Vengeance Bound (13 page)

But then I remember that Amber wasn’t at the party, and all of the tension drains away. I shrug. “Oh? Where?”

Amber snorts, and pushes away her slice of pizza. She almost vibrates with glee. “The library. Getting cozy with a special someone.”

Everyone looks away, and I know what they think. I laugh. “Oh? Who? Stephen King?” I try to look sheepish. “I admit it. I’m a huge dork. I like to read.”

“You weren’t exactly reading with Dylan’s tongue down your throat. How long did it take for him to get into your pants? A day?”

I level a look at Amber. Now I’m mad. I know what she saw, and that’s not the kind of reputation I want for myself. But trying to convince her that what she saw was a prelude to a sexual assault would be useless. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I don’t know if my denial of what she’s saying will even matter. High school isn’t about the truth. It’s all about what people want to believe.

Amber leans forward and looks me dead in the eye. Her mouth twists like she just tasted something gross. “So, I just imagined that I saw you making out with Dylan in the vending area of the library?”

I return her unwavering gaze. “Honey, I don’t know what you thought you saw. I was at the library on Saturday, but I definitely wasn’t there with that meat head. I have standards, you know.” If I can make her look stupid, she’ll back off. Girls like her are the same everywhere.

“You’re lying.”

I throw my hands up into the air. “Fine, I’m lying. Don’t you think I’d be over at Dylan’s table if I was fucking him?” Everyone kind of winces at my tone, and I realize that righteous indignation is the way to play this. They don’t want to think a nice girl like me would screw the school man-whore. I can use that to my advantage. “Amber, why would you even make up such a ridiculous story? I mean, really, Dylan Larchmont at the library? He’s never even heard of the alphabet.”

Niko watches the exchange with interest but doesn’t say anything. I can’t help but give him a little wink when no one else is looking.

Adam’s brows knit together, and he nods. “You know, I can’t really see Dylan at the library. Especially on a Saturday.”

Tom laughs. “Yeah, I think he’d spend more time in the gym than a library. Books aren’t heavy enough to bench-press.” Everyone laughs, and in that instant I know I’ve won.

Unless Niko says something. I look across the table at him. He’s watching me with an amused look, and he smiles when his gaze meets mine. I don’t know if that’s a good sign or not.

Amber shakes with rage, her face almost purple with emotion. She looks from me to Adam. “I can’t believe you think she’s telling the truth. I know what I saw.”

I shrug. “Maybe it was someone else.”

“It was not someone else! It was you.” She glares daggers at me, and I just give her a sweet smile.

“I’m really sorry, Amber, but it wasn’t me. I was on the third floor studying all afternoon. I never even saw Dylan.”

“You’re a liar,” she grinds out.

The table goes quiet at the open threat. It’s one thing to pass on a rumor, another to openly pick a fight.

Mindi wheels on Amber. “What’s wrong with you?”

Amber gapes in surprise at Mindi’s tone. Meek, little mousy Mindi crosses her arms and glares at Amber. “And why are you being such a bitch lately? You wanted to dig up some dirt about Cory. Well, you were wrong. Now just drop it.”

Amber blinks, and then gets up from the table and storms off. No one says anything for a few long minutes. Mindi’s defense makes me feel odd, an emotion I can’t identify. Happiness? Relief? I don’t know what it is. I only know it warms me inside.

Conversation resumes, and I absentmindedly slice my hard-boiled egg. My mind is pondering what just happened and trying to place it into the context of what I know about interpersonal relationships. The knife slips and slices into the soft part of my palm. Blood wells up, scarlet and bright.

“Shit.” I watch the blood slide across my hand. Time seems to stop as a single droplet slides over the edge of my palm and onto the table.

Blood. So much blood.

The memory swells, overtaking me. I’m twelve again, escaping through the kitchen. I slip and go down, flailing in the sticky mess on the floor. I’m covered in his blood. He can’t hurt me anymore, but his death seeps into my skin and my memory, a permanent blemish. I get up, but it’s too late. I’m stained in red. I know what we did, what I did. I can’t undo it.

I can’t take back my promise to Them.

“Hey, are you okay? Wow, you really cut yourself.” Adam’s voice brings me back from the memory, and I stare blankly at the rapidly spreading puddle on the lunch table. Mindi and Jocelyn both gasp in horror. Nausea rises, my aversion to blood making me light-headed. Only Niko is quick thinking enough to press a wad of napkins into my hand.

“Here, put pressure on it,” he says in a low voice. I can’t tear my gaze away from his hands cradling mine, fingers curled to keep the napkins in place. “Don’t let Mr. Hanes find out you had a knife at school. He’ll freak out about it.”

I nod, struck mute by Niko’s nearness. He smells like rain, fresh and sharp. It’s so appealing that I find myself unconsciously leaning into him.

“Do you think you’ll need stitches?” Mindi asks, crowding close. I shake my head. Already I can feel the heat of Them healing the wound. Injuries are never a problem when They’re around.

The bell rings, and everyone except Niko gets up to leave. He still holds my hand, applying even pressure. It’s a little bit embarrassing, mostly because Jocelyn and Tom are giving me knowing looks. Luckily, Mindi is oblivious, her worry over me preventing her from seeing that Niko has gone way past the point of friendly.

“Are you going to be okay?” Mindi watches me with brows knit together in concern. It makes me feel like dirt, since all I want is to be alone with Niko.

I toss my hair over my shoulder and grin. “This is nothing. Let me tell you, I have been hurt worse than this.” The image of Trenton James, a violent pimp from Charleston, pops into my head, and my mouth goes dry. The last time I was seriously hurt was when I tried to hand down his justice. This was after I’d left Saint Dymphna’s and was making my way across the South, looking for the doctor.

I found Trenton James in an alley behind a mini-mart. Only, when it came time to hand down his justice, a junkie appeared from behind a Dumpster, surprising both of us. She took one look at the Furies and screamed, until I knocked her out.

It was all the opportunity James needed. He shot me, and the bullet ripped through my chest. I lost control of Them and fell to the ground. They handed down Their own justice. The alley filled with heat as They burned away the diseased soul of the pimp. James’s agonized screams echoed in my ears even after he was gone. Thankfully the addict had remained unconscious. I thought They would kill me and the junkie as well, but They just healed my sucking chest wound and ignored her. Still, it was an utter catastrophe. The alley was filled with a burned sugar smell from James’s death and soaked with blood, all of it mine. There was so much, I thought I’d never get it off.

Just like with Roland Thomas.

I blink away the memory and swallow, flashing Mindi a smile. “Don’t worry about me.”

Mindi nods and gives Niko an awkward hug before leaving the cafeteria. Adam gives me a single dark look, and then follows. Maybe he’s finally figuring out I’m not interested.

I pull my hand away from Niko and mop up the blood from the table, ignoring my queasiness. I keep the bloody napkins in my injured hand so that Niko won’t see that it has already healed. When I look up from the table, he’s standing there, watching me. He doesn’t move, and I wonder if he cares whether we’re late to class or not. “I think I’ll be okay. Thanks.”

He grins, and my stomach somersaults. “Anytime.”

I stare at Niko as he smiles at me. My chest tightens at his serene expression. This feels like a different Niko from the one who pretty much blew me off in the library. His eyes are the color of the winter sky, and they’re so bright, it steals my breath. For a moment the world falls away. I want this moment to last forever.

Niko leans forward with a gleam in his eye, his smile going from friendly to wicked. “By the way, I just want to tell you your secret’s safe with me.”

I study him for a second, wondering how much he knows and how much he’s just guessing at. Either way he probably isn’t going to rat me out. He could have done that on Saturday if that was his goal. Shaking my head, I take a deep breath and then let it out.

I can’t help myself. I mirror Niko’s grin. “What secret?”

He laughs. “You know this is just going to make her even crazier. Amber can’t stand it that everyone likes you.”

“Oh? Do you like me, Nikolas?” It’s supposed to be teasing, but my voice comes out husky and low.

His smile disappears, and he gives me a smoldering look. “Too much. I like you too much.” He touches my cheek, and for a moment all rational thought ceases. “You’re the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”

My face flushes, and I gather up the remnants of my lunch. I shrug. “Maybe that’s just because West County is a boring place?”

Niko grins. “Maybe.”

For the first time I realize that They’ve been awfully quiet while Niko and I have been talking. They can’t find one bad thing to say about Niko, and that makes my heart pound. What’s so special about him?

He opens his mouth to say something else, but the late bell rings, drowning him out. Niko shrugs, a wistful smile on his face, and leaves the cafeteria. I watch him go. I’m in no hurry to get to class.

So I sit there. Alone, confused, and wondering how I’m going to survive falling for a boy I can’t have.

THE GUILTY AND THE DAMNED

My tardiness to history results in detention after school. When I finally make it home, I’m exhausted. The thought of running is about as appealing as poking my eyes out with plastic forks. Instead I grab Odie and settle in for a reality show marathon on the old TV in my room.

I awake with a start sometime later. I’m curled up in a ball on the bed. On the television, celebrities I’ve never heard of are counting down the random events of a few years ago, cracking jokes that either I don’t get or just aren’t funny. I look at my watch. It’s after midnight. While stretching, I look around for Odie. He usually sleeps curled up on my stomach like a furry blanket. Not tonight.

“Odie?” He’s nowhere to be found, but there’s a yowl from the living room. When I get there, Odie paws at the door.

“What is it?” He scratches at the base of the door some more, and I shake my head. “Not here, buddy. This isn’t like Grandma’s house. Someone’s pit bull might get you.” In Savannah, Odie had free run of the neighborhood, as much an outside cat as an inside one. Here that is not an option.

I yawn, and as I turn away from the door and back to my bedroom, there’s a flash of movement on the fire escape.

I tense, waiting to see more. I’m not disappointed.

A face in my bedroom window stares right back at me.

The features are distorted by the condensation on the window, but I’m certain I saw someone. I run into my room and throw my window open as the person flees down the fire escape. The weighted ladder at the bottom clatters loudly as they ride it to the ground. The person jumps off at the bottom and runs down the alley, but I’m not about to follow them without any shoes.

I slam the window shut, lock it, and yank closed the old, dusty curtain before I storm out into the living room and begin pacing. I should be afraid, but I’m not. I’m pissed. Someone has dared to spy on me, to invade my private sanctuary. I didn’t recognize the person. All I saw was a bit of blond hair. It could’ve been Amber, spying on me, but it could have just as easily been someone looking to break in and steal my television. I don’t live in the best neighborhood.

Besides, why would Amber spy on me? Surely she isn’t that pissed about what happened at lunch? So I made her look foolish, so what? She’ll get over it.

The more I think about someone spying on me, the angrier I get. After a few minutes I’ve worked myself into a fine rage, and I punch the couch cushions in anger.

I want to find the person who dared spy on me. I’ll kill them.

There’s a knock on the front door, and I freeze. My blood pounds in my ears. We will rip them apart and feast on their screams. They’ll never dare to spy on us again.

“Hey, is something going on?” a female voice calls. It’s not one I know, and when I look through the peephole, I recognize the brunette with all of the piercings from down the hall. A strange male voice says something to her, and she answers, “I thought I heard someone screaming.”

I swallow and yank open my door with a bright smile. “Hi. Can I help you?”

She takes a step back, a frown on her face. “I thought I heard yelling . . .”

“Oh, probably just the TV.” I continue to grin at her, all teeth. She takes another step backward.

“Yeah, okay. Never mind, then.” She heads down the hallway a little too quickly. A guy I don’t recognize takes her into his arms before they walk off. I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, before closing the door.

In my anger, I released my hold on Them, and the conversation with myself that I thought was all in my head wasn’t. I stand for a long time in my living room, shaking. How long was the person on the fire escape watching me sleep? What did they see? I don’t think They manifest while I sleep, but They could.

What if it was someone who wanted to hurt me? What if someone had come in and attacked me while I was asleep?

Shhh, don’t worry. Don’t you think we’d protect you?

You’re safe, sweet Amelie. We will always keep you safe.

I collapse on the couch and hold my head in my hands, my rage draining away. They’re right. They have powers far beyond anything I can do. They would know if I was in danger.

More important, how did They slip my leash so easily? Just like with Dylan in the library, They somehow managed to slip out of my control without my notice. What’s happening to me? My hold over Them used to be ironclad. Now the neighbors are stopping by to chat because of Them. That bugs me as much as the person on the fire escape.