Almost Dead (Blackwell Academy Book 1)

by Rae Hendricks

"I guess when Brady died he didn’t feel the need to keep their secrets anymore."

  "So, he is really dead?" Michael asked, and I saw the first bit of emotion from him. I nodded. "I didn’t mean to get him involved in this, but the family ... they have been a part of this for a long time. There was too much pressure. Trust me when I say I regret what I did to you."

  "So, you did kill me?"

  "Yes, for the purpose of bringing you back. They seemed certain you'd come back. I don’t know why, but you are not the first. I have been luring and killing others to make them students for three years now."

  It felt like my jaw was going to fall off my face at that point. "That's horrible. What should I do?"

  "Watch your back, but it's probably too late now to run."

  That was what I thought anyway. "Thanks, Michael. I really do hope you get better."

  I walked out, having nothing more I could say.

  26

  Confessions

  Desmond

  Alastair Grey

  Father. Warrior. Husband.

  It was too simplistic to sum up the life of a man that had saved thousands of children and had been willing to kill his own father to do so. I didn’t visit his tombstone often, and the only reason I was here now was because I needed to be here in order to complete the ritual I needed to with the knife.

  The sun was rising with little purpose, the orange glow just making the small drops of water falling form the sky more prominent to human eyes.

  School had been back in session for a week now, and I had been avoiding Anastasia. I had watched her come looking for me at Charlet Hall only to be turned away. It was painful, but I had tried once more to stay away and do the right thing for her. I was too conflicted, too embroiled on both sides of this fight that was coming. She would need a clear head to decide what she was going to do when the battle came to her, and that it would. I had no doubt of that.

  I sliced my hand open with the blade, my blood pouring into the ground over where my father was laid to rest. I thought it sad that he was not next to my mother. He was here on campus as a hero, and she was somewhere I would never see her, in the human world, unless I was one day allowed to venture away from Blackwell Academy.

  I closed my eyes and whispered the words needed to permanently fuse the knife to our bloodline, but I knew what that would mean if I decided to not take the deal and the Circle still got their way. I had even prepared a letter just in case.

  How cheesy was that? Not to mention pathetic.

  I stood up as the light finally shone over the graveyard, making it look much less sinister than it did by nightfall. Today was the day I wouldn't be able to stay away from her anymore. I knew that I had been headed in this direction since the first time we ran into each other but kept fighting it as if I had a choice. Whatever was left of my soul was reaching out for hers. It wasn't something I could deny no matter how much I wanted to keep her safe from me.

  And maybe I could keep her safe even if I did keep her close. Maybe I could be the hero, even if no one else believed in me.

  I went straight for the office, glad to find Ms. Aberdeen was already posted at her desk.

  "Desmond, to what do I owe the honor of having you in this office?" she joked with a sweet smile. She was the most genuine person on the staff, and this was one of the many reasons why I went to her and no one else.

  "You know what I told you before when I was dragged in here?" She nodded, her face turning serious. "It's going to happen. It is happening. I need to know what you feel about Anastasia. If you would protect her with your life."

  She looked as if she might protest, but then she nodded. "Yes, yes I would. She reminds me so much of..."

  "Amanda." Amanda had been her daughter. She had even had her on campus with her while she was working, but she had died almost two years ago now. It was nothing sinister, just a heart defect that had gone undiagnosed. I had watched Ms. Aberdeen with Anastasia and began to wonder if she had clung to her like the daughter she no longer got to have.

  "Yes, she does. Wat do you need me to do?"

  I handed her the envelope addressed to Anastasia. "You will know when to give this to her. It will explain everything, and then you just keep her strong and safe."

  I left it with her and walked back onto campus before I could get emotional. This didn’t need to be about goodbyes, not now. A vampire never knew how to say goodbye. So, I needed to say hello until I couldn’t anymore.

  I made my way to Chief Hall long before anyone was roaming the halls and knocked lightly on her door. I told my guilty conscience to shut it as she opened the door in her pajamas and saw me there, her eyes still full of sleep.

  "So, you don't greet me when I get back on campus, you avoid me for a week, and now you show up at my room at the crack of dawn? I don’t think this is a good idea anymore. I don’t like all this back and forth. I am a simple girl even if I do have supernatural powers. I'm okay with fiery and passionate and dangerous, but it needs to be constant."

  I put my hands on either side of the door frame, leaning in. "I am afraid. That’s why I stayed away."

  "Afraid of what, Desmond? You're a vampire. What’s there to be afraid of?"

  "I am afraid that I love you, and that means so many things with what and who I am."

  "Did you just tell me you loved me?" she asked, blinking the last of that sleepiness away as she regarded me full on. She was exquisitely human. Always changing and her body always working to keep her going.

  "I did. I do. I love you." I cupped her face gently, waiting for her to respond in some way, and what she did was pull me into her room and shut the door, leaving me pinned on the other side. And I let her hold me there.

  "Michael was a fake," she told me, not making a move to get farther away from me as our body temperatures collided into a happy medium. "He didn’t feel anything for me. He was sent to make me a student here by some awful people called the Circle. I can see Brady, and he says that is who had him killed, and they want me for something. You're the only real thing I know."

  I wanted to ask her how she knew this was real, but she was right. I may be pretending not to know what she was talking about and be a liar, but I did love her with everything I had left in me.

  "You're the only thing that makes me feel like I have a reason to be here," I admitted. "It all scares the shit out of me."

  She laughed at me before getting on her tip toes to kiss the side of my lips. A buzzing went all through my body, and I wanted more. To consume her essence. But I held back this time. "You need to live in the now."

  That made me laugh. "You have grown so much since you came here."

  "I have, haven’t I?" Her lips finally traveled to mine, but then she jumped back, gasping for air. the room was cold, and everything felt dark, evil, wrong.

  "What is it?" I begged her to tell me, but it was like there was a barrier between us.

  And then, she was gone.

  27

  Darkness

  Anastasia

  The lights flickered around me, and even though I was still in the same room as Desmond, it seemed like he was miles away. I could not hear his voice, only a howling wind that wasn't coming from any open windows because there were none. there was a tug I could feel, and then I was gone. I saw nothing. I felt nothing.

  Well, that wasn't true.

  I could feel the darkness. It was a living, breathing entity. And it was growing.

  At first, only the darkness was around. It was all I knew or could see. And then, I began to see more. Figures coming through the darkness all around me, then lights along the walls, then the grey color of the bricks that made up the large room, or system of rooms, I was in. It became clear that I was underground somewhere. I tried to find a familiar face and only landed on a few students from school I had seen around.

  Then, a woman parted the crowd, her hips swaying as if she was in a fashion show. She wore all black and had a slim but curvy figure, her red cat eye gl
asses the only pop of color on her.

  "We have been waiting a long time to formally meet you, Anastasia," the woman said in a voice like liquified butter.

  "What am I doing here? Who are you?" I demanded, standing up to realize how I was surrounded. There was a tunnel system, and the woman and I were in the center. Each exit was blocked by a crowd of people. It looked like some occult ritual was about to be performed, and I hoped it wouldn’t end in my death.

  "This must be so confusing for you. We call ourselves the Circle. It is our job to protect the interests of the school and the supernatural community as a whole, and you are here because you have been chosen for a very special gift. We need your help."

  If I hadn’t known any better, I might have believed her, but I wasn't falling for the innocent act. Not now that I knew what the Circle was. "The Circle only represents the interests of an elite and selfish few that want to see a magical tyrant in power. I don’t think it represents what the school or the supernatural community needs or wants."

  "I see someone has been spilling our secrets to you, and not in a good light. Do you mind revealing your source?" the woman asked.

  "I'll give you one clue - you killed him."

  The crowd was full of murmurs and laughter. Some of it mocking and some of it dark and greatly amused at my response. "We are not murderers here, Anastasia. Everyone has a choice."

  "you mean to murder or be murdered."

  "Oh my, someone really has been spilling all our secrets. Well, it doesn’t matter because you can help us either way. You are very special, Anastasia. You have only just scratched the surface of the things you can do. We can help you develop what you are, we can send you to the best colleges anywhere in the world you want at no cost to you, and we can make it, so your father never has to worry about paying the bills ever again. He will want for nothing. Your family will be happy. All you have to do is your part."

  I wondered if she made this kind of offer to everyone that was working for her now. Why else would anyone choose to do those awful things? "My Papa wouldn’t want me to sell my soul just so he has money."

  "Hmm...so you can’t be bought? I was hoping to simplify this for us, Anastasia. We are going to get what we want from you either way. What if I told you that we could easily end the life of that friend of yours - Charlotte? Or what about Desmond Grey? Just because he is a vampire doesn’t mean he can’t die. It would a shame after surviving for more than 200 years that he should die because of you."

  Her grin was wide and sinister, and I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of the threats she was throwing out there. I would have liked to think it wouldn’t be so simple, but they had found a way to kill three students. Their members could be anywhere. Charlotte and Desmond were in danger. But maybe I could throw them off the scent.

  "Why would I care about Desmond Grey?"

  The woman gestured to someone in the crowd to come forward.

  "Have you seen this girl with the vampire, Desmond Grey?"

  "Yes, I saw her on the back if his bike once and then I saw them making out in the hallways before the break," the girl who came forward said. Not that a make out session proved feelings per se, but I wasn’t going to be able to fool anyone, and it hurt my heart. I couldn’t let something happen to him because of me. It was like I had ruined everything good since I came to the academy. Why was it all about me?

  "You have until tomorrow night to make your decision, Anastasia. Then, you're coming with us whether willingly or not," she warned me before I felt the tugging once more.

  28

  Collide

  Instead of landing back in my room where I had been taken, somehow by magic, I found myself dropped at the edge of campus. I was torn. I wanted to go straight to Desmond, so he knew I was alrught. I wanted to tell him all that had happened and ask him to protect me, but it was me protecting him now. I needed a plan, and I didn’t have long to come up with one.

  I didn’t know if getting others involved would make things worse, but I thought I could trust Ms. Aberdeen to help me. She had been the only one to believe me and stand up for me when everyone else thought I killed Brady. Maybe she would understand now and have a way out that might save all of us from whatever plan the Circle had for me.

  I ran into the office, breathless, hoping that she would already be there. I didn’t know what time it was or how long I had been gone. An hour? A day?

  Again, my heart strings tugged at me thinking of what Desmond was doing, what he was thinking about. That desperate kiss in front of Charlotte's room may have been the best moment of my life, but it was preceded by his banging on the door in sheer panic, sure that I was dead. What would he think if I didn’t return soon, and what would he do?

  "Ms. Aberdeen!" I screamed as I ran into the office, not caring whose attention I got. Principal Brown poked his head out of his office to glare at me, but luckily, Dean Andrews was not yet in.

  Ms. Aberdeen's eyes were wide, no smile on her face as she led me deeper into the office building than I had ever been. She must have sensed the urgency and the need for secrecy as she took us into an empty room, shutting the door behind us.

  "Anastasia, you have caused quite the scene here today and lots of worry on campus. There is a story going around that you disappeared in the blink of an eye. I am guessing whatever brings you here has to do with that."

  She reminded me of a mother, scolding me for my behavior. I had never noticed it before, with her seeming so young, but she made me feel safe in the same way.

  Her brilliant pinks danced around her body where only I could see as I told her about the Circle and what they had threatened. There was little hope as I told my story as I didn’t see any way around just doing what they wanted. I wasn’t going to let anyone die for me, especially my best friend and my...boyfriend? We hadn’t exactly said what we were to each other, but he had told me he loved me just before I was taken.

  "So, the Circle is back. I have heard things, but no one has known for sure. I can only guess at what they want with you, but what I can do for certain is talk to the deans and convince them. Have them investigate this. I will also keep an eye on you and keep you safe. Until then, warn your friends. Let them help you too."

  I didn’t like her answer, but I knew she was doing her best. Tomorrow night was a tight deadline, and I wasn’t sure she could get anything done by then. The best I could do was prepare myself and bide my time until the Circle came for me.

  With a heaviness sitting on my chest, I made my way back to my room, wondering if I would find Desmond there or not.

  Opening the door to my room, I saw him there, pacing back and forth. Even after all his outbursts, it was the most vulnerable and human I had ever seen him appear. He stopped in his tracks and looked at me, both of us lost for words.

  I slammed the door shut and let him crush me in his strong arms and hold me there. As far as I was concerned, I could just stay there forever. But his cool skin sent a chill down my spine, and I knew I couldn’t maintain this stasis.

  My eyes traveled up his chest to his face, his hair a mess as always. It didn’t matter how much I teased him about it or how many times he promised to take care of it.

  His hand scaled up my upper back to my neck, cupping it in a possessive way. The chills continued, my skin erupting in goosebumps as I let my hand roam over his shirt, feeling his hard muscle underneath.

  "I thought I lost you...again," he whispered as if anything louder would shatter us to pieces.

  "I know. I tried to get back to you as soon as I could so I could tell you..."

  "Tell me what?" His hand picked up my chin I hadn’t realized had dipped. I was looking into his eyes now and felt naked that way.

  "That I love you."

  I barely got the words out before his lips were on mine, his hands on my hips as he backed us to my bed. We landed on it, our kisses fervent as I climbed on top of his, a leg on either side of his body. I had never been so close to a boy before, but I f
ound that I was not ashamed or afraid. Not of him.

  His hands slid up and down my arms, leaving little sparks and tingles along every nerve ending he reached. It was a high I doubted any drug in the known world could compare to.

  My breath hitched as his finger trailed down my collar bone to the top button of my shirt, lingering there like a question. I said nothing, letting him glean what he wanted, before he slid his finger down, unbuttoning my pajama shirt in one swift motion. I laid over, revealing a part of my body I had never shown to anyone. I moved my hair to the side, showing him my neck. He would know what I was asking for. I wanted to be his in every way.

  "Are you sure?" he asked me, and I could tell from his voice that his fangs were already out.

  "Yes."

  I couldn’t say how long we were in each other’s arms, exploring what it was like to let go and be together despite any complications that might arise later. I honestly didn’t feel there would be any - in a world where supernaturals existed, anything seemed to be possible.

  When the sun had risen and we had finally pulled away from each other, we set off to find Charlotte so she too would know what was coming, bit even in her presence, I could feel a shift between Desmond and me. We were like magnets, always connected, always reaching for one another. This was the real thing, just like I had suspected when I laid eyes on Michael again and knew there was nothing there for me.

  It was close to nightfall when the knock came at the door - Ms. Aberdeen insisting we come with her because she had new information. It was just in the nick of time too.

  "Only the two of you," she said flatly, pointing at me and Desmond. It felt off, but we did as she said. Maybe she thought she was keeping Charlotte safe by leaving her out of it.

  With my hand in Desmond's we followed her, but at the office, we took a turn, heading away and out to Charlot Hall and the cemetery beyond.

  "Where is she taking us?" I asked Desmond in disbelief, and he squeezed my had tighter, stiffening.