The Homecoming Masquerade (Girls Wearing Black: Book One)

  Chapter 25

  “The immortals have arrived,” Nicky said.

  “What? The immortals? I don’t see them,” said her current dance partner, Marshall Beaumont.

  Nicky wondered how it was even possible that he didn’t see them. They were everywhere, roaming about and cutting in wherever they chose. Marshall had been looking all around the ballroom during their dance, no doubt eager to spot the immortals when they arrived. It seemed like they were awfully hard to miss.

  Unless Nicky was able to see things the other students couldn’t.

  The immortals were supposed to be stealthy, yet, to Nicky’s eyes, they were just meandering about where anyone could see them, not stealthy at all. It just happened to be that no one was turning to look. It had to be some sort of mind control, some kind of groupthink the immortals were forcing upon the ballroom. They didn’t want to be seen, so no one was seeing them. No one, except Nicky, on whom their mind control didn’t work.

  “How do you know they’re here?” Marshall asked.

  “I don’t,” said Nicky. “I thought I saw one, but…I don’t know. I’m probably wrong. I’m just excited that they’re coming, I think.”

  In reality she saw seven of them. Renata, with her sunfire-colored hair; Alexander Chapman with his bond from Germany. Mark Spinoza, Bernadette Paiz, Thomas Byrne, Lena Trang – these creatures had been central in her life for the past six years – she had been following them around, staking out their mansions, looking for two people they had enslaved.

  Renata, Alexander, Mark, Bernadette, Thomas, Lena…and Dominic. The seventh vampire she saw was Dominic Volcker, bond to Melissa Mayhew.

  Gia and the strategists from the Network were certain Nicky’s identity was safe whether or not Melissa was here. In the years since Nicky’s escape, Melissa had reprogrammed more than a thousand kids. It would be awfully hard to recognize a girl she spent a few minutes with six years ago, particularly when that girl is wearing a mask.

  Of course, this was just conjecture. Nobody knew for sure what would happen. If Melissa was here, and she did recognize Nicky, the mission was over and everyone involved was as good as dead.

  “You know what’s weird?” Marshall said. “I don’t really care if I dance with one of them or not. I know it’s supposed to be a big deal, but, come on, it’s just a dance.”

  “You’re so full of it,” Nicky said. “If an immortal came over here right now and cut in, you’d be on Cloud Nine.”

  “That’s what you think, but immortals aren’t really my type,” said Marshall.

  “What? You don’t go for older women?” said Nicky.

  Marshall just smiled at that one and let it pass.

  The truth was, Marshall did go for older women, but he thought his proclivities were his own little secret. Marshall and the junior history teacher at Thorndike, a married woman named Suzanna Benchley, were having an affair that would be an epic scandal at school and around town if anybody found out.

  The Network stumbled onto the affair when Nicky asked Jill to do some spying on Marshall. At the time, Nicky had no idea Marshall was sleeping with a teacher. She was just curious about him because he seemed like an independent spirit, and he was Nicky’s pick to win the Brawl in the Fall fundraiser.

  Jill uncovered a stream of text messages and phone calls that suggested Marshall and the history teacher had been seeing each other for nearly a year. It was a goldmine of dirty secrets, and the sort of information that could get Marshall expelled. Nicky fully intended to use it to win Marshall to her side.

  If she had to. It was better to get him on board through friendly persuasion first, if possible.

  “Are you going to enter Brawl in the Fall?” Nicky asked.

  “I’m thinking about it,” Marshall said.

  “I think you should enter,” said Nicky. “I’d bet on you if you did.”

  “No you wouldn’t,” said Marshall. “You’re flirting with me because you want my support.”

  “That’s true,” said Nicky. “And I wouldn’t waste my time if I didn’t think you were a good prospect. On your own, you don’t have enough money to make much difference to me. But if you win the brawl, then everyone will want a piece of you. When that happens, I hope you remember that I believed in you first.”

  “You’re a strange and surprising girl, Nicky Bloom,” said Marshall. “Where in the world did you come from?”

  “I’m from Chicago,” said Nicky.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Of course it wasn’t,” Nicky said with a smile. “You want to know how a new girl that nobody knows ends up wearing black to the Homecoming Masquerade.”

  Marshall nodded.

  “Can you keep a secret?” Nicky asked.

  “When I want to,” said Marshall.

  “Hopefully you’ll want to keep this one,” Nicky said, and then she dove into the story about the secret consortium of Nicky Bloom backers. From there, she went straight into her sales pitch.

  “You and I are outsiders, Marshall,” she said. “We know we have to play the game, but we’re both doing it by our own rules. We’d make a good team, you and me.”

  “I’ve never been much of a team player,” Marshall said.

  “It’s Coronation. You have to choose somebody. Come to my after-party tonight. It’s at the Hamilton. Jada Razor will be there.”

  “So I’ve heard,” said Marshall.

  The music was winding down. The next partner change was just a few steps away.

  “I really want to see you there,” Nicky said. “Kim doesn’t understand your role in this contest, but I do. Right now she’s not paying you a lick of attention. She assumes you’ll be another one of the lemmings who comes to her party.”

  “Maybe she’s right.”

  “Cut the crap, Marshall. You’re training your ass off to win Brawl in the Fall. You want that prize money and all the power that comes with it. You’re doing it in secret because you want Kim to come begging at your door after you win.”

  “How do you know about my training?”

  The music stopped. It was time to switch.

  “I know a lot of things about a lot of people,” Nicky said. “And I’d be glad to tell you more tonight, at the Hamilton.”

  With that, she turned away, leaving Marshall to wonder how much more Nicky knew about him. Hopefully his curiosity would bring him to the Hamilton tonight. If he came, she’d have to decide how much more to tell him. She couldn’t let all the secrets out at once. Marshall was the kind of guy who—

  She couldn’t finish the thought. Her next partner was in front of her, and it wasn’t someone she had expected at all.

  “Ryan,” she said. “Are you going to dance with me?”

  Ryan grabbed her hand and threw his arm around her back.

  “Be quiet and listen,” he said. “I need to talk to you, and there isn’t much time. Sergio’s on the floor and will be looking to dance with you any minute now.”