Chapter Nine

Manny woke up the following morning feeling positively radiant. She yawned, stretched in the large bed, and nearly snuggled back into the warmth provided by the thick comforter when she smelled breakfast cooking from the kitchen. Licking her lips, she leapt from the bed and went at once to the washroom for a quick shower. She would not go to breakfast with Joshua and Professor McGugan armed in green flannel penguin pajamas.

She caught sight of herself in the bathroom window and grinned. She looked well-rested, and decided that the lighting in the bathroom did something for her complexion. There was no trace of blemish on her skin--not a single blackhead or zit or sunspot--and her cheeks looked plump with her smile. She could just imagine the temptation her grandmother would have in pinching a cheek like that! The thought made her grin brighter.

Her teeth were white in the mirror, startling against the darkness of her skin. Her eyes were bright brown, the color of rich mocha, she thought. It prompted a storm of giggles as she imagine a man trying to romance her with a line like that! 'I want to drown myself in the coffee of your eyes,' was hardly the most romantic thing she could think of a man saying to her.

After a quick shower, she dressed in a warm orange sweater and jeans for the day and hurried down for breakfast.

"Good morning!" Heather called out when she heard Manny walk into the kitchen. She was scrambling eggs in a pan, and there was already a pile of roasted sausages sitting on a large plate. "You look chipper this morning."

"I feel good," she agreed, and took her usual spot in the kitchen. It smelled delicious. There were leftover tea biscuits, sausages, eggs, English muffins with a variety of jams and spreads, and a large pitcher of fruit punch. Manny laughed. "You've made a feast!"

"Well, I felt like a bad host these past few days. You were comin' over, and I wasna feeding you. I thought that this time I would make it up to you. I think I have a good, hearty breakfast far ye. I dinnae have parritch, though."

"Oh, I dont need porridge," Manny said, and poured herself a glass of juice. She picked up a sausage from the plate and brought it to her mouth, but she had no interest in eating it. Manny grabbed a spare plate and set it down, until she felt like eating it. She settled, for the moment, for drinking her juice. "I don't normally eat this much for breakfast, you know."

Heather glanced over her shoulder at the girl, grinning. "Maybe if you did you'd get better marks in my classes. How did your essay go last night?"

"Not bad," Manny said rather non-committal. She looked around at the feast in the kitchen. "Where is Joshua, anyway? He's going to help us eat all this, right?"

The professor shook her head. "This is all for you and I. Dinnae worry if you can't eat it all, lass. It just means that I'll have breakfast ready for myself for the rest of the week."

Looking around at all the food, Manny knew there was no way she could even make a dent in it! Much to her surprise, the idea of eating so much food churned her stomach--particularly the sausage that sat on her plate. Manny loved sausages, but the smell of sight of it was beginning to churn her stomach. She sipped her fruit punch, annoyed with the sweetness of the drink, but it did settle her appetite a little.

"Joshua's out in the backyard," Heather continued, gesturing with a jut of her chin in the direction of the backyard. "Practicin'."

"Practicing what?" Manny looked in the direction Heather had pointed and her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned. "It's snowing outside!"

From her seat in the kitchen, Manny could see large white snowflakes descending in dancing circles from the sky. It wasn't a blizzard, but if it kept falling in such thick clouds there would be a large layer of snow across North Bay. She ran to the window and lifted the curtain. Already the grass was barely visible, nothing more than triangular tufts poking out of a field of white. The trees, naked without their leaves, were becoming plastered in a shiny white coating. The sky was a dark grey, promising not to let up until the city was shut down with a healthy dumping of snow.

The sight of it made her want to jump and down for joy. Snow! She could already taste the hot chocolate, the candy canes, and smell the Christmas turkey cooking. There was nothing that warmed her heart quite like the snow and its promise of quiet, simple times.

The sight of Joshua, in contrast, made her suddenly freeze and simply watch him. She knew that he could fight--she had seen him fight Ansel, after all. She just hadn't noticed at the time how beautifully he moved. It was a little like a ballet, watching him dance around the backyard, making quick jabs with his fists and fly up into the air with kicks. Wearing only a tank top and a pair of lounge pants, Manny was concerned for him.

"Won't he catch cold doing that in the snow?"

Heather laughed. "Vampires, much to my chagrin at times, dinnae catch colds, Manny."

"Oh." She watched him a moment longer before she let the curtain close and returned to her seat. "Do you think he knew I was watching him? When he killed Ansel, he was moving so fast I could barely even see the punches, but now he's doing it slowly. Do you think..." She felt herself blush and tried vainly to hide it behind her juice cup. "Do you think he was showing off for me?"

The professor smiled knowingly. "Maybe."

Manny grinned, knowing she was being silly. So Joshua felt differently about her than he was supposed to. Big deal! It wasn't like she was getting a crush on him Or something. Manny felt her insides shift just a little at the idea of crushing on Joshua. He was way too old for her, and even if he was only a few centuries like Lacey had suggested, he'd still be too old for her.

She polished off the rest of her juice and then reached for the pitcher to pour herself another glass, ignoring the rest of the food Heather had prepared. She was eyeing the English muffins and the strawberry jam, wondering if she would find that too sweet as well, when it struck her. She was only eating the things at the table that were red!

She remembered Poppy's warning and put her glass down in a hurry. "I need to go to school!" Manny announced, in the same rushed voice people use when they announce they need a washroom before they're ill on the floor.

Her heart pounded as she scrambled to pack her backpack and leave.

The craving for red things, the lack of appetite, the energy that flowed through her, the way she could see Joshua's limbs as he punched, the way she looked in the mirror... good god! He was changing her; whether by mistake or on purpose, he was changing her! He had to stop exchanging blood with her. He had to wait a few more days, to get it out of her system and let her make sure she was staying human.

She'd go to school, calm down, and they would talk about it like rational adults, she thought. Manny shuddered at the very idea.

She was a human. She didn't want to become part of the Night World anymore than she already had.

Manny opened her locker, tossing her overnight bag inside and then beginning to rummage around for her school notebook. She had just begun a wrestling contest with one of the books in question when she heard footsteps coming towards her. It was neither the meandering steps of someone lost, nor the swift, sure-footed steps of someone knowing where they were going. They approached quickly and then slowed cautiously as they approached her locker.

Even though there was no logic for her actions, she stopped wrestling with her textbook and reached into her knapsack for a pencil. It seemed like a good a weapon as any. She didn't know why she was preparing to fight whoever it was, but it seemed like as natural a reaction as running away. But she didn't want to run away. She gritted her teeth and held the pencil tighter. She wanted to fight!

"Hey there."

The voice was friendly, charming, and Manny recognized it at once. There was only one voice that would be so confident and smooth, as rich and warm as chocolate. Matt Aspen.

She jerked herself out of her locker, throwing her pencil in and slamming the locker shut. She quickly ran her tongue over her teeth, making sure they were clean for a gleaming smile--and making sure that she didn't have fangs, given her recent taste in breakfasts.

"M... Matt!"

"Yeah." Standing a full foot and a half over her, he ran his hand through his hair rather nervously. Manny suddenly felt like what it must be to be Tanya and needing to look up at every man she saw. He smiled and she needed to reach behind her and support herself on the door to her locker. But his dimple was just the cutest thing in the whole world! "Manny, right?"

He knew her name! She jumped and giggled wildly in her mind, but outside she just nodded. "That's right."

"Good," he laughed, "I was worried I'd make an ass of myself if I got it wrong."

"Nothing you could do would ever make you an ass," Manny said, before she thought about it. She said exactly what was on her mind, and regretted it. What if that sounded too much like a stalker? But Matt just blushed and she felt her heart go wild. He blushed! The man was bloody perfect!

"Thanks. Um, listen, I have something to ask you. There's this thing that the student council is doing tonight. It's just a dance. I was supposed to go with the vice-president, but she can't go anymore. Anyway, we've been in a couple classes and stuff, and just over this past week, I've really started to notice you, you know? So I was wondering, if maybe you didn't think it was too forward of me, if maybe you'd like to be my escort to the dance tonight."

Manny stared at him.

"I know it's last minute, and don't worry if you don't have anything to wear. I mean, it's kind of a jeans a t-shirt kind of dance, so..."

"No!" Manny's voice cut through his, and he fell silent at once. "No, I mean. I want to go with you. I don't have any other plans for tonight, and I'm sure that I can find something or other to wear."

His wide smile made the dimple on his cheek stand out even more, blue eyes twinkling and curly hair looking wildly untamed. "That's great. Do you want me to pick you up? Maybe seven?"

"I'm actually in class until nine. That's not too late is it?" Manny couldn't believe that she was thinking it, as it was Professor McGugan's class that night, but she'd be willing to skip. For Matt Aspen, she'd skip a whole day of class! She felt relieved when he shook his head no. "Good. Why don't I just meet you here, in front of the Wall?"

"Sounds like a plan." He shifted nervously, and for a moment she thought that he might be about to lean over and kiss her. Her skin went into gooseflesh at the very idea. He slowly straightened, trying to be polite. "I guess I'll see you tonight then."

"Yeah," Manny sighed, nodding as he walked away. Her grip on the locker behind her eased and she flopped against it, face warm. She sighed again, watching him leave. He was so adorable, so utterly perfect, so... so... so Matt Aspen.

"Do ye fancy him, then?"

The voice, with the faintest touch of accent he allowed to slip out in public, made her jump. Distracted as she was watching Matt leave, she hadn't heard Joshua sneaking up on her--but then, she thought once her heart was under control, she never had. She turned around to find him standing behind her, a laptop bag slung over one shoulder.

"Whether I do or not, that's hardly any of your business," Manny snapped. To emphasize her point she slammed shut her locker. She caught sight of Matt down the hall turning to the sound. When he saw Joshua behind her, he began to walk back, but she waved him away with a pleasant smile. She didn't need Matt trying to defend her and getting his butt handed to him as a result.

"I don't know about that, lass."

Manny turned back to him, having been distracted by Matt turning the corner. "I'm sorry. What?"

"You said that it wasna any of my business if you liked him or not. I choose to think otherwise. I told you last night that I feel for you. Your welfare is my business, Manny, and if he has nefarious designs on you, then it's my business to protect ye."

She remembered what Heather had said: Joshua was there at night to protect her. She hadn't been lying then. Manny shrugged and grinned when she thought of Matt. "If he does have nefarious designs on me, then I hope he uses them now rather than later."

"Ach, so you do like him then!"

Manny blushed furiously and decided it was time to change the subject. "Speaking of last night, we're going to need to talk about it at some time."

"What about tonight?"

"No, not tonight. I'm going out with..." She nearly gestured in the direction that Matt had left in, or said his name, but then decided against it. Joshua didn't seem too fond of Matt, and even if he was, she saw no reason to give the old vampire a reason to tease her. "I'm going out with friends."

"Tomorrow night then?"

She sighed and nodded her head. "Tomorrow night." Tomorrow night she'd talk to him about how she was changing into a vampire and ask him to stop, or slow down exchanging blood. And tonight she would go out with Matt Aspen. It was perfect.

Manny walked out of class with a spring in her step that made Lacey grin. "Will you tell me now what's going on?" she asked. Manny had refused to tell her throughout class, making Lacey wonder what exactly it was that had put her friend into such good spirits.

"Matt Aspen asked me out!" She didn't announce it all at once, but rather word by word, resulting in a girlish giggle that Manny could not suppress. The resulting hug and cheer she and Lacey gave each other was precisely the reason why she had't wanted to say anything in class. "Can you believe it, Lacey? Matt Aspen and I, hitting the Wall together for a dance! I'm on my way there now."

"Oh ho! This dance is tonight, is it? Maybe I should run back home and grab Beth and Tanya so we can all be there as your very own personal cheering squad."

"Lacey! You wouldn't!"

She laughed. "Actually, I probably would. Does this mean that in your wild fantasies about Matt, you never thought of your roommates cheering you from the sidelines like in some romantic comedy?"

"No. I've always imagine the peanut gallery far away from me and Matt."

Lacey chucked her in the arm playfully. "Peanut gallery, are we? We just want to make sure that Matt knows he's taking our friend out and if he hurts her, he's going to have some very angry friends to deal with afterwards. And, should he run again next year for student president again, a very tough smear campaign to overcome. So you'll be up late tonight?"

"Mmhm. Don't wait up for me. I don't know how late I'll be, but when I come home, if youre up I'll tell you all about it. If you're not, I just guess you're going to have to wait until the morning to hear all the juicy details."

She rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks. You're positively incorrigible, you know that? Honestly, Matt Aspen is the only guy who can bring out this side of you," she grumbled, watching as Manny giggled again, eyes shining brightly. Lacey actually sneered. "Puppy dog love is positively disgusting. I'm starting to wish that the old, calm and rational Manny back."

Manouchka tilted her head and pouted. "Come on, Lacey. Be more happy for me? This is this is everything I've ever wanted!" She laughed loudly. "It's like the happiest day of my life! Anyway, tomorrow night I'm going to be out with Joshua again, so unless you catch me tomorrow morning, given classes and stuff, I don't know how much we'll see of each other."

Lacey's eyes gleamed, and her pert red mouth turned up in a cruel, teasing smile. Manny had never noticed it before, but shrugged the harsh lines of her face away. Lacey was a witch, she reminded herself, and good witch that she was, she still belonged to the same world as Joshua. It was a rougher, stranger, and darker world than Manny's, so Lacey was bound to take a perverse pride in teasing her.

"Speaking of Joshua, how does he feel about Matt Aspen?"

"I don't know; why? Is he supposed to feel something?"

"Vampires have a tendency to be territorial, just like shifters. He might see you as his and might not like the idea of sharing you with someone else."

Manny shrugged indifferently, her jaw clenched at the very idea of it. She could certainly see the logic behind it. If vampires were supposed to think of people as pets, then there would be a certain amount of ownership tied to it, wouldn't there? This person was that person's pet, and that other person was another person's pet...

"Joshua doesn't treat me like that. He already knows that I'm going out with Matt tonight, and he didn't seem angry at all. He actually started teasing me, though he was worried that Matt was only after, like, sex or something. He termed it 'nefarious designs', whatever exactly that's supposed to mean..."

Lacey managed to smile at her. "I suppose it could be anything from sex to virgin sacrifices. I'm going to miss the bus if I stick around any longer. You're going to be okay? You don't want us there to cheer you on? Beth could totally use telepathy to plant suggestions in his mind for you."

"If Matt wants to kiss me, I want it to be because he actually does want to kiss me; not because my roommate is putting thoughts into his head." Manny rolled her eyes at the very suggestion, but smiled at the idea. Then the picture of Matt kissing her turned into Joshua kissing her, and she forgot himself in the lightness of his touch, the gentleness with which he held her, and the simple undemanding nature of his lips. She pushed the picture away, repulsed. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Okay..." The way in which Lacey said it made her wonder for a moment if she didn't suspect the errant thoughts that had waltzed through Manny's head. Regardless, Lacey grinned--this time without the teasing edge--and waved goodbye as she ran off to catch the bus. "Have fun tonight! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Manny laughed. "Reckless and wild, there wasn't much Lacey wouldnt do."

She hit her locker on the way to the Wall, tossing her books carelessly on top of her overnight bag. She was in a hurry to go and meet Matt. Then, nervous, Manny unlocked her locker again to dig around in her overnight bag. She'd hit the washrooms, make sure her hair was done and that she looked presentable, and then she'd go see Matt.

Manny had just rounded the corner to the washroom when she saw them. It was a group of four men standing outside a classroom. The smallest of them had a few inches on Manny, and about twice her shoulder span. They were huge, hulking men. As if that wasn't frightening enough--four strange men standing between her and the washroom--the largest of them was wearing nothing but a pair of acid-wash jeans and a t-shirt. It was the t-shirt at which Manny was staring.

There was a black flower on it.

Her mind shot back to breakfast at Burger World with Ash. He'd drawn the flowers for her while they explained it to her. Which group identified themselves with foxglove?

Shit.

The thought went through Manny's mind like a bolt. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the emblem on the shirt with renewed vigor, and fresh fear. Shapeshifters. The four burly men between her and the washroom were shapeshifters! And shapeshifters ate people!

She tried to make herself move, but the urge to stand very still was overwhelming. She was scared, but some part of her mind remained rational. Prey reaction, Manny thought. When faced with a predator, the prey stands perfectly still in the hopes of avoiding detection. But that was for animals like deer. Humans used fright or flight. Where was that reaction?

The one with the foxglove t-shirt looked up and saw how Manny was staring at his shirt. Then he saw the way she was standing perfectly still, and he nudged his companions on either side of them. Manny had the strong impression of a pack of wild dogs staring at her, ears peaked, wondering whether to attack or not. She began to take a hesitant step back, realizing that the one who was now lifting his head in the air was catching her scent.

"She's terrified," he said to others in a low, deep voice. It wasn't low enough that Manny couldn't make out the words.

"She's human," said the smallest one, as if by counter argument.

The other small one, the one that wasn't wearing the foxglove t-shirt, smiled and revealed slightly yellowed teeth, too large for his face. "She knows."

Manny felt herself beginning to shake, and her muscles began moving of their own accord. She turned and began to run, thinking calmly: 'there's where the flight instinct is.' She could still hear the guttural voices of the shapeshifters cutting down the hallway, as surely as if they were right behind her.

"Kill her."

The first rule of the Night World is never to let a human find out about it, Manny remembered Poppy saying. If they do, then you kill them. The laws quite clear on that.

They weren't kidding. They really were going to try to kill her!

She ran down the hallway, feet skidding on the floor in her panic. She struggled to get control over her own body, trying to get herself to run properly. This lurching pace that kept the world on crazy angles was only going to get her killed! But her body wasn't listening. It was running on its own, stumbling now and then over her own two feet. She skidded around the corner and screeched.

There was a wolf down the corner. Snarling, it snapped yellowed fangs at her. Manny glanced over her shoulder to see three of the four men still coming down the hallway after her. She ran in the opposite direction, away from the werewolves. One of them most have gone down another corner to cut her off.

She realized belatedly which direction she was going in now. They were herding her towards the exit of the school. There were no other branches from this corridor. It was turn around and face the snarling wolf and the men, or run out the door into the open...

Into the open where there wouldn't be any security or passing teachers to help her. Into the open where there weren't any video cameras that could catch them changing shape or ripping her apart. Into the open where they could bury her body in the freezing ground when they were done with her.

Into the open where they could kill her.

And there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't fight them. There was no one to help her. Breathing quickly already, she couldn't even find the breath to scream. They were going to kill her, and all she could do was hope that they wouldn't have too much fun playing with her before they did it.

She burst into the cold night air, and only the adrenaline pumping through her body kept her from being shocked by the plunging cold. Dark and covered in snow, the world was a winter wonderland, but Manny only worried about skidding on a patch of ice. She began heading for the townhouses, hoping to find shelter, when she heard the wolves howl behind her.

Glancing back, she found that all four of them had changed. Large, sleek beasts with thick grey-black fur, the sight of them was terrifying. They weren't just wolves, they were wolves with human intelligence and judging from the answering howl, they were calling for reinforcements.

They surged around her, cutting her off, and tugs at the hem of her shirt let her know that they were still herding her. She called out for help, her voice finally freed out of sheer desperation. A powerful fog of moving limbs and snapping teeth, they began herding her were they wanted her: into the forest behind the school. They were toying with her, raspy voices giving almost human chuckles at the way she shrieked when they leapt at her and pulled at her clothes.

Manny's gaze was drawn upward by movement at one window. Had someone heard her scream? She looked up hopefully and spotted Professor Heather McGugan at her office window, terror on her face as she watched the proceedings below, phone clutched in her hand.

Then the dark forest behind Nipissing swallowed her, leaving the wolves invisible, laughing monsters that taunted her deeper into the trees.

Joshua sat in the Wall, keeping a sharp lookout for a girl on which he could feed. Sitting on the second floor of the bar, he heard girls giggle and check him out, but the vapidity of their conversation made him cringe. At least when he fed off of the professor he could have a civil, intelligent conversation beforehand. The seat he'd chosen gave him the perfect view when a curly brunette walked into the bar... without Manny.

Matt Aspen circulated the first floor of the Wall, making small talk with those who approached him. Joshua could almost see why Manny like him. He was certainly charismatic. Still, he wondered, did Manny know that he was...

The cell phone in his pocket went off, disturbing him from his thoughts. He checked the display screen and relaxed a little. "Hello, lass. I see that you got the package I left for ye?"

"Yes," Heather said. He could tell from her tone of voice that she was smiling. "You're something else, Joshua. A human would have taken twice as long to get through this!"

"I had some free time last night."

Heather laughed, and Joshua wished he'd just come right out and admitted he had been unable to sleep last night. She knew him too well to be fooled by his cryptic remarks and offhanded answers. "Oh, Joshua! You... huh. Did you hear that?"

He rolled his eyes. "Heather, if I weren't what I am, the noise of this bar would keep me from hearing you."

"I thought I heard someone scream... oh Good Lord! Joshua!"

"What is it?" He pushed himself up from his seat, anger flaring from the fear he caught in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Oh God," he could hear her ragged breathing through the phone. "It's Manny!"

The wolves pushed Manny until she could no longer run. Then they bit into her legs, sharp teeth piercing her flesh, making her cry out. She pushed herself up to her feet, numb to the sensation of blood running down her legs, to push herself a little bit more before she fell again. Wet, covered in melting snow and blood, the part of her mind that was self-aware had long ago retreated. Only the feeling of their teeth in her flesh brought it back, rousing it from the edge of exhaustion, to put just a little bit more room between the wolves and the university.

She fell again, sprawled out in the freshly fallen snow. She could feel twigs and branches, not yet buried, poke into the back, but they were hardly uncomfortable. She was too far gone to be uncomfortable. Her hands reached under her, searching for a stick for a weapon, and she felt her hands close around one, but she lacked the strength to lift it. The wolves surrounding her laughed at her.

One grabbed her shirt. She heard the weak fabric rip, exposing dark flesh raised with goosebumps. Another grabbed her pant leg and began tugging. She could not get up. They gave their tails the slightest wag, and then set in on her. Manny could see it happening from the corner of her eye. They went after her exposed stomach first. She closed her eyes to keep from seeing it happen and realized that she could feel nothing except the ground under her. She wasnt even cold anymore.

Hypothermia? She wondered. Maybe it was blood loss. Maybe it was both.

Either way, she didn't care what it was, only that she was glad she couldn't feel it as their teeth and fangs dug into her warm flesh. She did feel it when something warm closed about her neck. She could feel the saliva, burning hot, roll down her neck and under the hem of her shirt. She could feel the wolf above her pause, teeth barely scraping her neck. Whether it was out of guilt, a moment of remorse, or a perverse moment to enjoy the knowledge that her life was in his jaws, she didn't know or care.

She was just glad when that jaw tightened and descended, putting her out of her misery and fear.

The snow was falling gently in the air, and when they reached Joshua's hair, they clung there a moment before fading. He run through the woods at breakneck pace, dodging black limbs and invisible roots with supernatural speed. His reactions were faster than a human being's because he simply wasn't human.

He could hear the wolves feeding, and he only hoped that he wasn't going to be too late. He could hear the crunch of bones and smell the pungent, coppery smell of blood... there was so much of it!

Joshua burst into the scene and launched himself at the largest wolf he saw, pushing it off of Manny's still body. "Get off of her!" he bellowed, roaring it vocally and telepathically too. He sent the wolf flying into the nearest tree and then kicked at another, flinging it away from Manny's legs. His body was a weapon, dodging, spinning, kicking and pushing at anything that came near.

Despite being outnumbered, he was so brutal that the wolves eventually slunk away, disappearing one be one into the forest.

Joshua turned to Manny and a sob nearly racked his body. The damage was severe. There was no way she would survive... if she had already. Joshua leaned over her body, carefully tucking one arm under her shoulders, his large hand supporting her head as if she were a baby. Her eyes were still open, blind to the world, but he could tell her heart was still beating. He could actually see the veins still pumping in her neck, the blood squirting down her neck in a hot avalanche that steamed in the cool air.

There was no spunk, no light, behind her eyes. The body was still alive, but Manny was gone.

To be continued...