Afterlife

Chapter Eighteen

LATER THAT NIGHT, UP IN THE RECORDS ROOM, we told the others what we’d seen. So, instead of just Lucas and I being in total shock, each of us sat around mutely for about an hour. Mrs. Bethany’s feat — returning a vampire to life — defied every physical and supernatural law any of us had ever known, and yet there was no denying what we’d witnessed.

Balthazar repeated, for about the eighth time, “It’s still so … unreal to me. That there’s a way back to being alive.”

“Doesn’t tempt me,” Patrice sniffed, as though she hadn’t spent the first ten minutes after our revelation repeating “Oh, my God,” over and over. “I found out the hard way — once someone’s dead, in whatever way they happen to be dead, it’s best to leave things as they are.” She suddenly seemed to be highly interested in her rings. but I knew she was remembering her long — lost love, Amos, whom she had brought back as a ghost. Although Patrice was too private to ever share the full details, it was clear the results had been tragic.

Vic nodded. “Raising the dead brings up serious monkey’s paw issues, definitely. What do you think, Ranulf?”

Ranulf, by far the calmest of the vampires in light of this news, shook his head. “I was alive for seventeen years,” he said. “I have been a vampire for approximately thirteen hundred years. This is truer to my nature, now.”

“I’d do it,” Balthazar said. His eyes met mine apologetically. “If it didn’t involve killing a sentient being, that is. If it were anything else — I mean, anytllinrl’d go back in a second.”

“So we know what she’s after now,” Lucas said. His eyes had an unearthly focus; he was strategizing, I realized, as a way of distracting himself from pain. “And we know we want to stop her. So we need to find the traps. Clear this place out and make it safe for Bianca, not to mention any other wraiths Mrs. Bethany hasn’t already snared.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Balthazar said. He had taken the only real chair in the room, while Vic and Patrice took the beanbags. Ranulf and Lucas were both sitting on old crates, and I was levitating about halfway to the ceiling. “Do we just want to divide the grounds up into sections, go through 188 them when we can?”

Lucas shook his head. “I want to make one massive sweep. She’s probably laying new traps all the time, but if we could get this place cleared out for a little while, it might make it easier to track what she does from here 0111 out.”

“When are we supposed to do that?” Patrice said. “Someone’s going to notice.” Lucas began, “Late at night, maybe — ”

“Hang on,” Vic interrupted. “I’m about to be brilliant. What about the Autumn Ball?”

Evernight Academy’s biggest dance — the vampire version of the prom — was only a week away. Ranulf had a date, but to the best of my knowledge, nobody else did. As I rolled the idea around in my mind, I liked it more. “Everyone will be out, be busy, and lots of people will go into different rooms to make out or sneak a beer or whatever. That makes it good cover for pretty much anything we would need to do.”

“There’s no we here,” Lucas said. “It’s too dangerous for you.”

I wanted to argue, but in this particular case, Lucas wasn’t being overprotective. Sending a ghost to find ghost traps would be a little like sending a vampire to inspect a stake factory. “Well, then, it gives me something to watch while you guys are busy. It’s a perfect distraction — Balthazar, remember how you and I were able to go through the school records last year?”

After the words came out, I wished I could have pulled them back; it was never a great idea to remind Lucas, or Balthazar, that Balthazar and I had been on a date last year.

The silence that followed hung awkwardly in the room, until Vic couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay!” he said, too cheerfuUy. “So we’re all going to the Autumn Ball. Ranulf and I have dates — what about you guys?”

“Since when did you get a date?” I asked, joining his effort to brighten the mood of the evening.

Vic looked sheepish. Ranulf said, “Upon questioning, my date revealed that she has a friend lovely in visage yet unfortunate in matters of romance. We have therefore arranged for Vic to accompany her to the ball. “

“You found him someone,” I said. “Hey, it works.” It occurred to me that Maxie would probably be somewhat jealous about that.

““d planned to travel that weekend,” Patrice said, “but I suppose if I stayed, I could wear my new Chane!. What do you say, Balthazar? Let’s be partners in crime.”

Balthazar sighed. “Sure. But one of these years, I hope to go to this party with somebody who actually wants to date me.”

“So that just leaves Lucas,” Vic said. Then his face fell. “And that gets kinda awkward.”

Lucas shrugged. ‘Til be the guy who doesn’t go. I can just dig around up in the dorms.”

“No,” I said. Although I hated this, I knew it was true: “The people who go to the party are the ones who have the most freedom that night. Otherwise, the teachers will think that if You’re not in your dorm, you’ve got to be up to something.”

“You want me to ask some other girl out on a date?” His disbelief would’ve been funny, if it weren’t such serious business.

“Uh, no. But is there someone you could maybe go with just as a friend?” I hesitated, realizing that Lucas only had one other friend at school — but maybe she would do. “Like Skye?”

“Would she understand it’s not a date?” Patrice said.

“Sure,” I said. “She’d only be looking for a friend to go with, because she’s got a boyfriend back home.”

“Actually, not so much, “Lucas said. “I heard her telling Clementine earlier today — apparently her boyfriend just dumped her hard. But she said she’d date a guy again ‘about six months after hell freezes over,’ so I’m guessing she’d only want a friend right now. That’s not the real problem, though.”

“You Wouldn’t attack her,” I said, trying to be soothing. “You’re getting stronger. Besides, you’ll meet her downstairs and be in the center of a crowd the whole time. If you did snap, which you won’t, somebody would be there to stop you.”

Lucas shook his head. “Too risky. Let me go witl1 Patrice, and Balthazar, maybe you could ask Skye.”

“I’ve never so much as spoken to her,” Balthazar said. “She probably doesn’t know who I am.”

Patrice and I shared a look. Balthazar could be obtuse about his own good looks. Maybe he and Skye had never spoken, but there was no way any straight girl or gay guy at Evernight Academy didn’t know exactly who he was.

“So ask somebody else,” Lucas said.

More firmly, Balthazar said, “I think spending some time with a human would be a good idea for you.” He glanced at Vic. “An.. undaubed human. You can’t stay at Evernight much longer, now that things are getting weird with Mrs. Bethany. Eventually you’ve got to test yourself. Try to strengthen your self — control. And like Bianca said, this is as good an opportunity as any.”

“I guess.” Lucas gave me an uneasy look. “Bianca, are you sure about this?”

Honestly, I felt a little jealous. Not of anything happening between Lucas and Skye — I had total faith in him. But Skye would get to dress up, go to the ball, and dance with Lucas the whole night long, while I was stuck watching from the ceiling in the spectral version of the pajamas I’d died in. That was a pretty stupid reason to fret, though. “As long as she gets the whole friends thing, yeah. It’s fme.”

From his place in the beanbag chair, Vic hung his head backward and grinned at Lucas. “Okay, it’s slightly losery to have your best friend find you a date,” he admitted. “But way less losery than having your girlfriend find you one.”

Lucas scowled at him, though I could tell, despite his bleak mood, he thought it was funny. “Shut it.”

The preparations for the dance took a fair bit of time; since I wouldn’ t be able to take part in the search, I did what I could on the prep work. We mapped out the different areas of the school and decided who would slip out to which area, and when.

Lucas seemed possessed by a wild, desperate energy. He strategized more than any of the rest of us, studied longer than before, and made Balthazar practice fencing with him for hours. I thought that he was trying to keep himself in a perpetual state of exhaustion — so that he would be too tired to fully contemplate the fact that there was a way for him to live again, but it was one he could never take advantage of. Even the dancing lessons he took from Patrice were intense and joyless, with Lucas memorizing the steps as though they were Black Cross battle moves.

As important as our plans were, though, I couldn’t spend all my time preparing for the Autumn Ball search. At moments, I had trouble so much as 191 thinking about it. Something else, just as important, was on my mind. Finally, Wednesday night, the time came.

I waited in the forest grove with my coral bracelet nearby, eager and yet nervous, until I saw my father coming toward me. Quickly I slipped on my bracelet and ran forward for a hug. He gathered me into his arms, so strong and warm that for a second it was as if I were a little girl again, scared of thunderstorms and trusting my daddy to protect me from the lightning.

“Is she here?” I whispered.

“She’s coming.” Dad squeezed my hands. “I broke it to her a couple hours ago.”

“Is she okay?” Despite my father’s reassurance, I couldn’t stop worrying that my mother Wouldn’t be able to accept me as a wraith.

“Yes.” There was a strange note in his voice. Uncertainty. Fear pierced me; Dad must have seen it, because he quickly shook his head. “Your mother loves you. She just. . she can’t accept that something so terrible has happened to you. That’s what upsets her. But it means the world to her to be able to be with you again.”

Something so terrible.Those words resonated with me, not in a good way. I wanted to turn them over in my mind and discover why, but there was no time — I could hear my mother’s footsteps on the thick carpet of pine needles upon the ground.

I peeifed past my father, searching for her. As a wraith, my night vision was no longer as sharp as it had been during my vampire life. So I heard my mother gasp first.

“Mom?” I stepped away from my dad, venturing closer to the edge of the grove, and then I saw her. She stood shock — still, trembling slightly, hands shoved into the pockets of her long coat. “Mom, it’s me.”

“Oh, my God.” Her voice was almost too quiet to hear. “Oh, my God.”

She didn’t seem to be able to move, so I went to her — not running, as I had toward my father, but going slow, giving her time to take it in. Mom’s face didn’t move; she just blinked at me, for all the world like a rabbit too scared to run away from the hunter. But when I finally got close to her, she sucked in a deep breath and said, “Bianca.”

Then her arms were around me, and my dad was hugging both of us, and for a short time there was nothing but warmth and tears and us saying 192 how much we loved each other. It was pretty much totally incoherent, but I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that I finally had my whole family back again.

“My baby,” she said as we broke apart at last. “My poor baby. Are you — trapped here?”

“Not trapped, but no thanks to Mrs. Bethany.” Time to bring that up later, I decided. “This is one of the places I can travel, and stay. I’ve been here for a while now, because Lucas is here” — my mother’s eyes narrowed, but I kept going — ”and Balthazar, Patrice, Vic, Ranulf, you guys, everyone.”

She glanced from me to my father. “You’ve been here for the last couple of months, and you can just. . hang out with your friends? As though it were normal?”

“It is normal,” I said. “For me, anyway.”

“We can — we can fix up your old room.” Mom smiled hesitantly. “You could live up there with us, if you wanted to.”

The thought of hanging out in my bedroom, watching winter snow fall on the gargoyle’s head, seemed like the loveliest pastime imaginable. “I can already travel there. If you guys make it safe for me, I’ll be up there the whole time.” Mom’s expression clouded. “Safe. You mean — getting rid of the traps.”

“Your mother is frightened,” Dad interjected. “She’s disturbed by what we’ve seen here so far.”

“Most wraiths aren’t like the ones trapped here at Evernight.” I knew I needed to set the record straight. “Some of them, yeah, they get creepy. just like some vampires do. But there are a lot of them who aren’t that different from me. They’re — they’re just people. You don’t stop being who you are just because you died.”

My mother clearly hadn’t been convinced. “Then why are there so many attacking this school?”

“They’re attacking this school because they’ve been drawn here. Trapped here. By Mrs. Bethany,” I insisted.

To my surprise, Dad cut in again. “Celia, think about this. Everything Mrs. Bethany’s taught us, warned us about at this school — it’s more about attack than defense. I think she’s known since the beginning.”

“Exactly,” I said. “She’s been planning to capture the ghosts all along — ” Before I could finish, revealing the miracle within Mrs. Bethany’s plotting, my dad continued, “What I mean is, she’s always known about 193 Bianca.”

Mom’s hand clutched at the neck of her coat, gathering the wool together against a new chill. “Adrian, what are you talking about?”

He said, “I mean that Mrs. Bethany is after the wraith, and she always knew that our Bianca had a chance to turn into a wraith someday. Looking back, I suspect that’s why we were offered jobs here in the first place.”

“Mrs. Bethany is after the wraiths,” Mom said. “And you think Mrs. Bethany is specifically after Bianca. That can’t be true. Why would she do it?”

Everything fell into place. Mrs. Bethany wanted to live again. She knew that capturing wraiths gave her the power to create life — but only the sacrifice of a powerful, stable wraith would ensure her sanity after the transformation. And I, thanks to my special status as a born wraith, the many relationships that anchored me to this world, and the guidance of other powerful spirits that had found me when they, too, were drawn to Evernight — I would be a perfect example.

I was Mrs. Bethany’s best chance at returning to life. Not for one second did I think she would hesitate; if she could resurrect herself by murdering me, she would do it, gladly.

“I know why,” I said. They took hands, as if expecting a terrible blow, and I broke it to them as gently as I could.

The rest of our family reunion wasn’t as heartwarming as I might’ve wished. When Mom and Dad weren ‘t sick with anger at Mrs. Bethany, they were angry at themselves for coming to Evemight Academy in the first place. Instead of reminding them that I’d been against this plan from the start sometimes “I told you so” isn’t the best thing to say, even if later events have proved you totally correct —! told them what my friends and I were planning. They agreed to serve as chaperones for the Autumn Ball, the better to make sure that the rest of us would be able to leave and return easily. Although they were thrilled that Balthazar and Patrice were playing a role in this, they both went very quiet anytime I mentioned Lucas. Rather than force the issue, I hoped they would wind up talking to him on the night of the ball. By cooperating on a common goal, maybe they could find a way to 194 be civil to each other.

Because of that, I started looking forward to the ball — the dance, the hunt, everything. By the time the night arrived, I was way too excited to just lurk in the great hall until everyone arrived. I dedded to enjoy some vicarious glamour by visiting Patrice’s room and helping her get ready for the dance.

The envy almost did me in. Her ball gown looked like it cost more than some cars. The ice blue sheath was beaded from straps to hem, and her shoes were embroidered in fine crystals. “Why couldn’t I appear in a dress like that?” I said wistfully, helping to hold back the rest of her hair as she worked on the last few fine braids. “It’s sort of a wraith — y color. Way more angelic than these stupid pajamas.”

“They’re cute pajamas, and thank goodness.” Patrice squinted at the mirror. Like most vampire girls at the school, she’d cut back on her blood to look thinner and hungrier at the dance; however, that meant she no longer reflected in a mirror very well. “If you ‘ d died in one of those old T — shirts you used to sleep in sophomore year? I shudder to think.”

“Even if these were the cutest pajamas in the world, an evening gown would have to be better.”

“True,” Patrice said. Her smile was luminous. There was nothing she liked more than dressing up. Or was that maybe not the only reason she was glowing?

“So, you and Balthazar,” I began. “just friends?”

She snorted, the least ladylike thing I’d ever heard her do. “I told you before, remember? Not my type.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Poor Balthazar was going to have to wait a little longer for romance. At least Patrice was having fun getting dressed up.

No wonder, given that her clothing was this expensive and beautiful. Her drop earrings glittered with diamonds, as did the fine bracelet she wore. She’d coiled her thin braids into an elegant twist.

Once she was getting done, I said, “I’m going to head on, okay? I’ll try to say hello during the dance?”

“Are you headed down already?” Patrice wore only her lacy underthings as she curled her eyelashes; the ice blue dress waited on a hanger upon the closet door. “What for?”

“Urn, I might actually be going to watch Lucas pick up Skye.”

Patrice shot me a sidelong look. “You know nothing’s going on there, right?”

“I know. But she gets to go to the party with my boyfriend, and I don’t. So if I go right now, after seeing how amazing you look, I’ll feel as though she’s totally average by comparison. It helps, you know?”

She laughed, pleased as ever by flattery. “Sure, go ahead.”

I drifted down to the base of the stairwell, where most girls would be come down to find their escorts for the evening. Ranulf and Vic had just met up with their dates; the glamorous Cristina snuggled on Ranulf’s arm happily enough, but Vic and his date regarded each other suspiciously.

No sooner had they walked out of the common area than Lucas walked in. He’d managed to rent or borrow an evening suit. I knew him well enough to know he hadn’t paid much attention to the process, but somehow the suit fit him perfectly, outlining his shoulders, his waist, and his hips. His dark gold hair was combed back, something he rarely did. The style made his hair seem darker, giving him a slightly older look. I’d never actually seen Lucas dressed up before; this might have been the first formal occasion he’d ever attended in his life. But his rugged good looks turned out to work just as well in midnight black as they did in jeans and flannel. He could ‘ve been in a Cary Grant movie. No — he could’ve been Cary Grant himself.

I can’t wait to see him after this and tell him how amazing he looks, I thought dreamily. Oh, I wish we’d been able 10 go to this dance together just once.

My giggly delight at Lucas’s appearance lasted until Skye appeared on the stairwell.

Every guy in the room went quiet. Even the girls had to stare, including me. Skye’s dark brown hair, which normally hung straight, had been swept into a soft bun that left little tendrils free to curl around her oval face and exposed her long, slender neck. Her one — shouldered dress had a richly embroidered band just beneath her breasts, from which the chiffon material rippled to the floor. The deep wine color set off her skin and her pale blue eyes.

On the average day, Skye looked like a cute girl. This was not the average day. When she wanted people to notice her, it turned out nobody would 196 be able to look away.

Sick with jealousy, I wanted to dart from the room that instant, rather than see Lucas offer her his arm. If I did that. though, I’d torture myself wondering what he’d said to her, what she’d said back, everything. Though I knew Lucas loved me, I couldn’t help feeling insecure when comparing myself to a beautiful girl who had such a gorgeous body — heck, even one who just had a body, period, all of tile time.

So I stayed put to see Lucas walk up to her. His smile was appreciative, but something else, too. Uncertain, maybe? “Hey. Wow, Skye. You look amazing.”

“Thanks.” She seemed to wilt; why would a compliment have made her feel so awful? But then she caught a bit of the chiffon between two of her fmgers. “Some dress, huh?”

“You can say that again.”

“I bought it to sweep Craig off his feet. Craig, who is now dating a girl named Britnee. With two Es. Somehow the two Es make it worse.” There was no flirtation in her, I realized; her exquisite appearance tonight was like a battle flag — a symbol of her refusal to surrender, though her heart was broken.

“Don’t let it spoil your night,” Lucas said quickly. “Forget about that jerk, okay?”

Though her shoulders still drooped a bit, Skye nodded, and I relaxed. There wasn’t any reason to be jealous of her. Well, except for that awesome dress. “I’m done crying over him. Tonight I just want to hang out with my friends and dance.”

“I can oblige.” When Lucas offered his arm to her, I found I didn’t mind.

The Autumn Ball was always a spectacle — something out of another century, harkening back to the grander events so many of the vampire students remembered from when they were young. Instead of a OJ or a band, a small orchestra played classical music, which turned out to be a lot more danceable than you’d think. Instead of glittery lights or modern decorations, the great hall was illuminated with hundreds of candles, many set in place in front of hammered brass or old — fashioned, smoky mirrors to reflect the light throughout the room. Every guy wore an evening suit or a tux; every girl wore a floor — length dress, and some of them had gloves to match. It was the kind of grand occasion every girl — and more of the guys than 197 would readily admit it — wanted to be a part of at least once.

I’d attended twice with Balthazar, and had loved my dresses, the dancing, and everything else. However, it turned out to be just as much fun to watch, from above, where I darted amid the hanging chandeliers lit by candles. Sometimes I laughed, either watching Lucas carefully navigate Skye through the waltz, almost visibly counting one — two — three, or Vic and his date, keeping each other at full arm’s length and obviously both plotting an early escape. Other times, I watched in admiration; some of the dancers were clearly expert and eager to show off their many years of experience. Balthazar and Patrice were the most beautiful of all, moving gracefully at the heart of the dance. And, of course, every once in a while, one of them would slip out to continue the hunt. My parents would always nod at them as they went past — Mom pretty in a cream silk dress I hadn’t seen before.

Lucas went most often, as much as everyone else put together. Was that because of his crazed drive to do something productive? Because Skye excused herself frequently to goof around with her friends on the outskirts of the dance? Or because he didn’t trust himself to be in such close proximity to a human? All of the above, I suspected. Each time he went out, he walked by my parents, and the three of them would get very tense. But they were acknowledging each other now, Mom and Dad getting over their anger, and I hoped it was a positive sign.

Everything was going perfectly, until I felt a chill — and the visions began.

My mind filled with image after image of the humans below, people I’d never known well but now felt an intimacy with that was as powerful as love. Different faces, different emotions, different ages: Every human being down there felt precious to me now. And above this, a darkening veil of terror for those humans’ safety, and hatred of the vampires who danced in their midst.

The wraiths. The Plotters, to be exact. Suddenly I could feel them over the entire dance, gathering like storm clouds. Was this how the attack had begun a year ago? “What are you doing?” I whispered, safe that I was far enough above the crowd for the orchestra to drown out my words.

The images changed to violence: vampires being set aflame, being frozen within blocks of ice, being caught in the kinds of traps that Mrs. Bethany set for ghosts. No one plan took form, but I could tell what it meant. These ghosts feared for their anchors’ safety, and for their own. And they wanted revenge on the vampires below, for Mrs. Bethany’s plan.

Those people are safe, I promised. If you want to move on, you know that I can help you.

I expected surprise, happiness, maybe a rush to depart. Instead I felt only a deeper wave of fear. Honestly, I wasn’t much less frightened myself, and I didn’t yet know how — or if — I could perform the wonders Christopher claimed. So how could I make them any promises?

Yet I felt that, if they would follow me, I had to try. If I was able to usher several of the wraiths away from Evernight Academy in one swoop, that would be as effective at stopping Mrs. Bethany as anything else we could do.

But a hard rush of refusal hit me, like a hard — breaking wave on the shore in winter. And then a rising tumult of energy. aimed downward, in points like a hundred arrows — What’s happening?I thought. I looked wildly at the crowd; Balthazar and Patrice were off hunting traps, but everyone else I cared for was down there dancing. There was no time even for a warning.

The energy streaked toward the floor like thunderbolts, and I expected a rain of ice or snow. Maybe ghostly apparitions. I didn’t expect every single human in the crowd to instantly collapse, unconscious.

The orchestra’s music snarled into something unrecognizable as instruments stopped, one by one, and the vampires began to react. A few of them were obnoxious enough to laugh, but most of them were worried — either about humans they cared for, or because something obviously dangerous was happening. Lucas knelt on the floor, two fingers at Skye’s neck to check for a pulse. Ranulf held Cristina in his arms, though she was completely limp, her head flopping backward. Vic lay facedown, his arms and legs splayed awkwardly like an abandoned rag doll.

And then he moved — or. I should say. his body moved. Because I knew from the first moment that whatever was rising wasn’t Vic.

I realized: I Wasn’t the only wraith with the power to possess humans.

The other humans began coming to as well, but their eyes were clouded — a milky greenish color all over, with no pupil or iris. Yet none of them were blind. Their movements were slow and awkward, as though they had not moved in a very long time. Lucas drew back as Skye, or something that looked like Skye, stared malevolently at him from her place on the floor.

Vic squared his shoulders as he pulled himself fully upright. If I hadn’t already sensed that Maxie Wasn’t among the attackers, I would have known that she wasn’t the one possessing him just from the expression on his face. It was so unlike Vic, so strange for him, that it took me a while to recognize the emotion I saw — cruelty.

He shouted, “Mrs. Bethany!”

It wasn’t Vic’s voice. It was a hoarse rasp that made me instantly think of someone whose throat had been cut. I wished desperately for a mirror to free him — but would the traps work if a wraith was possessing a human being? Remembering how securely armored I had felt when I’d possessed Kate, I suspected not.

Mrs. Bethany stepped forward. She didn’t look scared. Just mildly interested. Her long, starched dress of lace was stark white.

“Free our kind,” Vic said. The crazy raspy voice seemed to make the entire room shiver. “Free us. Or we shall strike, and your kind will perish.” Smoothly she replied, “If you force me to exorcise you from your anchors, they will suffer terribly. Some might die.”

The mask of cruelty on Vic’s face didn’t waver. “You have been warned.”

Then, suddenly, as if the marionette strings had been cut, all the humans collapsed again — but this time, only for a second. Within moments, they were up, rubbing their heads if they’d fallen, confused about what had just happened. Nobody seemed to remember exactly, which was probably a mercy for everyone involved.

I tried to take hope. We were collecting most of the traps tonight. Once we figured out how to act safely, we’d be able to free the wraiths ourselv·es. Given time, I could probably convince many of them to leave this realm with me, if they could no longer remain safe here.

And yet I sensed that something terrible had already been put into motion — something we might not be able to stop.