by Kat Cotton
I wanted to help but, with the two of them tousling on the ground, Lucas might get hurt in the process. It was all mud and fur and rumbling growls with no way to separate them.
I screwed up my eyes. I had powers. I could do something. I’d lifted Lucas, that could help. I just had to work this out.
Then Ren screamed.
Two more vampires had hold of him, one arm each, as they tried to drag him off.
If what Britney and Lucas said was true, the vampires wouldn’t attack me. Could I put my faith in that? I’d just been a guess and I could get seriously hurt here. I prayed for Britney to return soon. We needed Mark and Seth.
There wasn’t much other choice. Ren struggled and kicked but the vampires were far too powerful for him. He’d never get away on his own. And they could take him who knew where.
I tried using my powers, focusing like Mr. Norton had taught me. I stilled my body but my pulse raced and sweat dripped down my legs. Nothing else, just useless sensations. I tried getting angry but fear overrode any other emotion.
A searing pain shot from the birthmark on my hip. And I knew then that I had to save Ren, not because of the money or because it was my job but for some reason, he was part of a bigger plan.
If I couldn’t use my powers, I had to use my fighting skills. Smashing forward, I rammed the vampire holding Ren’s right arm, hoping to loosen his hold.
My body hit his. Solid brick, that’s what it felt like. I rebounded, flying to the ground.
I got to my feet and rubbed my arm. I couldn’t give up after one failed attempt. Ren whimpered now, all fight gone from him. Seemed one of those creatures dug those claws into him.
I flew in, elbow first this time. The vampire recoiled but didn’t let go of Ren.
Instead, he laughed. “Nice try, little girl.”
My heart pounded so hard it reverberated through my entire body.
Ren’s body flopped, his heels digging into the ground. Even with the vampires’ strength, they made slow progress dragging him. Luckily, because if they moved faster, I’d be screwed.
Without a stake, I couldn’t kill them and without my powers, I couldn’t beat them on strength. I inhaled, trying to remember my fight training.
Find their weak point, Mr. Norton’s voice echoed in my head.
Did vampires have a weak point? I wish I’d borrowed that knife of Britney’s before she ran off.
I did have one weapon if only I could activate it. No matter how much a long shot it was, it had to work.
Squatting, I sized up the situation. Three leaps and I’d be on them.
Lucas growls got louder. He could look after himself while I fought these two.
The vampire laughed again, low and rumbling.
Ren didn’t scream again but his face twisted with panic. I tried to get his gaze. I needed him in on my plan.
Look at me, idiot. As I thought that, he opened his eyes, staring straight at me. I tried to indicate with my eyes that I’d go for the vampire’s arm. He gave a small nod as though he understood. I hoped he had. He’d have a split second to break free.
I sprung.
One, two, three. Body slamming into Ren, our sides connected.
Instinctively, I recoiled as the electric shock zapped through me. I fought it. I had to keep contact Ren until that shock fried the vampires. The metallic taste flooded my mouth and my muscles spasmed.
One of them yelped. Their grip loosened. Yes. We could do this.
“Run.”
But, before Ren could run, the vampire grabbed him again.
Bollocks.
The vampires tightened their grip.
My vision went black and my ears buzzed. I wasn’t sure if the binding pain would hit me or not but I didn’t feel right.
“Cherry!” Ren screamed.
I inhaled. No pain. No tightness. Just that rush of power flowing through my body. I could do this. I could tackle them. Vampire strength, phhht.
I rushed forward again, knowing I had the power to take them.
When I rammed Ren with my hip this time, the shock between us was strong enough to make the air crackle. I didn’t recoil, something protected me from the shock.
It worked. It really worked.
As the vampires backed off, I grabbed hold of Ren. He winced but took my hand and we ran.
Lucas jumped up, following us. Hurling along the path toward the school, I expected the vampires to jump us at any moment.
Chapter 25
We didn’t get much further before the others found us, Britney leading them.
“You don’t need us?” Mark had a stake in his hand and a deadly glint in his eyes. “Wait, did you kill them?”
I shook my head.
He grinned. “Tarragon, you stay with them. Seth and I will take those vamps out.”
“Good luck,” I yelled after him.
The four of us continued back to the school.
“What’s going on here?” Ren stared around him. “He’s a wolf-man, she’s a... I dunno what, you’re some kind of freak too. You all do this weird stuff and there’s that freaky electricity and... did you spike my food? I’m tripping. That’s got to be it.”
Ren really didn’t sound his usual self. His voice had a hesitant edge. He walked slowly and scratched at his arm, the aftereffect of a leech bite, no doubt.
“Tarragon, if you have something to wipe Ren’s memory, that’d help a lot.”
“You’re not wiping my memory. I’m not letting you mess with my head.” It didn’t take long for his arrogance to come back.
“It would probably be a good idea,” Tarragon said.
“I’ve got a math test tomorrow.” Ren folded his arms. “I need to remember stuff. And I don’t trust any of you.”
“That really hurts my feelings.” Lucas frowned.
“And mine. After all, I just saved your life.”
Ren shook himself loose of my hold and tried to make it down the path alone but despite his efforts, he stumbled. I went to put my arm around then stopped myself. In the midst of danger, touching Ren had been okay but now we were safe. I couldn’t go around just randomly touching him.
“We’ve got to see Mr. Norton.” Tarragon raised his watch. “He’ll need to know what happened.”
“I want to shower first.” Mud covered my body.
Tarragon shook his head. “You can shower afterward. This shit is getting real. He’ll need to know what measures to take.”
I sighed. I really didn’t want to discuss what had happened. I wanted to get my thoughts all clear in my head first.
Ren and I trailed the others. The closer we got to the school, the safer I felt. It seemed the vampires had disappeared to where ever they’d come from but the extra protection around the school would make sure they couldn’t get us.
“Thanks.” Ren’s whisper was so low, I barely heard it.
I nodded.
Hopefully, Mr. Norton would have some explanation for this electricity thing.
“WHAT’S HE DOING HERE?” Mr. Norton stared at Ren.
“I think he needs to know what’s going on.” I glanced at Ren and he nodded back to me. “Anyway, it’s too late to keep secrets. Although we were thinking we could try a memory wiping potion.”
Mr. Norton shook his head. “Those things aren’t to be messed with. And I have to have a chat with you later about a certain other potion.”
Ren’s glare turned to me. He knew exactly what Mr. Norton meant.
We started briefing Mr. Norton when Mark and Seth burst into the scholarship room.
“They’ve disappeared. Not a trace of the bastards.”
“Mark, language.” Mr. Norton frowned.
“I wanted to bag a vampire.” Mark slumped onto a chair. “I wanted to rid us of them permanently, not just scare them off.”
I finished telling Mr. Norton what had happened. He didn’t say much then dismissed the others.
“Maybe take Ren to the infirmary to get those leech bites l
ooked at.”
Mark snorted. “Leeches.”
Ren kept his head down. I got up to take him to the infirmary but Mr. Norton stopped me.
“I need to talk to you alone.”
I nodded. “I couldn’t have a shower first?”
“It won’t take long.”
I’d found an old blanket in the cupboard and wrapped it around myself but that didn’t come close to a hot shower.
“What I’m going to tell you is in strictest confidence.”
“Yeah, of course.”
I thought Mr. Norton trusted me but he drew a pattern on a sheet of paper. “Put your hand over that.”
“What? Why?”
“You can’t repeat what I’m about to tell you to anyone. Not even Lucas. And it’s not that I don’t trust you but this sigil will seal that knowledge inside you. You literally won’t be able to tell anyone.”
I hovered my hand near the pattern then pulled it back. “This never works well. I’ve seen the movies. I think I’ll never need to tell anyone but then someone’s life will be in danger and I’ll just be like arrghgh arraggh instead of being able to spit out the words to save their lives.”
“We’ll take that risk.”
I sighed. I didn’t like this one little bit. “How come it’s fine to mess with me but not to give Ren a memory wiping potion?”
“Because if we do, he’ll fail his math test tomorrow.”
I rolled my eyes. “Really?”
“No. Because even though his father wants him to remain ignorant, it’s better for him to know about these things. His ignorance might get him killed. Now put your hand on the paper.”
I did as Mr. Norton said but frowned. “You know I wouldn’t do this for just anyone, right? I trust you so don’t mess with me.”
Mr. Norton sat down. “Keep your hand there. This is about Ren’s family. The Worthingtons—”
“Are vampires? Oh my god, I knew it.”
Mr. Norton sighed. “Put your hand back on the sigil. And no, they aren’t vampires.”
I put my hand back. I needed to hear this.
“Are you ready to listen?”
I nodded.
“As you know, vampires live a long, long time. And that can pose problems for them. You can’t buy property or open a bank account or do any of those kinds of things if you don’t officially exist. Especially now with the world becoming more and more reliant on technology, but even back hundreds of years ago there needed to be some way for the ancients to interact with the human world. They did that by relying on intermediaries.”
I frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Vampire clans have a symbiotic relationship with certain families. They support each other and both flourish financially.”
“You mean the Worthingtons are vampires’ bitches.”
“That’s not how I’d put it.” Mr. Norton screwed up his face. “But yes, I think you could say that. They invest money on their behalf, purchase property for them. All that kind of thing.”
“Okay. So how does this concern me?”
“There seems to have been a falling out between the vampire clan and the Worthingtons.”
Things clicked into place. Farran’s disappearance. Ren saying the vampire smelled like his father’s business acquittance and then what had the vampire said... they’d take one of ours to replace one of theirs.
“Because of Farran? He was a vampire, right?”
“You’re worked that much out. Good. Yes. Farran was the half-vampire son of the clan leader. His father wanted him to attend school as a regular human. Of course, I kept my eye on him but he seemed to fit in just fine.”
Farran did not fit in just fine. Farran fit in worse than I did, and that was saying something. Teachers could be so blind about things like that.
“He wore the ring to protect himself?”
Mr. Norton nodded.
“And Ren killed him?” For some reason, it gave me a lot less satisfaction to think Ren was a bad person than it used to. Sure, I’d be right and everyone else would be wrong but that didn’t make me happy. I didn’t want Ren to be a vampire killer if the vampire was a harmless loner like Farran.
That’s assuming Farran was harmless. He might’ve used that loner front to hide any kind of brutal tendencies.
“Ren didn’t kill him. That isn’t possible. I was with Ren when Farran went missing.”
“Ren’s good at getting others to do his dirty work.”
As much as I hated to say that, I couldn’t be a Ren apologist.
“I don’t think that’s the case here. I think someone wants to take the Worthingtons down. They’re being framed for some screwed up business reason and, unfortunately, Farran was the pawn here.”
“And that’s why I have to protect Ren?”
Mr. Norton nodded. “If they kill Ren, a war will break out. The kind of war this world has never seen.”
“A human/vampire war, that seems a bit—”
Mark rushed into the training room, his face creased with worry. “Mr. Norton, come here. You have to see this.”
Chapter 26
Mr. Norton and I followed Mark as he rushed down the corridors. He didn’t stop to explain until we got to the infirmary.
“It’s Ren.” Mark panted, out of breath from all the running.
“I’m sure a few leech bites won’t kill him.” I bent over, hands on my knees, huffing as hard as Mark.
“It’s not the leeches.” Mark lead us to Ren’s bedside. “Take a look at this.”
He grabbed Ren’s arm, twisting it to show us the inside. I moved closer to see. Two bite marks shone red against his skin. Those weren’t leech bites.
“Damn.” Mr. Norton ran his hand through his hair. “Not good. Not good at all.”
“What the hell’s going on here?” Ren tried to sit up but Mark had a firm grip on his arm. “I’m fine. I need to get back to my room.”
He really looked pale.
Mr. Norton sat on Ren’s bed. “It’s not that simple. You’ve been bitten.”
“Yeah. Stupid leeches. But the bites are fine now. Surely they can just give me something so I don’t get an infection.”
Mr. Norton took a deep breath. “It wasn’t the leeches that bit you.”
Ren’s eyes widened. “But...”
“Will he turn?” I asked Mr. Norton. “I told that idiot not to get involved with things and he stupidly followed us. Now he’s going to become a vampire and—”
“Vampire?” Ren almost jumped out of the bed. “You’re kidding me?”
I actually had no idea how vampires turned. Both of us looked at Mr. Norton.
“There is a possibility. We’re going to have to keep him under observation. It normally takes about five days for symptoms to show. We’ll isolate him. There’s a real risk the vampires will still be after him too. They won’t know if he’ll turn or not either.”
“You can turn that easily?” I stared at Ren, wondering how much worse he’d be as a vampire.
“If he’s infected, he’ll start the change. He’ll need to feed to complete the process. We can’t let that happen. It’d be a disaster.”
“Excuse me.” Ren sat up straight. “Not that I want to be a vampire or anything like that, but I think there are a lot of people in this school who wouldn’t mind being bitten by vampire me. Of course, I’d be a hot vampire, nothing like those guys who attacked us.”
Mr. Norton stared at him. “You will not bite anyone, consensual or not. It’s a very shallow bite so you might get through this okay but we can’t take any chances. Containment is our best option.”
“I won’t be ugly like those other guys? Please tell me that.”
That was his main worry?
“Yeah, you will. You’ll be hideous. And you’ll smell bad.” I didn’t want him to think there was any advantage to being a vampire. And that was entirely for his benefit, not mine. The whole idea of Mr. Worthington not paying me and even killing me if his
son became a vampire didn’t figure into it at all. Of course, with Ren in isolation, any gossip about us going to the dance together would completely die.
“I only have vampire lore to go on, since I have no real-life experience with this but it’s like Cherry says. You’ll lose your looks and you’ll smell like death. Also, if you do turn, we’ll have to stake you. There’s no other way around it.”
Ren blanched. I wouldn’t have thought he could get paler but he definitely did when Mr. Norton mentioned staking.
“You can try. I’ll have vampire strength, though.”
That was pretty ballsy of Ren since he’d been confined to a hospital bed just for a few leech bites.
“We’re trained at that kind of thing.”
“Your team didn’t look too well trained out there in the woods.” Ren tried to get out of bed. “I want to go back to my room.”
I rolled my eyes. Mr. Norton wouldn’t let Ren go to his room and just have free reign of the school.
“Sure, you can go to your room. Cherry, you go with him. Then meet us in the training room.”
“What if he bites me?”
Ren turning into a vampire was a terrible thing but me turning would be a total disaster.
“Ren won’t bite you. He’s not a vampire yet. And you’re not biteable. You’re the safest person for him to be around. Just take him up to his room. He might be a bit weak for a while. I’ll see about getting a wheelchair.”
Ren eased himself off the bed. “No wheelchair. I’m fine.”
“Can I have a shower?” The mud caked on me had dried now but it felt awful.
“A quick one. I’ll call the others. It’ll take us a while to gather.”
I couldn’t believe that Mr. Norton just let Ren go back to his room. I guess there was no way we could force him to stay in the infirmary. Well, maybe shackles would work, but there were no shackles handy. I just had to trust Mr. Norton had a plan.
Once I had Ren to his room, I rushed my shower and chucked on some clean clothes. It’d gotten so late that everyone on my floor was asleep so I crept quietly to the elevator. Everyone else had waited for me in the training room.