DON'T CALL ME
Determined to be as good as my word, I pulled out my communicator and sent a message to Raquel right then, asking her when we could talk. After a few minutes it beeped. "Oh. She's going to be gone for three or four days." I turned to Lend. "But as soon as she gets back, I'll talk with her. IPCA has it all wrong. They're so busy being scared and trying to control things that they can't see the paranormals who can help. Like you. I'm gonna convince her to let you go without a tracker."
"I hope you can."
"Me, too." I sighed. Everything had gotten so complicated, so serious. "Tell me something about yourself-something fun, something easy." I scooted back and leaned against the wall. He did the same, staying next to me.
"What do you want to know?"
"What's your life like out there? I mean, you don't have to tell me any secrets," I added hastily. "But, like, do you go to school?"
"I'm a senior. Just got all my college acceptance letters." He smiled. "Of course, I don't know how I'll make up the work I'm missing."
"You're going to college? That's so cool! Wait, so normal high school? Wow. What's it like? Did you go to the prom? Do you go to a lot of parties? Do you have lockers?"
He laughed. "Lockers?"
"They just seem cool."
"Oh, yeah, they're the best. High school's actually kind of boring. It's a little bit like living in the Center. Everyone thinks they know everything about everyone else, but really there's a lot more under the surface. But you already know that, don't you?" He nudged me. "And as far as prom, no, I don't really date."
"Why? Look at you, you're hot!" I blushed. "I mean, you can look like whatever you want, I'll bet the girls love you."
"Yeah, they always like this face."
"Whose face is it really?"
He smiled enigmatically. "Mine. Kind of. But it's just weird with other people-like I'm pretending, playing a part. And they only like the part. They don't really know me."
"I get that." I didn't add that I was really, really happy he wasn't dating anyone. Best news I'd had all week. If Lend were like one of the characters on my shows, he would have hooked up with every single girl, on- and offscreen. For once I was glad real life wasn't one of my television dramas.
Then I thought of something I really wanted to know. "Do you have a family?" My voice caught. More than high school or prom or dating-or even lockers-family filled me with the most regret and sadness about my life. Aside from Raquel and Lish, I didn't have anyone. I never had.
"That would fall into the category of things I can't tell you about." My face fell and he added, "Yet. What about you? How did you end up here?"
"They kind of found me." I told him the vamp- in- the- cemetery story.
"So you never had a family?"
"Nope, just the foster system. Some of the families were okay, but it wasn't a really happy or stable way to spend a childhood."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me, too." I didn't like to think about it; it hurt too bad knowing that whoever my parents were, they didn't want me. Giving me away I could understand, but they had just abandoned me. I couldn't remember them, or anything before the foster homes and the series of families that took me in and then passed me along. "It's okay, though. Raquel's actually a way nice person-she nags me so much I can almost pretend she's my mother. She took me on my first bag- and- tags just to make sure I was comfortable, and she tries to make my life here as normal as possible. And Lish is an awesome best friend, even if she's the worst hide- and- go- seek player ever."
Of course, he hadn't met Lish, so we talked about her and then everything else under the sun for a few more hours. I made him describe his typical day to me in excruciating detail, where he wanted to go to college, what he would study there. I thought he should study art, but he laughed and said he wanted to do something more practical. Then he asked about what life was like growing up in the Center. We traded stories, and I was grateful for the distraction.
Finally I was too tired to form a coherent sentence. "I need to go to bed. But I'll come hang out tomorrow, okay?"
He smiled. "Good. Oh, here." He opened the sketchbook and pulled out a page. He had written out the poem for me. "Just in case it helps you think of anything."
"Yeah, thanks. I won't show it to anyone."
"I know." Then he pulled out another page and handed it to me, grinning. It was the drawing of me in my zebra dress and pink boots.
Oh, heavens, I liked that boy. When I got back to my unit, I stared at the drawing. He really captured me, which made me hope he spent a lot of time thinking about me. I sure spent enough time thinking about him, after all. I cleared off my bed and lay down with the drawing next to me.
Reading over the poem a few more times, I didn't have any new brilliant ideas. The whole thing was too weird and vague. I could come up with a lot of explanations that kind of fit, but nothing was perfect. Plus I kept coming back to the fear that it had something to do with me, which made it hard to concentrate. I tucked the poem under the drawing, turned off the lights, and fell asleep.
I opened my eyes to the dark room. There was a pale light near me and someone hummed a soft, haunting melody. It made me ache inside. Reaching out in a panic, I almost knocked my lamp over as I switched it on. Reth was sitting on the end of my bed.
"Hello," he said, his voice and smile pleasant.
"You can't touch me!" I sat up and pulled the covers over myself.
"Yes, about that. You need to negate the command."
"Excuse me?"
He looked at me patiently, like he was explaining something to a stubborn child. "You need to break that command."
"And why on earth would I ever want to do that?" I glared at him. Lunatic.
"Because I wasn't finished."
"Oh, no, I really think you were." I held up my wrist. It still bore the scarlet mark of his hand and, to my eyes at least, was bright against the light of the lamp. Then, since I was holding up my hand anyway, I flipped him off.
"You're going to need more."
"Well, that's easy." I held up my other hand and flipped him off with that one, too.
His golden eyes shimmered softly in the dim light. "It didn't work; you're still cold."
"I'm just fine, thank you very much."
"'Eyes like streams of melting snow, cold with the things she does not know.'"
I glanced down at the poem; it hadn't been moved, still hidden underneath the drawing. "Yeah, I know that one. Ends with lots and lots of death."
He shook his head. "No, that's not yours. That's hers. Yours has a different ending. You'll understand everything if you let me fill you."
"What are you talking about?" I shouted. He was really starting to frustrate me. If he had to be obnoxious, the least he could do was be clear. The whole obnoxious and mysterious thing wasn't working for me.
"We need to finish. I cannot explain it to you now-court secrets and whatnot. Simply let me finish and then you'll be able to see."
"Tell me what you did to me or get out." He had answers, but I knew he wasn't going to give me any. I was too tired to deal with faerie nonsense tonight.
"There are many who would rather she be the one. If I don't finish, you might not survive. I'd like you to survive." He smiled affectionately at me.
"Who is this 'she'? One of your faerie friends?"
"Bless me, no."
Could he be less helpful? "Are you doing this? Killing the paranormals?"
He cocked his head to the side. "Why would I do that?"
"You tell me."
"I have no reason to kill those creatures."
I took a deep breath, trying again. "What did you do to me?" Every nerve was strained as I waited for his answer.
"I'm going to fill you, to create you. I tried to be gentle but you never held on to it. Then you wouldn't accept any more, so you left me no choice. It won't hurt if you behave and stop denying that you want it. Shall we finish?"
"Fill me with what?!"
"Please break the command, Evelyn."
"I won't! Not ever; you're never touching me again."
His large, ageless eyes narrowed and he smiled again. It had a touch of cruelty. "I will enjoy it when you beg me to touch you again."
"Get out of my room."
He raised his eyebrows. "Until you call for me then, my love." The light went out and I swore, not wanting to be alone in the dark with him. By the time I found the switch and turned the light back on, he was gone.
HEARTS AGLOW
What do you think he meant by that?" Lend asked, frowning. Today he surprised me by wearing a pudgy, acne- plagued blond boy. It made me laugh; usually he stuck with the whole hot thing. Still, I could see him underneath, so it didn't really matter what he put on the outside.
"I don't know-he's Reth. What does he ever mean by anything?" I had just finished telling him what Reth had said about the poem and needing to finish me.
"Well, as much as I hate the guy, he's probably got resources we don't. What were his exact words about the poem?"
"He said that ending wasn't mine, it was hers. Whoever that is. But that's good, at least, right? I mean, I'd rather not be bringing 'death, death, death, death, death' and so on and so forth."
Lend laughed. "Yeah, probably not. Death in sparkly platform sandals. It's a nice image, at least."
I smacked him on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm scary. You thought I was going to kill you, remember?"
"Oh, I remember. Man, that was a stressful day."
"No kidding. I wonder if things have always been this weird and I just never knew, or if they're getting worse."
"They're getting worse."
"Okay, so poetic prophecies and creepy faerie stalkers aside, I've got an important question."
"What?"
"Do you have a driver's license?"
He laughed. "That's important?"
"Oh yeah! I'd kill for a driver's license! Hey, maybe that's what the poem means! I'm going to go berserk and start attacking people because they won't let me drive..."
"Could be, you never know. But, yes, I have a driver's license."
I leaned back against the wall, sighing. "Man, that must be so cool."
"It ranks right up there with lockers. In fact, sometimes I put my license inside my locker, and it's so cool I worry that the whole thing might explode with the sheer coolness of it all."
I smacked him on the shoulder. Again. I was doing that a lot. "Shut up. You try living your whole life here and then tell me what you think is cool." He gave me a funny look; he'd been watching me closely this whole time.
"You really don't care about this face, do you?"
"What face?" I asked, confused.
He smiled, showing off braces I hadn't noticed. "This one."
I laughed. "Why would I care? You wear a lot of different things."
"Yeah, but this one isn't very cute."
"Not really, but it's not you." He got that funny look again. I smiled. "The only thing that bugs me is that your voice is always different. I wish I knew what it really sounded like. Oh, and also I think it's a little creepy when you're a girl, but you haven't done that in a while."
He shook his head. "You're weird."
"Says the invisible shape- shifting boy."
He laughed a little, then leaned back against the wall like me. "We aren't figuring this out."
"I know. Sorry." I had racked my brains but didn't know how to begin to put together all Reth's random tidbits and the stupid poem with what I had seen. And even more bothersome, I couldn't stop wondering what the ending to my poem was, if there even was one. Have I mentioned how much I don't like faeries?
"Evie?" His voice was tentative. "Is there any way you could email someone for me? If I could get this information out, maybe my-my group could help."
My heart fell. Was Lend just using me? But then I remembered the whole trying- not- to- be- self- centered thing. So what if he was? He should be. IPCA wasn't solving this, and they were stopping him from doing anything. Still, I hoped he liked me and wasn't just trying to manipulate me.
"I don't know. I've got a computer, but the only thing I do online is shop and I know IPCA monitors every single thing I click on because they cancel about ninety percent of my purchases. I could try to set up a new email address or use yours or something, but I'm pretty sure they'd catch it immediately. Maybe it would already be sent by then, though." I bit my lip, nervous.
"What would happen if they caught it?"
I smiled, feigning nonchalance. "Umm, I'd be imprisoned indefinitely for treason. Probably. But you never know-they really like what I can do. And I think Raquel would stick up for me. Maybe I could get out of it." I'd never been sent to a disciplinary hearing; the idea terrified me.
Lend shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. It's not worth the risk."
"It really is, if you think any of the information we have will help your group figure it out and stop this thing." Gosh, was I being brave or what?
"It won't do any good to get us both locked up. I've got another goal besides finding and stopping the killer."
I frowned. As much as I liked him, if he was asking me to help him take down IPCA I'd have to say no. It wasn't a perfect organization by any means, but they were doing a lot of good. I, for one, thought the world was a much safer place without free- ranging vamps and hags and all the rest of the nasty creepy- crawly blood- sucky flesh- eating things of legend. "What's your other goal?"
"I want to get you out of here."
"Don't you mean you want me to get you out of here?"
He took my hand-yeah, my hand again. I was liking this. A lot. "No, I mean I want to get you out. This shouldn't be your life. You deserve a lot more. Like a locker."
"And a driver's license?"
"Let's not get carried away."
I smiled. As much as I wanted to get out and live a real life (whatever that was; I didn't pretend like I knew anymore), I didn't think it would ever happen. If I was classified as a paranormal, IPCA had complete jurisdiction over me. Which meant I couldn't exactly turn in my two weeks' notice.
My communicator beeped. I pulled it out with my free hand. I wasn't letting go of Lend's till he let go of mine. His skin was the coolest thing ever. Warm, but perfectly smooth and soft. Not to mention the happy tingles it gave me that had nothing to do with anything paranormal.
I glanced at the screen. It was Lish. "What's up?"
"Come to Central Processing. There is trouble. Raquel is coming back and the Supervisors are following. You should not be caught alone with Lend."
"I'm leaving right now. Thanks, Lish." I hooked the communicator back on my belt. Lish always looked out for me. "I don't know what's happening, but Raquel and a bunch of bigwigs are headed to the Center, so I probably shouldn't be here."
He gave my hand a quick squeeze (which made my heart do all sorts of happy dances in my chest) before letting go. "I'll see you later, then."
I hurried to Central Processing. Lish looked downright panicked. "What's going on?" I could tell by her expression that something big was up, and it scared me.
"The Birmingham Tracking and Placement Center in England was hit today."
"Wait, hit? What do you mean hit?"
"Every paranormal there is dead." That phrase said in the robot voice was so startling and horrible I didn't know how to react.
"It-was it the same thing?"
"Yes. Just dead, no traces of weapons or anything that should have been able to kill them."
"Did anyone see anything?"
"No. It is a small facility. None of the humans saw anything."
That was something, at least. Apparently this thing didn't go after humans. I was relieved until I remembered that I might not be quite human. Not very comforting. "Anything else?"
"I do not have any more details right now. We will probably go on lockdown."
"What's that?"
It took her a minute to respond; I watched as her eyes darted around all the various screens she was managing. I swear she did the work of twenty people. "Lockdown procedure calls for all our assets in the field and satellite buildings to be brought to the Center. When everyone is secure, we go into complete lockdown-no one in, no one out."
"Oh, wow." That was a big deal. "How long until that happens?"
"We should be secure in two hours." Gotta hand it to IPCA-for a government- type agency, they were efficient.
"And how long is the lockdown in effect?"
"Until they are certain that the risk has passed."
"So, a long time."
"No way to tell. The information is coming in; I need to get back to it." She looked away, focusing on one of her many screens. I wished that Lish wasn't stuck behind the glass. She was my best friend, but sometimes she seemed so inaccessible.
I turned to the side as the brilliant outline of a door formed on the blank wall. Raquel walked out with a faerie. I wondered when the Supervisors would get here. I had seen a few of them before, back when IPCA was officially forming. I didn't remember too much, just a lot of head patting. I hated that.
Raquel looked like she had aged about ten years in the past few days. "Initiate lockdown protocol," she said, not even bothering to acknowledge Lish with a nod, a hello, or a how's the water this morning.
"Lockdown protocol initiated." Lish darted her hands around, the movements quick and precise.
"Call the other faeries," Raquel said to the faerie who had brought her here. Looking annoyed, the faerie opened another door and disappeared through it.
Raquel finally noticed me. "Oh, Evie. You're here. Good. We need to talk."
"Yeah, we do." Before I could launch into the speech I'd been mulling over since I decided to stick up for Lend, a brilliant light traced a line through the wall and a whole section opened up into the black. Faeries stepped out-more faeries than I had ever seen before. More than I even knew IPCA had. There were at least a hundred of them.
It was overwhelming. One faerie alone is distractingly beautiful. This many at once and it was like a tidal wave for your eyes-stunning and inescapable. I had a hard time focusing on what Raquel was saying to them. Besides the faerie sensory overload, I noticed something, something I had never seen before.
Faerie clothing is similar to ours, but it always seems older, more refined, and simple at the same time. Many of the male faeries had their shirts unbuttoned and chests bare. (How's this for freaky: no nipples or belly buttons.) Faeries always have a hint of a glow, but now they seemed to have a bright spot-right where I assumed their hearts were. It wasn't dramatic, but there was definitely something extra there. I hoped it didn't have anything to do with my now- glowing heart.
Then I looked at their faces. A lot of them were just bored and annoyed. Standard faerie. But there were some-and these seemed to be grouped together-that had sly twinkles in their eyes, like something about all this was terribly amusing. That look bothered me; anything that amused a faerie couldn't be a good thing. Then my eyes met Reth's. He wasn't with that group, but his smile was the biggest of all.
I wanted to get out of that room. All those faeries-I felt almost dizzy. I did my best to ignore Reth's stare, waiting until Raquel finished issuing instructions and the faeries started leaving to pick up their assigned groups. "Raquel, we need to talk."
She turned to me, an intense look on her face. "Yes. I need you to tell me everything you know about Lend."
"Why?"
"Because the Supervisors are coming, and he's one of our only links to what's happening."
"That's stupid! That makes it sound like he's connected to it. He's not a link, he's a resource."
"I'm afraid we see it differently. What has he told you?"
I folded my arms, glaring at her. "What makes you think he's told me anything? And, even if he has, why would I tell you?"
Her voice was flat and a little dangerous. "You'll tell me because it's your job."
"My job? I'm sixteen! I didn't ask for any of this! Besides, why is it that I can prance around here without an ankle tracker, but you won't even let him out of his cell? Maybe if you'd stop being so scared of him and let him go, we could work with him and his group and actually have a chance at figuring this all out!"
"You know we can't do that. It's against the charter to release a paranormal untagged."
"What the crap am I, then? Huh? You can't stand here telling me that Lend is automatically an enemy because he's an unknown paranormal when I'm a freaking Level Seven!"
Her expression softened. "Please, don't do this. Not now. I've worked long and hard to make certain that the Supervisors see you not as a paranormal but as a girl who can do something unusual. We can't help Lend, honey, not right now."
Angry tears pricked my eyes. "Don't call me honey. I'm not your daughter. I'm your employee."
Her dark eyes went wide with hurt, then her face quickly hardened. "If you won't help us with Lend, you'll be confined to quarters."
I let out a harsh laugh. "Great, now you're grounding me." I couldn't believe how stupid I had been, pretending and wishing that Raquel was really my mom. Whatever else she might be, she was always professional. She was not my family.
The room around us had grown noisy, filling up as faeries dropped off more and more paranormals. Werewolf security guards milled around the edges and tried to direct the traffic into an orderly line in front of Lish's tank.
Raquel sighed. "I think it would be best if you went to your room. You're in no state to be around the Supervisors and they'll be here any minute."
I was about to come up with a snotty retort when shouting distracted both of us.
"I won't!" a vampire screamed, yanking his arm away from one of the guards. "Not here, not this! The tracker is bad enough, I won't be a rat in your lab!" I realized with a shock that it was Steve. It felt like a lifetime since that night in the cemetery.
"Is there a problem?" Raquel asked, stepping forward. "If you'll just be patient, we'll get everyone processed and settled in."
Steve looked at her, a desperate, manic gleam in his eyes. "I'd rather die," he whispered. Before anyone could react, he leaped forward, lunging for Raquel's throat.
I screamed as he bit down on her neck. No one else moved. "Do something!" I shouted, fumbling for my Taser. But it wasn't necessary. He jerked away from her neck, a look of-peace?-on his face as his ankle tracker was activated. The glamour faded and in a matter of seconds he was nothing but a corpse crumbling to the floor, unnatural life gone.
We all stared, shocked, at dead undead Steve. Raquel put her hand over her neck to stop the flow of blood. She looked pale and scared.
"Raquel!" I rushed forward, putting my hands on her arms. What if he had killed her? What if those mean things were the last words I ever said to her? "Are you okay? I thought-I was so scared that-"
Another light flashed and five of the Supervisors walked into the room. Raquel straightened and brushed my hands off her arms, her face an emotionless mask as she turned to the group of people. I dropped my hands to my sides, shattered by her rejection. She walked forward to greet the Supervisors, leaving me surrounded by paranormals.
I guess I knew my place.
OH, BLEEP
Two days later and I was going crazy. Everyone was on edge with the Center packed to capacity. The timing with the lunar cycle couldn't have been worse. Since werewolves make up the bulk of IPCA security forces, we always operated on minimum capacity during the full moon. So now most of our security would be unconscious tomorrow night with every single member of IPCA locked in the Center. This included a whole bunch of things you wouldn't want to meet at night in a dark alley (unless you were me and that was your job-and, let's face it, even I didn't usually want to meet them).
Frustrated and scared, I got dressed in a dark gray wrap dress and my pink boots. I hadn't been able to get to Lend with things so crazy, and I was determined today would be different. I bundled up some cookies and headed out. Usually I could walk anywhere I wanted and run into only one or two people, if that. Today everywhere I went there were werewolves, people carrying things in cages, personal assistants bustling about, and vamps. I went out of my way to avoid them after the Steve incident. They didn't exactly like me to begin with, and everyone was so tense. I didn't want my blood to be someone else's suicide.
I tried to visit Lish, but Central Processing was very literally like a zoo. Looking in, I realized just how few paranormals I usually came into contact with. I didn't know what most of the things in there were. I gave up trying to work my way through and went to the detention block. Although this area was quieter, more of the cells were taken. I couldn't help but peek through the open doorways at what was in them. It was depressing. All the paranormals I saw were sitting listlessly on their beds, totally broken.
The hall was clear by the time I made it to Lend's room, and I ducked in as fast as I could.
"What's going on?" he asked, jumping up.
"It's crazy-total lockdown. This thing took out our Birmingham Center-everything. They called everyone in. No one can come or go until they figure this all out."
"Well, at least that'll protect the paranormals IPCA knows about. That's something."
"I guess."
"Had some visitors last night," he said. I just now noticed he was wearing the handsome black guy again. I was so focused on his real self that what was on the outside barely registered.
"Oh, the Supervisors?"
"Mm- hm. Man, if I were in charge of some massive, covert international organization, I'd choose a better title than Supervisor."
I laughed. "No kidding. Are you okay?"
"Sure. They asked me a bunch of questions, I didn't answer any. It was productive."
I nodded glumly. "Raquel and I had a...fight...about you. She hasn't seen me since, or let me talk to the Supervisors, either." I held out the cookies. "Figured you might like a treat. It's kind of the least I can do."
"Thanks." He took them from me, setting them on the bed. We stood there awkwardly.
"I'd probably better go. I don't want to get us in trouble right now."
He looked disappointed. "Yeah."
On impulse, I leaned in and kissed his cheek. When I pulled back, he was smiling. "I'll see you soon," I said, beaming back and blushing as I walked out, practically floating.
I finally saw Lish the next morning. Everyone in Central Processing was super stressed, gossiping and spreading rumors in the hallways as they rushed to and fro. Lish, however, was in her element, flicking through screens and giving orders to people and paranormals standing in front of her.
"Hey, what's up?" I leaned against the glass, ignoring the queue in front of her.
"Quite a bit. I am rearranging duties since all the werewolves will be out of commission tonight. Plus there is the issue of finding more permanent quarters for everyone."
"Why don't you use the gym for the werewolves to zonk in? That frees up space for tonight at least." The gym was a massive room where they could let the more energetic (read: rabid) paranormals run around.
Lish looked up at me and smiled with her eyes. "That is a great idea. Thank you." She went back to her screens.
Near the front of the line was a vamp I didn't know; his glamour was a teenage guy, devastatingly handsome with dark hair and crystal blue eyes. He gave me his best come- hither smile. "Hey," he said.
He was already trying to work his mind mojo on me. Vamps have slight mind control powers. They can influence you, push you in a direction as long as you're already leaning that way. So if you're kind of scared, they can make you terrified. Kind of attracted, they can make you downright lustylicious. Unfortunately for this particular vamp, I could see straight through him to the corpse underneath. Oh yeah, baby, hot stuff.
I busted up laughing. "Not a chance."
He scowled, offended. "What are you talking about?"
"I prefer my guys with a pulse. Lish, let me know if you need anything. I'll see you later." She glanced up and waved. I missed her. It would be nice to get to spend some time together again when this mess was over.
I was surprised when my communicator beeped with a page from Raquel. I thought about ignoring it but had nothing better to do, so I went to her office. She looked up at me from her desk with a tight smile. Dark circles ringed her eyes and her hair was falling out of its bun. That was a first. "Evelyn, thanks for coming."
I shrugged. I thought about making some remark about how I didn't have a choice, but the bandage on her neck made me think twice. Thank goodness one bite wasn't enough to turn her.
"I know things have been stressful lately and you've been struggling. When all this is over, I'm taking you on a vacation."
Didn't see that one coming. "Wait, a real vacation? Like, we actually spend the night somewhere else and just walk around or sleep or hang out during the day?"
She smiled. "Yes, a real vacation. Anywhere you'd like."
Oh, the possibilities...I couldn't help but smile back. Things weren't all right between us, not by a long shot, but this was huge coming from her. I had never known her to take even a day off. "That sounds okay with me." It sounded more than okay. The two of us, in some gorgeous, warm place. Almost like a family.
"Good. Now I've got a lot of paperwork to go over and some interviews to do."
"Oh, yeah. Sure." I don't know what else I expected, but I was disappointed as I left. We hadn't talked about anything important, anything that needed to be addressed. I wanted to help out around the Center. She probably wanted me far, far away from the Supervisors after my outburst. And I was sure she didn't want to talk about Lend again.
Lonely, I tried to sneak over and see Lend, but the hall was packed with werewolves making sure everything was secure before sedation. I figured I could make it back later; it didn't ease my disappointment at having to wait.
Lucky for me Easton Heights was on that night, even if it was a rerun. I changed into some black leggings and a tank top (I bumped up the heat in my unit from 85 to 90-why wait for a tropical vacation?), then snuggled up on the couch, just barely warm enough. When the show began I was startled by my buzzing vid screen. Lish.
"What's up?" I asked, trying not to panic. Surely something else hadn't gone wrong already.
"Easton Heights is on tonight, right?" the monotone voice asked.
"Yeah, I just didn't think you'd have time."
"All the werewolves are down; the rest of the Center is finally secure and settled. I am looking forward to seeing who Landon kisses this week."
I laughed. "Me, too." I turned my vid screen toward the television. It wasn't as good as actually hanging out in the same room, but it was pretty close. I pretended Lend was on the couch next to me, holding my hand. I had been going over all the times we'd held hands, trying to decide if they counted as really holding hands. I wanted them to, but it had always been in the context of comforting each other. Not, hey, I like you and I want to sit here and hold your hand because touching you makes me happy.
About halfway through the episode Lish spoke up. "What the bleep?"
"What?" I asked, turning her screen toward me.
"I just had five new ankle trackers pop up on the grid. This does not make sense."
"Wait, like five new tags?"
She nodded, frowning. Then, vid screen still on, she called Raquel. "Raquel, I have five new ankle trackers."
"What?" Raquel asked.
"Five new ankle trackers were just activated."
"How? Who?"
"I do not know. The activation was incomplete, so there is no data. They are all in the same area, a suburb of Paris. Do you want me to send someone to investigate?"
"No, we can't risk it. Actually, yes-send a faerie. Just have him pop in and look at what's happening, then come right back."
"Any other instructions?"
"No-unless it's an operative who didn't get back in time, then bring him in."
"Okay, I will call the faerie on duty."
Lish looked up, realizing I was still on the vid screen. "Sorry, Evie. I have to go."
"Sure, yeah." I closed the connection, half paying attention to the show as I thought about what I had overheard. That was weird. I mean, who would be out there on a bag- and- tag right now? Everyone had been called in. Maybe someone somehow missed it and was using this as a way to contact us. How anyone could have been missed in the lockdown I didn't understand. Like I said, IPCA was efficient.
And then I remembered something. On the hag trip, I had dropped my bag with ankle trackers in it.
Five ankle trackers.
NOT OKAY
Paranormalcy
I tried to connect back to Lish on the vid screen, but the channel was busy. Punching Raquel's number on my communicator as I pulled on one of my boots, I swore. It was busy, too. I yanked on my other boot, nearly falling over in my haste, then grabbed Tasey and my knife. I sprinted down the hall, praying my hunch was wrong, that it was just a weird coincidence. No alarms had gone off yet; surely that meant everything was okay. Everything had to be okay.
As I turned the corner to Central Processing I slipped, flying backward and hitting my shoulder hard against the wall. The floor was covered with water and my leggings were now soaked. I couldn't breathe. Everything was not okay. Pushing myself up, I ran the last few feet, nearly slipping again, and palmed open the sliding doors.
"No," I whispered, so shocked it felt like everything around me had slowed, disappeared, stopped. I knew I had to move forward, but my body wasn't working anymore. All I could do was stare at the jagged hole smashed into Lish's aquarium. About a foot of water remained in the bottom and lying there, near the hole, was Lish.
She couldn't be dead. She couldn't. Lish was forever. She was my friend, my best friend. There couldn't be a reality in which Lish wasn't. She was probably just hurt-I needed to get her more water, right away.
I ran forward. "Lish! It's okay. I'm here, I'm going to help!" I ducked through the hole and sloshed over to her. Her eyes, her beautiful, beautiful eyes, were wide, the clear eyelids half shut. She wasn't moving. And on her chest was a handprint of golden flame, slowly fading. "Lish?" I dropped to my knees next to her, picking her up and cradling her in my arms. She wasn't gone, she couldn't be. I stroked her hand, the webbing between her fingers finer and more delicate than I had ever noticed. Her iridescent scales glistened.
She didn't move, she wouldn't move, she couldn't. Lish, my Lish, was gone. There was nothing I could do and it was my fault. I had left the ankle trackers that became bait; I was the reason that thing got in. I leaned over and kissed her on the head. "I'm so sorry," I said, my voice breaking into a sob.
I was shivering already, soaked through. I didn't want to move, ever, because if I didn't leave, if I didn't let her go, then she wasn't really gone. Shifting position, I gasped. Something sharp and hard had gone straight through my leggings, cutting into my thigh. Red seeped into the water, and it was enough to jar me out of my stupor. Kissing Lish again, I laid her gently back down. I stood and pulled the shard of glass out of my thigh, wincing.
It was here. I ran out of the tank and to the wall where there was an emergency panic button. Smashing through the glass cover with my elbow, I pushed it down. The overhead lights went a notch brighter with strobes going off and a loud alarm shrieking.
Raquel-Raquel had to know about this. I pulled out my communicator and punched in her number while I ran for her office. "What?" she said. "I'm trying to contact Lish, we don't know what the alarm is."
"Lish is dead," I sobbed, still running. "It's here. It's here."
The line was silent for what felt like forever. "Heaven help us all," Raquel whispered. Then, her voice hurried and panicked, she said, "Meet me at Transport. I'll message all the personnel. It doesn't go after humans-we should be able to get out."
I changed direction and started running for Transport. Then I stopped. "What about the paranormals?" What about Lend?
"There's no time. Get to Transport."
I hesitated. Everything in my body was screaming for me to run, to get out. Death was walking the hallways and I needed to escape. "No," I whispered, turning my communicator off. I ran back the way I came, headed for Lend's cell. He was trapped. He'd be completely helpless, just like Lish.
Oh, Lish.
No one deserved to die like that. I was running past the gym when I stopped dead again. There were over a hundred werewolves in there, sleeping. Charlotte was in there, and Jacques-he should have been in there, too. I wanted to throw up. I couldn't wake them, tell them to run. I couldn't carry them out. What could I do? Then it hit me.
"Denfehlath!" I shouted. After a few seconds a door opened in the wall and she stepped out, ruby eyes blazing with excitement.
"Save the paranormals, starting with the werewolves," I commanded.
Her smile disappeared. "What?" she hissed.
"Start now. You've got a lot of sleeping bodies to move!"
She glared at me, trembling with fury, but entered the gym. She couldn't disobey. After the gym doors closed behind her, I palmed them, holding my hand there for a full fifteen seconds. The pad turned red and I hit a combination, locking it.
A couple of vamps came out of a side hall, seeing me. "What's going on?" Vlad asked. He was with the guy from before who'd tried to hit on me.
"You need to hide! It's here!"
The end of the hallway filled with light; a figure turned the corner. It was shaped like a person, but made entirely of living gold fire and burning so brightly the image was seared into my retinas. It walked toward us, beautiful and terrible as the sun made living flesh.
"Run!" I shouted to the vamps. They hadn't reacted. How did they not notice the light?
They turned toward the creature just as it got to them. Neither one of them looked frightened. "Run!" I screamed again. The creature cocked its head, turning toward me as it lifted both hands and put one on each vampire's chest. I watched in horror as the vampires stiffened, for a brief moment glowing brightly. Then it was like someone turned off whatever was inside them; they dimmed and fell motionless to the ground, nothing but corpses now.
I couldn't move. The thing turned in my direction. It was only fifteen feet away. My eyes watered. It was too bright, too much.
It glided toward me. A scream, no doubt my last, built in my throat. I couldn't make out any features as it paused a few feet away from me; everything blurred together in the sheer brilliance of its light and heat.
"I love the boots," a woman's voice said playfully.
I turned and ran, sprinting as fast as I could, waiting for my own life to be sucked dry. I looked back. She was walking after me. At least she hadn't gone in the gym. I turned into a hall and ran straight for a door, palming it open and leaving through a door on the other end. I was almost to Lend's cell. If I could get Lend out, if I could get him to Transport, I could leave. The faeries were at Transport-that was the set evacuation plan.
I nearly ran past his door, skidding to a stop and darting into his room. He was standing there, looking anxious.
"It's here!" I panted. "It's here, in the building-we have to go now."
"I can't!" He pointed to his ankle. "Leave without me, go!"
I knelt down next to his leg, grabbing the ankle tracker. This would be my last action as a member of IPCA-what I was about to do qualified me for permanent lockup. I placed my thumb in the middle of his tracker, thanking whatever deities I could think of that I had been the one to put the tracker on Lend. That meant I could take it off, but it would be recorded in the computer systems, marking me as a traitor.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't move." I concentrated on holding perfectly still. After twenty seconds, a green light flashed. I leaned down and blew gently on it and the light turned red. There was a small hiss as the sensors retracted. I reached around and unlatched it.
"Come on!" I took his hand and put the tracker in my pocket. "We have to get to Transport now." We went into the hall and turned-and there she was, walking toward us. "No, no, no," I whispered.
"What?" Lend asked, looking over. "Oh, that's weird."
"Run!" I shouted, tugging on his hand and running in the opposite direction of the burning woman-and the opposite direction of Transport. I racked my brains, trying to think of alternate routes we could take.
"Who was that?"
"Who was that? What are you talking about? That was it-the thing-the life sucker!"
"What?"
"Did you miss the whole on fire part?" I panted, turning another corner. Clearly Lend was in shock.
I wasn't thinking straight. We hit a dead end.
"Evie, she wasn't on fire."
"She's so bright it burns my eyes!" I slammed my fist into the wall. "Come on. This way." We ran back across the connecting hall and down another passageway. Everywhere in the Center looked exactly the same. Brilliant floor plan. Perfect for getting lost and trapped. Normally I knew every inch, but in my rush I had gotten turned around. Taking another hall, we stopped. Four bodies were slumped on the ground.
"This way," I whispered, unable to take my eyes off the bodies as I palmed open a door to cut through. When we got out into the next hall it was clear-and another dead end. I realized to my horror that I didn't know where we were. "Maybe one of these rooms connects somewhere." I desperately opened doors, looking for any way out. They were all storage rooms. There was nothing. "Back, back," I said, trying not to sob. I opened the door and we ran through the room and turned into the hall. She was already there.
"Here you are," she said. I heard the smile in her voice-her bizarrely normal, pleasant voice.
I screamed, pulling Lend back into the room and waiting for the door to lock. We ran back through and into the small hallway and I locked that door behind us, too.
"That won't stop her!" She could probably melt straight through the door. They weren't designed to withstand attack or fire.
"Evie, are you sure that's her?" Lend asked, out of breath and confused.
"Yes! What's wrong with you?"
He was quiet for a second. "She looks totally normal. Like a person. Like-" he paused "-like you."
WHAT'S IN A NAME
What do you mean she looks like me?" I asked. "She's freaking on fire!"
"I can't see that! It must be under her glamour or whatever, I didn't see anything."
"Show me what she looks like then!"
Lend's face shimmered and he shrank a few inches. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She had short, light blond hair, a pretty face, and a similar build to me, maybe a few years older. She also had eyes such a pale gray that Lend couldn't get them right. "Same eyes," he said softly in her voice.
"That's-I don't-What is she? Why is she on fire underneath her skin? She's all bright and glowing, like-" I looked down and pulled up my sleeve. "Like this." I watched the flames under my skin. "Times a million."
"'Liquid flames to hide her grief,'" Lend- as- fire- girl said.
"Well, she's got the 'death, death, death,' part down. There has to be a way out of this." I pulled out my communicator. If I could get ahold of Raquel, she'd send help. The communicator flashed dully, then displayed that Raquel couldn't be reached. "I can't call Fehl. I made her save the werewolves-they're all sleeping. She hasn't had enough time to move them." I couldn't risk all their lives for my own. That left me with one option; I shook my head, unwilling to face it.
"Isn't this exciting?" Reth said from behind us. I whipped around. Speak-or rather think-of the devil. He leaned casually against the wall, beaming. "I do love a good reunion." He looked at Lend and waved, then frowned. "That's not her."
"How would you know?" I asked.
"We've already met. Lovely girl. Very gracious."
"You-you let her in!"
"They said to go and see what was happening. They never said not to bring anyone back with me. And she asked so nicely."
I shook my head in disbelief and rage. This was what came of thinking you could control faeries. My best friend had paid the ultimate price. "I'll kill you for this," I said, angry tears stinging my eyes.
He sighed. "Really, there's no need for melodrama. There will be drama enough when she gets through those doors."
I looked back nervously. I didn't know what powers she had besides the whole sucking the life straight out of immortals thing, but I didn't want to find out. "I'll check the doors again," I said to Lend. He nodded, shimmering and switching back from my look- alike into his typical form.
"I remember you," Reth said. "If Evelyn dies, it will be your fault for interrupting us."
"Shut up!" I ran up and down the hall, opening all the doors, looking for any way out. "Enough of your stupid riddles."
"No riddle. But I never finished filling you, and I'm afraid our new friend is a tad impulsive. No telling what she'll do, and she's much, much stronger than you. Pity, too. I do so enjoy you, my love. I had high hopes for us."
I pulled out my knife and stepped right in front of him, holding the point near his throat. "Shut up. Now. You're taking Lend and me out of here."
"I would like nothing more. Unfortunately I cannot touch you, and you cannot go through a faerie door if you aren't touching me. You see, I have a very binding order from IPCA, and I simply cannot break it."
I closed my eyes, shaking my head. There had to be another way. I wouldn't use his name again. It was too dangerous.
"Evie!" Lend called, his voice sharp with panic. I looked over-the door was starting to glow red in the middle, superheated. She was coming through.
"Crap, crap, crap." We were going to die. I looked back up at Reth.
He was watching me, an eyebrow raised and his golden eyes shining. "I'm afraid you haven't much time, love."
"Fine! Fine! Lend, take his hand." Lend ran over and took hold of one of Reth's hands, clearly unhappy about it.
Reth's face was a portrait of triumph. I remembered his words-he'd enjoy it when I begged him to touch me. He had been right. I looked back; I could see the imprint of her hand now, pushing through the warped metal. The door was curling open.
"Take away IPCA's order," Reth whispered, hungry and impatient.
I closed my eyes, forcing down the fear and nausea. "Lorethan, ignore what IPCA told you. Touch me." I almost choked on the words. "Get us out of here. To Lend's home," I added quickly, not wanting to end up in Reth's realm again. He laughed, his voice silver and ringing. He reached out and wrapped his hand around my wrist-the wrist he had already filled with fire-and pulled us both into the darkness. I heard a woman's voice yell something, and then there was nothing but the vast silence of the Faerie Paths.
The burning started immediately. It raced up my arm and I whimpered, trying not to scream out in pain as I stumbled along blindly. I fought it as best I could, but the fire inside me called out, excited at the prospect of more. "Stop," I whispered. "Please, stop."
"Evelyn," he answered, his voice a caress against the pain.
I saw a hint of light beyond my eyelids, and opened them as the three of us walked out of the darkness and into a forest bathed in the dim twilight. "Let go." I broke into tears as I sank to my knees, Reth's hand still around my wrist and the flames dancing their searing pain up and down my arm.
"Let her go!" Lend shouted, and I felt Reth get knocked to the side as Lend attacked him.
"You are meddlesome, aren't you?" He let go of my wrist. I collapsed onto the ground, dropping my knife and gasping as the pain dulled, the heat settling once again in my wrist and heart. There was more inside me now. I pushed myself onto my hands and knees. Reth seemed so bright against the dim light.
He leaned down, cupping my face in his slender hands. This time there was no burning, just the warmth I used to crave so desperately. I still craved it. "If you let me finish, I can tell you everything. No more questions. No more searching. You can be with me then."
The flames inside pulled, drawing me closer to Reth. His heart glowed beneath his shirt, answering mine. It would be so easy, so safe. I'd be done. I looked into Reth's amber eyes and opened my mouth to agree.
Lend coughed and I tore my eyes away. He was getting up from the ground several feet away. Reth must have thrown him. "Are you okay?" I asked, jerking away from Reth's hand and its seductive warmth.
Reth sighed. "Evelyn, you are so difficult."
I turned my back on him, walking to Lend. "Are you okay?" He nodded. "Good." I needed to do something about Reth, now. I turned around but he was right next to me. "Lor-"
Before I could finish his name he was behind Lend, my silver knife pressed against Lend's throat. "I think you should be very careful what you say now," Reth said with a playful smile. "I find myself weary of taking commands. But I do have one last thing I'd like you to tell me to do. Oh, no, don't say a word." He shook his head when I opened my mouth. Lend's eyes were wide with fear. "One slip and I'm afraid you'll be responsible for the death of yet another friend. I'm going to tell you exactly what to say, and then you can repeat it."
I nodded dumbly, ignoring the small shake of his head Lend gave me. I couldn't lose him. Not tonight, not after Lish.
"Excellent. I want you to command me to change my name."
"I-Can I even do that?"
"I cannot refuse a named command. So if you please, tell me to change my name."
I had played perfectly into his hands and was giving him exactly what he wanted. Just how much of this had he known would happen? As usual, we were all stumbling around in the dark while the faeries perched above us, seeing patterns and pathways we would never realize were there until it was too late. "Lorethan." I willed my mouth to make the words. "Change your name." It came out a whisper, but it was enough.
His face broke into a blissful smile. He looked truly beautiful in that moment, and I remembered why I once thought faeries were angels. Surely nothing so perfect deserved to be on this earth. He spun Lend out and away from himself, closing the distance between us in one step. Putting his arms around my waist, he leaned in, his mouth almost touching my ear. "Thank you. Such power in a name-someday I'll tell you yours. And now I'm afraid I've got a lot of business to attend to. So many people to visit, so many favors to repay. Until we next meet, my love." He backed up a step. The air shimmered around him and he disappeared into it.
The evening suddenly felt cold, the wooded grove dark and empty in his absence. "What have I done?" I whispered, horrified.
GROUNDED
My mind refused to wrap around the truth. I had freed Reth. The potential ramifications of that were overwhelming. I couldn't think about them right now-I couldn't think about anything right now. Lend got up from the ground.
I rushed over to him. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I screwed everything up. I screwed it all up." I started crying again.
Lend wrapped me up in a hug. "You didn't. If it wasn't for you I'd be dead."
I let my head rest against his shoulder. He was so warm; a wholesome, comforting warm, not like Reth's. I needed to be in someone's arms. We had gotten away, we were safe for now, and it hit me hard. The mixture of grief for Lish and relief that I had escaped and saved Lend was overwhelming.
After a few minutes Lend pulled back. "You're shaking. It's freezing out here." He looked around. "I think I know where we are. Good call telling Reth to bring us to my home." I was sure I hadn't made any good decisions with Reth, ever, but at least we had a chance now. Lend took my hand. "This way."
I took a step and gasped. I had forgotten about my leg; the cut in my thigh from Lish's aquarium glass hurt now that all the adrenaline had worn off. I put my hand down, then looked at it in the fading light.
"What's that? Are you bleeding?"
"I cut my leg in-when Lish was-" Trying to hold back the tears, I stopped.
"Can you walk? It's not far."
"I think so."
Lend let go of my hand, putting his arm around my waist instead. We walked through the trees, the final remnants of day snuffing out and leaving the pale light of the full moon. After a few minutes, my leg stinging and throbbing, I saw lights through the trees.
"There it is!" He sounded excited and anxious. I wondered what kind of place Lend lived in. I always pictured something like the Center, filled with paranormals. When we got close enough to see I was shocked. It was a normal, beautiful two- story white house, complete with wraparound porch. I hadn't been inside a real house in eight years. Lend opened the door. "Dad? Dad!"
"Lend?" A man rushed down the stairs right by the front door. He was good- looking for an older guy, maybe in his late forties, with dark hair and dark eyes-obviously who Lend had patterned his favorite face from. "Where have you been?"
"I-It's a long story. She's hurt. Can you look at her leg?"
Lend's dad-he had a dad, and it filled me with a sense of almost bitterness-noticed me for the first time. "Of course, but you're going to tell me everything while I do. You are in deep, deep trouble." Contradicting this statement, Lend's dad caught him up in a big hug, practically lifting him off the ground. Lend had to let go of me, and I felt uncomfortable watching their reunion. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."
Lend laughed, a dry exhalation of air. "I don't plan on it. Her leg?"
His dad turned to me. "Where are you hurt?"
It was all too much, too strange. Lend in this setting, this welcoming, warm home, Lend with this completely normal man who was his dad. No glamour at all, nothing beneath his kind face. It felt like I had entered another world; I knew I didn't belong and that the Lend who lived here could never be mine.
"Is it that bad?" he asked, his face growing even more concerned as he looked at my expression.
I shook my head hastily. "No-I-my right thigh."
"We've kind of been through a lot tonight," Lend said gently.
His dad knelt on the wood floor next to my leg. "I'm just going to take a look, see how bad it is." He pulled my leggings out, stretching the slit more. "Okay, not too bad. I'll go upstairs and get my kit. It needs to be cleaned and then I'll give you a couple of stitches, no big deal." He smiled reassuringly at me. Then he gave Lend another stern look. "Get her some dry clothes, and be ready to explain everything."
"Don't worry-he's done tons of stitches." Lend smiled and followed his dad upstairs. I stood there in the entryway, feeling like an intruder until Lend came back. He handed me a bundle of clothes. "They're mine so they'll be a little bit big, but they should be okay."
I frowned as I took them. "Why do you have clothes?" He could just make them with his various glamours, after all.
"I usually wear them, believe it or not. Most of the time I don't need to change form; I wear this face almost all the time."
That made sense. After all, his glamour clothes looked perfect but had a strange texture. In public it would be better to wear things that felt normal. He showed me to a small bathroom, and I locked the door.
I pulled off my boots-my stupid pink boots that would forever remind me of the horrible burning girl now-then took off my tank. I didn't want to see it, but my wrist was like a beacon, burning even in the well- lit bathroom. It was brighter than ever. I didn't look at my chest, yanking Lend's soft T- shirt on so I wouldn't have to. Then I peeled off my leggings, mopping up the blood that had dripped down the side of my leg as best I could.
I tried not to get blood on Lend's drawstring shorts as I pulled them on. Then, to my horror, I realized I hadn't bothered shaving that day. Not only were my legs brilliant white and too skinny, they were also prickly.
The fact that I was worried about what Lend would think of my legs struck me as the most ludicrous thing imaginable. I had just lost my best friend, barely escaped having my life sucked out by a psychotic burning girl, committed treason, and nearly gotten the guy I liked killed by a crazy faerie. What were hairy legs compared to that? I started laughing and then crying, doing both in an awkward, gasping mess that made my head hurt.
Lend knocked on the door. "Are you okay?"
Taking a deep breath, I tried to stop. I opened the door, holding up the shorts on the side where I was cut. "Yeah." I sniffled but held back from full- on sobbing again.
"He'll do it in here." Lend put his arm around my shoulders and led me into a well- lit kitchen, painted in warm yellow. I sat in a chair and his dad knelt next to it, cleaning my leg with a warm cloth.
"I'm David, by the way."
"Evie," I answered. After he finished wiping away the blood, he put something on the wound that stung. I drew in my breath sharply.
"Sorry about that. Don't want it to get infected. Now you'll feel a couple of small pricks; I'm just numbing the area for the stitches." I tried not to flinch, focused on holding still and not shivering. "Where have you been?" he asked, and I looked up, wondering why he was asking me.
Lend answered. "It's kind of a long story."
"Talk." His dad was still working on my leg but his face was set.
Lend sighed. "I broke into IPCA's Center."
Stopping mid- stitch, David looked up, horrified. "You what?"
I was confused, too. Lend always made it sound like he had been sent there.
"I had to!"
"I-" David took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "You had better wait until I'm done, then." He went back to the stitches, finished, and taped a gauze pad over the top. He stood up and put away his supplies, then folded his arms and glared at Lend. "Now, start from the beginning and tell me the whole story, clear up until the end where I ground you for the rest of your life."
Lend hung his head. "I heard-I listened in to your meeting, when you said that the answer was with IPCA, in the Center. And I knew no one else could do it. I thought I could. So I went to a graveyard and put on a zombie body, shambled around. It took a couple of nights, but an operative finally showed up. So I, well, I hit her." He looked ashamed at that admission. "Then I called for pickup. When the faerie came I walked through with her. I got to the Center and ran into the director."
"Raquel?" David asked, and I looked at him, surprised. How did he know her?
Lend nodded. "I took her communicator and face, then found her office. I was searching for information when-when I got caught."
David's eyes went wide and he looked down at Lend's bare ankle. "How did you get out?"
Lend smiled at me. "Evie got me out. Of course, she's also the one who caught me. She can see me-the real me, all the time."
His dad looked at me, wonder and fear in his eyes. "You're IPCA?"
I shook my head. I wasn't anything. There was nowhere in the world I belonged now. My home was gone, my best friend was dead, and I could never go back to Raquel after what I had done. I bit my lip, holding back the tears. "Not anymore. After tonight, I don't think there's even going to be an IPCA."
"Well, from one former employee to another, I don't think that's a bad thing."
MY FIRST SLEEPOVER
Sitting in Lend's warm kitchen, I couldn't believe what his dad had just said. "You were-You worked there?" IPCA was kind of a lifetime thing.
"Actually, I was APCA. I got out about a decade before IPCA was formalized. Didn't think I'd ever see the day that would happen. None of the countries was willing to work with any of the others on paranormal issues. I never did find out what triggered the change."
I swung my foot awkwardly against the floor.
"You're looking at her," Lend said, grinning.
David raised his eyebrows. "Really? Wait, Lend, you haven't finished your story, don't think I'm going to forget."
Lend sighed. "It's actually more Evie's story than mine, considering all I did was sit in an empty white cell. I didn't tell them anything, so they wouldn't let me go. Then their tagged paranormals started getting hit, and they finally picked up on this thing. Evie had a run- in with it, and-"
"You saw it?" David asked me.
"We both did," I said. I tried to shut her image out of my mind, but when I closed my eyes it was like she had burned herself onto my eyelids. "I saw her once right after she killed a hag and Jacques-a werewolf. But I couldn't see her very well."
"It's a woman? What is it?"
Lend shrugged. "Looked like a totally normal girl to me. But Evie can see through glamours."
Every time I thought David couldn't look any more surprised he topped it. "You can see through glamours?"
I nodded. "It's a glamourless life." My favorite joke hurt tonight. Lish always liked that one.
He sat down heavily in another chair. "Wow. The possibilities-I've never heard of anyone being able to-That's amazing. No wonder they were finally able to find common ground to form IPCA. So what is this thing?"
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like her." My wrist shone up at me. Well, that wasn't quite true. Stupid, stupid Reth. "She's like-like living, liquid flame. She's so bright it hurts my eyes."
"That's new. What's her glamour?"
Lend gave me an apologetic look, then shimmered as he transformed into Fire Girl. David swore softly, looking from Lend- as- fire- girl to me.
"I can't get her eyes right," Lend said. Fire Girl's voice coming out of his mouth made me shudder. "Can't get Evie's, either."
I felt guilty and dirty, even though I hadn't done anything wrong. David gave me a wary look. "And you brought her home?"
Lend shifted back to normal. "Dad, no, don't even start. She saved my life. That thing would have killed me. And Evie didn't just save me, she saved every werewolf there. She doesn't know who or what it is any more than we do."
David shook his head, bothered. "Well, I guess we know what we're looking for now. Or at least a description. I have no idea what she is."
I didn't know if he was talking about me or Fire Girl. "I'm not-You have to believe me. I'm not like her, whatever she is. She's horrible, and she killed-she killed my best friend." My voice cracked. She took Lish away from me, from the world. I didn't ever want to think about her again, and I couldn't stand Lend's dad suspecting I was somehow in league with her.
"She broke into the Center tonight." Lend put his arm around my shoulders. I appreciated that one little gesture more than I could say. He believed me no matter what. When I looked up, I could tell his dad did, too. His eyes were gentle and kind again. "She must have planned everything, because they had called all their paranormals in and the werewolves were sleeping, so easy targets. We barely got out. I need to talk to Mom about what we saw."
I was surprised again. I don't know why I'd assumed he didn't have parents. Maybe he was adopted; things like Lend don't just happen. And the timing of his dad leaving APCA would have been right around when Lend was born. I definitely wanted to hear more about this.
"Can't visit her tonight, it's too cold," Lend's dad answered, which was even more confusing.
"Evie? Are you okay?"
I was shaking. "I'm cold," I said, trying not to let my teeth chatter. More than that I was overwhelmed and beyond exhausted.
David stood. "I'm going to give you something for your leg; it'll hurt when the numbing wears off. And if it's okay I'll give you painkillers with a sleep aid. Would you like that?"
"Yeah. Thanks." I wasn't looking forward to trying to fall asleep tonight on my own. I wanted to check out, leave reality.
He went through a cupboard, coming back with a couple of pills and a glass of water. I chugged them; they couldn't kick in fast enough as far as I was concerned.
"Where are we going to put her?" David asked. "The guest rooms are off- limits tonight."
"Oh, yeah. She can sleep in my room. I'll take the couch."
"That's okay, I'm fine on the couch." I didn't want to be any more intrusive than I already felt.
"Saving Lend's life and breaking him out of the Center earns you a bed, I think," David said with a smile.
"I'll take you up and get you a sweatshirt so you won't be so cold."
"Thanks."
"Come back down when you're done, young man. We've still got some things to talk about."
Lend held back a sigh and nodded. The phone rang and David answered it. "He's home." He sounded relieved. "Everything's okay. We've got some new intel, too."
Wondering if that was Lend's mom, I stood and followed Lend up the stairs. He passed a couple of doors. Both were bolted shut with thick locks-on the outside. Nervous that his door would feature that nifty little security measure as well, I was relieved when he stopped and opened a bolt- free door.
"Oops," he said, picking some things up off the floor before I could see them. "Sorry, I've never had a girl in my room." He smiled sheepishly as he shoved them in a dresser drawer.
I gave him the best smile I could manage. "I've never been in a boy's room, so we're even." It was great, with sketches and band posters tacked up all over the pale blue walls. I wanted to just stand there, looking at how he defined himself through his room. That way I wouldn't have to think or be alone.
"Oh, here's a sweatshirt." He pulled a dark green hoodie out of the messy closet. I put it on; it was nice to have my wrist covered up again. Plus, it smelled like Lend. It was a fresh, cool scent, like what you'd expect by a cascade or waterfall. I hugged my arms around myself, trying to get warm again.
The bed was the only thing that didn't quite fit the room. It was a four- poster, and the headboard and footboard were elaborate, scrolling metal. It didn't go at all with the simple, soft- looking blue comforter. I put my hand on one of the poles. "Iron." I smiled in relief. Obviously Lend's dad knew his faerie lore. It made me feel a little bit safer-at least as far as Reth was concerned. Iron couldn't protect me from nightmares, though.
"I'll be downstairs if you need anything, okay?"
I turned and smiled. "Thanks."
He stood there for a moment, looking awkward, then leaned in and gave me a quick hug. "Thank you," he said, then left, closing the door behind him.
I held my breath. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to call out, ask him to come and stay with me until I fell asleep, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'd already spent the entire night bawling in front of him.
I turned off the light, but as soon as it was dark I could see spots that reminded me of Fire Girl. I flipped the lights back on. No dark for me tonight. Climbing into bed, I curled up to get warmer under the covers.
In spite of my best efforts, I couldn't keep my mind from drifting to exactly what I didn't want to remember. Here in this warm house with a family, I was alone. I could never go back to my home at IPCA, never tell Raquel just how much she meant to me. Oh, please, I prayed to the silence, let Raquel be okay.
But my poor, sweet Lish was gone forever. In her place was the terrible beauty of Fire Girl, walking death in the sterile hallways of the Center. In my mind, she was still gliding through the rooms, cheerfully sucking the life out of anything and anyone she found.
I hoped she would never get out.
Paranormalcy
GIRL TALK
I walked through the Center hallways, blinking against the white. The place was empty. I kept expecting to find bodies, but it was pristine, abandoned. I stood in front of my unit, then walked through the door without it opening. That was strange.
She was already there, sitting on my purple couch. "There you are." She smiled pleasantly at me. We definitely had the same eyes, but her lips were a little wider than mine. She looked like she was a few inches taller, too.
"Why aren't you on fire anymore?" I asked. "And, hey, that's mine!" She was wearing the zebra print dress.
"Oh, chill out." She rolled her eyes.
"Where's the fire?" I looked down at my wrist-mine was gone, too.
"It's right there." She gestured toward the corner, where the liquid flames pulsed and shimmered, spherical with constantly shifting edges. I held out my hand toward them. For the first time I realized they were beautiful. I wanted them.
"You can't get them yet," she said. "Have a seat."
I sat down on the far end of the couch, narrowing my eyes. I knew I should be scared of her. I wasn't. "What is this?"
"A dream, you dork."
"Oh." I frowned. Weird. "Are you going to kill me?"
"I might have earlier, by accident. Sometimes I get carried away." She flashed an impish grin. "It's kind of hard not to get lost in the rush. But now that I know who you are, I would never."
"Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm Vivian."
"You killed my best friend. I thought I'd have nightmares."
She shrugged. "That wouldn't be very nice of me, coming in here and scaring you. I just want to talk. I've been trying to get through to you for a while now."
"So, wait, you're really here? Where am I?" What had Lend's dad given me in those pain pills?
"You don't know anything, do you? We share a soul now, so I thought I'd drop in, introduce myself properly."
"What do you mean we share a soul?" I glared at her. "I don't want to share anything with you; I've got my own soul!"
"Seriously, chill out. You're so tense. We share a soul, not your soul. I borrowed some from Reth when he brought me here; he had a ton in his hand, which was weird; usually you can only pull from the chest. I wanted to see if I could drain him-I've never done a faerie before, they won't let me touch them-but he pulled away before I could get much. Man, that was a nice trip."
"Wait, he gave you some of the fire stuff too? I hate it! It burns like crazy!"
"You must be doing it wrong. It's the greatest feeling ever."
I shook my head. We were getting off topic. "What are you?"
"Tsk- tsk, so rude. We're the same thing."
"We are not the same!" She was getting on my nerves. Even in my dreams no one would give me a straight answer.
"Don't be stupid, Evie. If I'd known you would be so pissy, I wouldn't have come. I guess you don't want answers after all."
I knew I should be sad or angrier, but my emotions seemed removed. The fire in the corner kept distracting me. I wanted to watch the flames, touch them. It was all I could do to keep my eyes on Vivian. "I don't want anything from you. You killed my best friend, remember?"
"No, not really. Who was it?"
"The mermaid."
"Oh." She looked puzzled. "She was your friend?"
"Yeah." My eyes drifted to the corner. They weren't like flames, exactly, more golden and wavering. Almost like this great shade of nail polish I had once. But on fire. That didn't make any sense. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind.
Vivian shrugged. "Sorry. But I was doing her a favor."
"A favor?" I couldn't look away from the corner now; I didn't want to.
"Giving her rest. Some peace. Don't you think the weight of all those millennia would be heavy? Besides, those things aren't supposed to be here. I'm just letting them go. Releasing them, if you will."
"Oh," I murmured distractedly.
"It's what we're supposed to do, you know," she prodded.
"Oh?"
"It would be more fun if we were together. Could be a sisters' thing."
I stood up. I had to touch it, see what it felt like.
"You can't have them yet." She sounded annoyed. "Besides, those are mine. We'll get you some of your very own, soon. And then you won't be cold or alone. Aren't you tired of being cold and alone?"
I could touch it now, if I just reached out my hand. "What is it?" I lifted my hand and, knowing I would get burned but not caring, plunged it inside.
The fire scattered, swirling around and past me. I turned to Vivian. She was the glowing, brilliant figure again. "Told you. You're empty. I'll help fill you."
I nodded, tears in my eyes. I wanted that. I didn't want to be empty anymore. Vivian walked closer to me, all heat and light, then cocked her head. "You've got to go. I'll talk to you soon." I could feel her smiling underneath the flames, and then everything went dark and cold again.
LIKE A BAD JOKE
Vivian?" I opened my eyes, panicked, and stared at the ceiling. Where had she gone?
"Evie, wake up." Lend's voice startled me.
"What are you doing here?"
He smiled. "It's my room."
I sat up, looking around. Everything from the day before clicked into place, and I wished it hadn't. It was like losing Lish again.
"Sorry," Lend said, "but they need you downstairs."
I blinked, trying to get my eyes to focus. "Who's they?"
He shrugged uncomfortably. "Just some people my dad works with. I'm sorry, I let you sleep as long as I could."
"Oh, that's okay, then. Can I go to the bathroom first?"
"Of course. It's right down here." I followed him out into the hall and he pointed out the bathroom. "Hey, who's Vivian?"
My stomach dropped as the dream flooded back. "Don't know," I blurted, walking into the bathroom. Why did I feel guilty hiding a stupid dream from Lend? I shook my head, trying to dismiss it as a meaningless nightmare. After all, Vivian had said a lot of the same things I'd heard from Reth. It was probably my brain trying to process everything that had happened. Ignoring the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach, I swished some toothpaste around my mouth.
Lend was waiting when I came out and I followed him down the stairs. The two bolted doors were open now. Wondering what I would find, I walked into the kitchen behind Lend and stopped dead.
Lend's dad, two werewolves, and a vampire. It was like the setup to a bad joke or something. A doctor, two werewolves, and a vampire walk into a bar. "What'll you have?" the bartender asks. "We were thinking him," the vampire answers, eyeing the doctor.
Okay, jokes weren't my strong point.
The yellow eyes staring warily out at me from the werewolves and the shriveled corpse face of the vamp-I automatically reached for Tasey before remembering I didn't have her. I didn't know where she was, either, which made me all sorts of nervous. All their ankles were covered by pants, but I was certain there weren't any trackers underneath.
The vampire's glamour was a pretty, goth- looking woman in her early twenties. Black hair streaked with crimson; heavy eye makeup; and all black, skintight clothing. Way to blend in there. The two werewolves, holding hands, were a man and a woman in their thirties; he was tall, with his head shaved, and she had curly brown hair, cropped very short. There was something familiar about her face, but I couldn't place it.
Of course, now the bolted doors made sense. Holy crap, I had just spent the night of a full moon with two unneutered werewolves. And a vamp, too, although one vamp I was pretty sure I could handle, even without my beloved Tasey.
"Lend, you little monster," the vampire said, glaring. "Don't you ever pull that again."
Lend hung his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean for-When did you get here?"
"Just now." She turned to me. "So." She sounded witchy. I didn't like her. "IPCA, huh?"
"So." I raised my eyebrows (wishing I could raise just one like Lend did), "Bloodsucker, huh?"
"Yeah. So are Luke and Stacey." She jerked her head toward the werewolves.
"Okay, sure. Since I'm stupid and don't know they spent last night as wolves."
All three of the paranormals looked surprised. "Fine," the vamp snapped. "Did you figure out what David is yet?"
I gave her a flat stare. "Did you really wake me up for this? Because unless one of you did something to him last night, he's human." I glanced over at him to make sure. Yup, just human.
David cleared his throat. "We wanted to ask about this." He moved to the side and gestured at the table, where I saw Tasey-yay Tasey!-my communicator, and Lend's ankle tracker. David looked sad. "You brought IPCA technology to my home. Will they track you?"
"No!" Truth was, I hadn't even thought about that stuff in the confusion last night. There wasn't a problem with it, but he had a right to be worried. "Trust me, they'd already be here. The tracker is deactivated and my communicator doesn't have GPS or anything. It kept getting screwed up and reset every time I went through the Faerie Paths so they got rid of it. They always knew where I was anyway, since the only way I ever left was with a faerie. They can't track the communicator unless you hit the panic button, I promise."
The vamp cut in again. "Sure, but you could still call them, couldn't you?"
I glared at her. "Yeah, because I really want to get locked up for the rest of my life. Sounds like a party. In fact, I think I'll turn myself in right now!"
"Like they wouldn't kill to get you back," she sneered.
I exhaled sharply, trying not to yell at her. Vamps grated on my nerves more than any other paranormal-the disconnect between their glamours and real faces was just too much. "Listen, corpse girl, do you know what I did? I broke section one of the charter. As in, the section. As in, let a paranormal loose without authorization and be locked up for the rest of your mortal life. Even if I wanted to go back, which I don't, and even if there was anything to go back to, which there probably isn't, I couldn't. So bite me."
She looked like she was going to take me up on it, but David interrupted. "That's enough. We're all on the same side here, Arianna. Lend told me everything that happened and I think Evie's right-if they could track her, they'd already be here." He picked up the communicator. "It's been beeping off and on all night. We found it with your clothes in the bathroom."
My heart leaped. Raquel! She had to be worried sick about me. If I could call her, let her know I was okay...then they'd know exactly where I was and I'd be locked up for the rest of my life. "They're probably trying to figure out whether or not I'm dead," I said sadly, then paused. How many times had I told them not to work with the faeries, urged them to trust Lend and figure this out together? Of course, my classification was proof enough of how IPCA really saw me. And no matter how I felt about Raquel, she was IPCA. I shook my head. "Let them think I'm dead."
The woman werewolf spoke, her voice gentle, fear in her eyes. "Did you really see it?"
It took me a moment to realize she was talking about Fire Girl. Vivian. I closed my eyes and nodded. It was just a stupid dream; I didn't actually know her name. I didn't want to talk about it anymore; I didn't want to think about it anymore.
"How's your leg?" Lend's dad asked.
"Oh, it's fine. Hurts a little, but nothing major."
"Good. We're going for a little walk."
"Okay." Confused, I looked over at Arianna. Vamps stayed away from sunlight. Not because they'd burst into flames or anything, but because in direct light their true selves showed through. Only a little, but they avoided it just the same.
"You'll probably want long pants," Lend said. "It's kind of cold today."
I followed him upstairs. He rifled through his clothes, frowning. "You're skinnier than I am."
I laughed. "Umm, yeah, kind of happy about that."
He looked up at me and grinned. After a minute he pulled out an old, worn pair of flannel pajama pants. "These are a couple of years old; they probably won't fall off." He handed them to me and stood there. I raised my eyebrows and he blushed. "Oh, yeah, I'll let you change."
After the door closed I slipped out of his shorts and pulled on the red and blue flannels. They were a couple inches too long, but they'd stay on. Those combined with the oversized green hoodie meant I wasn't exactly looking hot. I sighed. I could have used a shower, too, not to mention some makeup. My eyelashes were as blond as my hair; without mascara I felt like a five- year- old.
I opened the door and Lend smiled. "They look better on you."
"Wow, they must look just awful on you then." I smiled back.
He handed me my boots, which completed my ensemble of ridiculousness. To make matters worse, he looked downright adorable in a thermal shirt that fit him just right (trust me, I noticed) and a pair of jeans. I looked at his face. I loved his eyes-his real eyes. They were always the easiest of his features to pick out.
"Are you doing okay?" he asked, and his soft, sad look made everything rush in again.
"No, not really, but I'm trying not to lose it in front of everyone." I willed myself not to cry. I might bawl like a baby during The Notebook, and, sure, I cried myself to sleep sometimes...okay, a lot...but that was by myself. I didn't like doing it in front of other people.
"Let me know if you need anything."
I smiled, wanting to get a move on so I could stop thinking about things that made me sad. It was weird being on Lend's turf; I was a lot more confident when we were both in the Center. Like right now, I really wanted to hold his hand, but I wasn't brave enough to try with his dad and that stupid vamp downstairs.
Lend and I met David and Arianna outside and I got a better look around. A narrow paved road led away from the house through the trees, but we turned to the right and walked down a barely- there path into the woods for about twenty minutes. The trees were budding, the air crisp and clear with a hint of warmth. Spring was on its way. I tried to focus on the sun streaming down through the branches.
"Where are we?" I whispered to Lend.
"Virginia."
Through the trees ahead, I saw a pond fed by a wide stream to our right. We came through the last of the trees and stood on the banks. The pond was oval, fairly large, and pale blue, reflecting the cloudless sky. The edges were crystallized with frost.
"Oh, good," Lend said. "She can come out today."
I frowned at the horrible idea that maybe they were friends with a hag. But the look on Lend's face-excited and happy-reassured me that I wasn't going to meet a violent end. "Who?" I asked.
He smiled at me. "My mom."
RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Your mom?" I asked. I turned back to the pond, looking for a house of some sort, but there was nothing. Lend picked up a rock and, giving it an expert flick with his wrist, skipped it across the top of the water. Another thing he could do that I always wanted to. The others were watching the water expectantly, so I did the same.
The middle of the pond moved, shifting as though there was a sudden change of current. It turned toward us, the water building up and moving of its own accord, creating a small wake. I'll admit I was nervous. Most of my experience with paranormals involved things that could kill me. It was all I could do not to take a step back as the wave came closer, flowing faster and rising above the level of the pond.
When it got within feet of the shore, the water shot up, spraying high into the air. Little droplets, freezing cold, showered down on my head. The water settled to reveal a woman standing there. Well, standing being relative, considering she was still on the water and made of it, too. The light reflected off her rippling form; she was absolutely amazing. Her top half was well- formed, right down to a hauntingly beautiful face and cascading hair. She held out slender arms toward us. After her waist the water dropped down, forming a sort of dress shape where it connected back to the pond.
"Hi, Mom." Lend waved cheerfully.
She laughed. It blew my mind. I had always thought Reth had the most beautiful voice and laughter, but she put him to shame. It made you feel like you were lying next to a stream on a warm day, letting it run over your fingers as you lost every care in the world except the cool, cleansing sensation. It bubbled with clear music notes.
"Hello, my darling," she said. Her features rippled into a smile as she looked at Lend. I could see right through her to the other side, but the way her face manipulated the water and reflected light you could see her expressions. It was like Lend in his normal form, only much less stable. I noticed something else, too. Her heart, or where her heart would have been, seemed to generate light-like she glowed from inside. This must be a normal thing for paranormals. Why had I not noticed before?
"Cresseda," Lend's dad said. He looked happy and sad at the same time, watching her. It made me wonder what the family history was.
"David."
"He got home safely."
She laughed again. "I told you he would. And he found the answer." She fixed her eyes on me. I didn't know what to do, so I raised one hand in an awkward wave.
Lend looked down, shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't find anything. I saw what was doing this, but I don't have any answers."
Cresseda shook her head, water droplets raining down in front of her. "You have the answer with you." She smiled, and her eyes, insubstantial as they were, seemed to bore straight through me. "What a lovely balance. Lend shows whatever he wants the world to see and you see through whatever the world wants to show you."
"What do you mean?" Arianna interrupted.
Cresseda shimmered like she was about to lose her form. "Lend found what he was meant to find."
David frowned. "You mean-Did you send him?" He turned to Lend. "Is that why you went? Did she ask you to?"
Lend shook his head. "No, I went because I heard you guys talking. Didn't you get that info from a banshee?"
"Yeah, but I-"
"Things are not as they should be. Now they may return. Or they may be lost entirely," Cresseda said thoughtfully. And really unhelpfully, too. She wasn't much good in the whole making- sense department. Of course, Lend had been talented at the whole vague, random- answer thing while he was in the Center. It was obvious now where he'd learned it. "Change is coming. 'Eyes like streams of melting snow.'" She smiled at me again.
I shrugged, uncomfortable. "That's not about me."
She shook her head. I didn't know whether she was agreeing with me or telling me I was wrong. "The waters are emptier now." Her voice was tinged with sorrow. "I am sorry about Alisha. You will set it right?"
"How did you know about Lish?" I asked, my voice catching.
"She was part of the waters. Return her to us?"
I shook my head, tearing up again. "I can't; she's dead."
"Cresseda," David said, his voice gentle and leading, like he was trying to get her to focus. "We know a little more about the thing that's doing this. We were hoping you could help us."
She waved one hand dismissively. "This is not a matter of the waters-it is a matter of fire and spirit. The path is not mine and I cannot see it." Lend's shoulders slumped. Everyone in the group looked disappointed. "And, Lend? Stand up straight, stop slouching. My beautiful boy."
I almost laughed. I guess she really was a mom, after all. She beamed and the light reflecting from her grew brighter, then the water that formed her let go, dropping back to the pond with a loud splash.
"Bye, Mom," Lend said softly.
Arianna folded her arms petulantly. "Well, that was a bloody waste of time."
"I don't know," an all- too familiar voice mused behind us. "I found it rather entertaining." I turned around, terror bleeding from my stomach outward until even my fingers trembled.
Everyone else seemed equally shocked, although only Lend looked scared. Reth stood in the middle of the path like some sort of beautiful Victorian dandy. He even had a walking stick-clearly freedom agreed with him and he'd stepped up his fashion. If he weren't so breathtaking, he would have looked ridiculous. On him it worked, and somehow made him creepier.
"What do you want?" David asked, his voice even and cautious.
"I've come to collect what's mine." He smiled at me. It was over. Without his new name, I was powerless. I didn't even have any weapons. He would take me and there was nothing anyone could do.
"Don't touch her!" Lend jumped in front of me, planting his feet and holding out his arms. If I weren't so scared it would have been adorable-Lend thinking he could fight off a faerie. I wanted to cry. I'd never see him again and it broke my heart.
Reth frowned. "You are getting very tiresome."
I put my hand on Lend's back. "Lend, no!" He had to get out of here. He knew what Reth could do, what Reth would do.
David, hands in his pockets, stepped closer to the faerie. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met. I'm David. What's your interest in Evie?"
Reth didn't even glance at him. "Time we were off." He held out his hand. My mind raced as I tried to think of a way out that didn't end up with anyone dead.
Arianna stood her ground, spitting on the path in front of him. "She's not going anywhere with you."
Reth raised an eyebrow. "What charming company you keep, my love." He flicked a hand lazily and Arianna went flying into a tree.
The sun glinted off something on David's knuckles as he swung at Reth's face. What good did he think that would do? His fist connected, and Reth fell backward, clutching at his face with an inhuman shriek. My jaw dropped as David turned toward us. "Let's go, now."
He turned his back too soon. From the ground Reth raised his hand and whispered something.
I shrieked as my wrist burned and I was dragged forward. I dug my heels into the dirt, but the pull was too strong and I fell forward, knocking Lend out of the way. There was nothing to hold on to. I clutched at my wrist like I could somehow tear away the fire.
Lend jumped on top of me, grabbing me around the waist and bracing us both with his feet. We slowed. Reth raised his other hand and the fire flared, pulling from my heart now, too. I screamed in agony. It hurt so bad I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. A door melted into place behind Reth. A few more feet and I'd be his forever.
"No!" Lend squeezed me even tighter. David spun to hit Reth again, forcing the faerie to move one of his hands; I gasped with relief as my heart was released. He froze David on the spot.
Reth dusted himself off, maintaining his pull on my wrist. "Barbaric race, really. Now then." He glared at Lend and raised a hand.
"No, don't hurt him, I'll come, I'll come!" I sobbed. At least then the pain would be over and Lend would be safe.
"No!" Lend yanked me backward, gaining a few feet on Reth.
Smiling, Reth opened his mouth. He was going to kill Lend.
Water, foaming and flecked with bits of ice, shot past us, whipping my hair forward with the force of its motion. Before hitting Reth, the water curved, turning back on itself and swirling around us. The fire in my wrist died, the invisible threads cut. Lend and I sat safe in the middle of the vortex, watching Reth's image ripple through the water.
"Really now," Reth snapped, looking past us. "I would hope that you, of all things, would understand. You know what she means to us. All of us."
"That is my son."
Reth's nose wrinkled in distaste. "I see. Very well, he's of no import to me. I'll take Evelyn and be on my merry way."
"She is under my protection as well."
"She's no thing of yours. The waters have no claim."
"Neither does the air."
"We made her!"
My blood froze. What did he mean?
"Creation is not claim," Cresseda said.
"And yet you claim the boy," Reth sneered.
"Leave." Cresseda's voice had gone from bubbling brook to roaring waterfall; it was power, eternal and unassailable.
Reth straightened his waistcoat and picked up his walking stick. "Very well. I'm not the only one who will come looking, though. Until next time, my love." He waved his cane at me and stepped back through the door.
ONE OF A KIND
Arianna wasn't dead. Or deader, I guess. I never thought I'd be so relieved about a vamp, but the girl had guts. Back at the house, David patched up her ribs while Stacey and Luke holed themselves in upstairs, avoiding me after hearing what had happened. I didn't blame them. I was like a plague: where I came, bad things followed.
"How did you hurt Reth?" I asked as David finished checking Arianna's ribs. I realized Reth had a new name, but had no idea what.
David stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled something out. It looked like brass knuckles but the wrong color. Iron. Brilliant. "Designed them myself."
Was he cool or what? "Can I get a set?" Lend and I asked at the same time.
David laughed. "I'll see what I can do."
"What if Reth comes back?" Lend asked.
"There's a reason he didn't come to the house. We're not very faerie friendly here. But I wouldn't underestimate your mom's power. Now that he knows the water elementals are protecting Evie, I don't think he'll try anything. Soon he'll forget he was ever interested in her."
I hoped that was true, but I seriously doubted it. It sounded too dismissive, too like Raquel. I wasn't just some pretty thing Reth wanted to dance with-his interest in me ran far deeper. There was some sinister purpose behind it all. Still, David was obviously faerie savvy, and with Cresseda's protection, maybe I really would be safe. Until I had to leave here, of course.
"There are a few other tricks," David said, walking to the counter. He grabbed a loaf of bread, took out two slices, and handed them to us. "Keep a bit of stale bread in your pockets all the time."
"Okay," I said, frowning dubiously at the bread.
He laughed. "It works. Faeries don't like things that tie them to our earth. Bread is the staff of life for humans-they won't touch it. Same thing with iron; it binds them here, rings too sharply of imprisonment. That's why it hurts them."
"Cool!" Bread, at least, I could take with me everywhere. "Can I have my taser back, too?" Tasey wasn't much good against faeries, but I felt kind of naked without her.
Frowning thoughtfully, he finally nodded and gave it to me. I had to restrain myself from stroking the pink grip.
Arianna fixed her clothes, glaring at me. "Why's the faerie so obsessed with you anyway? You're not that cute."
David cleared his throat loudly. "Lend, why don't you take Evie into town, get her some clothes and things?"
My heart leaped in my chest. That sounded promising. "I can stay?" I had been waiting for him to kick me out since we got here. I figured it was a sure thing now with the added Reth threat. I wouldn't want me around, either.
"Of course." He smiled at me. "You brought my son back. You're always welcome." I wouldn't cry, not again, but that one sentence meant the world to me. Maybe I wasn't totally alone, after all.
Lend frowned. "You're trying to get rid of us so you can talk about all this, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Fine." Lend held out his hand. "Keys? And a credit card?"
David pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it over with the car keys. "Be back before dark. You're still grounded."
"I promise not to have any fun," Lend said solemnly.
"Get out of here, you bum," his dad said, shaking his head.
We climbed into a plain silver sedan. Maybe I'm weird, but watching Lend drive was sexy.
"So," he said, "I'm guessing you have some questions?"
"Just one: what's the limit on that card?" He looked shocked until I started laughing. "Kidding. I'm not going to push my luck, don't worry. I would, however, like to get pants that aren't yours, no offense. And I do have a few questions-real questions."
He smiled. "I figured. How about I start at the beginning?"
"A very good place to start."
"You already know my dad was APCA. Some of the things they were doing really bothered him. The imprisonment, regulations, forced sterilizations, tracking-"
"Whoa, hold on-forced sterilizations?"
He glanced at me. "You didn't know? They were worried about what would happen if a werewolf got pregnant by another werewolf. Had this whole panic, ethics debate, so on and so forth, then made any paranormal- human hybrid breeding with another paranormal or human totally illegal, and, umm, made it so no werewolves they caught could ever reproduce."
All those neutering jokes I had made-they weren't jokes. "Oh," I whispered, horrified. "I had no idea." I thought about all the werewolves I knew, Charlotte especially. She had always been so sweet and attentive. She would have made a great mom. And IPCA took that away from her after everything else she had already lost. "I think that's the worst thing I've ever heard." Then it really hit me-would they have done that to me? Would I have been seen as a breeding risk? Even the term, "paranormal breeding." They really thought of all paranormals as animals. What else did IPCA do that I didn't know about?
"Anyway, he was on an extended assignment trying to track down evidence of nymphs or sprites. He found my mom."
"What is she, exactly?"
"Kind of the equivalent of a nymph. She's a water spirit, an elemental. She thought he was funny and kept showing up to talk to him. And my dad fell in love with her." He smiled. "That was all it took to convince him that he was done with APCA. They weren't about to let someone who knew as many secrets as him quit, so he faked his own death by drowning. They lost a lot of operatives in those days and it wasn't a hard sell."
"So did your mom and dad-" I stopped, suddenly aware of what awkward territory I was heading into.
"She's made of water. If you tried to touch her, your hand would go right through." This was so not adding up, and I didn't want to try to come up with an explanation. Fortunately, he continued. "But all elementals have the gift of choice. My mom decided that, after all the ages she'd been around, she'd like to see what really being alive, being human, was like. So she took on a mortal form and lived with my dad as husband and wife. But she couldn't leave the water-she didn't want to. She didn't tell him, but she took on mortality for only one year. That was long enough to make me." He smiled and blushed. "And at the end of the year, she gave my dad a son and went back to the water."
I looked at him in amazement. He was incredible. My original idea of him as water come to life was exactly right. I wondered what Lish would have thought, since she was a water paranormal, too. It stung, knowing that my best friend had never met this boy I was crazy about. They would have loved each other.
"So you really are one of a kind, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "Guess so. It was hard for my dad when I was little. I changed form constantly; it was like a game. I had to be homeschooled until I was old enough to understand that it would be really dangerous if people found out about me. Plus, you met my mom-she wasn't exactly the most helpful parent." He glanced at me warily, as though he expected me to laugh. "So...that's where I came from."
I smiled, shaking my head. "You are so freaking awesome."
He laughed, obviously relieved. I was way too happy. Part of it was Lend opening up to me, part was knowing I had a place with his family. But besides that, I hadn't been in a car in like six years. I eyed him in the driver's seat with undisguised envy.
"Tell you what," he said, noticing my stare. "I know you can't get a license, but I might be able to do something better."
"What?"
He smiled. "How would you like to come to school with me tomorrow and see a real, live locker?"
I'm pretty sure I squealed.
After our shopping was done (I was so eager to get out of Lend's clothes, I changed in the store bathroom), we got back into the car. I was pretty sure he had checked me out a few times. I hoped so, at least. Goodness knows I was doing my fair share of sneaky staring. "You hungry?" he asked, pulling out.
"Oh, my gosh, I'm starving," I said, just now realizing it. I looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was three in the afternoon.
"Let's get something to eat, then."
"Aren't you grounded?" I teased.
"My dad said be back by dark. It's not dark yet."
We drove a couple of blocks to a small diner. I had never been on the East Coast before except for a few late night jobs, so I enjoyed looking around. Lots of trees, hinting at buds. We walked into the diner and my jaw dropped.
Every single person in there was a paranormal.
"Umm, you do know this whole place is filled with werewolves, vamps, and a couple of other things I've never seen before, right?" I whispered. Lend laughed, sitting down in a booth.
"Well, yeah. My dad owns it."
"Oh."
"After Mom went back to the water, he was left with a very paranormal son. He knew how bad things were with the government agencies, so he decided to do something about it. He runs sort of an underground railroad for paranormals, shielding them from IPCA, giving them jobs, helping them control the nastier sides of themselves."
"What about the vamps? Does he let them suck someone dry every now and then?"
"There are lots of other sources of blood. They all know that if they break the rules, he won't help them anymore. Most of them are young vamps, too. They still remember what it was like to be human and don't really relish the thought of killing. Plus they're helpful with the whole mind control thing."
I felt kind of bad. I had never even considered giving vamps the benefit of the doubt. "Do you have any hags?"
Lend laughed. "We're accepting, not suicidal."
I sighed in relief. "Okay then. That's pretty cool, I guess." Truth was, the whole thing made me more than a little nervous. The sentiment was great, but expecting all these creatures to control their natural instincts? Sounded dangerous. How many lives were worth risking to give a handful of vampires more freedom?
A waitress came to take our orders, interrupting my thoughts. She knew Lend and was drop- dead gorgeous, with blond hair, blue eyes, and these absolutely luscious lips. Her non- glamour face was just as beautiful, although it was mottled brown and gray. We both ordered and she turned around. My jaw dropped. Underneath her glamour her back was hollow like an old tree, and she had a tail. "What is she?" I whispered.
"Nona? Oh, she's a huldra. Tree spirit."
Watching her and the other paranormals in there, things shifted for me. They were vibrant, happy, not hurting anyone. This was a good place.
I used to think that IPCA was some noble organization, protecting humans. But I thought it helped paranormals, too. The werewolves and vamps had jobs, and all paranormals had protected status. However, this recent information gave me a new perspective. IPCA acted on absolutes, and I was increasingly realizing that nothing was absolute in this world.
Lend's dad wasn't totally right, but he was probably more right than my former employers.
I thought of something else. "With all the stuff you know about IPCA, how were you so calm while we-they-were holding you? I would have been freaking out."
He laughed. "Oh, trust me, I was terrified. Beyond terrified. I kept waiting for them to cut me open or something. Lucky for me they were distracted with the dead paranormals, otherwise I don't even want to think about it."
"Man, I thought you were like some supercool operative and knew exactly what you were doing. Now I find out you weren't even supposed to be there in the first place."
"I've got a lot of practice acting. I do it every waking hour, after all." He had a point-he acted with his whole appearance.
"Well, I guess I still think you're pretty cool."
"Thank goodness." He shook his head in mock relief. "Of course, I can't really act in front of you." He gave me a small, shy smile. It must have been so weird for him that I could see him like no one else. I kinda liked it.
"You don't need to act for me," I answered, then blushed. Wow, was that dorky or what? Pretty soon I would tell him how dreamy I thought his real eyes were, and how much I'd like him to hold my hand in a non- the- world- is- ending- and- I'm- being- nice sort of way. He smiled bigger and we both went back to our food. Good thing too, because I was probably one step away from blurting out hey, wanna be my boyfriend?
When we left, half the restaurant waved cheerily to Lend, most of them giving me curious looks. I figured it was a good thing they didn't know who I was. I tried not to stare at anyone, pretending like I couldn't see what they really were. Besides the tree spirit waitress, there was a woman who had fins underneath her glamour legs, several werewolves, a couple of vamps, and I was pretty sure I had seen two gnomes working in the back. This place was even weirder than the Center.
Remembering my old home made me feel more pangs of guilt. I didn't even know if Raquel was okay, and I was sure she'd be really worried about me. But there was so much she never told me, so much she hid, it was easier to push down the guilt in favor of anger. And Lish I tried not to think about at all. If I were still in the Center, her absence would be like a hole in my heart. Here I was so removed from my previous life that it made it a little easier. I could pretend she was still there in her tank, waving her hands around and making the computer say bleep.
When we got back to his house, Lend sighed. "I'd better call some friends and find out how far behind I am in my classes." He pulled out his phone.
"Lend?" David called.
"Yup," Lend answered. "We're back, we already ate."
"I know, Nona called and told me you were there."
The person Lend was calling picked up and he started talking. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. My impulse was to go to Lend's room. I always thought the Center made me claustrophobic, but now I suspected I had the opposite problem. All that time today in open spaces and outdoors made me kind of twitchy, nervous to get back inside. How lame was that?
And I still couldn't get over what Lend had said, especially about the sterilizations. "David?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Yes?" He looked up from the table.
"I-I didn't know. About IPCA, I mean. The things they do." I looked guiltily at the floor, remembering all the werewolves I had brought in. And now I had abandoned them for this safe, happy home. "I want to help, if I can."
"I told you and Lend, I don't want you involved in this anymore."
"No, not the killer thing. I mean, with other things. With what you're doing here." It hit me. "The werewolves! All IPCA's werewolves were taken out of the Center! We can help them."
"Where?" David stood.
My heart sank. "Oh. I don't know. I made a faerie get them out so they'd be safe. I have no idea where she took them. The Center is in northeastern Canada, if that helps. Maybe she just took them outside?"
"It's in Canada?"
"APCA wanted it here but the other countries pitched a fit. Everyone hated APCA because you guys always had the best technology. One of the conditions of forming IPCA was that the main center had to be off US ground, so they picked Canada since it was fairly neutral." Politics. Honestly.
He frowned thoughtfully. "If they're still unsupervised, we might have an opening. I have a few contacts I could try. They've got to be somewhere."
"What about the ankle trackers?"
"We've been working against IPCA for a long time, Evie. I couldn't do this without a few key people on the inside. We'll figure something out." He smiled. I felt a little better. At least I'd done something to help Charlotte. Hopefully.
But him saying he had someone on the inside made me remember Raquel. I cleared my throat, nervous. "Umm, could you maybe find out if some of my friends are okay?"
"If you mean Raquel, I've already contacted my sources and they're going to let me know where she is as soon as they find out."
I let out a relieved breath. "Thanks!"
I went into the family room and sat down on the couch next to Lend. Not next next to him like I wanted to, but close. After a few minutes he closed his phone and sighed. "I'm dead. This is going to take me forever to make up. I'll be right back. I gotta go see what books I have here so I can get started." He grabbed the shopping bags and went upstairs.
I watched him leave, jealous of his life. I'd even take real homework.
"Oh," Arianna said, her voice flat. She had just come in the room and looked annoyed that I was there. "I was going to watch TV." She gave me a just- try- to- stop- me look.
"Be my guest." I didn't move, giving her a don't- think- you- can- bully- me- bloodsucker look.
She sat down in an armchair next to the couch and pulled out a couple of remotes. After searching through a menu, she selected a show and hit play.
"No way!" I sat up. "I totally love this one."
"You like Easton Heights?"
"Umm, best show ever."
"I know, huh?" The eyes of her glamour were lit up, excited. The dead eyes underneath even looked a little animated. "I missed a couple of episodes while I was out looking for that twit," she said, glaring at Lend as he walked in the room.
Lend sat down on the couch-closer to me than he had been before-and then noticed the show. He sighed heavily. "Great. I am kind of trying to get some-"
"Shhh!" Arianna and I said at the same time.
After catching up on all the episodes she missed, Arianna and I had a long, slightly heated discussion over who Cheyenne should end up with. She wasn't as much fun as Lish, but she certainly knew her Easton Heights. I wondered what Lish would think, knowing I was talking about our show with an untagged vamp. At least Lish would have my back in the argument.
"You know she belongs with Landon," I said.
"Oh, as if! He'll never reform. She should just accept that Alex is going to make her happy."
"You're crazy! What about the time Alex got drunk and went to that club where he made out with Carys before he found out they were actually cousins? Yeah, that's stability."
Lend stood. "Evie, we've got to wake up early tomorrow for school."
"Oh, yeah, good point." I was pretty exhausted. "We'll talk about this tomorrow," I warned Arianna.
Lend and I walked up the stairs together. "You can have your room back," I said.
"Don't worry about it. It's not a full moon anymore, so Stacey and Luke can share a room again. I'll take the extra one."
"I could take the extra one."
He shrugged, smiling. "I already put all your stuff in there-don't worry about it. We'll get you settled more permanently tomorrow."
I really, really liked the sound of that. After getting ready for bed, I bumped into him in the hall again. "I had a great time today. Besides the whole Reth attack, I mean."
"Me, too." We were both quiet, and then he leaned forward, giving me a strange look. For a second I thought he was going to hug me or-holy bleep-maybe even kiss me and I got all excited. Then he just smiled and said, "Good night."
"Oh, umm, night," I said back, not even managing to hide my disappointment.
I was never going to get kissed, was I?
HIJINKS AND HIGH SCHOOLS
I woke up early the next morning, relieved after a dreamless sleep and buzzing with excitement to go to a real, live high school. I took a quick shower and got ready. It was nice to be able to do my hair and makeup-it made things feel a little more normal. I chose a shirt Lend had picked out for me (pink and sparkly, how cute was that?) and was ready to go forty- five minutes before we needed to leave. Lend hadn't even woken up yet. With nothing else to do, I went downstairs to eat breakfast.
David was sitting at the table with Arianna and the two werewolves. "Oh, hey," I said, feeling like I had intruded. David smiled at me, and Arianna even gave me a nod. Stacey and Luke barely looked at me. I think I scared them. Awesome.
"Cereal's in the pantry-help yourself," David said. I did, finding a bowl and spoon and then sitting at the counter to eat. I tried not to listen to their conversation, but it was a small kitchen. "If we just knew how it was killing them."
"Wait, what?" I turned around to face the group. "Are you talking about the girl that's killing paranormals? I saw her."
"You did? How does she do it?" They all looked at me, eager and intense.
"It's weird. She just sort of puts her hand on their chests and then they're dead. Afterward, there's a handprint, all shimmery and golden, but it fades. I don't think anyone else would be able to see it."
"Can you show me exactly what she did?" David stood up. "Are you sure she didn't have a weapon of some sort?"
"Nope, nothing."
Arianna stepped up. "Show him on me."
It was more than a little awkward. I wasn't all that eager to put my hand on Arianna's chest-I wouldn't have been even if she weren't undead. Not my thing. Still, David was watching intently, so I shrugged. "Okay, she walked up and put her hand out like this, and then-"
The second we touched, Arianna's eyes went wide and she started convulsing, letting out a horrible shriek.
David jumped back and I screamed, yanking my hand away in terror. What had I done? I really was like Vivian, a murderer. I watched, stunned, for the golden handprint to show up and Arianna to crumple to the ground. And a part of me, a small, terrible part, waited to know what it would feel like.
Her convulsions shifted into giggles. "Oh, I got you bad!" She was laughing so hard now she doubled over.
I leaned against the counter and gasped for breath. Trying not to cry, I shoved her shoulder, almost knocking her over. "You stupid brat! I can't believe you did that!"
David sighed. "That was in very poor taste."
At the table, Stacey had her head buried in Luke's chest. She was bawling, and Luke looked like he wanted to rip Arianna's throat out.
"Oh, lighten up," she said, still laughing. "That was awesome and you know it. You should have seen the look on your face. You really thought you were killing me."
"Yeah, well, now I kind of want to." I glared at her. I couldn't get that dumb dream out of my head. I had actually thought of Fire Girl as Vivian again.
"Hey, good morning." Lend walked into the kitchen, stopping as he took in everyone's faces. "What did I miss?"
"Arianna's a freaking comedic genius," I muttered, sitting back down to finish my cereal.
"Evie was showing us how this thing kills, and Arianna decided to make it a little more dramatic," David added drily.
"So great," Arianna said, finally getting her laughter under control.
"Were you talking about the poem?" Lend asked. "What have you figured out?"
David shook his head. "No, you're officially banned from listening to us. Or thinking about this. Or even thinking about thinking about this, understand?"
"But I-"
"No. I mean it. You and Evie both. This is not your problem anymore."
Lend scowled as he got some cereal and sat next to me. Honestly, I had been under so much pressure for so long that it was a relief to turn it over to the adults. I didn't want to think about faeries or crazy burning girls anymore. I, for one, would be following David's rules. It was about time I got to be sixteen.
I pushed the image of Lish's lifeless body out of my mind with a wave of guilt. This wasn't my fight. I'd done my part already.
"Are you ready?" Lend asked.
"Oh yeah." I was so ready. Distractions, please. "Are there are a lot of paranormals at the school, too? Vamps?"
Arianna snorted. "Why on earth would a vampire go to high school?"
"Well, then I don't have to deal with you today, so already high school's super."
"You'd better get going," Lend's dad said, looking at the clock.
I followed Lend out to the car, practically skipping.
We pulled up to a sprawling brick building and parked in a crowded lot. I jumped out of the car, waiting impatiently while Lend gathered his backpack and books.
"We'll go to the office first to check you in." We entered through glass double doors, and a couple of perky office ladies greeted us. Lend gave them a winning smile. "I've got my absence excuse slip and I'm checking in my guest. I think my dad called?"
"Oh, yes," said one of the ladies, a plump woman with short, curly red hair. "Been sick, sweetheart?"
"Yup. Pretty bad." Lend handed her a paper and she looked over it, then entered something into a computer. She handed me a visitor pass, which I rather reluctantly clipped to the bottom of my shirt. Lame.
"Okay, you're all set."
"Thanks." I got butterflies in my stomach as we turned and walked through the door into the main hallway.
It was amazing. Seriously, it was incredible. The school was kind of run- down and dingy, but the kids! Teenagers, everywhere! Deliciously ordinary, completely oblivious teenagers! I had never been around so many at one time. Lend and I cut into the traffic flow and walked down the hall, and I realized that none of them noticed us or cared. They jostled each other, shouted hellos, insulted each other in slang I'd never heard but vowed to try out. And I was there in the middle of it all.
I was normal. It was heaven.
We turned down a side hall and Lend stopped, holding his hands up dramatically. "I give you-my locker."
It was a sickly teal, paint chipping off the corners to reveal a previous tan coat. I reached out and put my hand on the cold metal.
"So, is it everything you imagined?" he asked.
"Everything I imagined and more," I whispered, then busted up laughing. "Seriously, this whole place-it's incredible! I can't believe you get to do this every day!"
"Funny, because most people here, myself included, really wish that we didn't have to."
"That's because you have no idea how precious normal is. Now." I put my hands on my hips and looked around. "According to Easton Heights, a fistfight over a girl should be breaking out at some point today, followed by a tear- streaked catfight in the girl's bathroom. Should I keep my eyes open? And, more important, do I join the fight, or just watch?"
Lend laughed. "Umm, yeah, probably not going to happen. We'll go to my classes, eat lunch, go to more class, and you'll realize that high school is mind- numbingly boring."
"Not a chance," I said, grinning. "It's already awesome."
At the end of one of my best days ever, we sat in the car waiting for the line out of the parking lot to move. "So, you like the whole high school thing?" Lend asked.
"Let's see." I frowned thoughtfully. "History is boring-already knew that. Some classes are a joke-nice surprise. Even normal people are strange-figured that one out already. No vicious creatures I needed to subdue with a Taser-always a plus. Yup, high school's pretty cool in my book." And it was. I even got to go to art class. The teacher made me model in front of the whole class for life drawing, which was almost scarier than facing that room full of vamps. At least I knew what the vamps were thinking.
We pulled out of the parking lot and I saw a sign on the corner advising students to buy their prom packages. "You guys haven't had your prom yet?"
"Oh. No, I guess not." Lend fidgeted in his seat and was quiet.
Oh, crap-he probably thought I was hinting that I wanted him to ask me, and now he felt awkward because he didn't want to. We made it halfway home in perfect silence, our awesome day ruined. Brilliant move, Evie.
"So," he said, finally speaking up. "Do you-I mean, it's kind of lame, but do you want to go to the prom? With me?"
"Seriously?"
He shrugged, not taking his eyes off the road. "You don't have to, I just thought maybe you'd-"
"Yes! I'd love to! Absolutely! I mean, it'd be kind of fun, right?" I could have melted ice, my smile was so bright. Lend's face broke into a smile, too, which made me realize how nervous he had looked before. No wonder he'd been so quiet!
"Cool. It'll be fun."
The afternoon passed quickly. Every time I thought about the prom, a sort of giddy sense of unreality descended on me. Surely this couldn't be my life. It was too amazing. I was going to the prom-my prom-with Lend.
GIRLS, CRYING, WOLVES
Dinner was a little uncomfortable. I hadn't been to an actual family dinner in years. Sometimes in the Center Raquel or Charlotte ate with me; when they didn't I took my food into Central Processing, but it wasn't like Lish could exactly sit down at a table with me.
No crying at the dinner table. No thinking about Lish.
Stacey and Luke sat on the opposite end of the table, and every time I glanced up, Stacey was darting looks at me that hovered between terrified and furious. I could barely even make eye contact with either one of them, not now that I knew what would have happened if they had been caught by IPCA.
David was on the phone in the other room all through dinner, but when we were nearly done eating he came in, and sat down heavily in his chair, a relieved and weary smile on his face. He turned toward me.
"We did it."
"Did what?" I asked.
"I didn't want to say anything until everyone was safe, but your Canada tip was enough. I have an old friend who's a CPM, Canadian Paranormal Monitor. They always maintained a degree of separation from IPCA because they were uncomfortable with an international organization having rights to their citizens. He'd been tracking IPCA activity, and with your info he found all the werewolves."
I sat back in my chair. "All of them? And they got the trackers off?"
David nodded happily. Stacey's eyes had gone wide; I couldn't read her expression.
"Where are they going to go?" They couldn't go back to their old lives-IPCA had records on all of them. They'd be retagged in no time.
"Some of them are going to be folded in as CPMs, hidden right under IPCA's nose. Another busload just arrived in town so we can get them new identities and then help them settle somewhere."
"Here?" Stacey whispered. "What about-"
The doorbell rang. Stacey turned toward the entry, her face as white as a sheet.
Lend, puzzled, got up to answer the door. After a few seconds he came back in. With Charlotte.
"Charlotte!" I said, shocked. Stacey stood up and burst into tears, throwing her arms around Charlotte's neck.
"I'm so sorry!" Stacey sobbed, burying her face in Charlotte's shoulder. "I never should have said those things-never should have-I'm sorry."
Tears spilled down my former tutor's face, too, and she pulled Stacey in closer and stroked her hair. "It's okay. Really, it's okay. I'm sorry, too."
That's when it clicked, why Stacey looked so familiar. This, then, was the family member Charlotte had attacked and felt so guilty about she'd tried to kill herself.
David and Arianna stood; Lend and I followed them out to give the sisters some privacy. Guilt twisted, sharp and gnawing in my stomach. I knew none of it was my fault. I hadn't turned Charlotte into a monster, hadn't made her bite her sister. I hadn't personally separated them when they needed each other the most. But then again, I'd helped IPCA every step of the way.
"So, any other news?" Arianna asked, lighting a cigarette as we gathered on the porch.
"You know I don't like you smoking those things," David said, frowning.
"Yeah, 'cause they might kill me?" She grinned bitterly, but put it out.
David sighed. "The news isn't good. IPCA lost another center."
"Which one?" I asked, fear tightening my throat.
"Bucharest."
Bucharest, so mostly vampires. I was instantly relieved, and then felt even guiltier. Would I have been relieved if Arianna were one of the victims?
"At least Bucharest is far away," she muttered.
"The attacks are getting worse. I'm going to send as many of the paranormals away as I can. It's not safe anymore, having such a high concentration here. We don't know how she's finding these places; we can't take any risks."
"What about everyone who stays?" Lend asked.
"We'll make do. It seems like she's got some sort of target on IPCA, so hopefully we'll stay under the radar. In the meantime, my contacts are going to smuggle out as many tagged paranormals as they can and filter them through us."
"What's IPCA doing?" I asked. Surely they were doing something more to protect themselves and the paranormals.
"Near as I can tell, running around like a chicken with its head cut off," David said with a sigh. "They're trying to work in some emergency plans, get things moving, but they've always been the bully, never the victim. They don't know how to handle it."
"What can we do?" Lend asked.
"You can go inside and do your homework."
Lend looked ready to protest, but David silenced him with a raised hand. "None of this is your problem. Inside, homework, now."
I followed Lend, sitting by him on the couch as he glowered at his calculus book. I knew he was frustrated, but I was with David on this one. If IPCA couldn't do anything, who could? The best we could do was protect paranormals and hide.
Hearing the murmurs from the kitchen made me nervous. I didn't know what to say to Charlotte, what I could possibly do to make up for what had been done to her. What I had been a part of.
After about an hour she came out with Stacey and Luke, along with a couple of suitcases. Stacey gave me a tight smile as she walked out, but Charlotte stopped. I stood awkwardly, staring at the ground.
"Charlotte, I didn't know about-I'm so sorry."
She put her hand on my shoulder and I looked up. Her warm blue eyes sparkled over her yellow wolf ones. "Please don't apologize. We're both free now. Enjoy it." She leaned in and pecked me on the cheek, then left, giving me one last smile. For once, it had no trace of sadness at all.