‘Maybe you wouldn’t have if we had been there, Lenah. Justin was my friend. His brothers too. And you say he’s a monster who’s got Rhode, and that Tony’s at risk too. I want to be a part of this. I need it.’ She shook her head, keeping her gaze on the photos. ‘I think maybe . . . maybe we’ve been waiting for you to come these last three years. To help us.’
Justin smiled at me from the mess of pictures on the floor. He used to lift his chin and tilt his face to the sun. In warmer weather, a wash of freckles spread over his nose. We had walked the pathways of this school together with his arm over my shoulder.
Without another word I handed the silver ring with the amber stone to Tony.
He opened his palm.
‘Knives will be useless against Justin. With these, you’re armed with real power that could help you. Save you. You don’t know what vampire might come around and add you to his coven simply because you know me.’
I handed the bracelet cuff with a sapphire to Tracy. The colour of her eyes matched the stone.
‘Cast these into the air at your enemy,’ I instructed. ‘The moment each flies from your body, it will become the element it represents. Make sure nothing is in its way, especially another element. That’s what happened to me tonight. Justin’s water shield blocked my fire. Yours,’ I said, turning to Tony, ‘is earth.’
‘How?’ he asked, but the question was directed at the seemingly innocuous silver ring in his palm.
I touched the sensitive spot where the gem had sat at the base of my neck. It had seemed so right. Rhode was taken – stolen away. That was the moment I needed it most.
‘Mine was fire, yours is earth and Tracy’s is water.’
Tracy twisted her wrist to get a better look. She lightly rested her fingertips on the stone.
‘What about air?’ she asked.
‘Once Rhode returns, that will be his.’
I didn’t look up from the ring sitting in the bottom of the box. Because Tony and Tracy’s faces would have told me they didn’t know whether Rhode was coming back. I closed the lid and placed the box in the trunk. I had to make this right.
‘Remember,’ I said, ‘you can only use them one time. Then they’re gone.’ A sting of regret whipped through me. If I’d known it was there, I could have given that ring to Rhode earlier. Tracy was right. Maybe together we could have stopped Justin.
Tomorrow night I would demand answers from that vampire with the Italian accent and strange eyes. I would tell him about that dead vampire wearing a necklace with the same symbol. The woman on the beach, who at daybreak would transform to nothing but dust.
In the morning, after assembly, I walked to the union. Nobody mentioned Rhode’s disappearance yet. Ms Williams would have to say something and soon. People would notice quickly.
When Rhode and I were vampires, we could sense one another’s thoughts and dreams. Even the last time we had been together at Wickham as humans, I could, at times, read his emotions and sometimes even his thoughts! We were Anam Cara, soulmates, and this was not uncommon. But so far this time, even before he had been kidnapped, I could not reach Rhode’s mind.
I would find him – I would.
I passed trees dotted with ‘missing’ posters of Jackie Simms. Justin’s posters were curling at the edges. In search of comfort, I slipped my fingers around the little bracelet I had made from my work dress. With my skin touching the stains of Suleen’s blood, I was able to keep the agony at bay enough to focus.
I could not go off campus and leave Tony and Tracy so vulnerable. It wasn’t enough that they now had weapons.
I stepped into the union to have some coffee and a good think. From there I would also have a good view of the chapel. The vampire had shown he could be out in the day and I wanted to keep watch. He was possibly my only hope for getting Rhode back.
‘He’s probably in England,’ someone said at a table nearby. ‘He always said he wanted to go back.’ As I expected, people were talking about Rhode’s disappearance already.
‘For a girl, I bet,’ someone else replied.
‘Ms Tate said he asked to leave.’
While I listened to the gossip, I spun a spoon in my coffee cup.
Before I could eavesdrop any more, Tony plopped down across from me. He checked behind him, and on either side of our table.
‘Good, we’re alone,’ he said.
‘Yes . . . very,’ I replied. ‘And you have paint on your nose.’ He didn’t even respond to that. Instead he slid a small leather-bound book towards me.
‘What’s this?’ I placed my hand on the soft cover.
‘I haven’t exactly studied it, but if it is what I think it is, you’ll be thanking me.’
I opened the book and my breath caught. I flipped a few pages. Rhode’s handwriting. This was some kind of journal.
‘You broke into his room?’ I wondered how he decorated the walls and the kinds of books he had on the shelves.
‘Well, you said you wanted some answers. So I figured, why not go get some? Don’t look at me like that, Lenah. A security guard was stationed outside the door so I snuck in through the window. This was on the desk.’
A guffaw of laughter erupted from the astronomy club at a table nearby.
‘We really shouldn’t read this,’ I said.
‘I shouldn’t read it,’ Tony said, taking a sip from my coffee without asking. ‘You should.’
I kept my hand on the closed book. Rhode could have remembered any number of things that he put in his journal. But he also recorded his private thoughts. I was sure he didn’t intend anyone to read them, especially me.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Tony said. He pointed at me with charcoal-smeared fingers. ‘That you shouldn’t be reading it. But let me tell you, if I was kidnapped by Señor Crazy Pants and my soulmate had my journal, I’d want her to read it. Especially if I had no memory.’
It was true; he could have clues in this journal, memories of his life as a vampire. I wanted to know how much he remembered. Not only out of curiosity but to see if he could defend himself in any way. One thing I was sure of, even though I did not know his plans, was that Justin would coerce Rhode for information.
‘What?’ Tony said, taking another sip. ‘What are you thinking about?’
‘Rhode’s options,’ I said. I still had my hand on the journal. Tony got up to fetch himself some lunch. I wasn’t alone more than a second when Tracy sat down next to me holding a tray of soup and salad.
‘I see he gave you the journal.’
‘To torment me,’ I replied, and dropped it in my bag. I would read it when I was alone. For now I had to focus on tonight and the meeting with the vampire.
‘We should meet in Tony’s room. It’s the shortest distance to the chapel,’ I said.
When Tony sat back down, he had with him possibly the largest helping of hamburger and French fries in history.
‘You need help,’ Tracy said to him.
‘So you think Justin will be back?’ Tony asked through a mouthful of meat. He ignored Tracy. ‘Tonight?’
‘Hopefully not for a while,’ Tracy said but her attention was drawn across the union. Claudia was talking closely with other girls at her table. She wasn’t wearing make-up and had pulled her hair into a messy ponytail. She wore Wickham pyjama bottoms.
‘Looks like Claudia found out Kate is dating her ex,’ Tracy said. ‘I told her to stay away from Alex.’ She shook her head.
I would have given anything to just be worried about school and the latest Wickham gossip.
‘Maybe he’ll wait for you to come to him?’ Tony said, still talking about Justin. Our attempts at optimism were pathetic.
I stood and gathered up my things. ‘Forget about Kate and Claudia, Tracy. They’re here and immersed in school stuff. It means they’re safe. Expect Justin tonight.’ I hitched my bag over my shoulder. ‘Tony’s room, eleven thirty. Both of you be ready. And wear your weapons.’
CHAPTER 11
&nbs
p; At eleven fifteen Tracy and I signed in for the night with Tina and pretended to go to our room. As soon as the door closed, I tossed Tracy a dagger.
‘Night!’ we heard Tina call to a few other girls on our floor. Her room was only two doors down from ours.
‘Let’s just give it a minute,’ I whispered to Tracy.
After a moment of silence she asked, ‘How can someone use air to make themselves move faster? Like Justin does?’
‘If you maliciously kill a living being, you break the life cycle,’ I said. ‘You kill them before their life contract is complete, so to speak.’
I had killed so many. I had relished in the taste of their blood as it gushed into my mouth, coating my throat. Once it coursed through me, I was renewed, powerful.
I continued: ‘If you make someone a vampire, you unlatch the soul from the natural order. That’s just the gateway. After that, you can unlatch other natural orders, like the elements. It gives the vampire a real rush to use an element they can no longer access with their bodies. Wield the wind, even though you can’t feel it on your face. It gives a vampire a powerful advantage.
I had once stood in a field of lavender conjuring the wind so violently that it made the branches of nearby trees creak and strain. But I wasn’t interested in manipulating the elements.
I loved Rhode.
But power had once been my master.
‘So the only way Justin can get his humanity back is the ritual?’
‘It is my best hope for him,’ I said.
Behind her, on the mirror above the dresser, Justin smiled at me from seven or eight photographs. Tracy had put them back in meticulous order. In another picture, Kate, Claudia and Tracy sat on the sea wall smiling into the camera, the sun making them squint.
‘I promise – my ultimate goal for Justin is to bring him back. If I can,’ I said.
‘Good,’ Tracy said with a little nod. ‘Good,’ she added in a small whisper, which perhaps was not meant for me to hear.
‘Let’s see,’ I said, and pressed my ear to the door. I listened for any more noise in the hall. I heard some voices but they were muted; behind closed doors. I checked the hallway.
‘It’s empty,’ I whispered.
Tracy checked the time on her cell phone. ‘Eleven thirty-eight.’
‘We’re late, let’s go,’ I replied.
We kept our backs to the wall and crept towards the boys’ dorm. We made it to the double-door entrance when I stopped.
‘I think my heart might explode,’ Tracy whispered.
I didn’t reply. I closed my eyes and tried to listen like I had as a vampire.
The hum of air systems.
More muted voices behind doors.
Light music but no footsteps.
‘I think we’re OK,’ I said. I motioned for Tracy to keep going. We tiptoed to Tony’s door, slid the key in the lock and entered.
‘What the hell are you wearing?’ Tracy asked once we had closed the door.
Tony wore camouflage pants and a black shirt. He flexed his biceps in front of the mirror.
‘What am I wearing?’ he replied. ‘Only the most expensive camo pants the Orleans Army Navy store had in stock. We need to blend in with the scenery,’ Tony said, and scoffed when Tracy’s only reply was the raise of an eyebrow. ‘What am I wearing?’ He shook his head.
‘He thinks he’s Special Ops,’ Tracy said to me.
‘What’s Special Ops?’ I asked.
Tracy clapped a hand on my shoulder. ‘When this is all over, you’re getting a tutorial,’ she said. With that, we climbed out of Tony’s window and into the night.
Security, as I expected, was subtly heightened with Rhode’s disappearance. If I hadn’t been aware of it, I wasn’t sure I would have noticed the extra cars on campus or the second guard at the gate.
Tony and Tracy had spent the better part of the morning marking where the surveillance cameras were so when we crossed over the quad and headed to the chapel, we would be able to sneak into the building without being seen. Luckily for us, the chapel had no security cameras.
As we stood with our backs against Quartz block, I rested my hands on my hips. The shadows were thick tonight. Across the quad, the dim lights from student bedrooms barely illuminated the grass. Not even the moon was out; just the clouds passing over the inky sky. The constellations, which were meant to show me the way, help me navigate my choices, were shrouded just as they had been the night Rhode was taken.
‘A veiled sky is no friend,’ Rhode used to say.
Used to say. Before the loss of his memory. Before all of this.
‘There it is,’ Tony whispered dramatically, pointing across campus.
‘We know. We see the chapel every day,’ Tracy said.
‘Yes, but tonight a vampire is in there waiting for us. It’s different.’
‘For starters, let’s just make it across the quad to the union,’ I said.
We ran towards the chapel, bent low. We crossed the path that led from the Quartz to the library, made it over the green and were almost at the union when Tony stopped. He hissed and slid the ring off his finger.
‘Damn it. You’re right. It’s hot.’ He bounced it in his hand.
‘Mine is warming up too,’ Tracy whispered.
‘Get down,’ I ordered. ‘Now.’
We hit the grass. Within seconds a security van pulled around the library and down the car path to Quartz. It crept by and headed up towards Seeker block. Tony crawled over to me. I touched the ring in his palm. It pulsed little beats of heat just as my necklace had on the beach.
I lifted my head, though kept my body close to the ground.
‘What do you see?’ Tracy asked with a grimace. It seemed the bracelet had singed her skin because she lifted it from her wrist. We had to get out of here.
The lights of the union were out and the dorms were far enough away now that their light could not illuminate the quad. We had no choice but to keep going in the darkness. I just hoped we could get to the chapel before Justin or any of his men saw us – if they hadn’t already. I had no doubt someone was watching. ‘Let’s go,’ I said.
We were up and running through the shadows again.
Panic zoomed through my stomach. We moved quickly past the union and on to the second lacrosse field. Once we made it past the back of the building, we were only fifty yards or so from the chapel.
‘Victory!’ Tony whispered and threw his hands in the air.
‘You’re still an idiot,’ Tracy said with a smile.
Mint and sage filled the air, from the farm, which was nearby. We slowed down and headed up the hill to the chapel. I checked behind me but didn’t sense anyone following us. The area was too big for me to tell for sure.
‘Yikes,’ Tracy said, and slipped the bracelet off her wrist completely. Tony had slid his ring back on but shook his hand out.
‘It burns again,’ he said. His eyes widened and he pointed behind me. ‘Watch out!’
There was the sound of feet running. Bodies leapt in the darkness. Because of the overwhelming shadows I didn’t know where they were coming from and who, or what, we were dealing with. I unsheathed my dagger and held it in front of me. Tracy and Tony did the same, following my cue.
Vampires stood like statues in a circle around us. There were at least twelve of them, and only three of us. Each one held a weapon of some kind.
My dagger seemed so silly, outstretched in my hand. I dropped the point of my blade just enough to meet the eyes of the Italian vampire. He stood directly across from me. I evaluated these vampires; their energy was not directed at us. Some of them weren’t even facing us. I kept my dagger raised.
‘I thought you wanted to meet inside the chapel?’ I said.
‘Quiet,’ he whispered curtly, his silver eyes darted around the circle to the woods beyond. He held a long machete that curved at the tip, and the point of the blade rested dangerously close to his leg.
All of the vampires wore that symb
ol, the same one he did: an encircled R.
‘Go!’ the Italian vampire commanded.
The vampires moved as a choreographed unit, and within seconds there were two flanking me. One was the Italian, the other a girl with long blonde hair that fell in a ponytail down her back. Her silver eyes kept dancing at the woods.
‘I’m waiting for Lenah!’ Tony cried. Two vampires were leading him away towards the chapel and he struggled against their grasp. Tracy too was struggling against her guard.
‘Go, Tony!’ I cried. ‘Tracy, I’m all right.’
I hoped that was true.
The blonde vampire stared into the woods and whispered something to the leader in a language I couldn’t understand.
‘Formation! Go!’ she yelled, this time in English. I jumped from the force of her voice. She stepped before me, guarding me from Justin.
The same black clouds that I had seen on Main Street ushered Justin across the fields. They curled over the grass like fast-moving storm clouds. The Italian ran at Justin, his machete high in the air.
‘Run!’ the blonde said, moving her metallic eyes to mine.
Together we ran towards the chapel. I wasn’t sure how to protect myself. I didn’t want to see that darkness Justin conjured when he forced our stare. I didn’t want to watch the world fall away. With every step, I expected Justin’s grip to slap around my wrist and drag me from the field.
‘Keep going,’ the blonde girl shouted, as she slowed and shot arrow after arrow at Justin. I had to fight the instinct to turn and help.
‘You should know better, Liliana,’ Justin said from behind me. I stopped short when the blonde – Liliana – flew into the air and landed at my feet. She immediately flipped on to her back and shot another arrow. It sailed past Justin’s ear. I tried to pull her out of his way, but Justin waved his hand again and Liliana was lifted from the ground. She hurled through the air and landed with a hard crack all the way back at the union. The fall would have killed a human instantly, but with a shake of her head, Liliana was up on her feet and running back towards the fight.
Justin stood before me in the same style of black suit he’d worn previously.