by Jus Accardo
The whisper tried again—wrongwrongwrongwrong—but the facts were too strong. Couldn’t be denied.
I’d call Dad. Right after the party. Tell him I was ready to deal. Wasn’t ideal, but it might be my best shot at seeing eighteen.
Might be my only shot at seeing eighteen.
I left a message on both Mom’s and Ginger’s voice mail telling them I’d split from Kiernan, and I’d meet them all at the party. After that, I headed for town.
Three blocks away, I slipped into the McDonald’s on Fourth Street. Standing in front of the cracked mirror, I washed my face. My eyes were red and swollen, and my cheeks were flushed. Definitely not party perfect. Taking a deep breath, I held out my hand and wiggled my fingers. I had to be party perfect. This was my last hurrah. “Time to see what this baby can really do.”
Touching the skin below my right eye, I focused on the magazine balanced on the edge of the sink. A Cover Girl ad with Drew Barrymore’s bright eyes and wide smile. Her flawless skin. Creamy, even, and just a bit too pale. As I watched, the puffiness faded, and the redness seemed to sink away, replaced by a normal, healthy glow. Next, I tried something a little more experimental. Makeup.
Not as simple as I’d thought.
I flipped through the magazine, searching for something dramatic. Sure, I could mimic the same old routine I’d gone with a thousand times, but this was a special occasion. A going-away party—even if the others didn’t know it yet. I had to be perfect.
I found an ad I really liked. The model had thick, black-rimmed eyes with dramatic, smoky lids and a dainty, lattice-like swirl at the corner of each eye. Slightly goth but seriously cool. Definitely something I could rock.
The experiment started with disastrous results. The first try, instead of eyeliner, I ended up turning my entire eyelid solid black. While it would have gone over pretty well with the hard-core goth crowd, it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
The next attempt was a little cooler but not quite right. The iris of my right eye. That would have been perfect for Halloween, but not tonight.
When I finally managed to get my eyes just right, I moved onto my lips. The top one blood red, while the bottom turned white. The next attempt yielded even freakier results. An almost tie-dyed effect in shades of brown and tan. Circus lips. Change the color and add a red nose, and I could have passed for the Bride of Bozo.
After I nailed the makeup, it was time to deal with the clothes. The black jeans had to go. They were cool but not the look I was aiming for. The model I’d used for the makeup was wearing a killer red leather skirt and some pretty drool-worthy boots, but I was in a pants mood. Easier to move around without the worry of having a Paris Hilton flashing fiasco.
I flipped to the end, disappointed, and closed the magazine. About to go with something from my old wardrobe, I saw it. The girl on the back cover. The ultimate party outfit. It was an ad for a place called Shocking the House. Placing my hands flat on my thighs, I stared at the page. The pants came in two colors—black and brown. I focused on the brown. Snug around the thigh and knee, then straight down with the tiniest of tapers. They closed in the back—laced over the curve of my butt and tied in an elaborate bow that hung down several inches. The front formed a deep V that came several inches below my belly button.
The next part sucked. Normally I’d go straight into heartbreaker mode. Something tight that showed a dangerous amount of skin—the corset top the model had on was perfect—but the poison was too noticeable now. I had an idea, but wasn’t sure I could pull it off. If it worked, I had a killer future in fashion design.
I pictured my favorite red silk shirt, remembering the feel of the material against my skin. Smooth and slippery. How it draped my shoulders and fluttered slightly whenever I moved. It had a thin ribbon in the back that tied to make the shirt fitted. That ribbon had always been my favorite part. Now, with any luck, it’d become something even better.
I focused on the model’s corset, pictured the ribbon tied by a thin string at my wrist and winding—slightly thicker—up my left arm. It thinned again at my neck, wrapping around like a choker before diving south and diagonally skimming the top of my chest at the perfect semi-cleavage-baring angle. On the right side, the ribbon thinned to the width of a shoelace, winding in an artfully intricate pattern down my arm, and tying to match the other side.
The bodice of the shirt fused with the ribbon seamlessly and ended just above my waist. The gap between the edge of the shirt and the waist of the low-cut leather pants showed just enough pale skin to be sexy but not enough to be trashy.
I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. One last thing. Touching the tips of my hair, I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I couldn’t help but gasp. It was the opposite of when I’d met Kale. Black with blonde streaks. Other than the brown I’d gone with for Sumrun, I’d never dyed my whole head. I’d always been blonde with a splash of color. The change was drastic and a little bit of a shock to my system, but I liked it.
Dramatic with an almost tortured feel. Dark.
It suited my mood—and my future.
…
I’d used napkins on the way out to make some quick cash. The Rockies wasn’t far, but I’d opted to go with a slight heel—nothing like the shoes I’d worn to homecoming—on my boots and figured my feet would appreciate the bus ride. That, and the pain in my shoulder had spread. I ached all over now. It sapped my energy and made simple things like walking harder than they should be.
“Ginger’s not too thrilled with you,” Paul said as I approached the building. The outside was covered in faux rock and had two mannequins scaling either side of the sign advertising The Rockies. I’d come here a few times with Alex and had always been afraid those stupid things would fall on me as I entered the building.
I shrugged. “Nothing new about that. Everyone here?”
“Sue and Ginger got here five minutes ago. Your boy’s been here awhile.”
I didn’t correct him. Kale wasn’t really my boy anymore, was he?
Paul grabbed my arm as I passed. His fingers dug into my skin, and I had to bite down to keep from crying out. “They’re going to rip you apart to see what makes you tick.”
My heart just about stopped. “What?”
Paul stood, yanking me closer. “Denazen. They’re going to lock you up, then slice you open. Pull out your bits and put them on display.”
I jerked myself free and stumbled back. “What the hell?”
He blinked. He was sitting back on the steps, his hands nowhere near me. “I said, are you okay?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced a smile. The hallucinations had started. “’Course. Why?”
He shrugged. “Just look a little paler than usual. Must be the hair.” He winked. “Hot, by the way.”
I flashed him one final smile and pushed my way inside. Like always, the place was party heaven. Flashing lights danced across the walls as bodies packed the center of the room, swaying and thrashing to the beat. I’d never asked, but I wondered who set these things up. Every night it was a different location, yet each one was always just as awesome as the last.
“You never listen, do you?” Alex said, stepping into my path. Then he must’ve gotten a good look. His mouth fell open, hazel eyes roaming my body from toe to blonde tips. “You look—”
“Amazing? Of course. Sucks to be you right now, huh? Missing out on such amazingness?”
“I was going to go with awful.” His gaze lingered for a moment before he stepped back and shook his head. Behind him, the dance floor was packed with bodies. Most familiar, some more so than others. “Ginger’s ready to shit kittens.”
“Overreact much? I needed some time alone. Back off.”
He looked like he wanted to argue but held his hands up in a show of surrender.
“Where is she? I just want to tell her what Kiernan and I found out. Jade is working for my dad. I overheard her talking to him on her cell.”
“When?”
/> “Few hours ago.”
“Her cell was in the hotel. I heard her complaining. She doesn’t have it anymore.”
“Well, then she got another one. I heard her talking to Dad. Then she said Kale was endgame. She almost had him.”
“Holy crap,” he growled, surprised. Taking my arm, he started for the stairs. “We need to tell Ginger before she starts that meeting.”
I nodded and started to follow, but the room picked that moment to spin out of control. Everything was a blur of garbled noise and color as I crashed to my knees. Hauling me to my feet, Alex spun us toward the corner and pushed me up against the wall. Everything was snapping in and out of focus. He looked pissed.
Seizing my left arm, he pushed the fabric to my elbow. “Fuck.”
“It looks worse than it is,” I tried.
“I doubt that.” His expression went from angry to furious. “What the hell is wrong with you? You had your chance. Time’s up. I’m calling Cross myself.”
Surely I’d heard him wrong. I tried to push him away, but my arms were made of pudding. “What?”
His fingers brutally pierced the soft underside of my arm. A few feet away, someone giggled. The girl from Roudey’s. The one he’d cheated on me with. She waltzed over, swinging her hips and licking her lips. With a wink, she wrapped an arm around Alex possessively and nodded. “Cross is the only one who can help you. He’s the only one who cares enough to save you.”
“You want me to—”
Fingers latching around my wrist, he pulled me away from the wall and toward the stairs. The room had stopped spinning, and by the time we reached the top step, everything was back in focus. The bimbo from Roudey’s was gone.
When we burst through the door, Ginger was in the middle of asking how everyone did with their lists. Mom was on the far side of the room, standing suspiciously close to Dax. Kale was on her other side, arms folded and lips pressed tight. Jade, I noted, was on the opposite side of the room by the door. She was staring at him with a mix of anger and fear. When Alex barged in, me attached to his arm, everyone turned.
“So nice of you to finally join us, Deznee,” Ginger said, glaring at me. “As I was saying, we’ve discovered a new problem on the Denazen front.”
Beside me, Alex stiffened. “Dez,” he said, trying to push me into the middle of the room.
Ginger continued. “Aside from hitting our home and taking our friends, a source says they’ve started working on a new project. A new Supremacy trial.”
“Dez.” Again, this time louder.
I shook my head, eyes begging him to be quiet. I’d made the choice to turn myself in, I just wasn’t ready to tell them. I wanted to wait. Now Alex was going to ruin it.
“Dez,” he screamed. It echoed off the walls, bouncing around the small room like a runaway racquetball. “Tell them. Now.”
When I still didn’t move, he grabbed my arm and jerked me forward to the middle of the room.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Kale lunge for him, but Alex held up his hand. “Back off, asshole. I’m doing her a favor.” The fabric on my sleeve tore as he shoved it up past my elbow. “She’s dying.”
30
I shot Alex a glare I hoped conveyed I’m going to kill you and sighed. Even though it was a lie, I said, “Dying is a little dramatic.”
“What is that?” Mom breathed. The fact that I was wearing red seemed to go unnoticed. She pushed past Alex and grabbed my arm.
I’d been ousted. Might as well come clean. So much for enjoying my last party. “Poison.”
“Poison?” she repeated, pale. “What kind of poison? Where did it come from?”
Just behind her, Kale was watching me, eyes wide. Icy blue laced with concern stole my breath away.
He still wanted me.
Of course he still wanted me. Why had I thought he’d give me up so easily? I remembered the moments after the kiss crying in the alley and standing in front of the bathroom mirror, but it felt like someone else’s memory. Like I was watching it on repeat from the other side of the screen.
I answered Mom but kept looking at Kale. It was his presence that gave me the strength to say it out loud. An odd feeling, since only an hour ago, I was determined to leave him behind. I’d been convinced he’d willingly let me skip into Denazen’s arms. The thought was ridiculous. I knew it was ridiculous—yet I’d believed it. Like, the sky is blue and cats say meow kind of believed.
“The night I fell from the crane, I went back to the old house. A couple of Dad’s people were there. They were Sixes. One touched me.”
“The one from the van,” Kale said. His voice was low, and his fingers were flicking.
I looked away. “Yeah. Able.”
“We need to call Daun,” Dax said, arm around Mom’s shoulders. He pulled her back several steps to give me some room.
Alex shook his head. “Dez approached Daun before she left. There was nothing she could do.”
I swallowed. Might as well go full Monty. “There’s more. When I went to the post office the other day, Dad was there.”
I glared at Jade. She looked away. Why not put a neon I did it sign above your head?
“Someone told him I’d be there. He said there was a cure.” Stumbling to my feet, I said, “For the poison—and the Supremacy side effects.”
That got everyone talking at once. While I watched them argue with one other, I noticed two things. Kiernan wasn’t here yet, and Jade was off in the corner, inching toward the door.
“Stuff socks in it,” Ginger boomed after several minutes passed. “I can’t think with you all yapping at once.” She turned to me. “So Cross has the cure. I assume he offered a trade?”
Of everyone, Ginger was the only one not freaking about my revelation because she’d known about the poison all along. “If I turn myself over to him, he’ll give me the cure for the poison.”
Ginger nodded once. She’d expected as much. “And the Supremacy side effects? What of that cure?”
I kind of wanted to smack the old woman in that moment. Why ask questions when she probably already knew the answers? But instead of snapping, I turned to Jade. She was reaching for the door handle. “What do you think, Jade? Is there really a cure for the Supremacy side effects?”
She froze. “Me? Why are you asking me?”
I stalked to the door, fighting to keep the waves of nausea at bay, and shoved her back. “’Cause you’re the only survivor.” I poked her in the shoulder and said, “Jade is working for Dad. He says she’s Supremacy. Over eighteen and alive. The only one to be given the cure.”
A muffled squeal escaped Jade’s throat. “He said that? I’ve never met the guy!”
“I heard you. At the ice cream place. You were in the bathroom talking on your cell.”
Horror morphed into something else. Anger. “You. That was you and Kiernan, wasn’t it? How dare you spy on me!”
She brought her hand up, and I smiled. “Go ahead. I’ll destroy you. You ground harmful gifts—and mine isn’t harmful. I’ll mimic you into the fat, ugly midget that lives over on Fifth Street if you so much as swat air in my direction.”
“Cut the crap,” Ginger snapped. “Answer my question, Deznee. What did Cross ask for in exchange for the second cure?”
I opened my mouth but just couldn’t get the words out.
Kale didn’t seem to have the same problem. His fingers stopped moving. “Me. He told her once I was back at Denazen, he’d give her the cure.”
He turned to me for confirmation, and I looked away.
“The second cure doesn’t exist,” Alex snapped. “Cross will say anything to get what he wants. Maybe Jade is one of Cross’s people, but she’s not Supremacy. No way.”
“But the first cure, it does exist?” Kale asked.
Alex nodded.
“Then call him now. Tell him I will go back in exchange for the poison cure.”
Ginger nodded and turned to Dax. “Would you mind making the arrange—”
&
nbsp; Everyone had gone nuts. “Are you out of your senile, bat-brained mind? He’s not going back.”
“This is my decision, Dez,” Kale said softly.
“It’s really not. This is my life. It’s my call, and I say no way in hell.”
“Approach this logically, Kale.” Jade stepped forward, pushing herself between us. “Let’s say you go back, and this Cross guy keeps his end of the deal. He gives her the cure. Then what? She croaks a few months later because the Supremacy thing doesn’t exist? Then she’s dead, and you’re back in hell for nothing.”
“The Supremacy cure does exist,” I said, grabbing her by the hair. I yanked her head around so we were eye to eye. “He gave it to you!”
She screamed, and Alex shot forward to rip us apart.
“This is my choice,” I growled at them. “And I’ve made it. I’m going to turn myself in. I’ve got nothing to lose at this point.”
Several seconds of silence—then chaos.
Mom and Dax were screaming, Jade was smiling, and Kale was in my face.
“You’re not going,” he said. Over and over.
“What the hell is going through your head?” Alex yelled, shouldering Jade aside.
He reached for me, but I knocked his hand away. “What? You just said I should call my dad!”
His eyes went wide. Like a cartoon character who’d gotten the surprise of his life. “I would never suggest—”
“You did,” I insisted. Sharp pain flared at my temples, and I knotted my fingers through my hair to ease the pressure. “Just before! When we were downstairs. You said Cross was the only one who would help me.”
His expression was stricken. “Dez, I’d never—”
A sharp whistle cut through the room. “Everyone, shut the hell up. This is my party, and I demand the floor.”