Her face was inches from mine. A frightened scream escaped my lips. How had she done that?
"Cindy?" I gulped, pressing my back against the doorframe.
"I've changed too, you know. We should talk." A glint of humorous annoyance flickered in her eyes.
"O-Okay," I sputtered. Her face seemed slightly different, more angular. Her cheeks hollow, her blue eyes more dazzling blue.
"Cindy," Dorian barked. "Get away from her."
Cindy seemed to move back faster than I believed possible. She turned on her heel, and started to walk off. A moment later she paused and looked back. "Tomorrow night? Let's get together. K?"
"Sure," I agreed, swallowing a strange panic that'd crept in.
After she'd gone, Dorian pushed a button to unlock the door. I climbed in, and waited for him.
"You okay?" he asked
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. What is up with her?"
He seemed about ready to tell me, but changed his mind. "I don't know."
"You're lying, Dorian." He was a terrible liar.
"Yeah, I am, but I can't say anything. Professor Pops asked me not to. Not yet."
My mouth hung open. "Why? Does he really think anything can shock me at this point?"
Dorian started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. When we were headed toward home, he said, "There's still a lot that can surprise you. Just be careful."
Chapter 6
Dorian dropped me off at my front door. I figured I should probably let my dad know I'd be at Professor Pops so he didn't worry. It seemed like the responsible thing to do. Tossing my backpack on the table, I went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottled water.
"I'm home," I called out after taking a sip. The cool liquid soothed my parched throat.
No one answered, so I went into the living room, then upstairs where I knocked on their bedroom door.
They weren't home.
I made my way back downstairs. On the kitchen counter leaned a folded piece of paper. It just said they'd gone out and would be back later.
"Fine. Two can play this game."
If I'd had a phone they could've left me a message or texted me. I'd at least know when they were coming home. Grabbing a pen, I flipped the paper over and wrote: Next door at Mr. Henry's. I'll be back around nine.
In my bedroom I changed into a pair of black sweats, brushed through my hair, and walked over to Professor Pops. Salvatore answered.
"You're early." By the look on his face he'd expected me. Dorian probably filled him in.
At the bottom of the stairs he patted my back. "How are you doing with all this?" He motioned with his hands around the room.
"Fine. A lot to learn." I swallowed.
"Yeah, I've had years to learn about all the creatures and it still blows my mind."
I was stunned. Had I expected them to find out about the Museum of the Supernatural at the same time I did? That wasn't right. Professor Pops said the guys had been trained. "How old were you when you found out about these creatures?" I walked over to a lemon yellow pixilette. At the sight of her-dead-I thought about Pava. Poor thing. This creature was in a case behind the dragon.
Salvatore followed closely behind.
"Professor Pops revealed this room to us when we were twelve and thirteen. But we trained with the swords, arrows, and such from the day I arrived."
"Really? Wow. What did you think?"
Salvatore laughed. "The truth is most of us came from..." he paused and ran a hand through his shiny black hair before going on, "less than perfect households. We'd lived in horrible foster homes, or facilities that kept us like prisoners.
"Training with Pops, the things he taught us about life, about respect for others, and ourselves, the world." He shrugged. "I don't know about the others, but I'd do just about anything for Pops. So when he showed us the room, a couple of the brothers," he let out a self-conscious laughed before continuing, "freaked I guess is the right word. For me, it's hard to explain, but it was like I already knew these creatures existed, and Pops confirmed what I believed." He laughed again. "Silly, right?" He looked embarrassed.
"Not at all." I certainly could understand why some of the brothers freaked. If I weren't bitten I probably would be a basket case. As it was I kept meeting new supernatural beings and dealt with them as it happened, which reminded me of the beast I'd seen in my room last night.
"Have you ever seen a creature about this tall," I marked my leg at the knee as I continued, "his entire body is brown, like mud. He sort of looks like a frog, but the eyes are more like those of a cat. Plus it can talk."
Salvatore's face paled. "You saw one?"
I nodded. "Last night. In my room."
"Did you tell Professor Pops?" He seemed alarmed.
"No."
He balked.
"What? A lot's happened, and I forgot."
He exhaled. "They are despicable creatures called gremlins." He spat. "I've encountered one before. Evil, and vile, but easy to kill." He walked past the pixies. "They can morph into anything, so we call them changelings. All are loyal to the Vampire Queen, but only a select few can see the creatures when they are in their true form." He stopped in front of a small case. It was only about eight inches square. Inside was what looked like a moth; only it had two yellow eyes, like a cat. Salvatore pulled out the book, took it to the pedestal, and said, "Appendix D."
The old pages flipped to the back on the book. When it stopped I gazed at the pictures. On the left page sat the gremlin in its true form, and on the facing page were pictures of a wasp, an elephant, a beautiful woman, and a small puppy. The one telltale feature was the eyes-in all its forms it retained the yellow eyes of a cat.
"What did it say to you?" Salvatore asked.
"Hmmm." I paused, scared. Should I tell him?
You can trust him, my inner voice huffed.
"He seemed to be talking to someone else, and commented that I had magic." I shrugged, peering into his dark chocolate eyes.
"We'd better tell Pops for sure. Come on." He put the book back, and grabbed my hand, pulling me up the stairs.
My stomach tightened in knots. Kenmei would be here soon, if he wasn't already, and I had a feeling our conversation would be about more than my fighting stance. I grabbed at the necklace, and felt its warmth enfold me.