Paranormalcy by Kiersten White Page B

me over Raquel’s shoulder, andpromptly burst into tears. At least, I think that’s what she was doing. I’d never seen her cry, and there weren’t tears since she was already in water, but the facial contortions and shoulder movements were enough to clue me in.
    Raquel turned around and yelped, then threw her arms around me. “They didn’t eat you!”
    â€œNo, they didn’t eat me.” I had to laugh at the odd symmetry, pushing back my own tears of relief. I was so glad to be back here, with Raquel and Lish. For a while there I’d honestly thought I might not ever see them again.
    Regaining her composure, Raquel pushed me out to arm’s length, holding onto my shoulders. “What on earth happened? Where have you been? And why did you kill all those vampires?”
    â€œI—Wait, what? Kill the vamps?”
    She nodded, looking severe. Killing paranormals is not okay for employees of IPCA. All paranormals are classified as endangered; that’s why even the icky ones just get neutered instead of, well, dead.
    â€œI didn’t kill them! They were one bite away from killing me! I tased a few and slashed around with my silver knife, but I’m sure I didn’t pierce any hearts.”
    â€œHow did you get away?”
    I looked down at the ground. “I called for Reth.”
    She let out a this is going to be an even bigger mess than I thought sigh. “Then who left twenty-five vampires dead?”

DUMBBELLS, BOYS, AND OTHER DENSE THINGS
    R aquel’s vampire explanation came first. “When the panic team got there, they found all the vampires dead.”
    â€œWere they staked?” I asked.
    â€œWe have no idea what killed them. There were no marks of any kind, no indication that any of the ways to kill vampires were used. What were they all doing there in the first place?”
    â€œNot a clue. I followed my vamp and burst into the room to find them all waiting. A few more followed me and locked me in.” Frowning, I thought back. “They did seem to think I was there to kill them, though.”
    â€œAre you sure you didn’t do anything?” Raquel asked, the line between her eyebrows deepening.
    â€œBesides almost get sucked dry? Yeah, I’m sure.”
    She sighed. Pretty much the same why me sigh as before. “Well, where have you been?”
    I rubbed a weary hand across my eyes. “I messed up. Big time. No one was coming and I was gonna die, so I called for Reth.”
    â€œThat’s fine, that’s why you were assigned names.”
    I shook my head. “It wasn’t calling for him that was the problem. Everything was happening so fast, and I could feel the vamp’s teeth on my neck and I—When I called for Reth I yelled out, ‘I need you.’”
    Raquel’s face went from understanding to seriously pissed. When IPCA gives you faerie names, they also make you take a yearly two-week— two-week —course on appropriate named commands and how to use them. “I need you” was about as open-ended and stupid as they get.
    â€œâ€˜I need you’? That’s what you said? That was your named command?”
    â€œDon’t get mad.” I was on the verge of tears. “I already paid for it, trust me. I told him to take me home and he took me to his home, tried to take my heart again.”
    â€œEvie, honey, I know you have a history with Reth, but he can’t just take your heart. It doesn’t work like that.”
    This was too much. On top of everything else, she was going to tell me—again—that what happened was all inmy head and wasn’t some sort of faerie freakiness. She had never felt the warmth, felt it sneak in and surround her heart, felt it consume her. She didn’t know. She couldn’t. And I was sick of her acting like I was some sort of stupid little girl, still mad over an ex. “Whatever,” I snapped. “I’m going