Shadow Embraced (Haven Academy Book 1) [Completed]

Chapter 20

Full moon. The valley is flooded with the bellows of terrified cattle imported for tonight. Long, reedy warbles break through the air as monstrous, spike-covered beasts race across the landscape. I can hear their dreadful thunder raging above us.

The sound of cattle being slaughtered echoes through the tunnels, broken only when one of Darwin's worst nightmares up there issues a ground-shaking dragon roar. Why we're heading into the ghost town with those things running loose outside the wall is beyond me. I know teenagers are supposed to break rules, but this one seems a vital one to me.

"Not far now." Daemon leads us deeper into the tunnels.

The cramped space of the passage forces our group into a tight, uneven circle. Tera yammers in a speedy voice to Jet and Tyler. Rayne drags her feet beside me, still smarting over the punishment Talon decreed. After the moon sets, Rayne, and the others caught during the fight get to spend their free time building new furniture from scratch in the wood shop. I didn't even know we had a wood shop.

Moping at the back, by herself is Snow. I have to admit a small part of me is kind of disappointed she wasn't the student that was attacked, not a very charitable thought, even if she is my sworn enemy. Apparently, she's been in the med-wing the past few days, sick or something; not like anyone even noticed.

Daemon stops beneath a trapdoor. I can already hear the thick bass of party music, amped up to drown out the wolves. It sounds like a combination of techno music and sci-fi sound effects. Gathering in the darkness, we wait while he opens the hatch. I wonder how different this party's gonna be. I've never seen these people drop guard enough to let loose before.

Climbing through the opening, I look at my new surroundings. A house like any other in this cursed township, bigger than the mock dorm but still reeking of age and loneliness. Effort has been put into making the building sound and solid, the works of students wanting a place of their own in a town full of ruins.

"So, what do we do now?" I ask.

"What about ditching the others and going to find someplace to be alone?" He takes my hand and guides us out of the entrance room and toward the heart of the party.

The thought of that sends a shiver down my spine. I survey the room as we move.

At first glance, this could be any unsupervised teenage gathering—loud music, bad dancing, boisterous conversations, heavy drinking and adult themes. The differences are subtle but there, like the witch-powered distillery set up in the far corner or that vamp couple aiming to redefine the word 'hickey'.

I follow Daemon through the room and to a corner away from all the partiers. We collapse onto a torn and faded lounge with a creak from the rusty springs. Staring at the ground, I have absolutely no idea what to do. The vast majority of my party-going experience dealt with cleaning up whatever mess Alex landed herself in.

Daemon turns towards me, resting one arm on the back of the chair. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. What is there to do?" I take a deep breath, wiping my hands on my black jeans.

"What about talk? The only thing I know about you is that you're from the city," he says.

"There's nothing really to say," I say. I don't really know what I can tell him that won't scream out I'm a Dhampir. "Only child, loves to draw, is a magnet for fights. That's about it."

He smiles. "I see. Where did you learn to fight?"

I shrug. "Something I just learnt from getting into way too many. What about you?"

"Only child, competitive mother, next in line–"

"Hey Daemon," another boy cuts him off. I direct my attention toward the intruder. A tall vamp with shaggy chestnut hair. "You got a free minute?"