by J. N. Colon
She disappeared, her laughter trailing her. “Damn it. She’s gone,” I hissed.
Mac’s arms were crossed against his chest, making his muscles bulge, his expression a mixture of suspicion and anger. “Who’s Declan and why do I get the feeling you don’t want anyone to know.”
I bit my lip, realizing he was getting the wrong idea. If he had his memories he would know exactly who Declan was, only not that he’d helped me in the past—after getting all creepy and obsessive with me.
I tossed my hands up, halting him from storming off like I sensed he was about to do. “Okay. I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone.” My brow arched. “No one Mac.”
His lips pursed for a moment. “Okay.”
“Promise?”
He nodded.
I scoffed. “You have to say it.”
He sighed. “Okay. I promise not to tell anyone what you’re about to tell me. There.”
I leaned against the counter. “Declan is… was a hunter who is now like a spy for me.”
Mac’s brow arched in disbelief. “He’s a spy for you? Why would he do that?”
I shrugged and bit my lip. “I dunno. That’s not important.” I relayed the theory Declan had about the hunters wanting Mac dead for something specific.
Mac stole a peperoni and I let him this time while he pondered my words. “But what would they gain by my death other than clout of killing the prince?”
I rubbed my temples. “That’s just it. I can’t think of anything. And believe me I’ve been trying.”
“What would Madison need to talk to him for?”
I groaned. “That’s an even bigger mystery.”
Dry dead leaves crunched beneath my feet, echoing between the grove of twisting maples and oaks. Fog eerily glided through the dark night, the moonlight turning it to a gossamer silver. Dim, antique lampposts barely lit the trail I was traveling, long branches curving down to create a tunnel.
A soft whimper caught on the wind, drifting toward me in an ominous cadence. I halted, my heart thumping wildly in my chest as trepidation swirled through my body.
I didn’t want to continue down the trail. My eyes flicked left than right, gaging my other choices. The woods were thick on either side, everything cloaked in darkness. The squawk of a raven resonated and I glanced up to see it perched on a lamppost.
“What do you want?” I asked out loud as if the bird could understand me.
He glanced down, meeting my eyes with surprisingly human awareness in his. He squawked again before taking flight into the thick ebony of the woods.
My lips pursed as I followed its path through the dark sky, deciding to take my chances on the path instead.
My feet carried me forward as an icy wind blew, lifting the hair off my neck and bringing with it a metallic scent with a briny undertone.
My mouth turned dry. I knew that scent. Very well.
Blood.
My pulse jumped erratically, my breath fogging violently in front of me. I glanced over my shoulder as the lamps that had lit the trail I followed began winking out one by one until darkness swallowed up the path behind me.
With a whimper of my own I turned forward, the lamps still lit ahead of me. Clearly the only way out of this forest was in the direction the scent of blood was coming from.
Perfect.
I swallowed hard and trudged forward, the smell getting heavier while a series of groans that sent ice through my veins echoed in the distance. Drops of liquid glistened on the dead leaves in front of me like breadcrumbs to something just as sinister as Hansel and Gretel’s gingerbread house.
The crunch of dead leaves and the fitful thud of my heart as it crashed against my ribcage was like the soundtrack of a horror movie—one I was starring in. I imagined Jason, Freddy, or Leatherface appearing out the fog.
After several winding twists, the lamps winking out after passing by, my eyes caught sight of an unnatural lump lying in the center of the trail as if placed there for a reason.
I was hoping against all odds I wasn’t the reason.
As I got closer I saw the pale flesh of legs lit by the moon, gray knit socks, black Mary Janes, and a gray tartan skirt.
A gasp sliced my erratic soundtrack as I realized it was a student. I rushed over, putting my hand on the soaked black sweater. When I drew away, blood covered my fingers.
In a panic I quickly turned the girl over, checking for a pulse. Her skin was ice cold and I knew there was no pulse before I even put my fingers on her neck. I was a vampire. I should have been able to hear one several feet away. The stench of death also lingered in the air.
A lump lodged in my throat as I brushed long strands of Raven hair out her face to identify her. I was suddenly reminded of my first time at Highland when I found Alicia’s body then Sutton’s.
My blood ran colder than glacier waters the moment I caught a glimpse of the girls face. The tiny beauty mark stamped under her left brow is what gave her away.
Dana Livingston.
Her eyes suddenly flashed open, revealing a deep, unnatural crimson color. Her skin grew sallow and wrinkled as if she were an unearthed corpse while her cracking lips curled back, revealing bloodstained, jagged teeth. With a choking gasp I scrambled backwards on my hands, running into a trunk.
A vicious snarl snaked out of Dana’s mouth, forcing my heart to beat wildly in my chest. A concoction of panic and terror crashed through my bloodstream, nearly incapacitating my muscles.
Suddenly the trunk I was lodged against while watching Dana shifted and arms came around me. A scream tore our my mouth as I slipped out it’s grasp and spun around to find Robert growling, blood dripping down his mouth and eyes the same shade of crimson as Dana’s.
They were undead vampires. How had they become undead vampires! The poison killed them.
A stench like death and rot sifted through the air making me gag. Only one thing had that smell.
A pair of iron claws gripped my shoulder, yanking me up. I looked back to find Bronson behind me, his teeth chomping air to get to my neck as I struggled.
“NO!” I shrieked into the thick blanket of darkness descending around us. “You’re dead! You’re all dead.”
Dana limped forward, a smile curling those cracked lips. “And so are you.”
Bronson’s jaw reached and clamped down on my neck, tearing into my flesh with a vicious, inhuman bite.
Chapter 25
My eyes snapped wide open to find myself in my bed at the Davenport mansion. My erratic breathing and raging heart echoed in my ears while I tried to make since of what just happened.
I slowly sat up, careful not the wake a sleeping Demy beside me. I didn’t need him to see the sweating, trembling mess I currently was.
It was just a nightmare. Only a nightmare. Dana, Bronson, and Robert were dead. They weren’t undead vampires or vengeful ghosts haunting me. Melody, Professor Riley, and Headmaster Morgan were my tormenters. Not them.
A chill shifted through the room and the sound of running water lit my ears. No. Not water. Blood.
Deep crimson blood flowed from the walls, staining the floor and everything in my room.
I clamped my eyes shut and gritted my teeth. “Not real. Not real. Not real.” I breathed deeply, attempting to calm myself, but my heart was not cooperating. “You are just trying to scare me,” I hissed. “I know who you are now and it won’t work.”
I couldn’t believe these psychos had the audacity to still come after me!
A deep, harsh feminine laugh echoed through the room that sounded more like Melody than Dana. Moments later I felt the sensation of bugs crawling over me. Against my better judgment I cracked my eyelids and found centipedes, spiders, roaches, and maggots making a playground out of my bed. Frozen in horror I watched a spider crawl into Demy’s ear and a centipede into his mouth.
My stomach churned and I clamped my jaw tight to keep from dry heaving.
“Stop it!” I hissed. It’s not real. It’s not real. It
’s only a hallucination. It isn’t real…
I kept repeating the reassuring words through my mind, blinking rapidly until suddenly the bugs were gone. And the blood.
With a sigh of relief I slumped back on the pillows, grabbing my chest as if it could calm my jumping pulse.
These ghosts were not strong enough to change appearances or make me hallucinate. Someone was behind this, someone who wanted to get me out of the picture for whatever reason because this had to be more than just revenge for a couple hunters’ deaths.
***
“All right ladies and gents.” Professor Russell clapped his hands together, a smile crossing his handsome face. He was our World Literature teacher and Professor Allen’s replacement. He had thick cropped brown hair, glossy blue eyes, and a kilowatt smile. All the female students’ hearts went pitter patter in his presence. “Today we are going to do a little group work.”
I inwardly groaned. I hated group work, especially now that Mac wasn’t too keen on working with me. Why would he? Sasha was in our class and they were constantly whispering or passing notes.
I rolled my eyes just thinking about it. At least Marci was in this class. We could be partners. I hoped.
“Can I be your partner Professor Russell?” Marci’s voice was deeper than usual.
Professor Russell chuckled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve already assigned the groups.” He winked. “Maybe next time.”
Little did he know Marci was actually quite older than him.
“You’ll be working on questions from The Picture of Dorian Gray.” He flipped on the overhead projector, displaying the partners. I found my name paired with Mac’s.
Oh man. He was just going to love that—and I meant that with the utmost level of sarcasm. My gaze flickered over, expecting him to be scowling. Instead he wiggled his eyebrows at me.
My head snapped back at the odd gesture, wondering what kind of game he was playing. I watched him stand while Sasha pouted after him, making his way toward me. He pulled a desk up to mine, scraping it loudly on the wood floor.
I sighed loudly, letting him know I was annoyed.
Mac sat. “Look at us, working together. My parents would be so proud.”
“I hope you don’t think I’m doing all the work.” I pointed to him with my pen. “Plus, you’re the literary expert. Not me.”
“So I gathered,” he said, tapping his fingers on the desk.
“What tipped you off? The giant bookshelf in your room?” I took out The Picture of Dorian Gray, putting it on the edge of my desk.
“Ha, ha funny.” He took out his notebook. “Actually my dad wants me to get a tutor.”
“What? You can’t get Sasha to do it?” There goes that damn sarcasm again.
A dark smile curled his lips. “Oh, I doubt we’d end up doing any school work.” He wiggled his brows suggestively.
My stomach churned, threatening to hurl my breakfast all over him. “You’re disgusting.”
His head tilted back and a laugh tumbled out. “I’m just kidding. She’s kind of a ditz. Damn. You look like you’re about to puke on me.”
“I am. And I had a big breakfast.” I was silently thanking he thought she was stupid.
“How were you still hungry this morning?” he asked. “Last night you killed that pizza thing we made.”
I shrugged. “I told you I like meat.”
His eyes roamed over my chest, bringing a flush to me. “Where do you put it all?”
I cleared my throat and quickly changed the subject. “Why don’t you just ask Tristan or another uber smart vampire to tutor you?”
“I was looking for a human.” He bared his teeth when he smiled. “Then I can get a snack out of it.”
My heart stopped and blood ran cold. “You want to feed off some unsuspecting human?”
“Oh come on. Don’t look at me like that. We’re vampires. It’s no fun living off donated blood all the time. You do it.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “No. I don’t.”
Mac scoffed and flipped his pencil in the air. “Please. I know you were feeding from Demy.”
“Not since you returned and I’ve never fed from a human.”
His head reeled back. “What? Why?”
I shifted uncomfortably, reluctant to bring up our past. “I only fed from glasses and you before…” I let the sentence hang, knowing he got it.
“What? That’s stupid.”
“You didn’t feed from anyone but me either douche.”
He smoothed his hair down—just the way I hated it. “Well, not anymore. I’ve fed from plenty of humans since I came back from the dead.”
Knives stabbed my heart, tearing at the already damaged organ. I gritted my teeth and shook the pain away. “What about Sasha?” It was difficult to hide the anger in my voice.
“No.” He pulled up short and blinked as if he hadn’t meant to admit that. “Not yet at least.”
Was he not as into Sasha as he seemed? Was he pretending?
“You should try it Rubi—getting a little snack from a human.” His tone had grown callous again. “Don’t let me hold you back.”
I clenched my jaw and glared at him, wanting to reach across my desk and slap the ever loving hell out of him. Instead I smiled tightly. “Maybe I will try it.” I licked my lips slowly, tauntingly and blew him a kiss.
I couldn’t get the conversation Mac and I had in English out of my head. Apparently he was having a feast of humans. Why shouldn’t I? He obviously didn’t care what I did or who I did it with. I was a vampire. I should at least see what all the fuss was. Only once. What was the harm?
That line of thinking is what led me to sneaking off my balcony and off the grounds of the Davenport home. I couldn’t believe I actually made it without any of the guards, especially Rufus or Daedalus following.
I walked through a close by, well-lit park in Salem, thinking my level of stealth had rose considerably if I could slip away from my guards. Giant trees towered over me, their branches dripping down with multicolored leaves that swished in the wind. Dry leaves crunched under my black Chuck Taylors as I avoided massive roots clawing through the ground. Fog swirled in the distance while a cold wind carried the scents of autumn with it.
All in all—it was a lot like Highland Academy.
The entire town was monitored so I was certain I’d be safe for thirty minutes or so. How else was I supposed to find a human to compel? I didn’t want to ask to have one brought. That would be embarrassing and I didn’t want Demy to know. Part of me thought he might be angry or hurt I didn’t snack on him.
Ugh! It wasn’t about that. I wasn’t even thirsty. I just wanted to prove to myself—and Mac—his crap wasn’t getting to me. I had adopted this thick skin ever since he brought Sasha to our special place at Highland. I wasn’t letting a few flirtatious moments get to me.
Absolutely freaking not.
My feet quietly carried me into the park where I spotted a descent looking guy in his early twenties sitting on the bench, texting on his phone. My heart fluttered in a mixture of fear and anticipation.
My steps became more audible so I didn’t frighten him before sitting on the other end of the bench.
The guy did a double take, his soft brown waves falling in a pair of gentle blue eyes. A shy smile laced his lips before he turned back to his phone not really paying attention to it, but watching me out the corner of his eye.
“Hi,” I said.
His head immediately snapped up, flashing me a wide smile. “Oh, um, hi.”
What the hell was I supposed to do now? “I just saw you here and thought I’d say hi.” I cleared my throat. “So, hi.” Oh man. I had to be the lamest vampire ever.
“That’s cool. I’m Sam. What’s your name?”
“Rubi.”
“Cool. You live here or just visiting?”
“I-um…” What the hell was I doing? “Oh forget it,” I said. Confusion entered his expression—until I connected with my hyp
nosis power and drew him in. “Okay, so I’m going to bite you.”
Sam’s blue eyes remained transfixed by mine. “Why?”
I scooted closer. “Because it will feel really awesome.”
A dopey smile split his lips and he dropped his phone on the ground with a muted thud. “Cool,” he breathed.
Wow. This was going to be easier than I thought.
I leaned forward, sniffing the scent from his neck. He smelled like clean soap and strangely like A1 steak sauce. My mouth watered the same time my fangs tore through my gums.
I wondered what it would be like it drizzle steak sauce on someone before I bit them?
I shook the seriously weird thoughts from my mind and slipped my fingers into Sam’s hair, his body shivering with anticipation. My fangs sank into his soft, salty flesh, briny blood flowing into my mouth.
A deep, pleasurable groan drifted out of him as I drank. It was different then drinking from Mac or Demy. Don’t get me wrong—Sam was delicioso and yummy in my tummy. His blood was saltier and lighter. I felt like I could suck all of him down if I wanted to, which I wouldn’t because I wasn’t evil or a killer. But I also didn’t get that overwhelming sensual thing happening that I did with Demy or Mac. They were like eating fresh caught lobster and a Kobe steak straight from the cow on a yacht in the middle of a clear blue ocean. Exotic. Sam was like eating a regular surf and turf in a nice restaurant. Tame.
Still a million times better than gulping down a cold cup o’ blood.
I pulled away from Sam, licking my lips clean. His blue eyes were hazy and half-lidded reminding me of some of the human kids I saw walking around Highland Academy. I cleared my throat. “Well, um, thanks Sam.”
A sleepy, satisfied smile stretched his lips. “That was totally awesome.”
I awkwardly patted his shoulder. “Okay. You can go home now and forget this ever happened. Don’t remember meeting me at all.”
He nodded compliantly. “Okay.” He bent down and scooped up his phone before practically skipping off into the fog without a second look.
