Page 20

CHAPTER

TWENTY

“Theo,” Mr. Hawthorn called. “Could I talk to you for a minute?”

Theo paused in the middle of sliding his pencil case into his bag.

“Sure,” he said. He kept his head down as he zipped up his bag. He felt his classmates’ gazes on him as they filed out, Felicity and Aaron among them. But also Kade.

Theo knew he should have looked at his friends. But for one stupid, knee-jerk moment, Theo’s head started turning toward Kade.

It was a slip they couldn’t afford. Not with Aaron ‘probably a hunter’ Fletcher watching, definitely not with their classmates watching. There was no reason, in the reality everybody else lived in, for the golden boy to look anywhere near Kade “Monster” Renfield unless it was to trip him in the halls. They were good at not looking at each other, for the most part. But it was getting harder. Theo would find his gaze dragging over to the rough stubble of Kade’s scalp, watching Kade flip a pencil or jiggle his leg or carve something into the table when the teacher wasn’t watching.

It was hunger, Theo told himself. Or boredom. It was the way you stare at anyone who hadn’t texted you back yet, even if the text was has M texted you about the photo , which was still a no every time Theo asked. It was the uncomfortable thrill of a secret: walking around like Theo had never had his mouth against Kade’s neck, making him bleed and then healing the wounds. Theo could smell him from halfway across the school, metal and softness and, on some days, the bitter stench of booze. The scent was still in the room when Aaron’s hair gel and eucalyptus drifted into the hall after his girlfriend.

Mr. Hawthorn made an impressed noise from the front of the class. “Great jacket today, Kade!”

“Uh,” came Kade’s uncertain voice. “Thanks, Mr. H.”

Theo couldn’t help it: he looked up.

Kade’s pale scalp vanished into the hall. Theo told himself he wasn’t disappointed, then pulled up a polite smile and headed to the front of the class where Mr. Hawthorn was waiting.

“What’s up?”

Mr. Hawthorn leaned back against the board, adjusting his glasses. He had that look that meant he needed to say something a student wasn’t going to like, but goddamn he was going to be nice about it.

“You’re distracted,” he said.

“I’m turning in homework,” Theo replied. “I’m kinda participating in class discussions. Sort of.”

Mr. Hawthorn waved him down. “Your grades aren’t taking a hit. Yet, anyway. I just wanted to remind you that you can talk to me. I won’t send you to the counselor, I know how that went last time.”

“What do you mean?”

Mr. Hawthorn held back a smile. He pushed his chest out, tossing his hand through his hair and making his voice deep in a way that was, Theo was embarrassed to realize, a pretty good imitation of him. “ I’m fine. Everything’s fine. I wasn’t crying in class because of the venus flytrap documentary, I have allergies .”

“I do,” Theo protested. He cleared his throat. His voice had squeaked on the lie. “I am fine. I’m…going through some personal shit. I mean, stuff. But things are looking up. I promise I’ll stop looking out the window during class, or whatever. I’m fine ,” he repeated as Mr. Hawthorn opened his mouth.

“But you do know,” Mr. Hawthorn said over him. “That you can talk to me.”

“I gotta go,” Theo called as he backed out the door. “I have a thing. Thank you, bye! ”

Kade was balancing on the lidless disabled toilet when Theo walked into the bathroom the next day. A freshly crushed cigarette butt sat on the windowsill, smoke still hanging in the air.

“Smoking kills,” Theo told him.

“Oooh. Tell me more, dead boy.” Kade jumped down from the toilet and stretched. Today’s shirt was a silky black button-down with see-through sleeves. Theo had never worn anything so sleek. He wondered how the buttery material felt against Kade’s bare chest.

Kade strode forward. “Didn’t wear a necklace today. You’re welcome.”

“You usually don’t,” Theo told him.

Kade raised his dark brows. “I’m sorry, did you just say you pay attention to my accessorizing?”

“It’s hard not to,” Theo said. His voice was flat, but his smile betrayed him. For all Kade annoyed him, it was impossible not to be charmed. Even before all this, Theo would have to stop himself from smiling at Kade’s biting remarks in class.

For a moment Kade just blinked, mouth slack. Then he smiled back, surprised and pleased. His cheeks flushed.

Hunger rose in Theo’s gut, huge and powerful.

He grabbed Kade’s shirt. Kade’s breath caught as Theo tugged him forward, making sure not to rub the silky fabric. It felt just as smooth as it looked.

“Right to business,” Kade said. “Alright.” He tilted his head to the side to expose the long line of his neck .

Theo stared at it. Something about touching Kade’s shirt made him remember another shirt, days before.

“Did you find your heart?”

Kade blinked. His pupils were already swelling with anticipation. “My…huh? My loud heart?”

“What? No, the one Aaron ripped off. During dodgeball,” he added when Kade just looked more confused.

“Oh.” Kade blinked again. Theo wondered about those long lashes, if they, like the shirt, would feel as soft as they looked. Not that Theo would ever find out. Putting his fingers near Kade’s eyes sounded like a recipe for an ER trip.

“Yeah,” Kade said. “I found it before Cheech sent me out. I’ll sew it back on later.”

“You sew, then? Not just knit?”

Kade leaned back to give him a look. “Who says I knit?”

“Right,” Theo said. “Defensive knitting needles.”

Kade crossed his arms guardedly. “ Everybody can sew.”

“I can’t.”

“I’m shocked,” Kade drawled. Then his gaze dropped. He scuffed a boot against the floor. “Just get your teeth in me already, blood boy. I have places to be.”

Theo ignored the disappointment curdling in his stomach and leaned in. It was nice to drink when he wasn’t starving, for once. It made it easier to notice Kade’s happy sigh, feel the warmth of his skin to offset the incredible heat of his blood.

Kade swayed when Theo drew back. Theo put a hand on his neck, burning and healing and steadying all at once.

“Milly texted,” Kade slurred. He shook his head hard. “Shit. Sorry, still coming down. Milly texted, the translation’s done. What she could get off that blurry picture, anyway.”

Theo sagged in relief. “Just in time. The game’s in a few days.”

“The game that you’ll be at,” Kade agreed dryly. “Because golden boy’s basketball game matters more than our little vampire adventure.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” Theo told him. He watched Kade head for the door, fiddling with his wallet chain. “I thought you had places to be?”

“I do,” Kade said after a moment. “Milly’s place.”

Milly had them meet her at her house.

“Sorry,” she said as she ushered them into the tiny living room. “I had to close early today. I have Dungeons & Dragons tonight, I have to make snacks and finish off some DM prep. Do either of you want a drink? I have juice and soda.”

“I’ll have juice,” said Kade.

Milly went to the kitchen. Theo sat down on the couch she’d pointed them at and looked around the living room: knitted shawls tossed over the couches, homemade carvings and odd ornaments stacked along windowsills. Where there weren’t knick-knacks there were photographs: well-dusted group photos of people tangled together in a hug or crowded around a dinner table.

Theo leaned over and picked the closest one off a shelf. Milly looked around twenty in this photo, hair shorter, face unscarred, wrist uninked, overwhelmed but happy. She was tucked in the middle of a group of teens crouched at the end of a dinner table: on one side stood a large, giggling girl with a deeply 2000s-era denim dress, hugging a girl with dark skin and a shy smile. On her other side stood two boys, one lanky with glasses, the other short and stocky. They were arguing, and from the looks of it they were enjoying it immensely. All of them had friendship bracelets. The bracelet colors varied, but one thing stayed the same: each had a tiny skull knotted into it.

Those same people showed up in almost every photo: dinners, bowling, graduation, picnics. One photo in a hospital waiting room where they were all splattered in dirt and blood, which was…concerning. Was one of them missing an arm ?

“Looks like a fun gang,” Theo said, placing the dinner table photo back as Milly came back into the room. “Your D&D group?”

Milly laughed as she set a glass of juice down in front of Kade. “No. I had one campaign with those guys, but it ended ages ago. We see each other on holidays, mostly. Are you sure you don’t want a drink?”

“I’m fine.” Theo smiled politely. “Thanks again for doing this for us.”

Milly sat down on the couch opposite them. It was one of three crammed into the tiny room. It was surprising, learning Milly had so many people in her life. Theo had assumed she was a loner. She seemed the type.

“Well, thank you for waiting. I hope I’m not coming close to any deadlines.”

Theo shook his head. “This is actually going beyond the project now,” he said. “We’re just super interested in town lore.”

“ So interested,” Kade echoed. He downed his juice in three large gulps.

Milly nodded, distracted. She pulled a journal out of her pocket, brown leather with a clip holding it closed.

“Cool,” Kade muttered.

“Thank you,” Milly replied, looking genuinely pleased. She flipped it open, turning to the latest page to reveal neat writing that had been corrected, crossed out, and rewritten below. Notes jumbled in the margins.

“So,” Milly started. “Before I start— where did you find this? I see a glass case, does somebody have a collection they haven’t made available to the public?”

“It’s private,” Theo said hastily. They’d agreed on this lie in the car. “Huge history buff. We can’t tell you whose it is. ”

“Alright.” Milly gave them a sly look that implied she knew full well they weren’t allowed to show her the scroll in the first place, then continued: “From what I can see—and keep in mind I can only see about a third, thanks to the photo quality—it looks like some sort of prophecy.”

Kade sat up straighter than Theo had ever seen. “Prophecy?”

Theo shot him a warning look. Calm down.

Prophecy, Kade mouthed. His knee jittered up and down. Theo supposed he was lucky he wasn’t jumping on the spot.

Milly cleared her throat. “It speaks of a vampire. A boy. The phrasing they use implies he’s a youth. Uh, young. He’ll be given a special title, and unique assets. Including a… beast , of some sort. And he will set the trapped vampire of Lock free from her burning prison, and help her bring her flame to the doomed town.”

Theo sat there, frozen. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to pick Milly up and shake her until the answers fell out. He wanted to drive to Cheech’s house, to Aaron’s, and scream in their faces until someone told him what the hell was going on?—

His panic spiral was interrupted by a gleeful whoop.

“Holy shit,” Kade said, grinning like a kid in a candy factory. “The plot thickens! Mate, this is so ?—”

“Thank you,” Theo said through gritted teeth. “This was…helpful. You’re very helpful. ”

“You’re welcome,” Milly told him. “Do you want me to keep translating the other book?”

“Yes,” Theo said, and stood. “We have to go.”

“What? Now? But—” Kade’s grin gave way as he caught Theo’s expression. “Right. Let’s go.”

Theo thought seriously about making Kade walk home. He thought about it right until Kade climbed in the backseat and curled over wordlessly. Not even a cutting quip.

Theo drove to the nearest backroad and pulled over, putting his head in his hands.

Kade sat up cautiously. “ Now did you bring me out here to kill me?”

“Please just shut up,” Theo said. He rubbed his eyes. “You get this isn’t a story, right? This is my life .”

Kade hummed. “Do you think that’s what the Friday thing is about? Does Cheech think you’re gonna bring about the end of the town tomorrow?”

“Why would I…?” Theo shoved his head against the steering wheel, forehead smearing the peeling plastic. “I don’t…no one’s… why would I do that?”

“At least you get a beast,” Kade said. “ That’s cool. I hope it’s a three-headed dog.”

Theo laughed miserably. “Yeah, that’d make up for destroying the town.”

Kade climbed into the passenger seat. He didn’t even open the door to do it, just clambered with his long legs smacking the seats, boot squeaking on the window. Theo glared at him, but Kade didn’t stop until he was settled in the passenger seat next to him.

“Tell me the truth,” Kade said gravely. “Do you need me to slap you?”

“Just try it,” Theo said weakly. He wanted to go to sleep so badly . He wasn’t tired, not after feeding this morning, but he wanted to lie down and go away from the world. It was too heavy. Too horrifying.

“Maybe prophecies are bullshit,” Kade tried.

“What, like vampires are bullshit? Like…like flying, and sires, and a monster locked under the town for centuries?” Theo laughed again. It came out embarrassingly watery. “The murderous vampire under the town is real and I’m going to let her out? Why would I do that?”

Theo sniffed back more tears. He hated crying in front of people. One good thing about crying black, oily tears—it meant he’d never be able to cry in front of anyone again. Cry and they’ll find out you’re a monster was a much more convincing deterrent than Theo’s usual cry and they’ll know you’re a loser who gets emotional over venus flytraps .

“This is so stupid ,” he spat. “What the hell is going on? What does that date mean, why won’t Cheech tell us anything? He helped us, then he clams up and leaves the second I burn you? What does the burning mean? Why just you? Are you, like, part of this?”

“I mean, yeah,” Kade said. “ Now I am. Wait, you mean…like, am I a secret agent planning on double-crossing you?”

“You have to tell me,” Theo snarled, voice breaking. “I’ll…I’ll…”

Kade held up his hands. “You know everything I know, jackass! Remember all the screaming in the Lemmings house? That wasn’t for show. You heard my heartbeat at Cheech’s place. Probably sounded like a spark in a firework warehouse.”

Theo’s eyes burned. He wiped them furiously, hand coming away streaked in black. He couldn’t cry in front of anybody ever again—except Kade.

“Ooookay,” Kade said, sounding very uncomfortable. “You know what you need?”

Theo looked over. Kade had the neck of his shirt pulled down, beaming nervously.

“Blood junkie,” Theo rasped. He cleared his throat. He didn’t want to say junkie . It made him feel like the latest update in Kade’s endless list of things he used to mess him up. Kade was annoyingly sweet when he wasn’t barking at you.

Before Theo could apologize, Kade stiffened and barked, “Hey, I’m helping you out . Excuse the hell out of me if your stress relief is awesome for me, too. You’re not the only one who had a shitty day.”

“How was your day shitty? You were having a great time in there.”

Kade shrugged. “You didn’t see the usual barrage of shit that happened before you hit me up in that bathroom. Newsflash: most of my days are shitty. Are you going to bite me or not?”

Theo knew he should say no. Two bites in one day couldn’t be healthy. But Kade was offering. He knew his own limits. Right?

Kade sighed, sitting back in the passenger’s seat. “Well, shit, if you’re not hungry…”

“I’m hungry,” Theo said quietly. “I’m always hungry.”

It would quieten after Kade let him feed, but it didn’t go away. It never went away except for those sparse moments after he leaned back from Kade, full and satisfied and finally warm. He wanted to forget about his hunger, about the threat carved in the dead man’s chest, about prophecies, one best friend drifting away from him and the other best friend maybe planning to kill him along with their coach. He wanted to forget about anything that wasn’t Kade’s warm neck.

Theo leaned in. Kade’s heartbeat picked up, head tilting almost unconsciously as Theo got closer.

The mole on his neck was so dark on his pale skin. Theo moved toward it like a planet orbiting a black hole, teeth sharpening in his mouth as he imagined pressing his thumb against it.

You’ll burn him, Theo reminded himself through the rising haze of bloodlust. Don’t hurt him anymore than you have to.

“Go on,” Kade prompted when Theo hesitated. “Just a little. I’ll say when to stop.”

He leaned in. Kade let out a groan, first of pain and then of slow ecstasy as the venom bled into his bloodstream. Theo pushed as much of it into Kade as he could, jaw buzzing, head full of nothing but Kade’s taste and scent, all metal and sweetness and softness. Kade’s shirt twisted in his grip as he pulled him closer.

“ There we go,” Kade moaned. His hand came up to the back of Theo’s head, not touching skin, just gripping Theo’s hair. The pressure was good. Grounding. Theo made a muffled noise into Kade’s neck as he sucked more and more blood into his mouth.

Just a little. Theo pulled back reluctantly, licking blood from his lips.

Kade whined. He pulled at Theo’s hair, willing him back in.

“You said just a little,” Theo reminded him. “We already?—”

“I had a crazy big lunch,” Kade slurred. “’N water. So hydrated right now. Go for it, blood boy.”

He was slurring. His smile was hazy, like he was on something. Later, Theo would curse himself for leaning back in. But in that moment, all he could see was Kade’s eyes, a thin line of gray around his huge pupil, the ring of blood and burn on his neck. That small mole.

Beautiful , Theo thought. “Promise you’re okay?”

Kade nodded like a bobblehead.

Theo leaned back in.

Kade let out a happy sigh. There was no pain, Theo realized. He was still under the venom’s spell.

Theo drank. Each pull of blood was like finding water in the desert, rich chocolate after a lifetime of gruel. He was so deep he almost didn’t notice when Kade’s hand went slack on the back of his head. Then it dropped.

Theo pulled back. Kade was limp in his arms. Theo shook him. Kade’s head lolled in the car seat. His eyelids didn’t even flutter.

“Oh,” Theo said, voice cracking. “ Crap .”