Tenth Grade Bleeds (10 page)

Henry grinned and shoved a box into his hand. It looked like it had been wrapped in a grocery sack and tied with twine. “Open this one. It's from me.”

Vlad beamed at him and tore off the paper, revealing something that made his jaw drop. There were two Xbox games. One was
Race to Armageddon 3: The Final Lap
and the other was a game called
When Vampires Attack!
A

quick glimpse of the back of the box revealed that players assumed vampire roles, and whoever attacked the most victims won. Vlad laughed loudly, and Henry joined him. Nelly chuckled. Along with the rest of the crowd, Meredith simply smiled, not understanding just how hysterical it was that Vlad would be playing a game as a vampire.

For the next two hours, Vlad opened gifts and thanked guests and ate food and laughed. And finally, once he'd said good night to Henry and Meredith and the other guests and closed the door behind them, Nelly approached him with one final present. It was a thick parchment envelope. On the front in Otis's scratchy handwriting was
For Vladimir on his fifteenth birthday.

Nelly smiled a sad smile. “Otis left this with me at the end of the summer. He said he'd try to be here in person to give it to you, but if he couldn't, he still wanted to make sure you got it.”

Vlad didn't open the letter right away. In fact, he tucked it into his back pocket. As he and Nelly cleaned up the aftereffects of the party, he took it out every few minutes to look at Otis's handwriting and wonder where his uncle was and if he was thinking about the party that he had missed. More so, if he was thinking about his nephew, who missed him more than he could say.

Finally, after Nelly went to bed—not before reminding Vlad that it was okay to stay up late on his birthday, but to remember that he did have school to face in the morning— Vlad slipped on his jacket and stole out into the night, clutching Otis's letter to his chest.

He zipped by trees and houses, casting careful, scrutinizing glances all around him, trying to make certain Eddie and his new camera were nowhere to be found. And once he reached the belfry, he floated effortlessly up to the ledge and stepped inside, staring at the envelope as he plopped down in his dad's comfy leather chair.

The envelope was wrinkled in several places, and torn slightly on one end. Vlad read Otis's handwriting once more before opening it slowly and withdrawing the letter inside. With the moonlight acting as his candle, he read.

 

 

 

Vlad tore his eyes from the page long enough to release an anxious breath. At first, he was disappointed that Nelly had talked Otis out of that car—not that he could drive it yet—but this present was much, much better. He grabbed the lighter from the bookshelf and lit the candle next to the chair, illuminating the belfry with a soft glow. Then he sank deep into the chair and continued reading.

Vlad picked the envelope up again and tilted the open end over his cupped palm. Out tumbled a black ring made of stone, with a crest as its insignia. With tears brimming in his eyes, he slipped the small ring onto his pinkie. Despite the fact that he wasn't sure whether or not his uncle could hear him, Vlad reached out with his mind and said,
“ Thank you , Otis. This means more to me than any stupid car.”

Then he doused the candle, closed his eyes, and cried.

I
GNATIUS TIGHTENED HIS JAW AS HE WATCHED Tomas's son step out of the shadows near the high school and make his way down the sidewalk toward his home. He'd lost the boy for several hours, and only half expected he'd broken into the school—for what purpose, he neither knew nor cared. What was important was that he'd found the boy again, and the sky was overcast, protecting him from the rays of the sun as they reflected off the moon.

He moved in behind the boy, licking anxious lips. As he'd done with his last prey, he'd grab him by a handful of hair and drag him into the darkness, taking his time peeling back the boy's flesh with his blade, making him suffer. It would be exquisite, and he could hardly wait to begin.

With every step, he closed the gap between them. The boy moved along at a casual pace, occasionally glancing to the left or the right, never seeming to think to check behind him. His posture screamed of awkwardness. Ignatius stretched his hand out, his fingers brushing against the boy's soft black hair.

But as the tresses slipped between his fingers, the clouds shifted, uncovering the moon. Ignatius moved as quickly and silently as he could, flying with vampiric speed, to the safety of a nearby shed. Cursing, he watched out the small window as the boy brushed the back of his head with his palm and looked back in wonderment, as if trying to identify just what or who had touched him. After a nervous pause, he hurried his steps. In a moment, he was out of Ignatius's line of sight.

Bitter fury boiled within the hunter. Fury that would only be tamed by Vladimir Tod's suffering.

E
DDIE WAS IN AN UNUSUALLY CHIPPER MOOD as he waved a photograph in front of Vlad's nose.

Vlad snatched the picture and took a look, bristling at the fact that it had come from Eddie. The image was dark but crisp. Vlad making his way down the sidewalk at night. Behind him by a matter of feet was a man. Vlad shrugged. It was no one he knew, probably some drunk out for a sobering stroll after a night at the town's only bar. “So?”

Eddie spoke in a singsong voice. “So it looks like I'm not your only shadow.”

Henry slammed his locker door and plucked the photo from Vlad's hand. He tossed it down the hallway Frisbee-style and glared at Eddie. “Fetch.”

With a scowl, Eddie walked off, stopping only to pluck his beloved picture from the floor.

Henry turned back to Vlad. “Anyway, you were saying?”

Vlad sighed and leaned up against his locker. He clutched his new journal in his hands. It had become his constant companion since his birthday a week and a half before. “Nelly seriously thinks I'm going to have Meredith for dinner.”

Henry shook his head. “ That's ridiculous.”

Vlad groaned. “I know!”

“Meredith is way too small for dinner. If anything, she'd be lunch, or maybe a big breakfast.”

“I'm serious, Henry. What am I gonna do?”

But suddenly Henry didn't seem very invested in the conversation. Melissa Hart walked by them, and with every step she took, Henry's frown deepened. Finally she disappeared into a nearby classroom, and Henry shut his locker, his shoulders sagging, his jovial demeanor subdued. “I don't know, Vlad. I really don't.”

Vlad deliberated for a moment whether Henry was answering his question or simply musing about his troubles with Melissa, but he didn't have long to speculate. Meredith stepped into view at the end of the hall, looking pretty as ever, and, with a wink, she gestured with a bent finger for him to follow her.

With a glance at Henry, he headed down the hall, barely taking the time to breathe. “See ya.”

Meredith opened up the janitor's closet. Raising an eyebrow, Vlad followed her inside.

It was dark, but Meredith's hands found his shoulders. “Hi.”

Vlad smiled. “You brought me into a broom closet to say hi?”

“No. I brought you here so I could do this.”

She pressed her soft lips against his, and Vlad felt like he was floating. In a blink, he realized that he was. No more than an inch or two off the ground, but still. He was thankful for the darkness. Bringing himself back down, he kept kissing Meredith until the sound of her heartbeat and her warm proximity became too much to bear. He pulled back, gently but quickly, glad once more for the darkness—and not just because of his fangs. He was also blushing furiously. And his hunger . . . his hunger was crying out, begging to be satiated.

Vlad slowed his breathing, but it hardly helped. Much longer in such close proximity and Meredith would be in very real danger. And the sick thing was that part of Vlad wanted to keep her in the closet with him. Maybe Nelly was right. Maybe he was viewing Meredith as a food source more than a girlfriend.

He shook his head. There had to be a way to protect her, to keep her safe without pushing her away.

First step: Get out of the closet.

He could almost hear Meredith smiling. “ That was nice. Between my dad and your aunt, we hardly get any time alone together.”

The door flung open, revealing a rather perturbed-looking Principal Snelgrove. “I certainly hope it was, Ms. Brookstone. Because it may be your last.”

Vlad gulped and snapped his mouth shut, covering his fangs. He and Meredith exchanged startled glances. Meredith looked shocked and embarrassed. Vlad was both of those, but also immensely relieved.

Principal Snelgrove barked two words that made them both jump. “Office! NOW!”

 

 

Principal Snelgrove had turned purple by the time they reached his office, and as he paced back and forth behind his desk, his shade of purple deepened. Vlad sank down in his seat, amazed that a person could look so much like an eggplant. Meredith sat in the chair to his right, staring straight ahead, wide-eyed. He doubted she'd ever had the misfortune of ending up in the Chair of Doom—Vlad's nickname for any chair in the principal's office that didn't belong to the principal. He wanted to squeeze her hand, to reassure her in some small way, but he was almost certain that Snelgrove's skull would split open if he touched Meredith at all.

The purple color lessened as Snelgrove drew a deep breath before speaking. “I would expect this type of behavior from Mr. Tod here. But you, Ms. Brookstone, are one of our best students. And to pull a stunt like this . . . I must say, I'm very disappointed. You should be careful of the kind of company you keep, Ms. Brookstone. It may lead you down a road that it would be unwise to follow.”