Birthright (Residue Series #2) (6 page)

“We destroyed her school,
” Oscar stated
,
amazed by his brother.

Nolan shrugged it off. “Just the outside of it…”

“Forget it,” Vinnia cut in. “He’s never going to understand.”

“Understand what?”
asked Nolan, insolently
.

Spencer placed a comforting hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “Trust me. Even if we told you…you still wouldn’t get it.”

While the rest of us chuckled, Nolan
scornfully
shrugged off Spencer’s hand
, as if he thought
we were keeping him from a private joke.

“He’s right you know.”

The
voice came from behind us,
carrying
down the corridor that ran from the street to the courtyard
. Its familiarity
sent a warm
tremor
through me.

Jameson
came strolling out of the shadows and
into the hazy light
cast from
makeshift lanterns placed around the area of destruction
. A
seductive grin
tugged at
one side of his mouth, tantalizing me
,
sending my heart into a
tantrum.

He continued his leisurely stroll without any intention of stopping. He couldn’t. Someone might be watching.
Regardless,
it didn’t prevent him from taking advantage of our close proximity. As he passed by, he closed our distance
and came
so close that our forearms
faintly brushed, sending a shock wave up my arm and across my chest.
In those brief seconds, he sent a private message that only I could hear.

“You look beautiful tonight.”

After taking another step, he swiveled his head back towards me, his grin spreading wider as he saw my reaction.
Before he fully came into view of the courtyard
,
where other students mingled and our charade
of
playing enemies needed to resume, he finished his initial announcement to the rest of the group. “The insides were left virtually untouched.”

“See?” Nolan sounded justified. “It just needs a facelift.”

The rest of the Caldwells followed, none of them coming to a standstill or even slowing their pace. A few students in the courtyard had seen us
by then
– and knowing the history of our family feud, they were astutely aware of us
– so only Alison dared to speak. She winked at Nolan and whispered, “I said the very same thing…”

Instantly, Nolan’s chest expanded and his head tilted upward
,
proud
,
now fully redeemed.
The rest of us ignored him.

My cousins and I gave the Caldwells time to find a spot in the courty
ard before making our entrance; t
he
tension in
the small, enclosed area seeming
to expand rapidly.

“Do you feel that?” asked Estelle. “Icky…” She groaned
, shaking
her limbs theatrically.

Oscar
laughed,
seeming
far
less
affected.
“It’s running through my arms and legs.”

“Me too,” said Estelle, openly disgusted.

Knowing I was confused, Spencer leaned toward me and explained, “Their ability in manipulating the elements lends a heightened awareness of our environment.”

I
smiled at him, knowing I
could always count on Spencer to explain something concisely.

“What do you think’s causing it?” Nolan
asked,
already surveying the courtyard in case it held the answer.

“The putrid aroma of burnt wood?” suggested Vinnia.

“The fear of encountering Ms. Veilleux?” Spencer
guessed
.

I shook my head and voiced my feeling. “No…
it’s
more than that.”

As
our assessment continued,
Miranda, a thin girl with wavy brown hair
from
the same evening class as me,
stopped in front of us
after
she
hurdled a fallen beam
.

“You guys should sell tickets the next time a fight breaks out.” Her hand swept out across the destruction as a smile
played on her lips.

“Funny…” Vinnia muttered.

“It’s the tension,” said Estelle
,
suddenly giving us our answer. “You’re worried we’ll fight with the Caldwells.”

“Sure,”
Miranda
said
,
oblivious to the reason why this
conclusion
wouldn’t already have been
reached.
“And we’re not the only ones. You have special guests.”

Her playfulness was irritating me,
until I saw what she meant.
As if purposely timed, one of the
Vire
s
emerged from Ms. Veilleux’s office
, heading directly
for the room where my evening class was held
. The
moldavite
on his belt buckle
was sparkling bright enough
to be seen across the courtyard.

Of course, Miranda and the rest of the students here had no idea of the real reason for their arrival. Only the Weatherfords and
the
Caldwells were privy to it. Under the guise they were keeping the peace between two feuding families, they were actually here to ensure our families
hadn’t
made peace. They were also keeping a close eye on the primary suspects of their associates’ deaths.

“Might want to be on your best behavior,” she warned
,
tilting
her head.
Though, this
time, I noticed she wasn’t smiling.

Immediately after seeing the Vire, my eyes
went
in search of Jameson, hoping he was safely surrounded by his family.

Of course…he wasn’t.

When I not
ic
ed all the Caldwells – except Jameson –
gathered
near a barren planter
,
my body stiffened and my eyes darted toward every dark corner
…
starting first with those in the Vire’s path.

Ironically, when my eyes landed on Jameson, I found
that he was searching
for me
just the same
.

Standing against the farthest wall,
engaged
in a
conversation
with Ms. Veilleux, our eyes met. His attention
peeked
beyond her shoulder, just long enough to be reassured of my safety
, before promptly returning
to his
discussion without
noticeable
hesitation.

It was not common to find a student and Ms. Veilleux conversing in private
,
and this
particular
meeting seemed even more curious. It looked like they were conferring with each other.
But they weren’t the only ones.
The rest of the students, huddled in clusters wherever a
spot
of clear and undamaged ground could be found, were
also
questioning the Vire
’
s presence
.
It seemed reasonable that Ms. Veilleux would be doing the same. I decided that Jameson was probably just filling her in.

Ms. Veilleux sharply turned around
,
and with Jameson in step, headed to the center of the courtyard
…or at least as close as she could get to the center considering the destruction around us.

“Students,” she called out, shifting
her
black and yellow patterned dress away from a smoldering log. “While the façade of our school has been tainted, the inside is safely intact. That said, we have decided it is in the
best
interest
,
of students and teachers alike
,
for classes to be combined from this point forward.”
The crowd erupted in murmurs as a
surprised expression settled on just about everyone’s dimly lit face
.
Only Jameson showed no reaction. “From now on, our professors will share in a rotation so that you’ll have a new teacher and a new topic each week.”

“Back to the old way…
ha…
Ms. Veilleux?” shouted a sturdy boy
,
whose name I couldn’t remember.

“Yes, Jonah,” she replied, showing
contempt for
the
interruption.
“Now, you’ll also find we have a few guests with us.”

In unison, all heads turned toward the Vire standing outside
a
classroom door.
When he came
out of the shadows
,
I
was able to
get a better look at him
and
immediately
recognized him
as
the one who made the
suspiciously close sweep in the hallway this morning.
With the smooth contour of his hairless scalp and his long, sinewy limbs, emphasizing how his height towered over us, he was just as striking now. When he removed his sunglasses, I didn’t miss the arresting amber-color of his eyes or the fact that they were pinned on Jameson, despite dipping his chin toward me and my cousins. A
swell of anger and resentment
came crashing
over me
as I realized he had followed us here.
The feelings were
so powerful I nearly missed the end of Ms. Veilleux’s announcement.

“Theleo Alesius and his colleagues will be sitting in on your class for an indeterminate
length
of time. As silent participants, they will not be expected to participate. They may leave the room at any time and may return at any time.”

“She’s publicly laying the ground rules for them,” whispered Vinnia
,
from behind me.

“Vires don’t follow rules,” Oscar replied, stiffly.

“In short,” Ms. Veilleux continued, raising her voice and peering in our direction, “there should be no interaction between any student and Theleo or his colleagues. Now…get to class.”

Theleo had three other
Vires
with him, one of them being Mrs. Gaul, the snide woman from my class earlier today. We learned this after entering the room and finding one positioned in the center of each wall. Unfortunately, we’d needed to pass by Theleo first.

Most students
passed him
silently,
with their heads down
,
an extreme departure from the usually talkative crowd. Ironically, only those with the most to lose kept their heads up. My cousins and the Caldwells, Jameson included, entered the room with a proud tip of their chins.

I was the only one who took a different approach.
I looked
him in the eye while passing
by
,
sending
an unspoken message. If he was going to cast against us, I wanted him to
feel certain
I knew it was him. It was a maneuver Jameson would not approve of
,
so I
was thankful
when
he entered
before me.

As I did this, one thing stood out…I didn’t see in Theleo what I’d expected. There was no defiance, no resentment,
and
no threat whatsoever. If I had to
name
what I saw, I’d label it curiosity.

All of the emotions I’d expected from him
were
actually
coming
from me
;
this
realization left me a little unnerved as I moved by him.

Inside
the classroom
, I noticed the Caldwells and
the
Weatherfords were following the agreed upon course of action. Appearing to still be at odds, the families stood on opposite sides of the room. I took my assumed position next to my cousins, daring a quick glance at Jameson in the process.

He unabashedly stared across at us, his handsome face disturbingly expressionless. It was the perfect disguise. He looked like he was hesitantly complacent about our presence there. The rest of the Caldwells avoided eye contact with us. They were focused on the teacher in the center of the room.