Before Kylie could think to react, Del a jumped in front of her. "What are you doing?" Del a demanded. "You can't ... you can't be here."
"Don't worry, Cuz," he said. "They can't hear or smel me this far away. I know their limitations."
"Forget their limitations. You aren't supposed to be here," Del a snarled.
"So I can't come see my favorite cousin?"
"Not here." She waved her hand. "Now leave before you get my ass in al kinds of trouble."
"You're not going to introduce me to this yummy-smel ing individual." In a flash, he moved to stand in front of Kylie again. This time even closer. She could see an ugly scar running alongside his chin. The smel of his breath wafted up her nose. It smel ed like the grocery store when you got too close to the meat department. Raw meat.
One word echoed in her panicked brain. Run!
Fear kept her from obeying.
Del a growled and less than a second later, her vampire roomie had sandwiched herself between Kylie and the scar-faced cousin. "Leave her alone, Chan. You're scaring her."
He took a step back. "I'm just joking. I had my dinner." He ran his hand down his shirt-a light colored shirt that Kylie noted had stains down the front. Stains that could very wel be ...
Fear froze her lungs as the coppery scent of blood fil ed her nose. A noise escaped her lips. She took a step backward and almost tripped on her own feet.
Del a shot her a quick glance, then refocused on Chan. "Go home. I'l see you when camp's over."
"So you're going to join us when you get out of this joint?" he asked.
"I don't know what I'm doing when this is over. That's why I'm here, to figure that out."
"Your parents wil never accept you. You can't live in that world anymore," Chan said.
"You don't know that," Del a said, pain sounding in her tone.
"I do know. I tried it. Save yourself and them the heartache and just come and live with us. We're your new family."
"I told you I'l make my decision when I leave here."
"This place is going to feed you a pack of lies. They want to change us ... al of us. It's a ploy by the government."
"They aren't feeding me anything. They made it clear, it's my choice. Now go away before you get me thrown out of here."
"Trouble is my middle name, Cuz."
"Chan." Del a made that low snarling sound again.
"You are no fun," he said, and then took off, moving so fast he left only a cold wake of fear behind. Kylie found a tree to lean against. Del a stood there, head tilted as if listening and staring off in the direction Chan had disappeared, no doubt making sure he'd left.
Slowly, she turned to Kylie. Her eyes had faded back to her own shade of black. The moon found its way from the clouds, al owing Kylie to read the emotions in Del a's face.
"I'm sorry," Del a said, and her expression matched her words.
Kylie couldn't answer; she hadn't even gotten her breathing under control. Back stil against the tree, she wrapped her arms around herself to fight off the chil that had nothing to do with the temperature.
"He wouldn't have hurt you," Del a said.
"He cal ed me a snack," Kylie insisted, managing to eke the words out from her shaking lungs.
"He enjoys scaring people. He wouldn't have done anything."
Kylie arched a brow in disbelief. "Is he ... does he belong to one of those gangs that harm humans?"
"No, he just likes to act out sometimes."
"Is that why you kept getting between us?"
"I did that because I could smel how afraid you were."
While Kylie couldn't total y buy into Del a's words, she sensed Del a believed it. Or at least she wanted to believe it. The normal noises of the woods returned. A few insects chirped in the distance. Del a stood there almost fidgeting. "Can I ask you a big favor?"
"What?" Kylie asked.
"Don't mention this to anyone? Other supernaturals aren't supposed to visit." The pleading in Del a's voice seemed to cost her.
"What if he comes back?" Kylie could almost smel the scent of raw meat that had lingered on his breath.
"He won't. I'l make sure of it." Pausing, Del a studied Kylie's face. "Please. If they find out, I could be sent home and I real y need to be here right now."
Kylie remembered how Del a had protected her and for reasons Kylie didn't quite understand, she trusted the vampire to protect her again. But did she trust her enough to put her life in her hands? Probably not, but her gut instinct made the decision for her.
"Just make sure he doesn't come back. I don't want to become another blood spatter on his shirt." Saying the words sent another chil down Kylie's back.
When the chil hung on longer than it should, she wondered if the cold stemmed from her panic or was it from something else? Was someone else here? Someone other than ...
"Thanks." Del a smiled. "I knew I liked you. Come on-let's get to the bonfire before they send someone after us."
They started walking again, but every other step had Kylie looking over her shoulder. What frightened her more-finding a ghost or Del a's cousin
-she wasn't sure.
The smel of wood smoke grew stronger as they made their way through the woods. The half moon shifted in and out behind clouds, shrouding them either in moon shadows or complete darkness. The strange animal sounds kept playing in the distance-lions, elephants, and even wolves. But thankful y, the cold faded into the darkness.
Del a never seemed to lose her way so Kylie stayed close, ignoring the feel of thorns and bushes catching on her jeans. Final y, a reddish glow appeared between the trees.
Able to think clearly at last, Kylie took advantage of their last few minutes alone to ask Del a a few questions. "Is ... your cousin the one who did this to you?"
Del a looked over her shoulder. "Did what to me?"
"Turned you into a vampire."
"Oh. No. I was born with the virus. But yes, it was probably the contact with him that activated it."
"I thought you became a vampire by getting bit? Or is that just a myth? I mean, I realize there's a lot of myths about supernaturals. I saw you could eat pizza. And you were in the sun."
Del a smiled. "The sun and I don't get along, but sunscreen mostly takes care of that. I can eat-not like I used to. I mostly need blood. And yes, some humans can be turned by being ... bit. There are parts of the myths that are true. However, most of us are born with the virus. But it takes being exposed to another vampire before the virus is activated."
Kylie tried to understand. "So you knew you were a vampire al your life?"
Del a chuckled. "Hardly. The virus runs in my family but we never knew anything about it because it only affects one in fifty family members, and even then it may not be the active virus. Everybody thought Chan died in a car accident when he was in France. Then one night I saw him, at this party. Freaked me out."
"I can imagine." A lot of this was freaking her out.
"Anyway, he of course could sense that I had the gene and having come in contact with him, he knew I'd turn and get sicker than hel . He showed up to help me. He told me that I was a vampire. It was a big friggin' shock to my system. Sort of like what you're going through right now."
"Yeah, but I haven't been sick. We're not sure if I'm anything."
"Yeah, denial is a big part of it," Del a said. "I remember. I swore I just had a bad case of the swine flu."
Kylie bit back another denial and let Del a continue. "I went through it al . Of course with vampires it's worse. The change is damn painful." She moved a few branches out the way and held them back for Kylie to pass.
"So your parents don't know?" Kylie asked.
"You kidding?" Del a asked. "They would freak."
They kept walking and Del a continued. "I got real y sick at first. The doctors didn't understand it, either. Chan explained everything to me. He hid in my bedroom and took care of me for almost two weeks. I owe him big for that."
"Enough to leave your family for him?" Kylie asked, remembering what Del a and her cousin had argued about. Then Kylie recal ed her own family drama and sympathized with Del a's plight. Losing someone you loved hurt like hel . An image of her father flashed in Kylie's mind and her chest tightened.
Emotion made Del a's eyes bright. "There's a community of vampires who live in Pennsylvania. Chan thinks it's best if I go there and live. It's hard to live with family and keep this from them. I just ... I don't know what's right. We ... my family and I, used to be so close. Wel , Dad's always been a hard ass, but I know he loves me. Mom was my best friend and I have a little sister and I can't imagine leaving her."
"Would your mom let you go if you asked her?" Kylie asked.
"No. I'd have to run away and I know that would break their hearts. Which is why most young vampires fake their deaths, so the family moves on. I don't want to do that, but ... I'm pretty much breaking their hearts now anyway. It's like a war zone at home."
Del a's voice shook and Kylie didn't look but she figured there were tears in her roommate's eyes. Then again, Kylie wasn't sure if vampires could cry. But tears or no tears, she could hear the pain in Del a's voice.
"It's hard," Del a continued. "I had to go out at night to get blood. It's not as if I can keep a supply in the fridge. I'm basical y nocturnal now, so staying awake at school during a boring class was almost impossible. The school convinced my mom I was either doing drugs or depressed. My parents, even my mom, were riding me and accusing me of al sorts of shit. Al we did was fight, and I couldn't make it stop. So Chan may be right."
Kylie struggled for something to say. Staring straight ahead she spotted the red and orange flickers from the bonfire. The voices of the campers who were standing around a fire fil ed the night. She glanced at Del a and offered her the only thing she could. "If it makes you feel any better, my home life sucks right now, too."
They walked out from the last line of trees into the clearing and they almost col ided with a dark figure that leapt out of the trees, landing with almost a silent thud. Del a growled. A startled yelp fil ed Kylie's throat, but then she recognized the dark figure with very blue eyes. Lucas Parker.
"That's a good way to get hurt," Del a snarled.
His gaze stayed fixed on them, harsh, accusing.
Kylie froze under his intense stare, but Del a, unaffected by his ominous presence, gave Kylie a cold nudge to continue walking. Lucas fel in step beside her and his deep voice came out as little more than a whisper. "If he comes here again, I won't sit by and do nothing."
With that, Lucas took off.
"Shit," Del a muttered.
Ditto.
Kylie watched Lucas move into a circle of other campers, and al of them greeted him as if he was some kind of leader. Before Kylie could look away, the girl who always seemed attached to Lucas's hip glanced back and her eyes turned greenish gold as she stared daggers at Kylie.
"Someone's jealous," Del a snapped.
While the idea was laughable, Kylie could swear she did see jealousy in that girl's eyes.
A short time later, Kylie found herself alone, staring at the fire and listening to the strange animal sounds in the distance. Her gaze fol owed the trail of smoke that seemed to snake up to where the half moon hung in the sky. Breathing in the scent of burning wood and charred marshmal ows from the sticks of several campers, Kylie fought emotional overload. Then, gazing at the flickering fire, she found herself missing Sara like she'd never missed her before.
At first, Kylie didn't understand the upheaval of feelings for her best friend, but when she glanced around the crowd the reasons became clear. Blindingly clear.
Welcome to the world of cliques.
School had always been about the cliques. Among the many, there'd been the cheerleader/popular clique, the school band clique, and then the smart/col ege-focused clique-completely different from the geek clique-and the art club clique. Then there was the one Kylie and Sara belonged to, the cliqueless clique.
Not that it was the worst one to belong to. In truth, it wasn't even a clique at al ; they just belonged to the group that was considered floaters. They hung-not real y belonged to, but just hung-with one group for a while, then they'd move to another. Thankful y, people didn't dislike them or poke fun at them like they did some of the unpopular groups. How could they poke fun at them when people hardly knew they existed? Or at least that's how Kylie had always felt at school. Not real y disliked, or mistreated, just invisible.
And the reason for missing Sara right now, wel , that was a no-brainer. Kylie might have been a floater, but she'd never had to float alone. Since fifth grade, she and Sara had been a team. And Sara had definitely been the head floater-the role natural y taken on since she was the one who worried the most about fitting in.
Inhaling another gulp of smoke, Kylie moved to escape the path of the wind. As her gaze moved from one group to another, one of Nana's old sayings fil ed her head, birds of a feather flock together.
The flocks, or cliques, were different at camp than in high school. She spotted Del a and the pierced boy, Jonathon, crowding around a group of kids, al vampires, no doubt.
Standing close to the fire, roasting marshmal ows, was Perry, the shape-shifter, and with him were two other guys and a girl. Kylie wondered if they could al turn into unicorns.
Derek stood to the side of another crowd, as if he wasn't so sure he wanted to belong. She assumed these must be the fairies, or Fae as he cal ed them. Not that she blamed him for using the different version. No straight guy would want to be cal ed a fairy. Not that anyone could mistake Derek for gay. Something about the way he walked and carried himself was overtly female-loving male-like Trey. Staring under her lashes, she let herself admire Derek's overtly male body. The wide shoulders, the square jaw, the way he fil ed out his jeans. That's when she realized she was doing it again-comparing Derek to Trey. She real y, real y didn't want to get caught up in that emotional storm, so she looked away.
Luck would have it that her gaze shot straight to another hard male body among a different flock of campers. Lucas. His warning about Del a's cousin echoed in her head as she let her gaze move over his tal frame. Not that she planned to al ow herself to appreciate the view for long. The fact that she appreciated it at al annoyed her. She owed her cat more loyalty than that. Right?
Before she could force her gaze away from his solid torso wrapped in the black T-shirt, she noticed his goth-dressed girlfriend standing next to him. Her body was pressed so close, that nobody would dare come between them.
Lucas turned around as if he'd sensed her staring. Kylie attempted to look away, but his gaze locked on hers. She felt caught. Then the strangest thing happened. A forgotten memory surfaced. She'd been walking home from school, and a few of the older boys had started picking on her. One of the bul ies had picked up a rock and slung it at her, but Lucas appeared out of nowhere and caught the rock. Like some kind of pro basebal player, he slung it back at the kid and hit the bul y right between his legs.
The boy fel in the street moaning. Lucas had walked beside her the rest of the way home-as if to protect her. Those bul ies never bothered her again.
Realizing she continued to stare at Lucas during her memory recal , she swung around. She noticed Miranda chatting with an artsy-looking crowd
-obviously the witches of the group. Stil feeling the tingle of Lucas's gaze, and needing something to get her mind off both him and her exboyfriend's lookalike, she started moving toward Miranda. Hopeful y, Kylie had learned enough floater skil s from Sara to get her through the next few months. Because face it, why should camp be any different than high school? Belonging to a group and fitting in just wasn't in her cards.
Kylie's pil ow didn't smel right-didn't feel right, either. Nothing felt right. She'd been the first to leave the campfire. When Holiday stopped her on her way out to ask how she was doing, Kylie had been tempted to hit the leader with a deluge of questions. Couldn't I just be a bit loony instead of gifted? And if I'm truly gifted, how do I find out what I am? And ... What's the real chance that camp could be closed down by those black-suited dudes? Oh, and can I do anything to make sure that happens? Okay, she wouldn't have asked the last two questions, but not from a lack of wanting.
More than anything in the world, Kylie wanted to go home-back to her own miserable life, back to her own miserable world. Nevertheless, standing in front of Holiday, Kylie recal ed the supersonic hearing of some of her campmates and put her questions on hold. According to her schedule, which had been handed out at the campfire, she'd have an hour counseling session with Holiday before lunch tomorrow. Before that, right after breakfast, Kylie was to show up for the daily activity of Meet Your Campmates Hour. Supposedly each camper was to be paired up with someone for an hour to get to know a little about each other, their gifts, and the culture of their species. Now, wouldn't that be fun? Not.
Sure she was curious, yet it would be kind of be nice to figure out what she was, or hopeful y what she "wasn't" before investing in what everyone else was. And if she could prove she wasn't anything but human maybe she could go home.
She rol ed over for about the hundredth time, knowing part of the reason she couldn't sleep was the fear that she'd have another night terror. Good God, she didn't want to have to explain that to her cabin mates.
The sound of her stomach grumbling fil ed the lonely darkness. Was there anything to eat in the fridge? Slipping out of bed, wearing a pair of navy boxers with hearts and a pink tank top, she moved to the door.
The door creaked when she stepped out of her room. The eeriness seemed to bounce against the log wal s. Kylie gazed at the two closed doors leading into the other bedrooms. She'd heard Del a and Miranda come in and listened to see if the two of them were stil planning to kil each other. Hey, if she was going to have to wake up to a bloody mess, she wanted to be prepared.
Fortunately, the two of them had exchanged a non-combative conversation. It seemed al Miranda wanted to talk about were the boys. Derek included. Not that Kylie minded, of course.
A couple more steps and Kylie looked again at the bedroom doors. Hopeful y, they were now both dead asleep. Okay, maybe dead wasn't the best word. Especial y considering she didn't know if vampires were dead or not. Did they even sleep? And for that matter, were they immortal like the books said they were?
Kylie's bare feet pressing against the plank boards brought on a moan-like sound from the old wood. She recal ed the visit from Del a's cousin. Then she remembered the vampire gangs. Clutching handfuls of her tank top in both fists, she debated skipping a snack, for fear of becoming one. And then the boards creaked again.