Drake Chronicles: 03 Out for Blood (22 page)

She turned and shoved her foot against the bottom of the door. “Right there, Quinn. That’s what I mean. You guys are al fretting like old ladies. It’s like you’re more afraid of vampires than I am.”

“That’s cause we’re smarter than you are,” I pointed out. “And worried.”

“Wel , suck it up,” she said crossly. “Because you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Chapter 22

•

Hunter

Monday afternoon

I didn’t hear from him for the rest of the night. Not a single text or phone message.

Even so, I’d released some of the toxic knot of fear and worry clutching my insides, and I felt better prepared to do whatever I might need to do.

Which was convenient, since the first assembly of the school year was just as bad as I’d thought it would be.

It was after lunch and we were al gathered in the auditorium, which was in actuality an old wooden schoolhouse from the turn of the century, outfitted with salvaged church pews, also wooden. Hunters have always preferred everything to be made of wood—it’s easier to splinter off a piece to use as a makeshift weapon that way. The first thing my grandfather did when he bought his house was rip off the aluminum siding and replace everything with board-and-batten.

There were rows and rows of windows and the thick, rippled glass diffused the sunlight into every corner of the building. It fol owed me into the room. There was no hope of hiding. Students whirled in their seats, staring at me as I passed, whispering loudly to each other. Luckily Jenna and Jason were close enough to the back that I wasn’t on display for very long. I could see Chloe off to one side but she turned back to stare at the front, ignoring me.

I slid onto a polished pew to sit next to Jenna. She leaned forward and flicked the ear of a girl who wasn’t even pretending not to stare.

“Ow,” she squealed. She added a glare before shifting to sit properly.

Jenna folded her arms smugly. I sat with a straight back, my boots polished, my cargo pockets fil ed with regulation weapons and supplies. I couldn’t avoid looking at the table near the first pew with Wil ’s class picture from last year and a candle burning on either side. He was smiling earnestly. I tried not to remember him baring his fangs at me, trying to rip through my throat for my jugular. Or the feel of his skin and flesh and heart under the impact of my stake.

Jason leaned over from Jenna’s other side. “Any word on Spencer?” I shook my head. “I went over this morning but Theo said nothing’s changed.”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” he pointed out.

“Chloe’s stil not talking to you?” Jenna asked.

“Guess not.”

When Headmistress Bel wood strode across the stage, the heels of her sensible shoes clacking like gunshots, we al sat up straighter. The chatter died instantly.

Even the first-year students knew enough to be afraid of her. The rest of the teachers filed in behind her. Mr. York was last, his whistle around his neck as always. I swore he slept with it on. He once blew it in Chloe’s ear so loudly she was deaf for three days.

Headmistress Bel wood didn’t need a microphone; her stern, crisp voice found you wherever you were. “Welcome to a new year at the Helios-Ra High School.

You are embarking on a new journey and creating bonds with fel ow hunters that wil last a lifetime. Some of you wil be discovering new talents and eventual y choosing a department of the League in which to serve. The departments include standard Hunting, Paranormal Studies, Science, and Technology. What we do here is prepare you to hunt vampires and join the Academy col ege for further study in your chosen field.”

I was only half listening. We’d heard variations of this speech several times over the years. And I was too busy talking myself out of checking for text messages from Quinn. He was unconscious in his bed; he could hardly have sent me a message.

Every time I thought about that kiss, my lips tingled, my bel y grew warm, my knees went soft.

He was dangerous on so many levels.

“You wil al be expected to model the virtues of this fine school: Diligence, Duty, and Daring,” Headmistress Bel wood continued. “I wil not tolerate rebel ion, recklessness, or arrogance. Al of those qualities wil get you kil ed and are, therefore, unacceptable. Those of you joining us for the first time wil refer to the handbook for rules and regulations. Those of you returning are expected to remember those rules and fol ow them. I am certain you wil al have an educational and enjoyable year. I look forwarding to meeting each and every one of our new students.” Each and every one of those new students shuddered. “I am sure you’ve al noticed the memorial to one of our eleventh-grade students, Wil Stevenson. I am saddened to report that he was infected with the
Hel-Blar
virus and did not survive.” Everyone but Chloe was sneaking me glances. I lifted my chin, my expression blank. “Please pay your respects to his memory and take from this tragedy the necessity of always being on your guard.” Ms. Kali, one of the Paranormal Studies professors, descended the steps leading off the stage and went to stand behind the memorial. We al stood. The Niners exchanged confused glances before scrambling to fol ow suit. They’d never attended a student memorial before, but this would almost certainly not be their last.

Ms. Kali’s voice would have done an opera singer proud. She sang the traditional Helios-Ra mourning song, passed down through the centuries. Fal en hunters were usual y buried with rose thorns, salt, and a mouthful of dried garlic. Garlic didn’t actual y have an effect on vampires, but the custom had started long before anyone realized that. Hunters who weren’t cremated had a whitethorn stake driven through their dead hearts, another ancient precaution. Wil had crumbled to ashes, so no one would be burying him in the local hunter graveyard. But the song was sung and a marker with his name would be added to the memorial garden behind the race track on the other side of the pond.

I was glad I’d shed my tears last night. It made it easier to get through the rest of the assembly with the weeping girls who’d had crushes on Wil , the solemn faces of the teachers, the song raising goose bumps on our arms, the sunlight hitting Wil ’s framed photo.

“Ninth graders wil go to orientation on the south lawn,” Headmistress Bel wood announced when the memorial was over. “The rest of you wil pick up your schedules and get to your classes. On a final note, you’ve heard of the particularly virulent flu making the rounds. Two more students were hospitalized today, so I urge you to wash your hands and take extra care.” Students filed out, whispering respectful y at first, then chattering loudly and shouting to each other as they poured through the double doors onto the pebbled lane.

“Flu, my ass,” Jenna murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

“Wel , it’s not like the school is ever big on ful disclosure,” Jason pointed out.

“We’re supposed to shut up and fol ow the rules.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Anyone else starting to find that real y irritating?”

“I’m not loving it,” Jenna confirmed. “Look, I gotta get to archery practice. I’m assisting in a demo for the Niners.”

“See you at dinner,” Jason cal ed out after her. He frowned at me for a long moment. “When was the last time you actual y slept?” I shrugged. “I got a few hours last night.”

“You look like hel .”

I had to smile. “You know, if you ever decide to date girls, I have to tel you that’s no way to compliment us.”

“I’m serious, Hunter.”

“So am I.” I nudged him. “I’m fine, honest.” I didn’t tel him that making out with Quinn after sobbing through his shirt had done me a world of good. Quinn was hot enough that Jason would want details, and I wasn’t the detail-sharing type. “I promise I’l grab a nap before dinner, okay?”

“Okay,” he grudgingly agreed. “I’l see you later.” Classes went the way they always did on the first day. It was mostly rol cal and a brief description of what we’d be expected to learn over the year. Ms. Dailey sent us away early; York made us run laps. I slept a little, mostly because I’d promised Jason, and then we had dinner and went to our respective rooms to start on assigned reading. Chloe wasn’t around but there were clothes on her bed. I couldn’t concentrate, so I went outside to sit on one of the stone wal s around the decorative gardens by the front of the main buildings to watch the sun set.

The sky went sapphire, then indigo, and flared orange along the tree line. The stars came out one by one, clustered overhead in patterns I could never remember. I’d made up my own when I was ten: Dracula, a stake, a heart, a crossbow, a sun. I found them now as the crickets began their evening choir in the long grass at the edge of the woods. The harvest moon rose like a fat pumpkin growing in the fertile field of the sky.

Lights went on in the gym and the dormitory. I could hear the muffled sound of music from behind thick windows, the wind in the oak tree behind me, and the spit of gravel as a van roared up the path, lights out, hidden in the long weeds at the edge of the woods.

“Hunter,” Kieran cal ed grimly. “We found something.” Chapter 23

•

Hunter

Monday evening

I crossed over to the driver’s side, trampling wild chicory flowers under my boots.

Kieran’s face was solemn and tense, fingers tight around the steering wheel.

“What’s going on?” I frowned up at him.

“We’ve got trouble,” he answered, tone clipped. “And we can’t talk about it here.”

“Is it about the vit—”

“Not here,” he cut me off, eyes widening in warning. He was right. There were cameras and microphones al over the place. We were probably being overly cautious since we were in the middle of a field, but something about his expression had me double-checking my pockets for stakes. “Get Chloe.” My stomach dropped. Clearly this was bad news. “Chloe and I aren’t exactly talking right now.”

I could read the desperation in Kieran’s face. “Do whatever you have to do,” he said tightly. “Knock her over the head and hog-tie her if you have to.” Gee, I can’t imagine why one of my oldest friends wasn’t talking to me.

“Does campus security know you’re here?”

He nodded. “I told them it was covert ops and to ignore anything I do.” My eyebrows rose. “Seriously? Hart’s in on this?” He was the only one with the kind of power to order that kind of covert op.

“No.”

I paused, turned back. “No?”

“So we have to get out of here before I get busted.”

“Shit, Kieran.”

“I know. So hurry up.”

I was so going to get expel ed on the first day of classes. And then Grandpa would kil me.

I fished my cel phone out of my pocket and dialed Chloe’s number. She answered on the third ring. “Hel o?”

“Chloe, I have to talk to you.”

“I’m busy.”

“It’s important.” There was a long pause. I could hear her breathing, labored and short. She must be working out again. I started walking toward the gym, pointing at it so Kieran would know where to meet us. “Chloe?” I tried to think about what would get her outside with minimal yel ing and fighting. I didn’t think we could afford to attract that kind of attention, covert ops pass or not. “Look, Dailey wanted me to talk to you about her guild. We can’t be overheard.”

“Real y?” She sounded startled and then pleased. I might have felt guilty if my jaw wasn’t stil bruised from her sloppy punch. “I’m at the gym. I’l be right down.”

“Meet you there. Side door.” I clicked off and cut across the lawn to the entrance tucked behind a wal and a copse of birch trees. It was dark and deserted enough that we might not get caught. She must have run down the stairs. She was stil in her shorts and T-shirt, her hair in a ponytail. Her face was damp with sweat. She pushed the door open and looked at me warily.

“So?” she asked. “Does she want me to join the guild or what?” Kieran edged the van around the corner, blocking us from any passersby. She frowned. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I admitted. “But Kieran has big news. He wants us to go with him.”

“Where? And why me—” She cut herself off with a huff of impatience. “Is this about the vitamins? God, Hunter, you’re, like, total y obsessed.”

“Just get in,” Kieran muttered, leaning out slightly. “We don’t have al night.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you psychos,” she said, sneering.

I glanced at Kieran. “How serious is this?”

“
Very
serious,” he assured me, hitting the button so the van door slid open. “

‘Spider-Man’ serious.” “Spider-Man” had been our code word since we were eight, used only in times of great danger. Chloe was turning away, disgusted. I didn’t have a lot of options. I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed her shoulder and swung her back around toward us.

And then I punched her.

She staggered back, screeching. Not exactly covert ops. “Shit,” she clutched her face. “Shit, are you nuts?”

I hadn’t punched her hard enough to actual y knock her out. She did look a little dazed though, so I took advantage of her momentary disorientation and shoved her into the van. She cursed as I slammed the door shut and Kieran locked it. I ran around the other side and got into the passenger side.

“I hope to hel you know what you’re doing,” I told him darkly, rubbing my sore knuckles.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Chloe snapped from the backseat. “Did I hurt your knuckles with
my face?
”

“No more than I hurt yours with mine,” I shot back.

“Is that what this is? Revenge?”

“Chloe, don’t be stupid,” I said as Kieran shot the van into drive. We rumbled down the lane and out onto the road.

“Let me out!” Chloe was yanking at the handle and screaming at the top of her lungs. If she got any louder my ears would bleed. She kept yel ing, a wordless high-pitched sound meant to make our eyebal s explode.

When we were far enough away from the school, Kieran slammed on the brakes.

Chloe hurtled forward, nearly breaking her nose on the back of his seat. She swal owed another shriek.

“Put your seatbelt on,” he demanded sharply, using the tone of an agent used to being obeyed. It was actual y something he’d learned from his father. It wasn’t common knowledge, but Kieran was only a graduate and not actual y a ful -fledged agent. He needed to do two years at the col ege for that, but he’d decided to take the year off to find his father’s murderer. The profs had thought he was wasting his talents, that grief was warping him. But he’d been right. His father
had
been murdered—and by one of our own, no less. Hope was out of the picture now, but the damage was done. Stil , Kieran had grown up a lot in the last few months. He wasn’t the same guy who’d poured corn syrup dyed with red food coloring al over the cafeteria floor to freak the new students out. People stil talked about that prank. Especial y since a notorious bul y fainted at the sight of it.