Isle of Night (20 page)

I was still smiling when I swooped into the room, plopping into my usual spot next to Yasuo. Still smiling, I looked to the lectern. But my face drained when I saw
him
.

It was the monster from my night run, and he was staring right at me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“W
e have a guest lecturer today.” Tracer Judge stoodtoto the side of the podium, his usual easy manner replaced by stiff formality. “He'll be discussing topics in mathematics, and I think you'll find his qualifications beyond reproach.”

Even though it was Judge who was speaking, I couldn't drag my eyes from the vampire. Though I hadn't seen clearly in the dark, I knew without a doubt it was him. The one from the path. I felt it in that penetrating gaze—in his very presence, an energy that hummed like a giant magnet.

“Without further ado”—Judge took a step back—“I present Master Alcántara.”

“Thank you, Tracer.” His eyes swept the room, and I could've sworn they came to rest back on me.

I sucked in a breath.

He gave a gracious half bow. Aimed in my direction. “I am Hugo De Rosas Alcántara.”

Hugo De Rosas Alcántara . . .
it rolled off his tongue, low and accented, sounding as smoky and seductive as a snifter of Spanish brandy. Every female jaw in the classroom dropped open.

“I was born in the fourteenth century in Madrid.” He let the shocking statement hang, and a collective gasp filled the room. His response was a wolfish smile, curling one corner of his lips.

I felt Yasuo shift in his seat, maybe trying to catch my attention, but I couldn't pull my eyes from the vampire. I was mesmerized. He looked like he was about nineteen, and I focused on that fact, ignoring his impossible-to-fathom
real
age, which must've been six hundred–something.

“My grandfather was one of the original Knights of Alcántara. A chivalric order of the Middle Ages.” Though unfamiliar to me, the way he'd said it implied something dark and dangerous. Sexy, even. Not unlike like him.

“But I was a precocious child. And a precocious boy yearns to make his own way.” He shook his head ruefully, a quiet laugh rumbling in his chest.

His black hair was longish and wavy, and so thick it seemed permanently tousled. He raked a hand through it, leaving him looking like a rock star who'd just carelessly pulled a shirt over his head. “I forsook my family's militant ways. The wars
I
longed for occurred in the space of my mind, waging battles of words, ideas. Of formulas and numbers.”

He began to stroll about the room, and his movements reminded me of a panther. Exquisite, but something that could kill you in a heartbeat.

“Mathematics is a particular passion of mine. It is precision. But it is poetry, too. I traveled to the royal court in Castile, seeking like minds. King Peter was young, like me. And, like me, he was a man smitten with new ideas. Soon I was appointed court mathematician. This was the greatest of honors, not given lightly by a man whom the peasants called Pedro el Cruel. . . .”

He stopped speaking, and it was like he'd become a thing carved of marble. Impossibly beautiful and utterly still.

My heart kicked up a beat. And then I worried, wondering if he could hear my heartbeat. Did vampires scent fear like other predators? Did a being like Master Alcántara perceive me as prey? To him, I was likely a brief flicker of consciousness and flesh that could be snuffed out in an instant.

He clicked out of his trance, his anima firing vitality back into those dark eyes. “But this is a story for another day. Today we speak of mathematics.”

His tone of voice had become light again. I hadn't realized I'd stopped breathing.

“Some of you are quite familiar with mathematical concepts. Others, not as much. I ask that you
all
open your minds. Mathematics is all around you. The pattern of a poem, the shape of a leaf, your pop music . . .”

Master Alcántara strolled back to the front of the classroom, casually leaning against the top of the teacher's desk. Was it a trick that made it seem like his eyes were aimed straight at me?

My cheeks burned. Why did he stare at me as he mentioned music? I hoped mind-reading vampires were just the stuff of books, and that he didn't, in fact, know about my hidden iPod.

“You've become acquainted with crude infiltration and reconnaissance techniques—locks, wiretaps, hacking. Now, tell me: In what way can the most basic
mathematic
principles be applied to espionage?”

His eyes didn't waver from me. But there were other kids in the class. He was staring at me—I was sure of it now. But why?

Everyone else was silent. Were they looking at me, too? Was the question directed at
me
? I couldn't tell—nor could I bring myself to look away.

“Acari Drew, is it?” Master Alcántara gave me a half-lidded smile. “A
spirited
name. I like spirit. Tell me, Acari Drew, do you need to decline the question?”

My eyes felt locked to his. Like he'd hypnotized me.

“Yo, D.” Yasuo's voice was a harsh whisper at my left side.

Tracer Judge cleared his throat. “Drew?”

The interruption broke the moment, jolting me back to myself. “Um, yeah. I mean, no. I can answer it.”

I
rocked
at math. Only I was acting like a girl who hadn't studied her times tables. I forced myself to focus.

“Sorry. A way math could be used for surveillance . . .” I shifted in my seat, feeling pinned like a butterfly in a glass case. My words came out in a rush. “Well, a mathematician could use graph theory. For example, you could apply a mathematical structure to phone records in order to determine enemy cells. Like, if each node represented a caller, and you graphed it out, you could identify central players, hierarchies—that kind of thing.”

“Very nice.” Master Alcántara's eyes grew warm, lingering on me. I found myself uncomfortably aroused. A fly drawn to the deadly spider. “This sort of critical thinking”—he gave me a courtly nod, and I thought I might catch fire—“reflects an understanding of how the basic elements of learning become relevant in the world at large.”

He expanded on the thought, but all I heard was
blah, blah, blah
, because he'd enthralled me. Like a snake charmer. And he still seemed to be staring. At
me
. Even now, I felt that glinting gaze like a buzz on my skin.

“And it's precisely the sort of thinking that will earn top honors and this semester's Directorate Award.”

Finally, he glanced away. At the word
award
, I sat bolt upright. They gave out awards here? I wondered if I could win myself a single room.

“As you know, only an elite selection of young women will advance to the next stage of Watcher training.” Master Alcántara scanned the room intently. “What you don't know is that the top Acari will earn the privilege of shadowing
me
at the end of this semester. On a mission off-island.”

There was a collective gasp among the girls, while the low hum of guys' complaints rumbled through the room. An award available only to the female students, and the prize was a ticket off the island.

“To determine this semester's winner, there will be a test in one of the four disciplines. A challenge. Participation is voluntary, though we would expect any Acari with an ambition toward becoming a Watcher would choose to compete.”

A bright light flared to life inside me. You bet I was going to compete. I'd spent the last twelve-plus years at the top of my class.
I
could win the award, win a shot at traveling off this rock. I didn't know what was more appealing—shadowing Master Alcántara or a chance at escape.

I'd win, spend some time with an ancient mathematician—a prospect chilling but oddly seductive, too—and then I'd find a way to run away. I didn't know where precisely
off-island
was, but surely I could sneak out and find a boat. I could make a break for it.

He smiled then, wickedly. “But Acari should strive to be the best in
every
discipline, be it languages or fitness or the social arts. And so we will not disclose the test subject until the semester draws to an end.”

My bright light wavered. A test in fitness? Social arts?
Crap.

I stole a quick look at the rows behind me. Only Acari were eligible, so my gaze skipped over the boys, weighing my female competition. There was the leggy Valkyrie who always gave Master Dagursson a run for his money on the dance floor. The gang girls who fought dirty, and the butch ones who didn't need to. There was Lilac.

Every one of them was stronger than me in the other subjects. But nobody could beat me in academics.

Did that mean I was a shoo-in? Surely they wouldn't choose a nonsense class for the test. How would you compete in social graces, anyway? No, it was sure to be something like phenomena. A topic in algebra, maybe. Or an essay test. Like, on Norse mythology.

“She who accomplishes these things shall find herself rewarded in a manner heretofore unfathomed.” He seemed to direct the words at me, his eyes pinned once more on
me
. They glimmered, like he was a predator toying with dinner.

A thrill crackled through me, sweeping across my chest. Never had being good at school entailed the possibility of
unfathomably awesome rewards
. The thought of what that might even
mean
made my breath catch in my throat.

The combat, the stupid ballroom dancing—I vowed I would find a way to excel at all of it. Even so, I suspected that surely the challenge would be in an
academic
discipline.

I looked up and he was still watching me, almost expectantly. I shivered.
Could
he read my mind? Was he confirming my thoughts?

Anything was possible. Master Alcántara was a mystery, a myth come to life. Ageless. Unknowable. Terrifying. There was something in his gaze. A look implying we shared a secret I'd yet to uncover. It gave me hope.

And then poof—he was gone. There was a glimmering movement and then Master Alcántara simply vanished. It looked like a movie that'd been edited wrong: In one frame he flickered before us; in the next he didn't.

Voices hummed through the room, and Tracer Judge silenced us. “You heard Master Alcántara. That means tonight's homework, like
every
assignment you receive, demands your best effort.”

I finally caught Yasuo's eye, and he
ooh
ed and wriggled his fingers in a playful spooky-voodoo way. I gave him a big smile, excited about my prospects.

There was fresh grumbling as talk of schoolwork brought us back to so-called reality. “I know this problem set will be difficult for some of you,” Judge added, raising his voice over the din. “Which is why it's more important than ever to
show your work
. These are very basic proofs. You can work through them, and I want to see your thought process as you do.”

More like he wanted to make sure girls weren't cheating.

The moment he dismissed us, students bolted from the room. Some seemed upset. Basic tenth-grade geometry would be hard for many of them, I realized.

I bit back a smile. I'd been taking my knowledge for granted, expending my energy feeling sorry for myself about gym class and swimming, but I had a leg up on everyone. I could recite geometry postulates in my sleep. Maybe Alcántara's test would be a complicated theorem.

And that had to be a lot harder than learning how to dogpaddle.

I
wanted
that award. And it was within my reach. I just needed to buck up and learn to swim or fight or do however many pull-ups it took to stay alive till the end of the semester.

I felt a person hovering over me and looked up to see Yasuo's bemused face.

“Well?” He stood there, brows raised, shaking his head ever so slightly. “Girl, don't tell me that vampire dude hypnotized
you
like he did everyone else.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but floundered for words.

“Aww, hell, Drew. Seriously? Man, I can't
wait
till I get my vampire mojo.” He spread his hands as though reveling in his own epic coolness. “Just wait. The ladies will love them some Vampire Yasuo.”

I laughed. “They won't know what hit them.”

He grabbed my coat and messenger bag from the back of my chair. “Come
on
. Are you gonna sit there all day? I'm starved. I want to get to the dining hall before all the good stuff is gone.”

“If you consumed something beyond bread, butter, and Fruit Crush—whatever
that
is—maybe you wouldn't have such a hard time.” Standing, I snagged my stuff from him, but didn't put on my coat. “You go ahead. Tracer Judge said he'd stay after.”