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She’s silent for a few long moments, then she says, “I’ve… always wondered.”
“About what?”
“Their guilt. Let’s just say that I’m willing to listen. Examine the facts more closely.”
“I always knew I liked you,” I say, opening my eyes.
She arches an elegant brow. “Now you’re laying it on too thick.”
“Am I?”
“Will you start? Or are we going to sit here all night?”
“Is it night already?” I glance at the window. “Wow.”
“Are you trying to get out of this? Afraid your magic will fail you as I watch?”
Maybe. I mean, this is important. A test. I’ve never been tested on magic before.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes again, pressing my palms and fingertips into the tiles, and reach out with my senses for those disturbances, those little dips and rises, those forces pushing back as I prod and push that tell me there is magic.
I push harder, search for water. Droplets, fog, mist, rain, rivers, and seas. Coolness and pressure. Flowing into crevices and holes, filling everything.
Come to me, I think, like every time before, come here.
And I feel a hand covering mine. My eyes snap open and I find Vanessa leaning toward me, her hand pressing mine to the floor.
“I feel it,” she whispers. “Water. Cold. Don’t stop.”
So I close my eyes and reach out, feeling as if I can see and hear and touch all those dips and valleys of that cold, wet magic, like plunging my hands into each pool and puddle, each brook and river, caressing them, letting them know I’m there.
Come find me.
And yet when the knock comes on my door, we both jump.
“Who is it?” I call out as Vanessa withdraws her hand and straightens where she’s sitting on the floor. “It’s not locked.”
The door swings open and Percy appears in the opening.
“You called,” he says.
“So what, you always call on Percy when you call on water?” Vanessa grumbles. “Can’t you call on someone nicer?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, do I?”
“I’m not alone,” he says, unperturbed. “We all heard the call, came out of our rooms at the same time. Howard was out and also heard it. You called us.”
More vampires from Ashton’s gang crowd outside, peering inside curiously.
“Well, I never.” Vanessa’s eyes have gone round. “You actually called all these people?”
Percy graces her with his favorite contemptuous look before returning his gaze to me. “What is it? Has something happened?”
“No. I… was just testing my magic.”
“Well, next time you want to test drive, leave us out of it,” he says coldly. “Or you’ll end up like the boy who cried wolf. When you need us, call for us, but not before. Otherwise, we will stop coming.”
“Can you, though?” Vanessa cocks her head to the side. “Can you ignore the call?”
