Savannah
I gasped, "Anne, what are you-"
"You kissed Tristan? Is this the Tristan I think it is, as in Tristan Coleman, the guy who dated you then dumped you in the fourth grade?"
What had I said? Biting my lower lip, I replayed my own words then cringed. Yep, I'd slipped and said his name despite being so careful not to. Oh, crap. I shouldn't have even told Anne about the dream. But it had been such an amazing dream, and I hated not having a single person to share it with.
So I told her almost everything. I told her about how Tristan had stepped in and fought Greg for me in September, and then I'd accidentally gaze dazed him, too. I told her about his joining the Charmers as a manager and escort after his parents made him quit all sports as punishment for fighting Dylan during a game. And how he and I had ended up on our secret first date last night.
Being able to talk to someone about Tristan was such a huge relief, even if Anne wasn't exactly his biggest fan. But either she was mellowing out or she'd given up on hating him as much as she used to, because even though I was braced for it, she didn't give me even one warning about his being a player who would only break my heart. And out of all the people in my life to accidentally slip and confess to, there was no one better than Anne, Jacksonville's very own human vault of secrets. She had never once spilled anyone's secret, not even in anger or revenge. So I knew I could trust her with the details about Tristan and me.
And yet...I still couldn't tell her everything. I couldn't tell her about my father, or anything about the existence of vampires. What might the vampire council do if she learned about their existence and they found out about it? I also couldn't tell her that my family used to be in the Clann.
She already knew about the Clann's abilities, though. Or at least strongly suspected.
"They're all a bunch of witches, aren't they?" she said. "I knew it. Everyone says they are, and I believe it. You know why? Because it explains everything. I mean, how else would he have saved you all those times? It had to have been either magic or some crazy high-tech CIA-mind-control type gear he gave me. They just worked way too well and way too fast."
Huh? "Anne, what are you talking about?"
She pressed her lips together, considered then nodded. "He never made me promise not to tell, so... Do you remember how all your gaze-daze victims just suddenly left you alone?"
"Yeah, but that was because the effects wore off."
"Sorry, my friend, but no. Tristan gave me these little heart candies every time you got a new stalker. He asked me to put them in your backpack and duffel bag. And immediately your stalkers stayed away. I always wondered how he did it, though."
"And now you're thinking it was some kind of magic spell?"
She nodded.
So it wasn't just the gaze-daze effects eventually wearing off. I'd had help all along.
At first, I absolutely melted at the idea of Tristan secretly playing knight in shining armor for me. He was so incredibly sweet and good to me, looking out for me like that months before we'd even started talking again. Not to mention the fact that his working with Anne could not have been fun for either of them.
But then the blood drained from my head and seemed to pool in my toes, taking my smile right along with it. Oh, no. If this was true, then...
"What?" she demanded.
"I've made eye contact with Tristan twice now. Once right after he fought with Greg in September, and then again last week. Though I could swear he wasn't affected." I cringed in anticipation of Anne's reaction. She hadn't thought me too brilliant when I'd messed up with Greg. I could guess how she'd react this time.
She leaned back against her door with a thump. "And you said ever since he's been asking you out?"
I nodded, saw the direction of her thoughts and felt sick to my stomach.
"No wonder. He's gaze dazed." She sounded like a doctor announcing I had cancer.
Suddenly it was hard to breathe. My fingers twisted together. "But he didn't look possessed like the others. And besides, why would he want to help with the algebra boys? That was way before he and I ever made eye contact."
"That was just guilt from dumping you so badly in the fourth grade."
I cringed. "You really think so?"
"The pattern behind his actions seems pretty clear to me. He protected you from the Warty Boys in algebra and then later from Greg because he was feeling guilty for being such a jerk for years. And then you popped him with the gaze daze, so he joined the Charmers so he could be around you, then was driven by a second hit of the gaze daze to ask you out until you finally gave in." She stared at me like it was all too obvious and I was an idiot for even doubting it. "Why else would Mr. Macho go from not talking to you at all to joining your dance team and begging you twice a day to date him?"
So much for the knight-in-shining-armor image.
My stomach cramped so hard I had to wrap my arms around myself.
I remembered how Tristan had smiled at me last night, how he'd held me while we danced, how he'd touched my face as if I were something delicate and precious while he kissed me. How he'd staggered and seemed ready to fall over after our kiss, and was worried that I might not want to see him again. And how I'd wondered why in the world he would be so into someone like me. Oh, crap. Anne was right. I knew it had all been way too good to be true.
"Fine, he's gaze dazed." Anger at myself and the whole situation, along with a sinking sensation I didn't want to think about just yet, made me snap. I took a deep breath, blinked away the burning sensation in my eyes and tried not to take it out on her. "Okay, so now what? If he's the only reason those other guys left me alone...who's going to save him?"
"His sister?"
"I can't ask her for help! Can you see that conversation? 'Hi, Emily, I'm the reason your brother has gone all goofy and obsessed lately. Listen, could you do a spell to keep him away from me? I know it's my fault, but it would be such a big help. Thanks so much!'" I shook my head. "Yeah, that would go over so well."
She sighed and put the truck back into gear. "Well, you can always go with plan B. See how long it really takes for the effects to wear off without help."
The only problem was...that evil side deep within me didn't want the effects to wear off Tristan. Ever. "Or there's plan C."
"Which is?"
"Do what my father wants, switch schools and move in with him."
"Oh, you will not move in with your dad! Coleman can just get over it naturally. I'm not losing my best friend just because some player finally got hit with a dose of karma."
I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. No matter what I did, someone was going to be hurt. And it would be all my fault. Again.
That night as I climbed into bed, I wondered...what if I really had dream connected with Tristan last night? Would he try to connect with me again tonight? And if he did, should I try to end the dream? If he didn't see me anymore, at least romantically, maybe the effects would wear off faster. It seemed almost cruel to encourage his feelings for me when, as Anne had clearly pointed out, they obviously were just a product of the gaze daze.
Which meant nothing about our date had been real, either. The dancing, the kisses, his asking to see me again... He was just acting from a vampire effect I'd put on him.
And I was a horrible, selfish person for even partly wanting him to stay under that spell.
Reluctantly, I took off my gold locket. If we dream connected again tonight, I would do the right thing and tell him I couldn't date him anymore.
The next morning, I didn't know whether to be grateful or depressed that I hadn't dreamed about him at all.
What I did know was that it was time to learn how to control this awful gaze of mine. Unfortunately, the only person who knew how to control vampire abilities without magic wasn't answering his stupid cell phone, because apparently my father was still too busy with his precious council. I thought about leaving him a message then decided against it. A panicked plea for help would only make this into a huge deal the council would want to get involved in, and who knew what would happen then. Better just to wait until he called me again. Then I could casually ask about the gaze daze's cure in general as a hypothetical situation.
He'd said he would be out of contact for a while. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long, though. Because in the meantime, it looked like I would be on my own to clean up the mess I'd made.
And what a gorgeous mess he was as he leaned against the foyer doors of the sports and art building Monday morning.
I gulped and steeled myself even as the familiar ache slammed into me. The pain wasn't too bad today. Maybe my body had gotten its fill of his kisses for a while.
I also felt something else, though...a strange tingling at the back of my neck, as if I were being watched. I shook it off. Of course I was being watched. Tristan was staring straight at me.
How in the world would I work beside him today without everyone knowing how I felt?
"Good morning, Savannah," he said, taking my tea from me just like always while I unlocked the doors.
"Good morning, Tristan."
He didn't say anything as we crossed the entrance hall. When we started up the stairs, I dared to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe Anne was wrong and he wasn't gaze dazed, after all. It was going to be okay. I would just have to be sure to see him only at school and nowhere else.
So why did I still feel so miserable?
Sighing again, I led the way into the dim hall.
And shrieked when he grabbed me from behind, spun me around and kissed me. My blood began to sing through my veins, humming in my ears like the dull roar of a far-off ocean.
"Now that's the proper way to say good-morning," he mumbled against my lips. I had to cling to his shoulders so I could stay standing.
Oh, crap. I couldn't think straight. He stepped away from me and leaned back against the wall. There was something I'd wanted to talk to him about. Some reason kissing him was a really bad idea. But with my blood whooshing through my head so loudly, I couldn't remember why feeling this pumped with energy would ever be a bad thing.
He definitely knew how to kiss.
I stumbled over to the dance room to begin my usual unlocking routine. And yet, I had a feeling nothing would be normal about our routine ever again.
He followed me into the office, grunting a little as he picked up the sound system.
He'd never acted like the sound system was heavy before. Distracted, I raised my eyebrows in silent question.
"Heavy today," he muttered with a half grin.
"Uh-huh, let me see." I took the MegaVox case from him and lifted it with just two fingers. "No, it's lighter today, actually." Just to be sure, I opened the hard plastic lid and peeked inside. Yep, the fifty-pound MegaVox was still in there. Hmm, weird. Snapping the lid shut, I handed the case back, and he oomphed again.
"What's the matter, didn't eat your Wheaties this morning?" I teased as we headed down the stairs. But my mind was focused on yesterday's talk with Anne. She and I had to be wrong. Nothing about Tristan's facial expression or actions was anything like how Greg and the algebra boys had appeared. Still, Anne was more objective than me, and even she thought Tristan had to be gaze dazed. So he must be. Right?
"Didn't get much rest this weekend," Tristan replied. "Which reminds me...how's your dad taking the news that you won't be moving in with him?"
My brain blanked out again. "He's out of town for a while. But how... Did you talk to Anne?"
"No." He reached the bottom of the stairs, standing so close I had to tilt my head back to look up at him.
"Then how did you...?" The dream. Our minds really had been connected.
He smiled down at me, a soft smile that made me feel shaky inside. "I told you Friday night in our dream." He gave me a quick peck on my lips that robbed me of thought yet again. "Uh, not to sound less than manly here, but we should get moving before I drop this stuff. I swear it really is heavier today."
In stunned silence, I followed him out of the building. As we walked down the campus road, the wind made the woods at our right sigh and sway just like the trees had in our dreams together. I replayed every dream conversation we'd had, alternately fighting a blush or a groan at each thing I remembered saying to him. I would never wear just a T-shirt to bed again.
And then I remembered something else, and the words just blurted right out of me. "So you fought Dylan because of me."
"Yep. He was being an ass, saying stuff about you. He's lucky I didn't bust his lip while I was at it."
Which meant in a way, he'd lost the ability to play football for the entire last month of the season because of me. While the trees still blocked us from the view of the practice field, I reached over and wrapped an arm around Tristan's waist, giving him a long sideways hug. I felt him kiss the top of my head then murmur, "Like I said, I shouldn't have lost control. It was my fault for letting him rile me up like that."
Then the trees ended and we had to step away from each other and pretend we were nothing more than a head manager walking with one of her managers. It felt like I was ripping off my arm.
It took more effort than usual to hide my feelings for Tristan during practice. Every few seconds, my gaze strayed over to him. And every time I saw him, I thought about kissing him, dancing with him, lying on a blanket with him by a stream in my dream. Make that our dream.
I really wanted Anne and me to be wrong about Tristan being gaze dazed. Over and over, I compared his actions to the others' after making eye contact with me. They just didn't match. With Greg, I'd known almost right away that making eye contact with him had changed him. But the only difference Tristan had shown after making eye contact with me was his desire to date me. Even before our kiss in the uniform closet, he'd constantly found ways to touch me or be close to me. Granted, that might be a leftover effect from when we'd made eye contact in September. But he hadn't attempted to see me or even talk to me for weeks after the first eye contact. So how could he have been gaze dazed then?
Dimly I heard someone yell out my name. I glanced around for the source then jumped as someone shouted my name again. It came from the MegaVox. I looked up at the bleachers to find an exasperated Mrs. Daniels staring down at me. Uh-oh. No telling how long she'd had to yell to get my attention.
Heat flared into my cheeks as I refocused on running the music for the dancers. Crap. Had everyone on the team seen me staring at Tristan?
Maybe he wasn't the only one gaze dazed around here.
I managed not to look at him again. But it was a constant struggle.
Still lost in thought at the end of practice, I didn't say anything as we walked together back to the dance rooms. He waited in silence as I locked up the sound system in the office closet. When I turned to face him, I found him leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb.
"About our date tonight," he began.
"Tonight? I don't remember setting it for tonight." My voice came out as a squeak. I stared at his nose so I could indirectly study the look in his eyes. Nope, he still didn't appear possessed like the others had seemed.
"For our date tonight, I was thinking we should dream connect again. Or at least try to."
I frowned and stared at the floor. "Tristan, maybe we should just slow down and take a few minutes to really think about this. We're talking about lying to our parents. A lot. And often. My family is going to know if I lie to them. How long do you really think we could keep this a secret? I mean, I want to see you, too, don't get me wrong. But...aren't you worried just the least little bit about the consequences if we get caught?"
He frowned. "We won't get caught. Emily can make you a charm to block your parents from reading your mind."
It wouldn't be my thoughts that would give away what we were doing. "Oh, yeah? And is she also going to make a charm that will do something about my face? Because I don't know about you, but I'm a really crappy liar. They're going to be able to tell I'm lying just by looking at me!"
Smiling, he reached out to take my hand and give it a soft squeeze. "You worry too much. Parents aren't all-powerful. Emily and I get away with stuff all the time."
"Maybe you do. But I've never broken the rules before."
"Which is exactly what's going to help you now. They won't be scrutinizing everything you say and do. So just focus on something else when you're around them and don't worry about it."
The warmth from his hand flowed up my arm, soothing me. Then his thumb started caressing my skin in a small, slow circle, making it tough for me to think straight. Probably exactly as he intended.
I tugged my hand free and crossed my arms over my chest. "Tristan, be serious here. I don't want to hurt my family."
Sighing, he crossed his arms over his chest, too, and frowned. Rocking back on his heels, he asked, "Do you want to be with me?"
"I... Yes. But-"
"And do you think it's fair for our families or the Clann or anyone else to tell us who we can and can't be with?"
"Well, no, I guess not, but they-"
"No buts. I'm tired of others running my life for me. They've kept us apart for seven years. It's time we take back control over our own lives. Do what we think is right. Their issues are theirs, not ours. It's not your fault your family got kicked out of the Clann. And it's not my fault, either. So why punish us?"
I slumped, feeling his arguments physically wearing me down. Fighting him was hard enough. But standing up against both him and my own heart was starting to feel like an impossible battle. "Exactly how do you expect us to date in secret without someone finding out? Where would we even go on a date?"
He cocked his head in the direction of the dance room next door. "We'll always have the dance room. It can be our place. And we can dream connect. Every night if you want to."
I thought about his reputation for taking girls to restaurants, to the movies, to parties. He was talking about giving all that up and settling for dates spent sitting on a cold cement floor with takeout or only in our shared imaginations. Not that I'd mind. I'd take any kind of date with him I could get. But what about what he was used to? Wouldn't he miss all that while dating me? He deserved better.
I sighed, unable to escape my biggest worry of all. "Tristan, are you sure this is really you making these decisions?"
His eyebrows drew together in confusion, then he frowned. "Is this about the eye thing again? Savannah, that was over months ago."
"No, that was a week ago. In the closet, before we..." My face burned, and I couldn't finish.
"So you made eye contact with me again. No big deal. That was just some accidental spell you put on those boys or something. I would have felt it if you'd used any magic on me, and I haven't."
But it wasn't magic behind the gaze daze. Unfortunately, I couldn't explain that without also telling him about my vampire side. "What if it's not magic? What if it's something else?"
"Like what?"
I ground my teeth, at a loss for an explanation. "Just go with me here on this, okay? What if it's not like doing a spell or whatever, so you can't feel magic being used when I gaze daze someone? How close were you when I gaze dazed those guys in our ninth-grade algebra class?"
"I don't know, maybe fifty yards?"
"And how far away can you normally feel magic being used?"
"Depends on how strong it is. I've heard everyone on campus can feel it when my energy spikes." He grinned.
I tried not to roll my eyes. "So then either the gaze daze is a really low level of power use, or it's something that just can't be felt. Right?" Lord, I was so reaching here.
"Fine. Even if it is, I think I'd know if I felt differently when you looked at me. And I didn't."
"Then why did you act different? Why did you suddenly decide you wanted to be with me? You weren't even speaking to me before you fought with Greg."
"Savannah, my feelings for you have always been there. I've always needed to be with you. After you ended things with Greg, I just didn't see the point in fighting them anymore." He stroked my cheek. "It wasn't your eyes that made me want to live my own life for a change. Just you."
Oh, how I wanted to believe that. I leaned into his hand, feeling every muscle in my body relaxing against my will. I put up one last token argument. "Maybe I should move in with my father, after all. If I was gone, then you could know for sure whether you were thinking clearly or under the gaze-daze effect. And if it turned out to be the gaze daze, maybe with me gone it might wear off-"
"You do and I'll just have to find you," he growled, but his thumbs made a lie of his ferocious tone by softly caressing my cheeks. "And then it'd be all your fault for making me miss school."
He was pretty used to getting what he wanted all the time. I could easily imagine him skipping school just to chase down some elusive girl. My lips twitched with the urge to smile.
"You want to know for sure I'm not under a spell?" he asked.
"It would be nice, yes."
"Then look at me."
I looked at his nose.
"My eyes, Savannah. Look into my eyes. And keep looking. See if they change like those other guys' did."
No way, I could not do it to him a third time. The effects would never wear off at this rate.
"Look at me."
"I can't."
"Look at me, damn it!"
Shocked, my gaze popped up to meet his against my will.
And it was Tristan Coleman staring back at me, with the exact same eyes I remembered from my childhood.
"Keep looking. Tell me if they change," he murmured.
I began to shake. This was too intense, staring into his eyes, searching them for signs that I was robbing him of sanity and free will like I'd done to Greg and the others.
The bell rang, signaling the end of first period. But neither of us moved. The seconds ticked by.
After another long minute, he said, "Well? Still me in there?"
I nodded, though I could hardly believe it. I had spent months getting used to the idea that every male I made eye contact with would go nuts. Yet here was Tristan, the one boy I wouldn't mind having for a stalker, and he didn't seem the slightest bit affected. Could he be wearing a family charm that protected him from the gaze daze? Were all descendants immune to it automatically? Maybe it was like their trying to read a vampire's mind...they had somehow built up a genetic defense against the vamp's gaze-daze effect?
I would have to ask my mom if she had ever been gaze dazed by my dad.
His hands slid down my shoulders and arms to hold my hands. "Then are we done arguing about this? Will you be my girlfriend?"
As if my heart had really ever given me a choice otherwise. Swallowing down a rising lump in my throat, I nodded and tugged my hands free so I could wrap my arms around his waist. I grinned, the rightness of this sensation making me wonder now why I had ever tried to fight it. He was right. The Clann's rules were stupid. If ever two people were meant to be together, we were it. And it was time we decided for ourselves for a change.
"Good." He kissed me, softly at first, then harder, gathering me against him until I couldn't tell who held who tighter.
He lifted his head with a gasp for air then grinned down at me. "Your gaze might not affect me, but kissing you definitely does." He stared down at me, and it was both terrifying and wonderful to stare back up at him. "Did you know your eyes turn silver when I kiss you?"
They should turn brown. He made me feel like I'd downed an entire pot of coffee when he kissed me. I was practically vibrating with energy.
Unfortunately, second period called, and life didn't revolve around kissing Tristan Coleman. Although I was starting to wish it did.
Tristan
I hadn't stopped grinning all morning. I flopped into my chair beside Emily in the cafeteria, and like a magnet, Savannah drew my gaze. She was so incredibly beautiful. And I was the lucky guy who got to kiss her. As I watched her standing in the food line, her cheeks turned pink. Could she feel me staring at her? Now that I knew she was a descendant by birth, I had a hunch she just might be able to sense my attention, after all.
"Okay, now I know something's wrong with you," Emily said.
"Hmm? Why's that?"
"First Dad finds you still passed out in the backyard at lunchtime on Saturday."
"I wasn't drunk."
"Uh-huh. Then you act like you're hung over until Sunday-"
"Can't be hung over if there's no booze or drugs involved."
"I tell you to go draw some energy from the ground-"
"Which I did, and it worked, thank you."
"And you seemed fine last night. But now you're flopping around like a rag doll again, only you're wearing a goofy grin."
"Hmm. You're right. I am pretty tired again. Think Mrs. Harper will mind if I sleep through Spanish this afternoon?"
She stared at me for a long minute with that frown she always wore when she was working on a problem. "Tell me something. You got home awfully late Friday night. You wouldn't happen to have gone on a date with someone after the game?"
"Yeah, actually, I did." Best date of my life, other than the dream one later that night.
"Would it have been with anyone I know?"
"Maybe. She's a student here."
"A Charmer?"
"Sort of."
"A redheaded junior who is so off-limits?" she hissed with shocked fury.
I cringed. "Maybe. Hey, did you know her family used to be in the Clann before her mom broke some rule and they were kicked out?"
She sighed and threw up her hands in the air. "You're an idiot. I knew you always liked her. But to actually break the rules and date her? There's a reason her family was kicked out of the Clann."
"Oh, yeah? And what is it?"
"I don't know. But it must have been huge for them to cast out her whole family. And now you tell me you're dating an outcast descendant, and every time you see her, you're weak afterward. You did see her this morning at Charmers practice, right?"
"Oh, yeah. I saw her." I grinned at the memory of our goodbye kiss. Make that kisses.
"What if she's draining you?"
My grin dropped straight into a scowl. Emily could be such a mood killer sometimes. "She's not draining me." Kissing Savannah was the best feeling ever.
"How would you know? Have you ever been drained before? You have no idea what it feels like."
Good point. Know-it-all brat. "And you do?"
She glared back at me. Ha! She didn't know what it felt like, either.
Which was all off topic anyways. "Look, Savannah wouldn't do that to me. Why would she? If she's got that kind of power, she could draw from nature just like the rest of us."
"Not if she was never trained to. What if this is her power's way of leaking out of control? Or what if this is part of the reason her family was cast out? They could all be power leeches. Or what if she's draining you as revenge for her family being cast out?"
"Enough with the conspiracy theories already. She's not like that. My being tired after seeing her is just a coincidence. You don't know anything about her."
"Not yet, I don't."
Good mood gone, I peeled myself from my chair. "I'm going outside for a while."
"Good. Do yourself a favor and do some drawing while you're there. And I don't mean the artistic type. I'll let you know what I discover."
Sisters. What a pain.
Still, Emily usually had good ideas. Maybe I would go sit under my grounding tree and draw a little energy from the earth like she'd suggested.
A few minutes later while leaned back against the tree in the biting-cold air, I heard the squeak of the cafeteria doors. At the same time, my gut and stomach ached from Savannah's nearness. Smiling, I snuck a peek at her.
She wore a matching smile as she emerged from the cafeteria with her friends. Then she looked my way, and the smile she flashed me was like looking directly at a summer sun at noon, lighting up the gray winter day.
And then she glanced past me at something. Her smile slipped, and her feet stumbled to a stop.
I looked behind me. Nothing there but an empty road, the practice field and the edge of the woods that circled three sides of the school grounds. What could make her freeze up like that?
Savannah
They were definitely staring at me. I wasn't sure how I knew this, but I did. And the longer I looked at the trio of adults standing at the edge of the woods behind Tristan, the more I could sense someone else's emotions...anger, curiosity, patient determination, fear, all roiling together in a dark, seething cloud against my skin despite my best efforts to shield against them. The emotions had to be coming from them. No one else nearby looked anything but happy.
Why didn't they ever blink? Or move?
I gripped my notebook, hugging it to my chest and stomach, my palms turning damp. Gut instinct screamed at me to run away. And yet my feet seemed frozen in place.
Why were they standing over there? And why were they staring at me?
From this distance, they looked like middle-aged adults, two men, one woman. Their faces watched me without any expression. The wind flipped the men's dark suit jackets and turned the woman's hair into a writhing black cloud around her head, yet she made no effort to push back the wild strands.
"Hey, Anne, do you know who those people are?" I jerked my head in the trio's direction, trying to act normal.
Anne glanced at the woods then gave me a blank look. "Who?"
"Those three people standing over there by the woods. At the edge of the practice field."
She continued to look clueless. But she was just messing with my head. Miss Always Practical Carrie wouldn't, though. "Carrie, do you know who they are?"
Carrie looked in the correct direction. "Where?"
"Oh, not funny, guys. The two men and one woman standing right over there." Feeling rude, I pointed anyway. Let the trio know I was talking about them. They'd been rude first by staring at me.
Carried stared at me, too, her blue eyes expressionless. "Sav, there's no one there."
"Oh, come on! Michelle, you see them, right?"
Michelle shook her head, and now all three of my friends were looking at me as if I'd gone nuts.
Maybe I had. I turned toward the creepy trio. Yep, they were still there, still solid and unwavering, and still staring at me. Goose bumps raced over my arms and thighs.
"Y'all swear you don't see them?" I'd meant to sound calm, but the words came out in a croak instead.
"I swear," Anne replied, and Carrie and Michelle nodded.
"Come on, let's...get to class," Anne muttered, grabbing my arm and dragging me away.
Lovely. As if I wasn't already freakish enough, now I was seeing invisible people. Either that or ghosts.
Thankfully, my afternoon classes were in the main building on the opposite side of the campus. Regardless, every crashing locker door in the main hall between classes made me jump.
And looming ahead after school was the usual Charmers practice. In the field right next to where those watchers had been standing.
Please be gone now, my mind chanted as I shuffled along the walkway to the sports and art building after the final school bell rang.
As I made my way up the cement ramp to the foyer doors, I glanced back at the woods. And stumbled. The trio were still there, and they were staring at me again. The woman's hair was impossibly tangled as the wind continued to whip it around her face unchecked. They looked as if they hadn't moved in hours and were perfectly capable of standing there until the end of time. Their seething mixture of emotions reached out like invisible fingers, spreading over my midsection like a malicious fog until I wanted to claw off my own skin just to get away from the sensation.
What did they want?
Panic rose, icy cold, starting in my chest and stomach then spreading out to numb my limbs. I clamped my teeth together and hurried inside. At Mrs. Daniels's office, I leaned against the doorjamb and slid down as my legs went weak with relief, my breaths coming out fast and short.
Oh, crap. I couldn't go back out there. I would have to walk right past them to get to the field. I would be within feet of them. They might jump out and grab me or something.
I'd have to miss practice today. I'd have to...
I didn't hear Tristan come up the stairs. "Hey, Sav, what's wrong?" He crossed the distance to me in three long strides then crouched down before me. His hands surrounded mine, the heat from his skin letting me know how cold I was.
"You'll think I'm crazy."
"Try me."
"There're these...people outside by the practice field. At the edge of the woods. Adults. Three of them. They keep staring at me. They were there at lunch, too, but my friends swore they couldn't see them. None of them could. How could they not see them? I think they're ghosts or something." The words poured out of me, my voice rising to a near shriek at the end.
"Okay, calm down. You say they were staring at you?"
How could I explain why the watchers freaked me out so much? "Yeah. But they're not blinking or moving or anything. They're like statues. Only their heads and eyes turn when I walk by." A sudden thought hit me. "Do you think the Clann sent them to spy on us? Maybe your parents suspect we're dating and sent them. But why not make themselves invisible to me, too? Wouldn't that make more sense?"
"Whoa, slow down." He stood and pulled me up with him. "If the Clann sent spies to watch me, which I doubt they'd do, they would make themselves invisible to everyone. Otherwise they wouldn't be very good spies, right?"
His calm confidence reached out to me like a soft, warm blanket. My heartbeat slowed down in response. Feeling stupid, I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. I was over-reacting. "You're right. But why can't my friends see them?"
"I don't know. Why don't we find out if I can?"
It took several tries, but I managed to unlock the office closet so we could get the sound system and my trainer's bag. Then we made our way downstairs and out the building.
The watchers were still there. This time their eyes widened as if in shock. Proof they probably weren't ghosts. Ghosts didn't act surprised and weren't affected by the wind, were they?
"Are they still there?" Tristan muttered, looking in their direction.
I nodded, fear closing my throat again. He couldn't see them, either. Oh, crap, I really was going crazy.
"Well, they won't hurt you as long as I'm here." He reached out to hold my hand.
The woman in the middle lurched forward a step and hissed, but her companions grabbed her arms in restraint. Her fury washed over my skin.
I gasped and froze. "Let go of my hand. It upsets them."
He released my hand. "We're going to be late for practice. Why don't we go around the opposite side of the math building-"
As if they'd heard, the watchers turned toward the practice field. Then they took off, moving so fast they became three blurs. Holy crap, how could they move like that? They couldn't possibly be descendants, not unless they'd used magic to give themselves superpowers somehow. Then again, maybe that was exactly what they had done. After all, what did I know about magic and what descendants could or couldn't do with proper training?
Where had they gone?
The only thing worse than being stared at by three creepy watchers was not knowing where they were now. I jogged down the ramp to the road and past the math building. I was just in time to see the watchers' blurs streak alongside the practice-field fence before they stopped at the far end, becoming solid once more.
"Wow. They move fast."
"Where are they now?"
"Far end of the field outside the fence. And they're staring at me again."
His eyes widened. "Yeah, that is fast."
"You still can't see them, can you?"
"No. I'm sorry, I wish I could. Maybe if the Clann sent them then I could at least identify them."
A horrible thought came to me. "What if that's the point? Send watchers only I can see so I think I'm going crazy. Try to scare me away from seeing you."
We entered the field. I tried not to look at the watchers, but it was like trying not to look at a train hurtling toward me while I stood on the train tracks. Survival instinct demanded I glance their way every few seconds to make sure they hadn't moved again.
"Well, at least they're keeping their distance, right?" He helped me set up the sound system. "Just try to stay calm, and when I get ice in a while, I'll stop by the practice gym and ask Emily for advice."
"No, don't. Your sister will think I'm a nutcase."
"No, she won't. I promise. And if the Clann did send spies or someone to try to scare you, she can ask around without looking as suspicious as I would." He smiled. "Trust me, the girl is a mastermind. She can dig information out of anyone."
"Do you think I'm nuts?"
"I hope you are. About me, at least."
I managed a half smile. "Uh-huh. But seriously. Am I nuts?"
"Because of the watchers?" Crouching down beside me, he lifted his head, closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips to the ground. After a moment, the smile left his face. "No. Something doesn't feel right. And it's probably them."
