The Haunted High Series Boxed Set

by Cheree Alsop

  On impulse, I stopped walking. Ren nearly ran into the back of me before she looked up. Her question showed dully in her reflective gaze. I grinned, realized I looked like a snarling beast, and sneezed instead. Ren’s ears pricked up and her head cocked to one side. The expression on her face was so doglike with curiosity I fought back another terrifying smile.

  I nudged Ren’s shoulder with my own. She stumbled back a few steps and merely looked at me. I snorted and did it again. This time, the werewolf stood her ground. The third time I pushed her, I took off running. I slowed long enough to glance back, and realized my mistake when Ren rammed into me at full speed. I went sprawling across the snow. Ren gave a yip of triumph as she ran past.

  I jumped back up and took off after her. The tawny wolf threw me a challenging bark before she ducked between a span of bushes. I followed and quickly realized that her sleeker form allowed her to fit through the tight spaces while mine was more like a bulldozer. Branches snagged in my fur and I had to push my way through the narrow opening. By the time I reached the other side, Ren was nowhere in sight, but her trail showed in the snow unbroken by anything else except the occasional track of a deer or hare.

  I charged down the path she had left without any thought but catching up to her. I had just cleared a stand of aspens when a form slammed into my side. Sparrow flew into the air and I rolled over completely at least four times before I found my feet. When I rose, Ren stood there in the moonlight with a silly wolfish grin on her face and laughter dancing in her eyes. Sparrow flew around my head a few times before she settled between my shoulders. I swore there was a look of laughter on the dragon’s face. She was enjoying the moonlight as much as we were.

  I barked at Ren and took off. The werewolf fell in behind me, the cadence of her paws matching my own. I didn’t care about where we were going. It felt so free to run through the moonlight across snow that sparkled like a million diamonds. There were snowdrifts almost as tall as I was in my human form outside of evergreens whose branches had sloughed the snow into piles and left dens underneath that looked like deep, dark holes, but on further exploration provided shelter for foxes, rabbits, and even a badger we ran from as fast as we could.

  We leaped frozen streams, chased rabbits into their holes, and jumped to catch branches so that the snow fell on the other werewolf. It was silly and more carefree than I had felt since the car accident. As we ran and played like puppies, a weight lifted from my shoulders that I hadn’t known I had been carrying. The thought of demons, Professor Briggs, and the danger facing my team faded to the back of my mind. I gave myself up to the run entirely and was happy to see Ren do the same.

  I found a short stick and tossed it in the air with my mouth. Ren leaped up and caught it before it could hit the ground. She threw it with a jerk of her head and we both dove after it in the snow. I grabbed one end and she bit the other. I lifted my head and found myself looking straight at her. White puffs of air left her mouth as she held onto the stick. The gold flecks in her hazel eyes caught in the light of the moon. The blue rings around her irises looked as though they glowed. My chest heaved with the exertion of the run and I gave a huff of laughter at our foolishness. Ren answered with a growl.

  I let go of the stick. Ren dropped it as well and backed up with another growl. Sparrow rose into the air and flew near my head. A tiny puff of blue flame spouted from her mouth at the wolf, but it disappeared about a foot away from us.

  I waved my tail to let Ren know I wasn’t mad. She responded by baring her teeth in a snarl. My heart slowed. The carefree, dancing gaze of the werewolf had been replaced by the reflective glow of an animal. Her head lowered and another growl rumbled from her chest. I took a step back. Sparrow followed.

  Ren sprang at me. I dodged to the side, my muscles tense to defend us against attack, but she ran past me instead. I gave a questioning bark, but she was gone.

  The realization that she was heading for the Academy made me leap into a run. I lowered my head and pushed my paws faster and faster, intent on the trail she left as she ran for Haunted High.

  I couldn’t let her reach the school before me. The Remus Academy had already been the victim of a devastating werewolf attack. I told myself over and over that Ren wouldn’t hurt anyone, but she had already tried to attack Alden. Nobody was safe.

  I ran as fast as I could, but I couldn’t catch up to her. Sparrow flew by my side in a blur. When she faltered, I slowed so the baby dragon could find her place on my back, then I burst into a run again. Once, I saw a glimpse of Ren’s tail on the other side of a clearing as I darted across, but she was gone before I reached the other side. My chest heaved and my heart pounded in my ears in cadence to the beat of my paws on the snow, but no matter how fast I ran, she was always ahead.

  The Academy loomed above the forest. The sight of the towers made me push faster. I burst into the clearing next to the school in time to see forms gathered around the door. Ren’s form, a tawny blur in the moonlight, headed straight for them.

  I gave a howl of warning and saw Vicken straighten from where he had been helping Professor Rexus fit a new door onto the hinges. At my warning, the bear-like professor placed himself in front of two other students I didn’t recognize who had been assisting him and he lowered his horns in defense.

  Vicken’s hands curled into fists. The professor said something my ears didn’t catch, but the vampire walked forward to meet the attacking werewolf. The glow of his fangs was bright in the light of the moon as he bared them. My werewolf instincts warned of the danger of vampires. Here was a mortal enemy who could destroy me. I should protect the werewolf and not allow her to be killed. I had to save my race.

  Vicken’s knees bent and his hands opened like claws. Deadly grace showed in every line of his body. His long coat caught in the night breeze and flapped, giving him the appearance of an otherworldly demon ready to defend the school against all danger. I ran so fast my paws were a blur in front of me. I had felt the strength in the vampire’s hands and knew if he caught Ren, he could snap her spine like a twig. She didn’t know what she was up against. I had to stop them both, but I was too far behind.

  Just before Ren reached Vicken, she darted to the right. The vampire had been expecting a direct assault. Her juke caught him off guard and he lunged, but missed grabbing her tail by mere inches. The werewolf darted past him and dove through the open door. Vicken turned. The shock on his face at her speed would have been hilarious if it wasn’t for the dangerous situation. Before he could try to stop me, I darted around his other side and dove through the door after her.

  My paws skittered on the slick ground. The pads of my feet were wet with snow and made gaining a purchase impossible. I slammed into the wall before I could stop myself.

  “Finn!” Vicken said with shock.

  I shook myself to clear my dazed mind. A scream made my head jerk up. I met the vampire’s yellow eyes and knew the fear he showed was reflected in my gaze. He ran through the door as I gained my bearings. We both charged into the hallway.

  Fren, a girl with orange scales from my Care of Green Multicellular Organisms class, stood in the dark hallway with a look of shock on her face.

  “Where did the wolf go?” Vicken demanded.

  The girl pointed with a shaky finger. We ran toward the entrance of the school. The front doors stood wide open. I glimpsed Ren’s tawny tail as she slipped through the gate. This time, instead of closing quietly, the iron gate shut with a bang just before we reached it.

  Vicken jumped to grab the middle of the bars about halfway up, but I knew I couldn’t clear the points in my wolf form. I grabbed the hem of his pants in my teeth and pulled.

  “Hey!” Vicken yelled. He slipped back down and glared at me. “We don’t have time for this.”

  I let out a growl and nodded toward the alley.

  “I’ll go after her,” Vicken said. “We can’t let her warn the Labs.”

  I growled again and flattened my ears against my skull. The v
ampire wouldn’t play nice if he caught up to the werewolf. The last thing we needed was to find either of them killed by the other. With the centuries of werewolf instinct whispering how dangerous vampires were, I had no doubt a meeting between the two of them at such a moment of high tension would mean death to one or both.

  “Why won’t the gate open?” Vicken shouted. He hit the gate with both hands and it rang dully between the buildings, but the gate remained closed. “We can’t let her get away!”

  I put my paws on the bars, then barked and jerked my head toward the top of the gate.

  Vicken let out a breath. “Seriously?” he demanded. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  I lowered back down and took several steps backwards, then barked again.

  The vampire shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re asking me to do this. This is ludicrous. You might get hurt.”

  I snorted.

  “Don’t argue like a wolf,” the vampire replied. “It’s ridiculous.” The tightness of his voice let me know how worried he really was. “If you find her, she might kill you.”

  I snorted again to let him know I didn’t plan to let that happen.

  He shook his head and sunk his hands into my fur.

  “If you get hurt, it’s not my fault, even though it will be absolutely my fault,” the vampire muttered.

  I gritted my teeth and prepared for what could possibly be the most humiliating moment of my life.

  “I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” Vicken said.

  I lowered to the ground.

  The vampire picked me up easily by my fur and let out a grunt as he threw me with the entirety of his vampire strength. To my relief, instead of hitting the points at the top of the tall gate, I cleared them by inches. I bent my legs when my paws touched the ground and I skidded along the pavement.

  “Are you alright?” Vicken called.

  I rose and turned to face him, giving him a wag of my tail to reassure him that he hadn’t killed me.

  “Lucky mutt,” I heard the vampire mutter. He lifted his voice. “Find Ren, don’t let her warn the Labs, and meet us at the basement. I’ll bring the team as soon as the chemicals are ready.”

  I snorted in reply and took off running.

  Chapter Eight

  I had a greater appreciate for travel by bus by the time I reached the place where Vicken, Alden, and I had gotten off. Even at night, the traffic in New York was deadly. I lost count of how many near-misses I experienced before I made it to the building Ren had led us to. The werewolf’s fresh scent let me know she had beat me inside. I wasn’t surprised to see that no forms occupied the dark corners. The sight of a huge wolf barreling through the doors no doubt left an impression on the inhabitants. At least we wouldn’t have to ask them to leave when we were ready for the demons.

  I reached the tube at the far end of the room and looked down it. The thought that she could be waiting at the end to attack me made me hesitate. No matter how foolhardy I was, my instincts wouldn’t let me dive into such an easy opportunity for being killed. I gave a questioning bark.

  “Go away, Finn.”

  Ren’s voice released the tension I had been carrying. At least if she was in her human form, I would be better able to defend myself in case of attack. I stepped into the tube.

  Slides weren’t meant for four-legged creatures. My paws scrabbled against the slick material, but I couldn’t keep myself upright and flipped onto my back. I shot out of the end of the slide and tumbled across the ground in an ungraceful heap. A glance up showed Sparrow sitting on the edge of the tube. I was grateful she had leaped free before my fall. My only redeeming thought was that Vicken hadn’t been there to see it. I doubted the vampire would have let me live the embarrassment down if he had.

  “Nice form,” Ren said dryly.

  I rose on shaky legs and turned to face her. I half-expected to see the girl holding a knife or even a gun to defend herself, but instead, Ren sat on the boxes weaponless and looking nearly as bedraggled as I felt. She wore a maroon shirt that appeared two sizes too big and gray sweat pants that looked as though they had been rescued from a garbage can. The overly large clothing made her look tiny and pathetic. The way she sat with her bare feet pulled beneath her and her arms wrapped around her knees echoed the appearance.

  She looked away from my gaze.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Finn,” she said in a voice just above a whisper. “I’m not ever myself. And if I am myself, I don’t know who I am enough to recognize it.” Her voice broke as she said, “I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’ve been taken apart so many times, I feel ragged at the seams, as if I’m falling to pieces with every thought.” She buried her head in her arms. Her voice was muffled when she said, “There’s a war inside of me. I can’t keep the darkness away. Every time I find a bit of light, it’s as if there’s something inside me fighting to bury it, like it can’t let it free.” She tipped her head to look at me. When our eyes met, a tear trailed down her nose and fell off the end to make a small dark spot on her sweat pants. She blinked and another tear followed. “Finn, I feel like there’s a demon inside me. Look.”

  She pulled down the neckline of her shirt. Dark streaks snaked away from her chest above her heart. The lines were thick and twisting. Red surrounded them as though the marks were painful. With my eyes I followed one tendril up her neck. It disappeared into her hairline.

  My breath caught in my throat. I swallowed, but couldn’t make a sound past the lump.

  “You have to help me, Finn,” Ren pleaded. “I have to get the voices out of my head or I’ll jump over the bridge again before you can stop me.”

  I nodded. I wasn’t sure what to do or how to help, but the hopelessness in her voice wasn’t something I could deny.

  “You’ll help me?” Ren asked. Disbelief showed in her voice. “You won’t call me insane and think I’m trying to hurt everyone like your vampire friend does?”

  I shook my head.

  Ren sat up and tears fell onto her hands when she looked down at where they were clutched in her lap. “The voice kept telling me that everyone wanted to kill me. It told me to attack the Grim even though he’s been so nice to me. It said that the Academy is dangerous, that I should kill everyone inside.” She met my gaze with a light of triumph in her eyes. “But I didn’t, Finn. I followed the voice to the school, and then I kept on running so that it couldn’t take over and make me hurt them. I kept running even though I knew the vampire wanted to kill me and deserved to because he was right about my thoughts. I kept running even when the voice got mad and told me I needed to go back.” Her eyes narrowed and her hands clenched into fists. “I told it that I was in charge of my own self and I wasn’t going to hurt anyone. I said I would throw myself off the bridge and it stopped talking.”

  She was silent for a moment, her gaze unfocused as if she looked inward instead of outward. A slight, hesitant smile touched her lips. “It’s quiet right now. I think it knows I would have done it.” Her eyes flickered to me. “You know I would have done it.”

  I nodded. The way she balanced at the edge of control unnerved me. I had to help, but I didn’t know how. As we looked at each other, I felt the hold of the unseen moonlight release me from my form. Morning must be dawning. As a wolf, I couldn’t help her. The need to phase back surfaced in my mind. With a glance at her to ensure that she stayed put, I padded quietly to the divider.

  “There’s some clothes in the box by the bed,” Ren said. The position of her voice told me she hadn’t moved. “You can find whatever you want. It’s not the greatest selection. Beggars can’t be choosers, so the saying goes. I don’t want you to think I’m a thief, Finn, but I stole the box from a couple who was in the middle of moving. I told myself they can’t blame me if I was walking by when they left it on the back of the big yellow truck before they went upstairs again. I figured if they could afford such a cool truck, they could afford more clothes, and they wouldn’t mind if an orph
an rendered from limb to limb and sewn back together needed something to wear more than they did.”

  Her voice quieted as though she spoke to herself instead of me when she said, “They might have minded, but if they saw the Labs, they wouldn’t. They would understand how much it hurt, and how putting on clothes helped me pretend that I wasn’t just an experiment. I felt real in their clothes. I felt as though I was someone. I felt like I deserved a life. I felt like I didn’t need to go back, though the scientists found me again. They always find me. I don’t know how, but when they need me, they take me. They don’t care that I’m a girl, that I have feelings, that I have a voice. They shut me up, they do. They strap me down and put the needle in my arm, and then I can’t complain anymore. I can’t tell them that it hurts. I’m fine. I’m always fine. Nothing hurts me. Even when it hurts, it doesn’t hurt. Because I’m fine. Render me to pieces. I’ll be fine. I’m always fine.”

  Her voice faded away, but I could hear her sitting there quietly on her boxes. I glanced out and saw a blank expression on her face as though she was lost in her memories. Sparrow sat on the box next to her. The girl didn’t seem to even see the dragon. Pity welled inside of me. I knew Sparrow would avoid her if Ren was completely bad. I vowed to do what I could to help her. I ducked back behind the divider and let the phase happen.

  The weariness of my muscles when I made it back to my human form let me know how hard I had pushed myself. I rummaged through the box, sifting clothes to each side with numb fingers until I found a pair of black athletic shorts and a gray tank top that would fit. I pulled them on with gratitude for the couple who unknowingly left the clothes for Ren to take. I had no doubt her words were true. They might have been upset when they returned to find the box stolen, but if they knew what the girl who took them had been through, they would have given them to her without regret. At least I hoped so.

  I wished I could have told Vicken to grab my shoes before I left the Academy. The thought of running around the city barefoot wasn’t a pleasant one. I told myself I would manage and that there were greater things to worry about. When I stepped around the divider, the sight of Ren curled up asleep on the pile of boxes gripped my heart. Her hands trembled where they were curled beneath her chin. Instead of the peace of sleep on her face, her eyebrows were pulled together to form a little furrow between them. Her auburn hair spilled around her in a mess of tangles, and she whispered a word as she dreamed.