I peered into the lens and watched as the blood cells slid across the sample. The bear and wolf had subtle differences in the oval maroon clusters, but the dragon blood was bright green and a fraction of the size of the other blood cells.
After returning to my seat beside a snoozing Mitch, I was only half paying attention as I sketched the blood onto my data sheet. Usually, a lesson like this would be the highlight of my week, but it was hard to enjoy anything while tension thrummed through every inch of my body.
“So, blood really does it for you?”
My head popped up from my worksheet, and I stared at Mark Yates' smiling face. “Blood? What?”
He flicked his hair back and leaned his butt against the edge of our table before setting a hand on my desk. “You’ve been looking so miserable ever since Justin betrayed us, but your frown disappeared.”
“Oh, uh …” I shook my head, “No, I’m just nervous about this thing tonight.”
Mark nodded. “Yeah. Everyone knows the Holters are pushing you into it. But, don't worry, I won't let the vampire get anywhere near you."
I knew that his words were probably meant kindly, but they chafed my pride. It shouldn't have, as I was the least capable person in this school to hunt a vampire, and yet, I didn't really enjoy some guy basically telling me to "not worry my pretty little head, he'll keep the monsters away." That wasn't exactly what he said, but it felt the same.
"She's going to win," Mitch muttered from where he was laying his head on his desk beside me. "I wouldn't have nominated her unless I thought that."
Mark nodded. "Yeah, of course. We're all rooting for you, January."
"Thanks," I said, even though his patronizing statement just rankled my pride more.
Mark scooted all the way onto my desk. "Are you going to the Hunter’s Ball?"
It wasn't the first time I'd heard the Hunter's Ball mentioned, but I had completely forgotten about the fact that there was a seniors-only homecoming equivalent tomorrow night. "It sounds fancy." I grimaced. "I definitely don't have a ball gown."
"I could buy you one," Mark offered with a grin.
Shit. Mark Yates was asking me out, and I'd walked halfway into saying yes without even realizing. "That's really nice, Mark. Appreciated. But I'm miles away from getting over Justin."
"Yeah, of course." He held up his hands. "I meant as friends. I just thought it might get your mind off things, is all. I know you're new."
"Oh. Sorry for assuming." Great. Now I felt like an asshole.
"This is fucking painful to listen to," Mitch growled from where he lay. "Mark, she's too fucking nice to say she doesn't want to fucking go with you. She has actual guy friends who would take her to the dance and not try to hit on her all night, alright? Fuck off."
Mark gave me a straight-lipped smile and scooted off the desk. "Didn't mean to pressure you."
"You weren't. Mitch is just protective of his cousin."
"And you, obviously," Mark added as he backed away and headed for the other side of the class.
"You're welcome," Mitch muttered.
"I can handle my own business, Mitch," I said as I started writing out the properties of the dragon blood. "But thanks for the thought."
"Yeah, you can handle your own business, but did you want to today? I'm thinking no."
He was right. I didn't want to deal with Mark, and I'd genuinely felt relieved instead of annoyed when Mitch told Mark to fuck off.
"So, are you going to take me to the Hunter's Ball? Because you're weirdly like my closest friend here at Blackburn."
"Fuck no. Get a Baldwin to take you or some shit."
His answer almost had me laughing. Almost. I couldn't quite summon up anything close to mirth right now. "You know that if I go, you'll have to. So you might as well go with me as friends."
"Well, it's probably good that you're too poor to buy a fucking ball gown then."
"Point taken."
"And, I don't do friends—especially not with some hobo chick."
"Accept the inevitable, Mitch, and stop pretending that you judge people on their socioeconomic status when you clearly despise rich people just as much, or more than poor people. I see right through your barbwire heart. And that's why you're not going to let me die today, even if your brother tells you to."
Mitch didn't respond, but I was pretty sure that I had the guy right. It took one person with a barbwire heart to spot another, and I could see straight past all the twisted metal he wrapped around his feelings to the shattered soul beneath. It didn't make the abuse he inflicted on others okay in my book, but I couldn't help but care about him either.
As opposed to yesterday, where time had slipped past, today, every moment of school dragged on. Literature was by far the worst. Usually, English was one of my favorite classes, but the hour-and-fifty-minute period had become the most boring block on my schedule. The problem was that after I'd discovered that I was a vampire, I studied every piece of classic literature that my local library had on anything to do with the supernatural in-depth—from Shakespeare to Bram Stoker. As it turned out, that was the name of this class, Literature from Shakespeare to Bram Stoker. There was one book on the syllabus I hadn't read yet, and we didn't read that one until right before Christmas. The clock ticked so slowly, I could have sworn that the second hand stopped a few times completely.
A crackling sound came over the loudspeaker, interrupting Professor Duff as she wrote on the board. Our English teacher was a large, muscular woman with soft, blue eyes that always seemed to be smiling.
"All Senior Hunt teams are to meet in the chapel directly after school for updated rules and procedures."
Mitch peered over from the side of his eyes. Across the classroom, both Amber and Mark glanced at each other and then back at us.
"Is this really weird?" I asked Mitch.
"That they change the rules five hours before the Senior Hunt? Yeah, that's got to be Sebastian fucking with us."
As we headed through the wide wood doors of the school chapel, I just narrowly missed careening into Susie.
"Whoa," I said as I jumped out of the way.
Tears coursed down her face, and she muttered, "Sorry," like she didn't even know it was me before rushing past.
I spun on my heel and called back, "Mitch, go on in, I'll be five minutes."
"Can't do that," he called, but he stayed by the open doorway.
I jogged after Susie, and when I was only a few feet behind her, I called out, "Susie, wait up."
She halted, letting me catch up. I headed around her to see that tear streaks coated her cheeks. Quiet sobs escaped from her trembling lips.
"Hey. Let's go into the bathroom, yeah?" I threw my thumb behind me toward the nearest restroom.
"Okay," she whispered through a sob.
Thankfully, the three-stall bathroom was empty and clean. The room smelled cloyingly like floral air freshener covering up grimier smells, but I guessed it was better than the alternative. I wiped down the wet counter with a paper towel, and we both sat on it while Susie continued to cry.
"Want a hug?" She nodded, so I leaned over and hugged her as she continued to sob.
"Zack knows. Everyone knows, and a couple of members of the BBC are saying that I cheated on Zack, even though I didn’t. Zack seems like he believes them. Mia doesn’t even want to look at me." Susie sniffed. "I saw it coming, and I still screwed up so much."
"Fuck," I whispered. "Susie, I meant to tell you that Zack was asking questions about you and Richard last Sunday, and then so much happened, and I completely forgot to give you the heads-up. I told him that he should talk to you instead, but I was getting the feeling that he was more looking for confirmation than just sort of wondering. I didn't absolutely tell him no, though, I just said that I didn't know."
"This is not your fault, at all, okay?" She sniffed and grabbed a paper towel from the sink and started dabbing at her face. "It's not even Richard's fault. He wanted to tell them, and now everyon
e is mad at him too."
"Where is he?"
She blew her nose and tossed the paper towel in the trash bin. "He hasn't gotten here yet. The news broke at lunch. Zack told Patrick, and Patrick told everyone else."
"I really see absolutely no redeeming qualities in that guy."
"Says someone who's dating Satan and is like best friends with Mitch Holter." Susie giggled, though she didn't sound all that happy. "I shouldn't tease you."
"You can tease me all you want. Mitch is in full denial that we're friends, by the way."
"Well, you guys act like friends, and everyone in the academy is too scared to talk behind your back. And if they can do that about someone, they will. Trust me, that's not because you're friends with me, the Baldwin brothers, Richard, or Mia..." Her voice broke on Mia's name. "I'm sorry, it's just she's so mad at me. Honesty is so important to her, and I think I destroyed our friendship."
I squeezed Susie to my side. "What happened?"
"Mia says that she can't trust me—and that she doesn't want me in the hunt with her. She kicked me out." Her voice broke again. "Patrick is going in there with her instead."
"I'm sorry," I said, not really meaning it this time. A sudden, heady relief was surging through me, and I had to fight a sigh. Susie had rated within the top five percent of three hundred competitors in athletics, academics, and ethics to get into this Academy, but she was a fairy and angel-loving, sweet, giggly human being. She brightened every room she was in. Lucas was the same way. They were two bright spots in a world of shadows.
A knock came at the door, and I opened it to find Richard there. Worry rode his handsome features, and his blue eyes immediately found Susie.
I gave Susie one more hug and Richard a smile before I left the two to talk.
Richard and Lucas were the only ones missing from the chapel. Everyone else sat in the first few rows. Principal Chambers stood at the pulpit, and she was literally wringing her hands. Professor Sharp and Professor Titus huddled in next to her, and they all spoke in low voices. Everyone else watched me approach up the center aisle. I slowed by Mia, who sat next to Patrick two rows from the front.
"She's really hurt."
Mia's brown eyes met mine. "Stay out of it, January. You just arrived here, and this goes really deep. They betrayed our trust."
"They're the real deal."
"Please," Mia said, "it's complicated, and I don't feel up to fucking explaining it right now."
Patrick glared over, but he ducked his head down and didn't say a word. I was guessing that was directly correlated to the fact that Mitch sat in the row directly behind him. He could probably feel the guy's looming presence.
I rolled my knuckles on my leg. "I feel like this hunt might be even more dangerous than it usually is, and I don't want her in there either. But she obviously lied to you guys because she didn't feel safe telling you the truth. They didn't do anything wrong."
Mia sighed. "Just ..." she held up her hands, "Just back off. It's between her and me, and it's not really any of your business. I like you. And I respect that you're standing up for her, but I want you to butt the hell out, okay?"
"Fair. That's fair." I fell into the seat beside Mitch. A few minutes later, Lucas slipped in next to me.
"What'd I miss, Trouble?" He breathed hard as water droplets rained down around him.
"Nervous whispering. Tension." I gestured up to the front. "Why are you wet?"
"Been training hard all day, and I went for a shower—didn't even realize there was a special assembly until Richard called me. Where is he?"
"Comforting Susie," I said.
"Why? Did something happen? Isn't she supposed to be here?"
Patrick turned around from a row up. "She's been dating Richard in secret."
"Yeah?" Lucas asked. Opening a water bottle, he downed the contents and sighed. "I could see that one coming. Where are they?"
"It's not just that they're together. It's been going on a while, probably since before Zack and Susie broke up."
“That is a vicious, baseless lie,” I snapped.
"You really are a piece of shit, aren't you, Patrick Alby? Turn around and stop talking shit about whatever the fuck her name is," Mitch said as he twirled a finger in the air.
"Susie," I said. "And you're wrong, Patrick. It started after Susie and Zack broke up. Stop starting rumors, thanks."
Patrick turned to the front before I was even done speaking, but I didn't flatter myself that he did it because of what I said.
"People are pissed at Susie and Richard about it?" Lucas asked as he wiped away water dripping from his forehead.
"Apparently."
"Drama, drama, drama." Lucas pulled out his phone and shot off a text. "I'm guessing Zack knows."
"Yeah. He told ..." I nodded to Patrick and rolled my eyes up to the ceiling in exasperation.
Lucas shook his head. Richard arrived a few minutes later, and we all scooted down toward Mitch to make room at the end of the row. I could practically feel the crackling tension between Mia and Richard right behind her. I was pretty sure that they were good friends, if not best friends, and she didn't so much as look over at him.
Richard just looked exhausted as he took the seat beside Lucas. "Do we know what this is about?"
"Principal Chambers," Amber called from the first row. "All of us are here. Can we get on with this? Some of us have places to be."
All three of the teachers looked over, but no one called Amber out on her rudeness. This undue obeisance to the Elites was something that I really doubted I would ever get used to about Blackburn Academy.
Principal Chambers sighed and patted her short, dark bob, which was perfectly neat. She returned her hands to the pulpit, and though her expression was easy, her posture was tense. "The Academy is going to be running the Senior Hunt a little different this year." She swallowed hard. "Instead of having you all hunt one vampire, this year you’ll each slay a vampire independently. You’ll be scored based on the time it takes you and if you sustain any injuries. This way gives all of you a fair chance.”
“Principal Chambers,” Richard called out. “Doesn’t this give the Elites an advantage?”
“How so?”
“Because,” Amber said as she tossed back her red hair. “The only chance they have is by getting in our way or by killing the vampire while we distract them.”
“It’s called strategy, and it’s all by the rules,” Richard explained, not sounding the least bit flustered. “This way ensures that only Elites can win.”
Patrick turned and looked back straight at me. He didn’t say anything, but I knew that he was trying to communicate that he’d told me that Sebastian would rig the system so I’d win.
The principal pinched her lips together, looking like she was trying to prevent herself from talking. “There’s a second change as well. The hunt support team has to watch from the bleachers.”
Everyone in the room erupted into cries of outrage.
“We will be taking every safety precaution. This is to keep everyone protected. With only two bodies in the arena, it’s much more likely that the vampire will attack the support team member. We want to minimize that risk. If anyone wishes to withdraw from the Senior Hunt, we will explain to the school that the rules changed abruptly, and you didn’t agree with the modifications.”
Lucas leaned in. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“I think it’s Sebastian. He’s making it impossible for me to escape fighting a vampire.”
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you ready for that?”
“No. She’s not even close to ready,” Richard said from the other side of Lucas. He leaned out. “I’m saying this as your friend and with the utmost respect for you. You need to withdraw, January. Please.”
“I can’t,” I whispered. "If I withdraw, the Hawthorn Group will stop guarding my grandmother and mother against the vampires. They're repeated targets, especially my mom, and she's stuck in court-order
ed rehab."
Lucas' brow furrowed. "They can't do that."
"Of course, they can," Richard said on a sigh. "They're not threatening to hurt January's family. They're threatening to withdraw their protection. The Hawthorn Group does things like that all the time. How do you think all of its leaders are so rich and powerful?"
Lucas shook his head. "No. No. Nah. The Hawthorn Group isn't the mafia. There has to be someone you can talk to."
"Maybe," I said, even though what I wanted to ask was who Lucas thought I could report it to. Not only did Sebastian own the Hawthorn Group, answerable to no one but his fellow Elites, he had taken over my conservatorship for the rest of my existence. The only choice I had was to get to a position where I wasn't relying on Sebastian's protection.
"If you go into this hunt, there's a very good chance that you'll be seriously injured before Mitch realizes that he has to immobilize the vampire," Richard said.
He was right. And I would get seriously injured, and then if I had a few minutes to heal, I'd go into a blood frenzy. Was that what Sebastian wanted?
"Do you really think your mother or your grandmother would want you to take this risk?" Richard asked as he continued to watch me.
"Fuck no. They'd tie me down and sit on me. It would be the first thing they agreed on probably in their whole lives. But vampires are stalking my family members, and neither of them knows it. They're sitting ducks. They'd just die. And, I'm going to be in a controlled environment, and while I might not be a good fighter compared to any of you, I'll have weapons, and I'm a helluva lot better prepared than my family. I'm hopefully going to get disqualified quickly." Even as I said the words, I knew that it wasn't what I wanted. It was just plain idiocy to trust that Sebastian would give me Justin if I won the hunt. And yet, I couldn't give up on that hope.
Hunter Trials (The Vampire Legacy Book 2) Page 23