Page 1 of Cry of the Damned
CHAPTER 1
Forthefirsttimein my life, I had makeup on—foundation, blush, eye shadow, mascara, the works—and I wanted to scream and dunk my face in a bucket of water.
“I hate it,” I spat. “I want to take it off.”
Bethel twisted her mouth to one side, her black eyes judging me. “This wasyouridea. You said it would help you blend in better and not be recognized.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. Of course, she was right. Still, I pouted like a little girl and stared into the living room mirror of our shared hotel suite.
“Maybe the longer hair is enough?” Ila said behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
My hair had grown a little more, and it now was what city girls called a bob. I had shifted to my wolf’s form over fifty times in the last two days to grow it from my previous crew cut. I had discovered that every time I shifted, my shifting magic actually caused my hair to grow a bit. The dark strands framing my face did a lot to change my appearance, though not enough to stop my ex-classmates from recognizing me, hence the makeup.
But honestly, I didn’t know how city girls could walk around with… cake on their faces. Because that was exactly how it felt.
“I don’t like it,” Novuk grumbled from a barstool by the kitchen peninsula. He wore a T-shirt and jeans that we’d bought at thebig and tallsection of a local discount store, and his feet were stuffed in size fourteen sneakers. The unibrow was making a comeback because, apparently, he was tired of shaving it off.
Kall, who was sitting in an armchair, made no comment, but his face said it all. He didn’t like it either. He also wore jeans and a T-shirt, and his black hair gleamed since he’d just showered.
“I think it looks great,” Maki piped in.
He was sprawled on the sofa, hands behind his head, one leg on the floor and the other one on the headrest. He wore a pair of basketball shorts and nothing else unless I counted his mop of honey-colored hair.
For once, I was grateful for his input. The makeup was making me feel self-conscious, which was the last thing I needed when my objective was to blend in with the city folk.
I waved my hand in the air and turned away from the mirror. We were all packed into the small living room of the suite we’d rented only three days ago.
Up until now, we’d worked on getting settled, keeping a low profile.
Ila and I had gone grocery shopping to stock up the refrigerator and get some things Bethel needed for a special potion she was working on. We also went into the woods to get extra ingredients for the witch and luckily found everything to brew her concoction.
Since the guys and I weren’t supposed to be staying in the suite, we’d only gone out through the balcony. I went out whenever needed, even during the day, since I was the only one who knew the city. But the guys only went out at night with the goal of familiarizing themselves with the roads leading up to Lux Academy. I went with them and made sure they stayed well away from the Academy’s high walls. Before we did anything, we wanted to make sure everyone knew all the possible escape routes.
But understandably, we couldn’t sit tight forever. The guys were already getting restless—they weren’t used to being cooped up like this—and the longer we waited, the longer Nirliq and the other children would suffer at the hands of the magistrates.
“Ready?” I asked Ila. Her face was clean of makeup, as smooth and beautiful as ever. Since no one in the city knew her, she had no need for a disguise.
She shrugged. “As ready as I’m ever going to be.”
We were both wearing blue jeans and simple T-shirts without logos or words. Hers was tan and mine white. They’d come in a packet of six, and we’d each gotten two of them. Bethel fought over the colors she wanted, but Ila and I didn’t care.
As I walked toward the balcony, Kall stood from the armchair and stepped in front of me. “Be careful, please.”
I nodded and fought the urge to push up to my tiptoes and kiss him.
“We’re fated mates,”he’d said to me.
Those words still weighed on me. Though, they didn’t have to because Kall also gave me a pass.
“I want nothing from you. You don’t have to do anything, Sheela. You don’t have to be anything. To me, it’s enough that you’re with me. And I don’t care how much time you need. I will be here, without expectations, without demands.”
And true to his word, Kall had asked nothing of me. He truly seemed content to simply have me in his life. So I knew the pressure in my chest was coming only from me. Still, every day, the feeling that I owed him an answer grew more oppressive. It wasn’t fair to keep stringing him along like the city girls would say. Except that wasn’t even what was going on here. He couldn’t go to singles’ night at a bar to meet someone else.
In his world, that wasn’t an option.
Maki sat up. “Take… care of each other.”
He made eye contact with Ila for barely a second, then slumped back down, looking confused. He’d been doing that a lot lately, saying things, then acting like he’d said too much or not enough. Maybe it was being trapped between four walls, but his awareness of my sister had gained a sharp focus in the last few days.
