Moon Sol sings on. This time another different voice. William I guess.
'Even to the moon and back,
From the sun to the stars
I stand, drenched in love
For you'
The guitarist is exceptionally good. He heightens the tension and then Jordan comes back on.
'let me carry
Your deepest faults.
I will kiss even those
Scars that burn '
I swallow tightly. I can now see the reason why girls are risking expulsion to sneak out on a Solstice night. Okay. Jordan is a thorough idiot but the thing he has on stage. God. This is magic.
I turn my attention back to Alex Camper. We talk about paints. About canvases. About his artwork which surprisingly has a massive following. The first track ends. The maddening standing ovation from the crowd is deafening. The guitar twangs a different but more enchanting rhythm. Moon Sol is on their second track. Jordan's voice is silkier. I try not to think of it
Alex and I talk far into the night and then he says calmly "Can I escort you to Founders Fest?".
Something flutters in my chest. "Is this a date?" I bury my blush in a glass.
"Yes" White fangs flash attractively.
When Alex Camper stands up to leave, Moon Sol is rounding up their third and final track. I volunteer to see him off. My back felt stiff because I had been sitting for too long. We push through the massive maze of bodies and sweats and deafening roars.
Until we are finally outside. And then he hails a cab and I wave him goodbye. A thoroughly wonderful night, I sigh with satisfaction, still standing gazing at the midnight streets and the shiny street lights.
"You do look stunning". The breath on my neck is hot. The voice is husky and gratingly familiar. A lump rises in my throat and shivers run down my spine. "Ravishing" His lips stay pressed to my ears. Okay so my heart is hot on cartwheels and my stomach is doing that treacherous backflip. Jordan Files.
I turn to face him "Are you not supposed to be signing autographs or doing whatever celebrities do ?"
He laughs and then gives a very very nonchalant shrug "I am actually."
"So?" I scoff .
"So" His voice is a crude whisper "I will scoot off to my perfectly idyllic life. You can saunter in the gloom of " he searches for a suitable word and yes he finds it and drapes it arrogantly "the gloom of not being famous."
I want to punch him in the face. I want to hurl my fist on that ridiculously perfect face of his.
"A pleasure" I say flatly, my voice smeered with something like hate. "Now get out to that hopeless idyllic life" I click my fingers for emphasis.
"Touche " In a flash his hands are on my neck. It is not supposed to be cute but it surprisingly is. Is this the part where I should shove him off because his mouth is only a half centimeter away from my burning face. Pale pink. The confused color of embarrassment wearing the mask of a stupid blush. Jordan smirks "Pleasure 's all mine, Flamehead. Have I told you you look ravishing in this gown?" His fingers tenderly graze my collar bone. I swallow.
"Yes. A couple of miserable minutes ago" I say drily "A word of advice, Charlie blue eyes. The ravishing bit is an outdated line I'm sure you must have used on six thousand clueless women. Too bad it's lost it's effect, loser."
His mouth stay on my ear. I stiffen. His hands sit on my collar bone, suspended in their tracks "Jordan gets what Jordan wants".
"Jordan is a bigger fool than I thought" I shove him off. Hard. Well he's supposed to bounce off a couple of inches away. But he's just two steps away from me and why on earth does he have that stupid should -not-be-cute but -is actually -a lil bit -half cute irritatingly amazing smile. My voice tightens "I would really appreciate it if you could just lay off me. Anytime I see you, my skin actually CRAWLS ".
Jordan placed both hands on my shoulders and rubbed them slightly. I was incensed.
"Fucking lay off ..." I started to say but the words died in my throat when I saw his eyes go from frozen ice to reddish gold. His hands metamorphosed into claws and just as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared. It was gone in an instant, almost as if I had imagined them but I could swear I had seen them.
"Each time I see you" He rubbed my shoulders softly . I seethed through my teeth. "My skin does much more than crawls. I loose certain shreds of my humanity and that is not a good thing. Tut. Tut. "
"Atleast we finally agree on something." I managed a smile .
"Yes. " He said solemnly "It is always advisable to stay away from a Death Magian". His fangs flashed in a dazzling sleek smile that completely thinned out my already thinning patience.
I closed my eyes in fury, a thousand retorts bubbling in my throat. But when I opened my eyes, Jordan Files had disappeared.
Cocky bastard. I snort furiously, stomping my foot.
Just then the vision came again. This time it was accompanied by a horrendous pain in my head. I grasped my head, stiffling a painful groan. It came in a hurrying flash. A girl in the woods running. A fall. A piercing scream. And then blood drifting from her head. And a vague stillness. Peach Thubman. I froze even as it disappeared.
I extracted my phone. Jeez. I hadn't even seen Peach during my few hours in Solstice which was still on by the way because I could still hear some tumultuous shrieks. Yes. I am being petty. But good petty . I mean wasn't it kinda good petty to be mad at your friends when they unwittingly release your dorm address to a certain irksome ice eyed bastard. Talk of being starstruck.
Peach's number went unanswered on the first two rings and slide into voicemail on the third "Hi. Its Peach Thubman. Leave a message."
I clear my throat "Peach, I uhm.... I forgive you . I will make it to lunch tomorrow and we can have a nice little meal and a couple of chitchats." I wince as I unceremoniously add "I love you guys."
"Flamehead, is that you" I look up to find Cassidy strutting forward in a glaringly thigh revealing hot slitted gown . Very much visibly half drunk. She wobbled slightly and just as she engulfed me in a martini oozing suffocating hug, she retched calmly over my shoulders. I groaned.
"Yes, it's me, Cass" I say dryly, steadying her a bit by holding her shoulders and placing a thin worn smile on my tired face. "Where is Peach by the way. Its almost midnight. C'mon, I think we should start heading back to The Academy."
"Is Peach not here?" Cassidy's voice is rickety and a bit drenched. I ignore the martini breath on my face while a sense of panic surge through me.
"Is she supposed to be here?" I ask solemnly. Breathe, Night. Cass may have lost her in the crowd.
"Yh. " Cassidy's legs do another wobble and she collapses slightly in my arms. I pull her straight back on her feet "It's been over a full hour since they ditched Solstice..."
"They?" I interrupt.
"Yes" Cassidy belches "Harmon and Peach."
I don't know how much the words of a half drunk can be trusted but Cass seems pretty coherent and since she and Peach are as thick as thieves I can boldly assume that Peach is truly missing which however only serves to increase the buzzling fear tightening my chest.
"And Harmon is?" I am trying so hard to stay calm. But my voice is tight and tinged with impatience.
"A Tishian Vamp she's currently shacking up with" Cass gives a tumbling eye roll "Duh. Between me and you , Night, I think Harmon is half the man Peach claims he is. She said she could barely walk after the first time he screwed her. Said he screwed her brains out " Cassidy's laughter is slightly maniac and very much clearly slightly drunk . "He has this cute little tent in the woods."..
"And Peach is probably there ." I begin
"Getting screwed out " Cassidy adds breathlessly.
"So most likely Peach is with a Tishian Vamp in the woods " I am almost yelling "In the woods of all places . Jeez. I hope this is not the night ..".
"What night?"
"The night Peach dies.." I snap at her .
Cassidy laughs "Flamehead, are you having one of your visions again. " It is of little comfort to me to know that The Black Colony Colonels have done their digs on me. Or more correctly, we have all done digs on each other. Which is how I know that Peach is a Light Worker, Hari Spence is a dreamer and Cassidy is rumored to come from a line of Blood Magians although her gifts (pffh, if Blood magery can be called a gift) are unharnessed.
"Yes. And in it Peach dies" I yank her shoulders worriedly. My eyes are a little pool of blazing panic . In one swift moment , I release my hold on Cassidy's shoulders...
"Relax" She collapses into a sitting heap on the ground. Her hands are rubbing her head. "Peach is safe. Getting rammed into by a hottie Vamp. How dangerous can that be. "
"My visions are never wrong " I say pointedly, clasping and unclasping my fingers . "God , what if Harmon eats her up. Have you thought of that?"
"Harmon is Tishian" Cassidy snaps as if that is any consolation. "The Treaty forbids that."
"Yes. I am amazed by the degree of faith you have in the Tishian Treaty. " My voice is dry. Very dry. "It might interest you to know that this ain't our world, Cassidy." I want to scream into her ears that this is the fucking White Colony. The one we heard frightening stories of when we were kids.
"Well it is our world now" Cassidy says flatly, wobbling and falling till she was finally on her feet "It will be our world for a full year. The sooner you adjust yourself to that, the better for you. If we don't fit in, how do we enjoy our schorlarlistic stay here. "
"A scholarship program to STUDY " I sneer at her "Not to get screwed by fanged non human creatures..."
"With perfectly human physiques" Cassidy grins and adds "And plus sized dicks. "
I resist the urge to wipe that smug smile off her face. I watch her vomit again and the tumult in my chest constricts again. Peach Thubman is out in the woods. With a vampire. My stomach churns.
"Something is not right " I say gloomily
"Nothing is ever right with a Dark Magian " Cassidy wipes her mouth with her hands "But some of us do have a life. And you should too. "
"I saw Peach die " Why am I the only one worried by this.
"Yes. We know that " Cassidy waves her hand dismissively "Now can we head home before I DIE of your pessimism." She's stopping a cab.
My head hurts. But I sit with Cassidy in the cab wondering why we weren't moving fast enough even if the driver assured us that this was the acceptable drive range. Anything beyond that would be over speeding.
The twenty minutes drive to The Academy is filled with Cassidy singing loudly to the song on the car radio and my worrying mind trying unsuccessfully to stay normal.