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a grip. I wasn’t sure what the thing was, but I felt as though I had just been handed something very important.
    Wrapping it back up in the velvet cloth, I took my seat at the table. Suddenly, I felt like everything was going to be okay. I decided to put off my questions for later. Everything was going to be okay.
    Or so I’d thought.

Chapter 9
    I spent the rest of the day doing nothing. Well, not nothing , but pretty close. My Mother said that we didn’t need to practice today. She didn’t even make Nelly and me go on a run. So, I hung out with the two of them, doing normal things.
    We watched a couple of movies, I did a little reading, and just enjoyed their company; even my Mother’s. I put away my worries over returning to school and everything else that seemed to be happening to me lately.
    Nelly and I were sitting in my room after dinner. I spent most of my time at home alone or with Nelly (or “preparing” with my Mother), plus she was the only person I really had to talk to.
    “Oh, yeah,” Nelly said. “I never got a chance to thank you for what you did with Riley.”
    I gave a half smile. I hadn’t expected her to thank me for that. In fact, I’d thought she might be mad at me for hurting someone so badly because Nelly was just a gentle person. I should have known she would understand, even if I didn’t understand it myself.
    There was a sincere look in her hazel eyes. “So, thank you. I appreciate what you did.”
    I gave another halfhearted smile. “What else would I have done?” She started to say something else, but I held up my hand, cutting her short.
    “Shh,” I whispered.
    I had heard something outside the open window near my bed. I hadn’t closed it because I wasn’t going to sleep just yet. Maybe it was just Jackson again, coming over to “check on” me. Still, I had to be sure. For whatever reason, my hackles had gone up as soon as I’d heard that indistinguishable noise outside of my window.
    I stood up slowly, pulling Nelly along with me. “Go to the living room with Mom,” I whispered.
    I’m not sure what my face looked like, but it must have looked serious because she immediately obeyed. I walked over to my dresser, keeping my gaze locked on the window.
    Picking up the gift from my Mother, I slowly removed its velvet cloth. I wasn’t sure why, but I was just suddenly drawn to it; like I needed to pick it up.
    I stared down at it and was momentarily distracted from the window. I looked back up to see that someone, or rather something had entered while I’d been distracted.
    It resembled a woman, except it wasn’t a woman at all. As soon as I set eyes on her, I knew something was very wrong. Alarm bells sounded off inside my head, and it took me a minute to interpret the message. This thing standing in front of me was here to kill. Not sure how I knew, but I did. The look in her almost human eyes was one I knew all too well. A predator’s regard. I recognized it undoubtedly. It was there every time I looked in the mirror.
    There were no whites to her eyes, just a deep, gleaming black; like polished marble. Her skin was a translucent white, and I could see what looked like red veins in her hands and on her neck. Other than that, she looked like any other woman, save for the fact that she had an extraordinarily beautiful face. I felt like I could get lost in her black eyes and fall out in a different universe.
    I shook my head hard, trying to clear what suddenly felt like muddled thoughts, and dragged my eyes away from the woman’s face. This took more effort than it should have. I don’t remember doing it, but I was already in a fighter’s stance, and I clenched my fists tight in anticipation.
    I felt a cold and tingling sensation rush up my arm, and that’s when she opened her mouth and hissed. It was the same sound I’d heard earlier, just before I’d sent Nelly from the room. It was a vile sound. Goose bumps broke out across my skin and my chest constricted