Okay everyone, I'm really sorry for the wait. I know that I'm a horrible person.
I would just like to clear something up. I know that in The Darkest Powers series, there is limited information on werewolves, but there is more in the Women of the Otherworld series. According to the WO series, there are two werewolf packs. One is in Russia, one is in New York. The one in New York consists of about 10 or so werewolves. The rest of the werewolves in America are called mutts and live alone. Most of the werewolves are mutts. This doesn't mean that I'm adding other werewolves besides Derek, just that if I do, they won't be major characters like Chloe and Derek.
I'm not including the Points in this chapter because I don't feel like writing all the names. I will however, give a new riddle.
The answer to the last one was a map!
What is brought to the table and cut, but never eaten?
Disclaimer: I do not own The Darkest Powers
Derek's POV
I looked down at my watch and I sighed in frustration. It was 7:45 and school started in half an hour. It took fifteen minutes to get there and that only left me fifteen minutes to go to my locker and get to class. We usually left twenty minutes earlier.
"Will you two get down here!" I shouted up at Tori and Simon. Today was the day they both decided to sleep in and take forever getting ready. Tori took a long time as it was, but all Simon did was pull on clean clothes so what the hell was taking him so long.
"If you guys don't come down in the next five minutes, I'm leaving without you!" I yelled. I hated driving them to school. They always fought over the front seat. Tori usually won by cheating. She'd hit Simon with a binding spell and get in, locking the door behind her. One time she caught him in a binding spell when he was mid jump down the steps. Dad wasn't too happy because Simon ended up with a sprained ankle. Tori and I didn't care. We were too busy laughing. That was the only time we ever agreed on anything.
I looked at my watch again and groaned. There was no way we were going to make it to school on time at this pace.
"Still here?" a voice asked. I turned around and saw Dad walking out of the kitchen.
"Well, if Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum would hurry up, I could leave," I growled, pissed that I had to wait for them.
He laughed and said, "When's the last time you changed?"
"Last Thursday," I responded.
"Well, you might want to change again soon. You don't want that anger to result in an unwanted change," he said.
"I know," I said. "I'll change again Friday night."
"Isn't there a dance on Friday?" he asked, leaning against the wall across from me.
"How did you hear about that?" I asked.
"Tori and Simon," he said. "They've been scheming something."
"Scheming what?" I asked, confused.
"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "I walked passed Simon's room on Saturday and I heard voices. I listened and I could hear Simon and Tori talking about something and I heard 'dance' and 'Friday'. And there is no reason for them to even talk to each other, so if they're hiding themselves in Simon's room, they're scheming something."
"Eavesdropping, Dad?" I asked, a smile growing on my face.
"Well, I'm old. It's either that or work," he said, smiling back.
"And after all that eavesdropping, you still don't know what their planning?" I asked.
"I said I eavesdropped. I never said I was good at it," he said.
I opened my mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Simon's banging feet on the stairs. At the last step, he grabbed the railing and swung himself down. As he landed, his backpack slid off his shoulder and landed at my feet.
"Nice one, klutz," Tori said, standing at the top of the stairs.
"You moved it," he said.
"Prove it," she said, walking down the stairs.
"It was on my shoulder. I didn't land hard enough for it to go that far," he argued.
"You sure you're not just unwilling to admit that you're a klutz?" she said, smirking.
As he opened his mouth to speak, I leaned down and picked up his backpack. Before he could say anything, I cleared my throat. He turned around and looked at me. I opened the front door and dangled the bag from my fingertips.
"Hey Simon. Fetch." With that, I gently threw the bag out the door into a pile of snow.
"Hey!" he yelled. He grabbed his coat and ran out the door, with Tori laughing as she followed him. I turned back to Dad and he raised an eyebrow.
"It got them out," I said.
He shook his head and smiled.
"And as for the scheming," I said, "I'll figure it out."
Walking into school, I glanced down at my watch. 8:10. Having managed to hit every red light here, I only had five minutes, which was just enough time to rush to government. Lucky for me, I had homework on the weekend so I had my stuff with me. I walked quickly while trying to avoid bumping in to anybody. I didn't really care about being rude. I've only been here a week and I already hate half the school. I just didn't want to accidently push someone over and start a scene. I didn't need any more scenes.
As I walked into the government room, Mr. Carnahan was just starting class. I walked quickly to my seat with Simon at my heels. Jake was already there and he nodded at us as we sat down.
"Late start?" he said quietly.
"Don't look at me," I said.
He glanced over at Simon, who shrugged. Laughing quietly, he turned his attention back to Mr. Carnahan. I followed suit and looked forward. He was discussing the different branches of government. Taking out my notebook, I started writing notes down. After a while, I saw Simon's hand out of the corner of my eye. Stopping my pencil, I watched as he wrote something on the corner of my paper. When he was done, he moved his hand and I read the note. You going to the dance?
I looked up at Mr. Carnahan to make sure he wasn't watching. I had to wait a minute for him to turn back around. When he did, I looked down and wrote a response. Course not. Why? I lifted my pencil and waited for Simon to respond.
It could be fun.
It never is.
How would you know? You've never been to one.
Why would I want to go to a dance to just stand around and watch your stuff?
You could dance.
I don't dance.
You could talk to people.
Who would I talk to?
A date.
Why the hell would I have a date?
Cause there is a lot of girls who don't have a date.
Uh huh. And what girl would go with me?
Chloe.
Chloe Saunders?
Yeah. Why not?
Why would I ask her?
I don't know. I think you should.
As I started to write again, the bell rang. I set down my pencil and shut my notebook. Shoving them into my bag, I pushed the chair out and stood up. Simon followed suit and was soon following me out of the room.
"And why should I ask her?" I asked again.
"I just think you should," he said, shrugging.
"If you want her to have a date so bad, you ask her," I said.
"Can't," he said.
"What, did you suddenly become a monk?" I asked, dodging past some running kids.
He laughed. "Trust me. That is definitely not on my to do list. Actually, I already have someone in mind."
"Cheerleader?" I asked.
"Why is it that every time I like somebody, you automatically assume that it's a cheerleader?" he asked.
"Cause you usually are drooling over the first girl that walks by and that's usually a cheerleader shoving her way to get to you."
"Was that a compliment?"
"Not really, but if you want to take it as one, that's your choice."
"Whatever," he said as we stopped in front of my classroom. "I still think you should ask Chloe to the dance."
Before I could retort, he was already halfway down the crowded hall. Shaking my head, I walked into my college algebra class. I was the only junior in the class. The rest were seniors. I didn't really care. I didn't talk to any of them anyway. I was just in the class for the credit. I had already taken the class last year, but this was the highest math class they offered, so it was my only option. I didn't know anybody in the class, so I just hid in the back and wrote down the assignment. Today was no different. I spent the hour starting and completing the assignment. When that was done, I read White Fang. When Simon found out about the assignment in his class, he told Tori, who spent hours lecturing me on which classic I should pick. She thought I should read Frankenstein because she said I had a striking resemblance of the monster. Once she found out what I was actually reading, she teased me for hours.
When the hour was done, I gathered my things. Before I could get out the door, Mr. Griggs called me to his desk. I groaned and walked over. I didn't want to be late for English. Ms. Wallus had an abnormal attendance policy and I didn't want to get detention. When I got to the desk, I stopped and waited for him to start talking.
"I have to say, Mr. Souza, that I'm impressed," he said. "You've only been here almost a week and you have already managed to pass even my best students. Have you ever considered tutoring?"
"Not really," I said. "I don't think I would have the patience."
"Patience or not, I think you could really help some of the more…mathematically challenged students. Of course, if you agree, you will be paid."
"I don't know," I said, "I'd have to think about it." Of course, I had to intention of doing it.
"Well, whatever you decide," he said, dismissing me.
As soon as he was done talking, I rushed out the door and practically ran to my English class. I stepped in the door just as the bell rang. I breathed a sigh of relief. Today must be a day of lucky breaks. Ms. Wallus was just starting class as I walked back to my seat. Seeing Chloe in her seat reminded me of Simon's weird behavior earlier. What did he care if I went to a stupid dance? He had never tried to get me to go to one before.
Shaking it off, I sat down in my seat. I took out my things and opened my notebook to make it look like I was paying attention. Then I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. As Ms. Wallus started talking, I only half listened. I only listened for information that I might need, and ignored the rest. It's not like the class is hard. Some things I don't understand, like poetry, but what we're doing now didn't require any actual thought. Beside me, Chloe was furiously writing down the teacher's every word. He eyes were focused on the paper in front of her. Her eyebrows were scrunched together in frustration. Every so often she would glance over at the empty space next to her and then quickly look back at her paper. I could smell her frustration growing. Her heart beat increased with every glance and I could smell her perspiration increase I little, signs that she was frustrated. Frustrated at what?
All of a sudden she straightened and silently gasped before looking over at me, catching me staring. I looked away, but not before seeing the blush creep up her face. As the hour went on, I didn't hear a word Ms. Wallus said. My mind was occupied. What did she keep glancing at? And why did it frustrate her?
My thoughts were interrupted by the bell ringing. I took my time getting up. I didn't eat lunch at school. I ate a lot in the mornings so that my stomach wouldn't go off during the day. If I ate lunch, my metabolism would start and the school didn't provide enough food. Instead, I spent lunchtime searching the school for anything strange. I knew there was something off about this school. Simon just thought I was being paranoid. He says that I want there to be something off about it, so that's the vibe I'm getting. As much as I wanted to believe him, my instincts agreed with me.
Once everybody was either at lunch or in class, I started walking through the empty hallways. Everything seemed normal, but that didn't mean it was. I knew from personal experience. As I walked, I picked up conversations from inside classrooms. Once I figured out they weren't strange, I moved on to the next. When I got to the offices, I stopped. Breathing deeply, a familiar scent invaded my senses. Stepping up to the doorway, I peeked around and immediately froze. Standing in the doorway of the principal's office was a man I had never seen before. However, he wasn't the one that made me stop. The woman he was talking to was. Standing next to him was Diane Enright. Tori's mother.
This is bad. This is so very bad. When I saw her, I practically ran to the library so that she wouldn't see me. There was a reason that Dad wanted custody over Tori. He didn't want Tori growing up with Mrs. Enright. From what he had told me about her, I don't blame him. She was a horrible woman who worked in a small subdivision of the St. Cloud cabal. Dad used to work with her before he left. This was pretty much the only information he had given to Simon and Tori. Of course Tori had met her mother, but it was only a few brief instances. He had told them that she was a witch and that was how Tori had gotten her powers and that even though her husband wasn't Tori's real father, Tori still had his name because that was part of the deal that Diane and Dad had made so that Dad could get Tori. She wanted Tori to have his name because she didn't want the supernatural world thinking that she had abandoned her daughter. That wasn't all he told me though.
When he told Simon and Tori about her I got the same story they did. But when I got older, he gave me a more thorough explanation. He told me more about the subdivision he used to work for and the reason Diane wanted a child with him. He explained to me about Tori's powers and how she was more powerful than the average witch. That was why Dad has a much easier time training Tori. She gets the spell faster than Simon. He didn't explain much about the place she works at but he did tell me that him working there had been a mistake. He wouldn't tell me what the subdivision did; only that it was bad. He wouldn't tell me anything else. I don't know why he told me about it and not Simon and Tori, but I didn't question him.
The bell rang, interrupting my thoughts. I stood up and walked through the aisles of books until I reached the door. When I walked out into the hallway, I heard someone come up behind me. Before I had time to turn around, a voice gave them away.
"Did you ask Chloe to the dance yet?" Simon asked.
"No," I said as I made my way through the crowd, my locker in sight.
"Are you going to soon?" he asked.
I saw my mistake and scowled. "I have not and will not ask Chloe to the dance."
"Why not?" he asked as I stopped in front of my locker.
"Because I'm not going to the dance," I said.
"Because you don't have a date?" he asked. "Well, Bro, that can easily be fixed. Just ask Chloe to the dance."
I sighed and halted packing my bag. "First of all, I'm not going to the dance. And that has nothing to do with my current relational status. Second of all, why do you keep on insisting that I go to the dance with Chloe?"
"Cause neither of you have a date," he said.
"At least a quarter of the school doesn't have a date. Why aren't you pushing Chloe on another dateless guy who actually is going to dance?" I asked, annoyed.
"Just because," he said. From the tone of his voice, I knew I was breaking him.
"Why don't you ask her?" I suggested.
"Because I'm already going to ask someone else," he said.
"Well, why not try to get one of the guys on your basketball team to go with her. I'm sure there is at least one guy who doesn't have a date and would just love to go with her," I said.
"Because they aren't y-" he started, cutting himself off.
"Ha," I said, "You were just about to say because they aren't me. Which brings me back to my point. Why does Chloe have to go to the dance with me?"
He hesitated for a second and looked around nervously. As he struggled for something to say, he looked up at the clock and looked relieved. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I'm going to be late for bio."
Before I could argue, he was already speeding off down the hallway. I looked down at my watch. I didn't have enough time to run after Simon. I'd do it later. Right now I was late for physics. I quickly shut my locker and walked to class. When I walked into the classroom and found my usual seat in the back, I took out my stuff and put my homework on the corner of the desk for Mrs. Lowenberger to pick up when she made her rounds to every desk. If I had mine already out, she didn't need to stop, which gave me more time with my thoughts. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the information about Tori's mom. I knew I had to tell Dad, but I wasn't sure if I should wait on that. There were certain things that I wanted to figure out first and I knew that if I told Dad, I wouldn't be able to. I didn't want to tell Simon and Tori because I didn't want to risk them telling Dad. I would tell Simon, though, because I needed his help.
When physics was over, I had French. Today, however, I didn't spend it in the classroom. When I got there, Mrs. Wang had hung a note on the door saying that class was being held in the library because she was out of town and the sub didn't understand French, so she wrote that we were to do homework in the library. That was fine by me. I liked the library. I could hide myself behind the shelves away from everybody else.
As I walked around the library, I made my way to the back where it was secluded. When I got there, I heard a quiet voice. I stopped an aisle away and peeked through two books. Chloe was sitting by herself with a notebook open in her lap and a pen in her hand. She was murmuring quietly to herself. Only, it wasn't to herself. When she said something, she would glance at the empty seat next to her and wait for a response. I blocked out the other students and concentrated on her.
"I'm not sure it's a good idea anymore," she said.
She waited for a quick response, then said, "It's not going to work. Besides, I only have four more days. I can't do it in four days. Maybe I should let Jake win."
Win what?
She waited, then said, "It's only English."
What's only English?
"Well I know, but why does he have to offer me? And besides, he has the better end of the deal."
What deal?
"Well, I can't do the asking. But he can ask her and she can ask him, not that she would. He's not limited."
She seemed to think for a second before saying, "Unless I limit him. Neither of us has won yet, so that means the rules aren't exactly set in stone."
I stopped listening at that point. I had no idea what she was talking about and standing here listening wasn't going to tell me. Besides, I already got what I needed to know. Chloe might be talking to thin air, but she wasn't talking to herself. She was having a conversation with someone nobody else could see. And she knew it. She knew that the person she was talking to was invisible to everybody else. That was why she was tucked away in the farthest parts of the library talking as quietly as she could. She wasn't alone.
When school was over, I stood standing at the doors of the school. My backpack was at my feet as I leaned back against the doorframe with my arms crossed in front of me. My eyes were fixed on a small, blond sophomore surrounded by a small group of people. I recognized a few of the people. One was Jake. Another was his sister Maggie who was in my English class with Chloe. I didn't know that other two though.
"Hey, Bro," Simon said, coming up to stand next to me.
I didn't turn to look at him, just grunted my acknowledgment.
"What's wrong?" he asked, taking in my body language.
"We have a problem," I said, looking down at him.
"What kind of problem?" he asked.
I took a deep breath and said, "I walked around the school during lunch again and I found something."
"Something bad?" he said.
"Someone bad," I said.
"Somebody we know?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Diane Enright."
His eyes widened. "What was she doing here? Isn't she supposed to be in Chicago?"
"Apparently she didn't get the message," I said.
"Where did you see her?"
"In the office."
"Do you think she's here about Tori?"
"I don't know."
"Well, it's weird sure, but I don't think it's anything to worry about."
"You don't know everything."
"What do you mean?"
"When Dad told us about her," I said. "He didn't say everything. He told me more."
"What did he say?" Simon asked.
"Not much, but enough to know that if she's here, it's not good," I said. "He told me more about why Tori was born. That Diane only chose Dad because he was a sorcerer. He told me to stay away from her. He also talked about his work. He wouldn't tell me what they did there, only that he has regrets."
"But that doesn't mean that her being here is a problem," he argued.
"Think about it," I said. "We haven't even been here a week. And who just happens to show up? The exact women who Dad warned me to stay away from. The exact women that who works for the company that Dad has regrets about. If that work is enough to give him regrets and she still works there, it's not good."
"So what are you thinking?" he asked.
"I don't think her being here is a coincident," I said. "I think she's been waiting."
"Waiting for what?" he asked.
"Us," I said. "I think she was waiting for our move here."
"What makes you think that?" he asked.
"We've been to how many schools and she showed up to this one? And as soon as we get here, both the principal and vice principal get sacked? That's more than coincidence," I said.
"What does the sacking have to do with this?" he asked.
"Because it creates job openings at the highest power of the school. When I saw her, she was talking to a man. I bet you that he's the new principal and that she's the new VP," I said.
"Okay, so say that's true. That doesn't mean we had anything to do with it," he said.
"Just listen to me for a second," I said. "There's something off about this school. It's not normal."
"And we are?" he said.
"That's exactly my point. We aren't normal. And neither are the students at this school," I said.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"Look over there," I said, pointing to Chloe. "She's not normal. She's a necromancer."
"How did you figure that out?" he said.
"She was talking to a ghost," I said.
"How do you know? Did you see it?" he said.
I glared at him. "She was having a conversation with it. During French. Everybody was in the library and she was in the back, talking quietly to an empty chair. She knew it was a ghost or she wouldn't have bothered keeping quiet. And in English, she kept glancing at the wall next to her. But she wasn't looking at the wall. She was looking at a ghost. And she was getting frustrated, meaning she didn't like what the ghost was saying."
"Just a random ghost?" he asked.
"No," I said. "She knows the ghost. What she was saying in the library proved that. She was talking about some deal that she made with Jake."
I looked over at Simon and saw that he had paled. I didn't tell him off for it. I had a feeling he knew something about the deal and the look on his face confirmed it. I just had bigger things to deal with right now.
"Just because she's a necromancer doesn't mean that the others are Supernaturals," he said.
"She's not the only one," I said. "There are more."
"What? Can you smell it?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"You can't smell Supernaturals unless they a-" he cut himself off.
"Unless they're werewolves," I finished for him.
"How many?" he said.
"I'm not sure. Two at least. Two seniors. I smelled them the other day," I said.
"Okay, so maybe you're right," he said, "which means you're probably right about the school."
I nodded.
"Do we tell Dad?" he said.
"No. I want answers and if we tell Dad I won't get them," I said.
"Do we tell Tori?" he said.
"Not yet. She wouldn't believe us. We'll wait until she gets suspicions and then tell her," I said.
"What do you want to do first?" he asked.
"I want to find out more about the place Dad worked at," I said. "Something tells me it has something to do with this school."
"How are you going to figure it out?" he asked.
I didn't answer. I knew he wouldn't like my plan. However, after knowing me for so long, he guessed it.
"You can't," he said. "If you get caught, you'll be kicked out of school."
"No I won't," I said.
"Breaking into school at night if definitely expulsion material," he said.
"Trust me," I said, looking at him. "I won't get kicked out."
"It's too risky," he said.
"It's the only way," I said.
"Then I'm going with," he said.
Before I could argue, he said, "If somebody comes, you'll have nowhere to hide. I've been working on my blur spell and that should at least confuse them," he said.
I thought for a second, then nodded. "You're right."
"So, when do we do it?" he asked.
"Not tonight," I said. "I've got to get the keys. I can get those off of a janitor."
"Tomorrow then?" he said.
"Yeah," I said.
"Can we go now?" I voice said behind us.
I turned around to see Tori walking up to us. "We were waiting for you."
"And now I'm here, so move it," she said.
I sighed. I wasn't in the mood to argue with her so I just walked down the steps and to my car with them trailing after me. Tori was the first in, claiming the front seat. Simon got in the back seat behind mine. When he got in, he paused in shutting the door. As he was looking in his bag next to him, he didn't notice anything at his feet. But I did. I was about to get in my seat when I saw something shine. I looked down the see a pair of keys at Simon's feet push themselves under his seat. I stared for a moment.
"Would you go?" Tori said.
I stared for a second longer before shutting my door. Simon followed suit and shut his. I then started the car and starting backing up. As I looked behind me, I noticed a slight movement in Simon's bag. I looked back ahead and started home.
