Coolness whisked across Kylie's brow and stirred her into a semi-alert state. One that brought on al the "w" questions: Who, What, When, Why, and Where. The musty smel of the pil ow answered the Where question.
Camp. Stil at camp.
The emotional overload from the last few days fil ed her chest. She forced her eyes open. Holiday sat on the edge of the bed. Her red hair hung free over her shoulders and concern appeared on her face and shined from her bright green eyes.
"Is she awake?" The hauntingly familiar masculine voice fil ed her ears and Kylie could hear echoes bouncing around her head. She shifted her gaze to the left.
Holy crap.
Holiday moved the damp cloth across Kylie's brow again. "Hey, you with us now?"
Kylie wasn't listening, or looking at the camp leader. She gazed at ... Lucas Parker-cat kil er extraordinaire. And protector from bullies, Kylie's subconscious pointed out. Though why her subconscious wanted to defend him was beyond Kylie. What was going on?
Lucas leaned down as if to touch her. Kylie shot up, pushed the cloth from her face. "What happened?" And then, just like that, it al came back at once.
The ghost.
The blood. So much blood.
Then she was hit by another mind-boggling piece of information. She must have passed out. How geeky was that?
"You fainted," Lucas said, his big voice fil ing the smal room and making it feel even smal er. Did he have to point out the obvious? And why was he here anyway? Wasn't there some of kind of "no boys in the bedroom" rule? If not, Kylie needed to see about getting it added.
She glanced over at Holiday.
"It happens sometimes," Holiday said. "When the ghosts start getting closer."
"I'm fine now." She lunged out of bed and doggone if the room didn't start spinning on its axis. Round and round. Lucas caught her elbow. His touch was tight, but not enough to hurt.
His touch was warm and somehow warm tingles danced up her arm and made her even more light-headed. But at least things quit spinning. Her first impulse was to jerk away, but afraid that would be too tel ing, she forced herself to appear calm. Of course, if he could read her heart rate like Del a, she was pretty much screwed.
And speaking of Del a, where were ... Kylie shifted her focus to the doorway. Del a and Miranda stood there, shoulder against shoulder, peering in as if Kylie was the nightly entertainment. Oh damn, how embarrassing. She could just imagine them running from their hiding spot-because she had the vague memory of hearing running footsteps-and them finding her on the floor. But how had she gotten in the bed?
Kylie glanced away from her roommates to Lucas. Had he picked her up? Held her in his arms? Her heart rate started climbing again. That's when she realized that he was stil touching her.
"I'm fine." She gave her arm a quick jerk.
He released her, one finger at a time, as if afraid she might fal on her face again. Right before his last finger let go, she noticed his gaze sweep downward. While her pajamas weren't indecent, she became instantly aware of how thin her top was-and even more aware of how the scoop neck of the tank scooped lower than most of her tops. Or as Sara would say, her girls were trying to peer out and say howdy a little more than usual. Kylie took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Why don't you let me talk to Kylie alone," Holiday said to Lucas, who stil hadn't stopped staring, though his gaze had shifted from her chest to her face with a cold indifference.
He nodded, but she saw his dark brows twitch ever so lightly. So he was stil trying to read her, was he? Right now, she was relieved knowing that he wouldn't get anything.
And just like that, another memory from the past surfaced and she remembered Lucas Parker doing the eyebrow thing when she was young. Had he tried to read her then? That thought brought up the question that had been bouncing around her head since she'd first spotted him. Did Lucas remember her?
"We can finish our discussion tomorrow," Holiday said to Lucas as if dismissing him.
"Okay," he said, offering Holiday a smile. Then he walked out.
Del a and Miranda moved away from the doorway to let him pass. Kylie didn't miss the unfriendly way Del a and Lucas exchanged glances. Was Del a worried that Lucas had told Holiday about her cousin Chan's surprise appearance at camp? Probably.
"Shut the door," Holiday added as Lucas was almost out.
Kylie looked back at the camp leader, feeling as if she was about to be chastised for ... for what? Fainting? Or had Lucas told her about Chan and now Kylie was in trouble for not speaking up?
"You don't have to be afraid of Lucas," Holiday said.
Kylie studied her. "Can you hear my heartbeat, too?"
Holiday grinned. "I read emotions, not heartbeats, but I also read your fear from the way you turned white as a sheet when you saw him."
Kylie almost blurted out what she knew about Lucas, but she didn't. It felt too much like tattling. Instead, she asked a question. "Why was he here?"
"He was in the office when Miranda came to get me."
Kylie looked at the clock; it was almost one in the morning. She couldn't help but wonder exactly what Lucas and Holiday were doing at that hour. Sure, the camp leader was older, but not by many years.
"Are you and he ... close?"
"Depends on what you mean by close." Holiday arched a brow. "This is his third time here. He's assisting us with some things and even training to work with us next year. But that's al ." Then she asked, "What happened tonight?"
Kylie swal owed, stal ing. How much should she tel ?
"The ghost appeared again, didn't he?" Holiday asked in the beat of the indecisive silence. Kylie nodded, yet more than anything, she wanted to deny it. "Yes, but Miranda and Del a said that people who are a little loony sometimes give off the same mental image of not being human. So maybe I'm not gifted and maybe the ghost is just a powerful one, like you said sometimes happens. Or I could even have a brain tumor."
Holiday sighed. "The chances of either one of those are very slim, Kylie. Don't you think?"
"Maybe, but the chance exists," Kylie insisted. "I mean, you said most of the time ghost whispering stems from ... a condition that's hereditary. That one of my parents had to have been gifted, too."
"Neither of your parents ever ... showed any signs of being different?"
"No. Never." Yet even as she answered, she reconsidered her mother's cold nature. Could that qualify as "different"?
"I also told you that in rare situations it can skip a generation."
"But I knew my grandparents on both sides. Don't most people know if ... if they're not human?"
"Most people do, but..." Holiday stared at her as if disappointed, and then she folded her hands in her lap. "I suppose that's what you should work on while you're here."
"Work on?"
Holiday stood up. "Everyone here has a quest. Something they're seeking answers for. I suppose your quest is to discover if you are, or are not, completely human. And if, as I suspect, you are one of us, then you must also decide if you'l embrace your gifts to help others, or turn your back on them."
Kylie tried to wrap her mind around the possibility that one of her parents wasn't human, that they might understand what Kylie was going through. Wouldn't they have said something to her?
Holiday placed a hand on Kylie's shoulder. "You should try to get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow."
She nodded and watched Holiday almost make it out the door before the question popped out. "How ... how do I find the answers? I can't go to my parents and ask them if they see ghosts. They'd think I was crazy."
Holiday turned around. "Or maybe one of them would confess the truth to you."
Kylie shook her head. "But if al this is a mistake, then al of that would be for nothing. They already have me seeing a shrink. If I start talking about ghosts, they might have me committed."
"It's your quest, Kylie. Only you can decide how you want to do this."
The next morning Kylie and Miranda walked to breakfast together. Del a had already taken off by the time Kylie got up. When Kylie asked about Del a, Miranda informed her that vampires often held before dawn meetings where they performed rituals.
"What kind of rituals?" Kylie asked.
"Don't know exactly, but my guess is it has to do with feeding on blood."
Kylie pressed a hand to her stomach, sorry that she'd asked. Of course, her sickly feeling could partly be due to the fact that she'd hardly slept. Then on second thought, nope, it was for sure the blood. The idea repulsed her in a big way. Seeing the red stuff in those glasses during dinner last night had been too much. If nothing else, at least Kylie might lose a few pounds over the summer. They walked the next few minutes in silence. "How did you sleep last night?" Miranda final y asked, although Kylie knew what her roommate real y meant. Namely, was Kylie okay and what the hel had happened to make her faint?
Kylie decided to ignore the subtext and answered the question as asked.
"Fine." Kylie lied, aware the white lies might work with Miranda, just not Del a.
In truth, Kylie had stared holes in the ceiling considering what Holiday had said about Kylie's quest. No matter how Kylie looked at the problem, she couldn't think of a way to ask her parents if they were not al human.
But she could think of a lot of questions she'd like to ask someone about herself. Questions like: if I am a supernatural what other kind of species could I be? And if I'm not one of you, do I have some kind of a brain tumor? Kylie didn't know which was worse. Then the revelation hit. Maybe getting answers to those questions would help her rule out the possibility of being anything but human. It wasn't the best plan, but it was a start. And she had to start somewhere.
"You didn't look fine last night," Miranda said.
She hadn't been. When Kylie final y went to sleep, she'd dreamed. Crazy, weird dreams that involved Lucas Parker and her. They were swimming. He hadn't been wearing a shirt and neither had she. She'd woken up, feeling out of breath, and tingly. Tingly the way Trey had made her feel when they'd kissed for a long time. How could her body betray her and actual y find Lucas Parker desirable? Not that she would let her body win this one. If there was anything she knew about herself, it was that she could control her desire. She'd gotten real y good at stopping Trey, even when stopping had been the last thing she'd wanted.
So that gave her a new goal. Not only would she try and find out if she was human, she was also going to make darn sure she didn't get close to Lucas.
"I did okay," Kylie lied again.
"I don't believe you, but let's let that slide for now." Miranda looked away. "Cute vampire dude on the left," she whispered, total y changing the conversation.
"What?"
"The blond wearing a footbal jersey," Miranda whispered again. "What I wouldn't give to hook up with him."
"I thought you didn't like vampires."
"I never said that. And if I did, it wouldn't apply to the male vampires, anyway."
Kylie couldn't have cared less about a cute vampire, and the last place she wanted her mind to go right now was to thoughts about hooking up with any guy, but her gaze moved to the left on its own accord. No one was there. "Where?"
"Over there." Miranda nodded in the opposite direction.
"You mean right," Kylie corrected. "Not left."
"Right, left. I always get them messed up. I'm dyslexic, remember? But he's a cutie. Maybe I'l get his name in the Meet Your Campmates session today."
The blond guy stood chatting with a group of other boys. Kylie remembered seeing him, but couldn't remember his name. His stature and overal appearance reminded her of Perry, who was not Kylie's type. Especial y after what happened last night.
"Are you real y okay?" Miranda asked after they passed the group of boys. "You looked out of it last night. Your aura went al freaky."
"I'm fine." And then because she didn't want to talk about last night, she asked, "Are you real y dyslexic?"
Miranda didn't answer right away. "Yeah. And according to my family, you'd think it's something I asked for." Her tone had lost the giddiness that seemed constant in her voice.
"So is your family al witches?"
"Yeah, but my mom can be a bitch, as wel ."
"Aren't al moms?" Kylie asked.
"Maybe." Miranda sighed. "Not that I real y blame her. I've sort of let the family down, big time."
"How's that?" Kylie asked.
"I was destined to be the High Priestess next in line. But before I can be given the title, I have to pass some tests. And tests and I just don't get along. So my family could lose their place in the coven if I can't come through."
"Why does it have to be you? Why can't one of them step up to the plate?"
Miranda sighed. "It doesn't work that way. It's me or the honor goes to Britney Jones."
"Wow, talk about keeping up with the Joneses." Kylie gave the joke a stab, hoping to make Miranda feel better.
"Yeah." Miranda's tone implied the joke fel short.
"Sorry," Kylie said. "So what would it take for you to pass the tests?"
"Only to overcome dyslexia. Which is basical y impossible," Miranda said. "Ohh, ohh, look to your left-I mean your right. Your purring breastloving kitten is here. And he's blushing. You know, it has to be terrible on his ego to have been tossed out on his ass by you."
"I hope so." Kylie spotted Perry, and he did appear rather red-faced.
Good.
"You didn't tel Holiday about him, did you?" Miranda sounded concerned. The girl obviously had a soft spot for the twerp.
"No." Kylie frowned. "But I might if he does it again." She didn't know if Perry had super hearing, but she hoped so. They were almost to the dining hal , just past the camp office, when the two black suits from yesterday came barreling out of the door. Kylie slowed down and studied their body language. They weren't happy. Watching them hotfoot it to the parking lot, Kylie couldn't help but hope that their little visit today had to do with the closing of the camp.
Right then, the bigger of the guys stopped and swung around. He stood frozen in one spot, staring and twitching his brows at her. He leaned down and whispered something to the other man and then they started forward. Right toward Kylie. Crappers.