“What?” I had the stake in my hand. I was close enough to reach him. I was also frozen. “Are you kidding?”
“Now!” All three of them yelled in unison. It was enough to get me moving. So was Will, lunging at me, saliva dripping off his fangs. When did he grow fangs? There was mottled bruising on his neck and two festering puncture wounds. Jenna threw a tube of antibiotic ointment, hitting the alarm button on the wall. Help was coming.
But not fast enough.
“Shit!” I yelled, because I had to yell something. Will was wearing one of those hospital paper gowns, with the same tousled hair as always, the same earnest face. He was the class sweetheart for every class, even if they weren’t in his year. He was nice to everyone. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, which made vampire hunting problematic. But his parents wouldn’t hear of him dropping out. So he did the best he could and immersed himself in the Science Department, where there was less actual fighting.
He was the one who asked the shy girls hiding in the corner to dance at school functions.
And now he was the one hissing at me.
Definitely not Will anymore.
“Shit!” I hollered again as his fist cracked against my shoulder. It didn’t reach my face because I’d leaped sideways, but not quite fast enough. There was blood on his mouth. And blood on Spencer’s throat and hemp T-shirt.
Every ounce of training snapped to attention inside me.
I went with my sideways lunge and then spun around so I came up behind Will. He was in the classic newborn Hel-Blar frenzy, which I’d read about but never actually seen in person. Their thirst for blood was primal and vicious and unstoppable. The moment I’d left his line of vision, he’d focused on Chloe, who was weaker. She was slouched in the hard plastic chair, giggling.
“You smell like old socks,” she told him pleasantly, before shaking her head. “No, like mushrooms.” She looked concerned. “That’s bad, right? I can’t remember why that’s bad.”
She was still babbling to herself when he lunged for her and I lunged for him. My stake went through his skin where his hospital gown gaped open. I angled it away from his shoulder blade and then pushed with as much strength as I had, still shouting profanities. Because cursing was better than thinking about what I was doing.
Staking a friend.
He yelped, tried to spin around to grab at the stake. He managed half a spin, just enough to meet my eyes before he crumbled into ashes on the shiny linoleum floor. Theo was the first to reach me. His hands were on my shoulders.
“Did he bite you? Are you hurt? Hunter?”
I didn’t drop my stake, because I’d been taught never to drop my weapon, but my fingers felt weak, my palms sweaty. I thought I might throw up.
“Hunter, are you hurt?”
I shook my head, gagged.
“Hey!” Theo shook me. “You can’t go into shock right now.”
I blinked, vision going back to normal. The gray spots floated away. “I’m okay,” I answered hoarsely. “What the hell just happened?”
Jenna handed me a paper cup of water. “You just saved all our asses.”
I drank, mostly because I didn’t know what else to do with myself. “I didn’t save Will.”
“You saved Chloe,” she said quietly.
“And no one could have saved Will,” Theo added. He went to Spencer, who was leaning against the wall, eyes glassy and hair damp with sweat.
“He bit you,” I said flatly.
Spencer nodded weakly. “I’m okay.”
“I’ve already given him his first antibiotic injection,” Theo said, lifting Spencer’s eyelids to check his pupils.
“That didn’t help Will,” I said quietly, trying not feel the panic swelling inside me.
“Will’s bite was worse,” Theo said. Spencer winced when he applied more pressure on his wound. “He barely grazed him. Still, you’re all going to have to get out of here. He needs to be quarantined.”
“What? No!” Jenna exclaimed. “You just said he’d be fine.”
He hadn’t actually said that, but I didn’t point it out.
“Procedure,” Theo bit out tersely, swinging his shoulder under Spencer’s arm to help him to a cot. Chloe started to snore in her chair.
I was really glad Quinn had agreed to help me analyze that pill. Something clearly had to be done. And fast.
I crouched by Spencer, waiting until he looked at me. I made sure there wasn’t a single ounce of doubt or worry in my expression. “You are going to be fine.”
He nodded jerkily.
“I mean it, Spencer,” I insisted. “Don’t make me beat you up.”
“You can’t take me.” He tried to grin. “Even like this.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I never took any pill, Hunter. Not like Will.”
“I know.” I reached out to touch his dreads but Theo’s hand snapped around my wrist.
“No contact,” he said. “You know the rules.”
I did know the rules. And I had about two minutes before the infirmary was swarming with people and we were hauled bodily away.
“We’ll fix this,” I told Spencer confidently. Jenna hovered behind me looking grim, even though she tried to smile at Spencer. “I’ve already got us some help. We’ll know something soon.”
“You’ll beat this thing,” Jenna added fiercely just as the first response to the alarm barreled through the front door. We stepped back. If we were all quarantined we’d never get Spencer the help he needed.
There were two security guards and Ms. Dailey behind the first response team. She assessed the situation at a glance, taking in every detail, right down to the dust on my sneakers. She used her cell phone to call for another nurse and the head doctor for Spencer. She sent him and Theo and a guard into one of the back rooms. They’d probably tie him to the bed, like they had with Will. I tried not to think about it.
“What happened?” she asked us. “Hunter?”
“I staked Will,” I answered. My voice sounded weird, even to me.
Spencer cried out from the back room and I winced. The guard swore. There was the sound of a scuffle and Spencer moaning. “I’m fine. I’m not Hel-Blar. I’m not Hel-Blar.”
“Hold him down,” Theo snapped. “He needs another dose.”
Jenna and I swallowed miserably. My eyes burned.
“Hunter staked Will?” Ms. Dailey prodded.
“Will turned,” Jenna said dully. “Just like that. Theo was giving him his meds, checking his blood pressure while we tried to get Chloe to stop licking the tongue depressors like they were lollipop sticks and then he just … turned. Ripped the restraints right off the bed frame.”
“And he bit Spencer?”
“Kind of,” Jenna said. “It happened so fast, we all tried to stop him. I don’t know if it’s fang damage or the scalpel he grabbed off the counter.”
Ms. Dailey’s expression was hard but not judging. “And then what happened?”
“Will got free, went for Hunter, then Chloe. Hunter dusted him,” Jenna said. “She saved Chloe’s life. And whoever else Will might have come across if he’d gotten out of the infirmary.”
“I see.” Ms. Dailey looked at me for a long moment. “Hunter, you’re green. Why don’t you go on back to the dorm. We’ll look at the security camera footage and then discuss this further in the morning.”
I nodded mutely.
“Make sure Hunter has some hot tea,” she added to Jenna. “And … why is Chloe drooling on herself?”
“She had stitches. Theo gave her something.”
“Right. You’ll have to get her back to her room then. She can’t stay here right now.”
Chloe didn’t even wake up. Her head just lolled from side to side as we hoisted her up and dragged her out. The last security guard eyed us suspiciously. We didn’t speak on the way to the dorm, not until we laid Chloe out on her bed.
Jason knocked on the door and poked his head in. “I had to check on my floor,” he said, coming in to sit on my d
esk chair. “Chloe looks all right …,” he trailed off. “But you two don’t. What happened?”
“Will turned,” I explained. “And Spencer was bitten. Maybe.”
He paled. “What?”
“He’s in quarantine.”
“But he’ll be okay.” Jason swallowed. “Tell me he’ll be okay.”
“Damn right he will,” Jenna said, low and determined.
“And Will?” Jason asked, looking as stricken as we felt. “What will happen to him?”
“Nothing.” I replied. I sat on the edge of my bed, feeling kind of numb but not numb enough. “I staked him.”
After a stunned moment, Jason came to sit next to me. “It’s not your fault,” he said firmly.
“You did what you had to do,” Jenna agreed. “Even though it sucks monkeys.”
“He was sixteen. And he was nice.”
“I know. But he was a student at a Helios-Ra school. He knew what he signed on for.”
“He didn’t even want to be here.”
“And that’s not your fault either,” Jason pointed out, trying to comfort me. I wasn’t entirely convinced I should be comforted. I’d just killed a friend of mine, after all. I should be painfully uncomfortable.
I must have said it out loud because Jenna shook her head. “That Hel-Blar woman killed Will. You saved him.”
“Hello? I staked him.”
“Yeah, and do you think he would have wanted us to let him become a monster? The same guy who refused to let the maintenance crew kill the squirrels in the attic?”
“I guess not. Still.”
“Yeah,” Jenna sighed. “Still. You did good, Hunter, even if it doesn’t feel like it.”
“It feels like ass.” I rubbed my eyes hard so the tears wouldn’t drop. “School assembly on Monday is going to be a funeral too,” I remarked.
“Won’t be the first time.” Jenna was the color of milk in the faint light of the lamp. “I know what we need.”
She went straight to Chloe’s secret schnapps in the closet. Jason and I slid down to sit on the floor with Jenna as she opened the bottle and passed it around. I took a sip and the overly sweet peach liqueur ran down my throat.
“Disgusting,” Jason spluttered.
“Totally is,” Jenna agreed. “Quit hogging it.”
“No more for me, you guys.” I waved away the bottle and lay on my back, staring up at the ugly beige ceiling. The continuous loop in my head of Will as he crumpled was exactly what I deserved. I shouldn’t try to forget it or dull it with alcohol. Or the fact that Spencer might possibly be fighting for his life right now. And it was a battle we couldn’t help him with. We didn’t have his back. It felt awful. And I should feel awful.
“Hey, eighteen is the legal age in Quebec.” Jenna waved the half-empty bottle at me and the liqueur sloshed over the edge. I wiped it off my cheek. She giggled. “Oops. Sorry.”
“We’re not in Quebec.” And it was an automatic suspension if you were caught drinking on campus.
“Still. You’re gonna make a really good hunter,” she added. “Like, really. You know?”
“You will too.”
“No, it’s different,” she insisted. She nudged Jason with her foot. “Isn’t it different? It’s different.”
“Yup.” He nodded enthusiastically. “Hunter’s a hunter!”
“Ha!” Jenna laughed so loud she startled herself and fell over. Jason and I looked at each other, looked at her, and then laughed so hard we were panting for breath. Chloe groaned.
“What’s going—hey,” she mumbled groggily. “That’s my schnapps.”
“Spencer got bitten by Will and then Hunter staked Will,” Jenna told her, trying to look serious but just going cross-eyed instead.
Chloe blinked. “Shit.” She held her hand out for the bottle. “Gimmee.” She fished a pill out of her pocket and swallowed it down with the alcohol.
“Dude, what is that?” Jason gaped at her. “A horse pill?”
“It’s a vitamin,” she informed him loftily.
“Not you too,” he groaned. “All the Niners are suddenly obsessed with vitamins and protein powder. There’s some rumor going around that it’ll make them strong.”
I rolled over to frown at Chloe. “I thought you took one already today. And you shouldn’t drink when you’re on pain meds.”
“I’m doubling up now.” She propped herself on her elbow and took another mouthful. “I’m injured. I need my strength.”
“Does it make you pee fluorescent yellow?” Jenna asked. “Vitamins always give me Day-Glo pee.”
Chloe shook her head and eyed the bottle. “You guys owe me twenty bucks.”
“Twenty bucks! No way does that nasty crap cost twenty bucks.”
“It’s a delivery charge.” She grinned and then winced. “Ouch.”
“Don’t lean on your stitches like that,” Jason offered helpfully.
“Duh.”
“I hope Spencer’s okay.” I reached for my cell and texted Kieran and Quinn to tell them what had happened. I hiccuped on a sob that snuck up on me.
Jenna blinked at me. “Nuh-uh,” she said, making a grab for the bottle. “Nasty peach booze, stat!”
I made a face. “No way. I’ll throw up.”
Jason shifted over a foot. “Not on me.”
I lay back down. The sound of my friends giggling helped a little.
But not as much as what suddenly occurred to me.
I sat straight up.
“I have a plan,” I announced.
Chapter 17
•
Hunter
“Did you hear me?” I repeated louder. “I said I have a plan.”
Everybody groaned except for Jason, who was already snoring. I nearly stepped on his head when I stood up. “Let’s go!”
He jerked awake. “Mmfwha?”
Jenna helped him up. “Hunter’s on a mission.”
“It’s four o’clock in the morning,” he groused.
“Chloe, come on,” I insisted from the doorway.
She opened one eye. “I am injured.”
“You have stitches,” I said, unconvinced. “Come on, already. You’ll miss all the fun and then you’ll bitch about it for the rest of the year.”
“That is true,” she agreed, finally getting up. She clutched the bottle to her chest. They moved in an exaggerated slow huddle across the carpet, stopped when they realized we were still in our room, and then burst into muffled giggles. The fact that Jenna sounded like a hyena made us all laugh even harder. My stomach hurt. It was a nice change from my brain.
I just couldn’t think about what I’d done or worry about Spencer all night. I’d go mental. This was better. This was a goal. This was action.
Chloe was the last into the hall. She tripped over the threshold as the door slammed shut behind her. “Shhh!” she practically yelled. Jenna slapped her hand over Chloe’s mouth to shush her, then pulled away squeaking.
“Did you just lick me? Gross.”
“Teach you to grab my face.”
This was going to be a disaster.
“Cut it out,” Jason tossed over his shoulder. “I feel like we’re back in kindergarten. Let’s go.” He stopped in the foyer, under the remnants of the broken chandelier. “Um, Hunter?”
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going exactly?”
“Eleventh-grade floor,” I mouthed. “And watch the cameras.”
We hurried up the steps, avoiding the creaky stairs, the corner with the camera, the loose floorboard. The common room was empty and all the doors were shut tight. Everyone sane was asleep.
“Anyone know which one’s Will’s room?” I asked.
Jason stared at me. “Great, you’ve got a dozen demerits so now you want us to get them too?”
I lifted my chin. “I’m going to find out what’s going on. You can go back to bed if you want.”
Jenna snorted so loud she coughed. “Forget it,” she added. “I want in.” S
he poked Jason hard in the shoulder. “And so do you.”
“Yeah, all right,” he muttered. He grabbed the bottle from Chloe. “I need to be drunker.” He swallowed, crossed his eyes. “Nope. Bad idea.” He tripped over nothing. He hadn’t even taken a step. “He was in room 209, the one at the end by the back staircase.”
“That was obliging of him,” I whispered back, cheered.
“Obliging? Who talks like that?” Chloe shook her head. She was right. I’d been reading too many romance novels. But now probably wasn’t the time to wonder about it. “You’re getting weird, Wild.”
“You’re already weird, Cheng.”
She slung her good arm over my shoulder. “That’s why we’re such good friends.”
After shooting her a grin, I touched the door. “Anyone know if Will’s roommate is here yet?”
There were a lot of shrugs.
“You check,” Chloe suggested. “You’re our fearless leader.”
I stuck my tongue out at her, which was terribly leader-like of me. But she was right, though. This was my stupid idea so I should take point. I turned the doorknob slowly but pushed the door open an inch in one quick motion. If you went too slowly, which was the temptation, it actually had more of a squeak. The room was dark. I couldn’t hear any snoring but that was hardly conclusive proof.
I took a step inside. The others giggled behind me. I shot them a look over my shoulder. There was a hush and then more giggling. They’d wake up the entire floor if we didn’t hurry. I took another step inside and hit the Indiglo light on my watch, cupping my hand over the light. I needed just enough to see if the beds were empty, not so much that it might wake up any roommate.
The beds were empty. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“Clear,” I whispered. They tiptoed inside with such exaggerated care that I snorted out a laugh. “This isn’t a slapstick movie.”
Jason shut the door behind him and flicked the light on. We blinked at each other for a moment, waiting for our eyes to adjust. The room looked like any other room—two beds, two desks, two chairs. There was no roommate. There were also no posters on the wall, no books on the shelves, no clothes on the floor.
It was empty.