Breathless (12 page)

“The same crazy stuff Cali was talking about. Voodoo magic kind of stuff. Nothing to believe.” He turned to Leesa. “I’m surprised one of them goes to your school though. I didn’t know they mixed with regular folk like that.”

“He’s not a student,” Leesa said. “He just hangs out on campus now and then. He’s
really
cute.”

“Well, that trumps everything,” Uncle Roger chuckled. “As long as he’s
really
cute.” He scratched absently at his neck. “I wonder why he hangs around Weston. That’s a pretty long walk from Moodus.”

“Probably looking for young virgins to sacrifice,” Cali said, laughing.

Leesa pushed at her friend’s shoulder. “Stop it!” she said, but she was unable to keep herself from chuckling. The others joined in the laughter.

“Seriously, though,” Uncle Roger said when the laughter subsided, “there’s something a little weird about him walking all the way to Weston to mingle with students. I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with him, Leesa.”

“I agree with your uncle,” Aunt Janet added. “No matter how nice he is, I’m not sure what could come of it. You live in such different worlds.”

Leesa knew that what her aunt and uncle said made sense—more sense than what Cali kept saying, for sure. She couldn’t call Rave, or even text or email him. And how would they ever go anywhere, when he wouldn’t ride in a car or take a bus? She wondered if it was okay for him to ride a bike. That would be something, at least. Was he allowed to go to the movies, watch TV or play
Guitar Hero
? Her aunt and uncle were right—she and Rave did live in different worlds. But her aunt and uncle had not felt the feelings that surged through her when she saw him—heck, when she even thought about him. She wasn’t sure she could give that up even if she wanted to.

She was glad she hadn’t mentioned Stefan to anyone, except in passing to Cali as a guy she’d talked to briefly at the party. They’d be on her case doubly hard, especially if she told them that Rave said Stefan was a vampire. She could only imagine their reaction to that. No way was she going there. They’d think Rave was out of his mind, for sure. This family had heard enough about vampires.

“How about some pie,” she asked instead.

“I’ll second that,” Caitlin said.

14.  SHADOWS AND LIGHT

“
T
hey say when trouble comes close ranks,” Professor Clerval told the class. “And that’s what the vampires did. Once solitary creatures, they began collecting into covens, for protection and to maintain some kind of order, to put limits on the indiscriminate killing that was calling too much attention their way.”

“Protection from what?” asked a voice Leesa recognized. She had chosen the back row, as always, in case Rave showed up again. A few rows down to her right, she spotted the questioner’s familiar red hair. Stanley. The guy asked at least one question every class, usually a good one. She wished she were as confident.

“From us,” the professor replied. “And whatever else hunts them.”

“You’re not saying vampires are afraid of
us
, are you?” asked another guy, the disbelief evident in his voice.

“Individually, no, of course not. Vampires are much too powerful. But when people gather in an armed mob, even a vampire can be threatened. By limiting the number of victims they take, they remain in the shadows, living near us, around us, unseen and unsuspected. But you can bet that some of the thousands of people who are killed or who disappear in this country every year were taken by vampires.”

Leesa was fascinated. Ever since Rave told her vampires were real, she had viewed this class in a whole new way, no longer thinking the professor might only be pretending vampires existed. Instead, she felt he was talking with genuine authority. How he had come by all his knowledge she had no idea, but she was eager to learn everything she could.

“Speaking of shadows,” said a voice to her left, “do vampires come out only at night?”

Leesa turned and saw it was one of the goth guys, clumped with his fellows in their usual place near the back. She gasped when she saw Stefan sitting next to them. What was he doing here? He was dressed all in black again, this time a black T-shirt instead of the button shirt he’d worn at the party. He blended in with the goths, but she could tell he was not really with them. Using them for camouflage, she guessed. His dark eyes caught hers, and he smiled. Reflexively, she returned his smile, then remembered Rave’s warning and looked away.

“Of course,” replied a guy on the other side of the room. “Sunlight burns ’em up.”

“No, it doesn’t,” a girl countered. “But sunlight makes their skin glitter, which gives them away.”

“I believe the truth is somewhere in between,” Professor Clerval said. “The idea of vampires burning or disintegrating in the sunlight provides a nice dramatic angle, allowing bits like having them sleep in coffins and creating great visual effects for the movies.” He moved out from behind the lectern to the front of the stage. “According to the most authoritative sources I’ve been able to find, vampires don’t like the sun because it hurts their skin. So they prefer the night, or overcast days like today. And they will certainly keep to the shadows as much as possible.”

Leesa thought of her mother, avoiding the sun because it burned her skin.

“But they can handle the sun if necessary,” Professor Clerval continued. “And they definitely don’t glitter, in spite of what
Twilight
tells us. So you could be talking to a vampire and never know it.”

“Then how can you tell if someone is a vampire?” goth guy asked.

“Well, since they avoid the sun,” Professor Clerval replied, “they’re usually quite pale.” He grinned. “But then again, so are you.”

Leesa joined her classmates in laughter. The professor waited until the room quieted. “If you can get one in front of a mirror, you’ll know by the absence of a reflection,” he said. “Otherwise, you have no way to tell.”

“Until the fangs come out,” a guy in front remarked, drawing more laughter.

Professor Clerval chuckled. “Well, there is that. But it’s probably a bit late at that point.”

The talk of fangs presented Leesa with the opening she’d been waiting for, but dreading. She’d hoped to catch the professor after class one day to ask him privately, but he always had a cluster of students around him when class ended. Taking a deep breath to muster her courage, she raised her hand, hoping she wasn’t going to sound stupid.

Professor Clerval pointed a bony finger at her. “Yes?”

“Have you ever heard of a one-fanged vampire?” she asked.

Professor Clerval moved across the stage to a spot directly in front of Leesa and looked up at her silently, as if studying her. “You would be Ms. Nyland?” he said finally.

Leesa sucked in a startled breath. How had he known her name? Her cheeks grew warm as she found herself looking down onto a sea of upraised faces. Whether everyone was looking at her because she’d asked a stupid question or because the professor knew her name, she had no idea. Her fingers began dancing in her hair. She wished she had an invisibility cloak or a magic ring to make herself disappear. “Yes,” she managed to reply. “Leesa.”

“Well, Leesa, it turns out I have heard of one-fanged vampires. And not just because another student asked me that same question a couple of years ago. Interestingly, that student had the same last name as yours.”

Leesa’s heart jumped. Bradley! Yes, her brother certainly would have asked about it. And he probably didn’t wait until the sixth class to do it, either.

“My brother,” she said.

“I thought as much when I saw your name on my roster. I was wondering when you’d get around to asking.” Professor Clerval smiled. “Your brother was a lot less shy.”

Don’t I know it, Leesa thought, feeling as if she might melt under all the eyes still staring up at her. She wished she and Dr. Clerval could talk about this alone. That would be sooo much easier.

“Might you and I have a word after class?” Professor Clerval asked.

“Yes, of course,” Leesa said, breathing a sigh of relief. Someone had heard her prayers!

The professor ambled back to the lectern. “Vampires are thought to be models of physical perfection,” he said to the class. “Fast, strong, handsome or beautiful. And by and large, much of that seems to be true. But there are stories that every now and then, something goes awry in the transmission process when a victim is bitten. The result of such an occurrence is a flawed creature, without the powers of a true vampire. Vampires have a name for such a creature—g
rafhym
. The chief marker for a
grafhym
, it is said, is one fang instead of two.”

Leesa’s head was spinning. She thought back to her mom’s tale, to all her strange behavior. Was it possible there was some truth behind it after all, as incredible as it seemed? She was suddenly aware that Stefan was now seated beside her. She’d been so distracted she hadn’t even noticed his arrival, which was hard to believe, looking at him now and feeling his raw sensuality.

“Stefan!” It was all she could do to keep her voice quiet.

Stefan smiled at her. “Hi, Leesa. Nice to see you again.”

His accent only heightened his sensuality. “What are you doing here?” she whispered. “You’re not in this class, are you?”

“No, but sometimes I hang out with my ‘friends’ over there.” He nodded toward the goth group. “I don’t stand out quite so much that way. Besides, I like hearing about vampires. They’re fascinating creatures.”

Leesa thought back to Rave’s warning that Stefan
was
a vampire. He certainly looked the part—as if she had any idea what a real vampire looked like, she reminded herself—but sitting here next to him in class, the idea seemed ridiculous. Now, if he’d popped up at midnight in some dark place…

“And it gives me a chance to say hi to you,” he continued, making no effort to hide the flirtation in his voice.

She couldn’t tell whether he meant he was here because she was, or simply that
once he’d seen her, he wanted to say hello. She wasn’t sure which she preferred, and she was too embarrassed and afraid to ask. “It’s nice to see you again,” she managed to say, hating how lame she sounded.

“I see you have a special interest in vampires,” Stefan said, his eyes beginning to take on that same bottomless look Leesa remembered from the party. She felt herself being drawn into them. “I’m curious,” he continued. “Where did you hear about the one-fanged kind?”

“Oh, just some stories my mom told me when I was little,” Leesa said, trying to make it seem of little importance.

There was a general shuffling in the room, the sound of notebooks closing and students getting to their feet and filing out of the lecture hall. She hadn’t even heard Dr. Clerval end the class.

“I know you need to talk with Professor Clerval,” Stefan said. “It was good to see you again, Leesa.”

They stood up. “You too,” Leesa replied.

“Maybe next time we’ll have a chance to discuss our mutual interest in vampires,” Stefan said as they began edging toward the end of the aisle.

The flirtation, or whatever it was, was stronger in his tone now. His magnetism was undeniable. “Maybe,” Leesa replied, trying to keep her voice noncommittal. She turned and began descending the stairs. “Bye, Stefan.”

When she reached the stage, she found Dr. Clerval and Randolph surrounded as usual by a cluster of students. As Leesa limped closer, the professor smiled at her.

“Okay, everyone,” he said. “Further questions will have to wait. Or feel free to pepper young Renfield with your queries for as long as you want. I wish to spend a bit of time with Ms. Nyland.”

A couple of the students drifted away, one girl fixing Leesa with an envious stare. Two stayed behind, talking to Randolph while Dr. Clerval shuffled over to Leesa. Close up, he looked even older than he did from the back of the room. His skin hung loosely from his face and was lined with thin red capillaries and mottled with age spots. In contrast to his aged appearance, his gray eyes were bright and alive.

“Will you join me in my office?” he asked. “It’s right upstairs.”

Leesa didn’t hesitate—the more privacy, the better. “Of course, Professor. I’d love to.”

Professor Clerval led her through a doorway behind the stage and into a musty stairwell, showing no effects from his age as they climbed to the third floor. At the top of the stairs, they stepped out into a silent, deserted hallway. Light spilled from an open doorway near the far end of the corridor, but otherwise, the place appeared empty. Their footsteps echoed lightly off brown plaster walls badly in need of a fresh coat of paint.

The professor stopped in front of an old wooden door about halfway down the hall. A brass nameplate, darkened with age in testimony to his tenure here, was affixed to the middle of the door. He inserted a long cylindrical key into the old-fashioned lock and pushed the door open. After flipping the switch to turn on a dim overhead light, he stepped aside in a gentlemanly manner and let Leesa enter first.

She was surprised by how small his office was, smaller even than her dorm room. She’d expected a full professor to have a much bigger space. Tall bookcases crammed with books lined every wall, making the room feel even smaller. Cut into the far wall was an arched window similar to the one in her room, though lead strips divided this one into small diamond-shaped sections. Beneath the window was a beautiful antique roll top desk, cluttered with papers. She detected the lingering aroma of old smoke—not at all unpleasant—so she guessed pipe, not cigarettes. Looking closer at the bookcases, she saw the shelves were filled with vampire books. She recognized some of the titles, but there were many she’d never heard of. A glass-fronted bookcase housed what looked to be very old, leather-bound manuscripts.