back to the Noah I once knew, his eyes faded from red to blue. He sighed. His icy breath warmed, his tight, thick skin relaxed.
And then, in a puff of smoke, he turned to ash.
My heart was heavy. Now that Noah the monster was gone, I could mourn the death of Noah my friend.
Chapter 24
I felt hung over. Okay, I felt what I imagined a hangover would be like. My head throbbed, my stomach roiled, and even the smallest movements made the room spin.
And I was covered in Noah’s ashes, which was starting to creep me out. I tried to stand, but my body was too weak. So I dragged myself out of the pile, the glass crushing beneath me, cutting into my legs as I moved.
“That was scary,” Mr. Charles said, putting his arms beneath me and gently lifting me out of the debris.
I nodded. I couldn’t stand, couldn’t speak, couldn’t get away.
“Your body needs to recuperate, and you need a hemoshake.” He sat me in a kitchen chair and opened the fridge. “If you promise to cooperate, I’ll give you this.”
I nodded. I had no choice. I had to do whatever I could to regain my strength.
He handed me the canned drink, I popped it open and pretended to take a big swallow. I wanted him to think I was cooperating. I was buying time—for what, I had no idea. “Were you feeding Noah? How did you keep him from killing you?”
“His master had control over him. He had no choice—at least he didn’t at first. I guess when you didn’t wear your amulet of protection, his desire for you outweighed his master’s control,” he said as he picked up the gun and pointed it at me. “That was amazing. You understand why I have to use this, right? After seeing what kind of powers you have, I can’t take any chances that you’ll use them against me. I don’t want to hurt you, AJ, but I will if I have to.”
I nodded, trying to buy some more time. “My amulet?”
“That necklace you’ve been wearing and those herbs. How did you know what spell to cast to protect yourself?” he asked.
“My grandmother,” I lied. If I ever got out of this mess, Aunt Doreen had some ’splainin’ to do.
“I knew there was more to that story,” he said with a laugh, like we were old friends meeting for coffee. “AJ, you should start to feel sleepy soon. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t take the chance—so I drugged the hemoshake,” he said.
I let my eyelids droop heavily and I nodded again. I slumped in the chair. He reached for me, steadying me with his arm around my shoulders. I grabbed his arm and sank my teeth, fangs and all, into his skin. I was careful to bite only. Though it was tempting to suck him free of his life-force and make him my slave.
“Aaaagh! You bit me?” he screamed, then dropped the gun and yanked his arm away to inspect his injury.
“Oh? Did I do that?”
I wasn’t really sure how to react to the fact that I had just bitten a man on purpose. The smell of fresh blood sent my senses into overdrive. I salivated, then licked the blood droplets off my lips. I really hadn’t given any thought to what might happen to him after the bite—or how my body would react. The only thing I could think about was getting the hell out of there.
I heard a gasp in the doorway.
“AJ?” Ryan said.
So much for keeping the family secret a secret.
Somehow I found the strength to stand and stumble to Ryan. He didn’t pull away from me; I figured his not being repulsed was a good sign.
“I’ll explain it all, but first we need to get out of here,” I said as Mr. Charles stood and reached behind his back. “Now!”
A shot rang in the kitchen, and the door frame next to Ryan’s head splintered.
Ryan yelled, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the living room. “Get out of the way!”
Staring down the barrel of the gun, Ryan faced Mr. Charles. He balanced himself on his right foot, pointed his right hand straight out, and closed his left eye. He looked like a one-eyed stork ninja.
What the hell was Ryan planning to do, wink Mr. Charles to death?
Suddenly, in a panicked whisper, Ryan began to chant in a language I had never heard before. As the words spilled from his mouth, the air grew static. The scar on my palm burned and glowed a bright orange with each word. Mr. Charles pulled the hammer back on the gun. Time stood still. Ryan continued his rushed chanting. As Mr. Charles aimed the gun toward Ryan—no way was he gonna miss this time—I squeezed my eyes shut, said a little prayer, and then there was a bright flash and a pop.
And silence.
I opened one eye, terrified that Ryan would be lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Instead, Mr. Charles had disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
“Whoa,” I said.
“Oops. Did I do that?” Ryan laughed nervously. “Guess we need to catch up a little.”
Apparently, Aunt Doreen was not the only one who had some ’splainin’ to do.
Chapter 25
A loud knock on the door was followed by Cody Littleton’s voice. “Police! We have a warrant!”
The words were barely out of Cody’s mouth before he and three other deputies barreled into the house.
“Kids, are y’all okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, just shaken up,” I said.
“Where’s Mr. Charles?”
I looked at Ryan, who smiled and shrugged.
“He just disappeared,” I said.
“Yeah. One minute he was here, and the next—poof!” Ryan added.
“Where did he go?” Cody asked.
“I wish I knew,” Ryan answered as we walked outside. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Seriously, I wish I knew. I have no idea where I sent him.”
Cody used his radio to call the criminal investigation unit to come and start collecting evidence. “Let’s get y’all to the station,” he said. “Your parents are waiting for you.”
The harsh fluorescent lights glared at us as we pushed through the glass double doors. An intern sat behind the front desk chewing on a pencil. His eyes went wide when he saw Cody bringing us in.
“The sheriff is waiting for you in room one,” he said.
The solid metal doors down the hallway opened and our parents walked out. They rushed to us and wrapped us up in a group hug. “Are y’all okay?” they asked simultaneously.
“Yeah. We are. Mr. Charles went crazy. It was weird. He had a gun—”
My mom gasped.
“We’re okay, Momma. See, still alive and kicking.”
“Thank God. Let’s go home, shower, and have Aunt Doreen fix us something warm and delicious. And discuss how I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
Sheriff Christopher took that moment to clear his throat and announce his presence. “AJ, I sure am glad I didn’t wait for you in your kitchen.”
My cheeks blazed. “Sorry. I had to figure a few things out before I talked to you.”
“You mean get your story straight?” he asked.
Rick stepped forward, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “That’s not very fair, Sheriff. She’s just a kid, and this has been a really stressful week even by adult standards. Why don’t you cut her a break?”
Bite Me! Page 16
