I keep replaying everything in my head. I keep seeing his face. Arsen. That’s what the woman called him. She must be the same as him. Their eyes both gave off this otherworldly glow. Their eyes were colors that don’t exist. Everything about them was just a little too perfect.
My thoughts return to Arsen, painting a perfect picture of him in my head. He was so terrifying. He was going to kill me, but something stopped him. I had this urge to look into his eyes… No. It was before that. Something happened to everything I was feeling. It just vanished. I don’t know. Something changed the last time our eyes met. Something inside of me changed, too. I felt like I was searching for something in his eyes, and then he drew back as if in pain. It was so bizarre.
When I come back to reality for a moment, I realize I’m sitting at the police station. Rynne’s still beside me. Even though we’re not talking, just knowing he’s there is a comfort. Knowing he’ll be there when I look is reassuring.
I absentmindedly start playing with the black diamond hanging around my neck. Didn’t I throw it into the living room? Rynne must have gotten it back for me. All of those charms, herbs, salt, crystals, none of it did anything against the thing that killed them. But my parents knew how to fight against any form of evil. They knew…
Parents.
Dead.
My parents are dead. I feel the tears coming again. I guess my body had enough time to recharge and now it’s time to spill tears all over again. Maybe one day I’ll have cried so much that I’ll never be able to cry again.
Rynne wraps a warm arm around me. I know he’s trying to comfort me, but even he can’t make things all right. Not right now. And maybe not ever again.
All I want is my parents, but all I can think about is that horrible scene. All I can see is that vampire. He must have been a vampire. He was ridiculously handsome and he was about to drink my blood. But his eyes were so intense. And then he froze up when our gazes met. What was that? What the actual hell is any of this?
“Tasia.”
I stare at my hands.
“Tasia, try and listen to me for a moment, okay?”
There’s a police officer kneeling in front of me.
“We’re trying to get a hold of your godmother, Fiona Morris. We left a message for her, but until someone can get a hold of her, Carl and Susie Johnson have offered to let you stay at their house. Is that okay?”
Didi and Connor’s parents. I manage a slight nod, even though I don’t really want to go anywhere but back into my burning house.
The officer continues talking. “I need you to answer some questions. How did that fire get started? What happened to your parents? Rynne told me he ran inside your house when he saw that it was on fire and that your parents had already… passed on. We’re looking into examining what’s left of their bodies, but if you know anything about the one who did this, tell us. We’re going to catch this lunatic and make things right.”
“No, you aren’t.” The voice coming out of my mouth doesn’t sound like my own. It sounds like a voice coming from somewhere far away. It’s so scratchy and spent. “My parents were killed by a vampire. If anyone in this town knew how to take care of a vampire, it was my parents. And they’re dead.”
“Can you tell us what this ‘vampire’ looks like?”
“He has black hair and bright eyes that look… too green to be green. Tall. Strong. Terrifying…” I bring my hands up to my head and try to block out the memory as I squeeze my eyes shut, but whether my eyes are open or closed, I keep seeing him staring back at me. His gaze keeps searing holes into mine.
The cop frowns. “Is he anyone you know? Did he attack you?”
“No. He did. I don’t know. I guess he didn’t kill me.” I hold out my hands and watch them tremble, and then I shake my head, unable to say anything else.
I don’t know him. I know I’ve never seen him before. But something inside of me, this tightness in my chest, makes me think that isn’t entirely true. I don’t know. I don’t care. I just want him out of my head.
The cop asks me a few more questions, but we don’t get anywhere. It doesn’t matter how much I tell them about what I saw. They don’t know how to deal with a vampire. They’ll never find him or his companion anyway.
A ruckus sounds from the police station’s entrance. I lift my head reflexively toward the noise.
“Ma’am we’re in the middle of—”
“Let me see, Tasia,”
I know that voice and Kenyan accent.
Sure enough, Jazmin forces her way into the building. She’s breathing heavily and knocks one of her plump hips on a desk, but she doesn’t stop. When she has her mind set on something, there’s little even her age can do to stop her.
The first thing Jazmin does when she reaches me is look me over. Her eyes rest on my heart-shaped black diamond for a moment before she brings her gaze to my face.
“Ma’am,” the cop questioning me speaks, “can I help you?”
“No, but I can help you,” Jazmin replies. She reaches out and grabs my hands. “Tell me everything, dear. Absolutely everything.”
Maybe it’s because I know Jazmin. Maybe it’s because she’s a psychic and we share a special understanding of each other. Whatever the reason is, I’m finally able to explain everything down to the finest detail. I look at Jazmin the whole time like I’m only talking to her. I trust her. If anyone in Reverie will know what to do, she’s the one.
“Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary earlier in the day? The week?” Jazmin asks me gently.
Then I remember Wyatt, and what he told me at the party. “I don’t know,” I say. “Wyatt Conway had been trying so hard to get me to come to the Halloween party, and then he just changed his mind. I saw him at the party, and he said something weird. He said someone told him to send me home no matter what it took. And, well, he did that. I went home upset and then… you know the rest.”
Jazmin turns to the cop. “You’d better get that boy in here for questioning.”
“S-sure,” the cop replies.
“Leave the rest to us, Tasia,” Jazmin says. “Get some rest.”
I watch as she leaves with the police officer, and I continue to stare after them when they’re gone.
“Didi and Connor will be here soon,” Rynne says, glancing at his phone.
I’m so lost inside of my head that I almost keep forgetting he’s sitting right beside me—with his arm around me. How can I keep forgetting something like that? I wish he could have done this under different circumstances. I wish he could have done this when I could actually feel happy about it. I wish everything was different.
“You’ll get through this, Tasia,” he tells me.
I ask, “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
He gently places his hand on my face, as if asking me to look at him. I do, but I do it reluctantly. His blue eyes are soft and compassionate, entirely different from Arsen’s.
Arsen.
Rynne speaks in a low voice. “Trust me.”
That’s when the tears turn themselves on again. On and off, feelings and no feelings. It doesn’t stop. Rynne hugs me, allowing me to cry into his jacket. His warm hands are on my back, and for a moment, I think I can feel something other than hurt. Just for a moment. He continues to hold me like this, and I let him. I don’t know how much time passes, but it doesn’t matter. There is no place better to be than in his arms.
“Tasia, we’re so sorry.”
I don’t have to look to know that Didi and Connor are here. Soon their warm arms are enveloping me, too. My friends are surrounding me like a protective bubble, trying to ward off the evil surrounding me, the evil my crystal can’t even fight. Somehow they do it. The heaviness threatening to destroy me leaves while they hold me. I almost feel like my shattered pieces can be glued back together.
It almost makes me feel guilty for lying about one thing. And for doing it in the first place.
After I discarded my black diamond,
there is one thing I remember: I started the fire.
CHAPTER 13
Tasia
HE’S STARING AT ME with ethereal eyes, eyes that are too green to be green. He’s going to kill me. He’s a vampire, something dark, something not human. Why does he look like he’s in pain? He’s paralyzed. Something about me… He can’t kill me.
I jolt awake, breathing heavily. At first, I’m confused, but I remember what’s going on when Didi stirs next to me.
“C’mere,” she says sleepily.
She reaches out to me and guides me to lie back down on the bed beside her. Last night she told me to sleep in her bed with her. I didn’t complain. I’m glad she told me to. I’m sure I’ve had fewer nightmares than I would have otherwise.
She’s still half asleep, even though the sun is shining in through the window. We’d be running late for school if the Halloween party hadn’t kicked off our school’s fall break. I guess the mayor planned it that way so everyone can go trick-or-treating on the actual night of Halloween. Or at least, I think that was his original plan.
Halloween party.
Evil.
Dead parents.
I shudder and Didi pulls me closer to her. She places a hand in my hair and gingerly massages my scalp. I let the comforting gesture wash over me as I search the pockets of the pajamas Didi loaned me for my black diamond. Feeling the heart-shaped crystal reassures me. As long as it’s with me, I won’t black out again like I did when I tried to connect with my parents’ souls. I can’t even remember what happened after I threw my crystal into the living room. Everything just went… dark. Except, I remember setting my house on fire.
“I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight last night,” Didi whispers.
I say, “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
Didi sits up and checks the time. “Let’s get some breakfast.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Humor me.”
We don’t bother changing out of our pajamas, and I let Didi drag me into the kitchen. Connor and Rynne are gathered around the coffee maker. Connor invited Rynne to stay the night, too. The twins’ parents said, “The more the merrier.” The whole thing just turned into a slumber party. Minus the party.
“Coffee?” Rynne asks as he holds out a steaming mug.
I accept the mug, but all I do is let it warm my hands. Rynne keeps his eyes trained on me. I’m too fatigued to meet his worried gaze. I concentrate on his hair instead. It’s messy from sleep. I’ve never seen that before. Rynne is always put together without a thing out of place. When I’m still aware of his eyes on me, I bring my gaze back to my hands and the warm mug. The TV is blaring in the living room, saying something about last night and the Halloween party. Connor turns it off before I can hear anything else. Then Susie comes into the kitchen.
“I see everyone’s awake,” she announces. I’m not sure where the twins got their vibrant hair from because Susie has blond hair and Carl has brown hair. “I’ll get breakfast going in a few minutes. Tasia, can I talk to you?”
If I just say yes, it’ll be over quicker. “Sure,” I say.
Susie wraps a firm arm around me and leads me into the living room, where we sit down on the Johnsons’ ridiculously plush sofa. I feel like I’m being eaten alive as I slowly sink into its cushions. I wouldn’t mind it though, disappearing into depths unknown.
“The police questioned Wyatt,” she informs. “He said a strange man threatened him to do whatever it took to send you home last night. Apparently, this man said no one would get hurt if Wyatt did that.”
“What did this man look like?” I ask.
“Lanky, on the skinny end, sickly pale skin, with blood-red eyes and brown hair. Have you ever seen anyone like that?”
“No.”
“Tasia, I don’t know what happened last night, but keep your black diamond close.”
I frown and search Susie’s hazel eyes for some sort of explanation. What does she know about gemstones and crystals?
Susie says, “Fiona called earlier. I told her you were sleeping and that you’d call her back.”
“I’ll do that now, then,” I say.
I leave Susie sitting on the couch as I hustle back into the kitchen. I pick up the landline phone and dial Fiona’s number. My parents made me memorize her number when I was in kindergarten, and I’ve never forgotten it. I turn my back to my friends seated at the table and stare at the cream-painted wall in front of me as I listen to the phone ring.
“Hello?”
“Fiona,” I say, breathless. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath.
“Tasia. I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too,” I whisper in an attempt to hide the emotion in my voice.
“I’ll be there to get you in about two hours, around ten.”
“Okay.”
“I wish it was under better circumstances, but it will be good to see you.”
“It’ll be good to see you, too.”
“Stay strong for me.”
I sigh, and then I hang up the phone.
Susie’s standing over the stove now, frying eggs and bacon while flipping over pancakes. She serves each of us a huge plate when she’s finished. I try to eat some just to show I’m grateful, but I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t hungry.
I stay mostly quiet through breakfast, so does Rynne. At least Didi and Connor manage to laugh and make conversation like nothing’s wrong. I appreciate them for it, even if I don’t have the energy to join in.
When it’s close to ten, my friends gather whatever meager worldly possessions I have left while I get changed. By the time we’re finished, Fiona arrives. I run into her arms and get a big hug from her. I don’t let go even when I know I’ve overstayed my welcome. Fiona doesn’t touch people if she can help it, but she lets me do this. She even hugs me back.
When I tear myself away from her, I look her over and see that she hasn’t changed much. Standing next to her, I’m reminded of how beautiful and dark her skin is. I used to think she couldn’t get sunburns like me, but she assured me that she could still definitely get sunburned. I never believed her until she actually did one day, the day she forgot to wear sunscreen when we went swimming. She’s still shaving her hair and wearing her favorite leather jacket. My parents always used to tell her she looks like a punk, but she always said her hair is too much of a pain when it’s any longer than a couple inches. My parents would come back and say they weren’t talking about her hair. They were always talking about her ratty jacket.
Fiona takes a moment to talk to Susie about something, while I exchange goodbyes with my friends, giving each one a hug, and then I get into Fiona’s blue 1969 Camaro. Fiona’s never been one for worldly possessions, but she told me once, when I was young, that if something treats you well, you better take care of it. That pretty much sums up her feelings for this car. That and it has sentimental value. It belonged to her deceased boyfriend.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,” Fiona says. “I thought it’d be easier on you to get some sleep.”
I nod because I don’t feel like saying anything.
“Here.” Fiona hands me her phone. “I heard you’re phoneless, and I kept my old phone when I upgraded. We’ll get you something better in the future, but for now, that one will work. I have it all set up for you. It has your old number and all of your contacts.”
“Thanks.”
Fiona starts the car and drives away. I stare out the window and wave to my friends as they wave to me. As we get farther away and my friends’ faces disappear, I start to wonder if our goodbyes are final. Then I start to wonder if I should have said goodbye to Jazmin and Gina, or just the whole town in general. Will I ever see any of them again?
“Do you think I’ll come back here one day?” I ask.
“Sure,” Fiona replies, “if you want to.”
I don’t know if I want to.
“We’re here,” Fiona announces.
I glance at the ap
artment complex in front of us. I haven’t been here in years. I almost forgot how big Philadelphia is. Since we entered the city, anxiety’s been bubbling in my stomach, waiting for something to push me over the edge.
Fiona gets out of the car and starts walking. She looks back when I don’t follow. She walks back and opens my door. “Don’t want to come in?” she asks.
“My parents were killed by a vampire,” I say quietly.
“That’s what the police told me you said.”
“I know how it sounds. It sounds crazy. But you believe me, don’t you? You know good and bad energy exists. You know how to fight off negative energy. You know how to cleanse a house and how to absorb energy using salt.”
“I do.”
“And vampires?”
She hesitates. “Tasia, I don’t think—”
“Don’t do that to me, Fiona,” I plead. “Don’t lie to me. It was so real. He was so real. And I did something to him. I…”
She places a hand on my shoulder. “Yes, vampires are real.”
“Then why doesn’t the rest of the world know about them?”
“Why doesn’t the rest of the world know about energy or how to treat it as we do? It’s ignorance mostly.”
“I did this,” I cry as tears prick my eyes.
“No, you didn’t. This isn’t your fault.”
“But the vampire—”
“This wasn’t your fault,” she repeats. “Whatever happened, whatever you think you did to him, it was him toying with you. It could have happened to anyone. But you don’t have to dwell on it. You can put it all behind you.”
“How am I supposed to do that when I can’t get his face out of my head?”
Fiona hugs me fiercely. “Let’s go inside.”
I follow her up three flights of apartment stairs until she comes to a door decorated with a ring of garlic. Just like home. She unlocks the door and ushers me inside. The lights are all on and someone’s sitting on the sofa, watching TV.
“What are you doing here?” Fiona mutters.
She takes her shoes off and leaves them by the door, and I follow suit.
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