Little Spark

22 - The Crypt

Candis is long gone by the time I reach the church. As it turns out, only a small portion was damaged, but when I approach the investigator on the scene, he tells me the fire is being ruled an accident—faulty wiring in the furnace room. Oddly enough, when I get home and call Candis to tell her, all she has to say is, "Well, the church is pretty old." As the week progresses, I try to bring it up again, but she just brushes it off. There's definitely something sketchy about her apparent lack of indignation—especially if she saw Reign like he said she did—so despite the fear that I'm walking right into a trap, I'm too curious to turn back; I have to know more about the Shadows.

I spend most of the week speculating about the nature of this supposed meeting with Reign, but as the days wear on and I don't hear from him—I've actually only seen him around school twice, and both times, he either didn't see me or is a really good faker—I become more and more convinced he's going to bail.

By the time Friday morning rolls around, I've completely given up hope. As I jam my books into my locker, annoyed that I let my guard down and am legitimately disappointed even though I should've seen it coming, an unfortunately familiar voice assaults me from behind, grating across my eardrums like nails on a chalkboard.

"Hot Bam, girl... You look so gravy today, I could sop you up with a biscuit."

Never in my entire life have my eyes rolled so hard.

"Hello to you too, Duff," I grumble. "Just so you know, girls don't really like being associated with edible obje—"

I turn around, and my mouth goes dry when I discover that Duffy is not alone: Reign, who stands beside him, lifts his eyebrows and grins in greeting, and the rest of my sentence disintegrates on the tip of my tongue. He has his sleeves pulled up, so I can see that his arm has completely healed. As a matter of fact, it doesn't look to have ever been burned.

"All I'm sayin' is you're too fine to not be mine, girl," Duff continues. "Just let me get to know you."

I cross my arms to stop his blatant goggling of my chest. "Don't you have a girlfriend, Duff?"

"Nope." He hooks his thumbs through his belt loops and rocks back on his heels.

"But Melany—"

"Ain't my girl. Anyway, some friends and I are having this party after school—broad daylight, you know how we do"—he nudges Reign, who smirks and nods. "Nothing would make me happier than to see your gorgeous face there."

I look at Reign whose eyes expand as he gives an almost imperceptible shake of his head. I quickly shift my gaze to the floor, but it's too late.

"Oh, I see what the deal is!" Duff says. My stomach does a fear-flip. "Wham Bam won't give me the time of day because she's feeling my boy over here!"

Reign crosses his arms and looks me over. "Mmmhmm." I want to knock a few of his perfect teeth out.

"It's all good, Bam Baby." Duff raises his hands in mock surrender. "Sadly Golden Boy over here has a prior engagement with the parentals—lame—so he won't be in attendance. I hope you can still make it though, sweetheart."

"Yeah, no." I pull my backpack up on my shoulders and step around them. "Going to have to pass, but thanks for the invite."

"Well, that's a shame," he calls out after me as I make my way down the hall. "I'm sure you would have really lit the place up."

I look back over my shoulder, unsure if the light reference was deliberate, or just another one of Duff's corny lines. Reign has disappeared, but Duff stares hungrily at my backside as I walk away. Ugh, what a creep. I'm relieved when I step into the stairwell and out of his sight.