Cold as Ice

by Jayme Morse;Jody Morse

  If it turned out that she didn’t want to become a vampire, he knew that he should separate himself from her right now so that it would hurt less for him in the long run. Except that wasn’t even possible at this point. Austin was in so deep at this point that being away from Anna would probably leave him with withdrawal symptoms. He needed her in his life; even if that meant that he could only have her until she lived out the life of a mortal.

  “Well, a little, but not for the reasons you’re thinking,” Anna admitted. Blushing, she added, “Once I’m a vampire, I’ll miss when you drink my blood.”

  Austin smiled. “I will, too.” It was one of the truest things he had ever said; just thinking about the sweet taste of Anna’s blood drove him crazy. And he thought about it often—late at night when she was in her dorm room and he was in his, when he was in class, when he was taking a shower. He just couldn’t get enough of the way she tasted.

  “I wish everyone here would start being nicer to you,” Anna commented. “If they can’t accept you—one of the nicest people I know—how are they going to accept me once I’m a vampire, too?”

  Austin shrugged. “I guess we’ll both just have to prove to them that we’re on their side. It should be a piece of cake.”

  Anna smiled. “I love you, Graham Cracker.”

  “I love you, too, Anna Banana.”

  Chapter 15

  “I think we might be late for your class,” Lexi told Craig, as they began walking into the park.

  “Oh, I don’t really have a class,” he laughed. “I only said that to make the security guards believe that we would be back soon. Noah can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.”

  “Noah?” Lexi asked with raised eyebrows, remembering the child who had bit her leg at Splish ‘N Splash when she worked there. There was no doubt that he was a bit of a pain in the ass, but what did he have to do with anything?

  “The security guard,” Craig replied. “His cousin is Brandon. I’m pretty sure you used to hang out with him when you went to school in Briar Creek.”

  “Oh.” That Noah. Lexi recalled when she had met him and he had told her that he was a werewolf, but that his cousin was Brandon, one of her old co-workers who Mary-Kate had happened to be cheating on Austin with. It had confused her, but it turned out that they were cousins through marriage.

  “Do you smell something?” Craig asked, interrupted her thoughts about Noah.

  “No,” Lexi shook her head. “But I guess my sense of smell probably isn’t as good as yours, anyway.” Vampires were supposed to have amazing noses from what she understood, which was why it was so necessary for her to wear the bat pendant. She touched it, just to make sure that it was still there. Depending on what types of dangers were lurking in the park today, she was going to need it.

  Craig sniffed loudly. “I’m pretty sure I can smell Gabe.”

  Lexi had thought that vampires couldn’t smell each other, only the scent of humans. But she wasn’t about to question him right now. If it meant they were one step closer to saving Gabe and getting out of there, it wasn’t worth arguing over.

  Something chimed loudly, and Lexi jumped. She glanced around to see if there was anyone nearby, but there wasn’t.

  When she glanced over at Craig, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was glancing down at the cell phone he held in his hands. The sound she had heard must have been a text message notification.

  Craig handed her the phone. “Read this.”

  Lexi took the phone from him and read the open text message. The top of the screen said it was from Gabe.

  I’m not sure if I’m going to survive this.

  “We need to hurry up and find him. He’s obviously in a lot of danger,” Craig told her when she met his eyes, which looked darker than usual under the night sky. “I think he’s up that hill over there,” he said, pointing in the direction of a steep slope that was surrounded by a covering of trees.

  Lexi hesitated. It was really dark past the area where they were standing. She doubted that the hill had any lighting. There might be wild animals nearby—or whatever it was that was putting Gabe in danger at that moment. Possibly Greg Lawrence or her aunt and uncle. Was she really ready to defend herself against them, without the help of anyone except for Craig, and in the dark, no less?

  “Are you coming?” Craig, who was already ascending the path that led up the hill, called down to her.

  Deciding that she would look like a chicken if she didn’t go with him, Lexi nodded. “Yes, I’m coming.” She crept up the path behind him, her shoes digging into the cold gravel.

  The hill was even steeper than it looked from far away and by the time they reached the top, Lexi felt out of breath.

  As she suspected, there was no lighting at the top of the hill. Aside from the light from the moon, the only thing that filled her field of vision was the dark silhouette of trees.

  “Craig?” she whispered. “It doesn’t look like he’s up here.”

  “I can smell him,” Craig insisted. “It’s just a little further, Lexi. You’re not backing out of this now, are you?”

  “No,” Lexi replied quietly, following him further into the woods. Goose bumps shot up and down her arms, and a strange feeling began to develop in her stomach. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something about this just wasn’t right.

  “Ouch!” Craig cried, and Lexi watched as he tripped over something.

  Rushing over to him, she quickly realized that the “something” was a tree stump. “Are you okay?” Lexi asked, kneeling down on the ground.

  Craig didn’t answer. Was he unconscious?

  Glancing down at him, she noticed that there was a rock next to his head. It looked like he had hit it really hard. Had it punctured his brain? What if she was all on her own now?

  Lexi’s knee brushed against something cold and hard. Picking it up, she realized that Craig’s cell phone must have fallen out of his pocket when he fell. She was glad that she had found it; now, she could call for help. She just wasn’t sure if she should call 911 or Austin and Anna, since Craig was a vampire.

  Before she could make a decision, she noticed that there was one new text message.

  When she opened it, she found that it was from Gabe.

  Hey Craig, let me know if you’ve gotten any of the messages I’ve been sending you. xoxo, Karla.

  Karla? What the hell. Karla was the girl who Lexi used to work with at Splish ‘N Splash. She hadn’t even realized that Karla and Craig knew each other—or Karla and Gabe. What was Karla doing using Gabe’s phone number?

  Going back through the other text messages on the phone, Lexi realized there were more messages from Gabe than Craig had told her about—except they had nothing to do with him being in danger or at Bear Cliff State Park.

  Opening one of the text messages that Craig had sent Gabe, Lexi read what it said:

  Hey Karla, can you send me these text messages from your phone? I’m trying to trick someone into thinking they’re from someone else.

  Karla’s response had been: Haha, sure. I want to hear all about it later, tho!

  Lexi felt sick to her stomach. Now she understood why she had felt like something was wrong. Gabe had never actually sent Craig any text messages in the first place. He wasn’t actually at Bear Cliff State Park. Well, maybe he was, but not under the circumstances that Craig had led her to believe. But if that was the case, then why had he brought her here?

  Just as Lexi was about to put the phone back in Craig’s pocket so that he wouldn’t know that she went through his text messages, she felt his arm come down on her elbow.

  Craig whispered, “You should have just given me your blood when I asked you nicely for it. I gave you the chance, but you didn’t take it. I’m going to drink from your blood, anyway. Not that it should be such a bad thing for you. After all, you said you love when vampires drink from you.”

  His grip on her arm became tighter, just as his other arm closed around her neck.
<
br />   Lexi cried out into the darkness of the night, knowing that no one would hear her screams. Dan’s face flashed through her mind before she closed her eyes, shutting out Craig’s angry face.

  Chapter 16

  Austin and Anna bounded through her dorm room, arms wrapped around each other as they kissed passionately. No one was around, so it was the perfect time for Austin to do what he and Anna both wanted more than anything else—drink her blood.

  Once they were inside the dorm room, a voice from behind them said, “Where’s Lexi?”

  Austin turned to find Dan staring at them.

  “Dan!” Anna squealed, running over to give him a hug. “You’re back!”

  “Hi, Anna,” Dan replied with a small smile. He nodded at Austin. “Austin.”

  “How did you get back, dude? Lexi’s been trying to save you for days,” Austin said, knowing that his voice had to have sounded as relieved as he felt.

  “I don’t know,” Dan admitted. “I was just lying there—in a pile of hay—thinking about Lexi. It’s been weeks since she left, and I thought I had forgotten what she looked like. But I didn’t. Her face was still clear to me.”

  “It’s only been a few days since Lexi got back here,” Anna told him. “Are you sure it was that long in the past?”

  “Yeah,” Dan replied, a lustful look in his eyes. “I’ve missed her like crazy.”

  “Where is Lexi?” Austin asked, turning to Anna. “I haven’t seen her in hours.”

  “I haven’t either,” Anna replied. She opened the dorm room door and motioned for them to follow her into the hallway. “Let’s go find her.”

  Once they were down the hallway that led to the auditorium, the booming sound of music filled their ears. Austin was about to tell Anna and Dan that he hadn’t seen Lexi at the dance when Gabe strolled over to them.

  He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

  “What’s wrong, Gabe?” Anna asked, immediately sensing that something was wrong.

  “I just had a vision,” Gabe muttered. “At least, I think it was a vision.”

  When he didn’t explain any further, Austin pressed. “What was your vision about?”

  “Lexi—she’s in danger.” Gabe’s eyes darted around the hallway; it seemed like he was afraid that someone was lurking nearby, listening to their conversation. “I think she’s at a park somewhere . . . about thirty minutes from here. At the top of a hill off to the left-hand side of the park.”

  “Bear Cliff State Park,” Dan murmured. When everyone turned to look at him, he explained, “My dad and I always used to go there when I was a kid. There’s this really steep hill there that we used to go sledding down in the winter.”

  Anna turned to Gabe, her chocolate brown eyes filled with worry. “What type of trouble do you think Lexi’s in?”

  “The type that could kill her if someone doesn’t save her in time,” Gabe replied, closing his eyes. “I don’t know who she’s with—I can’t see that much. It might be Violet and Tom, but I can’t make it out for sure. I can just tell that she’s afraid. Her eyes—there’s so much fear in them.” His voice sounded scared and sad even, just thinking about the type of trouble that Lexi was in.

  “I have to go,” Dan said. “I have to save her!” He turned, as though he were about to run in the opposite direction, when he glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll need a ride from one of you. I haven’t fed since Lexi left. I don’t think I could handle flying right now.”

  Austin glanced over at Gabe, noting that he was quieter than usual. “Are you okay? I know your visions can be pretty draining. Do you need us to get you some blood or anything like that?”

  “Thanks, but I think I’m good,” Gabe replied, not meeting his eyes. His voice sounded sort of cold, and Austin got the impression that he wanted to isolate himself from all of them. Why was Gabe acting so strange?

  As they turned to go with Dan, Gabe only stood in his place. He didn’t move to go with them.

  “Aren’t you coming, Gabe?” Anna asked over her shoulder.

  Gabe shook his head and, running a hand through his dark hair, said, “Nah, you can all go without me. I’m just gonna hang out here and go back to the dance party thing.”

  “How can you go to a dance at a time like this?” Austin asked, feeling the heat rising to his cheeks. “Lexi is in trouble! Even you said so yourself! You might be one of the only people who can help us figure out exactly where she is since you saw it in one of your damn visions! And you’re going to go to a party instead of even trying to help her out?”

  Gabe shrugged. “I can’t, guys. Rhonda will be upset with me if I try to help Lexi. She wouldn’t want me to leave her here alone, and she also wouldn’t want to go with you because she’s pretty excited about this dance. You all go without me.”

  Austin met Anna’s eyes just as she rolled them. He rolled his eyes, too, this time.

  Was keeping Rhonda’s feelings from getting hurt more important to Gabe than saving Lexi? Whether it was because of the mind-control that she had over him or not, it made Austin infuriated—and for the first time since Lexi had come back to Briar Creek, he thought that Gabe was the wrong guy for her. How could he betray her like this?

  “Are you guys coming?” Dan asked from behind them, snapping Austin out of his thoughts and making him focus on what was really important at that moment: saving Lexi from whatever danger she was in.

  “Yeah, we’re coming,” Anna replied, looking away from Gabe and turning to Dan. “I’ll drive.”

  Anna tugged on Austin’s sleeve. He gave Gabe—who wouldn’t even meet his eyes—one last glare before following after them down the hallway and out the door that led them into the dark night.

  Once they were inside Anna’s car, she pulled out of her parking spot. When they reached the end of the parking lot, two security guards stepped out in front of them.

  “Oh, hell no!” Anna yelled, and Austin gaped at her. In all the time he’d known his girlfriend, he didn’t think he’d ever heard her curse. “These security guards better not give us a hard time because I will run over them if I have to.”

  “Would that even hurt a werewolf?” Dan asked from his spot in the backseat. “I thought they could only be killed with a silver bullet. Not that I know all that much about them.”

  “I don’t think it would hurt them. Not that bad, at least. But it might scare them enough for us to get by,” Anna replied, rolling down her window as one of the security guards approached them.

  “Can I help you?” the security guard asked, shining a flashlight across all of their faces.

  “Yes, you can help me,” Anna replied. “Our friend—”

  “And my cousin,” Austin interrupted.

  “His cousin who is our friend is in trouble. She’s in danger somewhere. She’s at Bear Cliff State Park,” Anna explained. “You have to let us out so we can go save her.” As desperate as her voice sounded, the security guard shook his head.

  “I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can let you out of here. We already let a student and a teacher out, and we shouldn’t have done that,” the security guard said.

  Austin could feel a light bulb go off inside his head. “Was that teacher Craig Lindstrom?”

  Anna had told him that Lexi had been suspicious of the teacher, but she didn’t think that there was any reason to worry. He’d seemed like such a nice guy, and so what if he had taught at Briar Creek High School before he was hired at Huntington? Austin, Lexi, and Gabe had all gone to Briar Creek High at one point, too. That alone didn’t make him a traitor.

  But what if Anna was wrong? What if he was working with Violet and Tom? What if his being at Huntington was orchestrated to trick Lexi into thinking that he was her friend—or that he had feelings for her—just so he could feed her to the wolves (err, vampires)? What if he really was nothing more than a traitor?

  “Hey, Beck?” the security guard called over to one of the other security guards. “Is Craig Lindstrom the teacher we let th
rough here earlier?”

  “Yeah, that was him!” Beck called back.

  “Was the student who he was with a blonde girl?” Anna asked, realizing what Austin had realized.

  “Yes. It was dark out, but her hair was pretty light,” the security guard replied. “What makes you ask?”

  “That’s Lexi! That’s our friend who’s in trouble!” Anna cried. “You have to let us help her. One of our friends—he’s a vampire—has these visions. And he saw that if we don’t get to her in time, she’s going to die.” When the security guard’s face remained unchanged, she began pleading. “She’s in danger. She desperately needs our help. Please let us through.”

  Finally, the security guard’s face softened a little. “Fine, just this one time. But make sure you’re back here by midnight or I won’t be able to let you back on campus. Deal?”

  “Deal,” Austin, Anna, and Dan all yelled at the same time.

  The guard said something to all of the other guards, and they took a step back. Anna put her foot on the gas pedal and pulled onto the street.

  Austin breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it this far. With any luck, they would be able to get to Lexi before it was too late.

  Chapter 17

  The only sound that could be heard from the top of the hill was Lexi’s shrill screams, which echoed through the quiet December night.

  Craig pinned her wrist against the hard, cold ground; his other hand was still on her throat, but he wasn’t choking her anymore. His hand seemed like it was just a threat that was there to remind her that if she did or said the wrong thing, he was in a position where he could kill her if he wanted to.

  His face hovered over her, a few inches away from hers. Even through the dark night, she could see his eyes flash with anger.

  “If only you hadn’t been so selfish. We wouldn’t have to be here right now if you had shared your blood with me when I asked you to,” he growled at her.

  That’s what this was all about? Her blood? Lexi gulped. “We still don’t have to be here,” she told him, her voice merely a whisper.