The Childe (21 page)

“What costume? This is my normal dress away from school,” Miss Amaya responded putting on a serious face. “Just kidding, I knew you’d get a kick out of it. Really the only thing I had to buy was the mask, the rest belongs to me. This ensemble’s been hanging in my closet for years, I only wear this on special occasions though.”

“Well you look wonderful. I’m just wondering, where’s your warty nose?”

“Now Cat I told you I’m a white witch! Warty witches are bad,” she replied taking a sip of her fruit punch. “And speaking of costumes, you caused quite a stir with your little number. A vampire princess huh? Well it suits you. And apparently all the males in the room thought so too. I caught Mr. Crawley staring, go figure,” she laughed.

“Eww, Mr. Crawley? He’s here, where? So I can avoid him of course,” Cat asked looking around.

“Ms. Landers told him he had to attend two functions this year. And since he hadn’t made a decision on which two, she made it for him. He’s the one over there in the trench coat and the Sherlock Holmes hat. He forgot his mask so he is standing in the shadows. He thinks nobody’s noticed him. Don’t look now, but I think you’re being watched. No don’t turn around, he’s coming this way,” she whispered in Cat’s ear.

“Hey Cat! Loved the grand entrance.” Ryan’s voice came from behind her.

She turned, “what do you mean grand entrance? I just walked in the door.”

“No you glided into the room, there’s a difference.”

“Well young ones, I’ve got to go circulate and mingle, see you later. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Miss Amaya said smiling mischievously, walking off leaving them standing alone.

“So…nice decorations, huh?” Ryan asked, suddenly feeling nervous, his confidence fading.

“Uh…they’re nice…did you honestly come over here to talk to me about the decorations?” Cat replied.

“No…actually, I came to get punch.”

“Oh,” she said trying to not look disappointed.
Why am I feeling disappointed? I don’t care what he thinks, he’s just my tutor! Oh Cat get grip!
“So, how did you know?”

“How did I know what?” he asked confused, pouring himself a drink.

“That it was me,” she replied.

“Like I told you before. You don’t walk, you glide,” he stated meeting her eyes.

“Oh,” she said, glad that she was wearing a mask so he couldn’t see her blush. “Well, I like your costume…I’m jealous though, your teeth look more realistic than mine.”

“Do you want to dance?” Ryan blurted out nervously trying to take the focus off his fangs.

“I guess we could,” Cat replied

“You’re not going to flake out on me like you did last time, are you?” he asked.

“I promise I won’t.” Though sounding self-assured, her nerves were getting the best of her, making her stomach do flip flops.
Okay Cat…what could one dance hurt…it’s just one dance!
she thought, battling with herself as they found a space on the floor. A slow song came over the speakers as she moaned inwardly.
Why did it have to be a slow song?
Cat felt eyes watching her and saw Isaac standing close by, his one uncovered eye glaring at her. He definitely hadn’t put much thought into his costume. A long sleeve puffy white shirt, a black pair of pants, a red bandana around his head and an eye patch over one eye.

“Don’t look now, but I’m being given the evil eye, by your friend,” Cat whispered in Ryan’s ear.

Without turning around, he shrugged his shoulders, “How do you know he’s not just jealous of me? Dancing with the most beautiful vampire princess in the place?” She blushed, burying her face into his shoulder.

Ryan thought back to the verbal confrontation that happened between Isaac and himself a few weeks ago. Isaac had seen him walking with Cat after a tutor session. When Ryan reached his house, Isaac’s car pulled behind his in the driveway blocking him in. Telling Amelia to stay in the car, he flung open the door, calling out Ryan’s name. “We need to talk! You and I!” his cold voice carried across the light breeze.

Ryan turned around and sighed, “What Isaac? What’s wrong now?”

Isaac’s eyes were blazing red, his fists clenched at his side. “What are you doing with that Colvin girl? I warned you and Hannah to stay away from her, and I
mean
away. She’s not our kind and you know it.” Ryan took a deep breath, tasting blood, realizing he had bitten his lip. Taking another deep breath, he tried to calm his rising anger.

“Isaac, not that it’s any of your business, but I am tutoring her, that’s all. Nothing more, nothing less. And as for Hannah, you need to realize she’s not a little girl anymore! She’s not just someone you can boss around! Have you ever thought that maybe
you’re
to blame?” Isaac raised his eyebrows surprised by the idea. “By constantly telling Hannah to stay away from Cat, you’re making her want to be around her more! Are you threatened by Cat?” Isaac lifted his right fist, causing Ryan to be on his guard, waiting for the anticipated punch. Instead Isaac lowered his arm, frustration written all over his face.

“I’m not, nor will I ever be, intimated by that insignificant girl! I’m only trying to warn you!” he growled through clenched fangs, which were elongating by the second. “If you want to play with fire go ahead! If you want to turn against the group, so be it! But don’t come running back to me when it all blows up in your face!” he roared pulling the car door open viciously and slamming it so hard the windows rattled. Amelia grinned devilishly at Ryan as Isaac gunned the car into reverse, narrowly missing a vehicle coming down the street.

The next day Ryan warily joined the group at their table in the cafeteria. Though Isaac ignored him, he felt that he was no longer angry with him and let the matter drop. Yet, here he was causing more trouble at the dance.

“Where’s Hannah tonight?” Cat spoke softly to Ryan’s shoulder breaking his train of thought.

“She’s right over there, walking up to your friend Matt,” he answered.

“Oh doesn’t she look cute? I never would’ve recognized her.” Cat watched as Hannah, dressed as a black cat, approached Matt and then lost sight of them as a couple blocked her view. Cat turned her attention back to Ryan who seemed lost in thought again.

Matt felt a tap on his shoulder and saw a sleek, black cat standing before him. “Would you like to dance?” the cat asked.

“Meeeeowww! My pleasure,” he answered trying to figure out who was behind the mask.

“Is she serious?” Isaac muttered under his breath.

“Who?” Amelia asked absently.

“Hannah! She just asked Cat’s dorky little friend to dance. Is she really trying to make me angrier than I already am? I’ve got a good mind to go over there and drag her outside!” he snarled, his fingernails digging into Amelia’s shoulders.

“Ow Isaac! That hurts!” she whined. “What will that prove anyway? With that costume on, he probably doesn’t even know who she is! Just drop it! We’ll take care of that later.”

“Yes we will!” he replied glaring menacingly at his sister.

“Oh lookie lookie, Ryan seems to be asking for another chat as well,” she purred, delighted as she watched the anger washing over Isaac’s face, his fangs showing slightly. “Oh this is going to be so much fun,” she whispered into his ear.

“Ryan? Ryan? The music stopped. Ryan!” Cat’s voice penetrated his thoughts. He looked up to see her standing there staring at him. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah…sorry, I just have a lot on my mind,” he replied, still seeming distracted.

Cat looked deeply into Ryan’s eyes, which wasn’t hard for her to do. “Hey Ryan…I’ve been meaning to thank you for tutoring me. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be failing math and wouldn’t be on the swim team anymore. So…thanks,” she said with a slight smile.

Pulling her close he whispered, “No problem.”

Being in Ryan’s arms felt right to Cat. She felt even more protected than when she was in the arms of the Centurion. Ryan held her like he would never let her go. Her butterflies and nerves had settled, but her heart was still beating like crazy.

Ryan smiled as he felt Cat sigh.
I wonder what she’s thinking…why can’t I read her like I can every other girl in this school?
he asked himself.

The lights dimmed. A haunting melody came from the speakers. Cat continued to sway to the music with Ryan, oblivious to the people around her. Bumping into someone Cat opened her eyes, startled to see she was engulfed by fog. She couldn’t feel Ryan holding her, he was gone. She was all alone on the dance floor. The music slowly faded and the fog began to dissipate. Looking around she realized she was in an unfamiliar room. The walls and floors were made of pristine white marble. The room was in shambles. The only light source was a broken glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Shards of glass littered the area around her. A fierce wind howled into the room bringing with it stinging rain, chilling Cat to the bone. Lightning lit up the sky and the rumble of thunder quickly followed, causing more glass to splinter off from the broken windows and crash to the floor. Cat stepped back, startled, as more glass shattered at her feet. A moaning sound drew her attention to a figure lying on the floor. She realized it was a woman covered in glass, clutching her head in pain, tiny cuts visible on her body. The woman began to scream, causing Cat to back further away. Seeming to feel Cat’s presence, the woman whipped her head around glaring at her through her wiry black hair. She hissed, baring her fangs, her eyes blazing with hatred. Cat tried to scream, but it was caught in her throat. She felt weak as if her energy was being drained, and then nothing but darkness.

“Cat, Cat, wake up!” Ryan said with concern while holding her in his arms.

“Ryan, what did you do to her?” a worried Amanda yelled crouching down beside them.

“I didn’t do anything! We were dancing, she screamed and then collapsed,” he replied defensively.

Julie bent down and grabbed Cat’s hand. “Cat, Cat please wake up!” Somebody do something!” she demanded. Cat could hear their voices above her and slowly opened her eyes, unable to see at first due to the cloud of fog that surrounded her. She groaned remembering that she had been dancing with Ryan, saw something strange, and was now lying on the dance floor, the focus of everyone’s attention again.

“Excuse me, excuse me! Please let me by!” Miss Amaya demanded, pushing her way through the silent crowd making her way to Cat. Squatting down next to her and putting her arm around Julie, she whispered, “Cat, what happened?”

“I don’t know,” Cat replied realizing that she was being cradled in someone’s arms and knew without looking that it was Ryan. Hoping the mask hid the blush of embarrassment on her face, she struggled to sit up. Ryan grabbed her gently under the arms and effortlessly pulled her to her feet. A wave of dizziness came over her and thankfully Ryan still had a firm grip as she would have fallen otherwise.

Sitting down in the nearest chair, “I shouldn’t have skipped dinner, I guess,” Cat joked, trying to make light of the situation, still thinking about the woman she had seen.

Ryan knelt beside the chair and took Cat’s hands in his. “How do you really feel?” He asked with concern in his voice.

“I feel like I’m burning up,” Cat replied pulling the black wig off her head, revealing her mane of fiery red hair. She could hear the whispers around her as the crowd realized who she was.

“Let me through, please move! Yeah you! Move!” An angry Taylor pushed his way through the crowd. The scene in front of him made him clench his fists. He saw his little sister with her head bent and Ryan holding her hands. “What do you think you’re doing Beckford? I thought I made myself clear! Get away from my sister!” Ryan rose and backed away not wanting to cause a scene. Taylor rushed over and grabbed Ryan by the lapels of his coat, “Did you have anything to do with this?” his eyes blazing with rage as Jonathen and the rest of his group gathered behind him. Ryan fought to remain calm. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Isaac, Amelia and the stone twins shoving their way toward them. Cat groaned inwardly, wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

“Taylor stop it! He didn’t do anything!” she yelled out, using her last bit of energy.

Miss Amaya leaned down and whispered to Cat, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.” Cat tried to smile as Trish took Miss Amaya’s place by her side. Miss Amaya raised her hands in the air, “Alright, everyone stop! We shall have none of this tonight! We all came here to dance and have a good time. And that’s what we shall do! So, DJ play that music!” she ordered, a broad smile plastered on her face. “Now, you two young men come with me this instant!” she demanded, grabbing Ryan and Taylor by the arms. “And as for the rest of you,” she said looking at Taylor’s and Isaac’s groups who were busy having a stare down, “cease and desist or else you’ll see me angry! And believe me, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry!” she said with a sinister grin. Both groups looked at her and then backed down, still glaring at each other.

“Everything under control Miss Amaya?” Principal Landers asked.

“Of course, everything is just peachy keen. I’ll just sort these two out and we’ll be done with it,” Miss Amaya replied while walking past her into the luxurious hallway holding tightly on to both Ryan and Taylor.

“What happened, what did I miss?” Matt asked seeing everyone standing around Cat.

“What do you mean, what did I miss? Cat fainted again! Wait, where have you been? Who have you been with?” Amanda asked. Cat watched as Hannah, who had been standing behind Matt, slipped away back toward Isaac’s group.

“None of your business! But if you must know, I was with a cute little kitty. Wait a minute! Where did she go?” Matt asked turning around to introduce her. “She was here a minute ago!”

“In your dreams Matt! A cute little kitty, please! Make yourself useful and get Cat something to eat and drink! Now!” Amanda demanded, pointing to the refreshments. He began to say something but was interrupted by Elle who grabbed his arm and walked him away from Amanda shaking her head.

Cat watched the doors, waiting for Ryan and Taylor to return. To her disappointment Taylor and Miss Amaya were the only two who came through the door. Taylor strode up to her and looked at Trish, “Come on, we’re going to take her home,” he said motioning at Cat.