Blood Prophecy

CHAPTER 27



Lucy


Thursday night/Friday morning, past curfew

After Nicholas walked me to school, I still had two classes left. I went to each of them, taking conscientious notes and doing drills until sweat soaked the back of my shirt to make up for skipping so much this past week. Connor snuck me a text to let me know that everyone was okay so I was even able to concentrate.

I was washing my face in the deserted girls’ bathroom minutes before curfew when I heard a “psst.” I splashed more water on my face, thinking one of the taps must be leaking.

“I said, psst.”

I turned off the water. “Um, hello?” I looked over my shoulder. Chloe’s head poked out of one of the stalls, her wild hair ruthlessly scraped into a tight ponytail. She wore a black T-shirt and black leggings. I blinked at her. “Are you a cat burglar now?”

She eased out, casting a suspicious glance under the other stall doors. “We’re breaking into Bellwood’s office,” she whispered so low it was barely audible.

“What, now?”

She nodded. “I hacked an e-mail that said all the teachers are in a meeting with Hart right now and most of the other hunters are out patroling. It’s now or never.”

“Is there any particular reason we’re breaking into the principal’s office?” I asked curiously.

“I can’t break her encryption,” Chloe answered crankily. “But there’s definitely something going on. And the last time something was going on I nearly grew a mustache and students died.” She paused in the hallway. “So are you in?”

“Of course, I’m in,” I replied. “What a question.”

“What about . . .” She nodded to my dorm room door, where my roommate lay in her perfectly made bed.

I glanced at my watch. “Lights out,” I said drily. “Sarita is nothing if not punctual.”

“Won’t she tattle?”

“I still have my permission slip for tonight,” I told her.

We snuck down the back stairwell where Hunter and her friend Jason waited. He had a kind, gentle smile. I’d met him a few times in the cafeteria during meals. Hunter shook her head. “How much backup do you think we need?” she asked Chloe. “It’s like sneaking a herd of elephants.”

“Jason’s the best at locks,” Chloe reminded her.

“And I’m just here because I’m nosy,” I added helpfully.

“Just don’t get caught,” Hunter said.

“I already have enough detention, thanks.”

“I’m not worried about your detention.” She snorted. “I’m worried about mine. We’re looking at expulsion if this goes wrong.”

I beamed at her, smiling wide. “What could go wrong?”

“Exactly.” She checked her watch. “Jenna is already up a tree on lookout. I’m going to take the back door to the building. Lucy, you keep a lookout inside the building, outside the office door when Jason and Chloe go in. Everyone’s got their phone on silent mode?”

“Sir, yes sir!” I gave her a mock salute. She just stuck out her tongue at me. “If Sarita could see you now, she’d be crushed,” I added with pretend-sorrow.

“Let’s go,” Hunter suggested, rolling her eyes at me. “And be careful. Most of the agents are out on patrol but you just never know.”

I stopped teasing once we were outside because she was right, we could get in a lot of trouble for this. The moon was bright over the snow, which made it all that much harder to sneak about. We darted from tree to tree, giving the infirmary with its bright lights a wide berth. Hunter was already ahead of us, picking through the gardens. I saw the bushes shiver when she did a weird acrobatic back bend. “What is she doing?”

“Avoiding the cameras,” Chloe explained. “I temporarily deactivated the ones in the office but if I tampered with too many of them it would be a red flag.”

“I’m a little scared of how efficient you guys are.”

“This coming from the girl who regularly punches vampires in the nose and lives to tell about it.”

The building was quiet with all the classrooms dark and empty. Classes had ended over a couple of hours ago and as promised, Bellwood’s office was also deserted. We picked our way past the lockers, our shoes scuffing on the polished wooden floors. Jason led the way down the hall and Chloe and I pressed our backs to the wall, waiting for him to deactivate the lock. He had a bag filled with old-fashioned lock picks, complicated listening devices, rings of keys, and plastic cards. After about ten minutes of patient fiddling, which would have had me screaming with frustration, the door swung open on oiled hinges.

Chloe kissed his cheeks with a louder squeak than the hinges. “You are brilliant.”

“The windows have the serious security,” he said modestly. “No one’s dumb enough to try this from inside.”

“Except us,” she said proudly. “I want those passwords.” She rubbed her hands together like a villain in a bad movie.

“If you hear anything, flash a light at us,” Jason whispered, handing me his flashlight. “The office might be bugged.”

It was both boring and surprisingly nerve-racking to be lookout. I was used to being thrown into events without warning, but all this careful listening and excruciating waiting was making my palms sweat. I jumped twice at the sound of my own heartbeat, mistaking it for footsteps. A half hour later, when my back teeth hurt from clenching them so tightly, Chloe practically skipped out of the office. She waved a data stick at me. Her smile was huge and smug as a cat’s. “Got ’em.” She beamed.

The return trip to the dorms wasn’t nearly as smooth.

For one thing, a van of hunters returned just as we were stepping out of the building. Jason didn’t speak, only shoved us back inside. We stumbled against one another just as the spear of headlights swept across the pathway. The van rumbled across the lawn, straight to the infirmary.

Hunter popped out of the bushes beside us, frowning. “That’s not good.”

Chloe yelped and elbowed me in the boob. “Shit, Chloe!” I yelped back.

“Shh,” Hunter added. “Hello? Stealthy, remember?”

“Tell that to my left boob.”

We eased around the building, trying to find a safe spot to hide to get a better look at the van. Jenna dropped out of a tree and Jason clamped a hand over Chloe’s mouth so her startled scream wouldn’t give us away. The van stopped and the headlights went out. Hunter motioned us to the pond but didn’t follow. Instead, she went low, and headed to the van. We dashed away, then crouched in the darkness to watch and wait. We lay in the long grass, our feet tucked against the bank of dark water. The snow seeped into my pants, making me shiver.

Hunter crept along the edge of the gardens, as close to the front door as she could. She stopped halfway up the path, hiding behind a juniper. She tossed something into the bushes and then ran to join us as the van’s front doors opened. She slid into the grass as if she were playing baseball. The swan gave a loud indignant honk. “I hate that bird,” she muttered.

Two hunters stepped out onto the path, wearing their full gear under the cover of winter coats. When Hunter fished a small black surveillance gadget out of her pocket, we could hear the sound of their footsteps as they went around to the back of the van.

“Wireless surveillance amplifier,” she explained with a smile equally as smug as Chloe’s when she’d danced out of Bellwood’s office. “There’s only one bug left inside the infirmary. They keep doing sweeps.”

“Where do you get this stuff?” I asked. “Seriously, do you stockpile it?”

“Kieran stole this for me last week from his uncle’s basement. It’s last year’s model so no one will miss it.”

“I had no idea the boy scout was such a delinquent,” I said, impressed. “He keeps surprising me.” We tucked ourselves deeper into the frostbitten grass as the hunters began to talk. Chloe couldn’t help but inspect the surveillance gadget.

“Another body,” the man said wearily when Theo came out of the infirmary. “She died on the way here.”

Theo shook his head. “Damn it, I feel as if I’m running a morgue instead of an infirmary.”

“Keep her under surveillance,” the female hunter said as she slid the gurney out of the van. “If she doesn’t turn we’ll put her back where we found her and call the authorities.”

“And if she turns?” Theo asked, even though I could tell by the look on his face that he already knew the answer.

“We stake her.”

“She’s not instantly evil,” I whispered furiously. “She’d just be a vampire.” In my indignation, I must have been louder than I’d thought because the hunters reached for their stakes.

“Shit.” Hunter started to scuttle backward. “Into the pond,” she added, sliding under the cold water. We followed as quickly and quietly as we could. The hunter stalked our way as the icy water stole my breath. Even though I wanted to scream at the shock of it, there was no air left in my lungs. It wasn’t as cold here as in the mountains and the snow was still merely decorative, but it was still too damn cold for a swim. Chloe’s head popped up beside mine and we curled into the weeds. Jason’s lips were already blue.

The hunters were getting closer.

Too close.

The woman had a gun at her belt and looked like she was in the mood to shoot first and ask questions later. My fingers cramped with cold as I held onto the bank, trying not to move my legs and create any ripples.

Just as they were crossing into the longer grass, Hunter dove under the water and yanked on the swan’s leg. It squawked and hurled itself into the air, flying so erratically in its surprise that it clipped one of the hunters in the ear. They stumbled, cursing and ducking.

We crawled out of the pond as quickly as we could. The water made my sweater three times as heavy as it had been and filled my boots. My teeth chattered. Even my bones were cold.

“That damn bird still lives here?” the guy muttered as they turned away from the pond and went to push the sheet-covered body up to the double doors. The fluorescent lights were cruel and uncompromising, falling brightly over bloodstains. Theo peered under the sheet and frowned as we huddled close to one another, trying not to die from exposure. Hunter, being Hunter, had the foresight to leave the transmitter in the grass, so we would still hear them talking. She’d even knocked Chloe’s data stick out of her hand, since she was still clutching it like a little girl at her first carnival with her first cotton candy.

“She was alive when you found her?” Theo asked.

“Barely, but yes.”

“Those bite marks are too perfect for all the blood she lost. And those cuts on her wrists are older, as if she was chained up.” Theo shook his head. “These damn disappearances and attacks are getting stranger and stranger.” The door shut behind them and we couldn’t hear what else he had to say.

“Solange didn’t do that,” I whispered, my knees creaking as I pushed off the snow. “She’s herself again. Plus she’s been at the camp.” My jeans felt like they were frozen right onto my skin.

“I can’t help but wonder if this Dawn chick would get better results,” the female hunter muttered, as she and her partner left the infirmary. “ ‘Cause we’re shit useless these days.”

Dawn again.

I had to physically stop myself from hissing at her name. Hunter reached for a stake out of habit before she realized it was just me and not a vampire. The hunters climbed into the van, cutting off their conversation. They drove to the smallest barn, which had been converted into sleeping quarters for families from out of town and traveling Helios-Ra hunters. Apparently it was full to capacity, which had never happened before. That was all very interesting except for the fact that I was frozen through and my fingers were numb.

“Let’s go,” Hunter croaked, sounding equally miserable.

We ran back to the dorms with considerably less stealth and grace. It was only sheer luck that had us back in the building and taking hot showers without getting caught. Feeling returned to my fingertips in hot sparks, burning under my skin and up my arms. I was still shivering slightly, even bundled in my flannel pajamas and Sarita’s bathrobe, which I borrowed off its hook. I snuck downstairs to Hunter’s room where everyone was waiting, also freshly showered and wearing every sweater they could find. Jason was pouring hot water from a plug-in kettle into cups filled with hot chocolate mix. I seriously considered kissing him for that. With tongue.

Chloe was already at the computer, her hair up in a towel, her eyes squinting at the computer screen. “I hope it was worth it,” I said, curling my fingers around the mug Jason passed me.

“Definitely worth it,” Hunter said. “We already know more than we did an hour ago.”

“Yeah, like the pond is freaking cold,” I said.

“Better that than being caught and expelled.”

“Better hypothermia than expulsion?” I asked through another violent shiver that trembled up my spine out of nowhere.

She waved that aside with a tired grin. “It wasn’t cold enough for that and we weren’t in long enough.”

I groaned, curling into a ball on her bed, still clutching my mug. “I feel like all of my bones turned into soggy noodles.”

Hunter crawled under the blanket next to me. Jenna rolled herself up in Chloe’s bed, moving over to make space for Jason. He slid in beside her after taking off the extra blanket and draping it over Chloe’s shoulders. “Now what?” I yawned.

“Now we wait for Chloe to be brilliant,” Jenna yawned back.

“Wake me up when the genius hits,” I murmured. My eyes were closing when my phone vibrated in the pocket of the bathrobe. There was a text from Solange. “Are you awake?”

It was so great to get a text from her, just like regular best friends, that I smiled at it goofily for a moment. “Oh God,” Chloe muttered. “You got something from Nicholas. I know a dorky Drake grin when I see one.”

“No, not Nicholas,” I said. “Talk soon,” I texted Solange back at the same time.

“Lend me your phone?” Hunter murmured. “Mine’s all the way over there on my desk.” It did look like miles away. I passed her my phone. She dialed slowly, as if her fingers tingled as painfully as mine did. Defrosting hurt more than the actual freezing. “Kieran, did I wake you up?” She yawned so widely she had to repeat herself. “Know anything about this Dawn person? Besides what Nicholas told Lucy?” She shook her head when we all looked at her, waiting for an answer. “Chloe’s doing her mojo. If she breaks the code can you crack some of your uncle’s files? Thanks.”

I took the phone back from her before she could hang up. “Call Solange, dumbass.”

Kieran groaned. “One crisis not enough for you, Hamilton?”

“Call her,” I repeated before hanging up.

“Dawn must be a Huntsman,” Jenna said, her eyes closed. “Or really old-school League.”

“And it sounds like she’s recruiting,” Hunter agreed.

“Is that a bad thing?” Chloe asked, still hunched at her desk. She’d broken out a bag of jelly beans and was munching through them mechanically. “I mean, don’t we need the extra help?”

“I guess it depends what she’s recruiting them for,” Hunter said.

“Evil,” I replied promptly.

“You can’t know that.”

“You didn’t see what she did to Nicholas,” I returned darkly. My tone was hard enough to crack stones. I remembered every scar, every bruise and every tear in his shirt. Most of all, I remembered that stark wild look in his eyes when he’d stumbled into the clearing where Solange had me pinned.

Chloe winced. “Sorry, I forgot about that part.”

“She’s torturing vampires and humans,” I reminded her. “And she hurt my boyfriend. So she gets a big, fat, karmic, steel-toe boot up the ass.”

“Agreed,” Hunter said quietly. I knew she was thinking about Quinn. It could just as easily have been him who’d been abducted and tortured.

Even as angry as I was, the toll of the last few nights and the warmth finally spreading through my body again lulled me to sleep before I’d finished uttering death threats. I wasn’t sure how long I was out before Chloe slapped her keyboard loudly. “Stupid thing!”

I jumped, startled awake. Hunter and I were snuggled up together and Jenna was sprawled comfortably on Chloe’s bed. Jason had somehow ended up on the floor, but judging by his snoring it didn’t seem to bother him. Until Chloe rolled away from her desk, and her chair yanked out his hair. He jerked up but his hair was caught and he was stuck there, swearing. “Damn it, Chloe. Are you trying to crack a code or my head?”

She winced down at him. “Sorry.” She rolled her chair carefully away.

He sat up rubbing his head. She handed him a bag of chocolate macaroons from her desk drawer as a peace offering. He ate a handful, still bleary-eyed and rubbing his temple.

Hunter poked her head up. “Chloe, go to bed. It’s almost four in the morning. You can try again later.”

Chloe just reached for another energy drink.

Jason groaned. “Great. Like you need more caffeine.” He pushed to his feet. “I’m going to my own room before you run over something I might actually need one day.”

Chloe was already chugging the drink and trying to eye her computer balefully at the same time when it beeped at her. She hit a few keys and then lowered the empty can, wincing.

“The Gazette is running another headline about the Dracula Killer,” she said. “A college guy was found dead and drained of blood outside the library.”

“Another one?” I frowned. “But Solange is okay now,” I repeated. “She didn’t do this.”

“Not to mention that vampires generally clean up after themselves,” Hunter pointed out. “Something doesn’t add up with all these missing people, just like Theo said. It can’t just be vampires feeding.”

“It has to be Dawn,” I told her. “She’s obviously framing vampires.”

“That’s a pretty brutal way to do it. If she’s pro-human, then why kill so many of us?”

“Vampires make a convenient scapegoat. But why frame Solange at a high school field party of all places?” I wondered.

“Everyone’s after Solange, you know that. She’s an even more convenient scapegoat.”

“This sucks.” I scowled.

Hunter scowled back. “And who the hell is this Dawn anyway?”

“Can you guys grumble somewhere else?” Chloe muttered. “It’s distracting.”

Hunter burrowed back under the blankets, frowning thoughtfully. Jenna was still asleep somewhere under a pile of Chloe’s pillows. Jason and I parted ways on the landing to the second floor. Instead of going back to my room, I went to the bathroom and hid in one of the stalls to call Solange back. She answered on the first ring. “I think I’ll be successfully cured of any martyr tendencies by the end of the week,” she said drily.

“That well, huh?”

“Mom beat up a warrior with muscles the size of my head and it’s been politics and condescension ever since.”

“Yawn.”

“Yeah, it alternates between boring and terrifying. I spend most of my time apologizing and then not being allowed to talk as every vampire within a ten-mile radius gives a long speech about honor and traditions and basically hacking people up.”

“Fun.”

“You should have seen Dad’s face when the one guy went on about reintroducing human hunts and feeding zoos.”

“Dude.”

“I know, right?”

“Did you take down that stupid post?” I asked, remembering the feel of the iron chains on my wrists. “ ‘Cause I gotta tell you, that thing’s not helping our cause.” I could just imagine what Jody would do if she ever found out.

“It was the first thing I did,” she promised. “Once they stopped trying to kill me. What about you?”

“I went for a swim.”

“In November?”

“Wasn’t my idea.” I shut the lid on the toilet and sat down, leaning against the stall. “We’re looking into League secrets and trying to find out more about this Dawn person.”

The silence on the other end of the line was colder than the pond water. “Yeah,” Solange finally said. “I want a piece of her.”

“We’ll share,” I returned. “And give the rest to your mom. Kinda like the remaining pieces of Constantine. What happened to him anyway? Did your mom tie his entrails into a pretty bow?”

“He took off during the trial by combat,” she replied quietly. “Even his guards don’t know where he is. They’re just milling about all nervous and confused.”

“Pardon me if I don’t exactly feel sorry for them.”

“I really thought he was my friend,” she said in a small voice.

“He should be so lucky,” I said.

“Tomorrow I have to be tested by Kala in front of everyone to prove I’m me again.”

“You should be grateful it’s not my mom. She’d make you chant naked out in the backyard under the full moon.”

“I’d deserve it. Not that most of them believe I was possessed in the first place. Especially since Constantine’s gone and can’t admit to anything.”

“He’d just lie anyway.”

“Not if my mom was there.”

We both thought about that for a moment then shivered. “I should warn you,” I added. “The papers are still printing stories about the murders and disappearances. There were two more tonight.”

“You know I had nothing to do with those, right?” I could tell she was pacing at vampire speed from the soft whooshing sound in the background. “Damn it, everyone’s going to think it was me. I have to find out who’s doing this.”

“We will,” I assured her. “Somehow.”

“Do you think . . .” She trailed off uncertainly.

“What?” I pressed.

“Never mind.”

“Like that’s going to happen.” Especially since I had a feeling I knew what this was about. “Spit it out, Sol.”

“Well,” she continued reluctantly. “Do you think Kieran thinks I did it?”

“No, of course not. But speaking of which, has he called you yet?” I demanded.

“No.”

“Have you called him?”

“No.”

“Are you both doing this on purpose to make me nuts?”

“Oh right, like that’s our fault,” she scoffed. “You were born that way. Too much tofu.”

I smiled. “I missed you, fangface.”

“Me too.”

“Enough to call Kieran?”

“You’re obsessed.”

“I also happen to be right,” I pointed out. “You can’t just leave it like this.”

“Let me just get through tomorrow night.” She paused. “Lucy, I’m going to try to formally abdicate.”

“Can you do that?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t think anyone ever has. But I’m going to change a few things first.”

“Like what?” I asked. “And, cool.”

“I want to set up some sort of council so there’s no need for kings or queens.”

“Dismantling the monarchy.” I grinned. “You little rebel. It’s always the quiet ones.”

“I just don’t think one person should represent all these different tribes, especially not with new ones like the Na-Foir coming out of hiding. And I definitely don’t think that someone should be me.” She sounded disgusted. “I mean, I’m sixteen. Why does no one seem to notice that? Especially since they’re all like three hundred or whatever. This whole system is stupid.”

“You really mean it,” I realized. I hadn’t heard her sound so animated since she’d gotten a new kiln.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think,” she said drily. Her voice changed. “And London died because everyone’s first reaction is to get all stabby.”

“Preaching to the converted,” I agreed. “I mean, that sedative that your uncle used to knock you out? Why the hell aren’t we using that? Maybe not on Hel-Blar,” I amended. “But at least when we don’t know anything about the person we’re fighting.”

“Exactly!” she nearly shouted. “God, I wish you could come with me to this council.”

“You’ll be great,” I said firmly. “You’ll kick vampire ass, I’ll kick Helios-Ra ass and then we’ll celebrate with hot fudge sundaes.”

“Deal.”