Before I could form the words to ask what he was going to do, Daray poked the end of my thumb with the knife. I hissed as the pain flared from the cut, but recovered myself just in time to see Denise twirl out of the dressing room.
"Hey Ascher, whose the…oh my God!" To her credit, she didn't turn and run, but slammed the heel of her shoe into Daray's shin, her arms slapping at his hands.
"Let go of her!"
"Let this time be thought nought," Daray said. I felt his lips touch my cheek as a warm sensation tickled over my wounded thumb, and then he was gone. Denise stared blankly at me, her eyes glassy. She shook her head.
"I totally spaced. Were you just saying something, Asch?"
"You…didn't see that?" I asked, though I was pretty sure of her answer.
"See what? Oh, that hottie you were talking to. Hey, where did he go anyway?" I brought my thumb to my mouth and sucked the blood from my skin. My tongue flicked over the padding of my thumb, but I couldn't feel a wound. Glancing down, I saw that my thumb was healed.
"We should check out now, Asch. Dax is meeting us over at the Burger Bin."
"Since when?" I asked.
"Oh, he called when I was in the dressing room. You don't mind do you?"
Yes!
"Well, no. I mean, I guess not," I said, a smile spreading across my lips. "I have a few things I'd like to discuss with him."
PART FOUR
WITCH TRIALS
Chapter Nineteen
GEMMA
I watched as the vampire bit some blonde-bimbo-type on the neck. My fingers went to my neck where I'd been bitten, and I winced. Looking at the screen in front of me where yet another victim was being slaughtered, I felt like I was going to hurl. Matt laughed, shrinking into his seat.
"Oh, oh, man!" He cried out as the vampire was impaled by an umbrella. I rolled my eyes. After twenty more agonizing minutes, the credits began to roll, and the lights came on in the theater. "What'd you think?" Matt asked, eyes shining.
"Uh. It was kind of messed up," I said.
"Yeah, I guess. I gotta go to the bathroom. Do you want to meet me in the arcade?"
"Sure, but…" Matt ran off before I could tell him I had to get home soon. I still had a physics paper to write and I hadn't even started it. As he sprinted past a corner and out of sight, I smiled. Even though he wasn't much for conversation, he was really sweet, not to mention super-cute. The Homecoming Dance was coming up, and he'd already asked me to the dance.
But what if I start to shift?
It seemed like whenever I got over-emotional, the change would start and then it was hello kitty. I made my way through the dispersing crowds and into the small arcade across from the concessions. I fed a dollar into the token machine and headed to the bozo-buckets game, which I dominated. It was one of the perks of being freakishly tall. That, and being able to see over your boyfriends head to check out random hotties. Bending down, I retrieved a ball from the feeder and aimed.
"It is of great importance that I speak with Ascher."
I jumped and threw the ball at an empty drag-racing game. Pivoting on the ball of my foot I spun and saw Petrel leaning against a zombie shooting game. I kicked out with my right foot, slamming it into his shin, and then ankle.
"Sure, how does never sound?"
"I assure you…"
"It's not gonna happen. And if you come anywhere near my family, I'll use you as a scratching post.”
"As I tried to explain to Ascher," Petrel continued, like I hadn't interrupted. "It's in her best interest to come with me tonight, to Chicago, to see the Master." His eyes scanned over me and he smiled. "Of course, you're more than welcome to accompany us."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like a very annoying, very pale broken rec…" Petrel grabbed me by the arm and jerked me forward. I scratched at his face with my nails and watched as thin trails of beaded blood began to dot his cheeks. Shoving him away from me, I heard my breath catch in horror as the blood soaked into his skin and then disappeared, leaving not even the shadow of a scar.
"Is everything okay, Gemma?"
Matt. Petrel watched Matt like a snake watches a small bird.
"Uh, yeah. Let's just go," I said. I grabbed Matt and tried to pull him after me, but he stood his ground.
"Was this guy bothering you?" Matt asked.
You stupid, sweet jerk.
"No, he…" I wasn't sure how much Matt had seen, and I didn't want to out and out lie about it.
"Would you like to introduce us, Gemma?" Petrel asked. I gritted my teeth to keep from biting him.
"Matt this is Petrel, annoying stalker of my little sister. Petrel this is Matt…"
"Matt, your…" Petrel said.
"Matt, none of your business. Let's go, Matt."
"Wait a minute," Matt said. "I just want to…hey! Where did he go?" Peeking my head over the corner and into the arcade, I saw that Petrel was gone.
"It's fine, Matt. Can you please just take me home?" Matt's face grew sad. "I know it sucks, but I have so much homework." Matt curled his arm around my waist and sort of hugged me to his side.
"Sure, Gemma." Matt leaned forward and kissed me, right on the lips.
Whoo-hoo! What took you so long?
But then I remembered Petrel. This must be some kind of weird male-territory thing.
"Great," I said. Just great.
Chapter Twenty
ASCHER
"Tell me. Did you tell Denise about the vampire club hoping she'd be killed, or did you think she'd make it out alive?" I asked. Dax paled and inhaled his ginger ale. After a coughing fit he looked at me with frightened brown eyes and ran shaky fingers through his chin-length hair, still wet from the shower. Our waitress hurried over, setting a pitcher of iced tea down on the table.
"Are you okay, hon?" She asked, her plump hands thumping Dax on the back. He nodded and the waitress retrieved her pitcher and left me to my interrogation.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Dax said. Smiling at him, I rubbed my hands together to warm my palms. I'd known he'd claim ignorance. This was going to take awhile.
"The Crimson, Dax. It's a club for vampires. After Denise bailed on me last month, my sister and I drove to Chicago to check it out. And do you know what happened? We were attacked by vampires.” Dax let out a whooping noise and laughed.
"It was you! Petrel and the guys are still talking about that. So, are you the feline-shifter or is it Gemma?"
To answer his question I reached under the table and grabbed his knee. Concentrating to call my power, I closed my eyes for a moment until I felt my palm grow icy as my fire magic burned through the material of Dax's jeans. He cried out, but quieted as I raised my finger to my lips to shush him, sending more fire into his skin.
"Answer the question, Dax. What were you doing when you told Neese and I to go to The Crimson? Dax gritted his teeth and fixed hate-filled eyes on my face.
"Denise will be back from the bathroom any second. I suggest you end this if you don’t want her to know your dirty little secret," Dax said. He pushed back from the table and pulled his legs onto the booth. Catching his sleeve, I singed it and used my other hand to yank him to his seat.
"I melted the door lock. She'll be in there for awhile." Dax looked around the restaurant, his upper-lip beading with sweat.
"Someone will see what you're doing, witch.”
"You know, you're right, Dax. I didn't know what I was thinking. Here." I let go of him and moved to sit next to him on the other side of the table. "Much better."
I gripped his wrist and felt his skin sizzle, my stomach twisted. I was going to hurl.
"Please, Dax. I don't want to do this. Just tell me what I want to know so we can all get out of here." I let go of him and sat back against the booth.
"It was stupid of me. When I told Denise about the club, I never expected she'd go there. I didn't…" I cut Dax off. He was lying. I caught him by the wrist and choked back the bile that rose to my throat.
"Neese told me you said it was a great club to go to. That the cover was cheap and they let underage people in, no problem. You even gave her directions, Dax.”
"Okay, alright. I'll tell you! Just stop, stop!" I pulled away, grateful for his words. "I work for Savian, okay? I run errands for him and stuff. He lets me bring people to the club sometimes. No one gets hurt because we're guests of Savian's. He heard me talking to Petrel about her and said he wanted to meet her," Dax said. I bit my lip.
"Why didn't you say no? Make an excuse for why you couldn't bring her?" Dax laughed, his smile twisting his face to an ugly grimace.
"Say no to Savian Radbourne. Right. That's not too much of a death wish. You met the guy, Ascher. Is he someone you'd say no to?"
"If it meant protecting Denise, yeah. She's your girlfriend, Dax. She could've been killed or bitten just like Gemma and I were.”
"Look, I am truly sorry for what happened to your sister and you. Denise would have never been in any danger and neither would you if you'd gone with Denise because I would've been there with you. I wish Denise and I would've stopped by the club that night, we could have…”
"What are you talking about? Denise was babysitting. That's why she couldn't go."
"No. I had second thoughts about bringing you guys because it was so close to the full moon and I knew Savian would be in a bad mood because he'd have to cover up for the werewolves. Denise and I made other plans. I never thought you'd go if Denise didn't because, well, no offense, but you hardly ever go anywhere without her," Dax said.
I swallowed, feeling my eyes mist over. I didn't know what bothered me more. The fact that my best friend of eight years had lied to me to spend time with her boyfriend of five months, or the fact that he knew so much about how shy I was.
"Did you tell her to make up an excuse?" I asked. Dax seemed confused by the turn our conversation was taking.
"Uh, no. Not really. She just thought you'd be pissed the whole night about not going to The Crimson, so she made the thing up about babysitting for Rory."
Great.
"If I find out you're lying about anything I've asked you…" I let the sentence trail off into scary possibilities. Dax nodded and combed his hands through his stick-straight, slick hair. His arms showed where the sleeves were rolled up, making my heart skip a beat. I seized his arm and pushed the sleeve up to get a better look at his burns.
"I get it. I'm not lying!" Dax tried to pull away, but I’d already seen what I needed to.
"You're arm, it's not burnt anymore," I said. "What are you?"
"Rapid healing. It's a perk to being a vampire's servant, but I'm human just like, well, just like…" Dax gestured to me before giving me a sneer. "Just like Denise, anyway. Hi, Sweetie."
"You're so lucky, Asch. Like, two seconds after you left the door broke and they couldn't get it open for the longest time," Denise said. She stomped over to us in my three-inch platform boots which I suddenly wanted back. "So, what're you two chatting about?" Denise blinked blue eyes at me, her almost waist-long wavy brown hair framing her silver crop-top, making her look like an animated fashion doll. I picked up my lime-green leather purse and fished out my cell phone.
"Oh, not much. You know, just about you blowing me off last month to go with Dax to Asylum instead of The Crimson." I watched as Denise gave Dax and evil look and turned back to me, her face a mask of guilt. Scrolling down to my sister's name, I ignored Denise's pleas to listen to her and hit the send button.
The phone rang five times before Gemma's message kicked in. I listened to the familiar message and waited for the beep.
"Hey, Gem. It's me. Just wanted to let you know I'm gonna walk home so you don't have to pick me up from Denise's. And don't worry about me, if anyone bugs me, I'll go crouching tiger, hidden dragon on them. Love you, bye."
"I'm sorry, Asch. I just wanted to spend some time with Dax and…" I put my hand up to stop her.
"If you want to spend 24/7 with your boyfriend then that's your business, but I'd appreciate it if you would just tell me so instead of making plans with me and then making up lame excuses at the last minute," I said. I dug some cash out of my purse and put it on the table.
"I said I'm sorry, Ascher. You don't have to be so bitchy." My eyes snapped shut as I struggled to keep my magic from overpowering me. When I opened them, Dax was watching me with knowing eyes. I frowned at him and turned to Denise.
"Well, I'm sorry if my hurt feelings come across as bitchiness, but you might feel crabby, too if I treated you this way. Friends are supposed to be there for each other all the time, not just when you're bored because your boyfriend has something better to do. I'm your best friend, Denise, not your 'in case of emergency' distraction from boredom."
I didn't wait for her reply. This confrontation was long overdue. She'd been calling to cancel plans at least three out of every four times since she'd started dating Dax. Pushing my way through the revolving door, I tried my mom’s number to ask for a ride. When she didn't answer, I tightened the waist of my sweater-duster and headed out into the night.
Chapter Twenty One
GEMMA
"I think you may have a vitamin deficiency," Mom said.
"Huh?" I looked up from the salmon I'd been devouring to give her my best 'what the hell?' face.
"You never used to like fish and now you ask me to make it at least twice a week. Not to mention the fact that you're on your third piece of fish and haven't even touched the mashed potatoes, and they're your favorite."
"I'm hungry. Do you have to analyze everything. I mean, God. Can't I just eat!" Mom looked at me like I'd just grown a second head. "I'm sorry, it's just. I've been really overwhelmed with school and cheer practice and stuff and I don't want to worry about anything new, okay?" Mom put her paper towel napkin on the table and began to clean up the dishes. Feeling mean, but too tired to care, I let my forehead hit the table with an audible thunk.
***
I'd been reading for almost an hour when I found what I wanted. In the Master Vampires book under the heading, “Master Vampires in the North America.” There was a part about Savian Radbourne in the “Historical Vampires of Pennsylvania” section.
A vampire known by the name Savian Radbourne was said to control much of the state of Pennsylvania from the time of its first settlements up to the turn of the nineteenth century. He was said to have gold colored hair with strange silver eyes, a tall man of medium build who would be seen only at night.
It was during one of his nightly sojourns through the town when he met Cadence Hawthorne, (daughter of John Hawthorne, and Maiden Witch of the Hawthorne Coven of witches, known for their elemental gifts. Cadence herself, was able to call wind. Having stopped by the cemetery to leave flowers at the graves of her mother and recently deceased twin sister, her grief over their deaths and yearning to join them led to Savian's fascination with the girl. He wooed her, eventually being promised her hand in marriage, but was found to be a vampire and turned away from the Hawthorne homestead.
Furious at young Cadence's refusals, Savian turned her older brother Matthew, his wife and their two young sons into vampires before threatening the lives of her remaining family members less she join him in his life of darkness. Cadence eventually gave in and was said to be at his side at of the turn of the nineteenth century. (See Cadence Hawthorne page 392.)
I shut the book and set it on my bed table. Cadence Hawthorne was still alive, or undead I guess you would say. She'd used her power to shift the wind to help Ascher and I escape from the Crimson. I wondered if Savian knew she was working against him? A pounding headache was starting and I needed to lie down. Savian was an even bigger jerk than I'd known and he'd threatened Cadence's family just like he'd threatened mine, but I wouldn't let him do to Ascher and Mom what he’d done to them.
"Over my dead body," I said, but I really hoped if wouldn't come to that.
Chapter Twenty Two
ASCHER
The stars above looked as if th
ey were splatter-painted against the night sky. My argument with Denise had given me a headache and I was grateful that it was silent outside. The crickets had long since flown south or done whatever it is crickets do when the weather gets chilly. Stopping to tie a loose bootlace, I took the opportunity to look around me for bad guys. I had a stake in my messenger bag, another in my sweater pocket and my firepower pulsing just beneath my palm. I wasn't being paranoid, just highly cautious.
Not ready to go home yet, and have another argument with Gemma, I took a detour to the park. My neighbor's dog Booger barked at me from her yard that doubled as a habitat for plastic pink flamingos. Just as I was turning the corner, she bounded from the weak part of the fence, further snapping the wood. One excited yip at me and she ran towards the wooded area.
“Boog, come back. Booger!” She yipped in response, I’d just taken a step towards the woods when I heard her yelp.
Running forward, I began to call my fire. A shadow descended on me, knocking me back and breaking my concentration. I kicked my right foot out and felt my fire surge through my fingers as I aimed it blindly into the dark. When I found that I was pinned, I dug my fingers into the soil, clawing backwards and away from the heavy weight on my legs. Fire kindled the surrounding woods and helped me see what was at my feet.
"Oh, my God," I whispered. It was the body of a young man, and it was on fire. I heard Booger’s yips turn to whimpers as my eyes met the man’s. It was Petrel. His neck was torn out, blood seeping out of him and onto the moist forest floor. I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my screams, the other hand scrambling for Booger’s collar. The little terrier gave Petrel an offended bark, but let me scoop her into my arms.
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