Prologue
1766
London, England
On a busy street in London, lay a perfectly normal house, with a perfectly normal family. Count Clyvedon and his beautiful wife lived there, along with their twin sixteen-year-old daughters. Emma Blaze and Amelia Marvella had never thought of themselves as anything but ordinary. They lived in a normal neighborhood and went to normal social gatherings with the rest of the young ladies of the ton—well, the certain balls and musicals they were allowed to attend before officially coming out. They were respected young girls with golden blonde hair and unusual silver eyes. Their dresses were always modest, and no one matched their propriety. Every man wanted them, and every woman wanted to be them.
Blaze had always been a spitfire. She was strong, brave, and the most stubborn woman most people had ever met. Even when she was a baby, she barely cried, and she had always been very overprotective of her twin sister. Even with her sarcastic tone and sense of humor, the suitors looking her way were astronomical. No proposals had come her way, but at such a young age, that was to be expected. But, young Blaze only had eyes for one man, a blacksmith's son that her father found unsuitable. Both girls were extremely intelligent, but Blaze's love for books was unparalleled.
Marvella had always been the kind one but had never been very good at keeping her temper in check. She was creative and loved to feel a pencil between her fingers. She was the younger sister—by fifteen minutes, something her sister never let her forget—and was content staying in Blaze's shadow. She tried not to attract too much attention to herself but still had many suitors waiting for her eighteenth birthday. She was very attractive, and she was considered the best dancer at every ball.
Both girls were loved and would be considered the luckiest catch of the season in a few years. Nobody would ever have wanted anything to happen to them.
Then why were they murdered?
It had been a beautiful day, with the sun shining and a light breeze ruffling their fair hair, as they walked from their townhouse. The girls were always escorted but rarely took the carriage, against their father's orders. The two girls had had plans to go to a musical that evening, it was to be awful; they always were. They were just meeting a young man at a gossip-inn before they were on their way. They passed their friends, who all made small talk before they found a table alone. Their ladies' maids were with them and watching a few tables away, as the two sisters sat unaccompanied. They were laughing at gossip shared, and they didn't even notice when the door banged open. A man with dark, curly hair piled on top of his head, slowly pulled a gun out of his trench coat. The room collectively froze, except for the two girls the gun was pointed at. Marvella screamed with terror, seeing that the bullet would pierce into her sister's heart. Blaze trembled in fear, an echoing scream trying to escape her chest. Tears brimmed in her eyes—something that didn't happen often—and she whispered, “Please, don't do this.” The tears soaked her cheeks, but she held perfectly still.
“Go back to hell where you belong!” He pulled the trigger, and a bang rang across the room. The women in the room yelled as the bullet hit its target. Blaze's chest. She fell backward out of her chair, the pain crippling her, as blood seeped through her bodice. Her head lopped to the left, and she saw him outside the window. The man she loved but would never be able to share a life with. He pounded the window, screaming her name as she took her final, ragged breath.
Another gunshot rang through the small building, and Marvella landed next to her sister. She had just enough strength left to reach for her sister's hand before the life drained out of her. Many other guns came out as the shock left the onlookers systems. The man was cornered and would have spent the rest of his days in jail, had Blaze's love not burst through the doors.
They called him Alaric, and he was a lowly blacksmith's son. He wore old, weathered clothing that had holes and stains, but the dark color really brought out his light blond hair and sunshine yellow eyes, that resembled a cat's. No matter his status, he would have given up everything he owned just for a chance to be with Blaze. And now, she lay dead on the floor only a few feet away from him. The look in her eyes haunted him and boiled his blood. He wanted to avenge her. He wanted this low life's blood on his hands.
Suddenly, all the guest in the inn toppled over: some landed on the floor with a thud, others slumped down onto the tables or into their chairs. They were unconscious, dropped into a deep sleep that was seemingly something they couldn't be woken from. The man who had killed the Count's daughters lay asleep at Alaric’s feet, the gun inches from his fingertips. But Alaric didn't notice as the steeled toe of his boot slammed into the man's gut. He did it again and again until his leg throbbed, and he felt like he couldn't stand any longer. His leg buckled under him, and his fist connected with the man's face over and over until the boy lost count. He felt the cuts and bruises forming on his knuckles, but that didn't stop him. Nothing would stop him, not until this monster took his last breath.
The killer's eyes opened, they were swollen, but he could still see, and only he knew what had just happened as the others began to stir. He had seen things like this before, and it gave him the right to kill the boy sitting across his stomach. Alaric didn't seem to notice as his revenge got the better of him. Nor did he notice that the gun was still in reaching distance. The killer's hand shot out from under the knee of his attacker, and his fingers enclosed around the gun's handle. A shot rang out as a bullet hit the boy squarely in the chest. Pain seared through his veins, and he died with his beloved Blaze the only thought on his mind.
Chapter 1
New Beginnings...Again
2012
Lawrence, Pennsylvania
Tessara Knox
Another nightmare. It was the same thing every time. Girls, always two of them, but never the same ones, being killed every night. The girls were sisters, sometimes even twins, other times they were friends, or they didn't even know each other. But none of that mattered because they were always murdered together. They were always killed in different ways: shot, ran over, beat to death, stabbed, hung up and tortured until they couldn't take it anymore. The people killing them were always either in trench coats or cloaks, with their hoods pulled up over their heads. I was tired of seeing blood every time I shut my eyes and waking up in a dead sweat with my blankets wrapped around my legs.
Last night's nightmare had been one of the worse. The girls—they didn't know each other this time, but they were both Asian with dark hair and eyes—had been kidnapped. There were seven men, all dressed in black cloaks with hoods over their faces. After being taken to an underground holding cell, they were dropped into deep pools of water, their arms and legs tightly bound together. They let them drown, until there were completely out of air, and had passed out. Seconds before it was too late, they pulled them out of the water, and then they did it all over again when the girls were revived. This went on for hours until the men had finally screwed up pulling them out of the water. The girls died, looking like old prunes.
I woke up with a scream in my throat and felt like I was choking water out of my lungs. It hadn't been real, I reminded myself. But it sure as hell had felt like it was real. My flaming red hair was plastered to my forehead with sweat. And deep breaths were all I could do to stay sane.
But today I had bigger problems than constant nightmares. It was our last day of school before we moved to a new state: Utah, of all places. We were leaving for Salem right after school, and I didn't have a choice. It was time to uproot my life, again. Something, I really thought I'd be used to by now.
I pulled myself out of bed and found the only pair of clothing I had not already boxed up. I hated how empty this room was. All that was left was a mattress on the floor, my backpack, a fantasy book—something I never left home without—and the nightgown I had just taken off. I also had a makeup bag that I was now using the contents of, along with a comb.
“Tessara! Come on, you're going to be late!” Aunt Emmaline yelled up the stairs. This was it. Saying goodbye to all of my friends, once again. Leaving a life behind that I was comfortable with, maybe even happy with. My sister and I had moved in with our aunt almost a year ago when our mother had died. We had finally made lives for ourselves here in Lawrence, Pennsylvania, and we were actually happy. It had taken so long to get to this place after Mom died. I didn't want to leave. Now, we were headed to a new town, new school, and another new house. Also, it was March, the middle of the semester, and I was so close to passing my Junior year with all As and Bs—something that would change the second I started an all-new curriculum.
Also, I read minds. It's really not that big of a deal anymore; it started when I was five, and I've gotten used to it. Once I learn the atmosphere of a place and have an idea of how many people are there, I can pick and choose who I listen to. Until then, the pain is unimaginable. All those voices pressing in on my mind would feel like a thousand needles were being driven into my skull. It could make me do things I later regretted—things that would make me wonder if I would even have a later. A new place means starting over on learning everyone's mind. Of course, no one knows—well my mother did—it's my problem too bare.
“I'm not moving!” I yelled for the umpteenth time. I stomped down the stairs, my red hair tied in a loose braid over my shoulder and down my side. I wore tight, hip hugger, dark blue jeans that made my long legs look really sexy and a tight, green T-shirt that had the words gotta love across the chest. It was my last day, so it's not like I could really get in trouble for threatening the dress code.
“I'm not doing this again. You're moving!” Aunt Em—she had reddish-brown hair that barely touched her shoulder, hazel eyes, and was two inches taller than my five feet seven inches, with a very warm smile—said, but what she was thinking was: God, how can I raise my own kids if I can't even get these two to do what they're supposed to. My sister was an amazing mother. I ignored her thoughts the best I could as I looked at the two-year-old clinging to her pant leg. Tommy, my cousin, sucked the juice from his sippy cup as he tapped his feet on the floor, trying to get his mother's attention. He looked just like his dad with ruffled, light brown hair and a big smile, but he had his mother's hazel eyes—the eyes both sisters had inherited. Behind him, MiaIsabella stood, my twelve-year-old little sister. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled into a braid and dangled halfway down her back, and her clothes were way too tight for a girl her age. She had been copying me ever since Mother died. I knew I should tell her not to, but it was easier to just pretend it wasn't happening. I didn't want to be her mother, so when it came to stuff like that, I tried not to tell her what to do.
“Whatever,” I replied. I was tired of arguing, and it just upset the kids. “Come on, MiaBelle, we can't miss our last day.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, kissed Tommy goodbye, and slammed the door behind us.
“I hate it when you fight with Aunt Em,” Mia said as she pulled the door of my beat up, old car open. Mother had had a large savings account—that I wasn't allowed to touch until I turned eighteen—but had always insisted that she keep this beat up, old piece of junk. “It still works,” she'd say, but I knew that she only kept it because it was the car my father had bought for her after they got married. With her gone, it was mine and Mia's, along with everything else she had left behind. And, after all these years, I finally understood why she had kept it—this 1993, gray Ford Escort wasn't just a car. It was a memory, and I would never get rid of it either.
“I know, sorry, I just feel like we're never in the same place.” Our mother had passed on in September, and a few weeks later we moved in with Emmaline and Andrew. Now, six months later, we were moving again. The car engine roared to life, and I pulled onto the road, silently wishing this wouldn't be our last day of normalcy.
“Maybe we'll stay in Salem for a while,” Mia said with a smile. She was always the optimistic, even in the darkest of times.
“Maybe,” was my only reply, but I didn't believe it any more than she did.
I finally got through the tear-filled goodbyes to my friends and made my way to Mia's school. This whole situation brought up bad memories for us. The last time I was going to pick up Mia from our last day of school, it had only been a few days after Mom's funeral. We had insisted on going one last time, even though Aunt Em said it was a bad idea. We needed some normality in our lives before we left Palm Springs and went to Lawrence. We needed to say goodbye to our old lives, and we were stuck saying goodbye all over again—not that our aunt even noticed. The hole in her heart must have healed a lot faster than ours. She had no idea what we were going through.
After pulling my car up to the school's front door, I went searching for my sister. School was over twenty minutes ago, but we still had some things that we had to do before we left for good. “Hey, sis, you ready?” I asked when I found her. She had three of her best friends circling her, all with tears in their eyes. Everyone loved my sister and seeing how close she had gotten with these girls in such a little time, broke my heart. It wasn't fair that she had to leave them. Mia looked up at me, and her expression told me everything her mouth didn't want to say. The greatest thing about MiaIsabella is that she almost always says what she's thinking. I never have to read her mind to know.
“I still need to clean out my locker, but I did everything else.” A picture of her best friends was constantly on her mind as she turned her back, and the tears in her eyes spilled onto her cheeks. I took her hand in mine to give her some comfort, knowing there was nothing else I could do. She stopped by her locker and pulled her hand free of mine, reluctantly.
“It's gonna be okay, MiaBelle. We've gotten through worse.” She nodded her head and stuffed a handful of graded papers into her backpack. When her locker was empty, we made our way back to the car, where we would head home for the last time.
The house was completely empty when we got there. The mattress in my room had been loaded into the U-hall, along with all my other meager possessions. Emmaline and Andrew had worked really hard to get all the boxes into the truck before we arrived. “Hey, you two, ready to go?” Uncle Andrew asked when we pulled up. His brown hair was only a shade darker than his sons and was short instead of shaggy. He also had really bright, blue eyes that always made him look happy and fun to be around. We both gave a mumbled response that he could barely hear. “Ah, girls, Salem will be great. Just give it a chance.” Uncle Andrew had always been pretty laid back, and he actually didn't have anything mean to add, even though I knew all these brooding girls were driving him crazy.
Aunt Em drove with Tommy in the family car, Andrew drove the U-hall behind her, and Mia and I followed behind in my car. Salem, Utah is thirty-one hours from Lawrence, and damn, was it going to be a long drive. Mia cranked up the tunes and started singing along with every country song. She didn’t like pop music, and I didn’t like country music, but the playlist on my iPod had a happy compromise of both.
After driving for roughly eight hours, we pulled into a hotel. It was after midnight, and my shoulders were killing me from holding on to the steering wheel. Mia had fallen asleep about two hours before, even though she had promised to keep me company. Andrew carried her to the bed we would be sharing in the hotel room, and I climbed in next to her. I passed out the second my head hit the pillow.
We finally arrived in Salem late Sunday night. The house was bigger than our last, but we also lived in the country, which was a big downfall from a busy city. At least, I thought so, MiaBelle on the other hand, was ecstatic. If this place had had a barn, she would have been in heaven. I had no idea how she had become such a country-outdoor lover when we had always lived in big cities. The house had two stories plus a two car garage. Everything was this awful puke green, and I'm not just talking about the plants that had been through a long winter. I meant everything: the house, the garage, the creepy little gnomes in the garden. Everything!
Everywhere around us was desert and farming grounds, except for the few trees on our property that were purposely planted. We had a neighbor on the right of us—if you could call two miles away a neighbor—and, I assumed there was another one somewhere on our left. I guess that was a good thing about living in the country; no neighbors meant there was no one there to welcome you to the neighborhood. I hated that; it always made me feel like I had to be nice, even though I wanted to hate them. There was a huge yard surrounding us, and I had to admit, I really liked that. I could see a fun summer spent here. Looking up, I saw more stars than I had ever realized were in the sky. It was beautiful, and it was also the only light we had out here. I was amazed we could see anything at all, let alone colors.
“Well, this place is nice,” Uncle Andrew said, reassuring his wife. His thoughts said differently, he hated the house as much as I did. Emmaline had picked it out from their limited choices. Very limited choices. This was the kind of town where people stayed their whole lives, always living in the same house and doing the same thing day after day. I already couldn't wait to get out of here.
“Yes, it is, and there are five bedrooms, just in case we get to make this a more permanent home.” What she thought after that was: If you're ever home long enough to get me pregnant again. She'd been wanting a second child for a while now, but she hadn't even told him. She knew that his job was the only thing on his mind right now, and a second baby would only complicate that more.
“We'll see, baby, you know I can't control it.” She gave a small nod but was really thinking: You could if you wanted to. Sure, it would be a damn pay cut, but who cares, we'll be fine. Apparently, she didn't like moving all the time, either. “Okay then girls, grab some blankets. We'll do the rest tomorrow.” Mia and I grabbed the boxes with our blankets and pillows, and we headed up the porch steps. I unlocked the door and opened it, slowly. The house was completely dark until I turned the living room light on. I turned the porch light on too, put my box on the floor, and went to help Emmaline with a screaming Tommy. She handed me the little boy, and I carried him in as he cried, upset that we woke him.
The house opened up to the living room. It was empty but would be pretty cool once the big room had furniture in it. There was also a fireplace on the far wall that would make cold, winter nights much warmer. Across from the back wall of the living room, was the staircase that led to the second floor. Behind that, on the other side of a wall, was the kitchen and dining room area that also led to the backyard. Off to the left of the dining room, was another staircase, but this one went down. To my right, next to the first staircase, was a hall that led to a room that would be perfect for an office. Another door led to a closet, and the door at the end opened to the bathroom. The kitchen had really nice hardwood floors that were a very interesting reddish-brown color. The carpet was a dark brown, and I could see from here that it was really fluffy. The walls were painted a light brown that went well with the flooring, but I couldn't help thinking that it was all so boring. Green, brown, there was no color.
I put Tommy on my hip and picked up the box. Mia ran up the stairs ahead of me, yelling, “I get first pick!” referring to the choice of bedrooms. I let her. She could have the first pick, I got to pick first the last time.
Upstairs the hall led to the right and to the left of the stairs. To the left, was the master bedroom and one much smaller that would be perfect for Tommy, at least until he got older. To the right, were three more bedrooms. The first was bright pink with butterfly wallpaper. It was pretty spacious without a bed in it. To the side, was a small walk-in closet and a big window that opened towards the backyard. Mia stood in the middle of the room, not sure which of the rooms to pick.
I walked to the next room on the right side of the hallway. It was bigger than the first but not by much. It was painted a dark teal—my favorite color—and had a small balcony that opened behind twin doors. It also had a walk-in closet, that wasn't much bigger than a broom closet, but it would do. I didn't want to say anything, but I loved the balcony. I went outside and looked straight down. It wasn't that high, but it still felt like I was flying, and butterflies crept into my stomach. It was my favorite feeling in the whole world. I loved feeling like I could fall at any moment.
The last bedroom looked like a small child's bedroom. It was very small with unicorns, princesses, and mermaids on the wallpaper. All in all, it was pretty creepy. Next to it, was the upstairs bathroom. Mia walked towards me in the hallway, and even though I knew her decision, I asked anyway.
“I want the pink one.” She was still slightly undecided. She wasn't a big fan of heights, but it was pretty hard to give up an awesome balcony like that. Besides, that's the room that's easier to sneak out of, something I really hoped she hadn't noticed.
“You sure? It's smaller than the other one.”
“I know, but that room was made for you. That, and it is kind of creepy.” I laughed.
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically. I went into my new room and placed Tommy, once again sound asleep, on the makeshift bed. I put the box next to him and went to help Mia make herself comfortable on the floor in her own room.
“I think you made a good decision, this room really depresses me.” She punched my arm as she acted offended.
“It's not too bad, so far,” she said. I rolled my eyes, always the optimist.
“I promise you that I will give this place a real try before I decide to hate it. Okay?” That made her happy. After it became very obvious that there was nothing we could do about this move, she had decided to make the best of it, as she did with everything she couldn't control in her life. She was one of the strongest people I had ever met. She was twelve, she shouldn't have to be so strong. I was supposed to be the strong one. I was supposed to protect her, but I hadn't been able to. Not from anything that really mattered.
“Deal! Goodnight, Tessa.” I tucked the covers around her and whispered good night. It was moments like this that she truly got to be a kid, and I wanted to help her savor every one.
Everleigh Nite
I had just spent two hours doing homework on my bed. Junior year just wouldn't end! English, chemistry, and trig just kept piling on, and I really regretted being an honor student and a cheerleader. I twirled my platinum blonde hair around my finger, and I put my books back in my bag. I looked around my blue and pink room for something to do for the next few minutes. TV was boring, and I was tired of sitting on my four poster bed as it was. I went to my walk-in closet, deciding to pick out my outfit for tomorrow. I wanted something fun—it was the first day in a week that we didn't have to wear our cheer uniforms. I was so tired of that thing.
Just as I hopped back on my bed, my little brother came in. Every time I looked at him, I was reminded just how much we looked alike. He had my exact hair coloring and bone structure; however, the biggest difference was our eyes. Everyone in my family has the same sea blue eyes, except for myself, my eyes are a beautiful color of lavender. I had never seen anyone else with purple eyes, and it always made me feel special.
I literally had a minute before my boyfriend was supposed to call, and I really didn't have time to deal with my tagalong little brother. Not that I really had a choice. I was the only other person here—as usual.
“Nick, get out of my room!” I yelled, pushing him towards the door. Fourteen-year-old brothers can be a royal pain in the ass. I didn't want him to overhear my Skyping conversation with Logan. It probably wouldn't be appropriate for someone his age.
“I need help with my homework,” Nick whined.
“What class?” I whined back using the same tone of voice he did.
“Geometry.” Damn, this was the problem with being the only child, but the youngest, still at home. Johnathan was nineteen and went to Utah State, and Michael who was twenty-two lived in Boise and did computer programming. I motioned Nick over to me. He really wasn't a bad kid, but I did get tired of babysitting him because Mom and Dad were never home. Besides, it had been a long day, wasn't it ever time to take care of myself?
Just as I was about to explain to him how to do the math problem, my phone buzzed. Where are you? Read the text my boyfriend sent.
One sec. Nick needs help w/ hw. I sent back before explaining the problem to my brother. During the explanation, my phone buzzed three times, but I ignored it. Logan was slightly clingy and hated it when I wasn’t on the second I said I would be—he knew that Nick and I had to practically raise each other and that Nick would always come first. Which only made me spend more time helping my brother. He would learn soon enough who was in charge in this relationship. You would think that he would have already, we had been dating for two years. I loved Logan, but my whole life didn't revolve around him, and it never would.
“Do you get it?” I asked. Nick just nodded his head as he glared at the page as if he was trying to keep the information in his head. “Do you want me to do a couple with you?”
“No, that's okay, thanks, Ever.” He gathered his book and went towards the door.
“You're welcome, Nicky, I'll be down in a little while.” The two of us were almost always alone, so I tried to hang out with him when we were both here. That wasn't very often with me always at cheerleading practice and with him involved with a lot of different sports.
I got on to my computer and was finally able to talk with Logan. “There you are, beautiful.” I smiled at that. I knew I was beautiful with my big, purple eyes and long, wavy blonde hair. I also had legs that went on for miles and was so skinny I made models look fat. We looked great together. His brown hair was short and messy, with soulful brown eyes. He was five inches taller than me—except when I wore my heels—and had the most amazing smile. I still hadn't gotten used to it.
“Sorry, you know how it is around here.”
“When was the last time you saw your parents?” Logan knew this was a touchy subject and rarely asked about it. My parents didn't have the greatest relationship, and between that and their jobs, they were never home at the same time. Sometimes, they didn't come home at all.
“Almost four days,” was my only reply. Mom came home for a little while yesterday when Nick and I were at school. She left us a note and a pile of money before going back to work. “I really don't want to talk about them.” My brothers and I had always seemed to come last, except for maybe their marriage. When they were home all we did was fight, they couldn't expect to parent us only when it was convenient for them.
“K, sorry.” We both just stared at each other in silence. Logan was actually a really great guy, but he usually only had one thing on his mind.
“So. . .” Logan began. “I got a new neighbor.” Logan lived pretty much in the middle of nowhere. A neighbor to him was five miles away. “Well, I actually haven't met them or anything, but we saw the U-hall last night.”
“Let's hope they don’t have any kids. That's the last thing we need at our high school.” I was the most popular girl at school, and I didn't have any enemies, something I had worked really hard at. I had a secret, and when I got mad, I couldn't control it anymore. I turned invisible; I've been able to since I turned five. I would never say it out loud, but I thought that was why my parents never came home. My brothers didn't know anything about this, but my parents had seen it happen the very first time. They never talked about it, and I learned to just keep everything to myself after that.
“Ah, do you not want any competition for my heart?” I rolled my eyes at him as he said, “You know it's already yours. You took it a long time ago.” I gave him a genuine smile. It was times like this that I actually considered taking our relationship to another level. He was the only one in the world who could make me feel this lighthearted and happy. He was the perfect man for me.
“I love you, too, Logan. I'd better go before Nick burns the house down. See you tomorrow at school.” I blew him a kiss and went to find my brother.
Chapter 2
Jealous Girlfriends, Weird Visions, Just a Normal Day at High School
Tessara Knox
I was walking alone in a dark alley. I was supposed to be meeting a friend of mine at a club a few blocks away. I was only a few roads away and had decided to take a shortcut. I looked behind me, as my heart pounded in my chest, and I laughed at myself for being so paranoid. Nobody was following me, I was just being silly. Still, I walked faster without running and drawing more attention to myself.
After a few minutes, I slowed down, realizing how ridiculous running from a dark alley was. Besides, now I could see the entrance to the club. There was nothing to be afraid of. A hand slid around my mouth, stifling my scream. “Be quiet!” He hissed in my ear. “Do what I ask, and I will kill you quickly.” My heart pounded. I had never felt fear like this before. What could he possibly want me to do? Either way, he was going to kill me. How much would I have to endure before my life ended?
I was so concerned with the hand over my mouth and what he had just said, that I didn't notice a cold silver blade being pressed against my windpipe. Tears spilled over my eyes and dropped onto my collarbone. “Take me to your friend.” No! I wanted to scream. I wouldn't bring Evie into this. She wouldn't be hurt because of me. “Now, demon! Walk or crawl, you choose.” He pushed me, so my leg awkwardly gave out to the side, and the soul of his shoe pressed down onto my knee. I screamed as the pain radiated through me.
“Stop! Stop!” I screamed against his hand. He lightened the pressure but didn't remove his foot from my throbbing leg. I didn't want him to break my leg; I never wanted to feel that pain again. But Evie. I had to do something to protect her, even if it meant giving up my own life. No matter how painful.
“Walk,” he repeated, removing his leg from mine. So, I walked as my mind ran through escape plans and always came up blank. I wasn't physically strong enough to fight him off, and he already knew where Evie was, or he wouldn't have known where to find me in the first place. He knew she would do anything he asked if it meant helping me. We got to the club entrance, and the bouncer took a single look at us—the knife was now placed against my spine so he couldn't see it—and let us pass. He had been my last hope.
Evie saw me almost immediately, and I started vigorously shaking my head until the knife pressed in, and a trail of blood trickled down my skin. “Evie, run!” I yelled as pain exploded through my back. He dug the knife in deeper, and I felt my legs give out. Then, slowly, I didn't feel anything below the waist. He had severed my spinal cord. I was paralyzed.
But Evie was gone, she was safe. And that's all that mattered.
“Where is she?” I hadn't noticed that he wasn't behind me anymore, but when he reappeared and placed the knife against my throat, I couldn't help the wince. I didn't want to feel that blade again. Especially, because he would never find her. No one would unless she wanted to be found.
“Go to hell!” I rasped out. With a move as quick as lightning, he sliced the blade across my neck from ear to ear.
I woke up in a dead sweat, and instinctively, I reached to turn on the light. No one was in my room. No one was trying to hurt me. I threw the blankets off of myself and ran my hands through my soaked hair. I didn't have time for this.
Today was our first day at our new school. The house was organized and livable so, I couldn't think of a good reason to stay home. I had never been good at playing sick; I got bored too fast, and Emmaline would be home all day. Shit, there was no way out of it. Besides, it would be best to just get it over with. It's not like we were moving back, and I had to go to school. I took a deep breath and shut the light back off. I rolled onto my side and shut my eyes, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep before I had to get ready for school.
I didn't have any more nightmares that night, but I still looked like shit when I woke up again. I had dark circles under my eyes that were going to take me forever to cover up with makeup. MiaBelle stopped in the doorway and watched me comb the knots out of my hair. She was dressed in a sunny, yellow shirt and light, blue jeans. She had a big bow in her hair that made her eyes pop. “What's up?” I asked, even though her thoughts said she was really scared.
“Just making sure you aren't wearing anything too scary.” I rolled my eyes. I was wearing a tight, black tank top with a weeping red rose on it and jeans with knee-high black boots. Yes, there was a statement to be said with this little outfit. “Aunt Em isn't going to like that.”
“Black makes my hair look good, and it's not that tight.” Excuses, excuses. This was the kind of outfit that had boys drooling over you your first day. And, that's exactly what I wanted. “She'll get over it. Ready to get this over with?” She nodded, but she thought: No, can't we just stay home? I wish, little one. I steered her down the hall, yelled goodbye to Aunt Em, and we made our way to the car.
“You'll be fine, MiaBelle, everybody will love you.” It was true, she had always been extremely bubbly. She had my mother's personality and was very outgoing. I was the loner who was known for her sarcastic remarks.
“Whatever you say.” Her thoughts turned dark as she thought about everything that could go wrong. I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but I couldn't answer her thoughts. I had never told Mia what I could do, but it wasn't because I didn't want to. People tend to react badly when you tell them that you have been reading their thoughts since they were born. Mother never thought it was a good idea, either. I think she just wanted to protect Mia from the supernatural world out there. Nothing was ever what it seemed, and she was too young to have to second guess everything.
After I walked Mia to the office and got all of her paperwork taken care of, I got back in my car and drove the three blocks to my own school. Small town. The school consisted of two stories—well, more like one and a half—but was still the smallest school I'd ever entered. The place was covered in azure blue and light silver colors. In front of me was the library, and it looked huge, considering how small this school was. I couldn't wait to go investigate a little more.
I made my way to the office and put the library out of my head. This was when things got real, and I was kind of nervous. I really didn't want to be here. The office secretary, a plumb graying woman, pointed me to the principal's office with a really warm smile. Damn, I was going to hate it here if everyone was that happy.
The principal was a very plump man with a scruffy, brown beard and beady, little eyes. He wore an ugly, gray suit that had seen one too many years. It was obvious, just by looking at him, that he hated his job and that us kids were just an inconvenience. “Hello, Tessa…” He studied my name a minute more. This was nothing new; no one could ever pronounce it.
“Tessara, sir, but you can call me Tessa.” He looked relieved that I had saved him from trying to say my name.
“Lovely to meet you, Tessa, I'm Principal Wilcox.” He handed me my schedule and asked if I would like to change anything. I said no, everything was pretty straightforward:
1st Period English
2nd Period Trigonometry
3rd Period Chemistry
4th Period Accounting
--Lunch--
5th Period Choir
6th Period Physical Education
7th Period Spanish
8th Period Government
It wasn't great, but I wasn't complaining. He gave me a map of the school and offered to walk me to my first class. This was always the worst part: going into a class and being told to introduce yourself.
“Miss Harper,” Mr. Wilcox said, calling the teacher over to us. She was young, no older than twenty-five, with really light coloring and a sparkling engagement ring on her left hand. A genuine smile was plastered to her face, and she was wearing a yellow dress that you would expect to see on a five-year-old. Her whole being was so bright and cheerful it made me look away, and I forced myself not to roll my eyes.
“Hello, welcome to Salem High,” she said shaking my hand. Joy, another happy person, this place was full of them. I whispered a greeting in reply, and she led me to the front of the room. “Everyone this is our new student. Do you mind introducing yourself?” Of course, I mind! I wanted to yell, but everyone's thoughts were bouncing around in my skull. All I could hear were incomprehensible murmurs blocking out my own thoughts. My head hurt, and I just wanted to sit down.
“I'm Tessara Knox, and I just moved here from Pennsylvania.” I kept my eyes on the ground as I made my way to the back of the room, where the only empty desk was. Everyone's thoughts and eyes followed me. Most of the boy’s thoughts were along the lines of she's hot, and the girls were thinking I hope she's antisocial, she's prettier than I am. Along with many more insecure thoughts. Once those thoughts passed through their heads, I was no longer able to read anything. They had all moved on to something new that luckily, didn't involve the new girl. When they were all thinking about the same thing, I could at least get an idea.
I made it so each side of my face was hidden by my hair, that way no one could see the earbuds dangling from my ears. Loud music blocked the rumbling in my head. The teacher said a few things to me that I couldn’t hear, before returning to her lesson. A lesson that I wouldn't be paying attention to.
The class was reading 1984 by George Orwell. I had already read it at the beginning of the year, and actually, didn't think it was that bad, so I really wouldn't mind reading it again. I turned down the music a little, now that at least some of the students were focusing on the book. “Alec, go get Tessara a book, please,” Miss Harper said, directing her words to the boy sitting on my left.
The boy next to me stood up and went into a closet at the back of the room. I tried to get a read on his mind, but everyone's thoughts kept me from knowing who's were who's. He dropped the book on my desk, and I finally got a good look at him. Shaggy, black hair covered his forehead and most of his eyes. Through his hair, I saw that his eyes were as black as night. He was taller than me, at least by half a foot. Attractive looking, I'd dare say even hot, but that's about as far as my thoughts went before the headache caused me to look down again. Damn lights, damn people, damn everything.
The bell finally rang, and every desk was empty within a second. “Wait!” Miss Harper ordered before any of us were lucky enough to make it out the door. “Someone walk Tessara to her next class, please.”
A brown haired boy walked up to me and said, “I'll take care of her, Miss Harper, don't you worry.” I'm not sure I liked the idea of being taken care of, but if it got me out of that classroom, it was worth it.
Out in the hallway, the boy turned and offered me his hand. “Hi, I'm Logan Hardy.”
I shook his hand and said, “Tessa Knox.” Hopefully, he would spread around a name people could actually pronounce.
“Nice to meet you, Tessa. What's your next class?” I handed him my schedule, and he said, “Ah, trig, that's down the two hundred hall.” I followed him as he chatted about what there was to do in this town. The answer: nothing! They have a freaking movie theater, crappy bowling alley, and a swimming pool during the summer.
“Wow, this place is crap,” I said. He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. It was quite the attractive little habit.
“Yeah, it is. I bet even Pennsylvania is better than this dump.” I laughed in spite of my headache. I had been to a lot of places, but none of them were as boring as this. These poor people had lived here their entire lives and didn't know any better, but I did. And I was bored already.
“Do you actually know anything about Pennsylvania?” I asked.
“Nope, not a thing. But, you'll be a small-towner soon enough so we won't hold that against you.” I laughed again and finally realized by his smile that he was flirting with me. He was the kind of guy I could see going out with, but that was a little premature. I had just gotten here and wouldn't be going out with anyone for a while. But flirting, now that I could do.
“There you are, baby,” a pretty blonde said as she draped her arm around his shoulders. She pressed her lip gloss covered lips to his cheek. He had a girlfriend, just my luck. “Who's this?” She asked. She was so beautiful she could have been a supermodel in her tight, designer clothing and six-inch heels. No competition there.
“This is Tessa, she just moved here. Tessa, this is my girlfriend, Everleigh.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, but what I really wanted was to get away from both of them. Logan had proven to be a nice distraction from my headache but knowing he had a girlfriend just made it that much worse.
“You, too.” Her voice was kind, but her eyes gave me a chill. A silent warning to stay away from her guy. Had I been feeling better, I would have taken that as a challenge, but as it was, it was easier to just let it go.
Logan handed my schedule back to me, and said, “Ever's next class is next to yours, she'll help you find it.” He kissed her cheek and said, “See you later, ladies,” before walking away. The second he was gone, Everleigh's smile faded. She turned without a word and disappeared into the crowd. I walked in the general direction that she went in, and eventually, I found my classroom. Whoever this teacher was he or she wasn't there, so I just grabbed the textbook from his or her desk and slouched down in my chair at the back of the room.
I liked trig already, today they were having a test—which I was exempt from. Everybody's only thoughts were about the test, so for almost the entire class period, I got a break from my migraine. Before the class was over the teacher, Mr. Ericson, called me to his desk. He gave me a homework assignment from the last chapter, but he decided he wasn't going to make me do any more makeup work, including the test.
When it was time to go to third hour, Everleigh gave me a pointed look before leaving me behind. Good, I didn't want anything to do with her, anyway. “What did you do to piss off Ever? She's the nicest bitch at this place,” a girl to my right said. She looked like a demonic Indian princess with deep, rust-colored skin, big, almond, brown eyes, and long, black hair tied in a braid. The demonic part came from her black makeup, skull covered black tank top, and a fake tattoo looking choker.
“I talked to her boyfriend. God, I think I even smiled at him,” I said in a fake, sarcastic panic. “What am I going to do? The coolest bitch at school already hates me.” I rolled my eyes as demon girl laughed.
“I like you, you're funny. I'm Zarra BelCourt.” I shook her hand and told her my name. “Tessara? That's almost as bad as my name.” This time, I laughed. She was the only person I'd met so far that wasn't uncommonly happy. Thank God, I would have gone crazy. “Where you headed?”
“Chemistry with Mrs. Pot-ask-us?” I stumbled over her name.
“Don't even try, everybody calls her Mrs. P. I don't think even she can say her last name.” Finally, someone with a personality. We walked as she looked my schedule over and mentioned something about us having P. E. and Spanish together. “Here's your chem class, and I'll see you at lunch.” We had just passed the door to my next class, but staying in the hall with her seemed like it would be a lot more fun. I guess it's true what they say: if you make one friend on your first day, you're doing okay.
“See you, Zarra, thanks.”
The greatest thing about chemistry was Everleigh wasn't in it. Neither was Logan or anyone else I had met today, except that dark-haired kid, Alec. The class was in the middle of a video that they were going to have a quiz on next class. Mrs. P. said I wouldn't have to take it. She gave me a few assignments to catch me up, but I had plenty of time to get them done during the movie. Hell, at least I wouldn't have too much homework tonight.
Accounting was pretty much empty. There were only twelve students, and I didn't know any of them. That and this class would be an easy A. The teacher was also a total sweetheart and made me feel very welcome. She was the first happy person who didn't make me want to pull my hair out.
On my way to the lunch room after class, someone caught my arm. He was taller than me by a few inches with shaggy, brown hair that touched his shoulders, but that wasn't what made me stare. His eyes were gold. Not like the light was hitting them, they were really gold, stunningly so. He had a sweet smile that naturally made me want to smile back. “Hi, I'm Kade Ross. You must be new.” What was this, the welcoming committee? I really wished I knew what he was thinking.
“Is it that obvious?” I asked. He released a chuckle that I found very endearing. And I loved the sparkle in those gorgeous, gold eyes.
“Yes, you look miserable. Do you have a name?” With a flick of my hair, I told him my name and where I was from. He actually seemed interested in what I had to say, and I really liked that, too.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Tessa. I'll see you around.” He gave me a wink and made his way around me.
I finally made my way to the lunch room. A kid rammed into me in his haste to get to his friends, and I fell into Everleigh. The second our skin touched, a weird sensation stopped me cold. A memory formed in my head, but it wasn't my own. At least, I didn't think it was. Everything was blinking black and white like the memory was being transmitted from someplace very far away, and the color hadn’t come all the way through.
Two girls with golden blonde hair and silver eyes stood side by side. They were identical twins and were laughing hysterically about something or other. A man burst through the gossip-inn door, but the girls didn't even look up. They were too involved in their conversation. This was all too familiar, I had seen this before, in a dream maybe. But this was no dream, it was a memory from centuries ago. At least, a hundred or two years old, and I didn't think they were in America. The girls were in big dresses, and the men looked as if they had stolen Sherlock Holmes’ clothes.
The man pulled out a gun, and everyone froze, except for the blonde girls. They screamed, and terror was written all over their faces. The gun was pointed at the one on the right; the one I felt very connected to for some reason. “Please, don't do this,” she begged, tears streaming down her face.
“Go back to hell where you belong!” He pulled the trigger. Pain spread through her from the little hole in her chest. She fell from her chair, and I felt the pain with her, clasping my hand to my chest as well. The girl beside her screamed, and another bullet echoed out. She fell to the ground next to me—I mean her sister—and blood seeped from their cold bodies.
The vision faded, and the pain was gone. I could see the terrified look in Everleigh's eyes and was sure it mirrored my own. She had seen it, too. “Damn you! You broke Ever's heel right off her shoe!” The girl next to Everleigh said. I could tell she was a bitch, just by looking at her, even though the mousy, brown hair and hazel eyes made her look very innocent. She was dressed in designer clothes, just like her friend, and she was half a foot shorter than Everleigh, even in her ridiculous pumps. She was looking down at the broken heel of her friend's six-inch shoe. “God, do you have a disease? You can't even walk straight.”
“Jocelyn, I can handle this, thank you very much,” Everleigh said, pulling her arm out from under my hand. “You broke my shoe, and I expect you to replace them.” Miss Preppy was back, but I was still out of it. I was used to having other people's memories and thoughts in my head, but I had never experienced anything like that before. “I also expect you to stay away from my boyfriend. Are we clear?” That brought me back to the world in front of me instead of my overwhelming thoughts. Weird visions or not, nobody was going to treat me like that.
“I'm not replacing shit. Some asshole pushed me. And, it's not my fault if your boyfriend finds me more interesting than you.” Oh, that was a good way to piss her off. She took a step, so we were face to face. She towered over me, but it was obvious she only had weight on the foot that made her appear taller. I really wanted to knock her off that other shoe.
“Trust me, Tessara, I'm not an enemy you want. Stay the hell away from Logan,” she hissed through grinding teeth. I went up onto my tiptoes to make the height difference between us a little smaller.
“Trust me, Everleigh, I'm not an enemy you want either. If you're smart you'll drop this; if you're not this will be a very interesting year.” I turned on my heel and walked away from her. Zarra stopped me before I could take a step onto the lunchroom floor.
“What was that all about?” She nodded her head towards the group gathered around poor Ever and her broken shoe.
“Everleigh may be the nicest bitch here, but that doesn't stop her from being a bitch.” I stepped around her and got into the lunch line. With everyone thinking such different things at the same time, it felt like I was in a room with a hundred screaming babies. My head throbbed, and I didn't even notice Zarra standing next to me until she put her hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?” I nodded and mumbled something about a headache, but with so many other thoughts circling around in my skull, I'm really not sure what I told her. Lunch was a choice between a cheese square and a chicken sandwich. They both sucked, but I went with the lesser of two evils—the sandwich. Zarra steered me towards a table in a mostly deserted corner. I didn't realize that the black haired boy from my chem class was there until I sat down.
“Zarra, what have you done now? I told you; you can't have a pet.” My head hurt so bad that I didn't even have a snarky comeback—seriously that's saying something.
“Shut up, Alec. Tessa, this is Alec, my pain in the ass cousin.” I waved as a way of greeting. Talking would just hurt too much right now.
“Wow, she's talkative, you got a good one this time, cuz.” His voice was grinding on me, and all I wanted to do was smack him upside the face.
“Will you shut the hell up? This place is loud enough without you going on and on,” I yelled. His eyes focused on me for the first time, and they softened, slightly. I got this funny feeling in the pit of my stomach as his unusually dark eyes stared into mine.
I stood, I just couldn't deal with this right now. “Thanks, Zarra, but I need to get away from all this,” I said as I made a beeline for the door.
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