Dark Descent (Vampire Hunter Book 5) (7 page)

Monday morning
came all too soon, and there was no word yet from Lucas about the meeting he
was arranging with Magnus. Mom had taken me to school most of last week, but I
couldn’t stand her constant fishing; I’d told her that I needed to ride with
Henry, so we could quiz each other for an upcoming test.

“Any news?” he
asked tensely when I got into the car.

“Nope. You?”

“Emmett said he
had to check some stuff. He also said don’t bother looking in the book, that
this is a special spell,” Henry replied.

“How in the world
are we supposed to focus on classes with all of this shit happening? I didn’t
even have time this weekend to do
any
of my homework. Before, I would
have been mortified to get called out by a teacher for not doing an assignment.
But now, I’ve barely given it any thought,” I said.

“You can copy my
homework for the classes we have together,” Henry offered. “My book bag is in
the back. Get as much done as you can in home room.”

“That’s very nice
of you, Henry,” I said sincerely, “but I meant it when I said I really don’t
care. What’s the point?”

“The
point
is
that if you start failing tests and not turning in homework, your teachers will
contact your parents for a meeting. You said they were already smothering you.
You’re smart, Rory. Just do the bare minimum to get Bs and Cs, and that should
keep your parents happy.”

“Okay,” I agreed.
“But I feel bad about cheating off your homework.”

“Oh, who cares?”
Henry replied flippantly. “Desperate times…” his voice trailed off.

I reached into the
backseat and pulled Henry’s backpack to the front.

“The folders are
labeled by the class, and the homework from this weekend is on top,” he
instructed me. “Just don’t let Mr. Ramsey see you blatantly copying.”

“Well, I do sit
right in front of his damn desk,” I said morosely.

I pulled out a
blue folder. It didn’t have a label, but I flipped it open anyway.

“Don’t look at
that!” Henry snapped, snatching the folder out of my hands.

“I – I’m
sorry,” I stuttered, taken aback at his tone. “I wasn’t trying to snoop.”

Henry sighed.
“What the hell, I guess it doesn’t matter if you see these.” He handed the
folder back to me. “Just one more thing to make you think I’m a total freak,”
he muttered. “A warlock freak, apparently.”

I opened the
folder and pulled out the top page. It was a drawing: a perfectly round circle
with lines and intricate shapes inside of it. “What is this?” I asked.

“It’s the same way
I can read that spell book,” Henry said. “These images, they just appear in my
head. So I started putting them on paper, trying to figure out what it all means.”

“Why didn’t you
want me to know?” I asked quietly.

“It’s
embarrassing! I don’t understand who I am anymore.”

Like how I
never told Henry about my blackouts.
I couldn’t blame him, couldn’t fault
him, but maybe I
could
make him feel better about it.

“I’ve said it
before and I’ll say it again. I would never think any differently of you.” I paused.
“Unless you start using your spells to do
hurtful
things,” I added
nervously.

“Never.” Henry
shook his head vigorously. “That one that you’re holding – if you were to
draw that on the floor or ceiling, for example, and stand in the middle of it,
then nothing non-human could step over the lines of the outer circle.”

“Really? So it
protects humans?”

“Yes,” Henry
confirmed.

“What about me?
I’m not really human. You think I could walk into the circle?” I asked.

“I have no clue. I
just thought maybe these drawings would come in handy someday. But I wasn’t
ready to tell anyone about them. Lately, the things that I just
innately
know
are really scaring me,” Henry said.

“I understand,” I
replied. “But please, please don’t feel like you need to keep anything from
me.”

“Thanks, Rory.”

We were at school
now and there was twenty minutes before homeroom officially started. Henry
helped me sort out the homework papers.

“I think I’ll just
sit in the courtyard and copy them until it gets closer to homeroom,” I said.
“With my seat right in front of Mr. Ramsey, it really could be tricky.”

“Cool,” Henry
replied. “Meet me at the water fountain by Ms. Perry’s classroom after
homeroom?”

“Yeah, thanks
again,” I said gratefully.
Both
Henry and I used to have a moral problem
with cheating, but now we hadn’t given it a second thought.

I headed to the
courtyard and sat down on an empty bench. Students were milling around, but I
didn’t see any teachers. There was no reason to copy the English homework
– the assignment had been to read a short story and answer questions
about it. I definitely didn’t have time to re-word Henry’s answers to make them
not look plagiarized.

Instead, I pulled
out his Calculus homework and, as fast as I could, began copying the answers into
my notebook. I didn’t look at the clock on my phone until I’d finished. I only
had seven minutes before the final warning bell! I would have to try and get
the rest copied in homeroom.

I shoved the
folders and notebooks into my backpack and headed for homeroom, which was a
little bit of a trek, considering Mr. Ramsey’s classroom was on the other side
of campus. And I also needed to stop by my locker and drop off books for my afternoon
classes.

I quickly spun the
dial of the combination lock and pulled my locker open. I took the textbooks
for World History and Chemistry out of my backpack and placed them on the top
shelf. Slamming my locker shut, I turned to go to Mr. Ramsey’s room. I didn’t
look at my clock again, but there were probably only three or four minutes
until the final warning bell.

By now the halls were
mostly empty. I picked up the pace and rounded a corner.

“Oomph!” I
exclaimed as I smacked into someone. I was thrown back a few feet and struggled
to keep my balance.

“Sorry,” I said at
the same time I realized who I’d collided with: Benji Bloomer. The cretin who
had so nicely said that he wanted to ‘give it to me.’

I tried to step
around his hulking frame, but Benji moved over, blocking my path. “Well, if it
isn’t the little coma girl,” he said snidely.

“I need to get to
homeroom. Can you please move?”

“What’s the hurry?
Didn’t anyone ever tell you to watch where you’re going?” Benji replied.

Just then the
final warning bell – one minute – sounded.

I tried again to
walk around Benji, but he moved to block me, just like he had the first time.

“Not so fast,”
Benji said. “You and I haven’t had a chance to talk since you woke up from that
coma.”

“I don’t want to
be late,” I said, looking down at my feet, purposefully not meeting his gaze.
The last thing I needed was a confrontation with Benji. I didn’t think he would
try anything funny – after all we were in school – but antagonizing
him wasn’t a good idea.

“Come on, baby,”
he said. “Don’t I get a hug? Or a proper ‘hello’?” Benji stepped forward
towards me.

“Get away from
me,” I said as forcefully as possible.

The halls were
empty now, and the final bell would be ringing any second.

Ignoring me, Benji
came closer. “What, the slut suddenly wants to play hard to get? You were all
over those guys at the party last year. Why not share the love?”

Even though I had
vowed not to make the situation worse, his last comment sent me over the edge.
I couldn’t stop myself from reacting. “Fuck off!” I screamed as the final bell
rang.

Anger flashed in
Benji’s eyes. He grabbed my arm forcefully. “You wanna apologize for that?”

“No, I don’t,” I
said, trying to wrench my arm out of his grasp. “You’re a fucking loser with an
inflated ego. You really think your football career is going to take off?” I
spat out. “Because if you do, you’re even dumber than you look. A fucking
monkey could play better than you.” I stared at him defiantly.

As soon as the
words were out of my mouth, I knew I had gone too far. I had mistakenly thought
that Benji – as gross as he was – wouldn’t hit a girl, wouldn’t get
violent – at least not in school, where anyone could walk up at any
minute. But I was dead wrong.

Benji lunged
forward and slammed me into the lockers lining the hallway. He pinned my arms
back. “I’ll fucking kill you, you stupid whore,” he hissed.

I twisted my
wrists, trying to break free from his grasp.

He laughed. “I’m
250 pounds of pure man,” Benji said. “You think you’re a match for me?” He
leaned forward. “By the time I get through with you, you’re going to wish you
really
had
died.”

I’m going to
get raped or beaten – or both.
It didn’t matter if Benji couldn’t
actually kill me – he was right, he could make me wish I were dead if he
was capable of what he was threatening.

Still holding onto
both of my wrists, Benji wrenched me away from the lockers and started dragging
me down the hallway. I started to scream, but that just made Benji more
infuriated. He clamped one hand over my mouth and continued pulling me, easily
gripping both of my wrists with the hand that wasn’t covering my mouth.

Benji slung me
into an empty lab and slammed the door behind him. He had let go of my wrists
now, was standing in front of me, breathing heavily, trying to catch his
breath.

I darted around a
lab table in an attempt to put distance between Benji and me. “I was just
messing around earlier,” I said desperately.

Benji grinned.
“Oh, so all that was just one big joke?”

I was about to
profusely apologize, beg Benji to let me go, and then a thought came to me.
Henry
.
With Bartholomew and Thomas. He had refused to beg for his life. He’d said it
right before he was bitten – if he was going to die, it would be with
dignity.

I jutted my chin
out defiantly. “You know what, Benji?” I said, my voice strangely calm. “I
meant every single word. You are an imbecile. If you don’t know what it means
– and I’m betting you don’t – look it up. If you can even read,
that is.”

With a furious
growl, Benji lunged at me. I moved sideways, narrowly avoiding his slimy hand.

And then it
happened. The heat. My whole body warming up. Like I was alive. It seemed to happen
faster this time – or maybe now I just understood what it meant.

The next time
Benji came at me, I was ready. I pushed him back using one arm. Benji landed on
his butt, but quickly struggled to his feet. “What the – “ he started,
his rage replaced by confusion.

But I didn’t let
him finish the sentence. I tackled Benji, dragging him to the ground. And then
I started hitting him. Over and over. I felt him trying to push me off as I
pummeled his face methodically with both fists.
Maybe I can beat his brains
out.

Is that what
you want, Aurora?
a voice inside my head screamed.
To kill him?

I stopped
abruptly. Benji’s face was bloodied. His nose looked out of place.
Did I
break it? Is he even breathing?

Fuck. What have
I done?

I climbed to my
feet in horror. I couldn’t really have killed him. No.
Phew.
Benji was
breathing. Blinking. Talking.

I reached my hand
out to pull Benji to his feet. He was blubbering something. Or maybe it was me
who was speaking. I couldn’t tell.

Finally, I heard
my voice. “Are you okay?” I was asking over and over.

Benji was cupping
his hand over his nose. “You broke my nose,” he screeched.

I stepped
backwards, towards the door to the lab. Benji was hunched over, moaning in pain
and repeatedly saying that his nose was broken. I left the room and slammed the
door behind me.

I stared at my
bloodied hands, which were shaking like crazy. The girls’ bathroom was next to
the lab. I pushed the door open with my elbow, so that I wouldn’t get any blood
on it, turned on the sink, and started vigorously scrubbing.
Get rid of the
evidence.

My clouded head
was starting to clear. I leaned my forehead against the mirror and closed my
eyes, willing myself to calm down. I hadn’t killed Benji, and he could never
tell what happened. No, he’d rather die than admit he’d been beaten up by a
girl, especially one who was half his size.

Think, Aurora.
Homeroom
was well under way. I’d have a tardy for sure, but it would take three for them
to call my parents.
It could be worse.
My hands had finally stopped
shaking. I studied my face in the mirror. I didn’t look any different.
No
one will know what you did.

I turned to leave
the girls’ bathroom, to go to the principal’s office and get my first tardy. When
I got there, I swung the door open confidently and smiled at the secretary,
Mrs. Brody.

“I’m so sorry,
Mrs. Brody,” I said in the most innocent voice I could muster. “My mom’s tire
got a flat on the way to school; that’s why I’m late.”

“Aurora, dear, I
wish I didn’t have to do this,” Mrs. Brody said apologetically. “You’re such a
sweet girl. But rules are rules.” She pulled out a tardy slip and scribbled
something on it.

Sweet girl.
I
willed myself not to laugh.

I took the paper
from her. “No worries, Mrs. Brody,” I said. “I know you’re just doing your job.
Believe me, this won’t happen again.”

And with that, I
left the principal’s office, went to homeroom, sat down in my seat in front of
Bunny, and acted as though I hadn’t nearly killed Benji Bloomer merely fifteen
minutes ago.

I didn’t say a
word to Henry about Benji when we met before first period English. I simply
handed him his homework and said thanks for helping me out. Then I sat through
class, in a daze, barely able to focus on Ms. Perry’s words.

But by third period
Calculus, Henry had heard the rumors about Benji. “They’re saying Benji just
abruptly…
left
,” he said to me when I sat down in my desk. “That he had a
broken nose. Not saying how, though.” Henry looked at me suspiciously. “Do you
know anything about this?”

I massaged my
temples with my fingers – an old habit from when I was human, when I used
to get stress headaches.

“I beat him up,” I
whispered.

“What?” Henry
asked in disbelief. The final warning bell rang.

“I’ll tell you at
lunch,” I said. “Too much to explain in a minute.” Our lunch break was after
third period, but I always spent it in the library, so no one would ask me why
I didn’t eat. Sometimes Henry joined me.

“He’s really
messed up, from what I heard,” Henry said. “You’re seriously telling me it’s
because of
you
?”

“I’ll tell you at
lunch,” I repeated.

Henry kept
shooting me glances out of the corner of his eye all throughout Calculus class.
I ignored him, pretended I didn’t notice. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted
to say to Henry. The truth made me sound like a monster, but could I really
live with myself if I told him one more lie?

I had to figure
out how to get this power under control. I didn’t want to turn into the
Incredible Hulk every time I was in danger.

“What the hell
happened?” Henry asked as soon as we got to the library.

“Benji tried to
attack me,” I said. “It’s partly my fault – I provoked him when I
shouldn’t have.”

“That guy is
huge!” Henry exclaimed. “Even when I beat him up, I barely got a couple of hits
in before Mr. Corbin yanked us apart. And the only reason I was able to hit him
at all is because he wasn’t expecting it.”

“Is he going to be
alright?” I asked Henry.

“Benji’s got a broken
nose. I’m sure he’ll recover,” Henry replied. “Why are you so worried about it?
I assume you didn’t attack him without a reason?” Henry looked at me
questioningly.

“Because I could
have killed him if I wanted to,” I said in a low voice.

“Come on, Aurora.”
Henry laughed nervously. “You’re not thinking clearly. That dude has to be at
least 220 pounds.”

“He’s 250,” I
corrected him.

Henry raked his
fingers through his hair and didn’t immediately speak. “Okay,” he finally said.
“Tell me what happened.”

And I did just
that. I told Henry all of it
.
Even if he hated me for what I’d done,
that was better than having the guilt of yet another lie.

“
I’m
going
to kill him,” Henry said when I had finished.

“You can’t,” I
countered. “How can you justify taking a life? Especially when I’m fine?”

“
You’re
fine,”
Henry conceded. “But what about all of the other girls? You really think that
this is his first time
attacking
a female?”

“I have no
freaking idea,” I said, fighting to keep my voice at a whisper. “But what gives
you –
us
– the right to decide that he needs to die?” 

“Aurora, I’m so
sick of this right and wrong bullshit. There is no formula, no rule. I’m
working off of instinct. And my instinct tells me that Benji is a psychotic
jerkoff who needs to die!”

“No!” I exclaimed.
“I can’t condone his death. And don’t try to change my mind – it’s
pointless,” I added.

 “Rory, I
have to forge my own path.” Henry’s voice was hard. “If you don’t agree with
it, so be it. I will do what I believe is right, whether you condone it or
not.”

“Taking a human
life?” I asked. “Is that what it’s come to?” I had to make Henry reconsider.

Henry pounded his
fist against the table in frustration. The librarian, who had been putting
books on shelves, poked her head around the corner and gave us a disapproving
look.

“Sorry,” I called.
Henry said nothing.

“You’re angry and
not thinking clearly,” I said. “Just think about it? Promise me you won’t do
anything rash?”
Like cast a spell to put Benji in his grave.

“I will think
about it,” Henry replied, his eyes still blazing.

“If you have to do
something, at least don’t kill him,” I said quietly. It was obvious Henry’s
mind was made up; Benji had to pay for what he did to me, and what he’d
continue to do to other girls, given the chance.

“Maybe you’re
right.” Henry sighed.

“Good. I’m glad
you’re coming to your senses.”

“I was just
thinking, there’s better ways to make him pay than death,” Henry said. “I want
him to suffer.”

I groaned. “Listen
to yourself! This isn’t the Henry I know.” I paused but Henry didn’t say
anything. “Can we please not talk about this now? We’ve got enough on our
plates!”

“Fine,” Henry
said. But I still didn’t like the expression on his face. It was the closest
I’d ever seen him to looking, well,
evil
.

The rest of the
day dragged on. At least my hands, which had been swollen immediately after the
fight, looked completely normal now. Before, I had thought it was useless to
have a body that healed so quickly. But now, if I was about to fight in a war,
it could really come in handy.

By the time Henry
dropped me off at home after school, I was mentally exhausted. I wanted nothing
more than to go to my room, close my eyes, and pretend that I could sleep. But,
I had homework to do, and as soon as Mom got back from work, she’d be bugging
me to spend
quality time
together.

I dumped the
contents of my backpack onto the couch and started my homework. I had to tow
the line, which meant doing
trivial
things like assignments.

It turned out to
be the distraction that I needed. I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed it by any
means, but by the time I’d finished the last of my homework, my head felt a
little clearer.

When Mom got home
from work, I even offered to help her cook dinner. She looked surprised, but
happy. “Are you sure it won’t bother you?” she asked. “Since you can’t eat any
of it?”

“It won’t bother
me. I want to spend more time together,” I lied.

To my surprise, I
honestly
did
enjoy helping my mom cook dinner. I hadn’t realized what I
missed about her, but listening to her day, chatting about TV shows, was
actually nice for a change.

I have to
appreciate this time – it won’t last forever.
A wave of sadness
washed over me. My parents were mortal. It might take 50 years, but eventually
I’d be like Lucas. The thought of me having parents, having
family
would
be a distant memory. Assuming no one found a way to kill me, that is.

After we finished
cooking dinner, I sat down at the table with my family. Even Kayla looked
surprised. 

“We should plan a
shopping trip, maybe this weekend?” I said, looking at my mom and Kayla.

Kayla shrugged.

“That’s a
wonderful idea, Aurora!” Mom was beaming. “Kayla, it’s only Monday. Don’t make
any plans for Saturday afternoon.” It wasn’t a request – it was an order.
“I’ll take you girls to the mall. We didn’t have a proper back-to-school
shopping trip together, like we used to.”

“Okay,” Kayla said
grudgingly.

When dinner was
over, I hugged both of my parents before heading up to my room.

“What was that
for?” my Dad asked in surprise.

“I’ve just been
thinking. Life is short. It won’t always be like this. All four of us living
together. I need to learn to appreciate the here and now; I don’t want to have
any regrets,” I said.

Mom nodded. “Yes,
you’ll be going to college next year. The beginning of your adult life.”

That’s not what
I meant,
I thought. But I smiled anyway.

I had managed to
distract myself from the events of the day, but when I got back to my room, the
reality of what had happened this morning came crashing down on me. Henry
hadn’t said another word about revenge on Benji after we left the library, but
I knew he had probably been reading that book, contemplating spells, since he
got home.

It was a side of
Henry I’d never seen before. A side I didn’t like.
Maybe he’ll have come to
his senses tomorrow.
But I knew, deep down, that he wasn’t going to let it
go. No, Henry was going to make Benji pay for what he did to me.