“I don’t have your number. How am I meant to do that?” he calls over the noise of the students making their way to the next class.
“Surprise me. I thought you had your ways.”
“You know my name. I don’t know yours,” he shouts after me again.
I look over my shoulder at him. “I gave it to you when we first met.”
“I don’t have your last name, Scar,” he recalls.
“How did you find me then?”
“I didn’t. I just got your location from one of my people,” he calls, standing up straighter so he can still see me.
“Hades,” I call back as I walk out of the cafeteria.
Chapter 13
Hey, Dead Man!
It’s Thursday, and I still haven’t heard from Reid. I have come to the conclusion that he isn’t being serious about our date and isn’t going to determine a place and time.
Sitting in the fifth class of the day, I listen to Kyle reading out a passage from the textbook, trying not to fall asleep.
“This is commonly—”
Screams from down the corridor have everyone in the room straightening, and the smell of fear slowly rises.
I share a look with Kyle, both of us trying to determine how much we should do. We both seem to come to the same conclusion—it depends on what the threat is.
As the threat grows closer to the room, the screams and shouts become louder and move with it.
The door handle rattles, everyone in the class stands up and prepares themselves for what is behind it. I step toward the door, getting ready to attack whoever is behind it, and by the looks of it, so is Kyle.
The door flies open to reveal Reid holding a man to his chest, a gun up to the man’s temple who is already covered in something red. Blood?
The whole class let out a collective scream as they stumble, trying to get away from the danger. I falter and take a step back, my hand discreetly telling Kyle to hold off his attack. His heartbeat is too strong, and the man is too calm, for someone who has lost that amount of blood. I get even more suspicious as it doesn’t look like blood either; it’s too bright. I sniff the air, and tomatoes hit me instead of the scent of blood.
I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing, as I listen to what Reid has to say.
“Let me have Scarlett Hades, or I will kill anyone who gets in the way. You will deliver her to the address that is written on the corridor’s walls at the specified time. If not, there will be consequences,” he warns in a threatening tone. “See you then,” he adds, winking in my direction.
I clap my hands together in front of me discreetly, causing Reid’s grin to become bigger. He drops the man before turning and making his hasty exit. The security is seriously lacking; this is the second time that Reid, a dangerous gang leader, has entered the school, and this time he even had a gun.
I wonder for a moment if Reid has some sort of connection to the school, which makes them look the other way, but I’m jolted out of it by a high-pitched voice.
“Oh my God, we have to call 911,” a girl shrieks, looking faint as she looks at the man on the floor who is pretending to be dead. Kyle ignores the traumatized class as he walks closer to me.
“We need to tell your dad that you were threatened,” he mutters, concerned.
“No. We don’t. He was asking me on a date. Can’t you smell that it’s ketchup?”
Kyle discreetly smells the air, like I did, and relaxes when he verifies that the man is not hurt.
“So, that’s how humans ask each other. Weird,” he mutters, making me laugh as I walk toward the “corpse” deciding to play with my classmates a bit more.
I examine the man who is now pretending to be dead and note the small movements he is making. I shake my head; he’s not very good at being dead. I lean down and scoop some of the ketchup on his chest, up, bringing it to my mouth. I lick it, turning back to the class.
“Mm. Tastes good, want some?” I ask, extending my hand out to them. They scream in horror and step back even further if they can. I laugh, shaking my head at them.
“Relax, it’s just ketchup,” I tell them, licking the rest of the “blood” off my finger. The best thing about that is that I just showed them the real me, and they thought that it was a joke.
I crouch down on my haunches next to the man so I can talk to him quietly.
“How much is he paying you?”
“Enough,” he replies, moving his mouth as little as possible.
I beam and stand up, deciding to see where and when the date is. I step over the “dead man” and exit into the hallway. The wall, as promised, has writing on it, also in something red. It drips down the wall, causing it to look even more horrific.
Now will you go on a date with me?
Aspen Valley Park, 11 a.m.?
The students look at the wall, confusion clear on their faces. It doesn’t add up with what they saw.
A boy grins at his friends before making his way to the wall, his hand outstretched. He scrapes some of the liquid off the wall and moves it to his mouth.
Something feels off and different, so I sniff the air. I throw my hands out in front of me as I take a step back trying to calm down from the overpowering smell of fresh blood.
“Wait! That’s not ketchup this time!” I shout, stopping the boy in his tracks.
A second passes where the corridor is still, almost like someone pressed pause on a remote.
The boy who went to the wall suddenly crumples and falls to the floor having fainted. This seems to start the scene playing again as everyone shouts and screams.
“We need to call 911!” someone screams again. Sobs come from some of the students, but I focus on Kyle who is silently asking me what we should do.
I shrug; we need to get them to calm down. I look around for something that will do the trick. I spot the fire alarm on the wall and push through the chaos to it. I smash the glass, causing the alarm to start blaring throughout the school.
I light a fire on my fingertips. The smoke detectors catch it, and the sprinklers try to put it out. Hopefully, it will shock them enough to forget about the blood and maybe even clean it off somewhat. The screams change to ones of shock, and the teachers in the hallway shout over them to get their attention.
“Everyone, make their way out of the building in an orderly fashion!”
I move back to stand with Tasha and Lottie, seeing that they are rolling their eyes at the screamers.
“How did you know that it was ketchup on the man and the writing wasn’t?” Tasha calls over the alarms and terror.
“The man looked too calm for it to be real blood, and the writing looked different to the ketchup on the man,” I tell them truthfully.
“You’re very observant,” Lottie comments as we start to push through the people still in the corridor.
As we walk, I notice that the man who pretended to be dead is now making his way out of the building, through the confusion. I follow him with my eyes but quickly lose him in the crowd.
“I need to go back to the class,” I shout to Lottie and Tasha before making my way back against the tide and toward the man sneaking out.
I hear Lottie and Tasha call to me, their shouts getting fainter the further I get away from them. I finally make it to the back of the crowd and step out into an empty corridor.
I notice the man walking quickly toward a back entrance and follow him, staying quite distant behind him, not worried about losing him in the empty halls. He pulls the door open, slipping through, and I catch the door before it closes.
“Hey, dead man!” I shout to get his attention, walking across the grass.
The man stops and spins with a grin on his face.
“I do have a name.”
“Everyone does, but I don’t know yours so…” I stop inches in front of him.
“Danny,” he responds, his hand out.
I take it. “Scar.”
“What can I do for you, Scar?” he asks.
/> “I want you to tell your boss something.”
“I’m listening.”
“Tell him I’ll go on the date, but next time, I would have preferred an actual dead body as my gift,” I tell him seriously.
His smirk drops, turning into a grimace. I pat him on the arm before turning to make my way to the front of the building.
“See you around,” I call back as I take a cigarette out and light it. I bring it down from my lips as I make my way along the outside of the building, looking at the cigarette. Who knew that something so small could have deadly effects? I chuckle at myself. My second week on earth and I’m already addicted to them, albeit for a different reason to mortals. It’s my little piece of home on Earth.
I pause on the way to dry my clothes off, as I was getting cold from the colder air than I am used to touching my wet clothes and skin.
Once I am dry, I turn the corner and walk to the front entrance of the building, seeing that all the school has crowded there.
Mr. Ward’s watery gaze meets mine, his eyes narrowing.
“Ms. Hades, do you care to explain to me why you did not exit the building with the rest of us? And please put that out.”
I take one last drag from the cigarette before dropping it to the floor, standing on it.
“I was having a cigarette around the back while talking to a dead guy,” I tell him.
Mr. Ward looks surprised for a moment, opening his mouth in what I’m sure would have been him insisting for the truth. Kyle cuts in before he can say anything.
“Excuse me, Mr. Ward, but as it’s been said, it is safe to go in now. I will be taking Ms. Hades to my classroom so I can talk to her about the homework.” Kyle motions for me to start walking into the school, but we are stopped by Mr. Ward.
“Mr…” Mr. Ward starts, looking for Kyle’s surname.
I chuckle, knowing he’ll be there for a long time, waiting for that. Kyle doesn’t even know his last name. I raise an eyebrow at Kyle, mocking Mr. Ward. What’s your last name, Kyle? I mouth. He shoots me a look, trying not to laugh.
“Call me Kyle,” he insists.
“No, that would be improper. Your last name is what I am looking for,” Mr. Ward replies impatiently.
“You’re not going to get it. So if you would just say what you have to tell Ms. Hades, then I can discuss her work with her,” Kyle tells him with a forced smile.
“I…I’ll talk to you later, Ms. Hades,” Mr. Ward states before walking off in the other direction.
“It would be improper,” I mock Mr. Ward with a laugh, nudging Kyle in the side. He pushes me back playfully, a grin on his face as well as he pulls the door open for me. I fake hurt as I walk in after him, our laughs filling the empty hallway.
Chapter 14
Surprise Gifts
Kyle leans against the desk in his classroom as he looks me over, his arms crossed.
“Want to further explain to me what just happened before I tell your dad?” he asks.
I consider the situation for a moment. Kyle already knows that I was being asked on a date, but do I want my dad to know? Can I get Kyle on my side? My dad would just interfere, and I wouldn’t hear the end of it.
“Nope, you already know all there is,” I tell him, leaning back on my hands as I sit atop a desk.
“Hm.” Kyle steps forward, his hands going to either side of my thighs. His eyes meet mine, and I feel a slight tug at the back of my mind as Kyle asks, “Are you sure?”
I raise an eyebrow; Kyle knows better than to try and compel me. I relay my thoughts to him. He lets out a breathy laugh.
“Oh well, it was worth a try,” he responds.
“Even though you knew it wouldn’t work?” I ask.
“I thought you would tell me anyway,” he admits.
“You can be really stupid sometimes, Kyle.” I laugh. He rolls his eyes.
“Your dad will want to hear about it, so if you give me a story to tell him—” He gets cut off by the sound of the handle turning.
Wanting to prank whoever is behind the door, as a result of them barging in, I reach for Kyle’s face and bring it the short distance to my own. His still lips fall on my own, his eyes widening. I implore silently for him to go along with it as the door opens.
Being used to my pranks, Kyle reaches for my thighs, sliding me closer to him on the table. I hold back from cringing when our lips start to move. It feels like I am kissing a family member. I can’t get how my family used to be able to do this. It feels so wrong, and I am barely able to do it for a short while.
My heels pull him closer as my hands go to his hair. He groans in frustration but continues to go along with the charade. I hear the door swing open, but I don’t stop until a cough breaks the silence. I turn to see who we pranked, Kyle’s lips staying on my face.
Mr. Ward stares back at us, his own clothes and his hair slightly disheveled. A slow, sardonic grin touches his lips as he looks at us. When Kyle notices it is Mr. Ward, he jumps back from me.
“Mr. Ward…” Kyle starts, faking fear of Mr. Ward telling someone. If need be, we can always compel him, but I doubt that we will need to do that.
“Mr. Kyle, I’m going to have to tell the principal.” Mr. Ward all but sings.
Kyle stares back at him with an amused look as I try and hide the laugh that is threatening to leave my lips. I was expecting him to drop the “Mr.” and by the looks of it, so is Kyle.
“I don’t think that is necessary, or even wise,” I tell Mr. Ward as I jump off the desk, trailing my hand over Kyle’s chest as I walk toward the door. Thinking that I could use his disheveled appearance to get out of this, I sniff the air, and my suspicions are confirmed with the smell of sweat and sex. Mixed in with the smell is Tiffany’s scent. My eyes light up with amusement.
“Why is that?” he retorts smugly.
“You don’t want to because if you tell the principal about us, you’ll also have to tell her about your little fling with Tiffany. How long have you been fucking her, and does your wife know?” I ask, looking down at the glint of gold on his left hand.
Mr. Ward’s smug look quickly fades and is replaced with an angry one. His furious eyes meet mine, but I notice that his right hand is now covering his fingers on his left.
“How dare you—”
I cut off what I am sure would have been a threat which had me quaking in my boots. “It’s been nice to talk to you, as always, Mr. Ward.” I step around him and through the open door, going out into the corridor.
As I step off the last step of the stairs, I notice Tiffany still in the hallway. I look her over and see that she is in the same state as Mr. Ward.
“Your lipstick’s smudged,” I say as I continue to the exit only to stop and turn back to her.
She rubs below her lip at the smudge as she glares at me.
“You know the only reason I can think of as to why you keep going back to Mr. Ward is that he’s a good fuck because it’s certainly not for his looks. Is it?”
Her eyes are still narrowed at me in a glare as she opens her move before closing it again. Eventually, she thinks of a comeback as I am turning to leave again.
“At least people want to fuck me.”
“You must have a really good rate then,” I retort as I pull the door open.
I walk through the parking lot, stopping at my bike. I clamber on, starting it up, and start on my way home. I’ve had enough of the school for one day. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Kyle about my date with Reid, so most likely he will tell my dad about it. But what day? Reid gave me a time but not a day. Maybe I’ll get around my dad finding out and as a result, interfering.
I pull onto the road leading to my house, smelling the saltiness from the sea in the air. Something else, which is somewhat familiar, underlies it also. I pull onto the drive, stopping the bike abruptly when I see that the door is ajar.
Turning the engine off, I slide my leg off and look around for a sign that the intruder is still here. I cautiou
sly walk forward, sniffing the air again. The smell of Reid and blood hit me, causing me to speed up.
The blood doesn’t smell like Reid’s, but worry starts to go through me. Is there another reason for him finding me again, which isn’t for a date?
I step up to the side of the door, pushing it open further, casting an eye over the space. It looks normal, except for a trail of blood. The house is silent, letting me know that I am alone. I step into the doorway, now able to see the room fully.
The trail of blood leads to a wall, which is covered in writing in something red, exactly like one the corridor walls of the school.
I forgot to say that the date is this Saturday.
Well, that answers my question, I think as my eyes move down the wall and to where the trail of blood ends. A dead body of a man I do not recognize lies on the floor of my living room. I wonder what he did to get the privilege of being my gift.
I step closer and inspect the body, finding that the body is relatively fresh. The blood pooling around the body has my hunger poking its head up. Nice of Reid to get me dinner, I think as I start to clear up the mess.
Chapter 15
Boredom
The last bell rings, prompting everyone to jump out of their seats and for Mrs. Jackson to, with no avail, call over the tumult for us all to sit down.
As I walk to the door with Lily, my shoulder is pushed forward as Tiffany barges past to get to the door. She shoots me a look over her shoulder, causing me to roll my eyes. All day Mr. Ward and Tiffany have been shooting me looks of contempt as if it is my fault that they have been fucking. All I did was find them out.
“So, have you got anything planned for this weekend?” Lily asks as we walk out of the school.
“It won’t be as eventful as last weekend. I have a date tomorrow,” I say. “What about you?”
“I have a date with my laptop and a ton of junk food. Who’s your date with? Anyone I know?” she responds as we walk out into the afternoon sunshine.
“I would say you know them but not personally, or well.” I continue to my car, unlocking it, leaving her to ponder the possibilities.
Hades’ Daughter (The War of Fate) Page 13
