Maybe I could talk Arianna and Lend into a polar bear plunge as a memorial.
My phone buzzed with a text and I pulled it out. Carlee. I smiled as I read, “OMG BRATTT U DIDNT TELL ME ITS UR BDAY. Girls nite friday?”
I texted back a yes, touched she cared about my pretend birthday. “Did you tell Carlee it was my birthday?” I asked Lend as we wriggled into our coats, held hands, and braced ourselves against the bitter chill of twilight that slammed into us when we walked outside.
“Guilty.”
I smiled, then shivered. “It’s dark so early these days.”
“Today’s Winter Solstice—shortest day of the year.”
“Gee, thanks a lot. Way to pick the shortest day of the bleeping year for my birthday.”
He laughed and put his arms around me. “Ah, but the longest night…”
“Scandalous!”
He blinked innocently at me. “What? More time for movies, right?”
“Sure…”
We drove through the town and into the trees toward his house, finally turning onto the long, winding drive. Just before we passed the last curve of the driveway he stopped the car and turned it off. I smiled wickedly, remembering how many times we’d sneaked off into the forest for a little post-date making out. Alone was really the only time he could melt off his glamour and be himself with me. Even around his dad and Arianna it made him too self-conscious. I reached out to open my door, but he leaned over and pulled it shut.
“Too cold?” I asked.
“You have to wait here for a minute, okay?” His look was brimming with excitement and mischief and I wondered what he had for me. Maybe some sweet present, like my necklace. I fingered the iron heart pendent, warm from being against my chest.
I bounced impatiently in my seat, watching as he ran up the drive and around the curve. In the dark I pulled open the neck of my shirt and peered down at the skin over my heart, doing my nightly soul check. No visible difference, just that same faint glow with a spark or two. Not gonna die today. Another thing to add to the happy list.
A couple of minutes later I was surprised when the figure that came back was…not him. It was Arianna, holding something bulky draped over her arm.
She opened my door, and I got out. “Where’s Lend? I’m supposed to wait for him.”
“Nope.” She smiled bigger than I’d ever seen her smile before, and suddenly I was a touch nervous. What if she was working with Nona and the faeries? “You were waiting for me. Now, strip.”
“I—What?”
“You heard me. Strip. Take off your coat, shirt, and pants. You can leave your bra, for all the good it does you.”
I noticed then that the bulky thing over her arm was a garment bag. Aha! “Ar, listen, I don’t feel that way about you. You’re not my type.”
“Oh, shut up, take your clothes off, and close your eyes.”
“Again, not something I was hoping to hear from you tonight.”
Her smile was replaced by an annoyed scowl. “DO IT NOW.”
I laughed, confused but figuring this was her present to me. She had been in fashion school before she died and was an amazing seamstress. I closed my eyes and peeled my clothes off, goose bumpy and shivering in the frigid air. “Hurry, hurry.”
“Lift your arms up.”
I did and tried not to squirm as she pulled what felt like a hundred layers of fabric over my head. A zipper went up my back, then she tugged and twisted and smoothed. From what I could tell it was a dress—nothing on my arms, but material swishing against my legs. “Perfect. Of course.” She sounded smug. “Foot,” she said, taking one and pulling off my boot before putting a much higher heeled shoe on, then repeating the process.
“Can I open my eyes yet?”
“No. Take my arm.”
I did and let her walk me around the corner. Behind my closed eyes I could tell there was light—a lot of light, way more than there should have been.
“Hold still,” she said, slipping something carefully past my hair and putting it in place over my eyes and the top of my nose. “And keep your eyes closed!”
“Hmph.”
“Brat.” She let go of my arm, then put both of hers around me and gave me a quick hug. “Have fun.”
Another hand took my elbow, one I instantly recognized by its perfectly smooth skin. “Can I open my eyes yet?”
“Yes,” Lend said, and I opened them to see him, in a tux with a gorgeous midnight-blue and silver mask. Okay, maybe it was a good color scheme, after all. I looked down and my breath caught at what was quite possibly the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen in my life. Layers of sheer fabric cascaded from my waist with impossibly intricate pleating and ruffle accents. Flowers trailed from my shoulders down to the bodice, and it was a rich, perfect plum color. It felt like I was wearing a dream.
Beaming, I put a hand up to feel my own masquerade mask. I couldn’t believe Lend had done this for me. Then I turned to see the entire house lit up with twinkle lights, and what looked to be half the senior class on the wraparound porch, Carlee at the front, all wearing formals and masks.
“Surprise!” they shouted.
It definitely was.
GLAMOUROUS PARTIES
Lend twirled me to the beat in the furniture-free living room and I laughed, my dress spinning around me. They’d draped the walls with swaths of shimmery material in purples and violets, and covered the overhead lights so that even the lighting was filtered and soft. I didn’t know what it was about putting on masks and fancy clothes, but the people I saw every day in the halls seemed prettier, more mysterious, older. Easton Heights totally had this one right after all.
I spun back into Lend’s arms and rested my head on his shoulder. “This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.” The amount of time and preparation he must have put into this—it boggled my mind.
He squeezed my hand in his. “Had to make up for prom, right?”
Reth kidnapping me, confronting Vivian and almost killing her, nearly sucking the soul out of Lend…yeah, prom hadn’t been quite what I’d hoped. “Let’s not mention that dance. Where did everyone get the masks?”
Each mask was individual, with different flourishes and details; everything from sequins to feathers to what looked like gold leaf. They were breathtaking. Definitely not something from a cheap party store.
“I designed most of them and Arianna made them. A little mystery that you can’t see through—and you don’t have to. Just a magical normal night.”
“It’s amazing.”
He dipped me down, then leaned forward and nuzzled into my arched neck. “So are you.”
When the dance music sped up, Carlee found me amid the crush of people. She looked hot in a deep green strapless mini, dark brown hair stick straight and loose, her mask blue and green with peacock feathers trailing down either side.
“Happy birthday!” she shouted, throwing her arms around me, and I hugged her back, giddy.
“Thank you!”
“Is this not the best freaking party ever?”
“Totally!”
She beamed. “Lend’s been working on it for like a month. I’ve been here all day setting up.”
“You were in on it?”
“Psh, of course I was, girl. Who do you think did invites and forced the idiot boys from school to actually dress nice?”
“Carlee, I’m so glad you’re my friend,” I said, blinking back any hint of tears because I was so not messing up my makeup.
“Me, too. And I’m glad Lend finally manned up and threw a decent party.”
“I’m right here, you know,” he said, leaning over my shoulder. “So let’s not go too heavy on the manning up talk.”
My stomach growled. “Food?” I asked.
“In the kitchen. Want me to make you a plate?”
“Perfect.” I watched him weave away through the crowd.
“So, are you two going to get married already or what?”
I laugh
ed. “Excuse me?”
Carlee rolled her eyes. “Please. You don’t even look at other guys. And I have never seen a guy that crazy about a girl before. You’re, like, his entire world.”
I shrugged, smiling. “I can’t imagine ever finding someone better than Lend. He just—he knows me. Totally. Everything. And miraculously he still likes me.”
“Likes? Girl, he head-over-heels-freaking-loves you.”
“It’s mutual!”
“Find me one like that, okay?”
“He’s one of a kind.” Way, way, way more than Carlee would ever know. She just laughed and we danced for a few minutes before I left the middle to watch from the edges and wait for Lend. The Vicious Redhead, my old soccer nemesis, was awkwardly grinding with a tall, skinny kid who was one of the stars of the basketball team, and Carlee was now surrounded by no less than four guys. I was surprised at how many of the kids I recognized under their masks, and how many of them I considered my friends. Maybe I wasn’t on the fringes of normal society. Too bad I’d already volunteered for, like, ten clubs. Probably could have thrown an awesome party and called it good.
I scanned for Arianna but didn’t see her anywhere. Turning to look out the window, I noticed a small point of light like fire, going in and out.
It took a minute, but I made it through everyone, nodding and grinning to birthday wishes, before bursting out the open front door. A bunch of kids lingered there, talking and laughing on the wraparound porch, but I walked straight off and into the trees that hugged the borders of the yard.
“You know you aren’t supposed to be smoking those things,” I said.
Arianna swore, surprised, and dropped her cigarette on the ground. “Great, that was my last one.” She ground it out with her foot.
“Come in,” I said, taking one of her hands, but she pulled back.
“Nah, not my thing.”
“Arianna, seriously. This dress? The masks? It’s incredible, and you did it, and you should be in there with me.”
I could barely see her in the dark, but I think she smiled. “Vicariously living through you is enough for tonight. Tell me it’s the best party you’ve ever seen.”
“This party kicks the masquerade episode’s trash.”
“Got that right.”
I took her hand again. “You’re telling me you spent all that time on masks and didn’t make one for yourself?”
Her voice was soft. “You know I already wear one.”
I scrambled for words, but she squeezed my hand and let it go.
“Get back in there or I’m never doing anything nice for you again. And if you don’t have the best night of your life after I spent all that time on this stupid party, I’m gonna turn you and make you spend eternity playing MMORPGs with me.”
I hugged her tight, feeling her tiny body through my dress. “Thank you.”
“Go be a teenager.”
“That’s my specialty,” I said, grinning at her and going back to the house.
The rest of the night passed in a blur of color and noise and laughter. There were no fistfights, no furniture thrown through windows, nary an overdose or tragic revelation, so it wasn’t quite the same as the Easton Heights episode, which I was grateful for.
Around 1 a.m. people were mostly filtering out, stopping to wish me happy birthday and to congratulate Lend on a party well thrown. David had been around on the periphery all night and looked exhausted as he pushed furniture back in. Lend was beat, too, beneath his always flawless dark-haired dark-eyed hottie glamour, but I was still buzzing.
When the last guest left, Lend leaned his head on my shoulder heavily. “Meet me on the porch in five minutes,” he whispered.
“If you’re surprising me with another party, I don’t think it can top this one. Or that you’ll make it without passing out.”
He laughed softly. “No more parties. Pretty sure that’d kill me, immortal or not. Just a little present.” He kissed my neck then went upstairs. I grabbed an afghan off the back of the couch and walked out, wrapping it around myself. The house was too brightly lit to see many stars, but it was a gorgeous night.
I wondered what more Lend could possibly have in store when I saw the light, bobbing and twinkling on the trail that led to his mom’s pond. It winked on and off a few times, then slowly started moving away.
I bit my lip and smiled. He must have gone around the back way. I couldn’t imagine what surprise he had for me at the pond, but I couldn’t wait to find out. I stepped off the porch and followed the light as it stayed always the same distance ahead of me, barely visible.
I could just make out where the edge of the pond would be through the trees; dozens of pale lights shimmered around its edges. He must have set up out here, too. I shivered, anticipating spending time with him, alone, on such a magical night.
Then I came through the trees and saw that Lend wasn’t there and the lights weren’t lights at all.
They were people.
Well, no. People was definitely the wrong word.
WINTER SOULSTICE
My eyes flicked around the group gathered at the edge of the frozen pond. I saw the three black-haired and mournful beauties from the diner—now definitely floating above the ground, their filmy dresses fluttering in a nonexistent wind. Banshees? Then there were Nona and Grnlllll, who had that same glowy salamander thing on her arm I’d seen them talking to once. The dragon, because this situation couldn’t suck as much without a dragon. A little furry thing that looked sort of like Grnlllll but with massive, luminous orbs for eyes. It was holding up a small lantern—the source of the winking light. Of course. A will-o’-the-wisp, how fabulous that I’d meet one now. At least it hadn’t led me to my death in a bog. So far. Kari and Donna, the traitorous seals. And there, floating over the pond, bleep! It was the stupid sylph who had flown off with me. I still had a part of its soul crackling around in me, and neither of us was happy about that.
The lights I’d seen around the pond were obvious now—the glow they each had centered around their hearts, their bright, immortal souls like dim lanterns behind fabric.
No faeries, though. That was something, I suppose. I didn’t like my odds against most of these things, but at least I didn’t have to worry about being whisked into the Faerie Paths.
“Child,” Nona said.
“Stop right there. Enough with this ‘child’ nonsense. In case you hadn’t noticed, I had a birthday. Which makes me seventeen. You are welcome to use my name, but if you’re going to ambush me like this, the least you can do is treat me like an adult.”
“Happy birthday, Evie!” Donna said, grinning.
I couldn’t help but smile, exasperated by her enthusiasm. “Thank you. But somehow I doubt this is another party.”
Someone in all black melted out of the woods next to me and I tensed, shocked to see Arianna. I frowned. “You’re part of this? Did you set all this up?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, so not my crowd. I saw you wander off into the woods alone and followed.”
A huge crack echoed through the air, and water and ice shot up in a fountain from the middle of the pond, slamming back down and breaking more of the frozen surface. The fissure pushed straight through to the bank in front of me, water spraying up as the ice creaked and groaned and moved to the sides. The pulsing cold in my veins left over from the fossegrim I’d partially drained swirled as if in recognition. It had better not be him in there.
I stepped back, waiting to see what would come out of the water. It bubbled up into the form of a woman, and I let out a surprised breath. Cresseda—Lend’s mom. Lend’s mom whom no one had seen in months.
“Evelyn,” she said in her rushing-water voice. As usual she glowed from the inside, far brighter in the night. Her features were perfect and strange and beautiful, and I could see points of starlight through her.
“Did you want to see Lend?” I asked. He’d be relieved to see her, even if I wasn’t.
“I am not here for my so
n. It is time to take your path.”
“You do mean the path back to the house, right? Because that’s the only path I’m considering right now.” I bit my lip. Maybe I shouldn’t mouth off to the elemental I kinda hoped was my future mother-in-law.
“Eyes like streams of melting snow,” she said, and it was all I could do not to roll my melting snow eyes. “Cold with—”
“I know the prophecy,” I said, holding up a hand to stop her. “I already did that. I let all those souls Vivian trapped go. Just like you told me to.”
Cresseda shook her head, droplets of water flying everywhere and turning to ice before they hit the ground with musical plinks. “That was not the end of your journey. You have more to do.”
I sighed, clenching my jaw. “What’s that?”
Nona stepped forward. “You will send us all home.” She smiled gratefully at me, reaching out to take my hand in hers. I folded my arms tightly in front of my chest again and stepped back.
“So you guys want me to open a gate now, too? Is that why you’re working with Reth? Did he make you do this?” I scanned the tree line but didn’t see him anywhere. Didn’t mean he wasn’t around, though.
“It is because of the faeries we are all here.” Nona’s voice was sad.
The three floating banshees drifted closer. They opened their mouths and spoke as one, their voices full of grief and the promise of death, mournful and tired and beautiful. They made me want to cry myself to sleep as they harmonized in chant.
“Greed and desire
Not peace, but fire
Coveting creation
Created damnation
Pulled alongside
A gate thrown too wide
Now our home calls
And darkness falls.”
I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. “A for effort, ladies, but F for clarity. You do realize that your weird poem things never explain anything.”
Donna bounced forward. “I can explain! I can explain!”
Endlessly (Paranormalcy) Page 3