A Drop Of Haunted Blood

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Two-Time Party Crashers

In the days leading up to the party, Felix trained as hard as he could, hoping he'd feel more confident when the time came to sneak off to Ernest's house. His aim with his fire was still far from perfect, but he was hitting more and more of his targets. Attempting to control his water body still felt like a lost cause, though, and he was only halfway decent with Ezra's plants.

Time ran out, as it tended to all too often for him. He left the last training session of the day—the last one before Ernest's party—clenching and unclenching his fist, hoping what he did know would be good enough.

"I'll see you kids tomorrow morning," Sebastian said as he waved goodbye. "We'll discuss Ernest then."

The three ate dinner as quickly as possible. After that, Felix and Mason went to the library to wait for Guardians to begin leaving. Arisa joined them after grabbing her parents' car keys from their room.

Kendra and Hana were among the first to head out.

"Be safe," Arisa signed to Hana as she passed.

Hana looked a little confused, but she smiled and nodded.

After another twenty minutes passed, Mason rose to his feet. "All right, enough waiting. Let's go."

Arisa picked up Clementine and placed the bear in her backpack. Felix grabbed Helena's sword from under the table and double checked that May's stone was in his pocket.

Felix's heart quickened when they entered the hallway. It wasn't Guardians that had him anxious, but the dozens of students headed to the ballroom for whatever lame party had been thrown together for them. At least, Felix hoped it was lame. He'd hate to miss out on a fun party. Especially to risk his life.

Jack Caldwell walked by, saying something that made Clara laugh at his side. Noah and Rose were smiling, too, though Noah's expression fell when he noticed Felix watching.

"I need to talk to Jack," Felix said.

"Ew, why?" Arisa asked.

Mason shook his head. "We need to go."

"We still have time." Felix met Mason's gaze. "Please. Trust me. I think everything that happened is connected to Ernest. I'm just not entirely sure how."

"What if it's not?" Mason asked. "Or what if he won't talk?"

"I promise we'll leave in ten minutes, no matter what. Okay?"

Mason sighed and nodded. "Okay."

Felix turned to Arisa. "You ready?"

"To crash their dumb party?" Arisa grinned. "Always."

Mason looked down at his sweatshirt, dark jeans, and sneakers. "I'm not changing."

Felix and Arisa were dressed just as casually. Felix's green hoodie had a stain on the sleeve where he'd spilled juice that morning. Arisa's jeans were full of holes that Felix was pretty sure hadn't been there when she'd bought them.

"Good," Arisa said. "I wanna kill their vibes as hard as we can."

The three followed the crowd to the ballroom. Massive speakers had been dragged in to blast pop music. Strobe lights moved over the room, offering glimpses of white streamers and the disco ball hanging from the ceiling. It was a surprising change of pace from the fantasy aesthetic the ballroom had when it was empty.

Felix scanned the room and quickly realized how pointless searching was. They didn't have a prayer of finding Jack in this dimly lit party.

"Knowing him, he'll come right to us if we make ourselves obvious." Mason nodded toward the dessert table nearby, which was illuminated by a pink spotlight.