Tompkin's School (For The Extraordinarily Talented Book 1) (28 page)

“Why? How?” I asked him as if he should know.

I walked over the ground where I had seen him fall to his knees. Why couldn’t we stop it? Why couldn’t we save his life? Just then I felt another heartbeat that felt similar to how it felt in transition, but it didn’t quite feel like Kain’s.

Izzy
, Kain’s thoughts filled my head,
do you feel that heartbeat?

Yes
, I thought.

How? It’s not even the full moon
, Kain thought.

I just shrugged.

Out of nowhere, I felt a tug on my heart. I looked over at Kain and could tell that he felt the same thing. I placed my hand on my chest, feeling the new heartbeat along with my own. It was the craziest feeling I had ever felt. Somehow, it felt different than when we were in transition...less natural. I heard a twig snap and I spun around.

“Who’s there?” Kain called.

Suddenly, a tall figure in a long cloak appeared in front of us. I was sure I had seen this figure before. This was the figure I had seen outside of the Walker’s home after the funeral.

“Who are you?” I asked.

The figure reached up and removed the hood to reveal his face. He crossed his arms as he leaned against a nearby tree. As the wind blew his long, wavy blond hair away from his face, the aroma of his blood sent a tingling sensation through my body. I had never been able to smell the blood of others outside of the full moon so it was definitely a strange experience. It was also odd that I recognized it. A crooked smile appeared on the stranger’s face and I froze when I realized who it was.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, grinning as his shaggy hair fell into his eyes.

“Lawrence!” I gasped.

I just stood there in awe that I was actually looking at the eldest Bartholomew brother. Not in the past or in a dream, but in the present. He stepped forward very close to me and I could feel his breath on my cheek.

“Call me Choyce,” he whispered, brushing his lips against my ear.

To be continued...