Page 22 of Poison

“Why haven’t you told me this before?” I ask, the feeling of hurt making my heart ache.

“I know how not having any powers has affected you, I didn’t want to make it any worse.”

I can tell he means it with the sincerity in his tone.

“Can you make yourself glow like one of the weird worms the humans love?” I grin with excitement as I watch the horror shine in his eyes.

“Worms?” he asks, his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, you know the ones that they snap when they’re at a party to make them…”

“I’m not a glow stick!” he seethes, his tail stomping against the ground.

My laughter echoes around the area as I fall apart at his outburst, who’d have thought a Basilisk would get offended by being called a glow stick. The more the anger radiates off him, the harder my laughter becomes until tears are streaming down my face and I’m doubled over clutching my stomach.

“It’s not that funny!” he protests, which only adds to my amusement.

The tears are free-falling down my face, but my laughter is a raucous as it was. I can’t stop the tears as my lip begins to tremble.

I’m looking at the spot where the wolf was laid and there is nothing to give away that someone just died there.

I know Kevin’s done stuff to protect me from things all my life, but I never thought it would come to something like this. Whoever that was had a family, friends, a life, and it was just snuffed out like the flame of a candle with one blow.

“I had to keep you safe,” he says softly, noticing my mood-change, slithering his way closer to try and comfort me.

“By killing it?!” I boom, the thought of something dying because of me is too much to handle. I have amber eyes at the forefront of my mind and they looked sad, almost fearful at the start. “Are you sure that it actually wanted to hurt me?”

“It was a rogue, P!” he bellows. “The stink it was giving off was a tell-tale sign, rogues are the ones attacking the school.”

“Rogues?” I bite my lip, shaking my head in disbelief. “There hasn’t been rogues since after the void was defeated!”

“There have been more showing up throughout the years since then, P. Your aunt and the Council have been trying their best to keep the information to themselves,” he says, bending his body so his beady red eyes can get his point across. “They wanted to deal with it themselves.”

“Okay, so there are rogues,” I say, still not believing it’s true but he’s adamant about it. “Why would they attack a school for supernatural kids? Why not go after the Council?”

“Would you really want to go after the Council knowing some of the stuff your aunt is capable off?” he says with a cocked head.

I nod because I know he’s right. Nobody in their right mind would go up against her, that’s why the council have stopped doing elections because everyone believes she is the best for the job—or so she says. It’s more like they’re terrified she will do something to them.

Screams and roars fill the night, pulling my attention away from my friend, it sounds like it’s never going to end. The front door closes with a bang, making me almost jump out of my skin. I watch, fascinated, as Kevin closes his eyes and a weird buzzing sound fills the room. The sound gets louder and I can’t do anything, can’t move, then his eyes shoot open and a toothy grin splits his face.

“They won’t be getting in now,” he says proudly. I cock my head, looking around to try and find out what’s happened. “The protection ward is up.” The look on my face must explain my confusion, because he bursts out laughing.

“How?”

“I think you should sit, because I need you to know that I know everything that’s been happening here.”

Oh god! My eyes widen as I make my way through to the living room. I can hear him following me as I plop down in my seat. Pulling my legs up to my chest, the heartbreak of knowing he knows what’s been going on with me batters me internally.

“I know you have been having a hard time and have felt lost, but I was watching every move you made and I wanted to give you a chance to adjust without me here.”

“But why didn’t you show yourself? Things would have been much easier for me if I knew you were around,” I snap, losing my temper with him again.

He comes to sit in front of me and we sit and talk, starting with him telling me what happened at my aunt’s. The time flies and before I know it, my lids are becoming heavier.

* * *

I’m dreaming of my parents, I know it’s a dream because I can see them in front of me, smiling at one another as we wonder towards the beach near our house. A screech splits through the air, and I call out in anguish as they turn to dust, vanishing in front of me.

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