Crossroads (Crossroads Academy #1) (14 page)

**********

“Hey, Keegan.”

“Aye,” he returns, not bothering to look up
from the mare he’s grooming. I remind myself that he has no reason
to think I’m any different from the other students at Crossroads.
No different than those who treat him like a second-class citizen
and mock his very existence because he wasn’t born a vampire.

“I’m Katia. I’m a friend of Shaye’s,” I say,
trying again. “She asked me to bring you a message.”

He drops the brush he’s holding and turns
slowly to study me, rubbing the horse soothingly. With his free
hand Keegan pushes his braided hair back from his face, looking me
in the eye for the first time.

It’s obvious why Shaye likes him. Once you
get past his gentle demeanor, there are only good looks left to
enjoy. His chocolaty skin is beautiful; his black eyes so deep that
it’s like looking into the abyss. A girl could get lost in eyes
like that. His shirt is open revealing a Celtic knot tattoo on his
chest. Intrigued, I see that the tattoo is offset by a myriad of
long, sweeping scars and wonder how Keegan got them. Although
beautiful in a grotesque way, they’re the kind of marks that would
prevent him from ever passing as a pureblood, even if a DNA test
wouldn’t betray his true heritage.

“Shaye told me what you did at the maze,” he
says, breaking the silence. I jerk my eyes away from his bare chest
and back to his face, embarrassment flushing my cheeks.

“Yeah, well, sometimes I have trouble staying
out of my own way,” I reply. I don’t expect him to understand.

“You said you have a message from Shaye?
You’ve seen her?” he asks anxiously. Keegan wears his pain openly,
the hurt in his eyes unmasked. It’s clear he wants to be with her.
Being stuck out here in the stables must be torture. Knowing that
he can’t be there to hold and comfort Shaye when she needs him most
can’t be easy.

“She doesn’t want you to worry about
her.”

“How is she really?” he asks intensely,
abandoning the horse and closing the gap between us. I’m not wild
about him being in my personal space, but it’s not threatening. If
anything, it’s desperate.

“Honestly? She’s been better, but she’s going
to be okay. Shaye’s tougher than she looks. She’ll be back on her
feet in a few days.” I don’t know if it’s true or not, but his
worry isn’t helping Shaye. I’m just glad he doesn’t have her knack
for ferreting out a lie.

Keegan’s relief is overwhelming. “Thank
you.”

“Can I give you some advice?” I ask, not
waiting for a response. “You need to be stronger for her. The last
thing Shaye needs to be doing is worrying about you and how you’re
holding up. She needs every bit of her energy to fight this
thing.”

I can see he’s offended by my directness, but
I don’t care. What I’ve said is true. Sometimes the truth hurts. I
should know.

He laughs then, catching me off guard.
“You’re a real piece of work. Must be why Shaye likes you.”

“I’ll consider that a compliment,” I reply.
“She’s got good taste from what I’ve seen. Anyway, I’ve gotta run.
I have a meeting in a few minutes, but I’ll be back. I’d like you
to teach me to ride if you can find the time.”

“Of course,” he replies. “I’d be glad to do
it. Any friend of Shaye’s….”

**********

“Should I bother asking?”

“Asking what?” This is a different approach
for Anya. For once I’m not sure what she’s expecting me to say.

“How your week is going? If there’s anything
you’d like to talk about? If you’d like a reprieve from our weekly
meetings?”

There’s a lot going on. I actually do need
someone to talk to, but I’m still not sure what I can really tell
Anya. I have to remind myself that Aldo trusts her. That should be
good enough for me.

“I hate wasting my time,” she states
candidly.

“Did you tell anyone?” I blurt out. “About
me?” It’s impossible to keep the panic from creeping into my
voice.

“Why would you think that? What’s wrong?” she
asks, leaning in closer. Anya reaches across the desk and grabs my
hand, reacting protectively to my alarm. I’m startled by the
physical contact but also comforted. I lean back and take a deep
breath. Anya hasn’t betrayed us.

“It’s Shaye. She… said things. She knows I’m
hiding something.”

“Shaye Walker? You two are getting close?”
Anya asks soothingly. It’s the first she’s hearing of any
friendship for me.

“I guess.”

“That’s good. You’re making connections.”

“Didn’t you hear me? She’s suspicious.”

“Shaye has secrets of her own. Like you she
chooses a guarded existence. It’s only natural that she’d recognize
the behavior in another.”

“How can you be so casual about this?” Her
indifference irritates me. I push myself up from the chair and move
swiftly to the window. I don’t ask Anya’s permission before sliding
it open. The room is stifling. The fireplace roars with life this
evening, but I know it’s not really the heat that’s bothering me.
It’s this situation that’s smothering me. I lean out the window and
take a deep breath. The cool evening breeze is refreshing. The
scent of snow is on the air, and I remember that the weather
forecast mentioned the possibility of a Nor’easter.

“First of all, Shaye doesn’t know anything,”
Anya insists, abandoning her desk and moving to my side at the
window. “You need to calm down and think this through. What can she
suspect? She can’t possibly know the truth. Secondly, you need more
in your life than Aldo and Lissette.”

“You’re wrong,” I tell her heatedly, turning
to study her as I did on the first day we met. “You don’t
understand. Aldo saved me. He brought me back from the edge. I
don’t need anyone else. I owe him everything, and I would do
anything for him. Anything,” I state emphatically, rubbing the
cuffs on my wrists. Today they feel more like shackles attached to
an invisible weight that only I can see.

“You need balance, Katia. Shaye could be good
for you.”

“Good for me? I’m not so sure of that.” She’s
not listening to me. This is pointless.

“Shaye’s condition is delicate. She, too,
understands the importance of discretion. She’s not going to say or
do anything to jeopardize either of you.”

“What do you know about her?” I
challenge.

“Enough to know that she would be a loyal
friend to you. Enough to know that she will not pry where you do
not wish her to.”

“She’s sick.”

“I know,” she returns quietly. “The faculty
is aware of her condition.”

“But she’s so young. I didn’t think it could
happen. I thought the blood disease only attacked older
vampires?”

“A common belief,” she admits. “It is
unfortunate. It’s easier to accept when the victim has had more
time to experience the world. But I wouldn’t write Shaye off yet. A
lot of research is being done to combat the otrava de sange. A cure
may be closer than you think. You probably don’t know this, but two
of the largest research and pharmaceutical companies in the world
are owned by vampires.”

There are a lot of things I don’t know.
Still, the look on my face must convey skepticism because she
launches into a more detailed explanation.

“Don’t look so surprised. There’s big money
in pharmaceutical research. Curing human diseases is not only
beneficial to the survival of the species, it’s also profitable.
Not to mention the fact that it provides direct access to fresh
blood supplies worldwide.”

She’s right. I probably shouldn’t be
surprised. “I’ll keep that in mind. Are we done here?”

I’m running through the woods. The hour is late, and the waning
moon is bright. Something isn’t right though. I’m not hunting. I’m
being hunted.

My body is sluggish and clumsy. It refuses to
cooperate with my commands. My usual speed and dexterity have
abandoned me. I know I have to move faster or he’ll catch me. The
hunter. I can’t see his face, but I imagine his hot breath on my
neck and his sharp teeth sinking into my skin. Given the chance he
will devour my flesh and suck the life from my body.

He’s close. I can feel him. He’s looking for
me. I don’t know why, but I know he’ll never stop. Not until he has
what he wants. Me.

I crash through the brush making too much
noise. My shirt catches on the branches that lash at my face and
arms. Blood trickles down my forehead and into my eyes making it
difficult to see. I don’t dare stop to wipe it away. I have to push
forward. But to where? These woods are unfamiliar to me. I don’t
think I’ve ever been here before. The terrain is as unfamiliar as
the vegetation. These are not the alpine trees of the Green
Mountains. These trees are twisted and barren like the land around
me. Somewhere in the distance I hear the death cries of an
indigenous animal.

He’s stopped to feed. He’s confident that I
am no match for him, confident that I will not escape. He’s toying
with me. He wants the fear to build, blossoming in my chest until
it becomes unbearable. That’s when he’ll attack.

The wind cuts through me; its icy fingers
catch me in their grip. I stumble over exposed roots and land face
down on the floor of the forest. “GET UP!” I shout, ordering my
body to obey. I’m back on my feet in a flash and racing forward
once more. When I reach the edge of the forest there’s nothing but
a wall of gray fog, thick and dense. Should I go back? What am I
supposed to do now? I look around fruitlessly. There is no one to
help me here. No guide to point me in the right direction.

As I stand there debating my next move, a
chalky white hand emerges from the fog. I’m paralyzed with fear. I
know I should run, but what’s the point? I can’t outrun him. He
steps forward, leaving the fog behind and reaches for me. A dark
hood covers his face, but it cannot mask his beady red eyes. Those
eyes are pure evil. A strangled cry catches in my throat and I wake
up screaming.
Again.

I don’t even consider the time change before
calling Aldo. It doesn’t matter what time it is in Romania. I need
to talk to him. I turn on the bedside lamp and dial his number. I’m
relieved when he answers on the third ring.

“Katia? Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” I murmur. Laying here now in the
bright glow of the lamp and hearing his voice it seems silly to be
calling. It’s just a dream. I’m too old to require comfort from
nightmares. “I just… wanted to hear your voice.”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping my child? What’s
keeping you up so late when you have class in the morning?”

I glance at the clock and realize it’s three
in the morning. I guess I should have been more worried about the
time on my end of the line, not his. “Would you believe me if I
said I’d been studying?”

“It’s the dreams again, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“When did they start?”

“A few weeks ago.” His silence speaks
volumes. I know he’s disappointed in me. “I didn’t want to bother
you with such nonsense. I know you’re busy.”

“You should have called,” he says sternly.
“Tell me about them. What do you remember?” Aldo is always
interested in my dreams. He seems to think talking about them will
help me to manage my subconscious better and eventually free myself
of the nightmares. I don’t really feel like it’s helping, but I
oblige him anyway. After all, I did call him.

“Tonight was different. There was no fire
tonight,” I tell him, relief spilling over into my voice. “Tonight
was about me. I was being hunted. Stalked like prey. I couldn’t see
him, but I knew he was there. I could feel his presence all around
me.”

“Where were you?”

“I don’t know. The woods.” I think hard
wanting to be sure of my next words. “It wasn’t any place I’d been
before. At least I don’t think so. I didn’t see any landmarks and I
didn’t recognize the vegetation. It was cold. The moon was waning.
The trees were bare. Leaves littered the ground making it difficult
to move quietly. I was running. I was running so fast, but it
wasn’t enough. Fear made me clumsy. I kept tripping.” My voice has
taken on an uneven quality. It sounds weak even to my own ears and
my cheeks burn with shame. I am ashamed of the fear these
nightmares incite in me and ashamed at my inability to control my
own mind.

“It was only a dream, Katia. You are safe at
Crossroads.” He gives me a moment to regain my composure before
continuing. “Go on. What else did you see?”

“Not much. Just… his hand and these horrible
red eyes. I’ll never forget those eyes. They were unnatural. But
the worst part was the knowing….”

“Knowing what?”

“Knowing that he would never stop searching
for me.”

**********

I’m relieved when Shaye finally returns to
Anatomy. I haven’t seen her since the day I forced my way into her
room. I was starting to think she’d never come back. I have to
remind myself that she’s only missed a handful of classes. Things
have been so busy lately between school and the extra training
sessions with Nik that I’ve kind of lost track of time.

I stare out the window and realize that
winter has officially arrived. Giant white flakes of snow float
past, as they descend to the earth and coat the school grounds. The
result is beautiful. Nothing like the dirty, slush-filled roads I
remember from my childhood. On campus the snow remains virtually
untouched, as we don’t get many visitors and the roads to the
school see little traffic. The mountains surrounding the campus
glisten in the sun; the trees laden with snow and ice.

I’ll probably have to wait for spring to even
think about riding lessons with Keegan. I don’t know where I’d find
the time anyway. I’ve been training obsessively with Nik and using
my own free time to practice as well. He’s pleased with my progress
and has promised me we’ll start working with weapons soon. It’s
something to look forward to.