CHAPTER SIX

Maria sat with her friends in the pumpkin patch, hating life, so jealous of all of them. Everyone seemed to have a boyfriend but her. And the ones that didn’t seemed to have a really strong clique of friends that all huddled together.

Maria sat on a pile of pumpkins, Becca and Jasmine by her side, and she didn’t really know where she fit in anymore. Maria used to have such a strong clique, an unbreakable clique forever, the four of them, she and Becca and Jasmine and, of course, her best friend, Scarlet. They had been inseparable. If one of them didn’t have a boyfriend, the others were always there for them. She and Scarlet had vowed to never fight, to go to the same college, to be maid of honor at each other’s weddings, and to always live within ten blocks of each other.

Maria had been so sure of her friends, of Scarlet, of everything.

Then, in the last few weeks, everything had suddenly fallen apart, without warning. Scarlet had stolen away Sage right from under her eyes, the only guy Maria had been totally obsessed with for a very long time. Maria’s face flushed as she remembered the indignity; Scarlet had made her look so stupid. She was still so mad at her for that, and she didn’t think she’d ever forgive her.

Maria recalled their final argument, Scarlet defending herself, saying that Sage liked her, and she didn’t steal him. Deep down, a part of Maria knew that probably she was right. Still, she had to blame someone, and it was a lot easier than blaming herself.

Someone bumped her, and Maria slid off the pile of pumpkins, landing on the ground, and her jeans got muddy.

“Watch it!” she yelled, pissed.

She looked over and saw it was one of the drunken boys. Several hundred of her class had gathered here, as they always did by tradition, the day after the big fall bash, for this stupid school “pumpkin picking” event. Everyone knew that nobody really picked pumpkins, they all just sat around the pumpkin field, filling up on hot apple cider and donuts, while the riffraff of the class spiked their cider with gin. It was one of these boys who had bumped her. He hadn’t even realized he had done it, adding insult to injury, as he stumbled by. Maria knew him, and she knew that all those boys who drank at this age would end up doing nothing with their lives anyway, so at least she took solace in that.

Maria had to clear her head. She couldn’t stand it anymore, being around all this. She just wanted to get away. She was still so upset, and now she didn’t even know why. Losing her best friend, even with Jasmine and Becca there, made her feel at loose ends. Making things worse, she still felt a lust for Sage. Thoughts of him were driving her crazy.

Maria got to her feet and began to walk.

“Where you going?” Jasmine asked.

Maria shrugged.

“Just to get some air.”

Maria pushed her way through the crowd, going farther and farther out into the farm field on the outskirts of town, looking at all the kids holding mugs, sitting around laughing, everyone seeming to be so happy. Everyone but her. At this moment, she hated them all.

Maria made it to the edge of the crowd and kept walking, finding a lone haystack at the base of the corn maze.

She put her head in her hands and held back tears. She was feeling depressed, and she did not know why. Mostly, she thought, it was because Scarlet was out of her life. She used to text her a hundred times a day. She didn’t understand why it had all happened, either. And she couldn’t stop thinking of Sage, even though she knew he didn’t like her. She closed her eyes and willed and willed and willed for him to appear.

Sage, I’d give anything, she thought. Come here. I want you. I need you.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing sitting here all by herself?” came a dark, seductive voice.

Maria flinched, as she opened her eyes and was in utter shock at the sight before her. It was not Sage. But it was a guy, if possible even more gorgeous than Sage. He wore black leather boots, black leather jeans, a black T-shirt, a small, black shark-tooth necklace, and a fitted black leather jacket. He had gray eyes and wavy brown hair, and a small, perfect smile. He had more sex appeal than any guy she’d ever seen: he looked like a rock star who had stepped off the stage just for her.

Maria blinked several times and looked all around, wondering if this was a joke. But he was the only one there, and he was actually talking to her, and nobody else. She tried to respond, but her words stuck in her throat.

“Pretty?” was all she managed to say back, her heart thumping in her chest.

He laughed, and it was most the beautiful sound she’d ever heard.

“Come on, they’re having all the fun. Why aren’t you?”

Without waiting, he approached her gracefully, held out a hand, and without even realizing it, she took his hand, jumping down off the stack of hay, and followed him, the two walking hand-in-hand into the corn maze alone. She was so swept up by him, she didn’t even stop to think or realize that this wasn’t exactly normal. A fantasy of hers had materialized, and had swept her way. But she wasn’t exactly about to start asking questions.

“Um…who are you?” she asked, tentative, her voice trembling, overcome by the feel of his hand in hers.

“I was looking for a date for the corn maze,” he said with a smile as they stepped inside. “This is my lucky day. Maria, right?”

She looked at him in wonder.

“How did you know my name?”

He smiled and laughed.

“You’ll soon find out about me,” he said, “that I know just about everything. And as for my name: you can call me Lore.”

*

Lore walked hand-in-hand with Scarlet’s friend, delighted with himself at how easy it had been to seduce her. These humans were too frail, too naïve—it wasn’t even fair. He had barely even needed to use his powers, and in just moments, he had her in the palm of his hand. A part of him wanted to feed on her, drain the energy from her body, and dispose of her as he had other humans.

But another part told him to be patient. After all, he had flown across the countryside and set down just for her. Lore had been searching for a way to get to Scarlet, and as he was flying, he had sensed Maria’s strong feelings cutting through the universe; he had felt her desire for Sage, her desperation. It attracted him like a magnet.

Lore had spotted Maria with his eagle eye from the skies, and as he’d dove down, he realized she would be the perfect trap after all, someone so alone, so vulnerable—and so close to Scarlet. If anyone knew of a way to find Scarlet, it must be her. Lore decided he would befriend her, use her to find Scarlet, and when he was through, kill her. In the meantime, he might as well have fun with her. This pathetic human would believe whatever fantasy she wanted.

“Um…I don’t understand…” Maria said, as they walked, her voice shaky, nervous. “Explain it to me again. You said you’re like…like new here?”

Lore laughed.

“In a way,” he said.

“So like are you going to be in our school?” she asked.

“I don’t think I have time for school,” he replied.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you my age?” she asked.

“I am. But I finished school long ago.”

Lore almost said centuries ago, but he stopped himself at the last second, luckily.

“Long ago? What do you mean? Are you like advanced or something?” She looked at him with wide, admiring eyes, and he smiled back at her.

“Something like that,” he said. “So your friends are back there, at the party?” he added.

Maria nodded.

“Yeah, all of them except… Well, I’m not friends with her anymore, so yeah, all of them.”

“Except who?” Lore asked, intrigued.

Maria blushed.

“Well, my former best friend. She’s not there. But like I said, we’re not friends anymore.”

“Scarlet?” he asked, then immediately regretted giving too much away.

Maria looked at him, suspicious.

“Like, how do you know all this? Are you, like, stalking me?”

Lore began to feel her retreat from him, and he didn’t want to lose her. He looked at her, held her cheeks, made her stare at him, and flashed his eyes at her. She blinked, and as she did, he wiped out the last thirty seconds of their conversation from her memory.

Maria blinked several times, and he took her hand, and they continued walking.

Close call, he thought. Let’s start again.

“So your friends are back there, at the party?” he added.

Maria nodded.

“Yeah, all of them except… Well, I’m not friends with her anymore, so yeah, all of them.”

“Except who?” Lore asked, intrigued.

Maria blushed.

“Well, my former best friend. She’s not there. But like I said, we’re not friends anymore.”

Lore paused this time, thinking through his words.

“What happened between the two of you?” he asked carefully.

Maria shrugged, and they continued to walk in silence, their boots crunching in the hay.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Lore said, finally. “Anyway, I know what it’s like to be estranged from a friend. My cousin Lore. We were once as close as brothers. Now we don’t even speak.”

Maria looked up at him with compassion.

“That’s awful,” she said. “What happened?”

Lore shrugged.

“Long story.” Centuries long, he wanted to add, but he restrained himself.

Maria nodded, clearly feeling sympathy for him.

“Well, since you seem to understand,” she said, “then I’ll tell you. I don’t know why, like I don’t even know you, but I feel you’d understand everything.”

Lore smiled reassuringly at her.

“I seem to have that effect on people,” he said.

“Anyway,” Maria continued, “my friend, Scarlet, she, like, stole a guy that I liked. Not that I care about the guy anymore.”

Maria stopped talking and Lore sensed she wanted to say something more, and he read her mind:

Well, not since I met you, that is.

Lore smiled.

“Stealing someone’s mate,” Lore said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing worse than that.”

He squeezed her hand tighter, and Maria gave him a half smile.

“So you’re not friends anymore?” Lore said, fishing.

Maria shook her head.

“No. I like totally cut her off. I kinda feel bad about it. I mean, she’s like still stored in my favorites and we’re still friends on Facebook and everything. I haven’t quite gotten that far. But I haven’t called or texted her. We used to text a hundred times a day.”

“Have you tried to text her at all?”

Maria shook her head.

“I don’t really want talk about it,” she said.

Lore sensed that he was pushing too hard. There would be plenty of time for him to seduce her, to find out all he needed to know about Scarlet. In the meantime, he had to make her trust him—to trust him completely.

They reached the center of the corn maze, and they stopped and stood there. Maria looked away, and Lore could sense how nervous she was.

“So, like, now what?” she asked, her hands trembling. “Maybe we should get back?” she added.

He read her mind:

I hope he doesn’t want to go back. I hope he kisses me. Please, kiss me.

Lore reached down, held her cheeks, leaned in, and kissed her.

At first, Maria resisted, pulling back.

But then, she melted into his kiss. He could feel her melting into him completely, and he knew that now, she was totally his.