WITHIN A FEW HOURS, THE WHOLE FACULTY shared my dismay.
“Do you understand the rules of conduct at this school?” Even from my place outside the carriage house, where I crouched in the shrubs to eavesdrop, Mrs. Bethany’s voice rang sharply. “You have chosen to ignore them in the past.”
“The first rule of Evernight is that any vampire who seeks sanctuary must be given a place.” Charity sounded completely unruffled. “I’ll obey the rules if you will.”
The teachers, who were gathered around, muttered among themselves. I didn’t dare peek above the windowsill to see what was going on, but it basically sounded like Charity wanted to join the school as a student and they were going to have to let her in. But they didn’t like it.
Mr. Yee said, “There’s a certain wraith situation going on.”
“Because of the little baby. But that will be taken care of soon enough, won’t it? One way or another.” Charity obviously didn’t care if I lived or died; the feeling was rapidly becoming mutual.
I winced as I recognized my mother’s voice. “There are human students here now, and we have to protect them from harm. Your track record in that area leaves a lot to be desired.”
“I swear,” Charity said, as sincere and sweet as a child. “I swear upon my own grave that I will not be the one to break the peace at Evernight Academy.”
After a moment’s silence, Mrs. Bethany said, “Very well. How long do you intend to remain?”
“Not long. Cross my heart, I’ll be out of here before June.”
“Then we will find you a place in the faculty apartments. You should remain there as much as possible until the end of the semester. It would be difficult to explain a new pupil arriving so close to the end of term, and the fewer questions asked, the better,” Mrs. Bethany said. “We should review the new rules about blood consumption that have been instituted following the new admissions policy.”
“Hey.” The whisper was close to my ear, and I jumped in fright, then breathed a sigh of relief as I realized it was Balthazar. “What’s going on in there?”
“You nearly scared me to death.” We stepped away from the building together. “Why did you sneak up on me like that?”
“I didn’t sneak up on you. I sneaked up to the carriage house, and you were already there, doing the spying for me.”
I smiled a little at that. Only then did I realize that we were talking to each other again, and it wasn’t nearly as awkward as I’d feared. That might have been only because he was so focused on the carriage house. Balthazar’s eyes remained fixed on it like he had X-ray vision and could watch his sister through the walls.
“They’re going to let her stay,” I said. “She has to hide up in the tower, though, so nobody asks why there’s a new student coming only for finals. Mrs. Bethany’s ticked off about it, but apparently you were right about the sanctuary thing.”
“Sanctuary.” His face lit up with hope. “Sanctuary means she’s running from someone. It’s got to mean she’s running from the tribe. She’s turned away from them.”
“Maybe.”
“It’s got to be.”
He wanted to believe in her so badly. I didn’t trust Charity as far as I could throw her, but I didn’t say anything. For Balthazar’s sake, I hoped Charity behaved herself for a while, so at least he could visit her again. “Are you going to go in and see her?”
“Mrs. Bethany wouldn’t want me to interrupt. I’ll find Charity later tonight.” Balthazar tentatively put a hand on my shoulder. “Have you been okay?”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t share either my disappointments or my excitement about my impending escape. I could only ask, “How about you?”
“Everything’s going to be all right now,” he said, and he grinned.
“Maybe.” I thought about Lucas and returned his smile “Maybe for both of us.”
The next day, as we all met up in the hallway, Vic said, “Is it just me, or has time slowed to a standstill? It’s like summer is getting farther away, not closer.”
“I know what you mean,” I said. “Where is your family headed this summer?”
“Looks like we’re renting a villa in Tuscany,” Vic replied, with the kind of carefree boredom that only somebody superrich could ever use to announce news like that. Next to him, Raquel’s eyes became wide. “Me, if I’m in Italy, I’d rather be in Rome, right? See all the ruins, like, where the gladiators fought, stuff like that? Not just sitting in some fancy-schmancy house in the middle of wine country while I’m still not legal to drink.”
“I always heard the drinking age was lower in Europe,” Raquel said.
“It is, but try telling that to my mom.” Vic stopped as we reached the entrance to the north tower where the boys’ dorms were. I figured he would tell us good-bye, but instead he peered up the spiral stairs. “Something weird is going on up there.”
“Weird?” Raquel pulled her books closer to her chest. “Like, ghost weird?”
“I don’t think so. Some other kind of weird. Normally they don’t really care if people sit on the stairs in the evening—you know, just to hang out without annoying your roommate, or every once in a while Balthazar has a cigarette up there and blows the smoke out the window. But last night, Ranulf and I made, like, one move toward the stairwell, and all of a sudden Professor Iwerebon appeared out of thin air and read us the riot act for even thinking about going up that way.”
“I bet it has something to do with that,” Raquel said. “With ghosts, I mean. That’s the main reason people have acted strange this year.”
I knew that really they were trying to keep the students away from Charity—or vice versa. “I wouldn’t worry about it,” I said. “Whatever it is, in two weeks we’ll all be out of here.”
“Unless that time-stretching thing keeps up.” Vic grinned and flipped us a wave as he loped into the dormitory wing.
As Raquel and I headed back down the main corridor toward our own tower, she said, “Here comes trouble.” I glanced to my right and saw my father walking purposefully toward us.
“Oh, no.” There was nowhere for me to run. “Stay here with me?”
“I would, but you know he’s going to make me go eventually. The sooner I leave, the sooner you get it over with.”
She was right. I sighed. “Okay, talk to you later.”
Raquel headed in the direction of the room we’d once shared, which left me alone as my father walked up. “I want to speak with you,” he said.
“That makes one of us.”
Dad didn’t appreciate backtalk, but I saw him resist an angry response. “You’re upset. I understand that you’re upset. I suppose you have a right to be.”
“You suppose?”
“You need to be mad at someone? Be mad at me. Ultimately it was my decision to handle things this way, and if I made a mistake, I’m sorry.” Before I could ask him what he meant by if, Dad continued, “But how long are you going to do this to your mother?”
“I’m not doing anything to her!”
“You’ve shut her out. You ignore her. You think that doesn’t hurt her feelings? That you’re the only person in this family who can be hurt? Because this is tearing her up inside. I can’t stand to see her suffer, and I can’t believe you could stand it either, much less be responsible.”
A memory flashed in my mind—Mom with bobby pins in her mouth, braiding my hair for the Autumn Ball. I refused to dwell on it. “I can’t have a relationship with people who can’t be honest with me.”
“You’re looking at this situation in its most extreme light. You’re a teenager; I guess it comes with the territory—”
“It’s not because I’m a teenager!” Quickly I glanced around—no students in sight, human or vampire. “Tell me what happens if I refuse to ever take a human life.”
“That’s not an option for you.”
“I think it is.” Still, he couldn’t tell me the truth. So much for my having a right to be upset, or Dad admitting he made a mistake. “What if that’s my choice?”
“Bianca, that is not something you can choose. Not ever. Don’t let your temper get in the way of reason.”
“We’re done,” I said, walking off. I wondered if he’d follow me, but he didn’t.
That night, I lay in Mrs. Bethany’s bed. My brooch sat upon the nightstand, Raquel’s artwork was almost as bright as a night-light upon the wall, and I tried to take as much pleasure in the colors, and in my plans, as I had before. But I kept thinking about my mother. This is tearing her apart.
As long as I was angry with Mom and Dad—and I was still furious—the separation from them didn’t have to hurt. In other moments, I remembered how close we had always been, and then I missed them so badly I ached.
What I had lost was lost forever. Wasn’t it? I didn’t know how to look at the lies they’d told any other way.
The door of the carriage house banged open, and I jumped out of bed. “Who’s there?” I cried, before thinking that if it were an intruder, I might have done better to stay quiet.
The intruder proved to be Mrs. Bethany, which wasn’t that reassuring. Though it was late, she wore the same dress she’d had on in class today, as if she’d been at work a very long time. Her eyes blazed. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To face your accuser and hopefully discredit her.”
What was that supposed to mean? My stomach sank with dread. “I—well—just let me get dressed.”
“A robe will be sufficient. We must settle this question immediately.”
Obviously no further explanation would be coming. With shaky hands, I put on my bathrobe and knotted the belt. I managed to slip the brooch into my pocket without Mrs. Bethany noticing; I felt like I needed it near.
Once I put the obsidian pendant around my neck, Mrs. Bethany led me across the grounds toward the school. High atop the north tower, several windows burned brightly—including the one that I’d guessed was Charity’s. “Are my parents up there?”
“I wasn’t under the impression you would be interested in their company any longer,” Mrs. Bethany said, her long skirts trailing in the grass. She never looked back, taking it for granted that where she led, I would follow. “You can manage perfectly well on your own, I’m sure.”
I wasn’t sure she really wanted me to manage. Mrs. Bethany was clearly furious, but I couldn’t yet determine whether she was angry at me or someone else. Given that we were headed for Charity’s room, I suspected it was someone else.
We ascended the winding stone steps in silence, as I nervously fiddled with the belt of my robe. I knew that my “accuser” had to be Charity, but what could she possibly accuse me of?
Then I knew. Fear clamped me in its hold like a fist. I stopped in front of the door, unwilling to go inside. “Mrs. Bethany—if you and I could just talk—”
She reached past me to open the door, then pushed me within.
Charity sat in a high-backed chair in the very center of the room, wearing an Evernight uniform, the only intact clothes I’d ever seen her in. Primly she folded her hands in her lap. She looked so deceptively—ordinary. I realized with a shock that somebody else was in the room, too: Balthazar, who sat on a small bench in the corner. Judging from his slumped posture and the sick expression on his face, I knew that Balthazar hadn’t joined her in accusing me. He, too, was one of the accused.
I sat beside him on the bench without being prompted. Balthazar gave me the most desolate look I had ever seen.
Mrs. Bethany demanded, “Miss More, please repeat what you told me earlier this evening.”
“I’m so glad you and I were able to catch up, Mrs. Bethany.” Charity smiled. “It reminded me that we had some good times—before we really knew each other.”
Unsurprisingly, Mrs. Bethany didn’t want to revel in the good times they’d had. “Repeat your accusation.”
“These two have been chasing me throughout the school year.” Charity smiled at us like she was greeting old friends. “But not alone. They had a friend with them. Someone named—Lucas, was it?—whom I’m fairly sure is a member of Black Cross.”
We thought we’d done such a great job sneaking around, keeping the secret; we’d never asked ourselves if Charity would show up and ruin it all.
“Then it’s true.” Mrs. Bethany drew herself up. Until this, I saw, she’d been hoping that Charity was telling lies and that she’d have an excuse to expel her from Evernight Academy. Once Charity had spoken Lucas’s name—or maybe once Mrs. Bethany had seen the guilt on our faces—that hope was gone.
Balthazar nodded. “It’s true.”
“Consorting with a member of Black Cross. A grave crime indeed.” Mrs. Bethany folded her arms as she stood before Balthazar and me. “Last year, Miss Olivier, your connection with Mr. Ross was unknowing, and I forgave it. This year, I cannot be so lenient. And you, Mr. More! Of all people, I would expect better from you.”
“I wanted to find my sister,” Balthazar said dully. His shoulders were hunched like those of someone in pain. “I’d think you’d understand that. Or she would.”
“Black Cross hunters—they’re terrible.” Charity swung her feet back and forth beneath her chair, like a little kid having fun. “Violent. Vicious.”
“Both of you have lied and abused the hospitality of this school. You have broken every rule we have and committed some errors so foolish that we never even thought to make a rule against them. I cannot stand for this.”
“Fine. Expel me.” I rose to my feet. What was the worst she could do? Throw me out of Evernight? I didn’t need a school to teach me to be a vampire when I didn’t intend to be one any longer. “If you want me to sign something you can show my parents later, then I will. If you don’t even want to give me a chance to pack, that’s fine, too. I don’t care.”
“Vicious,” Charity repeated. “Though of course Black Cross hunters think they’re doing the right thing. Just like you, Mrs. Bethany.”
Mrs. Bethany whirled around, even angrier than she had been before. She disliked me, but she hated Charity. “How dare you compare me to those vermin?”
“Everyone hunts.” Charity stood up, taller than anyone in the room but her brother, and she didn’t look like a child any longer. “I hunt humans. Black Cross hunts vampires. You hunt ghosts. The ghosts hunt Bianca. And Bianca’s been hunting me. It’s a perfect chain, and you’re a part of it.”
How did Charity know about hunting ghosts? It took me months to figure it out—did somebody tell her? What does she know?
Charity stepped closer to Mrs. Bethany. She could look down at her. “I think everyone should go on hunting. My brother and his girlfriend used Black Cross to hunt me, so I think I should do the same to them.”
Mrs. Bethany snapped, “You think you’re using me?”
“No. I’m using Black Cross.”
Balthazar stood. Something of his strength and purpose had returned to him in that moment. “Charity, what are you talking about? Tell me.”
His tone of voice resounded in the room, making me shiver; it affected Charity even more strongly, because she turned to him, childlike and obedient once more. Her voice broke as she said, “Why did you do it? Why?”
“I was out of my head with hunger. They’d tortured us for days—You were there, you know, don’t you know?”
“You didn’t have to do what they wanted. You didn’t have to kill me.”
My entire body turned to ice. Balthazar was the one who had turned Charity into a vampire? It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. Yet—
“Punish me later,” Balthazar said. Shadows lined his face and obscured his eyes. “Tell me about Black Cross.”
“I hate this place. You know I’ve always hated it, and I hate her,” Charity said, glaring at Mrs. Bethany, who looked on the verge of attacking any one of us, if not all. “I hate the way she pretends to be the supreme authority on what it means to be a vampire, when she ignores what it means. She doesn’t kill humans. She doesn’t understand that it’s what we do.”
Balthazar shook his head. “Don’t say that.”
Charity never stopped staring malevolently at Mrs. Bethany. “She’d undo us all, if she could. She pretends to protect vampires, but she’ll be the end of our kind if she gets her way.”
“You wretched girl.” Mrs. Bethany was now so furious at Charity that she’d forgotten all about Balthazar and me. I wondered if I could run for the door, whether anybody would notice. “You never could learn.”
“I’ve learned more than you think.” Charity glanced at the delicate wristwatch she wore. “Midnight.”
“Black Cross,” Balthazar repeated. “What did you mean about using Black Cross?”
“They always leave Evernight alone, because they think all the vampires here behave so well,” Charity said. She was right; Lucas had told me so. “But lately they’ve begun to doubt that. You see, in the past two weeks, they’ve found so many bodies in the nearby woods that they’re sure something terrible has been happening. Something they have to stop.”
Downstairs, I heard something—shouting, perhaps.
Charity’s face shifted into a broad smile of pure delight. I’d never seen her totally happy before. “The hour has come.”
Balthazar said, “Charity, you’d better say it.”
Somebody else was shouting in the stairwell—closer now, louder—and then another person screamed. All of us turned toward the doorway in horror.
“I had to get myself cornered to do it,” Charity said. “I could’ve been killed. But finally I made that scarred man believe me.”
Eduardo. Lucas’s stepfather. The most hard-core member of Black Cross that there was. “What did you make him believe?” I said.
Charity triumphantly lifted her head. “That Evernight’s vampires would massacre the human students tonight. So Black Cross has come to massacre you instead.”