The Xoe Meyers Trilogy (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series)

by Sara C. Roethle

  “Is Allison okay?” I called as Max stepped out of the car.

  “She’s adjusting, I think. It’s a lot to take in.” Max said as he went to close the bay door. After an echoing clang, Max walked to where we were sitting and plunked down beside Jason. He turned to me. “There’re some blankets in the back seat if you want to get some rest, Xoe.”

  Come to think of it, I was exhausted. Max looked as annoyingly wide-awake as ever. I nodded and got up.

  Crawling into the backseat of the car, I found several blankets and a pillow waiting for me. Bonus points for Max, or Jason, depending on who had supplied me with the bedding.I considered giving Jason back his jacket, which was still wrapped around me, but greedily snuggled up with it.I awkwardly curled my legs up on the seat. Believe it or not, there are some downsides to being tall. I fell asleep about 30 seconds after my head hit the pillow.

  I had nightmares of werewolves, vampires, and my dad, who I somehow just knew was my dad, even though I’ve never seen him, turning into a gargantuan monster and telling me I’d grow up to be just like him.

  I woke to Jason gently shaking my shoulders. “Lucy’s starting to change back,” he informed me. He looked at me worriedly and placed his hand against my neck. “You have a fever.”

  I blinked at him, momentarily confused, and mumbled, “I’m fine, it’s nothing. I need to see Lucy.”

  I scooted out of the car in a hurry, but was instantly stopped by Max. He grabbed my arm to keep me from rushing to Lucy and pulled one of the blankets out of the car. He blushed, handing me the dark gray blanket, and said “She’s not going to, um, have any clothes when she changes back.”

  “Oh,” I replied, clutching the blanket in both hands, “er, thanks.”

  I gathered up the blanket so it wouldn’t drag on the floor and started walking to Lucy. I spared a glance back to Jason and Max, who were standing dutifully by the car with their backs turned to Lucy and me. I wished I could wait with them. I wondered if Lucy was going to be different, more like Dan. I hoped not.

  Lucy was almost back to human form by the time I reached her. She was lying on her side on the concrete, still in chains. Her body was back to normal, but her face was still . . . wrong. It was hard to tell what was wrong about it, it just was. She was panting and whimpering softly. I watched her worriedly, feeling sick again.

  I couldn’t make sense of the change, but her face slowly shifted back to normal. I wrapped the blanket around her, snuggling it up around her neck. Tears streamed down her delicate face as I called Jason over to unlock her chains. After letting the chains fall to the floor, Jason gently lifted Lucy in his arms. She was mostly covered by the blanket, only her bare feet and a few locks of her long black hair were visible. He carried her to the car, placing her in the back seat.

  I followed them and slid into the backseat beside Lucy, comforting her while Jason and Max loaded everything back into the trunk. She laid her head in my lap and I stroked her hair while she cried silent, tired tears. With a slam of the trunk, Jason and Max walked to the front of the car. I looked down at Lucy and realized that she’d fallen asleep in my lap.

  Jason slid into the driver’s seat as Max took the front seat next to him. Neither looked back at Lucy and me. Jason started the car, lighting up the clock on the dash. I spared a glance at it, 6:27 am. We were so not making school today. I put my seatbelt on and awkwardly wrapped the middle seatbelt around Lucy’s waist, snapping it in place.

  I directed Jason as he drove us to Lucy’s empty house. The warmth of the sun from the window pulsed against my skin. I propped Lucy up so I could take off Jason’s jacket. Lucy was still unconscious, her limbs limp like those of a corpse. Jason pulled into the circular gravel driveway and shut off the car. He got out and opened the door to the backseat while Max took Lucy’s keys to unlock the front door. Jason gently lifted Lucy out of the car and carried her inside with me tagging along behind him.

  I flipped on the lights as I walked through the doorway, then led everyone into the living room so that Jason could place the still unconscious Lucy gently on the pale beige couch. Everything about Lucy’s house is very . . . beige. It was a stark contrast to the colorful chaos that I was used to.

  We stood in the silence of the dark, nondescript living room until Max said, “She’ll be out for a while, TV?”

  I grabbed the remote from the plain oak coffee table, turning the TV on as I sat down next to Max on the loveseat. Jason had sat down by Lucy’s feet on the couch. I flipped through the channels, finally settling on Teen Wolf the movie. Seemed fitting.

  As we watched, I quizzed Max on the similarities between the movie and real werewolves. He seemed more than happy to talk about it. He chattered away while I half-listened to him. Jason appeared to be deep in thought, not watching the movie or listening to Max. I settled back on the loveseat and prepared to wait. Eventually Max ran out of material. After all, everything he knew about werewolves was what he had learned from personal experience, and I turned my focus back to the movie.

  When the movie ended, I pushed the guide button on the remote. Apparently there exists a second Teen Wolf movie, titled Teen Wolf Too, which was playing after the first one. Lucy was still out cold, so we decided to watch that one too. Eventually I curled up against the arm of the loveseat and let my eyes drift closed. My sleep was never restful when I had my fever-inducing dreams, so I still felt exhausted.

  I woke up to Max reaching across me to retrieve the remote. The credits were rolling on Teen Wolf Too, and Max quickly changed the channel to a soccer game. I looked at Jason to find him watching me, worry creasing his brow. Jason caught my eyes with his, then nodded to the backdoor. Interpreting his signal, I followed him out, leaving Max to watch Lucy.

  “I guess I can tell you what you want to know now,” Jason said with a sigh as I shut the backdoor behind us. “Dan is still in town, so the situation is far from over, but at least now you have a choice of whether or not you want to be around me.” He walked further through the grass to sit on a small iron bench near the white fence that surrounded Lucy's backyard. A large oak tree shaded the bench, its branches reaching hungrily toward the sun. He gestured for me to sit beside him. Sitting down, I watched him expectantly.

  “I’m what popular culture would view as a vampire,” he said.

  I blinked slowly at him. “Come again?”

  Instead of repeating himself, he looked down at his lap while I processed his answer.

  “Well I guess that makes sense.” I said after a few moments of silence.

  He looked up as a stunned expression crossed his face. “You’re not shocked? Horrified?”

  I smirked. “You’re talking to someone who found out that werewolves exist, had her best friend turned into a werewolf, not to mention finding out that I’m apparently not human, all in the last few days. Forgive me if I do not display the proper amount of awe. As for the horrified part, that all depends on my next few questions.” On the inside I was shaking, but it wasn't time to break down. Not yet.

  He looked at me, slightly confused, as if he could see right through to my soul. It was all too reminiscent of Dan’s looks during English. “Go on,” he prompted me, anxiety creeping into his normally controlled voice.

  “Do you drink blood?” I asked.

  He nodded. “I only drink animal blood now, or human blood from blood banks when I can manage it.”

  I hesitated on the now. “But you at one time drank directly from humans?”

  He nodded again.

  I continued. “So . . . you’ve killed people?”

  He looked at the ground, then answered me while focusing on the grass at our feet. “That was a long time ago. My bloodlust used to be much more difficult to control. I felt remorse for those I killed, but I could not stop.”

  My pulse sped, and I had to resist the overwhelming urge to scoot away from him. “So what changed?” I asked softly.

  Jason answered, very carefully avoiding my eyes, “One night, a ch
ild became my prey. He was alone, walking to his home at night. He must have only been seven or eight years old. I followed him, at war with myself . . . a war I always lost. It became too much, I approached him and knocked him to the ground. I was poised to go for his throat. Then I saw the look on his face. He seemed so shocked that someone would hurt him. He looked at me, not understanding what I intended, and I was somehow able to stop. That had never happened before. Until then, once I had spotted my prey, I would try to resist, but then my conscience would turn off, my mind would become entirely consumed by the hunt. After that night, I was able to stop it, I do not know why. Once I had a choice, I began to feed only on animals or on blood from humans after they had donated it.” He paused, staring at the ground. “Does that change things for you?” At my puzzled look he added, “Does it cause you think less of me?”

  Ooh, tricky. I thought for a moment, staring off into space while trying to ignore the sick feeling in my gut, then turned to find him staring at me intently, blue eyes unblinking. “I don’t know,” I answered. “I’ll need some time to think about it.”

  He looked back down and nodded, resigned.

  “Okay, next question, how are you out in the sun?” I asked.

  He laughed a slightly bitter laugh. “It is a myth that we burn in the sun. The sun hurts my eyes, and my vision is slightly less during the day. I suppose it is because of my increased night-vision.”

  I nodded. “How old are you?” I asked.

  “I was born in 1883,” He smiled. “Anything else?”

  I gulped. That made him . . . old. I took a deep breath and let it out. “I thought you talked kind of funny.”

  He smiled and tentatively took my hand. He was being honest with me, so I let him. He gripped a little harder. “Your hand is trembling.”

  Damn, and here I though I was acting all cool and collected. “So maybe I am a little shocked by the vampire thing,” I mumbled.

  He said nothing, but kept his hand in mine.

  I was reminded of a question I had meant to ask him last night. “Where are you staying while you’re here?”

  “I’m currently residing at the Holiday Inn in town.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

  “What?” he asked.

  “The Holiday Inn, it just seems so . . . normal.”

  “Would you rather I was staying at the local crypt perhaps? Or possibly you know of a cozy bat infested cave nearby?”

  Grinning, I answered, “At the very least you could have chosen a creepy abandoned building or something.”

  “I may be a creature of the night,” he wiggled the fingers of his free hand in the air in mock spookiness, “but I happen to enjoy running water and electricity.”

  I snapped my fingers in an aw shucks gesture and said mournfully, “You’ve shattered all of my illusions.”

  Jason laughed, but quickly took on a more somber tone. “I can track Dan on my own, leave you alone, but it would be safer if I stayed with you and Lucy.”

  I took me a moment to realize that he expected an answer.“Oh, stay, of course you should stay with us.”

  I sensed relief in his smile. I wasn’t sure why that surprised me.

  “Lucy’s up!” a call came from the house.

  I leapt up and went running inside with Jason following shortly behind me. Lucy was sitting up on the couch with her blanket wrapped tightly around her.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked her.

  She looked up to me. “Ok, I guess. My throat is killing me, from the screaming Max tells me. Other than that, I’m just tired.”

  I sat beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. “Do you remember anything?” I asked.

  “Not really,” she replied. “I remember arriving at the warehouse, then I remember this morning, changing back. I didn’t hurt anyone, did I? Where’s Al?” She looked from me to Max.

  “No, you didn’t hurt anyone,” I assured her. “Max took Allison home after you changed. She was a little shaken up.” I didn’t feel the need to mention that I had been rather shaken myself.

  Lucy looked down at her lap. “So, what now?”

  “We still have Dan to worry about,” Jason answered. “He’s going to come for you at some point, and we need to be ready when he does.”

  Jason carefully avoided my eyes. Lucy looked back and forth between us, picking up on the awkwardness. Our banter seemed to have only temporarily softened the fact that I was unsure if I could deal with his past.

  “My parents are coming home tonight. They won’t let us all stay here.” Lucy stated. She looked up at me expectantly.

  “My mom will let you stay at my place, but we’ll have to sneak the boys in. Has anyone talked to Al yet?” I asked.

  Everyone shook their heads.

  “We’ll call her from my house. I need to get there and delete the message I’m sure the school has left because of my absence before my mom gets home.”

  Lucy’s eyes widened and Max added, “They already called here, message successfully erased.”

  Lucy let out a relieved breath. “Thanks.” She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, then went upstairs to pack her stuff, walking a little unsteadily. As she left she said, “I’ll tell my parents we have to stay up late to finish a school project, so I need to stay at your place. It’ll work at least for tonight . . . I hope.”

  “Fingers crossed,” I said.

  Lucy paused on the stairs with a sour expression on her face. “Do you guys mind waiting while I take a quick shower?”

  “No, I was going to recommend that,” I answered with a smile.

  “Gee Xoe, you have such a way with words,” Lucy said as she turned to continue up the stairs.

  While we waited for Lucy to shower, I worried over Lucy’s new affliction. I also worried about the vampire sitting next to me on the sofa and the werewolf lounging on the love seat. Not to mention that tonight I had to sneak said vampire and werewolf into my house while we waited to be attacked by another werewolf.

  Since when was being a teenager so complicated?

  Don’t answer that.

  Chapter Twelve

  As soon as we arrived at my house, I got out of the car and unlocked the front door. Jason and Max went in first to make sure nothing was amiss around the house. I checked the messages and erased the one from the school. The other message was from Allison, saying to call her as soon as I got home. I picked up the phone and dialed her number.

  Allison answered after the first ring. “What took you so long!” she exclaimed. “I have been waiting here for hours for you to tell me what’s going on!”

  I laughed. “Calm down Al. Everyone’s okay. We’re back at my house now.”

  “I’ll see you in ten,” she said, then hung up.

  I placed the phone back in its cradle just as Max and Jason returned to the living room. Lucy was curled up on the couch, staring at nothing.

  “I’m in desperate need of a shower,” I announced to the room. I looked toward Max and Jason, “You guys are free to use the guest bathroom if you want. There should be plenty of hot water.”

  Max shrugged, “I don’t have any extra clothes. I’ll probably just run home and shower.” He turned to Jason. “Mind if I use your car?”

  “It is all yours,” Jason answered. “I have clothes in the trunk that I need to grab, then you can take it.”

  “It’s settled then,” I concluded. I informed Jason where the guest bathroom was, then ran upstairs and hopped in the shower.

  Finally alone, I took a moment to process the events of the previous night and that morning. It was a lot to take in: werewolves, vampires, and whatever I was. That last part was by far the most troubling to me, not that the others were unimportant, far from it. My world was completely and utterly upside-down.

  I thought about Jason being a vampire. I wasn’t even really sure about what a vampire was. I mean, I had the movies and legends to go on, but how many of them were actually based on reality? All I
knew for sure was that he drank blood, and despite popular belief, could go out in the sun.

  Vampires, as a general consensus, were reanimated corpses. Jason had said when he was born, but not when or if he died. Maybe you were just born a vampire, not changed into one.

  Then there was Jason’s profession. Bounty hunter? I guess that was actually my choice of words, but still. His contract against Dan seemed valiant enough, but what if his other jobs weren’t quite as innocent? I wished I had thought of all of these questions earlier.

  I finished showering and dried off. Then I went rummaging through my closet and pulled on a clean pair of jeans. I considered a turtleneck and vetoed the idea; I wasn’t sure if Jason would think it was because of him and be offended. I decided on a plain black, v-neck short-sleeved shirt then headed back to the group. As I neared the end of the stairs, Jason turned his head to watch me for the rest of my descent.

  His observant blue eyes had a hint of some emotion that I didn’t understand, except that it made my heart hurt in a funny way. It seemed an admiring gaze, but there was some sadness underneath. He was freshly showered and wearing a blue cotton t-shirt that matched his eyes on top of jeans and his usual hiking boots.

  Walking into the room I saw that Lucy was pretending to watch the soccer game with Max, who had apparently already gone home and showered, since he was now wearing a yellow button up shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, and some more khaki cargo pants. I knew I had taken a long time in the shower, but I hadn't realized just how long. Noticing my presence, Max and Lucy both turned to add their gazes to Jason’s.

  I cut the silence by asking, “Anyone hungry?”

  The atmosphere eased as everyone admitted that they were starved. We all trooped to the kitchen. I searched my usually empty pantry as everyone else went to sit in the adjoining dining room. Like I said, we’re big on take-out in my house, so I was surprised to find we had all of the ingredients for pancakes. Mom must have gone shopping. I had retrieved a big blue ceramic mixing bowl and had begun mixing the batter when the doorbell rang.