CHAPTER TWO

“So, what do we do about the boots?” Kathleen asks, looking around.

We’ve all just unpacked, and Quill is still settling in his new barrack, which is right next to ours.

“The counselor in charge for this island is Levi,” I read the small information pamphlet we got which was left on our desks. “His office is a ten-minute walk.”

I glance out the window at the dark, roiling clouds and shudder. “The wind is picking up. I’ll take the wet mud over rain any day.”

Susan sits up. “Baby.”

“You bet your sweet behind, I am.” I sprawl back on the bed.

“I’m going to go complain to him.” Susan gets to her feet. “I want my boots.”

“Put one in for me as well,” I call out lazily.

“You snooze, you lose.”

“I’ll get one for you, Taylor.” Beth smiles at me. “I know your shoe size. Come on.”

I don’t stop them from leaving, wanting to take a nap. However, not five minutes pass before I hear a quiet rap on the door.

Groaning, I get to my feet and make my way to the door, only to see Abigail standing there with badly damaged boots. When Abigail and I were Level Ones, she had a snotty attitude, one of those students whose life goal was to be a teacher’s pet. There was no love lost between us, but ever since, during a physical class, I accidentally bit her with my fangs, and she went into a coma, our relationship has changed a little. I still find her insufferable, but because I fed her my blood, it brought her out of her coma, and she’s been less of a snob to me since.

Vampire bites work as paralyzing agents, depending on how strong the vampire is. However, it is the blood of really powerful vampires that can reverse those effects. And my blood worked, something which Abigail knows.

“Here,” her tone is a little stiff. “I saw Anderson throw these in the trash bin. I cleaned them up. I don’t know if you’ll be able to use them—”

“Thanks,” I take the boots from her, a little surprised.

She shuffles her feet, looking uncomfortable. “Uh, you doing okay?”

I blink. “What do you mean?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. You’ve not been looking good these days, so I thought I’d ask.”

I don’t know how to react.

“I’m okay.” This entire exchange is really unlike Abigail.

“Oh, okay.” She takes a step back.

I glance at the boots, and it’s obvious someone went at them with a sharp object, the ultimate goal to destroy them.

“Thanks for the boots,” I say slowly. “I mean for finding them.”

“I cleaned them as well.”

“Yeah.” Now, I feel guilty. It’s like she wants me to say something. “Thanks.”

Her face falls. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

I watch her leave, wondering why she’s acting so strange. She was almost nice.

Wary, I wait until she’s out of sight before I close the door.

I stare at the boots. “Sturdy little things, aren’t you? You two survived a whole massacre.”

Amused by my own joke, I chuckle, setting the boots aside. If Beth brings me a pair, these are going to be my back up boots.

***

Since we are now on the Level Two island, we have to get up a half hour earlier to make it to the mess for breakfast. But the crisp slices of bacon and creamy scrambled eggs are worth it. I’ve just taken my first bite when I see a familiar face.

Jesse.

He’s standing with two other Level Threes, grinning.

The sight of him smiling, like my insides are not all torn up, like my whole life hasn’t just been turned upside down, makes my appetite wither away and die.

A part of me wants to get up and go up to him, to figure out what his problem is with me, why he put me through the wringer. I’m halfway out of my seat when I feel a hand holding my wrist under the table, preventing me from moving.

My head whips to the side to see Quill eating his scrambled eggs, his eyes hard. He doesn’t even look at me, his eyes on his plate. Under the conversation flowing around the table, he murmurs, “Don’t. Don’t be that person.”

I go still, and Quill gives me a one-armed hug under the guise of stealing a piece of bacon off my plate. This time when I glance at Jesse, he’s looking right back at me, a strange frown on his face as he looks at me and Quill. When his gaze meets mine, he turns his head away.

My heart twists in my chest.

Don’t be that person.

I tear my own gaze away and look back down at my food, my heart heavy. Nothing looks appealing anymore.

“Nobody is worth running after,” Quill murmurs.

I’ve seldom seen this serious side of him. However, his words pierce.

Do I really want to be that girl?

What will I even say if I come face to face with him?

Why did you abandon me when I needed you?

Can’t you see that I’m hurting?

Do I really want to beg for his affection?

My smile is mirthless as I look down at my eggs. Grabbing my fork, I shovel in a mouthful of eggs.

No.

***

The schedules for the Level Two students are more relaxed. After our daily classes, we have one physical class per day.

Our first trial class is just an oral revision of what our species are, and we are grouped into pairs for hand-to-hand combat. Beth and Quill are paired off since they’re both werewolves. I’m paired off with a guy named Timothy, who I’ve seen around.

He’s quiet and seems a little uncertain.

However, he’s fast and lands more blows than I can even fathom. By the end of the session, I’m out of breath, and he’s not even broken a sweat.

“How did you learn to fight like that?” I demand, taking his offered hand as he pulls me to my feet.

“My gramps was a wrestler. Taught me a few moves.”

He’s not bad looking, his round glasses giving him a nerdish appearance.

“You’re not bad yourself,” he adds when the silence stretches on for a little too long.

“Thanks.” I glance over my shoulder at where Quill is talking to Beth, who is beaming. “Are you heading to the mess now?”

Timothy shrugs. “I was thinking of checking out the library.”

“There’s a library here?” I blink.

I heard of one, but it was just a fleeting mention in some other conversation, and it wasn’t like I had been looking for any information at that time. But now?

“Where is it?”

Timothy looks around. “It’s supposed to be a twenty-minute walk from our barracks. I got a map from Counselor Levi.”

“Mind if I come along?”

Timothy looks at me surprised. “You want to check out a library?”

At this point, Quill and Beth have joined us, and they both gape at me, making me feel a little self-conscious.

Beth gives me a wary look. “I’ve never even seen you pick up a book from our curriculum. You make me give you the short summaries.”

“What’s wrong with wanting to check out the library?” I try not to get flustered. “I want to explore this island a little.”

Quill gives me a doubtful look. “You?”

I glare at him. “Nobody’s inviting you, Quill.”

“So, you’re going to go off on your own then?” Quill looks at Timothy with a suspicious gaze. “With this person you’ve never said two words to before?”

Before I can say anything, he blurts out, “We’re coming with you.”

Timothy looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than here.

“Look, she asked, okay? I don’t mind going by myself.”

“I want to check out this library,” I insist. “You guys go on ahead. We’re done for the day anyway. I’ll see you back at the mess.”

“The heck you will,” Quill laces his arm with mine. “You don’t know this place. It has swamp monster written all over it. Come on. We’ll go with you. Besides, maybe it’s time I see what a library looks like on the inside.”

Susan and Kathleen end up joining us as well, wanting to explore the island.

Despite the cold weather, it’s humid as well. Unlike the previous two islands, the Level Two island has no marked trail. We have to move through the marsh and forest and follow the map. Timothy, however, has chalk in his pocket which he uses to mark the trees.

It takes us more than twenty minutes, but when we do reach the library, I blink in awe.

It’s a massive building with a well-maintained pathway and garden, a circular fountain just in front of it. Despite the humidity, there are a few students lingering about.

As soon as we enter, we come face to face with a long, oval desk where a beady-eyed elderly woman is sitting, her grey hair in frizzy curls and her eyes covered with a pair of cat-eye glasses. The name plaque on the desk reads “Lorette Heevan.”

“Let’s spread out,” I murmur. Timothy is already gone, and Quill is about to protest when his eyes fall on something in the corner.

“Wait, are those comics?!”

I’ve never seen such excitement in his face as he abandons us without a second thought.

“I wonder if they have some detective novels,” Susan looks curious, approaching the librarian while Beth follows, wanting to know the same about romance books.

That just leaves me and Kathleen.

“You can go look for whatever it is you want.” Kathleen smiles at me. “I’m going to poke my nose around for some gardening books.”

“I wasn’t—” I stammer out, but she’s already gone.

I want to know about the Blood Moon Hybrid. There has to be some information around here. But I don’t even know where to begin.

Hesitating, I look at Susan and Beth hurrying off in some random direction, and I glance at the librarian, who’s now watching me suspiciously.

“What are you looking for?” Her voice is raspy.

I approach her desk and make sure to keep my voice low, “Um, do you have anything on the Blood Moon Hybrids?”

Her entire expression changes in an instant. “Why do you want to know about them?”

Her eyes are curious now, almost wary.

I try to shrug, not sure if I am able to fool her. “Just curious. I heard about them.”

“Sure you did,” her eyes don’t waver from my face.

She studies me for a moment before taking out a key and sliding it over to me. “Use the system in there to search for what you want. All books pertaining to that creature are in the forbidden section. You can’t take any book out of there, and I want the key returned. Am I clear, Miss Night?”

I jerk when she uses my surname, and her tiny smirk creeps me out.

“S-Sure. No problem.”

“Down the hall, to the left,” she instructs. “Go straight. It’s a glass door.”

I follow her instructions and find myself in a large, rectangular room. The place has a musty smell to it. I look around, overwhelmed. How am I supposed to find anything in this place. The books reach the ceiling.

I see an old-fashioned computer sitting just next to the door, and I make my way over there. It’s already open to the search engine, and I type in “Blood Moon Hybrid.” The system is old and slow, and it takes a couple of minutes for the book titles to begin showing up.

There aren’t many books out there, and to my dismay, most of them are references, casual mentions. The few books bearing the title are mostly by one author, a C. J. Lowenstein.

Going by instinct, I reverse search the author’s name, only to realize that all his works are on the Blood Moon Hybrid. He’s written a couple of books. Choosing the first one on the list, I try to check where it is only to find out that it’s been checked out.

A couple of months ago.

So much for the books not leaving the premises, I muse to myself, looking for who else was so interested in the Blood Moon Hybrids.

My hand stills over the keyboard when I see a far too familiar name.

Rachel Adkins.

“No,” I breathe, anxiously, my fingers moving over the keyboard quickly now. But as I type in the names of the books listed on the side, all of them that are related to the Blood Moon Hybrid have been issued to Rachel Adkins. Just a week before she left me bleeding in the tunnels, taking that piece of evil that’s been hidden under the vault for all these centuries.

I knew Rachel had known.

But why would she need to do so much research into what I was?