Aden released her and latched onto Mary Ann. “Riley, get Victoria out of here. We’ll meet you at Mary Ann’s.”
“No, I—” Riley began.
“I’ll keep Mary Ann safe,” Aden assured him. “But this way, with Mary Ann and me together on our own, there will be no signal for the creatures to follow. So go!” The fairy was closer…closer still.
Riley nodded reluctantly and dragged Victoria away. Or tried to. She managed to wrench free. As she raced to him, she opened her ring and dipped a finger inside. Before he could stop her, she rubbed that finger against her wrist. Immediately the flesh sizzled apart and a gaping wound appeared.
The moment she reached him, she pressed that wound against his mouth. Her grip was so strong, there was no pushing away from her. All he could do was open his mouth to protest—then gulp down the blood flowing through his lips. It was warm and sweet, fizzing like soda, practically alive as it washed over his tongue.
“This tiny amount won’t kill you,” she said. “Dan can’t see you cut up and bruised again. This way, he won’t. You’ll heal before you reach the house.”
Heat spread through him. Heat that intensified with every second that passed, burning, blistering, scorching everything it touched. He felt like he’d caught a fever, or like he was on fire, his entire body erupting before crumbling into ash.
“The aftereffect…” she said. “I’m sorry.”
Once more, Riley dragged her away. She held Aden’s gaze as long as possible. He tried not to think about what she’d meant by “aftereffect.” When they were out of sight, the souls moaned, tossed back into the dark realm they so hated.
The fairy, he noticed, stopped, gazed around with confusion and frowned. Good thing. Aden had to hunch over as he gasped in breath after breath. Finally, his body cooled down.
Mary Ann was patting his back to comfort him, he realized as he straightened.
Deciding to check out the alleyway anyway, the fairy kicked back into motion.
Aden ushered Mary Ann in the opposite direction of their friends. He couldn’t worry about the aftereffects of drinking vampire blood right now. No way it would be any worse than corpse venom. And Mary Ann’s safety came first.
He increased his pace. If the fairy got a glimpse of him, he didn’t know it. He kept moving, never looking backward, until he found an unlocked door. Inside the building—a clothing shop—he ran into an employee who told him no one was supposed to be in the back. He apologized and made his way outside, where he slowed his step. Mary Ann stayed close to him, silent, perhaps too afraid to talk.
There were so many people. Watching them from a distance hadn’t done justice to their numbers. They were everywhere. At first glance, they looked as normal as he’d originally assumed, even at this new, close range. But as he stealthily watched them, he began to see past their masks. Most were so beautiful he wanted to gape. Some were so ugly he wanted to vomit. Gaping and vomiting, however, would have given him away.
I’m nothing, he wanted to tell them. A no one. Don’t waste your time tracking me. They wouldn’t have listened. They wanted to use him. Kill him, perhaps. Would kill innocents, if he didn’t find a way to stop them. Most likely, they were not all evil. Like Victoria and Riley, some of them might be honorable and trustworthy. But he couldn’t take a chance. Not now.
“Anyone following us?” Mary Ann asked in a fierce whisper.
Oh, yes. She was afraid. It was there in her voice, layered in every word. He dared a peek behind him. “No. Not that I can tell.”
Together, they were like any other kids. Keeping their pace unhurried and normal proved difficult, but they managed it. But if his expression was anything like Mary Ann’s, frozen and fearful, they were in trouble.
“Smile as if I just said something funny,” he commanded her.
She managed an unconvincing laugh. “Maybe you should say something funny.”
“I’ve got nothing.” He had to get her mind off their surroundings. If not funny, he’d go with factual. “You ordered our birth certificates, right?”
“Right.”
“When will they arrive?”
“Today, I think. I paid for expedited delivery. Actually, they might already be waiting on my front porch.”
“That’s good.” If the certificates were there, they’d have his parents’ address. They might be able to head out tomorrow—Saturday—to see of the couple was even still living there. And if not, they might still have time to drive to the hospital where he was born and try to get into their files, find out a little more information about him and his “family.”
“So you’ll never guess what I did. Because I don’t want a conversation lag, I’ll just tell you. I snuck into my dad’s office and read some of his notes about you,” she said as they walked. Blessedly, she sounded calmer, in control. “He remembers you, and really liked you, but what you said about my mother really freaked him out.”
She’d done it. She’d truly done it. For him. “First, thank you. Second, I didn’t say anything about your mom.”
“Yes, you did. The time travel thing.”
He’d only mentioned his own time travel. Dr. Gray had been the one to mention another’s, a woman’s. Could it be? “Did your mom disappear at times?”
“No, never. And I would have known. Most of my childhood I was glued to her side.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
“Me, either. He mentioned both a wife and a current wife, made me think that the woman I thought was my mom wasn’t. But I don’t see how that’s possible.”
He led her back to the car Victoria had stolen—the corvette was gone—and they slid inside. He locked the doors. They sat there for several minutes, panting, waiting to see if anyone—or thing—would turn a corner. Nothing did. He heaved a sigh of relief and started the engine.
“Thank you,” he told her again. “For everything.”
“I plan to talk to him. I just have to do it sometime when he can’t avoid me or order me to my room. Otherwise, we’ll never get answers. Besides, I need a break from this, you know?”
Hopefully, that time would come before Halloween and the ball he was supposed to attend. Knowledge was power and Aden had a feeling he would need all the power he could get to face Victoria’s dad. He loved her, planned to be a part of her life for as long as he had left, and her father’s permission would help. As it was, he wasn’t likely to gain it. He was a troublemaker, a “schizo.”
“We’ll learn about you, don’t worry,” Mary Ann said, probably sensing the direction of his thoughts.
They drove to her house, and this time Aden obeyed the speed laws. He couldn’t risk being pulled over. To his disappointment, no package was waiting on Mary Ann’s porch, and Riley and Victoria were not there, either. Where were they?
“Your dad’s still at work, right?” he asked before stepping foot in the house.
“Yeah. He won’t be home for hours yet.”
“Then I’ll stay. For a little while, at least.”
“Just…promise me you won’t talk about what’s happening, the past, the future. I just can’t handle it right now.”
She was pale. “I promise,” he said.
They climbed the stairs and turned on the TV, as if this were a normal day and they themselves were normal. For the first time in his life, he was able to enjoy a show without any distractions.
The package never arrived. Neither did Riley nor Victoria. He couldn’t wait it, or them, out. If he didn’t return to school and walk home with Shannon as if he’d been there all day, he’d ruin all of Victoria’s hard work.
He glanced out Mary Ann’s bedroom window. Victoria’s car was still parked there. He’d use it one more time, he decided, but he wouldn’t leave it at Crossroads High. He’d park a block away and hide it in the woods until the vampire could retrieve it.
“Lock your doors when I leave,” he said. “If you hear from Riley or Victoria, call the D and M. I don’t care if it gets me in trouble. I’d rather be punished than worry.”
She nodded, hugged him. “Be careful.”
“You, too.”
TWENTY
OF COURSE, Mary Ann’s package came at seven that evening, the last delivery of the day. Her dad was home, in his office, probably poring over his notes about Aden, trying to think up a rational reason he’d been able to claim a friendship with Mary Ann years before he’d actually met her.
She was about to open the package when she realized Penny was tentatively scaling the steps.
“Hey,” Penny said.
Mary Ann froze.
They stood facing each other for an eternity, silent, unsure. Mary Ann had avoided her so steadfastly, her friend had eventually stopped calling, stopped seeking her out at school. Or maybe Penny hadn’t been there. Sadly, she couldn’t be sure. She’d been too preoccupied.
“Hey,” Penny said again.
“Hey.”
Penny gazed down at her hands, fingers twisting together. She looked awful. Defeated. How long had it been since Mary Ann had seen the girl’s usual sparkle?
“How are you?” Mary Ann asked, not knowing what else to say.
“I could be better. Morning sickness has been a bitch.” That flat tone hurt more than it should have, all things considered. “My parents want me to get rid of the baby.”
“Are you?”
“Yes. No. Maybe.” A sigh. “I don’t think so. I hate Tucker, but the baby is also a part of me, you know? I want it. I think.”
Tucker was a demon. Would that mean the child Penny carried also carried that taint? She’d wondered before, but now, with Penny right in front of her, that didn’t seem to matter. “That’s good.” Yes or no, a baby was a baby. Innocent and precious.
Silence met her words, heavy, oppressive.
