Revealers by Amanda Marrone Page B

run over to the mudroom door by the kitchen. Nuisance comes trotting out, and I quickly rub the top of his head. “Gotta go, baby,” I coo, heading in. I walk over to the old chest and flip open the top. I check out a couple stakes, choose pine, and slip it in my cloak. I grab a maple one for backup, and plunge it in the air as I run back outside. “Hasta la vista, vamp.”
    I slip the stake in my other pocket and mount my broom.
    “I fly in darkness for the good of all, let me pass unseen till I land again.” The electric tingle of the cloaking spell rushes over me and I head up over the trees toward the high school, hoping the vamp goes down quickly so I can go back home and dream about Connor.

6
    I land behind the baseball dugout, and wonder if I’m the first one. Dragging my broom through the dirt, I walk to the front and see Zahara, Sascha, and Dani sitting silently on the bench—a small fluorescent lightbulb crackles on and off above them.
    “No Margo yet? Where is she?” I ask, pleased she’ll be the last to arrive for a change.
    “I’m not sure. She was at the meetinghouse when they got the call, so she should be here soon,” Zahara says quietly.
    “Well, after the crap she gave me about my mom not seeing the stupid cauldron she should—”
    “Jules,” Dani interrupts, “it’s Kelsey DeFelice. That’s who we’re after tonight.”
    I bite my lip, hating myself for joking about tonight’s kill with Connor earlier. I didn’t think it’d be someone I know— someone my age. We haven’t hunted anyone we knew in years, and just the thought of staking Kelsey makes my stomach turn. “I thought she’d just dropped out of school.
    When did they get her?”
    “Apparently she wanted to take the goth stuff to the next level and got herself turned on purpose,” Zahara says. “At least that’s what Mrs. Keyes told my mom.”
    “Why would anyone do that? That’s crazy—that’s a …”
    “A death wish,” Sascha says. “God, this sucks—I like Kelsey. She was one of the few girls at school who actually talked to me. She was my partner for the pig dissection in ninth grade. We named our pig Lucifer, and I did all of the cutting because, ironically, she was too grossed out.
    We used to drink peppermint schnapps in the locker room showers before gym class last year.”
    Sascha laughs quietly. “She always said we had to be minty-fresh and buzzed so we could deal with the jock girls and floor hockey.”
    Zahara lowers her chin and shakes her head. “My mom said she’s turned a bunch of guys since she got bit. We have to do it—she’s a killing machine—like all the rest of them. And if she got herself turned she knew the risks. It’s not like vamps think they’re untouchable—they know people are out hunting them. We need to treat her like any other vampire—toast!”
    “I heard it’s like crack,” Dani whispers.
    “Crack?” Zahara asks. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    Dani fidgets with her broom handle. “Online—there’s this, like, message board, and well, I don’t know if the people on it are really vamps or not, but from what they’re saying, getting bit is like— orgasmic.”
    “Oh, my freaking God!” Zahara says. “Little Miss Innocent is trolling vamp-wannabe message boards reading about orgasms! You didn’t believe that bull, did you? Even if they were real vamps on there, they’d just be feeding people what they want to hear so they can sink their fangs in them. Crack!” she laughs. “Wait until Margo hears this.”
    “I—I, uh, was just doing research,” Dani sputters. “I knew it was all made up—I was just telling you what I read. But shouldn’t we be getting ready for Kelsey?”
    “Yeah, it’s almost time,” I say, trying to help Dani change the subject. I finger the tip of my stake in my pocket. “Who’s gonna bind her?”
    “I’ll do it,” Sascha says. “I’ve got one in my hand already, but I don’t want to dust her.”
    No one