Plus, she didnt want her first time to be out in the open. Not that she would tell him that.
They reluctantly parted and kicked into gear, heading toward Crossroads High. She couldnt help herself. She reached up and traced her fingertips over her lips. They were swollen. Probably red. Definitely moist. Would everyone know what she and Riley had been doing with only a glance?
Twenty minutes later, not nearly long enough, they reached the edge of the woods and stepped onto school property, the massive building coming into view, forming a half-moon of three stories. In several places, the roof pointed toward the sky. Salmon-colored brick was decorated with multiple black and gold banners that read Go Jaguars.
The lawn was manicured, the grass slowly fading from green to yellow to off-white. Cars sped through the parking lot and kids rushed up the concrete steps, bypassing the flagpole without a glance.
In front of the closest set of doors stood Victoria. Alone. She was pacing, hands wringing together in agitation. She wore a black T-shirt and matching miniskirt, dark hair flowing down her back. A beam of sunlight bathed her as if drawn to her, causing the blue of her eyes to practically glow.
The younger the vampire, the more time they could spend in the sun, Mary Ann knew. The older they got, the more the sun burned and stung their skin. Surprisingly sensitive skin, since it was so thick and hard, like marble, that even a blade couldnt cut through it.
Victoria was still at an ageeighty-one or something like thatwhere the sun didnt bother her. Like wolves, vampires aged slowly.
For the first time, that thought upset her. Victoria and Riley would age at the same rate while Mary Ann would wither, becoming a hag. Oh, God. How mortifying! And now she wanted to slap the vampire girl around a bit, just on principle.
Have you seen Aden? Victoria asked the moment they reached her. Normally she was pale, but today she was chalk white.
No, Mary Ann and Riley said in unison. She recalled the last time shed seen him. Theyd snuck him into his room at the ranch and hed flopped onto his bed. Hed been pale, shaking, sweating, breath shallow as he fought for every inhalation.
Shed thought he would rest, and rest would heal him. What if
Well, he wasnt at the ranch this morning, Victoria rushed on. But he was supposed to be there so we could walk to school together.
Maybe hes inside, Riley said.
The vampires concern didnt lessen. If anything, her hand-wringing became more insistent. He isnt. I checked. And the tardy bell will soon ring. You know he cant be late. Hell get into trouble, be kicked out, and you also know hell do anything to avoid being kicked out.
Maybe hes sick, Mary Ann said, not believing her own words. If that were the case, he would have been at the ranch, still in bed. And Victoria was right. Aden was never late to school. Not because he feared being sent away, but because he never missed an opportunity to spend time with his princess. He worshipped the girl.
Ill hunt him down. Riley glanced at Mary Ann before she could tell him she would be coming with him. Youll stay here with Victoria.
No, I
I can move faster without you.
Embarrassing but true. All right. Fine. Just be careful.
Riley, Victoria began. I
Youll stay, too, he reiterated.
With the many creatures that now prowled the streets of their small town, he wouldnt leave Mary Ann without a guard. His protectiveness was as fine a quality as the six-pack on his stomach.
Victoria nodded stiffly. Youre my soldier, you know. Youre supposed to obey my orders.
I know, but its my king out there. Sorry to tell you this, babe, but he now comes first. With a final glance at Mary Ann, Riley spun on his heel and strode away, soon disappearing into the trees.
TWO
ADEN AWOKE WITH A JOLT, a shout of pain caught in his throat, wild gaze cataloging his surroundings. Bedroom. Desk. Dresser. Plain white walls. Planked floor.
His bedroom in the bunkhouse at the ranch, then.
Alive. He was alive, not burned to a crisp. Thank God. But
Was he intact? He patted himself down while looking himself over. Skin? Check. Smooth and warm, tanned rather than deep-fried. Two arms? Check. Two legs? Check. Most importantwas he now a girl? No. Thank God, thank God, thank God. He expelled a sigh of relief, sagged against the mattress and took stock of everything else.
Sweat soaked him. His hair was plastered to his head, and his boxers looked like theydlike hed His cheeks flushed with heat. If Shannon, his roommate, saw him like this, hed be teased about having a wet dream. Albeit good-naturedly. Thats just what friends did. Still. No, thanks. He
Saw the bottom of Shannons bunk, and his eyes widened. There were deep grooves in the wooden slats, as if hed clawed and kicked at his friends bed. Repeatedly. He glanced at his fingernails, and sure enough. They were ragged and bloody, with wood shards embedded underneath them.
Great. What else had he done while crashing on vampire blood?
Worry about that later.
Elijah? he asked. Time for roll call.
Present, the psychic said, knowing the drill.
One down. Julian? The corpse whisperer, as they called him. A single step into a cemetery, and hello, walking dead.
Here.
Sweet. Two down, one to go. Caleb? The body possesser.
Yo.
Rock on. The gang was all here.
Once, Aden had wanted them gone. He loved them, but come on. A little privacy would be nice. But then hed lost Eve. Her name might have been Anne in her real life, but shed always be Eve to Aden.
He missed her, his motherly time-traveler. Missed her terribly. Now he wasnt sure he could deal with losing the others. They were a part of him. His best friends. His constant companions. He needed them.
As always, that line of thought made him feel guilty. They deserved their freedom. Wanted their freedom. Maybe. Since Eve had left, they hadnt asked him to figure out who theyd been before taking prime real estate in his head, as if they were afraid he would succeed and they, too, would have to leave and experience the unknown.
Where Eve had gone, none of them knew. They only knew that shed disappeared and hadnt returned.
So whats going on? Julian asked.
What he means, Caleb said, is that our dreams were hot. And not the good kind of hot. We burned, dude. Burned.
And most of us normally dont share your dreams, Julian added.
Well, Elijah did, but that was because Elijah was psychic and his visions were Adens. Tonight, last night, whenever, hadnt been a vision, though. It had been real, a mind-merge, but now, pieces of his memory were missing. He remembered seeing Victoria, feeling those flames, then meeting hersisters? Yes, her sisters. But nothing else stood out. The rest of what happened was blurred at the edges, as if his mind couldnt process what it had seen. If that were true, though, why did he remember being burned alive? Why did they all remember that? Shouldnt that be what they forgot? Something too painful to recall?
So? Julian prompted. An explanation would be nice.
Vampire blood, he reminded them. He couldnt just think his replies because they couldnt hear his inner voice amid the chaos. We saw through two other sets of eyes.
Oh, yeah. And speaking of vamps, Caleb said. Wheres ours?
Victoria, he meant. Shes mine, Aden wanted to snap, but didnt. Caleb the Pervert couldnt help himself. He lived for girls and nookie he might never get. Shes supposed to meet us here and walk to school with us. What time was it?
Before he could check the clock on his desk, his bedroom door swung open, and Seth and Ryder strode inside.
Shannon wont mind, Seth was saying. Seth Tsang. An Asian last name, though you couldnt tell his race from looking at him. Hed streaked his black hair with red, and had blue eyes and pale skin.
Ryder Jones, who was behind him, arched a brow. He, too, had dark hair, but his eyes were brown. You sure? You know how possessive that dude is with his stuff.
Aden grabbed the sheets and jerked them over his sweat-soaked lower body. Hey, guys. Knock much?
They ignored him.
So whatre you looking for? he grumbled.
Again they ignored him. In fact, they didnt even glance in his direction.
Just check the desk, Seth told Ryder, and the boy shuffled forward to obey.
Aden frowned. Once, these two had hated him. Once, but no longer. Theyd reached a truce after their Treat-Everyone-Like-Crap idol, Ozzie, had been kicked off the ranchand, as of this weekend, sucked dry by vampires. Not that they knew that part. They were as clueless about the other world as he had once been.
So why the silent treatment now?
Where is it? Seth muttered, crouching in the closet and rummaging through the clothes on the floor, wrist turning and revealing the snake tattooed there.
Wheres what? Aden repeated, sitting up.
Yet again, they ignored him.
Shirts and jeans were tossed over Seths shoulder, followed by shoes. At the desk, papers crunched under Ryders hands. Several minutes passed. Aden kept up a steady chatterthis joke isnt funny, try something original, will you just talk to me already?to no avail. He finally stood, sheet falling away, forgotten, and stalked to the desk.
With every intention of beating some sense into Ryder, he reached out. Except his hand wisped through the boys body.
No way. No damn way.
Adens heart pounded against his ribs as he tried again, shaking this time. Again, his flesh wisped through Ryders and he could only stand there, wide-eyed and reeling. How was that possible? How the hell was that possible? Hed burned to death, yes, but in someone elses body. Hed thought Hed assumed Was he dead, too? Truly, no-coming-back dead?
No. No way. But Blood freezing in his veins, he stalked to Seth.
Found it, Seth said, standing. He held a book triumphantly in the air. A book about vampires. Any other time, Aden would have floundered over Shannons chosen reading material. Shannons weird, dude. Hes always reading this crap. Saves us a trip to the library, but, frickin please. Ive never written a report about wackos with fangs before and I dont want to start now.
Mr. Thomas is the weird one, my man. Were supposed to write about how evil the bloodsuckers are, like theyre real or something. I cant take that crank seriously, you know. Ill probably fail, but ask me if I care.
His shaking intensifying, Aden tried to wrap his fingers around Seths wrist. Nothing. No solid contact. Bile burned a path up his throat. His arm thudded heavily to his side, and he stumbled backward, black winking over his eyes, dizziness rushing through his head.
The answer to his question? Dead. He was really dead. That was the only answer that made sense.
The boys raced from the room, mumbling about stupid new tutors and dumb homework assignments. Aden just stood there. Doomed to live the rest of eternity as a ghost?
God, was this how the souls felt? Trapped, out of control, lost?
Guys, he whispered, not knowing how to begin. If he was a ghost, he couldnt help them figure out who theyd been in their other life. And if he couldnt help them figure out who theyd been, they could never be free of him. If thats what they still wanted. I thinkIThis is
Hello, Aden.
The male voice came from behind him, and he spun. There, in the doorway, was the D and Ms brand-new tutor. Not for him or Shannon since they attended Crossroads High, but for all the others. Mr. Thomas had shown up the day of the Vampire Ball, and Dan had hired him on sight. Which was completely unlike Adens guardian. No background check, no intensive interview, just, Youre perfect!
Even weirder, the boys acted like theyd known him forever, already comfortable complaining about him. Aden hadnt met the man officially, but Victoria had secretly pointed him out. Mr. Thomas, as it turned out, was not a lets-all-learn-and-grow kind of tutor. He was a fairy and Victorias enemy, here to find out who was helping her.
The man didnt look like Adens idea of a fairysmall, female and winged. Instead, he was tall, lean, his skin golden and even a bit glittery (okay, that was fairylike). And never had Aden seen a more perfect face. There wasnt a single flaw. Perfectly spaced blue eyes, a perfectly sloped nose, perfect lips neither too full nor too thin.
And it was embarrassing as hell that Aden had noticed. Anyone found out, and theyd take away his man card or something.
You can see me? He gulped. Hear me?
Yes.
Am Idead? Saying the word was more difficult than thinking it. And how could the fairy see and hear what Seth and Ryder hadnt been able to?
A chuckle rumbled from the fairy, almost like a thrum of a harp. Hardly. Youresomewhere else.
He wished he could take comfort from that. Somewhere else? When everything looked the same? Okay. Where am I? Howd I get here? He plowed his fingers through his hair. Whats going on?
Aden, Elijah said, and there was a warning in his tone. I have a bad feeling about this.
Dread instantly filled him. Elijahs bad feelings were, well, bad.
So many questions. The man tsked. He waved to the chair at the desk. Sit, please, and I will endeavor to answer you. After you answer me, of course.
What should have been a simple request struck Aden as a threat. And with Elijahs wariness, he suspected a fight would soon break out. He did a weapons check. He had nothing on him, but there were knives hidden in his boots. Boots he wasnt wearing and might not be able to touch. Boots that weretucked neatly beside the bed, he saw.
Sit, Aden. Two words, both layered with authority.
This time Aden sat. Without going for those blades. He didnt want to play his (potential) ace unless absolutely necessary.
Blood will run before this meeting ends, Elijah said.