“Yes,” Penelope said. “She’s one of us now.”

“Tell me what?” Rachel asked.

“That fraternity is not all human. There are some of our kind in its ranks. They come from a different coven. We’ve been keeping the peace for quite a while, but I wouldn’t want to provoke them. I don’t want to start an all-out vampire war at school. You have to keep a low profile when you get that book. Don’t let any of them catch you,” Hunter said.

“So when’s the party? We have to move quickly,” Rachel said.

“It’s not till later tonight,” Hunter said.

“Let’s go back to my place and wait until there’s time so nobody else sees you here,” Hunter said. “And you can fill me in on everything that’s happened to my brother since I’ve last seen him.”

Chapter 7

Rachel took a sip of the blood that Hunter had poured for her into an old ivory shot glass. She felt better after the first sip. She didn’t realize how hungry she was—in fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she fed. It must have been days but her adrenaline was keeping her going. Her mind was only focused on one thing and that was to save Benji. She couldn’t give into her needs at a time like this—she had to find the Red Amulet and save him.

“So what have you and Benji been doing the last year?” Hunter asked.

Rachel thought for a moment, then realized she couldn’t answer that question. She honestly didn’t know what they’d been doing. She couldn’t recall one thing that had happened since their jump into the water. The only thing she remembered was her crazy mermaid dream—and even that was becoming a bit foggy to her. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was losing her mind or if someone had erased her memory. Was that even possible? Could someone have erased an entire year of her life? She didn’t know what to say.

“Well it’s funny you should ask,” Rachel said. “I happen to not remember what happened this year. It’s all a blur and in fact I don’t even feel a year older. It’s like I went to sleep and woke up and it was a year later.”

“What do you mean?” Penelope asked.

“It’s a strange feeling, I wish I could explain it better,” Rachel said.

“That’s odd,” Hunter chimed in. “Do you know then what happened to Benji? Why is he in danger and how did he get so hurt?”

Rachel looked back at Hunter, then at Penelope in shame. She was so upset that she didn’t know what had happened and that she couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. She wished she could have been there for him, to protect him, to care for him through this time but she couldn’t. Her emotions flooded her and she began to cry.

“I don’t know,” Rachel said. “And that’s what’s so hard for me. I don’t know what happened to Benji and I don’t know how to help him. I’m a terrible girlfriend. I just feel awful about the entire situation. I should have stopped it from happening.”

“Listen, Rachel. Benji loves you. Don’t beat yourself up over this. We will find a way to save him. I know this is hard for you, but please don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Hunter said. “You are an amazing person and I know he feels lucky and blessed to have found you.”

Rachel wiped her tears and looked back at Hunter.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t beat myself up, but I can’t help it. Imagine how you would feel if something happened to Penelope on your watch and you could have done something to prevent it but you didn’t. You would feel awful.”

“We will find the Red Amulet,” Penelope said. “As soon as we locate the coven book, we will find out how to get it for you. Don’t worry. I know this is a stressful time, but we will get through it together.”

“I don’t think you guys appreciate the urgency here. This is not a joke. You didn’t see him. I did. He’s lying in a cave right now in the middle of nowhere, dying. I don’t have time to sit around about talk about my feelings or yours or anyone’s. I need to get the Red Amulet. Can we please go to the frat house now? Please?” Rachel begged.

Hunter looked down at his watch, “We can leave here in a five minutes. We don’t want to be the firsts to arrive. We need to mix ourselves in with a big group of kids, too. We can’t just show up to the door the three of us. It’s too suspicious.”

“Why are you so worried about this other coven? Have they ever done anything bad?” Rachel asked.

“They haven’t yet, but we are not of the same coven. We do not have the same beliefs or missions in life. When you have a difference like this, it can mean life and death if you step over the line. If you get into an argument with one of their kind, you have no idea the ramifications.”

“C’mon guys, can we just leave now? I see a group of people walking over there now,” Rachel said as she peered out the window.

“I think we should be fine to go now Hunter,” Penelope said. “Let’s go find that book!”

Rachel couldn’t help but feel that Penelope and Hunter didn’t take this seriously. Well, maybe they took it seriously, but not as urgently as she would have liked at a time like this. She wanted them to help her find the book so that she could forge ahead on this mission she was sent on. She didn’t want to have to linger behind and wait on others to do it for her. She hated that. She never liked the idea of waiting for other people to make something happen. She knew that if she wanted it done, she would have to do it herself. But in this case, she couldn’t do it by herself. She didn’t know what the Red Amulet was nor did she know how to find it. It could be anywhere in the world, and she hadn’t the slightest clue where to begin looking.

“Here’s your coat,” Hunter said as he helped Rachel get her coat on.

The three of them walked out of the dorm and into the crisp night air on their way to the party. Rachel was anxiously awaiting getting her hands on the coven book so she could save Benji.

Chapter 8

As they walked up to the door of Alpha Chi Delta there were two guys standing at the door wearing their navy blue and forest green fraternity uniform. They stood there with a grimace on their faces as they surveyed the kids one by one as they entered their house for the party. Rachel watched as they turned some kids away at the door while others were let in with a smile or a high five.

Rachel could sense it. She knew they were vampires, she could tell by the look in their eyes, the fairness of their skin and the fragrance of their bodies. She knew she had to be careful because they probably sensed her as well. She didn’t want to risk it and quickly took out her perfume and doused her body. She thought it couldn’t hurt to try to cover up her vampire scent. She had nothing to lose.

As they got closer to the two guys at the door, she felt her body tensing up. She turned to Penelope and Hunter and said, “See you inside.” She walked at a quicker pace and then approached the two guys alone. She figured she’d have a better shot at getting in solo rather than in a pack. The two guys surveyed her up and down, one of them squinting as he rubbed his nose.

Oh no! They caught me. They won’t let me in, Rachel thought to herself.

Then, as if by chance, the house was bumrushed by thirty kids, all wearing their sports jerseys. Rachel was basically thrust through the front door and into the house. She wasn’t stopped by the rush of football players nor was she denied entry to the party. It was her lucky day—now she only hoped that Penelope and Hunter got through the door as well. She didn’t know what she’d do if they got held up or turned away. She had to find the old coven book, but didn’t have the slightest clue where to begin searching for it.

She walked through the large foyer of the fraternity and through a large arched doorway with a deer head mounted to the wall. She never understood why people would want to adorn their walls with dead animals but it seemed to be a real trend in this fraternity. As she walked through the next room she saw rabbit, ox, elk and bear heads on the wall. She couldn’t understand this form of art, but didn’t really stop to think about it. All she could do was pray that Hunter and Penelope would come in.

Each room was jam packed with kids, shoulder to shoulder, holding red plastic cups and drinking beer from kegs that sat on the floor. The room smelled like an old dirty basement and the noise level was through the roof. Music was playing loudly and everyone was screaming and cheering. When she turned her head towards the cheering she saw a big ping pong table with cups lined up at each end. It was a game of Beirut; a drinking game she’d never played but heard about.

Rachel looked around at all the different people that came together at this party. She knew some of them were vampires and some were humans. She couldn’t understand this dynamic and found it to be quite odd that all these humans would be socializing with vampires. Granted, they probably didn’t know they were vampires, she felt it was odd that the vampires would allow the humans into their house. She felt stares from the other vampires in the house. She could tell that they sensed she was there, but knew they hadn’t pinpointed what coven she was from or if she was truly a vampire. But she knew they were on to her.

Then, she felt a tap on her back—it was Hunter and Penelope, standing there together motioning her to come into another room.

“Hurry, don’t you feel it?” Hunter said.

“Feel what?” Rachel replied. “I don’t feel anything.”

“The stares?” Hunter said quietly.

“Oh, yes. I did,” Rachel said.

“They’re onto us,” Hunter said.

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked feeling a bit scared.

“They know we’re here. Can’t you tell?” Hunter asked.

“I don’t know. What should we do now?” Rachel said.

“We have to move quick guys,” Penelope chimed in.

“Hurry, we have to get out of this room, they’re going to find us here,” Hunter said as he motioned them to another room.