to know what love truly was. He believed that someday I would forget about him and fall in love with someone else.
I had also told William more than once that he was wrong.
And though William insisted on seeing me as an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl, I was really nothing of the kind. I had a gift that had come down to me from my mother—a gift that gave me an unusual ability. It was also a gift that had been taken from me as a punishment for my relationship with William—so my unusual heritage didn't matter at the moment.
What did matter right now was David. If David had indeed returned to an unnatural life, that would mean that when he'd died last week, he'd been bitten by a vampire first—and that he'd had vampire blood in his system when he died. It would also mean that William was wrong about what had happened to David initially, and that was very disturbing news. William should have been able to sense the presence of David and the vampire who created him.
William had been noncommittal on the topic, but I could tell he was worried.
And last night, he had insisted that there was doubt about what had happened to David—that it was possible the whole thing really was just a horrible prank. William had gone out again after he'd taken me home to see what he could find out. He'd said he needed to get a closer look at the body.
In the meantime, the night passed, and I still had to go to school the next day.
"I don't know what's happening to this town," GM said as I came down for breakfast in the morning. "Things used to be so quiet here."
She didn't elaborate, but I knew what she was referring to—in fact, I knew more about it than anyone else did. Quite a few unpleasant—and even deadly—things had happened last year. And now there was David. As horrible as it sounded, I just hoped that William's doubts turned out to be correct.
As I finished breakfast, GM gave me a long look.
"Be careful today. I assume all the really outrageous pranks were over with last night. But watch out for yourself all the same."
"Watch out for what?" I asked.
She sighed. "Oh, I don't know. I wasn't thinking of anything specific. I just wish I understood what was going on here lately. I brought you to this town to escape from superstition. But somehow superstition seems to have found its way here as well."
"Don't worry, GM," I said as I put my dishes in the dishwasher. "Everything will be fine."
"You said something like that yesterday," she replied dryly. "I'd be interested to know where you're getting your information from."
I left the house and walked down the driveway past GM's red sports car. Despite her constant admonitions about safety, she herself was something of a speed demon—she had a drawer full of speeding tickets to attest to that fact. And although I had my provisional driver's license and could drive now, I typically walked to school. I didn't have a car myself, and GM certainly wasn't going to let me drive hers. So, unless the weather was really bad, I was going on foot.
I made my way to school quickly, and when I reached the schoolyard, I could see out of the corner of my eye that my friends Charisse and Branden had staked out their usual picnic table. Simon was standing by himself not far away. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have gone over to hang out with them until the warning bell rang. But after the way they had treated William last night, I wasn't really in the mood to chat with them. I hurried into the school instead.
I made my way to the cafeteria, and I found an empty table in the corner. William had promised to come see me after school, so I had an anxious day of waiting ahead of me.
I took out a book and began to read.
I had just begun to take notes when I heard a shy cough, and I looked up. Irina's friend Bryony was standing by my table.
"Hey, Katie."
"Hey."
"Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"No, of course not," I said, moving my backpack out of the way. "Have a seat."
Bryony sat down. "Are you really into studying right now?" She was perched gingerly on her plastic chair, and she looked as if she were ready to spring to her feet again at any moment. "Because