The Mephisto Kiss (The Redemption Of Kyros)

by Trinity Faegen

  When they walked out of the day’s last class, English lit, Jordan said, “I have a Student Council meeting, then I’m going home to cook dinner for Dad so Betsy can have the night off. She was pretty upset about her memory lapse this morning.”

  Aware that Hank was ever present, Key said, “You have my number, so call if you want to talk.” He had no intention of leaving her until she was on her way home with Hank and Gunther, but he’d stick around under a cloak so no one would accuse him of stalking.

  Thirty minutes later, he was glad he had made that decision.

  It started when she walked into the room where Student Council met, and two of the twelve members were lost souls. She hesitated slightly, then continued on to take a seat at the head of the table. After she called the meeting to order, one of the lost souls, a blond guy with a neck like a tree trunk, said, “I’m making a motion for a recall vote for student body president.”

  Jordan sighed, like she’d known it was coming. “On what grounds, Randy?”

  Randy said in a superior tone that was typical of a lost soul, “You’re seeing a doctor for post-traumatic stress disorder, and I think we need someone as president who isn’t a basket case.”

  Her cheeks went pink, and Key could see she was furious. She looked toward the corner where he stood, and he said, “Ask him how he knows.”

  “How do you know anything about my private medical information, Randy?”

  “From Tessa.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise, but whatever she thought about her best friend telling others about her doctor appointment, she kept to herself.

  A girl who looked at Jordan with sad eyes, said, “Maybe this is too much stress for you right now. I mean, you just got back a few days ago. No one would blame you if you wanted to step down.”

  Jordan focused on the nice girl. “I haven’t even seen a doctor yet. I’m going only because my dad insisted. There’s nothing wrong with me, and no, I’m not going to step down. Let’s put Randy’s motion to a vote. All in favor of a recall vote, raise your hands.”

  Seven hands went up.

  “All opposed?”

  Five hands.

  “The ayes have it,” she said. “I’ll have Mrs. Black post the notice in tomorrow’s newsletter, and schedule the recall vote for next week. Now, let’s have committee reports.”

  “Aren’t you mad?” Randy asked.

  She looked to Key again.

  “He wants you to be mad,” Key said. “Eryx put him up to this to make you mad, hoping you’ll lose it in front of all these people.”

  Focusing on Randy, she said in a dead voice, “I’m not mad. I just wish you weren’t a douche.”

  By the time she got home, Jordan was over Randy’s stupid stunt and just wanted to put on a pair of sweats, have a cup of cocoa, and do her homework. First, however, she was going to call Tessa and ask her what she was thinking, telling Randy something so personal.

  Tessa answered on the first ring. “Finally! I thought you’d never get out of that meeting. I’ve been dying to talk to you. Are you at home?”

  “Yeah.” What was she so excited about? “And I want to talk to you, too. Randy brought a motion for a recall of my office because he says you told him I was seeing a doctor for PTSD. Why would you—”

  “I didn’t, Jordan! I mentioned it to Eryx, because he seemed so worried about you, and he must have said something to Randy. I’m so sorry, but no one will vote you out, so no worries. Listen, I’ve got the most excellent news!”

  Wow, way to blow her off. Like sharing something that personal with a guy she barely knew was just a-okay.

  “Eryx asked me to Winter Ball! I figured I wouldn’t go, since Cory is a jerk face, so I haven’t looked for a dress. Will you go shopping with me?”

  Jordan paced back and forth between her bed and the window, wanting to go off about Eryx. She wanted to shout, she was so frustrated. But all she could do was say, “I don’t like him, Tessa. He’s not right, and he scares me.”

  “You’re kidding with me, aren’t you?”

  “No. I really don’t like him. And his eyes are freaky. How can you get past those eyes?”

  “Jo, you’re crazy! Eryx has the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. He’s smokin’ hot and swoon worthy. You need glasses.”

  Why couldn’t Tessa see what Jordan saw? She’d think it was immortality, or Mephisto, but she’d noticed his dead, flat eyes the instant she met him, when Smelly took her blindfold off on the plane. She decided it must be the Anabo in her that allowed her to see who Eryx really was. “I think your hanging out with him is a very bad thing.”

  “You’re blowing my mind, especially considering you were glued to Biker Boy all day. Everyone’s talking about it, Jordan. Eryx said he got arrested for too many DUIs, and that’s why his aunt moved them here.”

  Jordan’s instant reaction was fury, but she swallwed it, telling herself it didn’t make any difference what lies Eryx spread, or what people thought. She and Key would be gone in a month. “It’s a lie, and you shouldn’t believe anything he says about Key. Eryx hates him, and he’ll do anything to screw him over.”

  “How do you know it’s a lie? You just met him. And what about Matthew? Since you’re stuck on the new guy, everyone thinks you broke up with him because he’s paralyzed. I know it’s not true, but that’s what people are saying, Jordan.”

  “I didn’t break up with him. He texted me last night and broke up with me.”

  Tessa instantly lost her defensive tone. “Aw, Jordan, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  “It just feels strange not to think of him as my boyfriend anymore.” In more ways than she could tell Tessa.

  “Maybe it’s like you said before. He needs some time.”

  “Maybe, but he sounded pretty certain.” He even sent a fake picture and lied to make sure she got the point. But she didn’t say anything about that to Tessa. She just didn’t have it in her to talk about it.

  “Eryx said there’s a chance Matthew will get well.” Tessa was no doubt trying to make her feel better. “He said there’ve been cases of people regaining the ability to walk, even after they’ve been paralyzed.”

  Jordan went cold all over, horrified at the thought of Eryx offering to heal Matthew, because she knew the payment he’d demand in return. Imagining Matthew as a lost soul made her a little hysterical. And the thought of Tessa pledging the oath made her crazy. She continued pacing. “Please stay away from Eryx. He’s going to hurt you, I know it.”

  “You’re such a mother hen. Can’t you just be happy for me?”

  She’d be happy if Tessa would get over this infatuation with Eryx. “Has he asked you to join his church?”

  “No, he’s not like Courtney and her Buzzkills, shoving Jesus down people’s throats.”

  He would, eventually, except it wouldn’t be Jesus he was selling.

  “Please go shopping with me. Don’t you want a new dress for Winter Ball?”

  “I’m not going with a date, so I’ll wear something I already have.”

  “You’re not going with Biker Boy?”

  “His name is Key, and he’s not the type to go to something like Winter Ball.”

  “I rest my case. Why are you hanging out with him anyway? Are you rebelling? Is this something to do with your kidnapping? When are you seeing that doctor?”

  “If I tell you, will you blab it to Eryx? Because I can’t lie, Tess. It really bums me out that you told him I’m planning to see a doctor. He spread it around, and now everyone in StuCo thinks I’m too stressed to be president.”

  “I really am sorry, Jordan, and I swear I won’t tell Eryx anything else. I’m just really worried about you. So do you have an appointment?”

  “Next week, on Wednesday.”

  “Good. Maybe he can tell you why you’re interested in a criminal in leather.”

  “He’s not a criminal.” He was a son of Hell. She wondered what Tessa would say if she told her. No doubt she wouldn�
�t believe her, and would think it was further proof that Jordan was one step shy of going off the deep end.

  Unless Tessa pledged. Then Jordan wouldn’t have to tell her. Eryx would. And her best friend would become her enemy.

  She thought of Sasha, whose mother had become a lost soul, and her sympathy was so huge, tears pricked her eyes. Now she understood in a way she hadn’t before. “I’m really not up for shopping, Tess. Why don’t you call Megan?”

  “Can I bring what I buy over to show you later?”

  It’d be difficult to fake enthusiasm for a dress Tessa would wear on a date with Eryx, but she said yes anyway.

  When she was off the phone, she went to her closet to see what she might wear to the ball. She didn’t want to go, but it was part of her duty as president to be at school functions.

  Except she might not be president by the time of Winter Ball.

  FIFTEEN

  FRIDAY CAME AND WENT PRETTY MUCH LIKE THURSDAY, except Gunther and Hank took them to a Thai restaurant in Georgetown. Megan Thompson was having a party that night, but Jordan didn’t feel like going. Key wasn’t invited, and after what happened with Carla, she was a little afraid to be around the lost souls when he wasn’t with her. Not to mention, Eryx would be at the party with Tessa, and Jordan couldn’t take watching them together.

  So she spent Friday night with her dad, which turned out to be a very good thing. They watched a movie, then played Scrabble, and for the first time in months, he didn’t look totally stressed out. She avoided asking him anything about politics and instead asked him to tell her about his and her mother’s first date. She’d heard it before, but it never got boring.

  “I was a geek in high school. You knew that, right?”

  Jordan smiled. “Yeah, Dad. I’ve seen pictures.”

  “Connie was a year behind me, and we didn’t have any classes together, but her locker was next to mine. I used to mess up my stuff during lunch so it’d look legit when I hung around to clean it up after school. I liked waiting for her, just to see her and hear her laugh. It’s not like I ever spoke to her. Then, right before graduation, I decided that, since it was close to the end, I might as well go for it.” He sat back on the couch and looked up at the portrait of Jordan’s mom above the mantel. “I said I’d miss having my locker next to hers, and she said they didn’t have lockers at Yale. I was shocked that she knew where I was going.” He looked back at Jordan with a wry smile. “I didn’t realize she was on the committee that worked on the graduation program, so she knew where everyone was going. I thought she’d actually noticed me, so before I chickened out, I asked her to go to dinner. She said no.”

  “Poor Dad. Were you crushed?”

  “Humiliated.” He leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. “I was hurrying to grab my books and get out of there when she said she couldn’t go that night, but she could go the next. I dropped one of my books on her foot.” He chuckled. “Damn, I was smooth.”

  Jordan laughed. “She should have known then what the date would be like.”

  “Funny thing about your mother. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, she never stopped believing I was really something. The next day, when my boss at the museum wouldn’t let me leave early, I didn’t want to be late to pick her up, so I showed up at her house still dressed like George Washington. We were on the way to my house so I could change when I ran into a parked car. I had to call my dad, who came and gave me a lecture about watching where I was going. I didn’t confess I’d been staring at Connie. So there I was, in the middle of Constitution Avenue, looking like old George, with my dad fuming, the car wrecked, and the prettiest girl at Oates smiling at me. Even counting election days, that was one of my best days, ever.”

  Nope, the story never got boring. It was kind of weird to think about them in high school, and not all that easy to think of Dad as Captain Awkward, because he certainly wasn’t now, but she had no trouble at all imagining how they fell in love. For as long as she could remember, until the day her mother died, they’d been devoted to each other.

  He got to his feet and stretched. “I’m off to bed. Thanks for tonight. We should do this more often.” Moving to where she sat cross-legged in a club chair, he bent and kissed her cheek. “Good night, sweetheart.”

  “Good night, Dad.” After he left the living room, she stared up at her mother’s portrait for a long time, wishing all over again that she was still here. Jordan sometimes missed her so much, she could almost imagine she heard her voice in the other room.

  Feeling sentimental and sad, she went to her bedroom and dragged out the boxes where she kept old photos, cards, and other mementos, taking one last look because she’d have to leave it all behind when she went back to Colorado. Key was adamant about that. The Luminas weren’t allowed to bring anything with them, because hanging on to remnants of mortal life made it more difficult to adjust, and Key had said the same rules applied to her.

  She slept well that night, for once not waking up in the middle of a nightmare. On Saturday, she cleaned out her closet, bagging up things to be auctioned for charity, then spent the rest of the day going through some of the First Daughter e-mails. She checked a few of the responses Carla had sent and was relieved when she saw nothing in any of them about the Ravens, or Eryx. Key had said he didn’t think she’d really do it, because it’d be grounds to get her fired. “Eryx wants her in the White House as long as possible so she can spy for him and keep provoking you.”

  On Sunday she did homework, but it was hard to stay focused. All she could think about was Key, the Mephisto, Eryx, and the lost souls.

  Just before dinner, she was putting her books away when Jax called her cell. “How’s it going?” he asked.

  Her answer was automatic. “Okay. It’s okay.”

  He took a moment before he said, “How’s it really going?”

  She sighed and sank down onto the floor, leaning back against her bed. “Awful, Jax. Just terrible. I can’t wait to get this done because every day we wait means more lost souls for Eryx, but knowing I’m about to leave for good is so depressing. And it feels as if I’m mad all the time, which isn’t like me, and it’s exhausting.”

  “Part of the problem is that you have ten times the strength and energy you had before, and you’re not doing anything with it. You need to work out. And you need more training before your birthday party.”

  “I can work out, but how can I train while I’m living here?”

  “It’ll have to be at night, after you’ve supposedly gone to bed. Brody will sit in your room under a cloak, and if someone comes in when you’re not there, he’ll let us know. Leave the bathroom light on and the door closed to buy some time until you can pop back.”

  She already felt better. Training was something she could do now, something more than just waiting and worrying. “Okay, I’ll be in the gym at around ten, my time.”

  “That’ll work.”

  She intended not to ask about Key, but before she could stop herself, she did. “Jax, what’s he doing now that he doesn’t have his greenhouse?”

  “I’m not exactly sure. He’s been gone since Friday after school and didn’t tell anyone where he would be. It’s his business, and he deserves his privacy, but Sasha kept wigging out about it, so I did a mental search.”

  “Did he go to Kyanos?”

  “That’s what I figured, but no. He’s in Bucharest. Sasha thinks he went there to find out who your real parents were.”

  That seemed like a strange thing for Key to do, because if he believed her parents were angels, he’d know he wasn’t going to find them in Bucharest.

  “But Sasha tends to be a romantic,” Jax said, “and I’m more practical. Since you were most likely born in Romania, I believe he went to see if there are any other Anabo.”

  That made a lot more sense than looking for her parents. “For your brothers?”

  “Yeah, maybe, or he could be looking for another one for himself. If I were him, that’s wha
t I’d do.”

  Her heart began to race. “Wow, Jax, you always know just the wrong thing to say to me.”

  “What? The truth? If Sasha had stuck to her absolute certainty that she wouldn’t become Mephisto and would never be with me, I’d have been out looking for another Anabo every chance I got.”

  “Your brothers don’t search.”

  “If they had the slightest inkling what it’s really like to be with an Anabo, trust me, they’d be searching day and night.”

  “What about Phoenix? He knows, but he isn’t looking.”

  “Jane accepted him. She was leaving that night to be with him. It’s not the same.” He was quiet for a while, then said, “You can’t have it both ways, Jordan.”

  “Do you really think he’s looking for someone else?”

  Silence again, until he sighed. “No. He would never do that, and neither would I. I was just hoping to shake you up a little. Besides, we aren’t supposed to search for an Anabo. If it happens, great, but we can’t spend time searching for Anabo when we should be looking for lost souls and Skia.”

  Jordan stared down at the pattern in the rug, thinking about Key in Bucharest, wondering why he was there. As much as she was curious, she wished she was with him. “I’m so confused, and it makes no sense because I meant what I said to him. I still feel exactly the same way about … I mean, nothing’s changed. So how can I be this ambivalent?”

  “Do you want me to give you a nice, politically correct answer, or tell you what I really think?”

  If it was anyone else, she’d see the question as condescending. But this was Jax, a Mephisto, a son of Hell, the guy who told her she pushed Holly that last final step. What he really thought could possibly be brutal. But it wouldn’t be a lie. “I want you to be honest.”

  “We’ve known since before we left Kyanos how he feels about Eryx, so when he told me there was one thing you couldn’t get past, I guessed this was it, and he confirmed it.”

  “Was he upset when you told him you’ve always known?”

  “Well, yeah, because it messes with how he thinks we see him, makes him wonder if maybe we don’t respect him as much as he thought.”