His speech silenced me.
He put a chipped teacup in front of me, and it was surreal, seeing this formerly fine piece of china, decorated with tiny pink rosebuds, its rim tarnished a faint tinny color where it’d once been painted gold. “Drink,” he said. “Hope you like the goat blood.”
I stared in horror at the cup, and he cackled again, long and loud, ending in a racking cough. He cleared his throat and spat into the sink. “You’ll face down demons, holding naught but those wee Christmas stars, but you can’t take a joke.” He nodded toward the teacup. “That’s good tea, girl. Scottish breakfast. Drink up.”
I kept wary eyes on him as I picked up the cup. I was still trying to decide if the old man was simply eccentric or full-on insane.
But the warm cup stilled my trembling fingers and the tea did smell divine. I blew on it and took a sip. It was good, and it warmed something inside me that I hadn’t realized had been chilled. It gave me courage. “What are they, anyway? The Draug, I mean.”
He plopped down on a stool across from me. “They tried to be vampires. Didn’t make it.”
I pictured the creatures in my mind’s eye. They were in the shape of men, though I knew that many had been no more than boys. “No, I mean, how do they come to be? Did the vampires mess up? Did something go wrong in the change?”
He shrugged. “There’s a test. These are them what didn’t pass.”
I tried to make sense of his weird accent. “You mean like a written exam or a physical or something?”
“A test. The test. Boys go into the cave and they either come out Vampire or they come out the Draug.”
He’d said the cave, not a cave. It struck me who could tell me about this test and this cave. Carden. The need to save him was more urgent than ever, and it felt like this was somehow connected. “What happens in the cave?”
“Can’t say for sure.” He sipped his tea as casually as though we were discussing the weather.
I studied the old man, studied his features and his movements, wondering—as I did whenever I spotted a human—if this might’ve been some relative of Ronan’s. “What’s your name?”
He peered hard at me, looking bemused. “That’s something I don’t generally tell strangers.”
“I’m Drew. Well, Annelise Drew, but people call me Drew. So there. No longer a stranger.” I sipped my tea, trying hard to look as nonchalant as I’d made my voice sound.
He did that cackly laugh of his, only lower this time. “I’m Tom. And folk just call me Tom.”
Was this guy actually okay? Granted, he was a strange old dude and, wow, he smelled, but he didn’t strike me as a sociopathic killer. Which brought me back to square one: Who was the sociopathic killer?
What the hell…I figured I had nothing to lose and said, “So, Tom. I don’t suppose you’ve seen anything strange, have you?”
He looked at me like I was the nutter, not him.
“Okay,” I quickly amended. “I know there’s lots of strange stuff. But girls have been dying.” Something in his cheek twitched, and I sped up. “I know—that tends to happen a lot around here. But there have been mysterious killings, too, stuff like bodies being drained, and nobody knows who’s doing it.”
He bristled. “Why would I know?”
“Because you seem like the type of gentleman who notices things,” I said, turning on the charm. I was rewarded with another cackle.
He nodded, looking decided about something. “Aye, and so I do see things. Like that new vampire who’s roaming about.”
A horrific thought sideswiped me. Carden. Carden was a new vampire.
I’d been with him during one of the killings, though. I knew he was innocent. Wasn’t he?
Still, I had to ask. “What does this new vampire look like?” I held my breath, waiting for the answer.
“Pale. Shifty. Like all the vampires look.”
“Please.” I’d aimed for exasperated, but my voice came out sounding helpless and lost. “Dark hair? Light hair?” After a moment’s hesitation, I added, “Kilt?”
He gave me a cockeyed look. “Kilt? Nah, not the kilted one. This one is smaller, with white hair.”
“White hair?” I hadn’t seen any white-haired vamps.
“Dead white.”
I sat forward on my stool, feeling electrified. “You mean he’s old? Or, rather, was older when he changed?”
Tom’s expression shuttered. “Teatime’s done. Talk’s done, too. You be off now. Feeding time. Gonna get messy around here real soon.”
I carried my cup to the sink. Before he could disappear out the door, I asked, “One more question?”
“Can I stop you?”
With a smile, I shook my head.
“Well, girl.” He rapped his staff impatiently in the dirt. “Spit it out.”
“What you just told me…If there really is a rogue vampire wandering around…” This man had seen the real killer—it could be the ultimate proof, clearing Carden for good. “Would you tell the vampires for me?”
“Already did.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“He already did?” Mei-Ling looked at me in disbelief. We were half jogging, half running back to campus. Not only was it getting perilously close to class time, but we were also beginning to freak out about being so far off the path.
A small trail led down the hillside, to a narrow stretch of beach. I felt exposed on the foreign terrain and hoped to do a big chunk of our backtracking along the coastline. The stretch of navigable beach wouldn’t last forever, but a wall of rocks might shelter us from view.
“What do you mean the Draug keeper told the vampires Carden was innocent?”
I shot her a look. “Exactly what I said. He told the Directorate he’d seen the killer and it wasn’t Carden.” The beach flattened out, and I upped my pace. “We need to hustle. Can’t have you late for Dagursson.”
But being late wasn’t the biggest thing on my mind. I feared there’d be no stopping the Directorate. They didn’t care about catching any killer—they just wanted Carden dead. Part of me was terrified they might’ve even killed him already. Though some other part believed I’d know instantly if he were gone.
Either way, I wanted, longed, to be closer to him. Being so far apart made me feel…off. Wrong.
And, realistically speaking, if I were to be caught now, it’d raise all kinds of alarms. It was no secret Carden and I had often been seen together. Me off-roading so blatantly would get both of us killed.
“Slow down a sec.” Mei-Ling held up her hand and stopped, bending and grasping her knees to catch her breath. “If they know he’s innocent”—she looked up at me, panting—“why haven’t they freed him?”
They didn’t free Carden because this was all a ploy—Alcántara’s ploy—to frame him. To see him killed. But why? An old grudge? Jealousy? And what did I have to do with it? But I was too afraid to say all that. Finally, I spoke all the truth that needed to be said. “All I know is that I have to get him out of there.”
Mei stood, and we set off again. “What now?”
We were still moving briskly, but not as fast as before, and it frustrated me. I wanted to race home. But seeing her hand clutching the stitch in her side, I forced myself to let up. I used the easier pace as an opportunity to think. “I guess we stick to the original plan, only instead of using me as bait to catch the Draug keeper, we’re going to lure a rogue vampire instead.”
“No way,” she said. “You’ll get kill—”
The sound of heavy footfalls startled us, silenced us—bodies jumping from the rocks, landing behind us. “Hello, Acari. You’re very far from home.” It was Masha. Of course.
I grabbed Mei-Ling’s arm as I turned, shoving her behind me. “I could say the same about you.”
I needed to protect my roommate, and not because Alcántara had ordered it. I’d guard her because it was what I wanted to do.
“I’ve been looking for you.” She prowled toward us. “Hunting for you.”
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How to play it? With bluster? Humor? Aggression? I opted for some mix of the three. I plucked the stars from my boot. “Did you miss me?”
“Nobody will miss you. This time, you’re not going back.”
“Wow, so you’re really going to kill me? Because, you know, you’ve tried before.” My expression was calm, but my mind raced, assessing. Masha was with two girls, both Guidons. I spotted a butterfly knife and one throwing knife. I didn’t see her whip, but I knew it was there, waiting for me.
“I won’t fail again.” She strolled closer, eyeing us with a wicked smile on her face. “I think it’s time to dispense with all the hos on this island.”
I had to laugh. “So dire, Masha. And yet so predictable.”
Mei tried to push out from behind me. “Can’t you come up with some new material?”
I dug my fingers into her arm, holding her in place, hissing, “Easy.” I adored her spunk, but was painfully aware that all she had were a few homemade stakes plus a flute in her pocket—and a fat lot of help that would be. The vampires saw it as a weapon, but it was one of magnificent subtlety, an instrument to dull and control the masses. Unless she used it to jab at an eye or two, it wouldn’t do us any good in a brawl. And if my roommate got close enough to be jabbing at these girls with a flute, it’d be the last thing she ever did.
I took a step back. A rock wall on one side and the sea on the other—not a great place for a fight. “Yeah, Masha, how about some new slurs to add to the mix?”
“I believe I am done talking,” she said, and unfurled that whip.
“There it is,” I said. “I was beginning to think maybe Alcántara had confiscated your weapon again.”
“Oh no. And I have better news. Hugo said I might kill you now.” She laughed at what must’ve been my goggle-eyed expression. “Do I surprise you?”
I gathered my wits, and quick. “Not at all,” I told her with what I thought was admirable calm. But I was surprised. Alcántara had sanctioned my death, which meant he hadn’t been fooled by my act. He knew there was something between me and Carden—I was sure of it now. “He told you to kill me?”
“Not precisely.” She waved her hand as though annoyed with such minor details. “He told me he wouldn’t stop me. Same thing.”
I hoped it wasn’t the same thing. If I survived, I didn’t want to return to campus only to be butchered by Alcántara himself.
But I couldn’t think about that now. I had more pressing issues, namely Masha and her pals. She looked eager to knock me off for good. If she was playing for keeps, it meant only one of us would be getting out of this alive.
I had more than just weaponry at my disposal—she might’ve had a whip, but my tongue could get in some pretty savage lashes—and if I wanted to survive this, I’d need to bring every last skill. I gave a dramatic shrug. “I guess he didn’t like our kiss any more than I did,” I said, aiming straight for her jealous little heart.
Masha’s face turned ugly with fury. Bull’s-eye.
I gave her an innocent smile. “Oh, you didn’t know we kissed?”
“Hugo kisses many girls. But he keeps few. You, he is done with.” Her arm flew out before I had a chance to react. Her whip snapped, and leather kissed my jaw, the pain instant and hot. She smiled. “I’ve been waiting for this day.”
“Oh—me, too.” Ignoring the trickle of blood tickling down my neck, I opened my senses to the periphery, trying to guess everyone’s next moves.
Mei-Ling was doing something at my back. Pulling out her stakes, I guessed. But I couldn’t let her get in the fray. She didn’t have enough experience—not against trained killers like these Guidons. Chances were, if she pulled a weapon on them, it would only get turned and used on her.
“I only wish we had an audience,” I said as I backed into the rock wall. It’d stop Mei from doing something brave and stupid, plus it’d protect both our backs. “Everyone could watch as we take you and your gal pals down.”
“We?” One of the Guidons laughed. “We? Seems like your ho friend here is useless.”
The other girl stepped forward, closing in. “Good luck with that.”
Masha cut in front of them, pacing a half circle before me, poised like a boxer. “We don’t need an audience. When I kill you, everyone will hear about it. Everyone will finally know what trash you are.”
The other Guidons pulled out their weapons. I heard that butterfly knife flicking open and shut, click-click. Click-click.
Three against one, not counting my roommate, whom I needed to get out of there. I’d concealed Mei-Ling’s gift from Alcántara, and now it was my fault that her life was forfeit. I’d do everything in my power to continue protecting her and her secret.
This wasn’t going to be a normal stand-in-place-and-duke-it-out sort of fight. Outnumbered like this, I’d need to keep moving, getting in whatever hits I could. I couldn’t guard Mei and keep myself alive at the same time.
I must’ve had a death grip on her arm, because she snarled in my ear, “Let go.” I’d backed us against one of the rocks and was edging along the side. “I can help.”
I ignored her, keeping my sole focus on Masha. “You don’t have to do this, you know.” I’d keep her talking as I inched farther sideways, waiting for a plan to present itself. If I stood still and three girls jumped me—jumped us—that would be it. They’d be clearing bits of us off the rocks for a vampire snack.
“I don’t have to do this,” Masha agreed magnanimously. “But I want to. I want to see you dead, Acari Drew. Your friend, too. Hugo says she also no longer matters.” She craned her neck, trying to catch Mei’s eye. “Hear that, little girl? You no longer matter. Step out from your hiding place. I’ll make it quick. I promise.”
I stepped aside, shoving Mei. “Run.”
My roommate flinched away, pushing out from behind me, looking pissed. “I won’t leave you.”
“Go, run, little girl,” Masha purred. “We like to chase.”
“Leave her out of this.” I shoved Mei again, but she didn’t budge. “Go. Get out of here.”
Masha shook out her whip, a cascading strip of black leather, so elegant and fluid in her hands. “Hugo thought he wanted her. He said she’s fair game now.”
“I won’t let you touch her.” I honed in on Masha’s neck. Only one of us would survive.
Masha giggled. “Said you’re fair game.”
“All’s fair, isn’t that what they say?” I pinched a star between my fingertips, eyes on her jugular. I threw.
But Masha darted aside, and my shuriken flew past her, arcing and dropping into the sand. “Too slow,” she said. “You’re not fast enough to beat me. Not strong enough.” Large rocks littered the base of the hillside, and she sprang onto one of them, cracking her whip at me as she spun into place.
But I was faster this time. I ducked and threw, and my star hit her arm, still extended in midair. I laughed, feeling momentarily giddy with the tiny success. “I am smart enough,” I said. “Smarter than you, Masha. And you hate that. It’s why Alcántara—why Hugo—wanted me.”
“He doesn’t want you anymore.” She shook her whip out, twirling it from where she stood on her perch. “You’re not good enough. You’re nothing anymore.”
I slid another star into position. Only two left—I’d run out soon, and if I had any hope of surviving, this fight would have to get sloppy. Fists, sand, seawater…whatever it took to win.
Which meant I really had to get Mei-Ling out of there. I slammed my hip into her, hard. “Go.”
Finally she listened. She took off, and hearing her scuffling, frantic footfalls, something in my chest released. I needed her safe—I wouldn’t have her die on account of me.
But then one of the Guidons took off, chasing her. She was a strong, broad one, and she sped after Mei, flicking open her butterfly blade as she ran.
I didn’t think. My right hand wasn’t in a good position, so I punched my left arm out, sliding the stake from my sleeve into my
hand, and impaled the Guidon in the chest as she flew by.
Her body bucked in midair, and she dropped, spasming in the sand. Dead.
Masha’s face hardened, her eyes narrowing, glittering with hatred. “Lucky hit.”
I spared a quick glance for the remaining Guidon. “Two on one, Masha. I think you should leave Mei-Ling out of this. You might need all the help you can get.”
“We’ll find her,” Masha said. “Don’t worry. We’ll just get rid of you first.”
I’d pinned my focus on Masha and realized too late the other Guidon was on the move, rustling with something. Masha cracked her whip, aimed at my face, and I ducked, but as I did, I heard the sickening meaty thunk of the other girl’s throwing knife skewering my shoulder.
I stumbled back a step. “Goddammit.”
I tore the blade out, which was stupid. Combat medicine rule number one: When stabbed, do not remove object from wound. Blood flowed from my body in a hot gush, soaking the front of my shirt almost instantly.
I slung the blade back at her, but it was my left hand, wet with my own blood, and my throw went wide.
I clutched my shoulder, backing away. So much blood. It would summon something to us, for sure. I imagined I heard the distant snarling and moaning of the Draug already, rattling in their cages.
The Guidon plucked her knife from the sand and closed in. “I think it’s you who needs help, Acari Drew.”
I needed to keep moving. Blood loss would weaken me. I backed up, but slammed straight into the wall of rocks. I darted a look up and from side to side. It was boulders to either side of me and the steep hillside above.
“Cornered,” the Guidon taunted. “Like a little rat.”
Masha was on the move. I heard the click of scattering rocks as she began to climb. I couldn’t let her get above my head. I had to separate my two opponents.
“Crap.” I knew what I had to do, and I hated it. Masha had disappeared onto the rocks, but I knew better than to worry about her when I had a deadly Guidon right in front of me. “Crap,” I repeated, taking off toward the water.
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