“You,” I spat. “You killed him just for that?”
“We don’t do anything without reason.” Daniel paused, surveying the floor with a snicker. “Well, most of the time, anyway.”
My eyes pinched shut, forcing repressed tears to run down my cheeks. I was going to be sick. Blaine had been alive, and they killed him—not because he was a threat—but just because they wanted to make me despondent. All my mind’s eye kept conjuring up was Blaine. I could see him now. The dimples that formed when he genuinely laughed. Those perfect, bright white teeth. Those crystallized blue eyes that were nearly translucent. And now…
Now, Blaine was six feet under. Because of him.
I made no effort to hide my anger, my horror, and it only made Daniel smile wider. “Awww, you really cared about him, didn’t you? That’s so sweet.”
“I didn’t break the seal!” I sneered.
“Oh, but you did. Granted, it took you longer than most. Dark Mages channel their power through their emotions, so this should’ve been a cakewalk. Nowadays, people seem to break commandments like they’re speed limits. We anticipated you completing your Great Rite at least a week ago. But it’s here nevertheless.” He playfully kicked a stray balloon, letting it drift off into the accumulating fog. “You can deny it all you want, but you know it’s true. The little lightshow on your arm there should have been the indicator.”
My runes. The pieces slowly started to slide together.
My ravenous appetite.
The week I spent wallowing in bed.
The text message that taunted me over Blaine’s death and the anger that had me kicking the bathroom stall door clear off its hinges.
My longing for my old life.
Me slapping Reese in my bedroom, when I let my pride get the better of me…
My desire to stay here that I’d resort to blackmailing my mother just to ensure I wouldn’t be sent away.
And then Reese and me on his couch.
“I did it,” I muttered, almost inaudibly. I really did do it.
“Gotta say though, the boss isn’t too happy about the final one. He really had hoped that you’d check that one off the list with his help, not with…whatever the hell you’d call that,” said Daniel, cocking his head as he examined Reese. “I mean, really? Blackburn? No offense, but just look at the guy.”
“Wow,” Reese muttered. “And to think, you’re considered the nice one of the bunch.”
The inside of my arm vibrated, and I immediately recognized the sensation. Wrath.
Daniel cocked his head, noting the vibrant light illuminating out of the sleeves of my leather jacket. A smile crept onto my face, and his amusement vanished as I whirled around, kicking the dual doors. Just as before, my foot slammed into the steel and they burst open. I grabbed Reese and we bolted into the hallway.
“No, no, no!” The rune immediately started dissipating, and by the time I reached the chained emergency exit, the light was gone.
“Can you reactivate it?” bellowed Reese, seeing me hike up my sleeve.
“I don’t know how!”
He slammed his body into the door to no avail. We didn’t have the luxury of waiting any longer because Daniel was charging right for us. Reese yanked me down the connecting corridor, taking every turn and bend through the series of hallways in the hopes to lose him. Daniel’s footsteps weren’t more than twenty feet behind us.
We rounded the next corner, and Reese suddenly threw me sideways. I yelped, only to find his hand pressed against my mouth as darkness swallowed us up. A thin slit of light peeked out from the bottom slat in the door, and I quickly realized where we were. The janitor’s closet.
Footsteps trampled towards us, and a shadow zipped past the doorframe as they continued down the hallway. Reese dropped his hand, but pulled me closer. “We need to get to the main offices,” he whispered.
“Why?”
“Because they have landlines in there. We can try calling for Reynolds again. Right now, we need a cavalry, and we need it fast.”
He slowly eased the door open and poked his head out. Only the reserved lights were on in the entire school, so it made it harder to see amongst the shadows in the hallways. And it was hard to keep an ear out, because we could still hear the music from the gym. Adam Lambert’s “If I Had You” echoed down the hall, and the clapping rhythm sounded like reverberating footsteps, only spiking my anxiety further.
Reese eventually seemed satisfied, because he waved for me to follow as he stepped out into the hallway. We backtracked down a few halls and took a shortcut through the pool. I hit Reese’s arm, still afraid to say anything. He turned to me and I pointed up to the observer’s platform. He nodded.