Only Fire

Chapter 10

Strobe lights flashed as song after song was played through the speakers that hung from the gymnasium walls. Sweat rolled down my body, making the glitter Ella dowsed on me cling to my skin even more. She told me if I couldn't use my flames, I could still shine like the stars. I would have to rely on the mysterious moon instead of my trusted sun tonight.

As my body moved with a rhythm I didn't know existed, I hated to admit it, but I was having fun. Hand in hand with Ella, she would spin me through the heavy fog covering the dance floor. I ignored the group of hovering vultures though the trembles never left my spine. My eyes focused on the fairy before me, never wanting to meet the hard gaze of the blue eyes I knew I would discover if I peered over at the group, even for a second.

"Ignore them," Ella said as my body came closer to hers from a spin into a dip. Always the mind reader, that one. 

"It's hard to when I know they are staring at me."

"Only because you, my dear, are radiating fire!" 

As the song ended, she stood me back on my own feet. Back on solid ground. But how long before I slipped?

The strangest moment of the night was when I watched Antonio walk in with an arm draped over an angel-winged Lucy. She looked beautiful with her pale pink dress and the matching wings that twinkled as the light reflected off each encrusted gemstone. As I watched them enter the room, it was as if I observed sin leading innocence to her untimely doom. He was bound to shred her of all the purity she had left.

"She is none of your concern," Elfred whispered to me. 

I knew this, and I nodded in agreement but kept my eyes focused on the couple. Something did not sit right with me. There was a chill in the air that I was pretty sure no one else felt but me.

I tried to ignore the cold group and the uncanny couple while I kept dancing with my friends. Elfred and Ella spun me back and forth between them. I'm sure it was a spectacle for the crowd. It looked like they were having a dance battle, and I was their shared partner. I would never understand a twin's competitiveness.

"I'm dying of thirst!" I yelled loudly at Ella and Elfred. They didn't seem to notice as they were too busy arguing about who had the better moves. My dry throat was more important to me than who won. 

I dragged my body off the dance floor to the two liters of soda and poured a glass. There wasn't much choice, but they were warm since they had been sitting out. The warm liquid went down my throat with ease until I suddenly choked.

Chamomile. Someone put chamomile into the two-liter. I opened a couple more, and they all reeked of chamomile. 

The dizziness started first, and I grabbed hold of the table for support. I had to get to the bathroom quickly. Even though I ingested a sip, it made me feel so indisposed. The room was spinning as I entered the bathroom and into the stall just in time to release the poisonous contents. 

With it out of my system, I only would experience a slight weakness for about twenty minutes. I straightened my outfit the best I could and walked out of the stall with my head held high. No one was going to ruin my night. But when I walked out of that metal box, I was greeted by someone I didn't expect.

Lucy stood there with her arms crossed and her body leaned up against a sink, grinning at me. All shreds of her angelic innocence were gone. His vampiric sinfulness stole them. 

"How was your drink?" Lucy asked.

"It was fine," I said, walking to the sink to wash my hands. 

Why was she asking me this? She was not supposed to know a thing about us. Very few humans know about our kind. Only those with trusted family bloodlines or who have helped us in a way got indoctrinated into learning about our world. Wait, did he turn her? I turned and stared at her.