Juliet Immortal

believe I’ve done this, put Ben’s chance at a lifetime love at risk.
    “Come on, guys. Let’s go.” Mike looks nervous, out of his element policing kids only a few years younger than himself.
    As we trudge outside, I keep my eyes on the ground, misery flooding into every borrowed cell. My own feelings I can deny, destroy, or at the very least, control. But what am I going to do now?
    If Ben isn’t just tempted, if he thinks he’s in love with the wrong girl?

SIXTEEN
    T he rain rattles down on the metal roof covering the path, an ominous drum solo that accompanies our walk to the office, where the principal will decide our punishment for fighting on school grounds. I suppose I’ll be included in the punishment. I tried to join in and am the reason for the fight, though I’m still not sure what pushed Romeo over the edge.
    Was it simply my refusal to work the spell? Or did he see something in my eyes? Something that gave my feelings for Ben away?
    If he did, we’re all in bigger trouble than a trip to the office can ever produce. Once Romeo recovers from his jealousy, he’ll find a way to use this information against me, against Benand Gemma. He promised he’d go after them if I didn’t play nice. The thought makes me drag my feet. Mike slows beside me. He’s released Ben, allowing him to walk, while Mr. Stark pulls a cursing Romeo forcibly down the path.
    “You two will be fine,” Mike says. “Mr. Stark knows Dylan is trouble. He wouldn’t have given him a part in the play if more guys who could sing had tried out.”
    “Right.” I force a smile. It’s nice of him to try to make us feel better.
    “And … I don’t know …” Mike’s eyes meet mine. “Well, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I try to do the right thing. I’ll speak up for you guys.”
    I stumble on a crack in the sidewalk and just barely catch myself before I fall. What’s he talking about? What does he think I’ve heard?
    “You okay?” Mike asks, stopping beside me.
    I nod. “Yeah. Thanks.” I stare into his green eyes, searching for something I hope I won’t find.
    Romeo said the Mercenary who made him is here, hiding, watching us. The monster could be inside anyone, even this seemingly kind man. This man who is suddenly very concerned about what I may have “heard.”
    “I think I’ve heard just about everything.” I hold his gaze for a long moment, until a curtain drops behind his eyes. The authority-figure facade fades, leaving an equal standing beside me, assessing me with newfound respect, trying to judge just how much of a threat I truly am.
    “Are you two coming?” Ben asks.
    Mike turns to him. “Go on ahead. We’ll be there in a second.”
    Ben hesitates, but then I guess he decides he’s in enoughtrouble and continues down the path. Mike waits until Ben turns, then speaks in a whisper. “Does he know?”
    “Know what?” My breath comes faster. Could Mike really be one of them? One of the high Mercenaries, standing right next to me, asking if one of the people I’ve been sent for knows there are immortal bad guys after his soul?
    He crosses his arms and his look grows decidedly less friendly. “You know what. Just tell me if you told Ben.”
    “No.” I stand tall, refusing to show fear. “But I won’t let anyone hurt him.”
    Mike sighs. “If you tell him, there’s no way that—”
    Before he can complete his threat, a scream cuts through the gray morning, making me flinch. It’s a girl’s cry—high and frightened, a shrill sound that vibrates along my skin. I spin, searching for the source, letting out a cry of my own when I find it.
    “What’s wrong?” Mike asks.
    I shake my head, pulse pounding louder than the rain, drowning out everything but the sound of her scream as it comes again and again.
    At the edge of campus, I see my old form, running through the field behind the theater building. She struggles through the high grass toward the shelter of the trees, slippers sticking in the mud, stumbling and falling only to scramble to her feet once more. She’s moving fast for a girl hampered by heavy skirts and underclothes, but she won’t be fast enough.
    The thing behind her has nothing to impede its progress. It runs like an animal, capering up the hill as if this chase is a game it will see through to its bloody conclusion. Romeo’s corpse appears even more skeletal with its tattered bits of clothing soaked by the downpour. I can count every rib, see theway its