Eleventh Grade Burns (24 page)

After a pause, Otis ran a frustrated hand through his hair and sighed. “Come back to school, Vlad. Please.”

Vlad swallowed hard, a small tear escaping his eye. It rolled down the side of his head and settled on his earlobe. Wetting his dry, cracked lips, he opened his parched mouth and said, “There’s nothing left for me there”

Otis watched him for a moment, then opened the door again. He hesitated in the doorway for a moment, frustration ebbing from him. At last, he turned back to Vlad. “I’m there.”

Without another word, Otis stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him.

Vlad lay still for a while, but finally sat up, forcing his attention away from his flawed ceiling. He was hungry. And he couldn’t help but wonder if anything good was on TV

W
ELL YOU CAN’T STAY HOME FOREVER!” Nelly’s voice had risen in both tone and pitch to the point that Vlad was almost certain she was on the cusp of shouting—some thing Nelly never did. He was still staring at her with a confounded expression on his face when she pushed his backpack into his arms and pointed at the front door. “March, Mister. Straight to school. And don’t let me catch you skipping. You are done running from your problems and missing out on your education.”

Vlad blinked. She sounded serious. Was she being serious? It had been three days since everyone at Bathory High had learned his secret. She couldn’t possibly expect him to go back to the stares and giggles, back to being the walking freak show.

Nelly stomped over to the front door and opened it. “Go on.”

He blinked again. Oh crap, she really was serious! “Nelly, I—”

Then she did something that no words could defend against. She gave him that look. That mom look. The one that said if Vlad didn’t get his butt out the front door and fast, she was going to bury him in the backyard and plant daisies over his remains.

With a heavy sigh, he slid the strap of his backpack over one shoulder and stepped out onto the porch. Nelly promptly shut the door hard behind him. Not quite slamming it, but threatening to. Then she locked it. He was going to school, whether he liked it or not.

He watched the door for a moment in disbelief, contemplating what she might do if he snuck in the back door, and then turned and moved down the steps. He’d just stepped onto the walk when he spied a familiar figure standing outside the gate. Joss was wearing a sheepish grin. His arm was still in a cast. “Hey, Vlad.”

“Hey ... Joss.”

“Henry’s got a dentist appointment. I thought we’d walk to school together.”

Vlad parted his lips and made a sound that sounded like, “Ooookay.”

They crossed the street together and made their way down the sidewalk, toward the school. Vlad had opted for the longer route to school for two reasons: 1) He really wanted to delay going back to school, and 2) He was curious like crazy why Joss was acting completely normal. After several long, silent steps, Vlad cleared his throat and said, “So, what’s this about, anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I ...” Vlad ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “A week and a half ago, you were trying to drive a stake through my chest, and now we’re walking to school together as though nothing ever happened.”

Joss grew quiet, but Vlad could tell he was thinking of a way to phrase whatever it was he was thinking. Finally, taking a deep breath, as if this weren’t very easy for him either, he said, “The way I see it, day and night are very different things ... just like us. So the way I figure it, maybe we should take a break from trying to kill each another. During the day, we’ll be friends ... y’know? If you want, I mean.”

“And at night?”

“Foes. For the reasons we discussed in the hospital.”

They walked along in silence as Vlad mulled over the idea. In truth, he really liked it, but he wasn’t sure if he could trust Joss. Not after everything that had taken place between them. He shook his head, berating himself for making himself vulnerable to the sadistic whims of a slayer, and said, “Okay. But you’ve got to leave Otis and Vikas out of this. And no confrontations in Nelly’s house. I don’t want her involved.”

“Okay. But you can’t hide inside Nelly’s house every night either.”

“Deal.” They approached the front of the school and Vlad slowed his steps. “Hey Joss ... has anyone said anything about Eddie’s article lately?”

Joss smiled. Vlad couldn’t tell what his smile meant. “Everyone’s said something, Vlad”

“Like what?”

But Joss was already up the steps and opening the front door.

Vlad took a brave breath and huffed up the stairs. Once he was inside, it seemed like business as usual. Students were hurrying from their lockers to first hour. Teachers were trying to keep the peace. The jocks were being jock-y and the cheer-leaders were swooning at their jock-yness. The art kids were sharing their sketchbooks with one another. It was a scene like any other morning at Bathory High. Vlad was in shock. He’d fully expected torches and pitchforks.

A large wall of flesh slammed into Vlad’s side, knocking him off kilter. Tom Gaiber snorted, “Watch where you’re going, goth boy.”

Bill Jensen snorted too. Vlad was beginning to think he was surrounded by horses. Two large, annoying horses with bad body odor and low IQs. “You’re a vampire, right? Show us your fangs, vampire boy.”

Vlad’s defenses raised, but he said nothing. Sometimes silence was your best defense. Tom guffawed. “Yeah, you’re as much of a vampire as I am a werewolf. And I’m not one.”

Resisting rolling his eyes was giving Vlad a migraine, so he closed them for a moment instead. “Are you done yet? I have to get to class.”

Tom snorted. “Class? You’ve got none of that, loser.”

Thankfully, Mr. Hunjo appeared and shooed them both off with a warning glance before they decided to beat some class into Vlad.

Vlad shot an expectant look at Joss, who smiled as he shuf fled the stack of books in his hands. “Where’s Eddie?”

Joss shrugged. “He was expelled for writing a bogus article about a fellow student—something Principal Snelgrove views as a form of bullying.”

And just like that, Vlad’s tension melted away. It was over. In a good way.

As Vlad and Joss walked into Otis’s classroom, Otis shot him a look that said he doubted his nephew’s sanity.
“Is this your way of handling it? A broken arm and a mended friendship? I knew you went after him, but I assumed it was to stop his heart from beating.”

Vlad cut Otis off with a crunch. It was none of his business anyway. Besides, he wanted blood, he got it. He never said anything about death.

Otis looked at Joss and managed a somewhat pleasant tone. “Joss, it’s good to see you back. I was worried something happened to you.”

Joss wasn’t smiling. “Something did, but I survived.”

“Well, it’s good to have you back. I trust you and your friend are ready for a pop quiz.”

Vlad shot Otis a look before letting his eyes wander over to Meredith’s desk. Sadly, he found it empty.

As if reading his thoughts, Joss leaned forward and said, “She’s out with mono. Won’t be back until after spring break.”

Vlad nodded his thanks and then turned his attention back to the pop quiz that had just been put on his desk. The air between him and Joss was strange, awkward. Because even though they’d agreed not to kill each other during daylight hours, there was always that other thing.

There was always the fact that both of them loved Meredith Brookstone.

V
IKAS RAN AT VLAD with the stake held high, but he didn’t just run, he shifted in that superquick way that only vampires could move. For the evening, they’d moved their training session to an old abandoned barn at the edge of town. Vikas had said they’d require more space than the basement could supply. He never mentioned that he wouldn’t be holding back at all and, if Vlad didn’t defend, could seriously endanger his life.

In a flash, Vlad dodged his blow and spun around, ready for another attack.

“Good, Mahlyenki Dyavol. Excellent.” But no sooner had the compliment left his lips than Vikas had leaped through the air and landed on top of Vlad, who hit the ground hard, knocking the wind momentarily from his lungs. Vikas raised the stake once more, a hopeful glimmer in his eye. He would not hold back, just as a slayer wouldn’t hold back. He would not give up, just as a slayer wouldn’t give up. He would never stop.

Vlad managed to slide his knee up between them and kicked Vikas backward. His chest felt light, so much lighter than it ever had. Vlad felt a strange energy pulse through him. He gave into its will, leaped to his feet, and snatched the stake from Vikas’s hand almost without effort. Vikas came after him, but Vlad was light ... so light and full of energy. He ran as hard and fast as he could to the other end of the barn and, to his amazement, he kept going, running halfway up the barn wall, its old boards creaking under his feet. He flipped over then, planting his feet against a large beam, bouncing his way back and forth between the wall and the beam until he was on the ground again and advancing on Vikas. With a grin, he hit Vikas full force. Vikas fell to the ground and Vlad brought the stake down, stopping before he broke the skin. Weirdly both energized and exhausted, Vlad wiped the sweat from his brow and helped Vikas to his feet. “How was that, old man?”

Vikas looked visibly shaken. He exchanged shocked glances with Otis, who stood at the barn door and both shook their heads.

Vlad blinked, wondering if he’d done something wrong. “What? What is it?”

Otis stepped closer, slowly, carefully. After a moment, Vikas squeezed Vlad’s shoulder. “We have never seen a vampire move in the way that you just moved.”

Vlad looked back and forth between them, confused. “But how can that be?”

Otis shook his head. “We don’t know.”

 

 

Vlad turned the corner, exhausted from training and wanting nothing more than to go home and fall into his bed. He was so tired that it barely registered that Dorian was waiting for him just around the bend. Gasping, he grabbed his chest, feeling his heart hammer against his ribs in surprise. “Jeez, Dorian! You almost scared me to death!”

“This fear is new to you? I was under the impression you’re always frightened of me. Less so lately, but frightened, still.” He smiled his charming smile and, once Vlad’s heart rate had settled, continued. “I’ve been trying to come up with an answer to our plight, my young friend. I wanted to discuss it with you.”

“We have a plight?” Vlad searched his exhausted mind for a bit, then nodded. “Oh, you mean that whole you wanting to drink my blood and me being totally against it thing.”

“That would be the one, yes.” Dorian closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled, as if tasting the scent of blood in the air of Vlad’s hometown. When he opened them again, he said, “Would you like to hear the solution I’ve come up with?”

Vlad chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully before answering with a nod.

“What if I allow you to control my actions? You can make me bite you as gently as possible, drink as little as you deem fit, and stop me when you’d prefer.”

“No offense, Dorian, but that idea sucks.”

Dorian sighed. “You’re right. And to be frank, the only reason that I haven’t forced you to my whims is that I have a sort of respect for you, Vlad ... that and I am duty-bound. But even my appetite is not why I have come here tonight. You have questions for me. So ... what would you ask of me?”

Vlad didn’t even want to know how Dorian knew that he’d been mulling over some prophecy-based questions just hours before. But he was curious what Dorian meant by being duty-bound. “What do you do all day, Dorian? Just wait around for some sense that I might have questions for you?”

“Sometimes. I also travel the world. I’m rather fond of airplanes.”

“Don’t you spend time with family? Friends?”

“I visit my father, when he hasn’t much company, but as for friends ... well, I don’t have any to speak of. Apart from a few bribery attempts from various vampires over the years—D’Ablo being one of them—I haven’t spent extended time with our kind. They ... dislike me.” He shrugged then, and changed the subject. “About your questions ...”

Vlad chewed his bottom lip for a moment. It had never occurred to him how lonely Dorian might be. Or maybe he wasn’t lonely. Maybe he was just bored a lot. He thought for a moment before speaking. “Is the Pravus evil?”

Dorian cocked an eyebrow. “What a strange query, my young friend.”

Vlad shrugged. Strange or not, he needed to know if he was going to somehow morph into this evil being, mad with power. “Well, people say that the Pravus will rule over all vampirekind and enslave the human race, so ...”

“What people say this?”

“I don’t know. Vampire people. Vikas, for one.” Vlad was feeling oddly frustrated and he wasn’t sure why, exactly. Maybe it was because he hadn’t expected criticism or query in response to his simple question. “Is he wrong?”

Dorian raised a sharp eyebrow. “That’s difficult to say. Can you be more direct in your questioning?”

Jeez. It was like talking to a Magic 8 Ball. With a sigh, Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “Will the Pravus rule over vampirekind and enslave the human race?”

“He will do one out of necessity The other will be done in charity.”

“Which one will he ... I do out of necessity?”

“The Pravus will rule over vampirekind.”

Vlad’s heart thumped twice, hard. “And if I don’t want to?”

Dorian shook his head. “You’re asking my advice now, advice that I cannot give.”

After mulling this over for a bit, Vlad wondered aloud, “How can I enslave the human race out of charity?”

Dorian narrowed his eyes, his attention waning. “Would you be opposed to slitting open a vein and filling a cup? It would be cold, but I think it might satiate my need.”