Page 21 of Ever Dark Academy, Vol. 3

“I’m not sure,” Grayson confessed. “But I’m a little leary of having any of my Bloodline attempt what I did on Jill. That might set the traps off.”

“So you think the traps they’ve put together are for Vampires and not humans?

” Fiona tapped her chin. “I suppose that makes sense. While those of us who were reincarnated were reborn with some form of our gifts, yours is the strongest I’ve ever seen.

I would say you are as strong now as you were as an Immortal, Grayson. ”

“You believe your power is different now?” Seeyr asked, lifting her chin slightly.

“It won’t make a lot of sense what I’m going to tell you, but the best way I can describe it is that your powers feel cold while mine feel hot .

” Grayson shrugged. “Yours come from a blue-white eternal flame, while mine is the red-gold of a fleeting fire. At least, that’s what I picture in my head. ”

They all looked unconsciously towards the fire that was popping and crackling behind the grate.

“You are drained quite a bit more using your powers than we are,” Caemorn said suddenly. “Your soul…”

Grayson looked down at his chest where Caemorn’s appeared to be looking and yet not looking at the same time. “My soul? You can see it now?”

“Of course.” Caemorn sipped his wine. “I can see all of your souls. Grayson’s is different from each of ours, but there is something there akin to ours too. I imagine when he is turned, he will become fully like us.”

“My soul isn’t completely like a human’s then?” Grayson asked, fascinated despite himself.

Caemorn shook his head. “No, in a way, you’re quite unmistakable.”

“So you could recognize another Immortal’s soul? Or are we too much like a normal Vampire’s?” Fiona asked.

“I could tell the difference, but it is harder to discern,” Caemorn answered.

His cheeks were a little flushed. Grayson realized that they had never really asked Kaly about his gift in the past. Maybe they had known and understood it, or maybe they had been uninterested.

And maybe Kaly would not have answered in any case.

But talking about it was pleasing to him, though it made Caemorn a little shy.

“So that’s one of the reasons I don’t want to be turned yet. My power will change and might set off the Sect of Dawn’s traps,” Grayson admitted. “So long as they think I’m just an unusual human and not an Immortal reborn, we have an advantage.”

“So Grayson is going to pretend to be a student!” Balthazar smiled at the others as if urging them to see the goodness of this plan.

“And he’s going to squeeze every person he comes in contact with, feeling for structures in their minds?” Fiona’s eyebrows lifted.

“When you say it that way, it sounds crazy, but yeah, I am,” Grayson admitted.

She shrugged. “I just wanted to make sure I understood this plan of yours. And we need to keep you from getting killed while you’re doing this? I suppose if we line them all up outside–”

“No, no, we need to not alert them that we know who they are,” Grayson interrupted. “Because their leader likely isn’t here. Just eliminating the Sect members here won’t do anything. We need to get to the source. So I’m going to squeeze people–”

“Surreptitiously?” Fiona’s eyebrows lifted.

“Ah, yeah, exactly! Dani or another Ashyr will be around me when I do it so it won’t be clear it’s me,” Grayson said.

“People are going to realize how special you are, Grayson, if we’re all around you, protecting you,” Fiona said.

“Well, that’s true, which is why you won’t be,” Grayson said. “After this meeting, you’re all going to have to pretend not to know me or care about me any more than any other student.”

Silence fell.

“They love your plan!” Balthazar beamed, but it was a fake beam.

“You all hate my plan, don’t you?” Grayson asked. “If you have other ideas, I’d like to hear them, but so far, the squeezing is the only way to determine friend from foe.”

It sounded ridiculous as he said it, but it was true!

“I just can’t imagine that Dani or your Bloodline will go along with this,” Fiona said gently. “All of our Bloodlines were scarred by our deaths, but yours… yours really hurt the Ashyr. And now you want to put yourself in harm’s way again?”

“If I don’t, one of the students is going to die at the Mirryr event,” Grayson reminded her. “And that will set back human-Vampire relations hugely.”

“I have offered to resurrect whoever it is, but Balthazar seems to think that would not be wise,” Caemorn offered.

“If we could do it without the humans knowing, yeah, but I can’t imagine the Sect will let this death be anything, but spectacular,” Grayson said.

“And in front of cameras,” Balthazar sighed. “Which we cannot kick out. That’s another no-no. Though we could erase their footage and their minds–”

“If that is discovered then we’re on a war footing with humanity,” Ryder grunted.

“So we’ve got to stop this murder from happening,” Grayson said. “And this is the best plan we’ve got.”

Everyone looked glum, which meant they agreed with him.

Balthazar then gave him a fake, bright smile, and said, “Oh, Grayson, there is one other small little thing.”

“What?” Grayson asked suspicion tinting his tone.

“Yes, well, when Caemorn and I were being interviewed one of those rapscallion reporters apparently discovered some things about your past,” Balthazar said.

“My past?” Grayson’s brow furrowed, not understanding how his past as Ashyr would mean anything to a reporter and then it hit him. “You mean my past as Grayson ?”

“Yes, they asked why we allowed a killer in our midst, and I was relieved at first as I thought she was speaking of Eiji–”

“Wait! Eiji is a killer ? Our nice, kind, grandfatherly Eiji?” Grayson asked.

“Uhm…” Balthazar pursed his lips. “Yes. But they weren’t speaking of him. They were referring to you .”

Grayson blinked. “My… my stepfather. That means… that means…”

“They’ve contacted your mother,” Balthazar said. “And she’s been asking to come see you.”