"You're about a hundred years too late to be a girl," I pointed out.
"That's the joy of being a soul sucker," she said. "Youth and beauty in an everlasting supply." That's why she targeted cheerleaders. Youth and beauty in one convenient package.
"Were Trina and Rachel your victims?" I asked. "I can't figure out how you did that, right in front of everybody."
She chuckled evilly. "It won't help you to find out my little secrets."
I waited. I knew she couldn't resist telling me how much smarter than me she'd been.
As I expected, she talked. "It was easy. A little hypnosis, a little soul-sucking. I just needed a little sip. I waited until you were all busy. She shouldn't have collapsed. Perhaps I was a little ... enthusiastic. Or she was already weak." She shrugged dismissively.
I gaped at Miss Foster in horror. The girls' souls were about as meaningful as an energy drink to her.
She waved a gnarled claw in the air and pointed to Penny Edwards. Penny moved out of line until she was within arm's reach of Miss Foster. The vamp unhinged her jaw like a snake and began to take great gulps of the wispy vapor of Penny's soul, which was a particularly nasty shade of green.
Miss Foster paused and dropped Penny's still body to the floor. She lay there crumpled and white, like a used Kleenex, but the slight rise and fall of her chest told me she was still alive.
Miss Foster's jaw snapped back into place, and she gave a huge burp. "Excuse me," she said daintily covering her mouth. I watched in amazement as her gnarled hand grew smooth and young again. Her eyes brightened and her skin grew rosy, but there was still a web of lines on her face.
"Ah, that's it," she said. "I needed a little pick-me-up before I really get started." She stared at the line of cheerleaders greedily. "Let's see. Who's next?"
"Why the sudden need for so many souls all at once?"
She smirked at me. "Well, Daisy, as you so tactfully pointed out, I'm no spring chicken anymore. And the older I get, the more souls it takes to maintain my appearance. Plus, it seems I've worn out my welcome in Nightshade. I need something a little extra to tide me over until I get to the next town."
I was betting she knew the council was after her and she wanted to split town before they found her and did away with her themselves.
I needed to do something before she ate the souls of everyone on the squad.
I faced Miss Foster and squared my shoulders. She wasn't going to get away with this, not without a fight, anyway. She was a soul-sucking vampire and I was a sixteen-year-old cheerleader, but I was damned if she was going to suck the life out of all my friends. High school was hard enough.
The girls were all still in the trance. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Samantha move. I averted my eyes before Miss Foster noticed, but I saw it again a few minutes later. Samantha was definitely not under the spell like the other girls.
"What about Chelsea, your fledgling?" I demanded, desperately trying to stall Miss Foster before she made her next move.
"Chelsea?"
Miss Foster never could remember names. "The girl you turned? Why did you do that?"
"I had hoped for a companion," she said. "But unfortunately, the chit turned out to be greedy and ungrateful."
"I followed her to your house that night," I said.
"Yes," Miss Foster agreed. "I thought for sure you had finally stumbled on my little secret with your poking around, but apparently not, because I'm still here. Though these cheerleaders won't be for long," she cackled.
"I'm not going to let you get away with this," I warned.
"Daisy, dear, you can't stop me. You're not psychic like your sisters, are you? You're not anything, except a very temporary annoyance."
I tried not to let it get to me, but I was getting really sick of being underestimated. And maybe, just maybe, I wasn't completely without powers.
Miss Foster bent down and rummaged through her gym bag. "Ah, yes, here it is," she said.
Her arm came up holding a heavy object, and before I could react, it connected near my left temple. That's the last thing I remember before everything went black.
When I came to, I was tied to a folding chair, which was placed in the center of the gym. The cheerleading squad was still lined up in perfect formation. Jordan Kelley had a small strand of drool coursing down her chin. I tried to pretend to still be unconscious, but Miss Foster noticed.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," she screeched. "I want you to see what I have in store for you." She stretched a few minutes, like she was warming up for cheerleading practice.
Her jaw unsnapped with a loud popping noise, and then she was sucking the life out of the girls. A sound like the howling of the wind filled the gym.
I strained against my bonds, but I was tied fast. Rose, where are you? Help! I screamed it in my mind, hoping against hope that Rose would hear me before it was too late.
Rage bubbled up inside me. I wished desperately for the power to do something, anything. I remembered the tomato exploding, and the bag of cheese floating across the room. Maybe it wasn't just a coincidence. I remembered Poppy's advice. "Don't try so hard. Just feel the object moving across the floor."
Miss Foster's head snapped around, as if sensing I was trying something. I held myself very still and she finally returned to her task.
I wished with all I had that something heavy would squash Miss Foster flat. And then something did.
With a loud groan, a set of bleachers disconnected from its steel track and came skittering across the gymnasium floor.
Miss Foster had her back to me, absorbed in the destruction of souls, and didn't notice the bleachers. I held my breath and hoped that her greediness would keep her distracted long enough. It was my only chance to help my friends.
Just then, Samantha sprang toward Miss Foster and shoved her away from the girls. The bleachers flew into the air and landed with a loud bang on top of our cheerleading coach. There was a piercing scream and then silence.
Samantha came over and untied me. "It's about time, Giordano," she said. "I was wondering if you were ever going to take out the garbage."
"You weren't in her power like the rest?" I asked.
"Nope." She touched the ankh pendant around her neck. "Probably because of this."
"The ankh?"
" That's why I gave everyone ankh bracelets," she said. "I thought it might help protect them. Too bad the other girls didn't wear theirs."
The ankhs had actually protected us. And I almost hadn't worn mine. I shuddered at the thought.
I stood up and rubbed my head. I had one beauty of a headache, but other than that, I seemed to be okay.
Ryan sprinted into the gym, followed quickly by Sean, my sisters, Mom, and Chief Mendez.
Ryan rushed up and cradled me in his arms. "Are you okay? God, Daisy, I was scared. I went to go pick you up at Sam's. Then your mom and sisters drove by and told me that you needed help. I called my dad right away."
I smiled. Rose must have heard my telepathic cry for help.
"We came as soon as I could figure out where you were," she said. "Next time be more specific when you send a psychic SOS."
"Did you do that?" asked Poppy, pointing to the destroyed bleachers.
"I think so," I said. "Unless it was you?"
Poppy shook her head. "Mom, guess what? Daisy finally got her power! I knew it!"
"Are you okay, honey?" Mom said. She brushed back the hair from my eyes.
"Mom, didn't you hear me?" Poppy said. "Daisy got her power and it's a doozy."
"Yes, yes, I heard," Mom said. "But I'm more concerned with making sure that your sister is all right."
"I'm fine," I said. "And Poppy, I think it's powers, as in the plural. I'm pretty sure, but they seem to come and go."
"That's awesome, Daisy," Poppy said. "I'll help you learn to channel your powers."
"The vamp?" Rose said. "It was Miss Foster, wasn't it?"
I nodded and pointed to the pile of twisted metal
, suddenly too tired to speak. We could see two sneakers peeking out of the rubble, just like the witch's shoes in The Wizard of Oz.
"You just gave a whole new meaning to the term 'under the bleachers,'" Poppy said. She leaned over and examined the debris. "Eww!" she said. "Gross."
Squashed vamp had an atrocious odor. It smelled like school cafeteria food, the boys' locker room, and a healthy dose of evil.
The rest of the cheerleaders were coming out of their hypnotized state. Penny Edwards came running over. "What happened?" she asked. "The last thing I remember, we were at Samantha's getting ready for the dance."
How were we going to explain this one? Penny wasn't the brightest cheerleader in the bunch, but she had a nose for gossip like a bloodhound's.
"Earthquake," Chief Mendez said, after a long pause.
"Don't you remember?" Samantha said. "Miss Foster called a last- minute practice."
"Oh, yeah," Penny said. "Practice right after the homecoming game." She looked down at her dress. "In our evening gowns."
"I know, what a pain, huh?" I said. "But she was freaking about ... about tournaments. She thought we needed more practice." She thought we needed the soul sucked right out of us, but Penny didn't need to know that. I shuddered at the memory of Miss Foster's face as she drank from my friends.
"Where is she?" Alyssa asked, looking around the gym. "And why do I feel so strange?"
"Unfortunately," I said, thinking quickly, "a row of bleachers collapsed on her. There was nothing anyone could do."
"No one but you," Ryan whispered in my ear.
I grinned at him. It felt pretty good to save the day, even if most people would never know. I quickly wiped the smile off my face when I realized that the other girls looked horrified. It was easy to forget that they weren't aware of their cheering coach's demonic nature.
"Oh my god," Jordan whimpered. "That could have been one of us!"
"This is awful," Penny wailed. "What about the homecoming dance?"
"I'm sure it will be rescheduled," Samantha assured her.
Chief Mendez spoke briefly into his radio and barked some instructions, then turned to us. "Why don't you girls go on home? Someone will be here soon to clean up."
"Not much left to clean up," Ryan commented.
I shivered. If we hadn't been able to stop her, the gym would have needed a major cleanup. Cheerleader all over the floor.
"I'm starving," I said. My stomach growled.
"Let's go to Slim's," my mom suggested.
Samantha looked hopeful, and several of the girls looked up at the mention of food. So much for cheerleaders never eating. Of course, we had all been through a lot tonight, even if most of them wouldn't remember it.
When we walked into Slim's, the jukebox clicked on "Another One Bites the Dust," a favorite at football stadiums everywhere. I felt like the music was the jukebox's way of giving me a pat on the back. Even more important, I hoped it was telling me that the psionic vampire had indeed bitten the dust.
Chapter Twenty-One
The homecoming dance was postponed until the next week. This time we got ready at my house, and there were no interruptions from the undead.
The gym, where we had all our dances, with the exception of prom, had been transformed with red and silver balloons and liberal applications of crepe paper.
Sean and Samantha grabbed a table while Ryan and I headed for the dance floor, which had been set up near the basketball hoop at the far end of the gym.
My head turned whenever I smelled hair spray, but it turned out to be Jordan Kelley's overly enthusiastic use of the stuff to keep her coif in perfect curls.
The whole school was thrilled because Side Effects May Vary was providing the music. As I passed the stage that had been set up for the band, Nurse Phillips winked at me with one glittery false-eyelashed eye and continued strumming her bass guitar.
The chaperones were guarding the punch bowl. Wyatt Pearson was determined to spike it, but I doubt he'd manage to get through my sister Rose, who was chaperoning. I waved to her. She looked incredibly lovely in a soft fuchsia dress.
When Ryan and I reached the dance floor, the tempo of the music changed to a slow dance, and Ryan pulled me into his arms. "Perfect timing," he said.
I nestled closer, content to close my eyes and let him lead me around the dance floor. Even with my eyes closed, though, I could tell that he avoided a stubborn oily stain on the gym floor that was all that was left of Miss Foster. Or at least I hoped it was.
A few minutes later, Cassandra and Chelsea Morris entered the gym on Bane Paxton's arms. Cassandra saw me and waved me over.
When the song ended, Ryan and I headed their way.
"I didn't expect to see you here," I said to Cassandra when we approached her table.
"We couldn't turn down a chance to go to a Nightshade dance," she replied. She gestured to her sister. "This is my sister Chelsea. She came back home last week and she's been dying to meet you!"
The streak of white was gone from Chelsea's hair, and her skin glowed with life.
I met Chelsea's eyes and grinned at her. "I hope not!"
"I don't get it," Cassandra said, perplexed.
"Just a little inside joke," Chelsea replied. "I owe Daisy a lot."
"I didn't know you two knew each other," Cassandra said.
"We don't," her sister replied, "but we do have a lot in common."
We had secrets in common. I don't think Cassandra was ready to learn that her sister had nearly been turned into a psionic vampire. Chelsea looked alive and healthy, which was the important thing.
The other cheerleaders and I were gathered at the punch bowl when Rachel appeared. Everyone started squealing.
Samantha rushed up to her, beaming. "When did you get out of the hospital?"
"Yesterday," she replied, "but my mom made me stay home an extra day. I can't stay out too late, either."
She looked great and healthy again, and the white streak was gone from her hair. I guess killing the vamp really did put the victims back to normal—Mindy Monson, Kelsey Sebastian, and Trina Manahan had all returned to school earlier that week. "Do you remember anything about your episode?" I asked her.
Rachel shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know, Daisy. The last thing I remember is you and Ryan helping me to the nurse's office."
I looked at her closely. There was something about the way she had said his name. It dawned on me that Rachel liked Ryan.
"Rachel, I—"
She blushed. "Ry—he's a nice guy."
I met her eyes.
"But he's totally into the girl he's dating now," she said softly. Now it was my turn to blush.
I glanced around the room at the animated faces of the cheer-leading squad. The white streaks in their hair were fading. Except for Penny's, which confirmed my suspicion that most of hers had been done at the salon in an effort to be in style.
"I'm going to miss you," I said to them. And I would, even Penny.
"Miss us?" Rachel said. "What do you mean?"
"Everyone is healthy again. The whole squad. So you don't need me any longer."
"Of course we need you," Samantha said. "You can be the alternate's alternate or something."
I smiled at her. We both knew that there wasn't room for me on the squad any longer.
"I'm really going to miss cheerleading."
"You don't have to sound so surprised," Samantha said. "Besides, you'll always be a part of the squad. Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader."
I couldn't help myself. I reached over and hugged her. And she hugged me back.
A microphone emitted an earsplitting amount of feedback and we all looked up. Principal Amador was onstage, and he spoke into the microphone. "Sorry about that. It's time to announce the Nightshade High homecoming king and queen."
Samantha had it locked, but I was less certain about who would be crowned king. Adam Zeigler, Poppy's date, was the most popular senior boy, but Ryan was w
ell liked. Sean was another strong candidate, as captain of the football team and Samantha's boyfriend. I'd just decided that Sean and Samantha would win, due to the cute-couple vote, when I heard Principal Amador say Ryan's name.
I was shocked when my name was announced a second later.
Samantha gave me a little shove toward Ryan, who was standing there waiting for me. "Get going, Giordano." I was surprised to see she was grinning widely. I had a sneaking suspicion Samantha Devereaux had a little something to do with my nomination. That girl was seriously good at keeping a secret.
I tucked my arm into Ryan's and we walked to the stage together.
Principal Amador shook hands with Ryan, placed a sparkly tiara on my head, and said, "May I present to the student body Nightshade High's homecoming queen, Daisy Giordano."
The crowd cheered, louder than I expected. Someone gave a piercing whistle, and I knew it came from Poppy. Then I spotted her and Rose in the crowd, both jumping up and down and clapping madly.
Even my mom, who was spending much more time at home now that the case of the disappearing body had been solved, had shown up and was snapping pictures wildly. Sam must have tipped her off. I teared up a little, wishing that my dad could be there for my big moment, too.
Samantha was holding hands with Sean, and when she saw me glance her way, she gave me a huge thumbs-up.
I could hardly believe I was the same Daisy Giordano. Me, friends with the Divine Devereaux? Homecoming queen? Dating Ryan Mendez? Even if a true clairvoyant had told me I'd be standing here, I probably wouldn't have believed it.
Despite my own psychic abilities, I couldn't predict how my future would turn out. And even though it was comforting to know where I stood, I thought as Ryan smiled at me and held my hand tightly, I realized I didn't have to know everything.
After all, Nightshade was a town chock-full of the unknown, the unusual, the unexpected. I adjusted my tiara and smiled and waved to the cheering crowd. Sometimes, something unexpected wasn't bad at all.
* * *
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my brilliant editor, Julie Tibbott. Who knew revision could be so much fun? Thanks to Nancy Russey, Connie Clark, Lori Polydoros, Shana Norris, and Emily Marshall, who answered my panicked pleas and gave me comments in record time. Thanks to Mary Pearson, Melissa Wyatt, Linda Johns, and Terry Miller Shannon for your friendship and wise counsel.
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