Darkness in the Blood by Vicki Keire

Author:Vicki Keire
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-05-24T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen:

Snakes and Angels

On the far raised platform, Dr. Christian lectured from his podium. Behind him on the monitor, power point bullets of his syllabus faded in and out. He rattled off office hours, attendance policies, and the due dates of major assignments. Almost every person in the room leaned forward eagerly as he spoke, as enraptured as if he were reciting love poems in French. The cold feeling I almost always felt in his presence now rippled across my spine again. It was almost like a low-grade Shadow eruption warning. But this was more insidious; this man had worked his way inside my brain.

“Caspia.” Amberlyn hissed my name as a warning, shocking me back to reality. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted in a low voice. “It’s him. Dr. Christian. Something’s wrong.” I frowned, not sure how to articulate something that was more a feeling than properly formed suspicions.

Amberlyn watched me with concern. “What makes you say that?”

I took a deep breath and tried to arrange my scrambled thoughts. “There’s just something about him that really, really bothers me.” If only she knew how much, I thought, then realized how lame that sounded. I tried again. “Mrs. Kenner was attacked, brutally, but he wouldn’t give any details and he even made fun of me when I asked about her. He has the whole class pretty much hypnotized. Just look at them.” I gave the class a swift glance of disapproval.

She looked around us swiftly and turned back to me. “Everybody just seems really into the class. That’s a good thing, right?” My knees drummed out their anxiety against my desk. She felt it and frowned. “Look, I know you had a really stressful morning. I’m surprised you made it in. Why don’t you just slip out the back or something? I’ll cover for you.” Neither of us bothered stating the obvious: Dr. Christian would never give me a pass out of his class once it started.

I shook my head slightly, my vision narrowed in on him like a hunter’s. “That would mean he wins.” Amberlyn’s pupils widened slightly in the darkness. Great, now she really thought I was loosing it. I tried again. “I just don’t trust him. He’s just… too good looking, or something. Plastic, like a Ken doll.”

If I had any chance of convincing Amberlyn, I lost her on the Ken doll bit. She looked like she was trying not to giggle. Why on earth had I said that? I leaned forward to start another furious whispering campaign.

“Miss Chastain.”

No one ever managed to inject my name with as much ice and venom as Dr. Christian right at that moment. I froze, not even daring to look at him. This class was turning into my worst nightmare. I wondered if I could arrange to drop it. But then I remembered what I’d told Amberlyn: that would mean he won.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. Win what? When had I devolved into fighting imaginary wars with teachers I hated when there were real ones going on?

Dr.

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