second been able to forget that she was the oldest vampire known, sitting here in broad daylight.
Backing away, I nodded respectfully to the Elder and ignored the witch, turning when Janek tugged my arm and following him out the door.
“Thank you Declan,” he said before his father began asking him questions in their own language. Darina was nowhere to be seen, which struck me as an excellent example and I headed to my room, where I locked the door and warded it with everything I had. My head spun with the events of the morning and when I finally dozed, my dreams were disturbing. I was back home in Castlebury, at my friend Jonah’s house, which was normal enough. But his mother, who was very attractive despite being a mom, kept growing fangs and chasing me around their house while Darci, in full uniform, just watched with her thumbs on her gun belt. After an hour, I woke up sweaty and less rested than when I laid down. This day couldn’t end soon enough.
Chapter 37
A shower helped, as did clean clothes, and by the time I was done, it was two-forty in the afternoon.
Caeco answered my text immediately, telling me that she was in the dining room with Mack and Ashley. More importantly, if I hurried, I could scavenge some snacks they had wheedled from the staff.
Cheese, crackers, and fruit were all that was out, but I was a non-choosy beggar. Between bites, I updated them on my day of meetings.
“You met the head of the Coven?” Ashley asked, incredulous.
“I think she’s one of the heads. Chris said there are like three Elders,” I said.
“But she’s the real leader. I was on a Wytchwar team with Katrina and we talked a bit about the Coven while we waited to ambush the bitches… I mean the witches.”
“She actually talked to you?” Mack asked.
“Yeah. We’re not BFFs or anything, but she’s okay. Has absolutely terrifying ideas about how to eliminate avatars, though.”
“So, the de facto head of the worldwide Coven came here to meet you?” Caeco questioned.
“That’s what she said, although we need to find Ariel because Janek introduced her as well,” I said.
“And Janek is buddy-buddy with this ancient geezer of a vampire because…” Mack asked.
“His father is Alpha of the Carpathian Pack. I get the impression that Senka has lived near them or was from their territory and worked out an alliance generations ago. The Vranas were nervous as hell around her, though,” I said.
“I just texted Ariel. She and Jetta went out shopping; they’re on their way back,” Ashley said.
“Senka wanted to meet you and Ariel because Chris and Tanya are focused on you,” Caeco stated.
“On us. Focused on you and me. But I’m a witch and Chris doesn’t like witches, except me, and my aunt, and Senka is fascinated by anyone that Chris is interested in. She said he has this thing for gathering special people around him,” I said.
“Special like short bus special?” Mack asked, straight-faced.
“No, because then you’d be in the first seat,” I said.
“Does anyone else get the impression that Break week is really just an opportunity to display us to any group interested in supernaturals, which is like, everybody,” Ashley questioned.
“It does feel like we are being put up for inspection,” Caeco said. “What happened with that Macha witch and her ringer?”
“My aunt wouldn’t say much when I texted her. Said we would talk later, at dinner. She’s going to be overseeing the tournament, acting as the final word on disputes,” I said.
Every kid in the school had played the game and had driven an avatar, but not all of them liked it. Pushing your consciousness into a dirt creature wasn’t for everyone, so some of our classmates had taken on the role of referees and gamekeepers. They would run the tournament under my aunt’s careful supervision.
It was almost three, so we headed down to the basement, finding it crowded with parents and visitors. Gina must have anticipated the interest as additional folding bleachers had been brought in.
Krupp and Mazar had claimed seats on one of the new ones, so I led my friends over and sat beside them. Mack made sure to sit last in line, as far from Krupp as he could get.
Out by the course, two teams were getting ready to go at it. Wytchwar had evolved way beyond my wildest dreams in the last few months. All the dirt avatars had been customized by their drivers, painted in bright colors,