Blood Fever (The Watchers 3)

I laughed, but my eyes were serious. “Seriously, Mei. There’s some scary stuff out there. Be careful. ”

She held up her instrument. “I’ve got my flute. ”

“But I’m worried you’ll need me. ”

She gave my arm a shake. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, Drew. ”

“Well, my world does. ”

Tom had dragged the boat into the water, and it bobbed furiously in the breakers. He called to us, “Now or never. ”

“I guess this is it. ” I walked her to the water’s edge, frantically trying to think of whatever more words of wisdom I needed to impart. “If you see some tall rich bitch mean girl with hair the color of maple syrup, look out. ”

She laughed. “Lilac?”

I could only shrug. “Who knows anymore what’s out there. ”

She clambered into the boat, and Tom held it so we could finish our farewell. He wore thick rubber wellies on his feet, but still, the poor man was getting soaked.

“You be safe,” she told me. “And mind yourself. ”

I stared hard, trying to read her meaning in the shadows of the sea cave. “Mind myself?”

“My grandmother had a saying. It’s a Chinese proverb. The loudest duck gets shot. So yeah, Drew, mind yourself. ”

“You’re a pain, you know? And I’m going to miss you. ” I leaned over the edge to give her a quick, hard hug, putting all my heart into it. I whispered good-bye in her ear.

But then I shoved her away.

And Tom pushed off, hopping in as the boat rose on the water. He revved the engine to life, and the overwhelming stink of petrol obliterated the goat smell. Mei-Ling nestled in the bed of hay, disappearing from view.

I stood there for some time, watching them fade into the distance. Watching my roommate as she made the escape I’d dreamed of.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

I wanted to mope. I wanted to hide. I wanted to avoid what hell might be awaiting me back on campus.

What would I say? What would my excuse be? Not only was I missing class, but I’d have to fabricate a pretend Draug attack and Mei’s death. Oh, and I’d also need to act surprised when people realized Masha and her pals had disappeared.

I bore the injuries to support the Draug story, but could I lie convincingly enough?

I couldn’t mope. I couldn’t hide or avoid. That thing deep inside me that’d survived my father, that was surviving Watcher training—that thing kicked in. It was my instinct to survive.

It was my will to live that got me shaking out my shoulders and kicking into a strong, steady run back up the beach. I was practicing my looks of surprise and dismay when I heard a weird noise.

I slowed to a jog, spinning a circle to see where it came from. The Draug had all gone, and even if they hadn’t, I was no longer so afraid of them. There were other, much deadlier things out there, and those were the things that I searched for now, scouring the horizon.

There it was again. A hissing, just barely audible over the crash of the waves.

I spun and spun, searching. What’d I been thinking, running along the water? I was too out in the open, with my back exposed.

Again it hissed. Then there was laughter, male laughter, deep and rolling. He hissed louder.

I spun once more, and there he was. Suddenly. Right there before me.

It was the vampire. The rogue vampire.

I knew the moment I laid eyes on him that this was the creature responsible for the murders. This was the thing that’d killed mercilessly and without reason, draining bodies dry and leaving them to rot like trash.