“No.” I folded my arms. “Not happening.”
Greg’s eyes gleamed. He set a pilgrim’s hat on his head. “We’ll go as the Witches of Salem. Shunned and persecuted because they were different, because they didn’t fit in. It’s perfect.”
“You’re not giving up on this, are you?”
“Not on your life.”
I snatched the dress from his hands. “Fine. But only if I get to turn Courtney into a toad.”
The warning bell rang. Greg shoved the pilgrim hat under his arm. “We’ve got physics. You need to swing by your locker first?”
“Go on without me.” I slid my hand in my pocket, feeling around for the small tube I’d taken from the art department and hidden there. A Halloween party with elaborate costumes was the perfect time to start my revenge plans. “I have something I need to do first.”
Chapter Ten
“I never thought I’d be invited to a monarch party.” Greg’s voice wobbled as he rubbed product on his hands and slid them through his hair. “If only I wasn’t too terrified to enjoy it.”
“At least the one good thing about these costumes you chose is that I can wear comfortable shoes,” I muttered, tugging on my battered boots. I was wearing a pair of school uniform stockings that I’d ruined earlier in the year with an enormous run beneath the short black velvet dress with its white lace cuffs and collar. Greg and Andre looked straight out of Providence in their black shirts and wide pilgrim hats, even though Greg seemed a little listless and not his usual flamboyant self. He’d gotten creative with our costumes though, making us individual nooses to slip around our necks. We used theatre makeup to make our eyes wide and dramatic. It was pretty cool. I just wished we weren’t wasting these costumes for the Miskatonic Prep crowd, but for an actual fun party with actual cool people.
Although I couldn’t help but wonder what Trey, Quinn, and Ayaz would think when they saw my outfit. A sliver of heat sliced through my chest at the thought.
I straightened up and struck a pose. Greg grinned at me and made a clicking motion with his hand. “Honey, you lookfierce.”
Inside the walls, the rats scritch-scritched their assent.
Andre handed me a note. “Greg knows what he’s talking about,” it read. I laughed and hugged him. My arm brushed against the survival pack he had strapped underneath his shoulder. The other good feature of these outfits was that they allowed us to conceal all sorts of things that might help us survive the initiation.
“Are you guys sure you want to do this?” I asked. “I’m not backing out, but you don’t have to get dragged along—”
“And miss the chance to join a secret club and stick it to Courtney?” Greg grinned, but his smile wobbled at the corners. “Not on your life. The Eldritch Club doesn’t know what it’s got itself in for.”
Please let everything go okay tonight.I hadn’t been told what would happen to us if we failed, but judging from what Courtney had planned for me so far this year, it would be brutal.
There was a knock on Greg’s door. I flung it open to find the corridor full of monarchs, dressed in white sheets edged with purple. Trey had a bloodstain in the middle of his, and Quinn carried a comically large knife. Julius Caesar, killed by his loyal friend Brutus and Cassius.
“You’re supposed to wear tunics underneath those,” I said. Although I had to admit, I liked the amount of naked, tattooed (in Ayaz and Quinn’s case) and muscled shoulders and pecs on display.
“It’s a Halloween party, not a parade of historical accuracy,” Trey snapped.
“You look hot, Hazy.” Quinn swept me into his arms. He tried to kiss me, but I turned my head away so his lips brushed my cheek instead. I needed to be careful tonight. This was their territory, not mine. Even after everything they’d done to help me this quarter, I still wasn’t convinced they weren’t about to turn on me again. Their cruel smiles still haunted my memories.
I was starting to worry that after discovering their secret and the god beneath the school, I’d leaned into the Kings more than I should, accepting their help and their attention while I dealt with all the shit. I was starting to let my guard down, to give in to the fire inside me that told me to trust them.
But that wasn’t right. It wasn’t me. I’d thought about leaving them out of my revenge plans, but I realized that was impossible. They had topayfor what they did, otherwise things would always be this way between us – I’d always be walking on eggshells, waiting for them to betray me. So even though it felt wrong, they were back on the revenge list – just as soon as Greg, Andre and I were part of their secret club.
Trey grabbed Quinn’s arm and yanked him off me. “Tonight isn’t about looking good. It’s about survival. You sure you’re ready for this?”
I nodded, lifting the hem of my skirt just high enough – okay,waytoo high – to reveal the supplies strapped to my thigh. A candle and lighter, a short length of rope, a compass, some first aid stuff. My shard of glass rubbed against the inside of my wrist.
“Ayaz has grilled so much information about path-finding and surviving in caves into my head I think I’ve forgotten everything else I’ve ever learned.”
“Geek.” Quinn jabbed Ayaz in the arm.
“Then let’s go.” Trey held open the door. Greg, Andre and I marched out to join them. At the top of the staircase, we met the other monarchs, all dressed in similar romanesque costumes. Nancy whistled as her eyes swept over my outfit. She was dressed as Medusa in a floaty empire dress that hugged her in all the right places, her wavy red hair piled high on her head and entwined with realistic plastic snakes.
“Girl, you look wild. We are going to own the dance floor tonight.” Nancy gave my noose a tug. “Love this touch. Historically accurate, you know. Most people think the Salem witches were burned at the stake, but they were all hanged except for Giles Corey, who was pressed to death beneath heavy stones.”
“Delightful.” I straightened my noose. “You don’t think it’s going to cause trouble with the alumni, given the history of the school?”
