Revealers (9 page)

I stare at the ring. After a few seconds I nudge it with my foot, and when it doesn’t move, I grab a pen off my desk and lift it up. I clear a spot in my junk drawer in my dresser, drop it in, and catch a glimpse of my necklace in the mirror. The stone is glowing, and I smile, knowing the necklace overpowered the ring. I pick up the card that came with the necklace. TURQUOISE, DECEMBER’S BIRTHSTONE, PROTECTS THE WEARER FROM EVIL, AND WARNS OF

APPROACHING DANGER.

I shut the drawer slowly and the stone dims. Well, I think that ring more than qualifies as evil—even if what it does is good. The necklace would probably react like that around anything that came straight from hell.

I get in bed and pull the covers up to my chin. As my heart slows and the adrenaline stops pumping, I think this night hasn’t ended so badly. The ring is off, Mom will talk to Helena—things are going to get better.

My finger throbs from where the Ouroboros was. I gently rub it, wondering if Connor got all the details about it right. There’s got to be more info about the ring somewhere, especially if Helena wanted it so badly. I can hardly believe she’d have us hack off a demon’s finger for a ring that just lets the wearer know the giver is telling the truth. One thing is for sure—I’m giving it back to Connor and then he can put it back in his mom’s little treasure room where I’ll never have to see it again!

I throw a spell to blow the candle out. I wonder what other goodies Helena has in there?

Tomorrow I’ll ask Connor to show me.

“Well, at least you know you were fight about the ring moving that night,” I say to Dani the next day.

“I still can’t believe he gave it to you,” Dani says, sitting at my desk, poking the Ouroboros with a pen.

“Nothing says love like a ring hacked off a demon!”

Dani shudders. “I can still hear its blood sizzling in my head.”

“At least the pumpkins were sweet,” I say, trying to defend Connor’s honor. I reach over and light the candle again with my hand, and then lean back on my pillows. “Plus, he was more concerned about me trusting him than where the ring came from.”

She pulls the ring around in a circle across the desktop with the pen and shakes her head.

“Yeah, after what he pulled, I guess he knew he needed something more than a couple of squashes.” She turns and looks at me with raised eyebrows. “I still don’t see why you couldn’t go over to his house today— I mean with his mom coming over to work with your mom, the timing would be perfect.”

“But we don’t know how long she’ll be here, and since his mom is going to be out of town for a few days next week after Sascha’s initiation—I have an open invitation to visit then.”

“Oh?” Dani gives me a “what are you planning” look. “Are you going to take him up on it?”

“Damned straight I am!” I pull my knees up and lean my chin on them. “At least we won’t have to sneak around much longer.”

“Jules,” Dani says, brow furrowed. “Just because your mom said she’d talk to Mrs.

Keyes …”

“And don’t forget Margo!”

“Uh, are you forgetting Margo is just as obsessed with the stupid traditions as Mrs. Keyes is?”

I give her a look.

“Okay, no one comes close to Helena, but like I was trying to say, just because your mom suggests some people talk about change, doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen.”

“But after our birthdays we’ll all be in the inner circle and we can force the issue! You know—out with the old, in with the new stuff.”

Dani purses her lips. “Maybe, but I don’t think you should go out and burn your cape just yet.” She hooks the ring on the pen, holds it up to her face, and then turns to me—her eyes wide.

“Put it on so I can see it move—it was so dark that night we got it I didn’t get a good look!”

“Yeah, no freaking way! Look at my finger, it’s still all red.”

“Oh, come on, just for a second. You can use the necklace to get it off again.”

“We don’t know how much charge is left in the necklace, but if you want to see it move so badly, you can put it on. It’s really cute when it hisses and cuts the circulation off.”

“Never mind.” Dani puts the ring down and pushes the chair back and walks over to my bed. “So what kind of stuff do you think Mrs. Keyes has stored away in her secret room? Do you think we’ll get to see it after our initiations? Oh! Maybe the initiation takes place in the secret room—that would be cool.”

“Gee,” I say. “A room full of leftover nightmare crap— sounds great. Maybe that vest we got off that wolf freshman year will be in it. Maybe if you ask really nicely, Helena will let you wear it.”

“Ew!” Dani wrinkles her nose. “The one with all the eyeballs sewn on it, do you think she has it? I just figured they’d burn it or something.”

“I’ll have to ask Connor, but that was definitely the most fucked-up article of clothing I’ve ever seen!” I shudder, picturing the eyes rolling around and blinking. And they were all shades of blues, and I remember thinking how glad I was mine are brown!

Dani’s phone starts playing “Genie in a Bottle,” and I laugh. “Nice ringtone! If you were wearing the vest all the eyes would be rolling toward the ceiling.”

She sticks her tongue out at me and then reaches over to her purse. She fishes her phone out and gasps. “Oh, my God! It’s him—it’s Evan!” Dani waves the phone frantically in my face.

“What do I do?”

“Answer it!”

“Right!” She pushes the button and takes a quick breath. “Hi, Evan … I’m just hanging out with Jules at her house… . Yeah, I could definitely use some help!”

Dani’s eyes glitter and she mouths the words library and study to me.

“Finn, too? Oh, sure that’s fine.” Dani curls her lip up in a mock snarl. “I just need to get my stuff at my house and I’ll be right over… . Jules? Um, I’ll have to ask her, but maybe… .

Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

She pushes the END button and stamps her feet up and down. “I have a date!” she squeals.

“Shh! My mom is downstairs, and Mrs. Keyes could already be here!”

“I have a date,” she whispers. “And my heart is pounding a mile a minute, and I’m profusely sweating, and I think I need to put on some more deodorant.”

I laugh. “What did he say?”

“He’s going to the library to study for the next chem quiz and wanted to know if I wanted to meet him there.” She looks at me with wide eyes. “This is a date, right? Or did he just want to study and I’m totally making a fool of myself right now?”

“I …”

“If it really was a date,” she interrupts, “he wouldn’t have asked you to come along—you’re not even taking chem!”

“It’s a date. And he was probably just being polite when he invited me because you’re at my house. But Finn is in your class, right? So that means Evan already has someone to study with, which means he doesn’t need you to come, he wants you to.”

“He wants me,” Dani says, and bites her lip. She shakes her fist in the air and then jumps up off my bed. “We have to get going—and you’re coming!”

She tries to pull me up off the bed, but I yank my hand out of hers. “Don’t you want to be alone with him?”

“Yes, that’s why you’re coming—you have to get rid of Finn.”

“How am I going to do that?”

“I don’t care how you do it—cast a spell or something. Just make sure Evan and I have some alone time.” She pauses. “No, maybe it’s better it’s a group study date—but you still have to come because I might faint.”

“Fine, I’ll come, and if you think you’re ready for some alone time, just give me a signal and I’ll figure out some way to get rid of Finn. I’ll drive—my mom is supposed to be working all day so it should be fine.”

Dani grabs my hand again and I let her pull me up this time. “Great, let’s go!” she says.

“Wait! You shouldn’t leave that burning.” She points to the pumpkin. “Out!”

I shake my head and then we’re both laughing as we race down the stairs. We stop midway.

Mrs. Keyes is standing in the kitchen, looking up at us. Her white hair is pulled back in a tight braid making her look more severe than usual.

“Ladies,” she says coldly. “Something funny?”

Dani and I look at each other, and I see the color drain from her cheeks. We walk slowly the rest of the way down and I really do wonder if Dani will up and faint.

“Hi, Mrs. Keyes,” I say.

Mrs. Keyes’s eyes bore into me and I just know she’s thinking about Connor and me—or maybe Mom told her about all the stuff I want to change. I keep a happy smile plastered on despite the fact my cheeks are burning and my legs feel weak.

“Hi,” Dani mumbles.

“We’re just going to head off to the library. Dani’s got a big chem thing to study for and I have some books I need to check out for a paper.”

I resist the urge to brush my bangs aside and keep smiling, hoping Mrs. Keyes can’t tell I’m lying.

She tilts her head and looks quizzically at us. “Studying? On such a lovely day?”

Her voices oozes with fake sincerity, and I wonder how it’s possible that someone like her could be Connor’s mother. We stand there silently and I realize Dani is too scared to help me out.

“Yeah, we try to get stuff done in the day in case we have to go on a hunt in the evenings.”

Dani lets out a nervous laugh. “Yeah,” she says, looking back and forth between Mrs.

Keyes and me with a crazed look in her eyes. “It’s been absolutely nutso lately, but you, urn, you know that because you’re in charge and all. Ha.”

I have to get Dani out of here fast before she blows this. Luckily, Mom comes in wearing an old pair of overalls.

“Hi, girls. We were just heading out to the shop. Helena is going to help me with the new balls.”

Mrs. Keyes’s snaky smile widens—I half expect a forked tongue to come zipping out and smell the fear coming off us. “The girls were just heading off to spend this lovely day in the library,” she says slowly.

“Great,” Mom says. “I hope this means your grades will be a little better this time.”

“Oh, I always get straight As,” Dani says.

I swat Dani on the shoulder.

Dani grimaces at me. “Oh, she meant—well, it’s not like you flunked anything.”

“It’s just math I have trouble with, I get A’s and B’s in everything else!”

Mom puts her hands on her hips.

“Okay, I get an occasional C in some of my other classes,” I say, embarrassed Mrs. Keyes probably thinks I’m some idiot not worthy of her son. Not that she thinks I’m worthy anyway. I grab my purse that is hanging on one of the kitchen chairs and take the keys off the counter. “Let’s just go—I can use the car, right?”

“Sure, sweetie.”

Dani and I walk outside, and we both exhale when we get in the car.

“You know, I think I’d rather go another round with the Ouroboros ring than deal with Mrs.

Keyes,” I say. “Did you hear the way she was all drippy sweet ‘on such a lovely day’?”

“Yeah,” Dani says. “Like she thought we were lying or something.”

“We were lying.”

“No, not really. I’m going to the library to study! I can’t help it if Evan will just happen to be there.”

“You’re right. Let’s get your stuff and get you ready for your date!”

“Are you sure I look okay?” Dani asks for the millionth time as we open the library door.

“Yes!”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have curled my hair—maybe I should’ve left it straight. It’s usually straight at school and so maybe he won’t recognize me or maybe he hates curly hair.”

I look at the soft brown curls framing Dani’s face and smile. “You look beautiful.”

She smiles for a second and then looks down at her pants. “But do these make me look fat?

Maybe I should’ve worn a skirt. I still can’t believe there isn’t a spell to get rid of cellulite—and believe me, I’ve looked for one!”

“Dani, he likes you—period. Relax.”

We walk past the circulation desk, and Dani points to a table near the biography section.

“There he is—alone!” She turns to me with determined eyes. “Make yourself scarce!”

I laugh as she rushes over to Evan. I wave to him from where I am, glad Dani’s ready to tackle this date without my help. I glance around for Finn, but maybe Evan’s given him his marching orders, too. I watch Dani sit down right next to him instead of across the table and give her a silent you go, girl. Evan smiles shyly at her, and immediately opens his textbook, but he also moves his chair closer to her so I know there’s hope.

Since I didn’t bring any actual work to do—cue Mom’s disapproving tsk—I decide to head to the newly remodeled Teen Room. I walk up the ramp to the old part of the library where they stuck it, so the teenagers wouldn’t bother the other patrons in the new addition. I squint when I walk under the FRESH BOOKS sign hanging above the entryway, and wonder which librarian thought teens would dig fluorescent green paint on the walls.

Then I wonder if Miss Melissa were still alive if she would’ve suggested a better color.

At least they have some couches. I roll my eyes as I walk past a popular vamp book sitting on an end cap. I tried to read it once, but couldn’t get past the whole romantic, misunderstood vamp shtick. And there’s just something totally creepy about a thousand-year-old vamp seducing a high school freshman—talk about extreme jailbait.

I was half tempted to write to the author, but I knew he’d just think I was a nut job for suggesting there was nothing romantic about real vampires. Of course, Dani’s read it and its sequels at least six times, and she keeps insisting I give the book another try.

I skim the shelves and pick something a little more teen angsty. After hunting for over four years, normal teen drama is more my kind of escapist literature. I sink in the couch— glad the

“lovely day” has guaranteed most kids are outside doing something and I can be alone.

“I know what you are.”

I jump as Finn sits down on the overstuffed chair opposite me. His face is expressionless—

his green eyes locked on to mine.

“I’m reading?” I say, holding up my book, not sure what he meant. I want to look away, but for some reason I feel like I shouldn’t. Like this is some sort of turf thing.

He runs his fingers through his shaggy black hair, and curls his lip up like I’m a piece of dirt. “I know what you are, and if you or Dani do anything to hurt Evan you’ll have to deal with me.”