Mirage (27 page)

So I’d brushed it aside and told him it was a repeat of the vision in which Patsy got stung by a bee. I’d tell him the truth eventually, once I sorted out the details.

And why not tell Matthew the truth? He was a friend, a confidant. He already knew that Aidan was a vampire. The only thing he didn’t know was that I was a
Sâbbat
, and considering the magnitude of what he
did
know, that detail seemed insignificant.

Besides, it was probably best that he understood the connection that Aidan and I shared. Maybe he would worry less about the danger once he realized that I was as much of a threat to Aidan as he was to me.

There was no reason
not
to tell him, as far as I could tell, and every instinct inside of me was telling me that I should.

I took a deep breath, in through my nose, out through my mouth, gathering my courage as best I could. “I just saw myself kill Aidan,” I blurted out.

I held my breath, steeling myself for his reaction—shock, disbelief. Fear, maybe. Anything, except what happened next.

He nodded solemnly. “It’s okay, Violet.”

“What? No. No, it’s not okay. You don’t understand—”

“I
do
understand,” he interrupted, kneeling down beside my chair. We were at eye level now, his dark gaze probing mine.

“No,” I protested, shaking my head wildly now. “You really don’t. Listen to me—I saw myself plunge something right into his heart. Saw him crumple …”

I couldn’t go on. My chest ached; my throat burned. My eyes filled with tears, and I swiped at them with the back of one hand.

“It’s what you’re meant to do, Violet.” He reached over to brush back a stray lock of hair that had fallen across my cheek. “It’s your destiny.”

“Again with the ‘destiny’ crap?” And then it hit me. “You knew I was a
Sâbbat
?”

He didn’t answer right away. He was rolling up one sleeve, exposing his right forearm. His tattoo.

Finally he looked up again, his gaze locking with mine. “Does this mean anything to you? This mark?”

“What?” I asked, shaking my head in confusion. The word “mark” spurred something in my mind—a memory. Something just beyond my grasp.

“Have you ever heard the word
Megvéd
?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “The
Megvédio
?”

Holy crap.
No.

“Don’t,” I said, closing my eyes, wanting to block out the image of his tattoo, the scripted letter
M
atop the dagger, an initial I’d assumed stood for “Matthew.” “Please don’t. You’re not. You can’t be.”

He nodded. “It’s
my
destiny. I’ve been waiting for you.”

I rose from my chair, nearly knocking it over in the process. “I’m going to be sick,” I said, bolting from the room, looking for the ladies’ room.

I barely made it inside the stall before my stomach emptied itself of its meager contents. Afterward, I sat there kneeling in front of the toilet. When my knees started to ache, I rose and went to the sink, splashing my face with cold water.

I cupped one hand under the faucet, letting the icy water collect in my palm before bringing it to my mouth. I rinsed and spit several times, wincing when I caught sight of my pale, pinched reflection in the mirror above the sink.

This was
not
happening.

I fully expected Matthew to barge in at any moment to check on me, but he didn’t. I didn’t want to talk to him right now, didn’t want any more revelations. And I certainly didn’t want any more assurances that it was
okay
for me to kill Aidan, because it wasn’t okay, and it never would be.

When I stepped out of the ladies’ room, he was there in the corridor, leaning against the wall, waiting for me. “We need to talk about it,” he said.

I shook my head. “Not now. I just … can’t, okay?” This was the way I always dealt with this kind of stuff, I realized. I ran. I needed time alone to sort things out.

He seemed to understand, because he nodded. “Just promise me one thing, Violet. For now, this has to stay between you and me, okay? I know that’s a lot to ask, but if you can just trust me on this, I’d appreciate it.”

“Okay,” I agreed. I didn’t want to tell Aidan anyway. Not yet. He would freak out for sure.

“Call me when you’re ready to talk,” he said, his voice gentle. “I swear it’s not nearly as bad as you think it is.”

I nodded, but I didn’t believe him—not one bit.

25 ~ Dude …

Y
ou’re really not going to tell me what’s wrong?” Aidan asked as we slipped into our seats fifth period. “You’ve been acting strange all day.”

“I told you, it was just that stupid vision with the bee again. It’s got me on edge. Patsy’s leaving on her trip soon, and I’m just worried, that’s all.”

“Where’s your friend?” He leaned forward, peering across at Tyler’s empty seat beside me. “He’s usually so punctual.”

“I don’t know,” I snapped. “I’m not his keeper.” I let out my breath in a rush. “I’m sorry. Like I said, I’m just on edge.”

“It’s okay. Just make sure you call Patsy each morning and remind her about the EpiPens. That’s pretty much all you can do, right?”

At the front of the room, Dr. Andrulis stood and cleared his throat. “Okay, folks, enough chitchat. Who’s ready for a slide show? Jared, kill the lights.” With one gloved hand, he gestured toward the switch by the door.

The tall, stocky guy in glasses whose desk was nearest the door stood and flicked the switch, and the room went dark except for the glowing light behind Dr. Andrulis’s desk.

“Okay,” he said as the first colorful slide flashed onto the screen behind him. “Let’s start with some impressionists.”

I settled back into my seat, glad for the distraction. We had a final coming up, so I couldn’t allow my mind to wander into dangerous territory. I had to focus, no matter how exhausted I was.

And I
was
exhausted. I’d lain awake most of the night, staring at the ceiling as it had shifted from deep black to violet to the hazy lavender of dawn. I think I finally dozed off just before the sun came up.

When my alarm had gone off, I’d forced myself out of bed, as tempted as I was to tell Cece I was sick and lie there all day instead. But if I’d done that, I would have spent the entire day thinking about Matthew and the whole
Megvéd
thing. I didn’t want to think about it, not now.

I’d worry about it later.

Right now, I just wanted to get through finals and the fencing tournament. I’d have the entire Christmas break to deal with Matthew and his revelations.

Forty-five minutes later the bells began to peal, signaling the end of class. Jared hopped up and flipped the lights back on.

I blinked hard, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the room’s sudden brightness.

“Okay, class,” Dr. Andrulis called out. “The second half of the final is going to involve identifying twenty of the paintings we just saw. Study, why don’t you?”

“I was planning to,” I muttered under my breath as I reached for my bag.

“You sure you’re okay?” Aidan asked, standing beside my desk now.

I glared up at him. “Ask me that one more time, and see what happens.”

He held up two hands in surrender. “Got it. I think I’ll just head over to the lab now.”

“You do that.” I stood, hiking my bag up on my shoulder. Despite my crankiness, I couldn’t help but smile. “See you at dinner?”

“Do you
want
to see me at dinner?” he asked with a wince. “Because I
have
grown rather fond of my limbs.”

“Hey, I’m allowed to be in a bad mood every once in a while.”

He grinned down at me. “Agreed. C’mon, we better get going or you’re going to be late to fencing.”

I followed him out, and my mood lightened a measure. I needed to just tell him, I realized. Get it over with fast—like pulling off a Band-Aid. Still, I was hesitant. Maybe over the weekend?

We parted ways by the fountain. I took the shortcut toward the gym, up the steep staircase. At the top, I paused to catch my breath.

“There you are,” a voice called out, startling me.

It was Tyler. He reached for my arm. “I’ve got to talk to you, Violet.
Now
.”

“Can you talk while we walk? We’re going to be late,” I said, shrugging off his grasp as I hurried my step.

“Forget fencing—this is important. Is there somewhere we can go, somewhere private?”

What the heck was going on? “You want to skip fencing? Are you crazy? The tournament’s next Friday.”

He ran a hand through his hair. It was shaking, I realized. “This is more important than a tournament. Can we at least go over to the chapel or something?”

I sighed, shaking my head. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. It better be important, Tyler. Seriously. If we get busted for skipping—”

“Trust me, once you hear what I have to say, getting busted will be the least of your worries. Hurry, we can cut across here.”

We veered off the path and headed through a field that sloped down toward the edge of the woods separating the campus’s neatly manicured grounds from the river. It was cold; my breath made white puffs in the air as I tried to match pace with his longer stride. “Hey, could you slow down a bit?” I called out testily, my mood going downhill fast. “And where were you during art history today? We went over the slides for the final.”

He paused, waiting for me to catch up. “Whatever. C’mon, let’s get inside before anyone sees us.”

The chapel loomed before us, its stone mass blocking out the sun. We hurried down the shadowed path and slipped inside. My breath was coming fast, a combination of exertion and nerves, as I followed him through the vestibule and down the aisle.

Tyler stopped about halfway down, leaning against a pew. “This is good,” he said with a nod.

I folded my arms across my chest. “Okay, are you going to tell me what this is all about? ’Cause this secret-agent stuff is starting to freak me out.”

“You might want to sit down for this,” he said, gesturing toward the pew.

“I’m fine standing. Go on.”

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. So, you know I’ve been working in the lab with Aidan this week, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, he told me you’ve been really helpful. Thanks for that, by the way.”

He began to pace. “All this talk about a blood-borne disease seemed strange because he doesn’t look all that sick to me. Just pale. Anyway, I guess I’m a bit slow, but I finally figured it out.” He stopped directly in front of me, his gaze meeting mine. “You’ve got to get away from him, Violet. He’s dangerous.”

I shook my head in confusion, unable to follow the train of his ramblings. “What are you talking about, Tyler?”

He glanced back toward the vestibule, then back at me, his eyes suddenly looking a bit wild. “Dude, your boyfriend? He’s a fucking
vampire
.”

“That’s it?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s what you dragged me in here to tell me?”

His eyes widened a fraction. “Did you hear what I just said? He’s a vampire, Violet. A vampire. They’re, like, dead creatures that go around sucking people’s blood, in case you didn’t know.”

“Yeah, I know what a vampire is.” I was hedging, trying to figure out what I was supposed to say. Obviously Aidan and Dr. Byrne were being pretty open about it, even if they didn’t come right out and say the word. They must have known he’d eventually figure it out.

“So that’s it?” Tyler prodded. “He’s a vampire, and that’s all you’ve got to say?”

Oh my God, how many times was he going to say the word “vampire”? “I know what he is, Ty. You don’t have to keep repeating it.”

“You know?” he asked, his voice laced with disbelief. “What do you mean, you know?”

“I mean I’ve known for a long time, since last fall. Everyone knows—Cece and Sophie, Kate and Marissa, Jack and Joshua. Even Dr. Byrne,” I added, hoping I hadn’t forgotten anyone. “But listen to me, you can’t tell anyone else, okay?”

“Are you kidding me? The hell I can’t. In case you’ve forgotten, a dead body turned up on campus last week. Killed by the Vampire Stalker. You think that’s just a coincidence?”

I sighed. Of course—I could see why someone might make that leap of logic, if they’d just learned the truth. “Aidan had nothing to do with it. And Jenna … Jenna wasn’t even sure it was a real vampire. She didn’t scent anything out of the ordinary in the woods.”

“Jenna? Jenna Holley? What does she have to do with this?”

Uh-oh.
“Just … you know, that’s her gift. Heightened sensory something or other. Oh, and she knows, too.”

“What the
hell
, Violet?”

I grabbed him by one arm, annoyed now. “Listen, everyone who knows the truth—who knows Aidan—realizes that they’re perfectly safe with him. He’s not a threat to anyone here at Winterhaven.”

“Do you want to know where I was during fifth period, Violet? I was in the lab, snooping for clues.”

I rolled my eyes. “Clues to
what
?”

“To prove that your boyfriend’s the Stalker, that’s what. To prove that he’s a murderer.”

“You’re wrong,” I said, forcefully now. This was getting ridiculous. Tyler could say whatever he wanted to say, but I
knew
Aidan. He was
not
a murderer. “For all I know,
you’re
the Stalker. The attacks started happening right after
you
showed up, didn’t they?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, that’s bullshit and you know it.”

I shrugged. “Not any more so than you accusing Aidan. He doesn’t attack innocent people, Tyler. He only feeds from criminals—dangerous criminals. And even then, he doesn’t kill them, not unless they’re … they’re … child molesters or serial killers,” I sputtered. “He just, you know, takes them temporarily out of action. Thwarts crime. Besides, he would never leave visible bite marks the way the Stalker does. That’s against their code, their rules.”

“Oh, they’ve got rules, do they? The vampires?”

“Yeah, they do,” I said with a nod. “Pretty strict ones, with some scary punishments to go along with them.”