by K. G. Reuss
“Hey.” I went up on my tiptoes as we entered the dance. Eric inclined his head down to me, so I could speak into his ear. “Relax. And smile. You can’t have fun if you don’t smile.”
A tiny smile flitted across his face, making me grin wider. I took his hand and pulled him through the room, ignoring the whispers and looks we got, and brought him to where Abby, Harper, and Jason were with their dates at a table.
“Hey!” Harper greeted me, rushing forward, her arms wrapping around me in a quick hug. She cast Eric a nervous look as she pulled away.
“Hello,” he said and nodded at her. Her eyes widened at his acknowledgement.
“H-hi,” she stammered, backing away. I waved to Abby who was just as surprised as Harper.
“Hey, man. How’s it going?” Jason asked, not missing a beat. At least he had the ability to act normal.
“It’s going,” Eric answered tightly. He didn’t seem happy that Jason was there. I didn’t see what the big deal was. Jason was a nice guy and had become my friend. Jason’s eyes slid over to me as he got to his feet and wrapped me in a hug.
“You look amazing, Ever.” He smiled at me, pulling away. Eric cleared his throat beside me, and Jason's arms fell away. He shot a look at Eric before nodding in the direction of the table. “Ever, this is Skylar. She’s in our faction.”
“Hi.” I waved at her. She had a cute, blonde, shoulder-length bob that was adorned with sparkling crystals throughout. She waved back and smiled at me. Harper and Abby introduced me to their dates—Bryce and Devon—before we all settled at the table. It was obvious Eric made everyone nervous. And being Eric, he knew it.
“Do you want a drink, Ever?” he asked, leaning in to speak in my ear. I knew he needed some breathing room, so I nodded. Giving my hand a quick squeeze, he got to his feet and moved along the edge of the dance floor, heading in the direction of the punch.
“Good grief, could that guy be any more intense?” Jason muttered, watching as Eric disappeared into the crowd.
“He’s freaking me out,” Abby added, giving me an apologetic look.
“I think he's awesome,” Bryce proclaimed, sitting forward in his seat to look at me. “He seems cool. I mean, he’s Conexus, so I expected this sort of behavior from him. But I think he’s probably just a normal dude.”
“He is,” I answered quickly. “He’s actually really funny and carefree once you get to know him.”
Harper gave me a tight smile, and Jason shook his head. Before either of them could say anything more, Marcus and Nevron appeared, standing over us.
“What do we have here?” Nevron grinned down at us. “Everyone with a date except the beautiful Everly? Seems crazy.”
“Um, my date went to get me a drink,” I replied.
“Oh yeah?” Nevron craned his neck, surveying the sea of students in search of who my date might be. “Who did you bring?”
“Craft,” Jason answered for me. Marcus and Nevron exchanged surprised looks before Nevron’s lips tilted into a smile.
“Nice.” He grinned at me. “How did you manage to snake him away from the general?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered, my face heating. I really wished he’d go away.
“Blackburn, Ambrose,” Eric said, appearing at my side. I hadn’t seen him approach. He placed my drink in front of me and glared at Nev and Marcus.
“Hey, look who it is,” Marcus chortled. “The general actually let you off your leash for a night?”
“I’m on no one’s leash,” Eric snapped at them, causing them to chuckle again.
“At least not tonight, eh, Craft?” Nev grinned widely. “Are you like Cindefella and need to be back by midnight?”
A muscle in Eric's jaw thrummed as he took a seat next to me, turning away from Nev.
“Dance with me?” he asked in my ear. I was impressed he’d taken the high road and chose not to engage Nev and Marcus in banter.
“Yes.” I nodded my head. He gave me a sweet smile before taking my hand in his and bringing me to my feet. I glanced at Nev. He was smirking at us. He tossed me an easy wink as Eric led me away. Nev sure enjoyed antagonizing people.
“I don’t fit in here,” Eric stated as his arms wound around me, and we began swaying to the music.
“Join the club,” I replied softly. Eric gave me a sad smile and rested his forehead against mine.
“We’re quite the pair, aren't we?” he murmured. “Neither us belonging anywhere.”
“Except here,” I answered, moving back so I could look into his blue eyes. Why wouldn’t he just tell me he was Shadow? Why did he need to keep it a secret? Why keep denying it? I knew aside from the obvious why, but why fight it?
“You’re so beautiful, Ever,” Eric breathed out, his fingers moving to brush against my cheek. “He’s a damn fool.”
“What?” I frowned at him. He shook his head, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Sorry. Uh… Blackburn,” he backtracked quickly. “Just upset me.” His eyes moved along the crowd, and he let out a sigh. “This sucks.”
I glanced around to see what he was talking about. Everyone had moved as far away from us as they could, leaving us to dance in our own little hollowed out space.
“We can leave if you want—”
“No, I want you to have fun. Maybe I’m not smiling enough,” he grumbled, tugging me closer, a giant smile lighting up his eyes. “How’s this?”
I let out a loud laugh at him. He grinned wider and twirled me around in our spot. I could feel everyone’s eyes on us, but I didn’t care. I wanted him to have fun too. We danced through a few more songs before Harper and Abby joined us on the floor with their dates. I cast them both a grateful look when they chose to dance beside us. They returned it with smiles, letting me know that even if Eric wasn’t really one of us they would support me.
We danced for so long, both of us laughing. Harper and Abby join in the merriment. By midnight, everyone in our group seemed to be more relaxed around Eric, and he even engaged them in conversation a few times.
“So, Craft,” Nevron asked, leaning forward in his seat. Unfortunately, Nev and Marcus had stuck around all evening, much to my displeasure. Eric looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Are you and Ever dating?”
The blood rushed to my face while it rushed away from Eric’s.
“We’re friends,” Eric stated. His hand tightened around his glass.
“You know,” Nev pushed, glancing at me. “If I were you, I’d take advantage of the situation. And not like that,” he rushed on when he saw my glare. “I mean, Ever is beautiful. Probably one of the hottest girls in this entire school. And all you want to do is be her friend? Seems unfair to both of you. You make such a cute couple.”
“Ever is beautiful,” Eric agreed, his gaze sliding over to me, his voice tender before he focused back on Nev. When he spoke again, his voice had turned hard, “But I’m her trainer. Nothing can happen. We’re friends. She knows that.”
I looked down at my hands. I did know that. It didn’t make his words sting any less.
“So, no chance of anything?" Nev raised an eyebrow at Eric. Everyone at the table had grown silent, the awkwardness of the conversation making the tension palpable. “That means other guys could take her out on dates then?”
Eric glanced over at me, his eyes sad.
“Ever is as available as she chooses to be,” Eric stated, turning away from me and looking Nev in the eye.
“I’m actually really glad to hear that.” Nev smirked. Eric bristled beside me. “Because I was thinking I’d like to hang out with her. What do you think, Ever? Want to hang out?”
“Uh…” I looked between Eric and Nev. Eric was glaring at him, but Nev didn’t seem to mind. His lips were still quirked up into his playful smile.
Nev’s blue eyes slid from Eric over to me, his eyebrows raised. “I won’t bite. Stake my heart.” He made a stabbing motion over his heart.
“I’ll be right back,” Eric growled, sliding his chair
out roughly and moving away from us. He seemed upset. I wanted to go to him but didn’t know if I should. He had no reason to be upset, aside from Nev being Nev. Eric was the one who said we were just friends.
“I think you should hang out with Nev,” Jason proclaimed after Eric disappeared. “If you and Eric aren’t together, I don’t see the reason why you can’t make other friends too. It’s not like you’re bound by Conexus rules. Nev and Marcus drop in from time to time. Besides, you’re clearly uncomfortable around him. Maybe he could help you understand the vamps better.”
He had a point. Nev just got on my nerves. And Harper and Abby had told me to stay away from him. I looked at Harper for her opinion. She was staring intently at me.
“You should. Jason is right. You look like you’re ready to freak out whenever you’re near a vamp.”
“Come on, sweetheart. I promise to be on my best behavior.” Nev held his pinky out to me. “Pinky promise.”
I snorted at the idea of a vampire, especially one like Nev, making a pinky promise. But it seemed like such an innocent gesture that I held my hand out and wrapped pinkies with him, not giving it a second thought.
“Fine. But if you’re a jerk even for a second, I’m out.”
“It’s a date then.” Nev grinned widely at me, releasing my pinky just as Eric came back holding two drinks.
. “Here,” he grunted, sliding my drink to me.
“Thanks.” I sipped at it.
The group started chatting again. Harper and Abby went back out to dance with their dates. I sat beside Eric, wondering if maybe he was still upset. He’d been quiet since he’d come back, his blue eyes sweeping over the students but never looking in my direction.
“There’s talk of a mancer having been born,” Jason said to Nev and Marcus.
“There’s always talk of something,” Marcus scoffed. “Half the shit you hear isn’t true.”
“Ah, but the other half is,” Nev cut in, his lips turned down into a frown.
I’d been hearing tidbits about mancers and reevers since my arrival at Dementon. It seemed like a touchy subject which tended to be kept to rushed, hushed whispers. Since my curiosity neared a bubbling over point, I decided now would be the perfect time to glean some information out of them.
“What exactly is all this mancer and reever talk,” I asked, glancing around at the guys.
Eric shifted beside me, and Nev gave me an easy smile.
“Ask Craft. His group is the one who deals with all things that go bump in the night. Isn’t that right, Craft?”
Eric narrowed his eyes at Nev and snorted before shaking his head.
“Eric, what’s with all this scary mancer talk?” I pressed. A muscle popped along Eric’s jaw for a moment. I glanced at Marcus and Nev who were both watching Eric.
“The Mancer is a being born into prophecy who can bring forth an undead army. Under Cipher control, or any control really, the mancer could essentially take over the world.”
“Yeah, but how?” I looked between Eric and Nev.
“The Mancer is a necromancer, sweetheart. Whoever this leader of the dead is can summon bones from their resting place to fight at her side.” Nev shrugged. “Be a damn shame for the enemy to persuade such a being to join them. That’s where Craft and his crew of miscreants comes into play.”
“Piss off, Blackburn. You know as well as I do that when it comes to taking over the world, we want what’s best for it. If it means keeping the Mancer at bay, that’s what we’ll do.” Eric scowled at the guys before turning to me. “The Mancer is harmless from our understanding if she doesn’t connect with her Reever.”
“Why? What does the Reever do?” I cocked my head at him, even more interested. No one had said this much about the subject in front of me yet.
“He’s her ouroboros. Her infinity,” Marcus supplied, his amber eyes leveled on me.
“And that means what?”
“He gives eternal life. Imagine a being so powerful it could have any army it wanted at its disposal without the fear of death,” Nev murmured, all playfulness gone as he slid over to sit on my other side. “A reever and a mancer together would be a hell of a team. It could essentially change our entire world. Hell, even the world of the Natties if they decided to. It could make or break the world of Specials.”
“So this reever can bring back a mancer over and over?” My heart stumbled in my chest, my own deaths flashing in my mind’s eye.
“That’s the word on the street. These assholes—” Nev jerked his head in the direction of Eric who was sitting quietly, a scowl on his face. “—should be making sure we’re all safe.”
“Well, you know what the prophecy stated. My father says there have been loads of attacks in the Upper Peninsula as well as in the central region. The time is coming,” Marcus’s words were dark. “The Mancer is already here. So is the Reever.”
I bit back a whimper at his words. There was no way. Whatever the hell was happening to me was just a coincidence
“What have you heard?” the sound of Eric’s voice jolted me from my thoughts. “What about the prophecy and attacks?”
The guys turned and looked at him like they were confused about why he was talking to them. I didn’t think they were going to answer until Nev leaned forward.
“That both the Mancer and Reever have been born. We’ve been over this, Craft. Remember at the end of last year when we asked you and your general got in my face over it?”
“I remember,” Eric snapped. “But it’s been months. Perhaps there’s something else you’ve heard.”
“And if I have, you’d want to know, right?” Nev chuckled darkly. “What’s in it for me?”
Eric glanced between me and Nev. “What do you want?”
“I’ll tell you what.” Nev cocked his head. “How about we go outside and discuss it. My vampire hearing is amazing, but this music sucks.”
Eric rose to his feet. Nev grinned widely. Marcus shuffled to his feet beside Nev.
“Sky and I are going to go dance,” Jason announced, taking Skylar by the hand and leading her out to the dance floor without waiting for anyone to answer. It was just as well. She hadn’t said two words to me all night.
“I’ll be right back,” Eric said to me.
“OK.” I frowned up at him, worried he was going to punch Nev in the face. It didn’t take a genius to recognize the two didn’t like one another.
“Aren’t you coming?” Eric asked, looking over his shoulder at Marcus who was now moving toward me.
“No. Someone has to stay and dance with Ever,” Marcus answered, his eyes focused on me. Eric cast me a quick, pitying look that I returned with a reassuring smile before he turned and followed Nev outside.
Marcus held his hand out to me. “Dance with me?”
I didn’t answer. I simply placed my hand in his and allowed him to usher me to the dance floor. I knew Marcus was more serious than Nev. I felt like I’d be able to tolerate him easier. He rested his hands on my waist as a slow song played. Placing my hands nervously on his chest, I stared up into his amber eyes.
“I’m glad to have you alone,” he said, leaning down so I could hear him. I was about to answer him by leaving him alone on the dance floor when he cut me off, his hands tightening on my waist. “And no, I’m not hitting on you. Listen to me, I have to show you something.”
“What’s that?” I asked dryly.
“All this talk about a mancer and a reever is a big deal. Craft and his cronies can deny it all they want, but the Mancer has been born. And the Reever is out there. In the wrong hands, we’re toast, get me?”
“Not really,” I said faintly, looking up at him again. Marcus’s amber eyes gazed quickly out at the dancers.
“Come with me so we can be alone.”
“What? No!”
“Ever, it’s important. Please. I need to show you something. This is really the best shot I have at doing it. Don’t let it be in vain.”
“What’s that suppose
d to mean?” I frowned up at him.
“It means we didn’t strike up a conversation about something so important just for the fun of it. We needed to get Craft away from you, so I could show you this.”
“Wait. Nev doesn’t actually have information for Eric?”
“He does, but it’s trivial. Please, Ever. You won’t regret it. I swear to you. I’ll blood oath it if I have to. Just come with me.”
“You won’t hurt me?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“What? Why would I hurt you?” He looked insulted at my question. Either he was a good actor or really did have something important to tell me. Sighing, I nodded. He wasted no time in pulling me through the dancers and out a backdoor.
“Where are we going?” I hissed as his hand gripped mine tightly.
“Welcome Hall,” he grunted. I was half jogging to keep up with him, my feet screaming at me in my high heels. “Good lord, woman, we don’t have time.”
“I can’t help it,” I snapped at him. “I didn’t think I needed to bring my running shoes with me!”
He came to a sudden stop, causing me to crash into him. I let out a yelp of surprise when he swept me up in his arms.
“This may feel a little weird.” There was a crushing feeling as Marcus raced across the grounds with me in his arms, the air being pulled from my lungs because we were moving at inhuman speed. I had no idea that locks could run like that. I let out a scream as we approached the brick wall of the welcome hall. We weren’t going to stop. Marcus was going to crash us full tilt into the wall. At the speeds we were going, I imagined the only thing they’d find of me would be my silver heels.
Burying my face in Marcus’s chest, I braced for impact. There was a heaviness over me, making me feel like I was being crushed to death, but it ended quickly, and the air whooshed back into my lungs.
“Ever, you OK?” Marcus called out, a soft chuckle falling from his lips. I peeked up and saw we were standing in the Welcome Hall, still alive. He placed me on my feet and took my hand.
“What happened?”
“The hall is locked at night. I had to cast and shift things around a bit, so we could get through the wall without being detected. Fun, right?”