So it didn’t really matter if I knew the history of werewolves in the 18th century, or whatever—I needed to learn how to replenish and take care of myself before the real the shit hit the fan.
And it was going to happen soon.
Chapter Fifteen
At the beginning of October, I heard the first whispers about the murders.
Of all people, it was Zelda who I heard it from. She was walking quickly next to Margot, both of them gripping their breakfast trays. It was still balmy, warm weather, which meant we were all seated outside, waiting for the day to begin. Zelda’s eyes flashed as she whispered—but, for reasons I couldn’t fully understand, due to my growing powers, I could hear everything she was saying as clear as day.
It was like I had always known I would hear what she said that day.
“Somewhere in Hillside Falls,” Zelda said, her British accent ringing out. “I don’t know. I think they’ve mostly been mortal.”
“And you’re saying you think it’s rogue vampires that have been hired as bounty hunters?” Margot muttered back.
“I feel very certain,” Zelda returned. “Just the way the bodies were described. It’s been a long time since we had an uprising of these sorts of vampires. My mother told me that she thought they were largely deceased, but they are some kind of hired bounty hunter. Put in place to eliminate and only to eliminate.”
My ears perked up and I nearly hopped out of my seat in shock.
For whatever reason, I hadn’t imagined that other people at school knew about bounty hunters—but of course, they knew! I glanced toward Ezra, who looked pale and grisly at his table while Quintin and Raphael tore through their eggs and bacon.
Did he also know about the killings?
Celeste and Peter sat across from me at the breakfast table. Peter swept his hand through Celeste’s black curls and then turned his attention to his food.
Celeste eyed me curiously. “What’s on your mind?”
“I just heard about some murders in Hillside Falls,” I murmured and looked around to see if anyone could hear me. My heart raced so fast I thought it would burst through my chest. I was suddenly worried that Aunt Maria might be in serious danger and the next target. Was it possible that nobody would have told me about it yet?
Celeste’s face fell. “Oh shit. Do you know who... who died?”
I shook my head. “Zelda just mentioned something about it being a rogue vampire— a hired bounty hunter that did it, which makes me fucking terrified. I just...” I shoved the plate of food away from me, shivering and leaned back in my chair. My thoughts raced through my head at lightning speed and I could feel the start of another migraine take over.
“Shh. Come on. We can figure this out,” Celeste stated. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and began to scroll through her feed, hunting for the news. “Okay. It looks like there were two murders recently.”
“Fucking too small of a town for any kind of murder...” I muttered, thinking back to my parents.
“But no. Okay. They were Conner Clemens and Walter Colt. No one we know,” she continued.
“Thank god,” I said, half-sarcastically. I still couldn’t calm down my beating heart. My eyes flashed around me, suddenly wary of the spells around Origins. I lowered my voice. “My mom’s spells around Hillside Falls are probably about as strong as spells made by a child, now.”
Peter didn’t say anything. He didn’t really know what was going on with me, or my coming powers, but he usually knew better than to ask when Celeste and I dipped into conversation like this. We normally didn’t do it so much around him and kept it as vague as possible. He probably just thought we were really fucking weird.
“But they’re up around here. It’s why you’re here,” Celeste affirmed. She reached for my hand. Again, my brain filled with flickering images of her.
I quickly sprung back, gasping.
“I’m sorry. I just need a break.” I gasped and stood up.
I left my tray of food behind and wandered from the dining area, my breath coming in staggers. Unfortunately, I hadn’t realized that Ezra, Quintin, and Raphael had all abandoned the dining area as well and taken up space along the edge of the soccer field. Ezra tossed a soccer ball into the air and bounced it on his knees, hopping back and forth. I stopped for a moment, eyeing them. I knew they’d already seen me. It wasn’t like I was going to get away with skating past.
But beyond that, I was impressed that Ezra could do that.
I had noticed that they had practices after their classes had ended for the day—and I was usually too fucking exhausted from my work with Professor Binion to join in. But standing there, seething—pissed off that the boys had traded around stories about Quintin going down on me in the library and also making out with Raphael at the party—I felt wild with this weird adrenaline.
I wanted to play soccer, the love of my sports life when I had just been a normal, everyday teenager.
“There she is. Everyone’s favorite Human,” Ezra said. He pounded the ball against his knees, moving faster and faster.
“That’s right, Ezra,” I said, feeling volatile. I rushed up toward him, standing just a few feet in front. “I am human. And you know what humans are pretty fucking good at?”
His blue eyes flashed. “What’s that?”
“They’re good at soccer, dipshit,” I spat, standing my ground.
He poked his tongue out between his lips. “Are you saying you want to play me?”
“One on one,” I said.
Suddenly, Ezra seemed to represent all of the rogue vampires that were doing the killings and I felt pent up anger I had never felt before rising within me. I kept it bay though and would show him how a soccer game was won.
“Great. Bring it on,” Ezra scoffed.
I pounded the soccer ball on the ground between us, beaming at me. “Boys? Which of you will keep score?”
Quintin offered and Raphael stood there looking rugged and mean. A wicked cut went across his cheek and over his eyebrow like he’d transformed into a Lycan and gotten into a fight with another Lycan.
But I didn’t have time to ask what had happened. Plus, I didn’t really fucking care.
Ezra and I began to play. I wasn’t surprised: he was whip-fast and good, with a beautiful knowledge of how to kick around the soccer ball. But I had years of training, and I was also pissed off, filled with adrenaline. I kept up as we snaked up and down the field; neither one of us successful at scoring and each of us able to block the other’s advances.
As we swept along, Ezra grunted at me. “You’ve really got some tricks up your sleeve, don’t you? Jesus, you’re fast.”
“Fuck off, Vam,” I growled him and stabbed my foot forward, trying to knock it away from him. But he nabbed it fast.
“I used to be fucking great before I changed,” he said, sounding both proud and sad at the same time. “They were talking about sending me to the pros, you know. Scholarship. Everything.”
“You’d be better right now if you could go to the pros,” I said.
His eyes glittered. “You really know how to cut a guy when he’s down, don’t you?”
This was enough to distract him. I shot forward, pounding at the ball before he could cover it. The ball soared away from us, flashing through the goals just beyond. Quintin and Raphael both put their hands up, saying, “GOAL!”
I bounced back toward the goal, with Ezra hot on my heels. He chased after me. I could feel his anger growing. He swept forward, drawing his hand around my wrist, trying to yank me back. But the minute he did, I felt it—
My powers.
They rushed through me like electricity. Ezra couldn’t let go—like my skin was stuck to him. I reared around, my eyes enormous. I stared at him, then down at his hand, so tightly wound around me.
I felt it, then. Or—I could see it.
When it had happened.
Ezra—maybe no more than a year or so ago—a wild and volatile teenager, his eyes not quite a
s blue, but his smile just as cutting and arrogant. He was handsome and provocative, and—
An older man’s mouth sprung over his neck.
Blood spurting wildly, like a fountain. Ezra screaming, his eyes clenched tight. It seemed like he was in his childhood bedroom, seated at the edge of his bed—a place that was meant to be safe for a boy, even a teenager.
Instead...
I blinked, feeling myself merge with Ezra’s consciousness. The man finished sucking Ezra’s blood and drew back, flashing a beautiful white smile. His fangs dribbled with red blood.
“Son. This is what we’ve spoken about since you were very small,” the man said, seemingly aghast that Ezra was reacting in this way. “You know it and you’ve been looking forward to this day. You said that this was the age you wanted—newly sixteen. Fresh. Alive....”
I felt myself falling from Ezra’s consciousness after that. I fell back, forcing my wrist away from Ezra’s hand. He staggered back, looking at me like I had just fucking stabbed him. His face looked almost gaunt.
“What the fuck just happened? What did you just see!” he screamed at me.
Raphael and Quintin approached from the side. They both looked at me with confusion. Still, I didn’t know how to speak.
“What are you talking about?” I finally asked.
“Don’t bullshit me. I know you saw something,” Ezra seethed through his teeth. He pointed a shaking finger at me. “Fucking slut, what the hell did you see? Did you dig around in the back of my mind or some shit? What the hell kind of race are you, SLUT?”
Raphael and Quintin didn’t seem to know what to do. Raphael interrupted, “What are you talking about? She doesn’t have any powers. We all know that.”
“Don’t be a fucking idiot, Raphael,” Ezra snapped. “It’s obvious she’s here for a reason. She just invaded one of my memories and I had no control over it. At all! She wouldn’t be at Origins if she didn’t have powers. Something isn’t right and—” He spat on the ground, looking completely exhausted and pointed a finger at me. “I’m going to find out what the fuck you are. Mark my word.” He spat and revealed his fangs. “If you don’t start running now, you bitch, then I’ll destroy you,” Ezra growled and his nostrils flared.
I did as I was told. Hell, I was so exhausted from the vision I had seen that I needed to lay on my back for a while, stare at the ceiling. I made my way back toward my bedroom, texting Professor Binion that I needed to take some time to myself.
But an hour later, there was a knock at my door. I groaned, scrubbing my eyes, willing whoever had come to my room to get the hell away. After the third knock, I realized they weren’t going to go away so quickly. I flung my sheets from my legs and walked toward the edge of the room, opening the door to find Professor Springer standing in front of Professor Binion.
Ah. So, he had come to find me.
He looked a bit anxious—like he hadn’t gotten much sleep. He scrubbed his hand over his wiry white hair, looking like he couldn’t wait for Professor Springer to get lost so we could talk.
“What is it?” I asked, looking from one teacher to another.
“Professor Binion reports that you didn’t come for class today,” Professor Springer said.
“I guess that’s pretty obvious, isn't it?” I returned. “I sent you a text, didn’t you receive it?”
“You did,” Professor Binion said. “But we need to talk.”
I rolled my eyes, wanting to blurt something sarcastic to him. But he looked upset. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
Professor Binion and I waited until we reached the classroom before speaking. He really struggled with the stairs, this time, like he was under-slept, or under-fed. I closed the door behind us and stared at him. Again, my stomach and heart felt all fluttery—a sign, I had learned that my powers were brewing. Sometimes, it felt like I could vomit across the floorboards.
My body was no longer my own. It was only a vessel.
“What is going on?” I demanded. “I really need to rest. I’m so...”
“The murders. You must have heard of them,” Professor Binion insisted. He sighed and turned his eyes toward the floor.
“Of course I have,” I answered. I lowered my voice a bit. I was scaring myself, even.
“It’s just that... they’re getting closer. I’m terrified they’ll find your aunt,” Professor Binion continued.
It took me a long time to answer. I think it was because seeing my own fears echoed back in Professor Binion really fucking freaked me out. It was like he had to be this strong pillar for me. But he was revealing that he really didn’t know what was going to happen, once I became fully into my powers—and the entire supernatural community became aware.
“I’ve checked the strength of the spells around Origins,” he continued. “Everything seems to be in order. I don’t dare ask the shapeshifters from my tribe how things are going in Hillside Falls—because I don’t want them to know I’m here. I don’t suspect many of them know that you’ve arrived here.”
“It’s a rogue vampire,” I stammered. “Why are they attacking in Hillside? Is it a kind of threat or message?”
Professor Binion shrugged. “I’m sure they were just hungry. As gruesome as that sounds. Maybe wanting the word spread that they are in the area and mean business.”
I sighed. I leaned against the door and slid all the way down. “The powers. They’re really... they come at me all the time, now. And the people that I see they can feel it, I think. I think people are starting to suspect...”
“There’s no way they would ever know without being told,” Professor Binion stated in a tone that didn’t waver. “We still have a few weeks.”
“Only three,” I said. My head felt heavy. Other people were allowed to be excited for their seventeenth birthday. But mine felt like a damn death sentence.
“We’re going to get through it together, Ivy,” Professor Binion said. “And your aunt—we’ll find a way to make sure she is safe. I know we can.”
“How...?”
I felt like I was sitting at the bottom of a well, exhausted and strung-out and lost, in impenetrable darkness. It seemed impossible to me that I would ever see the light again.
“You have to rely on your powers. You must know how strong you really are,” he said. “Promise me that you’ll stay optimistic, Ivy. You’re bright. Brighter than you know.”
Chapter Sixteen
I knew I wouldn’t get away with the maggot-incident.
Margot had my number for now—a fact I knew she would regret in just a few weeks. It was making me feel both invincible and also alienated. Like, I knew I had to fight back, to put up with her bullshit no matter what was flung at me. And as long as I lived through it, the events of the next few weeks would make her wish she’d never been born.
Because I could fuck with her in ways she couldn’t dream of—if I wanted to.
About a week before my birthday—and, of course, Halloween, I was walking back to the dining area after a particularly rough session with Professor Binion. My ears were ringing. I had been trying to train my ability to see the future by staring at current photographs of cities around the world. When Professor Binion snapped his fingers, I was meant to project what the city would look like in twenty, and then fifty years from now. I shivered as I did it, watching as some cities actually collapsed before me, especially in areas that were war-torn.
“Ivy! Ivy, hey!”
The accent was French, but the tone was friendly. I paused and turned, gaping as Margot rushed toward me. She gave me a friendly smile. “I thought I was never going to catch up with you. Has anyone ever told you how fast you walk? Jesus.”
“What do you want, Margot?”
“Wow. You’re snarly today.”
“Sorry. I just don’t feel like talking.” I brought my hands over my chest, careful to step away from her. I didn’t want to see anything about Margot’s future or past. I didn’t need any empathy for her. Not now.
&nb
sp; “Hey—hey...” Margot reached out, trying to grab me. Again, I hung back. “I just wanted to tell you. I’m really sorry. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.”
I frowned at her. “You mean the first day when you verbally attacked me in front of everyone and then put me out on a boat in the middle of the fucking Gulf? Or a different thing?”
Margot grinned. “That really was clever, wasn’t it?”
“I’m sure you’ll be receiving an award very soon,” I smirked.
I tried to move around her, but she busted to the left, blocking me.
“Come on. I just want to apologize. And—I want to show you something.”
I arched my brow. “I don’t think I care about whatever it is.”
Margot giggled. “That’s silly! Of course, you care about it. Really, it’s quite remarkable. It has to do with the Halloween party we’re going to have next week. You’ve heard about it, haven’t you?”
I nodded. Of course, I had. It was a “secret” party, sure—held by Margot, Zelda, Riley, and the kings. Apparently, the kings had had the same kind of shin-dig ever since they had started at Origins—and now wanted a full-on blow-out, since they were seniors.
“I just think it could be a really good fresh start for all of us, you know?” Margot explained. “Like, what does a supernatural school love more than Halloween?”
“It’s my birthday, as well,” I said, giving her a small smile. Of course, she couldn’t understand what I fully meant.
“Wow!” she cried. “That’s incredible. I didn’t realize you were born on Halloween. Maybe that’s why you’re so special.”
God, her voice was syrupy sweet. Exhausted and unsure of how to get the hell out of this conversation, I agreed to follow her back into the main building. Her robes swirled behind her, catching the tightness of her waist. Somehow, she looked like a supermodel, even though we all had to wear these horrible outfits.
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