by L. M. Miller
Her time with Lawrence they spent talking. He just had so many things to tell her about school and friends and everything. She always had an open ear and good, sound advice. That was something everybody liked about her. She gave good advice, didn’t sugarcoat many things, and yet, she somehow managed to say it all in a nice way that didn’t offend anybody. It was a gift, a human gift, which she had managed to keep through her transformation. She parted from Lawrence with another strong hug.
Next was her time with the rest of the boys, Terrence, Dean, Bobby, and Manny. They played the board game, Candyland. It was a rambunctious game, and Manny even tried to eat one of the pieces before they stopped him. She poked the little boy and cuddled with him. They all eventually ended up on the couch, watching some late night family TV show, and they were a family. Her arms were wrapped around Pearl and Pearce on her left, Bobby and Dean on her right. Manny was in her lap, and Lawrence rested at her feet, his back pressed against her legs. Terrence was lying out beside him, his feet occasionally tapping Seph’s leg. Nate was lounging on the back of the couch, playing with a piece of her red hair idly.
“Bill! Where’s the key? I can’t see anything in this light!” Seph jumped a foot, scattering kids everywhere, when Janette’s voice carried to her acute ears.
She swirled around, eyes darting to meet Nate’s as they heard the kitchen door open. She took a sharp intake of breath, preparing to mist, and Nate smacked her. She glowered at him, grabbing his wrist.
What was that for? She demanded, and he stumbled backwards a step, startled by the intruding voice in his mind.
You’re telepathic too? He asked, and she tossed her straight hair over her shoulder in frustration, clearly indicating for him to hurry up.
Calm down the kids. I gotta get outta here, she exclaimed, and he hit her again as she prepared to mist.
You can’t use any vampire skills when Janette is here. She has some charms or something, and she can detect any vampiric abilities that happen within a five hundred foot radius of her. Go up to my room. He commanded hurriedly before breaking their grasp as she headed for the stairs, and the adults entered the kitchen.
“Just act normal, guys,” he whispered to them before darting up the stairs after her.
He hoped they hadn’t seen him or Seph, but they hadn’t said anything, which meant that they probably hadn’t. They were talking about something or other about dinner or the movie. He glanced at his watch on his way up the stairs and saw the numbers 2:00 blinking up at him. Great, and he hadn’t even put the kids to bed. He would probably get in trouble…. He heard the footsteps of Bill coming up the stairs just as he burst into his room, right behind Seph.
“Window,” she breathed, wrenching it open and managing to trip on one of his strewn-about sweatshirts at the same time.
She cursed under her breath when they heard the sound of Bill settling on the second story landing. Nate thought quickly, grabbing Seph and shoving her on the bed, jumping in after her and covering them both. He grasped her wrist firmly.
Play along. Don’t let him see your hair. He said to her, and she did as he told her, understanding the rest of his plan quickly enough. They heard the creak of the door opening, and Nate flung up the covers from his head, acting the part perfectly. He hurriedly nudged Seph off the side of the bed away from the man silhouetted in his doorway.
“Bill!” He exclaimed as though he had just been caught being very busy.
“Nate! Oh my… sorry,” Bill quickly shut the door, and they both sprang to their feet.
Nate ushered her to the window, grinning smugly as he pulled his shirt off and pants, stripping down to his boxers. He winked at her, and she just rolled her eyes. She tried to fix her mussed hair as he tousled his own.
“Gotta play the role,” he whispered to her just as she jumped out of the window to the ground below, easily landing on her feet.
From there, it was a quick trot into the surrounding woods, merging into the tree line where Janette’s charms no longer reached. She had time to glance back to see Bill clap Nate on the back in a manly fashion. She rolled her eyes. Boys would be boys. If Bill or Janette had caught her in bed with a guy, you could bet that she would be getting screamed at right about now. When Nate was caught, it was the mannish thing to do. He was growing up, blah blah.
She caught a distinct scent in the air just as she swiveled in the darkness, crouching low. Something else was in the woods with her tonight. It was alive. It was humanoid. It was a werewolf. Rodney suddenly stepped into the wan moonlight, and she straightened up, immediately averting her eyes.
It did not look good. She grimaced. She was guessing he saw her jump out of the window, Nate shirtless, and he probably saw the whole thing going on between Nate and Bill at that very moment. It did not look good at all.
Suddenly, Rodney leaned forward, tilted her head up, and kissed her lightly. Of all the things that she had expected him to do at that moment, throw a fit, become silent, walk away… that was not what she had expected at all. She stared up at him confusedly.
“I saw most of it. I kind of followed you here… I saw you disappear over the fence, and you didn’t even stop to say anything or tell me where you were going. I was curious… and brought you some blood. I noticed you didn’t drink any,” he held the thermos of blood out as a sort of peace offering.
She sighed. Apparently they had both gone behind each other’s backs tonight, and the night before, she noted with a scowl. She hugged him tightly.
“I understand, Seph. I don’t want this to change anything,” he said, stroking her hair gently.
They slowly pulled apart, and he looked her directly in the eyes, which she knew had to be very black by now. She had skipped breakfast and lunch. It had taken many distractions and ironclad self-control to not drain any of her brothers or sister dry. He was not afraid though. She suddenly grabbed the thermos and drank from it greedily, sloshing some blood down her neck, which he wiped away without so much as a single look of disgust. She needed to be in control, and in order to be in control, she needed to be full or at least not starving.
“Go with me to the Halloween dance next week,” he said, and she looked up at him, eyes sparkling.
She had finished the thermos, and he lightly cut his wrist. He let her drink more from him, obviously still hungry by the darkness in her eyes. She hurriedly did so, needing food, or, in her case, blood, for energy.
Of course I will! I was wondering when you were gonna ask, she said, lips not parting from his wrist. I’m sorry. This would be really sweet if I wasn’t trying to sate this stupid thirst and not attack you right now, she stated, and he nodded understandingly.
You’re just acting according to your nature, he watched with amusement as her eyebrows furrowed with that remark. What? You can say that to me, but not the other way around? That ain’t fair, he said, but she scowled at him all the same.
She slowly pulled away, licking her lips free of any spare traces of blood. She straightened up, adjusting her rumpled clothing. She ran a few fingers through her hair, clearing away any knots.
“You ready to head back?” He asked her, and she smiled at him, a mischievous glint in her eye.
“Race you there!” She exclaimed, darting off into the woods with Rodney dashing right behind her.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Tristan traipsed through those same woods a few miles away, closer to the school but moving in a different direction, in the same direction that Silo had taken the day of his escape. He couldn’t see very well in the dark. He wasn’t a vampire or a werewolf. Twigs and branches scratched at his outstretched arms. He wished he had thought to bring a flashlight. He was tripping over roots and rocks, smacking into branches and tree trunks. This was so frustrating!
He was a wizard, wasn’t he? He should be able to create light! There had to be a spell that created some type of light source. Wizards could do anything, and he was a good wizard, really good according to Abernathy and Linda. When you cou
ldn’t think of a spell or didn’t know of one, you were supposed to open your mind up to all the possibilities. They had learned this in one of their first Wizarding classes. He did this now, inhaling deeply and emptying his mind of all excess thoughts.
What would bring about light? The simplest idea was just to snap his fingers. Snap his fingers like you would snap a lighter, and then allow that light to grow into a ball in the palm of his hand. He snapped his fingers, never opening his eyes as he slowly outstretched his palm, and red played on the backs of his eyelids.
He opened his eyes to see a ball of warm, yellow light ebbing in his hand, pulsating gently. He had no idea what it was. It was not fire or lightning. It was just light. He shrugged. It had worked.
He continued on his way, easily traversing the woods now that he had a light. He was trying to find that cavern again, find that coven of vampires. He knew he had seen it, seen them. He had not made it up simply because he was a little afraid of vampires. He had really seen it, and he didn’t mean to hurt Seph’s feelings, but those vampires were scary. She wasn’t scary when she had fed, but those vampires were scary all the time.
He entered a familiar-looking field. If he remembered correctly, the cavern hole had been just over there… He took a step forward. There was a rustle in the tree line directly beside him. SNAP! He whirled around, and blackness enveloped him…
Electric-blue eyes opened blearily, contents above them swirling dangerously. His head felt like a cracked egg, his brains oozing out like yolk. He closed his eyes as the room’s light pierced into his brain painfully. Who ordered the lobotomy? He felt nauseated and woozy. What had happened? Maybe he should try standing? He should figure out where he was too.
In one swift motion, he rose to his feet and opened his eyes. Immediately, he fell back onto his pillow, nearly throwing up at the sudden movement. Rodney was at his side in an instant, chuckling under his breath as he helped the dizzy boy to sit up, leaning his back against the headboard.
“Rough night, Tristan?” He asked casually, laughter glimmering in his golden eyes.
Tristan gave him a concerned look, one hand to his head as it pounded viciously.
“I… I dunno… I don’t remember…” He trailed off, racking his brain for what had happened.
This only made it ache even worse. He had been searching for something… What? He couldn’t remember… His brain hurt whenever he tried to think too hard. Everything was still spinning, and he felt on the verge of throwing up constantly.
“Ah, one of those nights…” Rodney reminisced, and Tristan caught the playful edge to his voice.
“I wasn’t drinking, Rod,” he said, and the look the werewolf gave him was not reassuring. “At least… I don’t think I was…” He kept trying to remember.
Honestly, he could have been drinking. He didn’t remember a thing. Was that common? To remember absolutely nothing? He hadn’t been planning on drinking last night. He knew that.
“Lemme guess… Killer headache? Feel like you’re gonna throw up? Everythin’ spinning? No memory? That’s a hangover. I’ve had plenty before,” he responded firmly, slowly helping the boy to stand up.
“Was I drinking with you?” Tristan asked as Rodney passed him over some clean-smelling clothes from the floor.
“No,” Rodney said firmly. “Seph and I were a little busy yesterday,” He concluded, and Tristan glanced at him
Again, he had that playful look in his eye. Tristan did not want to know the details of that story. Rodney was smirking way too much.
“Who’d I drink with then?” He asked, truly puzzled as he stumbled over to the bathroom, splashing some cool water on his face and brushing his teeth. “What?!” He shrieked, suddenly noticing twin puncture marks on his neck.
Rodney hurried over, and they both looked at the marks in the mirror.
“Vampire bite,” Rodney said positively, showing the healing white marks on his own throat.
“Who was I with?! What happened to me?! Did the vampires get me?” Tristan’s eyes were wide and frantic as Rodney just laughed.
“Get you? If any of the female vampires at our school got you, believe me, you enjoyed it, man. Sucks that you don’t remember it though,” Rodney remarked with a shrug, changing into his own shirt.
Tristan gaped at his chest.
“Are those…” he started, and Rodney grinned again, covering the several bite marks with his shirt.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell,” he said with a wink, and Tristan nodded, not wanting to know any more about that.
They hurried to Sunday breakfast, a little later than usual due to Tristan’s slow movements and confusion. He remained puzzled the entire way there. Up ahead, they saw Masoko and Roberta leaving the Main Hall. Maybe one of them knew what had happened to him… He moved to ask as much when Masoko suddenly ran up to him and kissed him. She pulled away after a few suspended seconds, grinning impishly and flitting off with her friend.
He just stood there a moment, frozen, Rodney at his side. Rodney was watching the two girls walk away, throwing furtive, flirtatious glances over their shoulders at the shocked boy. Tristan had a good time last night, he mused, helping the boy into the Main Hall and to their usual table.
“Hey, Tristan! The man of the hour!” Stefan exclaimed, clapping Tristan on the back.
“What?” He asked, catching Rodney’s bemused look.
This was almost more than he could take! What had he done last night?! What had happened?! He couldn’t remember anything!
“Good job yesterday,” Stefan nodded at him with admiration.
Tristan stealthily sidled his seat over beside Stefan before the girls arrived with their laden breakfast trays.
“What did I do last night?” He asked quietly.
A sharp movement caught his attention at the corner of his eye. Masoko had frozen near the entrance of the Main Hall, catching every word as she reentered the cafeteria. She had forgotten her bag. He winced. She was probably not happy that he didn’t remember anything. She caught his eye for a second with her venomous ones before flouncing off, turning on her heel brutally. She left her bag.
“You showed up late to our vamp party. We have ‘em every Saturday in the woods. Anybody can come, but usually only us vampires are there. You guys are scared of us or somethin’,” he flashed a smile at him, exposing his ivory fangs. “Anyways, you and Masoko disappeared for a while, but we heard…” he grinned again, and Tristan’s eyes bugged out.
“Did I…” Stefan was shaking his head.
“No, I know those sounds only too well. You’re safe, little wizard. Well… maybe not safe from Masoko’s wrath. She’s gonna be pissed,” he chuckled at the thought of it.
“I have to go talk to her,” Tristan announced, rising to his feet a little unsteadily.
“That’s not a good idea, bro,” Stefan suggested, raising a hand to steady the boy.
“No, I need to,” he said, grabbing an apple from Linda’s plate and hurrying out the Main Hall.
“This will end badly,” Stefan mused, shaking his head.
Linda poked him, and he looked up.
“Details?” She asked, and he grinned, flashing his fangs again.
Later that morning, Tristan entered the Room, where they all were, as usual. Immediately, everybody burst out laughing. He flapped a hand at them, nursing his pounding headache and the score of scratch marks latticing his arms.
“It not go like you wanted?” Stefan asked, caressing Linda’s cheek, and Tristan sent him a glare that could have melted the polar icecaps.
Tristan hobbled his way to the corner to whisper with Dewdrop, as always. Seph studied him a moment. Looked like Masoko had probably thrown him into a wall or something… He would heal in time. If he could swallow his pride and go to the nurse, she could heal him, but he wouldn’t do that. He would have to explain what had happened, and it seemed like even he didn’t remember. She grinned wryly.
“What are you smiling about?” Rodney asked
her as he played with her hair.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She replied playfully, nudging him lightly.
“Yes,” he answered her honestly, lightly stroking her forearm where the werewolf marks had been, although they had finally healed.
“Alright girls, let’s go,” Francesca announced, hopping to her feet.
“Go where?” Rodney asked as all the girls rose to their feet, nearly in unison.
“We’re going shopping,” Francesca stated, hands on her hips as her cousin glanced at his watch.
“It’s 10:30 on a Sunday night. Where do you think you’re gonna be shoppin’ at?” He asked, and his cousin tossed her head regally at him.
“There are a few magical shops around here, Rodney, that keep our hours. Perfect for Halloween dance shopping,” she said, eyes glimmering.
“Not like you gotta date,” he remarked under his breath, and she growled at him.
“You never know,” she remarked coolly as the other girls silently assembled themselves near the door.
“Which guy is it gonna be? You’re jugglin’ so many, cuz. There’s that wizard, Raymond, the ‘real cute’ Mexican one that you and Seph were trippin’ over a few weeks ago,” Seph smiled sweetly at him. “Then… there was that other wizard, Alex, the black one, but I think you were just with him for fun,” Rodney commented, going through the list of Francesca’s boys. “Hmm… I know you had a thing with that werewolf, Freddy, the pale-grey one that bit Seph’s arm,” he emphasized, nodding at Seph, who looked a little caught off guard.
“He has good taste,” Seph stated, quickly recovering and winking at her best friend.
“I’m pretty sure I saw you and Kenji sneak off one time too…” Rodney continued when Stefan cleared his throat, interrupting the werewolf’s spiel.
“Kenji? He’s a good guy, Francesca. Don’t mess with his feelin’s,” he stated sincerely.