by Cheree Alsop
I told them what the two-headed cat had shown me, ending with the fact that a vampire student had been the one in the middle buried beneath the pile of dark, writhing bodies.
“Professor Mellon is right,” Mercer confirmed. “Cats are guardians of the underworld. We need to take precautions.”
“Cats don’t like me,” Alden said.
Professor Briggs ignored Alden’s statement and told me, “The cat’s warning supports what I found out from Zanie. She said she can feel darkness and that it’s overwhelming. She knows she needs to leave here, but she can’t.” His voice lowered and his gaze flickered past me as though he was seeing something not in the room. “I promised to help her leave after this is over.”
Mercer nodded. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said in his rough voice. He paused, then said, “Where did you get a sylph dragon?”
My hand was hidden behind my back in the habit I had developed throughout the day whenever I was near a professor. I wondered how he knew.
“What sylph dragon?” Professor Briggs asked. “They’re supposed to be extinct.”
Knowing the secret was gone, I brought my hand out and held it up.
Mercer gave an approving nod. “I haven’t seen one of those in a long time.
Professor Briggs stared. “Where, I mean, how, I mean, what on earth are you doing with a sylph dragon?”
“She chose him,” Lyris said. “Professor Seedly told us the story. It was an obvious choosing.”
“You mean Seedly brought a dragon here?” Professor Briggs asked incredulously.
“It was an accident,” I said, meaning both the choosing and the fact that the professor had allowed it to hatch in the first place. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
A slight smile touched the professor’s lips. “I’d guess not. You must have been shocked to see it, let alone be chosen.”
I nodded. “Completely shocked. Even now, I don’t know what to do with her.”
“Give her a name,” Alden said. “And I’ve picked out the perfect one.”
Mercer shook his head. “A keeper should choose his or her dragon’s name. That’s the way it usually works with a bond.”
Alden looked deflated. “But I did research and ruled out widely-used dragon names.”
“What widely-used dragon names?” Briggs asked. “There aren’t any dragons anymore.” He continued with, “Until now, apparently.”
“Dragons are in movies,” Alden said, his tone a bit defensive. “She wouldn’t want anything generic or shallow. A dragon like that deserves something special, something with meaning.”
“What did you choose?” I asked before anyone else could tell him all of his work had been for nothing.
“Sparrow,” he replied proudly.
Everyone looked at him.
“You can’t name a dragon Sparrow,” Dara said.
“Sparrows are birds,” Brack pointed out.
“I like it.”
Silence filled the room.
“You what?” Alden asked with hope in his voice.
“I like it,” I said honestly. “I think it fits her. She’s little, fast, and if you saw her catch a fly, you’d agree that she’s very much like a bird. It’s perfect. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied with a huge grin.
My head turned at the sound of footsteps. A second later, Vicken burst through the door.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“Who?” Professor Briggs asked.
“Amryn. I know she’s here. Where are you hiding her?” He rushed around the room with an angry fury.
Lorne and Jean, the vampire with blue hair, waited in the doorway. Neither looked thrilled at where they found themselves. I swore Jean even gave me an apologetic look before Vicken returned to the door.
“She’s not here,” I said. “She didn’t come down with us.”
“If she’s not here, then where could she be?” His tone was still demanding, but with a slight sense of bewilderment.
I wanted to tell him about what the two-headed cat had shown me, but instincts warned me that it would only make matters worse. If we could find Amryn, perhaps we could figure out how the demons were trying to reach the school.
“I’ll help you,” I offered.
Vicken glared at me. “What good are you going to be?”
I pushed down any urge to bristle at his tone and said, “I’m a werewolf, remember? I have pretty good tracking skills.”
Lyris and Dara exchanged a glance. They must have thought not telling Vicken about what I had seen was also in the best interest of the team because Lyris went with, “That’s a good idea.”
At Vicken’s silence, Dara spoke up. “Given the way you acted in the lunchroom, I’d take his offer even though you don’t deserve it.”
“What happened in the lunchroom?” Briggs asked.
My chest tightened at the thought of the professor’s words in the forest. I didn’t want to admit that he had been right.
“A misunderstanding,” Dara replied before I had a chance to speak.
I shot her a grateful look. She shoved her ashen hair out of her face with both hands as if she was frustrated with both of us.
Vicken was quiet for a moment before he nodded. “Fine. Where do we start?”
“Probably her room,” I suggested.
I swore the vampire’s glare would have made me burst into flames if he could have done it. “You’d like to go into her room, wouldn’t you?”
Professor Briggs spoke up from behind me. “Calm down. Her room is the best place for Finn to pick up her scent where it isn’t mixed up with a hundred other students. Give him a chance or go find her yourself.”
I could tell with a glance at the professor that he was as worried as I felt, but both of us knew pushing the vampire wasn’t going to help things get done any faster. I held my breath while I waited.
“Fine,” he finally said. “Hurry up.”
We ran up the stairs with the rest of the team behind us. Vicken led the way to the fifth floor and then to room E25. Fortunately, most of the students were at dinner, so there was nobody to ask us what we were doing when we walked in.
“Here,” Vicken said gruffly. He pushed open a door and looked inside with a hopeful expression that I know I mirrored. Finding Amryn in her room would have been the best-case scenario. Unfortunately, the grunt of frustration that emanated from the vampire let me know that wasn’t the case.
I entered the room after him. Mixed scents told me that two girls shared the same room. I found another scent underneath the smells of the room. The odor was sulfurous and cloying. It clung to my nose and made me sneeze. My heart fell when I recognized it as the same scent that lingered from the demon fire.
“I think demons took her,” I said before second-guessing my decision.
Vicken spun from his place at the window to stare at me. “What did you say?”
I let out a breath and repeated, “Demons took her.”
Vicken’s eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “How can you be so sure?”
“I smell them here,” I replied.
A flicker of something showed in the vampire’s gaze before he turned away. I realized it was a far deeper fear than he had ever shown before. He shook his head, pacing around the room.
“No. It can’t be demons. Demons aren’t supposed to be here. It’s ridiculous. How could it be demons?” he muttered. His tone changed and he whispered, “But she had the nightmares. I should have listened. What kind of a brother am I?”
I met the gazes of the rest of the team who waited in the hall. Dara lifted a shoulder, her gaze unreadable. Lyris’ green eyes showed her compassion.
Vicken spun to face me. “Track her.”
“I’ll try,” I replied. “But with so many students walking around, there may not be much of a trail left.”
“Just go,” he practically shouted. “Find her!”
“Vicken,”
Lyris said.
To my surprise, the vampire let out a loud breath and his shoulders drooped. He gave me the most human, lost expression I had ever seen on the face of a vampire. “You’ve got to find her, Finn. You’ve just got to. Please.”
I nodded. “I’ll do everything I can to bring her back. I promise.”
He gave one short nod that left his head hanging in dejection. When I walked from the room, he trailed slowly behind.
The rest of our team spread out, searching classrooms, the attic rooms, the roof, and the grounds. With all the students milling around doing after school activities or winding down for the night, I was forced to follow the path with little sniffs at corners and pretending to bend down and tie my shoe when the trail became faint.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if you phased into a wolf to follow the trail?” Vicken suggested. “You could act like a hound or something.”
I felt my face turn red as I shook my head. “I can’t,” I admitted quiet.
“What?” he demanded.
I looked at him. “I can’t. I don’t know how to change form by myself. I’ve never done it before.”
He stared at me. “You mean you can’t just make it happen?”
I shook my head. “I don’t have any control over it.”
“Doesn’t that make you dangerous?” he asked.
“Probably,” I admitted. “I can fight it for a while, but when my body decides to change, I can only hold off until it hurts so bad I can’t stand it anymore.”
It was humiliating to admit that even if I could have trailed Amryn better as a wolf, I had no control to do so. I regretted again the fact that my mother had never told us she was a werewolf. It would have been helpful to know what to do in situations like this.
“I don’t know what it’s like.”
I glanced at Vicken, surprised by his solemn tone.
He picked up a piece of paper that lay crumpled in the hallway we searched. “I don’t know what it’s like to be a werewolf. I shouldn’t assume I know what you’re going through.”
I was quiet for a moment before I admitted, “It’s hard to think of myself as an animal, especially when everyone else seems to think that’s exactly what I am.”
I watched him open the paper. He didn’t look at me when he said, “I shouldn’t let my parents’ opinions change my own when they don’t even know you.”
“Thank you,” I said when he looked up at me.
He smoothed the paper and spread against his leg so it lay flat. The name Leon with a heart around it had been drawn on the sheet. He crumpled it up again and tossed it over his shoulder. “Let’s keep going,” he said.
The trail wandered up and down the stairs, along hallways and even through the girls’ shower room.
“This is ridiculous,” Vicken muttered as he followed me across the tiles.
I grabbed the vampire and pulled him into an adjoining row of lockers just as a girl walked past wrapped in only a towel.
“That was close,” I whispered when she was gone.
Vicken gave me an accusing look. “Are you sure you didn’t bring me here on an ulterior motive? Maybe you’re looking for some excuse to hang out in the shower room.”
I glared at him. “I’m doing the best I can.”
He looked as though he had to bite back whatever he wanted to say in reply. He shook his head and went with, “Keep on going, then.”
I lost the trail in the middle of the main corridor. No matter how I searched or pretended that my shoes had some sort of magical untying property that required me to retie them about fifty times, I couldn’t find where the trail picked back up. I finally rose and had to admit defeat.
“I can’t find it,” I said.
“Keep trying,” Vicken urged. “It has to be around here somewhere.”
Students avoided us in a wide berth as though afraid of what we were up to.
I tried to keep my voice low. “I searched everywhere. I have no idea where the trail went.”
Vicken’s hands clenched into fists. “If you could learn to be a wolf like you’re supposed to, maybe you could track her like the mutt you’re supposed to be,” he spat.
I couldn’t restrain myself against his ever-changing opinion of me any longer. I walked to face him. “All Amryn needs is a bag of blood around her neck for you to find her,” I replied.
Vicken hit me. This time, instead of grabbing his fist, I let it connect with my jaw. I couldn’t put my reason into words, but the pain made me feel a little bit better about failing him.
Vicken took a step back. At the fear on his face, I remembered my words to him in the lunchroom about making him sorry if he ever tried to hit me again. Part of me strained to carry through with my words, to make the vampire pay so that he wouldn’t bully me or anyone else any longer. The other part whispered that he was worried about his sister and his actions were fueled by that worry. She was a part of my team. I held the same worry; yet I knew nothing could match the fear her brother held for her wellbeing. In pulling Drake to shore first, I understood the exact same need to keep family safe.
I walked away. When I reached stairs and started up, I heard his pent-up sigh of relief.
My steps took me to Professor Brigg’s classroom. It should have been empty, so I didn’t know what made me check for Amryn there. I didn’t even know if she had Professor Briggs for anything. Yet my feet took me inside. I paused at the sight of someone sitting near the far wall. Relief filled me at the realization that it was Dara.
“Any luck?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I’ve looked everywhere. I lost the trail in the corridor. I don’t think she’s in the school anymore.” The thought that Amryn was in the clutches of the demons made my chest tighten. I wanted to go after her. I just had no idea where that should be.
I stepped into the classroom and asked, “Visit here often?”
She leaned her head in her hand and watched me approach. “It’s nice to be away from everyone for a while. It helps keep me sane.”
I sat down in my usual seat and glanced around. Only half of the candles were lit, throwing the classroom in mostly shadow. “It does have a certain ambiance.”
She was about to reply when she lifted her head from her hand and gave me a searching look instead. “Want help with that?”
“With what?” I asked.
She gestured toward my jaw. It throbbed from Vicken’s punch, but I knew she couldn’t see any bruising in the faint light.
“I thought you had to touch me to feel it,” I said.
“Sometimes it’s stronger,” she replied vaguely.
I leaned closer, intrigued. “How would you help?”
She lifted a hand and set it softly on my cheek. I nearly shied back in surprise. She closed her eyes.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Shhh,” she said. “Let me work.”
I was surprised to feel the pain lessen. “How do you do that?” I whispered.
“I share the pain between us,” she replied with her eyes still closed.
I jerked away and she pulled her hand back.
“You shouldn’t do that,” I told her. “You should never take on someone else’s pain, ever. You don’t deserve it!”
“But that’s what Mercer meant,” she replied. “That’s how I’m supposed to help you face the demon fire.”
I shook my head, appalled for her sake. “I wouldn’t put you through that.”
“You need to,” she said. “It may be the only way.”
I shook my head again, studying the desk in front of me. The thought of letting her take my pain made me feel sick. “I’ll find another way. I won’t let you get hurt because of me.”
“Why?”
Her single question made me turn my head and look at her directly. “Why not? Your entire life shouldn’t be lived with the pain of others. I definitely won’t add mine to that.”
She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again and turned her head
away. It was a moment before I realized her shoulders were shaking with silent sobs. I lifted a hand to set it on her back, but paused when I realized doing so would give her access to my pain again.
“Dara?” I asked hesitantly.
Her voice was shaky when she said without looking at me, “You’re the first one to ever push me away. Thank you.”
Stunned, I stared at her. “Why thank me?”
She turned to face me, her eyes wet in the candlelight. “My whole life, everyone has wanted me to be near them, to touch them, to ease their pain by taking it on myself. Growing up, I was always surrounded by people who hurt, but because I was there to take on their pain, they never learned from it. They kept putting themselves back into harmful positions physically or emotionally because they knew they could use me to feel better.”
A tear trailed slowly down her cheek as she said, “My dad wouldn’t let me go anywhere. He was a drunk who got into fights all the time and didn’t care because I could make him feel better. He beat my mom, but she wouldn’t leave him because I could make her feel better, too.” She lowered her gaze to the desk. “But it was killing me. They couldn’t see it, or they didn’t want to. I finally ran away to come here. I haven’t heard from them since.”
Silence followed her words. I didn’t know how to break it. I wanted to ease her pain, but I didn’t want to touch her and give her mine. I didn’t know she could feel emotional pain as well. A hand on her shoulder would give her the pain I felt for her as well as my own. It didn’t seem fair.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” I said quietly.
She met my gaze, her violet eyes searching mine. “But you didn’t have to know to be compassionate. You cared that I felt your pain. Thank you.”
“Dara, I—”
Whatever I was going to say was cut off by a horrible scream. Other screams quickly followed. I ran out of the classroom with Dara close behind. I jumped down the stairs six at a time and skidded to a stop at the sight of one of the dark creatures from the two-headed cat’s vision. It had a student’s bloody body clutched in its claws. As I watched, it leaned its head down to tear out the girl’s throat. Her terrified shrieks echoed around the corridor.
Chapter Seventeen
