Afterlife

by Claudia Gray

  “Awesome,” Vic said, and he and Maxie shared a quick look before she ducked her head, which hid her smile.

  Patrice nodded. “So, once the traps are emptied, we destroy them. That’s not easy, though, given that adds up to, like, a couple hundred pounds of metal.”

  “A great cataclysmic force will be required,” Ranulf said. “I shall handle the explosives.”

  “Whoa, there, cowboy,” Lucas cut in. “We don’t have to break them down to atoms. All we have to do is make them useless as traps. Mrs. Bethany can’t have an infinite supply of these things.”

  My father said, “Our bigger issue is the magical element within the traps. I don’t know much about that — I don’t think any of us here does — but it’s not as simple as demolishing scrap metal. I should be able to come up with a chemical solution that will work, but the results will still be . .. how did you put it, Maxie?”

  “Fireworks,” she replied.

  “I do not see how this is different than explosives,” Ranulf said.

  That won a round of laughter, and then people began talking animate — dly about the plan and our chances of success. For some reason, it hit me then how extraordinary it was that these people had come together. The only obvious thing they had in common was that they each knew me, but they weren ‘t here for me — at least not only. or not mostly for me. They were here because they’d learned to look past their old prejudices and fears and see each other for who they were. Maxie’s willingness to engage again with the living world, the vampires’ acceptance of wraiths and humans as their equals and allies, Lucas taking what was good from his Black Cross training and leaving behind what was bad, Vic’s ability to deal with the supernatural world as easily as the natural one — that was what bonded us now.

  For a moment, our plan seemed easy. If we’d managed to come together like this, surely we could do anything.

  Chapter Twenty

  “HOW DOES A TOWN THE SIZE OF RIVERTON KEEP a classic movie house going?” Lucas said, standing before the red — and — gold blinking lights of the marquee.

  “It’s a very small town with very good taste,” I whispered into his ear.

  Behind us, in the town square, the charter bus from Evemight Academy was emptying out the last students who had come along to Riverton fewer than before, due to fears of “gang violence.” There Wasn’t much to the city — a pizza place, a diner, a couple of vintage shops, and this amazing movie theater. This week, they were showing An Affair to Remember, my favorite Cary Grant movie ever. It made me wish we’d actually come here to see the film.

  Lucas had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. In one of those pockets was my jet brooch, but I didn’t think he was checking to make sure he had it. He looked more like he was attempting to stay calm.

  “You’re nervous,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Dana was right about 13lack Cross not coming here again, right?”

  “That sounds right. But, yeah, I’m nervous anyway. Can you blame me?”

  He still had trouble believing that Dana would accept him as a vampire. Maybe he still doubted that he would be able to keep himself from attacking her. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

  Lucas bought a single movie ticket, and I floated invisibly in along with him. He half grinned as we went up the steps to the balcony. “Can’t say you’re not a cheap date.”

  “Shut up, or I’ll make you buy me dinner after.”

  “You don’t even eat!”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  We took our seats just as the film began, with loopy cursive text for the credits and the lush theme song. Although there were other viewers on the bottom floor, we were alone in the balcony, so I went ahead and materialized; Lucas pressed my jet brooch into my hand, so that the process became effortless for me. I pinned the brooch to my camisole, and Lucas offered me his coat, so it Wouldn’t be totally obvious that the girl he was sitting next 212 to was wearing pajamas.

  I felt weird being away from the school when so much was going on. My parents were keeping tabs on Mrs. Bethany; if she left tonight, they would have to find out how long she’d be gone, and if not, they’d have to come up with a way to get her to go, at least for a day. Meanwhile, everyone else was smuggling the traps to the Great Hall, preparing for tomorrow night’s efforts. Going to a movie — one of my all — time favorites — felt a little like playing hooky.

  Enjoy it, I told myself. Everything’s about to change.

  As Vic Damone crooned about a love affair, a couple of other people edged their way onto the balcony and sat by us: Raquel next to me, and Dana on the other side, next to Lucas. “I got popcorn,” Raquel said.

  The two of us grinned at each other, and for a moment it was like nothing had ever happened — no, I corrected myself, it happened. And we got through it anyway.

  Next to us, Dana and Lucas didn’t seem to be able to find words. Lucas leaned back in his seat, as though he were exhausted and couldn’t go any further; despite the darkness in the theater. I could see that Dana’s eyes were filling with tears.

  She took his hand in hers, and I remembered what a shock it had been to me the first time I touched Lucas when he had no warmth, no pulse. He had always been the most alive person I’d ever known. No matter how many powers and abilities he now had as a vampire, there was no forgetting what he’d lost.

  “Little brother, what happened to you?” Her voice shook.

  “I keep thinking it’s a bad dream,” Lucas said. “But there’s no waking up. Not from this.”

  “And yet — You’re still you,” Dana said.

  Lucas sighed. “More or less me.”

  “They never told us that, in Black Cross.” Dana wiped at her cheeks with the back of her free hand. “How come they never told us that?”

  He turned his face toward the movie screen, where Cary Grant was striding along the deck of an ocean liner. I could tell he didn’t care about the 213 movie; he was fighting to remain steady. “Mom always said that, if she got turned, I should forget I’d ever had a mother. I guess she forgot she ever had a son, huh?”

  Raquel put her hand to her mouth. That small gesture — compassion for a vampire — told me how much she, too, had changed. “It’s okay,” Lucas said, before he corrected himself. “It’s not okay. But it’s over.”

  Dana swaddled Lucas in a bear hug, just as the soundtrack swelled. “I’ve always got your back, Lucas. You know that, right?”

  “That’s good to hear, “I said, “because we need your help.”

  While Deborah Kerr flirted with Cary onscreen, I explained what we were trying to do. Neither Dana nor Raquel hesitated for a second. “We can get you guys out,” Raquel said. “And we’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

  “Black Cross taught me how to fake IDs nobody will ever catch,” Dana promised. “We can get you guys clear and free, for whatever you want to do next. What is that, exactly?”

  Lucas and I looked at one another. We didn’t have an answer.

  After the pause had stretched for a few seconds, Dana said, “Y’all can make up your mind about that later. Tell the others to expect us, okay?”

  “And tell Balthazar — ” Raquel had trouble saying this, but she managed. “Tell him I should ‘ve done more, when I saw him last. I should have helped him out. like you guys did.”

  “He’ll be okay,” I promised. “But tell him that yow·self, okay? Balthazar would probably like to hear it.”

  Raquel nodded. “We should go. If anybody who was at Evernight last year sees me, there could be questions.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “You don’t have to thank me,” she said flrmly. We smiled at each other, and it felt so good to know we’d found our way back to being friends.

  Once they’d gone, Lucas and I remained in the movie theater, watching the story unfold. Normally that would’ve been because there was no way 214 I would walk out of a Cary Grant movie. But this time, I felt as though the unanswered questi
ons between us were weighing us down, so we were held in place.

  Finally I said, “Where do you want to go after Evernight?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Never spent much time out west. Maybe we could try that.”

  “Or Europe,” I suggested. “Balthazar says it’s actually easier to cross a large body of water than a river.” Lucas grimaced; the trip over the river on the way into town had shaken him. ‘If he says so.”

  On screen, Cary and Deborah promised to meet one another at the top of the Empire State Building if their love held true. I took Lucas’s hands in mine. “I know it’s scary — going to a new place — ”

  “I’m not scared of that. I never lived more than a few months in any one place — not once in my whole life. But what are we going to do? We couldn’t support ourselves in Philly, and that was when you could work, too.”

  I hadn’t thought about it before, but being a ghost pretty much eliminated my chances of getting a job. “Mom and Dad will help us this time. They’ve got plenty, and besides, they know how to fit into the world. They’ll teach you. We don’t have to worry about that.”

  Lucas didn’t like the thought of borrowing yet more money, I could tell, but that obviously wasn’t our biggest problem. “Sitting here, between Dana and Raquel — 1could hear their heartbeats.”

  “You’ll get past the hunger. I know you will. Look at Balthazar, or my parents, or Ranulf.”

  “It’s harder for me, and we both know it. And if I haven ‘t gotten any better at this after a couple months at Evernight, there’s not much chance I ever will.”

  “You’re not crazy. You’ll never be a killer like Charity.”

  “If I kill even once — if I ever slip, and God, Bianca, I just know in my heart I’m gonna slip — I’d rather be dead.”

  “No,” I insisted, taking his face in my hands. “Lucas, I’ll always be here. I’ll never leave you. You have to promise not to leave me behind. You 215 have to be strong.”

  Lucas’s eyes met mine, and I knew he was making me a more solemn promise than he ever had before. ““ll never leave you behind. Never. Whatever happens, we’re together.”

  That should have made me happy, because I knew how deeply Lucas meant it. But instead, I realized what I’d demanded of him. He hated being a vampire, and suffered from such powerful blood hunger that it ground him down, every day, every moment. For him, going on like this was torture; our love for each other could only provide temporary comfort. He’d sworn to endure countless centuries of that existence rather than leave me alone. I could get Lucas to carry on, but he would never be right again. Nothing would ever really be right again. Our last shot at true happiness had died when Charity changed him.

  I hugged him tightly, and he returned the embrace. His voice muffled against my shoulder, he said, “I wish she’d never showed me. It’s worse, knowing there’s a way out I can never take.”

  Mrs. Bethany had shown him how to live again. She’d wanted to win him to her side, but she ‘d realized the other side, too — that if he turned her down, he’d be tormented by the possibilities forever.

  I tried to tell myself that it would be okay, as long as we were together, but the world wasn’t that simple. I knew that now.

  On the movie screen, Deborah Kerr was trying to reach the Empire State Building, but I’d seen the movie before. I knew she didn’t make it.

  That night, I’d planned to enter Lucas’s dreams again. With Charity permanently exiled from his mind, it was finally safe for us to be together there. But, weighted with guilt from the night’s realizations, I felt as if I couldn’t face him yet. I drifted through the hallways, restless. For the first time, I really felt like a ghost.

  I should put a sheet over my head, I thought. Start going “Boo!” eve.ry time I see someone. I could haunt the girl’s dorm, or the great hall — And then it hit me. If our plan worked the way we wanted it to, this was the last night I would ever spend at Evernight Academy.E Despite every terrible thing that had happened here, I realized, I loved so much about this place. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like never to be here again. This school had become a part of me — literally, now that I was a wraith. I had bonded to the very stones of this place. Even when I left forever, part of Evernight would always be able to draw me back.

  So I went to all the places I remembered, hearing words spoken long ago, seeing everyone as we had been then. Raquel, on her first day here, scowling in the back of the great hall while Mrs. Bethany gave the welcoming speech. Balthazar, learning how to take pictures with a cell phone in Modern Technology class. Vic and Ranulf, stargazing with me out on the grounds. Patrice, braiding my hair for my first — ever date. Courtney, gossiping in the stairwell. Mom and Dad, smiling at me as we passed each other in the hallways between classes. And everywhere, Lucas: whispering to me in the library, running to rescue me after the fire last year, kissing me for the first time at the gazebo.

  But thinking of Lucas reminded me of the dilemma before him.

  How can I ask him to face immortality, when it’s the last thing he ever wanted?

  I decided that I needed to be solid for a while. Often it made me feel steadier about things, and there was just something comforting about being able to hug yourself. So I drifted up to the records room and began to take shape.

  By that time of night, everyone else was in bed, so the records room was deserted.The traps had all been moved to the lower levels of the school, hidden in trunks; the room was just our hangout once more. Patrice’s German textbooks lay in the center of the beanbag chair, and Vic had left behind one of his hula — girl ties. Smiling slightly, I removed the brick in the wall where we’d hidden my coral bracelet — And a sick, horrible tidal pull seized me.

  A trap! I tried to claw at the windowsill, the stones of the wall, anything, but I couldn’t solidify my hands. My bracelet had been taken out of its 21J cubbyhole, leaving the greenish copper trap in its place; my jet brooch was with Lucas, sound asleep, far away. I tried thinking of him as my anchor — of any of the other places I could go — but it was too late. The trap was too close, and I’d practically put my hand right into it. As I began slipping toward the shimmering sinkhole, I tried one last time to call out to Lucas — but I could only just manage to think his name before everything went black.

  It was like sinking into hot tar. I couldn’t materialize, couldn’t dematerialize. I had no sense of the world around me, or whether I was anyplace in either the mortal or ghostly worlds. After I’d died, there had been a moment like this — and again when I had first traveled to the land of lost things but those terrible, depthless voids had lasted for only a second. This stretched on, and on, and on. A suffocation of the soul, made more horrible by fear.

  No wonder they go crazy, I thought wildly, recalling the many shrieking spirits I’d sensed within Evernight’s traps. It’s going to drive me crazy, too, any second, and I’ve only been in here a few minutes — or has it been longer? Would I even know?Is this eternity? Is this the death beyond death?

  Make it stop, Samuel had said. Make it stop. The ghost within him — the one that had been trapped like this — had lost the ability to think anything else. I would, too. Already I felt myself boiling down to the desperate instinct to escape, nothing more.

  Then, in that formless void, a soft rectangle of light opened. I rushed toward it, not caring what it was or what it meant: It was something, in a world of nothing, and that was reason enough.

  Then, in the frame of the rectangle, far bigger than life, I saw Mrs. Bethany.

  “Miss Olivier.” She smiled as placidly as ever, but there was no mistaking the avid light in her eyes. “At last. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Chapter Twenty — one

  I COULDN’T LASH OUT; I COULDN’T ESCAPE. ALL I could do was stare up at Mrs. Bethany — at this moment, quite literally the only thing in my world.

  “I had thought Mr. Ross would be the one to bring you to me,” she said. “But he wa
s more devoted to you than I’d imagined. Then I finally found your little trinket in the records room — after weeks of searching — and realized how simple it would be to replace it with a trap and claim you for myself.”

  She had always known about our visits to the records room. She had always known about me. “How did you know I was here at the school?”

  Mrs. Bethany tilted her head, as though she felt sorry for me. “Based on your past behavior, it was natural to assume that where Mr. Ross was, you would be also.”

  I hated her so much at that moment, I was surprised the trap didn’t shatter. My anger was hot enough to melt metal. to break stone. “I’m the reason you gave my parents jobs here in the first place, aren’t I? You set us up from the beginning.”

  “I gave you every chance, you know.” She sounded calm. Satisfied. “If I enjoyed victimizing the helpless. I’d hardly have founded a school such as Evernight. Furthermore, I quite liked your parents; they’re fine teachers. So I felt bound in honor to explore every other possibility. I changed the admissions policy in order to bring in students attached to other wraiths, irn case one of those spirits might work equally well. Whenever you deviated from the path your parents had in mind for you, I urged you back onto that path. This summer, I told you that throwing away your chances for the sake of love wasn’t worthwhile. But you would never Listen. You ran headlong toward your ultimate destiny. And now I am free to act as I see fit.”

  “You don’t want to be a vampire anymore,”l said. “But if you use me for this — you’ll be worse than any vampire.”

  “I will be alive.” Mrs. Bethany displayed not a flicker of hesitation. “An old betrayal will at last be set right. I will be able to die as I ought to have — as a human woman. And you will be no less dead than you already are.”

  A swirl of light, and the world took shape around me. At first I thought myself free, and prepared to vanish or run or do whatever I could — but 219 then I saw where I was.