wish it weren’t,” Rachel said, the tears flowing down her cheeks. “He’s hurt and I don’t know how to help him or how he got hurt in the first place.”
“So how can I help you? I’ll do anything. Just name it,” Hunter said.
“It’s the Red Amulet,” Rachel whispered, not wanting to say something she shouldn’t in a public place.
Hunter looked around, “The Red Amulet? How do you know about that?”
“The last words Benji said to me were about the Red Amulet and then he went unconscious. I didn’t know what it meant, so I tracked down Uncle Drew and Matilda who said you were the only one who may know since you still have ties with your great grandfather.”
“I am the only person who my great grandfather still speaks to, but we don’t speak often. No, he doesn’t still have it. He told me that my mom was sick and he had to send her the Red Amulet to cure her,” Hunter said.
“Is she OK? Your mom, I mean?” Rachel asked, worried.
“I think so. I don’t talk to my parents much anymore. I’m not as close with them as I used to be,” Hunter replied with a sad face.
“You didn’t call them to ask?” Rachel questioned with surprise.
“Well, if she wore the Red Amulet, than there is no chance she wouldn’t be cured. It can cure anything, no matter how big,” Hunter said.
“So where is it now then?” Rachel asked, thinking about Benji, still lying in the cave.
“That’s the thing. I don’t know now,” Hunter replied. “I think my mom sent it back to my great grandfather. I just do not know.”
“How can we find out. Is there anything we can do to find it?” Rachel asked, beginning to feel herself panic at the thought of not finding it.
“I hope we can find it. It’s somewhere, we just have to find out where,” Hunter said.
“Would the old coven book have any information about the Red Amulet?” Penelope butted in. “A long time ago I remember reading about the Red Amulet and how to locate it if it’s lost.”
Hunter looked back at Penelope in surprise, “You’re right! What a brilliant idea!”
“Where’s the old coven book?” Rachel asked quickly.
“It’s in the Alpha Chi Delta library,” Hunter said.
“Where’s that?” Rachel asked.
“It’s a Greek organization off campus,” Hunter replied.
“Can we go?” Rachel asked.
“It would raise too much attention if we just walked in there in the middle of the day, but they have huge parties every night. In fact, they are having one tonight. Why don’t we go later, and we can slip in in the middle of the party. I can cover for you and distract them, so nobody will see you sneaking into the library,” Hunter said.
“Why would it matter?” Rachel asked. “Why do they care if we look at the book?”
“Because the fraternity is not just a fraternity,” Hunter said.
Penelope and Hunter exchanged a glance, “Should we tell her?” Hunter asked.
“Yes,” Penelope said. “She’s one of us now.”
“Tell me what?” Rachel asked.
“That fraternity is not all human. There are some of our kind in its ranks. They come from a different coven. We’ve been keeping the peace for quite a while, but I wouldn’t want to provoke them. I don’t want to start an all-out vampire war at school. You have to keep a low profile when you get that book. Don’t let any of them catch you,” Hunter said.
“So when’s the party? We have to move quickly,” Rachel said.
“It’s not till later tonight,” Hunter said.
“Let’s go back to my place and wait until there’s time so nobody else sees you here,” Hunter said. “And you can fill me in on everything that’s happened to my brother since I’ve last seen him.”
Chapter 7
Rachel took a sip of the blood that Hunter had poured for her into an old ivory shot glass. She felt better after the first sip. She didn’t realize how hungry she was—in fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she fed. It must have been days but her adrenaline was keeping her going. Her mind was only focused on one thing and that was to save Benji. She couldn’t give into her needs at a time like this—she had to find the Red Amulet and save him.
“So what have you and Benji been doing the last year?” Hunter asked.
Rachel thought for a moment, then realized she couldn’t answer that question. She honestly didn’t know what they’d been doing. She couldn’t recall one thing that had happened since their jump into the water. The only thing she remembered was her crazy mermaid dream—and even that was becoming a bit foggy to her. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was losing her mind or if someone had erased her memory. Was that even possible? Could someone have erased an entire year of her life? She didn’t know what to say.
“Well it’s funny you should ask,” Rachel said. “I happen to not remember what happened this year. It’s all a blur and in fact I don’t even feel a year older. It’s like I went to sleep and woke up and it was a year later.”
“What do you mean?” Penelope asked.
“It’s a strange feeling, I wish I could explain it better,” Rachel said.
“That’s odd,” Hunter chimed in. “Do you know then what happened to Benji? Why is he in danger and how did he get so hurt?”
Rachel looked back at Hunter, then at Penelope in shame. She was so upset that she didn’t know what had happened and that she couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. She wished she could have been there for him, to protect him, to care for him through this time but she couldn’t. Her emotions flooded her and she began to cry.
“I don’t know,” Rachel said. “And that’s what’s so hard for me. I don’t know what happened to Benji and I don’t know how to help him. I’m a terrible girlfriend. I just feel awful about the entire situation. I should have stopped it from happening.”
“Listen, Rachel. Benji loves you. Don’t beat yourself up over this. We will find a way to save him. I know this is hard for you, but please don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Hunter said. “You are an amazing person and I know he feels lucky and blessed to have found you.”
Rachel wiped her tears and looked back at Hunter.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t beat myself up, but I can’t help it. Imagine how you would feel if something happened to Penelope on your watch and you could have done something to prevent it but you didn’t. You would feel awful.”
“We
