by Kasi Blake
“The vice principal died today.”
Matt gasped. “Mr. Jacob is dead?”
“He was in the middle of giving me detention.” Trick gave his cell phone to his brother. “Oberon sent me a text to make sure he got credit.”
After reading the text Matt handed the phone back with a grimace. “Oberon can kill that easily?”
“Guess so.”
“What do we do?”
Trick jerked his chin at the suitcase. “If I leave, he won’t have a reason to kill anybody.”
Matt adjusted his glasses and sighed. “Or he kills us because he’s angry you left.”
“I don’t think that’ll happen. He’ll come after me, chase me across the world if he has to.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“No, but I’m almost positive.” Squinting, Trick calculated the odds. “Ninety-four percent sure.”
If only there was a way for him to see the future before it happened. The future! Maybe a certain someone could see that far ahead and lay it out for him. The answer came in a flash, and he teleported without saying another word to his brother.
He appeared just inside the door of Benjamin’s psychic shack. A woman sitting at the round table screamed when she saw him pop up like a ghost. She jumped at least a foot, knocked over her chair, and ran the door. Benjamin didn’t have time to demand payment for services rendered.
The self-proclaimed psychic glared at Trick. “You owe me twenty dollars.”
“Twenty?”
“Ten for the woman you scared away.” Benjamin jerked his pointy chin at the open door. He picked up his cards while Trick closed the entrance. Benjamin added, “Ten for you. Have a seat.”
Trick set the vacated chair back on its legs before sitting down. “Can I save my family and friends by leaving town?”
“You mean, by running away?” Benjamin smiled as one would smile at a child who was too young to understand certain things. “Clear your mind while I shuffle the cards.”
Trick tried, but worry kept the thoughts coming. Every terrible possibility popped into his head. He took a deep breath and tried again to focus on a blank screen.
“Ask your question,” Benjamin said.
“If I leave town, what will Oberon do? Can I avoid the battle with him?”
Benjamin began to flip over cards and line them up. He made noncommittal sounds every time he saw the face of a new card. After he laid out six, he closed his eyes. He floated one hand over them. Trick experienced each passing second as though they were hours. He shifted around in the chair, disturbed by the wizard’s silence.
“I see a battle in your future,” Benjamin said. The man opened his eyes and gave Trick an apologetic nod. “I also see people close to you dying.”
“You told me before that someone close to me would die. The vice principal was standing right in front of me when Oberon killed him. So when you say people close to me, do you mean proximity? Or will Oberon kill people I care about? Which is it this time?”
Benjamin’s eyelids drooped. “He will kill... a family member.”
The blood drained from Trick’s face and pooled in his stomach. Numb, his lips barely moved over the word. “Who?”
“My visions are more emotion than sight.” Benjamin shrugged. “The identity of Oberon’s victims are not clear enough for me to name them. I can only tell you that he will kill one of your family members... and the girl you love.”
Trick’s vision blurred. “I have to stop him. There has to be a way. Can Oberon die?”
“Oberon is immortal in a way none of us truly understand. I can see him a thousand years from now. He is still alive, but you are not. I have looked at the future from every angle, and it’s always the same. You are dead. He is not.”
A thousand years was a long time. Trick didn’t care if he wasn’t around then. But the knowledge that Oberon would be alive set his teeth on edge. That must mean they were right about the faerie king; he was invincible.
Trick straightened his spine and said, “You aren’t the first person to read my future. A gypsy told me the faerie power would kill me, but I’m still here. She was wrong, and so are you.”
“You may be able to turn things to your advantage by separating yourself from those you love. It is possible Oberon won’t bother with anyone he thinks has turned against you.”
Trick’s eyes narrowed. So there was wiggle room when it came to the future. Or the wizard was telling him what he wanted to hear to get rid of him. “Do you see me losing a family member or not? You said you can see the future from every angle. What does that mean? Is it possible I won’t lose people I love? Can I change things?”
Benjamin arose from the table. He walked in a slow circle around it and Trick. His hands pressed together as if in prayer. For a moment, he rested his chin on his steepled fingers. When he finally spoke, he said, “Your end is clear, but I can’t say the same for the others. If you are diligent, if you are clever, I think there is a possibility the others will survive.”
That brought Trick back to his original question. “Should I run? Should I hide?”
“In my humble opinion, I think you should battle Oberon. Offer yourself as a sacrifice to save the ones you love.”
Trick’s heart sank. Quick like a bolt of lightning he saw his family and friends dead on the ground and saw himself standing over them, alone. The weight of the guilt pressed on him worse than gravity. He couldn’t live with that guilt. He’d rather die than be the reason they were gone.
Lost in thought, he headed for the exit.
On his way to the door, he asked, “You haven’t told Bash about me, have you? You haven’t shared what you know about me, right?”
Benjamin grinned. “I think you have enough problems to deal with. Besides, the things I learn never leave this room. I am a professional.”
At least his secret was safe.
♫
Trick spent the rest of the day severing ties and burning bridges until one conversation blurred into the next. He tried not to think about the aftermath: if he survived Oberon, would he be able to repair the damage? No clue. Maybe he shouldn’t even try. He had always planned to leave town and put everyone he knew in his rearview mirror.
First, he picked fights with his friends at school. That took a while. As the resident bad boy with what some people called charm and others called charisma, he was popular. Once he was done there he went after Dani.
Since her father had died in her backyard they avoided meeting there. Instead, Trick used his power of teleportation to take her places she’d dreamed about visiting. So far they had seen Paris, the Grand Canyon, Amsterdam, and London. Today they needed a quiet place to talk, somewhere she could hit him or scream without an audience. Anger, he could handle; tears, he could not. If she started to cry, he’d throw the plan out. Even though his first duty was to protect her, he would cave.
He had scouted locations and found the perfect place for their talk: a remote Kansas pasture. He guessed it was at least a hundred acres to the nearest house. Things couldn’t get more private than that.
Direct sunlight made it seem less chilly. The sky was a pale blue without a cloud in sight. It would have been a nice day for a picnic. Trick wished they were sitting on a blanket eating cold chicken instead of embarking on a heated discussion that would end with her hating him.
“I kissed Scarlet.” Trick dropped the bomb on Dani without warning and waited for the fallout.
She stared at him across several feet of dead grass. The nearby cows continued to feed on hay as if strangers hadn’t intruded on their lunchtime. Trick didn’t know anything about cows. He hoped they wouldn’t get the urge to stampede and trample the interlopers.
“You... did... WHAT?” Dani yelled the last word and spooked a few cows. Heads raised. When nothing else happened, they returned to their food, and Trick’s clenched muscles relaxed.
“It was an accident,” he said.
“How do you kiss a
girl by accident?” Dani crossed her arms as she made a mental connection. A deep scowl settled on her pretty face. “Wait a second. You’ve been hanging out with her since kissing her?”
He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “We’re friends.”
“Friends that kiss? Right.” Dani took a step in his direction, and her eyes narrowed. “How was it?”
Did she really want details? He hadn’t expected that. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. He wished she would just dump him and get it over with. They both had known from the beginning that their relationship wouldn’t last. In fact, if her father hadn’t died, they would already be done.
“We shouldn’t talk about this,” he said.
“I want to know. Did you enjoy the kiss? Were there fireworks? Did she make you forget you already had a girlfriend? Why won’t you tell me?”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “I don’t want to make things worse.”
“Worse? That isn’t possible,” she said. “You know this means we’re over, right?”
He nodded.
Her anger seemed to subside like a deflating balloon. She lifted her shoulders beneath the heavy jacket and let them drop. Her eyes misted over, but she didn’t cry. “We told each other goodbye before we found... my dad. Then we forgot we’d broken up, I guess.”
He nodded again, a lump in his throat.
She added, “I just want to finish school, leave town for college, and forget you exist. Take me home.”
He took a step in her direction.
She took a step back.
He sighed. “I have to touch you or it won’t work.”
“I know,” she said. “But this is the last time. After today I want you to stay away from me, far, far away. Don’t talk to me at school. Don’t look at me. From now on we’re strangers who happen to live next door to each other.”
Her words thrust a dagger into his heart.
He deserved it. Dani Foster was his person, the girl he had silently vowed to protect no matter what. He wasn’t supposed to date her. That had been his first mistake. Now, because of his carelessness, she knew about monsters, and her world wasn’t a safe place anymore. He had failed her on so many levels.
A brief touch of his hand on her back took them home.
She ran straight into her house.
No goodbye kiss this time.
♫
His next stop was the mansion. He had broken up with Dani first because he knew she would cooperate. Scarlet was another story. She might try to stake him. She wouldn’t let him walk away unless he made her angrier than she’d been in her entire life. Good thing making girls mad was his greatest talent.
Cowboy was still gone or missing or whatever, and Summer was an old lady beneath a black veil. As far as he knew no one was working on undoing the curse. Summer had proved herself useless. Matt wanted to help, but he spent every waking moment entertaining her.
It didn’t surprise Trick when he walked into the living room to find his brother with the vampire girl. Sitting on the floor, they were playing cards on the coffee table. Since her curse had kicked in, it seemed to be their favorite activity.
Matt barely glanced at him. “Got any kings?”
Summer shook her head. “Go fish.”
He took a card.
“Scarlet here?” Trick asked.
“In the den,” Matt said. “Doing homework.”
“Don’t go anywhere.” Trick pointed at his brother. “I need to talk to you as soon as I’m done with her.”
Matt asked, “What about?”
Trick didn’t answer. He wanted to get this next part over as soon as possible. Moving through the maze of a house with ease, he went straight to the den. Scarlet had probably chosen that room to work in because there was a huge desk. The walls were covered with overflowing bookshelves. One small window near the ceiling kept the room dimly lit.
She lifted her head to gaze at him with confusion. “Hey. What are you doing here? Were we supposed to hunt tonight?”
He blurted out, “I told Dani about the kiss.”
The pen dropped from Scarlet’s fingers and rolled across the desk. It fell off the edge. Neither of them tried to retrieve it. “Wow. You’re braver than I thought.”
“She dumped me.”
“Sorry... I guess.”
“I tried to tell her it was nothing.”
Scarlet blinked. “Nothing?”
“I told her it wasn’t even that great a kiss.”
Scarlet popped up and rounded the desk with a purposeful stride. She didn’t stop until she was toe to toe with him. Her blue eyes sought his and she stared into them as if searching for something specific.
After a moment she scoffed, “You’re lying.”
“Am not.”
“You lied to keep your girlfriend happy.”
He shook his head. “I was being honest. I’m sorry, but I’ve had better. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. Just being honest.”
Scarlet kicked him in the shin.
He doubled over and grabbed his throbbing leg. Perhaps he should have worn protective gear for this conversation. He should have expected her to physically attack him.
She threw her hands into the air. “I don’t know why I wasted so much time on you. What was I thinking? The idiot that cussed his girlfriend out in front of half the school last week would be a better boyfriend than you.”
He frowned. Cheap shot. Totally uncalled for. Perhaps he was insensitive at times, but he wasn’t that bad. Until he’d given her reason to break up with him, Dani had seemed happy with her choice. In fact, she’d told him many times that he was sweet. Hadn’t he bought her a dog for Christmas?
Putting the final nail in the coffin of his relationship with Scarlet, he said, “I don’t think we should hunt together anymore. Everything is getting too complicated.”
“I agree,” Scarlet said with a shrug.
She returned to her schoolwork as if he’d already left the room. She didn’t seem to care they wouldn’t be hanging out. That wounded him more than her well-aimed kick. So much for her undying love. She’d gotten over that real fast.
Sean was right. If Trick lived to be five hundred years old, he’d never understand women. He shot Scarlet a glare on his way out of the den, but she didn’t see it. Her nose was in a book.
♫
Breaking up with friends at school, plus two girls he sort of loved was exhausting. After leaving Scarlet in the den, Trick marched into the living room and collapsed on the couch. Not wanting to see his brother playing cards with the vampire girl, he didn’t look Matt’s way. You knew the world didn’t make sense when Matt Donovan had a girl and he didn’t.
He slung an arm over his closed eyes. Deep breath. All he needed was a few minutes of silence. Was that too much to expect?
“What did you want to talk about?” Matt asked.
Trick groaned. “I can’t do it. I am too tired to divorce you too.”
“Divorce?” Matt sounded faintly alarmed. “Are you delirious? Did you hit your head?”
“I have it on good authority that Oberon will choose his next victims based on who I’m closest to, so I’ve been picking fights all day. You’re next, just so you know.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” Matt said. “What about Summer? Are you planning to fight with her? She went upstairs for some me-time, but I can go get her.”
Trick raised his head and saw it was true. The vampire girl must have teleported to her room. “She’s already on Oberon’s list, so I don’t have to fight with her.” Trick sat up to stare at his brother. “I’m moving in here for a while.”
“What about Mom and Dad?” Matt pushed Trick’s legs off the couch and sat next to him. “I think they’ll notice if you move out, and you can’t just pick a fight with them. They’ll ground you for thirty years.”
He’d already thought of that. They would never willingly let him move out, no. But he was close to turning eighteen. His birthday was ju
st around the corner. What were they going to do? Call the police? The men in blue wouldn’t waste time searching for a runaway who was that close to being legal.
“They can’t stop me.”
Matt sighed. “Tell them the truth. Tell them you’re a vampire.”
Trick gaped at his brother. “Are you high?”
“They might be able to help,” Matt said.
“Sean and Laura are not the kind of people you talk to about vampires. They’ll want me to talk to Baxter six days a week. Or maybe they’ll just lock me up in a padded room so I don’t hurt myself.”
“You don’t give them enough credit,” Matt said. “They’d want to know the truth.”
“Too risky.”
“For who?”
Trick took a deep breath before admitting, “For me. Okay? It’s too risky for me.”
Matt’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t think they’d try to stake you, cause—”
“If they find out there has been a vampire living under their roof, everything will change. They’ll be afraid of me. They’ll look at me differently. Then they’ll want me to leave and never come back. I only want to move out for a short time, not forever.”
He had given the matter a lot of thought since growing fangs. Vampires were monsters. How often had his father told him that? Sean would feel the need to protect his family from him. Even if Laura didn’t want him gone, she wouldn’t stand against her husband.
Deep down Trick needed that family connection. He needed to know he had a place to go even after he left town to become a hunter. Just knowing there were people that wanted him, people that cared, would be enough to keep him going.
“Trust them,” Matt said. “Trust in their love for you. Tell them the truth, and let them help you.”
♫
By the time Trick’s head hit the pillow that night he couldn’t think straight. Hard to believe he’d only busted up about fourteen friendships today. Felt like fifty. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. He still had to cut ties with his adoptive parents. When it came to him leaving, Matt was right. They wouldn’t make it easy.