Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black Read Free Book Online

her eyes trained on the floor, she told them everything, starting with that fateful phone call and ending with her applying to NYBA. “My mother thinks she’s dead. She’s still grieving. But I don’t think so,” Vanessa said. “I think she’s out there somewhere.”
    A somber silence hung in the room when she finished, her friends frozen in shock.
    “I agree,” TJ finally said, giving Vanessa a hopeful smile.“New York is a huge city, with tons of kids. She’s probably out there having the time of her life.”
    Vanessa forced a laugh. “Yeah, well, if I end up running into her in a nightclub, I’m going to be pissed.”
    “Nightclub?” Blaine said, perking up. “You know, I wouldn’t mind doing some reconnaissance work … if you want help.” He gave her a coy wink, making her smile, and then continued, his voice sincere. “Seriously, though. If you need anything, I’m here.”
    “Me too,” said TJ. “Just let me know when you need someone to lead the charge. Especially if it involves nightclubs,” she said. “I’m tight with practically all of the bouncers.”
    “Yeah right,” Steffie said with a laugh, and then added, “Me three.”
    “Me four,” said Elly.
    Vanessa felt herself blush. “Thanks. But do you think that’s why the voices told me to flee? Did it have something to do with Margaret?”
    Steffie shook her head. “I don’t think anyone would joke about your sister. I bet it was just a prank.”
    “It was probably just some horny senior guy trying to check you out,” said Blaine.
    “Seeing red,” TJ teased, gazing at Vanessa’s fiery hair.
    “Seeing red? They
were
red,” Blaine said, looking up. “Didn’t you see them in the dining hall?”
    “Only the girls,” Steffie said. “And Zep.”
    Blaine closed his eyes in a dreamy reverie. “I heard they all went on vacation to the Caribbean. Can you imagine that, beingsurrounded by ballerinas, Zep, and a horde of bare-chested bar boys serving us bottomless margaritas and huge mounds of exotic fruit?”
    TJ laughed so loud that she snorted.
    Blaine continued. “What I would do to see Zep with his shirt off …”
    The girls laughed.
    Elly covered her face in embarrassment. “So was it a boy’s voice?”
    Vanessa thought back to the previous night, which had already begun to feel like a strange, swirling dream. “Maybe. The thing is, it didn’t sound like it was coming from anyone. It was piercing, like a voice had entered my head.”
    Elly frowned. “It had to come from someone. Voices don’t just pop into your head, unless you’re crazy.”
    They
were
all still strangers to each other, Vanessa thought. She could be crazy. Any of them could be.

    On the first day of classes, the heat broke in a deluge of biblical proportions. Water sloshed down the streets, and black umbrellas bloomed along the sidewalks, making Manhattan even more anonymous.
    Vanessa and Steffie darted down the sidewalk with their bags, rain dotting their T-shirts as they ran to the studios for morning rehearsal.
    Wiping the water from her cheeks, Vanessa gave the door a firm push. The entire school was assembled in front of themirrors, giving Vanessa the uncanny feeling that orientation was happening all over again.
    “Déjà vu,” Steffie whispered to her as they took a spot near the front.
    For a moment, Vanessa could believe that orientation had never happened. The blond floors were spotless, and the soaked ballet slippers were gone. The only proof that the night had been real was the faded dark marks streaked across the unvarnished floorboards by the wall.
    In the mirror, Vanessa could see the group of upperclassmen lounging in the corner, their sunburns faded, like masks being slowly peeled off. In the back, behind a group of boys, she thought she saw Zep’s dark hair just as a voice said, “Time to get to work!”
    A hush fell over the studio.
    Josef strode to the front of the room, wearing black jeans and a fitted gray shirt, his