“Yeah, that would make for a pretty small graduating class,” I add.
Heather chuckles. “The ‘once a generation’ thing was a pretty idea, but a totally outdated methodology for all practical purposes,” she explains. “The otherworld has grown exponentially over the years—with new vampires, werewolves, fairies, and other creatures that fall under Slayer Inc.’s policing jurisdiction. Obviously it’s not realistic to rely on only one slayer for all that. So they introduced slayer charter schools to train multiple potentials.”
“Hang on,” I interrupt. “I never went to any sort of school.”
“We do things a little bit differently in America,” Heather explains. “Our VP of operations, Charles Teifert, prefers to train his slayers one-on-one.”
“So then why did you bring us here?” Sunny demands. “Why are we at a school for slayers now?”
Heather looks surprised at her question. “Because it’s the best place to hide you from the fairies,” she explains. “Until your parents are able to work things out.”
I open my mouth to object, but at that moment a knock sounds on the door. “Come in,” Heather invites and a moment later a big, burly guy with arms full of boxes enters the room.
“These are the last,” he informs our stepmom in a heavy German accent. “Where would you like them?”
Heather gestures to the pile of boxes in the corner. “Right there is fine,” she says. “The girls can unpack at their leisure.”
My eyes widen as my stuffed Skelanimals bat, Diego, falls out of the top box as the mover sets his load down. “Our stuff?” I cry, realization hitting me with the force of a ten-ton truck. “You brought our stuff? How long do you think we’ll be stuck here for anyway?”
Heather shrugs. “I can’t really say. A few weeks? A few months? Hopefully less than a year.” She shoots me a sympathetic look. “Unfortunately there’s a lot of bureaucracy in the Seelie courts. Sometimes conflicts can really drag on.”
“Where’s the phone?” Sunny interjects in an urgent voice. “I need to make a call.”
“Sorry,” Heather says. “No phones. We’re miles away from any cell towers and there are no landlines on the premises either.”
Sunny stares at her, horrified. “What?”
“It’s for the best,” our stepmom adds. “It’s vital that no one knows you’re here. Even those you think you can trust. If word got out to the court, they’d come and take you away immediately. And all your parents’ negotiations would be for nothing.”
“But Magnus ... My boyfriend ...”
“I’m sorry, Sunny. But it’s for the best. Really,” Heather soothes. Then she rises to her feet. “I need to get going,” she tells us. “The helicopter is waiting. We’ll send word when we can.” She reaches out to hug me and Sunny. My sister pulls away angrily, staring down at her hands. Heather sighs. “I know you’re upset,” she says. “But you have to trust me. This really is all for the best.” And with that, she turns and walks out of the room, leaving Sunny and me alone with our boxes.
My sister flings herself at her bed, collapsing in tears. I feel her pain. This situation sucks big time. I can’t believe they locked us away in some kind of weirdo slayer boarding school with no telephone and I’m sure no Internet access either.
And worse—no blood substitute.
I swallow hard. I’ve been surviving on Blood Synthetic since Jareth turned me into a vampire back in the spring. (Yes, real blood is just too “ew” for this vegetarian.) But there’s no way on Earth they’re going to have some kind of True Blood-type thing in stock at a school for slayers, right? And any regular food will just make me puke.
Which basically means I’ll either end up starving to death within the first week of being here or have to resort to switching to real blood. And let’s just say snacking on one’s schoolmates probably isn’t the best way to make homecoming queen ...
In fact, it might even get me staked.
5
My troubled thoughts are interrupted by a loud cry of anguish from across the room. I’m on my sister’s bed in two seconds flat, pouncing on her with my best twin sister hug. “Are you okay?” I murmur, squeezing her tight.
“Of course I’m not okay!” she sobs into my shoulder. I pet her back, trying not to think about her runny nose seeping onto my delicate spider web sweater. “I had just gotten him away from Jane finally. And I gave up Jayden for him. We were supposed to go home and live happily ever after. It’s so not fair.”
Oh geez. I push her away. I should have known. While I’m busy suffering snot stains and worrying about the fact that my very existence on the planet may soon be coming to an extremely violent (or at least hungry) end, my dear sister is, once again, only concerned with her love life.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I saw how freaked out she was when she was trying to reach Magnus last night. The girl couldn’t even bear being incommunicado for a five-hour plane ride. Now she’s faced with the very real possibility that she may not hear Maggy Waggy’s sweet wittle voice or see his zomg so beautiful face for nearly a year.
I realize she’s glaring at me—I must have pushed her a little harder than I meant to. After all, while I may not have vampire super-strength, I have been working out a lot at the Oakridge High gym since becoming a cheerleader. “Sorry, Sun,” I say with a shrug. “I know it sucks. But what can we do?”