Night School (11 page)

16

We’re dismissed by the headmistress and black-clad guardians armed with stakes and other assorted weaponry escort us over to the library. They tell us we’re to spend the day here and the night back in our rooms. As if anyone’s interested in studying at this point.

The Alphas invite Sunny and I to the private back room. There, among expensive collections and dusty tomes, they’ve set up camp. It should feel like a sanctuary—dressed in fine, soft leather and rich, elegant wood. Instead it feels like a prison. Not to mention it’s stuffy as hell and making me sneeze.

“I’m freaking out here!” Mara says, as she closes the door behind us and turns the key. “I mean, basically what they’re saying is there’s a murderer out there!”

“Well, not a
murderer
per se,” I point out, before realizing I should just sit and keep my mouth shut.

Too late. All the Alphas turn to look at me.

“I mean, no one’s actually dead,” I finish lamely. If only they knew they’d just locked the monster in with them, instead of out.

“Yeah, for now,” Peter butts in. “But how do we know this vampire-fairy mutant thing won’t strike again? And what if this time he drains his victim dry?”

“I was pretty close to death,” Corbin adds wearily and another pang of guilt stabs in my gut. He’s plopped himself down in a nearby armchair, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “That’s what they told me in the infirmary anyway.”

“Are you sure you don’t remember
anything,
Corbin?” Varuka asks, peering at him with anxious eyes.

“No,” he says, shaking his head, eyes still closed. “It’s all a complete and utter blank.”

The others let out frustrated sighs. “It’s so maddening,” Leanna complains. “To sit here and do nothing. Maybe we could research or something?” She grabs an ancient-looking book from a nearby shelf and starts thumbing through.

“It’s not going to do any good,” Sunny interjects. I can feel her looking directly at me and wish she wouldn’t. “As the headmistress said, this creature is a totally new thing no one’s ever heard of or seen before.”

“It sounds so horrible!” Mara says, making a disgusted face. “Some disgusting vile monster putting its claws in poor Corbin and sucking his—”

I can’t take it anymore. I burst up from my seat. “I’ve got to ... go ... check out a book,” I mutter as I head for the door. I meant to say go to the bathroom, but unfortunately as a vampire, I no longer have the need to pee. And as a fairy I can’t lie about it. What a winning combination.

I can feel the stares at my back as I unlock and push open the door, then head out into the library hallway, bloody tears welling up in my eyes. What am I going to do? How am I going to get out of here? I catch a guardian watching me from across the room with suspicious eyes so I swipe my tears away and turn the corner.

I’m trapped. A sitting duck. It’s only a matter of time before they discover who I really am.
What
I really am.

I make a mad dash for the front door, but it’s locked and the windows are all barred. And, I soon realize, even if I could just walk out, it wouldn’t do me any good. There are slayer operatives everywhere, milling about outside, heavily armed with crossbows and stakes and scary-looking medieval axes. I wouldn’t make it ten feet before being cut down.

I lean against the wall, feeling defeated. I’m going to die here. I’ll never see my parents again. Never see Jareth again ...

“Rayne!”

Oh God, what now? I turn to see Corbin, rushing down the hall toward me, his emerald eyes full of worry. “Are you okay?” he asks.

I try to nod, but that would be a lie. So instead I resign myself to shaking my head.

Corbin reaches out and brushes a lock of hair from my eyes with tender fingers. I know it’s meant to be a comforting gesture, but it only serves to make me feel worse. If only he knew the truth about me. He’d be repulsed. Disgusted. He’d want nothing more than to strike me down then and there with his own bare hands. And, since we’re all about the truth here in fairyland, I probably deserve all that and more.

Because even now, standing here with him in all my distress, I still can’t stop thinking about his blood.

But he doesn’t know. He has no clue. “Don’t worry,” he says in a low, soothing voice. “I’ll protect you. No matter what. You don’t have to be scared.”

“Thanks,” I say, staring down at my feet. “I don’t deserve you.” So very true.

He leads me over to an empty corner and pulls me down to the floor. Pressing my back against the hard stone wall, I stare up at the ceiling. He reaches over and takes my cold hand in his own warm one and starts stroking my palm while whispering comforting nothings in my ear.

I know I shouldn’t be doing this. I know I should be staying as far away from him as possible. But yet I find I can’t pull away. Instead, I snuggle up against his shoulder, breathing in his warm, woodsy scent, trying to block out everything except this one moment of peace. Maybe the last one I’ll be able to enjoy for a very long time. Maybe the last one forever.

Suddenly a squeal interrupts us. My eyes fly open, fear striking my heart. A moment later, my sister whirls through the hall, followed by a boy I don’t recognize. They’re laughing and screeching and ignoring the librarians’ shushing.

“Your sister is a piece of work,” Corbin remarks dryly.

I watch Sunny disappear around the corner. “She’s not usually like this,” I say. In fact, she’s never like this. Has she just totally snapped because of all the stress we’ve been under? Or is something else going on here? “I’m going to talk to her tonight,” I add.

“Actually, I was sort of hoping you’d come to my room tonight,” Corbin says, looking over at me shyly. “We could sneak you in, past the guards ...”

Oh God. I swallow hard. I’ve got to stop this. Now. It’s gone way too far as it is. Because as much as I’d love to go to his room tonight, it’s not for the reasons he thinks. And there’s no way I can put myself in that situation again. Because I know what will happen. I’m not strong enough to resist once I get that close.

“Look Corbin,” I manage to say. “I know we’ve been hanging out a lot lately and it’s been really nice. I like you. A lot. But ...” I scrunch up my face. It’s going to be hard to break this to him gently when I can only tell the truth. “I have a pretty serious boyfriend back home and I don’t think we should cross that line.”

His face falls and he looks crushed at my words. My heart aches at the pain I’ve stupidly caused him by my weakness. I should have never let him kiss me. I should have died of starvation before taking his blood. “I know I should have told you earlier,” I say sadly. “It’s just ... I don’t know. You’re great. And I’ve been having a great time with you. But ... we can’t ... you know, let things ... I mean, I’ve already let things go too far.”

It’s killing me to say all this. To see the tears well up in his eyes and know I’m the reason they fall. ’Cause I do like him. A lot. And I don’t think it’s only for his blood, either. He’s a good person, under his arrogant exterior. Strong, caring, smart. A great catch for the right girl. But I’m not the right girl. And if I don’t prove that now, I may end up killing him the next time we’re together. And I couldn’t live with myself after that.

He starts rising to his feet, anger overtaking his sadness. Scrambling up myself, I grab him by the arm. But he shakes off my grasp. “I’m sorry!” I say, desperately searching his face for some hint of forgiveness. “I know I should have told you from the beginning.”

He waves me off. “You don’t have to explain,” he says. “I get it.”

“Please, Corbin. I really like you. I want us to be friends.”

He looks at me, his eyes a battleground between hate and love. Finally, he sighs, his shoulders slumping. “Come here,” he says, beckoning me closer. “Give me a hug and we’ll figure this out together.”

I collapse in his arms, pressing my body against his sturdy frame. I can feel his heart beating wildly in his chest as he pulls me close to him. Burying his face in my hair, he runs his hands up and down my back and ...

... suddenly freezes.

I watch in horror as he stumbles backward, fear clear in his beautiful green eyes. And suddenly I realize he’s felt them. My little wings, which I’ve been trying to hide under loose clothing. Lost in the moment, I totally forgot they were there.

And now he knows what I am. Who I am.

And what I’ve done to him.

Slowly, he shakes his head, then turns and walks down the hall, leaving me standing there by myself, wondering what on Earth he’s going to do.

I have to get out of here. Now.

17

I search the library for what seems like hours, looking for my sister. I finally find her—hidden behind the stacks, making out with some random, icky-looking boy with major zits on his face. Ew. What is she doing? So gross.

“We’ve got to talk,” I say, tapping her on the arm when she comes up for air. She looks over, annoyed.

“Can’t it wait? I’m busy.”

I grab the boy by his shirt and shove him away. “Get lost.”

He scowls at me. I raise my fist. He slinks off down the stacks, off to find another bored Slayer in Training to suck face with probably. This time preferably one without an overprotective twin. I grab my sister and drag her down the hall until we find a small, unoccupied office. I push her in, then step in myself, closing the door behind us.

“What’s your problem?” Sunny snarls, propping herself up on an empty desk. She’s wearing a short skirt I’ve never seen before and doesn’t even have the decency to cross her legs. “I was just getting to know Carl there.” Her face is flushed and I notice she has hickeys up and down her neck. “Or ... was it Chris?” she ponders to herself. “I’m so bad at names.”

“I don’t care if his name was Santa Claus,” I growl. “Sunny, I need you to be serious for a second.” I cross the room, stopping a few feet in front of her. “We have a major problem. Corbin felt my wings. And I’m positive he’s figured out that I’m the one who bit him. We have to get out of here. Now. Before he rats me out. Or comes back and kills me himself, for that matter.”

“But I don’t want to leave,” Sunny whines, actually sticking out her lower lip in a pout. “I like it here.”

“Have you been smoking pixie dust?” I cry. “You were dying to leave just a few days ago. And now you’re all big girl on campus?” I shake my head in disbelief. “Don’t you want to find Mom and Dad and make sure they’re okay? Not to mention Magnus, who I still can’t believe you’re cheating on with that disgusting dork in the stacks.” I slump in my chair. “It’s so not like you. These past couple of days—it’s like you’ve turned into this whole other person. Like you’ve been body snatched or some—”

I stop short, suddenly remembering something I read that afternoon in the library.

Oh God. But that’s impossible, right?

Then again, she did start acting weird the day after the fairy attack ...

Without warning, I lunge at her, grabbing her in a headlock before she can leap away. She squeals in protest, squirming like crazy. But I’m stronger. “Who are you?” I demand.

“Duh! I’m your sister. Sunny. Let me go!”

I tighten my grip. “Don’t effing lie to me!”

“Rayne, stop, you’re hurting me.”

“What’s Mom’s favorite meat to cook with?”

“Um ... I don’t know ... chicken?”

“Yeah, right. Try tofu. What’s your best friend’s name?”

“You’re my best friend!”

“Very flattering, but also wrong,” I look down at her. She’s gasping for breath. “Who did Magnus catch you kissing in Vegas?”

She glares up at me, her face suddenly defiant. “Mother effing Elvis, bitch.”

Startled, I let go and she falls to the ground with a thump. I take a wary step back, pressing my back against the door as Sunny—or, more accurately, the fairy changeling pretending to be Sunny—slowly climbs to her feet, a menacing look on her scarred, twisted, green-tinged face. The glamour has shattered and she no longer looks anything like my poor sister.

The changeling starts to laugh, an evil cackle that sends chills through my bones. “You figured it out,” she crows excitedly. “Took you long enough, by the way.”

“Why are you doing this?” I manage to ask with effort. “And where did you take my sister?” I feel like such an idiot. How could I have not known? My twin sister—the one person I’m closest to in the entire world—and I couldn’t even recognize the difference between her and an evil changeling. Wasting all this time, thinking nothing was wrong while poor, sweet Sunny has been floundering captive in fairyland, probably desperately wondering when someone would come rescue her.

“Your fool of a father thought he could hide you away and keep you safe.” The changeling snorts. “But we have spies everywhere. With the right ... donation ... even Slayer Inc. operatives can be bought.” She grins, as if proud. Hell, she probably is. She played me like a freaking fool. “Then it was just a matter of time. You idiots made it easy, actually, by running away into the woods in the middle of the night, away from the protection of the guards. All we had to do was launch an attack, steal Sunny away, and have me step into her place instead.”

“So where’s Sunny now?” I demand. “God help you if you touched a hair on her head!”

The changeling yawns. “Puh-leeze.” She snorts. “You’ve been listening to your parents too long. We’re not uncivilized beasts, you know. Your sister will be treated like the royal princess she is. Transformed into a fairy and crowned queen. I can promise you, no harm will come to her.”

“Right. Just like no harm came to the former queen, my grandmother, when you had her under your protection.”

A flash of guilt crosses the changeling’s face but then she waves a hand dismissively. “In any case,” she continues. “None of this is your concern. Now that Slayer Inc. has delivered us a queen, we must pay what we owe to them in turn.” She gives me a knowing look.

I shudder, guessing Slayer Inc. doesn’t exactly take Amex for this kind of thing. “And that payment is ... ?”

The changeling smiles. “Why, you, of course. You’re very valuable, you know. The first-ever vampiric Sidhe. They’re completely thrilled.”

I stare at her, horror slamming into my gut. “You told them,” I whisper hoarsely, suddenly realizing that anything Corbin might have figured out is nothing compared to what my sister’s changeling has already done.

The changeling opens her mouth, but a sudden, commanding knock on the door is really all the answer I need.

“Sorry to
Rayne
on your parade.” The changeling smirks. She blows me a kiss as the guardians push the door open, sending me flying to the floor. My palms skid against the hardwood, giving me one hell of a splinter. But I’m pretty sure that’s going to be the least of my problems soon.

“Bye-bye,” the changeling chirps, heading for the door. “I’ll give your sister your regards back at fairyland.”

I turn to the guardians, ready to fight. But before I can even scramble to my feet, they throw a silver net over my head. I know it’s real silver, too, since the metal fillings singe my skin—making it sizzle and smoke. Helpless, I fall to the ground, writhing in pain, knowing there’s nothing I can do. They’ve got me and they’ve got me good. And a moment later, I find myself swimming into blackness.