by Nina Perez
“How old are you?”
“How old do I look?”
Violet, who was lying on her stomach on the bed, examined Kalina from head to toe. She was sitting at Violet’s desk, legs crossed, wearing black jeans and a black turtleneck.
“Young.”
“I was twenty-five when I died.”
Violet let that sink in. Kalina was only ten years older than she was now, but of course, not really. Violet thought about how much life she could live with just ten more years. If someone told her she had ten more years of school or ten years until she could travel, it would seem like an eternity. But ten years left to live hardly seemed like any time at all.
“When did you die?”
“Centuries ago. I don’t remember the exact date if that’s what you mean.”
“How did you die?”
“I was murdered by someone I loved.”
“And how did you become a vampire?”
“That same someone turned me. OK. Back to work.” Kalina opened a textbook and flipped through a few pages. “Where were we? Chapter four?”
“Are there a lot of vampires in the Alliance?”
Kalina looked up from the book. She searched Violet’s face before answering. “No, there are not - just a few hundred.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it is not in our nature to cooperate. We don’t usually play well with others.” Kalina was looking over Violet’s shoulder, out the window, but even further. Her words were there, but Violet felt as if Kalina’s presence had left the room. “It makes perfect sense, if you think about it. Look at the Fairies; fallen angels who resented humans. When they were punished, they took vengeance on us – the things they’d created. When given the chance, they joined the Alliance to repent more than anything else. They started out good and lost their way, but still… they were angels. There aren’t as many Fairies in the Alliance as the others, but still more than vampires. They’re immortal, like us, but everyone knows how to kill a vampire. If there’s a way to kill a Fairy, no one knows it.”
“Then you have werewolves,” a small smile spread across Kalina’s mouth, but her eyes were still disconnected, seeing whatever memories were playing in her mind. “They’re born human, and they live as humans every day and every night out of the month except a few. Witches and warlocks, same thing. They’re more human, more like you or Jack, than we are. Vampires are demons. There’s never going to be anything other than this for me. I will never eat food again, or walk in the sunlight, or have a family. When we were cursed, we were turned into something as far removed from being human as you can get. There aren’t as many vampires in The Alliance because it is in our very nature to want to kill and destroy everything it stands for.”
Violet swallowed and it hurt because her throat was like sandpaper. “So, why did you join?”
“To pay a debt,” Kalina said, and her voice was filled with such sadness Violet forgot she’d just referred to herself as a demon. Kalina began to turn the pages of the textbook again. “Are we done?”
“Wait. Just one more question.” Violet whispered. “Do you kill people?”
Kalina finally looked Violet in the eyes. “To survive? To feed? No.”
“But you do? Kill people, I mean?”
“Yes.”
Violet blinked and looked down at the textbook in front of her. Little lights flashed across the pages and she felt dizzy. She closed her eyes and saw Mira lying on the ground, blood flowing from her shoulder. Kalina closed the book she was holding. The loud snap of it made Violet jump and open her eyes.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, Violet.”
“I am not afraid.” Violet met Kalina’s eyes.
“I can hear your heart beating faster.”
“You’re not just exaggerating, are you?”
“No, I’m not. I can hear it just as clearly as I can hear Jack downstairs avoiding the subject of someone named Bobby. And I can smell your fear just as strongly as I can smell the roast dinner your neighbors are having two houses away.”
“That’s cool, creepy, and disgusting at the same time.”
“Perhaps, but it also comes in handy. Now, may I ask you something? Since it’s apparent we’re not going to get any studying done.”
Violet shrugged. She hoped it wasn’t about her parents. Kalina and Dr. Tesla knew her parents one way – as brave allies of The Alliance willing to sacrifice their child’s soul for the cause. And as much as she’d come to better understand their decision, it made her uncomfortable to talk about it. As noble as it was, it still cost them their future with her and that stung. She only felt comfortable talking about them with Ms. Harkin, someone who knew them as she did.
Ms. Harkin had made Violet promise she’d stop ditching school to visit her, but welcomed her company any other time. Violet would go over after school and they’d talk over a snack or while working in Ms. Harkin’s garden. Best of all, Ms. Harkin didn’t interrupt her or make her feel weird when she’d sit at the kitchen window and stare at her old house.
“What are you hiding?” Kalina’s question interrupted Violet’s thoughts.
Violet tried not to look as shocked as she was. “I’m not hiding anything.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why? Can you smell lies, too? Yes, I’m sure.”
Kalina watched her closely for several moments and Violet began to wonder if her sarcastic remark might actually be true. Kalina slowly turned back to the textbook. “If you insist.”
“Chapter four starts on page two hundred,” Violet said, suddenly interested in studying after all.
Things at Carter were improving for both Jack and Violet. The initial shock, pity, and weirdness that the other students felt had pretty much worn off. Now, they were considered no more damaged or weird than any other fifteen-year-old. Violet had even managed to make two new friends: Sheila Liu; a quiet sophomore from their English class and Charlotte Temple; a giggly blonde who managed to make everything she said sound like a question. The two joined Jack and Violet for lunch some days, which suited Violet just fine – Jack spent most lunch hours brooding.
One afternoon, Sheila and Violet were listening to Charlotte go on about a problem she was having with a teacher and Jack was doing a better than decent job of pretending he was sitting alone.
“He never, like, listens? And he explains everything way too fast? You guys better hope you don’t get him next semester?”
Watching Sheila and Charlotte reminded Violet of Liza and herself. Charlotte was animated, always talking with her hands. Although not as developed as Liza was physically, Charlotte portrayed the same confidence that suggested she was very comfortable with the way she looked. Her annoying speech pattern aside, Charlotte amused Violet; she was always quick with a funny observation about the other students and teachers.
Sheila didn’t seem to like attention, but Violet found Sheila fascinating. She always wore faded jeans, a brown corduroy jacket and long colorful scarves. Sheila seemed uninterested in the latest hot item from Aeropostale and was one of the few students their age that could discuss current events and actually knew what she was talking about. She provided a quiet balance to Charlotte’s theatrics, and the more time Violet spent around the two, she realized Sheila had a different kind of confidence. Hers was a quiet self awareness. The first time they’d all had lunch together, Sheila had casually mentioned that as an only child she spent a lot of time alone and that she sometimes found her own company more appealing than being with others.
“The only problem is, when I get on my nerves, I’m kinda stuck with myself,” she’d said. Violet had laughed, Jack never looked up from stirring his applesauce, and Charlotte looked confused.
Now, as Charlotte rambled on about the teacher she swore had it in for her, Violet wondered what it must be like in Sheila’s head. She felt like she’d spent so much time being unsure of herself, wondering what was wrong with her and where she fit in. It would be nice to know w
hat it felt like to just be comfortable in your own skin.
It required very little effort to drown Charlotte out and within moments Violet had connected to Sheila. The more she did it, the easier it became. It was like getting a Wi-Fi upgrade; she was faster and the connection was clearer. Violet was confused – she felt nervous and anxious, but Sheila looked at ease, laughing at something Charlotte had said. Then, she stole a glance at Jack. Violet looked too.
He’d taken a book out of his backpack and was flipping through the pages. He stopped on one and began to read, his shoulders curved forward and his head bowed low. Violet wondered how she’d never noticed how tall he was or how broad his chest was. He never looks at me, but he has such beautiful eyes; so brown and rich like melted chocolate and shaped so that they slanted down at the corners, making him look both sad and mysterious. His hair was always falling into his eyes, and when it did, she had to resist the urge to reach across the table and brush it away.
“What are you doing?” Jack was looking at Violet, his face panicked.
She blinked and shook her head, breaking the connection. “What? I’m not doing anything.”
Sheila and Charlotte had stopped talking and were both looking at Violet curiously. It took Violet a moment to realize they were further away than before she’d connected. She’d scooted her chair closer to Jack’s – very close. He was shrinking away from her looking at her raised hand, which was reaching for his face. When did that happen? Violet had no recollection of moving her seat and no idea she’d been about to brush Jack’s hair away from his face.
“You, um, had something on your face,” she mumbled.
Jack began to wipe his cheeks and mouth with his hands. “It’s gone now,” Violet said, sliding her chair back to where it was before.
Nosiness had led Violet to tap into Sheila’s hidden attraction to Jack. Even though she’d invaded Sheila’s thoughts, Violet was the one that felt violated. Looking at Jack with any kind of romantic interest was just gross, and now both Sheila and Charlotte were looking at her strangely. Violet wasn’t sure either one bought her story about wiping something off of Jack’s face. Just when people were starting to think that maybe I wasn’t a freak. Violet made a mental note to be more selective with her connections in the future.
As their guardian, Dr. Tesla had a hard time balancing his training as a child psychologist and his duty as their magical protector. It would be healthy for the children to maintain a somewhat normal life, but he also had to worry about their safety and the possibility of them telling more than they should about their unusual living arrangements.
So, when Violet came to his office and asked if she could attend a sleepover at her friend Liza’s house, it gave him pause. Violet sensed his hesitation and thought she knew the cause of it.
“I’m not going to say anything if that’s what you’re worried about. She wouldn’t believe me anyway.” Seeing Dr. Tesla’s concerned look she quickly repeated, “But I’m not going to say anything.”
“It’s not that. I just don’t think that now, given what we just learned about your parents’ death, is a good time for you to spend time away from the house.”
“But I go to school.”
“Yes, because you have to.”
Violet stepped further into the room. “Newsflash, Dr. Tesla. I have to do this, too. No offense to you, Jack, or Ms. Sweet, but I’m gonna go crazy if I don’t get out of here for a little while.”
Of course, Violet neglected to mention that she’d been spending time outside the house with Ms. Harkin. She reasoned that a sleepover with Liza was different. Ms. Harkin was about feeling close to her parents and forgetting about her new life for awhile. Hanging out with Liza was about incorporating a bit of her old life into her new one, hoping to feel normal. Her invasion of Sheila’s thoughts aside, being around her and Charlotte reminded Violet of how much she missed having a girlfriend to hang out with.
“Dr. Tesla, don’t worry. If someone wanted to hurt me, or Jack they’d have done it by now. And if it will make you feel better, you can have Kalina check up on me. You know, float by the windows while we’re sleeping or something.”
She detected the makings of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He studied her for several moments, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
“Very well,” He nodded.
“Thanks! See you tomorrow.”
“You meant tonight?” Dr. Tesla called, but Violet had already run up to her room.
Violet and Liza had the house to themselves. Liza’s mother was in town, but out on a date. “Some guy old enough to be her father, but tries to prove he’s young and hip by asking me if I’ve seen the latest Vince Vaughn movie. Really? I told him I’m fifteen, not thirty.” Liza shook her head and continued up the stairs to her room.
She and Violet each had their arms filled with snacks and DVDs. If Violet’s room looked like it was trying too hard to be a teenager’s room, Liza’s looked like it was trying too hard in the other direction. There were no teen heartthrob posters or frilly things hanging from the walls. Liza’s bed was massive and covered in large throw pillows. The walls were painted a rich brown and adorned with pieces of art Liza’s mother had purchased on her travels. The room was so unlike Liza’s personality Violet couldn’t image how she spent any considerable amount of time in it.
Violet tried settling into what they normally did when she’d sleep over: read magazines, talk about the other kids at school, listen to music and paint their nails, but all she could think about was someone causing her father to deliberately drive his car into another one. Violet tried snapping out of it. She’d gone to Liza’s to forget for awhile, but it didn’t seem to be working. She hoped she wasn’t dampening the mood. She and Liza hadn’t spoken much since the funeral and she didn’t want things to be awkward.
“So, tell me more about Jack.” Liza was lying across her bed on her stomach, flipping through a gossip magazine. Violet sat at the head of the bed, knees pulled to her chest, eating popcorn from a bowl on the nightstand.
“What else is there to know?”
“Kelly Mitchum has a cousin that goes to Carter and she says he’s pretty hot.”
“Okay. Seriously? I’m eating here.”
“Oh, come on! Are you trying to tell me you haven’t checked him out?”
Violet remembered feeling what Sheila felt for Jack. She shivered. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. Stop being gross.”
Liza rolled onto her side, facing Violet, and propped her head up with her hand. “What’s it like living with him? And with that doctor?”
“It is what it is. Not very exciting.”
“And how is it at Carter? Do you feel like you’re slumming?”
Violet tried not to let her annoyance show. “It’s not a bad school actually. The morning announcements aren’t delivered on flat screen TVs like Kennedy, but it’s not like we’re writing on stone tablets with chisels either.”
Liza sniffed. “That’s not what I heard. My mother always said you couldn’t pay her to send me to a school in East Rosemont.”
“Well, I live in East Rosemont now so I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
Liza had the good sense to realize she might have gone too far. She tried to lighten her tone. “And so this doctor guy was a friend of your parents for years and you had no idea?”
Violet reached for a bottle of nail polish and started working on her toes as she delivered the prepared lie, the lie that they’d all agreed upon. “Oh, I knew him. Yes, he was their friend. I just had no idea he was going to be my guardian if something happened to them. They never talked about stuff like that. Anyway, Jack’s parents knew him, too. They’d been friends since forever. It was just a coincidence that, you know, things happened like they did.”
“Ha! Either that, or it was all some evil plot by the doctor to get his hands on the two of you.” Liza laughed and tossed a pillow at Violet who dodged it easily, and pretended to l
augh along.
Later, after sitting through two romantic comedies, Violet lay curled in a ball on Liza’s bed. Liza was snoring softly next to her, unaware that her offhand joke earlier had bothered Violet - picked at her. Like she was a loose thread on a sweater, Violet’s thoughts tugged and twirled her until what she thought she knew became unraveled.
She had never considered that Dr. Tesla had anything to do with what happened to her parents. What would be his motive? The people with motive, the Bales, were dead. What was it they said in those police shows her dad had liked? Motive, means and opportunity? Who had the means? Violet was sure that only members of The Trust had been aware of what had been planned for Lincoln and Ashlyn, and here they were, living with the head of The Trust.
Talk about opportunity.
Chapter Eleven
When Powers Go Unchecked
Jack and Violet had begun walking to school most days. It was one of the few times they could talk alone without fear that a classmate or Dr. Tesla might overhear them. They’d only just stopped being the walking freak shows at school. They didn’t need people snagging words like vampire and spells from their conversations.
The two had also found that the more time they spent together, the more they wanted to be around one another. They still managed to get in sarcastic remarks and low-level insults, but the banter felt effortless. Their conversations were the easiest either could hope to have. Jack feared every session with Dr. Tesla was leading him one step closer to confessing his power and Violet felt the same with Kalina. There was no fear that they’d confess to each other because neither wanted to ruin the one normal thing they felt they had in their lives.