Stakes & Stilettos Read online

  Was I starting to sound like Thierry? All careful and cautious? Maybe that's the way you became after being less than an inch away from getting killed. Careful and cautious.

  And tonight I would have a very careful and cautious evening with some mild dancing with old friends. Possibly some of that fruit punch.

  With any luck, the sparkly red dress I'd borrowed from Amy would be the most exciting thing to happen to me tonight in my single-minded quest to feel normal and be happy.

  Fingers crossed.

  Chapter 6

  The reunion dance was being held in the gymnasium of the Abottsville District High School, and I had to admit that Missy and her crew had done a wonderful job of making it look like something out of a fairy tale. Sparkling lights flickered across the dance floor. The walls were adorned with murals that looked like castle walls.

  The last time I'd been here had been for my graduation ceremony. I'd whipped that little tasseled hat off and thrown it into the air so quickly that by the time it hit the ground I'd already moved to Toronto to start university and find my way in the big city.

  It was just after eight o'clock by the time we got there. The dance was to go until midnight. Four hours of walking down memory lane seemed like more than enough, especially now that I felt on edge about the Red Devil's motives. I tried to relax and feel normal, but it was difficult. The red dress I'd borrowed from Amy was even shorter than I'd anticipated, and the low-cut neckline barely covered the fading but really itchy stake wound on my chest. I'd positioned my name tag over the general area, so that helped a bit.

  "Why is George here?" Thierry asked.

  I glanced over at the dance floor. George waved at me.

  "Oh, didn't I mention that to you? He wanted to come and I said he could. I think he's lonely."

  Thierry had been in such a good mood, by his standards, that I didn't want to put a damper on the evening by telling him about the Red Devil's continued interest in my well-being.

  Maybe it was early, but there weren't as many people in attendance as I'd expected. In fact, at first glance I didn't even see anyone I remembered.

  "Sarah?" I heard from over my shoulder. "Oh, my God. Sarah Dearly! I don't believe this!"

  I turned, relieved to see somebody I definitely recognized. I smiled at the pretty woman with dark red hair and a cute black shift dress on her trim figure. "Claire!" I hugged her. "Wow, it's so great to see you."

  She smiled so widely it could be classified as beaming. I didn't. I'd trained myself to smile without showing off the fangs. Kind of a subdued Mona Lisa deal.

  "I was wondering if you'd make it to the reunion," she said. "Can you believe it's been ten years already?"

  "I really can't." I scanned the floor. "So where is everybody?"

  She shrugged. "I did see a few people. I guess most decided they didn't want to show off their balding heads and big beer guts. And that's probably just the women."

  I laughed at that. "Maybe you're right."

  "So what have you been up to? How's the acting thing going? I know you had a big plan to do movies. Have you been in anything lately?"

  "Plans change." I glanced over at Thierry, who was giving me and Claire a little room to speak relatively privately. "You know, after I left Abottsville I realized that acting wasn't really my thing. Way too superficial."

  Not to mention, ridiculously hard to break into without sleeping with directors and/or producers. Even for the maxipad commercial I'd had to agree to go out with the casting agent. I strongly disagreed when he suggested a three-way with his "understanding" girlfriend and I never worked in showbiz again. Strange how things work out.

  Claire nodded. "So what are you doing now?"

  As glamorous as a short-lived career of being a personal assistant and now a part-time bartender sounded, I decided to vague it up. "You know, I do a little bit of this. A little bit of that. How about you? I know you wanted to go into… what was it? Corporate law?"

  "Actually, I work at McDonald's," she said. "In Niagara Falls. Come by some time and I'll sneak you a free Big Mac." She turned to the side and waved her hand. "Reggie, come over here and meet my friend, Sarah." She waited a moment. "Reggie! Now!"

  A nice looking, dark-haired man came to her side. He had a receding hairline and a suit that looked as though it didn't fit him too well, since he kept tugging at the collar. "I'm here, I'm here."

  I extended my hand. "I'm Sarah."

  "Nice to meet you." His gaze immediately went directly to my super-short red skirt, before snapping guiltily back to Claire.

  But she wasn't looking at him. Instead she squinted at Thierry's nametag. "Thheeerie?" she sounded it out. "That's an unusual name."

  I slid an arm around his waist. "Actually the 'h' is silent. It's French."

  "Oh." She nodded. "Teeeerie."

  "It's pronounced Tyair-ee." Thierry took her hand in his. "A pleasure."

  She grinned. "So are you two married?"

  I moved my arm from his waist to hook around his and found that he was more tense than he appeared. "Nope."

  She presented her left hand for me to inspect a tiny diamond ring. "I'm engaged. Reggie popped the question at Christmas."

  Reggie nodded. "I did. I've never been happier."

  If you asked me, he sounded more scared than enthusiastic. Then again, I'd known Claire in high school. I knew she kept a tight leash on her boyfriends.

  "Congrats," I told them. "Hey, want to hear something strange? My cousin's on the decorating committee and a psychic gave her an eerie prediction about tonight."

  The smile faded from Claire's face. "What kind of a prediction?"

  "Something about darkness lurking around. It sounded a bit scary and with the week I've been having it would have fit right in. So far, so good, though. Nothing seems to be lurking so far, dark or otherwise."

  Claire closed her eyes and held her hands up to her sides for a moment.

  "What are you doing?" I asked.

  "Just give her a moment," Reggie suggested, sipping from a small glass of punch. "She's sensing the aura of potential evil in the room."

  Claire's eyes snapped back open and her smile returned. "Nope, everything feels fine to me."

  O-kay.

  We chatted for a while longer before the crowd slowly began to swell, although still not as many as I would have expected. Maybe it had something to do with its being held in February. Due to construction on the school scheduled for the summer, the reunion had been moved up this year as opposed to canceling it altogether. That was probably why the attendance was spotty. Abottsville was well known for getting dumped on with snow at any given winter moment, and the threat of that might keep some people away.

  Claire and Reggie finally moved away to schmooze with others with a promise to return later. Standing at Thierry's side, I waited for the huge wave of nostalgia to wash over me and make this into a fantastic night that would help me to feel better about my life. An hour later I was still waiting.

  George took a break from the dance floor to come over toward us. He wore a nametag that said "Jim-Bob" on it.

  "Everyone remembers me" he said. "Apparently I was popular."

  "You were."

  I remembered Jim-Bob. And he had been a popular guy. Strangely enough, George was nothing like him, since Jim-Bob was short and fat and a major womanizer—also, definitely not a vampire. I could have sworn I'd read in the paper last week that the real Jim-Bob had been indicted on four counts of Internet fraud. I guess that's why his nametag was available tonight.

  "I'm going to make a trip to the ladies' room," I told Thierry. "Too much fruit punch."

  He nodded and leaned over to brush his lips against mine. "I'll be waiting."

  I could tell by how quiet he was that he wasn't having a very good time. I decided not to torment him for much longer.

  Five people recognized me on my way out of the gym, but I didn't recognize them until I looked at their nametags. It was amazing how much people
could change in ten years.

  In the ladies' room, I picked the stall closest to the door so I wouldn't have to walk past the mirrors on the wall. Not having a reflection sometimes brought up questions I didn't want to answer if I could help it. Questions like, "Why don't you have a reflection?" That was the most common one. It came just before whomever asked it freaked the hell out.

  When I exited the stall I noticed a blond woman leaning against the wall opposite it. I figured she'd been waiting to use it, despite the multiple other options in the room, but she didn't make a move to go in.

  "Sarah," she said. "Great to see you again."

  Didn't recognize her. Damn. I glanced at her nametag and realized she wasn't wearing one. "Hey there… you. How's it going?"

  She wore a tight-fitting blue dress that encased her Playboy Bunny-esque body. Definitely fake boobs. Her hair was so light blond it looked like Barbie doll hair. She was beautiful, but in an unnatural sort of way.

  "I'm fantastic," she said, and then paused. "You don't remember me, do you?"

  "Of course I do," I lied, feeling bad about not remembering somebody who obviously knew me. "Silly. How could I forget you?"

  She smiled. "What's my name, then?"

  I tried to laugh at that but it came out pinched. "Why, don't you remember it?"

  The smile didn't quite reach her heavily made up eyes. "Of course I do. But, nobody else seems to. Actually, it's okay. I looked way different back in high school. Ten years can really change a person."

  "Except for me," I said. "Except for a couple of things in my life I feel like I haven't changed a bit."

  "And that's a good thing?"

  "Depends what you want out of life. I kind of like having ties to who I was back in the day. Keeps me grounded."

  And happy. And vaguely normal.

  She nodded. "I'm Stacy. Stacy McGraw. Remember me now?"

  I nodded. But I didn't. Not even slightly. "Of course. Nice catching up, Stacy. I'm going to head back to the dance now."

  She blinked slowly. "Don't you want to wash your hands first?"

  I hesitated, glancing at the bank of mirrors above the sinks. "Of course I do. But I have this thing about public washrooms. Dirty Sinkaphobia, I think it's called. My boyfriend has a little bottle of hand sanitizer on him. He's a total germ phobic."

  "Your boyfriend, Thierry," she said.

  "That's the one."

  "He's very handsome."

  "Thank you. I totally agree."

  "What is he, six or seven hundred years old?" Her gaze was steady with mine.

  My throat felt tight. "He just turned thirty-six. He's an Aquarius."

  Her cool smile widened. "Of course he is."

  I frowned at her. "You know, I'm going to have to come clean here. I don't actually remember you at all from high school. Are you sure we were in the same year?"

  She nodded. "Just picture me a hundred pounds heavier. Glasses. Brown hair."

  Dammit. I still couldn't remember her. Not for the life of me. What she'd said about Thierry had made me very wary. What was her deal?

  Actually, forget it. I didn't really want to know.

  "I'm going back to the reunion," I moved toward the door.

  She stepped in front of me. "Not quite yet, Sarah."

  "What do you want?"

  "Just to talk."

  "About what?"

  She took another step closer to me. "I know you're a vampire."

  My mouth felt dry. "Vampires don't exist."

  Her dark red lips curled up. "Does that line work for you often? Or do most people not even clue in to what you really are? Well, I guess I'm a little different than them."

  I could smell her perfume. She'd really loaded on the Obsession by Calvin Klein. "What do you want, Stacy?"

  Her smile held. "I told you. I just want to talk."

  My eyes narrowed. "Then talk. And, not to sound rude, but let's make it quick."

  "Why? In a hurry to get somewhere?"

  "It won't be long before somebody wants to come in here, you know. They might break up this friendly little convo."

  "Oh, it will be a while. Trust me, Sarah. Right now and until I decide, nobody in the building will need to use the washroom. It's just the two of us."

  I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

  "Just a little magic. A little isolation spell was all it took."

  "Magic?"

  She nodded. "Same magic I wish I'd had back in high school when I was a loser. When I was picked on."

  Screw this. I went ahead and washed my hands. Stacy didn't even flinch when my reflection didn't show up in the mirrors. "Everyone was a loser in high school," I said. "Everyone was picked on at one time or another. I know I was."

  She leaned leisurely against the green-tiled wall, glancing at the empty mirror and then at me. "Is that what you remember?"

  I thought about it. Yeah, high school had its good points, but there were plenty of bad points, too. That's how high school was for everyone. That's why it was a good thing it only lasted four years.

  "I remember trying out for the cheerleading squad," Stacy went on. "But I was laughed out of the room. There was nothing wrong with my performance, I was just too fat."

  I'd been on the cheerleading squad and remembered vividly two heavier girls were on it with me. So she was wrong. It would have had very little to do with her weight and everything to do with her performance, attitude, and personality—and if today was any indication, I think I saw why she had failed to make the squad.

  "I'm sorry you had a bad experience," I said.

  "A bad experience?" Something sparked in her eyes. "A bad experience? Oh, it was way more than that, Sarah."

  I didn't know why I felt so nervous. The girl was shorter and skinnier than me, if you didn't count the huge knockers. By how tight that dress was I could tell she wasn't carrying any concealed weapons. So what if she knew I was a vampire? As if anyone would believe her if she decided to literally share with the class.

  "I think you need to get out of my way now," I said evenly. "I've had enough."

  She eyed me with mild amusement but said nothing. I took that to mean the conversation was over. I walked past her to the door and grabbed the handle. It was locked. I looked over my shoulder at her.

  "Unlock it." I was surprised to hear the underlying menace in my voice. I was not in a good mood anymore.

  She spread her hands. "And what are you going to do if I don't? Bite me like the evil, nasty vampire that you are?"

  "I'm not evil or nasty."

  "But you are a vampire."

  I hissed out a breath. "I don't bite people. I've never bitten anyone. Even though I'm a vampire I am perfectly in control of myself at all times. I'm not a bad person."

  "You sound very sure of that."

  "I am."

  Her expression darkened. "Sarah Dearly isn't a bad vampire. Well, isn't that special for you. I guess things could have gone much worse than they did, huh?"

  "I guess they could have."

  "I came to the reunion tonight for a very specific reason."

  "Oh? And what's that?"

  "To get revenge," she said simply.

  I rolled my eyes. I couldn't help it. "Well, you go, girl. You've got the hot body now, you go get the revenge on everybody who made fun of you. Go taunt them like they taunted you, just let me the hell out of here."

  "I don't think taunting will quite cover it."

  I crossed my arms and tapped my foot. "If you don't let me out of here I'm going to start screaming my head off. And trust me, I'm a very loud screamer."

  She turned to the mirror and reapplied her lipstick. "Now, let me think. So many options. How am I going to get my revenge on you, Sarah? What can I do to you that would really make a difference? It's got to be something perfect."

  I frowned. "For what? What did I ever do to you?"

  She spun around to face me. "I can't believe you really don't remember."

  "I don't."


  "You're the one who booted me from the cheerleading auditions."

  I actually couldn't believe I'd ever been a cheerleader. It seemed so distant from my current life. Not much rah-rah-sis-boom-bah for me lately. Well, maybe just the "boom" part.

  "Do you know how many people tried out back then? There were only so many spots."

  Her eyes narrowed to tiny, angry slits. "You also went to the prom with the guy I was madly in love with. You ruined my life, Sarah."

  "Your life? That was ten long years ago. Besides, I didn't do any of those things on purpose. If it's any consolation to you, that jerk stuck me with the limo bill."

  "Don't you dare say anything bad about Jonathan." She walked a slow circle around me. "Now, what shall I do to you? I had a few things planned but I'm rethinking it now. Maybe I should do something to your boyfriend."

  I glared at her and my hands curled into fists at my sides. "Touch him and you'll be very sorry."

  Her eyebrows raised. "Such menace. I thought you said you were a nice vampire? All nonevil? In fact, I think you might be right. I don't think you have a truly evil bone in your body."

  "I don't. But I have a funny desire to protect the people I care about."

  She cocked her head to the side and smiled. "Have you ever heard of nightwalkers, Sarah?"

  I frowned. "No."

  "I guess I'm much more well-read than you are. No big surprise there." Her smile widened. "Ask your boyfriend what they are. I'm sure he'll fill you in. You know, I'm happy that things have worked out so well for you. You've obviously changed over the years. Maybe you're not as cruel as you were in the past. If you want to apologize to me, then I might consider accepting it."

  "Apologize to you? I don't think I have anything to apologize for." I sighed. "Look, Stacy, you need to chill out. Do you hear me? Now why don't we leave this washroom and go have some punch and—"

  "Shut up," she snapped.

  Suddenly I was unable to speak.

  "Do you know what I've been doing for ten years?" she asked. "I didn't leave high school with dreams of being an actress like you. I forgot about college or university and instead studied magic. I learned how to create glamours to make myself look thin and beautiful. But every time I managed a successful spell, the darkness inside me grew and grew."