Vamptastic

I was going to go crazy. Why couldn't early decision be, well, early? All this beginning-of-December nonsense was infuriating. How long did it take to look through a sheet of grades, a couple of test scores, and some pointless essays? Images of a stack of papers with my entire future inside just sitting on someone's desk tormented me while I listened to teachers drone on about something that couldn't possibly matter as much.

When the school deemed my head acceptably full of hypotenuses and chemical bonds and metaphors, I was set free. As per my new ritual, I begged Carlee to give me a ride home so I could get to the mailbox sooner. She shook her head as I bounced nervously in my seat.

"If they said the beginning of December, it's not going to be there yet. If anything, it'll probably be late."

"I know." She was right. I knew she was right. But I couldn't calm down until I was sure she was right. I watched the trees fly by, for once not terrified of Carlee's erratic, speedy driving. Faster, faster!

"Besides, you haven't been waiting that long. My cousin had to wait, like, four months for her acceptance to VU."

I sighed heavily. "It's been forever." I had been patient-really, really patient-for so long after I sent in my application. Being attacked by Uber-vamp and attempting to talk to a completely unresponsive Arianna after her little midnight chat were distractions (not necessarily pleasant ones), and I'd been trying to focus on other things. Still, I didn't think I could take much more of the waiting. How could I think about anything else? Say what you will about zombies and their hygiene issues, at least they kill you fast. College acceptance boards? They like to draw out the torture as long as possible.

"So, have you heard from Jack lately?"

I fidgeted guiltily in my seat, forced to think of something besides Georgetown. Carlee might not remember Uber-vamp throwing her around on Halloween, but she did remember flirting up a storm with Jack.

"No, he kinda dropped off the face of the planet. He does that."

"Oh." She nodded but looked disappointed. I wished I knew some nice, normal boy to introduce her to so I could make up for putting Jack in her world. But I only had one nice boy in my life, and he was far from normal. Also, all mine.

We pulled up in front of the diner and I almost fell out of the car, barely gasping good-bye to long-suffering Carlee as I dashed for the mailbox. I knew it was irrational, but I had a strange feeling about today. Anticipation had been building all afternoon, and now it felt like I was ready to burst. It was only two weeks until the date they gave us. Plus, it was a Tuesday, which meant they had Monday to catch up and mail it, so if I got it now I'd call Lend and he'd come home early to celebrate and we'd plan our lives together and-

The mailbox was empty.

I let off a string of curses that would put even the boy's locker room to shame, ending with an emphatic kick to the mailbox post. And the worst part was of course it wasn't there yet. My weird nerves all day were pointless.

I stomped upstairs, ignoring Grnlllll's barked order to do something or other. Raquel hadn't needed me the last two weeks (I suspected she felt guilty over Uber-vamp and the fact that I'd only met him because of a mission she sent me on), so I'd been making up shifts. Although there were still an unusual number of new paranormals in town, I hadn't seen any more faeries, and Nona continued to defy my attempts to catch her doing something suspicious.

Today, however, I had better things to do than help in the kitchen and worry about paranormals. My plans revolved around going into my room and stewing for several hours.

I flopped onto my bed and tried to burn a hole in the ceiling with my glare. It was a good thing, not getting the letter today. If they were going to reject me, they would probably do it early. Those beautiful, thick acceptance packets took time to put together. No doubt they placed every sheet, every paper with personalized love and attention.

I would get in. I had to get in. But why, oh why, couldn't they just tell me and release me from this agony?

My communicator beeped mutedly from its honored place in my sock drawer. I was shocked to realize how much time I'd managed to stew-it was already dusk. Anxious for something, anything to distract me from application purgatory, I flung my socks across the room, digging out the communicator. The message read Vamp job, immediately, yes or no.

Okay, maybe there were things worse than waiting. Stupid vampires. Still, it had to be done. I punched in a quick yes and had barely taken off my necklace and holstered Tasey when a light flashed on the wall and Jack held out his hand.

I grabbed it before the door closed and he yanked me through. "Hallo, Evie. Having a nice day?"

I scowled. "No. Let's get this over with. And if you drop me into another river, I swear this time I am taking you with me."

He laughed, the idiot boy, and we hurried through the emptiness together. I tried to focus on my anger and annoyance and not think about facing a vamp again. I would not be tempted to drain another paranormal. Not ever. Lend and I were in a good place, and I was doing better. I didn't feel weird most of the time. The breeze still trailed me, I was spending more time than usual in the bath and seemed to sense running water whenever I was near it, but this new nervous energy was just stress. That's all. I figured I hadn't really taken that much from Uber-vamp, and the more I thought about it, the more I was sure it had been the right choice.

Still, having to confront another vampire made me edgy.

We came out in a dirty, narrow alley between two brightly painted wood buildings. "And no sudden plummets to your death, even!" Jack sounded way too pleased with himself. Loud screams echoed at the end of the alley-which made sense, since we were at a cheap carnival, teeming with hordes of people and dark corners. Vamptastic.

I checked to make sure Tasey was easily accessible. "Stay here; I'll be right back. This shouldn't take long."

I turned toward the carnival, but Jack grabbed my arm. "You can't tag, remember? Which makes me the other half of our fabulous bagging-and-tagging duo."

I bit back a snotty remark, knowing it wasn't his fault I was stressed. "Fine. Try to keep up." I stalked out into the crowds, not trying to absorb the atmosphere like I used to. I didn't need to grasp at glances of humanity anymore. I got plenty of it in the halls at school.

After a frustrating half hour, I finally caught sight of a glamoured corpse head in the middle of a crowd waiting for the Ferris wheel. He had his arm around a pretty young thing in an incredibly weather-inappropriate outfit that showed off her very slender, very blood-filled neck. She stared at him in that vapid, intoxicated way employed only by women under a vamp's control. Or the way I sometimes got when faced with cupcakes.

Mmm. Cupcakes.

Narrowing my eyes, I unbuttoned Tasey. No doubt the vamp was planning on taking her up for a ride she'd never forget-and never get off. He'd probably bite her at the top, a sick flair for the dramatic, then act like she was drunk as he dragged her off to some dark corner to finish. Rage flared inside me, thoughts of innocent Arianna flashing through my mind. IPCA vampire protocol called for me to lure him to a secluded spot so that no one was any wiser about the murderous creatures walking among them.

I pushed through the crowd, tapped him on the shoulder, and tased him.

His eyes went wide with surprise before he collapsed, twitching, onto the ground. His would-be victim stared at him for a few seconds before she let out a small scream. The crowd edged away from us, forming a sort of circle around the unconscious bloodsucker.

I rolled my eyes at Tasty Neck Girl. "Oh, get over it. Would have been the shortest relationship of your life." Jack walked up behind me, smiling sheepishly at the crowd as he bent down and attached the ankle tracker. I grabbed the vamp's wrist and dragged him unceremoniously out of the circle and toward the alley.

People-clueless, clueless people-stood there, staring in confusion as they tried to figure out what kind of show I was doing and whether they should clap or call the police.

"Call the transporters," I said, dumping the vampire at the mouth of the alley. Thanks to Uber-vamp, new regulation called for all vampires to be detained immediately without being read their rights or directed to a processing facility.

Jack pushed the button, then looked at me. "That was . . . subtle."

"Screw it," I muttered. If the general populace was finally clued in to the fact that the supernatural was alive and well among them, was that really such a bad thing? By protecting them from knowing about these things, we were also creating victims like Arianna.

Besides, luring the vamp would have taken too much time. And facing the vamp alone . . .

It wouldn't have tempted me. I wanted to go home is all.

As soon as the transporters got there, I shoved Jack toward the wall. "Home, now." He mock bowed, escorting me through a door and the darkness, back to the familiar comfort of my room/glorified closet. We walked through and the first thing I saw was a letter.

On my bed.

A white letter.

With a return address I'd wanted to see for weeks.

In an envelope that was far, far smaller than it should have been.

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