Vampires Rule (15 page)

Jack stared into the eyes of the thing that
had killed him.

Jack drove home as fast as he could without
drawing the wrong kind of attention. The last thing he needed was a
speeding ticket. Once he finally reached the house, he leaped out
of the car and raced inside. Terror had been his nagging companion
on the ride home. He couldn’t get the janitor’s ugly laughing face
out of his head.

Billy was busy fixing a sandwich when Jack
entered the kitchen. With drooping eyes and a slack mouth, he
didn’t look like he’d had much sleep either. He dropped the dull
knife he’d been using to spread peanut butter and grabbed a sharper
one from the drawer. “Come any closer and I’ll slice your heart
out.”

Adrenaline pumped dangerously fast in Jack’s
veins, messing with his sense of self-preservation. Part of him
wanted to jump over the breakfast bar and wrestle the knife from
his brother’s hand. He didn’t appreciate being threatened,
especially not after what he’d just seen. The diplomatic voice
inside his head told him to take it easy. He forced himself to
stand still even though every muscle he owned nearly went into
spasms over the inactivity.

“I saw him!” Jack tried to keep his voice
steady, but it cracked with emotion. “He’s working at the school.
We have to kill him.”

Billy’s eyebrows went up. “Who do we have to
kill?”

“I don’t know what he’s calling himself.”

“You want to kill someone and you don’t even
know his name? Right. Did he cheat off your paper or cut in line at
lunch?”

Jack’s head felt like it might implode. It
was holding too much information, too many terrible thoughts. He
took another deep breath and tried to steady his shaking hands.
“Okay. I know you don’t trust me right now, but you need to listen.
I saw him, the werewolf who killed mom and dad. He’s at the
school.”

Billy froze, sandwich halfway to his mouth.
His eyes seemed to glaze over. With an angry grunt, he tossed his
unfinished meal into the trash. His finger jabbed the air in
warning. “You had better not be messing with me.”

“I’m not.”

“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to
find him.” Billy headed into the living room with determined steps.
Jack followed close behind. Billy opened the secret room and
started removing weapons two at a time. He piled them on the sofa.
“I searched and searched for that animal. Now you’re telling me
he’s working at the school?”

Jack nodded.

Billy checked each gun. He made sure the
safety was on before loading them with as much ammunition as they
would accept. It was quite a selection of hardware. There were
small guns and big guns, knives, and even a mechanical bow. He
handled each one with care, the way their father had taught them.
When Jack reached for one, Billy slapped his hand.

“I don’t think I trust you enough to give you
a weapon yet.”

Jack wasn’t going to argue about it. He was
just glad Billy was talking to him again. No sense in pushing it
until they had another fight. It would be especially stupid to
fight with Billy while a ton of weapons were between them.

“How much do you know about werewolves?” Jack
asked.

“Not as much as the Reign family, but enough
to get by.”

“I think we need to do more than get by here.
The werewolf who killed mom and dad is extremely powerful. He may
even be the lead werewolf. If so, then only Silver can kill him.
Unless…”

Billy stopped what he was doing and looked
up, curious. “Unless what?”

“Silver says there’s a magic rock with the
power to kill any werewolf. According to her, I’m the one who needs
to use this rock. In fact, I’m the only one who can use it. It was
made for me.”

Billy appeared doubtful. “Maybe you should
call her since this is her area of expertise.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“We had a fight. Remember?” The words sounded
lame even to him. They were talking about getting revenge on the
monster who’d taken their parents away, and he was sulking over a
spat with a friend. He rubbed the back of his neck. “She isn’t
speaking to me right now.”

Billy shook his head. “Unbelievable. I have
waited for this opportunity for years and we’re going to watch it
go down the drain because you did something stupid and ticked off a
girl.”

“What makes you think it was something I
did?”

“Wild guess.”

The tight rope Jack had on his temper
loosened a notch.

“I think I’ll call anyway,” Billy said. “I’ll
talk to Andrew or Vanessa. They’ll give it to me straight. Then we
can decide what to do about your werewolf.”

“It isn’t my werewolf,” Jack growled. He took
his temper and went outside. Better to give Billy some privacy
while he talked to the Reigns. He didn’t tell Billy about Jersey
Clifford turning out to be a werewolf. Jersey hadn’t tried to kill
anyone to his knowledge. He didn’t want Billy to get sidetracked
thinking about Jersey. His brother’s homicidal tendencies needed to
be focused in the right direction for a change.

****

The next day Jack managed to get through the
morning without running into the werewolf janitor, Jersey or
Silver, the three people he did not want to talk to. By lunchtime
he was feeling pretty good. His morning classes were over. Now if
he could just get through the rest of the day without losing his
temper.

The lunchroom was packed by the time he
reached it. His eyes automatically sought Silver. She wasn’t hard
to spot. Sitting at a center table with a large group of friends,
she laughed at something one of the boy’s had said. Watching her,
he realized she wasn’t pretending not to notice him anymore.
Somehow she’d moved on and was truly over him.

Meghan and her friends waved him over, but
Jack walked in the opposite direction. If he had to listen to that
girl go on and on about her perfect life, he’d lose it again and
punch someone. Not her, because he didn’t hit girls, but he’d hit
someone, probably someone who didn’t deserve it.

Jack chose a far off table by the exit. There
were only a few students sitting there, and none of them seemed
particularly interested in talking to the new kid. He bought a tray
of food even though he wasn’t hungry. Since losing Silver, he’d
lost his appetite as well. He set the tray down before sliding onto
the bench. He kept his gaze lowered, not wanting to invite
conversation.

But some people couldn’t take a hint.

“May I join you?”

Jack swallowed the frustrated sigh building
in his throat. He looked up, expecting to see a student, but it was
a teacher. Jersey stood over him, a tray of food in hand. Without
waiting for a response, he sat across from Jack. Smiling, the
teacher asked, “You aren’t afraid of me, are you, Jack?”

Was he? Now that he was human, his emotions
were a chaotic mess. He had trouble labeling them. Shrugging, he
gave the teacher the answer he probably wanted. “No, I’m not afraid
of you.”

“Good.” Jersey stabbed a fork into his salad.
“Will you tell me what you saw when you touched me then? I’d like a
chance to explain it if I can. And please don’t try to tell me it
was nothing. We both know that isn’t true.”

Jersey stuffed some lettuce, cucumber, and a
piece of onion into his mouth.

“I didn’t know werewolves were vegetarians,”
Jack said, matter-of-fact tone.

Jersey continued to chew without missing a
beat. His pale blue eyes twinkled with amusement. Jack had wanted
to catch him off guard, but it hadn’t worked. Jersey spoke low
enough to keep the nearby students from overhearing. “I can’t speak
for the others, but I enjoy a well-rounded diet. What about you?
You haven’t told me how you managed to rise from the dead.”

“I was a vampire until recently.”

Jersey choked. He grabbed his bottled water
and drank half of it with big gulps. His large Adam’s apple bobbed
with each swallow. Now that Jack knew the truth about his teacher,
he could smell a strange scent coming off him. Part of it was the
familiar stench of werewolf, but there was something else as well,
an odor Jack couldn’t remember encountering before.

Jack stole a quick glance at Silver over the
teacher’s shoulder. She leaned against Trina, still laughing. One
of the boys dangled a plastic cup over their heads, threatening to
dump it on them. They squealed, a girlish sound. The voices carried
to him, taunting him.

“Why don’t you go over there and talk to her,
Jack? You obviously want to.” Jack shook his head, so Jersey asked,
“What happened? Did she cut you loose? Or is it the other way
around?”

“Why do you care?”

Jersey shrugged. “Humans fascinate me, you
especially.” He chuckled. “Although if I’m to believe your claim,
you aren’t an actual human being.”

“I was a vampire and now I’m not. I’m as
human as anyone else in this room, excluding you of course.”

Jack pushed the food around on his tray. He
hadn’t been paying attention when picking the items. He had
pudding, chips, a muffin, and chocolate milk. None of it struck him
as edible. He sure didn’t want to put it all in his stomach
together. He’d be sick before his next class even started.

Damn Billy for making him return to school.
Things were going to have to change between the two of them. Billy
was barely speaking to him, yet he managed to find enough words to
tell Jack that quitting school wasn’t an option. Billy reasoned
someone had to keep an eye on the werewolf janitor until they
figured out how to kill it. The Reigns hadn’t been home yesterday
to take Billy’s call, so the two brothers had to wing it for
now.

Jack watched Silver on the other side of the
cafeteria and considered talking to her. He could pull her aside to
tell her about the werewolf janitor, could ask her what he should
do about it. It gave him a good excuse to speak with her. He was
sure she’d want to know about the janitor. Werewolves were her job,
after all.

Jersey repeated his earlier question. “What
did you see when you touched me, Jack? I really need to know.”

“I saw you talking to some blond lady in a
tight pink skirt.”

A huge smile widened Jersey’s mouth. “You
must have seen Pagan. She works for me. A beautiful lady, yes, but
she’s dumb as a rock. I’ve tried for years to get her to expand her
mind, read some books from my private collection. However, she
would rather spend her free time painting her fingernails.” He set
his fork down and gave Jack his full attention. “Tell me more. What
else did you see?”

“She had bad news for you. A death in the
family?”

The smile faltered. “Oh. You saw the day I
found out about Kenneth. I told you I had recently lost a
friend.”

Jack kept his mouth shut.

“You saw me transform.” Jersey pushed the
salad aside and laced his fingers on the tabletop. “You know my
secret, and I know yours. Seems we’re at a stalemate. Suppose we
reach a mutual understanding here and now before something
regrettable happens.”

“I’m not planning on telling anyone if that’s
what you’re worried about. I have something bigger than you on my
mind.”

Jersey didn’t ask for details. He seemed
happy with the information he’d gleaned from his new student.
Nodding, he returned to his salad. After a few bites he said, “I’d
like to ask you another question if I may.”

“Go ahead.” Jack steeled himself.

“What do you really think of my class?”

For the next ten minutes they talked about
literature, Jersey’s favorite subject. Jack told him about Lily and
how she’d shared her love of the written word with him. For a short
time Jack forgot his problems. Another reason he liked Jersey. The
man seemed to have that affect on people.

During their conversation, Jack kept his eyes
on the teacher, but he was ultra-aware of every movement Silver
made, no matter how slight. His keen sixth sense told him when she
got up to dump her garbage, and his eyes followed her to the metal
trashcan.

Jersey sighed. “If you miss her, go to her.
Whatever came between you two can be worked out.”

Jack dragged his eyes from Silver long enough
to check Jersey’s expression. His eyes clouded over with a deep
sadness. Scratch that. It was a terrible grief, the kind that came
from losing someone close. Reflected in those pale blue eyes was a
taste of what Jack had felt when he’d seen his parents killed.

“You’re young still,” Jersey said. “You may
not understand what I am about to tell you, but please try. Some of
us get one chance at love. We have a soul-mate, a single person in
this universe we are meant to be with. Once that person’s
gone…well, the world can be a bleak place.”

“Aren’t you and the blond together?”

“Pagan?” Jersey laughed, loud and throaty.
Curious students turned to look at the teacher and student having
lunch together. A strange sight to be sure. “She and I…that would
be impossible, Jack.”

“Why?”

He leaned over the table and lowered his
voice again. “Werewolves mate for life, and I had my one chance
with love several lifetimes ago.”

Jack found the high number of years hard to
fathom. It would be awful to be alone for that long. He watched
Silver as she headed for the door with her friends in tow. Her eyes
drifted his way. He sat up straighter and held his breath, silently
praying she would look directly at him, but also afraid she would.
His reasons for giving her up were still valid.

To Jack, the world kept moving at regular
speed; Silver moved in slow motion. Time seemed to stop for the two
of them as her eyes briefly touched his. Although she was smiling
for the benefit of her friends, he saw the pain in those eyes, pain
he had caused. His stomach plummeted to his feet.