The Den of Shadows Quartet - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [36]
The cross was upside down and carefully molded with a viper twined around it. It was the same design as the one that Aubrey wore, and it startled Jessica to see that she had drawn it into her portrait of Alex.
“Mind if I join you?” someone asked.
Not just someone. Alex. Jessica recognized his voice and whipped her notebook shut. His tone was confident, unmarred by adolescent awkwardness. Hearing his silk-smooth voice made her shiver, because she was once again assaulted by a wave of familiarity.
Snap out of it, Jessica ordered herself. Over her mental argument, she heard her voice calmly reply to Alex, “Go ahead.”
Suspicious of his motives, she couldn’t immediately come up with anything more to say. The last time any guy had tried to talk to her, he had done so only on a dare. With that painful memory in mind, she kept her expression cool, waiting for Alex Remington to explain himself.
As he sat down near her, she studied his appearance. The pendant was exactly as she had drawn it — exactly like Aubrey’s.
“Do you always keep to yourself out here?” he asked.
“Do you always go out of your way to talk to people who look like they want to be alone?” she answered, instinctively defensive. She bit her tongue after speaking the words. If Alex actually wanted to get to know her, she was an idiot to try to chase him off.
He just looked amused. “Would you prefer to be alone, or are you avoiding someone in particular?” As he asked this, he glanced over at the windows of the cafeteria. Jessica followed his gaze and noticed Caryn sitting inside with a group of other seniors.
“If I was trying to avoid anyone, it would be Caryn,” she answered truthfully. “She seems convinced that my inner child needs a friend.”
A mixture of empathy and annoyance crossed Alex’s features. Jessica felt confident that the annoyance was reserved for Caryn.
“It’s her nature to try to draw people out of the dark,” he said.
“You two know each other?”
“Unfortunately,” he answered. The scorn in his voice was palpable.
He silently watched Caryn for a moment, until she looked up as if she could feel his gaze. When she saw Jessica and Alex sitting together, she stood, gathered her belongings, and hurried away.
“She sure doesn’t try to draw you out of the dark,” Jessica commented.
“They’ve tried, and they’ve failed miserably,” was his reply.
CHAPTER 7
CARYN HAD RETREATED to the school library after seeing Jessica with the creature who was calling himself Alex. She had a study hall there soon, anyway; other students were already spilling out of the cafeteria and going to their classes.
She had been staring out the window for about five minutes when she suddenly saw Alex and Jessica walk past. It seemed there was no escape from them.
“Are you stalking me?” she heard Jessica say to Alex in a light, maybe even flirtatious, tone. Caryn frowned at how easily Jessica seemed to trust him. Alex was the last creature on Earth that any human should trust.
“Why would I do that?” Alex asked with pretend innocence.
Why indeed? Caryn thought. Maybe because you’re a manipulative leech? If only Jessica knew what she was talking to.
“Anyway, I’m not quite so obvious when I’m stalking someone,” Alex was saying to Jessica, amusement in his voice.
Caryn shook her head. Of course you are, she thought. If they don’t know you’re there, they aren’t afraid.
Suddenly she heard his mocking voice clearly in her mind. I suppose you would know from experience?
She threw up her mental shields, even though she knew they were little better than glass against his kind. Get out of my head, she thought angrily. Alex laughed in return.
Meanwhile, he and Jessica had continued to speak. It was obvious that Jessica had no knowledge of the silent conversation that had been going on. Her tone was jovial and unguarded, as if she was speaking to a friend.
Friends with the leeches but not with the humans,