Almost Final Curtain Read Online Free PDF Page A

aura. Not that I could actually see auras—that was Bea’s kind of magic. But I’d catch people looking at me in a way that didn’t seem entirely human, though I thought they must be, if they were trailing me around school in the daylight. Vampires did have regular human, uh, companions they used to watch over them as they slept, and I got the feeling it was these “Igors” I saw trailing me from time to time.
    I wouldn’t put it past my dad to keep an eye on me. He was kind of creepy like that.
    Well, maybe that was unfair, but I found it sort of unnerving how much my own father approved of and encouraged my “engagement” to Elias, who was who knew how much older than me. Dads were supposed to be overprotective and go apeshit when you dated anyone , much less some zillion-year-old vampire from hell. Not that I had any real experience with dads, mind you, but I knew how Bea’s dad could be and I watched TV.
    Of course, my dad was from hell too. I guess that made me a hellion—for real. Man, how weird was that?
    The gym reverberated with a chord struck on an electric guitar. All talking stopped, as if by magical command.
    The lights went out. We held our breath. When they came back on, the curtain was drawn and the music began.
    You wouldn’t think so, but it was exactly how Mr. Martinez said it would be. It was awesome.
    “Get Me to the Church on Time” never sounded so cool. Ever.
     
     
    In fact, Nik’s song was so epic that I got over my natural shyness and stayed behind after the dismissal bell rang to help the band pack up. Even though hanging around meant I had to watch everyone—even guys like Thompson—fawn all over my boyfriend. I noticed people looking at me differently too, like they wanted to be me.
    If they only knew.
    That was when I spotted them, the Igors. They hung back by the bleachers and their eyes never, ever left me. But the look they gave me had nothing to do with jealousy or envy or any of that. Their gaze was watchful, protective, and serious.
    They could have just been class weirdos, but they had the patented stare, and, well, Igors generally had a different standard of personal hygiene. They always managed to look slightly unwashed. Vampires had a penchant for sleeping underground, and Igors followed them around like puppies. From personal experience I can tell you that after a couple of scrabbles through the St. Paul underground, you stop looking perfectly all together. I think it’s all the sandstone. Grit gets everywhere, and the caves are incredibly damp—they made my hair go gross and clumpy.
    Nik noticed the focus of my attention.
    I felt a spike in power. Nikolai revved up his psychic blade, the weapon he used to kill vampires. Even though I couldn’t use magic myself, I could feel when energy was afoot. I raised my hands to calm him. “They’re human,” I whispered.
    He didn’t look so sure, and his power continued to buzz beside me like an electric current, making my skin prickle.
    I pointed at the half windows near the roof that flooded in natural light. “Human.”
    “Freaky vamp junkies,” he muttered, dropping his power with ferocity as he shoved his guitar into its case.
    My mouth twisted into a frown. It wasn’t that I didn’t agree with his evaluation of the Igors, exactly, but these were my people. Well, my people’s people, at any rate. This was why Nikolai and I weren’t exactly a hundred percent.
    Nikolai’s liquid amber eyes flicked over my face, and he shrugged. “Sorry. No offense.”
    I should have said, “None taken,” but, well, I was kind of insulted. The Igors made my skin crawl, the way their glassy eyes gaped at me. But they were there to protect me. From people like Nik.
    The residue of his magic stung my skin. I rubbed my arm. “Yeah, hey, see you later,” I said, grabbing my backpack. “I’m going to miss my bus.”
    “I said I’d give you a ride,” he shouted, but I pretended not to hear him.
    The Igors followed me