Blood and Roses

Prologue

Rosalia

I stood underneath one of the many cherry trees that adorned the busy campus of my all girls' school, sketchbook in hand. All around me, people exited their classrooms and stepped out into the early spring sun, grins on their faces. One person in particular caught my attention, partially from the little zing being so close to her brought. As the only other magic user in the school, I was all too familiar with it.

"Have you been avoiding me?" Tamara Snow said, flipping her dark hair over one shoulder as she came over to me. "It's not working if you are. I know exactly what you're doing."

"I'm not doing anything," I said defensively.

"Sure," Tami said.

"You don't believe me?"

It wasn't the first time Tami had convinced herself that I was avoiding her, but I didn't want to admit that this time it was the truth.

"Brooklyn, I know you," she said with a smirk. "You constantly avoid me."

"No, I don't," I said. "And if I was avoiding you, it would be your fault. You've been pestering me about Spring Formal all week."

"You know there's plenty of people who would love to go with you," Tami said, smiling at a passing girl from one of her classes. "Maybe me, even. If you're lucky, that is."

"Stop flirting with everyone else," I said. "I get it, you want to go. But there are more important things than Spring Formal. Including the others."

"We just found Lucy last week," Tami said with a groan. "Can't we stop the search for one day? Please?"

I gave Tami a venomous look. Is she messing with me? But then again, Tami had never understood my relentless pursuit of the others.

"You're right," Tami said a second later, following me off campus. "So where are we going to look?"

"I was thinking we would just hang out somewhere and wait. There's a coffee shop over there."

Tami froze.

"We are not staking out a coffee shop," she said.

"I never said we were."

"So what are we calling it? Maybe we could just follow people our age around the city, you know, since that's not like stalking at all and would totally be better than whatever plan you have."

I raised my eyebrows, "Do you have any better ideas?"

"No," Tami admitted, shoulders slumping. "You're right, you're right. You always are."

A little mollified, I held the door open for Tami.

"I'll go get you a latte if you find somewhere for us to sit," Tami said. "Be right back."

I scanned the faces of the high school students around me. Most attended Tami's and my school, so there were even a few familiar faces. One girl, Michelle, smiled at me.

I took a seat in the corner booth. From there, I would have a good vantage point of the cafe and would be able to keep an eye on anyone coming and going.

I concentrated, staring off into the distance. One by one, auras flared into existence around the other students. The waitress's was a happy and content pink, the students' a studious yellow. Compared to theirs, Tami's was like a firework, crackling with lightning--never a good sign. She really did want to go to the Spring Formal, but I'd ruined her hopes and dreams like I always did.