Alyxandra Harvey - Hearts at Stake(1).pdf - Alyxandra Harvey - SilverWitch

My_Love_Lies_Bleeding

My Love Lies Bleeding

ALYXANDRA HARVEY

Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin and New York

First published in Great Britain in January 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY

First published in the US in 2010 by Walker Publishing, Inc

175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

This electronic edition published in January 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

The moral right of the author has been asserted

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eISBN: 978-1-40880-878-8

www.bloomsbury.com/childrens

www.alyxandraharvey.com

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PROLOGUE

Lucy

Friday, early evening

Normally I wouldn’t have been caught dead at a field party.

If you’ll pardon the pun.

This was a supreme sacrifice on my part for my best friend, Solange, who was

having a really bad day, which was about to turn into a really bad week. Her sixteenth

birthday was coming up, and we weren’t talking a new car and a pink dress for her

sweet sixteen. Not in her family.

This wasn’t much better though.

She was standing in the middle of a field, trying to drink cheap wine and pretend

she didn’t want to be anywhere but here. The music was passable but that was about

all it had to recommend it. The cars were parked in a wide circle, the sun setting

behind the trees with all the colors of a blood orange pulled into pieces. Practically

my entire high school was here; there wasn’t much else to do on one of the last

weekends before school started. People danced and flirted in a sea of baseball caps

and faded denim. Someone burped loudly.

“This was such a bad idea,” I muttered.

Solange smiled softly, abandoning her plastic cup on the hood of someone’s

rusted truck.

“It was a nice thought.”

“It was stupid,” I admitted. She just looked so sad lately, I’d hoped a complete

change of pace might distract her from all that worrying. Instead it made me want to

bare my pitifully human teeth at the rowdies. Someone’s shoe nudged my heel, and

when I looked back at it, I was greeted with way too much information about the

mating habits of my fellow students. I kicked hard at the boot.

“No one needs to see that,” I said, turning away quickly before more clothing

came off . The couple giggled and went deeper into the corn. I stared at Solange.

“What the hell was I thinking?”

She half grinned.

“It is rather unlike you.”

Darren, from my math class last year, tripped over his own feet and sprawled in

the dirt in front of us before I could answer. His grin was sloppy. He was nice enough

usually; in fact, he was the reason I hadn’t entirely flunked out of math. But he was

drunk and desperate to fit in.

“Hi, Lucy.” Apparently beer made him lisp. My name came out as “Loothee”—

which was marginally better than my real name, which was Lucky. I had those kind of

parents, but I’d made everyone at school call me Lucy since the first day of first

grade.

“Hi, Darren.”

He blinked at Solange. Even in jeans and a tank top she looked dramatic. It was

all that pale skin and those pale eyes. Her black bangs were choppy because she

trimmed them herself. The rest was long and hung past her shoulders. Mine was

plain old brown and cut in a wedged bob to my chin. My glasses were retro— dark

rimmed and vaguely cat’s-eye shaped. I didn’t need them to see the way Darren was

drooling over Solange. All guys drooled over her. She was beautiful, end of

discussion.

“Who’s your friend? She’s hot.”

“You’ve met her before.” Solange was home schooled, but I dragged her around

when I could. “Sober up, Darren. This isn’t a good look for you.”

“ ’Kay.” He spat grass out of his mouth.

I slung my arm through hers. “Let’s get out of here. The sun’s starting to set

anyway, and maybe we can salvage the rest of the night.”

The wind was soft through the corn, rustling the stalks as we wandered away. The

stars were starting to peek out, like animal eyes in the dark. We could still hear the

music and the occasional shout of laughter. Twilight was starting to settle like a soft

blue veil. We’d walked from my house, which was a half hour away. We’d probably

waited too long. We picked up our pace.

And then Solange paused.

“What?” I froze beside her, my shoulders tensing until I was practically wearing

them as earmuff s. I was all too aware of what could be out there. I should never

have suggested this. I’d just put her into even more danger. I was an idiot.

She held up her hand, her eyes so pale suddenly that they were nearly colorless,

a ring of ice around a black lake. And because I was scared, I scowled into the

gathering shadows around us. Mom always said bravado was a karmic debt I had to

work through. She was basically saying I’d been mouthy and obnoxious for several

lifetimes now. But somehow I didn’t think this particular situation called for a round of

oms, which was my mother’s favorite way of cleansing karmic baggage. Most babies

were sung lullabies; I got “Om Namah Shivaya” when I was really fussy.

“Cops?” I suggested, mostly because they seemed like the better alternative.

“They always break up these parties.”

She shook her head. She looked delicate and ethereal, as if she were made of lily

petals. Few people knew the marble all that softness concealed.

“They’re close,” she murmured. “Watching.”

“Run?” I suggested. “Like, right now?”

She shook her head again, but we did at least start walking.

“If we act like prey, they’ll act like predators.”

I tried not to hyperventilate, tried to walk quickly but confidently, as if we weren’t

being stalked. Sometimes I really hated Solange’s life. It was totally unfair.

“You’re getting angry,” she said softly.

“Damn right I am. Those undead bastards think they can do this to you just

because—”

“When you’re angry, your heart beats faster. It’s like the cherry on a hot fudge

sundae.”

“Oh. Right.” I always forgot that little detail. Maybe my mom was right. I needed to

take up meditating.

“Lucy, I want you to run.”

“Shut up,” I said, disbelief making my voice squeaky.

“They’ll follow me if I run in the opposite direction.”

Alyxandra Harvey - Hearts at Stake(1).pdf

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