Chapter 8: Best-Laid Plans

REYNA

I could handle a lot of dark shit.

Rampaging, bloodthirsty vampyres…

Man-eating, seductive Sirens…

But I was about to face the darkest thing I could possibly think of…

~Mandatory after-school activities.~

“I fucking refuse!” I shouted at Eve. “There’s no way in hell that I’m joining the carnival planning committee!”

“You’ll do whatever I tell you to do!” she shouted back. “This is your punishment.”

“You’re not even my mom!” I spat. “You can’t just order me around.”

“Maybe so, but with your dad still on his cruise, I’m your guardian until he returns,” she replied. “And I already spoke to your principal. Since you threw a party for all your underage classmates, he agreed that this was a suitable way to make reparations.”

~You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.~

“I thought we were past this,” I said, annoyed. “And what about Anya? The party was more her idea anyway.”

“Don’t worry about Anya. She’s helping Kimbringe update the card catalogue at his library.”

~Oh God, she’ll HATE that.~

“But as for being past this? Not a chance in hell,” Eve said sternly. “You need to grow up and learn some responsibility if you’re going to be on this task force.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but that would have only proven Eve’s point.

“Fine. Point me toward the fucking merry-go-round,” I said, gritting my teeth.

***

“~WEEEEEELLLLLCOOOMME~ to the Lumen High Carnival Planning Committee!” Marcy, an exceedingly shrill girl, shouted at a roomful of students at four o’clock in the afternoon.

~Fucking stab me in the heart with a stake.~

Half of the people were probably forced to be here like me, judging by the lack of enthusiasm.

The other half were total psychopaths who actually wanted to spend their free time doing something school-related.

I found out that I was even going to be here on some ~weekends.~

Ignoring everything that came out of the carnival coordinator’s mouth, I pulled out my phone and began texting Jed under my desk.

Reyna

Um, so I’m stuck at SCHOOL rn

Reyna

Doing this stupid carnival planning thing

Reyna

My “punishment” for that party

Reyna

Do u want to meet up after?

Reyna

I kind of want to talk about something

Jed

dude that sounds AWFUL

Jed

and that’s coming from someone who was almost eaten by sirens

Jed

yeah i’m def down to grab some burgers or something later

Jed

is everything okay?

Reyna

Yeah totally

Reyna

Just have some things on my mind

Reyna

I’ll talk to u later

After what had happened with Jed and the Sirens, I really felt like I needed to tell him what I’d been going through.

I wasn’t just a human.

And he needed to know that.

I didn’t know how he’d react, but I wanted to start being honest about it with the people in my life who mattered.

“Hey, you’re missing the vote on cotton candy flavors. Your opinion on this matter is absolutely ~vital,~” a sarcastic voice said from behind me.

I whipped around to see a boy with thick black hair and a crooked grin. He was wearing a worn-out leather jacket, even though the weather was way too warm for it.

A single spiked piercing through his ear gave him just the right amount of edge.

As he stared at me with his big, green eyes, my heart skipped a beat.

How had I never seen this guy before?

“I thought cotton candy ~was~ a flavor,” I responded, trying to play it cool.

“Okay, fine, you caught me,” he said, smirking. “I wasn’t paying attention either.”

“It’s easy to get distracted when you’d rather be anywhere else,” I said, sighing.

“It’s easy to get distracted when someone as hot as you is sitting in front of me,” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

I blushed as he held out his hand.

“I’m Derek.”

“Reyna,” I replied, shaking his hand, while our gazes lingered.

~Maybe carnival committee won’t be so bad after all?~

***

As I sat in the bed of Jed’s truck, munching on some greasy fries, I tried to find the right way to tell him I was a half-vampire.

~Was~ there even a right way?

“Sorry you got sucked into that after-school nonsense,” he said, biting down into his burger. “Such a drag.”

“Yeah, I really wish Eve would practice her mothering skills on someone else,” I said bitterly. “I don’t need a disciplinarian that swings around a scythe like she’s the judge, jury, ~and~ executioner of the whole city.”

“Yeah, man, that must be draining.” Jed looked at me with a grin. “Like, literally, she could drain your blood.”

I knew it was just a spur-of-the-moment joke, but it hit me hard.

“So…so can I,” I said, mustering my courage. “If I make that decision, I mean.”

Jed gave me a confused look. “Huh?”

“I’m a half-vampire!” I blurted out.

His mouth fell open, full of chewed hamburger.

I looked at my feet, dangling over the edge of the truck. I couldn’t look him in the eye. “I… I found out that I carried the gene a while back. I’ll have to make a decision on my twentieth birthday about whether or not I want to take the ritual.”

Jed didn’t say anything. It only confirmed to me that this was a bad idea. I started to get up, but his hand grabbed mine.

“That’s a heavy burden to carry,” he said softly. “I’m glad you told me. That way I can help you carry it too.”

I wrapped my arms around Jed so fast that I knocked the hamburger out of his hands.

“Thank you, Jed. Thank you for always being there for me.”

He hugged me back and lightly stroked my back.

“Thanks for being my best friend,” I said, knowing he’d always have my back.

EVE

Snow hopped down from the examination table as Kimbringe wrote something down on a chart.

I told him about my theory that Snow was a beacon, and he agreed with me, but he wanted to examine her for further confirmation.

I hated seeing my daughter being analyzed like some sort of test subject.

But there was so much about her that I didn’t understand.

“Go play in your room, Snow. I have some things to discuss with Uncle Kimbringe.”

She nodded and ran out, oblivious to just how special she was.

“So, I’m an uncle now?” Kimbringe asked.

“I suppose ~godfather~ would be more appropriate for a Deity,” I said, absentmindedly toying with a stethoscope. “Not that she’d understand the difference.”

“Yes, her mind is quite innocent and childlike, but her powers are another matter entirely,” Kimbringe said seriously.

“What’s your conclusion?” I asked, a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’d always be anxious when it came to Snow.

“She definitely has a unique relationship with the Haze, though I can’t tell you exactly what that means right now. But because of that connection, she’s being drawn to these Haze-induced creatures like a magnet,” he said.

I didn’t like that prognosis one bit. “I don’t want Snow anywhere near those things,” I growled.

Kimbringe paused as if he was considering his words carefully. “With Snow’s powers…we may actually be able to harness them and locate the creatures before they—”

~CRASH!~

I smashed an entire shelf of glass jars filled with medicinal herbs. I didn’t care that this was the pack house infirmary and the replacements would come out of Raphael’s budget…

I’d tear this whole fucking place down.

“My daughter is NOT a weapon,” I snarled, my voice trembling with rage.

“Eve, I understand your feelings when it comes to Snow, but people are dying. And we may have a way to prevent that with your daughter’s special gifts,” Kimbringe said, trying to reason with me. But it was a fool’s errand.

“You know me. You know what I’ve been through,” I said angrily. “I was used as a weapon my entire life…”

“Eve, just listen to—”

I stepped through the broken glass and walked out without turning around.

“My daughter will ~not~ have that same life.”

REYNA

When I pulled up to the house, I saw Dad’s car in the driveway.

~He’s finally home!~

It had only been a week, but it felt like Dad had been gone for an eternity.

I jumped out of my car and raced inside. “Dad! How was the cruise?” I shouted.

He wasn’t in the entryway, but Anya was, and she looked like she’d just drank an entire bottle of lemon juice.

“What’s going on, Anya? Where’s Dad?”

“Um, Rey, you’re going to want to prepare yourself for—”

Anya was cut off by Dad, lumbering out of the living room and wrapping me in a bear hug. He looked tan and maybe a few pounds heavier.

“Reyna, goodness, it’s so great to be back with my girls,” he said joyfully.

“How was the singles cruise?” I asked, nudging him playfully in the ribs. “Any hotties?”

“Well, actually…” Dad reached back into the living room, where a delicate, feminine hand with perfectly painted nails fell into his.

~Who the fu—~

A tall, slender woman who looked like she had just stepped off the ~Titanic~ sauntered into the foyer with her mink stole and her ~Chanel~ bag.

She was beautiful in the same way an unopened gift was…

~Pure plastic.~

“Honey, I’d like you to meet Blaire, the most incredible woman in the world,” Dad said, beaming.

“Oh, Martin, stop. Flattery will get you ~everywhere,~” she said in a slightly nasally voice.

I shot Anya a look of horror, but she already knew what was coming next.

“You girls are gonna have so much fun getting to know each other…” Dad said excitedly.

“Why would I get to know this ~stranger?~” I asked icily. Blaire’s eyes narrowed just slightly.

“Because…” Dad said, interlocking his fingers with the interloper.

“…she’s your new stepmom.”