Don Puerto had quietened down into a corpse like stillness. Remnants of the earlier chaos had been neatly tucked away by the remarkable efficiency of Bloodstone 's PRO team. The crowd had dispersed, packing enough rumors to fan up the social media buzz.
Jordan Files was trending again.
This time for surviving a near assassination attempt.
I was standing at the window of my hotel room, wondering why the fuck I wasn't feeling relieved.
Jordan Files was alive.
Safe and sane, tucked away in his own hotel room with enough security to lessen the foggy muttering of the night.
And I had done my own bit.
Why on earth did I have this choking gnawing sensation in my chest.... Like this wasn't over.... Like this was only just the beginning.
I found myself pacing round the room in my flimsy nightdress, chewing on my fingertips and wallowing in unexplained anxiety.
Fuck... I was almost running mad with worry.
When my phone buzzed , my jittery heart almost jumped out of my chest at the abruptness of it all.
I hesitated a bit, steadying my nerves before picking up the phone.
Cassidy's chirpy voice sang back from the other side and into the receiver "Flamehead, don't tell me you haven't turned on the news yet ..."
Before I could reply, Peach snorted from the background and chipped in "Obviously, Cass. Night is usually the last to get abreast of what's happening. "
I laugh without an ounce of mirth "Guys, I know that Jordan Files was nearly assassinated today"
"Oh you do ?" Peach drooled in a sing song mock surprise tone that somehow did nothing to release the unease in my haunted chest "Well that's a first. My God, it's all over the news. I'm afraid it would hunt me in my dreams tonight too " She laughs
I imagine Cass snatching the phone back from Peach, "Night, do you know Principal Scavenger went live on the school group today, demanding we make prayers for Jordan. "
"He did ?" I am pleasantly surprised. Jordan Files might be a cocky puss, but somehow he might be loved afterall. By a whole lot of people.
Or were they all pretenders who in reality hated his guts and his motherfucking easy go lucky charm.
"Trust you to be the only ignorant Gen Z. Fuck, you are hopeless, Night " Peach sighs dramatically as if to encompasses the vast depth of my hopelessness "When would you broaden out a bit and enjoy ..."
"She's obviously enjoying herself right now" Cassidy interrupts and I hear a subdued giggle "Remember what Beth told us". .
I roll my eyes , making a mental note to strangle Beth's tale telling mouth .
Peach smirks "You don't say" And laughter erupts "Well Night, don't you have something to say to us?"
"I do ?" I wonder out loudly.
"Don't be such a prude" Cassidy chastised, "Who is he?"
"Who?" My face turns a blushy red.
"Duh" Peach hisses "The dude you are shacking up with for the weekend. We bumped into Beth at the cafeteria today and she told us you went on a weekend trip with a certain 'he'".
"Oh "
"I like the sound of that oh " Cassidy says flatly "Now can you tell us who he is. As you very well know, our curiosity is getting much taller than us . "
Peach adds "Well it's a good thing you are getting dick-matized and weekend lovey dovey and soothingly fucked. And sucked .." I grimace. She continues "I mean, sex is the best therapy after a shredding bookish thoroughly exhausting week... "
Cassidy echoes "Clock it, girl. Preachhhhhh it ".
I shoot out "No one is getting fucked. And sucked . Never heard of a harmless get together?"
Peach snorts "Nothing harmless about a pussy and a dick inches away from each other. " She adds "Things could get really wet"
"And harrrrd" Cassidy squeaks excitedly.
I laugh "Let's just say we are making sure things stay soft....And dry "
"It's only a matter of time " Peach scoffs "I like how you veer away from the subject. Now can you finally tell us who your boyfriend is, now that you have got one?"
Suddenly there's a sledgehammer pounding my skull and a tight constriction in my chest, and it was totally unrelated to my friends chatter. I find myself gasping for breath like I was in a choked up hole. The phone stayed pressed to my ears but my mouth could form no words.
I heard Cassidy and Peach groan "Night. Night are you there ? hello.... Its giving a blank signal " And then the line went dead and my phone slipped from my hand unto the cold floor.
I was pressing the bedstand hard for support. Something was happening. Blood tickled down the side of my nose. Fuck. What was happening.
I closed my eyes to steady my thundering heartbeat.
Jordan Files.
We had been blood-bounded during the night he pulled out the Wolfskull Poison from me. This meant I could feel his dangers and thrills. With each sledgehammer splitting my head, the realization shot into me like adrenaline.
Jordan Files was in danger.
Steadying my legs, I crept up and ran barefoot out of my suffocating room, fear fueling my legs with flashing haste.
I located his suite with blind, dazed eyes slowing down to find the two security guards pinned silent in their posts outside the door, snoring in blissful uselessness .
Shit. This didn't look like an ordinary sleep. For fucks sake, it wasn't even 10pm yet. They had been drugged.
My eyes darted to the door and back to the guards. My head pounded even more terribly been this close. My hands caressed the door clumsily , fear clashing with instinct. The door drifted open with little reluctance and I stood framed in the doorway, halted by the scene unraveling in front of me.
Jordan Files was crawling on the floor, bleeding from the side of his head and his nose in exactly the same spot I had bled. His fangs flashed in powerless fury and his claws scratched the ground in pent up dejection. It seemed like he was suspended in a semi transformation and couldn't tune in completely to his wolf side.
My chest cracked a bit. And my eyes adjusted to someone standing above him holding a boulder in his hand. My throat tightened. Exactly how it had played out in my vision.
The person was masked. A Barney mask that would have invited loads of laugh if it wasn't for the fact that laughter was impossible in this tensed situation. He was also tall. Like tall tall. A scream escaped my throat and Jordan's eyes darted weakly to me. And so did the assassin's.
I saw the sleeved hand raise up the boulder and in mere seconds the large stone was being thrown precisely at me. I shrieked, except that this wasn't just an ordinary frightened scream.
My mouth was mouthing up a combination of words that sounded alien to my own ears too. And my fingers were clasping and unclasping.
The boulder froze mid air, and crumpled into a thousand tiny specks of dust.
My eyes widened.
Magic.
The assassin stood stunned but undefeated. Another object aimed at me burst mid air too and then my mouth was cooking up a string of another unrehearsed spell.
The masked man was flung straight from where he stood , crashing to the wall near me and banging his head loudly in the chaos. I saw the mask slip up a little to reveal a white strong neck and then his hand dragged the mask down forcefully.
But I had seen something in that swift motion. A small mark on the right index finger. A black star.
My fingers clasped and unclasped again. I was aiming to take the mask off totally. But I merely succeeded in jacking him up and flinging him harshly down on the floor.
In the few seconds of being left alone, Jordan Files had successfully managed to morph. A loud howl rended the air and then a wolf leapt up at the assailant, scratching him terribly and clutching at his neck.
I felt sick already and half drained. While the wolf and the masked man wrestled, I stared with unbelieving eyes at my hands. Fuck. I had worked magic . For the first time.
When I looked up again, Jordan was Jordan again . Human... And he was holding the Barney mask. No one else was in the room...
My shocked eyes met with Jordan's frozen glare "Shit. He disappeared right in front of me".
The realization kept our eyes glued to each other "Lupine Teleportation " My voice was merely the wisp of a whisper.
This meant one thing.
Like Jordan, the assailant was also an Alpha wolf .
Or something worse.