They buried my parents on a Friday, and by Saturday afternoon, I was on my way to live with an uncle I barely knew in a town I'd never heard of before in my life.
Well, technically he was my great uncle.
Martin Thorne.
I'd only met him a handful of times when he'd come to visit my dad on official "family business", as they liked to call it. Back then, the family business just meant that the grownups would close the door and speak in hushed tones.
In a way, I wished they'd never opened that door and told me what it was they really did for a living. I didn't want to know the truth, anymore, and I definitely didn't want to go live with a family member who had been a Keeper for most of his life.
Why couldn't they send me to live with a relative who knew nothing about witches or vampires or demons? Why couldn't they send me to live with someone normal?
To be honest, Uncle Martin had always creeped me out. There was just something off about his tall, thin frame and translucent skin. He'd once put a bony hand on my arm, and I'd recoiled at the blue veins pulsing underneath the surface of his skin.
In my mind, I'd always thought of him as "the dying man", because he'd been so quiet and old. So barely there and weak.
But in the end, it was my parents who died first, and it was Uncle Martin who had become my rock.
I missed them so much, even now, it sometimes felt like my chest would cave in on my heart, crushing it beneath the weight of my grief.
"Lenora?"
A light knock on the door accompanied the soft, careful voice on the other side.
I swiped at the tear on my cheek and turned over in the small twin bed that had been mine now for the past three months.
Couldn't I just skip my senior year? Take classes online? Avoid all normal human interaction forever?
Another knock, and this time the door creaked open just a crack.
"Lenora, have you seen the time, sweetheart? I have some breakfast ready for you downstairs."
With a sigh, I sat up and turned toward my soft-spoken Great Uncle Martin.
I'd been living with him now for an entire summer. It turned out he wasn't actually creepy at all. He was more like a sweet teddy bear, and I couldn't even fathom the thought of leaving the comfort of his calming presence to enter the world of regular teenagers.
Talk about creepy.
"I can't do it," I said, shaking my head. "There's just no way."
Martin's eyes sparkled with compassion. "May I come in?"
"Of course."
He always asked before he came into my room, which I always appreciated. I was the intruder in his home, and yet he acted like I'd always belonged here.
"I understand how difficult this is," he said. "But it's a chance for a fresh start. Besides, this is part of the condition the Council placed on allowing you to stay with me."
"Which I totally don't understand," I said, a tiny spark of anger igniting in my chest. "Why does the Council suddenly care so much about my high school education? It's not like they cared when my parents were alive. I've never had to go to a normal school before. Why now?"
"You know as well as I do that the Council doesn't always give reasons for their proclamations or their rules," he said. "But if I had to wager a guess, I'd say they want you to get a taste of normal life before you make any kind of decision about whether to take their test at the end of the year."
I groaned.
Just the thought of the Council's test made my stomach churn.
I used to want nothing more than to be just like my parents, but now I wasn't so sure. I'd watched them die, and maybe it had even been my fault.
And yet, it was the only life I'd ever known. Could I even fit in with normal people after that?
I sighed and threw the covers off my legs, revealing the same pair of black leggings I'd been wearing all summer. Turns out when you're grieving, no one cares if you change clothes.
"Okay, I'll go, but I don't have to be happy about it," I said.
Uncle Martin smiled. "No teenager ever is. Now, get dressed and meet me in the kitchen. I made your favorite pancakes."
**
Choosing an outfit was excruciating. What did normal, regular humans wear to their first day of school? And what vibe did I want to give on day one?
Did I want to try to make friends?
Or did I want to send a clear, 'leave-me-alone-or-I'll-put-a-curse-on-you' kind of message?
After standing in front of a closet full of clothes I barely even recognized anymore, I finally went for what I felt would be a safe in-between. Black jeans, graphic tee with the Umbrella Corp logo, and a pair of black boots.
I parted my long, brown hair down the middle and twisted each side into a fat messy bun, then threw on some black eye-liner and my favorite moonstone ring.
Finally satisfied, I made my way down the long, empty hallway to the even longer grand staircase, and down to the large, chef's kitchen in the back of the house. I still wasn't comfortable living in such a giant old house full of strange, witchy relics, but at least I wasn't getting lost as much anymore.
Uncle Martin said this house was my legacy. The Thorne legacy. He told me it would be mine when he passed away someday, since we were the last of our name now, but every time I thought about living in this big, empty house all by myself and growing old alone the way he had, I got the itch to run away forever.
Or burn it to the ground.
But that was just me.
Besides, I wasn't quite ready to lose the rest of my family just yet. As scared as I'd originally been to move in with him, Martin had saved my life. If it hadn't been for him, I don't think I would have made it through the summer.
I grabbed an apple off the counter and stuffed it in my bag before sitting down to a large stack of pancakes.
"Took you long enough," he said with a wink. "But you look beautiful, as always."
I smiled. "A slight upgrade from sweats and leggings, huh?"
He lifted his hands in defense. "I never said a word, did I?"
"No," I said, lowering my head in recognition of his politeness. "But you could have."
"There's one more thing that outfit needs, though," he said. He motioned toward a drawer across the room, and it floated open at the flick of his wrist. A small box with a red ribbon tied around it made its way through the air and into his hand before he set it down in front of my stack of peanut butter, chocolate chip pancakes.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What's this?" I asked.
"I didn't buy anything, if that's what you mean," he said. "Open it."
I pulled a knee to my chest, resting my black boot on the chair. I wasn't great at receiving gifts. We'd never really been much for gifts growing up in my house. Mom's idea of a birthday gift was letting me be the one to stake the vampire.
"It's not going to bite, I promise," Martin said. "Come on."
I tugged on the ribbon, and my mouth fell open slightly as I opened the box. Inside, a familiar silver locket lay on top of red velvet. I opened it to find the familiar photos of my mother's parents had now been replaced with pictures of my own.
"I thought the Council took this," I said, my voice hitching slightly as I ran a finger across the pentacle engraved on the front of the locket. He'd chosen the perfect photos of them to put inside, their smiling faces trapped forever in a memory of a time that would never come again, no matter how much I wished for it.
"I petitioned to have it returned to you once the evidence was no longer needed," he said. "I had to call in a few favors, but that locket belongs to you, Lenny. Your mother would have wanted you to have it."
"Thank you," I said, standing and throwing my arms around him.
"Here. I'll help you put it on." He turned his head to the side, but I didn't miss the way he quickly wiped at his cheek.
I'd never seen Martin cry. Not even at my parents' funeral.
He'd been my rock, and I suddenly realized just how much I'd come to love him over the past few months.
I hadn't even wanted to come here at first, and now, I didn't want to so much as walk out the door.
"There's one more thing, of course, if you're ready for it," he said as he slipped the locket around my neck and fastened it.
I gasped as a silver key slid down the chain to rest next to my mother's locket.
I nearly laughed with joy.
"Does this mean what I think it means?" I asked, twirling around and grasping the key with both hands?
Martin nodded and smiled. "The Council made their ruling just yesterday," he said, his smile fading with a hint of sorrow. "It wasn't your fault, dear girl. Of course, it wasn't."
I swallowed back the feeling of guilt that seemed to get stuck in my throat and focused, instead, on the really good news.
I had my key back.
I was free to use my magic again.
"Thank you, Uncle," I said, standing on tip-toes to kiss his pale cheek.
"Where are you going? You hardly touched your pancakes," he said, but by the time he'd finished speaking, I was already halfway back up the stairs to my room.
I sat down in front of the large, mahogany chest that I'd been given when I was just five years old and crossed my legs underneath me. I took a deep breath and placed a fingertip on the silver key, making sure my intentions were clear as a bell.
I was out of practice after a few months, but apparently using a spell cabinet was like riding a bike. Once you learned how to do it, you never really forgot.
The cabinet doors swung open before me, and I giggled with excitement at the sight of all my herbs and potions and gemstones. My collection of tarot cards. It was like seeing old friends again.
I clasped my hands together.
So, what spell should I cast first?
**
Twenty minutes later as I stood in front of the doors to Newcastle High, I felt nearly invisible. Just like I wanted.
Everyone who walked up smiled and greeted friends they'd probably had since preschool, but no one seemed to notice me at all.
My spell had worked. I'd used just enough amaranth to help me blend in, but not enough to make me completely invisible. Hopefully, this would make high school a lot more tolerable.
I would show up, do whatever I needed to do to survive it, keep my head down, and that would be that. It was just one year, after all.
I took a deep breath and told my feet to start walking, but I couldn't seem to force them forward. Literally every single muscle in my body was rebelling against the idea of high school.
"It's not as bad as it looks," a bubbly voice said out of nowhere.
At first, I assumed she was talking to someone else, but then this small, energetic girl was suddenly there, smiling up at me like we were old friends.
"At least, it's usually not all terrible," she said. "You're new here right? I mean, of course you are, because I've been going to this same school with these same people since I was about five years old, and I would have known if you'd been here before. It's not like we get a lot of new people here in Newcastle, despite the name new. I hadn't even heard we were getting a new student this year. My name's Peyton, by the way. What's yours?"
The petite blonde hadn't even taken a single breath during that entire monologue. I had to wait for my brain to catch up with her mouth.
"Um, I'm Lenny," I said, glancing around to make absolutely sure she was talking to me. Was my spell wearing off already? Or was this girl somehow immune?
"Lenny?" she asked. "That's a strange name. I don't think I've ever known anyone named Lenny before. Is that like a family name or something? Or maybe it's a nickname. It's got to be a nickname, right? But for what? Lenn—"
"It's short for Lenora," I said.
I looked around and realized that somehow we'd ended up inside the front entrance of the school. I didn't even remember moving.
"Lenora is such a pretty name, but I like Lenny, too," she said. "So, where are you from, anyway? I bet you come from a big city, huh? You don't seem like the type of person who grew up in a small nowhere town like this."
"I'm from all around, I guess."
"Oh, military family," she said, nodding. "I bet it's hard to travel around so much. Or maybe it's harder to stay in one place after you've seen the whole world. Here, I'll show you where to check in and get your schedule and everything. It's not a very big school, so you'll find your way around pretty easily. I'll help you find your classes, though. I'm sure it's scary going to a brand new school, but Newcastle is a pretty cool place most of the time. Did your parents retire and move here for a new job or something?"
"Do you always ask so many questions?"
I wasn't ready to tell anyone about my parents just yet, and to be honest, I was surprised she hadn't already heard about a new girl moving in with the creepy old guy in the big, spooky house. It seems like that would have been prime gossip info in a town like this.
"I'm sorry," she said with a laugh. "I know I talk too much."
There wasn't a drop of awkwardness about her. There was just true, genuine happiness, like a beam of sunshine. I'd never met anyone like her before.
I instantly liked her, which was really strange for me, because I rarely liked anyone.
So much for my determination not to make friends or interact in any way today. Maybe I could do like Martin said and try to just be a normal high school girl for a little while. Just the thought of it made my stomach flip with nervousness.
Me? Normal?
If my parents were still alive, we'd most likely be in Europe somewhere fighting vampires in some ancient castle, but it seemed life had other plans for me right now.
As I looked around at the huge crowd of students, all I could think was that I'd have been more comfortable with the vampires.
"It's okay," I said. "If you hadn't said hello, I might have just turned around and gone back home."
"Nah," she said. "You look like the kind of person who is stronger than she thinks. You'd have come in eventually. Anyway, this is the office. Let's find out who you have for homeroom."
"Don't you have somewhere else you need to be first?" I asked. "Why are you helping me?"
She smiled again, and I couldn't help but smile back. Her energy was contagious.
"We all have to stick together right now with everything that's going on," she said, her eyes looking downward.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"It's just terrible, isn't it?" she asked, all the joy drained from her voice. "I can't even bring myself to talk about those girls. Nothing like that has ever happened in Newcastle before. No one really knows how to deal with it."
I was going to ask her more, but she quickly shifted her energy and the smile returned.
"We don't want to talk about that right now, anyway. Not on your first day. Come on, let's get your schedule, and then I'll take you to your homeroom."
I followed her into the office and luckily, Peyton did all the talking while I just leaned against the wall and pretended not to be there. For the most part, my spell seemed to be working. Everyone else seemed to look straight past me, as if I wasn't there at all.
Peyton was different, though, and I was determined to find out why.
As soon as I figured out where my locker was.
"Here we go," Peyton said as she handed me a slip of paper with my class list on it. "We're in a lot of the same classes. That's lucky, huh?"
"Yeah," I said, following her through the crowd. This day definitely wasn't going like I thought it would.
We made it to a group of lockers at the end of the hallway.
"This is you," she said. "That envelope I gave you should have your combination in it. I didn't look, I promise."
I started to put in my combination, but before I was finished, a chill ran down my back that was so strong, my entire body shivered.
I stopped breathing for a moment, my hand stopping completely as I focused on that feeling. It was the last thing I had expected to feel here today in a town like this.
Martin had said everyone in this town was human. Normal.
Mostly, he'd said. They were mostly human.
"Do you need help?" Peyton asked. "Here, I can show you how to do it. I remember the first time I..."
I tuned her voice out for a moment and slowly turned around, searching every single face in the hallway. My heart raced, and I hardly allowed myself to take a breath as I scanned the room.
That feeling had come from someone here. Someone close.
And then, suddenly, there he was.
He was tall. Over six feet, if I had to guess.
His dark hair was just long enough to fall across his forehead, but not so long that it covered his dark, serious eyes. His tanned skin practically glowed with the health of immortality, even under these crappy, fluorescent lights.
He was strong, too, judging by the muscles that strained against the sleeves of his grey t-shirt.
But most importantly, there was a certain energy about him that I'd come to recognize over the years as...other. This guy, whoever he was, was not human.
And he was staring straight at me.
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