“Say Hi to Noah for me!” Justin yelled back at me, but I refused to turn around. Had he been friends with Noah? Long enough to learn his secret? Did he know about me? It seemed that I had a few questions to ask my ex before I stabbed him.
I headed outside, past the two teachers standing guard and several other conversations from my classmates. It wasn’t a big school since it was such a small town, but there was something about lunch time that got lips moving. I hope Noah got that same feeling. No…I didn’t want to make out with him.
The cold air slapped me in the face, and it was already getting dark. It wasn’t like we were living in Alaska, but we still rarely saw sunlight. The daytime was still the standard twelve hours, but it was always gloomy and raining, or threatening to rain. It made most of the town moody and depressed. So many people spent their time inside their houses that they began coming up with crazy ideas and theories about the quaint town of Casper. Theories like there were vampires in the shadows, or creatures of the night, or zombies walking among us. I keep telling Elliot to not go out in public during the day, but the only voice he often hears is his own.
I scouted the area around me as I walked along the brick walkway. Once I was sure I wasn’t being watched by anything human, I sprinted over to a cluster of dead bushes nearby and rummaged amongst the brittle branches and sticks. At the bottom, hidden amongst it all was my partner in crime.
“It’s cold,” he said flatly as I untangled the straps on his harness.
“You can’t feel the cold.”
“I didn’t say I could feel it. I said it’s cold. My body was beginning to freeze up.”
“I swear, a complainer is what my song turned you into. You were probably a zombie from the beginning.”
“If that was true, I would have had money a lot sooner.”
“HA!” I exclaimed, as I placed him onto my back. “I knew you killed someone to get rich.”
“First of all, I’m not Henry. I don’t eat people, and especially not for selfish gain. I’m a gentleman even in death. I merely snuck into the houses of the wealthy and retrieved what I needed while they were asleep. Given that time is not a factor, I can scout out a place and then steal at my leisure. Second, I’m appalled that you’re not horrified at the idea of someone being killed.”
“I am,” I said, making the straps tighter around me. “I’ve just been trying to figure out how you got rich all this time. I was kind of high off the mystery being solved.”
“You could have asked.”
“You can’t just answer questions straight out,” I sighed, taking a deep sigh and heading behind the gymnasium. “But if you want to prove me wrong, you can tell me what you do eat.”
“Excuse me?”
“What do you eat? You said you don’t eat people.”
“I am on a diet of lean chicken and an array of vegetables.” I couldn’t help but giggle at hearing that one. “Is there something the matter, Alexandra?”
“I just find it funny that you’re watching your diet.”
“Now we don’t know for sure what affect it could have. Maybe if I maintain a certain equilibrium in my consumption, I won’t fall apart so easily.”
“Or maybe eating someone is the answer to staying together.”
“Alex! You’re impossible today! How can you say such things?”
“I was just saying,” I said. “It can’t be too bad eating what you need, can it? I mean…it’s not much different than what I do. How can I judge Henry for what he does?”
“We can’t change the past, Alexandra,” Elliot replied after a pause. “But we can change our future.”
“What are you saying? I should find another way to survive?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. I could feel him put a hand to his chin. “You may be right that eating people will keep me whole. But the thought of it disturbs me to no end. Not to mention that finding the right individual would take an eternity. I believe that we may have a nature about us, but that doesn’t mean we have to obey it like a slave. We can fight our urges if we so choose.”
“Do you think that I’ve been lied to by my own mother? That I don’t have to devour souls?”
“There is no telling without excessive research,” he replied. “It’s possible that in the beginning you were simply sick for another reason. You might not have been dying.”
“The ordeal was pretty intense,” I nodded. “I can’t see how I wasn’t dying.”
“A heroin addict gets damaged both physically and psychologically when they try to remove themselves from their habit, but that doesn’t mean they will die if they suffer through the cleansing.”
“Do you think I should just let this death process take its course and see what happens?”
“Again, I’m unsure. After all, we have documented proof that a heroin addict can go cold turkey. Sirens are certainly not the norm.”
“So again, we’re back to step one,” I sighed as I leaned my head back. “Do you have your stake?”
“It’s frozen to the palm of my left hand.”
“Before we try to kill him,” I whispered. “I have to ask him a couple questions.”
“Then you might as well give up on your chances of success. He could hypnotize you.”
“But you won’t be.”
“I’m hardly in a position to brawl with a vampire. It’s like a cat…battling a roll of toilet paper.”
“I believe in you.”
“Do you even know if a stake will work?”
“No, but it certainly would on most people.”
“How macabre.”
“Okay, shush now. We’re pretty much there.”
Elliot obeyed as I straightened my shoulders and walked casually behind the gymnasium, into an alley that had no way of escape except for where I came from. There was certainly no exit through the windowed door at the end of the alley, for Noah immediately stepped out from it like he had just finished shooting a movie.
His face and hair was glamorous. So perfectly smooth and chiseled and…I shook my head and blinked my eyes as he laughed at my reaction.
“Surely I don’t have that kind of reaction over you.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I muttered. “It’s because you’re a vampire that you look that way.”
“That’s cold,” he chuckled, closing the door behind him. I examined the brick walls to my left and right. Yep, no escape.
“How does Justin know you’re a vampire?” I blurted out. Noah’s eyes widened in surprise and he folded his arms in response. “Well?”
“You have your allies,” he nodded to someone behind me, “and I have mine.”
I turned to see the last person I ever expected to appear. Henry.
“Are you following me?” I screamed, but Henry held up his hands in surrender.
“I’m not here to hurt you. And neither is Noah.”
“Here we go,” Elliot muttered. Noah’s head swiveled back to me.
“What was that?”
“It’s Elliot,” Henry sighed, walking past us until he was standing next to Noah.
“Okay, seriously, what’s going on here?” I asked. “You guys are conspiring against me? Me? What would…” my voice cracked and I felt my eyes begin to water, but I fought them back with all the strength I could muster. No matter how betrayed I felt, I couldn’t break now.
“Are you really about to cry?” Henry scoffed. “After what you did to us?”
“When are you going to get over it?” I cried out. Everyone, including Elliot groaned.
“This is why we’re here,” Noah replied, reaching behind him and pulling out the sheets of music, compiled into a stack. “I took this so I could barter with you.”
“What do you want?” I muttered, my hands instinctively reaching for the papers.
“We want a home,” Noah said. Henry nodded, and I lost all reason to cry.
“What?” I asked angrily. “Don’t tell me you want my house.”
“Not
exactly,” he chuckled. “Listen. Henry and I have been talking since last night. He told me that the cure for our condition is in your blood. Of course, none of us want to hurt you. I think part of it is because of the spell cast over us, but we also think of how we felt before it all happened. As much as we don’t want to admit it - we all care for you in our own way.”
“So…you want to live with me?”
“Yes,” Henry replied. “The three of us can help you find a cure so you don’t have to hurt people, and so we can go back to normal.”
“Three?”
“Elliot gets to live with us too,” he said, pointing to my backpack. “He may be annoying, but he’ll ensure that we don’t go too far when it comes to your…um, blood. If we all work together professionally to find a cure, I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to help.”
“Perhaps,” he replied from behind me. “But first things first. Where are my legs?!”
“I don’t have them,” Noah said casually. “I threw them away.”
“WHAT?!”
“They were gross, and I didn’t know Alex was close to you at the time. I’m sorry.”
“You can’t take someone’s legs and think it will be resolved with an apology!”
“I’m trying to make up for it now,” he said, turning his attention back to me. “We want a place to live. We’re tired of living on the streets. We can’t go home due to what we’ve become, and you have the room. So that is our deal. The music for asylum.”
“This is ridiculous,” I said. “I can’t live with a vampire and two zombies. Male zombies and a vampire at that.”
“Is she really going to tell us what’s proper?” Henry scoffed, glancing at Noah.
“Fine,” I growled. “Whatever. You can live at my house. But there’s going to be rules. A lot of rules that I have yet to think up.”
“Our first house meeting,” Henry smiled. I wanted to slap that smirk away.
“We’ll discuss all of that tonight,” Noah said, giving me a bow and handing me the sheets of paper. “For now I must go and choose my room before you all get there.”
“Yeah, right,” Henry said, trying to shove Noah backwards to get a head start. He didn’t move. Henry ignored his failed attempt and started sprinting out of the alley, Noah fast on his heels with a stupid grin on his face. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I got. I already felt guilty enough changing them. Now I would be seeing the result of my actions in the face every day.
“You’re quiet,” I said, addressing Elliot.
“I was thinking.”
“About this arrangement?”
“I’m trying to figure out if it’s a trap.”
“And?”
“If they wanted to kill you, they could have easily done it already. Besides, they gave you back the music. Hardly a gesture of ill-will.”
“They’re annoying.”
“And so are you. You don’t hear me complaining.”
“You just said it. Just now.”
“It’s cold out here.” he sighed and I shook my head. Whatever. At least I would have someone to talk to at night.
“Ready to go home?” I asked, realizing that when I said it, it was meant for the both of us.
“Certainly.”
I was just about to turn around and leave when I heard an amused voice behind me shout my way, halting me in my tracks.
“That,” the voice paused, “is the ugliest backpack I have ever seen.”
“Oh no,” I heard Elliot say from behind me, facing the stranger. “It’s Lucas Hawthorne.”
TRACK 5 – Grand Entrance (Lucas Intro)
“Run now, Alexandra!” Elliot half-whispered, but I barely moved. I tightened my grip on the sheets of music, but my feet couldn’t budge. My eyes refused to wander from his, and my breath cut short. I felt my fingertips go numb.
And he didn’t even do anything yet.
“Are you okay?” he asked, raising one of his rugged eyebrows. My throat went dry as I tried ignoring the excessive tapping on my arm from Elliot. Lucas took one step towards me and my vision became hazy.
It was like he stepped out of a fine men’s clothing catalogue. His black hair was slick and tussled, but in all the right places. His blue eyes were warm yet mysterious and his lips were full and inviting. His face was smooth as a baby’s but his jawline was as chiseled as his body. Even through the oversized leather jacket, the baggy jeans and the black unlabeled t-shirt, I could see that he had been crafted exquisitely by the gods. It was apparent in his slack stance and amused countenance that he didn’t put any effort into his physique. He was just created that way.
“Alexandra, can you please stop looking like an idiot?” Elliot groaned from behind. “You’re embarrassing.”
“What are you doing here?” I heard myself demand to the demi-god in front of me. Lucas chuckled and crossed his arms. I closed my eyes so that I could gain my composure from within.
“Duh. I go to school here,” he laughed. “Same as you.”
“You know who I am?” I asked, my eyes fluttering open. Another groan from behind me followed.
“Not really,” he said, making me scowl. “But hey, that doesn’t mean we can’t introduce ourselves. My name is –“
“- I know who you are,” I snapped.
“So that means you know what I can do,” he said. The tone of his voice screamed dangerous, but all it did was intrigue me more.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I said honestly. “All I know is your name.”
“Oh!” he said, taking a step back. “Well, that’s new.”
“What are you doing here behind the alley?” I demanded to know.
“Well, it’s just that I caught a glimpse of that Henry kid coming back here. I knew he went missing a while back so I came to investigate.”
“What are you? A detective?”
“No, not at all,” he said, glancing behind him. “I only look into things that interest me.”
“Well, it just so happens that Henry is a friend of mine.” I felt Elliot pinch my arm but I grimaced through the sharp pain. “And…he ran away from home because he was being abused. I would appreciate it if you kept that to yourself.”
“You think I’m trustworthy?” he asked, glancing behind him again.
“What is it? Why do you keep looking behind you?”
“Let’s just say that I’m running from my own kind of trouble,” he laughed. “So I might have to cut this conversation short, but I never did get your name.”
“Alexandra,” I said. He stared into my eyes for a moment.
“That’s a sexy name,” he said, watching me melt without shame before him. “Sexy name for a sexy girl.”
“You…shut up,” was all I could manage to say. “You have no right to look at me.”
“Then stop looking like that.”
“No, you avert your eyes.”
“You could always make me,” he said slyly. I wanted to tackle him for all the wrong reasons. Beat him up and then see what his lips tasted like.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I huffed.
“You’re right,” he said, beginning to turn. “But don’t worry. We’ll meet up again. You’re starting to interest me just as much as your friend’s disappearance.”
“I already told you why he left.”
“Yeah, but I don’t buy it. He doesn’t seem like the type to just take abuse. I remember his attitude in school. He wouldn’t run away. Even teachers avoided him.”
“Maybe he lashed out in school because he was sick of the abuse he endured at home.”
“We’ll talk,” he said, giving me a curt wave and then sprinting out of the alley. I stomped my feet into the pavement, causing no damage whatsoever, and screamed internally. The last thing I needed was someone looking into Henry now, especially since he was going to be living in MY house.
“You should have gotten close and allowed me to shank him,” Elliot replied. I elbowed him in
the side of the head. “You know I can’t feel that,” he retorted.
“For now on, we can’t have these freak meetings out in the open. We all talk at the house, no matter what.”
“Are freak meetings going to become a recurring thing?”
“Who does that guy think he is anyways? Just butting himself into my business.”
“It’s not like he trespassed on your private property. Still, it does concern me that he’s taken an interest in you.”
“Me? You heard him. He saw Henry. Now he’s going to go searching for him.”
“Do you know who Lucas is? His reputation?”
“No clue, but it sounded like I should have been concerned.”
“He’s one of the founding members of Blood Snow.”
“What’s that, an ice cone flavor at 7-Eleven?”
“It’s a street gang. Their activities are more prominent in the city, but occasionally their business extends here into our little town.”
“Then why is he going to school here and not in the city?”
“Maybe his parents thought it would change his course in life. I’m not a hundred percent sure. Though from what I’ve heard, before my transformation - he was still heavily involved. I’m most concerned that you have caught his interest though.”
“Well, he picked the wrong girl,” I replied, staring at the spot where he once stood. “I’m the last person to corner. If he looks into Henry too much, it won’t be good for his health.”
“Still, you might want to just avoid him for now. His type will lose interest once he’s found another plaything. Just stay out of his way and you’ll be fine. The last thing we all need is for you to kill a gang leader and his entire posse coming to rectify the situation.”
“Considering we have two zombies, a vampire and a siren, I think they would be the ones at the disadvantage.”
“Let’s not find out,” he said. “And forget the rest of class for today. Let’s just go home.”
* * *
My Immortal Playlist (The Siren Collection #1) Page 6