out."
"Yeah, well, I might have gotten in to one or two. If he hadn't forced me to apply to only Ivies."
"So what are you going to do?"
Billy shrugged. "He wants me to move out. Get a job. It's just... I don't know where I can go."
"Tell me something, Billy, you got a girlfriend?"
He smiled, a little half pull at the corners of his lips. "I got a couple."
Yes, Mr. X could imagine the guy did, handsome as he was. "Someone special?"
Billy's eyes slid over. "They're good for getting off. But they're all over me. Calling and shit, wanting to know where I am, what I'm doing. They want too much, and I, ah..."
"You what?"
Billy's eyes narrowed.
"Go on, son. There's isn't anything you can't tell me."
"I, ah, I like them better when they're hard to get..." He cleared his throat. "Actually, I like it when they're trying to get away."
"You like to catch them?"
"I like to take them. You know what I mean?" Mr. X nodded, thinking that was one more vote in Riddle's favor. No ties to family. No ties to a girlfriend. And his sexual dysfunction would be taken care of during the induction ceremony.
Riddle grabbed for the door handle. "Anyway, thanks, sensei. This was really great."
"Billy."
Riddle paused, glancing back expectantly. "Yes, sensei?"
"What if you came to work for me?"
Riddle's eyes flared. "You mean at the academy?"
"Sort of. Let me tell you a little about what you would be doing and then you can think it over."
Chapter Thirty-seven
Beth rolled over, looking for Wrath, and then remembered that he'd gone upstairs.
She sat up, bracing herself in case the pain came back. When nothing hurt, she got to her feet. She was naked, and she looked down at her body. Everything seemed the same. She did a little jig. Seemed to work okay, too.
Except she couldn't see very well.
She went into the bathroom. Removed her contacts. And saw perfectly.
Well, there's one benefit.
Whoa. Fangs. She had fangs.
She leaned in, prodded them a little. Eating with those puppies was going to take some getting used to, she thought.
On impulse, she brought up her hands, turned her fingers into claws. Hissed.
Cool.
Halloween was going to be a real kick in the pants from now on.
She brushed out her hair, pulled on Wrath's robe, and headed for the stairs. When she got to the top, she wasn't breathless at all.
And wasn't this going to make her workouts a snap?
As she stepped out of the painting, she saw Butch sitting across the sofa from a stunning blonde. In the distance, she heard male voices and heavy music.
Butch looked up.
"Beth!" He rushed over, wrapping her in a bear hug. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Truly, I'm fine." Which was amazing, considering what she'd felt like earlier.
Butch pulled back, taking her face in his hands. He stared at her eyes. Frowned. "You don't look high."
"Why would I be?"
He shook his head sadly. "Don't hide it from me. I brought you here, remember?"
"I shall go," the blonde said, getting up.
Butch immediately turned to her. "No. Don't."
He went back to the couch. As he looked down at the woman, his expression was unlike any Beth had ever seen on his face. He was clearly enthralled.
"Marissa, I want you to meet my friend" - he emphasized the word - "Beth Randall. Beth, this is Marissa."
Beth lifted a hand. "Hello."
The blonde stared across the room, scrutinizing Beth from head to foot.
"You are Wrath's female," Marissa said with a kind of awe. As if Beth had pulled off some great feat. "The one he wants."
Beth felt her cheeks warm. "Ah, yeah. I guess I am."
There was an awkward silence. Butch looked back and forth between the two of them, frowning like he wanted in on the secret.
Yeah, well, Beth wanted to know what it was, too.
"Do you know where Wrath is?" she asked.
Butch scowled, as if he didn't want her near the man. "He's in the dining room."
"Thanks."
"Listen, Beth. We need to - "
"I'm not going anywhere."
He took a deep breath, blowing it out in a slow hiss.
"Somehow, I thought that's what you would say." He looked at the blonde. "But if you need me, I, ah... I'll be here."
She smiled to herself as Butch sat back down with the woman.
As she went out to the hall, the sound of men talking and the deep rumble of rap music got louder.
"So what'd you do to the lesser?" a male voice said.
"I lit his cigarette with a sawed-off," another one answered. "He didn't come down