Blood and Beasts (33 page)

“Bill! Where
’
s the key? I can
’
t
see anything in this light!” Seph jumped a foot, scattering kids everywhere,
when Janette
’
s voice carried to her acute ears.

She swirled around, eyes darting to
meet Nate
’
s as they heard the kitchen door
open. She took a sharp intake of breath, preparing to mist, and Nate smacked
her. She glowered at him, grabbing his wrist.

What was that for?
She
demanded, and he stumbled backwards a step, startled by the intruding voice in
his mind.

You
’
re telepathic too?
He asked, and she tossed her
straight hair over her shoulder in frustration, clearly indicating for him to
hurry up.

Calm down the kids. I gotta get
outta here
, she exclaimed, and he hit her again as she prepared to mist.

You can
’
t use any vampire skills when
Janette is here. She has some charms or something, and she can detect any
vampiric abilities that happen within a five hundred foot radius of her. Go up
to my room.
He
commanded hurriedly before breaking their grasp as she headed for the stairs,
and the adults entered the kitchen.

“Just act normal, guys,” he
whispered to them before darting up the stairs after her.

He hoped they hadn
’
t seen him or Seph, but they hadn
’
t said anything, which meant that
they probably hadn
’
t. They were talking about something
or other about dinner or the movie. He glanced at his watch on his way up the
stairs and saw the numbers 2:00 blinking up at him. Great, and he hadn
’
t even put the kids to bed. He would
probably get in trouble…. He heard the footsteps of Bill coming up the stairs
just as he burst into his room, right behind Seph.

“Window,” she breathed, wrenching
it open and managing to trip on one of his strewn-about sweatshirts at the same
time.

She cursed under her breath when
they heard the sound of Bill settling on the second story landing. Nate thought
quickly, grabbing Seph and shoving her on the bed, jumping in after her and
covering them both. He grasped her wrist firmly.

Play along. Don
’
t let him see your hair.
He said to her, and she did as he
told her, understanding the rest of his plan quickly enough. They heard the
creak of the door opening, and Nate flung up the covers from his head, acting
the part perfectly. He hurriedly nudged Seph off the side of the bed away from
the man silhouetted in his doorway.

“Bill!” He exclaimed as though he
had just been caught being very busy.

“Nate! Oh my… sorry,” Bill quickly
shut the door, and they both sprang to their feet.

Nate ushered her to the window,
grinning smugly as he pulled his shirt off and pants, stripping down to his
boxers. He winked at her, and she just rolled her eyes. She tried to fix her
mussed hair as he tousled his own.

“Gotta play the role,” he whispered
to her just as she jumped out of the window to the ground below, easily landing
on her feet.

From there, it was a quick trot
into the surrounding woods, merging into the tree line where Janette
’
s charms no longer reached. She had
time to glance back to see Bill clap Nate on the back in a manly fashion. She
rolled her eyes. Boys would be boys. If Bill or Janette had caught her in bed
with a guy, you could bet that she would be getting screamed at right about
now. When Nate was caught, it was the mannish thing to do. He was growing up,
blah blah.

She caught a distinct scent in the
air just as she swiveled in the darkness, crouching low. Something else was in
the woods with her tonight. It was alive. It was humanoid. It was a werewolf.
Rodney suddenly stepped into the wan moonlight, and she straightened up,
immediately averting her eyes.

It did not look good. She grimaced.
She was guessing he saw her jump out of the window, Nate shirtless, and he
probably saw the whole thing going on between Nate and Bill at that very
moment. It did not look good at all.

Suddenly, Rodney leaned forward,
tilted her head up, and kissed her lightly. Of all the things that she had
expected him to do at that moment, throw a fit, become silent, walk away… that
was not what she had expected at all. She stared up at him confusedly.

“I saw most of it. I kind of
followed you here… I saw you disappear over the fence, and you didn
’
t even stop to say anything or tell
me where you were going. I was curious… and brought you some blood. I noticed
you didn
’
t drink any,” he held the thermos of
blood out as a sort of peace offering.

She sighed. Apparently they had
both gone behind each other
’
s backs tonight, and the night
before, she noted with a scowl. She hugged him tightly.

“
I understand, Seph. I don
’
t want this to change anything,” he
said, stroking her hair gently.

They slowly pulled apart, and he
looked her directly in the eyes, which she knew had to be very black by now.
She had skipped breakfast and lunch. It had taken many distractions and
ironclad self-control to not drain any of her brothers or sister dry. He was
not afraid though. She suddenly grabbed the thermos and drank from it greedily,
sloshing some blood down her neck, which he wiped away without so much as a
single look of disgust. She needed to be in control, and in order to be in
control, she needed to be full or at least not starving.

“Go with me to the Halloween dance
next week,” he said, and she looked up at him, eyes sparkling.

She had finished the thermos, and he
lightly cut his wrist. He let her drink more from him, obviously still hungry
by the darkness in her eyes. She hurriedly did so, needing food, or, in her
case, blood, for energy.

Of course I will! I was
wondering when you were gonna ask,
she said, lips not parting from his
wrist.
I
’
m sorry. This would be really sweet
if I wasn
’
t trying to sate this stupid thirst
and not attack you right now,
she stated, and he nodded understandingly.

You
’
re just acting according to your
nature,
he watched
with amusement as her eyebrows furrowed with that remark.
What? You can say
that to me, but not the other way around? That ain
’t fair
, he said, but she scowled at him
all the same.

She slowly pulled away, licking her
lips free of any spare traces of blood. She straightened up, adjusting her
rumpled clothing. She ran a few fingers through her hair, clearing away any
knots.

“You ready to head back?” He asked
her, and she smiled at him, a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Race you there!” She exclaimed,
darting off into the woods with Rodney dashing right behind her.

Tristan traipsed through those same
woods a few miles away, closer to the school but moving in a different
direction, in the same direction that Silo had taken the day of his escape. He
couldn
’
t see very well in the dark. He wasn
’
t a vampire or a werewolf. Twigs and
branches scratched at his outstretched arms. He wished he had thought to bring
a flashlight. He was tripping over roots and rocks, smacking into branches and
tree trunks. This was so frustrating!

He was a wizard, wasn
’
t he? He should be able to create
light! There had to be a spell that created some type of light source. Wizards
could do anything, and he was a good wizard, really good according to Abernathy
and Linda. When you couldn
’
t think of a spell or didn
’
t know of one, you were supposed to
open your mind up to all the possibilities. They had learned this in one of
their first Wizarding classes. He did this now, inhaling deeply and emptying
his mind of all excess thoughts.

What would bring about light? The
simplest idea was just to snap his fingers. Snap his fingers like you would
snap a lighter, and then allow that light to grow into a ball in the palm of
his hand. He snapped his fingers, never opening his eyes as he slowly
outstretched his palm, and red played on the backs of his eyelids.

He opened his eyes to see a ball of
warm, yellow light ebbing in his hand, pulsating gently. He had no idea what it
was. It was not fire or lightning. It was just light. He shrugged. It had
worked.

He continued on his way, easily
traversing the woods now that he had a light. He was trying to find that cavern
again, find that coven of vampires. He knew he had seen it, seen them. He had
not made it up simply because he was a little afraid of vampires. He had really
seen it, and he didn
’
t mean to hurt Seph
’
s feelings, but those vampires were
scary. She wasn
’
t scary when she had fed, but those
vampires were scary all the time.

He entered a familiar-looking field.
If he remembered correctly, the cavern hole had been just over there… He took a
step forward. There was a rustle in the tree line directly beside him.
SNAP!
He whirled around, and blackness enveloped him…

Electric-blue eyes opened blearily,
contents above them swirling dangerously. His head felt like a cracked egg, his
brains oozing out like yolk. He closed his eyes as the room
’
s light pierced into his brain
painfully. Who ordered the lobotomy? He felt nauseated and woozy. What had
happened? Maybe he should try standing? He should figure out where he was too.

In one swift motion, he rose to his
feet and opened his eyes. Immediately, he fell back onto his pillow, nearly
throwing up at the sudden movement. Rodney was at his side in an instant,
chuckling under his breath as he helped the dizzy boy to sit up, leaning his
back against the headboard.

“Rough night, Tristan?” He asked
casually, laughter glimmering in his golden eyes.

Tristan gave him a concerned look,
one hand to his head as it pounded viciously.

“I…
I dunno
…
I don’
t remember…” He trailed off, racking his brain for what
had happened.

This only made it ache even worse.
He had been searching for something… What? He couldn
’
t remember… His brain hurt whenever he tried to think
too hard. Everything was still spinning, and he felt on the verge of throwing
up constantly.

“Ah, one of those nights…” Rodney
reminisced, and Tristan caught the playful edge to his voice.

“I wasn
’
t drinking, Rod,” he said, and the look the werewolf
gave him was not reassuring. “At least…
I don’
t
think I was…” He kept trying to remember.

Honestly, he could have been
drinking. He didn
’
t remember a thing. Was that common?
To remember absolutely nothing? He hadn
’
t
been planning on drinking last night. He knew that. 

“
Lemme guess
… Killer headache? Feel like you
’
re gonna throw up? Everythin
’
spinning? No memory? That
’
s a hangover. I
’
ve had plenty before,” he responded firmly, slowly
helping the boy to stand up.

“Was I drinking with you?” Tristan
asked as Rodney passed him over some clean-smelling clothes from the floor.

“No,” Rodney said firmly. “Seph and
I were a little busy yesterday,” He concluded, and Tristan glanced at him

Again, he had that playful look in
his eye. Tristan did not want to know the details of that story. Rodney was
smirking way too much.

“Who
’
d I drink with then?” He asked, truly puzzled as he
stumbled over to the bathroom, splashing some cool water on his face and
brushing his teeth. “What?!” He shrieked, suddenly noticing twin puncture marks
on his neck.

Rodney hurried over, and they both
looked at the marks in the mirror.

“Vampire bite,” Rodney said
positively, showing the healing white marks on his own throat.

“Who was I with?! What happened to
me?! Did the vampires get me?” Tristan
’
s
eyes were wide and frantic as Rodney just laughed.

“Get you? If any of the female
vampires at our school got you, believe me, you enjoyed it, man. Sucks that you
don
’
t remember it though,” Rodney
remarked with a shrug, changing into his own shirt.

Tristan gaped at his chest.

“Are those…” he started, and Rodney
grinned again, covering the several bite marks with his shirt.

“Don
’
t ask, don
’
t tell,” he said with a wink, and
Tristan nodded, not wanting to know any more about that.

They hurried to Sunday breakfast, a
little later than usual due to Tristan
’
s
slow movements and confusion. He remained puzzled the entire way there. Up
ahead, they saw Masoko and Roberta leaving the Main Hall. Maybe one of them
knew what had happened to him… He moved to ask as much when Masoko suddenly ran
up to him and kissed him. She pulled away after a few suspended seconds,
grinning impishly and flitting off with her friend.

He just stood there a moment,
frozen, Rodney at his side. Rodney was watching the two girls walk away,
throwing furtive, flirtatious glances over their shoulders at the shocked boy.
Tristan had a good time last night, he mused, helping the boy into the Main
Hall and to their usual table.

“Hey, Tristan! The man of the
hour!” Stefan exclaimed, clapping Tristan on the back.

“What?” He asked, catching Rodney
’
s bemused look.

This was almost more than he could
take! What had he done last night?! What had happened?! He couldn
’
t remember anything!

“Good job yesterday,” Stefan nodded
at him with admiration.

Tristan stealthily sidled his seat
over beside Stefan before the girls arrived with their laden breakfast trays.

“What did I do last night?” He
asked quietly.

A sharp movement caught his
attention at the corner of his eye. Masoko had frozen near the entrance of the
Main Hall, catching every word as she reentered the cafeteria. She had
forgotten her bag. He winced. She was probably not happy that he didn
’
t remember anything. She caught his
eye for a second with her venomous ones before flouncing off, turning on her
heel brutally. She left her bag.

“You showed up late to our vamp
party. We have ‘em every Saturday in the woods. Anybody can come, but usually
only us vampires are there. You guys are scared of us or somethin
’
,” he flashed a smile at him,
exposing his ivory fangs. “Anyways, you and Masoko disappeared for a while, but
we heard…” he grinned again, and Tristan
’
s
eyes bugged out.

“Did I…” Stefan was shaking his
head.

“No, I know those sounds only too
well. You
’
re safe, little wizard. Well… maybe
not safe from Masoko
’
s wrath. She
’
s gonna be pissed,
” he chuckled at the thought of it.

“I have to go talk to her,” Tristan
announced, rising to his feet a little unsteadily.

“That
’
s not a good idea, bro,” Stefan suggested, raising a
hand to steady the boy.

“No, I need to,” he said, grabbing
an apple from Linda
’
s plate and hurrying out the Main
Hall.

“This will end badly,” Stefan mused,
shaking his head.

Linda poked him, and he looked up.

“Details?” She asked, and he
grinned, flashing his fangs again.

Later that morning, Tristan entered
the Room, where they all were, as usual. Immediately, everybody burst out
laughing. He flapped a hand at them, nursing his pounding headache and the
score of scratch marks latticing his arms.

“It not go like you wanted?” Stefan
asked, caressing Linda
’
s cheek, and Tristan sent him a
glare that could have melted the polar icecaps.

Tristan hobbled his way to the
corner to whisper with Dewdrop, as always. Seph studied him a moment. Looked
like Masoko had probably thrown him into a wall or something… He would heal in
time. If he could swallow his pride and go to the nurse, she could heal him,
but he wouldn
’
t do that. He would have to explain
what had happened, and it seemed like even he didn
’
t remember. She grinned wryly.

“What are you smiling about?”
Rodney asked her as he played with her hair.

“Wouldn
’
t you like to know?” She replied playfully, nudging him
lightly.

“Yes,” he answered her honestly,
lightly stroking her forearm where the werewolf marks had been, although they
had finally healed.

“Alright girls, let
’
s go,” Francesca announced, hopping
to her feet.

“Go where?” Rodney asked as all the
girls rose to their feet, nearly in unison.

“We
’
re going shopping,” Francesca stated, hands on her hips
as her cousin glanced at his watch.

“It
’
s 10:30 on a Sunday night. Where do you think you
’
re gonna be shoppin
’
at?” He asked, and his cousin tossed
her head regally at him.

“There are a few magical shops
around here, Rodney, that keep our hours. Perfect for Halloween dance
shopping,” she said, eyes glimmering.

“Not like you gotta date,” he
remarked under his breath, and she growled at him.

“You never know,” she remarked
coolly as the other girls silently assembled themselves near the door.

“Which guy is it gonna be? You
’
re jugglin
’
so many, cuz. There
’
s that wizard, Raymond, the ‘real cute
’
Mexican one that you and Seph were
trippin
’
over a few weeks ago,” Seph smiled
sweetly at him. “Then… there was that other wizard, Alex, the black one, but I
think you were just with him for fun,” Rodney commented, going through the list
of Francesca
’
s boys. “Hmm… I know you had a thing
with that werewolf, Freddy, the pale-grey one that
bit
Seph
’
s arm,” he emphasized, nodding at
Seph, who looked a little caught off guard.

“He has good taste,” Seph stated,
quickly recovering and winking at her best friend.

“I
’
m pretty sure I saw you and Kenji sneak off one time
too…” Rodney continued when Stefan cleared his throat, interrupting the
werewolf
’
s spiel.

“Kenji? He
’
s a good guy, Francesca. Don
’
t mess with his feelin
’
s,” he stated sincerely.

“That was a one time thing, just
for fun. Kenji knew it, and I knew it. Geez, Rodney! The way you go on, you
make me sound like the school hooker or somethin
’
,” her cousin raised his brows skeptically, and she
shoved him roughly. “
Hey,
I don’
t sleep around,
Rodney. I just like to browse my wares,” she stated, a smirk bedecking her full
lips, identical to Rodney
’
s own smirk.