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We stayed with each other for a while after that, but we’d already said the most important things. Soon he would tell Mom; until then, the two of us agreed to meet up after his classes so we could at least spend a few minutes a day together checking in, finding out how to navigate being father and daughter now that so much had changed. It was a place to start, and I felt like all we needed was that beginning.
When, after midnight, my father finally went up to his rooms, I felt exhausted — like I needed! to “fade out” for a while, the closest I could get to sleeping. But I knew I had more important things to do. Though I had now met Christopher, and had changed my mind about being scared of all ghosts, I’d just gotten a big wake — up call about how dangerous they could be to the people I loved. I’d struck back against a wraith once now; it was time to discover what else I could do, without Patrice by my side.
Whatever else Black Cmss had done to me, they’d made me a fighter. It was past time for me to act like one.
Of course, to test myself in a fight, I needed a wraith to fight with. But for a few days now, I·d had a candidate in mind — one ghost that I knew 148 absolutely, positively used his powers in the most evil way. That sounded like a good place to start.
“That’s awesome,” Lucas said as he sat on the stone steps with me the next afternoon. “I mean it, Bianca. It’s great that your father knows, and it’s going to be good between you and your parents.”
His eyes were shadowed as he said it. I knew that had nothing to do with his feeling about my reconciliation with Dad; it was the memory of Kate’s brutal attacks that hurt him now. The cruelty of her rejection struck me harder now that I, too, had faced my father — !knew the fear and vulnerability of that moment. Lucas had shown even more courage and faith than I had; his trust in her had been immediate and total. His reward had been betrayal. I couldn’t imagine how much that must have hurt.
“Your mom might come around,” I said softly. “Given time.”
Lucas smiled grimly as he shook his head. “I’m nothing but a monster to her now. Never will be anything else.” I touched his face. “You’re not a monster.”
“Yes, I am. Got the fangs to prove it.”
“Then you’re not only a monster. You’re also a good man.” I smiled, scattering a sof t glow around us in the stairwell. Hopefully that had helped him, but I thought it would be a good idea to change the subject, too. “So, what do you think of my plan?”
“I hate it.”
“You think it’s a bad idea?”
“No,” he admitted. “It’s a good idea. You’ve got to go up against a wraith sometime, and I can’t think of a better candidate than that creep. But it’s dangerous. I hate the fact that I can’t protect you.”
“I can protect myself.”
An unwilling smile spread across Lucas’s face. “I know that. I trust you. And I’ve seen what you can do when you set your mind to it. But I always wanted to be the one looking out for you, you know? I’ve gotta learn to let you fight your own battles — at least the ones I can’t fight for you.”
Understanding, I said, “You just don’t have to like it.”
“Exactly . ..” His voice trailed off as we heard footsteps on the stairs above us. Quickly I vanished, turning into a fine cloud of mist that could easily hide in a corner. Lucas stood up, adjusting his uniform sweater, and said to the unseen person, “Hey!”
His voice was a little too loud, an attempt at forced cheer, and it must have scared somebody who thought she was alone. I heard a feminine cry of surprise, and then a thudding on the stairs. Lucas ran up, taking t\vo steps at a time, as I followed behind.
There, uniform kilt practically around her waist and books scattered around, lay Skye. She scrambled into a sitting position when she saw Lucas, tucking her kilt back into place as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “You scared me! I thought I was alone,” she said. “And these stairs — they’re slippery — ”
“You don’t have to apologize for falling down,” Lucas said. “I startled you, and yeah, the steps suck. You okay, Skye?”
“Mostly just humiliated.”
“No need to be freaked out because of me. So You’re okay.” He bent over, maybe to help her up or to pick up some of her books — and froze.
I saw it only a moment later. Skye had skinned her knee when she felL Crisscrossing the pale skin of her knee were stripes of blood, beading up thicker by the moment.
Lucas’s eyes narrowed, and I could see his entire body tense as he breathed in the scent.
Skye saw it too and winced. “So, not just a bruise. Don’t guess you happen to have any Band — Aids on you?”
“No,” Lucas said slowly. His gaze — his whole being — was focused entirely on the blood. As his jaw worked, I realized his fangs were threatening to emerge.
Lucas, no. Lucas, snap out of it. Did I dare to materialize? It would scare the hell out of Skye, but if Lucas was about to bite her . . . but he wouldn’t. He couldn ‘t.
“Of course you don’t have a Band — Aid. Guys don’t carry purses,” Skye said as if she were scolding herself. She bent the leg, bringing the knee closer to her face — and his. “Maybe I’ve got a tissue in my backpack, but I think I left my ftrst — aid stuff in the stables. Let me check.”
As she unzipped her backpack, her shining brown hair fell across her face and obscured her view of Lucas. I could feel temptation radiating from him like heat. He wanted blood — her blood — this second. He wanted it worse than anything else, enough to forget that I was watching, maybe enough to forget everything but his vampire hunger.
l made up my mind to appear and was gathering myself together to do it, when I heard someone else walk onto the floor above. The click — clack 150 of footsteps made Skye look up, though Lucas never took his eyes off the bleeding wound.
