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sinistmerHere's another short story featuring my character, Raefa. She's a lot younger in this story; she's twelve (she was seventeen or eighteen in The Nose Doesn't Lie). There's also a bonus image!
Content warnings: Coercion/mind control; violence, including a stabbing
It was Wednesday afternoon, and I wished it were Friday and that I wasn’t stuck in class. Also, it was summer—why was I still in class?! I slouched between Michael and Odin while Mrs. Bines droned about Romeo and Juliet. Mrs. Bines thought she was conveying the excitement by just talking about it, but that was untrue. I kept hoping we might actually perform some pieces, but so far it hadn’t happened. It would be cool to be Mercutio, although even odds that Mrs. Bines would make me Tybalt or worse…the Nurse. The students were getting a little more used to me—I hadn’t gotten in another fight, and they were starting to see me as one of them. Admittedly, it had taken them a bit to get used to my red eyes, but there was no way I was glamoring myself all the time. I was also getting mileage out of my carnivorous tendencies—I don’t know why they kept giving me funny looks. Meat is delicious, and some of the guys eat nearly as much of it as I do.
However, the teachers weren’t sure they should let me near anything that smelled remotely of combat. My little incident with Rob had cost me, and I guess I got that. School sucked (school will always suck, and no one will convince me otherwise), but, more importantly, I was starting to get a handle on my powers, thanks to “Tony”, the tutor that Erasmus set up for me. To my surprise, I actually knew Tony—Dad had created some custom leather pouches for him. Of all the vampires I imagined teaching me, I wouldn’t have pictured him. He’s pretty aloof, but he pointed out he’d been doing his work among humans for years and knew how to handle them. He wasn’t a bad teacher, and he was very sarcastic—which made lessons fun.
Anyways, I was learning about the limits of my abilities, and more importantly I was learning how to use them. If Rob decided to pull that shit again (unlikely—I had well and truly scared the shit out of him), I now had options that didn’t involve throwing a guy across the room. It had been quite satisfying though.
I caught a whiff of peppermint and aftershave, and I sat up as Malcolm came in, his cane clicking against the tiled floor.
“Mr. Smith,” said Mrs. Bines. “What brings you here?”
“Am I interrupting?” Malcolm found the teacher’s desk and leaned against it. “I have an announcement.”
“By all means.” Mrs. Bines stepped away to stand by the window.
Malcolm straightened. “This weekend, the local family fair will take place, and the fair committee has been looking for volunteers. I thought this would be a good time for you all to go out, so I signed you up to volunteer.”
The students looked at each other. I could smell curiosity with a heavy dose of skepticism. Odin smiled at me. Verdandi stared down at her desk, her face pinched. Her usual overly neutral scent was starting to show signs of stress.
“You’ll be working in trios. I’ll now announce the groups.”
As Malcolm read the names, I leaned back and tilted my chair onto its back legs. Hopefully I wasn’t with Rob or Verdandi.
“Odin Scottsman, Verdandi Scottsman, and Raefa Taylor.”
Wait, what? My chair came down with a thump. I emitted a loud huff.
Malcolm turned in my direction. “Is there a problem, Raefa?”
I cocked my head. “I was just trying to tell if you’d done cocaine recently.”
Malcolm frowned at me, then turned back to the class. “I understand that the groups were not maybe what you expected, but you will have time to explore the fair either by yourself or friends. I hope you all will enjoy this. I do expect you all to stay in control of your powers and be good representatives of the school.”
“When’s the fair?” asked Maia.
“This Saturday. We will leave early and take the van to the fair.”
The class resigned itself to intrigued muttering. I was torn between excitement and annoyance. On the one hand, the fair could be fun. It would be nice to go somewhere other than one of the school buildings and the surrounding countryside. I could get over the wall with ease, but I tried to limit my wanderings so that no one would catch onto it. On the other hand, I would have to deal with Verdandi. Peachy.
“I expect to see all of you to do well,” said Malcolm. He turned and nodded to Mrs. Bines. “Thank you.”
Mrs. Bines waited until he had left the room before resuming class
On Saturday, we woke up at six in the friggin’ morning and had a quick breakfast. The bus ride was a stately trip through the countryside. The mix of hormones that ordinarily would have been slightly unpleasant was thankfully not problematic as everyone fell asleep. I watched the cornfields go past until my own eyes drooped, and I too fell asleep. I woke up when the bus stopped and the doors popped open. I could smell fresh grass, animals, people, and food. I sprang to my feet before anyone else could react and was out the door.
“Raefa, wait!” Malcolm and Verdandi exclaimed at the same time. I stopped at the back end of the bus and took in the fair. Colorful tents and stands formed long rows, and the smell of sugar, meat, and pastries were on the air. I could hear the excited shrieks of children and the grunts and snorts of animals. I also thought I heard baaing. Ooo, that meant sheep. I like sheep. The sun was shining in a bright blue cloudless sky, and there was a faint breeze.
Verdandi and Odin joined me. Odin smiled at me and then turned his head away to sneeze. Verdandi shot him a nervous look. When he turned his head back, Odin’s eyes were red, and his nose ran.
“Oh, dude, allergies?” I asked.
“Yeah,” said Odin. He pulled a bandana out of his jeans pocket and blew his nose. “I can’t believe I forgot to take my allergy meds.”
“Odin!” exclaimed Verdandi.
“Oh come off it, Ver,” I said. “He’ll be fine.”
Verdandi glared at me. “Don’t call me Ver.”
“Odin calls you Ver.”
“He’s my brother.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Veeeeeeeeeeeerdandi.” She glared at me. The other kids were pairing up into their groups and heading toward the fairgrounds. I looked back at my groupmates. “What are we doing anyways?”
The class followed Malcolm to the center for the fair; there was a bright orange and blue tent. Malcolm had the other groups get their assignments before taking my group aside.
“I admit, I have some doubts with this group,” he said. “But I think your dynamic could really be beneficial to all of you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Nobody else wants to deal with Verdandi, right?”
Malcolm gave me a reproving look. I put a hand on my hip and stared him down. He sighed. “You all have challenges that are counterbalanced by your companions. I think you could learn a lot from one another.” He looked at Odin and me. “I know you two have been getting along quite well.”
“We’ll try, Malcolm,” Verdandi said in an earnest voice that didn’t hint at any of her usual disapproval of me. I rolled my eyes. Teacher’s pet.
#
The volunteer coordinator assigned Odin, Verdandi, and me to face painting. Verdandi’s face pinched a bit when we arrived at the row of metal tables, which was already packed with kids and volunteers. We had each been given a bright blue shirt that said “Iowa Family Fair”, and we pulled it on over our regular clothes. The sleeves of my long-sleeved red wicking top poked out of the sleeves and covered my arms. Sunburn sucks, and I burn badly.
The leader of the face-painting table was a thirty something year old woman, who smelled like flower blossoms and fruit, a rather potent combination that made me wrinkle my nose. Pretty sure the flower smell was from some kind of lotion. Odin sneezed again, and Verdandi shot him another worried look. The leader introduced herself as Andrea and then showed us the standard designs-balloons, puppies kitties, and unicorns—among other things and told us to do our best. We were also allowed to improvise if children asked us, and we wanted to try. The expression on Verdandi’s face suggested that she was not going to be up for improvising.
We relieved three other volunteers, and soon each of us were hard at work. I painted kitties and puppies on many kids’ cheeks. I gave one kid tiger stripes, carefully alternating orange and black lines while the kid excitedly chattered to me about tigers and their camouflage and hunting abilities. So I shared the story about the man-eating tigers that I had seen on a documentary. The kid’s eyes got big as I described how humans had encroached on the tigers’ habitat and livelihood. So the tigers had started hunting them.
When I finished the stripes, he sprang to his feet and said, “Mom, Sandy ‘roaches on my territory. I’m going to eat her!”
His mom sighed. “You are not eating your sister.”
I could smell Verdandi’s annoyance, and, when I turned, she glared at me. I bared my teeth at her and turned to glance at Odin, who was chatting happily to a kid wearing a robot shirt. Odin smiled as the kid told him all about Optimus Prime and Megatron; his delight didn’t falter when the kid asked him to paint Optimus Prime and pointed to the robot on his shirt.
Meanwhile Verdandi was painting a butterfly on a little girl with pigtails that sprouted out of her head. As she painted a purple wing, Verdandi said, “I can say purple in Spanish. Can you say purple in Spanish?”
“Purple in Spanish!” The girl exclaimed, and both Odin and I snorted laughter.
Verdandi glared at the girl, annoyance coming off her. “No, it’s morada!”
“Oh, okay,” said the girl. She didn’t sound that impressed.
I cackled. This was fun. Being outside in the nice breeze with these children was fun, and the paint didn’t really smell that bad. It was also kind of wonderful watching Verdandi try to deal with children.
A boy with curly brown hair and a pink and purple t-shirt asked Verdandi to paint a unicorn on his cheek and then asked why she wasn’t smiling.
“I’m concentrating,” she said in a frosty voice. She kept painting.
“Oh, you look like that angry fashion lady from The Incredibles.”
“What?” Verdandi exclaimed.
“Come on, Ver, it’s a movie,” said Odin.
“Yeah, Ver,” I replied, and she glared at me.
Another girl came and sat in front of me. Her light brown hair was pulled into a long ponytail, and she had a round face and body. She was wearing a t-shirt that had Hamn’s Dojo and a person doing a leaping side kick on the front.
I grinned at her. “What do you want?”
She studied the list of options. “Can I have balloons please?”
She chose blue, pink, and purple for her balloons, and I got to work. As I painted her blue balloon, I said, “So, you take karate?”
“Taekwondo,” she corrected me. She gripped her legs with her hands and held herself still while I filled in the blue balloon and then used white paint to create a string.
“Yeah? You like it?”
“It’s okay. It’s supposed to help me feel more confident with bullies.”
“Dude, you want to know a good way to deal with bullies?” I started painting her pink balloon.
She glared at me. “Are you going to say ignore them?”
“What? Fuu-dge no.” I finished the balloon. “You should totally make them think they have the upper hand and then deal them a devastating strike.”
“Raefa!” said Verdandi sharply. Odin sneezed again, and Verdandi’s stress escalated.
I ignored Verdandi. The girl was looking at me with both confusion and interest. “Also, you should use your hips when you punch. You’ll hit harder that way.” I stood up and demonstrated. Then I sat back down and finished the last balloon. “There you go—all done!”
“Thanks!” She jumped up and hurried off.
“Raefa, why would you tell a kid that?” demanded Verdandi.
I raised my eyebrows. “What? I’m not wrong.”
“That’s not the point! You shouldn’t be encouraging violence!”
“I’m not going to lie to a kid.”
She shook her head. “Ignoring bullies is far better.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“So you think giving people PTSD is appropriate?”
“Okay, guys!” said Odin before I could respond. “That’s enough!” He sneezed again, and Verdandi’s brows contracted.
“Odin, are you okay?” she asked. “Maybe we should go back to the bus.”
“Yeah, ugh, allergies are really bad.” He blew his nose, but, when he lowered his bandana, he was smiling. “But I’m having fun.”
#
After our shift was done, the volunteer coordinator rewarded us with food vouchers; my face instantly split into such a large grin that the coordinator might have caught a glimpse of my canines. She definitely looked a little unnerved. We took off our volunteer shirts and headed for the food booths. I could smell chicken, delicious fried treats, and so much more. I helped myself to two large chicken legs, which came with biscuits, and a couple of hot dogs while Verdandi got a chicken sandwich and Odin got a burger and funnel cake. We walked along the row of stalls and into the area with the animals. The scent of livestock was stronger here, and many of the pens were surrounded by small groups of people. I smiled as I crammed my food into my face.
“Odin, I think we should go back to the bus,” said Verdandi. She smelled tired and stressed.
“I’m fine.” Odin said.
“But—“
“Stop being a killjoy. We never get out,” I said. A faint baaing reached me, and my pulse quickened. I started to scan the area for the source of the sound.
Verdandi puts her fists on her hips. “Odin! We need to go back.”
“No,” Odin said. “That’s the point of being at Malcolm’s School—so we don’t have to act like this.”
“But—“
I spotted an enclosure full of white wooly bodies.
“Sheep!” I shouted and took off. The sheep fence soon loomed before me, and I sprang over it, landing with a thump on the other side. A man in overalls and a faded red baseball cap stared at me as did the group of small children who were petting the sheep inside the pen.
“Well, hun, you could have just walked around to the gate,” the man in overalls said.
I ignored him and crouched down in front of one of the lambs. The lamb held still as I stroked its soft body. The sun kissed the top of my head, and the lamb slowly relaxed under my touch. A feeling of quiet spread over me, and I carefully scooped the lamb into my arms and held it against my chest, all the while stroking its head.
Don’t you dare eat that lamb, Raefa! I jumped as I heard Verdandi’s voice in my mind. I turned and saw Verdandi and Odin standing outside the pen. Verdandi’s arms were folded, and she was glaring at me.
I would never! I turned back to the lamb and gently stroked its back. Besides, vampires suck blood, dipshit.
Verdandi’s face went red. Odin gave her a confused look and then went through the gate to pet the sheep too, leaving his sister on the outside. I went back to stroking and cooing to the lamb. Finally, I gently set the lamb down, said hello to the adult sheep, and left the pen by the door.
“Why?” demanded Verdandi after we were a ways from the sheep pen.
I shrugged. “They’re cute and soft.”
“They are really cute!” said Odin. “That was a great idea.”
“You better not come back to drain one,” said Verdandi.
I frowned. “I would like to point out that I am surrounded by viable food sources all the time, and no one has had to go to the hospital for unusual blood loss.”
Verdandi blanched.
“What the heck, Ver?” exclaimed Odin.
“You have to wonder! She eats almost nothing but meat! That’s not natural.”
“I’m right here,” I said. “And fuck you—I don’t question why you eat salad.”
“Salad is perfectly normal.”
“It’s just a gross pile of leaves.” I shivered theatrically.
Odin laughed. And then he sneezed again.
“Okay, we’re going back to the bus,” said Verdandi. She grabbed Odin’s arm, and he stiffened.
“No,” I said. I reached out and pushed her back. Her eyes widened. “He said he wanted to stick it out.” I turned to Odin. “Come on—want to see if we can find one of those strongmen games? I bet I can totally destroy it!”
Odin smiled, and we started to head toward another part of the fair.
“Odin! Let’s go!” said Verdandi. Her voice was unusually sharp, and Odin stiffened. Unease roiled off him.
“Odin, c’mon!” I said.
Odin started to take a step, but it was like he was walking into a strong wind. I glanced over at Verdandi, who was frowning, her eyes locked on Odin’s back. Odin tried to walk again, but made no progress.
“Ver—“he said softly.
“You know it’s for the best,” she said.
“I—“Odin’s shoulders slumped.
I stepped into Verdandi’s line of sight. “What the hell?”
Verdandi glared at me. “I’m just worried about him.”
“He has allergies! There’s nothing to worry about! If you want to go hide on the fucking bus, then do it!”
“You don’t understand anything about him,” snapped Verdandi.
“Guys, stop it!” Odin exclaimed.
I shoved my face into hers. “Maia said you were a bitch, but mind controlling your own brother is pretty low, even for you.”
“Don’t mention powers here!”
I waved my hands. “Powers! Powers!”
“Guys!” Odin said in a panicked voice. “You shouldn’t figh—“He sneezed, and a spark of flame appeared in front of his face.
Both Verdandi and Odin stared at one another with horrified expressions. I laughed. Verdandi shot me a glare, and she moved Odin to a side part of the fair, far from the rest of the fair. I followed them. As soon as we were out of the way, Verdandi turned on me.
“This is your fault.”
“Why?” I snarled.
“I could have salvaged this! Do you want us to get in trouble?”
“It was a tiny flame! And it was an accident—it’s not like he burned down a tent or something.”
“I-it’s true,” said Odin. He rubbed his nose, a pained expression on his face. Had he burned his nose?
Verdandi actually stamped her foot. “That’s not the point! Why didn’t you listen to me?!”
I laughed. “Like I’d listen to you.”
That’s when I smelled it. Most natural scents are lovely even if others think they’re nasty, but this particular odor was like a mix of bleach and perfume overlaid with blood. I turned and saw a guy with brown hair cut short. He looked normal—like any other teen at the fair. But the smell was coming from him. I knew that smell. I clenched my fists.
“Is that guy giving you trouble?” the vampire slayer asked Verdandi and Odin.
“Fuck off,” I snarled.
“We’re fine,” said Verdandi.
The guy didn’t move. “You really shouldn’t hang out with someone like that.”
“Huh?” said Odin.
“I said fuck off!” I clenched my fist and stepped forward.
The slayer moved closer to me, and that’s when I saw the knife. I moved to defend myself, but I found I couldn’t. My thoughts felt sluggish, like my mind no longer was driving my body. The knife came at me, and I tried to get away, but I only succeeded in turning my body. The knife sank into my arm, and I screamed. The knife burned as the slayer pulled it out, but the shooting pain had snapped the connection back into place.
I dodged his next attack and parried the following one. I threw a punch, missed, and had to pull back when he slashed at my wrist. I snarled and lunged, and he sliced my upraised arm. I hissed in pain and stepped forward to grab him. Wait for the right moment, Tony’s advice came to me, and I stopped. He lunged, and I jerked back. By sheer luck I snatched the knife out of his hand and punched him in the jaw. I felt his jaw break under my fist. He hit the ground, the knife slipping out of his hand. I stamped on his side, and his ribs snapped under the blow. He groaned and raised his hands to protect himself. I raised my foot to crack that slayer’s head like a fucking walnut.
“Raefa, stop!” Odin grabbed me.
I whirled on him with a snarl. That’s when I realized that a crowd had gathered, and I saw men in blue uniforms hurrying toward us. I let Odin pull me away from the fallen slayer, who lay on the ground moaning. I glanced at my arm. Blood had run down my arm, but, when I prodded my skin, there was no wound. My jaw dropped. The police officers were growing closer. I tore up my volunteer shirt and bandaged both wounds to cover the fact that there was no longer a wound. I was pretty sure the second slash had healed too, but there was no time to check. The police officers pushed through the crowd and took over.
#
After a long conversation with the police—Malcolm at Verdandi’s elbow, a grim expression on his face--, we returned to the bus. I refused medical attention, saying that the slayer had only grazed me. Hopefully, the police wouldn’t look too closely at the knife. Could you tell how a knife had been used just by looking at the blood? Maybe I should ask Tony; he read forensics books and magazines to make sure he can do his job undetected. Fortunately, the police had taken the slayer into custody, and that was the only reason I wasn’t constantly checking over my shoulder as we walked back. I only checked four or six times—something like that anyways.
The rest of the class stared at us when we got on the bus. Verdandi gave them a fierce look that made them look away and then marched down to an empty set of seats and sat down, her arms folded. Odin sat down beside her, still rubbing his nose, his face a mask.
The bus ride was quiet, and I was hoping we wouldn’t have to talk about what happened. My hands were starting to shake from the adrenaline, and I—I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I have always known that I would have to fight slayers at some point. I just didn’t expect to have such a difficult time of it. Before this, I had never frozen in a confrontation; my karate sensei had always said I’d been a bit overeager, and Tony had said I was aggressive. It was weird. I glanced over at Odin and Verdandi, and I felt suspicion start to grow in mind. Odin couldn’t move when Verdandi didn’t want him to follow me, and I couldn’t move when I confronted the slayer. I clenched my fists.
Once we returned to campus, we were barely off the bus before Malcolm turned and faced me, Odin, and Verdandi. “You three will see me in my office now.”
#
Malcolm didn’t say anything else until we were all seated around his table. Then he turned to Verdandi. “What happened?”
Verdandi clenched her hands together. “I was trying to get us back to the bus. Odin’s allergies were acting up, but Raefa kept putting me off.”
“Because it didn’t fucking matter!” I snapped.
“He used pyrokinesis—I was right.” Verdandi sniffed. I barely suppressed a growl.
“I slipped up—that’s on me,” said Odin. His voice became tinged with anger. “But I think I would have been fine.”
“I was worried!” Verdandi exclaimed. “Every time you get stressed or sick, your powers become unstable. Whenever I wasn’t around, flames everywhere! I was scared it would happen again!”
“You should have trusted me,” said Odin. Verdandi frowned.
I clenched my fists under the table. Her self-righteousness was starting to piss me off.
“Then Raefa had that fight.” Her guilt and disapproval hit me like garbage.
“I did not start that fight,” I growled. “You made it worse!”
Verdandi flinched.
“Ver…what did you do?” Odin said. His eyes widened. “No. You didn’t.
”
“I-I was trying to defuse the situation!”
I jumped to my feet. “By keeping me from defending myself?!” My fist slammed into the table. There was a snapping noise, and the table shuddered apart. All the humans’ faces paled.
Distress was pouring off Verdandi. “I—I didn’t know…I didn’t see the knife—“
“I don’t care,” I snarled. “That guy had it in for me.”
“Wait, did you know him?” said Odin. Concern, soft and soothing like herbal tea, was starting to replace his fear
.
I clenched my fists. “I knew he was a vampire slayer.”
Silence greeted my announcement.
“But you’re not a full vampire,” said Malcolm.
“It doesn’t fucking matter! They killed Mom—why would they make an exception for me?” Tears started to track down my hot cheeks, and I scrubbed them away. Damn it.
Odin’s and Malcolm’s eyes widened. Verdandi looked stricken.
“Correct me if I’m wrong…but your mother was human?” said Malcolm.
I sighed. “Yeah.”
Malcolm’s brows drew together. “Why would they kill a human?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not going to spend time trying to guess. The end result is still the same.” I got to my feet. “When they come for me again, I will defend myself. And no one—“I glared at Verdandi, who shrank back—“better stop me.” I stormed out of the office and slammed the door. As soon as I was outside, I hopped the wall. Let Malcolm ground me.
#
I returned to my room via the window and sat on my bed. Despite my long run through the countryside, I was tired and wired—a frustrating combination. A knock came at the door.
“Oh, come on,” I snarled.
“Raefa, are you there?” said Odin. “I mean, I know you are. Verdandi said you’re back. Can I talk to you?”
I sighed, went to the door, and yanked it open.
“Hey, uh—“ Odin stuck his hands in his pockets. He paused. Then he cleared his throat. “How are you doing?”
I glared at him.
He seemed to get it because he nodded. “Listen, uh, Verdandi wanted me to come and say sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything, Odin,” I said. “I mean other than sneeze and shoot off a little flame.”
Odin’s mouth quirked into a half smile. “I know. I’m apologizing for Verdandi. She didn’t think you’d want to see her right now.”
Huh, maybe she was smarter than I gave her credit for. I also thought she was a wimp for sending her brother. “Yeah.”
“So, yeah, I’m—she’s—sorry about what happened.” He looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“No. But I probably will be.” I shrugged. “I mean, I healed myself.”
“Really?” Odin exclaimed.
“Oh yeah,” I said. I flexed my arm, feeling no pain. “How’s your nose?”
“Oh, I’m okay. Just a little red.” He rubbed his nose—which was bright pink on the end—and trailed off again.
I leaned against the doorjamb. “Hey, why do you let her run the show anyways? Why don’t you fight back?”
Odin tensed. Finally, he said, “She’s…very good at what she does. I’m getting better about maintaining control, but she still worries about things going badly again.”
“Doesn’t mean she should get to puppet us.”
Odin scratched his head. “No. If it makes you feel better, she definitely felt that stabbing and she’s in a lot of trouble with Malcolm.”
Not going to lie—I felt a little vindicated. “Okay.” I paused. “If she knew…about me being sent away after Mom died, why she didn’t know about the slayers?”
Odin paused. “I’m not sure. I know she doesn’t get everything when she reads people.”
“Okay.”
“Well, uh, that’s all I wanted to say. Good night.” Odin turned and walked back down the hallway to the dorm.
As soon as I had shut my door, my phone buzzed. When I saw Tony’s number and picked up. “Hey.”
“That was quite the mess with that slayer today.”
I sighed. “I couldn’t move.”
“I know—I was there.”
I frowned. “I didn’t smell you.”
“I should hope not.”
I waited but Tony didn’t explain further. “Is he--?”
“I took care of him.” Tony’s voice was calm as if he were discussing picking up a carton of milk. He paused. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I healed the stab wound.”
“Good.”
We were quiet for a second. Then I said,“Tony?”
“Hm?”
“Don’t tell Dad what happened. It’ll just upset him.”
Tony was silent for a minute. Finally, he said, “I suppose that is reasonable. After all, you did not die, and the family should come after me instead of you.”
Well, that would be interesting for them. Tony was a Swiss army knife of murder.
“Anything else?” I asked. I was starting to actually feel tired now. I flopped down onto my bed.
“No, I will see you at your next lesson. I will tell Erasmus to fill that idiot Malcolm in on vampire slayers.” Tony hung up.
Well, better him than me. I put my phone away. I fell asleep without bothering to get under the covers.
Content warnings: Coercion/mind control; violence, including a stabbing
It was Wednesday afternoon, and I wished it were Friday and that I wasn’t stuck in class. Also, it was summer—why was I still in class?! I slouched between Michael and Odin while Mrs. Bines droned about Romeo and Juliet. Mrs. Bines thought she was conveying the excitement by just talking about it, but that was untrue. I kept hoping we might actually perform some pieces, but so far it hadn’t happened. It would be cool to be Mercutio, although even odds that Mrs. Bines would make me Tybalt or worse…the Nurse. The students were getting a little more used to me—I hadn’t gotten in another fight, and they were starting to see me as one of them. Admittedly, it had taken them a bit to get used to my red eyes, but there was no way I was glamoring myself all the time. I was also getting mileage out of my carnivorous tendencies—I don’t know why they kept giving me funny looks. Meat is delicious, and some of the guys eat nearly as much of it as I do.
However, the teachers weren’t sure they should let me near anything that smelled remotely of combat. My little incident with Rob had cost me, and I guess I got that. School sucked (school will always suck, and no one will convince me otherwise), but, more importantly, I was starting to get a handle on my powers, thanks to “Tony”, the tutor that Erasmus set up for me. To my surprise, I actually knew Tony—Dad had created some custom leather pouches for him. Of all the vampires I imagined teaching me, I wouldn’t have pictured him. He’s pretty aloof, but he pointed out he’d been doing his work among humans for years and knew how to handle them. He wasn’t a bad teacher, and he was very sarcastic—which made lessons fun.
Anyways, I was learning about the limits of my abilities, and more importantly I was learning how to use them. If Rob decided to pull that shit again (unlikely—I had well and truly scared the shit out of him), I now had options that didn’t involve throwing a guy across the room. It had been quite satisfying though.
I caught a whiff of peppermint and aftershave, and I sat up as Malcolm came in, his cane clicking against the tiled floor.
“Mr. Smith,” said Mrs. Bines. “What brings you here?”
“Am I interrupting?” Malcolm found the teacher’s desk and leaned against it. “I have an announcement.”
“By all means.” Mrs. Bines stepped away to stand by the window.
Malcolm straightened. “This weekend, the local family fair will take place, and the fair committee has been looking for volunteers. I thought this would be a good time for you all to go out, so I signed you up to volunteer.”
The students looked at each other. I could smell curiosity with a heavy dose of skepticism. Odin smiled at me. Verdandi stared down at her desk, her face pinched. Her usual overly neutral scent was starting to show signs of stress.
“You’ll be working in trios. I’ll now announce the groups.”
As Malcolm read the names, I leaned back and tilted my chair onto its back legs. Hopefully I wasn’t with Rob or Verdandi.
“Odin Scottsman, Verdandi Scottsman, and Raefa Taylor.”
Wait, what? My chair came down with a thump. I emitted a loud huff.
Malcolm turned in my direction. “Is there a problem, Raefa?”
I cocked my head. “I was just trying to tell if you’d done cocaine recently.”
Malcolm frowned at me, then turned back to the class. “I understand that the groups were not maybe what you expected, but you will have time to explore the fair either by yourself or friends. I hope you all will enjoy this. I do expect you all to stay in control of your powers and be good representatives of the school.”
“When’s the fair?” asked Maia.
“This Saturday. We will leave early and take the van to the fair.”
The class resigned itself to intrigued muttering. I was torn between excitement and annoyance. On the one hand, the fair could be fun. It would be nice to go somewhere other than one of the school buildings and the surrounding countryside. I could get over the wall with ease, but I tried to limit my wanderings so that no one would catch onto it. On the other hand, I would have to deal with Verdandi. Peachy.
“I expect to see all of you to do well,” said Malcolm. He turned and nodded to Mrs. Bines. “Thank you.”
Mrs. Bines waited until he had left the room before resuming class
On Saturday, we woke up at six in the friggin’ morning and had a quick breakfast. The bus ride was a stately trip through the countryside. The mix of hormones that ordinarily would have been slightly unpleasant was thankfully not problematic as everyone fell asleep. I watched the cornfields go past until my own eyes drooped, and I too fell asleep. I woke up when the bus stopped and the doors popped open. I could smell fresh grass, animals, people, and food. I sprang to my feet before anyone else could react and was out the door.
“Raefa, wait!” Malcolm and Verdandi exclaimed at the same time. I stopped at the back end of the bus and took in the fair. Colorful tents and stands formed long rows, and the smell of sugar, meat, and pastries were on the air. I could hear the excited shrieks of children and the grunts and snorts of animals. I also thought I heard baaing. Ooo, that meant sheep. I like sheep. The sun was shining in a bright blue cloudless sky, and there was a faint breeze.
Verdandi and Odin joined me. Odin smiled at me and then turned his head away to sneeze. Verdandi shot him a nervous look. When he turned his head back, Odin’s eyes were red, and his nose ran.
“Oh, dude, allergies?” I asked.
“Yeah,” said Odin. He pulled a bandana out of his jeans pocket and blew his nose. “I can’t believe I forgot to take my allergy meds.”
“Odin!” exclaimed Verdandi.
“Oh come off it, Ver,” I said. “He’ll be fine.”
Verdandi glared at me. “Don’t call me Ver.”
“Odin calls you Ver.”
“He’s my brother.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Veeeeeeeeeeeerdandi.” She glared at me. The other kids were pairing up into their groups and heading toward the fairgrounds. I looked back at my groupmates. “What are we doing anyways?”
The class followed Malcolm to the center for the fair; there was a bright orange and blue tent. Malcolm had the other groups get their assignments before taking my group aside.
“I admit, I have some doubts with this group,” he said. “But I think your dynamic could really be beneficial to all of you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Nobody else wants to deal with Verdandi, right?”
Malcolm gave me a reproving look. I put a hand on my hip and stared him down. He sighed. “You all have challenges that are counterbalanced by your companions. I think you could learn a lot from one another.” He looked at Odin and me. “I know you two have been getting along quite well.”
“We’ll try, Malcolm,” Verdandi said in an earnest voice that didn’t hint at any of her usual disapproval of me. I rolled my eyes. Teacher’s pet.
#
The volunteer coordinator assigned Odin, Verdandi, and me to face painting. Verdandi’s face pinched a bit when we arrived at the row of metal tables, which was already packed with kids and volunteers. We had each been given a bright blue shirt that said “Iowa Family Fair”, and we pulled it on over our regular clothes. The sleeves of my long-sleeved red wicking top poked out of the sleeves and covered my arms. Sunburn sucks, and I burn badly.
The leader of the face-painting table was a thirty something year old woman, who smelled like flower blossoms and fruit, a rather potent combination that made me wrinkle my nose. Pretty sure the flower smell was from some kind of lotion. Odin sneezed again, and Verdandi shot him another worried look. The leader introduced herself as Andrea and then showed us the standard designs-balloons, puppies kitties, and unicorns—among other things and told us to do our best. We were also allowed to improvise if children asked us, and we wanted to try. The expression on Verdandi’s face suggested that she was not going to be up for improvising.
We relieved three other volunteers, and soon each of us were hard at work. I painted kitties and puppies on many kids’ cheeks. I gave one kid tiger stripes, carefully alternating orange and black lines while the kid excitedly chattered to me about tigers and their camouflage and hunting abilities. So I shared the story about the man-eating tigers that I had seen on a documentary. The kid’s eyes got big as I described how humans had encroached on the tigers’ habitat and livelihood. So the tigers had started hunting them.
When I finished the stripes, he sprang to his feet and said, “Mom, Sandy ‘roaches on my territory. I’m going to eat her!”
His mom sighed. “You are not eating your sister.”
I could smell Verdandi’s annoyance, and, when I turned, she glared at me. I bared my teeth at her and turned to glance at Odin, who was chatting happily to a kid wearing a robot shirt. Odin smiled as the kid told him all about Optimus Prime and Megatron; his delight didn’t falter when the kid asked him to paint Optimus Prime and pointed to the robot on his shirt.
Meanwhile Verdandi was painting a butterfly on a little girl with pigtails that sprouted out of her head. As she painted a purple wing, Verdandi said, “I can say purple in Spanish. Can you say purple in Spanish?”
“Purple in Spanish!” The girl exclaimed, and both Odin and I snorted laughter.
Verdandi glared at the girl, annoyance coming off her. “No, it’s morada!”
“Oh, okay,” said the girl. She didn’t sound that impressed.
I cackled. This was fun. Being outside in the nice breeze with these children was fun, and the paint didn’t really smell that bad. It was also kind of wonderful watching Verdandi try to deal with children.
A boy with curly brown hair and a pink and purple t-shirt asked Verdandi to paint a unicorn on his cheek and then asked why she wasn’t smiling.
“I’m concentrating,” she said in a frosty voice. She kept painting.
“Oh, you look like that angry fashion lady from The Incredibles.”
“What?” Verdandi exclaimed.
“Come on, Ver, it’s a movie,” said Odin.
“Yeah, Ver,” I replied, and she glared at me.
Another girl came and sat in front of me. Her light brown hair was pulled into a long ponytail, and she had a round face and body. She was wearing a t-shirt that had Hamn’s Dojo and a person doing a leaping side kick on the front.
I grinned at her. “What do you want?”
She studied the list of options. “Can I have balloons please?”
She chose blue, pink, and purple for her balloons, and I got to work. As I painted her blue balloon, I said, “So, you take karate?”
“Taekwondo,” she corrected me. She gripped her legs with her hands and held herself still while I filled in the blue balloon and then used white paint to create a string.
“Yeah? You like it?”
“It’s okay. It’s supposed to help me feel more confident with bullies.”
“Dude, you want to know a good way to deal with bullies?” I started painting her pink balloon.
She glared at me. “Are you going to say ignore them?”
“What? Fuu-dge no.” I finished the balloon. “You should totally make them think they have the upper hand and then deal them a devastating strike.”
“Raefa!” said Verdandi sharply. Odin sneezed again, and Verdandi’s stress escalated.
I ignored Verdandi. The girl was looking at me with both confusion and interest. “Also, you should use your hips when you punch. You’ll hit harder that way.” I stood up and demonstrated. Then I sat back down and finished the last balloon. “There you go—all done!”
“Thanks!” She jumped up and hurried off.
“Raefa, why would you tell a kid that?” demanded Verdandi.
I raised my eyebrows. “What? I’m not wrong.”
“That’s not the point! You shouldn’t be encouraging violence!”
“I’m not going to lie to a kid.”
She shook her head. “Ignoring bullies is far better.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“So you think giving people PTSD is appropriate?”
“Okay, guys!” said Odin before I could respond. “That’s enough!” He sneezed again, and Verdandi’s brows contracted.
“Odin, are you okay?” she asked. “Maybe we should go back to the bus.”
“Yeah, ugh, allergies are really bad.” He blew his nose, but, when he lowered his bandana, he was smiling. “But I’m having fun.”
#
After our shift was done, the volunteer coordinator rewarded us with food vouchers; my face instantly split into such a large grin that the coordinator might have caught a glimpse of my canines. She definitely looked a little unnerved. We took off our volunteer shirts and headed for the food booths. I could smell chicken, delicious fried treats, and so much more. I helped myself to two large chicken legs, which came with biscuits, and a couple of hot dogs while Verdandi got a chicken sandwich and Odin got a burger and funnel cake. We walked along the row of stalls and into the area with the animals. The scent of livestock was stronger here, and many of the pens were surrounded by small groups of people. I smiled as I crammed my food into my face.
“Odin, I think we should go back to the bus,” said Verdandi. She smelled tired and stressed.
“I’m fine.” Odin said.
“But—“
“Stop being a killjoy. We never get out,” I said. A faint baaing reached me, and my pulse quickened. I started to scan the area for the source of the sound.
Verdandi puts her fists on her hips. “Odin! We need to go back.”
“No,” Odin said. “That’s the point of being at Malcolm’s School—so we don’t have to act like this.”
“But—“
I spotted an enclosure full of white wooly bodies.
“Sheep!” I shouted and took off. The sheep fence soon loomed before me, and I sprang over it, landing with a thump on the other side. A man in overalls and a faded red baseball cap stared at me as did the group of small children who were petting the sheep inside the pen.
“Well, hun, you could have just walked around to the gate,” the man in overalls said.
I ignored him and crouched down in front of one of the lambs. The lamb held still as I stroked its soft body. The sun kissed the top of my head, and the lamb slowly relaxed under my touch. A feeling of quiet spread over me, and I carefully scooped the lamb into my arms and held it against my chest, all the while stroking its head.
Don’t you dare eat that lamb, Raefa! I jumped as I heard Verdandi’s voice in my mind. I turned and saw Verdandi and Odin standing outside the pen. Verdandi’s arms were folded, and she was glaring at me.
I would never! I turned back to the lamb and gently stroked its back. Besides, vampires suck blood, dipshit.
Verdandi’s face went red. Odin gave her a confused look and then went through the gate to pet the sheep too, leaving his sister on the outside. I went back to stroking and cooing to the lamb. Finally, I gently set the lamb down, said hello to the adult sheep, and left the pen by the door.
“Why?” demanded Verdandi after we were a ways from the sheep pen.
I shrugged. “They’re cute and soft.”
“They are really cute!” said Odin. “That was a great idea.”
“You better not come back to drain one,” said Verdandi.
I frowned. “I would like to point out that I am surrounded by viable food sources all the time, and no one has had to go to the hospital for unusual blood loss.”
Verdandi blanched.
“What the heck, Ver?” exclaimed Odin.
“You have to wonder! She eats almost nothing but meat! That’s not natural.”
“I’m right here,” I said. “And fuck you—I don’t question why you eat salad.”
“Salad is perfectly normal.”
“It’s just a gross pile of leaves.” I shivered theatrically.
Odin laughed. And then he sneezed again.
“Okay, we’re going back to the bus,” said Verdandi. She grabbed Odin’s arm, and he stiffened.
“No,” I said. I reached out and pushed her back. Her eyes widened. “He said he wanted to stick it out.” I turned to Odin. “Come on—want to see if we can find one of those strongmen games? I bet I can totally destroy it!”
Odin smiled, and we started to head toward another part of the fair.
“Odin! Let’s go!” said Verdandi. Her voice was unusually sharp, and Odin stiffened. Unease roiled off him.
“Odin, c’mon!” I said.
Odin started to take a step, but it was like he was walking into a strong wind. I glanced over at Verdandi, who was frowning, her eyes locked on Odin’s back. Odin tried to walk again, but made no progress.
“Ver—“he said softly.
“You know it’s for the best,” she said.
“I—“Odin’s shoulders slumped.
I stepped into Verdandi’s line of sight. “What the hell?”
Verdandi glared at me. “I’m just worried about him.”
“He has allergies! There’s nothing to worry about! If you want to go hide on the fucking bus, then do it!”
“You don’t understand anything about him,” snapped Verdandi.
“Guys, stop it!” Odin exclaimed.
I shoved my face into hers. “Maia said you were a bitch, but mind controlling your own brother is pretty low, even for you.”
“Don’t mention powers here!”
I waved my hands. “Powers! Powers!”
“Guys!” Odin said in a panicked voice. “You shouldn’t figh—“He sneezed, and a spark of flame appeared in front of his face.
Both Verdandi and Odin stared at one another with horrified expressions. I laughed. Verdandi shot me a glare, and she moved Odin to a side part of the fair, far from the rest of the fair. I followed them. As soon as we were out of the way, Verdandi turned on me.
“This is your fault.”
“Why?” I snarled.
“I could have salvaged this! Do you want us to get in trouble?”
“It was a tiny flame! And it was an accident—it’s not like he burned down a tent or something.”
“I-it’s true,” said Odin. He rubbed his nose, a pained expression on his face. Had he burned his nose?
Verdandi actually stamped her foot. “That’s not the point! Why didn’t you listen to me?!”
I laughed. “Like I’d listen to you.”
That’s when I smelled it. Most natural scents are lovely even if others think they’re nasty, but this particular odor was like a mix of bleach and perfume overlaid with blood. I turned and saw a guy with brown hair cut short. He looked normal—like any other teen at the fair. But the smell was coming from him. I knew that smell. I clenched my fists.
“Is that guy giving you trouble?” the vampire slayer asked Verdandi and Odin.
“Fuck off,” I snarled.
“We’re fine,” said Verdandi.
The guy didn’t move. “You really shouldn’t hang out with someone like that.”
“Huh?” said Odin.
“I said fuck off!” I clenched my fist and stepped forward.
The slayer moved closer to me, and that’s when I saw the knife. I moved to defend myself, but I found I couldn’t. My thoughts felt sluggish, like my mind no longer was driving my body. The knife came at me, and I tried to get away, but I only succeeded in turning my body. The knife sank into my arm, and I screamed. The knife burned as the slayer pulled it out, but the shooting pain had snapped the connection back into place.
I dodged his next attack and parried the following one. I threw a punch, missed, and had to pull back when he slashed at my wrist. I snarled and lunged, and he sliced my upraised arm. I hissed in pain and stepped forward to grab him. Wait for the right moment, Tony’s advice came to me, and I stopped. He lunged, and I jerked back. By sheer luck I snatched the knife out of his hand and punched him in the jaw. I felt his jaw break under my fist. He hit the ground, the knife slipping out of his hand. I stamped on his side, and his ribs snapped under the blow. He groaned and raised his hands to protect himself. I raised my foot to crack that slayer’s head like a fucking walnut.
“Raefa, stop!” Odin grabbed me.
I whirled on him with a snarl. That’s when I realized that a crowd had gathered, and I saw men in blue uniforms hurrying toward us. I let Odin pull me away from the fallen slayer, who lay on the ground moaning. I glanced at my arm. Blood had run down my arm, but, when I prodded my skin, there was no wound. My jaw dropped. The police officers were growing closer. I tore up my volunteer shirt and bandaged both wounds to cover the fact that there was no longer a wound. I was pretty sure the second slash had healed too, but there was no time to check. The police officers pushed through the crowd and took over.
#
After a long conversation with the police—Malcolm at Verdandi’s elbow, a grim expression on his face--, we returned to the bus. I refused medical attention, saying that the slayer had only grazed me. Hopefully, the police wouldn’t look too closely at the knife. Could you tell how a knife had been used just by looking at the blood? Maybe I should ask Tony; he read forensics books and magazines to make sure he can do his job undetected. Fortunately, the police had taken the slayer into custody, and that was the only reason I wasn’t constantly checking over my shoulder as we walked back. I only checked four or six times—something like that anyways.
The rest of the class stared at us when we got on the bus. Verdandi gave them a fierce look that made them look away and then marched down to an empty set of seats and sat down, her arms folded. Odin sat down beside her, still rubbing his nose, his face a mask.
The bus ride was quiet, and I was hoping we wouldn’t have to talk about what happened. My hands were starting to shake from the adrenaline, and I—I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I have always known that I would have to fight slayers at some point. I just didn’t expect to have such a difficult time of it. Before this, I had never frozen in a confrontation; my karate sensei had always said I’d been a bit overeager, and Tony had said I was aggressive. It was weird. I glanced over at Odin and Verdandi, and I felt suspicion start to grow in mind. Odin couldn’t move when Verdandi didn’t want him to follow me, and I couldn’t move when I confronted the slayer. I clenched my fists.
Once we returned to campus, we were barely off the bus before Malcolm turned and faced me, Odin, and Verdandi. “You three will see me in my office now.”
#
Malcolm didn’t say anything else until we were all seated around his table. Then he turned to Verdandi. “What happened?”
Verdandi clenched her hands together. “I was trying to get us back to the bus. Odin’s allergies were acting up, but Raefa kept putting me off.”
“Because it didn’t fucking matter!” I snapped.
“He used pyrokinesis—I was right.” Verdandi sniffed. I barely suppressed a growl.
“I slipped up—that’s on me,” said Odin. His voice became tinged with anger. “But I think I would have been fine.”
“I was worried!” Verdandi exclaimed. “Every time you get stressed or sick, your powers become unstable. Whenever I wasn’t around, flames everywhere! I was scared it would happen again!”
“You should have trusted me,” said Odin. Verdandi frowned.
I clenched my fists under the table. Her self-righteousness was starting to piss me off.
“Then Raefa had that fight.” Her guilt and disapproval hit me like garbage.
“I did not start that fight,” I growled. “You made it worse!”
Verdandi flinched.
“Ver…what did you do?” Odin said. His eyes widened. “No. You didn’t.
”
“I-I was trying to defuse the situation!”
I jumped to my feet. “By keeping me from defending myself?!” My fist slammed into the table. There was a snapping noise, and the table shuddered apart. All the humans’ faces paled.
Distress was pouring off Verdandi. “I—I didn’t know…I didn’t see the knife—“
“I don’t care,” I snarled. “That guy had it in for me.”
“Wait, did you know him?” said Odin. Concern, soft and soothing like herbal tea, was starting to replace his fear
.
I clenched my fists. “I knew he was a vampire slayer.”
Silence greeted my announcement.
“But you’re not a full vampire,” said Malcolm.
“It doesn’t fucking matter! They killed Mom—why would they make an exception for me?” Tears started to track down my hot cheeks, and I scrubbed them away. Damn it.
Odin’s and Malcolm’s eyes widened. Verdandi looked stricken.
“Correct me if I’m wrong…but your mother was human?” said Malcolm.
I sighed. “Yeah.”
Malcolm’s brows drew together. “Why would they kill a human?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not going to spend time trying to guess. The end result is still the same.” I got to my feet. “When they come for me again, I will defend myself. And no one—“I glared at Verdandi, who shrank back—“better stop me.” I stormed out of the office and slammed the door. As soon as I was outside, I hopped the wall. Let Malcolm ground me.
#
I returned to my room via the window and sat on my bed. Despite my long run through the countryside, I was tired and wired—a frustrating combination. A knock came at the door.
“Oh, come on,” I snarled.
“Raefa, are you there?” said Odin. “I mean, I know you are. Verdandi said you’re back. Can I talk to you?”
I sighed, went to the door, and yanked it open.
“Hey, uh—“ Odin stuck his hands in his pockets. He paused. Then he cleared his throat. “How are you doing?”
I glared at him.
He seemed to get it because he nodded. “Listen, uh, Verdandi wanted me to come and say sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything, Odin,” I said. “I mean other than sneeze and shoot off a little flame.”
Odin’s mouth quirked into a half smile. “I know. I’m apologizing for Verdandi. She didn’t think you’d want to see her right now.”
Huh, maybe she was smarter than I gave her credit for. I also thought she was a wimp for sending her brother. “Yeah.”
“So, yeah, I’m—she’s—sorry about what happened.” He looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“No. But I probably will be.” I shrugged. “I mean, I healed myself.”
“Really?” Odin exclaimed.
“Oh yeah,” I said. I flexed my arm, feeling no pain. “How’s your nose?”
“Oh, I’m okay. Just a little red.” He rubbed his nose—which was bright pink on the end—and trailed off again.
I leaned against the doorjamb. “Hey, why do you let her run the show anyways? Why don’t you fight back?”
Odin tensed. Finally, he said, “She’s…very good at what she does. I’m getting better about maintaining control, but she still worries about things going badly again.”
“Doesn’t mean she should get to puppet us.”
Odin scratched his head. “No. If it makes you feel better, she definitely felt that stabbing and she’s in a lot of trouble with Malcolm.”
Not going to lie—I felt a little vindicated. “Okay.” I paused. “If she knew…about me being sent away after Mom died, why she didn’t know about the slayers?”
Odin paused. “I’m not sure. I know she doesn’t get everything when she reads people.”
“Okay.”
“Well, uh, that’s all I wanted to say. Good night.” Odin turned and walked back down the hallway to the dorm.
As soon as I had shut my door, my phone buzzed. When I saw Tony’s number and picked up. “Hey.”
“That was quite the mess with that slayer today.”
I sighed. “I couldn’t move.”
“I know—I was there.”
I frowned. “I didn’t smell you.”
“I should hope not.”
I waited but Tony didn’t explain further. “Is he--?”
“I took care of him.” Tony’s voice was calm as if he were discussing picking up a carton of milk. He paused. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I healed the stab wound.”
“Good.”
We were quiet for a second. Then I said,“Tony?”
“Hm?”
“Don’t tell Dad what happened. It’ll just upset him.”
Tony was silent for a minute. Finally, he said, “I suppose that is reasonable. After all, you did not die, and the family should come after me instead of you.”
Well, that would be interesting for them. Tony was a Swiss army knife of murder.
“Anything else?” I asked. I was starting to actually feel tired now. I flopped down onto my bed.
“No, I will see you at your next lesson. I will tell Erasmus to fill that idiot Malcolm in on vampire slayers.” Tony hung up.
Well, better him than me. I put my phone away. I fell asleep without bothering to get under the covers.
