Cold Blood (6 page)

“
You’re not eating?” Logan asked Cambria.

“
Hmm? Of course I am.” She reached into her backpack and pulled out a bag of peanut M&M’s and a soda and held it up. “See? Lunch is served.”

Logan shook his head. “You’re going to clog your arteries and die.”

“
But not today,” she said. “And by then, you’ll be some famous scientist and discover a cure to heal me.”

“
You can’t heal gluttony.”

Cambria stared at an M&M and sighed. “Too bad I can’t charm the chocolate into not attaching itself to my hips. That would make a great weight loss plan. I’d be rich.” She popped the candy into her mouth and chewed.

“
Charm the candy?” I repeated, raising my eyebrows.

“
Oh, yeah,” said Logan, and then stopped. He looked at Cambria nervously like they’d spilled something important.

“
No worries. Tara and I are going to be besties so she has a right to know. Besides, it’s not a secret around here,” Cambria said, rolling her eyes.

Logan didn’t look as convinced. I wasn’t sure if it had something to do with a lack of trust in me or something else.

“
So, you’ve heard that some of our kind have extra abilities, right?” Cambria asked.

I thought of Fee, with her healing ability, but she was a Werewolf. I thought of Vera instead, with her ability to locate people, and I nodded.

“
Well, I have the ability to charm,” she said.

“
Charm,” I repeated.

Cambria nodded but didn’t elaborate; like that one word was enough of an explanation.

“
And how does that work exactly?” I asked.

“
Cambria can convince people to do whatever she wants,” explained Logan.

“
Like compel them? Against their will?” I probably sounded more horrified than impressed, but I couldn’t help it. For the past few weeks, I’d seen way more evil than good, and I could only imagine what sort of destruction and mayhem you could cause with a power like that.

“
If she wanted to,” Logan said. “But she can’t. Not here, anyway. Wood Point has very strict rules about the use of extra abilities.”

“
Yeah, numero uno being don’t use them – ever,” said Cambria. She popped another M&M into her mouth. “And it’s not like I’m evil or something so don’t worry. I’ve never harmed someone with my ability.”

Logan gave her a look and she scowled at him.

“
That had nothing to do with my ability, Logan, so stuff it. Besides he was an ass, so I kicked it,” she said.

Logan shook his head and chuckled.

“
What are you talking about?” I asked, still contemplating the possibilities of Cambria’s gift.

“
Logan hooked me up with his friend Chris last year,” Cambria began.

“
Hey, you made me. And he was not my friend,” he argued.

“
I made you a deal,” she said. “I’d get him off your back if he was distracted.” Cambria looked at me. “Chris was sort of the ringleader of Logan’s little welcoming committee. Made sure he never had clean, wearable underwear. Anyway, if he had a girlfriend he’d be too busy to torture Logan.”

“
And we all know how well that turned out,” Logan muttered.

Cambria shot him a look but otherwise ignored him. “Sadly, it didn’t work out. I found him in bed with his lab partner.” She glanced at Logan.

“
His lab partner wasn’t a chic,” Logan finished.

“
Oh,” was all I could say.

“
I still say you got the better end of that deal,” Cambria told Logan. “Chris got sent home, and you haven’t had to buy new underwear since.”

Logan laughed and stretched out on his side on the grass. Cambria eyed me.

“
Are you okay?” she asked, looking genuinely concerned. “You look… lost.”

I let out a heavy breath and tried for a smile. “Yeah, I’m okay. I think.”

“
Being the new kid sucks,” Cambria said.

It wasn’t a question, but I agreed with a shake of my head.

“
Victoria,” Logan explained when I didn’t answer.

She scowled. “Enough said.” Then she cocked her head, and looked at me with one brow raised. “What are you going to do?”

I sighed. “Nothing. Ignore her.”

Logan nodded, as if he agreed this was a wise decision.

Cambria’s eyes widened. “Seriously? Nothing?”

“
I can’t,” I said. “I would get into a lot of trouble if I did and not from school. I – well, I – sort of got kicked out of my last school for fighting.”

“
You got expelled?” Logan’s eyes were wide in disbelief.

Cambria laughed, eyes dancing in amusement. “I knew we were meant to be best friends. You’re already my kind of girl.”

“
And what kind of girl is that? Violent?” Logan asked.

“
Not boring,” Cambria shot back. “Go on,” she said, looking at me.

“
My mom would kill me. Trust me, she’s waiting for a good reason. And worse, Grandma would be disappointed. And I don’t think I could go home anyway. They’d just ship me off somewhere else.”

Logan and Cambria both nodded in understanding and let the subject drop.

I picked at my food until I was sure I wouldn’t be able to force anything else down. “Can I ask you guys something?”

They nodded.

“
Why are you being nice to me? Everyone else here hates me and has no problem letting me know it. And I’ve already seen them looking at you the same way for being with me. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate it, but why bother?”

“
You don’t strike me as the type who cares what other people think,” Cambria said.

“
I’m not,” I said. “But I’d hate to see you guys getting dumped on for being seen with me. I would understand if you want to walk away.”

Cambria shook her head. “And where would the fun in that be? Logan?”

“
No fun at all,” he agreed, smiling.

Cambria glanced at him and then back at me, smiling. “If you haven’t noticed already, Logan and I are officially what you would call misfits. Logan doesn’t fit in anywhere. He’s too much of a hottie to blend with the geeks and the cool kids all figured out that he’s too smart to sink to their shallow standards. So he’s got nowhere to go. And me, well, I’m too stubborn to conform. Or at least that’s what my transcript says. They don’t know I read that, though.”

She winked at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t loud or long but it was still laughter and it felt good to let it out.

“
Don’t let her noble speech fool you,” Logan said. “Cambria likes to stir the pot, and you being here has already kicked it up a notch. Besides, anything that pisses off Victoria is right up her alley.”

Cambria shrugged, neither confirming nor denying Logan’s words, and looked back at me. “And the way it’s looking, you’re no better off than we are, socially speaking. So, you’re stuck with us. Might as well make the best of it.”

Chapter Six

The bell rang, and everyone gathered up their trash and headed for the doors. I noticed not all of the kids were heading for our building.

“
Where are they going?” I asked, pointing to two girls walking in the opposite direction we were.

“
Sophomores are in Ashton Hall, over there,” said Cambria, pointing. “Freshman are there, and those two are senior buildings. They get so much more room than we do.” She sounded wistful, and I wondered what could possibly make a school building so much nicer by having fewer kids to fill it up.

“
So all the junior classes are in this building?” I asked.

Cambria nodded. “Lexington Hall.”

I stopped walking. “Wait, what?” I knew that name. It was Victoria’s name.

“
You heard me right. Named after Victoria’s great-great somebody.” Cambria shook her head. “You’d think with all that dough they could get that girl some class – or some sense.”

I didn’t say anything. I was thinking about the comment Victoria had made in the lunch room, about having money. But she obviously had money, and I didn’t, so what was she talking about.

I hooked my bag over my shoulder, dumped my trash into a receptacle cleverly hidden between shrubs, and fell into step between Logan and Cambria.

“
What class do you have next?” Logan asked.

I dug my schedule out of my back pocket and smoothed it open as we headed back inside. “Lineage, Professor Lopez.”

“
Eww. Boring.” Cambria wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe they’re making you take that.”

“
Why?”

“
It’s a freshman class,” she said.

“
But it’s a requirement if she’s going to graduate,” said Logan.

“
Sucks to be you,” Cambria said. “But it’s on the way to my class so I’ll walk you there.”

Logan checked his watch. “I better get going. Calculus is at the other end. I’ll see you guys later." He shuffled away with his bulging backpack and disappeared into the crowd.

I turned and followed Cambria down a different hallway that led behind the staircase. While we walked, she peered over my shoulder at my classes.

“
Looks like we have math and history together, so I’ll meet you after and we can go there together,” she said.

“
What class do you have now?” I asked.

“
PT. Physical Training,” she said. “The rest of us have more physical training than you do. I guess they’re letting you get caught up in all the classes you missed.”

“
I’m sure I’ll make up for it with Alex,” I said.

Cambria shot me a sideways look, letting her bangs fall away from her eyes, and stared at me. “Alex Channing?”

“
I think so. He’s going to be my tutor. Headmaster Whitfield said I need to work with him to get caught up.”

“
Oh em gee. That boy is magically delicious.” Cambria sighed and leaned against the wall behind her, a faraway look in her eyes.

“
He’s okay,” I said. I didn’t want to admit she was right, that Alex was definitely easy on the eyes, especially after how crappy he’d been this morning.

She snapped her gaze back to mine. “Okay? He is more than okay and you get to work with him every day. I officially feel no sympathy for you. I wish I was the new kid.”

She leaned against the wall again, pretending to swoon, and I laughed. Then the bell rang and she straightened. “You better get in there. I’ll see you after. Time to go run off all this tension you’ve given me. Later,” she called, as she jogged down the hallway.

I slipped into the classroom as the teacher reached over to close the door. A short, balding man with a paisley tie and thick glasses peered at me. His lips were so thin they all but disappeared, but he managed to purse them in annoyance.

“
You must be Miss Godfrey." His voice was surprisingly deep for such a small man.

“
Yes, sir. Sorry I’m late.”

“
You weren’t. If you were, I’d have already closed the door and you wouldn’t be permitted inside.”

I didn’t really know what to say to that so I nodded and waited while the teacher drifted back towards his desk. Behind me, I could hear a few quiet snickers, but I didn’t turn. I didn’t want to see it.

The teacher turned back to me and held out a thick red textbook. “I’m Professor Lopez. Here’s your book. You may take a seat and follow along.”

I nodded and turned to scan for an empty seat. It wasn’t hard to find one. Most of the seats were empty. Only about six were filled. Unfortunately, one of the six was a brunette I’d seen shadowing Victoria. The one with lashes that drooped under the weight of her mascara.

I took the empty desk furthest from her and turned to the page Professor Lopez called out.

“
Today we are reviewing the Wilhelm line, starting with Jacob Aster. Can anyone tell me what he is known for?” Professor Lopez asked.

A single hand went up.

“
Miss Lawler,” Professor Lopez called.

A petite brunette with a French braid spoke up. “Jacob Wilhelm is responsible for coordinating and executing the Boston cleanup of 1868.”

“
Correct,” Professor Lopez said, turning to make notes on the board.

When his back was turned, a small folded piece of paper landed on my desk. I grabbed it and looked around but no one was looking at me. I unfolded the piece of paper, careful to keep my eyes on Professor Lopez. I had a feeling that passing notes didn’t go over well with him. When the paper was laid open, I slid my book over it and then glanced down, peeking underneath the book to read the words.

‘
Dogs should be kept on a short leash. Watch your step.’

I let the book fall back into place and pressed my lips together. I looked up as Professor Lopez turned around again and resisted the urge to scan the room a second time. My money was on the trampy looking minion, but who knew for sure. The entire school felt this way; it could be anyone. I studied the backs of the heads around me, until I was certain I hadn’t had a direct encounter with any of them – yet. Again, that didn’t mean anything.

When no more notes came, and no one went out of their way to shoot me a dirty look, I tried to tune back into whatever lecture the teacher was giving–something about Boston and cleaning up the streets–but I couldn’t concentrate.

Instead, I let my thoughts drift to home. I’d only been here for a few hours, but it felt like I'd already been gone for days. Did anyone at school notice I was gone? Were Sam and Angela telling people I’d left? Were they still going to the mall for girl’s night without me? I remembered the phone in my bag, still powered off, and was glad I’d thought to bring it. First chance I got, I’d call them, and gossip for as long as the battery lasted. Once I’d promised myself to call, I felt better, and my thoughts drifted to Wes.

What was he doing right now? Was he thinking of me? The big question was whether I should tell him about the message from Miles. I knew if I did, he’d freak out and maybe even insist on coming up here to be nearby, to protect me. But as much as I missed him and wanted to see him, I didn’t want him out there, roaming the woods day after day, either. The balance between boyfriend and protector still felt off to me and I wasn’t quite sure how to fix it yet.

Besides, I wasn’t convinced Miles’ message was that threatening. I mean, he didn’t even know where I was. And he’d made it sound like coming to get me was on the back burner until he’d finished doing other things. Who knew how long that would take? For now, I decided to let it go, and not freak anyone out. We all deserved a break after the chaos of the last few weeks.

The bell rang, jolting me back, and the few kids in the room pushed and moved, heading for the door. Professor Lopez ignored everyone by going back to his desk and burying his face in a paperback with the picture of a cowboy on the front.

I packed up my stuff, including the anonymous note, and shuffled towards the door.

“
Miss Godfrey.” Professor Lopez looked up from his novel and frowned, like I was the one interrupting him. “You’re coming in late, so there will be a lot of lost time to make up for. Everyone in this class is making up the work so we are on an accelerated schedule as it is, but I will need you to complete some extra credit in order to pass the class and not return to me in the fall.”

I nodded, already deciding I didn’t want to return to him.

“
You will need to complete a family tree project and hand it in to me by the end of the year. Here are the details.” He shuffled some papers around, and handed me a flyer with instructions.

“
Thanks,” I said.

“
Don’t thank me yet. You have a lot of work to do and I won’t be giving you a free pass just because you’re a Godfrey, either.”

“
Okay.” I stuffed the paper in my bag, trying to figure out what he meant. This was the second time today I’d been targeted based on my family name.

Professor Lopez went back to reading his book, signaling our conversation was over, and I decided to let it go, with him at least. I’d get my answers someplace else.

Cambria was waiting for me in the hall. “Hey,” she said, pushing off from the wall and falling into step beside me. “How did it go with Loco Lopez?”

“
Is that what they call him?”

“
That and Lonely Lopez, Loony Lopez. There’s a bunch. He’s not really loony… I think. Heony’s really into the past, so he takes his job way serious.”

“
So, Lineage is all about the history of famous Hunters and stuff?” I asked. I was letting Cambria lead the way, since I had no idea where I was going, and I had to dodge bodies to keep up with her.

“
Basically. You also learn about your own family line. Is he making you do a research paper?”

“
Yeah, some kind of family tree thing.”

“
Snooze. You should ask Logan to help you. He’s a pro at that sort of thing.”

“
Writing research papers?”

“
Getting A’s.”

*

Math and History were uneventful. Cambria fell asleep in History, while Professor Hugo – who looked like he’d be more comfortable fighting wars than talking about them–lectured about the Cold War. I guess human history was still relevant, after all. I tried taking notes, so I could figure out what I missed, and find a way to get caught up, but I was distracted; either by thoughts of home or of everything that had already happened here. Thankfully, I didn’t get any more hate mail.

When class ended for the day, Cambria and I were the last ones out. She waited near the door while Professor Hugo gave me a long list of chapters to read and a list of essays due on each one. Apparently, he wasn’t cutting me any slack, either. His thick brows knitted together and became one as he squinted down at me, but I wasn’t sure if it was something he always did, or if he already didn’t like me. I took the handouts from him and assured him I would get to work as soon as possible.

“
So do you want to hang out?” asked Cambria.

“
Sure, I–” I stopped outside the door at the sight of Alex leaning against the wall, arms crossed in a look of impatience. “Hey,” I said to him.

“
Finally. You ready?” he asked, pushing away from the concrete.

“
Yeah,” I said, trying not to sound like I’d forgotten –which I had.

He started down the hall. I looked at Cambria apologetically, who was grinning like a moron at the back of Alex’s head, and then hurried to catch up.

“
How long is this going to take exactly?” I asked.

“
We’ll train until dinner and then you can eat and have free time.” He didn’t even look over at me as he talked, but stared straight ahead at the almost empty hallway, and kept walking.

“
Until dinner? Every day?” I repeated his words because I wasn’t sure what else to say. If I thought I had a choice at all, I would have argued, but I knew that I didn’t. Just like I had no choice about anything else that was required here, just like I’d had no choice in coming here in the first place. “What about weekends?”

n hu
I’ll let you know once I’ve seen you in action.”

I gritted my teeth, determined to be good enough to get the weekends off.

I expected Alex to lead me out the front doors and back across the courtyard we’d crossed earlier, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned right and took a door that let us out in the back of the building, on the opposite end as my Defensive Maneuvers class. The door clicked closed behind us, and Alex turned and headed into the trees. There was no sign of a trail or path, and I had no choice but to trust Alex knew where he was going.

We walked for several minutes, dodging branches and stepping over low bushes, until we finally emerged onto a wide trail and turned right, following it further away from the school. Even on the trail, Alex walked fast enough that he stayed a few steps ahead of me, instead of walking beside me.

“
Where are we going?” I asked.

“
Almost there,” was all he said.

A few minutes later, the path opened up and the trees disappeared and we stood at the edge of a large clearing, bordered by tall pines and oaks. The grass was cropped short, like it had been mowed recently but it was still nice and green.