by Raven Steele
“Sit down!”
“I can’t hear.”
More people yelled around them. A teacher hurried over to make Maisy shut off the music. Maisy flipped off the crowd as she turned off the music on her phone. Arrow simply bowed, exposing an ample amount of cleavage for all to see. As she bent over, her long hair fell to the ground. For a brief moment, I saw the angry signs of a recent tattoo at the top of her neck near her hair line.
I sucked in a breath. There was no mistaking what it was.
A black hawk in flight.
Chapter 17
I turned to Hudson. “Did you see that?”
“What?” He looked relieved not to be talking about his father anymore.
“Arrow’s tattoo.”
He looked her direction. Arrow sat down again and leaned against Grant’s chest. “Are you sure it was a tattoo? I’m pretty sure her mother would freak out if she knew she had one. What was the tattoo of?”
I lowered my voice. “A black hawk. It looked like the exact same image that was stamped on the letters from the person who signed as Hawk.”
He considered that for a moment. “How could you tell it was a hawk? Couldn’t it have just been a raven or an eagle?”
“I guess maybe, but I swear its beak was more rounded like a hawk’s.” I lowered onto my back and stared up at the stars. “You think I’m reading into things, don’t you?”
He joined me, his cool shoulder touching mine. “Sometimes we see things we want to see.”
I didn’t want to admit that he had a point. I was desperate to free my mother and get the life I’d always wanted. Her tattoo could’ve been any bird. I’d only glimpsed it for a moment.
He turned his head towards me. “I look forward to when we can touch again.”
I met his gaze, his face inches from mine. “We’re touching now.”
“I mean really touch.” His eyes flickered to my lips.
Heat warmed my stomach and raced through my veins. Only his shoulder touching mine kept the fire at bay. “Why did I make the rule again?”
I honestly couldn’t remember.
He inched closer to me. “You’re so warm.”
“And you’re so cold.”
“It’s like we were meant to be together.”
Those words snapped me out of whatever trance I was in and I sat up, flames taking on a whole new heat level. “We barely know each other.”
He sat up with me, his mouth pinched tight. “I feel it.”
“You feel my fire.”
He slid his fingers over my bare knee, sending a jolt of ice straight through my body. “I feel you.”
My breathing hitched, and I fought off the urge to pull him on top of me. I wanted to feel his ice all over my flames. I didn’t care where we were.
“I remember how you liked this the other day.” His hand caressed my knee, then up my thigh into my skirt. My chest heaved, stretching the fabric across my breasts. I didn’t stop him. I was so hot and growing hotter by the second.
He leaned closer and nuzzled my neck. “I can’t get enough of you.”
I was about to turn my head and meet his cool lips when through my lust-filled, hazy vision, I saw Arrow, Becca, and Maisy walking away from the school. Where were they going? They kept glancing over their shoulders, like they didn’t want to be seen.
But I saw them.
Using all my mental strength, I pulled away from Hudson, hating the suffocating heat that returned to me. “I have to go.”
I scrambled to my feet just as Bonnie and Ireland returned to our blanket.
“Where are you going?” Ireland asked.
“I’ll be back.”
I darted away but heard Hudson say to Ireland and Bonnie, “I think I upset her.”
I might’ve stopped to explain it had nothing to do with him, but I didn’t want to lose Maisy and the others. They were clearly up to something.
“We’ll go after her,” Bonnie said to him just before I was out of earshot.
I groaned but didn’t stop, not even when I heard hurried footsteps behind me. As soon as I was safely out of view from any teachers, I whirled around and pressed a straight finger to my lips. They looked at each other, but remained silent as I entered the woods. I could just barely make out Becca’s red hair through the trees. I pointed up ahead to show them who we were following.
Ireland’s eyes widened with excitement, and she rubbed her hands together, while Bonnie looked back at the school anxiously.
We continued walking through the forest in a direction I’d never gone before. Faint moonlight barely penetrated the thick canopy overhead, leaving the ground swathed in dark shadows. It was also colder here, much colder. Even with my inner fire to keep me warm, I regretted my outfit choice.
We crept deeper into the woods, and I was glad my friends had followed me. It was pretty freaky out here this far from the school. We didn’t dare turn on any lights for fear of being spotted, so we could only rely on Maisy’s flashlight much further ahead. At least it wasn’t a full moon.
Maisy’s light stopped in a wide clearing. I pulled Ireland and Bonnie down to the ground behind a log, minding my skirt, and peered out.
“What the hell are we doing?” Bonnie finally hissed, pulling her jacket tightly around her. At least she had worn one. “I’m freezing.”
“We’re going to see what those bitches are up to,” Ireland answered. “They shouldn’t be on this side of the forest.”
“What’s over here?” I asked.
She pointed to her right. “The cliffs aren’t far from here. The school forbade us to come here several years ago. I guess a couple of kids died exploring some of the caves.”
“They’re just standing there, though,” Bonnie said, through chattering teeth. “Let’s just go.”
Maybe she was right. It didn’t look like the three girls were doing anything. Just talking. Maybe they were waiting for someone.
“Let’s go find out what this is all about.” Ireland stood before I could stop her. Damnit.
Bonnie groaned but rose with me.
“Hey ladies!” Ireland called. The three of them jumped and looked our direction. “What are you doing all the way out here? Smoking weed? Got any to spare?”
Maisy stepped in front of the two. “What the hell, Ireland. Why are you following us?” Her gaze shifted behind Ireland to me and Bonnie. “Oh great. More misfits.”
“You guys better get back to the school,” Arrow said. Next to her, Becca chewed on a nail, her eyes darting back and forth between us.
I stepped next to Ireland. “We just want to know what you’re doing out here, especially in a forbidden area. It’s not safe.”
Maisy laughed. “Are you really trying to tell me you’re concerned about us?”
Ireland snorted. “Hardly.” She frowned and turned to me. “That’s not what you are saying, right?”
Arrow walked towards us. “I’m warning you. Get the hell out of here.”
Her threat didn’t scare me, but I realized that I didn’t know what Arrow’s ability was. Seemed like an important thing to know.
“Let’s all go back,” Bonnie groaned. “We’re going to freeze to death out here.”
“You got a tattoo,” I blurted to Arrow. “Can I see it?”
She stilled, casting Maisy a worried glance.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. I just want to see it. A bird of some kind, right?”
Ireland grimaced like she’d tasted something bad. “Who cares about her tattoo? Let’s find out why they are out here.”
A twig, more like a thick branch, snapped nearby. All of us jumped and peered at the direction of the sound.
“Shit,” Arrow breathed. “They’re here.”
“Who’s here?” Becca and Bonnie said at the same time.
Maisy whirled on me and Ireland, and pointed a sharp finger at us. “You’ve ruined everything.”
“What’s going on?” Bonnie asked. She moved closer to me and
Ireland just as a shadow darted through the trees, followed by a powerful gust of wind.
“Something’s out there,” I whispered.
We all backed up, subconsciously moving into a circle, our eyes locked on the trees.
Another shadow moved. My pulse raced and breathing quickened.
“There!” Ireland shouted. “Did you guys see that?”
“What the hell are they?” Becca shouted.
“Just be ready,” Maisy answered, like she had been expecting something like this. “And no sudden movements.”
Someone hissed from the forest, a deep and throaty sound that made my insides tremble.
“You brought company,” a raspy voice said.
“They followed us,” Arrow answered. “We didn’t know.”
“We said no one else,” another voice said, deeper than the first.
“Come out and talk to us!” Ireland yelled. “Maybe we can buy some of what you’re selling.”
“I don’t think this is a drug deal,” I whispered.
“But you do have something we want,” the raspy voice said.
Three figures detached from the shadows and walked—no, more like glided towards us. Two were male, one female. And they were beautiful, like gods. I couldn’t look away. The men both had dark hair. One of them wore it long, the other short. Both had smooth, flawless skin and piercing eyes. Their stares were so intense I couldn’t think about what color the shiny orbs were.
The female was just as beautiful with long blond hair, perfectly styled, but I got the impression it was just naturally that way. No styling involved. Her gaze was just as intense, but somehow more deadly.
Next to me, Ireland sucked in a breath, then blurted, “I think I’m bisexual.”
“You and me both,” I whispered back.
Arrow stepped forward to stop the strangers from advancing. “I told you they followed us. We had nothing to do with it.”
While she talked, the female appeared in front of us so fast, I stumbled back. She sniffed at me and then Ireland.
“Nice top,” Ireland said, her voice shaky. The woman’s perfectly shaped breasts were barely held in by a low-cut red silk shirt.
The woman ignored her and moved on to sniff Bonnie. The man with longer hair took her place, leaning in to smell my neck as well. My heart raced so fast I thought it might stop. Only when he moved on to Ireland did I dare suck in a breath.
“Nice pants,” Ireland breathed, staring down at the bulge in his dark slacks.
“Would you shut up?” Maisy snapped at her. “You’re about to die.”
My eyes shifted to her. “Die?”
“These ones don’t bare the mark,” the woman said, motioning me, Bonnie, Ireland and Becca.
“Look, just forget the whole thing,” Maisy said. “We’ll go back to the school.”
“Who the hell are you guys?” Ireland asked. Bonnie had scooted over to her, clinging to her arm.
“That’s not part of our arrangement,” the female told Maisy.
“What arrangement?” I asked.
The short-haired man, the one who had yet to approach us, answered, “We protect the perimeter from anyone who steps into it without the mark.”
“Without a bird tattoo?” I shot a glance at Arrow.
“Just let them go,” she said quickly.
“Not without a taste.” The female returned to Ireland and looked her up and down.
Ireland’s eyes widened. “Holy shit! You’re vampires!”
I startled. “Vampires? Near the school?”
Vampires were the one supernatural that was not allowed within a hundred miles of Solar Academy. It was literally written in the pamphlet. Not that they were all bad, but a large percentage of them were.
Becca looked over at Maisy and Arrow. “Is this who you were taking me to see?”
Maisy rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Leave,” the short-haired vampire said to Maisy and Arrow.
Maisy and Arrow glanced at each other, silently communicating. Arrow shrugged and faced Becca. “Sorry, but we have to go. Just hold still, let them have their blood, and they’ll be on their way.”
“Are you shitting me right now?” Ireland asked, but by the way the vampires were circling us four girls, separating us from Maisy and Arrow, Arrow was deadly serious.
“Do as I say,” Arrow said as she began to walk away, “and it will hurt a lot less.”
Maisy hurried to catch up to her, her eyes darting back at us with worry. At least she looked conflicted about leaving us with a bunch of vampires. It pissed me the hell off, making my temperature rise ten degrees.
“I can’t believe this happening,” Bonnie whimpered.
“What do ghosts think about vampires?” Ireland asked her.
“I have no idea.” She yelped when the woman vampire touched her.
I pointed my finger at her. “Touch her again, and I’ll burn you up.”
Her eyes darted to mine. “A fire starter, huh? I thought I smelled Hell on you.”
“That’s her deodorant,” Ireland explained. “It really is bad.”
“Shut up,” I hissed.
“You better not hurt us,” Becca said. She tried to sound strong, but her voice cracked. “Our parents will hunt you down.”
“Pshhh,” Ireland said and cracked her knuckles. “We don’t need our parents to fight our battles. I think we can handle them.”
“Speak for yourself,” Bonnie mumbled.
Ireland looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. “Ready for this?”
Chapter 18
Before I could answer, the long-haired vampire blinked in front of me and smashed his flat hand into my chest, sending me flying backward through the air. I slammed into a thick tree trunk. My head jerked back, hitting it just as hard.
Pain exploded in my body and my vision blurred. I’d never felt so much agony! But in my next breath, fire surged within me and licked at my muscles, my bones, every part of me that hurt. It was the only good thing about having fire as my gift. It healed me almost as fast as I could be hurt.
While it worked its magic, the other vampires separated the others. Ireland did her best to fight them. I’d never seen her fight before, and I could see why the others said what they did about her. She was a beast, fast and strong. She managed to get in a few good hits, but the vampires were simply too fast for her.
In less than thirty seconds, the female had slammed Ireland to the ground and straddling her. Ireland screamed a slew of curse words, but this only angered the vampire more. She punched Ireland in the face, and my friend fell silent.
On the other side of the clearing, the short-haired vampire had turned his attention to Becca, who backed up into the forest as he stalked her. She shouldn’t go that way. We might not be able to find her. Maybe that was the vampire’s goal.
Bonnie backed away from Long Hair, who was being surprisingly gentle compared to the other, but not in a I-won’t-hurt-you manner, in more of a I-like-to-play-with-my-prey sort of way.
I came to my feet, the pain I’d felt a moment ago almost a distant memory. It only took a thought to summon fire to my hands, the quickest I’d ever done it. I didn’t stop to be impressed with myself. I simply let the flames fly, aiming first for the short-haired vampire. He sensed the blast coming and tried to dodge, but with a flick of my wrist, the fire turned in mid-air and hit its mark. The vampire burst into flames with a high-pitched squeal that hurt my ears.
The sound captured the attention of the other two vampires, and they hissed at me. The female vampire leapt from Ireland and moved so fast I barely had time to duck before her fist crashed into the tree I’d fallen from. Bark and debris polluted the air.
Becca hurried over to Ireland to help her to her feet. Bonnie was frozen in place, mouth open and tears filling her eyes even though the long-haired vampire had left her to come after me.
Realizing the female had missed me, she growled and darted for me again. My fire
exploded in the air near her, taking her off guard. She hesitated, like she was wondering if I was worth it.
“I’m not,” I said to her. “Leave, because I don’t just smell like Hell. I am Hell.”
I made fire appear again, this time catching her on the arm. I’d been aiming for her head, but I’d take what I could get. She screamed and dropped to the ground to smother it in the dirt.
“Watch out!” Becca yelled.
Just as I turned, a fist came roaring towards my face. But before it made impact, like a hair-length away, its motion stopped. The meaty fist turned gray, then white. Ice crystals formed on the tiny hairs on the hand and began to spread up the muscular arm, turning the long-haired vampire’s arm into a frozen ice sculpture.
But the strange phenomenon didn’t stop there.
An arctic storm spread across the vampire, and it only gained in speed until the vampire’s body was entirely frozen, his eyes wide open beneath a plane of glass.
The whole process only took seconds, but it felt like an eternity. A terrible cry rose in the air, the kind I’d only expect to hear on a battlefield. I turned towards the sound.
Hudson sprinted towards me, his cold and bitter gaze on the frozen vampire who, surprisingly, was beginning to break free. Hudson leapt into the air and in a superman punch, he slammed his fist into the deadly sculpture, shattering it into a thousand ruby red pieces.
They crumbled onto my feet, making them cold. I hitched in a breath but in the next beat of my heart, Hudson was taking me by the arms and spinning me away from the frozen bits of corpse. “Are you okay?”
I nodded numbly. Numbly because his touch was so cold, my body was legit freezing into a hardened statue.
“Where did the bitch go?” Ireland growled.
My gaze darted around the clearing. The female vampire was gone.
Hudson let go of my arms, bringing warmth back to my body, but his icy gaze remained on mine. I’d never seen him so angry before, and I’d never been so terrified. I resisted the urge to step away from him.
“Thank you,” I breathed.
With brows furrowed, he took in the scene. The burnt ashes of the other vampire. Bonnie crying. Ireland holding her head and groaning. Becca trying to help, but looking completely helpless.
