By spying on your father.
“He’s got a network of resources,” Lucas replied, not missing a beat – and also not exactly answering the question. “It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Don’t worry about that part,” I said to Henry. “Let Nicholas deal with it. But what about the spell to close the gates? Do you think you can do it?” I had purposefully not told Henry that Emmett had said he was the only warlock capable of permanently closing the gates.
“I’ll have to read my book. It doesn’t sound like a beginner’s spell, though,” he said nervously. “Ad I’m definitely a beginner.”
“Emmett’s certain you can do it, and he hasn’t been wrong yet,” I tried to reassure Henry.
“I’m more concerned about getting all of the stuff for the spell than doing the actual spell,” Henry said. “Some of the more complex ones have a lot of really rare ingredients.”
“I’m not sure the spell is going to be in that book of yours,” Lucas commented.
“Then how would I get it?” Henry looked skeptical. “This just sounds completely infeasible!”
“Emmett might have some suggestions,” I said.
“And where are these ‘Gates of Hell’ anyway?” Henry asked. “You expect us to travel to some unknown destination, right above the entrance to Hell?”
“I have no idea,” I said helplessly. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“Okay, so we know there’s a lot to work out to make this happen,” Lucas conceded. “But, Henry, you’re willing to do it?”
“Of course I am,” he replied. “You know, something I remember before being bitten. One of those goons called me a warlock.” Henry looked at Lucas. “Is that what I am?”
Lucas was obviously trying to decide how to answer. “You are,” I said before he could speak. What was the purpose of keeping that from Henry? He deserved to know his fate, his destiny.
Henry let out a low whistle. “That’s nuts,” he said. “How long have you known?”
“I realized it while you were fighting for your life,” I lied. “Remember, I’ve had a very long day and night to think about everything.”
“But I’m human, right? I just have this…talent?” Henry questioned.
Lucas nodded.
Henry stood up. “I need to go home. Lucas said you texted my mom, but they’re bound to start worrying if I don’t get back soon. I can drop you off at your house, unless you want to stay here.” Henry was testing me, trying to determine just how close I was to Lucas.
“That would be great if you could take me home,” I replied. “And it will save you a trip,” I said to Lucas.
“Do you want me to drive?” I offered when we got to his car.
“You got your license while I was knocked out?” Henry asked in surprise.
“Of course not, silly! I did have a driving lesson and then borrow my mom’s car though.” I laughed. “It was without her permission, so now my parents are tracking my every move.”
“Where in the world did you go!” Henry exclaimed.
“To Lucas’ place,” I answered. “I was a complete wreck, and as soon as Lucas told me you were going to recover I just had to see you.”
Henry smiled. “I saw you standing over me, but I thought it was a dream.”
“I guess Lucas is going to set up another meeting with Magnus,” I said nervously. “Are you going to research the spell?”
“Yeah, Lucas explained that we can talk to each other on these special phones. He gave me one this morning. I’ll call Emmett. I really don’t even know where to start. You realize how crazy this is, right?”
I didn’t answer. “I’m just so glad you’re alive,” I whispered, staring out the window. But what would happen if the plan went wrong? Lucas said it – Henry was mortal. I didn’t feel right about him having any part of this. But what choice did we have?
Chapter 14
Monday morning came all too soon, and there was no word yet from Lucas about the meeting he was arranging with Magnus. Mom had taken me to school most of last week, but I couldn’t stand her constant fishing; I’d told her that I needed to ride with Henry, so we could quiz each other for an upcoming test.
“Any news?” he asked tensely when I got into the car.
“Nope. You?”
“Emmett said he had to check some stuff. He also said don’t bother looking in the book, that this is a special spell,” Henry replied.
“How in the world are we supposed to focus on classes with all of this shit happening? I didn’t even have time this weekend to do any of my homework. Before, I would have been mortified to get called out by a teacher for not doing an assignment. But now, I’ve barely given it any thought,” I said.
“You can copy my homework for the classes we have together,” Henry offered. “My book bag is in the back. Get as much done as you can in home room.”
“That’s very nice of you, Henry,” I said sincerely, “but I meant it when I said I really don’t care. What’s the point?”
“The point is that if you start failing tests and not turning in homework, your teachers will contact your parents for a meeting. You said they were already smothering you. You’re smart, Rory. Just do the bare minimum to get Bs and Cs, and that should keep your parents happy.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “But I feel bad about cheating off your homework.”
“Oh, who cares?” Henry replied flippantly. “Desperate times…” his voice trailed off.
I reached into the backseat and pulled Henry’s backpack to the front.
“The folders are labeled by the class, and the homework from this weekend is on top,” he instructed me. “Just don’t let Mr. Ramsey see you blatantly copying.”
“Well, I do sit right in front of his damn desk,” I said morosely.
I pulled out a blue folder. It didn’t have a label, but I flipped it open anyway.
“Don’t look at that!” Henry snapped, snatching the folder out of my hands.
“I – I’m sorry,” I stuttered, taken aback at his tone. “I wasn’t trying to snoop.”
Henry sighed. “What the hell, I guess it doesn’t matter if you see these.” He handed the folder back to me. “Just one more thing to make you think I’m a total freak,” he muttered. “A warlock freak, apparently.”
I opened the folder and pulled out the top page. It was a drawing: a perfectly round circle with lines and intricate shapes inside of it. “What is this?” I asked.
“It’s the same way I can read that spell book,” Henry said. “These images, they just appear in my head. So I started putting them on paper, trying to figure out what it all means.”
“Why didn’t you want me to know?” I asked quietly.
“It’s embarrassing! I don’t understand who I am anymore.”
Like how I never told Henry about my blackouts. I couldn’t blame him, couldn’t fault him, but maybe I could make him feel better about it.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I would never think any differently of you.” I paused. “Unless you start using your spells to do hurtful things,” I added nervously.
“Never.” Henry shook his head vigorously. “That one that you’re holding – if you were to draw that on the floor or ceiling, for example, and stand in the middle of it, then nothing non-human could step over the lines of the outer circle.”
“Really? So it protects humans?”
“Yes,” Henry confirmed.
“What about me? I’m not really human. You think I could walk into the circle?” I asked.
“I have no clue. I just thought maybe these drawings would come in handy someday. But I wasn’t ready to tell anyone about them. Lately, the things that I just innately know are really scaring me,” Henry said.
“I understand,” I replied. “But please, please don’t feel like you need to keep anything from me.”
“Thanks, Rory.”
We were at school now and there was twenty minutes before homeroom officially
started. Henry helped me sort out the homework papers.
“I think I’ll just sit in the courtyard and copy them until it gets closer to homeroom,” I said. “With my seat right in front of Mr. Ramsey, it really could be tricky.”
“Cool,” Henry replied. “Meet me at the water fountain by Ms. Perry’s classroom after homeroom?”
“Yeah, thanks again,” I said gratefully. Both Henry and I used to have a moral problem with cheating, but now we hadn’t given it a second thought.
I headed to the courtyard and sat down on an empty bench. Students were milling around, but I didn’t see any teachers. There was no reason to copy the English homework – the assignment had been to read a short story and answer questions about it. I definitely didn’t have time to re-word Henry’s answers to make them not look plagiarized.
Instead, I pulled out his Calculus homework and, as fast as I could, began copying the answers into my notebook. I didn’t look at the clock on my phone until I’d finished. I only had seven minutes before the final warning bell! I would have to try and get the rest copied in homeroom.
I shoved the folders and notebooks into my backpack and headed for homeroom, which was a little bit of a trek, considering Mr. Ramsey’s classroom was on the other side of campus. And I also needed to stop by my locker and drop off books for my afternoon classes.
I quickly spun the dial of the combination lock and pulled my locker open. I took the textbooks for World History and Chemistry out of my backpack and placed them on the top shelf. Slamming my locker shut, I turned to go to Mr. Ramsey’s room. I didn’t look at my clock again, but there were probably only three or four minutes until the final warning bell.
By now the halls were mostly empty. I picked up the pace and rounded a corner.
“Oomph!” I exclaimed as I smacked into someone. I was thrown back a few feet and struggled to keep my balance.
“Sorry,” I said at the same time I realized who I’d collided with: Benji Bloomer. The cretin who had so nicely said that he wanted to ‘give it to me.’
I tried to step around his hulking frame, but Benji moved over, blocking my path. “Well, if it isn’t the little coma girl,” he said snidely.
“I need to get to homeroom. Can you please move?”
“What’s the hurry? Didn’t anyone ever tell you to watch where you’re going?” Benji replied.
Just then the final warning bell – one minute – sounded.
I tried again to walk around Benji, but he moved to block me, just like he had the first time.
“Not so fast,” Benji said. “You and I haven’t had a chance to talk since you woke up from that coma.”
“I don’t want to be late,” I said, looking down at my feet, purposefully not meeting his gaze. The last thing I needed was a confrontation with Benji. I didn’t think he would try anything funny – after all we were in school – but antagonizing him wasn’t a good idea.
“Come on, baby,” he said. “Don’t I get a hug? Or a proper ‘hello’?” Benji stepped forward towards me.
“Get away from me,” I said as forcefully as possible.
The halls were empty now, and the final bell would be ringing any second.
Ignoring me, Benji came closer. “What, the slut suddenly wants to play hard to get? You were all over those guys at the party last year. Why not share the love?”
Even though I had vowed not to make the situation worse, his last comment sent me over the edge. I couldn’t stop myself from reacting. “Fuck off!” I screamed as the final bell rang.
Anger flashed in Benji’s eyes. He grabbed my arm forcefully. “You wanna apologize for that?”
“No, I don’t,” I said, trying to wrench my arm out of his grasp. “You’re a fucking loser with an inflated ego. You really think your football career is going to take off?” I spat out. “Because if you do, you’re even dumber than you look. A fucking monkey could play better than you.” I stared at him defiantly.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew I had gone too far. I had mistakenly thought that Benji – as gross as he was – wouldn’t hit a girl, wouldn’t get violent – at least not in school, where anyone could walk up at any minute. But I was dead wrong.
Benji lunged forward and slammed me into the lockers lining the hallway. He pinned my arms back. “I’ll fucking kill you, you stupid whore,” he hissed.
I twisted my wrists, trying to break free from his grasp.
He laughed. “I’m 250 pounds of pure man,” Benji said. “You think you’re a match for me?” He leaned forward. “By the time I get through with you, you’re going to wish you really had died.”
I’m going to get raped or beaten – or both. It didn’t matter if Benji couldn’t actually kill me – he was right, he could make me wish I were dead if he was capable of what he was threatening.
Still holding onto both of my wrists, Benji wrenched me away from the lockers and started dragging me down the hallway. I started to scream, but that just made Benji more infuriated. He clamped one hand over my mouth and continued pulling me, easily gripping both of my wrists with the hand that wasn’t covering my mouth.
Benji slung me into an empty lab and slammed the door behind him. He had let go of my wrists now, was standing in front of me, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath.
I darted around a lab table in an attempt to put distance between Benji and me. “I was just messing around earlier,” I said desperately.
Benji grinned. “Oh, so all that was just one big joke?”
I was about to profusely apologize, beg Benji to let me go, and then a thought came to me. Henry. With Bartholomew and Thomas. He had refused to beg for his life. He’d said it right before he was bitten – if he was going to die, it would be with dignity.
I jutted my chin out defiantly. “You know what, Benji?” I said, my voice strangely calm. “I meant every single word. You are an imbecile. If you don’t know what it means – and I’m betting you don’t – look it up. If you can even read, that is.”
With a furious growl, Benji lunged at me. I moved sideways, narrowly avoiding his slimy hand.
And then it happened. The heat. My whole body warming up. Like I was alive. It seemed to happen faster this time – or maybe now I just understood what it meant.
The next time Benji came at me, I was ready. I pushed him back using one arm. Benji landed on his butt, but quickly struggled to his feet. “What the – “ he started, his rage replaced by confusion.
But I didn’t let him finish the sentence. I tackled Benji, dragging him to the ground. And then I started hitting him. Over and over. I felt him trying to push me off as I pummeled his face methodically with both fists. Maybe I can beat his brains out.
Is that what you want, Aurora? a voice inside my head screamed. To kill him?
I stopped abruptly. Benji’s face was bloodied. His nose looked out of place. Did I break it? Is he even breathing?
Fuck. What have I done?
I climbed to my feet in horror. I couldn’t really have killed him. No. Phew. Benji was breathing. Blinking. Talking.
I reached my hand out to pull Benji to his feet. He was blubbering something. Or maybe it was me who was speaking. I couldn’t tell.
Finally, I heard my voice. “Are you okay?” I was asking over and over.
Benji was cupping his hand over his nose. “You broke my nose,” he screeched.
I stepped backwards, towards the door to the lab. Benji was hunched over, moaning in pain and repeatedly saying that his nose was broken. I left the room and slammed the door behind me.
I stared at my bloodied hands, which were shaking like crazy. The girls’ bathroom was next to the lab. I pushed the door open with my elbow, so that I wouldn’t get any blood on it, turned on the sink, and started vigorously scrubbing. Get rid of the evidence.
My clouded head was starting to clear. I leaned my forehead against the mirror and closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down. I hadn’t killed Benji, and he could neve
r tell what happened. No, he’d rather die than admit he’d been beaten up by a girl, especially one who was half his size.
Think, Aurora. Homeroom was well under way. I’d have a tardy for sure, but it would take three for them to call my parents. It could be worse. My hands had finally stopped shaking. I studied my face in the mirror. I didn’t look any different. No one will know what you did.
I turned to leave the girls’ bathroom, to go to the principal’s office and get my first tardy. When I got there, I swung the door open confidently and smiled at the secretary, Mrs. Brody.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Brody,” I said in the most innocent voice I could muster. “My mom’s tire got a flat on the way to school; that’s why I’m late.”
“Aurora, dear, I wish I didn’t have to do this,” Mrs. Brody said apologetically. “You’re such a sweet girl. But rules are rules.” She pulled out a tardy slip and scribbled something on it.
Sweet girl. I willed myself not to laugh.
I took the paper from her. “No worries, Mrs. Brody,” I said. “I know you’re just doing your job. Believe me, this won’t happen again.”
And with that, I left the principal’s office, went to homeroom, sat down in my seat in front of Bunny, and acted as though I hadn’t nearly killed Benji Bloomer merely fifteen minutes ago.
Chapter 15
I didn’t say a word to Henry about Benji when we met before first period English. I simply handed him his homework and said thanks for helping me out. Then I sat through class, in a daze, barely able to focus on Ms. Perry’s words.
But by third period Calculus, Henry had heard the rumors about Benji. “They’re saying Benji just abruptly…left,” he said to me when I sat down in my desk. “That he had a broken nose. Not saying how, though.” Henry looked at me suspiciously. “Do you know anything about this?”
I massaged my temples with my fingers – an old habit from when I was human, when I used to get stress headaches.
“I beat him up,” I whispered.
“What?” Henry asked in disbelief. The final warning bell rang.
“I’ll tell you at lunch,” I said. “Too much to explain in a minute.” Our lunch break was after third period, but I always spent it in the library, so no one would ask me why I didn’t eat. Sometimes Henry joined me.
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