Oh, God. Laney had asked Malachi to prom. I took a quick gulp of hot chocolate and winced as it burned my tongue and seared its way down my throat.

Tegan giggled as she looked down at her Styrofoam cup. “Did you get him to come out with you tonight?”

Laney sniffed. “He studies really hard. And I think he has some sort of after-school job.”

Tegan looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “On a Friday night?”

I hadn’t been happy that Malachi would be out patrolling tonight; he hadn’t had a night off since Tuesday, and I suspected he hadn’t sleaped that night, either. He was incredibly strong, but he was also human. I’d been worried about him, just like I always was when he went out in search of Mazikin. But suddenly I was glad, because it meant he wouldn’t be with her. Still, I spent the next five innings picturing him taking Laney in his arms. Kissing her like he’d kissed me. I couldn’t shake the urge to snap Laney’s skinny arms like twigs.

The Warwick High School Quahogs, only a week ago favorites to take State, lost the game in spectacular fashion, 1–9. Which particularly sucked, since they were dedicating the rest of their season to Aden. Ian hit a home run in the second inning and doubled in the fourth but was left stranded. His face was grim as he and the rest of the team jogged back to the field house.

Tegan drew her coat tightly around her. “Poor Ian,” she murmured. “How’s he doing?”

I looked up to realize she was talking to me. “Um. Okay, I guess? I’m meeting up with him now.”

She gave me the oddest look. “Be gentle, Lela.”

I frowned. “Gentle?”

“Don’t break his heart! You know Ian’s liked you for a long time, right?”

I studied her face, trying to read whether this was a joke. It was hard to tell with Tegan.

She nudged me from behind as we edged along the bleachers toward the concrete steps. “You never looked at any of them, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t looking at you,” she said quietly.

She left me with those words, which bred in my head and multiplied, spreading a thick layer of freak-out over the inside of my skull. I didn’t want to hurt Ian. I just wanted … to get away. To not have to deal with my life for a few hours. Which was completely selfish because the Mazikin were out there, preying on people. By the time I reached the entrance to the field house to wait for Ian, I’d convinced myself I shouldn’t be there. I called Jim.

“Hey, Lela,” he said when he answered. “Henry and Malachi just left for the night. They’re going to hit those spots you listed.”

“Actually, I was thinking of going, too, and—”