“When I say, you run. Through the subway, make a left, and keep going. First alley you get to, go down it. My truck’s parked at the end. Wait for me.” He was so calm, his voice sure as he instructed me on what to do. As he was talking, he was pulling out a cylindrical object from his pocket, which he lifted into the air. “Go. I’m right behind you,” he hissed, then tugged the pin out of the top of the cylinder. Thick blue smoke began pouring from it as he held it in the air.
I didn’t wait any longer. I ran, flying through the subway, hearing a faint clatter and a shout from behind me as Carter threw the smoke grenade in the direction of the security guard. The ground began sloping upwards, and I emerged, breathless, onto the pavement by the side of the road.
I looked to the left, where Carter had told me to run. Tugging the hoodie and mask off as quickly as I could, I dropped them in a pile by the subway exit, next to a streetlamp.
Then, I turned right.
As I turned, the bird perched on the streetlamp took flight.
Behind me, I heard the heavy beat of wings and the harsh, warning caw of the raven.
I sat up in bed with a start, my heart pounding. Glancing over at my phone, I saw it was almost three in the morning. A soft breeze caressed my overheated skin, and dread rolled through my body as the realisation hit me.
The window was open.
I fumbled for my bedside lamp, flicking the switch, and in the dim glow, I saw a shadow detach itself from the wall. With a shriek, I dived under my covers, my whole body shaking with fear. Then the covers were ripped off me, and Carter was there, a dark, savage look in his eyes.
The relief at the fact that it wasn’t a murderer or killer clown was immediately doused by the complete and utter rage pouring off him, smothering me in his darkness.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” My voice came out hoarse and shaky, and I licked my lips nervously. He stayed silent, and then he slid onto the bed, as smooth and graceful as a jungle cat, crawling up to me.
“Do you know what I did tonight?”
Oh, shit.
“Where do I start?” His hands pinned my shoulders down so I was helpless to move. If anyone heard him speaking without actually seeing what he was doing to me, they’d think he was discussing the weather with his conversational tone. But his eyes…his eyes promised retribution for what I’d done.
“Let me see…” he continued. “I met a girl. A girl who, in my mind, was a stranger.” He paused, licking his lips briefly. “I asked her if she attended Alstone High. Do you know what she said, Raine?”
I whimpered.
“She said she didn’t. Then, I asked her if she was from around here. She said no.”
Shifting on top of me, he lowered his head, his nose grazing over my cheek. I was immobile, the fear keeping me paralysed. “I thought things were going well, but she disappeared on me. All that I had left of her was this.” His hand disappeared from my shoulder, and I felt it slide down my side, before a piece of green fabric was waved in my face.
My mask.
“Something seemed familiar. I kept thinking, do I know this girl?” He dropped the mask next to my head, and his large hand returned to my shoulder, his grip bruising. “Then I looked at the photo I took of her when she was defacing the wall. Her boots looked familiar. Couldn’t think where I’d seen them before. Something about her voice, too. I drove around instead of doing the Halloween pranks I’d been planning for fucking months, turning it over and over in my mind. I suddenly thought of something. Caramel apples.”
“W-what?” I whispered.
He put his face to my hair and inhaled deeply. “Caramel apples. I should’ve known.” Drawing back slightly, his gaze returned to mine again, black and suffocating. “The hair colour threw me, until I saw you lying here. Oh, yeah, that and the fact that you kept fucking lying to me.”
“I’m sorry.” A cry tore from my throat as he pressed his weight onto my body, making all my breath escape from my lungs as he crushed into my ribs.
“You will be.” His dark promise slithered through me, sending tension coiling through my gut.
“Wh-what are you going to do to me?” My voice was weak and breathless.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
The first tear fell. “I’m sorry. I know it was wrong. I was…I was afraid of what you’d do to me if you knew.”
“You’re lying.” His eyes followed the movement of my tear as it fell. Then he shifted, and I gulped some much-needed air into my lungs. “Tell me why.”
My eyes closed, and in a trembling voice, I admitted the truth that I hadn’t even allowed myself to think. “I didn’t want you to stop.”
Another tear fell.
“Look at me.”
My eyes flew open, and he stared at me for a moment, his face illuminated by the glow of the lamp, then lowered his face, and his lips were on mine, hard and furious.
I froze in shock for all of two seconds, before I kissed him back.
His mouth was punishing, slamming against mine, savage and raw. He attacked me with his lips, and I met every single assault, moaning into his mouth, my legs hooking around him of their own accord as he sent fire racing through my veins.
“You want me, don’t you?” His voice was a low growl as he moved to nip at my neck, and I sighed, allowing the quietest yes to escape.
He stilled above me.
Suddenly, his body weight was gone, and he was looking down at me with total and utter contempt. His eyes were hard and unforgiving, and his harshly spoken words fell like acid rain on my skin.
“You can want me, but you can never have me. Watch your back, little trickster.”
9
From the minute I awoke, I hadn’t been able to shake the overwhelming trepidation that had stayed with me ever since Carter had come into my bedroom and told me that he knew who I was. He hated me before, but now, he actually had reason to. I’d never dreaded school like I did this morning. I really needed to speak to someone, but I guess I felt a sense of guilt surrounding everything that had happened between me and Carter. Guilt for the way I’d tricked him, lied to him, and made him think I was someone else.
As I turned the corner and the gorgeous, golden stone buildings of Alstone High came into view, my gaze was immediately drawn to a familiar figure, slouched against the wall with his arms crossed over his impressive chest. I noticed the moment he saw me because he straightened up, the distant expression on his face replaced by a hard, dark look.
My stomach flipped, and my steps slowed.
“Everything okay?” Lena eyed me with concern. She’d been picking me up on the way to school every day since we’d been paired on our project, and I’d started to look forward to our random morning conversations. She’d asked me how Fright Night had gone, both via text and again this morning, but all I’d told her was that I’d left early. I owed her the truth, but I was working up the courage to tell her.
“Yeah, fine.” I gathered myself, and as we ascended the steps, I did my best to ignore Carter, despite his dark gaze boring into me. We drew level with him, and I held my breath. One more step, and I’d be inside the doors, free.
Then I felt the hand on my elbow, and I was dragged against his torso. I gave a squeak of fright, losing my balance and accidentally elbowing him in the ribs. He made a low, angry noise in his throat.