by G. Bailey
“You just seem so tense,” Lyle replies coolly, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, listen, Millie, now’s your chance to open up a bit. You’re here, you’re unsupervised… and you’ve got an upperclassman who’s very interested in getting to know you.” That predatory grin appears on his face again. “Trust me when I say that doesn’t happen very often.”
“Lucky me,” I mutter, looking up at him defiantly. The height difference is staggering, and I can’t help but feel a little intimidated. “Thanks, Lyle, but I’ll pass.”
“That’s a shame,” Lyle says, taking hold of my upper arm, “because people don’t usually say no to me.”
“I just did,” I snap, trying to wrench free. “You’ll have to forgive me for not wanting to be a project for someone with a hybrid fetish.”
That seems to set him off, and his eyes flash as his grip tightens. “What the hell did you just say to me?” he demands, and a wave of panic shoots through me. We’re far enough away from the main building that I doubt there’s any faculty around, and it’s not lunch yet, so the courtyard is more or less deserted. Fuck. This isn’t where I wanted this to go.
Entitled asshole, I think, still struggling against his hand, which is like a vice around my arm. I can feel my shifter magic starting to flare up again, and I struggle to stay calm in the face of what might happen; I’ve gotten into one brawl already since starting my training. I’m not looking to get into another, so instead I just say, “You heard me.”
“You’re new around here, so I’ll let you off easy,” Lyle says, his voice dangerously low, “but you’re going to learn very quickly that you don’t just get to insult me to my face.”
“Let me go.” I take a step back, but he moves with me, and my heart rate speeds up.
“You first years are all the same,” he sneers. “Someone ought to teach you some respect.”
“Get the fuck off her.” We both whip our heads around to see Hunter stalking up to us, his hair like fire in the midmorning sun.
Lyle raises his eyebrows. “I remember you. You’re that kid who can’t even grow fangs yet. Are you sure you want to get involved in this?”
“That’s funny, coming from an RA in the beginners’ class,” Hunter fires back. “They must’ve held you back longer than me.”
The anger in Lyle’s eyes is sudden and intense, and within moments he’s transforming, his vampiric strength increasing his hold on my arm as his eyes turn red and his fangs extend from his mouth. “You tell me,” he says, rounding on Hunter. “On second thought, maybe you ought to stick around, too,” he adds after a moment. “It sounds like you and your girlfriend could both use a lesson on the way things work at our school.”
He wrenches me toward him painfully, and I cry out. Hunter’s eyes flash, and he lunges for the older guy, slamming into him at full force. I’ve never seen him get this aggressive before, and it stuns me more than the pain in my arm, but Lyle just lets out a barking laugh and shoves him away. His vampire strength is enough to send Hunter flying, landing in a heap a few feet away.
“Hunter!” I yell, my eyes wide with panic. The redhead struggles to sit up, blood on his face, and a rush of anger and fear take me over. The world narrows around me, I feel my magic surge, and I summon the first form that comes to mind: in an instant, green scales are rippling up my arms, my physique becoming svelte and reptilian as I transform into a siren. That seems to throw Lyle for a loop, and his grip loosens for a brief moment, long enough for me to shove him away.
I’ve never done it before, but I’ve seen Landon and Hazel do it enough times to give it the old college try, as they say, letting out a loud, shrill shriek that’s enough to make Hunter clap his hands over his ears. Almost as soon as he hears it, Lyle’s demeanor changes, his eyes going wide and fixing on me at the first sound of my siren song.
Damn, I think, with a touch of surprise, that was cool. Then I turn back to the older student, my eyes flashing with anger. “Get out of here,” I tell him, “and leave us the hell alone.”
I’m not under any illusions that my abilities are on par with Landon’s and Hazel’s, but the scream I managed seems to be enough to get him to follow the basic command, and wordlessly, the vampire shifter turns on his heel, brushing past me and moving with unnatural, lurching steps back towards the main building. I watch him long enough to make sure he goes inside before shifting back to human and hurrying to where Hunter is.
“Are you okay?” I ask him, holding out a hand and helping him to his feet.
He wipes the blood off his upper lip, looking away. “What do you think?” he asks.
“I’m sorry he hurt you,” I say, touching his shoulder. “If you need the nurse, we can-”
“What? No.” He shakes his head. “I mean, that’s not the problem.” He turns in the direction Lyle went. “I can’t believe he talked to you that way,” he says, his voice shaking a little, and I’m taken aback. I don’t think I’ve seen him quite like this before. He looks angry, frustrated, confused… but most of all, embarrassed.
“Thank you for intervening,” I tell him. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up.”
Hunter just snorts, shaking his head. “Right. Intervening. For all the good that did.” He kicks a loose stone, sending it rolling away in the grass, not meeting my eyes as he jams his hands in his pockets. “I’m useless. I can’t transform, not even to help the girl I-” But then he stops short, his mouth closing so hard I can hear his teeth click. Ducking his head, he takes a step away from me. “Fucking great.”
I feel a burst of colour in my cheeks, and think back to our conversation before we left for Boston as I watch this brooding, self-loathing vampire-shifter, this guy who’s spent his life in his sister’s shadow. I’ve spent so long thinking about my own difficulties that I’ve practically forgotten I’m not the only one who’s struggling. And my dad isn’t on the school board. A wave of emotion hits me then, and before I can stop them, the words come tumbling out. “Maybe I can teach you. How to transform, I mean.”
Hunter meets my eyes then, a glimmer of hope on his face, along with a healthy dose of skepticism. “You… want to teach me?”
I shrug. “I mean, no promises, but… Shade really helped me figure out what was holding me back before. I’m not a master, by any means, but maybe you just need the right perspective, you know? Someone who’s not a teacher or your sister.”
He looks at me for a long time, seemingly torn. Several emotions flit over his face, and I can see the conflict in his eyes - as well as a hint of what might even be desire. Then he finally clears his throat. “I mean… I can’t say I’m expecting much, but… I wouldn’t mind.” He gives me a rare smile. “What do I have to lose at this point?”
I grin back at him, nudging him playfully with my elbow, and a familiar spark passes between us. “That’s more like it,” I say. “How’s eight tonight, then? Professor Brix, Vampire Shifting 101. Don’t be late.”
Chapter 9
The American campus isn’t nearly as big or spread out as ours, which doesn’t exactly make it ideal for practicing magic, but I’ve always been told to make do with what I have, and tonight is no exception. I’m not about to let something as simple as not having enough space prevent me from helping Hunter, if I can.
The rest of the day’s classes were quiet and uneventful compared to what happened with Lyle, which is saying something, considering we’re at a new school on the other side of the world. The American teachers have a different sensibility about them than ours, along with a tendency to be less formal, but there’s no mistaking the power each of them holds. Silas mentioned to me that the East Coast has a higher density of shifters than other areas of the country, which explains why there are so many students here - and why the conference would be called in a place like Boston, right under the noses of hundreds of thousands of people. I guess that’s what they mean when they talk about hiding in plain sight.
The curfew isn’t until around nine-thi
rty or ten, which gives us plenty of time to wander - or, in my case, try to coach Hunter into his form. I can’t say I have high hopes, which is as much a reflection on my self-confidence as it is on his abilities; I’m not exactly the prime example of a capable shifter, but if there’s anything I can do to make it easier for him, then I’m willing to give it a shot. Especially after watching him put himself at risk for me like he did earlier.
I dig in my pocket for my cell phone as I make my way down the sidewalk and up onto the grassy hill that borders on the parking lot. I end up coming to a halt right where we stopped after transporting yesterday, squinting against the darkness to see if Hunter’s here yet. I’m halfway to sending him a text when there’s the crunching of grass behind me, and I turn around to see the ginger vampire shifter climbing the hill, his hands in his pockets. He’s wearing his classic look of slightly on-edge concern, and it’s endearing; this is clearly a guy who isn’t used to breaking the rules, and he seems as unsure of himself as I am of myself. “Hey,” he says, hunching his lanky shoulders and looking around.
“Hey,” I say, scratching the back of my neck as an awkward silence mounts. Okay, so maybe I didn’t exactly think this all the way through.
“Well,” he says at last, “I’m here, professor.” He spreads out his arms. “Work your magic.”
“Okay, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” I reply with a nervous laugh. “Let’s face it - I’m not the best shifter in the school.”
He returns my chuckle with a dry one of his own. “I didn’t want to say anything, but…”
“But we’re going to give this a try,” I finish for him, putting my hands determinedly on my waist.
“I swear, Boots, if this works, I’ll be shocked.”
“I know, I know.” I bite the inside of my lip, debating as to how we should proceed. The first time we worked together, Shade had me start by relaxing and getting in tune with my breath. “Okay, so… close your eyes.”
Hunter raises an incredulous eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“No offense, Boots, but I’m not totally sure how I’m supposed to get in fights if I have to close my eyes every time I transform.”
“Not every time,” I protest, crossing my arms. “Just at first! You need to focus on tuning the world out before you transform.”
He snorts. “Right. Like that’s going to happen.”
“Okay, enough with the surly broodiness,” I tell him, moving to stand in front of him. “Just trust me on this, okay? Close. Your. Eyes.”
Hunter sighs, rolling his eyes, and I raise a hand to his face to smooth his eyelids shut, leaving it there for a moment while I wait for his fidgeting to stop. He reminds me a little of myself, the first time I tried learning how to transform, and I’m struck by an odd feeling. It hasn’t even been that long since my powers first manifested, and now here I am, trying to pass what little I know on to someone else. Talk about the blind leading the blind… literally. But I push the self-doubt away and drop my hand. Hunter’s eyes are closed but still fluttering with anticipation and thought. “Boots-” he begins.
“Not a word,” I tell him, rubbing my chin as I think back to that first training lesson with Shade. “Okay, so…” I purse my lips. “Tell me about your magic. What does it feel like?”
Hunter frowns. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
The vampire shifter shrugs. “I mean… It doesn’t really feel like anything. What’s it supposed to feel like?”
I run a hand through my hair. “Shade told me it’s different for everyone. But you know it’s your magic because you feel it right in the pit of your stomach, just below your tummy button.”
Hunter scoffs. “That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not ridiculous, it’s true!”
He groans. “Okay, okay, let me think for a minute.” His brow furrows and his hand drifts to his stomach, almost unthinkingly, and there’s a long pause as he struggles to articulate what he’s feeling. “It’s a bit uncomfortable,” he says at last, “like there’s something in there that’s trying to get out. My sister always told me it was probably a stress thing, like an ulcer.”
I stifle a laugh and reply, “Well, maybe that’s your problem. You’ve spent all this time thinking your magic is a medical condition.”
“If your sister was like my sister, Brix, you would understand.”
“Ha. Fair point. Okay…” I take a hesitant step toward him, and then another. Hunter has always been the most aloof and standoffish guy in our group, and as I watch him, I think I’m starting to figure out why: the feelings of inadequacy that he must feel, seeing the rest of us shapeshift with relative ease while he can’t even master the most basic of transformations, can’t be easy. Add to that his overbearing family and the fact that everyone in the school knows who he is, and you’ve got yourself one unhealthy combination. I’m almost hesitant to touch him, as if he’s some cornered, frightened animal, and I’m the person who’s trying to gain his trust.
Tentatively, I reach out, the distance between us feeling miles long, and let my hands settle on Hunter’s shoulders. He straightens up, stiffening almost immediately at the feeling, as if my touch has sent a bolt of lightning through his body. “Easy,” I murmur. “Drop your shoulders. Let go of the tension you’re holding.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” he asks. “How am I supposed to concentrate at all, come to think of it? Amelia always says you should-”
“Amelia’s not here right now,” I tell him in an overly haughty tone of voice. “Now for the next…” I glance at my phone clock. “Hour, I want you to forget everything Amelia’s ever told you about shapeshifting.”
“I don’t think that’s-”
“Hunter. I’m the one in charge, here.”
“Great. Now she’s gotten power-hungry.” He throws his hands up in defeat, making me laugh.
“Focus,” I tell him, still with my hands on his shoulders. “I’m not moving until I feel you relax.”
Slowly, he lets out a long breath through his mouth, softening his posture and straightening his neck. I feel his shoulders drop ever so slightly, although there’s still a tension in his stance, and I can’t help but wonder whether it has more to do with the stress of the lesson… or our close proximity. “That’s it,” I say, letting go of him and taking a step back. “Now, I want you to just let your mind relax,” I tell him. “Stop paying attention to your powers for a while. Stop thinking altogether, if you can. Let your mind wander.”
“Boots,” Hunter protests, “this makes no sense.”
“I know it sounds counterintuitive,” I tell him, “but you have to trust me. This is what really opened the door for me with Shade. Your powers will sneak up on you when you’re ready, but first, you have to let them in.”
“I… okay,” Hunter says at last. “I do trust you, Millie.”
“Good,” I reply lightly, “because I trust you, too. Now listen to Professor Brix.”
Hunter chuckles. “All right, all right.”
I leave him to focus in silence, and the sounds of the night fill my ears. It’s cooler after the sun goes down, and a crisp breeze gusts over us as we stand here on the hill. We’re the only students out here, and in the distance, I can see the lights of the academic building slowly going out, one by one. Farther out than that, the Boston skyline twinkles against the dark sky, and it strikes me that shifters are arriving from all over the world right now, all in search of a solution that will keep both us and humans happy. It’s a tall order, not least of all because our existence is a secret, and I can’t help but wonder if this conference will bring any real solutions… or leave us even worse off than we were before.
But now’s not the time to focus on that. Hunter needs my help, and he’s been standing there quietly this whole time. I shake myself and turn back to him. “How do you feel?”
There’s a long pause. “Relaxed,” he replies final
ly.
I nod. “Good. Now, what I want you to do is visualize your form. Picture everything about it that you can—think of Amelia when she’s transformed. Focus on all the details and try not to leave anything out. The rest will come naturally.” I hope.
Hunter continues to breathe deeply, his eyes closed and his red hair ruffled by the wind. I can’t help but appreciate his beauty while we’re out here like this; under the moonlight, he looks more like a vampire than he ever has, his skin pearlescent and pale, his body radiating power…
Wait.
My eyes widen as I see it: fangs, razor sharp and deadly, emerging from under his upper lip. I have to clamp my hands over my mouth to keep from exclaiming with delight, and when Hunter opens his eyes, I see that they’ve gone blood red. “Is this…?” he begins.
I nod. “Don’t look now, Hunter, but I think you might have just passed my class.”
“Holy shit,” he murmurs, staring down wonderingly at his hands before looking back up at me. I’ve never seen him so excited before; his face is lit up like a kid’s on Christmas. “Holy shit! Boots, it worked!” And just like that, he pops back to normal, his fangs receding and his eyes going back to blue in an instant. “Damn,” he says, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You did it,” I tell him.
He’s practically glowing with pride, his eyes wide with excitement and an exuberance I’ve never seen on him before. “I thought I was a lost cause,” he says quietly, staring at me.
“Nobody’s a lost cause,” I reply, and before I even realise what’s happening, he’s leaning forward, taking me by the back of the neck and pressing a quick kiss to my lips. Heat builds up in my body, a blush rising rapidly in my cheeks, and when he pulls away, he leaves me swaying on my feet.
“I… Sorry,” he mutters, looking at the ground. “Impulse.”
“Turnabout’s fair play,” I tell him, and kiss him back. This time it’s longer, less cautious, and I can’t help but let my arms creep around him as the vampire shifter pulls me close, his lips exploring mine with both sweetness and trepidation. It feels strange, but in a good way… It feels right.