Salome’s voice rang out cheerfully from the calling card in Rachel’s pocket. “Yoo-hoo! Die Horribly Debate Clubbers! Clubbees? Clubbettes? Action at six o’clock. Well, six o’clock from my position. Incoming!”
Rachel skated back toward the larger gathering areas, looking for her friends. She caught sight of a streak of red and gold among the trunks and hurried over to where Lucky snaked through the air, circling above Sigfried’s head. Rachel glided over to join them. Nastasia was there, dressed in a charming, fur-trimmed white outfit complete with a muff. With her and Sigfried were Joy and Valerie. Beauregard, the Tasmanian tiger, moved stiff-leggedly over the unfamiliar cold, hard stuff, while Payback, the Norwegian elkhound, padded confidently across the ice, stopping here and there to sniff a sapling or a fallen mitten.
As Rachel joined them, they converged on where a pink-cheeked Salome waited, so eager with whatever it was that was exciting her that she was practically jumping, causing the pom-poms on her skates to jiggle and bounce. Salome wore a cute, tight-fitting, blue and white skating outfit that Rachel found shockingly immodest but which everyone else seemed to accept as normal. Gesturing for them to gather around, Salome leaned forward.
“Someone, I can’t say who, of course, just convinced Eunice Chase that she should confront Vladimir Von Dread about how badly he has been treating her.” Salome’s luminous eyes danced with glee. She gestured toward the hockey game. “Let’s watch, shall we?”
“Von Dread!” screeched a girl’s voice.
Eunice Chase came storming across the ice in her boots, her hair hidden under a white crocheted hat. She charged over to where the boys and Zoë were playing hockey. Zoë’s friend Seth was playing as well, though most of the others were college students. Rachel recalled that Seth had belonged to a hockey team in middle school.
Putting her hands on her hips, Eunice shouted in a voice that carried through the forest, “Prince Von Dread, I have had just about enough of you! How dare you speak to me so rudely! I may not be royalty, but I am still important!”
Vladimir skidded to a stop. He surveyed her, his hand resting atop his hockey stick.
“Chase, you will never, ever address me in this manner again.” Von Dread spoke calmly, but his voice carried even farther than hers. “I treat you very well, considering what a low and cowardly thing you are. I know about what you learned when the Agents were here. I know you remember your parents discussing the murder of your little sister in front of you. I am aware of your utter lack of concern for her, even after you remembered that information.”
Around the hockey game and beyond, gasps rang out.
“She’s not my sister!” spat Eunice.
“It is not for you to choose who is in your family,” Dread replied. He handed his hockey stick to Gaius and crossed his arms. “Whether by the circumstance of birth or by tragedy, she was placed under your care. And you have failed utterly in protecting her. You have done the opposite, in fact, abusing her and physically assaulting her for your own petty, selfish reasons.”
Eunice began to object. Dread closed the distance between them. He towered over her.
“Quiet,” he commanded. “You do no longer have the right to address me. Count yourself lucky that I am not as pathetic as you. Were I a lesser man, I might strike you, to show you a small amount of what you have done to that little girl. But I am not so low as to act thus. Only the weak resort to cruelty, Chase. You are weak. Do not make me forget that I am not.”
Turning his back on her, he retrieved his stick and returned to the hockey game.
Rachel stood with her mouth hanging open, a-tingle with hero-worship. Vladimir had just stood up for Magdalene in front of the whole school. And he had done it so elegantly! You are weak. Do not make me forget that I am not. That was sheer elegance. It was like something her grandfather would have said.
Salome took a deep breath and fanned herself. She looked flushed and excited and was almost out of breath. “It was so great. Ohhhh. It was beautiful. I think I need to take a nap now.”
“I am willing to sign up for the Von Dread fan club,” announced Sigfried. “Right now.”
“Me, too!” said Lucky. “Dragons for Dread!”
“Is there a Von Dread fan club?” Rachel spun in a circle. “Thank you, Vlad. Thank you for looking out for Magdalene.” When she spoke his name, she casually changed her emphasis to activate the black bracelet, so he would hear her.
“Um, Hello?” objected Salome. She waved her pretty blue and white fingernails in the air and pointed them back at herself. “What about the Salome Iscariot fan club?” She spread her hand outward again. “I got all of this done for you. At the peril of my own boredom!”
Valerie, who was holding Siggy’s arm, perhaps helping to hold him up, perhaps letting him hold her up, Rachel did not know, shook her head. “Salome, I love you, and you are my best friend. But that ‘peril of your own boredom’ thing made no sense.”
“Oh, you know what I mean!” Salome replied gaily. “I am totally your spy in among the thaumaturges, aren’t I? I think we need a secret language. Something easy to learn. Wait, no. Learning it would probably take, like, days. That sounds boring. Let’s just have secret meetings and wear dark cloaks. Er, darker than the robes that we’re already wearing…”
“Darker cloaks would be hard. Maybe the ones we have will have to do,” said Sigfried seriously. “But I’ll join the Salome Iscariot fan club. So will Lucky!”
“Dragons for Scantily Clad Thaumaturgesses!” cheered Lucky.
Joy snorted, “‘Can’t say who, of course.’ Very subtle.”
Salome looked unduly pleased.
“I can’t join your club,” Joy continued. “I like you, but you’re obviously evil.”
Salome laughed and tossed her head. “Yeah…Yeah, I am.”
“She’s not evil!” Valerie rolled her eyes. “She just likes to annoy people. That’s not evil. It’s just a little mean.”
“Duh, Valerie! I am in Drake!” replied Salome. “We’re all eeeeeeeevil. Capital-E EVIL actually. Strangle puppies, punt kittens, all that good stuff.”
“I am confused, Miss Iscariot,” said Nastasia, who had been standing quietly, watching the others with a slight frown. “Why did you do this?”
“For Rachel, of course,” exclaimed Salome.
“Wha-what?” Rachel gaped at her. “For me?”
But she had just forgiven Eunice! Or tried, anyway.
“Sure thing!” replied Salome. “Chase was giving you such a hard time, with all her little minions scuttling around, chucking stuff at you, and throwing out your math homework.” She wiggled her blue and white fingernails to indicate the scuttling of the minions. “I figured the time had come to stuff a cork in her.” She grinned, bubbling over with sheer delight. “As I told you, anything for a friend of Valerie’s!”
Chapter Thirty-Three:
The Most-Favorite Person Contest
Rachel’s bracelet vibrated.
Vladimir’s voice spoke beside her ear. “I did not protect the younger Miss Chase for your sake, Miss Griffin, but you are welcome nonetheless.”
“Perhaps not,” replied Rachel softly, smiling. “But I was the one who asked you to protect her. So I feel well served, even if that was not your intention.”
“I will not abide women being abused,” Vlad’s voice stated. “My mother was abused for most of her life by mundanes and Wise alike. I will not tolerate such things in my presence.”
Rachel knew nothing about the late Queen of Bavaria—except that she had died years ago, and Vladimir had gone to the memorial gardens on Samhain to light a candle for her—but there was something most noble about his sentiment. It made a warm coal glow in her heart.
She said, “Could you let me know if you have a time when you are not busy and could talk in person, Vlad? I have something direly important to tell you.”
He paused. “Is the matter time sensitive?”
“As in immediate? No.”
“As soon as the game is over,” came his reply, “I will find you.”
Rachel left her friends, who were still squabbling over who was or was not evil, and skated through the darkening forest. The sun had disappeared behind Storm King. Above the trees, the sky was a deep periwinkle blue. As the twilight grew darker, the blue, lilac, and violet wisps flickered more brightly among the trunks, their glowing colors reflected in the surface of the ice, so that they seemed to float both above and below.
Rachel twirled amidst the sparkling lights, aglow at the wonder of the winter wonderland. Then she glided across the ice, her hands clasped behind her back, her feet moving smoothly, one and then the other—though occasionally, she had to jump to avoid a stump or the stalks of dry reeds protruding above the frozen surface or swerve to avoid someone’s runaway familiar. She spun around and skated backwards for a time, glancing over her shoulder, and then using her perfect memory to recall where the trees and obstacles were behind her.
It was great fun, almost as much fun as flying. She was glad she had decided to come.
But as the sky darkened, so did her mood. The thought of the ogre and the other denizens of fey leaving their accustomed haunts to move across the island spooked her. Also, this recent incident with Eunice was disturbing, or rather, Salome’s part in it. Salome seemed so exuberant, so sheerly joyful. And yet…Rachel shivered. She did not want other people fighting her battles for her, especially people who did creepy things—like upsetting someone until they challenged her to a duel or yelled at the imposing Prince of Bavaria in public.
A cheer rang out from the hockey game. Rachel turned and skated closer, pausing to watch her boyfriend in action. He was shorter than the other boys, except for Seth Peregrine, but he was quick and wiry. Her hand resting on the trunk of a large hemlock, Rachel waved to Gaius, who blew her a kiss. This led to a great deal of hooting from the college students, whom Rachel would have expected to know better.
“Dating a toddler, are you?” called one of the goalies, a college boy from Persia.
Raucous laughter followed, along with some leers, as the older boys looked her over in a way that left Rachel feeling uncomfortable. Her cheeks grew hot, but Gaius just chuckled and grinned his lazy grin.
“Upset are you, Ishkandar, because your girlfriend can’t hold a candle to the sun of cuteness that is mine?” he replied airily, as he sent the puck between Ismail Ishkandar’s legs and into the goal.
Both his team and the crowd went wild, cheering. Rachel took advantage of the excitement to slip away. A few boys in the crowd were still watching her, including one or two rather good-looking high school boys. Rachel ducked her head and gazed studiously forward, until she had skated out of sight.
Thinking over the incident, she smiled. She was pleased Gaius believed her pretty enough to boast about her. She was also proud of herself for ignoring the admiring glances of the boys. She was proving to be a loyal girlfriend. She had always wanted to be the kind of girl who would be a loyal girlfriend. It pleased her that she never so much as looked at any boy but Gaius.
“You’re not that cute,” an older girl exclaimed caustically behind her. “You’re not half as pretty as I am. What does he see in you?”
Rachel spun around to find Tess Dauntless sitting on a fallen log, swinging her skated feet. Tiny lilac and blue sparks glinted in her wavy blond hair.
Tess continued, “He gets so much grief for dating a thirteen-year-old, a lesser man would be crushed like a bug. If he were my boyfriend, I’d have pity on him and break up with him, rather than put him through that.”
Rachel said nothing, embarrassed that she had had no idea that Gaius was being teased because of her. The older girl’s eyes raked over Rachel’s girlish form. “At least until I developed a little…” She gazed pointedly at Rachel’s lack of curves.
“He likes me because I’m clever.” Rachel crossed her arms and thought of the many things she had done that had wowed her boyfriend, things she could not speak of aloud. “And apparently, he thinks I’m twice as cute as the goalie’s girlfriend. Maybe that’s cute enough.”
“Anyone can be cuter than Petra Volonski,” Tess shot back. “Her older sister Medea is much prettier than she is.”
Rachel assumed that this Petra person must be the girlfriend who was the candle to her sun of cuteness—the phrase amused her. It took all her dissembling skills not to giggle in front of Tess. Gaius was such a sweetie.
Her bracelet vibrated again. Dread’s voice spoke in her ear. “The game has ended. I am free to converse.”
“Coming!” Rachel cried. Glancing over her shoulder, she waved to Tess. “Nice speaking with you. Must go.”
Tess wiggled her fingers in a half-hearted good-bye.
She looked glum.
• • •
Vlad met her by a fallen log, where he had bent down to tighten his laces. He was wearing heavy black and brown hockey skates. They looked well-used, quite different from her conjured ones.
“Did you play hockey in the Olympics?” asked Rachel.
He shook his head. “Fencing, skiing, speed skating, swimming, shooting, septathlon, and fulgurating. I could not participate in any sport that required practicing with a team, as I spent too much of my time here.”
“That’s quite impressive!” Rachel knew most of this but hearing him say it still awed her.
He nodded, accepting the compliment graciously. “I have been granted many advantages. It is my duty to look out for those who have not.”
Wishing to reward him for his chivalrous sentiments, Rachel smiled up at him. “F.B., I thought you’d like to know that my mother is on your side.”
“F.B.?” He raised an eyebrow.
“It is short for F.B.-I.-L.” She drew the dashes for brother-in-law in the air.
He thought for a moment and then nodded again, as if accepting a compliment, a ghost of a smile haunting the corners of his lips.
“Mother told Sandra that she was going to talk to my father on your behalf. Of course, that was before…” Rachel’s voice trailed off.
Vladimir stood up. “Before what?”
He pushed off, and the two of them began skating side by side, heading by wordless agreement, toward the outskirts of the ice. Overhead, a large great horned owl flew by. Rachel recognized it as a familiar from De Vere.
“Before my father lost his memory,” replied Rachel, keeping pace beside him. “I suspect my mother has more immediate concerns now.”
“Then we should get your father’s memory restored as soon as possible.” He examined her closely. “Right?”
“I’d never spoken to my father about you. I have no idea if you have a better chance with Old Father or with this new one.”
He paused for a moment and then gave a shake of his head. “It does not matter which one I would have better chances with, does it? If your father was injured, we should work to heal him. I will deal with him either way.”
Rachel smiled, quite pleased. Then her face crumbled. Grief over her father’s fate threatened to overwhelm her calm. She turned her head abruptly away and blinked her eyes, until she drove back the threatening tears. “B-but how can anyone help him, when no one is allowed to know what’s wrong?”
“Ah. It is as I somewhat expected,” he said gravely. “This is a hard situation. I will have to consider it for a while before suggesting a solution. Do not give in to despair, Miss Griffin. As long as he is healthy, we have time to make plans and figure this out.”
“It’s my fault.” Rachel admitted softly. She looked up at him. “Thank you for that. I must admit I have felt quite in despair, but I will endeavor to less despondent.” She added, “This is the second time today, I have been told not to despair.”
She recalled the words spoken through Laurel. Even the memory of the event lightened her heart.
He clasped his hands behind his back he skated. “You cannot help how you feel. But we have not lost, the world endures, and we have struck a blow or tw
o against our current, visible enemies. The future, of course, is unknown. Now is the time to rest and recover from our wounds. You did well this fall. You should be proud of yourself. No one else can claim the accomplishments that you have achieved over the past six months, myself included.”
Rachel ducked her head shyly. “I do my best.”
“The world persists.” He gestured towards the trees, the ice, and in the distance, the laughing skating students. “We have not failed.”
His answer heartened her. If she had not adored Vlad before, she would now.
They skated for a time in companionable silence, but his words kept echoing in her mind. You cannot help how you feel. His calm acceptance of her dilemma lifted a weight from her shoulders that all the comforting words of her friends and family had not. As this burden departed, something astonishing happened.
With the swiftness of breaking ice, a crack appeared in the despair that had imprisoned her since her trip to London. With this came sudden enlightenment. Vlad was right! She could not help how she felt. But her attempts to deny her feelings had led to her misunderstanding the nature of her distress. All this time, while she had been in despair—unable to eat or to concentrate in class—she had thought she was distraught about her father losing his memory.
But it was not that at all! True, she was upset about her father, but that just made her want to rush out and find him a cure. No, there was only one thing that could cause her to act like a puppet with broken strings, or—more to the point—a ship with no rudder.
She was extraordinarily, tremendously angry at Gaius.
Rachel’s mind balked. No. It could not be. Gaius meant everything to her. He was her most favorite person, the center of her universe. He cheered her up and kept her calm. She could not be angry with him. It was impossible.
And that was why she was so upset. His response to the secrets she had shared in her special room had hurt her, deeply. But her mind had rejected this information, thrust it away so as not to acknowledge it. Instead of being angry at the person she most trusted, it had shut down.
How dare Gaius side with her father!
The Awful Truth About Forgetting (Books of Unexpected Enlightenment Book 4) Page 38