by W. J. May
“Tatiana’s one angry female. Who put the burr under her saddle?”
Michael laughed. “She did that all on her own. She can be difficult, but she’s good for Seth. She keeps him in line. Her problem now is that she sees you as an obstacle. She doesn’t like humans – particularly pretty girls who apparently have the head Coven wrapped around her finger.”
Chapter 16
More snow fell during the night, which made the drive to school in Grace’s Smartcar an adventure. We got stuck five minutes from school.
Grace, or any other of the Knightlys, failed to mention their unbelievable strength. I guess I kind of assumed they were strong, but to sit in the car and watch skinny Grace lean back into the snow bank and push the bumper with her legs till pulled free, only made me snort in disbelief.
Thank goodness no one was around to see. We arrived twenty minutes late, not only because of the car ride but also Michael’s verbal concern about letting Grace go to school without protection. He kept mumbling about a gut feeling that had something to do with both him and his sister.
Half the buses hadn’t arrived yet so our lateness didn’t cause any eyebrow rising. Simon stood leaning on my locker.
“Hey girlie- girls!” He grinned. “Crazzzeee snow, ‘eh?”
“The snow’s playing havoc with my little car!” Grace pretended to whine, nudging me.
I tried hiding a smile, but the corners of my mouth kept twitching. “The snow’s awesome. It brings out the superhero in all of us.” I glance at Grace from the corner of my eye. It felt good to tease her and relax. Grace burst out laughing.
Simon rolled his eyes, obviously not getting our joke. “I think you two have been snorting the white stuff outside.”
“The s-snow?” Another fit, Grace and I were beside ourselves.
Grace straightened and took a long breath. “Back when I was a kid, we used to have the best snow storms. Michael and I used to have snowball fights that were crazy.” She stopped smiling and a look of sadness crossed her face.
Simon’s poked her shoulder oblivious to change of her mood. “We should have a snowball fight at lunch in the courtyard!”
Grace perked up. “I’d kick your butt!”
“You… and whose army?”
She did a mock bow. “Challenge accepted. You. Me. Lunch. Outside.”
“I’ll go easy on you.”
Grace pulled my arm to drag me towards our first class. “You’re toast,” she teased over her shoulder.
“Remember, there can only be one!” Simon hollered, his pointer finger sticking above the crowd of students going the opposite direction.
“I hope you go easy on him,” I whispered as we walked into the classroom. “If someone no—”
“Sweetie,” Grace teased. “I know how to play the game.”
The morning flew, with no Damon making an appearance. Grace stood waiting by our lockers at the lunch buzzer. She already had her coat on, twirling her scarf around her arm and unwrapping it, only to twirl it again.
“Hurry. I need to find the best spot in the courtyard before Simon!”
“I’m not going outside, I don’t have boots.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll clear a little area for you to stand. We’ll need a referee.”
“Dream on! That’ll just make me the perfect target.”
Simon popped his head around the corner, a tuke pulled tight over his ears. “Are you stallin’?”
“No way.”
“We’d better set some ground rules before we head out.”
“You scared you might get hurt?” Grace grinned and slammed her locker.
“Only thinking of you, sunshine.”
“After our water balloon fight last summer, I think it’s you who should be worrying.”
“Guys!” I interrupted, laughing. “I’ll watch from inside the cafeteria. I’ve no intention of being anywhere near either of you.”
They raced out the door as I walked to the cafeteria. I bought lunch and set my tray down by one of the windows facing the courtyard. Simon and Grace had already taken spots behind two overturned picnic tables and were hurling snowballs at lightning speed toward each other. You could hear their laughter through the windows.
“Sitting alone? Found out your friends aren’t really trustworthy?”
I froze at the sound of Damon’s voice. Play it cool. He has no idea I know.
“Who’re the brainless idiots outside?”
My heart thundering loud enough to shake the walls, I kept my eyes on those figures outside. He sat down a few spaces beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I shot a glance his way and almost choked on my soup from the amount of food on his tray – enough to feed a small nation.
“H-Hungry?” I had to say something since I now couldn’t stop staring.
“– and you’re still alive to eat,” he retorted.
“If you call what the cafeteria serves food, then I guess I can.” Pretending to joke, instead of following the urge to get up and walk way, was harder than I thought.
He set his fork down and turned to face me. “I heard you broke up with your boyfriend.”
What? I almost opened my mouth to argue and realized he had no idea of what had happened over the Christmas holidays. “It’s none of your business.”
“Whatever. You’re better off.” He turned back to his food and stared out the window. “Oye! Simon just got nailed in the face! Who's he fighting? Ryan?” He’d scarfed down a plate of some kind of noodle in tomato sauce, the red reminding of a snarl against his lips.
“No…Grace.”
“She’s still here? Crap! Simon's going to get smoked.” He grimaced and pushed his tray away like the food.
Play it cool. Act like you don’t know anything. “He’s being way too easy on her.”
“So now you’re the expert.” Damon turned to glare at me, apparently no longer interested in the snowball match. He picked a sandwich off his plate and started chewing again.
Like a twig being snapped, I couldn’t take it anymore. Grollic or not, the guy’s an ass. “What’s your problem? I get it that you don’t like Grace – she turned you down a while back – but don’t you think you should just get over it? Leave her, and me, alone.” I held my breath. Where the heck that’d come from?
His eyes narrowed to slits and some massive vein started throbbing in his neck. “You really that stupid? Do you not see what is right in front of your eyes?”
“I know exactly what’s in front of me right now.” Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut? You’d think with all the feet I’d stuffed inside of it, I’d know better.
Damon just shook his head and took a long drink. “What in the world would you want with them?”
What had I done? What would—
“—If you're that stupid, maybe you should stay with them.” He interrupted my train of thought and started on another plate of food.
“Who are you to judge?” Screw him. I had some serious power-people to back me up. My boyfriend can kick your sorry, hairy Grollic ass.
“You're completely clueless. It’s people like you who make the human race look bad.”
“The human race? I guess that doesn’t include you.” Oh crap. Too far, Rouge, too far.
His head whipped around so fast I thought he’d break his own neck.
A shiver ran down my spine when I thought what Caleb might think of my mouth. I tried backing up and coving my tracks. “I-I’d hardly call you human – you’re the rudest, most annoying person I’ve ever met!”
He tilted back and started laughing, which came out more like barking. At the sound, Grace threw a wild snowball way over Simon. Her hands shot up in the air in surrender. She ran to the backdoors and inside without a second glance at the surprised Simon.
“Looks like your gal-pal doesn’t want you hanging out with me,” Damon sneered.
“Who’d want to hang with you? You’re like the town bully who never grows up—never has any friends. Ends up with no
thing. Not a damn thing.”
“Better than being dead.”
I turned to face him, trying to look as pissed-off as I could. My shoulders burned, all the way down to my spine. “Are you threatening me? Or my friends?” A sudden calmness came over me, all my anxiety draining into this new funnel of fury I’d never noticed before. “Damon.” I walked over as Grace raced toward the door by us and bent down so my lips brushed his ear. I spoke, barely above a whisper, “Vargulf Bentos Monstrum. Hurt Grace or Michael, and I will bring a slew of terrifying issues which Grace and the Knightly family have no idea I know.” I patted him on the shoulder and I straightened.
He turned completely white, then green. I stepped back, horrified at what I’d just done and worried he’d hurl his lunch all over me. His eyes grew huge and then darkened as they focused in on me. I had no idea what Vargulf Bentos Monstrum even meant. It’d just popped into my head. I remembered seeing the drawing in the journal with those words in a caption underneath. I probably hadn’t even pronounced it correctly. The only thing I was sure of – I had hit a nerve inside Damon.
He snarled, “Kiss my a—”
“Is there a problem?” Grace’s voice came out sweet but her body looked ready to pounce. She stood, legs slightly bent and on the balls of her feet. She grabbed my sleeve and held on firmly.
“No problem.” I jerked my head in the mongrel’s direction. “I think the cafeteria food’s done a number to Damon.”
Damon swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Rouge, you need to ask your friend how she, and the rest of her freakin’ family, uses people to get what they want. Ask yourself if they really are the good guys.”
“Go screw –”
Grace’s warm hand squeezed my forearm, it stopped me. Her fingers grew hotter against my skin. “Let it go,” she said quietly, her eyes never leaving Damon.
He scoffed and raised his arms, clasping his fingers behind his head. “Yeah, don’t dig too deep, Rouge. You might not like what you see.”
“Shut up Damon.” Grace dragged me away, her lips pressed tight. “What’d you say to him?” She hissed outside in the hall.
“I just pretended to threaten him.” I swallowed, suddenly feeling the urge to stare at my shoes. “I think you better get a hold of Michael. You might as well tell him to get Seth or however you guys handle these situations.” My left leg started trembling. “I’ve a terrible feeling I just opened a can of worms.”
“What did you say?” she repeated.
Chapter 17
“What did you say?” Grace asked again, shaking my arm.
I hesitated. Lie or tell the truth? What had Damon meant about the digging to deep? Michael and Grace were the good guys. “I repeated something from the Grollic book.” I stomped my foot. “I’m such an idiot!”
Grace blew her bangs out of her face and shook her head sympathetically. “Damon’s not going to run. They never do – until it’s too late. I’d be willing to bet he's planning on watching you like a hawk for the rest of the day.” The buzzer sounded to end lunch. “Our safest thing at the moment is to get to our next class. Damon won’t do anything in front of everybody here. I’m not scared of that loser. I’ll give Michael a heads up and he can meet us here at the end of the day.”
I whispered, feeling panic welling up inside, “He knows what you guys are, and I’m ninety-nine per cent positive he knows we know what he is.” I suddenly wasn’t looking forward to the end of the day. Michael wouldn’t be too happy. I wasn’t completely sure what I’d done, but the anger I had towards Damon at that moment had taken over proper reason.
After last class, Michael waited by his Mustang which sat parked beside Grace’s car. Seth stood at his side. Both in long-sleeve tops, but no coats, oblivious to the snow falling lightly around them. I’d kill for some of their natural body heat.
Every girl who walked by them slowed their pace and stared. Crossing my arms with my fists clenched under my armpits, I tried not to watch but couldn’t stop myself. A girl would walk out of the school and veer in their direction, as if being called over or simply wanted to get a closer look. At a moment like this, I had time to be jealous of girls checking Michael out? I had just ruined everything by blurting out the one thing I should have kept quiet, and that was my problem? I’m completely screwed in the head. Then it hit me. It’s Seth they’re googling over. A senior group of females pushed past me, all fixing their hair or clothes, and half of them sucking in their bellies and adding a swing to the hips. I grinned and relaxed—for a moment.
I followed behind them, stopping in front of Michael and grew annoyed as the girls slowly trudged past. Finally out of ear shot, I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. “Seth, do you have this problem everywhere you go?”
“Problem?” His eyes continued to follow the group. “I’m the luckiest man in the world. So many women and I’ve got so much time.” He sighed happily.
“Dude! Pay attention.” Michael sounded like Caleb as he spoke, aside from the dude-part.
Seth straightened. “I can multitask, you know. It takes so little to catch the young ones. I expend no effort.” He coughed when Grace slipped soundlessly from behind me and punched him in the gut.
“Michael fill you in?” Grace asked. “What’s happening?”
“Damon’s not here,” Seth answered, still clutching his belly.
“You sure? His car is.”
Michael leaned forward, his arm coming around my shoulders. “If he leaves out back, Tatianna’s there waiting.”
Seth rested his elbow on the top of the Mustang and leaned back. Cold puffs of smoke escaped his lips as he spoke. “He’s got to have just gone through the change so there’s no way he’s able to control it. There’s no way a Grollic’s going to walk by four of us and not try and attack. He’s going to feel threatened.”
“Three of us.” Michael retorted.
“What?” Seth’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh yea, three. Sorry. I keep forgetting Rouge’s not one of us yet. When she dies and comes back, you’d better make sure you have her Siorghra, or you’ll be killing off a few of your own kind, my friend.”
Pounding exploded inside my ears. Did he mean Michael’ll kill his own kind because the Coven would be mad? Or something else? With a stutter of hope inside, I wondered why he seemed so sure I was one of them. I tried to speak but my mouth had gone dry. I tried swallowing instead.
“Shut up.” Michael pulled me closer to him. “Unless you have some information that’s pertinent?”
Seth stared wide-eyed and gave a slight shake of his head. I didn’t miss the grin he tried to hide.
“Maybe Damon left earlier?” Grace glanced at Michael and then turned to Seth. “I didn’t watch him. I figured he’d be calling his gang to meet up here for an after school fight.”
“Grace.” Michael shook his head.
“He’s definitely gone,” Seth glanced up from reading his phone. “Tat’s been inside the school. He’s not here.”
“What now?” I asked.
“Tatiana’s going to try tracking him. If anyone, she’ll find out where he’s gone.”
“Alone?” I asked. I might not like the girl but that seemed reckless to me. “Shouldn’t one of you… be with her? What happens if a pack of Grollics attack?”
Seth chuckled. “Tat’ can hold her own. She won’t get caught. They’ll never know she’s been near them.”
Grace slipped her backpack off her shoulder and brushed the fallen snow off Seth’s hair. “Rouge really scared Damon at lunch. I’ve seen him angry but never spooked.”
“Yeah, I got the picture from your message.” Michael opened the passenger side door of the Mustang. “Seth, why don’t you ride with Grace and I’ll take Rouge.”
It wasn’t a question and again, his tone reminded me of Caleb. I slipped inside, happy for the warm heat. I sat quiet watching the world from my passenger window as we pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street. Recalling what happened at lunch I blurted, �
�I royally screwed up today. Damon…He just made me so mad. I couldn’t… I didn’t think… I just reacted. I’m sorry, Michael. If Caleb didn’t like me before, he's definitely going to hate me now!” I dropped my forehead against the cool glass of the window.
Michael squeezed my knee, keeping his hand there. “Damon already knows about us, and nothing you could have done will speed things up or change things.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure.” Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and repeated what I’d said to Damon. It seemed like my lips were brushing against the skin of his ear again. “Vargulf Bentos Monstrum.” I blinked, forcing myself to focus on the picturesque view outside the Mustang. I just saw blurs of winter colors pass by. I had to tell him what I’d done. “I read the words in the Grollic book, but have no idea if I said them correctly or even what they mean.” Deep down I knew I’d pronounced them exactly right. I wasn’t about to admit that to anyone. “There was a picture in the book. It could be someone specific or just a drawing. I don’t have a clue what and I’m an idiot for trying to scare Damon.” I sighed and shook my head. “It was from a part of the book I can’t even read.”
Michael shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know the saying. Never heard it.”
“Whatever it is, I scared the crap out of him and now he’s furious.”
“Vagif Ben—?”
“Var-gulf Ben-tos Mon-strum.” I repeated slowly. I scratched my knee, trying to remember what I’d found by Googling it. “It’s Greek, or something.”
“I don’t know the Vargulf-part. However, Bentos sounds familiar but I don’t know how.” Michael put the car in park and sat quiet for a few minutes. He seemed to be focusing on his breathing. Long and slow breaths in and out.
We had already pulled into the driveway of the house. “Do we have to talk to Caleb right away?” I assumed that was his plan.
“Hmmm? Nah, we can chill for a bit. There’s nothing Caleb and I haven’t already discussed. Tatiana probably won’t be back for another hour. Hopefully she’ll have some information. I’d like to know if Damon’s alone or actually spoke the truth and there are more.” Michael stared vacantly out the window, his palm trailing back and forth over the top of the steering wheel.