by Holly Hook
“Of course,” I say. I'll go into the mansion looking eager. After all, the mansion is supposed to be a place for wandering Nightsides to feel safe. Dad even set it up that way. Of course, I'll be the “first” to take advantage of it.
“I'm going to act cold towards you, because I'm disappointed that Olivia has run away,” Riley says. “I'm sorry. Try to hit on me once or twice, and I'll reject you.”
I nod, hating this plan. But it's the best thing we've got.
We pull up to the mansion a moment later, and I focus on projecting that dyed black hair, kitten sweater, and ripped jeans. I imagine anyone on the upper floors looking down and seeing Miranda in the back of the car, sitting beside Lily. Definitely not in the front, where I actually am. Hey, it's good practice.
We get out a moment later, and I hesitate, looking at the mansion as if I've never seen it before. I allow my mouth to fall open and I silently say wow.
The door opens before Riley reaches it. “Where have you been?” Walton asks, taking up the doorway. He does not approve of the leader being gone for so long.
I snap my gaze to him. Walton glances at me with zero recognition. It's working.
“Olivia's missing. This is not good,” Riley says, almost pushing Walton aside. “Someone tried to manipulate her while we were training, and she wanted to go to another town, so we did. And then she ducked out.” He enters the house, shoes clicking. “I can't believe this. Lily's been trying to find her, but she's already in Chicago.”
“Olivia left?” Walton lets his jaw drop.
“She's gone. Dropped off the radar,” Lily says.
Walton looks at her. “What are you doing here? You're not allowed in the mansion.”
Riley shakes his head at her. “I'm sorry, but I'm calling you a cab. I have to honor the will of the coven. Thank you for finding this Nightside before the Beaumonts could get to her.”
Lily nods. “I understand.”
I stand there like I'm unsure what to do. I'm getting into this role already. Now I need to live and breathe Miranda, the lost girl, so I hang back near the car, waiting.
“Oh. Come in. This is a Nightside zone,” Riley says, motioning to me.
“Who is this?” Walton asks, nodding to me.
“We found a rogue Nightside. We couldn't leave her in Shacklesburg, as we found the Beaumonts over that way,” Riley says.
I enter the mansion, cringing under Walton's stare. But he asks no more questions about me but turns back to my boyfriend. “Riley, I am sorry. Love is tough. I've been through many breakups in my time, and they don't get any easier.”
Riley storms into the kitchen. Wow, he's convincing. He leaves me standing there like an extra in a play.
I won't let myself get hurt. This is necessary, at least until we find the Originator. And it could be Walton, for all I know. It could be any of the men.
“Unbelievable,” Riley mutters, stopping.
“You found the Beaumonts?” Walton slowly asks.
“We sighted Addie,” Riley says, reappearing and shutting the front door. “They must have seen Olivia and scared her into leaving. I haven't been able to contact her. Shit. I need her help.” He pounds his fist on the wall and I jump.
Footsteps follow, and I glance out the window to see Lily waiting outside. I focus on my new, crisp Midwestern voice, trying to hear through the others' ears as I speak. “Why can't she come in?”
Riley glowers at me. “We don’t allow hunters in the mansion. I know she found you, but it's part of the deal. Walton, can you show her where the spare bedrooms are?”
He's so dismissive that I balk, which adds to my act. But Walton doesn't miss a beat. “What's your name?” He's almost fatherly.
I've got to watch out for that. “Miranda.” I leave it there, because Dad used to say that using too many words could—
Screw him.
I'm done.
“Welcome to the Nightside mansion,” Walton says with a smile. “You'll be safe here. What brought you to this part of the country?” He motions me away from Riley.
We walk upstairs, and I hang my head like I'm tired. And I tell him the same story I recited to Lily and Riley, over and over, not missing a detail. And as we climb, I listen to my surroundings.
The women are having a card game down in the lounge, and Lola, Becky, and Trish are among them. The other Nightside women, Camilla and Peg, are off to the side, sipping fancy tea. Nothing weird there. Then I turn my hearing to the second and third levels of the mansion, letting my senses spread out as Walton leads me forward. It's in character to look around at everything, at least, because Miranda has never been in a mansion before. In fact, she used to live in a beat-up trailer with her grandmother.
And a real Miranda went missing from Cornville not too long ago. Lily confirmed that story, too.
“Wow,” I say.
“It's a nice place. Has a history, though,” Walton says. “Maybe you should take a nap before you tour the place. If you've only been a Nightside for a few months, then you'll have a lot of questions, and any of us will be happy to answer them.” He stops on the second floor landing and leans close to me. “Stay away from the guy named Stanley, though. I don't like him, and I think he's killed people before. He's been watching everyone like a hawk lately. I don't know his deal, but he's on edge. Other than that, you’ll be fine.”
* * * * *
I can't thank Walton for that nugget. Still in character, I have to admire my new spare room, which is complete with a twin bed and a purple canopy. Oh, and a large closet.
Could Stanley be the Originator after all? Dad said he was old. Nightsides have the same lifespan that Truebloods do, provided hunters don't take them out.
At least lying here, pretending to unwind, is helping me to think. I'm glad no one knocks and that I have some quiet time. Riley must be railing against my “leaving” downstairs, but I tune him out and breathe heavily, pretending to sleep.
Stanley could have made the hunters believe he wasn't Edward's killer, or Riley's attacker. He could have tricked us into thinking he was across the carnival when he was actually slashing at Riley's eyes and trying to poison him. I hope Riley's heard what Walton said to me, but since Walton whispered in my ear, I doubt it.
The answer might have been in front of us the entire time.
Or this could be a trick, too. Walton could even be the killer for all I know, and the one plotting to rise against the Truebloods. Or Daeshawn could be the Originator for all I know. The look harmless approach has turned out to be effective for me, so why wouldn't it be for them?
I must keep a low profile and let Walton guide me through this whole Nightside business.
Soon, as night approaches and rain beats on my window, I sleep.
And no one bothers me for the entire time. I wake hours later to a shrill voice downstairs, and I recognize it immediately.
“...Olivia. Where is she? Tell me where she's gone,” Mom shouts at Riley.
Even without trying, I can hear her from up here on the second floor, and my heart breaks. Mom's about to lose it and start crying right here in front of the entire Nightside mansion.
“Lily's been working on it. Ask her as she thinks Olivia made her way back to Chicago,” Riley says. “It's not safe for you to be here right now. Things are happening, and the Trueblood High Council could show up at any moment. If they see that we're associating with a regular human that we haven’t tested, they'll go crazy. For all they know, you could carry the Nightside mutation.”
“But I've never come into contract with a Trueblood,” Mom says. “Where is my daughter? I knew this was too much stress for her. My husband needs to come back and help me deal with this, and now. I can't blame her for running away.”
I get off the bed, wanting to lash out at something for Mom's sake. This is just as difficult on her as it is on me. And I can't even go down and tell her I'm fine.
But am I fine, really?
I'm safe for now, but not for the
rest of the month.
I tiptoe across the room to the closed door. The glowing digital clock tells me it's closing in on midnight. Mom came out here at night looking for me.
She needs to get out of here. The Originator could ask her where in Chicago I might go and then dispose of her afterward.
“We've been looking for him, too, but he's been a no show. Shit, I'm so sorry,” Riley says. “We'll keep looking. I'm just as worried as you are. Call the Riveras. In fact, I can call them for you. Just let me walk you back out to your car so I can make sure you get out of here okay. Times are weird.”
“I have friends here. Maybe I can talk to them?”
No, I mouth, closing my eyes. My heart’s pounding.
Can I influence Mom without seeing her? I doubt it, as I've never seen it work that way before. The pressure comes, but it stays between my eyes with nowhere to go.
Get out of here.
“We still don't know who killed Edward at the train station,” Riley says. “That person could be here, and with your husband gone, you have less protection here. I'm a Trueblood. Everyone else here is a Nightside.” He leaves it there, not wanting to spill any details of our plan.
“Then I'll go to Chicago myself. Put Mike and Ella Rivera on the phone with me, and I want to talk to their daughter. I'll find Olivia before she hurts someone or gets in trouble. It's a dangerous city in places, and I'm afraid she'll do something and regret it.”
I swallow down tears. Mom's going to go on a fruitless chase, but she's better off across the country than here. At least she'll be out of the reach of the first Nightside.
Riley puts her on the phone with the Riveras and walks her back out to her car. I listen as she starts it up and drives away, and Riley shouts at her to go to the Riveras and not home.
And as Mom goes, I have to go back to bed.
After all, I'm resting from a long trip across the country. I'm a lost new Nightside who hasn't had the chance to even realize she has strength and power yet.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Morning comes after I wait. While I've lost the need for as much sleep since developing my powers, when I first got turned, I still needed a full night of shut-eye. That means Miranda does, too.
Breakfast is being served. The human cook, Caroline, is shuffling around downstairs. I open my closet to find a few spare dresses waiting for me, cheap ones really, that must have been in the spare room since the beginning. I throw on the first one, a chocolate-colored getup that doesn't do Miranda's dark hair and pale complexion any good. It's a bit too long, but I'll deal with it. Miranda needs to look awkward.
I'm almost shocked when I see my normal reflection staring back at me in the adjoining bathroom. I've gotten so into my role I forgot that only others see me as the unfamiliar girl. I can't fool myself, at least not yet. Another shock is how fast I've mastered this whole deal. Dad thinks we came right from the first Nightside, but didn't we all at some point? If it's one mutation, then it all came from one person, right?
How does that explain my powers eclipsing even Dad's?
Either it's because I'm super angry or because of something else I haven't imagined yet.
I head downstairs, ready to navigate the shark-infested waters of breakfast. The other Nightsides have seated themselves, and I wander in like I'm not sure where to go. Walton has saved me a seat across from him, and I take that as Riley strides into the room and sits at the head of the table.
The meeting goes as I expect. Riley tells the coven I'm missing, that I ran away, and demands to know who left from the mansion on Friday. He hints that someone is trying to alter his and my reality, and he's pissed, rising from the table as his voice quakes the silverware.
“We need everyone on board and working together if we're going to survive the Convening,” he finishes. “We can't have Nightsides working against Nightsides. I know that not all of you approve of me and Olivia being together, but trying to tear us apart with your mind manipulation is unacceptable!”
The other Nightsides cringe, and I do, too. His anger is genuine. The manipulator is at this table right now.
Stanley squirms in his seat.
Riley's helping me to weed him out.
But Daeshawn squirms as well, and Walton makes a tiny frown. The two younger guys, Matt and Cameron, just sit there like deer caught in headlights. Those two don’t hang around much and have been so busy flirting with women around town, they haven't even crossed my thoughts.
“Unacceptable,” Riley repeats, not pausing on me. “If I do not convince the High Council that I have control of this coven, then they will kill us, and they will do so brutally. Did you know that beheadings are common?”
No one has anything to say to that. Riley's been reading about past Convenings, then.
Then Riley takes a breath and paces back to his chair. “Someone drove Olivia away.”
“Maybe it was her father?” Lola asks.
“No. It was not her father, or she would have left sooner,” Riley says, deflating. He sits and cuts at his sausage, taking out his anger on the breakfast. “She panicked after we felt someone trying to control us while we were training. Someone has been following us around for some time, for who knows how long, and they had better stop, right now. If I catch who tried to make Olivia attack me and Lily, I will see you out of the coven. Permanently.” Riley flicks his serious gaze around the table.
He's taking control. Riley has what it takes to be a leader.
We might survive. If the High Council saw this, they'd approve.
“Now enjoy breakfast and continue training this afternoon,” he says. “All of you. We're in this together. You only have to act like servants in front of the High Council, but we all need to be ready to act.”
I sense gazes on me. I've been too quiet.
“Training?” I ask, adding a nervous squeak to my voice. “What's going on? What did I walk into?”
“Oh. I'm sorry, Miranda,” Riley says. He gives me a rundown of Truebloods, Nightsides, and the Convening as if I've never heard it before. “I'm sorry you came into this. Maybe Walton or someone else here can train you. Unfortunately, you must go to this event.”
I rise. “But I thought this was safe?”
Riley speaks to everyone. “It will be, if we all work together. Whoever is plotting against me and Olivia, know that if you plot against one member of this coven—the Johnson coven—then you plot against yourself and everyone else here.”
He leaves it at that, and Caroline comes out and serves the next course of breakfast. She doesn't pause on me at all. My new identity is becoming effortless. I don't know how the other Nightsides can't feel the wooziness coming from looking at me, but it's my hope I have more talent in that area than Dad ever did.
Riley doesn't look at me during breakfast. I try not to think of Dad. He's not here. But now's not the time for questions, hurt, and confusion.
I've got to train with Walton and listen to everyone else in this mansion.
* * * * *
That close distance I've been fearing with Riley has come, but not for the reason I expect. For the next week, I don't attend school. I just take Walton's lessons about blood magic and mind manipulation like a good, new student. He walks out with me to the woods and has me train with rabbits, not with deer, but I can't help but remember my first, and only, training session with Dad. We got a deer.
I pretend to struggle with the rabbits at first, and then I master forcing them to hop to their demise.
“Very good,” Walton says. “You're progressing normally. Most Nightsides don't receive training and never know they have these abilities. They end up serving Trueblood masters or end up killed. You should have seen Olivia.”
“The girl who ran away?” Do not react.
“Precisely,” Walton says.
I swallow, waiting for him to speak, but all he does is tell me about my own powers, and about how I destroyed six old Truebloods in one burst of magic.
“...it end
ed the entire battle, really. She saved her friend. That girl would have gone places,” Walton says. “The Beaumonts needed to go for what they were doing to the people of this town, and to their own employees, really. They needed to be the prey for once.”
“That sounds cold,” I say, pacing through the trees as we walk back to the mansion.
“It saved our lives. Those old Trueblood friends of Dominic’s would have killed most, if not all of us,” Walton says. “I wish Olivia would come back. She would have trained you well. There's never been a Nightside like her. She's got the potential to change vampire society and make the Truebloods see us as equals, and not slaves.”
“Were you ever a slave?” I blurt, uncomfortable.
Walton gulps, and I know I've taken him into a dangerous stretch of Memory Lane.
“I'm sorry,” I say. “I shouldn't have asked.”
“Servitude blocks a Nightside's ability to use magic. You must believe that you have power in order to use it.” Walton taps his temple. “They take that from Nightsides early and make them think they're second rate. And it usually works. Olivia's father escaped such a situation, from what I hear.”
If only Walton knew how wrong he is. “That's tough, and I'm sorry. I'm glad I found this place.”
The sun's dropping between the trees and the air's cooling, with our breath spiraling in front of our faces. Is Walton making me think he's someone else? This has been easy for me once I've understood what to do. But even staring at him gives me none of that foggy feeling.
We separate for the night, and I go up to my room, one floor down from Riley. And I wait for him to knock. But being the logical, careful one he is, Riley never shows.
I flop down on the bed. Of course, him speaking to me could ruin the entire plan. Riley was reckless before, and now that he's got lives on his shoulders, he's grown up.
I just hope he can grow back down when this is all over. And that he can be that reckless motorcycle riding hottie again.
A knock down at the front door tears me from my thoughts, and I sit up. I've let my guard down and failed to sense whoever was walking up to the front door.