"You're going to wear those?" I asked, wondering how she'd walk.
"Of course, silly." She slid them on and buckled the cuff. She looked taller than me. "Wow," I said as she unzipped the black garment bag.
"Wow, good, right?" Cindy asked sliding a strapless sequined dress out. "My legs appear slender, and my ass looks toned?"
"Definitely," I said. Who was I to question the girl who lived, breathed, and ate fashion? Certainly not me.
She stepped into the dress and I zipped it up. It was sleek, and clung to her every curve. Each sequin was the size of a penny, and the exact shade of her shoes. Underneath the sequins was a baby blue material in the same color as the ruffled bottom of her dress. She looked like a mermaid. The most dazzling mermaid I'd ever seen. "You look amazing, Cin."
She walked over to the mirror, pulling and tugging on the dress until it was just so. She turned to check out the back. "You think?" she asked, though she knew I knew it was fact. She would be the best looking girl at the ball.
"Since you're the birthday girl, we ought to get you there before everyone else, right?" she asked, walking to the door.
"I suppose," I said, suddenly nervous. I sat on my bed, as though a heavy weight pushed me down. My shoulders turned in. I hadn't had blood in a while. Professor Pops gave me more of the bloodlust tea, and I drank it, but we both agreed it probably wasn't doing any good now that I was no longer a revenant. At this point even Cindy's blood, which wasn't all that fragrant, caused my canines to quiver with need. If she offered, I'd take it, but I really wanted Gabe's, or Christopher's...
Or Dorian's, my inner voice cooed.
"What's wrong? You shouldn't sit. You'll ruin the lay of your dress."
"Fine." I stood, and reorganized my ruffles. Swallowing, I searched Cindy's face, listened to the gentle rhythm of her heartbeat, smelled the lilac scent of her skin. Nothing about her spoke of fear or worry. Cindy told me she was a witch. If I told her my secret, that human blood was my new food of choice, she would understand.
"Cindy," I cleared my throat.
Chapter 7
"What is it?" she asked, smiling brightly.
"I-why didn't you use your locator spell to find me?" I asked surprised that's what came out of my mouth. I hadn't meant to go there with her tonight.
She grabbed my hand, and squeezed. "I'm so glad you brought it up. I didn't know how."
"Oh?"
"I tried to find you. The spell," she coughed. "For some reason it didn't work." Her impeccably plucked eyebrows crunched together in concentration.
See, her magic isn't strong enough, my inner voice huffed.
I moved toward the door. No reason to make her feel uncomfortable. "No biggie," I said.
Cindy followed. "It was a biggie. I was worried sick. Several times I sensed your presence, but for some reason your location was concealed. I asked my grandmother about it, whether or not I did something wrong." She frowned.
"And," I encouraged.
She shook her head, her face filled with a strange expression. Her heart rate increased.
Nerves, I thought.
"My grandmother said she didn't understand it either. That there was only one reason it wouldn't work."
I giggled, unexpectedly. What would she say? What was the reason? I didn't think I wanted to hear the answer. Turning I walked down the hall and to the stairs, but before I could take a step down, she grabbed my hand.
"Snow. Wait."
I bit the inside of my cheek. Could I tell her? Just blurt out the truth? Say, "Cindy, I'm a vampire, but don't worry I won't kill you, or suck your blood, or anything. I've got it under control."
"My grandmother said the locator spell works based on whatever you're looking for. A human is one way. If it's an animal, I must change up the spell a little. For a plant, I do the spell even more differently."
"That's weird," I laughed, a wave of sickness washing through my stomach.
She studied my face. "Yes, it is weird. I tried the human spell three different times. Just to be safe I did the spell for an animal and for a plant as well. None of them worked."
I pulled my arm from her grasp and started down the stairs. "Maybe you still did something wrong. You know you struggle with that sciencey stuff in Biology."
She trailed me. "No, that isn't it. I did everything right. My grandmother said-" she stopped.
I opened the front door, but a fragrant wind blew it from my grip and the door slammed shut. "What?" I asked, knowing Cindy had used magic. I would have to tell her.
"My grandmother said the only reason the spell didn't work was that you aren't human, but something born of magic. She gave me a quick lesson on all the different magical creatures in the world, even explained that my favorite stuffed animal-Mr. Unicorn-remember him?" She stopped, waiting for me to answer.
"Uh-huh," I prodded.
"He's based on a real creature my grandmother knew a long time ago. At first I was freaked out, but figured, hey if I could have a spell book with a dragon's eye on the cover, surely I could handle the knowledge that fairies and unicorns are real." Her breathing came more rapidly now. I sensed she was about to figure out what I was for herself.
"Go on," I whispered, clutching the door handle.
"Well you're too big to be a fairy, and you're certainly not a gremlin or an elf, so what are you?" Cindy placed her hands on her hips and waited. "Tell me." Lowering her voice, she added, "Please. I can handle it."
"No, I'm not a fairy. Closer to a gremlin, I guess." For some reason I got choked up. With the brothers, they knew. Professor Pops prepared them. Christopher was the one who bit me, so I hadn't had to tell him. I hadn't had to come out and tell anyone yet. "I am a vampire." Those words stuck in my throat. They wouldn't go from my brain and out of my mouth. I guess the biggest part of me worried she wouldn't like me anymore once she found out the truth. Gabe said vampires were evil. What had Cindy's grandmother said about my kind?
She moved so that we were practically nose to nose. It was weird having her so tall. One of her fingers touched my cheek, and she said some words in a language I didn't understand.
I gulped.