Part 15 (1/2)

”We're not totally sure. They come here every year, do their thing, and move on. Plenty of people in town have a thing against them, cause they think they're a G.o.dless lot, and bring crime and violence into Sage Springs. But the truth is that they've never really caused much trouble.” She shrugged. ”Thing is, we can't ignore that they've stayed now, just when the Convergence is about to happen.”

We stared at each other, neither of us having an answer to this particular question.

”You need to come and speak to the rest of my circle,” Laurel said. ”Can you come to my house, tonight? Say about seven? I can't tell you where we meet, but I can take you there.”

I nodded. ”Okay, I'll be there.”

Laurel pulled a piece of paper from her purse and scribbled down her address. ”I'll tell the others you're coming, and you're not what they think.”

I frowned. ”What do they think?”

”That you are something different. Something dark.”

A s.h.i.+ver ran through me, but I tried to hide it. They'd not been far wrong. What would they do if they found out the truth?

”I'm no danger to you or your circle,” I said, truthfully.

”I'll tell them,” she said with a small smile. She opened the door and climbed from the car. ”I'll see you later.”

”Sure.”

I wondered who made up the rest of the circle. I guessed the photographer, Melissa, due to me finding her necklace, but I was at a loss about the rest. How many would there be and how powerful were they? I worried that as soon as I walked into their meeting place they would use a spell to find out exactly what I was. But if they were able to conduct such a spell, wouldn't they have done so already?

More than anything else, I wanted to see Riley again. What would he tell me to do? I guessed he'd advise me to stay away from a group of witches who might turn on me if they found out I was half-vampire. But then Riley didn't know I was half-vampire, though he must realize there's plenty not normal about me.

The ring of my cell phone made me jump. I scrabbled around in my bag to find it. I was amazed it was still charged. No one ever called me, except my mom, and I experienced a pang of guilt that I'd not called them yesterday. I knew both my parents would be worrying.

Glancing at the screen, I didn't recognize the number.

I hit the answer b.u.t.ton. ”h.e.l.lo?”

”Ms. Bandores?”

”Yes?”

”This is the garage working on your car. I'm calling to let you know it will be ready for collection this afternoon.”

”Already? I thought it would be at least another few days?”

I could almost hear the shrug. ”Well, it's ready now. Parts came in early. So are you going to come collect it, or not?”

”Yes, of course I am. I'll be there this afternoon.”

I hung up and reached out to pat the dashboard of the old SUV. I'd grown fond of the old car, and didn't want the conspicuousness of my brand new Audi. I was having a hard enough time not getting myself noticed around here, and my L.A. wheels wouldn't help any.

Leaving the car, I slunk back to cla.s.s. I was ma.s.sively late, and attracted the glare of my lecturer as I slipped into a seat near the back and fired up my laptop.

Suddenly, my hearing went strange, as if I'd been submerged under water. I reached out and grabbed the edges of my laptop, as if that would somehow secure me to reality. But the machine felt slippery beneath my touch, and I couldn't get a proper hold on it. I groaned, knowing something was coming that I didn't want to see. On stage, my professor continued his talk, pointing to things on the interactive white board, but I couldn't focus on what he was saying. I could barely hear him. A rus.h.i.+ng sound raced past my ears, like waves or the wind. Before my eyes, a liquid black began to steal in from all sides of the white board, rapidly creeping and crawling down until all of the writing was gone, and I stared only at a black square. It spilled from the wall and flooded across the stage, slipping up the professor's legs. He looked down, as if only just noticing what was happening, and began to scream. It crept up his body, crawling over him like a living thing. More of the darkness slid down toward the students sitting in the front rows. Their screams filled the lecture hall, as they turned in their seats to climb over one another to try to get away. The wave of students clambered in panic toward where I still sat, frozen, at the back.

It would claim them, this darkness. I knew it. Whatever was beneath the water in the pools was powerful, and it would take their souls as its own.

My ears popped, and I found myself back in the normal lecture hall. I must have made a noise, as a couple of students turned their heads toward me. I ducked down, hiding behind the screen of my laptop.

Danger felt so close this time. The premonitions were getting stronger, and I could only a.s.sume that was because the event itself was also getting closer. Laurel had said this aligning of the planets-what had she called it, a Disruptive Convergence-would happen in a matter of hours, not days.

My thoughts went back to the dreams I'd had, of the people of Sage Springs empty and lost, of the town in darkness. I didn't think the darkness I'd just seen was a literal interpretation of what was going to happen, and neither was the stream of empty people heading into the woods. My foresight gave me interpretations of what was going to happen. It wasn't like watching the actual event on a television screen, unless it was connected to an actual person, and then it tended to be more accurate. But I'd never seen something this big before. I wasn't someone who predicted airline disasters, or train wrecks. If I was, perhaps I'd have been able to make a difference to this G.o.d-forsaken world a little sooner. All I could interpret was that something dark was coming to Sage Springs, and I had a theory that it would feed on the souls of the inhabitants.

I couldn't believe that this happening was a natural occurrence. Something other than the Convergence was at play here. I just had to figure out what and who.

The carnival people. It had to be them.

But did that mean Riley was involved as well?

Chapter.

17.

I went to collect my car with dread in my heart.

Something terrible was going to happen in Sage Springs, and I had no idea how to stop it.

The garage was located a couple of miles from the outskirts of town. The rental company was there to meet me, and quickly checked off the SUV. I handed over the keys and gave the old girl a hearty slap, like a faithful horse, as I did so. My scribble on a piece of paper completed the receipt.

I walked into the garage. My car waited for me at the front, but no one else seemed to be around. Heading deeper into the cave of the garage, a set of feet protruded from beneath a station wagon that had been raised from the floor using a couple of jacks. I wondered why they'd not used the raising platform fixed to the interior of the garage to check beneath the car. Perhaps it was broken.

”h.e.l.lo?” I called again.

A grunt responded, and the feet began to move with a shuffle and a sc.r.a.pe. Had he been sleeping under there?

The mechanic hauled himself out from beneath the car. Dark patches of sweat stains, yellow and old, marked beneath the arms of his t-s.h.i.+rt and around his neck. He was at least a hundred pounds overweight. I was surprised he hadn't gotten himself wedged under the vehicle.

”Hi. I'm here to collect the Audi.”

He looked me up and down. I could sense the sneer on his face, though he managed to repress it. I didn't need to be psychic to know exactly what he was thinking-spoilt little rich girl come to collect the big car mommy and daddy paid for. The worst thing was that he wasn't far wrong.

”I got a call this morning to say it was ready.”

He snorted and wiped the back of his hand beneath his nose. I tried not to grimace. ”That's right.” His eyes narrowed at me. ”Need you to sign some paperwork and then car's all yours.”

”I thought the repairs would take longer than it did.”

”Parts came through fast, that's all,” he snapped.

”Right.”