Hourglass

I didn’t know how any of them were. I might never know. When I chose to leave with Lucas, I’d known that was a risk I’d have to take. That didn’t mean I liked it.

My stomach growled, hungry for blood.

Groaning, I turned over in my cot and prayed for sleep. That was the only way to silence the fears and hungers inside—at least for a few hours.

I reached out for the flower, but even as my fingertip touched the petal, it blackened and withered.

“Not for me,” I whispered.

“No. Something better,” said the ghost.

How long had she been there? It seemed as though she’d always been by my side. We stood together on the grounds of Evernight Academy as dark clouds roiled overhead. Gargoyles glared down at us from the imposing stone towers. The wind blew strands of my dark red hair across my face. A few leaves, caught in the gale, blew through the aquamarine shadow of the ghost. She flinched.

“Where’s Lucas?” Somehow he was supposed to be here, but I couldn’t remember why.

“Inside.”

“I can’t go in there.” It wasn’t that I was afraid. For some reason, it seemed impossible for me to walk inside the school. Then I realized why it was impossible. “This can’t be real. Evernight Academy was burned in a fire. It doesn’t exist now.”

The ghost cocked her head. “When you say ‘now,’ when do you mean?”

“Feet on the floor!”

The shout awakened us every morning. Even as I blinked my eyes, groggily trying to recall the dream that already had begun to slip away, Raquel bounded from her cot, strangely energized. “Come on, Bianca.”

“It’s just breakfast,” I grumbled. Peanut butter on toast wasn’t worth rushing for, in my opinion.

“No, something’s happening.”

Bleary and confused, I stumbled to my feet to see that the Black Cross hunters around me were already on guard. My exhaustion told me that it couldn’t possibly be morning yet. Why had they hauled us out of bed in the middle of the night?

Oh, no.

Dana ran in and yelled, “Confirmed! Arm up, now!”

“The vampires,” Raquel whispered. “They’ve come.”

Chapter Two

INSTANTLY THE ENTIRE ROOM SPRANG INTO action. All around me, Black Cross hunters were grabbing crossbows, stakes, and knives. I slid into my jeans, my whole body tense.

There was no way I was joining this fight. None. I might have decided never to become a vampire, but that didn’t mean I was ready to join a crew of vampire-slaughtering zealots. Besides, the vampires coming after us now wouldn’t be the mad killers who gave the undead a bad name. They would be from Evernight Academy, seeking only what they saw as justice for what happened to the school—and, possibly, trying to save me.

But what if they tried to hurt Lucas? Could I stand by while they attacked the man I loved?

Next to me, Raquel took up a stake with shaky hands. “This is it. We have to be ready.”

“I’m not—I can’t—” How could I explain this to her? I couldn’t.

Lucas emerged from the men’s half of the room, his shirt untucked and his dark gold hair still mussed from sleep. “You two are not getting involved in this,” he said. “You’re not trained.” His eyes met mine, and I knew he understood the other reasons I couldn’t take part.

Raquel looked furious. “What are you talking about? I can fight! Just give me a chance!”

Ignoring her, Lucas grabbed our arms and started towing us toward the back of the warehouse. “You’re both coming with me.”

“The hell I am.” Raquel broke free and ran to the metal door, which banged as she pushed her way through. Lucas swore under his breath as he started after her. I followed them, more in shock than anything else.

Outside, the sky was the flat gray that preceded dawn. Hunters in various states of undress shouted to one another to take position. Knives gleamed in the moonlight, and I heard the creaking and clicking of crossbows being loaded. Kate crouched on the gravel, her arms in front of her like a runner and her head cocked in a way that told me she was relying on her hearing to gauge the risk. I looked out over the field surrounding us—high and unkempt with uncut brush. To most humans, it would have looked entirely still. With my sharper vision, I could see flickers of movement coming closer. We were being surrounded.

“Mom,” Lucas said softly, “somebody should guard Bianca and Raquel in the warehouse. They can’t fight yet, and they’ll be looked at as—traitors, something like that. The vampires would target them.”

From his place at the corner of the lot, a crossbow in his hands, Eduardo said, “Running away now?”

Lucas’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t say I should be the one. But somebody ought to be with them just in case.”

“Just in case the vampires get through? Best way to prevent that is by having all our fighters at the front,” Eduardo shot back. “Unless you’re simply looking for an excuse.”

One of Lucas’s hands balled into a fist, and for a moment I thought he might hit Eduardo. Calling Lucas a coward was manifestly unfair, but this wasn’t the time to argue about it. I put a hand on his arm, trying to calm him.

It was Kate who intervened, though. “Eduardo, can it. Lucas, get them in the warehouse.” She never looked away from the horizon, from the attackers she knew were coming. “We need all three of you to start packing our supplies. Fast as you can.”