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Authors: Heather Heffner
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been in the room with her. There was no way Colleen could be—
Empty eyes. They didn’t belong to a fourteen-year-old girl. They didn’t belong to anyone.
“Where is the butterfly knife?” I said. My dark, hateful eyes rose to meet Mari’s. “The butterfly knife! Colleen always carried it with her.”
Marisol searched the pile of clothes. “It’s not here.”
“Bitch,” I whispered. “Some bitch killed a fourteen-year-old girl just to even the odds for herself. Or some jealous bride . Maya really did choose well, didn’t she?”
“Raina, I didn’t have anything to do with this!” Marisol cried.
I remained stony-faced, combing Colleen’s hair out with my fingers. “Guess we’ll see who has the knife, then.”
That night, I slept for one last time in the north tower attic. I knew it immediately. There was a flock of cawing magpies painted upon the sliding door.
Chapter 10: One Winter Afternoon
The first time we saw snow in Korea, Raina had refused to play in it. She’d tiptoed around the gleaming snow banks until I’d shoved her in. So began the snowball war we couldn’t seem to grow out of: hiding snowballs in the freezer to drip down each other’s back at night; sneaking powdery handfuls into first period. Now I walked through the first snow of the winter with just the sky to play with. It pelted my face with hard, icy bullets.
The decision about whether or not to send me to the Vampyre Court was in limbo. The pack was leaning toward sending me, but they wanted it to be the operation , which would gain us the upper hand. Like, knowing the location of Maya and Khyber’s bodies, so the pack could burn them together while I provided the distraction. It was the best we could do off of Raina’s information. Jaehoon refused to discuss the “Dark Spirits,” saying they were an older power no one with hope of redemption should consort with. Just knowing there was something out there older than Maya gave me the shivers.
“It’s better than we could have hoped for,” Rafael said, a heavy glove on my shoulder as he steered me toward a frost-crystallized gazebo. “We get an affirmative on Maya and Khyber’s location, and the game’s up.”
I was ready. The pain in my pinkie stump was a mere throb, although it was bizarre trying to reach for a keyboard key with a finger that wasn’t there.
“So where should we look?”
Rafael laughed. “You weren’t the one who got beaten black-and-blue. We let the pack alliance handle it. Those damn birds can finally be useful for scouting. Meanwhile, we need to get you into shape. You couldn’t even take on that underling vampyre in Hyeon Bin’s house.”
I was outraged. “I was drunk!”
“So you were drinking when you lost your finger. Your mom will be so proud you were telling the truth.”
I snorted, eyes drifting across the park uneasily. “She lifted my house arrest when good grades came in from Jaehoon. Said she was disappointed I insisted on lying to her, but supposed I was ‘turning eighteen soon enough.’ Don’t know how to read that other than ‘as soon as you’re legally an adult, you and your brother can go your own way.’ ”
“She’s casting you out with Miguel? Now that is doubly cruel.”
“Takes an asshole to recognize one.”
“When’s your birthday, anyway?”
I shot him a swift look, but he seemed more interested in the man trying to ice fish on the river.
“December 31 st ,” I muttered.
“Nice. Hey, look at that!” The Amazing Ice-Fisher had succeeded in pulling up a squirming brown carp, and Rafael scrambled over for a closer look. The ice fisher seemed surprised, and then pleased that the tall, lean foreigner spoke reasonable Korean. Soon enough he was handing Rafael the pole.
I stood there stupidly for a second, and then mentally kicked myself. What had I been expecting? “When’s the party? I’ll be there—without Yu Li.” Maybe. Miracles could happen.
My hand fell upon the vampyre
Empty eyes. They didn’t belong to a fourteen-year-old girl. They didn’t belong to anyone.
“Where is the butterfly knife?” I said. My dark, hateful eyes rose to meet Mari’s. “The butterfly knife! Colleen always carried it with her.”
Marisol searched the pile of clothes. “It’s not here.”
“Bitch,” I whispered. “Some bitch killed a fourteen-year-old girl just to even the odds for herself. Or some jealous bride . Maya really did choose well, didn’t she?”
“Raina, I didn’t have anything to do with this!” Marisol cried.
I remained stony-faced, combing Colleen’s hair out with my fingers. “Guess we’ll see who has the knife, then.”
That night, I slept for one last time in the north tower attic. I knew it immediately. There was a flock of cawing magpies painted upon the sliding door.
Chapter 10: One Winter Afternoon
The first time we saw snow in Korea, Raina had refused to play in it. She’d tiptoed around the gleaming snow banks until I’d shoved her in. So began the snowball war we couldn’t seem to grow out of: hiding snowballs in the freezer to drip down each other’s back at night; sneaking powdery handfuls into first period. Now I walked through the first snow of the winter with just the sky to play with. It pelted my face with hard, icy bullets.
The decision about whether or not to send me to the Vampyre Court was in limbo. The pack was leaning toward sending me, but they wanted it to be the operation , which would gain us the upper hand. Like, knowing the location of Maya and Khyber’s bodies, so the pack could burn them together while I provided the distraction. It was the best we could do off of Raina’s information. Jaehoon refused to discuss the “Dark Spirits,” saying they were an older power no one with hope of redemption should consort with. Just knowing there was something out there older than Maya gave me the shivers.
“It’s better than we could have hoped for,” Rafael said, a heavy glove on my shoulder as he steered me toward a frost-crystallized gazebo. “We get an affirmative on Maya and Khyber’s location, and the game’s up.”
I was ready. The pain in my pinkie stump was a mere throb, although it was bizarre trying to reach for a keyboard key with a finger that wasn’t there.
“So where should we look?”
Rafael laughed. “You weren’t the one who got beaten black-and-blue. We let the pack alliance handle it. Those damn birds can finally be useful for scouting. Meanwhile, we need to get you into shape. You couldn’t even take on that underling vampyre in Hyeon Bin’s house.”
I was outraged. “I was drunk!”
“So you were drinking when you lost your finger. Your mom will be so proud you were telling the truth.”
I snorted, eyes drifting across the park uneasily. “She lifted my house arrest when good grades came in from Jaehoon. Said she was disappointed I insisted on lying to her, but supposed I was ‘turning eighteen soon enough.’ Don’t know how to read that other than ‘as soon as you’re legally an adult, you and your brother can go your own way.’ ”
“She’s casting you out with Miguel? Now that is doubly cruel.”
“Takes an asshole to recognize one.”
“When’s your birthday, anyway?”
I shot him a swift look, but he seemed more interested in the man trying to ice fish on the river.
“December 31 st ,” I muttered.
“Nice. Hey, look at that!” The Amazing Ice-Fisher had succeeded in pulling up a squirming brown carp, and Rafael scrambled over for a closer look. The ice fisher seemed surprised, and then pleased that the tall, lean foreigner spoke reasonable Korean. Soon enough he was handing Rafael the pole.
I stood there stupidly for a second, and then mentally kicked myself. What had I been expecting? “When’s the party? I’ll be there—without Yu Li.” Maybe. Miracles could happen.
My hand fell upon the vampyre
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