House of Ravens (The Nightfall Chronicles Book 2) (14 page)

"Evie," I mumble, reaching for my eGlass. I slip it over my ear, my head still buried under the blanket, eyes closed. "Evie?"

"Good morning, Scarlett."

"Morning. What time is it?" I can hear Corinne in the bathroom humming a song. She's so chipper in the morning. It would be annoying if she wasn't so sweet.

"It's 4:30 a.m. You should get up if you don't want to be late for PT." Evie also sounds chipper.

"Evie, it's too early for you to sound so happy. Tone it down."

"As you wish, Scarlett."

Yeah, that's not much better. I groan and sit up, stretching my tired body.

Corinne comes out of the bathroom, showered and ready for class. "Morning, sleepy head," she says.

"Good morning. You have a lovely voice."

Her smile is sad. "Thanks. It's a song my mother used to sing us when we were little." Corinne sits on her bed and faces me as she puts on her sneakers. "It's one of the only memories I have of her."

"What happened?"

"She died when I was really young. From illness."

"I'm so sorry."

I wonder what's worse, having a lifetime of memories to miss, or not knowing your mother at all. I wouldn't trade the time I had with my parents for anything, but it hurts that they are gone when they were so much a part of my daily life.

Something stirs my memory, and I click through my eGlass calendar. This Friday… it's their anniversary. They always made that day special, and when I was older they included me in their celebrations. We'd get a boat and spend the day at the lake, then at night they would light a Chinese lantern and send it off into the water. They said it was to commemorate another year of spending their lives with their soul mate.

I slip on my workout gear and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready. My mouth is full of toothpaste when Evie relays messages from the Dark Templars. "Trix says another rebel group has agreed to meet with you on Saturday."

I rinse my mouth out and ask, "Which one?"

"The Gravekeepers," she says.

"Which one are they?"

"They are committed to avenging those who died during the War."

"Tell Trix I got her message and will be there."

Corinne is waiting for me when I come out of the bathroom, and we head to PT together. "How are you feeling?" she asks. "I didn't hear you come in last night. It must have been late."

"I think I got an hour of sleep," I confess.

"You're going to be hurting today."

She's not wrong.

In fact, I spend the rest of the day hurting and falling asleep during classes. By the time Friday arrives, I'm more than ready for the weekend, and some sleep.

***

Teutonic Knights. They were formed at the end of the 12th century in Acre. They moved to Transylvania in 1211. They were expelled by…. someone. Hard to remember when I keep dosing off.

Evie is recording the whole lecture. I'll listen to it later in bed, in comfy pajamas. I nudge Corrine, yawning. "Why don't they just give us a textbook?" We've practiced nothing.

She keeps her eyes on the Grandmaster. "You can't ask a textbook questions." She raises her hand and is called on. "Grandmaster Gabriella, what's the German motto of the order?"

Gabriella smiles, looking pleased to finally receive a question. "Helfen. Wehren. Heilen. Help. Defend. Heal."

"Thank you, Grandmaster," says Corrine. As the lecture is resumed, she whispers to me. "Who are you going as for the Halloween Ball?"

It's a long time from Halloween, but this seems important to Corrine, so I try to come up with something. "Someone important. Someone who made a difference."

She raises an eyebrow. "Anything more specific?"

"Not yet, but I'm open to ideas."

She beams, clearly excited to be a part of my decisions. "I'll message you some later. If you decide soon, we can coordinate our styles."

"Sounds fun." But not as fun as sleeping for two days. Nothing sounds as fun as sleeping for two days.

"Corrine, Scarlett," says the Grandmaster, frowning. "Would you like to share your discussion with us?"

Oh no. I sit up straight, trying to look as awake as possible. All eyes turn to us, and Corrine turns red. I started this conversation, and I don't want my friend to get in trouble, so I speak up. "We were just saying how we'd like to go as famous Teutonic Knights for Halloween. We'd feel so honored."

Gabriella's frown fades. "Very well, but don't speak out of turn again."

I give her my most serious and noble of faces. "Of course, Grandmaster."

We stay focused for the rest of the class, but Corrine does spare a moment to tap something out on her eGlass. I receive the message.

Thank you, Scarlett

When history is over and Gabriella has left the room, Initiates erupt in cheers. "First week is over, ladies," says Wytt, throwing his arms around us. "We need to celebrate."

"What do you have in mind?" I ask, though this goes against my sleep plans.

"Let's head into the city."

Corrine does her 'why not' look while Wytt gives me puppy eyes.

"Let's do it," I say, feeling more energized because of my friends.

Wytt waves across the room at his brother. "Kai, why don't you join us?"

The Prince of Ravens surprises me with a grin. "I suppose someone has to keep you lot out of trouble."

***

The irony is not lost on me that I'm the one with mythological-inspired vampiric powers, but my friends are the ones who need no sleep and can go all night.

I would have slept from the end of History class until my meeting with the other rebel leaders tomorrow, but instead I spend the day shopping. Now I'm eating falafels at a Greek cafe in the city with Wytt, Corinne and Kai. Well, I'm mostly picking at it and pretending to eat. I miss liking food.

Wytt is telling another story, something about ancient Greece and the theatre and Dionysus, and Corinne is listening as she dips a carrot into the hummus. I eye the hummus. My brain says I should still like it, but my body disagrees vehemently.

Kai pulls a small paper bag out of his backpack and hands it to me.

"What's this?" I ask.

"Your dinner."

Curious, I open it, and find a bag of marshmallows, a chocolate bar and Life Force. I look up in surprise. "How… how did you know these things are my favorite?"

He rolls his eyes. "It's not that hard to figure out if you pay attention."

"So, you've been paying attention to my eating habits?" I ask, stuffing a marshmallow into my mouth.

"Someone has to. Should I be worried?"

I chew and swallow. "About what?"

"About you. You don't eat much, but you're training pretty hard. I know what grief can do to a person. Starving yourself isn't going to help."

I would laugh, but he's so serious and so sincere that I can't. "It's true my appetite has been… finicky, since my parents died. I think with my para-powers opening up and all the changes, it's affected me. But I assure you I'm healthier physically than I've ever been. The true threat to my health isn't lack of food, but lack of sleep. A girl needs her beauty rest." I say this last part in jest, but he cocks his head and stares at me, a serious expression on his face.

"You're beautiful enough without it."

I've just stuck a piece of chocolate in my mouth, and I almost spit it out in surprise. I'm spared from a response when Wytt stands, claps his hands and declares, "It's time to drink and be merry, since we've already done the eating part. For tomorrow we might die. And as everyone knows, it's best to die with a stomach full of ale, bread and happiness."

His words send a shiver through my spine, but I shrug it off. It's just an expression, not an omen. I hope.

Corinne stands and grabs her sketchbook. "And why are we dying tomorrow?"

Wytt shrugs. "Because it gives us an excuse to eat, drink and be merry?"

I laugh and stand, grabbing my backpack, which is now stuffed with new clothes I don't really need but Corinne insisted would look 'super fabulous' on me. In her defense, she's right. They do. Especially the silver cardigan I'm wearing now with the ultraviolet blue thread that glimmers and glows under certain light. It's made from a hybrid material that makes it soft but durable, and it conforms to my body almost like it's living. Another Eden Fashionable, a brand I've never owned until today.

Wytt seems to know where he's going so we all follow him. I'm pretty sure he has his eGlass set to find all the bars everywhere all the time. Must be a poet thing. Which I find odd, because in my limited drinking experience, drinking does not improve most people's ability to use words.

We walk a long time, passing many pubs, bars and clubs on the way. Corinne has given up on trying to draw and walk at the same time, after bumping into a few Fairy Fruit Trees and getting the sticky glowing fruit all over her sketchpad. That stuff never comes off.

Kai is quiet as we walk, and I can almost pretend he didn't just call me beautiful. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Sure, Wytt says it to me all the time, and while I'm sure he does think I'm pretty, it has a very different feel than the way Kai said it.

I'm not the kind of girl to blush and giggle and get falsely modest. I know I'm attractive. But there's a difference between someone finding me attractive and someone being attracted to me. And that's what's got me freaked out a bit. Because my heart is still reeling from Jax and the kiss and him leaving. I'm not sure what do with this.

Maybe I'm just making it all up in my head. Maybe he just meant I'm pretty and that's it. I need to stop making myself crazy over stupid things.

We finally get to where Wytt wants to go, and I'm not impressed. Neither is anyone else from the looks on their faces. We are in a sketchy neighborhood, to start. Like, abandoned buildings and cars covered in graffiti. I clutch my backpack tighter and wonder if I need to be in Nightfall mode.

The door to the club is unmarked, unless you count gang signs scrawled on it in spray paint.

"Um, Wytt… " Corinne looks around like we're about to be attacked by thugs. Which, honestly, we might.

"Fear not, fellow travelers. I know what I'm doing."

He knocks on the door, and a peephole opens. A voice on the other side of the door says, "A Knight in red must surrender—"

"To a Fairy by another name," Wytt says.

I raise a questioning eyebrow at Kai, who shrugs as the door opens and we enter another world.

Wytt raises his arms and grins. "Welcome to The Fairy Realm. The most exclusive, secret club in New York City. So exclusive, in fact, there is no VIP. The club
is
the VIP."

We all stand in stunned silence as we look around. It really is like stepping into a Fairy realm. It's dark, but everything is aglow in light. Giant mushrooms grow from the ground and glow purples, pinks and greens. Fairy Fruit Trees are also growing everywhere, the fruit and leaves brightly shining. There's dancing in the center and a long bar to the right with drinks I've never seen before. We walk over, and Wytt orders for everyone. "Give us the sampler platter," he says.

"What's the sampler platter?" I ask.

He winks at me and throws an arm over my shoulder. "You'll soon see."

We find a table that's been roped off from the rest, and Wytt pulls aside the rope and pulls a chair out for me and Corinne. "Ladies."

"Isn't this reserved for someone?" she asks.

"Yes," he says. "For us."

When our platter arrives, it's quite impressive. All of the drinks glow in different colors and have living edible fruit flowers growing out of them.

I take a purple and pink concoction and use my tongue to tease out the flavors before I commit. The flowers taste like candy, and I drink it up greedily. "This is the most amazing thing ever," I say, already feeling a small buzz.

A live band performs on a stage covered in living vines and more trees and mushrooms, their music pulsing, hypnotic.

"How did you find out about this place?" Kai asks as he sips his drink.

Wytt grins. "I have my ways, brother."

"Don't we need to show ID to prove we're at least eighteen and legal drinking age?" I ask.

Wytt waves a hand at me. "Already handled." He downs his drink in one gulp and stands, tugging on his sports coat. "And now, the ladies await."

He walks to the dance floor and has two girls dancing with him before he makes it all the way there. Incredible. "Your brother is certainly a ladies' man," I say to Kai.

Kai smiles. "He is. But some of us prefer one over many."