Part 22 (1/2)

Russ and Mitch exchanged a glance and then turned their backs and ran off into the forest. I had to hold myself back from taking after them and hunting them down.

”Let them go,” said Riley. ”They don't have the brains to cause any more trouble.”

Flynn approached us.

Without saying anything, I put my arms around him and squeezed him tight. He was warm, solid muscle beneath my touch, and I felt eternally grateful to have him here. I might not have the same feelings for him as he had for me, but without him, we wouldn't have won.

”Hi, Beth,” he said, his face in my hair.

”Thank you,” I told him, letting him go so I could stand back beside Riley.

He shrugged. ”It wasn't just me. And anyway, it was his idea.” He nodded toward Riley.

I looked between them, and frowned. ”It was? But don't you hate him?”

”Just because I don't like him, doesn't mean I won't work with him. We're the same, remember?”

Riley gave a nonchalant shrug. ”We knew Bulldog would need to believe everything was going to plan, and that he was winning. We couldn't make him think it was too easy. To be honest, though, we didn't think you'd be involved. We thought it was going to be Brooke.”

Brooke heard her name. ”Thought what was going to be me? What the h.e.l.l are we doing out here anyway?”

Inspiration hit me. ”You're sleepwalking, Brooke.”

She blinked in surprise. ”I am?”

”Yeah, you're a terrible sleepwalker.” She looked horrified. ”Don't worry, we'll keep it between us,” I said with a smile.

She breathed out a sigh. ”Oh, thank you. I'd hate for everyone to know.”

Melissa let out a groan and started to open her eyes. Dana, Laurel, and Kayla were already at her side, and they helped her to sit up.

”Is she going to be okay?” I asked.

Dana nodded. ”Yeah, now the Convergence is over, everything will go back to how it was.”

I remembered the alignment and glanced up. The stars had pa.s.sed across the back of the moon and had come out the other side. The moon itself was already smaller, and the blood red was only a tinge of color. I expected in another hour the moon would look almost normal.

”How did you guys know to be here?” I asked the circle. ”Were you in on this plan Flynn and Riley had?”

Dana shook her head. ”When you didn't come back, we went to the carnival, but the place was being broken down, and no one had seen you. Time was running out, and we figured that if what you'd told us about the Convergence was right, then this would be the place you'd be.”

I smiled. ”Thank you. It meant a lot to me seeing you all here. Sorry it might have gotten you killed.”

”Well, you were right about the Convergence. Something bigger than a few spirits getting through was happening.”

Suddenly, I remembered something. ”Did any of them get out?” I asked in panic.

Dana frowned. ”Any of what?”

”Those things! Those awful creatures with the claws and the long, skinny arms.” I knew my description was barely brus.h.i.+ng the surface of what they'd been. Something terrible, total darkness.

My friends exchanged worried glances. Dana put her hand on my arm. ”I didn't see anything else, Beth.”

”Maybe you weren't close enough. Could you even see into the hole from where you were?”

”Well, maybe not deep, but I could see some, yeah.”

”But one of them was pulling itself out as the water came down. You must have seen it.” They exchanged that glance again, and my shoulders sagged. ”You didn't see it, did you? None of you did.”

Riley shook his head. ”Sorry, Icy.”

Dammit.

”Look, we need to get Melissa home,” said Dana. ”Brooke, too. I guess we'll have to talk about the whole vampire' thing another time.”

My cheeks colored. My secret was out. ”Sure.”

With their arms around each other for support, they walked away from the pools and back onto the trail.

Flynn looked between me and Riley. ”Can I trust you to get her home safely?” he said to Riley.

Riley scowled. ”Of course.”

”Hey,” I admonished. ”What have I told you two about me not needing a babysitter?”

The corner of Flynn's mouth turned up. ”Sorry. Well, as much as I enjoy playing gooseberry to the two of you, I think I'll make sure the other girls make it back to campus.”

”Okay. And thanks, Flynn,” I said again.

He shrugged. ”No problem.” And he turned his back and disappeared off after the girls.

Riley turned to me. ”That all-”

I didn't give him a chance to finish. Instead, I shoved him in the chest, pus.h.i.+ng him backward with my strength. He staggered back, his blue eyes wide with surprise.

”How could you do that?” I cried. ”How could you betray me like that? You told Bulldog to kill me!”

”No, I didn't tell Bulldog to kill you because I wanted you dead. I was trying to buy time. If I hadn't given The Bull a reason to keep you alive, he would have killed you there and then.”

A glimmer of light sparked my heart. Had Riley been planning on betraying Bulldog all along? But then I remembered something else. ”But what about Brooke? You'd been preparing her for a sacrifice. You'd been doing magic on her.” The idea that he might have seen Brooke naked, had touched her body in order to draw the runes on her skin, sent an absurd stab of jealousy racing through me.

”Bulldog told me no one would die. It was supposed to have been a little bloodletting spell to tie us to the magic in the pools at the right time. Bulldog wanted his own power. When I realized how far he planned on taking things, I turned to Flynn for help.”

”It's still bad enough,” I said, shaking my head, tears trembling in my vision. ”That you would hurt anyone is bad enough.”

”What, like you've never hurt anyone?” he challenged me.

I didn't know what to say. He was right. ”I only hurt people who were asking for it.”