“Maybe,” he said. “And you’re not going.”
“Oh, come on,” she said. “You know Dad would say I could.”
“And you know that Mom wouldn’t,” he replied.
“That’s not fair,” she said quietly. “You don’t get to use Mom against me like that.”
“It’s what she would have wanted though.”
“When did you go to your first high school party?” she asked him.
He glared at her. “That’s not fair to use against me.”
“I already know the answer. Fourteen. I’m fifteen. I’m a sophomore in high school. I’m not a child anymore.”
He pursed his lips. “Fine. I would prefer you didn’t go, but you’re right, I can’t really stop you. But if you want to go, you can go with me and my friends so I can watch over you.”
She huffed, just as he had a few minutes earlier. “Fine.”
“And stay away from Justin,” Pilot added. “He’s too old for you, and he’s my friend, and he’s got a twisted mind, which means he would love nothing more than to hook up with my sister and rub it in my face for the rest of my life.”
“Right,” she said. “His interest is probably all about you.”
“I know you think I’m being paranoid, but it honestly wouldn’t surprise me.” His shoulders had visibly tightened again.
“Well, I’m not interested in your friend,” Brie said, hoping to calm her brother down. “Though he is pretty hot.”
“Stop.”
“Hey, I have eyes,” she teased. “Plus, that whole flirting with me in front of my brother schtick? I mean, wow. Confidence at that level is so sexy.”
Pilot groaned, though his lip turned up into a small smile. “Seriously, I can’t talk to you about this anymore. So what do you want to talk to me about?”
“Nothing too specific,” she said carefully. “I finished my test early, and I wanted to see you. I feel like I barely get the chance to talk to you. You know, about Mom. And how you’re doing from… well, everything.”
He immediately switched from irritated to concerned. “You see, these are the questions I’m supposed to be asking you. Maybe you should go first. How has your first week of school been?”
“Good,” she said automatically.
He stared at her, waiting.
“Fine,” she revised.
“You made a few friends,” he pointed out.
“Yeah,” she said. “Sort of. I still don’t know them very well, though.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “It’s only been a few days. You have three years to get to know people here.”
She frowned, knowing that wasn’t exactly true, though she couldn’t tell Pilot that. “Okay, your turn.”
“I’m… better than I was,” he said.
“You seem better since the beginning of the week. What changed?”
“Nothing, exactly. You know those dreams I’ve been having about Mom?”
“Yeah, a little.” She had overheard him talking to Rykken about them, but he hadn’t talked to her directly.
“I just… I feel like they’re bringing me closer to her. Like I’m learning something new about her.”
“I thought they were upsetting you,” Brie said.
“They were,” he admitted. “But last night I talked to her in my dream, and it just felt… nice. Nice to get some closure from her.” He closed his laptop.
“Is she… talking back?” Brie asked cautiously. Now that she knew about the Archworld, she didn’t assume dreams were just dreams.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It feels like it’s really her.” He met her eyes. “This all sounds insane, doesn’t it?”
She shook her head. “I would give anything to have even just a few more minutes to talk to Mom.”
“Okay,” Pilot said, as if he were debating whether to tell her something. He met her eyes again. “If you don’t think that sounds crazy, then what if I told you that I decided last night that I’m going to start using the dreams to figure out what happened to her? What really happened.”
She nodded, pressing her lips together. They both knew what had happened to their mom; she died in a plane crash. But those answers had never satisfied either of them. What was she doing on that plane? Why was it coming from California when that’s not where she said she was going? And what were all the “business trips” about anyway?
“Does that sound crazy?” he asked. “Talking to Mom in my dreams. I know, it sounds nuts.”
She shook her head. He was exactly right to demand answers from their mother; he just didn’t know how deep the deceptions went. She, on the other hand, was well aware of how the supernatural played into it.
“I think you should pursue it,” she told him.
“Really.” He seemed surprised. “You don’t think this is a coping mechanism that I constructed entirely on my own?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think it hurts to pursue it, as long as you know that’s a possible outcome.”
He gulped. “I think I have to. I mean, we need answers. You and I deserve more than she gave us.”
Brie nodded, patting her brother on the back. They both needed so much more from their mother still. She had spent the last several days trying not to get angry about it, even though everything she had learned about who and what she really was had been difficult to process.
Seeing it affect her brother, when he didn’t even know the half of it, broke her heart.
“Well… if you have something you want me to ask her or tell her, I’ll try to pass on the message.”
Brie pretended to think for a minute, though she didn’t have to. Her brother had set her up for her questions perfectly, without even knowing it.
“I do have something,” she started, launching into what she had rehearsed. “I want to know if she had any sisters or maybe cousins that we didn’t know about. I know she always told us she was an only child, but you know Mom. She kept secrets from us, and she thought she hid it well, but we could always tell that she wasn’t giving us the full truth.”
“Wow, that’s really specific.” His green eyes turned darker, more hazel. “I’ll ask.”
“Did she ever mention anything to you?” Brie prodded.
“I don’t know of any relatives, but I guess it is kind of strange that we wouldn’t have any.” He leaned back in his chair. “You’re going to hate me for saying this, but you should really ask Dad the next time he’s in town.”
She wrinkled her eyebrows. “You’re right. I do hate you for saying that.” Her father James was barely in the picture and never had been. They lived with him on a technicality—or rather, they lived in his house, because he had only been home for about a week total since they’d gotten there nearly two months earlier.
“He would be able to answer your question,” Pilot said.
She sighed. “Probably.” She let a few seconds pass, as she had rehearsed.
“And nothing… weird is happening with you?”
“You mean besides the dreams?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, the dreams are the strangest thing in your life right now?” No magical powers, crazy twins who won’t let you go anywhere, supernatural beings who want to kill you running around? she thought to herself.
“My life isn’t that interesting,” he said wryly. “I think the dreams are enough.”
“Good,” she said, though a part of her was disappointed. No, she didn’t want Pilot to be cursed with the same powers as her, but at the same time, she wished more than anything that she at least had a partner in all of this. She wished she had someone she could confide in.
It’s better this way, she reminded herself.
She would have to tell Pilot the truth about what she was going through eventually, but at least for now, he could be happy.
At least for now, he could settle into his new life and heal without worrying so much about her.
“Brie!” Cora whispered loudly as she walked toward
their table.
Why in the world was she there?
“Hi,” Brie said, watching in amazement as Cora sat down across from them.
Cora stared expectantly. “Are you going to introduce me?”
Brie looked at Pilot, who seemed mildly amused. “Pilot, this is my friend Cora. She’s a junior, like you.” She turned to Cora. “This is Pilot, my brother.” She gave Cora a look when she said it; obviously, Cora knew exactly who he was; she had probably been stalking him the same way she’d stalked Brie.
“Hi,” he said, a slight grin on his face.
“Pilot, hmm. That’s an interesting name.”
“As is Cora,” he said, his smile widening.
Brie frowned, feeling a bit like her brother was trying to pay her back for earlier. “Well, it was good chatting with you big brother, but we should probably go.” She grabbed Cora’s arm and dragged her out of her seat. “See you later.”
“Bye.” He waved after them as she tugged Cora along, past the rows of desks and back into the stacks, between two bookcases.
“Do you follow me everywhere?” she asked when they were out of earshot.
“Well, when you leave your class in the middle of a test, yes.” She folded her arms over her chest. “What were you talking to Pilot about?”
“He’s my brother. I don’t need a reason to talk to him.”
The lunch bell rang. Brie glared at Cora, then turned and joined the students who were entering the hallway.
“It was just a question,” Cora said, catching up to her. “Why are you being so snippy all of sudden?”
“Why are you flirting with my brother?!” Brie asked. “I mean, how old are you anyway? You said you were friends with my mom.”
Cora’s mouth dropped open. “It’s not—I wasn’t—”
“You like my brother,” she said. “Just admit it.”
“Brie, I don’t. I was just being nice, don’t lose it on me.” She shrugged. “And yeah, I’m 62. But you know that’s not how it works in the Hallow world anyway.”
“Well, my brother isn’t part of the Hallow world, so you can cross him off your option list. Besides, he would probably just sleep with you once and dump you. He doesn’t tend to stay interested in any one girl for very long.”
“Brie,” Cora said firmly. “What is all of this really about?”
“Nothing!” People stared at them; Brie hadn’t meant to outburst, but now realized she was talking louder than she meant, and definitely too loud for the type of conversation they were having.
“You want to try that again?” Cora asked quietly, back at a range out of earshot of any passerby students.
Brie crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t deal with this waiting period anymore. I don’t want to wait for Thessa to get back. I need to talk to someone about all of this.”
“You can’t—” Cora started.
“I know that,” Brie snapped.
Cora gave her a look, and she took a deep breath.
“Look,” she said, “I have no friends, I have no information, I have no… purpose in life until we talk to Thessa and figure out what’s going to happen to me. I’m in this weird limbo and it’s isolating and lonely.”
“But Brie, you have us—”
“Clara hates me,” Brie said.
“She doe—”
“Don’t lie,” Brie warned her. “We both know she doesn’t like me.”
“Well, you and I are friends.”
“No we’re not. I’m an assignment to you. Admit it.”
Cora frowned. “Well, I thought we were becoming friends, but I guess that’s only on my end.” She pulled Brie closer to her and leaned in. “Look, I get it. Do you think I enjoy being stuck here? Do you think I want to be in high school right now? I’ve been keeping a low profile for a lot longer than you—think decades. And yes, it sucks the life out of a person. I get it. But I do it because I’m smart, and because it keeps me alive. Thessa has kept me alive. So we both need to trust her and make the best of it.”
Brie bit her lip, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know all of that.”
“It’s fine,” Cora said. She pulled Brie into a hug, to Brie’s surprise. “I really do want us to be friends. I know you don’t understand why, and you probably won’t for awhile. But I’m serious. I want to be there for you, and I want to help you.”
Brie felt tears welling in her eyes. She bit them back, determined not get sappy in the middle of the hallway.
“I miss her so much,” Brie admitted. “I wish she was here to help me through this.”
Cora nodded. “I know. I miss her too. Your mother was powerful… strong… and she would have done anything for you.”
“And now she’s probably dead for it,” Brie said.
Cora released Brie from her grip. “We don’t know that. And even if it’s true, you can’t feel guilty about it. Trust me, no one could stop Milena when she made her mind up. And she was smart and strategic. If she sacrificed herself for the larger picture—and that’s a big if—it was only because she had no other choice.”
“Maybe Thessa will know… something,” Brie said. Or maybe the blonde girl would…
“We’ll find out when she gets back.” Oh!” Cora exclaimed, fully distracted. “I know what we should do. I heard about this party tonight—”
Brie laughed. “The private beach one? Yeah, I heard about it.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“I don’t know,” she said, thinking of Pilot.
“It will be fun. Besides, you seem to need a little normalcy in your life.”
She was right. “Yeah,” Brie said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she repeated. “Why not?”
Chapter 12 - Pilot
The salty Hawaiian winds rushed around Pilot’s face, tossing his hair wildly in all different directions.
The people and the music and the bonfire blazed on around them on the private beach. Teenagers milled around everywhere, dressed in light hoodies and cutoff jean shorts, laughing and drinking and eating.
“Who’s the guy who owns this house again?” Pilot asked.
“Not a clue,” Rykken said. “No one in sports, I know that.”
Two underclassmen girls standing several spots behind them in the drink line kept getting louder and louder, to the point where almost everyone could hear.
“I haven’t met her yet.”
“Me either. I heard Sheila hates her already.”
“Can you blame her? Girl’s got some competition.”
“Doubt it. Not a single girl has spoken to her in gym class this week.”
“Probably because they’re afraid of her.”
“I heard she doesn’t talk to anyone unless they’re an upperclassman, or one of her brother’s friends.”
“So basically just the popular kids.”
“Can’t blame her. If my dad was famous I would be working that too.”
Pilot waved his arms at them. “Standing right here,” he called out, silencing their gossipy conversation. Both stood there with their mouths open, and one muttered an apology before they left the line completely.
“Ignore them,” Rykken muttered, though he seemed to be struggling with it himself.
“I don’t get why they’re still talking about her,” Pilot said.
“She’s interesting,” Rykken said. “Famous. Beautiful. And kind of mysterious right now, until she figures out where she fits in. People like that type of thing.”
“I wish everyone would leave my family alone. My sister’s got enough on her plate.”
They reached the keg, and Pilot pumped himself a cup of beer, while Rykken grabbed a soda and poured it into a separate cup.
“Where is she, anyway?” Rykken asked. “I thought she was coming to this.”
Pilot shrugged. She hadn’t been home when he stopped by to pick her up, and she wasn’t responding to his texts. “She’ll probably show up with one of her
friends just to defy me. Doesn’t matter. I’ll still keep an eye on her.”
“Try to have fun too,” Rykken said. “There’s Justin.” He nodded toward an area past the party, farther down the beach.
Justin walked toward them with a girl Pilot had never seen before. He would have remembered her if she went to their school, so she must have been from one of the neighboring ones. Maybe Punahou?
She had long, pale hair the color of white corn, ebony skin, and large, unassuming eyes. Under the tiny cutoff jean shorts and black tank top, he could practically see the outline of her petite body—not his typical type of girl, but for whatever reason she still looked good. Something about the way she held herself, maybe. She radiated with a sexy confidence that seduced him slowly and subtly, like soft ocean waves that moved in and out of shore, growing with each turn.
“Who’s that?” Pilot asked.
“Who’s who?” Rykken asked, confused. He looked up, then sighed. “I’m going inside for a bit. Emily and her friends just got here.”
Rykken’s ex-girlfriend and a few of her friends were also walking toward them from the opposite side, from the parking lot.
“Still awkward with her?” Pilot asked sympathetically.
“Will it ever stop being awkward?” Rykken asked.
“Depends on whether it was just a hookup or something more serious,” Pilot said. “Yes for the first, no for the second.”
“Great,” Rykken muttered. “I’ll catch up with you later, then.”
He walked off toward the house, and Pilot caught Emily watching from the corner of his eye.
All of his attention was on his own girl, though, the mystery girl standing over by Justin still.
He approached them.
“You made it,” Justin said.
“You look like you need some of this.” The girl took a blunt from Justin mid-puff and handed it to him.
He looked around the make sure no one was watching. Then he took the blunt and puffed it, exhaling. Immediately, he felt more relaxed. “And you are?”
The girl raised her eyebrows. She glanced him over once. “I’m Kennedy.”
He handed the blunt back to her. “Pilot.”
She inhaled, sucking hard on the end of the blunt. She released the smoke in O’s, and he couldn’t help but be impressed. She closed her eyes and smiled. “Are you going to spill about this deep drama in your life, or do I have to force it out of you? I can, you know. Ninja skills.”
Instruments of the Angels (Hallows & Nephilim: Waters Dark and Deep #1) Page 8