Vex (Celestra Series Book 5) Read online

  “Um, just one more second. I want to ask Mr. Dudley a quick question about class.”

  “Sure, take your time.”

  I cross the pews and head over to the other side of the church just as Ms. Richards heads out the door.

  “Skyla,” he greets.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” I hiss. “Do you see all the grief and devastation you’ve caused?”

  “If memory serves correct, it was you who gave her the boot, quite literally.”

  “Is there any way to undo this?” I’m panicked by the finality of it all.

  “No.”

  I look back down at Chloe. She’s got her arm up over Gage, and she’s buzzing away with conversation as though this were social hour at Ellis’. I’ll never get rid of Chloe in this world.

  “When can we start the faction war?” I ask winded. Just looking at her gets my adrenaline going a million miles an hour.

  “The sooner to kill her with?”

  “Or I can get you to transfer her to East,” I’m hopeful.

  “What fun would that be?”

  “I can make it fun.” The words struggle from my lips. I can’t believe I’d be willing to whore myself out to Marshall just to push Chloe back another twenty miles on the island.

  He examines me with a renewed interest.

  “So you can.”

  “You would do this for me?”

  “Is it going to change that much for you to have her at East?”

  “Yes! I’d get Gage back, and we could drive to school together, spend lunch together—and not have to hide our relationship.”

  “What about me?”

  “It’s not like I’m exactly cuddling up with you in the halls.”

  “True.”

  “What’s the price?”

  “What does my favorite Celestra have to offer?”

  “No wedding.”

  “I’ll settle for the wedding night. For now.”

  I look over at Gage and purse my lips. This couldn’t get any worse. Marshall said he saw us together in a vision anyway. Is that what he said? I’m so confused I can’t remember.

  “Look, I’ll do it. Transfer Chloe to East, and consider it done.” Why do I get the feeling I’ve just made a deal with a rather angelic devil?

  His eyes light up with flames all their own. Marshall is intent on making this happen.

  “Count the hours. She’ll be gone tomorrow afternoon.”

  Chapter Fifty

  Some Girls Don’t

  In the morning, I rush to get ready for school as the electricity keeps threatening to go out. Of course, if I couldn’t dry my hair, Mom might keep me home, and that wouldn’t be such a bad thing either. With me not there, Marshall evicting Chloe could go a whole lot smoother. Plus it’d be impossible to pin me with the blame.

  Mia appears at the bathroom door and gives a courtesy knock as she makes her way inside. I turn off the blow dryer and head into my room to get my clothes ready for the day. I’ve been in a shitty mood ever since I hacked Kate’s head off, so I’m not giving her my full attention.

  “What do you want?” I ask, plowing through my drawers, looking for something decent to wear.

  “Just wanted to know if you’ll be getting your license anytime soon.”

  “Yup. I have a test scheduled for next week, and, yes, I have a car, and yes, I’ll chauffeur you around the island, so you can go now.” I love telling people what they want to hear even if I don’t really mean it. Between Marshall and Mia I’m going to be an expert sociopath if I’m not already. Although, in Marshall’s case, I’m afraid I’ll have to follow through.

  “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be so accommodating.”

  “Yeah, well, I am. Aren’t you lucky.”

  “So are kids giving you a hard time at school?” Her pale eyes widen as though she were genuinely concerned. “You know, about being with your teacher and snapping that girl’s head off on the trip,” she whispers the last part as though she weren’t sure if I were ready to acknowledge what happened.

  “No on both counts. It wasn’t my fault. And I swear I liked Kate. I thought we were on our way to being better friends.”

  “So did you do it with that teacher yet?”

  I glare over at her. I have no idea where this is going, but I’d sure like to throw her out the window before it gets there.

  “No, I didn’t do it with my teacher, not with Logan, not with Gage, not with anybody. Not that it’s any of your damn business. What’s the matter? Run out of blackmailing fuel?”

  “I don’t need any fuel. You’re already giving me exactly what I want.”

  I straighten, examining her for clues.

  “I just wanted to welcome you home, Skyla.” She heads towards the door. “That’s what sisters do.”

  ***

  Downstairs the air is thick with the scent of bacon, albeit of the processed turkey variety, and eggs. Mom has a buffet spread out over the kitchen island, and both Drake and Holden have already consumed half the feast.

  “I overheard something yesterday that disturbed me,” Tad starts in low before scanning the room for Mia and Melissa.

  I know this involves me. If this in no way involves me, I’m going to stick my tongue in the toaster and turn it on.

  “Well?” Mom comes in close, taking a seat at the counter.

  “I heard you boys talking about room privileges on the trip, something about each roommate having a night to himself with the guest of his choice.”

  I can’t tell whether Tad is lauding them or about to rip them a new one.

  “Don’t look at me, it wasn’t my room.” Drake ducks down low before shoveling in more eggs.

  “I confess. It was my room.” Holden beams a smile over at me. His hair is neatly combed back. He’s wearing a yellow dress shirt with a gold tie and a pullover on top of that. He’s the epitome of the perfect preppy schoolboy.

  I try to busy myself by pulling the butter and jelly out of the fridge because already I know this isn’t going to end well.

  “So, you get any real action?” Tad jostles the conversation along as though he means it.

  “Oh, God, yes.” Holden belches for effect. “Just ask Skyla, she was there practically all week. One night with Ellis, then there was Logan’s night, Gage, I even took a turn, isn’t that right, Sis?”

  “Holy crow.” Tad slams his palms flat against the counter. “Are you shitting me?”

  I have never heard Tad curse before, or at least, that I can remember, and for sure it wasn’t because of me. OK, so if he did, it probably was, but that’s beside the point.

  “Skyla?” Mom’s voice rises in clear pitch.

  “I don’t deny it.” I’m going to beat Holden at his own game. I’m no longer going to bow down and lick the feet of my psychological captures. I’m going to fight fire with fire even if it makes me look like a—

  “You’re a slut!” Mia comes out of hiding from the family room. Tears spark in the corner of her eyes and she looks darn right pissed. “Everybody says it, but I didn’t believe them.” She pushes me off balance. “I defended you!”

  I know this is the part where I should revoke what I said. Vouch my love for Gage and run like hell upstairs, but I don’t. I just sit there, seething over at Holden because, yet again, he won.

  “So it’s true?” Mom circles over to me, completely puzzled.

  “It’s not what you think. I’m just friends with Ellis and Holden,” I give the sarcastic inflection when I say his name because that’s a blatant lie. “Logan, too,” him, I add as an afterthought because I’m not entirely sure we’re friends.

  “And what went on with Gage that night? The PG version please.” Tad conveys his ill temper over in my direction.

  “I kissed him. A lot.” I cut a look to Mom. “That’s the God’s honest truth. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  “And that teacher?” Mia prods into me with her finger.

  It feels so good to spew the truth
for once I just keep doing it. It’s like I’m on a downhill course with no brakes after a long arduous climb that I thought would never end.

  “I ate some of my meals with him in the cafeteria.” I said I liked telling the truth, I’m not freaking insane.

  Mom’s entire person sags with relief.

  “So, alright everyone, enough gawking into Skyla’s love life. I believe you, Honey.” She penetrates me with a stare. “I’m with you one hundred percent. I’m on your side, baby, don’t you forget it.”

  Mia and Melissa each grab a plate, ignoring the fallout. Tad mulls the situation and whispers something over to both Holden and Drake. I don’t really care if they are talking about me. What’s really important is that for the first time in a long while, I really feel as though Mom has my back.

  “Um, what are you doing later?” I ask her in secret.

  “I don’t know. Looking over some files for Althorpe. I have an account I’m working on for a friend.”

  “That friend wouldn’t happen to be Demetri, would it?”

  “It would. He’s thinking of going into private investigations since it might take years for an opening.” She averts her eyes to the ceiling as though she knew I wouldn’t approve. God—if it were anybody else, maybe I would.

  “Anyway, I thought it might be a good time for you and me to talk. There are some things I’ve been meaning to tell you,” I say.

  “Sure. We could go for coffee.”

  “I was thinking up in my room sometime.” It’s harder to take your mom on a light drive in a coffee house full of people.

  “OK, I’ll bring the coffee to you.” She relaxes her hand over my hair and pinches my cheek. “You’re still my baby girl, you know that?”

  I give a little smile and catch her gaze.

  “Am I?”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Covenant

  Second period rolls around, and Chloe is still breathing and taking up space at West. I’m highly disappointed in Marshall. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if our entire arrangement is all that enticing to him to begin with. He plays out a wedding night on command with whomever he wishes. Certainly being entertained by me can’t be that big of a deal.

  I look over at Chloe sitting there with a bright red sweater—equally obnoxious lipstick to match. She looks content jotting down notes, secure with Gage sitting behind her.

  He looks over at me, in all of his midnight splendor. He bites into his lip as if to ask the question, what’s on my mind. Really this arrangement isn’t so bad. Gage is coming over tonight. Chloe can’t keep us apart in that respect. She can’t change the fact we’re a couple no matter how many social situations she tweaks. I think I’ll wait until after class to tell Marshall the deal is off. Besides, if I ever had to tell Gage that I slept with Marshall, in an effort to save our relationship, it just might end it.

  “Ms. Messenger?” Marshall straightens at the board, taps at a series of equations.

  “Yes?” I straighten in my seat.

  “How did I arrive at the answer?”

  I have no idea how he arrived at the answer. If Gage were behind me, I could touch him and he could relay to me how these hieroglyphics came to be, but no, Chloe had to go and ruin that, too.

  “Um, I think…” No use pretending. “I’m sorry, could you explain it again?”

  “I’ve spent the last twenty five minutes exhorting in laborious detail an elaborate explanation. I’ve even gone so far as to use metaphors from modern history to help aid in memorization,” his jaw tightens in defeat, “but for you, I’m more than happy to comply.” He speeds into a quick summary, swift as an auctioneer. When he’s through, he pauses to leer over at me with a maniacal smile. “How did I do?”

  “Excellent as usual.” I’d better butter him up on all fronts in the event he really was looking forward to our sexual soiree.

  “That’s right,” he slaps the yardstick hard against his palm as he takes a step forward. “I can do it longer, stronger, faster, better than anyone in this room,” he pierces me with his appetite as though his words were aphrodisiacs.

  A circle of gasps filter through the class. Half of the students twist their necks in an effort to look at Gage as though somehow this were a direct dig at his libido, which it totally freaking is.

  “Yes, Mr. Dudley,” I say it clear and curt in the event he’s not apprised of how well he has managed to piss me off in the process. “You seem to understand numbers better than most people.” I mouth the word most.

  I’m looking forward to our new arrangement, Ms. Messenger, he sneers with satisfaction.

  Marshall distributes papers from last week’s pop quiz. Mine is retuned with an A+ and a smiley face alongside it. Down below, six of the problems are marked as wrong.

  Shit. I’ve already started reaping the benefits of an arrangement I have no intent on keeping. Poor Kate had her head severed, and I’m going to have other geographical areas displaced, I can just feel it.

  Once the bell rings and Chloe exits with Gage, I hang out an extra minute until most of the student body has bled into the hall.

  “Hey,” I lean up against his desk, and he beams a smile up at me from his seat.

  “Here to thank me for your letter grade? No need.”

  “No, actually, I’m here to let you know that you can change it back to a C.”

  “It was a D, Skyla.”

  Oh.

  “What’s this about?” He exhales with frustration.

  “I changed my mind about the whole send Chloe to East thing.”

  “Too late, the wheels of fate have been set in motion. We have arrived at the point of no return.”

  “You’re a Sector, you can stop it. You can do anything.” I’m not above placating.

  “If I’m so all powerful then why can’t I get you to do my bidding?”

  “Just,” I choke, “if you could cancel whatever it is you’ve cooked up to get Chloe expelled, I’d really appreciate it.”

  “You’ve entered into a covenant with me. It’s not up for negotiation.” He returns his attention back to his papers. He pulls my homework assignment out, scribbles a giant letter A that takes up most of the page, and manufactures a grin.

  Shit.

  “Skyla?” Logan echoes my name from across the room, so I go over.

  He bows into me with a forlorn expression. “Can I talk to you outside a minute?”

  ***

  Fog weaves in and out of the landscape at West Paragon, sealing itself over everything thick as wax paper. The day spools out lengthy and unknowable like some long forgotten dream. Who knows what method of extermination Marshall is going to use to get Chloe excommunicated from West forever? Hanging, electrocution? I’m not that lucky. I should have known this was a bad idea right from the beginning.

  “What can I help you with?” I ask, full with sarcasm. God knows I can’t help anyone with anything. I can make things worse, possibly disastrous, and apparently I’m more than capable of carrying out a decapitation or two.

  He leads me over behind the English building. Its walls are infiltrated with thick cord-like vines, nothing but ivy climbing up the back. It almost makes you believe the building were organic, something derived from nature, not the brick and mortar structure it really is.

  “I just,” he shrugs, glancing down at the ground, “saw you talking to Dudley.”

  “And you didn’t approve?” I’m amused at the parental slash boyfriend role Logan continues to play. Obviously his delusions keep him going.

  “No, I’ll never approve.” He locks me into a strangled gaze. “Look, I overheard you at the bus when we were leaving the mountains. I was holding onto your jacket and you were thinking about sleeping with Dudley in exchange for getting rid of Chloe.”

  I take in a breath and hold it. I’m not sure if this eavesdropping is entirely Logan’s fault. I’ve forgotten so many times that he can hear me, and now that he’s gone super Count on me, I’m not surprised that he’s able t
o hear me even without touching my flesh.

  “So, being a hybrid you can do all sorts of neat tricks.”

  “It’s a new skill I’ve acquired after entering the enemy camp. I’m still with you though. I’ll always be on your side. I would give my life to knock the Counts out of power,” he pauses, “I’ll be forced to fight with them during the faction war.”

  “That was probably the plan all along.”

  “Not true. I hope you believe me. I’ll be briefing you and Gage, arming you with valuable information that could save you, and you’ll win the war—we will. We have to.”

  “And what do you think they’re going to do to you once they find out you’re playing both sides?”

  “They won’t—they can’t.”

  I shake my head. If he’s playing me, and he knows what I’m about to do and how I’m going to do it, he could revert power back to the Fems in a heartbeat. I’ll never be able to tell him anything. For the first time, I’m filled with relief that Gage doesn’t trust him. It bothered me at first, saddened me, but I’m over that now.

  “Listen, I gotta go,” I sway on my heels. “You don’t need to worry about me sleeping with Marshall. I’ve asked him to cancel our little agreement.”

  “Will he?”

  “I guess that remains to be seen.” I’m pretty sure he won’t, but I’d rather be in Spanish than out here, debating morals with someone who thinks pledging allegiance to the enemy is a great idea.

  “I’m going to see your dad again,” he says.

  “Go ahead, I won’t be going with you this time.”

  Nevermore swoops down from out of the branches and lands on the fence that barricades us from the woods. He lets out a series of cries before settling next to me.

  “Nev.” I go over to him. “Sorry about what happened,” I say out loud before placing my hand up over his back.

  Your heart was pure.

  I’m filed with relief. I thought for sure, Nev would be ticked to say the least after that whole Ezrina incident. He had an eyeball in his beak for God’s sake. I really should be thanking him for coming to protect me from the evil Count standing beside me.