Spark

by Angelina J. Steffort

  “I know how you feel,” I filtered his words from the background noise, grateful to have my super-hearing. “I’ve had around twenty years to get used to it, but her music always makes me entirely forget reality.”

  They got up together and while Dad went straight to the fish, Claire was undecided and went looking for something to drink. When she was halfway to the bar, Sporty snuck up on her.

  “Still trying to avoid me,” he accused her.

  She jumped, but she didn’t turn and face him. Guilt was hanging over her head like a big rain cloud.

  “Come on, Claire, you can't not talk to me forever.” Sporty walked around her and spared her the effort of turning to face him.

  “I’m—not avoiding you.” There it was, the guilt, also in her voice.

  “Yes, you are. But never mind. He calls—you’re there. Like nothing has changed.” He shot a dirty look in my direction and I felt the urge to go there and bite his head off but picked up a plate instead. What had happened between them?

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Claire’s remorse sounded through chattering and the noise of cutlery on china.

  “Hurt?” Sporty’s voice shook a bit, but I didn’t dare turn to see his face. “Why would I be hurt? Because you used me to forget him just to run back to him the moment he decided to look at you again?”

  She had used him? How? Now the impulse to teleport over there and shake the information out of him was fighting the urge to stay undetected, but I only glanced over my shoulder and felt Claire’s friendship for him. She would go to any lengths to spare him pain, and he might have used her vulnerability and pushed her into something she actually never wanted…

  “Are you taking these?” a lady in a bright orange cocktail dress asked, pointing at a bunch of appetizers, and almost made me drop my plate.

  I shook my head, more to indicate I wouldn’t be bothered and tried to keep my focus on the conversation on the other end of the buffet.

  “It’s not like that…” she struggled to find the words. But she didn’t owe him an explanation. If he had taken advantage of her… “There is more—” I froze at her words, anxious over what she was going to share. How much did she trust him? How much would she share to keep his friendship? But she never finished her sentence. Ben had done the only sensible thing and walked over there to protect Claire, even if it was just from a human boy who was overestimating his allure.

  “Any problems over here?” Ben shot all his irritation at Sporty, sounding almost as upset as I felt.

  “No—” Sporty shrank at his tone.

  “—we’re just talking,” Claire defended. “Nothing special.” She bit her lip and turned to Sporty for a second, hesitation huge in her aura. “Guess I’ll see you around, Greg.”

  As Sporty walked away, Ben’s anger turned into concern. He turned to Claire and I was surprised to see his emotions clear in his features.

  “Are you alright?” he whispered absently.

  Claire looked at him, almost as shocked as I was at the sudden concern for her well-being. “Yeah—well, thanks.”

  The moment she had finished, Ben’s face returned to the hostile mask from before and I wondered if I should be worried about him. The way he kept going back and forth between being the wonderful brother I’d known all my life and the cold person he was whenever Claire was paying attention, was starting to make things difficult.

  Claire was gathering her feelings and it was time for me to fill my plate with the next dish in front of me and return to the table so I would be there to support her, even if she could never know I’d heard that conversation. I was the first to return to our table. Dad joined shortly and the second I’d started eating, Claire returned with a piece of lasagna on her plate and a cloud of shame over her head. She didn’t talk for a while, avoiding looking at me. Relief washed through her when Jenna finally appeared, ecstatic from her performance and the prospect of eating the cake she was carrying with her. Ben didn’t join us. I wondered if he had left, but he wouldn’t do that to Jenna, not without saying goodbye.

  It was only when I went to get my coat, so Claire wouldn’t freeze on the short walk down to the car, that I spotted Ben in a corner. He was holding a dessert in his hands, eating thoughtfully, a tornado of doubt enclosing him. He seemed calm, like the eye of the tornado, but there was nothing calm in his emotions. Every last bit of my emotional capacity was necessary in order to process the complexity of Ben’s feelings. He was struggling so hard between wanting to do the right thing and doing the easy thing. I couldn’t tell where those paths would be leading him.

  I held out the number to the man at the wardrobe and continued observing Ben over my shoulder. The way he was leaning against an enormous flowerpot looked as if he was just another trust fund kid, trying to escape family obligations, but the fight under the surface told me otherwise.

  “Your coat, Sir.”

  I jerked back and took the garment from the man’s hands absently, taking another moment trying to figure out Ben. Before I could read all of the book he was displaying as he was rolling his thoughts over and over, kneading them in the hope of finding a sensible conclusion, Sporty’s mean tone caught my attention.

  “So, he’s taking you home?”

  “Really none of your business,” Claire’s voice was cold as she rejected his accusation.

  “Letting him play with your heart is none of my business? Well, I think it is because when he lets you down, you’ll come running straight back to me.”

  “He won’t…let me down,” Claire was fighting tears as Sporty was still pushing harder.

  “He will.” As his voice jabbed at Claire again, I abandoned my attempt to understand my brother and rushed to her aid.

  When I arrived there and planted myself at her right shoulder, I was surprised to find Ben was there at her left, looking just as infuriated about Sporty’s behavior as I was.

  “I think I heard your mom calling,” I addressed Sporty, telling him to get lost in the polite version that fit this environment.

  While Sporty turned around with a last glare at each of us, I noticed Claire’s feelings. She was recognizing how similar Ben and I looked. The same straight nose, the same shape of eyes, the same angry look on our face. It was easy to forget Sporty when there was another reason to worry. What had driven Ben to come defend Claire? Were his feelings for her that strong? Or was there something else involved?

  Before I could even think to figure it out, he glanced at me, as if to inform me of something, but I didn’t understand. He headed down the stairs, emotions unreadable, the same tornado as when he had been eating his dessert.

  Claire was staring after him, trying to wrap her head around Ben but judging by the frustration in her aura, with as little success as me.

  “Are you okay?” I turned to her, reading her face as much as her feelings, but she didn’t show me much for now. “I saw you going to pieces and came as quickly as possible.” A flicker of desperation pierced its way through her facade and she bravely swallowed it back. “What happened?”

  “I’m alright.”

  She wasn’t. Why was she lying? And why was she still ashamed?

  Despite my staring, I didn’t get a more conclusive answer. Instead, she took my coat from my hands and wrapped it around herself before she rushed down the stairs and out into the cold.

  The ride back was quiet, an unspoken truce in the air between Ben and Claire. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or if that meant Ben would act on his feelings for her sooner or later and betray me as a brother. Had someone asked me a week ago, I would have said no, never. But now, I wasn’t so sure anymore. The draw was strong for him. Stronger than I had thought possible for a human being. But then, Claire’s feelings for me were earth-moving. If a fragile person like her could feel like that, why wouldn’t my brother’s affections for her be that strong?

  We switched cars at home and I drove Claire to her house, glad to have her all to myself again.r />
  “Thanks again for the evening,” she said as she cuddled into my arms, ready to sleep.

  With a kiss on her forehead, I pushed aside all the drama of the evening and focused on the one thing that counted. Claire was right here, in my arms, unscathed, living, breathing, and mine.

  College became more of a hobby than a serious occupation for me. All my energy went into making sure Claire was safe. The time I should be spending in classes, I spent driving her to and from school, helping her study, going grocery shopping with her, or even helping her do the laundry—just because we had a butler didn’t mean I hadn’t learned how to switch on the washing machine. No deed was too much, no detail, no matter how tiny, was too insignificant to be taken care of. Claire was the center of my universe, and it was unthinkable to miss even one of her limited days. And so it hurt a little bit when she insisted on driving herself today.

  I understood if it was too much for her. I didn’t want to cage her, just protect her. And since Jaden hadn’t shown since his poor performance in the woods, I just couldn’t see how I should trust she would be safe without me. Still, with a flutter of her eyelashes and a few kisses in between some pleading, I’d agreed that it would be safe enough. She would call me the moment she arrived home and I’d teleport to her that very same second.

  Unable to focus on anything, I gave up on reading and spent the afternoon running laps and playing with Antonio, watching the dog have an incredible time in the snow. Time wasn’t going fast enough and I had to put every last bit of my willpower into not just teleporting into the public library where she was working right now. When it was almost five, I couldn’t wait any longer. I got into my car and drove to the library, hoping to paint a beautiful smile of surprise onto her lips. With this image in my mind, I didn’t violently honk at a car which cut into the street in front of me or speed through the red traffic light. I managed to remain calm and positive.

  When I turned the corner to the library, my emotions switched to the other end of the spectrum in an instant. The building was dark and looked abandoned. I pulled into the best parking spot, jumped out of the car, and raced to the entrance. Locked. What was going on? I smashed my hand against the metal frame, making the door shake. I noticed a yellow ribbon which ran along the sides of the staircase and across the door.

  “Claire?” I called, knowing I couldn’t expect an answer. If the police had cordoned off the area…

  A woman in a pink coat eyed me from the sidewalk, curiosity floating above her.

  “Hey!” I called to her, already on my way down the stairs.

  She turned her face and started walking as I ran toward her.

  “Wait!” I caught her at the shoulder, not realizing I almost pulled her to the ground, as I stopped her and turned her around.

  She stared at me wide-eyed, fear now pronounced in her aura.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized and dropped my hand. “I am so, so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  She pulled her coat more tightly around her shoulders and ran one hand through a bushy brown ponytail, expectant eyes peering at me from a lined face.

  “I am looking for someone, maybe you know her, the blonde girl who works at the library Thursdays?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Sorry, no,” she confirmed, regret replacing the fear in her emotions, probably steered by my desperate expression.

  “Do you know what happened here?” I gestured at the police tape but she shook her head.

  A man rushed past us, too quick for me to react without revealing my supernatural self, got in a car, and drove away.

  “Thanks, anyway.” I turned and walked back to my car, thinking of driving to Claire’s place next.

  “I hope you find her,” the lady called after me.

  The second I was in my car, I ducked down and teleported into the library, the aisle where the mysterious book stood. I was taking a great risk to check if Claire needed my help somewhere in there.

  The room was quiet and dark. Just the emergency exit signs shining on either side of the shelves. There was nobody there. I walked around, careful not to make noise and ready to defend myself if needed, but there was no attacker. Instead, I froze at the sight of a white outline of a human shape, chalked out on the floor. My heart stopped for a moment as I realized I was standing in a crime scene. Someone had died there.

  And as my heartbeat returned, it picked up speed, racing and hammering in my chest, panic clouding my vision. Was this Claire’s outline there on the cold stone floor? I forced myself to breathe and take a second look and calmed down a little bit. It was too short, Claire was a lot taller.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket, tearing me from a second of hope and pushing me into a current of relief and anger.

  “Where the hell are you?” I growled into the phone.

  There was a second of silence in which I almost tore apart from tension.

  “Home,” her voice released me from my prison and my anger at myself blew into my words.

  “What are you doing home?” I stormed at her.

  “Jaden’s with me. Don’t worry.” She gave me the opportunity to react but I was there on the phone just out of pure courtesy, giving her a chance to explain before I’d teleport into her room. “Please don’t be upset, there were special circumstances that made this change of plans necessary.”

  That sounded bad, really bad. Despite my efforts to stay in place, I felt the room disappear around me and my feet hit the wooden boards of Claire’s bedroom floor.

  She fell backward, eyes wide with shock, as I popped up beside her. As I reached for her, too slow to react at my own shock of having teleported without intending to, Jaden had already caught her. He threw me a cautioning look while pulling her upright with one hand. I only caught a brief glance of his face before he disappeared into thin air.

  “You’re going to kill me one day,” I blurted out, being upset with myself more than with anyone. “I was so worried when I went to see you after my walk with Antonio and the library was locked up. No one knew what was going on.” As she was standing there, just looking at me, wordless, I grabbed her arms, forcing her to react. “What happened?”

  She flinched, but I didn’t release her. Why couldn’t she see how desperately I needed to know what had happened? I had just seen a chalked outline of a human body and I’d thought it had been hers.

  “Ouch! Adam, you’re hurting me,” she broke through to me in my rage and I opened my hands, shamed as I realized I’d been using more than my human strength to lock her arms.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I lost control—I was out of my mind.”

  As I watched her slowly rubbing her forearms, I wanted to replace her fingers with mine, a gentle touch this time, but I didn’t dare. I had just done the one thing I’d promised I’d never do again. I’d hurt her.

  “Demons killed a girl at the library,” she said tonelessly, but the words rang loudly in my ears. “They were there for me, but Jaden scared them away before they could harm me.”

  My hands balled into fists as she told me every detail of how the ambulance had come and tried to resuscitate the girl and the questioning by the police. How Jaden had shown up and supported her.

  “I should have known the moment I saw her there on the floor that this couldn’t have been a coincidence,” she finished. I kept forcing myself to remain calm—at least on the outside. Inside my head, I was already accusing myself of the worst kind of recklessness: the one induced by love. I’d let Claire out of my sight because she’d pleaded with me. As strong as my love for her made me, it also made me weak.

  “I was lucky Jaden was there.”

  “I should have known you weren’t safe at the library. It’s all my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she debated, stubborn. “You can’t be with me all the time—it’s impossible. You have your own life to lead as well. And I still have Jaden who looks out for me.”

  She shook her head as if knowing I wo
uldn’t agree and I snorted at the explosion of emotions on both sides.

  “What?” Her eyes sparkled as she defended her guardian angel, the one who had done a poor job not only once, but several times by now.

  “He’s not being thorough, or this girl would still breathe, and the demons wouldn’t have come anywhere near you.”

  “Don’t blame him. Jaden’s just trying to help,” she defended the golden-eyed immortal and fell silent, waiting for me to continue with my wrath. But I was done. She wouldn’t get to see again how dark the rift in my heart was right now.

  One thing was for sure, I couldn’t leave her alone here tonight. Not that I’d intended to, but I wasn’t sure if she would want to join me after my outburst.

  “We should get going,” I said dryly, trying not to let any emotion sneak into my words. “Have you packed your things?”

  She nodded and set off a new wave of relief in both of us.

  I led the way downstairs and held the door for her. A new strike of terror hit me when Claire fell to her knees on the threshold for no obvious reason.

  “No,” she choked.

  Acting on pure instinct rather than will, I leapt to her side and felt my chest tighten. Her cat was lying on the porch, spine broken and eyes dead and wide open. This wasn’t what the natural death of a cat looked like, my rational side kicked in again. I’d had enough anatomy lectures on mammals to understand that, even if the cat had fallen out of a window from a fortieth floor, it would look different. The fur was intact, there was no blood, just the broken spine and the feeling that again this wasn’t a coincidence.

  “They were here,”I concluded and looked around for signs of demons.

  “You mean—they did this to him?” Claire was crying, hands on the still warm fur of the cat. I didn’t bring myself to repeat it.

  “But he’s a cat, for heaven’s sake! Why would they kill a cat?”