Eternal Shadows (13 page)

The first thing I noticed was the smell. Or rather, the complete lack of smell. I couldn’t sense anything. The bottom of the box had been lined in straw, pale and brittle. Amidst all that sat something dark and puckered. Pieces of it had flaked away, speckling the straw. Four long fingers stretched out, gnarled and otherwise unrecognizable. Another digit lay below them at an obscure angle. I’d only ever seen anything like it in museums. In the mummy rooms.

A hand. Cut off at the wrist. And appearing to be centuries old.

Chapter Ten: School

Of course the heavens couldn’t have blessed me with a cloudy sky for my first day back at school. I’d all but kicked and screamed my way down the street. Rhys had offered to drive me the short distance, but I had foolishly thought it would be a good idea to start off my day with a huge dose of sunshine.

Wrong.

My skin itched again, and I felt as miserable as I had my first day as a vampire. Despite feeding from Warren right before I left the house, I was still thirsty.

Stupid sun.

I pulled my baseball cap down further over my eyes, then tugged on the sleeves of my long-sleeved tee-shirt before wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to remain in control. My dark sunglasses gave the world a dim tint, fitting my mood. Luckily, though I knew I looked ridiculous dressed like this at the end of May, my extensive covering had so far kept me from being recognized by any of my classmates passing by.

Rhys strolled casually at my side, hands in his jean pockets, skin exposed in his tee-shirt and lack of hat. Skipping all this initial vampire nonsense would be good. Just head right on over to five hundred years of experience and control. That would be fantastic. No go, though.

“It’s warm out,” he said. “Aren’t you going to be hot dressed like that all day? You must be warm from feeding.”

“Shut up.” I got snippy when miserable. “It’s your fault I have to do this.”

“My fault?”

“Yes. You turned me, so that makes you responsible for pretty much everything, but besides that, you didn’t try to tell the general I’m not ready to go to school yet.”

“But you are ready.”

I huffed and hiked my backpack onto my shoulder in a more comfortable position.

Rhys sighed that sigh I had become familiar with the very first day. “Kassandra, you’ll be fine. Nothing is going to happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“I’m tempted to massacre everyone just to prove you wrong.”

“But you won’t.” He grinned at me, victorious. “The day that happens is the day Madge does something completely selfless.”

“Wow. Not nice.”

He shrugged. “She would admit it readily. The point is, you couldn’t hurt a fly.”

“You know, your insistence that I’m so nice is really starting to wear on my nerves.” I glared over my sunglasses at him.

“Who said anything about you being nice?” He made a face like some unsavory smell had caught his nose.

I whacked his arm. Hard. Vampire hard. He winced and looked at me in surprise while rubbing what I hoped would turn into a bruise. Cade had showed me that in private. I’d been saving it for a special occasion. I figured a miserable sunny day on my way to a school full of unsuspecting human children was special enough.

“When did you learn to do that?” he asked.

“Cade’s been working with me.”

“You mean he’s been doing things other than mowing you down at random intervals?”

I cringed, remembering the latest attack disguised as a so-called test. Cade had ambushed me right before bed last night, ramming me into the iron fence that circled my house. I’d completely missed him coming. His scent hadn’t even hit me until I was already up close and personal with the iron rails. I reached back and gently touched the long bruise that traveled up my back just to the right of my spine.

“Every now and then he decides to show me something useful,” I said. “I usually pay for it later that day though.”

“You’ll be grateful later.”

“Sure.”

“Just wait. The first time you dodge him I have a feeling I’ll have to hear about it for weeks.”

“Will it bother you?”

“How annoying will you be?”

“As annoying as it takes to bother you.” I grinned.

He stopped, knocking the brim of my hat down over my face and glasses. “I’ll avoid you until you’re finished gloating then. We’re here.”

I pushed my hat back up to its proper position and fixed my glasses so they weren’t crushing my nose and looked up. Sure enough, Hartford Public High School loomed against the irritatingly blue sky.

“Crap.”

“Have a good day. I trust you can find your own way home.”

“What? Hey!” I chased after him when he started back down the way we had come. “That’s it? You just dump me?”

He turned on one heel, giving me the same look a parent gave a troublesome child. “Kassandra, you’ve done this your whole life. I think you can handle it.”

“What happens if I eat everyone?” My voice was a little louder than it should have been.

Rhys grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me over to the edge of the sidewalk. “Don’t be ridiculous. Just go to school, do your work, and then come home. You are not going to eat everyone.” His nose wrinkled in disgust at the very concept. “Now go.”

He blinked out of existence.

Or at least, that’s how it seemed. Even to me, who should have been able to see him move. I hoped someone else had noticed the sudden lack of companion at my side. That would certainly cause a stir. It would serve him right.

I grumbled to myself for a good minute, clenching my fists and growling through my teeth until I felt like most of my aggression had been filtered out. Then I took a deep breath, trying my best to keep it even, and forced myself up the walk and through the front doors of my long-missed school.

I got all the way to the main office without anyone recognizing me. Score one for me. But as soon as I walked in the door, our secretary, Mrs. Zimmerman, waved her hand at me. “No hats in school, you know the rule. Off.”

Keeping my eyes down, I waited until I was at her desk, then reluctantly took off my hat and glasses. Then I waited.

It took all of three seconds for her to finish writing whatever note she had been scribing and turn her he
ad to greet me. “Now,” she said. “What can I do for you?” The last word trailed off with an extra syllable, her eyes widening with recognition. Thanks to my father, everyone knew who I was.

“Hey, Mrs. Z.” I said sheepishly.

“Ka—Kassandra. It’s—it’s good to see you.” Mrs. Z. never stuttered. “We were so sorry to hear about your father.”

For a moment I thought she meant she was sorry for my loss, but then I remembered the story that had been concocted to explain his absence. “Oh, yeah. Well, uh, yeah. Me, too. He really liked it here.” There, that sounded normal enough, right?

She nodded a few times, accepting my answer. “And you, you poor thing. We were told you were ill.”

Yup. That more or less summed it up. “Yeah, I really felt like dying a few times, but I’m better now.” As soon as I’d gotten out of the sunlight the thirst had receded. I was confident I could at least make it through A period without killing anyone. “I have a note.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the folded paper Rhys had handed me on our way out the door this morning. I’d read it at least half a dozen times. It said, i
n that infamous doctor scribble,

Kassandra Thomas has been ill for the past two weeks, and should be excused from her extended absence. She is now fit to return to school, though if she complains of discomfort or any other ill feeling, she should be allowed to rest and/or get some fresh air.

It was signed, Dr. Gianna Salvio. I still hadn’t met her, but I decided I liked her. She had given me an out.

I handed the note to Mrs. Zimmerman.

“Ah, excellent,” she said. “I’ll just get a copy of this so you can show it to your teachers, and then I’ll put the note into the system. You should have no trouble at all concerning graduation.” She smiled as though sure that had been my biggest worry, then stood and went to the copier.

I contemplated how long it would take me to dig a hole in the ground, then bury myself in it. The halls outside had filled up during our little conversation and the scents were starting to leak in under the door.

No. I would not think about that. I could do this. I could do this. I repeated it to myself over and over again until Mrs. Zimmerman came back.

“Here you are, dear.” She returned my note. “So glad to have you back and well again.”

I shoved the note into my pocket, feeling somewhat protected by it. “Thanks,” I said. “Have a good day.”

She waved, then went back to work. I mentally talked myself out of the office and into the crowded hall. Of course, since this was high school, about five people bumped into me instantly. My
skin tingled where bare flesh had touched bare flesh, and I was suddenly very glad I had dressed in long-sleeves. I crammed my hat and glasses into my backpack, made sure it wouldn’t tumble off my shoulder, shoved my hands in my pockets to avoid any more unwanted contact, and pressed forward.

Even though I’d never smelled her scent like this before, even though I hadn’t seen her since my life had been turned inside out, I knew I would see her when I turned the corner that led to my locker. Spices. Sara.

Bittersweet. I’d heard the term a million times before, but I’d never really understood it until that moment. My best friend, the one person I had always confided in, laughed with, cried with. The person who made me think maybe all those people who preached about past lives were right, just because the connection had been so instant. From the moment we’d first said “hi” in fifth grade, it had been like we’d always been friends.

And she smelled so frickin’ good. Good enough to eat. Joy.

I wanted to run up to her. Throw myself at her and hug her until she begged for breath. But that was out of the question. At the back of my throat a tiny thirst itched, poking at me and making me hate myself.

Grinning was safe though. And yelling. “Sara!” I waved over the heads of the other students, then jogged to where our lockers were conveniently placed so close together.

She jumped, startled, her hazel eyes wide with shock. “Kass?” She threw her books into her locker, stepping forward to meet me only feet away from my own. She’d cut her hair off since I’d last seen her and now sported a cute pixie cut. She also had a purple streak in her blonde hair. That was Sara for you. “Kassandra! It is you!”

She threw her arms around me and I held my breath. I hugged her back, almost crying. It felt so good to be with her again, to remember my normal life. But the itch grew stronger and I felt my fangs stretch, so I broke the hug, smiling as best I could while I stepped back.

“I missed you,” I said.

“Missed you, too. What the heck happened to you? Your father left, and they said you were staying to finish school, but when I stopped by to check on you some stranger opened the door and said you were sick!” The bangles on her wrists jangled with each gesture she made.

I was caught up in the realization that she had come by the house and I hadn’t known. When? While I was dying, or after? God, if she’d been there while I died…I hoped my screaming hadn’t been too loud at the time.

“Yeah,” I struggled to remember the story Rhys had drille
d into my head the night before. “It got pretty nasty for a while there. I felt like I was dying.” Ha ha. Funny, right? Watch me tell my best friend as much as possible without breaking any rules. “But I feel better now.” Mostly. Just don’t get too close again. Or stop smelling so damned good. Couldn’t my best friend be completely unappetizing? She could at least help me out a little.

“I’m glad you’re okay. I was getting kind of worried.”

“I’m good,” I assured her. “I didn’t miss anything completely crippling while I was gone, did I?”

She thought for a moment. “You missed a lab in astronomy, but it really wasn’t all that interesting anyway. We had to plot out the ecliptic. Oh! Travis and
Melanie broke up. Huge fight, right in the hall. She punched him in the nose. It was fabulous.”

“You’re sick.” Though, Melanie and Travis broke up and got back together on a regular basis, and it usually entertained the entire student body for a good few weeks. Blood wasn’t always involved though. Thank God I hadn’t been there.

Sara shrugged. “So who was that new guy that answered the door at your house? Did you get a new staff?”

Crap
. Rhys and I hadn’t talked about this. “Uh, yeah. There are a few new people. Anne’s still there, though.” Distract her. Change the subject. “So where’s Jude? You didn’t ditch him already did you?” I teased.

“Ditch him? Please.” She flipped a wrist-full of bangles at me. “He’s the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. I hardly ever have to carry anything.”

“You’re a fiend. I’m telling him you’re only using him as a mobile backpack.”

“Oh, he knows it.”

It felt so good to laugh and joke again. Sara loved to tease about her relationship with Jude, but I knew the truth. She honestly loved him. He’d had a crush on her since middle school, and had finally gotten up the courage to ask her out our Sophomore year. They’d been together ever since. They had that rare teenage love you just knew would last. I envied them. I’d never had so much as a Friday night date.

I ditched the books I didn’t need in my locker and retrieved the rest. Sara chattered away about more gossip and drama I had missed in my absence all the way to A period. Math. Just what everyone needed at seven-thirty in the morning.