Descendant
Page 8
Kye calmly punches the second floor button. “Lan, don’t get mad at her. You know how easy it is to lose track of time when you’re under a faery enchantment.”
“So do you, Kye.” Akers jabs his finger in Kye’s chest. “Which is why I’m disappointed you let it to happen to Abby.”
Kye straightens his back. “She needed to see. You know she needed to see what can happen. She was the only student on the bus whose vision you couldn’t alter when Finn showed up. The only one who heard and saw everything. Like it or not, this thing with the Elen involves her somehow.”
Akers’s face pales, but the spark in his eyes doesn’t die. “Nevertheless, you should know better than to let her eat faery food. Why would you put Abby in that kind of danger?”
“What danger? You once told me there’s no safer place than a faery party.” Kye throws his arms up. “How is giving her knowledge of things that could help her putting her in danger? She has Sight already—the faery food only helped clarify her vision. Now she’ll be able to see all the creatures, including the Elen.” My confusion compounds when he meets my eyes and his are soft with regret. “Besides, she needed a break. Why do you think she collapsed at school? The faeries cleared her mind—both of our minds—for a while.”
“Well, hope you got good and focused at the party.” Akers backs Kye against the wall with a hand on his chest—not hard, like a shove, but it concerns me just the same. “Did you have a good time? Get your hormones settled well enough to think with your head?”
Kye looks down at the hand on his chest, confused. “What’s wrong with you? You had to know this was coming.”
Mr. Akers lets his hand drop with a heavy sigh. “Boone was here.”
“What?” The color drains out of Kye’s face and his eyes grow wide. “Are you sure? You saw him?”
Akers laughs, but it’s dry and mirthless. “Yes.” He points at me. “And so did she.”
Any hope I had of sleeping is now gone. Mr. Akers takes Kye and me to his suite where I explain to them about the guy with the scary aura.
Kye tries for a smile but fails. “Why didn’t you say something before?”
I consider telling the truth—that memory, logic, and rational thought simply flies out of my brain the minute Kye walks into view—but that sounds sort of pathetic, even to me.
“Why didn’t you call security?” Akers asks, exasperated. “What if he did something to one of your friends? What if he kidnapped one of them? Or attacked them?”
I can’t look at either of them, so I stare at the floor, feeling guilty. Why does he have to put it that way? “How was I supposed to know the guy was dangerous? He could work here or be a chaperone from the other bus. I’d never heard of the Elen before tonight. Why would I call security?”
Mr. Akers shakes his head in disgust. “Well, it’s too late to worry now. We should’ve warned you sooner.”
“You should have said a lot of things sooner.” I sigh and fall back onto the bed.
“I wish that had occurred to me before I caught him trying to break into your room.” Upon seeing the panic on my face, he presses his palms together and pulls out his soothing voice. “Don’t worry, he didn’t succeed, and I’ve banished him from the building. He won’t be back tonight.”
While his words are something of a relief, I’m still shaken by the very idea. “So, now what? Do we pack up and go home? I’d hate to cancel the party. Rose would be devastated.”
“No, let’s not raise an alarm yet.” Kye runs his fingers through his hair, thinking. “We should stay near the forest. There’s something big happening and we need to know what we’re up against.”
Mr. Akers rubs his chin. “You’re right. At this point, it’s best if we stay as close as possible to the earth’s power sources—and this place oozes with them.” His eyes bore into me. “Maybe if we stick around, Abby will be able to See something that can help us.”
A trickle of fear runs through me at his words. How much does he know about me? Kye flops next to me on the bed, his arm around my waist pulling me close so he can whisper in my ear. “It’s okay, Abby. Landon—Mr. Akers—knew before I did.”
I can’t move for the shock I’m feeling, but as I lay next to Kye, it occurs to me that a lot of people in Jackson have special Gifts. Including my drama teacher.
Later, I sneak in my room, exhausted, and feel my way to the empty bed, grateful to know the strange man didn’t actually get inside. In the dark, I strip off my boots and jeans and slide between the crisp, cool sheets. A snore reverberates against the wall. “Shut up!” someone mumbles, and after a muffled thud, the snoring stops. I grin into my pillow, wondering who hit whom.
Considering I’ve been up all night, I should be able to get right to sleep, but I can’t shut down my brain. After lying awake for half an hour, frustration takes over and I rub the crystal hanging from a chain around my neck, quietly humming the sleep tones. Muscle by muscle, inch by inch, my body goes into hibernation mode, letting go of questions, tension, and thoughts. I feel my energy wane and am finally able to drift off, wondering if Kye is struggling to fall asleep too.
My friends are gone by the time I wake up, and I feel guilty for ditching them last night. After washing my face and applying some makeup to cover my dark under-eye circles, I braid my hair, pull on jeans and a heavy sweater, and head downstairs to the café, where I find Jen pouring syrup on a stack of pancakes at the same table from last night.
“Where’s Rose?”
Jen gestures with her fork to the other side of the room where Rose is sitting on some guy’s lap, feeding him bites of waffle.
“What is she doing?” I reach across the table and snatch a bite of the omelet sitting in front of the empty chair. “Oh, that’s good.”
“Rose wants to take you to see the Fountain Paint Pots, so she’s trying to procure us a form of four-wheel-drive transportation.”
“What does she want him to do, ride us there piggyback?” I commandeer Rose’s water and catch the eye of the waitress from last night, pointing at the menu. She nods.
Jen shoves another bite in her mouth, talking around her food. “He came in a Jeep.”
Realization dawns and I cover my mouth with both hands to keep from busting out laughing. When I’m confident I can hold it in, I ask, “Is she planning to invite him and his friends?”
“I kind of doubt it.” Jen swirls her fork in the air. “There are three of us, and a Jeep only seats four people.”
The waitress sets another glass of water on the table. “Know what you want this time?”
I haven’t even looked at the menu, but breakfast is easy. “Can I please have some pancakes and sausage? Oh, and orange juice.”
She writes my order on her pad. “Anything else?”
“Nope, that’ll—”
Jen interrupts, “Can we get some ketchup?”
The waitress glances at Jen’s pancakes with a grimace. “Sure.”
I scrunch up my face. “Ketchup?”
“Rose will want some for her hash browns in about three minutes.”
Across the room, Rose is pouting. She bats her eyes and whispers in the guy’s ear. A minute later, she drops a set of keys on our table, takes her seat next to Jen, picks up a fork, and proceeds to shovel food into her mouth at warp speed.
“I hope you already ordered,” she says without looking at me, “because we need to get out of here before Jared figures out what just happened.”
As if on cue, the waitress bustles out of the kitchen with my plate and Rose’s ketchup. I down two pancakes in five minutes, and the three of us throw some bills on the table and run.
Rose curses under her breath. “Why didn’t we bring our coats with us?”
“Well,” I answer, stepping into the empty elevator. “I don’t know about you two, but I didn’t know I’d be in a hurry to go anywhere.”
Rose snorts. “Jeez. You might have had an idea if you came back last night. Where were you, anyway?”
“Yes, well, we figured that.” Jen sticks her card in the lock before I get there, cursing about it being warped, then takes mine and throws open the door. I snatch my coat off the rack, remembering how Kye had tried to keep me warm last night. I haven’t seen him since a few hours ago when he kissed my forehead and told me to get some sleep, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be looking for me when he wakes up.
Jen zips her coat and pulls on gloves and a hat. “Abby, hurry. Rose is persuasive, but sooner or later Jared’s going to realize he just handed over the keys to his brand new Jeep and come after us.”
I bite my lip.
Rose stops mid-zip. “Oh no. Don’t tell me you’re worried about lover-boy already.”
My eyes fall on a pad of hotel stationery, which I use to jot down a note to Kye.
Went to Fountain Paint Pots with Rose and Jen.
Be back in a few hours.
Hope you got some sleep.
Abby
Then I fold the note in half and write his name on the front.
Rose taps her foot. “Ahem.”
“I’m done.” Flustered, I skip down the hall and slide my note under Kye’s door. We hustle to the elevator and then make a beeline outside.
Rose hits a button on the key ring, and a black Jeep—one of only four cars in the lot—roars to life. “Gotta love remote starters.” She turns to me. “You can start talking any time now, Abby. We’re, like, waiting.”
I climb in the back and fasten my seatbelt. What can I tell them? “Okay, let’s start with a question. How in the hills did you talk a stranger into loaning us his new car?”
Jen’s been holding in her laugh since the restaurant, and now it explodes out of her. She claps both hands to her mouth, shaking with laugher until tears stream from her eyes. “You ... should ... have ... seen yourself.”
Rose only laughs a little as she shifts into reverse, even though Jen’s laugh is of the contagious variety. She sounds sober when she says, “It’s just something I do. I’ve always been able to talk people into things. My mom says it’s a special talent.” She smiles, but I detect a hint of sadness. I wonder about it but don’t ask. I know all too well how that feels. We pull out of the parking lot and proceed along the icy road, following the arrows that indicate the direction to the Paint Pots.
When Jen calms again, she turns in her seat. “Enough stalling. Spill.”
“I met Kye for the first time yesterday. I mean, I’ve seen him before, but we never had an actual conversation until we were waiting for the bus.”
“Oh, no,” Rose says, her voice full of disgust. “Let me guess. You sat in the back.”
I shrug in response.
“Ew. Abby, you made out with him, didn’t you?”
“Not on the bus,” I protest.
“But you kissed him,” Rose insists, seeming disgusted. “A guy you just met.”
“Rose, let her talk.” Jen sounds intrigued. “First things first. On the kissing scale of ice to fire, where did it fall?”
My face burns, but I know I have to give Jen something. My fingertips trace my tingling lips as I remember. “Fire. Definitely fire.”
Rose catches my eye in the rearview mirror. She doesn’t look mad, but neither does she seem very happy. “Do you even know his last name?”
I return her glare, sensing I need to tread softly. “Yes, it’s Murphy. I know him better than you think.”
“And did you learn this before or after you stayed out all night with him?”
I blow out a breath. What’s her problem? “Why do you want to know?”
“Rose,” Jen says.
“What, Jen? What?” The Jeep accelerates. “Give me a break, okay? I’m trying to decide if I judged her wrong or if there’s something bigger going on.”
Jen folds her arms and sits back in her seat. “Who gave you the right to judge anyone?”
Rose bites her lip.
Oh no. What if Rose and Kye have a thing? Or had a thing? Or she wants to have a thing? I swallow. “Rose, please, please tell me you were never ... hooked up with Kye.”
“No. Oh, ew.” Her expression reflects pure horror. “He’s my cousin.”
“Really?” Surprise and then relief surge through me. “So you have a legitimate emotional attachment to him. Will it make you feel better if I promise not to hurt him?”
She chuckles, but there’s no smile involved. “Abby, it isn’t him I’m worried about.”
THIRTEEN
Boone and Finn
Rose pulls into what looks like a driveway and parks the Jeep. The snow’s a foot deep in some places, while in others, bare ground is exposed. They lead me to a wooden walkway, all of us stepping cautiously to avoid ice. Falling into boiling acid would not be fun right now—or ever. Nearby, a fountain of water sprays ten feet into the air, spewing and bubbling for several minutes before it abates.
Breath catches in my throat. “Is that a geyser?”
“A real live geyser.” Jen links elbows with me, her body radiating comforting heat.
Rose saunters a few feet ahead and points to one side of the walk. “Paint pot.”
A gooey, gray substance bubbles and spits on the ground. We wander the length of the walkway and I reluctantly feed the girls a modified version of what happened on the bus, careful to leave out anything referring to Kye’s Gift. Also how I feel like I’ve known him forever. Some things are too strange, too private, to put into words.
“That’s sweet.” Jen sighs, a dreamy look on her face. “But I just know you’re leaving pieces out. Like, where were you all night?”
I stop to stare at a sputtering geyser. “With Kye.”
“Obviously,” Rose says. “But what were you doing while the rest of us were sleeping?” Her insinuation is clear.
“Talking.”
“Talking?” Jen kicks a piece of ice into a bubbling paint pot. It immediately melts into the mud. “All night? Where?”
“We looked all over for you,” Rose says. “Tell me you weren’t in his room.”
I scoop up a handful of snow and pack it into a ball, then throw it at a geyser. It disintegrates in mid-air. “We were freezing our tails off—outside.” I catch myself glancing in the direction of the Inn. Kye is probably awake by now. Everything inside me pulls toward him. There’s no explanation for this intense desire to be near him, no reason to explain why his absence feels like a hollow, aching loss.
“Look at her.” Jen pushes me along the path. “She’s lovesick.” We’ve come full-circle back to the parking lot and I notice a trail of melted ice leading from the place where we started.
Scowling at Jen, I storm to the car. The ache has grown into a shooting, physical pain in my abdomen, and by the time I get to the Jeep, I’m doubled over, breathing heavily. Something isn’t right. After checking my energy field and finding my chakras in fair alignment, I wander to an aspen tree and pull a twig from a low branch. “What are you doing?” Rose calls.
“Just checking out this tree,” I say. “It’s amazing how plants can grow here, only yards away from all that icky mud and acid and stuff.” I keep my back to them and rub the twig on my sleeve, then break off a piece and suck on it. The anxiety slowly ebbs away—or most of it.
I chew the aspen bark for a while, then spit it out, staring into the forest until I’m grabbed from behind, arms pinned to my sides with powerful muscles.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” The stranger’s voice is low, rough.
Jen screams. Rose’s voice shakes as she asks, “What do you want?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I squeak as panic races through me.
“Could’ve fooled me,” says the man. In our struggle, I catch a glimpse of his face and recognize him from the hallway yesterday. The guy Mr. Akers called Boone. “You two looked awfully cozy last night.”
His arms squeeze my ches
t, leaving me gasping, choking. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Let go of her.” Rose offers him the keys. “You can take the Jeep if you want. Just let her go.”
Boone ignores both Jen’s screaming and Rose’s bargaining. “It was a mistake for you to come here without him.”
“Why?” My voice is shaky. “What do you want?”
“Doesn’t matter. You don’t have to know or do anything to be bait.”
Rose drapes a calm demeanor around her like an invisible veil. “You don’t want to take Abby.” Her voice flows across the tension like a soothing balm and Boone’s arms relax around me. “She’s not who you think she is. You have the wrong girl.” He does have the wrong girl. Rose is right. She’s always right.
Boone pulls back, and though he still has a tight grip on me, I feel his eyes raking me up and down. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s the one I want.” His voice sounds sure, but his confidence cracks enough to allow doubt to flow in.
“You’re wrong. Just like you’ve always been wrong.” Rose steps closer. “Wouldn’t you like to get something right for a change? Just once?”
Yes, I’m tired of always messing things up. I want to do exactly what she says.
Boone shakes his head. He seems to be waging an internal battle. “Not me. I never screw up. I always do it right. It’s other people who mess up.”
Rose dangles the keys on the end of her finger. “You want to get in that Jeep and drive. Run away and no one will catch you. All you have to do is let go of my friend and take these keys.”
I could take the keys and drive away. Far away. Start over.
Boone tightens his grip again, and this time, I don’t have a chance to take a breath. Black spots swim in front of my eyes as I struggle for air, and what I do manage to pull in tastes like smoke. Rose moves closer. If my arms were free I could reach out and touch her. “Stay back!” Boone shouts. “I know your trick, little girl, and it won’t work on me.”
Everything goes gray around the edges. Rose no longer appears the confident young woman offering keys to a stranger, but rather one immobile with fear. Then an orange flame erupts between the girls, distracting them, while Boone drags me backward through the snow. He stumbles on something, his boot uncovering a fist-sized rock that my ankle then brushes against. The contact sends a tiny burst of energy up my leg. Boone moves faster and faster until we’re yards away from my friends.