Supernaturally (14 page)

Happy Freaking Halloween

I
put
a finger to my free ear to hear the phone better, angling myself away from Lend. “Wait, what?
Who
is there?” Carlee couldn’t have said what I thought she said.

“Jack, the cute one! Thanks for telling him to come. I’m so over John! And so glad I went for the slutty angel costume! Can you give me any hints? His likes, dislikes, whatever?”

“He’s— Jack is
there
? Now?” Lend turned his head sharply, suddenly focused on the conversation.

“Yeah, he’s—wait—” A girl screamed shrilly in the background, and then loud cheers erupted. Carlee swore, laughing. “He flipped off the second floor balcony and landed in the foyer!”

I put a hand over my eyes, trying to figure out a way to make this better. Jack couldn’t be there. My worlds were not supposed to mix like that. How did he even find out about it? And, knowing Jack, he was bound to get them into some sort of trouble. It’s what he did. Besides which, the thought of Jack and Carlee making out made me feel vaguely ill, and I knew it wasn’t because of the caramel apples I’d overdosed on at Lend’s house. What happened when he disappeared and broke her heart? I’d lose the only normal friend I had. And if he told her about his real life—well, she’d probably think I was crazy by association. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my senior year totally friendless.

“Can you put him on the phone? Carlee? Put Jack on the phone.”

She was laughing, shouting something that I couldn’t understand over the background noise. “Okay, I’ve gotta go—everyone’s heading to the cemetery! Thanks again—full dish tomorrow, girl!”

The line went dead. “Oh,
bleep
.” I flipped my phone shut, momentarily paralyzed. This had disaster written all over it. Jack wasn’t exactly the picture of discretion—or sanity, for that matter—and if he told her my secrets . . .

“Jack, huh.” Lend’s voice was flat, carefully controlled.

I shook my head, hating Jack for shattering our perfect evening. “I guess he showed up at Carlee’s party.”

“Oh.” Lend didn’t say anything. I couldn’t fight down the rising panic over what Jack would do or say. The lights strobed as the costume parade started. We were missing it.

“I should— They’re all going to the cemetery. I should make sure Jack doesn’t get into trouble.”

“If you think so.” Again with the flat voice. Lend trying not to betray any emotion was a lot worse than him being openly annoyed about something. “I have to go back to school tonight, anyway. I can drop you off—it’s on the way. Will you have a ride back?”

“Yeah, I can get one with Carlee.” Even if I couldn’t, the cemetery was only about a mile from the diner. It’d be easier to walk back than asking Lend to either wait or come with me. Our night wasn’t supposed to end like this. Suck, suck, sucktastic.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Thanks.”

The drive was painful, and every minute that passed in strained silence made me that much more determined to wring Jack’s neck. My phone rang when we were nearly there and I flipped it open.

“Carlee? What happened?”

“It’s Arianna.”

“Oh. What’s up?”

“I can’t stay in this apartment another minute. They’re doing a slasher flick marathon at Crown Theater. Where are you guys?”

My heart sank. Perfect. She’d pick now to want to socialize. “Umm, actually, I’m going to a party thing, and Lend was gonna head back to school. But I can maybe meet you later?” I waited for her response, but the line went flat. “Great,” I muttered, throwing the phone into my purse.

Lend pulled up in front of the wrought iron fence that lined the perimeter of the cemetery. It was a beautiful spot—and, trust me, I’ve seen more than my fair share of cemeteries. Massive ivy-covered trees shaded the entire thing and gave it a sense of privacy. Narrow, paved pathways wound throughout, lined periodically with stone benches. During the day it was peaceful, lovely, as nice a spot for an eternal resting place as you could ask.

At night? Yeah, kind of creepy. You couldn’t see more than twenty feet in any direction thanks to the trees, and the whole thing was poorly lit by the occasional pathetic lamppost.

“Do you have Tasey?” Lend asked.

I let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t usually bring her on our dates, oddly enough. Besides, this is your dad’s territory. It’s probably the safest cemetery in the world.” The vampires here were almost militant in their regulation of one another. There’s no way they’d let someone mess around in their area and draw attention.

“You have your necklace, though?”

I smiled at him and pulled it out from under my dress. “Yup. I’ll be fine. And if I had Tasey, I’d probably just use it on Jack.”

I hoped for a laugh, but Lend sighed and nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”

“Yeah.” I leaned in and was rewarded with a quick kiss, our lips barely brushing. Stupid, stupid Jack. I climbed out of the car and Lend waited until I was through the gate and down the path a bit before I heard him drive away.

A shout and some distant, nervous laughter drifted through the trees, and I gritted my teeth. After several twists and turns, I found the group, gathered around one of the benches. They seemed to be focused on someone standing on the bench in the center. I got closer and narrowed my eyes. Jack—of course. He did a standing backflip off the bench to applause.

Then he noticed me and grinned as though seeing me was a welcome surprise. “Evie! You made it!”

“Yeah, funny thing, that.
I
was actually invited. How did you get here?”

“Evie! Yay!” Carlee threw her arms around me. She had to be freezing in a tiny white sleeveless dress, go-go boots, and wings. “Isn’t this awesome?”

“Oh. Yeah. Totally. Love cemeteries. Let me guess—Jack’s idea?”

“Yes!” She giggled. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of it sooner!”

Jack’s eyes were bright, almost feverish in his excitement. “Isn’t this fun? I haven’t been to a party like this, well, ever!” I still hated him for dragging me out here, but part of me was jealous. This was the exact thing I’d always imagined for a Halloween night party, but I had to play Miss Responsible now and get him away before he did any damage. Then again, this didn’t look anywhere near as fun as the bowling had been. It was mostly just cold, and half the students looked like they were working up to being good and drunk.

“Hey!” A lanky, dark-haired guy I recognized from the hallways at school stood on the bench to get everyone’s attention. “Hide-and-seek! Feel free to hide in pairs.” He gave a leering wink, then jumped down. Carlee turned to Jack, way too excited, but the guy slapped her on the shoulder. “Carlee’s it!”

With shrieks, everyone scattered into the darkness. Carlee stuck her lip out in an exaggerated pout. “Don’t hide too hard, okay, Jack?”

He winked at her. She giggled. And I threw up a little in my mouth. He turned to run into the trees and I was forced to follow him. If this was what parties were, well, lame. Although I probably wouldn’t have thought it as lame if I were with Lend.

When I caught up, I grabbed Jack’s arm. “What are you doing here?”

“Hiding! That’s how you play the game, right? I thought the title hide-and-seek was fairly self-explanatory. Then again, you are blond.”

“So are you, idiot. Again, what are you doing
here
?”

He shrugged. “I thought it would be fun. I found the invitation on your bed the other week.”

I hadn’t seen Jack since I got the invite. Which meant he was in my apartment when I wasn’t home
and
snooping through my stuff. “What were you doing in my room?!”

“I stopped by to make sure you were okay. You’ve seemed kind of down lately.”

I frowned, taken aback. I’d expected a glib answer, but he seemed sincere. “Oh. Well, don’t mess with my stuff. And you shouldn’t be here.”

“Come on. What’s wrong with what we’re doing? Not everything is life and death. A little party never hurt anyone.” He turned and ran deeper into the trees, and I followed him with a groan. I needed to get him out of here, even if he did genuinely seem to be having a good time and hadn’t caused any damage that I could see. So far. But how dare he accuse me of not being able to have fun? I’d been having plenty of fun before he ruined it.

My phone rang and I pulled it out. Lend. “Hello?”

“Did you find him?”

“Yup. We’re leaving.”

“He’s coming back with you?”

“No! I’m just getting him away from the innocent high schoolers.” Someone screamed close by and I stiffened, all senses on alert, but then the scream melted into laughter and playful shrieks.

“Probably a good idea.”

I bit my lip, scanning the darkness for Jack. I’d lost him. “Yeah.” I struggled for something else to say.

“Call me when you get home, okay? I want to make sure you get back safe.”

“Sure, of course.”

He sighed heavily. “I should have stayed. I’m turning around.”

“No, really, it’s okay. Jack’s my problem, not yours. I’ll call you when I get home, and you’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“Alright.” The static silence between us felt like the miles were stretching, deepening. “Talk to you soon then?”

“Yeah. Bye.”

I hung up the phone, staring sadly at it for a moment. Then I looked around, determined to find Jack and get him out of here so I could call Lend back. I was deeper into the cemetery than I’d ever been—in fact, I wondered if I was even still in it or if there was no fence separating the outer boundaries from the surrounding woods. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. It felt like I was being watched.

Something grabbed my arm, and I screamed, dropping my phone.

“Hey-oh, aren’t you jumpy tonight?” Jack grinned at me.

I kicked him in the shin, then leaned down and picked up my phone. I pocketed it and turned back toward Jack. “Let’s go.”

He perked up. “Where to? If you’re bored here, I’m sure I could find us a more entertaining party in New York.” He held out his hand, and although it was too dark to see his dimples, I could practically feel them. “Come on.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t hang out with Jack, even if he would take me places I’d never see otherwise. It’d be too much of a betrayal of Lend. “I’m going home.”

A velvet voice bled out of the darkness. “So soon,
Liebchen
?”

Uber-Bleep

I
froze
, terrified, as a shadow detached itself from a nearby tree and walked forward.

“Are you surprised to see me, little monster?” His voice was soft, the trace of a German accent low and subtle.

I swallowed hard, nodding before I could think better of it. What the bleep was Uber-vamp doing here? And how was I going to get out of this?

He smiled, his perfect white glamour teeth shining over his blackened, dead ones. “If it makes you feel any better, I am pleasantly surprised to see you, as well.”

“How did you get here?” I asked, taking a small step back as I tried to think of a way to stall, to call for IPCA help, to do anything. Vampires had no business being strong. It made things so much more complicated. And scary.

“That is the question, now, isn’t it?” He considered me calmly, not moving forward. “I was in my cell in that hateful institution when someone attacked me from behind, and then I woke up here. And now you are here, too. It would appear that this is a night for strange coincidences and monsters in the dark.”

“Wait—someone jumped you from behind? In your locked cell? And you didn’t see them?”

He nodded, nonplussed. “Where are we?”

I frowned, ignoring his question. There was no way this was a strange coincidence. Someone knocked him out, got him out of the Center, and brought him here—somehow knowing exactly where I would be. There was only one type of someone who could pull that off.

Faeries. Of course. It had to be a faerie. The question was, which one? Was this some sort of joke on Reth’s part? He had deliberately put me in harm’s way before when he brought Vivian to the Center. But I couldn’t see any point to this.

Then again, there was a whole dark court of faeries who hated me, not the least of which was Fehl, who was nearly killed by Vivian last spring. And there was that faerie who showed up at the Center. She hadn’t seemed very friendly. Plus Nona, who was definitely in contact with at least one faerie that I knew of. And if what Reth had said was true, I was supposed to do something for his group of faeries. When I chose not to, I kinda screwed up all their big, prophetic plans. So basically, you’d be hard-pressed to find a faerie who
didn’t
want to hurt me. The sylph, the fossegrim, now this—there had to be someone behind it. Someone out to get me. The same someones who had always been out to get me.

“Bleeping faeries,” I muttered darkly. Why couldn’t they leave me alone?

Uber-vamp’s eyes lit up. “Faeries? Do you know where I can find one?”

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, if I could, I’d set you loose on the whole race.”

Someone screamed and giggled close by, and Uber-vamp and I both snapped our attention to the direction of the sound.

“Friends of yours?” he asked, and ice spread through my stomach.

“Humans.”

“Pity. I’m so very thirsty. Still, you and I have unfinished business,
Liebchen
.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t want to be around him, be reminded of how badly I’d wanted to take his soul that night. “Look. I’m tired, and things haven’t gone the way I wanted tonight. I’d really rather not deal with you right now, so what do you say we let Jack here escort you back to the Center. I’ll visit you soon, and we can have a nice, long talk then.”

He laughed. “I think not.”

Something clicked and I grinned at him. “Well, it doesn’t really matter anyway, since your ankle tracker tells IPCA exactly where you are, and they’ll be here any minute.” Oh, bless you, IPCA technology.

He looked around, his movements slow and unconcerned. “And yet here we are, still, and
they
are nowhere to be seen.”

I frowned. He had a point. They should have been here almost instantly. Why weren’t they?

“Umm,” Jack said, reminding me that he was still standing behind me, “any ideas, Evie? I seem to be fresh out of baseball bats.” Uber-vamp directed a chilling glare in Jack’s direction. I inwardly cursed the idiot boy for bringing it up and putting himself in danger, too.

“I’m guessing you didn’t bring your communicator.”

“In hindsight, not a clever move on my part.”

So we were on our own, then. I reached for Tasey before remembering I’d left her at home, safe and sound in my sock drawer. Not good.

We all stood there, the tension palpable in the darkness. Uber-vamp feinted forward and I shouted, aiming a kick at him. He darted to the side, dodging me, and I bent down and grabbed a solid stick from the forest floor. Bless Jack’s unintentional foresight in bringing us back here. I broke it in half over my knee and held it out, ready for his next charge. I’d never staked a vampire before—the thought made me sick—but I’d make an exception if it meant not dying. Hopefully he was weakened from not drinking paranormal blood during his time in the Center.

Suddenly someone came skipping out of the darkness next to him.

“Jack! There you are!” Carlee squealed.

Not her! “Carlee, run!”

“Come here, my dear,” Uber-vamp said, his voice low and commanding. I ran forward but was too late. She looked up into his eyes and that was all it took.

“Course,” she murmured, her voice sleepy, happy, and downright dopey. She leaned into him and he put his arm around her, looking up at me with a gloating smile. Great. My clueless, sweet friend was now under the thrall of the strongest vampire alive, and it was my own stupid fault for being a murderous-paranormal magnet.

“Let her go.”

He stroked her neck with his dead hand as she nestled happily into his shoulder. “Drop the stake.”

I clutched it, trying to think of any way out of this. I could rush him. If I went fast enough, he wouldn’t have time to dodge.

“I’ll break her neck,” he said cheerfully, anticipating my thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. I didn’t want my hands free. I didn’t want to have to make this choice. Not now. Not him. My fingers had already started tingling, my veins rushing, and I was hyperaware of the night air, almost nudging me forward. In the darkness I could see it, that hint of light around his heart. “Trust me,” I whispered, “I’m safer armed.”

His fingers squeezed Carlee’s neck, digging into the skin. Her breath caught, but if anything she looked happier. “Now, please.”

I dropped the stick, and losing that weight in my hand felt like losing my last defense. There was nothing between me and the vamp’s soul now. I looked up at the night sky, clouded over without a hint of stars. Why couldn’t anything ever be easy?

“Do something,” Jack prodded from behind me.

I shot a glare back at him. This whole thing was his fault. No, it was the faeries’ fault. Still. I should have been winning a costume contest with Lend, not fighting for my own soul and Carlee’s life. I let out a frustrated growl. “I am so
sick
of moral dilemmas!”

Uber-vamp frowned. “Beg pardon?”

“Don’t make me do this. You remember in the alley? You knew then. I saw it—your instincts kicking in, telling you to be afraid of me.” I leaned forward, my hands balled into fists and trembling at my sides. “You should listen to your instincts.”

He smiled, licking his sharp teeth. “I’m afraid I’m rather more curious than frightened. I want to taste you, find out what kind of monster you are.”

“Good luck with that.” I narrowed my eyes, stretching out my fingers. No choice. I had no choice. This wasn’t my fault. I was out of options.

He laughed, and before I could react he threw Carlee at Jack, knocking them both to the ground. My eyes still on them, I wasn’t ready for him to barrel into me. We flew through the air together, landing hard on the ground with him on top of me. He snarled, baring his teeth, and went for my throat.

His fangs pierced my neck. I screamed and shoved my hand against his chest. This time when the channel opened I was ready. Anger coursing through me, I threw it open wider, pulling as much as I could, as fast as I could. Forget defending myself. I was going to end this. His back arched but he was too shocked, in too much pain to get away.

Then someone shouted and slammed into Uber-vamp, knocking him off me and breaking the connection. My heart raced and I gasped for breath, body swirling with energy, foreign and delicious. I wanted the rest of him. I pushed up to sitting, wanting to find the vampire, drain him completely.

That’s when I saw Lend, on top of Uber-vamp, punching him again and again in the face until he was sure the vampire wasn’t going anywhere. And then what I’d done—what I was going to finish—came crashing down on me. I dropped onto my back and put my hands over my face.

I would have killed him.

I
wanted
to.