I gape at her, my hand still clutching hers.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “I figured there’s no easy way to say this. I promise, it isn’t romantic. Just trying to throw off the hunters and, you know, keep your cover.”
My tongue has turned to sandpaper in my mouth, making it hard to swallow, but I manage a nod. On instinct, my fingers untangle from hers.
She follows the movement with wide eyes, but before she says anything, her attention is snagged away. She straightens her back, glaring at the green bushes separating her yard from Charity’s.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Cami stomps over, then stands by the hedge, foot tapping in her puffy yellow slippers. “What are you doing here?”
Just when I’m about to remark that she must be hallucinating, I spot the yellow slits of a snake, spying from between the leaves.
“How do you know who it is?”
“It’s Vanessa,” Cami says, but doesn’t respond to my question. “I’m fine. Just go.” She speaks to the snake and groans as if the snake has replied with a statement that irritates her. But then she quiets. It’s a strained quiet I associate with the moments before an attack.
Cami lets out a yelp, much quieter than any scream I’ve witnessed from her, and guides the sound with one hand, flinging it further down the bushes.
A pained “ouch” follows, as well as the sound of a body rolling in the leaves. Cami walks over, and I rush to join her. Lying in the grass in Charity’s yard is Zach.
He gets to his feet, hands up in sign of surrender. “I don’t mean you harm, all right.”
“That’s hard to believe,” Cami says. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t urge Vanessa to sink her teeth into your calf right now. Her pet is over there.” She motions with her arm theatrically to the location of the viper.
Zach’s lips purse. “I never wanted to hurt Vanessa. Seff must have felt that at the event. I was following orders, but I never would have taken advantage of her.” He pauses for a heartbeat. “And you can trust me because I won’t tell anyone about your relationship.”
Cami whirls around to meet my gaze. Surprising myself, I nod. There’s something about Zach that makes me believe him, although I don’t even attempt to explain that to Cami.
“Curious,” Zach says, his intense glare on Cami. “How did you know I was here? Was the viper pointing its head in my direction? Or do you and Vanessa have some other way of communicating?”
“Like what, telepathy?” I ask.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Every sound you make is a firecracker explosion to me. I heard the snake, just like I heard you breathe.” Cami whirls and starts walking back to the house. “Now, if you’re done passive aggressively threatening to expose us, get off my property, hunter.”
Zach lifts his hands, palms to her. “I wasn’t threatening. I was promising my silence on the matter.” Then, he pretends to whisper to me, loud enough to antagonize her further. “Your girlfriend isn’t much of a morning person, eh, mate?”
I glance back at Cami, throat tight with the bits left unsaid between us. The news about her date with Seff rubs me the wrong way, but I sense the moment to discuss it has passed.
And there’s no time like the present to find out once and for all if I can trust Zach. He seems like an ally when other hunters aren’t around, but I can’t figure out if he’s baiting me or if he really wants to help.
“We need to talk,” I tell Zach and throw an apologetic look at Cami.
She shrugs. Although her face doesn’t betray her feelings, I know enough about girls to assume her irritation. Perhaps I’ll be able to sneak a moment with her at the busy town fair. If that disturbs her date with Seff, all the better.
After we leave her backyard, Zach waits for me to invite him in and only speaks when we enter the house and close the front door.
“Look, I know what you’re going to say.” Zach’s face is serious. “I promise, I won’t tell the others about you and the banshee. You’re free to date whoever you want. That’s my take on it, anyway. Plus, I owe you one for the way my father ambushed your sister... er... our sister, I guess.”
We stare awkwardly at each other for a moment. I want to trust Zach isn’t like his father. That Bryar can at least gain a second brother out of this mess, but life has shown me that things rarely turn out the way they initially seem, especially in Elmwick.
“Why were you spying on Cami?” I fix him with a glare, hoping to coax the truth out of him. “Answer honestly and I might decide to trust you.”
Zach licks his bottom lip, his expression turning apologetic. “Hear me out before you hurry to disagree. I have a reason to believe your girlfriend has been binding a new banshee’s circle these past few months.”
I tip my head back as I roll my eyes.
“I said hear me out,” Zach insists. “She brought Jean back to town, which makes little sense if they’re not bound and trying to preserve the link between them from fading.”
“Maybe she just missed her friend? Bryar missed Jean, too,” I argue back.
“Only Bryar didn’t know about the legacies when she set out to find Jean, did she?” Zach cocks his head. “I thought so. But Cami was surely aware that Jean’s return would threaten the peace. Why take the risk if the circle wasn’t in danger from breaking?”
My throat bobs, but I refuse to accept Zach’s reasoning just yet.
“Then, you told us that Cami had a strained relationship with Vanessa, but Cami jumped to Vanessa’s defense at the party. And Vanessa guards Cami’s house now? That seems like more than friendship to me. They’re linked.”
I shake my head at him, but it’s mostly for his benefit, an effort to distract him from the clues I’ve been too slow to notice myself. The truth is, every argument falls perfectly in place, sealing the feeling that I’m an idiot Cami has been playing this whole time. My heart writhes against the truth, beating wildly in my chest, begging for a reason this could all be a string of coincidences.
“Cami promised she’d never bind a circle,” I force myself to say.
Zach sighs in a way that makes his compassion seem sincere. “That doesn’t mean she didn’t end up linking to the others. Banshees take a while to manage the link.”
“How would you know that?” I grapple for anything that might poke holes in his theory.
Zach evaluates me, his light-brown face paling a little. “Let’s not open that can of worms, shall we?”
I scoff at him, but he forces a bright smile on his face. “Back to Cami and her circle. I’m fairly certain the link exists between her, Jean, and Vanessa. I’m tracking her to find out about the others.”
The blood streaming in my veins feels hot as coal. I’m positive my nostrils flare, though I’m not sure if it’s anger at Cami fueling each scorching breath or fierce protectiveness against the threat looming over her.
“And what will you do if she has bound a circle to the others?” As much as I will it to be untrue, the date she suddenly has with Seff makes my suspicions grow.
Zach places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “Don’t you worry about me. I know where my loyalties lie. The question is, what are you going to do if I’m right, mate? Are you still going to take her side, or will you swear loyalty to the hunters at last?”
My jaw sets in refusal to answer for a second.
“We can find out the truth.” My mind jumps ahead, paving the path as it searches for a solution. “Just the two of us. We can keep an eye on Cami and Seff.”
Zach’s eyes narrow. For a split-second, I think he’ll call my bluff and turn on me for not having answered his question directly.
But the corners of his lips twitch up. “The hunters have an even better plan. It’s called cold-pressed wolfsbane oil. Its lingering scent drives the wolves mad in their human form. Trust me, if Cami has given Seff the ability to shift into a wolf whenever he wishes, we’ll find out soon enough.”
Chapter 27. Cami
I FUME FOR H
OURS AFTER Mason’s early visit. In the jumbled web of feelings inside me, it’s hard to discern the emotions vying for my attention—a wild mess of anger at Zach, searing hatred for Vaughn, and disappointment at Mason.
It’s silly, I know, especially when I was the one to assure him that Seff and I aren’t romantically involved, but I still wish I’d gotten more of a reaction out of him.
Or perhaps I just wish he’d asked me to the spring fair himself. That we could go as a couple and stop meeting at the edges of the day, sneaking a kiss when no one’s looking.
Catching up on my Elmwick Academy reading doesn’t cheer me up, even if it takes my mind off Mason. The assigned reading presents points that aren’t new to me, but the details it provides leave me with a swooping heaviness in my stomach.
The legacies, though allied for protection from hunters, rarely get along when forced together for a prolonged period of time.
Cold ones inevitably clash with wolves. The cold ones are intimidated by the danger the wolves’ venomous bite poses and often try to get them expelled from the circle. Wolves, on the other hand, have the innate desire to prove their worth as an alpha, which never goes well in a circle and only leads to conflicts with all members of the group.
Charmers and vipers end up wanting to show off their skills to one another. The vipers, in their anger of always being seen as troublemakers, yearn to prove to the charmers that they can be just as useful in protecting the group. This can often result in out-of-control curses, which further paint the vipers as villains.
The charmers often avoid conflict until they can no longer carry the weight of protecting the circle alone. If attacked by a temperamental viper, they have been known to leave, thereby breaking the circle, or use their extended abilities against the very members of the circle. A painful betrayal that only sows further discord.
The lions, dutiful as they are, can do their very best to heal the circle’s injured members with their extended abilities, but what they perceive as a helpful kindness does the circle a disservice. As members grow confident that there is a way to heal from any injury, clashes between the legacies in the circle become more and more vicious.
Until a fatal attack breaks their bonds forever.
The banshee, torn by the emotions she feels through all the links, is often too slow to interfere. She sees everyone’s point of view and understands their intense emotions, which makes it hard to take the lead and ensure that the members of her circle abide by her rules. Usually, she watches the horror playing out in front of her in a dazed stupor, unable to stop what’s coming...
I snap the book closed. My insides go cold and jittery, so lunch is out of the question.
I can’t think of this. It can’t be the only way this goes.
RELUCTANTLY, I GET ready for the spring fair, fixing my hair up with a bright-blue scrunchie to match my button-up denim dress. To Dad’s surprise, Seff picks me up and promises to have me back at a reasonable hour.
I’m still too terrified from my reading that day, so I barely react to the faces Dad makes behind Seff’s back. He grins as he walks us to the door, his thumbs pointing up.
The flowery scent of spring dissolves in the beginning of summer’s heat. Seff and I walk through town, spotting classmates from Elmwick Academy as well as humans from Elmwick High on their way to the fair. The tents and rides have been assembled at the east end of the city, occupying the drive-in movie theater.
A giant Ferris wheel dominates my first good glimpse of the spring fair. The rest of the usual attractions are all there—from bumper cars to cotton candy stands and games with giant stuffed animal prizes.
Walking into the stream of parents with their kids, as well as groups of teens, feels oddly normal. As if we’re all regular humans, out for some fun in the setting sun. I take a deep breath and let that feeling wash over me. Perhaps I just need a distraction from the gloom-and-doom reading I had to endure in the morning.
And if that doesn’t work, I remind myself that my circle has been good so far. Not just good, but great. Supportive and stable. I won’t let what that book describes happen to us.
Seff sneezes as soon as we enter the fair, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Bless you.”
He sniffles, his eyes turning watery. “Must be allergies.” Then, he sneezes again.
“Nothing cotton candy can’t fix.” I head to the stand and buy the confection, despite his protests.
I tear a gigantic piece and eat it before inclining the cotton candy toward him in a silent invitation.
“No, thanks.” His nose wrinkles in barely contained disgust. “You have no idea what that sickeningly sweet smell is doing to my wolf's senses.”
I decide against teasing him further. “Your loss.”
While I eat my cotton candy, getting my hands sticky, we check out the attractions. I spot Vanessa, surrounded by her cousins, as well as Jean with her devoted and Charity with her grandma and Rosy. I only wave from afar but don’t stop by to chat.
If the hunters are watching the fair, which I don’t doubt they are, then I don’t want to alert them to the link that binds the four of us now. Vaughn would no doubt go livid if he found out my circle is almost complete.
We wait in line for the Ferris wheel—the main attraction. I’m not a fan of heights, but there isn’t too much else that looks interesting. Fiona Davis and two other girls I know from my English Lit class vacate the cabin for us. Seff and I sit and lock the metal latch in place to keep us from falling.
The cabin swoops up, making my stomach tighten at my navel.
Seff sneezes three times in a row, his nose turned red. “So annoying,” he complains, but I only snicker.
My eyes are on the horizon and the endless forest surrounding Elmwick. If I look down at my feet, my knees will start wobbling, so I focus on the view.
“You know,” Seff says when we’re stuck at the top for a minute. “If I had my extended powers as part of your circle, I’d shift and figure out what’s causing this.”
“What? Your sneezing?” I snort. “I didn’t know being a wolf made you an allergist as well.”
“And what if it’s something else?” He looks bitter. “The hunters’ doing, perhaps?”
I want to dismiss him, but Vanessa’s event last weekend showed me the lengths to which the alchemists will go to harm us.
Instead of admitting he has a point, I frown. “I thought you promised to drop the whole bid to join my circle. Or was that meant only to bring me here and try again?”
The seconds trickle out without a reply. Seff’s lips twitch as he lets out a low growl. Through my banshee senses, I feel his anger radiating in hot waves.
Our cabin shakes as we’re wheeled in for our descent to the ground. My heart beats faster at the speed. I’m so ready to get off this ride.
Once we’re on firm ground, I fight the urge to find one of the girls and cut my time with Seff short.
He whirls me around, hands on my elbows. “Stop playing with me. I’m so tired of it. Are you so conceited that you can’t bring yourself to reward loyalty when you see it in others?”
“You need to watch yourself,” I warn, but my mind is hopelessly stuck on the passage I read this morning. Is that how it’s going to be if I link myself to Seff? Is this the extent to which his alpha nature demands submission?
His breathing sharpens, and he squeezes his eyes shut. I get the sense he’s fighting the reflex to wolf out in the middle of the crowded fair. That’s when I’m sure.
“Something is wrong.” I whirl around but don’t see anything other than the laughing and chatting visitors.
Seff shakes his head, as if fighting to retain lucidity. “Get me out of here.”
I scan the crowd and spot Mason. I shouldn’t wander off with Seff, not unless I want to spite Mason.
Before I’ve made up my mind, Seff growls deep in his throat, touching his temple, eyes shut again.
“They’re doing something to you, aren�
�t they?”
He barely nods.
An enraged scream builds up in my lungs, one I’m afraid to let loose with so many humans around. “Let’s go.”
I take Seff by the hand and lead him through the crowd. He keeps his gaze down, focused on each step.
We reach the end of the fair but don’t stop, heading out into the beginning of the forest. The pine trees bring a fresh scent to my nostrils, and the noise from the fair dies down.
Seff drops my hand, almost panting as he breathes in the forest air. “There was definitely something unfriendly to wolves back there.”
“Was it wolfsbane?”
He pinches the bridge of his thin nose with two fingers. “Can’t be sure, but it fogged my mind. All I wanted was to wolf out and pick a fight. Any fight.”
I whirl back in the fair's direction. “We should warn the others.”
Seff stops me. “Willa has no doubt felt it. She’ll get the pack out.” He flinches again, shaking off the lingering effect of the alchemists’ concoction.
“Are you all right?” I lean in closer.
Seff grunts. “You know what? I lied when I wrote you that note in class. I underestimated how much I want this, the extended abilities. Sorry, but not sorry. I know you want this matter closed, but I can’t...” His chest rises faster. “I hate the hunters. I hate how they marched into town as if they own the place. I hate them for trapping and ensnaring us like we’re rabid animals. I hate them for always having the upper hand. While we always submit.”
As I watch him, my lips twitch, but I hold myself back from disagreeing. He’s right.
“We hide, we play by the rules, we punish our own to appease them, and they still keep throwing the first punch. They ambushed your mother and who knows how many others. They set a trap for you at your Claiming. They carry us off to torturous prisons we never emerge back from.” Seff’s every word sparks with anger. “I say no more.”
He grasps my elbows, looking me straight in the eyes. “That’s why I want you to bind the circle. I want to finally have the strength to fight back. And that’s why I can’t drop this. You can give us the edge we’ve been missing this whole time.”
Suspension (Elmwick Academy Book 2) Page 18