I nodded, offering her as bright as smile as I could. Then she was gone.
I eased to the foot of the bed and rested the backs of my hands on my knees. My breathing was fast, too fast, as a bead of nervousness rolled through me, picking up steam.
I was a slayer. I could produce the fire.
Would Nana come in here and find a pile of ash, then blame someone else? One of the other slayers?
Should I leave a note?
Shaking, I scribbled a quick goodbye at my desk.
So...without further ado, I forced my spirit to rise. I looked at my hands, and willed the fire to come. Little white flames sparked at the ends of my trembling fingertips. Not giving myself time to think, I turned and pressed those flames into my body’s chest. Then I waited. I watched my own face as a muscle ticked under my eye...but nothing else happened.
Disappointed, a lot angry and just a little relieved, I dropped my arms to my sides.
Why hadn’t that worked?
I rejoined spirit and body. Maybe...Z.A. had left my body with me?
Would she always?
I had to find out. But how?
Temples throbbing, I stalked out of my room and hunted for Reeve. I needed a distraction. Only, she wasn’t in her room. Or the kitchen. I headed to the second floor, bypassing antique chairs and tables, each surrounded by colorful vases and paintings of flowers. The closer I got to my gym, the more grunts, groans and girlish laughter I heard. She was there.
I reached the open doorway and ground to a halt.
Veronica was in the process of teaching my friends how to defend themselves from an attack.
“—proper fist,” she was saying. “Like this. That way, when you throw a punch, you won’t break your thumb.”
Reeve and Kat nodded eagerly.
“Show me,” Veronica commanded.
The pair spent the next few minutes punching air.
“Excellent.”
“I feel sorry for whoever makes a play for me,” Kat said, flexing her arms. “Do you see the amazingly sick biceps I’m developing?”
Grinning, Reeve said, “So, how did you learn to fight like this, Ronny?”
Ronny. Just like that, I felt utterly betrayed. This was
Three sets of eyes looked over at me.
“Frosty sent me,” Veronica explained, tone now cold.
“He said you were fine with it, that you’d suggested he take care of it,” Kat said with a frown. “But, uh, judging by your expression, I’m thinking he must have misunderstood.”
Veronica glared at me. “Would you care to join us and learn something, Ali? A few skills could give you the confidence you need to actually engage in battle rather than run away.”
I sucked in a breath.
“You have no idea what went down, Veronica,” I gritted. “Therefore, you have no right to comment.”
“What went down?” Reeve asked. “And how do you know our self-defense instructor?”
My attention remained on Veronica. “You can leave now. I’m taking over.”
“Uh, that would be a big fat no. Frosty wants these girls trained right.”
I didn’t have to think about my answer. No. No, I wasn’t.
Yes. I could. I would.
Mirror, Mirror on the Bloody Wall
I’d been taunted by one of Cole’s exes before, and there was no question I would be taunted again. I’d always—okay, mostly—chosen to walk away. I’d had what the other girls wanted: Cole. They’d just been lashing out, and I’d understood.
In that moment, I didn’t understand anything but rage.
She would suffer.
She would never laugh again.
I increased my speed. Kat and Reeve backpedaled, moving out of the way. Not Veronica. She met me in the middle. I threw a punch, but she leaned to the side, avoiding impact; I swiped air. She returned the gesture, and I lifted my arm, blocking her, and went at her with my other fist.
Finally. Contact.
Impact sent her stumbling to the side. Unfortunately she recovered quickly and as I approached, threw a right. I ducked, and she nailed me with a left in the center of my scar, using my own trick against me.
As I struggled for purchase, she clipped my jaw with every bit of her strength—
Don’t care.
Panting, she circled me.
“You’ve proven yourself to be toxic,” she spat. “I’m not going to let you hurt my friends.”
That stinging anticipation pulsed in my chest, almost as if it were a living thing.
She attempted to rise. Grabbing a hank of her hair, I rolled her over, then wasted no time straddling her waist, pinning her shoulders to the floor and whaling on her. Again and again...and again.
“Stop,” Kat called. “Ali, you have to stop. She’s bleeding. There’s blood. Ali, stop. Please!”
“Ali,” Reeve screamed. “Enough!”
I stilled only when Veronica’s eyes closed, signaling she was out cold. Blood leaked from her nose. I might have broken it. Her teeth had cut into her lips, and had already swelled to three times the normal size.
One taste wouldn’t hurt.
Muscled arms banded around me, jerking me backward. I struggled for freedom, desperate to return to the girl.
“Hey, now,” Gavin said. “I’ve always thought there’s nothing wrong with a little bloodshed between friends, but I draw the line at murder.”
“Just want to—”
Want to die.
“Calm now?” Gavin set me aside and crouched beside his friend. Gently he smoothed the blood-soaked hair from her brow. “Veronica, honey. You okay?”
I backed out of the room, too ashamed to look anyone in the eye. In fact, I kept my gaze downcast until I reached my room. I shut and locked my door and tripped my way to the vanity. I closed my eyes. My chin wobbled, tears cascading down my cheeks.
I remembered what a sad little girl I’d once been, trapped inside my home, peering out my bedroom window while other kids played in their yards. Social Services had come once. They’d questioned my parents, questioned me, maybe even considered taking Emma and me away from the only home we’d ever known. Maybe we would have been separated from each other. Maybe not. I hadn’t wanted to risk it, so I’d done something totally against my nature. I’d lied. I’d told them we were private people, that was all, and we enjoyed our family time and wouldn’t sacrifice it. I’d laughed at their concerns of abuse.
In junior high, my friends had called me Nolice.
I’d wanted normal, give-and-take relationships more than anything. Now I had them, but I might have to walk away from them.
I was a menace. Dangerous.
That. Quickly.
Her cheekbones were gaunt, her hair tangled.
I steeled myself to ignore it.
“What do you want from me?” I demanded.
“What do you think?” she said with a grin. “I want
She laughed. “You won’t be able to stop me. I grow stronger every day.”
“That means strength is measurable. So, if you can grow stronger, you can be made to grow weaker.”
That wiped away her amusement. “Look how easily you gave in to my desires. Soon biting will be second nature.”
“No.” Never.
“Once your human spirit has been destroyed, I’ll have control of your body. I’ll be the first of my kind.”
Breath crystallized in my lungs. “You can’t—”
A knock sounded at the door, and a sweet, trembling voice said, “Ali. Is someone in there with you?”
Kat.
“No,” I shouted a little too loudly.
A pause. “Will you let me in, then? Please. I need to know you’re okay, and we need to talk about what just happened. I’ve never seen you act like that, not even when you were beating up those boys, and it scared me.”
“I’m okay, and I’m sorry I scared you. But we’ll talk about it later. I just... I need to be alone right now.”
I heard her sigh even through the obstruction. “You’re upset, and I want to comfort you—it’s my specialty. Just don’t hurt me, okay?”
I think she meant the words as a joke. I hoped she did. “I would never hurt you,” I said, tears beading in my eyes.
“Ali, I know that, but you have to—”
“Please, Kat. Not now.”
I waited several seconds, heard only silence. I turned back to the mirror.
My reflection was just as grotesque but no longer moved contrary to me. “Are you still there?” I whispered, watching my lips move.
My reflection offered no reply.
I bit my tongue as I injected myself with the antidote, just to be safe. Then I withdrew the business card from my desk drawer and peered down at the number. This man knew something about what I was going through. Maybe he could save me.
How sad. Right now a stranger was my best shot.
Alter list:
A man answered after the third ring. “Hello, Miss Bell.”
He freaked me out, his welcome too much, too soon, and with a gasp, I hung up.
I redialed.
He answered on the second ring. “I hope you’ll actually say something this time.”
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“Your new best friend,” was the casual reply. “I am Dr. Bendari.”
I wrapped my fingers around the edge of the vanity and squeezed, trying to relieve a little of the pressure building inside me. “Enough games. You should know straight-out that I don’t trust you.”
“Believe me, I received that message loud and clear when you slashed my tire,” he replied drily.
“You’re probably wondering why I called.”
“No. I know. You’re desperate.”
Well, okay, then. We were on the same page. “How do I know you have the answers I seek?”
“Were you bitten by a slayer who’d been bitten by a zombie? Are you now seeing things? Hearing things? Experiencing unusual emotions and reactions?”
He knew. He really knew. “Yes,” I whispered. “How did you know that?”
“I have a source on the inside. I also have the answers you seek.”
“Tell me.” A command. “And who is your source? Is he one of my friends?” Who would betray me?
“The source matters little. I will tell you everything else you wish to know, but I won’t do it over the phone. You won’t believe what I tell you. Not without pictures.”
Anger infused every cell in my body. He could be lying, trying to draw me out, make me an easier target. “You want to meet,” I said flatly.
“I do. Tonight. Midnight.”
He could be playing me, could be planning to murder me. But honestly? I didn’t care. Right now death was preferable to uncertainty. If I walked into my own personal horror movie, oh, well. “All right. Where?”
“There’s an all-night Chinese buffet in Birmingham called the Wok and Roll. Come alone, and I’ll be there. Come with someone else, and I’ll leave before you can spot me. That happens, and you will never hear from me again.”
He hung up before I could agree. Or yell at him.
I paced my room for the rest of the day. Nana came to my door with lunch, then dinner, and both times I asked her to set the tray on the floor. Earlier I’d wanted to talk to her—I still did. Now just wasn’t the right time. At the moment, I couldn’t trust myself to behave.
“You’re going to tell me what’s going on, Ali,” she said through the door. Never before had she spoken so sternly with me. “The boy, Gavin, he told me you beat another girl unconscious. How could you do something like that?”
“I’m asking myself that same question,” I replied, my chin trembling.
A heavy pause. “Let me in the room. I want to look into your eyes while we talk about this.”
She would see was my horror, my remorse. My tears.