by Kasi Blake
He shook his head, wondering what a guy had to do to get a response. Usually, the dumb blonde jumped down his throat before he uttered a single syllable. She thought she was some bigshot hunter and could stake him without breaking a sweat. Sometimes he fantasized about teleporting into her room and killing her in her sleep. Sure, Trick would be mad... for a while. He’d get over it; he was young. Someday the boy would learn that girls came and went. None of them stayed. Stupid Isobel had reminded Cowboy of that little fact when she’d ditched him to join Jersey. He’d let down his guard with her. It was a mistake he wasn’t likely to repeat. From now on he was a love-them-and-leave-them kind of guy.
“Do you stick your fingers in the light socket to get your hair frizzy like that?” he asked.
Once again they ignored him. The fact Scarlet could keep her mouth shut surprised him. She certainly didn’t make a habit of it. The really shocking thing was Trick didn’t defend her. Cowboy was bad-mouthing Trick’s best friend, and the boy hadn’t even tried to intervene.
What sort of game were they playing?
Trick went straight to the refrigerator, and Scarlet went to the pantry. They were grabbing all the good stuff.
Annoyed, Cowboy pointed out, “I bought that crap, you know? You could at least ask before helping yourselves. Didn’t your mothers teach you any manners?” When neither responded, he went for the emotional kill. “Oh, that’s right. Neither of you had a Mommy. Yours was killed by a werewolf, and yours has spent her life in and out of the local nuthouse.”
Cowboy widened his stance, ready for anything. He knew they wouldn’t let that nasty jab slide. No problem. He loved a good fight. Fact was, he’d been itching to go toe to toe with Trick. The young hunter bragged about his vampire kills: how many he had and how easy it was for him to win without using his powers.
Cowboy was curious if he could win a fight against him. Now that Trick was a vampire and had faerie power, he was probably close to invincible. Cowboy just wanted to try him out. That’s why he provoked the kid once in a while, testing how far he could push him and secretly hoping Trick would lose his temper.
So far Cowboy had been disappointed.
Scarlet threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave and pushed buttons, while Trick stacked several things together to make a large sandwich. He cut it in half for easy sharing.
Cowboy reached for the mayo-oozing creation, intent on throwing it against the wall. That would get him the attention he craved. His hand passed through the sandwich. His heart dropped to his stomach. No way! Was he a ghost? Had he died somehow without realizing it?
“Hey!” Cowboy leaped in front of Trick and waved a hand in front of the boy’s face. “Can you see me?” No reaction. “Can you hear me?”
Trick grinned, and Cowboy breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Trick looked right through him to Scarlet and said, “Let’s stay up all night like we used to.”
“When we get tired, we can stake some vamps,” she said. “That’ll wake us up. I know a couple we can get real easy. They sleep down the hall from me.”
Cowboy shot her a glare. “You are so lucky I can’t rip your throat out right now.”
Scarlet dipped her hand into a box of mint cookies.
On the off chance he could rip her throat out, Cowboy charged. He jumped, prepared to tackle her, but he went through her as if she wasn’t there. He landed on the floor hard enough to rattle his bones.
Interesting. How could he touch the floor but not other things? Thinking like a scientist, he decided to experiment with the world around him. He traveled the kitchen and tried to touch every object in his path.
His predicament was worse than he’d originally thought. He tried to touch the counter, but his hand passed through it. After several failed attempts to make physical contact with objects, his anger erupted.
Oberon had cursed him!
Cowboy swung a fist at Trick in vain, hoping to hit him, but knowing he couldn’t. Instead of hitting flesh, he struck solid granite. A shock of pain shot up his arm. He glared at the counter. Somehow he couldn’t touch it when he wanted to, but it was physical to him when he wasn’t trying. He rubbed his jaw and considered something. How could he use the strange perimeters of the curse to his advantage?
Another question sent his eyes to the ceiling. What about Summer? Would she be able to see him?
He teleported to her bedroom where she’d been hiding since her curse started. Finding her in bed wearing pajamas didn’t surprise him. She was a mess. Candy bar wrappers were everywhere. It was clear to see she’d given up. He stood at the foot of her bed and stared. Hideous. She looked worse than that guy in the mummy movie where his face melted off.
When she didn’t immediately grab the discarded black veil, he knew she couldn’t see him. “I think you should wear it all the time,” he muttered. “Even if you think you’re alone, you should cover the mess that is you.”
Her cell rang. She picked it up, checked the number, and tossed it aside. No doubt it was Trick’s geeky brother. Cowboy thought it was sick the way Summer and Matt behaved around each other. They acted like they had invented couple-hood. He couldn’t wait for that relationship to end so things could return to normal. Sooner or later—probably sooner—one of them would lie or cheat or decide to become a stinking werewolf.
“I’m cursed now too,” he said.
Summer didn’t hear him.
He kicked an invisible rock and added, “I wish our curses were reversed. Wrinkles wouldn’t keep me from enjoying life. Since you want to lock yourself in your room you ought to have the invisibility curse.”
Cowboy checked the time on her digital alarm clock. According to his calculations, he’d been invisible for roughly fifteen minutes, and he was already bored out of his mind. What if he remained cursed for decades? Not being able to pick up objects meant he couldn’t stake himself. He was stuck, forever invisible... unless someone saved him.
♫
Scarlet had a surprise for Trick; she’d found a home theater in the mansion. The state of the art equipment included a wall-sized flat screen and built-in speakers that made the room shake when they were full blast. Reddish leather seats reclined back a few inches and also rocked. Each chair had a cup holder and a place for snacks. It was better than going to a public theater. In the back, up against the wall, was a soft red couch. Too comfortable to pass up, that’s where they chose to sit.
Scarlet curled up beneath a furry blanket, legs tucked underneath her. Since she had dropped down in the middle he sat on the corner cushion. She pointed the remote and started the movie. The two of them watched the romantic comedy Scarlet picked and ate snacks until they couldn’t take another bite. Trick had to admit an evening with his pal was exactly what he needed. Mind-numbing fun. For a while, he forgot to worry about their upcoming conversation and what he should or shouldn’t share with her.
Even though the movie had a romance front and center, it was also funny. A couple parts made him laugh until tears filled his eyes, and his stomach ached. Credits rolled. Trick froze, and he realized two things at once. At some point, Scarlet had moved to lean against his arm, head on his shoulder. Also, her hair smelled like flowers. He waited for her to return to the center cushion, but she didn’t. The only way for him to untangle himself was to physically push her away.
He turned his head at the same time she looked up, and they found themselves gazing into each other’s eyes. Heat infused Trick’s skin. Every muscle in his body tensed until it ached.
Scarlet giggled. “I was just trying to picture you fighting side by side with that Bash guy. Did you get to stake a vamp? Or did he do all the work?”
And just like that, the romantic tension was gone. They were old friends again. He relaxed. “We haven’t hunted together yet,” Trick said. “He took me to a deserted place so he could test me.”
“Did you pass?” she asked.
“I don’t think it was that kind of test. He wanted to see if I have any
powers that could be useful against a monster.”
Eyes wide, Scarlet leaped off the couch. “You didn’t tell him you have power, did you? Isn’t he part of the hunting group that tried to kill you with the Sugar Bomb? Please, tell me you didn’t admit to anything.”
Trick’s insides squirmed a bit under her intense scrutiny. Trusting Bash could be a terrible idea, or it could be a good thing. He wanted the man to train him. “If I wasn’t honest with him, he would have known. I told him what I had to, and he promised not to spread it around.”
“Where is the suspicious, paranoid guy that I know and love?”
“Sometimes you have to take a risk to get what you want.”
She paced in front of him as if concentrating on a hard math problem. Stopping in mid-step, she turned in his direction. “Wait a second,” she said. “Did he actually see you do something magical or was it all talk?”
“I told him about my Exit Magic power.” Trick stretched his arms over his head, arched his back, and yawned. “What time is it?”
Scarlet glanced at her watch. “Almost two in the morning. Don’t tell me you want to sleep already. I feel like running a marathon.”
“No, no, no. Just curious.” He looked to the ceiling. “I wonder if Summer is going to stay in her room for the next decade. If we can’t reverse the curse, she’ll die up there.”
“It’s her fault she’s so vain. I guess she never heard that beauty is skin deep and ugly is to the bone. She needs to get over herself.”
Although he’d never admit it to Scarlet, he felt sorry for Summer. He groaned. What was wrong with him? Not that long ago he’d wanted to stake the girl. Now he was feeling compassion for her, a vampire.
Trick made a face at his best friend. “Look who’s talking. You’ve always been pretty, so you don’t know what it’s like. Wait till you’re sixty and old and wrinkled and gray.”
“What about you? You’re not exactly a toad. Wait until you’re an old bald guy.”
Their gazes met as they both remembered he wasn’t going to age like other people. If he made it to a hundred, he would look exactly the same. Someday she’d get old and die, but he would be frozen in time, a beautiful living snapshot of his seventeen-year-old self.
“Let’s talk about something else,” she said, grim expression.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I wonder where Cowboy went.”
“Who cares?”
“Me.” Trick said, “I don’t want him out there making trouble for us. He can be such a hothead.”
♫
A hothead?
Cowboy glowered at them from the corner. He couldn’t believe his ears. Those little ingrates, after everything he’d done for them. Against his better judgment, he allowed the mortal girl with the ridiculous hair to stay in his house. He hadn’t killed her even though every instinct he had told him to do it. In the short time he’d known Trick he had already done him a dozen favors starting with giving him immortality. Didn’t that kid understand he rarely turned others into vampires?
Cowboy had spent the last two and a half hours bouncing between the home theater and Summer’s bedroom. He didn’t know what was worse: Summer’s pouting or the inane chit-chat between two angsty teens. Since he couldn’t touch anything he couldn’t do any of the things he enjoyed. If he stayed in this ghost-like state, he’d never be able to snowboard, car surf, or ride a motorcycle again.
In his boredom, he began to create a mental list of all the things he couldn’t do now. Kiss a girl... get in a fight... climb a mountain.
Scarlet asked, “What did Bash say when you told him about your Exit Magic power?”
“He seemed impressed,” Trick said. “I mean, he agreed to train me.”
“Sounds like a loser,” Cowboy said even though no one could hear him. Why did Trick feel the need for some stranger to train him? Cowboy could dance circles around the other guy. Well, he could if he wasn’t invisible.
Scarlet inspected strands of her tangled curls up close, repeatedly pulling them between her fingers. “How are things going with the ballerina?”
“She might not be talking to me anymore,” Trick said.
“Really?” Scarlet sat up straighter.
“I got hit with a sudden urge to bite her, and my fangs came out. She saw them. She saw the real me. I think it hit her hard. I mean, she knew I was a vampire, but knowing and seeing are two different things. She totally freaked.”
Cowboy chuckled. “I told you to feed before it was too late. Should have listened to me.”
Cowboy’s silent list continued. Playing sports... arguing... scaring people.
Scarlet was quiet, too quiet. That made Cowboy wonder what emotions she was struggling to keep inside. Was the girl with the crazy hair dreaming of a relationship with his vampire buddy? If those two got together, Trick might be tempted to make her into one of them. He might want her to be their fourth.
“NO!” Cowboy shouted.
Then he remembered the pair of young hunters couldn’t hear him. That gave him an idea. It would be awesome to vent his frustrations out loud. He screamed until he thought his lungs might burst. After he was done, he tried to grab the remote to throw it.
For a second, he’d forgotten he couldn’t touch anything. His hand went through the remote. That set his anger off again and fueled his frustration. He yelled until he went hoarse. Something new and troubling occurred to him. If he got stuck in this ghost-like state forever, he wouldn’t be able to stop Trick from turning Scarlet. He wouldn’t have a say in anything anymore. Trick could take over as leader of the group—or worse. Summer could take his position.
He opened his mouth to scream. Manipulate people... fight Oberon... drink blood.
Blood? If he couldn’t touch people, he couldn’t bite them. The scream died in his throat. If he couldn’t bite, he couldn’t feed. If he couldn’t feed, he would die. Wouldn’t he? Or had Oberon made it part of the curse that he didn’t need blood? From what Cowboy had learned of the faerie king he knew Oberon would want him to suffer for as long as possible. So he probably wouldn’t die from lack of blood. Problem was, he couldn’t know for sure until it happened.
♫
Trick waited for Scarlet to speak. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her about sprouting fangs in front of Dani. He refused to tell her how wonderful the girl’s blood smelled to him, sweeter than roses.
“Oberon cursed me,” Trick said when it became obvious she wasn’t going to say anything. “He sent me a text to let me know, and I think he can control the curse. I got such a strong urge to feed. If it wasn’t for Carter, I think I would have attacked her.” He swallowed hard. “I think I would have killed her.”
Scarlet placed a hand on his. “There has to be a way to break the curse.”
“How? We can’t kill Oberon, or so everyone keeps telling me, and from what I’ve heard no one can undo his work. He’s the only one that can stop the curse.”
“You can control yourself.” Her hand squeezed his. “I know you can.”
“What if I can’t? What if I kill somebody?” He launched to his feet. After taking a quick trip around the room, circling the rows of leather seats, he stopped in front of her. “Will you... will you do what you said you would?”
“Do? I don’t know—”
“Yes, you do. I’m asking you to kill me before I kill somebody else. I don’t know who I can ask besides you.”
She blinked. “Could you kill me?”
“That’s different.”
“Maybe I could have done it before...” She slowly shook her head. “I can’t now.”
“Before what?”
“Before I spilled my heart to you and kissed you, jerk. I know you don’t want to hear this right now. You’ve got a lot to deal with, but I don’t care. I love you. It’s not a silly crush. It’s not going away.”
How many times did he have to hurt her before she gave up on him? “You’re my best friend,” he said. “I feel closer to you than
anyone else in my life. But I don’t feel—”
“Don’t you think I know that?” She jumped up and stood toe to toe with him. “I’m not trying to mess with your head here. I’m just telling you why I can’t kill you. There must be someone else you can ask.”
Who? Matt couldn’t do it even if Trick went on a killing spree and sent him pictures of each victim. John Foster would do it in a heartbeat, but Trick didn’t want to die if it wasn’t necessary. John would kill him without cause. Trick needed somebody who would give him a chance to control the blood lust first.
Cowboy wouldn’t help him because he liked how things were at the moment. The guy was probably out there looking for a fourth. Maybe he was even talking to Isobel, trying to convince her to return to the fold.
“Summer,” he said. “She’s hated me from day one. Of course, she’d want to get Matt’s approval. He would have to give her his blessing.”
“I get it.” Scarlet sighed. “She’s not the person you want to have to depend on. I’m sorry that I can’t...”
“You might want to stay away from me for a while. If that urge hits me when I’m with you...”
Her fingers slid between his, and they simultaneously looked down at their entwined hands.
“I’m not leaving you.” Her voice dropped to a husky pitch that was disturbingly sexy. “Maybe Dancing Barbie can’t handle who you are, but I can. I can take care of myself, and you know it.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Just promise if I try to hurt you, you’ll stake me.”
“I’m a survivor. Don’t worry. If it comes down to me or you, I’ll pick me.”
She was lying, and they both knew it. Still, it warmed his heart to know she loved him enough to tell him what he wanted to hear. The good news was that if it happened in the mansion, there were two vampires that could save her from him.
“Another movie?” he asked, reluctant to sleep. If his days were coming to an end, he wanted to spend every waking moment with the people he loved.
