Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book One)

  “I was trying to mind my own business, but he just won’t leave me alone! Like right now!”

  “I’m sorry again about this, Sir,” Chance said. “I didn’t realize she had such a temper.”

  “Just shut up!” Luna yelled at him. She was so tired of his face, his voice, his lies…everything! Every day, he managed to make her life a little bit worse and nobody cared.

  “Luna!” her father scolded her.

  Yelling at him in front of her dad wouldn’t help her case.

  “That’s a rude way to talk to guests, and you know it. I think you owe him for putting him through all this trouble.”

  “I owe him nothing.”

  “Enough.” Her father shook his head. “Apologize to him now.”

  Luna gritted her teeth as she looked at Chance. He lifted his head, raising his eyebrows as the slightest smirk showed on his face.

  “I’m sorry,” she forced herself to say.

  “Well, thank you,” Chance said, and she could hear the smugness of his tone.

  “I talked with Chance about it, and I think it’d be fair if you went with him to get dinner tomorrow and then accompanied him to the dance this weekend,” her father said.

  “I think that’d be fair too, Mr. Ketz,” Chance added softly.

  Luna’s eyes flicked to him for a minute, but she ignored him as she looked back at her father. “Come on, Dad,” she groaned as she felt the last bit of strength slip away. She tried to keep her composure, but her shoulders slumped despite herself. What a nightmare. “Just ground me or kill me now. Whatever you have to do, but don’t do this.” Don’t pick him of all people.

  “You wanted the damn high school experience, you’re gonna have it. This is an order, Luna,” he demanded. “You are to do it, end of discussion."

  “Fine, whatever.” He had sided with Chance, and there would be no changing that.

  “Good. Now, Luna, you need to call your mother back, then straighten things out with Chance,” her father ordered, walking out of the kitchen.

  Luna watched him go with a handful of emotions coursing through her. She wanted to follow him, to continue the argument in the hopes of finding a way out of her punishment, but she forced herself to stay in place. She clamped her eyes shut and took in a deep breath through her nose as she reminded herself that it was too late—nothing she could do would change her fate.

  The more she argued, the smaller the window of her future would become.

  Chance leaned against his chair, fully smug as his innocent expression disappeared.

  “What a transformation,” she commented.

  “What can I say? I got my apology after all, and whaddya know? It looks like we have a date tomorrow,” he declared, a haughty smile on his face. “And this weekend. What fun.”

  “What is your problem?” she growled. “Bothering me at school is one thing, but to come to my home to start things is a whole new low…even for you.”

  “Your father seems to like me.”

  Luna ground her teeth; his acting was good, she’d admit. She would worry about him later. At the moment, she had more important things to think about. She turned away from him to pick up the phone, listening to the dial tone buzz loudly.

  “Well, are you going to call her or aren’t you?” Chance remarked. “Or are you too scared to call Mommy?”

  She ignored him as she thought of her mom’s cell phone number. She’d rather listen to her mother’s lecture than Chance’s sarcasm. Luna stared at the floor, chewing on her lip as she held the phone to her ear. The phone rang a few times, and finally, Rose answered.

  “Hi, Mom,” she mumbled.

  “Luna, I am very upset with you,” her mother said without even a greeting. “I’ve only been away a few months, and you jeopardize your education?”

  Luna frowned; she felt ashamed, and she hadn’t even done anything wrong! Her mother had a knack for that. “Mom, I didn’t fight anybody. It was a misunderstanding…I fell! That’s the honest truth.”

  “Well, your father seemed pretty rattled about the whole thing. What was that boy’s name, Chance?”

  “Yeah,” Luna uttered in defeat as she realized her mother would probably take Chance’s side as well.

  “Well, he sounds like a very nice boy,” she said. “Pulling you out of the road like that? You were lucky he was there. He sounds like he could be a good friend for you.”

  “You know ad doesn’t let me have friends that are boys. I’m either not allowed to speak to them or he plans to force them into being my husband.”

  “Three more weeks is all you have to put up with, honey.”

  “If he doesn’t try to ruin my graduation.”

  “Why would he do that over a misunderstanding?”

  Luna paused. Do I tell her?

  “Luna?”

  “I was smoking. Chance caught me.”

  Now it was Rose’s turn to go radio silent.

  “Mom?”

  “Smoking? Honestly, Luna!”

  Luna rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.

  “Did your father decide a punishment for you yet?”

  “Yeah, he said I have to go to dinner with Chance tomorrow. That’s a fate worse than death.” She glared at him as she spoke.

  He sneered back at her, but for once, didn’t speak.

  “Now, don’t say things like that. I’m sure he’s a real nice boy,” she said again. “And that sounds as if it’s a fair enough punishment.”

  “My thoughts exactly. There’s something off about him.”

  “Just try to be on your best behavior. I don’t want another call like this, okay? I have an important meeting this week, and I don’t want distractions on my mind.”

  Luna sighed. There was no point arguing with her…there was no point in arguing with anyone, it seemed. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good.” Her voice was firm. “Now, that’s a much more pleasant attitude. I have to go. I love you.”

  “Yeah, I love you too, Mom,” Luna replied, voice monotone. “’Bye.”

  She hung up without listening for the reply and turned to look at Chance. He smiled at her, and she felt her anger rise once again.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “Your mom didn’t disagree with David’s idea, did she?” he asked, still smiling.

  Luna shook her head and muttered, “Telling on me…really?” When Chance didn’t respond, she said in a louder tone of voice, “I don’t know what you said to win them over, but their minds are set. You’re a special kind of evil.”

  “Charm can be deadly,” he agreed. “Or at least mine can be.”

  Luna ignored him as she walked to her room. Behind her, she heard a set of footsteps and knew he had chosen to follow her.

  “So much to do in such little time. I’ll have one of my friends take you dress shopping before the weekend. And where are we going to go tomorrow?” he inquired sweetly. “Any ideas?”

  Luna laughed once. “You may have gotten my father to make these crazy arrangements, but I’m still firmly on no.”

  “You don’t have a choice…remember?”

  “Why don’t you just go by yourself tomorrow? And for now, why don’t you just go home? You already got me in trouble. You’re done.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he pointed out.

  “Because I don’t care where you take me. I hate you either way,” she replied. “Hanging out with you for an entire night will only make that much, much worse. Don’t think I’ll forget about today anytime soon.”

  “Hmm, I think you’re just shy,” he teased. “Since you’ve never gone to a dance, I’m assuming you’ve never been on a date before, either. That’s okay; I know you don’t have many friends. I can take care of the planning—I already have a place in mind.”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  “Are you nervous about being around me? You don’t have to be.”

  “No, right now I’m sitting a little south of nervous at pissed off.”
>
  She took a few steps into her room while Chance stayed just outside the doorway. She clutched the handle of the door and slammed it in his face, reveling in the feeling.

  Her father would probably be mad about her rudeness again, but she couldn’t care less. She was already stuck going out with Chance for an entire evening…nothing her dad could do would possibly make things any worse than they already were…except of course take away her future.

  Chapter Five

  CHANCE STARED AT the door Luna had slammed in his face. She wasn’t happy with him. He hadn’t expected her to be, but it didn’t matter at the moment because his plan had worked to perfection. He nearly beamed with excitement; he had won those dates with her anyway, even though she had turned him down.

  He was Chance Welfrey—he always got what he wanted.

  He’d leave her alone for the time being. In the meantime, he had something else he needed to do. Luna wouldn’t dress up for the dates, and that was fine for dinner, but not for the dance. Not when he’d be with her in front of the entire school.

  She’d need to be flawless. He’d have to find some girls willing to make her over, but who would do it? He frowned, wracking his brains for the perfect people to ask, and his mind finally selected someone.

  He smiled to himself, knowing she wouldn’t refuse as he left the Ketzes’ home to get in the black Honda Ridgeline waiting silently for him outside.

  “WHAT? YOU’RE TAKING her to the dance?” Susan asked, nearly on the verge of a pout. “Why of all people would you take her?”

  Chance looked at her, unamused—not the reaction he had hoped for. Susan was a rather popular girl—pretty, with a heart-shaped face and waist-length brown hair—and was a cheerleader on the same squad as Kate Red. Susan usually had a beautiful, lacy white ribbon tied in her tresses. She didn’t look so pretty now; her emerald eyes glittered with jealousy, and her face twisted in disgust.

  “This is utterly ridiculous,” Kate said from across the room, siding with Susan.

  “Yes, I’m taking her to the dance. Does it really matter why?” He scoffed at Susan, ignoring Kate.

  Maddie, a girl with dusty blonde hair and dark eyes, spoke up from her spot on the bean bag chair on the floor. “I think it matters a lot, Chance. I mean, she’s a loser. Do you want to put yourself through that? You know everyone there will be judging you for it.”

  Susan’s sister, Sarah—a quiet girl with bright eyes—sat beside Maddie on the floor, nodding in agreement.

  “I’m taking her because I am,” Chance snapped, rubbing his temples and trying not to let himself slip into that mind. There were too many people around for that. “Now, will you help me with her or not?”

  If not, this has been a colossal waste of time, he thought.

  None of the four girls in the room spoke up, though they all cast disbelieving glances at each other.

  “So, what? You’re all gonna join up against me because you don’t like what I have to say? C’mon, Susan, didn’t you say that you wanted to be a makeup artist when you get out of high school? Think of this as your greatest challenge yet, don’t shy away from it.”

  His words cut through Susan’s position, and instantly, she changed her mind. A light seemed to push away the darkness of the jealousy that had clouded her eyes a moment prior. With girls like her, it didn’t take much. “Hey, Chance, you’re right! I can do this…oh, now that I think about it, it’ll be so great! We can find her a stunning dress and give her some blush. Oh, she’ll look so pretty!”

  “Now, that’s the attitude I was looking for,” Chance said, nodding his head to her. He turned his attention to the other three girls in the room. “What do you three think? Pitch in? I’m sure Susan will want some help.”

  “As a matter of fact, I might need a tiny bit of help.”

  Maddie sighed, slumping her shoulders as she ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah, I guess I’ll do it,” she said reluctantly, “for Susan.”

  “Me too,” Sarah piped up and looked down at her hands, honestly not caring much either way.

  Chance looked at the three girls, pleased they had agreed. He knew they would’ve eventually. He was charming and persuasive—girls were putty in his hands. Kate hadn’t spoken up yet. It was time to put the charm on her. “Well, what about you? Are you going to help?”

  She stood up from the plastic pink chair she had been seated on. “I’m not helping with any part of this plan. It’s absolutely mental.” With that she turned to leave the room. Chance stared after her in disbelief, feeling his jaw clench.

  Susan sensed the tension between Chance and Kate. She visibly struggled to find something to say. “Hey, I’ve got the taste for a smoothie. C’mon, girls, let go get one.”

  Maddie and Sarah agreed quickly and together they hurried out of the room, leaving Chance alone. He hardly noticed.

  He was focused on Kate.

  He walked from the room and out the front door. Susan’s pink car had already disappeared into the distance. Down the road, he could see a small figure walking alone. It wasn’t quite dusk so it was harder to see, but the way the shadows spilt across the grass, he knew it was her. She didn’t have a car; she depended on guys and her friends to drive her places.

  He trotted beside her. She took no notice of him as she continued storming along.

  “You aren’t really this mad over me taking Luna to Prom, are you?” Chance asked her, chuckling. “This is a little ridiculous, don’t you think?”

  She stopped dead in her tracks and whirled on him. “It isn’t ridiculous. You’re Chance, and I’m Kate. The two most popular people in the school. We’re supposed to go together and be the Prom King and Queen! Now, we can’t! We’d have to end up competing against each other and only one of us could win. Oh, it’s all so wrong!”

  There it was—the center of the maze, the shining light of his problems. She lusted after his popularity…just like the rest of them.

  “A little competition never hurt anyone,” Chance said, shrugging, hoping she hadn’t seen him tense. “Now, will you help me out with Luna?”

  Kate growled angrily in her throat, the sound as fierce as a wild bear, and stormed away down the road. “Men never understand,” she called back.

  He stared after her, feeling himself losing control. She couldn’t turn him down…not after the day he had had. Like it or not, he was slipping into that mind, and it couldn’t be stopped. Anger fueled him, and he charged over to her. He grasped her wrist in one hand and wrapped his arm around her waist with the other.

  “What the Hell are you doing?” she screeched, panicking instantly, but he wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t. He ripped off the end of one of her sleeves and crammed it into her mouth to keep her quiet.

  He dragged her toward his black Honda Ridgeline, which he had parked a few doors down. When he reached it, he thrust her inside and climbed in himself before locking all the doors. He drove, and Kate let out a muffled shriek in the seat beside him. She ripped the cloth from her mouth.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Shut up, bitch,” he said to her without remorse.

  He wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t. Kate must have sensed it, and she gave up trying to reason with him through words. She clawed at the car door, obviously desperate, but it wouldn’t open. He didn’t care though because he knew she couldn’t get out. If she did, the results would be more deadly than he was. He kept driving, heading out of the city, ignoring Kate’s hysteric sobs—he had heard many like them in the past.

  Outside, trees flashed by, and he grew closer and closer to being away from town.

  “Chance, please don’t do this!” Kate’s sob rose up.

  He ignored it, noticing the trees that surrounded him. He had reached his end destination and Kate’s final one. She screamed a loud, piercing sob of desperation, too deep into her hysterics to do much else. He stopped the car, and Kate clutched his arm, her bright pink nails digging through his shirt and into his skin.


  He slapped her hand away, knowing she wouldn’t give him the chance to make a proper ritual of her death. And of course he couldn’t let her go…not when she had been exposed to that mind. No, he had to get rid of her.

  He grasped his trusty knife and pulled it from his pocket. Her eyes widened at the sight. She threw her back against the door, but it didn’t budge. He had seen that look in a lot of people’s eyes, but he didn’t give her the chance to speak. He hated when they asked him “why” as if he had to explain himself. He tangled his fingers deep in her hair, pulling back to leave her throat bare, then sliced the white skin.

  She gurgled as blood poured from the wound, cascading like a broken dam of crimson. Chance clicked off the locks in the car and kicked open the door beside her so she would fall to the ground. She lay there in the dirt, bleeding but not moving. Shock had taken her over. He stared at her for a moment to make sure she wouldn’t run. Even if she did, she wouldn’t get far. She reached up to her throat, the crimson smearing onto her hand as she tried to slow the bleeding.

  Chance climbed out of the truck and stood over Kate. With his fingers, he etched a quick five-pointed star into the dirt beside her, making sure to dig it as deep as possible. It wasn’t his best work, but it would have to do. He grabbed Kate and pulled her toward the mark.

  She left a bloody trail from the truck to the pentagram, turning the dirt a mud color that didn’t quite look maroon in the rapidly-fading light. She still had enough strength in her to kick at him when he tried to move her, but her attacks were weak and feeble.

  They would stop soon.

  He dropped the body onto the pentagram, and her blood quickly filled the wells. He noted how the wounds in the dirt seemed to weep with her blood before he went to the back of his truck. He pulled up the tarp, which revealed a few white garments of clothing, a tank of gasoline, and a toolbox that contained nothing but a small box of matches. He pulled out a pure white dress and went back to where he had left Kate. She was dead, lying stiff with her own blood staining her in a thick river from her throat all down her torso. Her wide eyes stared at nothing. He set the garment down and dropped to his knees beside the pentagram, cautious of landing in any of Kate’s blood.