Revealers (2 page)

I reach into my cape pocket and take out my gun, freshly loaded with silver bullets. Arm straight—I aim at his chest and fire. We all step back to avoid the spray as he goes down. I don’t watch his body change back, I want to remember him as the wolf and not the man—it makes it easier to sleep at night.

Michael walks past with the body bag. “Nice work.”

“Anyone want to hang for a bit?” Connor asks as he helps Michael spread the bag.

Margo smiles. “Love to!”

Zahara lifts a flask from her cape. She takes a swig and hands it to Margo. “Me, too. We could head back to your house, Connor. Margo’s got a bunch of binders to give your mom.”

Connor looks at me. “How about you, Jules?”

I shrug, feeling drained. “I should head home; I’m tired and it’s late.”

He pouts his lips, and I almost change my mind, but Zahara and Margo exchange looks, and I don’t feel like dealing with any more of their crap tonight.

“Hey, Michael, what did you tell the guy to get him out here?” I ask, changing the subject.

Michael looks up and winks at me. “Blow job.”

Shaking my head, I take the flask from Margo. The cool metal stings my lips as the brandy burns its way down my throat. I hate the way it tastes, but Zahara refuses to fill the flask with wine or anything else because “brandy is the traditional after-kill drink.” Of course it doesn’t help having Helena in charge, making sure things are ridiculously old school.

I hand it to Dani who takes a quick sip. “I’ve got a chem quiz.”

Sascha holds out her hand and takes the flask. “I’ve got a French translation to finish.” She takes a long drink and puts the flask in her cape. “You don’t mind if I borrow this do you, Z? My mom noticed some of her booze was missing, and she cast a spell on all the bottles so they’ll only open for her. But I’m going to need a little buzz to help me get through interpreting Le Petite Prince, c’est tres difficile pour moil”

“Okay,” Zahara say, “but don’t drink the whole thing—I don’t want Mrs. Keyes on my ass for going through her good brandy too quickly!”

She shoots an apologetic look at Connor, but he just smiles. He knows what a bitch his mom can be.

Sascha pats the flask in her cape. “Don’t worry, a little goes a long way.” She mounts her broom and heads up through the trees. “Later.”

Michael and Connor grunt as they roll the man into the bag.

“What was his name?” I ask.

Michael wipes his sleeve across his forehead. “Uh, Jack.”

Connor zips the bag up and stands, wiping his hands against his jeans.

I look up at the sharp crescent moon. “Rest in peace, Jack.”

Connor laughs. “You’re such a softy, Jules! You sure you can’t hang with us?”

“If she’s tired, she’s tired,” Margo says.

Dani sighs. I wonder if she’s waiting for Connor to ask her to come over, too. She crosses her arms across her stomach. “Well, like I said, I’ve got to study.” She leans in and kisses everyone on the cheek, something we used to do all the time— now it looks awkward and forced.

“I’ll go with you,” I say, air-kissing Margo and Zahara. I squeeze Michael’s shoulder, and then I put one hand on Connor’s cheek and give him a long, wet, full-on-the-mouth kiss. He presses my lips with his and I pull away.

“Bye,” I whisper. I mount my broom—my heart pounding louder than the water on the rocks. I look at Zahara and Margo, and try very hard not to smile in their wide-eyed faces. “Have fun, guys.”

As we clear the parking lot, Dani bursts out laughing. “Oh, my God, Jules—you so rule! I can’t believe you did that. Did you see their faces? Did you? And he totally kissed you back!”

I allow the smile to come now and wonder if he can taste brandy on his lips. I just hope there won’t be hell to pay tomorrow.

I walk into the kitchen, and I’m relieved to see the cauldron steam is still clear—it’s rare we get called out twice in a night, but the way things are going lately, I wouldn’t be surprised.

The kitchen air warms my hands, stiff from clutching the broom. I check my cape for blood, and then drape it on a chair.

“I’m home.”

Mom shuffles in, wrapped in a thick blue bathrobe with Nuisance winding between her legs.

“Sorry about earlier, I should’ve been paying closer attention.”

“They could call, too. It’s totally archaic watching for the steam to turn color 24/7.”

“You know Helena likes to keep as many of the old ways in place as possible.”

“Well, it’s idiotic.” I pull out the chair from the table, and pat my lap until Nuisance jumps up.

“Did things go smoothly?”

“Yeah, but he knew about us.” I try to erase his voice pleading with us from my head.

“Word gets around. These things network, and warn each other.”

“So you’d think he would’ve left town long ago.”

Mom shakes her head. “No one ever claimed wolves were smart.”

Nuisance sniffs my cape, and jumps to the floor. “No one ever said they smell good, either.”

I walk to the coat rack and hang my cape up, and then open the closet to get the dustpan and a broom. “Margo cast some spell on her way over and broke the ball. Can you make me another? A stronger one?”

“You could take a crack at making one yourself. It’s been ages since you tried.”

“Uh, it’s been ages because I loathe glassblowing—it’s too hot and I can’t get the glass to form a ball, let alone work any threads inside.”

Mom laughs. “They were pretty bad. I was planning on being in the studio tomorrow, anyway. I’m experimenting with a new type of ball for Helena. I’ll blow a couple with thicker walls and extra threads for you.”

“Experimenting?”

“We have some ideas about other ways we might be able to use the balls. If I can get them to work, they might send the coven in a new direction.”

“If it puts us in the twenty-first century, then I’m on board.”

“Not everyone minds following the old ways.”

“Yeah, but not everyone’s a kiss ass like Zahara and Margo.”

“Watch the language!”

“Sorry, but sometimes I just don’t see the point. The world around us keeps moving on, and we’re stuck hunting nightmares the same way it was done three hundred years ago.”

“It’s because of us the world can move on.”

“Yeah, yeah—without us the world would be plagued by creatures—blah, blah, blah. The way I see it, we’re only making a small dent in the monster population in our little corner of Connecticut.”

Mom looks at me like I’m three, and she’s about to explain the ins and outs of the coven for the first time.

“I know—anything we kill makes a difference and saves lives,” I say.

“Right, and an old-fashioned stake in the heart gets the job done, so what’s to change?”

I put the dustpan down on the table and sit opposite Mom. “Nothing, I guess, but when you were hunting, did you ever want to quit and just lead a normal life?”

“This is normal—for us. But yes, sometimes it got hard seeing the other girls at school, knowing they were sleeping soundly at night, going out with boys, never worrying about the right way to stake a vampire. Of course none of that was as hard as sending you out for your first hunt.”

“Gee, what was so hard about sending your kid out to kill a vampire? It’s not like you could’ve known the thing would mesmerize Dani and Sascha into uselessness, and we’d break four stakes before Zahara managed to drive one home, right? But then again, we were only thirteen!”

“You had practice.”

“Spiking a hay bale is not the same thing as dusting a vamp with superhuman strength.”

Mom rubs her eyes and yawns. “It gives you the right resistance, though—so you’d know how much force you’d need to get the stake in.”

“I guess I should be thankful it wasn’t a werewolf, or I’d have been hunted down before I morphed into a wolf during the next full moon!”

“Oh, stop being such a drama queen. You never make wolves reveal themselves unless they’re bound to the spot and out of biting range! But I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

“What?” I ask, sounding bored.

Mom reaches across the table and puts her hand over mine. “The first couple of months—

we were watching you, and ready to step in if things got out of control.”

I pull my hand away and give her an incredulous look. “You didn’t think things got a little out of control on our first hunt? I ended up with fifteen stitches before we managed to stake Miss Melissa!”

I shake my head. I can still vividly remember the shooting pain I got when our story-time librarian, Miss Melissa, dragged her new teeth across my shoulder after my stake splintered against her sternum. I remember the crazed look in her eyes as she lashed out at us with clawed fingers. And Dani literally peed in her pants, something Margo still gives her crap about.

“If you had known we were there,” Mom continues, “you might’ve held back, thinking we’d step in. As I recall, you were all pretty darned happy when you got to Helena’s house.”

“We were pretty darned happy because we were still alive!” Well, we were happy until Helena had us each take a swig of brandy. Sascha was the only one who didn’t gag, but if I bring up how wrong it was giving booze to eighth graders, we’ll just get into the whole “it’s just a tradition” talk again.

At any rate, I’m just not sure this is what I want to do with my life.”

“You only have to do it until the next generation is ready to take over.”

“Yeah, that’s another thing—what if I don’t want to get married and have a kid who’ll have to take over hunting? Maybe I like girls, or maybe I want to do more with my life— like be a vet or something. Seriously, helping sick puppies sounds way better than plugging werewolves at close range.”

Mom purses her lips, and I know I’ve headed into “you’ll understand everything when you turn eighteen” territory. “Sweetie, you just need to hang on a little longer. Your birthday is only two months away—you’ll be a part of the inner circle, and your future and your place in the coven will be clear. You’ll understand.”

She gets up and turns off the light over the stove top. “Look, it’s late—why don’t you head up to bed?”

I start up the stairs, and then lean over the rail. “I kissed Connor tonight. And he kissed me back!” Mom’s eyes widen, and I see panic on her face for a split second before she narrows her eyes. Why can’t I keep my mouth shut?

She takes a deep breath like she’s trying to keep her cool. “Julia, just keep your nose in your books and on our mission, and stay away from Connor. When the time is right you’ll find someone to be with. Maybe it will be Connor, but now is not the time.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a mind of my own, and who’s to say the time isn’t now?”

I stomp up the stairs, figuring if she’s going to treat me like a three-year-old, I might as well act like one.

I slam my door, throw the dustpan and broom on the floor, and flop on my bed. I’m so sick of the secrets—of everything. Why can’t they tell us what’s going on? We’re seventeen years old—what’s so magical about eighteen?

And where does the coven get off saying when I can be with someone? The whole idea of us having the next generation of hunters at the same time is insane!

I’m tempted to ignore the broken glass, but then I think Nuisance might get into it. I get up and start sweeping the debris into the dustpan, and jump when something hits my window. I turn off the light and look out. Connor is standing outside, motioning to me.

I put my hand on the window, my heart pounding as my mom’s words echo in my head. I wave at him—not sure he can see me, and then run my fingers through my hair. I walk back to my door and twist the knob with a shaking hand.

I listen at the top of the stairs, and hear muffled voices coming from the TV.

I lick my lips and whisper, “I fly in darkness for the good of all, let me pass unseen till I land again.” My shadow disappears from the wall as the fog envelopes me. I steal down the steps, grimacing every time the wood squeaks. Nuisance looks up from his cat bed when I reach the bottom, and I wonder if I’m invisible to animals, too.

I slip out the back door and walk to the side of the house. Connor is looking up at my window. “Jules? Are you there? Jules?” he calls out softly.

I tiptoe my way over to him, cover his eyes with my hands, and whisper, “Boo!”

He turns around and laughs, reaching out for me, and I step to the side as his fingers graze my arm. He lunges in my direction and slaps his hand across my butt.

“Hey, watch it!”

“If I can’t see you, it’s not my fault if I grab something I’m not supposed to!” He reaches out and swipes the air inches in front of me. “But there’s something cool about kissing an invisible girl!”

I step back and a stick snaps under my foot. Connor jumps forward and wraps his arms around my waist. He leans in and his lips brush against my cheek.

I reveal myself, and halfheartedly push him away. “Who said anything about kissing? And what are you doing here anyway?”

Connor lets me go and steps back. The cold air rushes between us, and I wish I were still in his arms. “My mom kicked Margo and Z out because it’s a school night—that and she’s researching some spell.” He gives me a crooked smile and my legs feel wobbly. “As for the kissing part—you started it. I just came by to see if you wanted to continue.”

This time I let him take me in his arms. I tilt my chin up and his cool lips press into mine.

How many times have I dreamed about this? How many times have I been told it could never happen?

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” I whisper.

“That’s part of the fun.”

“What if my mom catches us—or your mother finds out?”

He leans in and kisses me again, his mouth lingering on my lower lip. “Since when do you care about the rules?”

I pull away from him and take a step back. “Is that why you’re here? Because you think out of all of us, I’d be the one who wouldn’t care about breaking the rules?”

He reaches out and takes my hand. “Jules, you know it’s always been you I liked—and after that kiss tonight I was pretty sure we were on the same page.”

I want to believe him; I want it to be true. “But your mom—”