by C. J. Hill
Dr. B shut his laptop, started the car again, and they drove to Cypress Street. As soon as they turned onto the street, Jesse recognized Tori’s car. It was the same blue BMW that had dropped her off at camp. Dr. B parked behind it, immediately making his Ford Taurus look old and cheap by comparison.
A huge pink cursive sign on the nearest shop read BRANDI STEWART’S BEAUTY SALON. Inside the glass windows, an entirely pink waiting area was visible. A teenage girl sat lazily flipping through magazines in one of the chairs. She was an older, blonder version of Tori and almost as pretty. Behind her, Jesse could make out a couple of women working on someone’s hair.
They’d found their missing dragon slayer. At a beauty salon.
The absurdity made Jesse laugh. “No way,” he said. “She got up early and ran away to get her hair done? Who does that?”
Dr. B’s eyebrows drew together. “Well, part of her hair did get singed last night. Perhaps she wanted to even it out.”
“That’s not it. She wants to look good before she goes home to her high-society friends.” Jesse reached for the car’s door handle, but Dr. B didn’t turn the car off.
“Let her finish. They have to come out front to get into their car. We’ll talk to her then.” Dr. B backed up into the next parking space so Tori and her sister wouldn’t see them sitting in the car waiting.
Once they were out of view, Dr. B called Dirk and gave him an update. Then Dr. B opened his laptop and typed notes for his next class lecture. Jesse got out of the car and leaned against the hood.
Maybe he couldn’t do anything to stop Tori from leaving, but she was at least going to face him and explain herself before she did.
The minutes ticked by. What could Tori possibly be doing that took this long? And what sort of haircut took two people? It’s not like anyone had to take extreme measures to make Tori look beautiful.
From his angle, Jesse could see the sister’s legs. They were nice legs, granted, but lacked the muscular definition Tori’s had. Tori had great legs. Not that he’d been checking them out yesterday. At least, not much. He’d only examined them as evidence she could be one of them. All the Slayers were muscular.
Finally, the sister stood up.
Jesse knocked on the car window, motioning to Dr. B. A few seconds later, Tori and her sister breezed out of the salon.
Tori did a double take when she saw Jesse leaning against Dr. B’s car, and her green eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”
“I should ask you the same. Why did—” The accusation died on his lips. He realized she didn’t look any different than she had when she first came to camp. Her hair was long, all of it. Impossibly, it flowed down her shoulders to her back. “What happened to your hair?”
She ran a hand over it. “Extensions. It was the only thing I could do besides a bob, and I had a bob when I was nine. I can’t revisit that hairstyle for a while.” Dr. B had come around the car to join them, and Tori gave him a severe look. “Extensions are a hassle to put in, and I had to pay Brandi and her assistant extra to come in early, so I hope cabin twenty-six doesn’t fling any more flaming marshmallows around the campfire.”
Dr. B’s gaze darted to the sister, then back at Tori. “I’m sure everyone will be more careful.”
The anger that had encompassed Jesse all morning thinned and popped like a bubble. “You’re not leaving?”
“No,” Tori said.
The sister looked Jesse up and down. “And suddenly it’s become clear why she’s not.”
Tori blushed, but didn’t laugh or agree with the comment the way Lilly would have done. “This is my sister, Aprilynne. Aprilynne, this is Jesse and Dr. B from camp.”
“Did you come all this way looking for Tori?” Aprilynne asked. “I told her she should have said something before she left.”
Dr. B gave Tori a forced smile. “Yes, it’s against camp rules to leave the premises.”
“Which is why I didn’t tell you I was leaving,” Tori said, and then added, “Sorry. I figured I’d be back before anyone worried about me.” She glanced at her watch. “Breakfast hasn’t even ended yet.”
Jesse’s old anger had vanished, but a new type took its place. She’d broken the rules and worried them to death just to fix her hair. “I told you we went running in the morning,” he said.
Tori met his eyes. “And I told you I didn’t run in the morning.”
“We spent half an hour searching for you,” he said. “We didn’t know—”
She ignored him and turned to Dr. B. “Are you kicking me out of camp for breaking the rules?” Her voice almost sounded hopeful.
Dr. B shook his head. “Of course not. But I must emphasize that you can’t leave camp again. If we hadn’t found you, we would have had to call the police and report you missing—you see how bad that would be for the camp?”
“Yes,” she said, and finally sounded sorry.
Her change in tone didn’t lessen Jesse’s anger. He waved a hand at her. “And you didn’t pick up your phone. Why?”
Tori shrugged. “I left it in the car. I don’t usually talk on the phone while I’m getting my hair done.”
Dr. B said, “Well, we’ve found you now, so everything is all right. You can ride back to camp with us and spare your sister the trip.”
“I have another errand to run.” Tori gazed down the street and she edged toward the BMW. “I need to buy a welder’s mask.”
“Why?” Aprilynne asked.
Tori hesitated. “I’m taking a welding class at camp.”
“Doesn’t the camp have welder’s masks then?” Aprilynne asked.
“We can see to that,” Dr. B said. “You’ll be fine.”
Tori regarded him with suspicion. “I’ll need two. One for the back of my head. I’m not buying more extensions.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Dr. B said.
Aprilynne tilted her head. “Are you sure you don’t want to come home?” She lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned into Tori. “One day at camp and you’re strapping welder’s masks to the back of your head?”
Tori let out a martyred sigh, but nodded. “I’m staying.”
Aprilynne leaned in and gave Tori a parting hug. “Okay. But if you change your mind, give me a call. I’ve got my eye on your blue Dior skirt.”
Tori didn’t laugh, and Aprilynne looked her over more closely. “I’m just kidding. You don’t even have to give me your Gucci handbag for today. The shoes are enough.”
Tori stepped away from her sister reluctantly. “It’s all right. I want you to have it.” She sounded as though she were preparing her will.
Aprilynne didn’t seem to notice. “If you insist.” She opened her purse, took out her keychain, and clicked the unlock button. The car chirped happily at her. “Well, I’d better go. I have some things to put in my new purse. Have fun at camp.” She sashayed to her BMW, slid inside, and handed Tori her phone through the window. With a good-bye wave, she started the car and drove down the street.
Tori stood, her shoulders held stiff, watching the retreating car.
Dr. B regarded her. His voice was soft, understanding. “You didn’t tell us where you went this morning because you weren’t sure you were coming back.”
Tori nodded, still watching the BMW make its way down the street.
“What made you decide to stay?” Dr. B asked.
“My father has devoted his life to serving this country. How could I do less?”
Dr. B smiled, clearly happy with this answer. “Let’s go. We have a full day of training ahead of us.”
Jesse didn’t smile. He couldn’t muster the type of understanding Dr. B was so good at. Or maybe it was just that Jesse was more doubtful of Tori’s commitment. She had probably agreed to return with them because she was too embarrassed to tell Dr. B face-to-face that she wouldn’t be a Slayer. Odds were, the next time Tori had a chance, she would ditch camp. Then she’d ease her guilt by having her father make a large donation to Dr. B. Rich people tho
ught you could buy anything, even a clean conscience.
Jesse didn’t look at Tori as he climbed into the front seat of the car. Dr. B had said they had a full day of training. Jesse was going to give Tori a full day and then some.
CHAPTER 17
Tori made up for missing breakfast by grabbing an apple from the main camp’s cafeteria, then she and Jesse took a cart and headed to the Slayer camp. She ate slowly because it gave her an excuse not to talk to Jesse. She didn’t want to talk to him; not when he was still steaming.
She did feel bad about worrying everyone, but what did they expect after they’d hurled fireballs at her head and told her she’d have to alter her entire life so she’d be around to help them fight off the huge, flying carnivores?
Really, all she’d wanted was a nice summer camp.
So let him be mad about it. She hadn’t told him the truth about why she’d decided to stay anyway. It wasn’t just because of her loyalty to the country. She came back because she couldn’t stand the thought of Jesse fighting the dragon without all the help he could get. If she walked away from this place and he died, she’d always blame herself.
There. That was it.
She was obviously some sort of romantic fool for developing feelings for him, but she couldn’t help it. She remembered what it felt like to fly through the forest with his arms around her, the way his dark brown eyes had looked into hers while they’d spoken on the outlook. He had said he needed her. How could she turn her back on him?
All in all, it was probably better he was mad at her. She knew practically nothing about him. Odds were, he wasn’t the right type of guy for her to develop a crush on. It would help her keep her head if he kept his distance.
“Dr. B may have let you off the hook with only a reprimand,” Jesse said, gripping the steering wheel harder than he needed, “but I’m not. As your team captain, I’m letting you know that you’ve lost your lunch break. You have fifteen minutes to eat and then you’ll use the rest of the hour to help Booker clean out the horse stalls. You’ll also need to find time to make up the run you missed this morning, but when you do it, you’ll run with twenty-pound weights on your arms and legs. We keep those in the archery shed.”
See, her plan was working. She already felt less romantic about him.
He glanced over at her, looked as though he was going to say something else, but then shook his head and returned his attention to the trail.
“What?” she asked. The word came out with a sharp ring of defiance she hadn’t intended.
Jesse answered slowly, the anger simmering in his voice. “Overdrake had a motto he used to say a lot when Dr. B lived in St. Helena: Homines suas vitas magis quam bonum publicum aestimant. It means: People care more about their own lives than the common good. That’s what Overdrake is depending on—that most people would rather accept him as a ruler than risk their lives fighting him.
“I’ve never thought the saying was true. But I just noticed something.” He glanced at her again. Even though his eyes were only on her for a moment, she didn’t miss their disdain. “None of the rest of the Slayers are from wealthy families. Why do you think that is?”
She smiled, shrugged, and gave an answer she knew would needle him. “Overdrake must have taken the eggs through some slummy part of D.C. After all, my parents went everywhere campaigning.”
“I think,” Jesse said, ignoring her barb, “that Slayers were born to wealthy families, but rich kids don’t care about anything but themselves, so they didn’t bother coming to camp. It’s why Ryker isn’t here and why you’ll take off the next time things get hard.”
Tori breathed in sharply. Maybe she deserved an insult after her slummy part of D.C. comment, but Jesse’s words still made her bristle. He hadn’t said them to get a rise out of her—the way she’d said her comment—he actually meant them.
She wanted to say, “Why would anyone want to stay here and train with the rest of you?” then get out of the cart and call Aprilynne to pick her up.
But that would just be proving Jesse’s point.
And maybe, Tori realized with a sort of horrible twisting in her stomach, he was right. Her own friends and family had a bet on how long she would stay at camp, and they didn’t even know about the Slayer stuff.
She wasn’t the type who ran away from hard things, was she? She didn’t care more about herself than the common good. This morning when she’d gone to Hollings, well, she’d just reacted like any normal teenage girl would react when faced with fireballs, dragons, and impending doom.
She was normal.
Maybe that was the problem, though. Maybe Overdrake was right and normal people were self-centered to the point of cowardice or at least inaction.
Tori didn’t like any of these thoughts. Worst of all, she didn’t like doubting how she would react when things got dangerous.
Could she lay down her life for this cause?
Her stomach twisted again.
Death was such a big commitment to make.
Finally, they reached the Slayer camp. Jesse parked the cart behind the rifle range and then the two of them walked to the large field. Shang and Lilly were riding nearly identically chestnut quarter horses, effortlessly jumping over four-foot fences. Alyssa and a girl Tori didn’t recognize shot arrows into Styrofoam disks that a machine spat into the air. The new girl had tan skin and lush black hair that poured over her shoulders. Tori didn’t see Kody or Dirk anywhere. Perhaps they were at the rifle range.
Tori waited for Jesse to tell her where to practice, but a glance at his profile told her he’d completely forgotten about her. His gaze trained in on the girl with the long black hair. He picked up his pace, heading straight to her and ignoring everything else. Tori followed after him slowly.
When he got close to the archery range, the new girl looked over at them. She barely took in Tori. The girl’s gaze stopped on Jesse and tears welled in her brown eyes. Her expression fell, and she let out a sob. Jesse jogged the last few steps to her.
“Leo isn’t coming back,” she said and another sob choked off her words.
Jesse let out a punctured breath, shook his head as though he didn’t know what to say, then pulled her into a hug. Her bow fell to the ground, unnoticed, while she buried her head into his chest.
They stood that way for several seconds, the girl crying, Jesse ashen and pained. Tori stayed far enough away that they had some privacy. It wasn’t polite to stare, yet she couldn’t drag her gaze away.
“It was awful,” the girl said, her words tumbling out between sobs. “He drinks now, and his memories of us are all twisted. He thought dragon camp was childish, and he said you were a jerk for bossing everyone around. Even Bess couldn’t reach him. The part of him that was her counterpart is gone. He’s not one of us anymore. And he doesn’t even care.”
Jesse didn’t speak, just let her cry into his shoulder. He shut his eyes and leaned his cheek onto her dark hair. They stayed that way until the girl pulled away. “Dr. B says there isn’t anything we can do, but there must be something. If we can prove to him that we have powers, he’ll know we’re telling the truth.”
“And then what?” Jesse’s jaw tightened. “He made a choice not to follow the rules. We can’t make him undo it. We can’t give him back his powers.”
It wasn’t until then that Jesse seemed to remember Tori. He waved her over for introductions. “Rosa, this is Tori. She got here yesterday.”
“Hi,” Tori said.
“Hi.” Rosa wiped her cheeks. “Sorry. I’m a mess.”
Tori smiled sympathetically. “It’s okay.” She already liked Rosa more than Lilly and Alyssa. Rosa was so soft-hearted. Tori also noted, although she didn’t want to, that Jesse and Rosa had been pretty quick to hug each other.
Apparently, Rosa hadn’t gotten Lilly’s memo on that whole dibs issue.
Jesse looked around the field, squinting against the sunshine. “Where’s Bess?”
Rosa picked up her bow from the groun
d and brushed off some dry grass. “She’s still talking to Danielle. Danielle didn’t register for camp because she didn’t want to leave her boyfriend. Bess thinks she can convince her to come, that she might not be as far gone as Leo.” Rosa swallowed hard and lifted a hand in frustration. “I started crying on the way over to her house, so I wasn’t a lot of help. Bess told me she’d handle it herself.” Rosa’s lips trembled again. “Why did Dr. B send me to talk to them? He should have sent you or Dirk. Dirk could have brought them back. He can talk anybody into anything.”
Jesse put his hands on Rosa’s shoulders, gently massaging the tension in her back. “That’s not true.”
“Remember the summer Dirk taught cabin twenty-six how to play poker?” She said the words like they proved her point. “He insisted that the losers had to shave their heads, and every single one of you ended up looking like marine recruits.”
Jesse kept massaging her shoulders. “Remember last year when we had a contest to see who could get the best tan?”
“Yeah,” she said glumly. “You disqualified me for being Latina.”
He went on as though she hadn’t spoken. “And you kept trying to make us wear sunscreen because you were afraid we’d get skin cancer? Dr. B sent you to talk to Leo and Danielle because you care about everybody.”
“I failed,” she whispered.
“You didn’t.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders, then turned to Tori. His expression was strained, but when he spoke his voice was brisk again, professional. “We do rotations in the morning. Start with the indoor firing range, then move on to archery and horseback riding. If you have time after that, I’ll take you to the motorcycle range to practice there.”
He headed toward the indoor range, and she followed after him. “If we can ride motorcycles to fight the dragon, why do we need horses?”
“Motorcycles won’t work against the dragon’s electromagnetic pulse. Besides, knights have always had a special connection with their horses. Pretty soon Bane will obey your commands nearly before you give them.”
“Really?” she asked, but she already believed him. She’d felt it the first time she’d ridden Bane. “So why do we practice on motorcycles?”