Red Dawn (2 page)

I know that I can’t really protect Shaye from the blood disease that courses through her body, but it’s hard not to try. Despite her larger than life personality, she still seems small and fragile to me. I glance at her as she wades through the grungy thrift store clothes strewn around her side of the room. She looks good. Her hair has grown out and now falls past her shoulders. It creates a dark curtain which partially obscures her face, but I can see that she’s smiling behind it and that her gray eyes are bright. Even so, I can’t forget that she’s sick, maybe dying. The blood disease can be deceptive. One day she’s fine and the next, not so much.

“What’s up?” Shaye asks, shoving the heap of clothes off of the bed and flopping down on top of the unsightly comforter.

“Huh?” I respond turning my gaze from Shaye to my side of the room. By comparison it’s far less… vomit inducing. Okay. Maybe that’s harsh. We just have different tastes and mine tends to be less Martha Stewart.

“You were staring.”

“Oh. Just wondering how I let you talk me into this,” I tease, grabbing one of her stuffed animals and throwing it across the room. Shaye ducks and the stuffed bunny bounces off of her headboard and onto the floor with the pile of discarded clothes.

“My powers of persuasion are unmatched, obviously!” She lets out a huff of indignity that blows her bangs up in the air.

“Yeah, well, let’s hope the same is true of your cleaning skills because I do not want to have to wade through dirty laundry to get to class. I have enough trouble being on time as it is.”

“Babe, you have way bigger problems than my dirty laundry,” she snickers.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“See for yourself. Page eleven.” Shaye tosses me a handbook bearing the Crossroads Academy insignia. It looks disturbingly new.

“What’s this?” I quickly skim page eleven of the new Crossroads Academy handbook. “Bloody hell! Is this a test?” I ask, eyeing her doubtfully.

“Check your closet. This is not a drill.” Shaye’s stopped laughing and the grim look on her face tells me I’m not going to like what I find. I stomp over to my closet and throw the door open. No sense prolonging the inevitable.

“Uniforms? I can’t believe it,” I say, shaking my head in dismay. “Headmaster Prick strikes again.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Red?
Really
?” I grumble, holding up the watch plaid skirt to emphasize my point. It looks like something that belongs in a Catholic school… on a twelve year old.

“I know, right? Could it be more cliché? Every vamp school with a uniform probably wears red. Besides, when am I going to wear all of these awesome clothes?” she asks gesturing broadly.

“On second thought, maybe Pratt is on to something!” I tease her.

“Very funny!”

I almost feel bad as I watch Shaye cross her arms over her chest and pout, but I know she’s faking. After all, you can’t dress like she does and actually care what people think.

“I guess we should try these things on,” I say, wriggling into the hideous plaid skirt. Shaye follows my lead and pulls a uniform from her own closet. It appears she’s been taking out her hostility on the vile thing. Her skirt is wadded up in a ball and full of wrinkles. It needs an iron
stat
.

Dressed, Shaye and I stand side by side in front of the mirror to examine our new uniforms. We’re as different as night and day. Shaye is petite and edgy with ink black hair and faded gray eyes that are set off by her fair skin. I’m tall and lithe with an olive complexion, wavy chestnut hair and emerald green eyes. As I study our reflections, I decide that even a well wrinkled uniform can’t scrub away Shaye’s over-the-top sense of fashion. She’s rolled up the sleeves of her black blouse to reveal an unseemly number of jelly bracelets, added funky knee-high argyle socks, and a headband that smacks of Cyndi Lauper circa the 80’s. I look downright boring by comparison with my messy ponytail and understated jewelry. I’m not big on accessories, but I have to wear gold cuff bracelets to hide my human scars and I’m never without the bloodstone amulet Aldo gave me.

“Disturbing,” Shaye says, wrinkling her nose and making a face in the mirror.

“Might as well get used to it. They’re kind of a done deal now. Hungry?” I ask, changing the subject.

“Starving!” she replies.

“Let’s hit the dining hall. I can unpack after. It won’t take long anyway.” Like last year, Aldo shipped most of my things ahead so I have the good fortune of travelling light. Of course, in retrospect, it might have been so he didn’t have to tell me about the uniforms. He probably didn’t want to hear a whole bunch of complaining. I can’t say I blame him. Pleats? Yep. There would have been a
lot
of bitching.

Chapter Two

Shaye and I take an empty table at the back of the dining hall. No great surprise, the place is packed as everyone tries to catch up on the latest gossip before classes start tomorrow. I swirl the blood in my glass and try to look casual as I scan the hall for familiar faces. Well, for one familiar face.

“Looking for Nikolai?” Shaye asks. Before I can deny it, she continues. “Don’t lie. You suck at subtlety. Besides, we both know you can’t lie to me anyway.” She’s got a point. Shaye can see through even the best lie.

“Remind me again why I’m friends with you?” I ask, tearing my attention from the crowd and focusing on the coppery warm goodness in front of me. The blood is thick, smooth and deeply satisfying.

“Because no one else will claim you,” she responds before sticking her tongue out at me.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Nikolai. Hell’s bells! How long has he been standing there? He’s right behind me and even though I can’t see or touch him, my body is humming with energy at the sound of his voice. “Mind if I join?”

“Not at all! We could use the company,” Shaye tells him a bit too eagerly. I try to stomp on her foot under the table, but she’s too fast so I settle for shooting her a dirty look instead. Like any good friend, she pretends not to notice.

“You’re looking well Katia.” Nik slides into the empty chair next to me and his scent teases my senses. Lavender and spice. I have no idea if it’s soap or cologne, but to me it’s heavenly. Given the choice between small talk and snuggling up in his arms, I’d choose the latter. But since we have an audience and I don’t really know where we stand, small talk it is.

“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself,” I return after eyeing his uniform. Big surprise; he wears it well. On Nik it looks more like a fashion statement than an attempt to repress self-expression and personal style. He should be on the cover of GQ. Open blazer, untucked shirt, loose tie. I’m pretty sure that’s not how Pratt meant it to be worn, but he’ll have a hard time enforcing it judging by the look of the student body.

“So how was your break?” Nik asks. The question is harmless enough, but his stare is intense. Everything else fades away and for a moment it feels as if we’re the only two vamps in the room. Nik’s crystalline blue eyes are focused intently on mine, but I refuse to wilt under the gaze of any guy, no matter how hot he might be. And Nik is
hot
. I’ve memorized all the lines of his face, his killer smile, the dimple on his left cheek and the way his dark curls spill over his forehead when he’s gone too long without a haircut.

“Mine was pretty boring,” Shaye cuts in, filling the awkward silence as I shamelessly undress Nik with my eyes. “What about yours Katia?”

“Uneventful,” I say, trying to beat down my deviant thoughts. “But I did get to spend a lot of time training with Viktor.”

“Which means you’ve undoubtedly learned some new and inventive ways to kick my ass,” Nik says playfully, a mischievous sparkle lighting his eyes. I catch a flash of his sexy dimple and my palms begin to itch with the desire to reach out and touch him.

“Here’s hoping,” I reply before draining my glass. Both he and Shaye laugh and I find myself relaxing too. I certainly wouldn’t mind spending my free time rolling around on the mat with Nik, but I think we may have different things in mind.  “Just let me know when you’re ready.”

“Ready for what?” Jade asks approaching the table with Lexie and Blaine in tow. Please don’t let them sit down, I think, even as Jade grabs the empty chair next to Shaye and makes herself comfortable. So much for relaxing. Lexie follows Jade’s lead, but Blaine hesitates.

“Are we really doing this?” he challenges. Clearly time had done little to ease his dislike of me.

“Do you want to sit with Nikolai or not?” Jade asks, giving him a pointed stare as she tosses a handful of blonde curls over her shoulder. Apparently they’ve already had this conversation at least once. “If this is the price,” she says nodding her head at Shaye and me, “then I say we pay. How bad can it be really?”

Bitch
. That’s what I want to say. Instead I roll my eyes and keep it clean. “There’s the Jade we all know and love. Way to suck it up and take one for the team.” Jade doesn’t respond. Instead she turns her attention to feeding. It’s probably for the best since I’m supposed to be on my best behavior anyway.

“Come on, Blaine,” Nik joins in, slinging his arm across the back of an empty chair. Nik’s ability to completely ignore tension is without rival. “Just sit down.”

For a second I think he’ll turn and walk away as he searches the room for an alternative, but no such luck. Blaine grudgingly drops down next to Lexie looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. I’m starting to feel the same way. I avert my eyes, not wanting to be caught staring. I can’t afford to incite WWIII and I’m pretty sure that’s what’ll happen if I open my mouth. Only a handful of people know the secret of my past and this jerk is one of them? Un-freaking-believable.

I’m relieved when Blaine shifts his chair so it faces the front of the hall. I can’t tell if he’s simply refusing to engage us or if he’s really interested in the speech Headmaster Pratt is preparing to deliver. He watches raptly as Pratt arranges his notecards on the podium up front. As if anything Pratt has to say will be that interesting.

“This should be good,” Shaye quips. Looking bored already, she props her chin up on her hands and makes a big show of yawning.

“Tell me about it. Can you believe these heinous uniforms?” Lexie says, flicking her tie with distaste. The red unis are especially unflattering with her ginger hair. I actually feel bad for her. She’s got it worse than the rest of us thanks to genetics.

“Completely juvenile,” Jade agrees nodding her head. “And the way they sprung them on us at the last minute? It’s just cruel. Who does Pratt think he is anyway?”

Go figure. Something we can all agree on: our total and utter dislike of Pratt. Who’d have thought solidarity would come so easily to this group, even fleetingly?

“Attention! Attention students and faculty.” Pratt stares expectantly at his audience, waiting for silence. As the room settles down, he presses on, not bothering with pleasantries like welcoming the new students. Typical. “For those of you who do not know me, I am Headmaster Pratt. As we start off yet another year at Crossroads Academy, I am pleased to announce that I have instituted a new student handbook. This handbook includes several new policies intended to bring us back to our roots: discipline, hard work and the endless pursuit of knowledge.”

Pratt looks pretty pleased with himself and I cringe at the thought of what else might be contained within the pages of that handbook. Things at Crossroads are going to be a little different this year and most likely it won’t be for the better.

“At Crossroads Academy, we have a reputation for being progressive and for producing some of the best educated vampires in the world. We will maintain that stature only through the execution of the aforementioned principles.” He pauses, his severe face taking on an even darker edge. Summer break hasn’t exactly softened him. His dislike of the student body seems as strong as ever. His beady black eyes rake over the audience as he continues, “Discipline. Hard work. Knowledge.”

“It’s a wonder he didn’t mention the penalty for disobedience,” Shaye whispers. “We all know how he loves himself some work detail. I would have thought it warranted inclusion in his core principles.”

“Maybe he just hasn’t gotten there yet?” Lexie drawls, twisting her red curls absently. “Has anyone actually read the new handbook? Any mention of corporal punishment? I wouldn’t be surprised if he slipped it in there somewhere.”

“Pretentious jerk,” Shaye mutters.

“More like sadist,” Lexie counters.

I tune out the rest of Pratt’s grating speech and the whispers of those around me until Jade stands up and announces that she gets to cut out early.

“Who knew that being a TA would prove so beneficial?” she trills, flashing us a brilliant smile.

“You’re a teachers’ assistant this year?” Nik asks in disbelief. “For who?”

“What? Like it’s so hard to believe?” Jade asks, flipping her hair indignantly. She purses her lips as she builds her defense. Naturally, it just makes her high cheekbones look even more enviable. “I’ll have you know that I’ve been assigned as a floater, which means I’ll be able to get even more letters of recommendation.” We all stare at her doubtfully, but she’s unfazed. “How hard can it be anyway? I just have to file and grade papers and copy notes and stuff. It’ll be a breeze.” She turns on her heel and heads for the door with her hips swaying seductively the whole way. Same old Jade.

Frankly, the idea of Jade working at anything other than flirting is almost laughable, but I bite my tongue. It turns out I’m not the only one who feels that way when Blaine speaks up.

“Jade? Working?” His thin mouth curls into a sneer as he leans forward, showing interest in the rest of us for the first time since sitting down. “Has hell frozen over?”

Chapter Three

Another year, another heavy schedule. Chemistry, Psychology, World Literature, Historical Perspectives II, Intermediate MMA & Self Defense, Advanced Meditation Techniques and Talent Development. Talent Development? With Anya? Although there’s no description, I can guess what that one entails based on the conversation I overheard between Aldo and Viktor. My relationship with Anya was a lot like a game of cat and mouse last year, with her continuously trying to pin me down and extract information. Despite my initial reservations we ended the school year on good terms. Anya really came through for me when it counted and I’ve learned that I can trust her unequivocally. After all, Aldo does. She’s also Nik’s sister. Fortunately, his cocky attitude doesn’t run in the family.