Eternal Shadows (14 page)

As soon as I stepped through the door all talking stopped. The change was so profound, I almost thought I saw a paper airplane stop mid-flight. This was what I had dreaded. All eyes were on me.

Keeping my head down, I slipped to my desk at the back of the classroom, and wished I could put my hat back on. Sara followed, taking her seat next to me. Silence still hung on the air.

“What’s their problem?” Sara asked, tossing her notebook onto the desk.

“I don’t know. Maybe they forgot what I look like.” Or maybe my lack of humanity had set off alarms in their human heads. Caution
—predator.

Sara scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.” She turned to our classmates. “Is something wrong?” she
asked, loud enough for all of them to hear. “You all remember, Kassandra, don’t you? You could say hi and welcome back instead of staring at her like she has the plague or something.”

I sank further into my chair. “Thanks, Sara.”

I had never been Miss Popularity. I always attributed that to the fact that my father set the rules for everything. But not two seconds after Sara had reprimanded everyone the class erupted with noise. Noise that asked how I was, welcomed me back, and inquired over just what I had been ill with. Bradley, a boy who gave most people the creeps for no real apparent reason, wanted to know if boils and puss had been involved.

I pretended I couldn’t hear him over the rest of the class.

I’d never been so glad to see Mr. Shimer walk through the door and announce the start of class. Of course, once he took attendance, and I had to stop him when he skipped my name out of habit, it all started up again.

By D period, not only had I managed not to eat anyone, but I’d also gotten so good at spouting off my excuse story I could do it without much thought. The note in my pocket had been unfolded and folded again so many times I began to fear it might rip. B period study hall had been atrocious. Kids I knew, as well as some I didn’t, had bombarded me with questions and well-wishes. Some of them had smell
ed way too good. I had one near-disaster when an underclassman I’d never even really seen before reached across me to grab a paper from someone else. Her wrist had passed just under my nose, and she smelled like fresh apples. My brain blocked out everything but the sound of her pulse, and for a moment that lasted a lifetime, I contemplated breaking my self-imposed rule and sinking my teeth into her flesh just to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

Thank God in all the excitement someone got bumped behind me and spilled his water down my back. The shock broke the spell she had put over me and I excused myself, with Sara, to the bathroom to dry off.

Rhys would not be forgiven for making me come back here anytime soon.

D period, however, had the potential to be far worse. Gym class. And what were we doing on this particularly lovely spring day? Playing baseball. Outside. In the sunshine. Because it wasn’t bad enough I had always been a ball-magnet of sorts as a human and constantly got pummeled by whatever projectile the evil
gym teachers had selected. Now my ineptitude would be compounded by the diabolical sun.

I really needed to dig a hole and climb in it.

Sara slapped me on the back as soon as we were both dressed for gym. “Come on, Kass. You can always claim some mysterious symptom of your long illness. I’ve seen that note you have enough times now. If it gets really bad, just say you’re worn out and Mr. Mack will have to let you sit out.”

She skipped out of the locker room, tugging me along. Gym was the only class we had with
Jude.

Mr. Mack already had everyone else lined up at the door when we reached them.
Jude smiled at me and held the door as we started outside. I was glad to find that, while he didn’t smell bad, he didn’t make my mouth water, either.

“Hey, Kass. Glad to see you back.”

“Thanks. I’m glad to be back.” Lies. All lies. I liked Jude, though. He’d been a good friend to me as much as he’d been a good boyfriend to Sara. And they matched. Honestly, I’d forgotten how crazy it was how much they just looked like they belonged together. The same shade of blond, same hazel eyes. I’d teased Sara at first about having a genealogy test done to make sure they weren’t secretly related.

I hesitated before stepping outside, wishing I had my hat with me. The sun’s rays hit me full force, and I almost called out to Mr. Mack right then to ask to go back inside. But the braver part of me, the tougher part, argued it wouldn’t get any easier if I avoided it.

I trudged out to the baseball field.

I dodged six baseballs, and only got hit by one. In the knee. Ow. I made a mental note to thank Cade later, though. Maybe Rhys, too, but only if I wasn’t uncontrollably bitter about the whole school thing in its entirety.

I kept a safe distance from my classmates, and held my breath a lot. The sun was hot for so early in the year, and by the supposed third inning the thirst at the back of my throat had become more than a simple itch. I knew I’d spent at least thirty minutes outside, so I reminded Mr. Mack of my doctor’s note and headed inside feeling rather triumphant. The student body remained unharmed. I was a champion.

I did use a tiny bit of my vampire speed to sneak into the cafeteria early and snatch a large cup of ice from the back of the kitchen. I had eaten all of it by the time Sara and
Jude found me at our usual table and felt much better. The ice cooled the burning thirst pretty thoroughly. If this was one of those tricks Rhys knew but hadn’t told me yet…he was in trouble. I set my head down on my arms.

Sara slid her tray onto the table and sat next to me,
Jude on her other side. At the sight of her crunchy fries and pepperoni pizza I realized I had a problem. Ice was the first non-blood food I’d had in weeks.

I hadn’t packed a lunch. Nor did I feel like ruining my perfect memories of the glorious food known as pizza by eating it now.

Dammit
.

“You okay, Kass? You looked a little sick when you left gym.” Sara popped a fry into her mouth.

“I’m okay. The sun just got a little hot for me, I guess.” Think quick.

“Are you going to eat? You probably should, since you were sick for so long.”

There was my out. Use the sickness. “My stomach’s a little uneasy actually. I only have two more classes left. I think I’ll be okay until I get back home.”

“Are you sure?” She looked worried.

“Yeah.” I sat up and brushed my hair out of my face. “I drank some water when I got in, so I’m hydrated and all that.”

passed the bottle of water he had bought down the table. “Here, keep this with you. I’ll go get another one.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I insist.” He smiled again, dimples making it impossible to turn him down.

“Well, let me at least give you the dollar for it.” I reached into my pocket, hoping I had shoved something in there before I left the house.

“It’s not a problem, Kass.” He stood and left without another word.

“Isn’t he the best?” Sara said, watching him walk away for a second before turning back to me.

“Yes. He’s the best.” I really was thankful. Apparently water and ice weren’t so hard for me to stomach. Blood would have been better, though. Maybe it was time to invest in a good thermos that couldn’t be seen through…

I could not believe I just thought that.

I made it through World Cultures and Astronomy without incident. I had G period, the last period of the day, free and since I was a senior I could leave.

Sara and
Jude, who also had that privilege, had to all but chase after me when I sprinted for the door. I’d never been so glad to be free of school. I’d also never felt so victorious. Though it meant Rhys had been right, I had been ready to return. I was sure I could twist everything around so I ended up with the bragging rights, though.

However, hat and sunglasses still went on as soon as I passed through the door.

I repeated a new mantra in my head. You did it, just get home. You did it, just get home. I supposed it was the general’s fault just as much as it was Rhys’s. But Rhys was more fun to blame.

I’d never really realized just how much hotter the sun got in the afternoon. Okay, that was a lie. Of course I’d known that. But it seemed so much different now. In the morning, my beat-up ball-cap had done a respectable job of keeping the sun’s rays at bay. Now, it felt like the sunlight came right through it. Wit
h each step my victory seemed further away.

“Kassandra, are you listening to me?”

Sara’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I adjusted my sunglasses and did my best to look innocent. “Of course.”

“Then what did I say?”

Crap. No idea
. “Sorry. I guess I spaced out.”

Sara’s nose scrunched up. “What’s with you today? I know you’ve been sick, but still. You’re quiet, which is never normal, and you’re dressed like an old lady on the beach.” She plucked at my long-sleeved tee.

I twisted away, pretending to check for traffic even though the cross-guard had waved us across. “I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.” Except a large-scale government take-over at home, and the fact that I now craved human blood. “It was just a long day. School took a lot out of me.” God, please don’t let her see that I’m lying. I was way too tired to make sure I pulled it off properly.

“Are you sure? I mean, you’re gloomy. And you’re never gloomy.”

“I’m fine. Peachy, ducky.” My mother had always said that. She and I had used it for code when something was really wrong but we didn’t want to talk about it in front of whoever was around at the time. Sara didn’t know that, though.

“Okay.” She didn’t sound convinced at all.

“Leave her alone,” Jude said, taking Sara’s hand. “She’s probably been laid up in bed for days. It takes a while to get back on your feet.”

Jude
had just earned himself a place as my favorite person.

I was just about to thank him by promising him a trip around the world in a hot-air balloon when I saw
him
. Down the street, lounging against the old stone wall by the corner, scars visible on his face even from this distance. I couldn’t smell him, but realized he had placed himself downwind. His eyes met mine, and the feeling of dread returned. Strong. That chill on my neck burned like dry ice, and my stomach sank.

What the hell did he want? Hadn’t he had enough fun the other night?

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Another scent, behind me. Steel. Almost like Cade, but with an edge of something flowery. Tabitha.

I couldn’t smell the other two. I hoped that meant they weren’t there.

Sara and
Jude paused and stared at me. “Kass?” Sara took one step towards me. “You okay?”

I couldn’t speak. Malachi and Tabitha were so close. What if they tried to hurt Sara and
Jude? I wasn’t good enough yet to stop them. And we were still too far from home for Rhys and the others to tell that Malachi had returned. Maybe if I screamed…

But that would look crazy. Malachi hadn’t moved a muscle. He just watched me, smiling. The smile was what made me so nervous. Tabitha’s scent still clung to the air, wafting by my nose with each gentle shift of the breeze. If I screamed, would they leave? Or would they attack?

Could they attack? It would expose us. I didn’t know the laws yet, but given the fact that vampires were everywhere and no one knew, I was willing to bet that was one of them.

What could he possibly want?

Sara let go of Jude and grabbed my hand instead. “Kass, sit down or something. You look like you’re going to faint. Breathe.”

Damn, I hadn’t bee
n breathing. I didn’t need to, but Sara had no way of knowing that. She tugged on my hand and I sucked in a deep breath for her benefit.

In that same instant, I heard a light chuckle. Then I smelled it.

Human blood.

The sun beat down on me.

Sara’s pulse drummed against my wrist.

Chapter Eleven: Crash

I yanked my wrist back from her, stumbling to put distance between us.

“Kass?” She reached for me again.

“Don’t touch me!” I kept my arms close to my body, breathing hard though I tried to stop. The blood on the air taunted me. I’d been resisting it all day, but now…I felt my canines stretch in my mouth.

Jude
had taken Sara’s arm and held her back, away from me. He spoke calmly. “Kassandra, what’s wrong? Do you feel sick?”

I probably looked like a crazy person, holding myself tight and focusing on not breathing rather than breathing. I didn’t know what to do. “I—I need to go home.”

“Okay, we’ll get you home,” Jude said, stepping towards me.

“No!” They couldn’t come with me. I needed to be alone. I’d kill them for sure. I forced myself to calm down long enough to not speak like a lunatic. “I mean, I’m sorry. I can find my own way home. You guys go on without me.”

Sara continued to stare at me. Probably ready to call the men in white coats. “Kass, we’re not going to leave you alone.”

I panicked. “You have to!” The smell of blood was growing stronger, and I had no idea where it was coming from. I tried to keep my mouth closed as I spoke so they wouldn’t see the fangs that had crept down to their full length. “Really, I’m okay. I can get myself home just fine.”

They didn’t believe me. Jude had pulled out his cell phone. He whispered in Sara’s ear, but I heard every word. “Maybe we should call an ambulance.”

Malachi laughed at the end of the street, still casually leaning against the wall.

Suddenly, I had an idea. “No! I’m okay, really. I don’t need an ambulance. Call my house, Jude. Tell whoever answers I need to be picked up.”

The hand holding his phone bounced for a second, but then he nodded and flipped it open. I felt a wave of relief when I heard the high-pitched tone of his dialing.

The laughter from down the street stopped. I saw Malachi’s face twist into a frown before he disappeared from my immediate sight.

Crap
. Hurry up, Jude. I heard him speaking into the phone, but I couldn’t tell who had answered. It didn’t really matter. The information would get where it needed to be regardless. I hugged myself so tight I thought I might break my own ribs. Searching everywhere for Malachi and Tabitha, I staggered back until I met the wall that lined the sidewalk. I pressed myself against it, closing my back to any attack.

Where was the blood coming from?

I clamped my eyes shut and held my breath. It was probably better if I didn’t know.

Then it was right under my nose.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring straight into Tabitha’s dark eyes. Her hand was covered in blood.

“Hello, Kassandra.”

“What the hell do you want?” I had to breathe to talk and the scent of the blood hit the back of my throat. Delicious.

Only her palm had been coated red and she kept it turned so others could not see. Her fingers came close enough to touch my cheek. The blood was still warm. I bit my lip in a poor attempt to distract myself. “We weren’t given any time to get to know one another the other night,” she said. “We watched you at school all day and thought you might need an after-school snack.”

“No thanks.”

She shifted and her hand twitched. I thought for a moment she would grab me by the throat, but then I remembered all the people on the street and sidewalk.

“Now that’s impolite,” she said. “I go to the trouble of finding you a nice meal, and you turn it down.”

“If you hurt someone…”

“Oh, I’m not going to hurt anyone. Well, not aside from the one I already hurt. You are.”

Wherever Malachi had gone, I could smell him now. I wondered if Sara and
Jude would run if I told them to.

I glanced to the side, looking for them.
Jude had put Sara behind him, and by the expression on his face I had the sinking feeling he was deciding how to deal with Tabitha. As close as she was to me, she had to look threatening. I tried to tell him with nothing but my eyes to stay out of it, but Tabitha guided my attention back in her direction with a finger under my chin before I could determine if he had understood.

“You look ridiculous, you know. In all these clothes.” She touched my sleeve, then the brim of my hat with her clean hand. “Is all this supposed to help you?”

I kept my mouth shut and held my breath. Why wasn’t anyone coming yet?

She flicked my hat off my head. “The sun is a bit troublesome, isn’t it?” My sunglasses disappeared in a flash. “You should try absorbing a little more.”

The thirst burned my throat. I clenched my teeth shut and cut the inside of my mouth with the fangs I wasn’t accustomed to. The taste of my own blood sent fire through my veins.

“Malachi has our present for you. See? Just over my shoulder.”

I didn’t want to look, but my gaze flicked in that direction anyway. Malachi had placed himself across the street, right outside the ice cream parlor most kids frequented in the summer. In his arms was a girl. I recognized her from school. I think we’d had chemistry together junior year. He held her like a girlfriend, pressed up against his chest, his arms firmly around her. Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed anything out of place without a careful second glance. But her face was white. Petrified, she didn’t move.

Blood ran down her left arm.

Malachi smiled at me and stroked her hair.

I forced myself to look away and reached out to push Tabitha back. “Let her go.”

Tabitha laughed, taking a single step back when I pushed her. But then she pressed forward again, slamming me against the wall. “You need it. Go have a taste.”

“No.”

“She tastes brilliant.”

“Go to hell.”

She held up her blood covered hand once again. All pretenses fell from her face. Her eyes went cold, and any trace of amusement died. “You’ll do it.”

“No, I won’t.”

Just as I finished my last word, she ran her fingers over my lips. Instinctually, my tongue darted out and tasted the blood she had left there.

I began to shake with need.

I slammed my left fist into the stone wall behind me. I heard rock crack and felt it crumble under the force. The pain cleared my head a bit.

“Take her,” Tabitha snarled.

“I’d rather die.”

“That can be arranged.”

I heard sirens in the distance. Someone had called the police.

Crap
. The last thing I needed was more humans around. Tabitha’s lips curled back in annoyance.

She grabbed me by the shoulder and catapulted me into the traffic on the street.

I pulled myself to a stop, keeping my balance and my feet. I heard Sara scream behind me. A horn blew. Brakes squealed. I was in the middle of the road.

I didn’t see the green sedan barreling at me until it was too late. I threw my arms up to protect my face and braced myself for impact.

Steel wrapped around me, shaking my balance, then came to a jerking halt.

In shock, I realized I still stood. The car had bent around me like a telephone pole. I had an instant to react. I threw myself to the ground.

Everything happened at once. People yelled and hollered at one another, some for help, others in disbelief. The sirens got louder and louder, and soon I heard cars stopping, skidding against the pavement. The horn from the car that had hit me blared on and on without end. Smoke filled the air, masking the scent of blood, for which I was grateful. I prayed no one tried to touch me though. Unlikely.

Sara was screaming my name.

In an instant, I was surrounded by people. I could hear each of their pulses, smell all their unique scents. I curled tighter into a ball on the blacktop, ignoring their inquiries and flinching every time one of them tried to get my attention with a gentle hand. Sara had gotten closer, and I heard people shift to let her through.

“Kassandra? Kass, are you alive?” She wisely did not touch me.

“Someone look for a pulse,” a strange voice ordered.

Oh, no. Don’t look for that. I don’t have one. I had to assuage Sara’s concerns, all of their concerns. “I’m alive. I’m okay. I think. Just give me a minute.” It surprised me how flat and quiet my voice sounded. Almost like a robot. Maybe I was going into shock. Could vampires do that?

Then another voice came, cutting through all the white noise that surrounded me and making my heart jump inside my chest.

“Kassandra?”

I felt the crowd break, and then I felt his hands on my shoulder and head.

“Please, just get me home,” I said, still afraid to move.

“You’ve got it.” His arms slipped underneath me and lifted me from the street as though I weighed nothing at all. I curled into his chest and tried to remember how to think.

“You shouldn’t move her,” another strange voice said as Rhys stood. “She could have serious
injuries. That car hit her dead-on.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Rhys said. “If you could all clear the way, please.” He walked so smoothly I barely felt it.

I remembered the girl. I tried to see if I could still smell Malachi and Tabitha, but came up with nothing. I tugged on Rhys’s shirt. “Where did they go? They had a girl. She was bleeding.”

“Cade and Madge are trying to hunt them down,” he said, low enough so only I would hear. “Gianna is with the girl. She’s good at taking care of vampire victims. She’ll have her convinced it was just a normal hijacking in no time at all.”

That was good. But…“Everyone saw me get hit by a car.”

“Yes.” He sounded angry.

“I should have been killed. Tossed into the air.”

“We’ll find a way to explain it.”

“I totaled that car, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.”

“That’s kind of cool. In a sick, morbid way, I mean.”

He laughed once, but it came out more like a puff of air.

“Sara and Jude.” My brain was scattered and all over the place. “My friends, they saw everything. They’ll be worried.”

“Yes. They’re following us.” We were off the road now, I felt the change in the way his feet hit the ground. “I need to take care of a few things. Are you all right to sit for a moment?”

“I think I’m in shock.” His shirt was a really nice blue, I’d been staring at it for a while.

“Probably.” He set me down on the sidewalk, propping me up against the stone wall Tabitha had had me cornered against earlier. Crouching down, he looked me straight in the eye. “Does anything hurt?”

“I don’t know. It won’t kill me anyway, right?”

“No, it won’t.” He looked so serious. His blue eyes were so dark I was glad I was on his good side. “Wait here a moment. I’ll be right back. If you tell your friends anything, make it good.”

“I think I’ll play dumb. Easier.”

“Good idea.”

Then he surprised me. He reached out and touched my face so gently it snapped my brain out of its stupor and almost set off a round of uncontrollable crying. Everything crashed down on me with as much force as the car had. Tabitha’s attempt to make me kill that girl in broad daylight, in front of everyone. Tossing me into traffic. She had to have known what would happen. She hadn’t been trying to kill me.

She had been trying to expose me.

A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek. I felt like hyperventilating.

Rhys took my face in both hands. “Kassandra, listen to me. You’re fine. Everything is fine. We’ll take care of it. Sit here, talk to your friends, and I’ll be right back. As soon as I’m finished we can go home.”

I nodded, holding my breath to see if it would stop my crying.

He watched me for a moment, still holding my face, then stood. He only took three steps away from me, but the distance felt like a mile. I didn’t feel safe without him right there with me. I closed my eyes and settled for listening to his voice as he spoke with a pair of cops who had demanded his attention.

Sara appeared at my side instantly, Jude right behind her.

“Oh my God! Are you okay? Is anything broken?” She reached out like she wanted to touch me, but I could see in her face that she was afraid to. Good.

“I don’t think anything’s broken,” I told her. “Just lots of bruises.”

Jude
knelt next to her. “I can’t believe you’re not dead. I mean, not that I’m not glad, but—shit! That car hit you straight on!”

“I know.” I was there.

Sara whacked his arm, then pulled herself across the sidewalk so she was closer to me. “There’s an ambulance here. You should let them look at you.”

“No. I’m okay.”

“Kassandra Amelia Thomas, you were just hit by a car!”

Yeah, and all the paramedics would find would be a dead girl sitting on the sidewalk having a conversation with her friends. While the dead part would probably be expected after being stuck by a moving vehicle, I doubted the talking part would be. “I’m fine. Really. I just want to go home.”