Mortal Defiance (Dark Betrayal Trilogy)

by Nichole Chase

  Ree blew her bangs out of her face and headed toward the junior wing to unload some of the books from her bag. It started almost immediately as she walked through the school. People stopping and staring at her, whispering behind their hands, or worse yet, offering small smiles of sympathy. She took a deep breath and tried to not stare at the tiles as she made the trek to the second floor. Now that Ree had lost another person close to her, there was no way people were going to treat her normally.

  “Ree.” The deep voice combined with a slight accent caused her to stop and look around. Roland was leaning against the wall next to the office door. Immediately she noticed he wasn’t wearing the school uniform. Instead, dark jeans clung to his hips and a dark T-shirt wrapped itself around his chest, tucked under his black leather jacket. His usual smirk grew a little and she realized she was staring at him.

  “Hey, Roland.” Her feet seemed to have minds of their own and before she realized it, she was moving closer to him. “You signing up for classes?”

  “That’s me. The diligent student.” He reached out to tuck some of her hair out of her face.

  “Hm. Diligent students wear their uniforms and bring backpacks full of paper and pens.” She pointed at his outfit and smiled. “I think your forgot the rest of your ‘Diligent Student’ disguise.”

  “Don’t let my bad-boy good looks fool you. I came prepared.” He pulled a pen out of his jacket pocket with a flourish and Ree laughed.

  “I think you still might be ill-equipped.” Arching one eyebrow, Ree couldn’t help but smile.

  “Trust me, that definitely isn’t a problem.” Roland winked at her as heat rushed into her cheeks. “Besides, I’ll just have to sit next to you and borrow whatever else I need.” He smiled devilishly and Ree saw some of the girls at lockers near the office make swooning motions.

  Shaking her head, Ree jerked her head in the direction of the girls. “I think you’ll have plenty of people wanting to sit near you that would be happy to loan you paper and a pencil. Or whatever else they can think of.”

  “Yeah, but I want to sit near you.” He smiled at her, causing her heart to skip a beat.

  “Um, you realize you’re making enemies for me right now, right?”

  His eyebrows rose in confusion and his smile grew. “What are you talking about, little Ree?”

  “Look. I’m a freak at this school. People treat me like I have the plague. The guys you met last week are the only ones that treat me like I’m normal. If you start playing nice with me, then the girls are going to treat me even worse. They aren’t going to understand why you would want to hang out with me.” Leaning forward, she lowered her voice, trying to make her point.

  “It could work the other way around. Maybe if I hang out with you, they will start to realize how cool you are.” He pulled on her ponytail and she rolled her eyes.

  “Right. More likely I’ll get lynched. Girls used to leave nasty notes in my locker just because Paden would ask how I was in the hallway.” Ree realized her mistake as soon as she closed her mouth. The moment she uttered Paden’s name, Roland’s eyes flashed with fire. She swallowed as a wave of his jealousy flashed through the hallway, making it hard to breathe.

  “I’m not Paden,” Roland said with a clenched jaw. “Maybe if he hadn’t been stringing you along over the years the other girls wouldn’t have treated you that way.”

  “It wasn’t like that.” The door to the office opened and the secretary stuck her head out. “I’ll see you later, Roland.” She hurried down the hallway as the older woman told Roland to come in and take a seat. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw him staring at her as she made her retreat, and the secretary had to tell him to step inside again.

  Ree made it to her locker with just enough time to shove a couple of her books in and hightail it to her first period. Grabbing a seat toward the back, she pulled out her Algebra II book and her notebook. As she dug in the front pocket of her green backpack looking for a pencil that still had an eraser, she didn’t notice the people standing in the doorway until the cold tendrils of wrong slid down her spine. She looked up to see Shannon and her boyfriend, Michael, talking quietly. After a quick kiss on the cheek, the dark-haired Shannon turned to saunter into the classroom. She smiled at Ree and wiggled her fingers in a mocking wave.

  Ree dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand and tried to keep the anger that flashed through her body from escaping. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she let go of the pencil she was gripping in her right hand and tried to control the shaking that accompanied the wrath running through her veins. She had known she would have to see Shannon and Michael, but nothing could have prepared her for the rage that hit her like a semitruck.

  Shannon took a seat toward the front, surrounded by some of her obnoxious cronies. They all sat giggling and gossiping, occasionally darting looks in Ree’s direction. When the bell rang, Mr. Tomasino motioned for everyone to be quiet and started writing on the board.

  “Mr. Tomasino?” Shannon’s arm shot into the air as everyone turned to look in her direction. Ree’s stomach tightened as she watched the other girl’s manicured hand wave back and forth. Shannon lived for attention, and Ree had a feeling she was about to get her wish met.

  “Yes, Miss Duncan?” Mr. Tomasino turned around and adjusted his glasses.

  “I think it would be nice if we had a moment of silence for the freshman that died over winter break. It might help us all get through the day a little easier.”

  Ree stood up, her chair squeaking loudly as it scraped across the floor. Every eye in the room turned to look at her, but she didn’t care. Black creeped into her vision until she could only see straight ahead. All she could think about was beating that smug grin off Shannon’s face.

  “Miss McKenna? Are you all right?” Mr. Tomasino asked her, concern filling his normally blank face.

  For a moment Ree didn’t even realize the math teacher was speaking to her. The entire room had turned red and the only thing she could see was Shannon’s dark eyes laughing at her. Ree looked down at her desk to try and calm herself but the only thing that accomplished was adding panic to the rage in her chest. There was the faintest green glow around her fingers and she couldn’t seem to control it.

  “No. Yes. I mean, I need to go to the bathroom. Please.” Ree curled her fingers into her palm and pressed her hands against her thighs.

  “Go ahead.” The tall, bald man motioned toward the door.

  Ree could barely think as she left her seat. She could hear the people in the room whispering, and as she neared Shannon’s desk, she heard someone giggle. Her foot caught on something heavy and she had to catch herself on the back of a chair. Ree looked down to see what had caused her to trip and ground her teeth in anger. Shannon slowly pulled her black boot back under her desk and smiled sweetly at Ree in mock concern.

  “Are you okay, Alastriana? Did you trip on something?” One of the blond girls on the other side of Shannon giggled loudly.

  Ree had never been a violent person. She didn’t see the point in beating someone senseless, but at that moment it took all of her willpower to not pummel Shannon’s worried face. Instead, she pushed herself off the chair and walked out of the classroom as quickly as she could without actually running.

  By the time she got to the bathroom, she could barely see straight. She went straight to one of the large white sinks and splashed cold water on her face. Her eyes were swirling with silver, and she knew if she didn’t get herself under control quickly she was going to have all her friends, her Guardians, swarming the bathroom. Stepping away from the sink, she went to the opposite wall of the bathroom and leaned back against the yellow and white tiles. After a moment she slid down to the floor and wrapped her arms around her legs. Taking slow, quiet breaths, she pulled the power back into a little ball in her chest and tried to keep her mind blank. Unfortunately, she kept replaying the scene from the night Claire had died and the fake concern on Shannon’s face.

&nbs
p; The bathroom door swung open and Ree laughed ruefully. Shannon sauntered in, not even looking in Ree’s direction. The short, dark-haired girl went straight to the mirrors and pulled a tube of lipstick from one of the deep pockets in her plaid skirt. After primping for a moment, she looked at Ree in the mirror.

  “I volunteered to check and see if you were okay.”

  “Wow. How nice of you.” The sarcasm was enough to choke a horse. Ree stayed where she was sitting and gripped her legs tightly in an effort to stay in control of herself.

  “God, Alastriana. You’re so pathetic.” Shannon turned around and flipped her hair over her shoulder, revealing a bandage just under her ear.

  The reminder of what Shannon was made Ree’s stomach twist. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not letting people munch on my neck.”

  “See, that’s because you don’t know what you’re missing out on.” Shannon smiled at Ree evilly. “It feels so good. I’ve never had anything like it.” Shannon almost purred, her hand running up to her neck and tracing the gauze taped there. “Usually Tristan is really careful, but we got a little carried away last night.”

  Bile rose in Ree’s mouth as she thought about Tristan and Shannon being together after he had just murdered Claire. “God, you’re such a whore.” Shannon’s eyes flashed with anger, but Ree didn’t care if she pissed the other girl off. “Not only do you have a boyfriend, but you’re telling me about messing around with my brother—after he killed my friend. Who does that?” A sick chuckle slid out of Ree’s throat. “You’re nothing but a slut.”

  Shannon leaned forward and black spread around the edges of her eyes. “You think I’m a whore? Your little friend was begging Tristan to bite her. She was all over him, pleading for him to touch her.”

  Ree jumped to her feet and was vaguely aware that the walls of the restroom were starting to rattle. A tile fell from next to her shoulder to shatter near her foot. She took a step toward Shannon, adrenaline making the air in the room feel electric. “Don’t you dare talk about Claire.”

  “She was lucky. Tristan doesn’t take just anybody. I don’t know why he wanted someone pathetic like her.” Shannon’s voice was dropping into the deep croak Ree had heard the night they had all been at the concert. “She got to feel his fangs in her throat, his hands on her body. That little bitch died happy.”

  Green energy flared out of Ree’s body, knocking Shannon to the ground. A dark trickle of blood ran out of Shannon’s nose, the black in her eyes faded away to nothing but shock. As Ree moved forward, the other girl skittered backward on the floor. A pipe under the sink behind Shannon snapped, spitting water along the floor with a loud gushing sound. The dim lights flickered angrily, casting twisted shadows along the walls.

  “Don’t ever talk about her. Do you hear me? Do. Not. Talk. About. Claire. Again.”

  “Ree!”

  Ree was jerked back to reality by the sound of her friend’s voice. She let go of the power and felt like the floor moved underneath her feet. She looked from Shannon to Melanie, and then at the mess in the bathroom, but for once she didn’t care if anyone saw it.

  Chapter 6

  “Get out of here.” Melanie snarled at Shannon, showing her fangs. “Before I let her finish what you started.”

  Shannon stood up and slowly brushed the dirt off her skirt. Grabbing a paper towel, she wiped the blood off her upper lip and sneered at Ree before throwing the paper towel in the trashcan and waltzing to the door. “This isn’t over, bitch.”

  The room began to vibrate and the lights flickered again as Ree took a step toward Shannon. “I hope not.”

  Shannon’s eyes tightened, but she pushed out of the door without saying anything else.

  “Holy crap, Ree. What happened?” Melanie looked around the bathroom and whistled. “This looks like when you first called the power on Sanctus Island.”

  Still too angry to respond, Ree shook her head. She looked around the bathroom and assessed the damage. Some of the tiles from the walls had fallen off, shattering on the floor. The broken pipe under the sink was quickly flooding the bathroom and there was a crack in one of the mirrors that she hadn’t noticed before.

  “Well, we need to get you out of here. I’ll run by the office and tell them a pipe broke in the bathroom. You get an excuse from the nurse and I’ll meet you in the lobby.” Melanie looked at her friend and Ree nodded her head.

  “I need my bag from the classroom, but I don’t trust myself to see Shannon again.”

  “I’ll get it on the way to the office.” Melanie held open the door to the bathroom and Ree stepped out. “Do me a favor and stay calm. When I walked in there your eyes were glowing and your feet were almost two inches off the floor. I don’t know when you picked up that trick, but I don’t want to see the faces of the staff if you do it in front of them.”

  “I was floating?” Ree looked at Melanie with wide eyes. She remembered feeling like the floor had moved under her feet when she let go of the power. “Wow.”

  “You find out you can float and all you say is wow?” Rolling her eyes, Melanie chuckled and headed down the hall. “I’ll meet you near the front entrance in a few minutes.”

  Looking down at her feet, Ree shrugged to herself. So, I can float. After everything else that’s happened, is that really something that should surprise me?

  Deciding she shouldn’t waste any more time, she headed down the long hallway. It was lined with the traditional lockers—a blue-and-green-painted travesty of cold metal that clashed horribly with the dingy white floor tiles. Everything glowed a sick, muted yellow that was cast down from the old overhead lights. She got to the nurse’s station, which was located near the secretary’s office at the front of the school, pretty quickly. Ree opened the door and was greeted by an older woman sitting at a desk that was entirely too large for the small room. The curtain behind the nurse was half-open, announcing no one else had given up on the school day in less than an hour.

  “Can I help you, dear?” Nurse Ward looked up from the book she was reading and peered at Ree over the edge of her reading glasses.

  “Yes, ma’am. I need a note to go home.” Ree looked down at her blue shoes and hoped it looked like she was sick.

  “Home? It’s barely nine o’clock!” The older woman set her book down on the desk, stood up, and motioned for Ree to follow her behind the curtain. “What’s wrong?”

  “Um, I have a headache. And I’m nauseated.” Ree sat on the old hospital cot and let the nurse stick a thermometer in her mouth.

  Nurse Ward grabbed her wrist and checked her watch as she counted Ree’s pulse. “What’s your name, dear?”

  “Frhee McfKennuh,” Ree mumbled around the thermometer.

  “You’re the McKenna girl?”

  “Fhyes,” Ree said. The thermometer beeped and the nurse pulled it out of Ree’s mouth and checked the numbers.

  “Well, no fever. But, that doesn’t surprise me. Maybe it’s nerves?” The older woman sat on the cot next to Ree and patted her shoulder. “I know you had a really bad weekend.”

  “You do?” Suspicion clouded Ree’s voice, making the nurse laugh.

  “Yes, dear. Whenever something like a death happens, the administrators receive notes to alert us to the students that may have been affected.” She patted Ree’s shoulder one more time before standing up and walking to her desk. She jotted something down on a notepad before ripping it off and handing it the younger girl. “I think you just need a little more time to deal with everything. Stress can do terrible things to a body.”

  Looking at the note, Ree almost sighed in relief. It excused her from school for the rest of the week. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me, sweetheart. You’ve had a rough time of it. Go home and rest. Throw on some comfy clothes and watch a good movie.” She smiled at Ree. “Have someone pick up your assignments so you don’t fall too far behind. Do you have a ride, or should I call your mother?”

  “Um, please don’t call my mom. I have a way
to get home.”

  “Okay, dear. Now, shoo. Get some rest.” She gently pushed Ree toward the door.

  “I meant to tell you when I first got here, but there’s a broken pipe in the girls’ room near Mr. Tomasino’s classroom.”

  “Drat this weather. It hasn’t been this cold in twenty years!” She grabbed the walkie-talkie off her desk and pointed at the door. “Go on, now. I’ll take care of the pipe. You worry about relaxing.”

  Ree stepped out of the office and closed the door gently behind her. She wasn’t surprised to see Roland leaning against the wall between the clinic and the secretary’s office. However, she was surprised when he grabbed her shoulder and turned her toward him, his eyes searching her face and body to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

  “Are you okay?” He held her left arm out and pushed her sleeve up.

  “I’m fine!” She snatched her arm back, well aware he had let it go, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to break his hold. Pushing her sleeve down, she raised her eyes to his and tried to ignore the worry that clouded the usual sapphire.

  “What happened? I could feel you using the power somewhere in the school.”

  “Shannon is in my first class.” Ree started walking toward the entrance where she was supposed to meet Melanie.

  “The darkling?” He matched her stride, his eyes never leaving her face.

  “Yes.” Ree didn’t say anything else, hoping he would drop the matter.

  “I see.” He was quiet as they neared the door. After a moment he asked, “And did you put her in her place?”

  Ree looked up at him and couldn’t help the twitch at the corners of her mouth. “Something like that.”

  “That’s my girl.” He threw a friendly arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently.

  Ree looked down at the floor, hoping he didn’t notice her blush. They walked the rest of the way to the door with his arm around her shoulders. She couldn’t think of a polite way to get rid of it. The worst part was that she was happy to have him so close. There was a comfortable familiarity to his touch, the way he formed his words and the little dip between his eyebrows when he was concerned. It didn’t help she could feel a little echo of the happiness he was obviously trying to contain.