The Chase

My feet couldn’t carry me fast enough. I ran, panting, watching my feet carefully so that I did not trip over a root or a branch concealed in the shadows of the woods. Glancing up briefly to check my progress, I saw that there was still no end to the woods in sight. Again, I watched my feet. It would be just my luck to trip. Though I couldn’t see them—I knew better than to look back—I knew they were there. They were teasing me, letting me think I was still ahead of them. For all I knew, they had me surrounded.

Damn! Why had I done it? Why would I let a stupid dare take me into the woods at night when everyone knew it belonged to them? So I would be called a coward if I didn’t. At least I’d be alive. I wondered if they were even worried now. Ha! They were probably sitting around Chelsea’s fireplace, eating s’mores and wondering if I had actually gone into the woods or if I had simply gone home.

Suddenly I collided with something very hard and very solid. I fell backward and landed on my rear, scraping my palms against the rough ground. It felt like a tree. All my caution and I bump into a tree! But a low chuckle before me made me look up. No; that was definitely not a tree. I gasped and scrambled backwards, only to feel my back collide with what felt like another tree. Looking up, I was thankful to find that it really was. But that did not make me feel less terrified of what was before me.

I could not curse him here. The woods belonged to the vampires, and magic was useless here. Witches, werewolves, goblins, fairies—hell, even humans—were not welcome. The only spell I could cast was for protection. I quickly began tracing a circle with my hand and muttering the Latin words, but the vampire kicked my hand painfully, causing me to shriek. There were others around me now, I realized. Behind the first vampire, I saw something that made my heart race. Civilization!

Without hesitating, I stood up and sprinted toward the street. I began screaming, hoping someone would hear me. Once I was out of the cover of the trees, they would still chase me, but I could use magic. Halfway there, one grabbed my arm. I felt his teeth sink into my palm. With my other arm, I slammed a fist into his head. It felt like punching a rock, but it made him stumble backwards. I bolted out of the woods, and slowed my pace, running backward. My spell was the illusion of fire around the woods. They would not see through it. I watched them looking around in fear for a moment. Witches did love their illusions. Then I turned and ran toward Chelsea’s house at the end of the block.

I banged on the door, shouting at her to let me in. “Chelsea! Eliza! Open the door, damn it!”

The door opened, revealing their bewildered faces, and I shoved past them to get inside, slamming the door closed and checking to make sure the windows were locked. My breathing was heavy, and I slid down the door to the carpet, laughing and crying simultaneously. Chelsea and Eliza exchanged a nervous look.

“Oh my god,” said Chelsea. She grabbed for my hand. “They tried to kill you! Eliza, get the first aid kit out of the closet, fast.” Then she looked at my face. “You okay? Gosh, I’m so sorry, Kara.”

My nervous laughing and crying continued as I shook my head. I glanced over at a window, seeing the pitch black night outside. A moon-pale face appeared in the window, smirking, and my laugh caught in my throat. Then the face disappeared, and I pulled Chelsea close to me.

Dance class. It was an easy A if you pleaded that you were incurably clumsy at the end of the semester. I was not really clumsy, but I was no ballerina either. Eliza was my partner. Being a pixie, she loved to dance. Witches often held dances—social occasions—but they were meant to be fun, not a show of talent. Over to the side, I saw Chelsea. She positively hated dancing. All werewolves did. And you know what? The fact that her dancing partner was a vampire made her hate it all the more.

Eliza blushed suddenly. “Chelsea’s partner is looking at you,” she whispered as we moved around the room. “He’s gorgeous, Kara.”

I felt cold suddenly and glanced over at him. Yes, he was staring at me. Openly. When I met his dark gaze, he didn’t look away. I looked back at Eliza, who was smiling nervously. “He was probably one of the ones that chased me out of the woods Friday night. I imagine he isn’t happy with me.”

Bright sunlight spilled through the windows of the dance room at Bridgette Rosser’s Academy for the Supernatural. As we glided through it, I couldn’t help but wish that the sunlight-kills-vampires myth was true. In reality, it just made them more vulnerable. They were simply stronger in the dark. Glancing at my bandaged hand, I recalled the strength of the vampire who had gripped my arm. It was a miracle that I survived at all. But that had been an older vampire, one who did not come to school, so thankfully I wouldn’t have to see him here.

Bridgette Rosser’s Academy for the Supernatural was a secret school. There wasn’t a single mortal on campus. It was a private school where students applied to get in. The headmaster interviewed students. To mortals, of course, it was simply known as Bridgette Rosser’s Academy. But every immortal knew of the school and for whom it was intended. Bridgette Rosser, bless her soul, was a powerful witch who died in a tragic fire a century before I was born.

“That’s frightening,” said Eliza. “Vampires terrify me. I would hate to have one glaring at me.” She glanced to the side again, presumably at Chelsea’s partner. “But really, Kara, it doesn’t look like much of a death stare. Maybe he wasn’t there at all that night. Maybe he thinks you’re pretty.”

I rolled my eyes. “Eliza, vampires don’t think anything is pretty. They have no thoughts that don’t center on blood. They do not smile. They love gore and murder, if you can call it love. I will never go into the woods again, nor do I have any interest in becoming friends with a vampire.”

Eliza grinned. “Not even one as sexy as that?”

The bell rang shrilly. Eliza and I stepped apart and went to retrieve our bags. As I slung my messenger back over my shoulders, Chelsea walked over and grabbed hers, quickly rushing us out of the wood-floored room and into the hallway. After a few seconds, she shook her red hair back haughtily.

“Don’t listen to Eliza, Kara,” she said. Of course she had heard our conversation; werewolves could hear a pin drop. “I swear, Chase probably wanted to kill you.”

I laughed dryly. “His name is Chase? No, that’s not ironic at all...”

“You talk like you were in the right,” said a voice to my left. I turned my head in shock to see the very creature about which we were gossiping. My surprise prevented me from replying. “I mean, what if I broke into your home just for fun? Wouldn’t you chase me out with your magic? The forest is the one place we’re safe. Nearly every other species has some kind of magic for defense. I don’t think you realize how vulnerable we are to you.”

Chills crawled up my spine. He turned to the right and entered a classroom. I stopped in my tracks and stared at the door that closed behind him. Then I turned to Chelsea and Eliza. They looked as baffled as I felt. Chelsea took a breath and then proceeded to walk into the classroom directly across the hall from the one that Chase had entered. Eliza frowned at me.

“I have the same class that he does. But I don’t want to go inside alone!”

I shifted my bag on my shoulder. “I sympathize,” I said, patting her on the shoulder. “But, wow, am I glad I’m not you!”

My Calculus teacher was a goblin.

Goblins were rare, at least in this country. They were much more common up north, like in Canada, France, or Britain—cold places. The perpetual summer of California was not ideal to them, though I had no idea why. Goblin Biology was an elective that I had elected not to take. But it was interesting to watch Mr. Traugh teach. His voice was low and gruff, and his movements were quick and jerky. He stood at four-foot-ten. His ears were pointed, and there wasn’t a hair visible on his body. His skin was white with a pale green tint.

Derek, a werewolf that Chelsea had a massive crush on, dropped into the seat next to me and smiled. Werewolves were always very tall—even Chelsea stood at five-foot-ten—and had fabulous hair. Derek’s was brown and thick, falling to his shoulders with a gleam that I couldn’t get even with a spell. A werewolf’s smile was reminiscent of a vampire’s, with canines nearly as sharp.

Another familiar face appeared in the room. Chase. He slid into the seat directly behind me. Had he always been there? I had never noticed. But then, why would I notice a vampire? They were the scum of the school; everyone thought so. Their only friends were other vampires. While the school was filled with hybrids, a vampire hybrid was unheard of. They were antisocial and quiet, unlike any other species.

“Chelsea told me you had a run-in with some vamps Saturday night,” said Derek, oblivious to Chase. I had no idea if Chase was listening, but it was embarrassing to have it brought up. I had totally been told by him in the hallway after first period. It had made me want to drop Dance to avoid him, but it was a mandatory class at Rosser.

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “It was just—it was dumb, just a dare.”

Derek lowered his voice when Mr. Traugh began the lesson. I had hoped this would deter him from pursuing the subject, but persistence was in a werewolf’s nature. They were hunters. “Is that what happened to your hand?” he asked, gesturing to the bandages. “Bite?”

“Yes,” I murmured, blushing, as I tore a piece of paper out of my notebook to take notes. My eyebrow twitched. That always happened when I was stressed. And right now, thinking about being chased by a mob of angry vampires was a little stressful. Especially when a member of that mob was sitting behind me, close enough to touch—or bite.

“Damn,” Derek muttered. “That’s insane. I heard there’s some kind of magic in the woods that protects them from other magic. Like werewolves not being able to morph, and witches not being able to cast spells, and even fairies’ wings going limp and useless.”

I sighed. “Yes, it’s true, Derek.” When I saw him open his mouth to say something else, I said, “Yes, I was scared. Yes, I ran faster than I’ve ever run in my life. Yes, they looked terrifying. And there’s one of them sitting right behind me, so I’d appreciate you letting it go!”

My voice had risen. Everyone, including Mr. Traugh, was staring at me. Derek looked taken aback. Behind me, I heard Chase chuckle—a low, dark sound. There was nothing I could say to explain my outburst. Instead, I buried my cherry-red face in my arms and stayed that way for the rest of the class period.