Patrice shot me a sidelong look. “You know nothing’s going on there, right?”
“I know. But she gets to go to the party with my boyfriend, and I don’t. So if I go right now, after seeing how amazing you look, I’ll feel as though she’s totally average by comparison. It helps, you know?”
She laughed, pleased as ever by flattery. “Sure, go ahead.”
I drifted down to the base of the stairwell, where most girls would be come down to find their escorts for the evening. Ranulf and Vic had just met up with their dates; the glamorous Cristina snuggled on Ranulf’s arm happily enough, but Vic and his date regarded each other suspiciously.
No sooner had they walked out of the common area than Lucas walked in. He’d managed to rent or borrow an evening suit. I knew him well enough to know he hadn’t paid much attention to the process, but somehow the suit fit him perfectly, outlining his shoulders, his waist, and his hips. His dark gold hair was combed back, something he rarely did. The style made his hair seem darker, giving him a slightly older look. I’d never actually seen Lucas dressed up before; this might have been the first formal occasion he’d ever attended in his life. But his rugged good looks turned out to work just as well in midnight black as they did in jeans and flannel. He could ‘ve been in a Cary Grant movie. No — he could’ve been Cary Grant himself.
I can’t wait to see him after this and tell him how amazing he looks, I thought dreamily. Oh, I wish we’d been able 10 go to this dance together just once.
My giggly delight at Lucas’s appearance lasted until Skye appeared on the stairwell.
Every guy in the room went quiet. Even the girls had to stare, including me. Skye’s dark brown hair, which normally hung straight, had been swept into a soft bun that left little tendrils free to curl around her oval face and exposed her long, slender neck. Her one — shouldered dress had a richly embroidered band just beneath her breasts, from which the chiffon material rippled to the floor. The deep wine color set off her skin and her pale blue eyes.
On the average day, Skye looked like a cute girl. This was not the average day. When she wanted people to notice her, it turned out nobody would 196 be able to look away.
Sick with jealousy, I wanted to dart from the room that instant, rather than see Lucas offer her his arm. If I did that. though, I’d torture myself wondering what he’d said to her, what she’d said back, everything. Though I knew Lucas loved me, I couldn’t help feeling insecure when comparing myself to a beautiful girl who had such a gorgeous body — heck, even one who just had a body, period, all of tile time.
So I stayed put to see Lucas walk up to her. His smile was appreciative, but something else, too. Uncertain, maybe? “Hey. Wow, Skye. You look amazing.”
“Thanks.” She seemed to wilt; why would a compliment have made her feel so awful? But then she caught a bit of the chiffon between two of her fmgers. “Some dress, huh?”
“You can say that again.”
“I bought it to sweep Craig off his feet. Craig, who is now dating a girl named Britnee. With two Es. Somehow the two Es make it worse.” There was no flirtation in her, I realized; her exquisite appearance tonight was like a battle flag — a symbol of her refusal to surrender, though her heart was broken.
“Don’t let it spoil your night,” Lucas said quickly. “Forget about that jerk, okay?”
Though her shoulders still drooped a bit, Skye nodded, and I relaxed. There wasn’t any reason to be jealous of her. Well, except for that awesome dress. “I’m done crying over him. Tonight I just want to hang out with my friends and dance.”
“I can oblige.” When Lucas offered his arm to her, I found I didn’t mind.
The Autumn Ball was always a spectacle — something out of another century, harkening back to the grander events so many of the vampire students remembered from when they were young. Instead of a OJ or a band, a small orchestra played classical music, which turned out to be a lot more danceable than you’d think. Instead of glittery lights or modern decorations, the great hall was illuminated with hundreds of candles, many set in place in front of hammered brass or old — fashioned, smoky mirrors to reflect the light throughout the room. Every guy wore an evening suit or a tux; every girl wore a floor — length dress, and some of them had gloves to match. It was the kind of grand occasion every girl — and more of the guys than 197 would readily admit it — wanted to be a part of at least once.
I’d attended twice with Balthazar, and had loved my dresses, the dancing, and everything else. However, it turned out to be just as much fun to watch, from above, where I darted amid the hanging chandeliers lit by candles. Sometimes I laughed, either watching Lucas carefully navigate Skye through the waltz, almost visibly counting one — two — three, or Vic and his date, keeping each other at full arm’s length and obviously both plotting an early escape. Other times, I watched in admiration; some of the dancers were clearly expert and eager to show off their many years of experience. Balthazar and Patrice were the most beautiful of all, moving gracefully at the heart of the dance. And, of course, every once in a while, one of them would slip out to continue the hunt. My parents would always nod at them as they went past — Mom pretty in a cream silk dress I hadn’t seen before.
Lucas went most often, as much as everyone else put together. Was that because of his crazed drive to do something productive? Because Skye excused herself frequently to goof around with her friends on the outskirts of the dance? Or because he didn’t trust himself to be in such close proximity to a human? All of the above, I suspected. Each time he went out, he walked by my parents, and the three of them would get very tense. But they were acknowledging each other now, Mom and Dad getting over their anger, and I hoped it was a positive sign.
Everything was going perfectly, until I felt a chill — and the visions began.
My mind filled with image after image of the humans below, people I’d never known well but now felt an intimacy with that was as powerful as love. Different faces, different emotions, different ages: Every human being down there felt precious to me now. And above this, a darkening veil of terror for those humans’ safety, and hatred of the vampires who danced in their midst.
The wraiths. The Plotters, to be exact. Suddenly I could feel them over the entire dance, gathering like storm clouds. Was this how the attack had begun a year ago? “What are you doing?” I whispered, safe that I was far enough above the crowd for the orchestra to drown out my words.
The images changed to violence: vampires being set aflame, being frozen within blocks of ice, being caught in the kinds of traps that Mrs. Bethany set for ghosts. No one plan took form, but I could tell what it meant. These ghosts feared for their anchors’ safety, and for their own. And they wanted revenge on the vampires below, for Mrs. Bethany’s plan.
Those people are safe, I promised. If you want to move on, you know that I can help you.
I expected surprise, happiness, maybe a rush to depart. Instead I felt only a deeper wave of fear. Honestly, I wasn’t much less frightened myself, and I didn’t yet know how — or if — I could perform the wonders Christopher claimed. So how could I make them any promises?
Yet I felt that, if they would follow me, I had to try. If I was able to usher several of the wraiths away from Evernight Academy in one swoop, that would be as effective at stopping Mrs. Bethany as anything else we could do.
But a hard rush of refusal hit me, like a hard — breaking wave on the shore in winter. And then a rising tumult of energy. aimed downward, in points like a hundred arrows — What’s happening?I thought. I looked wildly at the crowd; Balthazar and Patrice were off hunting traps, but everyone else I cared for was down there dancing. There was no time even for a warning.
The energy streaked toward the floor like thunderbolts, and I expected a rain of ice or snow. Maybe ghostly apparitions. I didn’t expect every single human in the crowd to instantly collapse, unconscious.
The orchestra’s music snarled into something unrecognizable as instruments stopped, one by one, and the vampires began to react. A few of them were obnoxious enough to laugh, but most of them were worried — either about humans they cared for, or because something obviously dangerous was happening. Lucas knelt on the floor, two fingers at Skye’s neck to check for a pulse. Ranulf held Cristina in his arms, though she was completely limp, her head flopping backward. Vic lay facedown, his arms and legs splayed awkwardly like an abandoned rag doll.
And then he moved — or. I should say. his body moved. Because I knew from the first moment that whatever was rising wasn’t Vic.
I realized: I Wasn’t the only wraith with the power to possess humans.
The other humans began coming to as well, but their eyes were clouded — a milky greenish color all over, with no pupil or iris. Yet none of them were blind. Their movements were slow and awkward, as though they had
