Crossroads (Crossroads Academy #1) (15 page)

“Miss Lescinka.”

“Huh?” I’ve been caught day dreaming again.
“I’m sorry, Professor. Can you repeat the question?”

“Anyone else?” Hooke challenges, dismissing
me entirely, as though it’s going to hurt my feelings. Actually,
I’d prefer he move on to another student, since I don’t have the
faintest idea what he was talking about.

Shaye raises her hand. She’s the only one.
Leave to Shaye to come back to class better prepared than the rest
of us, I smirk. Good for her. It must mean she’s been feeling well
enough to keep up with her assignments.

“If a vampire chooses to transfigure a human
during feeding, toxin is injected from the fangs into the subjects’
bloodstream. The infection spreads rapidly while also creating a
state of paralysis. During this process the human DNA is perverted,
creating cells that mirror both human and vampire characteristics.
Under a microscope it would be easy to see the difference,
though.”

“Correct,” Professor Hooke praises her before
moving on. “The cell mutation is not natural, and so a mixed-blood
vampire will never be physiologically identical to a pureblood.
Close, but not identical.”

“And that’s why they’ll never rule,” calls
out one of my classmates. I think his name is Sean. He’s proud,
proud of his heritage and a history that has nearly exterminated
the lesser parts of what he believes to be a diluted gene pool. I’m
disgusted. I hear the vestiges of an argument as old as time—an
argument that has brought war, suffering, and death to all corners
of the earth.

This time I tune out the class discussion
intentionally.

**********

“Mind if I join you?” Shaye asks
brightly.

She knows me well enough at this point to
know that I enjoy my self-imposed isolation and normally sit by
myself in the dining hall. A quick scan of the raucous room reveals
that there are plenty of open seats, many with more desirable
company than myself. But, as it is, I still owe her one for the
invasion of her privacy, so I can’t very well say no.

“Suit yourself,” I reply casually, sipping
from the mug in front of me. She’s definitely feeling better if her
clothes are any indication of her mood and overall well-being.
Shaye’s clothes are generally unconventional, but I have never seen
such a tribute to 80’s punk. Not in person anyway. I can’t help
myself but stare. She’s wearing a red plaid skirt with black
fishnet leggings and a t-shirt that’s so faded you can just barely
make out the name of the band: The Ramones. If it weren’t for her
vampire strength it would be easy to imagine her tiny body weighted
down by the abundance of chunky bracelets clattering noisily on her
arms.

“You like? I can do yours too.” She laughs
pointing at her hair. She’s added bright pink streaks which I would
never in a million years copy. It works for her, but it’s a little
too loud for my personal taste. I look down at my own outfit which
is comprised of skinny jeans and a cropped sweater. As usual my
clothes pale in comparison to Shaye’s.

“Where do you even find clothes like that?” I
ask, wondering what’s inspired such an attention grabbing look
today.

“The internet, where else?” she asks
seriously, dropping into the chair across from me. “I had a lot of
time to surf the web last week. I could only watch so many reruns
of Jersey Seaside before losing brain cells.”

“Oh.” What do I say to that? I’d probably
lose my mind if I was confined to my room for more than a day, and
she’s been in bed for more than a week. I just hope she’s joking
about watching that trashy reality show. One episode would be
sufficient to drop her IQ fifteen points. “Well, you look great,” I
tell her.

“Did I miss anything good?” she asks, sipping
delicately from a straw. I watch as the red liquid makes its way up
from the glass and into her mouth. She drains the glass while I
contemplate.

“Not really. It’s been quiet.”

“Too bad. I was hoping for some good scoop.
There hasn’t been much excitement in my life since Halloween,” she
replies longingly. “I wish I could have been there to see the look
on Jade’s face after you dunked her in the spring. Maybe next
time.” She looks at me with a hopeful expression.

“There won’t be a next time,” I tell her
adamantly.

“Oh well, I can dream, can’t I? Besides, she
had it coming.”

Maybe Anya’s right. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to
have someone to talk to once in a while, and it’s clear Shaye has
decided a friendship between us is a worthy pursuit. What the
heck.

“I was thinking about catching a movie at The
Palace this weekend if you’re interested?”

“I’m down. It’s been a while since I’ve been
into Rutland. It’ll be fun. Just promise me you aren’t going to
invite Jade and Lexie too,” she teases. “I don’t know if I’m ready
for that much excitement yet.”

“That makes two of us.”

**********

“You need to concentrate. Whatever is going
on in that head of yours today, you need to push it aside.” Nik is
not happy with me. Rightfully so. I’m having difficulty focusing.
The lack of sleep is catching up with me. I’ve been trying to
compensate by feeding more frequently, but it’s not enough.

“Sorry. I’ll do better. Can we try it
again?”

“Are you sure?” he asks, unconvinced. He
doesn’t trust me to tell him the truth. He knows I’ll keep going
until he hurts me or until I get it right, whichever comes
first.

“Definitely. I’m ready,” I tell him.

“I told you it was a waste of time,” chides
Blaine. He leers at me contemptuously from a row of chairs lined up
alongside the sparring mat. His opinion of me hasn’t improved and
he does nothing to hide his mounting feelings of loathing for me.
“She’s not getting any better. It would actually be painful to
watch if it weren’t so entertaining.”

“Why don’t you go back to writing code, or
playing Dungeons and Dragons, or whatever it is you cyber-geeks
do?” I shout angrily, hissing in his direction. I seriously dislike
that kid. Maybe not as much as Jade, but a lot. This happens every
time we train. I know he shows up just to berate me. It’s hard to
believe he doesn’t have better things to do with his time. Then
again, he is kind of a creeper. Maybe he really doesn’t.

“What? Can’t take the pressure? Well, you
know what? There’s the door,” he snarls hooking a thumb over his
shoulder as if to suggest I should just be on my way. God, he is
such a tool!

“Why is he even here?” I ask, whirling on
Nik. “It’s not like his presence adds value. He hates me, and he’s
a distraction since he can’t figure out how to keep his mouth
shut!”

“Katia,” he starts, rubbing the back of his
neck uncomfortably. He doesn’t want to get caught in the middle
again.

“Don’t bother,” I cut him off. “I’ve had
enough of this. No amount of training is worth this hassle. I’m
done.”

“Katia. Come back,” he tries again, as I turn
my back on him and storm off the mat. I ignore his pleas. I’m not
going to put up with Blaine’s harassment for the sake of training.
I’ll figure something else out. There has to be someone else who
will train with me. Someone who doesn’t have a pathetic little
entourage to interfere.

I grab my bag in a fit of anger and head for
the door, slamming it behind me as I leave. Alone in the hall, I
lean against the cool stone wall and attempt to reset my
bitch-o-meter. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, allowing my
anger to dissolve. If I want to tame the bloodlust, I can’t think
about Blaine’s asinine behavior, or how he always knows which
buttons to push, or about how I want Nik to actually do something
about it instead of playing Switzerland all of the time.

When I feel sufficiently levelheaded, I push
off the wall and check the time on my watch. I still have some time
to kill before my meeting with Anya, so I decide to head toward the
dining hall. Might as well feed before I go. If my abysmal session
with Nik was any indication, I’m in need of blood and lots of
it.

It turns out I’m in luck. The dining hall is
pretty empty, so I move right to the front of the line. “Isn’t
technology grand?” I muse admiring the fountain. Nothing around
here is simple. Instead of the typical drink fountain which would
be perfectly adequate, the dining hall has a towering brass
fountain with eight ornate self-serve taps. It’s like a bar tap on
steroids. Each of the ornamental taps is labeled with a cameo to
reveal the contents. As much as I long for human blood, I always
choose animal when it comes to the dining hall. It’s less
satisfying, but safer for me. I pour myself two glasses from the
dispenser. I watch mindlessly as the thick fluid fills the glasses.
Today it will be horse blood and bear. It seems the staff has been
hunting, and I find I’m green with envy.

I continue through the line, pushing my tray
ahead of me. I ignore most of the human food but at the last minute
grab an apple as a nostalgic whim tugs at me.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Or so
I’m told.” It’s Nik. He’s followed me. “I don’t have much use for
doctors myself, but it’s good advice nonetheless.”

“Don’t try and charm me,” I snarl. Maybe if I
ignore him he’ll go away. I choose a table by the window and make
myself comfortable. He follows, much to my vexation. I watch
resentfully as he grabs the chair across from me and spins it
around backward so that he can straddle it.

“Stalk much?” I ask, sighing loudly in a
futile attempt to further reinforce the message that his company is
unwanted. “You do know that stalking is not considered polite
behavior, right?”

“Well, then I’m in good company. You’ve never
once been mistaken for someone with good manners, so I doubt you’d
expect any better.”

“Huh. You may have a point,” I concede,
lifting the first glass to my lips. “So what’re you doing
here?”

“I spoke with Blaine. He won’t be bothering
us anymore. I promise.”

I roll my eyes in response. I doubt his word
is worth much. Besides, he’s still convinced he can woo me with his
charm. But I’m not giving in. “I told you I’m through.”

“I never make a promise I can’t keep, Katia,”
he says seriously. “Trust me.”

“Right, Nik. Like I’m supposed to believe
that working with me takes precedence over your friendship with
Blaine.”

“I never said that,” he corrects me. “What I
said was that he won’t be bothering us during your training
sessions anymore.”

“Why do you even care if I come back?” I
still don’t understand his motivation or why he’s invested so much
time in helping me.

“You’re good, Katia. With a little more work
I can get Garcia to bump you up to a more advanced class. Don’t
quit on me now.” Like any good manipulator, he dangles that which
he knows I want most in front of me. I suspect it’s a last ditch
effort to change my mind.

“I’m not planning to quit, Nik. You give
yourself a little too much credit. I’m planning to find a new
trainer.”

“Good luck then,” he says pushing his chair
back from the table. Before he goes, he leans in close, leaving me
with one final seductive message. “But you won’t find anyone here
better than me.”

“Nice
to see you, too,” Anya says, not bothering to look up from her
computer. I know I’m being rude. She’s not impressed by my juvenile
behavior. Stomping, huffing, and puffing probably aren’t especially
endearing. But I can’t help it. Nik’s words are eating at me. I
wonder if I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face. If he’s the
best, then why would I train with anyone else? And what about that
double entendre? Even if I were interested in dating, which I’m
not, where does he get off thinking he’s the best the school has to
offer?

“What’s bothering you?” she asks, eyeing my
tightly crossed arms. I slouch further in the chair so she can feel
the full force of my petulance.

“Nothing. Everything.” I throw up my arms in
frustration, but Anya remains silent. Today she’s determined to
wait me out.

“It’s Nik,” I say finally.

“Nik?” She looks puzzled.

“Your brother?”

“Oh! I didn’t realize. He’s never gone by
Nik. Actually, as long as I can remember, he’s never allowed anyone
to call him that.” She looks thoughtful. “Did something happen in
class? I didn’t realize you two were friends.”

“We aren’t. He’s been training me, but now
he’s not.”

“He quit on you? That doesn’t sound like
Nikolai.”

“He didn’t quit. I did. He promised it would
be different, but I don’t believe him. Why should I?”

“Mmm,” she replies contemplating. She taps
her pen on the desk as she thinks. It’s all I can do not to grab it
out of her hand and put an end to the annoying racket. “Let me tell
you something about Nikolai. When were young, before we came to
Crossroads, we used to play a lot of games. Most of them were silly
games that I made up to entertain him. Harmless juvenile stuff
mostly. So one night when I was about your age I talked him into
going out on a hike. We were forbidden to go out at night by
ourselves. Nikolai wasn’t even of feeding age yet, but I dared him.
He knew our parents would punish us severely if they found out, but
what could he do? He wasn’t about to let his big sister outdo him.
Even at a young age, he was too brave for his own good.”

She pauses, her eyes glazing over momentarily
as she replays the scene in her mind. It’s clear Anya has good
memories of her childhood with Nikolai. I wonder what they must
have been like as children in Russia. Worry free and innocent. No
pressure, no expectations. It makes me long for the safety of my
own childhood.

“Anyway,” she says, shaking off the past and
returning to the present. “We snuck out after our parents tucked us
in for the night. No small feat, I might add, with Nikolai. He was
very close to my parents then. They checked on him frequently, ever
fearful their little prince would be snatched away by some
insidious creature of the night. Once they were gone we climbed
over the balcony outside my room. Well, I did. Nikolai just held
on. I carried him most of the way. The caves were exactly 15.3
miles from our home in the suburbs of Volgograd. I knew it was
risky, but I was so sure I could get us there and back before sun
up. I fed heavily that evening. I drank until I thought my sides
would split.”