Unfaithful (11 page)

“Why not? You two could really get down with one of these.”

“Gemma and I don’t need to get high for that.”

“Your loss.” He tucked another one into his pocket.

“You’re unbelievable,” I said, shaking my head. Meanwhile, the yard had grown silent. The kids had gone into hiding. “Anyway, let’s focus on the mission now. Let the hunt begin.”

“I’m ready to play.”

I smiled. Our eyes were gray as molten silver.

When we walked by the kids, some of them shuddered and peered around uneasily, but none of them could see us. Drake followed Ron, who was wandering through the tall grass in search of his hidden friends, unaware that he was being hunted as well. The boy moved slowly, trying not to make a sound, but now and then something—a sinister shiver—make him look over his shoulder.

A wooden swing hanging from a maple branch moved. He flinched and whirled around. “Who’s there?” Taking a few steps toward the swing, he stared as it swung steadily back and forth as if someone were gently pushing it, though there was no wind. The boy gulped and grabbed the chains to stop the ominous creaking that filled the night. He walked away, but after a few steps the noise began again, freezing him in his tracks. When he turned around he saw the swing moving back and forth even faster than before. Smothering a scream, he raced to the house, threw open the door, and slammed it shut after him. Drake was already inside, hidden in the shadows, with no intention of cutting the poor boy any slack.

I could hear Ron’s heart beating wildly in the silence. It seemed he’d perceived something sinister. What he didn’t know was that it was Death, passing right by him.

Drake knocked over a pot and the boy stifled a scream, his eyes shut tight. He curled up on the floor, panting, his knees clasped to his chest. A chair passed in front of him, scraping against the floorboards with a menacing sound. Next, a wooden spoon flew across the room, followed by another and yet another, almost hitting Ron, whose eyes bulged as they whizzed past him, colliding with the walls. He covered his ears with his hands, doubtless more terrified than he’d ever been in his life.

A sudden silence fell. Drake materialized but remained hidden in the shadows. Though the room was shrouded in darkness, the boy could sense something. “Who’s there?” He drew closer, one slow step after the other. From out of nowhere a cat leapt at him, making him jump. He whirled around to run away but found himself face to face with Drake. With a shriek, he ran in the opposite direction, but in the darkness hit a wooden beam head-on and fell to the floor, unconscious.

Drake’s laughter filled the room. “God! I haven’t had this much fun in days!”

“You were pretty rough on him. He’s going to have nightmares for the rest of his life.”

“You’re saying I scared him? And I thought he wasn’t afraid of anything! Shame he doesn’t have claws like Audrey,” Drake laughed, his gray eyes glittering. “There are four of them left. Want to find out who’s bravest?”

“Drake, we agreed we wouldn’t overdo it.”

“What do you care? Let’s let them have a little fun!”

“Let
them
? I don’t think
he
was having any.”

“Relax! I’m just trying to make their night more interesting. Look on the bright side: after all those brownies they ate, they’ll figure they were hallucinating and will never eat them again. So in a way I’m doing this for their own good.”

“Yeah, right. Go ahead and kid yourself.”

Drake grinned sheepishly. “In a few years they’ll look back on this and laugh,” he assured me.

I grew serious. “I doubt they’ll remember any of this after I do what I came here to do.”

“Yeah, so there you go. I’m not the bad guy. You’re the one who’s going to spoil their party.”

He was right. Years would pass but only one memory of that night would haunt them. Drake had had some fun, but in the meantime I’d made sure all the kids were where they were supposed to be.

The time had come for me to play. Only mine wouldn’t be just a game.

“Hey, keep those hands where they belong!”

A guy and a girl had hidden in the hayloft, but I had the impression they were more interested in another kind of game. They were the two who’d been ogling each other the whole time. I recognized them from his black ponytail and her red hair.

“Shh, quiet or they’ll find us!” he whispered, pulling her against him.

She laughed and pretended to fight him off while actually guiding his hands onto her, her breath coming fast as he kissed her neck.

“Oho! I knew you were a killjoy! Him or her?” Drake asked, watching them with a gleam in his eye.

“Neither. They can have a little more fun. At least for now.”

“Then if you don’t mind I think I’ll join them.”

“What do you mea—No, wait. I don’t want to know.”

Drake had already transformed. He looked like a younger version of himself. “The more the merrier in this kind of game.” He winked at me and went to lie down behind the girl.

She gave a start and turned toward him. “Who are you?” Her eyes were still misty with desire and the brownies were no doubt taking effect.

“Shh,” Drake whispered, sweeping her hair back behind her ear. “I’m only a figment of your imagination.” Believing him, she relaxed and let herself be kissed on the mouth while the other boy touched her all over.

“What a bastard!” I shook my head and chuckled. I went out of the hayloft, leaving Drake with the couple. Outside the night was silent. I listened, sensing every hidden sound, every heartbeat, every breath. None of the kids could hide from me; I could track down even the most cunning. Only one was keeping my senses alert, however. I concentrated on him and his soul led me to the place he’d hidden—to the place
I’d
made sure he’d hidden.

Standing on the roof of the little wooden house, I stared at Adam, sitting on its edge, his back to me. He was smoking weed and watching a few of the others hidden below. He seemed older than the rest of them. Maybe he was in a higher grade at school or, more likely, he’d been held back a few times. In some way the guy reminded me of Peter and this made something boil inside me, something I had to struggle to push down. Maybe it was his curly hair or his lacrosse jersey. Or more probably it was the way he’d been staring at that girl. Yeah, that must have been it. But I had to focus on my mission and carry out orders.

A creaking noise broke the silence and Adam spun in my direction. “What was that?”

I turned the rooster-shaped weathervane slowly as he watched, frightened not just because there wasn’t any wind but because I was turning it first in one direction and then the other. When I abruptly stopped, he peered around and listened to the renewed silence. He sighed and stared at the half-smoked joint in his hand, shaking his head, then stubbed it out next to his foot. I flicked it away with my invisible touch, making it bounce. His eyes darted around again and another creak interrupted the sound of his rapid breathing.

“What’s going on? You’re playing a joke on me, aren’t you, guys? C’mon, it’s not funny!”

He couldn’t see me, but I let him hear the wood creak as I moved toward him. Adam heard the sound coming closer and looked around like a cornered animal. I could hear his heart beating like a drum.

His wasn’t the only heartbeat on the roof, though.

I clenched my fist and the beam beneath Adam’s hands snapped in two, leaving him without support. He instantly lost his balance, but someone hidden in the darkness leapt out and grabbed him by the leg just in time. With incredible strength he pulled Adam back up but slipped and fell in the process. Adam lunged over the edge in a useless attempt to grab him.

The thought ran through my mind that I would have preferred it if Adam had been my target.

“Connor!” Adam screamed, clutching his hair.

I walked to the edge of the roof and looked down at the boy lying motionless below us. Drake appeared beside him, looked up at me, and smiled. “We done already?”

I smiled back. “We’ve only just begun.”

“Connor!!! Oh my God! Is he dead?”

The girls rushed to him, shrieking. Adam knelt beside his friend as the others watched, frozen with terror.

“Adam, what happened?”

“Do something!” Audrey screamed. “We can’t leave him there like that!”

 “I, I w-was falling off the roof. He caught me but then he fell instead.”

“What were you guys doing on the roof?” asked the pony-tailed guy I’d seen in the hayloft.

“What do you think we were doing, Preston? We were hiding!”

“Nice fucking hiding place! Can’t you see the house is ready to collapse?”

“You saying it’s my fault? I didn’t tell him to hide up there. I didn’t even know he was there.”

“Guys, cut it out! Stop fighting!” Layla said.

The redheaded girl fell to her knees beside Connor and began to sob.

“Paige, get up! Let’s go,” Layla said to her anxiously.

“Connor! I’ve always been such a bitch to you and now you’re dead.” Paige took him by the shoulders and started to shake him. “Forgive me, Connor! Forgive me!” she sobbed.

Connor opened his eyes wide and let out a whoop, making everyone jump. He propped himself on his elbows and started laughing as his friends stared at him in shock.

“You freaking moron!”
The girl punched him on the shoulder and he fell back, still laughing.

“Fuck, man! You scared us half to death!” Adam said. “What were you doing hiding there?”

“Saving your ass.” Connor shot out a hand and the others helped him up.

“So you didn’t die. It was all a joke,” Audrey blurted as Connor put his glasses on.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“We thought you were dead! How could you play a prank like that on us?”

“I just wanted to see how much you guys love me!”

“Five more minutes and we would have buried you,” one of the guys said, chuckling. “In fact, what do you all say we bury him anyway? C’mon, grab him!”

“Whoa, whoa! Hold on! What are you doing?” Connor said, but the guys grabbed him by the wrists and ankles. “C’mon! It was just a stupid joke! Put me down!”

“On three, we dump him in the water,” said Jarret, the boy with the cornrows. “One, two—”

“Wait!” Layla stopped the boys before they could throw Connor into the water tank. “I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we play Truth or Dare? It’s more fun! Each of us gets asked a question, and whoever refuses to answer it honestly has to do a dare.”

“I’m down!”

Connor protested as the guys dumped him on the ground. He touched his head, stifling a groan of pain. “Somebody bring the brownies. Looks like we’re going to need them. Hey! What happened to Ron? Anybody seen him?”

“Hey, you’re right. I haven’t seen him for a while now. He was supposed to come find us.”

“He’s in here!” There was a splash followed by a shout.

“Hey! Are you crazy?” Ron shook his wet hair as he came out of the house. One of the guys had dumped a bucket of water on him to bring him to his senses—or maybe just for fun.

“What happened, Ron? You decide to take a nap right in the middle of the party?” Adam said, grinning.

“I passed out, moron. I don’t even remember what happened.”

“Have a brownie. It’ll help you remember,” Jarret suggested. Everyone laughed.

“If I eat another one of those things I think I’ll puke.”

“Then we need to find a different punishment for you,” Layla said. “You go first. Truth or dare?”

“Hey, why me? I don’t even want to play!”

“You said it yourself: this is your place, so you go first,” Adam said.

“Okay then. Truth.”

“Brave! Let’s see . . . Confess: when was your first time and who was it with?” Layla asked.

“What, you don’t remember?” Ron said, winking at her with a sly smile.

“You lying asshole! It’s not true! Don’t listen to him. I’m still a virgin!” In the silence someone whistled while someone else faked a coughing fit to hide their laughter. “Time to pay, smartass. It’ll teach you a lesson.” Meanwhile, Audrey was glaring at Layla as if she didn’t believe her.