Dark Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 2) (12 page)

“
D
oes
anyone else think this is a terrible idea?” Kelsey asked forty minutes later as she carried her tray to a table on the University Center’s patio. “It’s like we’re playing a game and we’ve all teamed up against Brittany.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I said, settling into my chair and snagging a French fry from Aric’s plate. He’d purchased three orders of fries this time. I guess his stomach wasn’t going to allow him to take any unnecessary chances. “We need information, and she’s our best shot right now.”

“I’m kind of curious about how this works,” Aric said, his eyes fixed on Paris and Brittany as they chatted next to the salad bar. “She remembers Paris, but doesn’t remember Kelsey, you and me. What happens to the memories we all shared?”

“I don’t know,” I answered. “Maybe we should test her. Can anyone remember an innocuous memory involving Paris and us?”

“I don’t have any innocuous memories of Brittany,” Kelsey answered. “You already hated her when we met. That means I hated her by default.”

“You’re very loyal,” I said, smirking.

“Hey! I hated her, too,” Aric said.

“You were nice to her face and only hated her behind her back,” I argued. “That doesn’t count.”

“I was mean to her plenty of times,” Aric said. “I always took your side.”

“I think you’re remembering things differently ,” I countered. “I … what is that?” I narrowed my eyes as Aric shoved a container of candy gummies in my direction.

“I saw them and thought of you,” Aric said. “They’re eyeballs.”

They were indeed gummy-shaped eyeballs. “They’re kind of cute,” I admitted, my earlier rancor fading. “This is why I can never stay angry with you.”

“I know,” Aric said, smiling. “If you look at them under this light, they don’t really look like eyeballs, do they?”

“Let me see,” Kelsey said, reaching for the container. The gummies had a white base, red gelatin mounds and dark caps that were supposed to be eyeballs. I saw what Aric referred to when he said they looked like something else at the same moment Kelsey did. “They look like boobs!”

“You’re such a pervert,” I said, taking the candy back from Kelsey.

“I bought them because they look like eyeballs and thought they were appropriately creepy,” Aric said. “The fact that they look like boobs in this light is just an added bonus.”

“You’re still a pervert.”

“I can live with that,” Aric said, pouring ketchup on his hamburger and mashing the bun sides together. “Before Brittany and Paris get out here, does anyone have any suggestions about how we question Brittany without tipping our hand?”

“She’s going to mention seeing us to Mark, no matter what,” I said. “By the way, my ring is twice as big as hers. Did I tell you that?”

“Twice,” Aric said, although he didn’t seem perturbed by my ring lust. “I guess that means I’m twice the man Mark is … at least.”

“You’re ten times the man Mark is,” I said. “Let’s just play the conversation by ear. I don’t know … maybe drop in old stories about going to parties she attended but not mention any of the fights … or rampant boyfriend stealing … or really ugly cardigans.”

Aric snorted. “I love the way your mind works sometimes.”

By the time Paris and Brittany joined us at the table, Paris looked as if she was about to lose her mind. Brittany hadn’t stopped chattering since she met us in front of the University Center. If she thought it was weird that Aric and Kelsey were with us, she didn’t mention it.

“It was such a romantic proposal,” Brittany said. “He got down on one knee and everything. There were candles and instrumental music. It was the perfect moment.”

“That does sound romantic,” Paris said, glancing at me for help. “Zoe is engaged, too.”

“You are?” Brittany turned to me. “Do you have a ring?”

I held my left hand up so she could see Aric’s stunning selection and didn’t bother to hide my smile when her eyes widened.

“That’s some ring,” Brittany said.

“I have a great guy,” I said, grabbing another French fry from Aric’s tray. “You said in the registrar’s office that you and Mark knew each other from high school. Did you date in high school?”

“Oh, no way,” Brittany said, making a face. “He was one of those skateboarding slacker guys when we were in high school. I was sure he would end up in rehab.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice so only we could hear. “He used to smoke pot back then.”

“Oh, the horror,” I deadpanned, causing Aric to focus on his hamburger to keep from laughing out loud.

“How long have you guys been engaged?” Brittany asked, fixing her eyes on Aric. She couldn’t seem to stop herself from staring. I didn’t blame her. He was quite the sight to behold, even if he did consider himself as old these days.

“About a month,” I replied.

“We’ve lived together for five years, though,” Aric volunteered. “We’ve been committed since we were in college. Here.”

I realized what he was doing. “That’s right,” I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. “Do you remember all those parties we used to go to at the Alpha Chi house?”

Aric appreciatively squeezed my knee under the table. “I do remember them,” he said. “We used to love a good bonfire party, didn’t we?”

“I went to a lot of parties at the Alpha Chi house,” Brittany said, her eyes sparkling. “We were probably there at the same time.”

“Probably,” I said. “Aric was a member of the Alpha Chi fraternity.”

“You were?” Brittany’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “I wonder if we ever crossed paths at a party. I think I would remember you if I ever saw you.”

If she was acting, she deserved an Oscar. Whatever Paris’ memory spell did, Brittany was oblivious to huge chunks of her own past.

“I’m sure I would remember you, too,” Aric said, laying on the charm and causing me to pinch his inner thigh. Aric shifted and shoved a gummy boob – that’s all that I could see when I looked at them now – into my mouth. “I think you need something to distract you.”

“Am I missing something?” Brittany looked confused.

“No,” Aric replied, shaking his head and refusing to let his smile slip. “Zoe has blood sugar issues. If she doesn’t eat she goes crazy.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Brittany said. “It must be hard for you to put up with her mood swings.”

That right there was something old Brittany would’ve said to get a dig in.

“I like her mood swings,” Aric said. “We shouldn’t monopolize the conversation, though. Tell us about your life. Did you always envision working at Covenant College after graduation?”

“No way,” Brittany said. “When I got out of here I was relieved. You have no idea how happy I was to move away from this place.”

“Why?” Kelsey asked, her interest piqued. “Did you have bad memories?”

“Not really,” Brittany said, struggling to find the proper words. That was something she wasn’t known for, so I wondered whether the spell was playing havoc with her mind. “I just remember feeling really relieved when I graduated. I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way.”

“Sure,” Paris said, trying to help Brittany despite how irritating she was. “I don’t remember seeing you the day of graduation. In fact, I don’t remember us getting a chance to say goodbye. Do you remember saying goodbye?”

“Of course,” Brittany said, shooting Paris an incredulous look. “We hugged in front of the University Center and said we would always keep in touch. I guess that didn’t happen – not that I’m upset or anything. I didn’t keep in touch either.”

I was pretty sure the scene Brittany described never happened. That was interesting. “I don’t remember a lot about graduation,” I interjected. “That whole thing is a blur. I do remember that big political rally on campus right before, though. There was some sort of fight – and a big storm. Does anyone remember that?”

“I do,” Paris said. “I got drenched that day.”

“I remember it, too,” Kelsey said. “I wasn’t there, but it was a big deal. I saw it on television.”

“I don’t remember that,” Brittany said, screwing her face up in concentration. “Huh. That sounds like something I would’ve attended, too. I’ve always loved politics. I always fancied myself first lady … or at least a city councilman’s wife.”

That was an understatement – and a pretty big disparity. “Does your boyfriend like politics?”

“He’s more of a book fan,” Brittany replied. “He loves reading, and he’s a great teacher.”

“Did you move back to this area to be with him?” Paris asked.

“I moved back before he did,” Brittany explained, and for the first time she appeared uneasy. “We were dating when I found the ad for the job here. We talked about things, and he said he wanted to end up here, too. I took the job, and we spent weekends commuting to be together. He got a job here a few months later, though, so it all worked out.”

“That’s great,” I said. “Do you think you’ll stay here for good?”

“Absolutely,” Brittany said. “This is our home now.”

“I remember Covenant College having a crime problem,” Aric said, taking me by surprise as he directed the conversation to something darker. “There were a lot of unexplained disappearances and people being attacked outside bars and nightclubs. Is that still a problem?”

“I don’t remember anything like that,” Brittany countered. “Trust me. If something like that was going on, I would’ve been the first to hear about it. I was always worried someone would try to grab me outside of a bar … or roofie my drink. That’s why I never got drunk.”

That was a total lie. I’d seen her drunk more times than I could count. This was her first overt lie. I was sure of it. I decided to test her. “That’s probably a good thing,” I said. “I remember hearing a story about a fraternity – I don’t remember which one – and freshman year the guys in the fraternity were drugging girls so they could have sex with them.”

“I remember that, too,” Paris said. “I can’t believe you don’t remember that Brittany.”

“I don’t,” Brittany said, shaking her blond head. “I didn’t run around rough parties, though. You know that, Paris.”

Paris and I locked gazes. It was hard to tell whether Brittany was lying or merely relaying what her fuzzy mind told her to be the truth.

“I guess you were lucky then,” I supplied. “I remember being really worried about leaving my drink unattended.”

“Tell us how Covenant College has changed,” Aric prodded. “We’re considering funding a new science building. The campus seems mostly the same, but we’re visitors. You live here now. How is it different?”

Brittany tilted her head to the side, considering. “I’m not sure it is different,” she said. “The kids seem younger – but I think that’s because I’m older – but everything else seems exactly the same.”

That was disheartening. “What about student groups?” I asked. “There used to be quite a few choices, if I remember correctly. One group tried to recruit me because they were dedicated to fighting the occult.” I might have been pressing my luck, but I wanted to see whether mentioning the occult would jar anything loose in her memory.

“The occult?” Brittany made a face that bordered on comical. “Like … vampires?”

“And witches and werewolves.”

“I don’t think there are any groups like that here,” Brittany said, laughing as she shifted in her seat. She was lying. Whether she knew about student groups focused on the occult or was covering for Mark, though, I couldn’t be certain. “Most of the groups are social groups … or study groups. The kids here are good kids.”

“I’m sure they are,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Well, it sounds like things are going well for you. Is this the life you dreamed of living when you first arrived at Covenant College?”

“Of course,” Brittany said. “What more could I possibly want?”

“
W
e’re going
on another covert operation?” I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect. Spying isn’t nearly as fun as I initially envisioned. In fact, it’s downright boring. Plus, whenever we did it, we found out some horrible thing I would’ve been happier not knowing.

“We are, and you need to change your clothes,” Aric instructed. “You need to dress in the same outfit from last night. It’s dark enough not to draw attention, but it’s not all black, which draws attention of a different kind.”

I glanced up from the couch and made a face as Aric and Rafael stared me down. “My stomach is upset from all those gummy boobs you made me eat.”

Rafael shifted his eyes to Aric. “What is she talking about?”

“They were gummy eyes,” Aric clarified. “They did kind of look like boobs, though. I did not, however, make her eat them. She used her own hands to shove them in her mouth.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, bargaining for time.

“We’re going to the athletics building,” Aric replied. “Rafael thinks he has a security card that will get us inside. I’m dying to see what’s in the basement of that building, and we need you to come with us because you’re the only one who has been inside. We need your expertise.”

Despite my heavy stomach – and foul mood – the idea of breaking and entering lifted my spirits. “That sounds fun. Are we going to bring Paris and Kelsey?”

“Absolutely not,” Rafael said. “It’ll be hard enough to fly under the radar when it’s just the three of us. They’ll ruin everything with all of their … giggling.”

“You have a bad attitude,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “I’ll have you know that Kelsey, Paris and I broke into the Academy when it was up and running, and stole all of its files on our own.”

“I remember that,” Aric said. “It totally pissed me off because I thought you had a death wish. That was when we were broken up and Rafael was supposed to be watching you. By the way, good job, man.”

“Yes, you tasked me to do the impossible and then acted shocked when I failed to control her,” Rafael said, rolling his eyes.

“I knew you two were working together back then,” I said. “I didn’t need a babysitter. If you remember correctly, I handled all of that stuff on my own.”

“Well, now you’re part of a team,” Aric said, refusing to let me draw him into a needless argument. “Change your clothes and get moving. We need to get into that basement. That has to be our next step.”

“You saw the same thing I saw at lunch today when I brought up the occult with Brittany, didn’t you?”

“She was lying,” Aric confirmed. “She told the truth most of the time, but she lied when you brought that up. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“Okay. I’m going to break in with you guys. I just hope you know I’m going to want a snack when we’re done.”

“You just said your stomach was upset,” Rafael argued.

“That was from the gummy boobs,” I shot back. “I’m going to want Mexican before bed. That’s vastly different from gummy boobs.”

“Oh, good. I can tell already that well end well,” Aric muttered.

A
RIC
and Rafael
insisted on watching the rear door of the athletics center before entering. That involved sitting on a nearby bench and pretending to be engaged in earth-shattering conversation. All I could focus on was my rolling stomach.

“Why aren’t trying your ninja moves?” Aric asked. “You were gung-ho when we went undercover last night.”

“I wasn’t lying about my stomach being upset,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “You shouldn’t have let me eat so many candy boobs.”

“I don’t even know what to say about that statement,” Rafael muttered, causing Aric to smirk.

“Come here,” Aric said, slipping an arm over my shoulders and using his free hand to lightly rub my stomach. “I didn’t realize you ate as many as you did. I’m sorry.”

“You realize you just apologized to her because she ate too much, don’t you?” Rafael watched us with dark eyes, his expression unreadable.

“He knows I can’t stop myself sometimes,” I said, resting my head against his chest. “Plus, once Kelsey told me they looked like boobs, that was all I could think about. They were kind of fascinating. Now I know why guys obsess over them.”

Aric snickered as he kissed my temple. “We’ll pick up something for your stomach on the way back to the apartment.”

“You two … baffle me,” Rafael said. “You’re happy. Intellectually I knew you would be content with one another forever, but you’re legitimately happy despite all you’ve been through.”

“Aren’t you happy?” I asked.

“I’m not sure I know how to answer that,” Rafael replied. “I am … settled. I think that’s the best it gets for me.”

“That makes me sad,” I said. “You should try to be happy for a change. It might make you more approachable and less douchey in social situations.”

Aric snorted as he rubbed my stomach. “You should listen to her. She’s a genius.”

“You make me tired,” Rafael said, climbing to a standing position. “Let’s do this. I don’t want to hear about the saga of the boob-shaped candy for another second if I can help it.”

“And this is the reason you’ll never be happy. You desperately need to lighten up,” I said, although I let Aric push me up so we could follow Rafael toward the door. “I don’t see why we couldn’t go inside right from the start. No one is going to question us.”

“Why do you say that?” Aric asked.

“Because you and Rafael look like badasses, and I’m giving off an unapproachable vibe because I’m mean,” I explained.

“Duly noted,” Aric said, pressing me between his body and Rafael’s as the stealthy vampire opened the door. Aric cast a wary look over his shoulder before prodding me inside.

“I believe the door is this way,” Rafael said, starting down the corridor.

I grabbed the arm of his coat and shook my head. Now that we were inside it felt as if no time had passed. I knew exactly where we were going. “It’s this way.”

I led them toward a door at the opposite end of the hallway. It had a keypad with a slot to swipe security cards. I extended my hand. “Give me the security pass.”

Rafael made a face but did as instructed, frowning as I studied the card. It looked new.

“Where did you get this?” I asked. “You didn’t eat the owner, did you?”

“One of my … sources … recovered it from a body outside of a bar,” Rafael replied. “I did not kill the individual, so don’t give me any of your moralistic self-righteous indignation.”

“You’re just a ball of sunshine,” I muttered, swiping the card. The red light turned green and I turned the handle, lifting my eyebrows when the door opened. “Your story seems to be leaving a few things out,” I said.

“Like what?”

“Like how you knew what this card opened.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying,” Rafael said, averting his gaze.

“There are no markings on this card,” I said, holding it up for emphasis. “That means whoever your friend is knew he was following someone who used this card to get into the basement. Do you want to explain that?”

“Even when you don’t feel well, you’re still a genius,” Aric said. “She has a point. I didn’t bother asking where you got the card because I didn’t really care.”

“We’ve been watching several students – all male – coming in and out of the building for two months,” Rafael replied. “I’m sure you can understand why I was interested in this building in particular when I heard Mark was back. We watched the same men come in and leave … and not one of them went to the workout center, or racquetball courts or pool for a workout. We watched them. They all had cards and disappeared within the bowels of the building.”

Well, if I wasn’t sick to my stomach before, the mention of “bowels” was pretty close to tipping me over the edge. “Why didn’t you just tell us that?”

“Because you didn’t ask,” Rafael answered, pushing me through the door. “Get moving. We’re going to draw a crowd if we stand here talking like idiots.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I muttered, grabbing the stairway railing to balance myself. I shifted to allow Aric in front of me, knowing he would put up an argument if I tried to lead the way, and followed him into the one place most of my bad memories lived.

The stairwell was dark except for the emergency lights that dotted the walls, and we made our descent in silence. At the bottom floor I moved to Aric’s side so I could study the facility. It looked empty for the most part. All of the wall shelves and tables from Blake’s reign were gone.

“Do you hear anything?” I whispered.

Rafael shook his head.

“Do you smell anything?”

Aric shook his head.

“Do you sense anything?” Rafael asked, turning to me.

“I … don’t usually sense the presence of others,” I said.

“That’s not true,” Aric said, shifting his view so he could study me in the limited light. “You sensed the bomb was going to go off seconds before it did. You sensed the wolves in the field before we moved on Quinn’s compound. You sensed the wolves coming after you and Paris when I was out running the night of the first attack.”

“I … well … that’s not the norm.”

“I think it is the norm,” Aric countered. “You know when danger is close. What do you feel right now?”

“Both hungry and sick to my stomach.”

“God, I love you.” Aric grabbed my chin and gave me a kiss. “You’re a complete and total pain in the ass sometimes, though.”

Rafael arched a dubious eyebrow. “Sometimes?”

“Let’s look around,” I said, moving to the closest door. “This was the room where they had physical training sessions. I dominated. I was also in really good shape then because I was depressed.”

“You were depressed because you were without me, weren’t you?” Aric asked.

“I was depressed because … oh, shut up.” His ego was too big for his own good. I narrowed my eyes as I walked into the training room, shifting so I could study the walls. It wasn’t empty like the hallway. The old mats sat in the middle of the floor as they had five years ago and a few other items were strewn about.

“Does this look the same to you?” Rafael asked.

“Kind of,” I said. “They used to have a rack with a bunch of weapons on it over there. It’s gone.” I knelt down to study the mats. “These aren’t the same mats that were here before. Those were blue, and these are more greenish.”

“Perhaps time faded them,” Rafael suggested.

“They’re not the same,” I said. “They’re new.”

“I guess that answers the question about whether the Academy is back in business,” Aric said.

“Just because they’re holding some sort of classes down here doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the Academy revisited,” Rafael pointed out. “They could be utilizing the space for something else.”

“There’s that douche thing you do again,” I said, breezing past him and heading back toward the hallway. “Let’s see what they’ve done with the old classrooms, shall we?”

“I hate it when she refers to me in that manner,” Rafael grumbled.

“At least she’s feeling better,” Aric said.

I opened the door of the first classroom on the left and poked my head in. It was empty, so I moved to the door across the hallway. This room was filled with stacks of books – and they all looked old.

“Jackpot,” I said, walking into the room.

Aric and Rafael followed, their eyes widening when they saw the collection of books.

“These are all old and valuable,” Rafael said, picking up a dusty leather-bound tome and opening it. “This is about spells and curses.”

“This one is about werewolves,” Aric said, emitting a low growl. “It’s about ways to kill and maim them. It even talks about secondary markets for … teeth.”

“That book looks hundreds of years old,” I said, grabbing it from him. “Don’t get worked up.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Aric shot back. “I don’t see any books here about selling your teeth on the black market.”

“Look harder,” I said, pressing the book I glanced through into his hand and moving away from the stacks to investigate the shelf against the nearby wall.

“Oh, my … .” Aric exhaled heavily as he flipped through the book. “I’m going to rip Mark’s heart out with my bare hands and feed it to him.”

“What is that book?” Rafael asked.

“It’s about mages,” Aric replied. “They don’t suggest selling any parts on the black market, but they do suggest dismembering.”

“Those books are a lot darker than the ones Blake had,” I said, managing to keep my temper in check despite my racing heart. “Mark clearly wants to take things a step further than Blake. He’s … more evil … than Blake. I wasn’t sure that was possible.”

Aric moved up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my cheek as he offered me a touch of warmth. “I won’t let him touch you.”

“I’m not worried about Mark,” I said, turning in his arms and pressing my hand to the spot above his heart. “It’s okay. I’m not going to fly off the handle.” Despite the words, a flicker of anger escaped and tossed the mage book against the wall, shredding it.

Rafael lifted his eyebrows but otherwise remained rooted to his spot. “Perhaps you should do that with all the books. There are too many for us to carry out of here.”

“Won’t Mark know we’ve been here if I do that?” I asked.

“So what?” Aric asked, warming to the idea. “He would have to prove it was you, and I can’t see how even making the accusation helps him, given what he’s trying to do here.”

“This building probably has security cameras,” I pointed out.

“Then they would have to explain why they have books on hunting and killing paranormals in the basement of the athletics building,” Rafael said. “Destroy the books. It will send a message to Mark, and it will prove to him that we’re not messing around. He thinks he’s a step ahead of us. He should be aware he isn’t. That might force him to make a mistake.”

“Are you sure?” I glanced at Aric. “I can’t take it back once I do it.”

“I don’t want you to take it back,” Aric said. “In fact … I think we should shred everything down here. It might be petty and only delay Mark for a few days, but it’s a message I want sent.”