Braced to Bite (19 page)

Read Braced to Bite Online

Authors: Serena Robar

Tags: #Vampires, #Fiction, #Horror, #Horror & Ghost Stories, #Schools, #Juvenile Fiction, #School & Education, #High schools, #Fantasy & Magic

Muttering to myself, I looked down for some more stones when the scent of a bakery outlet caught my attention.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded to the seemingly empty yard.
Chuck sauntered toward me from behind the twenty-two-foot speedboat Piper’s dad kept on the side lawn.
“Is that any way to greet your only family?”
“Where are my manners? What
in the hell
are you doing here?”
He kept coming closer until we stood a couple feet apart. I was thankful Piper hadn’t heard the pebbles. The last thing I needed was to worry about her safety with Chuck around.
“So, you’re still here.” He made this observation somewhat dryly.
“Not much gets past you,” I retorted snottily.
“Colby, Colby, Colby. It has come to this now? You are demanding that vampire society acknowledge the half-bloods? Why would you do that? It can’t happen, you know.”
To say I was surprised that he knew what I did at the hearing would be a shock to say the least. There hadn’t been many people there and I knew Carl and Thomas wouldn’t squeal. Did Chuck have someone on the inside? Was that how he evaded capture?
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the ‘
Undead Enquirer
’.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Ah, Colby. That’s what I love about you. Our eternity together will never be dull.”
I shook my head at him. “There won’t be an eternity together, Chuck. I’m not going with you. I’m taking my chances with the Tribunal.”
His lips straightened into a cold, hard line. “Why are you fighting me on this? I offer you salvation but you’d rather run into the arms of certain death. Why?
Why?
”
I jumped at his hard voice and how quickly he could change demeanor. Something was just not right about ol’ Chuck; being ostracized could do that to a vampire.
“Because I can change things. I can make them better for all Undead like me.”
“They will never grant you vampire status. You will be executed and forgotten.”
He sounded so sure of himself, so cocky.
“What makes you so smart? You’re just a lowly rogue on the run. You’re living on borrowed time as it is.”
“I’m no lowly rogue! I am free to do what I want, when I want. They can’t catch me, ever.”
“What makes
you
so sure? I don’t want to live my life one step ahead of the Investigators!” I still had no intention of going anywhere with him, but I needed to know how he’d found out what had transpired at my hearing.
“Is that what keeps you from coming with me? Fear? My dear, sweet Colby, we can do what no one else can do.” He seemed to relax when he thought he was getting past my reservations.
“What’s that? Dodge stakes?”
“I will protect you, Colby.”
“How? Do you have powerful friends who will keep us safe? No one is going to risk his neck for a rogue,” I scoffed, scorning his assurance.
Please, please get mad enough to get careless.
“Family looks out for each other, Colby. It’s like I told you the first time we met.” He reached a hand out to mine, his other hand in the shadows. My vampire senses were practically screaming in alarm.
I put my hand out, as though to clasp his and said, “The first time we met, you threw me in a ditch.” And I yanked him forward, kneeing him in the groin … again. I caught him off guard, to say the least. I took my briefcase and swung it at his face with all my might. It made contact but, due to its nylon exterior, did little damage.
He growled, still unable to stand upright, and lunged for me. His hand came out of the shadows holding a wicked-looking knife. A knife made entirely of wood. So much for family.
I dodged the stake, but it was very difficult: my heels kept sinking into the grass and moving like a cat was impossible. I kicked my shoes at his head, making contact once. He swore at me.
I ran around to the other side of the boat, looking for a weapon of any kind. The perfectly manicured lawn offered me little hope of finding stray building material. Damn the suburbs!
“Why are you doing this?” I demanded, looking under the boat for his feet so I could keep track of him. “What about all that talk of family?”
As we circled the boat I suddenly lost sight of Chuck’s shoes. Wildly, I looked around for him—then he dropped on me from above. He’d leapt over the boat! Stupid vampire superpowers!
I struggled to get back up but he planted a foot on my chest and I heard the crack of ribs breaking. I was sure it would have felt much worse if I were mortal, but it sure knocked the wind out of me.
All of a sudden, I knew the truth.
“You killed Jill.” I gasped as he applied more pressure. “They were going to grant her a license and you killed her!”
“Stupid council. She cried so pitifully on the stand, telling how her parents had disowned her for being Undead and she had nowhere else to go. Made me sick to hear how she pleaded and begged for her life, swearing her loyalty to the Tribunal Princes when she refused to come with me, her Creator. I ask you, why? Why not come with me?” He was asking me this question while holding me down with a boot and waving a stake in his hand.
“Maybe it’s your people skills?” I offered and he stomped down harder. Despite myself, I cried out in pain.
“All I wanted was to have my family whole again.” He looked so sad staring down at me that I almost felt sorry for him. I stress the word “almost” because he was going down now that I knew it was him and not Thomas who did in poor Jill Schneider.
Suddenly, the sound of gravel raining against the back fence caught Chuck off guard, and I used that moment to grip his foot and push up with all my might. I surprised him just enough that he stumbled backward, tripping over something lying on the ground, and fell hard.
I watched in horror as he went down and sort of stopped in midair, arms waving about wildly, staring at some strange object protruding from his chest. Winthrop had impaled himself on the white picket fence that divided my and Piper’s lawns. I rolled to my knees and saw Piper, in a black trench coat over her pajamas, still crouched on the grass where Chuck had tripped over her. Her eyes were closed tightly and she was in the fetal position.
“Piper.” I grunted, clutching my chest. “Are you okay?”
“Is he dead?” she asked, still clenching her eyes shut. Chuck was still thrashing around on the fence, unknowingly driving the post deeper into his body with his futile attempts to escape.
I pulled myself all the way up and moved closer to him. His eyes seemed wild and unfocused. I couldn’t bear to see all his flapping around like a fish on the shore, so I told Piper to help me get him off the post.
Piper shook her head and refused to get up so I attempted to remove Chuck myself. I tried grabbing his arm and shoulder to try to lift him off when he pulled me closer.
“Colby.” He gasped. “Take my ring, take it to the council.”
Piper approached us cautiously still shaking her head. She must have felt she’d done her part saving me and wasn’t about to let the crazy vampire off his pike, but she did manage to stand next to us. She shrieked when blood flooded out of Chuck’s mouth. I pulled the ring off his hand and tugged Piper away from him.
He sort of melted from the inside out until there was nothing left but dust. Dust and the clothes he’d worn.
Despite Piper’s protests, I looked through his pants for clues and found a set of keys, a wallet and a note written on Tribunal stationary that said, “Son, she must be eliminated tonight.”
I stared hard at the elegant, spidery handwriting for a long time. I recognized it.
“What did you find?” Piper whispered from a safe distance. Nothing was going to convince her to go near our dividing fence again, ever.
“I think I may have found a bargaining chip.” If I was right, then maybe I could help half-bloods
and
get a license.
I looked up at Piper who was leaning against the boat, paler than usual, if that was possible. She looked very young without any makeup on. I would remember that expression on her face for an eternity. She was frightened, horrified and a little proud, as though she had accomplished a great feat and was stronger because of it.
I hobbled toward her, still clutching my ribs.
“Let’s get you back inside,” I said, in a motherly tone.
She bristled instantly and took control, propping me up with her shoulder and arm. “Please, you can’t even walk and you’re gonna get me home? Do you think any of those broken ribs punctured a lung?”
I tried not to scowl at her question, especially because she sounded so darn hopeful. “Who knows? It’s not like I need lungs.” She helped me down our driveway to the door and reached out to open it but I stopped her.
“Piper, I-I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. I was wrong to try to stop you from helping me.”
“No, you were so right. What was I thinking? I’m no vampire slayer. I saw him jump over the boat from my window and I knew if I didn’t do something, you were a goner. So I ran out and threw gravel at the fence.”
“That was your great plan? You didn’t mean to crouch behind him and help me trip him into the fence?”
“Are you crazy?! I just wanted to make a noise to distract him. When I realized he might see me I just sort of dropped into a ball to hide.”
I laughed, and then groaned in pain. She was no Buffy, but then I was no Angel. Despite that, we made a pretty good team.
After a refreshing bath, only a boot print and a small ache reminded me of what transpired in the yard. My family had already gone to bed and though Piper gallantly tried to stay up with me, around 3 A.M. she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. We walked to her door together. After she was safely inside, I decided it was time to do a little investigating on my own.
I borrowed my mom’s Lexus for the trip downtown. I was going back to the Tribunal headquarters. Mr. Holloway and I needed to have a little chat.
The same receptionist was seated in the lobby. If she looked surprised to see me, she didn’t show it.
“I’d like to see Mr. Holloway please.”
“I’m afraid that is quite impossible. He is not to be disturbed. You will have your opportunity to meet with him tomorrow, at your designated time.” She sneered slightly, confirming my suspicions that she too would prefer if I were whacked.
If there was something I learned about bureaucratic vampires it was that they didn’t like scenes. And I, Colby Blanchard, was all about scenes. So I thanked her politely and walked straight back to where my court appointment had been held. Mr. Holloway’s name was on one of the side doors and my bet was that was his office.
“Hey, stop! You can’t …”
I ignored her as I swept into the conference room. No one in sight. I picked the door to the right and knocked before walking right in.
He sat at a big walnut desk, wearing his signature gloves and blazer. To say he looked shocked to see me would be an understatement. “Hello, Mr. Holloway.”
“What are you doing here?” he exclaimed.
“I came here to make a deal.” My voice was strong despite the nervousness I was feeling. I mean, how often did a half-blood stand up to a regional vampire Prince and live to tell about it?
“I know about Chuck, er, Winthrop.” I bit my lip and looked around his tidy office.
He leaned back and studied me. I opened the note I’d found in Chuck’s pocket and held it out in front of me.
“So you expect me to believe you bested him?” His voice was dry with sarcasm.
I guess I should have been happy we weren’t going to play the “what are you talking about?” game but still, a little lead time would have been nice so I didn’t have to blurt out that Chuck was literally dust in the wind.
I dropped Chuck’s license on the desk in front of me. Mr. Holloway’s eyes widened in surprise as he picked up the ring, turning it over and over in his gloved hand. Inside the ring were the initials C.W.H.

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