Twenty One
Racetrack tried to push the figure away, but it was like trying to push a wall. The boy got the sense that his opponent wasn't even flinching. He felt his mouth open and he screamed again, unsure of why he couldn't seem to stop. It felt as though his heart had gone out and his legs had turned to water inside the skin.
The strange, fanged man gave a satanic grin, then circled a hand around his throat.
"No!" Racetrack yelled, grabbing the ice cold hand with his own ones, which were as hot and as dry as toast. "Lemme go! Lemme go!"
The man paid no attention, but slowly began raising him up, unnaturally strong. Racetrack tried to kick out at him, but whenever he did hit, nothing happened, almost as though he was kicking at a large, cold boulder. The hand tightened around his neck and he felt his air whistle through his throat. He tried to pry the dead cold fingers off his skin, but they were stuck fast.
What's going on? He thought hastily, as his mind began to blur. What is this thing? He gaped and tried to inhale, just as a dark shape came hurtling out of no where and knocked his opponent away.
He felt his legs hit the ground and crumble beneath him, as his hands flew to his throat and he drew in his saving breath. Spluttering slightly, he tried to regain his senses as he used the wall for support, pushing himself to his feet. Another shape, but taller, lankier, came running in and grabbed at his arm.
"No!" He yelled, jerking it away.
"It's alright, I'm a friend." The voice said soothingly. "I…Racetrack?"
Racetrack winced. He had been found out. But he wasn't exactly complaining. He could still recall the cold fingers at his throat. Gratefully, he let himself be helped up, pushing the hair back from his face. His legs still felt wobbly and jellyesque as he tried to support his own weight.
Chaos and the vampire were facing off in the middle of the alley, each ducking swings as they tried to best each other. She sent a kick that landed on his stomach, and he doubled over in pain. She then pounded at the back of his head, and rammed a stake through his back. He exploded into a shower of dust.
Racetrack stared, his jaw propped open. Dutchy was glancing around in a panic. Racetrack wasn't supposed to be here. How long would it be before the entire school found out? How many had already found out?
"Dust." Chaos was saying, as she rammed her stake back into her belt. She looked up at the two figures, and winced to see that one of them was staring. He didn't have to see that. That's the trouble about saving mortals from these things, they always…oh no…
"What?" She hissed. The face shape and warm brown eyes were familiar in the dark. "Racetrack? No. Oh no. God no. Racetrack?"
"This is what was trailing us." Dutchy said simply, still gripping Racetrack's arm. Racetrack winced, feeling like a criminal.
"What?" Chaos stalked towards him, looking as angry as he had ever seen her before. "You were following us? You…god…you! What's our business is…well…it's none of yours!" She fumbled.
"I'm sorry!" Racetrack replied loudly. "Every single night he's been sneaking out of the dorm and coming back at four or something and…well, I wanted to know…"
"What?" It was Dutchy's turn to look shocked. "I thought you were asleep!"
"You had to crawl over my bed!" Racetrack replied angrily. "You think I sleep through everything? I know who's sneaking out, and I know who's sneaking in. I knew that you guys would visit each other and leave together, and I knew that Misprint would use my room as a shortcut to Stephens." There was a slight pause at the dead boys name.
"Misprint snuck in through our dorm?" Dutchy asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. While you were sleeping. Or out." Racetrack shook his arm free and wavered slightly, but regained his balance. "You think that I don't' know anything. Maybe I don't. But I do know that something is going on. And unless you two have been sneaking out to go copulate every single night, why don't you tell me?"
"Comon, Race." Chaos said, shoving her stake back into her belt. Her voice was trembling with nerves and anger. She and Dutchy exchanged a look. "Let's get you back to St. Mary's."
"What?" Racetrack protested, as Dutchy took his arm again. "Back? I don't think so. First, you tell me what's goin on." They didn't answer as they pulled him along, staring blankly ahead. "And what that thing was…and how you…"
"It's a long story." Chaos replied, feeling as though she was at the end of her wits.
"We got all night." He protested. He glanced down at the pile of ashes, which looked more like a clump of wet sand, and back up at the two of them. His vision caught on the stakes hanging at their sides. "Was it a vampire?"
There was a lengthy pause. The only sounds that could be heard was those of the far off traffic and the raindrops hitting garbage cans and brick, making a strange pattering sound that sounded like some type of music. Chaos didn't say anything, just chewed on her lip, and Dutchy was still staring angrily ahead. "Was it?" He persisted. "Comon, you guys. That thing almost…"
"A'right, yes." Chaos turned around, her green eyes flashing. "Yes, it was a vampire. And yes, we just killed it. And yes, we're slayers. Happy?"
Racetrack gaped for a moment. He remembered Misprint and Shade constantly rambling about the vampires in books they had read, and how to kill them, and what killed them, and (in Shade's case) how sexy they were. But those had been books. And this was most definitely real life.
"I guess…"
"Good." She turned around. "Now comon. We don't need you out here getting hurt any more. Why you even followed us in the first place is fucking unfathomable…"
"Lemme go." He muttered, pulling his arm free of Dutchy's grip. Dutchy shrugged and shoved his own hands in his pockets. He felt incredibly guilty, incredibly stupid, incredibly naïve about what had been going on. But he knew now. And if this was the only way to find out, he was glad he had.
But there was still some things he was a little unsure on.
"Did you guys say something about Misprint?" He asked tentatively. Dutchy glanced over at Chaos, trying to catch her eye, but she was staring stonily ahead.
"We'll take him back to the school." She replied immediately. "Fill him in on the details. There isn't any getting rid of him now."
Racetrack was about to say he resented that, but she turned around and gave him a full on glare with her cat eyes. He shrunk back and meekly followed them through the driving rain, back to the school.
Gemini had fainted. For the fourth time.
"So much for progress." Mondie muttered to the kitten. She had pushed the seat of the toilet down, and was sitting on it, legs curled up to her chest, chin resting glumly on her knees, the picture of a neglected being.
"Well, you could help out if you wanted to." The kitten said cynically, licking one of his paws and pulling it over his head, perched safely on the counter near the sink. "But it seems you'd rather spend your time moping…"
"Help? How can I help?"
The kitten looked up at her and blinked with those huge blue eyes that seemed to big for it's tiny, furry face.
"Transference, luv." It said simply. "Don't you know anything about Bast?"
"That cat lady?" Mondie asked, wrinkling up her nose, forgetting that anyone with eyes could righteously call her a cat lady. The kitten rolled its eyes to the heavens.
"Yes, the cat lady." It spat, in mockery. "You know, a goddess in Egypt?"
"A little." Mondie admitted. "What was she the goddess of?" The kitten jumped down from the counter onto her lap, and looked up at her, a little more intent on his subject.
"Lotsa things, pet." Mondie opened her mouth to remark on the irony of him calling her pet, but was cut off. "Protection, being the main one, followed closely by transference. And fertility."
"Fertility?" Mondie asked, wrinkling her brow. "I'm the goddess of fertility? Like a walking talking birth control pill?"
"Bloody hell." The kitten groaned, hanging his head. Mondie winced.
"No, sorry, keep talking. It's interesting." She prompted. He sighed, shook out his whiskers, and got back on track.
"All in all, s'quite lucky I got here tonight. Seems like Gemini could use a bit of protection. Bit a' transference." It said meaningfully. Mondie slapped herself on the forehead with the heel of her palm.
"That's right! All I gotta do is transfer some of Gemini's powers from another wicca!"
"Or a watcher." The kitten remarked simply, licking at one of his paws. Mondie's brow tightened, deep in concentration.
"But Spec's powers can't possibly make up for hers, can they?"
"Have you ever heard of the saying; every penny counts?" The kitten remarked, switching his tail back and forth.
"But he won't listen to me." Mondie said, a slight sulky curve coming to her lips. "He won't even answer me." The kitten gave her the kind of look that made her want to take back her words.
"Then don't ask." It said calmly.
"I can still slay." Shade snapped as Bumlets led her towards the school. Really, she thought later, the prospect of coming back because of a couple of nicks in her throat was rather embarrassing. Bumlets shook his head firmly.
"Nope. That was a Bronx Vampire. Tough. We can't risk having anyone in his clan sending you visions while you're out there in the pouring rain."
"What, like Mis?" Shade asked.
"Yeah. Like Mis."
"See? I wouldn't give into any of those! Come on!"
"That doesn't matter." Bumlets persisted, jaw tight. Shade's complaints had been chiselling at his patience the entire night, and he felt he was ready to snap, even though he was known for his perpetual serenity. Besides, he didn't want to put Shade's future in danger by letting her stay in the Bronx with a bite, let alone in the driving rain, when it was hard to see anyways. Besides, the scent of the blood would bring vampires in like vultures to a dying man in the desert.
"Aw, comon!" Shade whined. "Bumlets, my best friend is out there! And my boyfriend."
"I know, Shade!" Bumlets snapped. As if he hadn't been told that enough all night. "But you can't go out an' slay with a bite. It's like…dousing yerself in steak sauce and walking into a lion's den."
"Nice analogy."
"Comon." Bumlets eyed the distance it would take to jump from the ground to the bottom rung of the ladder. "I'll go up first, then help you up."
"I don't need help…" She was remarking acidly, when the soft padding of footsteps cut them off. They turned and squinted across the dark field, through the driving rain.
Three figures, one tall and the other two fairly short, were making their way towards them, completely soaked.
"Who are they?" Shade asked, tugging at Bumlet's coat sleeve.
"I don't know, Shade. We'll have to find out." Bumlets told her slowly, in aggravation.
"No need to get cranky, I just…" She protested, but he gently shoved her.
"Jus'…shut up for a minute, a'right?"
Shade glared at him but obliged, fighting the urge to swear at him. She watched the tall, graceful boy take a few steps forwards, before stopping, a look of relief on his face.
"S'aright. It's Chaos. An' Dutchy. An'…" He squinted. "Someone else…"
"Racetrack!" Shade said suddenly. "What's he doing out here? They trying to take him too?" She pouted. "Are they trying to take away all of my friends?"
"Shade, I don't think…" Bumlets began, but a sudden hiss cut them off.
"Bumlets. Anythin'?" Dutchy was jogging forwards. Shade saw Bumlets was right. Her eyes began picking out the familiar shape of his glasses, and face.
"None. Not even a clue." Bumlets said dejectedly. "Same with you?"
"Yeah. Bad." Dutchy said grimly, motioning back to Chaos and Racetrack, who were still jogging towards them. Race was pale, and on closer inspection, Shade saw a few bruises around his neck.
"Racetrack!" She blurted. "What are you doing out here? Did they get you? Did they hoit you? I'll kill 'im. I'll kill you! Whaddaya doin' out here?"
"He was following us." Chaos said shortly, cutting off Shade's rapid fire questions. Bumlets groaned and pushed the hair back from his face.
"Trouble." He muttered.
"Look, I don't see what the big deal is." Racetrack was saying, spreading his hands pleadingly. "I won't tell nobody! You think I'm going to post it up on the bulletin board?"
"There are too many people who know about us already." Dutchy said. "We don't need one more." Racetrack sighed and his shoulders slumped.
"Well if you ain't gonna tell me anything else, please tell me what happened to Mis. She's my friend too, y'know." He told Shade ruefully. Shade felt her heart well up with sympathy at his huge brown eyes, but with a quick look between her and Dutchy, shook her head.
"Race, when we get this all cleared up, you'll be the first to know, I promise." She said solemnly. He opened his mouth to protest, but she turned to Dutchy and lifted her chin. "Take Race back to his dorm. I'm gonna go check on Mondie and Gem."
"What?" Racetrack moaned, but Dutchy slammed a hand down on his shoulder, almost making him collapse.
"C'mon. It's nothing serious." He promised. Racetrack sighed resentfully, knowing fully well that it was incredibly serious. But he said nothing, and allowed himself to be led away. Shade turned to Chaos.
"Following you?"
"Yeah." She replied, squinting after them through the rain. Shade lifted an eyebrow.
"You let him follow you?"
"It wasn't intentional." Chaos replied quickly. Shade grinned.
"I'm sure it wasn't."
"Go check on Mondie and Gem." Chaos snapped, grabbing Bumlets by the arm and pulling him forwards. "C'mon. You and me are going to go kill stuff."
Gemini revived with a scream.
Specs quickly clamped a hand over her mouth before it could turn into a fully fledged howl. Luckily, only a whimper escaped.
"Quiet." He hissed. "If we get caught, you know how much trouble we're in?"
"Shit, Specs, I can't help it." She moaned, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. "You don't know what it's like."
"Oh yes I do." Specs reminded her sternly. He gratefully accepted the cup of water Mondie handed to him. "I've been through the same thing."
"Yeah, but you ain't as powerful as me." Gemini said, unable to repress the urge to be a little snarky as she took the glass of water from him, with a trembling hand.
"Maybe not." Specs conceded nobly. "But I do know what you're going through. And I wouldn't be putting you through it unless I had to. But you…"
"Have to. I know, I know." Gemini said. "But Mis and Jack? Can't they hold out on their own until I get a little of my strength back? I need a break…"
"It's not that simple." Specs replied, sitting back in his chair and furrowing his brows. "To lose a child of the prophecy before their time…it's a very serious thing, Gemini."
"But we already have a really strong group! The slayers were holding out fine before they even met us!" Gemini argued.
"Doesn't matter. It's about balance. And once that balance is thrown off, all pandemonium breaks loose. It only happened once before…"
"Once before? What happened?" Mondie wheedled. Specs glanced at the both of them, and sighed.
"Long story. Before we lost a…a slayer, work was slower. The slayers only had to go out once a month, as opposed to nightly. However, after her death, the situation got way outta control."
"How outta control?" Gemini pushed, sitting up straighter.
"The entire vampire population multiplied by about a thousand over night." He snapped, irritable. There was a small, thoughtful silence.
"Whoa." Gemini finally remarked.
"Cool." Mondie grinned.
"That's why we have the mortal coil, now." He said, sitting up, clearly ready to get back to work.
"The mortal what?" Gemini asked, furrowing her brows.
"Some day, I'll explain. Right now? We gotta try again."
"Now would be a good time, sweets." The kitten mewed from the floor. Mondie furrowed her brows, and winced slightly as Gemini sat up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Y'think?" She asked, in a whisper so tiny that Specs didn't even notice.
"Oh yes."
"I dunno…"
"Look at her. She won't last the night." The kitten scoffed.
"That's because she had her powers taken away." Mondie snapped out loud. "She's really strong when she has them, y'know."
There was a brief silence, and her face flushed with guilt when she suddenly realised that she had said it in a normal voice. Specs and Gemini were staring at her with the utmost surprise.
"Uh…jus'…talkin' to myself…" She said, smiling slightly and raising her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, I'll be quiet."
The kitten purred.
Mondie resisted the urge to kick it, and glanced up at Gemini. What the kitten had said was true, her face was pale and glazed thinly with sweat. Her curls, usually so bouncy and lustrous, were limp against her shoulders, and her eyes were strained and tired.
"C'mon." Specs said, handing her the water glass. She drained it in one gulp. Mondie winced again, then nodded. Satisfied, the kitten walked towards her and rubbed against her legs, still purring, as though to give her confidence.
"It's easy." It mewed. Mondie nodded, and closed her eyes.
So did the kitten.
She felt her heart pounding, and her blood racing along the veins in her arms, and throughout her body. Slowly, she raised one hand and concentrated. Her fingertips began to glow a slight blue colour.
"That's it." She could hear the kittens voice, echoing throughout her head. "That's it…concentrate…" She nodded again and took a deep breath. She could feel the hair on her head fly backwards as the blue grew stronger.
Suddenly, both their eyes snapped open. They were bright, as though there was a light shining behind the irises.
"Now." The kitten said. "Carefully…carefully…" Mondie nodded, and just as she sent her powers forth in a rush of energy, she heard it mutter; "Just don't overdo it."
Specs flew out of his chair and hit the wall.
"Shit!" Gemini screamed, in spit of their promise to keep silent. Specs flipped over, and his arms spread out, almost as though he was being crucified. "What's goin' on? Specs! Specs, get down!" They could hear the rustle of the rooms around them coming to life.
"Gemini? Mondie?" A girl yelled sleepily from the other room. "Shaddup in there!"
"That would be overdoing it, luv." The kitten mewed prissily, looking up at Specs. "You've prob'ly knocked 'im out."
"Shut up!" Mondie said in a shrill voice. "You're the one who told me to. How do I get 'im down?"
"Mondie?" Gemini gasped. "Are you doing this?"
Almost as though he was evaporating, slight wisps of navy blue power began uncoiling from his fingertips. His eyes were shut tight, and his glasses were lying on the ground, shattered. The smoke began drifting towards the window.
"Don't let it get away!" The kitten hissed. "Focus! Focus!"
"No!" Mondie yelled, trying to sound superior. "To Gem, er, Gemini, er, Jennifer. Go…to…Jennifer…" She waved her arms around imposingly. She could distinctly hear the kitten groan, but tried not to pay any attention.
"What?" Gemini was spluttering as the wisps of smoke hesitated, then began floating towards her. "What's it doin'? Mondie? Whaddaya doin'?" She leaned backwards as the powers began speeding towards her, twisting down towards her fingertips. Before she could yank her hands away, they curled themselves around her fingers and faded.
"Did I lose 'em?" Mondie asked in a panic.
"No, she's got 'em. Briefly, anyways." The kitten said, relaxing slightly. Their eyes flickered for a moment, before fading all together. Specs was still up against the wall. He groaned slightly, turning his head to one side. Gemini stared at Mondie, paler than usual. There was a brief silence. They could hear their room mates rustling about in the other rooms, and one girl banged on the wall.
"What did you do?" Gemini asked faintly. Mondie winced, and glanced up at Specs, who was still stuck to the wall.
"Oh bring him down, for pete's sake." The kitten reprimanded. She glowered at it.
"It's my first time, alright? No need to get all snippy."
"Mondie?" Gemini's eyes widened. "Are you talking to that cat?"
They were interrupted by Specs unpeeling from the wall and flopping face first onto Gemini's bed, who yelped and drew her legs up close to her. "What did you do to him?"
"Revive 'im." Mondie ordered, suddenly feeling very tired. She collapsed on the foot of Gemini's bed and took a deep breath.
"I can't! I don't have no powers!"
"You have his powers now, so use 'em." Mondie replied quickly. Gemini glanced down at her fingertips, uncertain, then back up at the unconscious boy. Hesitantly, she raised her hands and performed a simple spell.
Specs gave a shout of surprise and scrambled to a sitting position. He squinted, the lack of his glasses have a very apparent effect on his eye sight.
"Mondie? Gem? What jus' happened?" He asked slowly. Mondie grinned apologetically, as the kitten jumped onto her lap and began preening itself.
"Er…I jus'…I tried to uh…transfer some of your powers to Gem. Y'know. To make it easier." She said quickly, as his brows furrowed. "For her, that is. An'…I went overboard."
"Transfer?" He asked in disbelief, his forehead wrinkling. "You don't know how to…" Suddenly, he stopped. He glanced down at his fingers, over at Gem, then back to the kitten sitting on Mondie's lap. "Oh god…"
"I tried to tell you." Mondie said, shrugging sheepishly. "You were just too tied up to listen."
Specs gaped at her, like a fish out of water. But before he had the chance to reply, they heard imposing footsteps stomping along the hallway on the bottom floor, just as the window jarred open and a very wet Shade stuck her head in.
"Hey guys. How's the search?" She asked brightly. Her face fell at the sight of the three, flustered students. "This a bad time?"
"Very." Specs grabbed his shattered glasses and glared at them, before remembering he didn't have his powers. Gemini quickly repaired them, the colour coming back into her cheeks when she realised that she was able to do magic, even if the powers weren't hers. "Listen. This'll have to wait till tomorrow. We're skipping classes."
"Right." Gemini replied, looking pleased. The footsteps echoed up the stairs, along with the angry huffs of Ms. Mayen.
"And now, I gotta go." He quickly pushed his glasses on, nodded to Gem, and turned to dash out the window, as Mondie hastily picked up the kitten and shoved it into a drawer. The howl of protest echoed around the room.
Just as Specs slid the window open, Shade reached back and grabbed his shirt sleeve. "You didn't answer my question." She said softly. He squinted.
"What?"
"How's the search? Did you find anything? Are they alright?"
Specs sighed, his large brown eyes focused on her own, dark ones. He would have loved to tell her that her friends were safe, or that they had a clue, or that they'd be able to find them tomorrow. But he wasn't so sure himself. He knew that if he screwed up, the weight of the world would be on his shoulders.
"Sorry, Shade." He said gently. "We may be lucky tomorrow."
Shade's face fell, and she sighed, too despondent to pluck the wet strands of hair off her skin. "Right. Tomorrow."
"Amanda? Jennifer? Is that you?" Ms. Mayen's voice was asking, as she came storming down the hall. Quickly, Specs clambered out of the window and started rattling down the fire escape, as quietly as he could.
"Quick." Gemini hissed, lifting up her sheets, revealing the dark space under the wooden frame of her bed. Mondie was hastily clambering into her own, grabbing a small blanket to throw over her ears, and hastily muttering threats to the kitten if it didn't shut up soon. Shade furrowed her brows at this, but didn't have time to question as she scrambled under Gemini's bed.
Gemini reached over and clicked the lamp off. We better find them tomorrow. She thought, as she burrowed deeper into her covers. We don't need any more deaths. The kitten quieted it's ferocious protests just as the door burst open and Ms. Mayen peered inside to find two girls sleeping peacefully in blissful oblivion.
"Well, well, well." Jack froze, feeling his dead heart tighten in his chest when he heard the familiar voice. Busted. Sighing, he let his fingers uncurl from his victims neck and let the lifeless, bloodless body fall to the ground of the cemetery, making a dull thud on the grass.
"Hey Spot." He sighed, not even glancing over his shoulder.
Spot rolled his grey eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. The rain had just cleared up, leaving the night wet and cool.
Jack turned, expecting to see Spot in his prime, catching his vampire slayer feeding. But instead, he looked almost shrunken inside his huge jacket, and paler than his usual, vampiric state. Jack squinted. If he looked past the irises of his sire's eyes, he could see a sort of listless despondency that resembled…emotion?
"S'matter, Spot?" He asked, a slight smirk tugging his lips. "All choked up?" Spot's eyes narrowed into a hurt glare.
"Yeah. And I got you to thank for it." Jack gave a brief laugh and rolled his eyes skywards.
"Then why d'you do it?"
Spot stared up at him, his eyes calculating, as though deciding whether his fledgling was worthy enough to bestow the information upon. His brows furrowed slightly, and it seemed his eyes grew even more hurt.
"I wouldn't have, if it hadn't a been for…" He trailed off, and then smirked, as though trying to regain his old arrogance. But it wasn't there any more. It was almost amusing, as though Jack was watching a child trying to act like a gangster. "Don't matter." He stalked forwards and pushed past Jack, shoving him to the side. Jack's smirk remained intact as he turned around to watch his sire walk away. Suddenly, Spot turned around, eyebrows raised. "How did Shade take the news?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "She hasn't."
"You didn't say anything to her?" Spot asked, one eyebrow arching slightly higher. "She can't tell?"
"She'll figure it out soon enough." Jack muttered. In truth, Shade was somewhat of a weak spot for him, his old, human ties still bridging the gap between life and death. He cleared his throat and straightened, slightly. "Besides. Figure I might as well live it up while I can."
Spot raised an eyebrow. "Jack. You're dead."
"You have a way with the obvious." He replied tersely. Spot sighed, and without a word, turned and began walking away.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" He called over his shoulder. "It's a school day tomorrow."
Shade couldn't believe it when she saw Jack stroll past her down the hall to his gym class the next morning.
He looked fine, short of a bruise he had gained on his temple from taking down a particularly insistent vampire a couple nights ago. His hair was parted and slicked down, as usual, with his trademark strands hanging down in front of his eyes. His blouse was straight and tidy, and his tie was knotted correctly.
No blood. No scars. No bruises.
What was going on?
"Jack!" She grabbed onto his sleeve and pulled him into a lesser hallway off to the side, where the crowds of adolescents weren't so tense. Before he could even say anything, she had wrapped her skinny arms around him in a tight hug, and had buried her face in his shoulder. The first thing she noticed was the sheer chill coming off his skin…He just came from outside, she told herself. Expectable.
"Heya Shade." Jack replied, giving her a quick hug then prying her off of him, almost anxiously. His eyes dwelled shortly on the cuts on her throat, then snapped back up to her own eyes. "What's the matter?"
"What's the matter?" She repeated, brows furrowing. "What's the matter? The matter, Mr. Kelly, is you disappearing in the middle of the night. The matter is us thinking you were hurt, like Misprint. The matter is…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down." Jack laughed, raising his hands slightly. "I disappeared?"
"I went back to your dorm, and you weren't there." Shade said stubbornly. Jack raised his eyebrows.
"I was too restless to sleep, thought I'd get out and stake a few." He furrowed his brows and grinned slightly at Shade's disbelieving look. "What? You know me well enough to…"
"Jeez." Before he could stop her, she had wrapped him in another fierce hug. "You scared me! You know how much you scared me? I'm gonna kill you." Jack winced as Spot's words floated back to him. Jack. You're dead. "You're so cold! Is it that bad outside? Man, I'm so glad you're a'right…"
"What? Mis? Someone captured Mis?" He asked, brows knotting into false concern.
"Yeah." Shade's eyes were cast downwards. "She ain't…Gemini did a search an' everything. She isn't anywhere. Yet. We…" She looked up at him. "Didja happen to see anything unnatural out there last night?"
"No." Jack said absently. "But why didn't she use her powers to…"
"We don't know." Shade replied, disconsolate. "That's what we all wanna know."
"Wheah'd you get these?" He cut her off. His fingers lifted and gently touched the bite marks on her neck. She winced.
"Oh. Rogue vamp. Dusted it. Y'know. I can't believe that…"
"Get them bandaged up." He said quickly, shifting his bag higher onto his shoulder and backing away. Shade's brows furrowed.
"They're only scratches…"
"Get 'em bandaged." He repeated firmly, looking almost as though he had to pry himself away. She rolled her eyes.
"Gawd, you are just like Bumlets…" She opened her mouth to say more, but he was already gone. As though he had disappeared.
She sighed in disappointment and hugged her books tighter to her chest. Spot's words echoed in her head, whispers of the graveyard scene catching on the jagged edges in her mind. I'm sorry about Jack. Maybe you should look a little closer.
"They're insane. The both of them." She said, to console herself. Then, brushing that out of her mind, she focused on the problem of the absent Misprint, and turned to go to Science.
Gemini had the city at her fingertips.
She could feel the three elements swinging inside her, almost like partners in a choreographed dance, but with one missing…
Fire, her mind hissed. Water, earth, air and fire…Almost as though she had no control, she felt Specs powers shoot out her fingers and spread over the city, like a huge invisible blanket. The blue mist swirled in her inner vision, and she saw the edges of her powers stop at the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and Kensington in Brooklyn. Her closed eyes tightened as she tried to push them further, thinning them out.
Her energy began lessening as she pushed and pushed, but she seemed to be getting nowhere. She could barely feel the far edges of Brooklyn. The elements were dancing faster inside her, needing their counterpart.
"Fire." She whispered out loud, her forehead glazed with sweat. "Fire! Where are you?"
Suddenly, a slow mist of purple began forming around the edges of the blue. Gemini's eyebrows furrowed, and she felt her heart speed up. Purple! It was her own powers! They were coming back! The purple mist barely formed a border around the blue, but it was there. Well, not all a' me powers. Gemini thought. But she was too confused to try and think up an answer.
Relieved, she began stretching at her own powers, pushing them out further. She only managed to get a couple miles before they stopped, unwilling to go any more.
It's a start. She thought.
She braced herself for the hardest part of the operation. The actual search. She counted to three, took a deep breath, and let her mind go.
Almost immediately, she lost track of herself. Her mind rushed out of her soul, through her fingertips, and took off out the window, skimming along the swirling blue mist, racing at the speed of light. Gemini was no longer aware of the bed, the dorm room, the temperature, nothing. She was simply her mind, rushing through the city, looking for fire.
Small traces appeared here and there. At factories. In fire places. On candles. But all these traces were exactly that. Traces. She needed the real deal, the source. But the blue mist told her nothing. New York was devoid of its fire elemental.
She reached the purple mist, and felt the familiar comfort of her own powers.
She waited for the mist to be sucked down into one location, telling her that's where her friend was. But nothing happened. It hung over the city, peaceful, like a smoke screen.
She felt her energy give out, and the view of the city in her inner eye faded.
The physical elements rushed back to her. She felt her body hit the mattress and the exhaustion that swept into her limbs and mind. Her eyes snapped open and she could see, through a sheen of tears, the ceiling. The door to the bathroom. The slow sounds of New York came rushing back to her, and she quickly blinked the tears away. Gotta find her…gotta find her…
"Didja have any luck?" A voice asked eagerly.
Gemini turned her head, confused. She had forgotten that Shade was there. She began to feel the girls hand on her wrist, and sighed. She shook her head limply.
"None. But I can't see all of New York just yet." She replied, hoping Shade would still have hope. "I mean…she could be in Harlem. Or Brooklyn…" She trailed off, and became silent. A simple, meaningful glance between the both of them clearly showed they were both thinking the same thing.
Shade thought of spot in the graveyard, and wished she had staked him right then and there. Whether he needed to talk, or no. Maybe Misprint would still be here if it wasn't for him.
"Sorry." Gemini said, brushing the curls back from her face. "My powers are coming back…at least getting stronger…I'll try and do another search before the day is out…"
"Don't stress yourself." Shade ordered.
Gemini sighed hopelessly. It had been three days, and they had had practically no luck in finding Misprint at all. This had been only the second time she had been able to search.
"Don't worry." She said listlessly. "I'm sure once I get all my powers back, we'll…" Her words were cut off as a monstrous yawn took over, and her eyes closed automatically. "Sorry. Jus' a li'l…tired…"
A metallic buzzing sound suddenly echoed through the room. Shade winced at the school bell, and remembered suddenly how she and Misprint used to joke about the school falling down. She felt a deep set depression take over the pit of her stomach. The door to the washroom opened, and Mondie came rushing out, securing a head band over her ears. Specs followed, a bit more naturally.
"Training." She explained hastily to Shade's curious look. "No time. Didn't…realise…how…late…I…am…" She staggered her words as she tried to pry off the kitten, who had latched onto her kilt, and pull her socks on at the same time.
"Good." Shade said shortly, rubbing her temples. "Because seeing you dash out of the washroom with Specs at your heels seemed kinda…"
"Don't." She and Specs replied simultaneously. Shade glanced at the clock that hung over Gemini's bed, and sighed.
"Yeah, well, off to Ms. O's. Y'know. Socials." She grimaced and began knotting her tie. It was strange. Even the loosest knot felt constricting.
"Say." Specs said suddenly, his forehead wrinkling. "Where's Jack? Wasn't he supposed to come over and check to see how things are doing?"
"Jack doesn't care any more." Shade said shortly, not caring about the fact she was talking about her own boyfriend. Gemini gave her a strange look. She sighed and flipped her braid behind her shoulder. "Well…he never even seems to show up for anything anymore. I think he's…"
"Goin' through a phase?" Mondie suggested as she secured a few clips to her head band, to stop it from falling off.
"Seems more than just that." Shade replied, her eyes thoughtful. Mondie winced, grabbed her bag, and slung it over her shoulder.
"We gotta go." She said shortly. "Shade! Comon!"
Shade quickly grabbed her bag and followed suit, feeling quite out of place. Leaving Gemini alone to this near torture. Leaving Specs to deal with it. Leaving Misprint alone out there…wherever she was…with no powers to help. Usually Shade was so eager to help, others had to pry her off.
This is different, she thought, sprinting after Mondie, who had a hand on her hair band for safety. I can't do anything.
Jack was perfect, as usual, as she slid into class, just as the last bell went off, and Ms. Orrello stood up, clutching her lesson plan in her hand. Shade glanced at her quickly, before tumbling into her seat and dumping her bag on the floor. Misprint's desk, beside her, was still empty.
She turned around and chanced a look at Jack. But he was staring straight ahead, the vision of innocence. He was like that when I first saw him, she thought eerily. But no, there was something so human about him before. Now…she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Quiet. Please, class, be quiet. Everyone, be quiet." Ms. Orrello was saying. "I'm taking attendance now. Everyone. Please. Be quiet. Class…"
Almost as though he could sense her gaze, he glanced her way, and gave her an empty looking sort of smile, with raised eyebrows, as if he was asking "any luck?" She shook her head and gave a sad kind of shrug. Even though he made all the right enquiries, and showed all the right concern, and gave off the same feelings of revenge, he was different.
Or I'm jus' paranoid. She thought to herself.
"Faith McAlester?" Mrs. Orrello called out, staring down at her attendance sheet. Shade brushed a strand of hair back from her face.
"She ain't…she isn't here." She called, quickly correcting her grammar. Being a slayer had suddenly made her a lot more conscious of her work habits. She could understand their need to remain faceless. Ms. Orrello looked up curiously.
"Not here? Is she sick?"
Probably. Shade thought. By now, she's probably ripped up in pieces and all…
"Yeah. Kinda." Shade replied, hoping that this lie wouldn't lead her too deep into trouble.
"Has she gone to see the nurse?"
"She was on her way." Shade made up vaguely, pulling her binder out of her back pack and unzipping it. "No need to worry. Jus' a…" She thought quickly. "Passing flu."
"Well, I hope she gets better soon." Ms. Orrello said, sounding as though she couldn't care less. Shade grimaced.
Me too.
The sunlight drove in through the gaps between the boards and the windows, leaving slices of light on the dark floor. Even though most of the city was still shaking off the winter frosts, the room was stiflingly hot, as though the darkness was fire. Only after ones eyes adjusted, could one make out the dark shape of a desk near the window, a few chairs, and a bed in the corner of the room…
Spot lay on the mattress, grey eyes glowing, staring up at the ceiling with a desperate gaze, almost that of a dying man. His dark blonde hair was spread out around the pillow, and his limbs deadly still on the blood red sheets. Thoughts fluttered through his head, disoriented, smashing into one another and echoing in the dark recesses of his mind.
Spot, don't do this…
The blue eyes were staring at him. Through the darkness, like candle flames, flickering and changing emotions like the moon changed shape. How can they manage to look so scared, and so amused at the same time? he thought, groaning as his head began pounding. The weight of the human emotions in his skull was beginning to hurt…beginning to drag him down.
Who are you? Where're you taking me?
S'aright…just relax…
Spot groaned. He had had such nice eyes…such beautiful eyes…the way his white blonde hair had fallen across his face…even at six, he was as captivating as an angel. And Spot had never touched him that way. Not until…
You're the grand wild, come and court me…'Cause this wooing, Is what I'm wanting…
Shh…you don't wanna go causing a scene…
You drain me. You nuked Shade…you did something to Jack, he just won't tell me. Well, how 'bout you tell me, huh Conlon?
How could he tell her? He wouldn't have been able to tell her if he tried. And she wasn't even there. He had gone to the school, stared up at her dorm room window. She was gone. There was blood…
"Why did I have to be such an idiot?" He asked out loud, to the all consuming darkness. "I could've turned her…taken her with me…or left her alone…"
My mommy? What happened to her? And daddy?
And her eyes. They were like the colour of blood, once it had dried on pale skin. The colour of sin itself. But how could sin be so evident in one so small?
Dead.
But they were here a second ago…
He growled as his thoughts began clashing. He could feel the emotions fading, the demon in him struggling to be let loose from under this pile of human empathy…
Kill her…I couldn't of, she was so small, and she meant so much…Spot, whaddaya doin'?…Stephen. My name's Stephen. Mine. She's mine. I…her own…mine…her own…not there. Blood. Where is she? Is she alright? She's run away…bitch…switch blade…so small…fragile. So fragile. Like glass…
They all were so fragile. And he had lost so many…