Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy 1)

“Don't worry about it. It's not a full moon anymore, so Stacey and Luke can share a room again. I'll take the extra one. ”

“I could take the extra one. ”

He shrugged, smiling. “I already put all your stuff in there--don't worry about it. We'll get you settled more permanently tomorrow. ”

I really, really liked the sound of that. After getting ready for bed, I bumped into him in the hall again. “I had a great time today. Besides the whole Reth attack, I mean. ”

“Me, too. ” We were both quiet, and then he leaned forward, giving me a strange look. For a second I thought he was going to hug me or--holy bleep--maybe even kiss me and I got all excited. Then he just smiled and said, “Good night. ”

“Oh, umm, night,” I said back, not even managing to hide my disappointment.

I was never going to get kissed, was I?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

HIJINKS AND HIGH SCHOOLS

I woke up early the next morning, relieved after a dreamless sleep and buzzing with excitement to go to a real, live high school. I took a quick shower and got ready. It was nice to be able to do my hair and makeup--it made things feel a little more normal. I chose a shirt Lend had picked out for me (pink and sparkly, how cute was that?) and was ready to go forty-?five minutes before we needed to leave. Lend hadn't even woken up yet. With nothing else to do, I went downstairs to eat breakfast.

David was sitting at the table with Arianna and the two werewolves. “Oh, hey,” I said, feeling like I had intruded. David smiled at me, and Arianna even gave me a nod. Stacey and Luke barely looked at me. I think I scared them. Awesome.

“Cereal's in the pantry--help yourself,” David said. I did, finding a bowl and spoon and then sitting at the counter to eat. I tried not to listen to their conversation, but it was a small kitchen. “If we just knew how it was killing them. ”

“Wait, what?” I turned around to face the group. “Are you talking about the girl that's killing paranormals? I saw her. ”

“You did? How does she do it?” They all looked at me, eager and intense.

“It's weird. She just sort of puts her hand on their chests and then they're dead. Afterward, there's a handprint, all shimmery and golden, but it fades. I don't think anyone else would be able to see it. ”

“Can you show me exactly what she did?” David stood up. “Are you sure she didn't have a weapon of some sort?”

“Nope, nothing. ”

Arianna stepped up. “Show him on me. ”

It was more than a little awkward. I wasn't all that eager to put my hand on Arianna's chest--I wouldn't have been even if she weren't undead. Not my thing. Still, David was watching intently, so I shrugged. “Okay, she walked up and put her hand out like this, and then--”

The second we touched, Arianna's eyes went wide and she started convulsing, letting out a horrible shriek.

David jumped back and I screamed, yanking my hand away in terror. What had I done? I really was like Vivian, a murderer. I watched, stunned, for the golden handprint to show up and Arianna to crumple to the ground. And a part of me, a small, terrible part, waited to know what it would feel like.

Her convulsions shifted into giggles. “Oh, I got you bad!” She was laughing so hard now she doubled over.

I leaned against the counter and gasped for breath. Trying not to cry, I shoved her shoulder, almost knocking her over. “You stupid brat! I can't believe you did that!”

David sighed. “That was in very poor taste. ”

At the table, Stacey had her head buried in Luke's chest. She was bawling, and Luke looked like he wanted to rip Arianna's throat out.

“Oh, lighten up,” she said, still laughing. “That was awesome and you know it. You should have seen the look on your face. You really thought you were killing me. ”

“Yeah, well, now I kind of want to. ” I glared at her. I couldn't get that dumb dream out of my head. I had actually thought of Fire Girl as Vivian again.

“Hey, good morning. ” Lend walked into the kitchen, stopping as he took in everyone's faces. “What did I miss?”

“Arianna's a freaking comedic genius,” I muttered, sitting back down to finish my cereal.

“Evie was showing us how this thing kills, and Arianna decided to make it a little more dramatic,” David added drily.