Page 3 of What Happened on Roslyn Street? (Strode University #1)

Chapter Two

T he heavy door closes behind me, and in a flash, it opens again.

The door isn’t heavy for her , of course. Margaux shows no sign of struggle as she zips to my side, fast enough that I hardly see her until she’s breathing down my neck.

It’s distressing for Margaux to present as a vampire after years of knowing her as a human . She used to be like me. Now, she’s someone else— something else.

Margaux was raised in my world, but I’m in hers now—I don’t belong here. I know it, and the seething look on her face says she knows, too.

“Why are you sitting with him?” she asks.

I march forward without answering, and Margaux follows. Her heels click against the marble floor. Even before she let her vampirism show, she always moved faster than me.

“Who?” I try to recall the name of the man at breakfast. “Jun? I take it you have problems with him, too. How typical. ”

It only makes me like him more, though that may be the part of me she calls petty.

“No, no. I don’t have problems with him; he has problems with me ! Jun is an awful, wretched man.”

It’s rare to see Margaux sputtering and grappling rather than plucking words from thin air. My appreciation for the strange demon grows.

“Sounds like my type.”

“You cannot be serious!”

I can tell I’ve pushed a button, so naturally, I push it harder.

“Why not?”

“Forget about Jun!” There’s stress behind her words. “Why are you here , Tobey? It can’t be just to bother me, and I refuse to think you’re following him around, waiting for him to give you the time of day. He’s a notorious jerk. He dates everyone, and?—”

“Oh, my God! Stop! I’m not here for him!”

It was a funny joke, but if I can spare the lecture she seems to be cooking up… I’ll do it.

“Then why ?” she asks.

I don’t know! I don’t even know where I’m going, ambling aimlessly through the hallways.

If it weren’t for Margaux, I would be distracted by our surroundings.

There are intricate paintings of hideous scenes on the walls—of battles, of vampires with crimson eyes, and of indescribable, haunted things.

The chandeliers drip diamonds—are they real?

Marble statues line the halls. It’s beautiful.

I hate every moment of it.

Unlike Margaux, I have never chased opulence. I chase truths, something she could never understand.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I say.

It’s a feeble retort .

No matter our history, I can’t trust Margaux. Why would she take my side over her kind? I can’t let her know what I’m doing, even if the answer is ripping at my chest, begging to break free.

“Yes! I would like to know!” She grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks. I know she has considerable strength, but she touches me as if I’m soft, wheeling me around to look at her.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she says. “Even a human like you should know what this place is.”

“I know.” I tilt my chin higher. “What? You think you’re the only magical one in our group of friends?”

“Yes,” she says in a deadpan voice. “Until proven otherwise, that is exactly what I think. Now, it’s a matter of how long it will take for the others to realize you’re a fraud.”

“You wouldn’t tell?—”

“No! Contrary to what you may think, I don’t want you to die.”

It’s often hard to tell whether Margaux is genuine or displaying her usual dramatics. In this case, I have a feeling it’s the former. There has already been more than one death linked to this school, and something tells me they wouldn’t be opposed to adding another to the list.

“Is that what’s at stake here?” The blood drains from my face. “If they find out I snuck in, you think they’ll…”

Margaux looks at me with a grave expression. “Yes. They will, especially if you… do what you usually do.”

“And what is that?” I ask, feigning ignorance.

She lets out a bitter laugh. “If you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong! That’s when you’ll anger them.”

Them ? I don’t know who she’s talking about, but my pulse thumps loudly in my ears.

She doesn’t say it like a possibility, no—it’s a fact. I’m putting my life on the line but I don’t care. Poppy is already gone, and I won’t leave until I know three things: who, how, and why?

“I… told them I’m a shapeshifter.” I lower my voice. “A werecat, if that matters to you.”

“Oh, my…” Margaux drops my arm and shakes her head in disbelief.“Of all the reckless, stupid things you have done in your life… this has to be at the top of the list.”

She walks forward, and I follow. Just like old times.

“I haven’t done that many stupid things,” I say.

“Yes,” she says firmly, “you have, but this? Do you know how rare werecats are in Maine? I’ve never met one.Not a single one! And that’s only one of the many holes in your plan, Nancy Drew. This is worse than the time you stole your neighbor’s tortoise!”

“They weren’t taking care of it!”

“That’s why this is worse!” Margaux throws her arms in the air. “You had a reason to do that. I still don’t know why you’re here, and if you’re being so elusive, I know it’s a terrible reason.”

This is the problem with Margaux’s presence. She knows me too well, but I’ve never dug a hole this deep.

The one thing I’m certain of is my reason for being here. I don’t care if Margaux agrees with me. Avenging Poppy is worth it, and getting answers means saving lives.

I continue to evade the question.

“Did you”—I lean in closer, lowering my voice—“drink the blood at breakfast?”

“No.” Her nose curls. “I like it fresh from the source. Some will disagree, but I am of the superior opinion that bottled is only for emergencies.”

“Fresh from the…? ”

My stomach flips. I regret gobbling up my breakfast so quickly.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that!” she says.

Margaux is the one leading the way now, waltzing through the hallways as if she owns the school.

“I have willing sources,” she says. “There’s a waiting list of people hoping to feel my lips at their neck, but—currently, I’m seeing a mermaid.”

Normally, this is the type of information I would latch onto. My friend is dating someone, and I had no clue. I fight the urge to question her—in detail—longing to know more of the secrets she’s kept in our time apart.

I let the questions die on my tongue.

“Seafood. That’s fun,” I say instead. “It’s good that you aren’t all bloodthirsty.”

She narrows her eyes. “If you had given me a chance to explain myself, you would have known that from the start. You don’t know anything about me, or any other vampire, because you never bothered to ask.”

“You had years to explain yourself,” I say. “A good, what… twenty years? You wasted it. That’s not on me.”

“Let me ask you this: how does one tell their childhood best friend they’re a vampire? How would you have reacted? Actually, how would your mother react? You know, the one who wears multiple cross necklaces every time she leaves the house? I’m guessing you haven’t told her.”

It’s a valid question, but I don’t want to hear it. I hardly had time to process Margaux’s secret before our friend passed, and now… everything has changed. Even though she’s close enough to share air, we’re worlds away.

“You could have told me,” I say. “You know I wouldn’t have told my parents. When do I tell them anything? ”

“I know that, but…”

“I still don’t understand how you were a vampire as a child.” I’ll admit, it’s an attempt at drawing information from her. Margaux may not be a good friend to me, but she can be a valuable source of information. “Unless you were recently turned?” I’ve already ruled out that possibility.

I wait eagerly for her answer. The more I know about vampires, the better.

“I’m a dhampir,” she says, looking away. “I’ve never been a human. I’m a vampire born from a lineage of vampires.”

“So… a baby vampire?”

“No!” she snaps. “A dhampir . Being a part of a lineage strengthens us in some ways. I’m less susceptible to the sun’s rays, I blend in better with humans, and—oh, why am I telling you any of this? You’re just going to use it to get yourself in trouble.”

“I don’t know,” I say, “and you’re probably right.”

I truly don’t understand her. How does she go from keeping secrets for so long to spilling everything?

“You’ve always been easy to talk to.” Her features soften.

From the words to the look on her face, everything in me wants to melt for her in return.

I strengthen my resolve instead.

“I’m not here for you,” I say. “I know how this looks, but my life doesn’t revolve around you. I have other reasons to be here.”

As quickly as she thaws, she freezes right back up.

“What reason could you possibly have?” she asks. “You’re a human. It’s only a matter of time before everyone knows you’re a human, and then… what? I lose another friend?”

I don’t owe Margaux anything, but the truth is bursting at the seams. I try to suppress it, my fists clenching as she speaks.

“I’m here to find whoever murdered Poppy,” I say, my voice impossibly low. She can hear, but I pray the other vampires can’t. “I know they’re here, and when I find them… I’m going to…”

“You’re going to what ?” she hisses. “Must I repeat myself? Tobey, you are a human ! You’re at the bottom of the food chain. You can’t do this alone.”

She’s right, but I won’t admit it.

Fear swells in me, and I smile through it. “Watch me.”