Dark Light of Mine

by Corwin, John

  "What do you think you're doing?" said a familiar voice from behind us.

  We turned to see the vice principal, Ted Barnes, glaring at us. "Get your butts to class."

  I stifled a few choice curses but moved out along with the others and headed for homeroom. I walked Elyssa to hers which turned out to be Katie's as well.

  "We'll have to hunt them down," Katie said. "Maybe corner one of them in the bathroom or something."

  "I'm not trapping anyone in a bathroom, much less following them in there," Elyssa replied with a grimace.

  "Yeah, no need to go Homeland Security on them," I said.

  I pecked Elyssa on the cheek and made my way to homeroom, my mind consumed with what to do if the hoodie crew were Maximus's people. As if worrying about vamps wasn't enough, I also had to figure out how to quit football without Coach Burgundy wreaking havoc on the academic careers of my friends, namely Ash and Nyte. So far, I'd failed to come up with a way to solve the dilemma other than lifting the coach's fat butt off the ground and slamming him against a brick wall. Unfortunately, even a violent beat down wouldn't serve as a final solution since Sheriff Skinner and Police Chief Amerson were also in cahoots with him. Underborn's information about their good-old-boys' club filled me with apprehension. Killing the entire rotten bunch of them was out of the question. Just because I could do it with ease didn't make it right. I'd never killed anyone before. There had to be another way.

  "Look who decided to show up for school." Jenny Matthews pointed me out to Annie Holmes as I entered the room and took my seat in front of them. The two girls were close friends with Katie though I didn't understand how anyone could put up with them. I had no doubt they'd both grow into bitter old shrews and make whoever they married miserable. For all I knew, they were certified members of the Overworld, classification: wicked witches.

  "Brad's been looking for you," Annie said.

  Jenny smiled. "Ooh, I think he wants payback."

  "Brad Nichols?" I asked. I'd hardly given the guy a second thought since our big fight when he'd humiliated me in front of the entire school, although I'd somehow managed to knock him out. Thoughts of him dredged up bitter memories and a hard knot of anger lodged itself in my stomach. Katie had been dating Brad at the time but I'd kissed her while we were studying one night. The next day, he'd punched me in the stomach when I arrived at school.

  "The one and only," Jenny said. She squeezed my bicep. "But I don't think you have anything to worry about."

  I pulled my arm away and sighed. Katie and Brad were no longer an item since my newfound popularity had catapulted me from zero to hero in the eyes of the jocks, nerds, and the vast majority of girls it seemed. The spotlight of popularity was the last thing I needed considering the dark secret behind my football skills. Supernatural abilities were the only reason I could play the game and survive. The old me would have been squashed like an insect. Ignoring Brad seemed like the best thing to do, should I run into him.

  The bell finally rang and I dashed out of the room. On my way to History class, I saw Alan Weaver and Cindy Mueller making out next to the lockers. He saw me and gave me a thumbs up. I forced a smile and dodged around them. I'd hooked the two of them up during a disastrous test of my incubus abilities, nearly causing a pornographic scene in Calculus.

  Just down the hall, a familiar face regarded me from the doorway of his classroom. Mr. Turpin, aka Underborn, curled one corner of his mouth into a lopsided smile. A chill washed over me. I returned his gaze, a part of me wanting to grab him and bodily hurl him out of the building. No doubt he was watching and waiting for me to fulfill my bargain. If vampires could use compulsion to disguise themselves, it was going to be hard to identify Maximus's recruiters. Then again, they really might be the group with hoodies. I had to check them out pronto.

  After History I was headed for Biology when I spotted one of the hoodie crew stepping inside a bathroom. I figured it was a good a time as any to take a surreptitious peek at the face beneath the hood and hope they didn't notice me peering sideways at them from an adjoining urinal.

  Gross.

  I peeked inside the door. A white cinder-block wall shielded the inside from view so I stepped in and edged to the corner. The cold presence of something not quite human abruptly revealed itself to my supernatural radar from less than a foot away. A pair of hands shot out from the other side of the wall, pulled me all the way into the bathroom, and slung me against the stalls. The partitions rattled and groaned with the force of the impact.

  Three hooded figures regarded me from across the bathroom. The shortest of the three lowered his hood and grinned as the shock of recognition registered on my face.

  "Mortimer?" He looked hardly older than a kid, frozen in time after being turned into a vampire.

  "So, you know my name." He seemed pleased as punch by his notoriety.

  "I remember that you whine a lot too." He'd been with Felicia when the vamplings had attacked Elyssa and me while trying to save Dad. I clenched my teeth as anger surged through me. Felicia and I might have made up, but this kid was fair game, even if he looked ten years old.

  The next figure lowered his hood. I recognized the face, but didn't know his name. He'd been there too. But when the third person lowered his hood, my face went slack with disbelief and horror stole my voice.

  It was Brad Nichols.

  Chapter 33

  "Brad?"

  He smiled as his canines extended into sharp fangs. "Where have you been, Case? I've been waiting for you."

  "When did you become a vampire?"

  "Maximus recruited me after he heard about our scuffle. He told me about your unfair advantage and told me he'd level the playing field."

  "By turning yourself into a stupid vampire?"

  "Vampires are cool!" Mortimer shouted. "A lot better than dumb spawn are."

  "Yeah? I'd like to see you seduce a woman, pipsqueak."

  "You think spawn are the only ones with seduction abilities?" He shouted back. "I can have any woman I want."

  My face twisted into a grimace. "That's just gross, dude. You look prepubescent."

  Mortimer launched himself at me with a high-pitched war cry but Brad hauled him back by his hoodie. The three vampires looked paler than noms, and they were definitely wearing colored eye contacts to disguise the red tint of their irises. It seemed to me that hoodies made them more conspicuous—all except for Mortimer, of course, who could barely pass for a freshman unless they glued a goatee on his chin.

  Brad cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Maximus wants you, Case. Big time. But before we drag your sorry ass back to him, I plan on getting a little payback."

  "You want to fight again? Seriously?" I sighed and gave myself a face-palm for good measure. "You attacked me in the parking lot, threw me in mud, a frozen water puddle, and then tossed my favorite knit cap into the bushes. And you're the one who wants payback?"

  "You knocked me out in front of everyone and made me look weak!" He pounded a fist against his chest. "I have a rep to protect and I'm not letting a stupid nerd like you ruin it."

  I looked to the third vampire who, to this point, had remained silent. "What's your say in all this? You one of Maximus's pets too?"

  He pointed to himself and looked around for a second, his eyebrows arched in confusion. "Who, me? Uh, my name's Mick. I'm just here to help them."

  "Where are Lauren and Tammy?" Mortimer asked Brad.

  "How should I know? They were supposed to be here by now."

  It occurred to me that now might be the time to find out who Maximus's recruiters were. Obviously, Brad had been recruited by someone. "So, you're the ones recruiting students for Maximus?"

  "Mick, Lauren, and Tammy are," Mortimer said jutting his chin out proudly. "I help out at the middle school."

  "Sweet baby jeebus!" I couldn't believe my ears. "Middle School? What kind of sick perv is your leader?"

  "Oh, he doesn't get them—"

  "Shut your pie hole, dumbass!"
Brad yelled. "He's just stalling for time."

  "Mortimer, you idiot!" Mick shoved the smaller vampire in the chest. "Why the hell would you give him everyone's names?"

  Brad narrowed his eyes. "How does he know about the recruiting in the first place?"

  "I told you there's a friggin undercover Templar here," Mortimer said, sputtering. "Besides, what does it matter if he knows their names?"

  Armed with the information I needed, it was time to make a graceful exit. "I don't have time for this crap. I'm out of here." I stepped toward the door. Brad sidestepped and blocked my path, his hand reaching out to push against my chest. "Not so fast, Case. I think it's time I tested out my new muscles."

  "Are you out of your mind?" I said, grasping at straws. "We can't have a fight where noms might see us."

  "Noms?" he asked.

  "Yeah, normals." I glanced at the other vampires. "You haven't told him about nom-noms or the Overworld rules yet?"

  Mortimer looked abashed. "We haven't had time to fill him in on much."

  "Nom-noms like the Cookie Monster?" Brad asked.

  I gauged the space between him and the door. One hard shove ought to give me room. But what if they chased me down the hall? "Yeah, it kind of sounds like 'normals' but since a lot of supers feed off normals, they call them noms."

  Brad laughed. "Oh, that's good! I like that one."

  I pushed his hand off my chest. "Wonderful! I'm so glad I could add joy to your life today. I guess they also haven't told you we can't show our supernatural abilities in front of noms? It's against the Overworld rules."

  He shoved me in the chest again. "I don't give a squat about rules, dweeb. Fight me now or I'll hunt down your nerd friends and beat the crap out of them."

  "Actually, he is right about the rules," Mortimer said to Brad. "It might be risky doing it here. Maybe we could stuff him in the trunk of the car and take him back to the compound."

  Mick crossed his arms and nodded. "Maximus told us to get him if he showed up, Brad. I don't think he'll be happy if we attract attention with a fight."

  "I'll do what I want!" Brad roared, his eyes rolling insanely until only the whites showed. He shoved me with an insane burst of strength. I slammed against the back wall, my back cracking the disgusting green hospital tiles.

  I picked myself up off the floor, a queasy feeling bubbling in my stomach as the veins on Brad's face darkened, lacing his skin with black webs. Mortimer backed away.

  "What the hell is wrong with him?" I asked as Brad doubled over, clutching his stomach.

  "Oh Christ," Mortimer said. "This can't be happening!" He stumbled for the exit, only to meet a vicious backhand from Brad, crashing him through a toilet stall. The sound of shattering ceramic preceded a trickle of dark blood-stained water from beneath the warped partition. The preadolescent vampire staggered out, blood dripping from the back of his head. "Brad, you've got to listen to me—"

  A ghastly bubbling noise erupted from Brad's mouth, and then he puked, spraying the bathroom tiles with a black foul-smelling goop. I gagged and held back a vomitous mass of my own, as I tried to skirt past the reeling vampires. Brad recovered at the last instant and blocked the exit with his arms, his lips speckled with dark blood. I backed off, unwilling to get within range of his arms. A hard lump in my jeans pocket gave me an idea.

  Reaching into my pocket, I withdrew one of the spider balls and threw it overhanded. It smashed to bits against Brad's hard head, poofing into a cloud of dust and…well, apparently that was it. If I survived the raw anger blazing in Brad's eyes, I planned to beat the bloody crap out of the guy in the joke shop because the joke, apparently, was on me.

  Something pattered to the ground followed by another barely audible thump. The bits of dust were expanding and sprouting into creepy crawlers of all sizes in a rapidly increasing chain reaction.

  Mortimer was the first to scream as an army of small spiders paraded around on his arms. The black smudge of dust where the marble had impacted Brad's forehead transformed into a camel spider the size of his face. He swatted it away with a hysterical scream and raced out of the bathroom, the sounds of his maniacal flight fading into the distance.

  Mick, however, gave Mortimer an eye roll and merely brushed the spiders climbing up his legs. "You think I'm afraid of spiders?" he said.

  Strength and fury flooded into my muscles. "I really don't give a crap." With that, I blurred toward him. Delivered a left hook to his face. He ricocheted off the wall and splatted face-first into Brad's puke.

  Mortimer, meanwhile, ran in frantic circles, sweeping his arms and blood-soaked hair as the spiders had their way with him. I took the respite and, dodging around Mick as he sputtered and pushed off the floor, raced from the bathroom, Mortimer's yells echoing behind me.

  My hands trembled as I ducked into Biology. I took my seat as the teacher pulled a huge corn snake from the aquarium in the center of the room while lecturing about poisonous and harmless species. A lone eight-legged escapee from the bathroom, a spider the size of a tarantula I hadn't noticed, crawled up my back and perched on my shoulder. A girl in a neighboring desk loosed an ear-shattering scream, apparently noticing the hitchhiker the instant I did. The spell must have worn off at that moment because the spider flopped off my shoulder in a final death spasm, tumbled to the floor, and promptly collapsed into a pile of fine dust.

  The rest of the students jumped at the scream, several other girls and Andy Dudowitz adding their own shrieks to the mix. The teacher let out a disgusted yelp as the corn snake loosed the considerable volume of its bowels on his polyester pants. I felt as rattled as the poor snake which the teacher quickly put into its aquarium so he could clean the white snake feces off his lovely brown pants. My stomach twisted and my heart pounded at the thought of Brad, now a vampire maniac, going berserk in the school. He'd looked like someone about to flip their lid, but I didn't know what I could do about it. And the fact no less than three vampires were here to take me kicking and screaming to Maximus didn't make me feel any better, either.

  I had to get word to Underborn ASAP. I also had to warn Elyssa. And Katie. And Nyte and Ash. Ugh. This day was turning out to be a lot more complicated than I'd thought.

  The intercom speaker buzzed and a squeal of feedback pierced my eardrums and sent everyone's hands racing for their ears.

  "Mr. Rogers?" said the mousy voice of the Principal's secretary, Agnes Wright.

  Our teacher looked up from rubbing the smelly mess off his pants and at the speaker. "Yes?"

  "Please send Justin Case to the front office. That is all." Another shriek of feedback preceded a loud click as the intercom went off.

  A chorus of "oohs" and "uh-ohs" filled the room as the other students looked to me, faces filled with the kind of joy which only comes from other people's suffering.

  "Yeah, yeah," I said, and groaned through clenched teeth. What the fudge was this about?

  I left and made my way to the front of the school, eyes alert for any hint of hoodies or other vampiric lurkers. A cute girl appeared around a corner and smiled at me. I didn't recognize her, but smiled back. Then she grabbed my arm and jerked me down the adjacent hall, pressing me against the wall.

  "Hello, Justin," she said, her voice sickly sweet.

  "Another one of Maximus's cronies, right?" I jerked my arm loose and backed away.

  "We're not cronies," said another female voice behind me, this one low and seductive.

  I turned so I could see the vampire chicks to either side. Their skin looked normal, and they weren't wearing hoodies. Everything about them looked so ordinary that I never would have guessed they were vampires. Neither was overly gorgeous or stood out from the typical female population which made them perfect for fitting in.

  "No hoodies for you?" I said.

  "Girls know how to apply makeup," the first girl said, and made a pouty face. "Brad refused to let us touch him up."

  "Which one of you is Lauren?" I asked.

  "How do you kn
ow my name?" the second girl asked.

  "I just met Brad and his buddies."

  The vampires looked at each other, displeasure carving scowls on their faces.

  "Idiots!" said the first girl, presumably Tammy.

  "I think you two should get the hell out of this school before I report this to the Templars."

  Tammy laughed. "As if they'll listen to you."

  "What the Sam Hill is going on here?" came a shout from the end of the hall. I almost cried with joy at the sight of Ted Barnes and his shiny bald head. He glared at the two girls. "This is the second time I've caught you two out of class. You'd better git right now or so help me I'll send you straight to Ms. Foreman for an after-school detention you'll never forget."

  Lauren's eyes practically caught fire behind the contacts she wore. "This isn't over, Case," she hissed as she and Tammy left.

  "Now get your butt in gear, Case!" Barnes yelled.

  I followed him the rest of the way to Principal Perkins's office, my heart pounding at an alarming rate and sweat covering my palms. I'd probably die of an anxiety attack before Brad had another shot at me. Instead of dropping dead, I found Coach Burgundy flirting with Agnes in the front office while Barnes continued to the back.

  Burgundy's eyes narrowed to puffy slits on his porcine face when he saw me. "And there he is, the famous Mr. Case."

  Principal Perkins emerged from his office with Barnes in tow. "Ah, our esteemed Mr. Case." He looked at the vice principal. "Keep an eye on things for me, Ted. This won't take long."

  "Him again, Mr. Perkins?" Agnes said and made a tsking noise. "They really need to bring back capital punishment to teach these kids respect."

  "I think you mean corporal punishment, sweet thing." Perkins gave her a yellow-toothed grin.

  She batted her eyelashes and fanned herself with an index card. "You're so smart, Mr. Perkins," she said breathlessly. "That's why you're the boss."

  A distant hammering sounded in my ears and it took a moment for me to realize it was my heart. "What's going on?" I asked.