“I think I would know my own house,” he said, turning away from us.
Ethan looked between me and Orin. “Yeah, he should.”
Wally and Pete backed up until they were beside me. “Listen to her,” Wally said. “If she’s picking up on something, then we need to—”
The slightest creak of hinges squeaked through the air, and four figures emerged from the four doors.
I grabbed Wally and Pete and dragged them farther back. Maybe it was because I had missing stamped on my file. Maybe it was because of Rory’s warning about the vampires. Maybe it was because I was so close to death. But this was bad, beyond bad.
“This will be worse than dealing with the necromancer,” I said.
Please, God, let me be wrong for once.
Chapter 6
The four vampires rushed out at us from the doorways in the castle, their speed blinding. There was no way I could fight, no way any of us could physically best them. We had to outsmart them instead.
“PARLAY!” I screamed the word and the vampires came to a dead stop.
“We are vampires, not pirates, you stupid girl.” The one to the left of us laughed, and the other three joined in, their laughter rolling around us, amplified by the stone walls until it felt like a hundred vampires were laughing at us.
“And if we have a necromancer who can control vampires? How much would that be worth to you?” Ethan asked, taking over.
“Necromancers can’t control vampires,” one of them said. “That is an old myth to scare the young ones into being obedient.”
Orin shrunk where he stood, just a little, but I saw it. “It is true.” He shook the necromancer at his feet and the vampires seemed to really see him for the first time. With his heavily lined face and thick beard, he was for sure no kid.
“I can do no such thing,” the necromancer purred.
“Then how did I learn it from you?” Wally held out a hand and her necromancer power crawled down her arm and latched onto the vampire closest to us.
“I would never have figured it out if I hadn’t seen you control Orin.”
Orin nodded. “He made me attack my crew. He was inside my head and I couldn’t stop him.”
Three of the vampires laughed. The fourth tried to join them, but Wally made a fist. The laugh strangled, and she pointed at the other vampires. “Protect us from them.”
Pride suffused me as my crew closed ranks. I only wished Gregory were here, that he could be a part of this moment. Ethan and Orin went shoulder to shoulder, keeping the necromancer on the ground in front of them. Pete stayed near me, and Wally was to our left, directing the vampire she’d taken hold of.
“Damn it, she’s in my head!” He stepped forward, claws extended at his fellow blood suckers. He put his back to us and let out a snarl. “This should not be possible!”
A moment of tension, and then the world seemed to explode in a flurry of movement, shouts and emotion.
People burst through the doorways, not all of them vamps. One was Director Frost, and another was Ethan’s dad, his wand out as he blasted one of the vampires away from our group, flipping him end over end.
Behind them strolled the Sandman, his eyes on me. He gave me a slow nod, and I knew who’d sounded the alarm that something was wrong with our trial. The only question was, why?
Why had Sunshine helped me? Was it because Rory had died?
I went to my knees, the chaos around me white noise buzzing along my skin. Yelling, flares of magic, vampires hissing...it all unrolled around me as I stayed there on my knees.
Pete grabbed one arm, and Wally the other. “We’ve got to get you to the healer,” Pete said.
I closed my eyes and let them carry me.
“She dropped her knife,” Ethan called from behind us, slipping the blade back into its sheath. Only he’d said the wrong thing.
She. He’d said she.
A new burst of excitement whipped up behind us, but I couldn’t bring myself to care as I was hauled through a doorway, out of the House of Night, and into the bright sunshine of upstate New York, as if everything behind us had been a dream.
“Nightmare more like it,” Pete said. “Holy cats. Wild, that was…do you really think they were trying to kill us all?”
They laid me on a table and the healer shushed him, the same healer as that first day. What was her name again? Was I mumbling?
“It’s the infection,” the healer smiled down at me. “It’s almost to your brain. They got you out just in time.”
“What would happen if it reached her brain?” Pete asked.
“Zombie,” Wally said.
The healer—Mara, that was her name—tsked. “Don’t go upsetting her. She’s here and that’s that.”
Of course, she knew I was a girl too. She had from the beginning but hadn’t said anything. But every other thought scattered as her hands pressed against the bite wound. I arched my back as pain rippled outward from her touch.
“This will not be pleasant,” Mara said, her voice grim.
Fire and ice, knives and snapping teeth, tearing flesh and broken limbs, I couldn’t think past the pain that erupted through my veins. “Bite down.”
Something was shoved between my teeth and I bit down hard, snapping it in half.
“Holy cats, are we sure she isn’t a shifter?”
A chunk of leather was shoved in next and I bit into it, my teeth almost touching through the thick material as I screamed.
For a moment, I thought about just letting it go, because the pain was surely not worth the prize. We still had one more trial to go through, one more chance at being killed. Because I was sure that this botched attempt wouldn’t be the last. Whoever was doing it would try again, and again, until they had what they wanted–our deaths, a kidnapping, it didn’t matter. They would not give up.
Was that why the Sandman had been there? Was he after me? The pain receded and my mind went into overdrive with theories and questions. Had the Sandman killed Rory for looking out for me?
Had my friend died trying to protect me, or had he been just thrown under the bus to throw me off the track?
The shakes took me, starting in my legs and working all the way up through my middle to my chest and arms. A heavy blanket was tossed over me, and then Orin and Ethan swept into the tent, followed by…Colt.
His eyes shot to me, one still bruised from his encounter with Rory in the forest. It felt like a lifetime ago even though it had been less than a day.
“She can stay here,” Mara said, dusting her hands. “She needs rest and food. And I fixed her nose while I was at it, seeing as…” As everyone knew I wasn’t a boy. That thought tripped through my brain.
Ethan shook his head. “No, she comes with us. Colt, can you pick her up?”
Orin took a step, but Colt beat him to it. “Yeah, of course.” He scooped me up, blanket and all, as if I weighed nothing.
“I can walk.” I moved to push him away, but my arms were weighted lead and I couldn’t so much as lift them.
Colt held me tightly to his chest as he walked out of the tent, the others falling in around us. All the way to a bus that took us back to the mansion. I dozed, unable to keep my eyes open.
I was warm, safe. I fell asleep in Colt’s arms.
When I came to, we were back in the room, and I was tucked into my bed. My crew was there, talking softly.
“What are we going to do?” Wally asked. “We know someone’s after her, the whole school knows she’s a girl now, but they haven’t kicked her out. Why? That makes no sense.”
“You want her to be kicked out?” Orin countered.
“No, of course not.” Wally huffed. “But they are acting like they don’t know. Why? What do they want with her?”
“She’s strong,” Ethan said. “It’s possible they want her for a specific job. That’s…” he cleared his throat, “that’s what my dad said. That maybe someone wants her specifically. That’s why she’s being tested so hard. Maybe it wasn’
t a trial meant to kill her after all.”
Pete paced beside my bed, identifiable by his footsteps. “But for what?”
They were all quiet at that, and I sat up. Colt was there too, surprising me. He gave me a smile and I tried to smile back.
Except that when I looked at him, all I could see was Rory.
I swallowed hard. “I need to shower. Can…I get some privacy?”
“I’ll be just outside,” Wally said. “Pete and I will guard the door.”
Colt grabbed Ethan. “And we’ll get some food.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “I should never have told you she was a girl.”
They filed out, all of them, except Orin. I looked up at him. “What?”
“We all passed that trial. But we shouldn’t have. You tie us together in a way that is not normal.” He frowned. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. I do not think these ties will be easily broken. I should be bothered by it. Vampires are by nature loners, but…now I don’t want that.”
I stood, hanging on to the bed to make sure I didn’t fall over. I wasn’t hurting anymore, but I felt like I’d been sick for weeks. “That your way of saying we’re friends?”
He tipped his head to the side. “I suppose it is. I’ve never had friends before. Is it normal to want to protect them?”
I wanted to laugh at him, but he was serious. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”
“I see.” He sighed. “Well, I will guard the door with Wally and Pete then. Because you are my friend.”
He did his float-walk to the door and closed it quietly behind him. Call me crazy, but the doubts that had ghosted through me about Orin slid away with the last of our conversation. He might be weird. He might be bloodthirsty, but I didn’t think he’d turn on us. I headed to the bathroom, peeling off my clothes as I went. The smell of the undead, of sweat and blood and fear, clung to them and I just needed them off.
The water was scalding hot as I stepped into it, but I didn’t care. It rolled off my face and shoulders, mingling with my tears. My body was healed. I could feel every inch of it coming up to full speed even while I stood there, right down to my nose. But I wasn’t sure that the rest of me would ever come back from this. From fighting Tommy. From watching Rory disappear under that wave of zombies.
As angry as I’d been with him, I’d never thought I’d truly lose him. Not Rory.
He’d dodged death so many times even when we were kids. How could this have happened? Sobs ripped out of me and I let them. I wouldn’t get another chance to grieve, not until we made it through the final trial.
I stood there, crying and smacking my hand against the wall, until the water began to cool. I forced myself to scrub off the dirt at that point and wash my hair.
When I stepped out of the shower, a single pulse of warning cut through me. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
Wrapped in a towel, angrier than a hen tossed in the pond, I snatched my knife from my belt and stormed to the bathroom door. Done. I was so damn done with this crap, with the constant warnings and danger.
But that didn’t mean I was going to be stupid. I turned the knob slowly and peeked out.
Colt stood there, his hands under Ethan’s mattress. Looking for the cheat sheets? “Really?”
He spun on his heels, but there was no shame on his face. “He left me behind in that first trial. I broke my leg and he left me.”
I remembered that. The House of Shade challenge had seemed so hard, so treacherous, but now I would have paid to go back to it instead of facing the last house. “And you want to get back at him?”
He shrugged as he stood, the papers in his hands. Rather than pocket the cheat sheets, he took his wand out and waved it over them. Then he pulled a blank sheet out of his pocket and waved his wand over it. The words reappeared on the previously blank sheet, as perfect as a photocopy. He tucked away the copy, then stuffed the originals back in place. “Maybe. Maybe I just want to take what he thinks is his for once.”
His blue eyes were locked on mine and I stared back, forgetting that I was standing there soaking wet in nothing more than a towel.
Colt took two steps, cupped my face and kissed me, gently, as if I would break. “Maybe he doesn’t deserve the best, Wild.”
I put a hand on his chest, pushing him and the confusion away. One thing at a time.
“Ethan is what he is. But you promised me food, and I’m starving. Also, how did you get in past the others?”
Colt turned and headed to the window. “I have more skills than most.” He winked at me over his shoulder and slid out, gone without a sound.
As quiet as any Shade. I had more questions for him, for this place, for this world. My stomach growled angrily, and I nodded. Food first.
Questions later.
Chapter 7
“Okay.” I clapped my hands as my crew walked down the hall, using the noise to chase away the lingering fatigue from the night before. It felt like I’d woken up every five minutes last night, drowning in a never-ending loop of zombies, assassins, claws, and gleaming knives. To top it off, Rory’s face kept drifting up out of the abyss, pulling at my heart. Reminding me of all I’d lost to be here.
I took a big, shuddering breath, willing away tears. A huge, gaping hole that felt like a wind tunnel cut through my middle. Memories of Rory kept shoving their way into my thoughts. I kept remembering how it had felt to be near him—dangerous, edgy, raw, exhilarating, and yet safe. Protected. Those feelings had only amplified over time, becoming a thousand times stronger.
And now he was gone.
My childhood was being ripped from me, piece by piece. I could barely think under the weight of grief. But I had to survive. He hadn’t given away his life so I could throw away mine.
“Okay,” I said again, hurrying down the steps to the cafeteria for breakfast. “Here’s what we have. The missing kids are being offered a leg up, so to speak. Then they disappear. Fine. The director seems to be on the case, but she’s obviously too slow to catch up with whomever is doing this. Whatever intel she is getting is old. Not abnormal, since the people in charge are usually clueless. I—we’re being hunted,” I amended, “but that seems like a different situation than the kidnappings. We were meant to be killed last night, not taken. No matter what Ethan’s dad thinks.”
“Um, ya think?” Pete asked with wide eyes.
“I have been thinking on it, and I don’t think Gregory would’ve taken an easy out,” Orin said thoughtfully. “His family isn’t rich—he’d want the gold. It would improve his standing going into the academy.”
I nodded, chewing my lip as we pushed through the doors into the cafeteria. The promise of bacon made my mouth salivate, competing with the smell of burnt toast, steaming sausages, scrambled eggs, and fluffy pancakes. I loved eating at this place, especially since I didn’t have to cook any of the meals myself.
“I found the sheets you stuffed under my mattress,” Ethan said in a low hum.
“Like a princess with a pea,” Wally murmured.
“So obviously he wasn’t going to sell those,” Ethan finished, nodding at a group of guys seated in the back corner. Colt stood from among them, fresh and clean, with stylishly tousled hair. Those entrancing eyes found me and stuck, and a smile quirked up one side of his mouth, sending a rush of heat through me. Ethan went on. “But what was he doing outside?”
“Being hauled away.” I grabbed a plate and started heaping it with food from the buffet. “They, whoever they are, got him when he was still inside. For all we know they tried to convince him to go and he initially agreed.”
“Right, right,” Ethan whispered to himself.
“They weren’t taking the fastest route to the parking lot,” Orin said, following too closely behind me. I had the distinct feeling he was staring at my neck.
I rolled my shoulders without meaning to. “That’s true. They would have had to circle around through the trees.” My mind spun. “Do you think they’re keeping the missing kids on campus some
where? That seems risky.”
“We have a day to look around and find out,” Wally said. “The odds of someone going missing in the woods around here—”
“He didn’t go missing; he was taken,” Ethan corrected dryly, heaping eggs onto his plate.
“The odds of someone being kidnapped and hauled into the woods—”
I let Wally’s statistics drift into the background as I quickly went over the events of the last free day. One thing I hadn’t really paid attention to jogged to the front of my mind.
“Where is the director’s assistant?” I asked, following Ethan to a middle table, front and center so all his adoring fans could see him. Colt met us there, giving me a small smile as he sat. I hadn’t told the others about him copying Ethan’s notes. Mostly because I had a feeling my crew would be facing a different trial than the one described in Ethan’s papers. “That guy seemed more than competent when we met him, yet he wasn’t there when Jared hauled us up to the director’s office the other night. Where could he have been, rather than in the office, doing his job?” Adam hadn’t been there when we’d broken into the office either, but that had happened late at night, and I didn’t think it wise to mention our criminal activities in front of Colt.
“Maybe he was finding out more info for the director?” Pete asked, holding up his fork with a half-eaten sausage skewered on the end.
“More info that didn’t reach her in time to actually help?” I frowned and pushed the hash browns around my plate. “When I first met him, it felt like he could read right through me with a single glance.” I shivered. “He doesn’t seem like a guy who is satisfied with second-rate intelligence.”
“I forgot about that,” Pete murmured. “Yeah, Adam is a creepy dude.”
“I didn’t see anything wrong with him,” Orin said.
“Not surprising,” Ethan returned.
“If he’s not the type to settle for second-rate info, that would explain why he was out, trying to find answers. Maybe that’s what he’s been doing all along?” Wally said.
Ethan pushed food into his cheek so he could talk around it. “Maybe he was just getting coffee.”
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