Shadow Lake Vampire Society - Wendi Wilson Page 0,20
tone was an attempt to be light and airy, but I could tell she was nearly as thrown as I was.
“I eat with Dean Purty,” he replied.
“Cooool,” True answered. “Special treatment. That’s great. So…did you want something or just checking to see if our hearts are in good working order?” She put her hand to her chest and gave it a pat. “Mine works great, thanks.”
“I wanted to show you both something. It’s important. You should follow me.” His tone was standoffish, not like he wanted to interact with us but as if he had a duty to fulfill. Either way, the vibe was very strange and once again sent all my internal alarms pinging.
“What do you want to show us?” I asked, finally able to get my voice to work.
He nodded over one shoulder as if we had no choice but to follow, turned, and took off down the path.
I grabbed True’s hand. “Do we do this?” I hissed. “What could be so important?”
She squeezed me back. “I don’t know, but he’s never really talked to me before, so I kind of want to see where this goes. Plus, you’re obsessed with him. This might be your in.”
“I am not obsessed with him,” I shot back. “But yeah, maybe we should see what he wants to show us.”
True arched an eyebrow, smirking. “You want to see whatever he’s got to show for sure.”
I elbowed her in the ribs. “If it seems dangerous, like, at all, we run. Got it?”
True nodded, and together, we followed Levi down the path.
He walked without comment and did not check to see if we were behind him. Either he was confident we would obey, or he could hear us coming. I got the feeling he could sense more than he let on. It was weird.
I expected him to turn toward staff housing or back toward the barn, but when he kept going, down the path to an area of the camp I’d never seen, I began to grow nervous.
“Where is he taking us?” I whispered to True.
She lifted her shoulders. “I’ve never been back here before. It’s off the map.”
Great. He was leading us away from everyone to a part of the camp that was isolated from the world. This had to be one of the worst ideas I’d ever agreed to, and yet, my legs kept on marching after Levi. My sick need to unravel every puzzle was going to get me killed. Literally.
Did I really have an obsession with Levi? It was true that I couldn’t stop thinking about him and that my eyes scanned every room trying to pinpoint his presence, but that didn’t mean I was obsessed. I was just trying to solve a mystery. One he’d started when he began spying on me.
Or was that just another thing I was imagining?
My head snapped up as I realized Levi had come to the end of the path. Here, the mowed lawns turned into wild grassy fields. The trees loomed close, a dark line in the distance that marked the area we were not supposed to enter according to the rule book. Levi didn’t seem to care. He left the path and began hiking toward the trees.
I skidded to a stop and looked to True. “Do we keep going?”
She bit her lip. “I mean, we did say we wanted to break the rules, right?”
“Not these rules,” I said, feeling my hands begin to tremble. What was I afraid of? A teenage boy? A black bear? How likely was it that either of those would kill me?
“Just a little farther,” I murmured, taking careful steps into the long grass.
Levi had stopped and was turned in our direction, watching us as we made our way through the field. Once he was certain we hadn’t chickened out, he spun around and slipped into the trees.
“You got that cell phone?” True asked as we neared the tree line.
I shook my head. “You told me to put it away.”
“‘Kay, well, I have this.” She pulled a slim black can out of her pocket. “Bear spray,” she whispered. “Works on boys, too.”
“Where’d you get that?”
Checking it, she slipped it back in her pocket. “My uncle. At least he’s good for something. Gave it to me to make sure no one messed with his niece.” Her expression had grown fierce, and I envied her in that moment. I wanted to be fierce, but my heart was skittering around my chest like a terrified chipmunk.