by Amanda Ashby
“Hey, are you okay?” he suddenly asked as he unzipped his slaying kit and pulled out the familiar yellow folder that they were using for the assignment. “You’ve hardly said a word, which—no offense—isn’t like you at all.”
“I’m fine,” she quickly assured him while taking great pains not to look at him, since no good ever seemed to come from doing that. “It’s just been a long day. That’s all.”
“And going out dragon hunting with me isn’t your ideal way to spend the night.” He finished off her sentence in a dry voice, his jaw clenched slightly.
“Something like that,” she mumbled, still managing to avoid his gaze. Then, as much to distract herself as anything else, she pulled out her cell phone and sent Loni a quick text, telling her about the change of plans and asking her to arrange for a taxi to meet her at the parking lot where the minibus would be dropping them off.
Loni replied immediately. Done. And don’t 4get 2 b nice 2 C.
Emma rolled her eyes, put her cell phone away, and turned her attention to the darkening skies outside the bus. She and Curtis made the rest of the trip in silence.
A while later, the minibus slowly pulled up to a small tree-lined parking lot at the edge of a large lake just off the highway. There was a tall streetlamp and an overflowing trash can next to some badly maintained public restrooms. There was also a taxi parked by a tree, its engine idling. Emma glanced out the window at it as she waited for the minibus to come to a stop. She was just congratulating herself on successfully ignoring Curtis for most of the trip when he suddenly made a clicking noise with his tongue, while behind them the seniors were busy discussing the best thermal imager to use when scouting selkies.
“Okay, Jones, so are you going to spill it?”
“Spill what?” She blinked in what she hoped was an innocent expression.
“What’s going on,” he suggested in a mild voice.
“Nothing,” she said. “Why would something be going on?”
“Because you’ve been acting weird the whole time in the minibus, and now you keep looking out the window over at that taxi, which I don’t think is sitting there by accident. Is there something you want to tell me?”
No, Emma longed to say since he already knew far too much about her life, thanks to their trip to the mall the other day. And it didn’t matter how kind he seemed to be; it didn’t alter the fact that he had the one thing she wanted.
She sighed.
“Okay, fine. I sort of have a favor to ask. I need to go and pick up some stuff at my dad’s house, but because I’m on detention this is the only chance I have to get it. I hate to ask.” Like really, really hate to ask. “But would you mind covering for me? I promise I’ll be back before twenty-two hundred hours.”
“What stuff?”
“Um, just stuff.”
“Hello, back there, anytime tonight would be nice.” The bus driver coughed, and they realized he was waiting for them to get off. Curtis retrieved his crutches and they made their way to the front while the driver studied his schedule. “Okay. It says here that you’re doing observation and reconnaissance only, so no slaying. I’ll be back for you at twenty-two hundred hours on the dot. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Curtis and Emma both said as the bus pulled back out onto the highway. Once it had gone, Emma turned back to Curtis and shot him a hopeful look.
“So? Will you cover for me?”
“You want me to cover for you, but you don’t want to tell me why?” he asked with a hint of annoyance.
“Curtis, please. It’s complicated.”
“I’m a smart guy, Jones. I’m sure I’ll keep up. What’s going on?”
Emma gritted her teeth and regretted that she had ever allowed Loni to talk her into this. Then, catching the way his jawline was as tight as a guitar string, she let out a sigh. He wasn’t going to give up. “Okay, fine. Remember the darkhel? Well, he sorta attacked me last night and—”
“What?” The words exploded out of his mouth like a bullet, and Emma almost expected to hear them echoing around the otherwise silent parking lot. She looked at him in surprise but the easy, lopsided smile that normally hovered close to his mouth had disappeared and was replaced by a tight slit of a line. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? When did it happen? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, and I didn’t tell you because there was nothing you could do about it,” she retorted, and instantly regretted her words when his whole face turned into a mask of stone. He tightened his jaw and turned away for a second. However, a moment later he turned back to her and the darkness had gone, though his knuckles were snow white and strained as they gripped his crutches.
“You still could’ve told me,” he finally said.
She softened her voice. “Look, I’m okay. It attacked me last night in the quad. Thankfully, almost everyone was at dinner and it was pretty foggy, so I don’t think anyone saw. Well, I don’t think anyone saw me,” she corrected as she explained that once again the darkhel had been invisible to all but her. “The thing is, it’s not like any other elemental I’ve ever fought. If Loni hadn’t come along with her subsonic blaster, I’m not sure what would’ve happened.”
Curtis paused for a moment and rubbed his hands through his blond curls, his face looking suddenly tired. “I guess it was lucky she was there to help. So what did Kessler say?” But when she didn’t answer, he let out a long groan. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”
“You know why I couldn’t.” She looked at him before taking a deep breath. “The thing is, the darkhel spoke to me. It told me that I fought just like my mother.”
Curtis’s dark eyes widened, and for a moment as he looked like he was having some sort of internal battle with himself, but whatever he had been wanting to say seemed to be lost, and instead he straightened himself to his full height and said in a businesslike voice, “So what can I do to help?”
“Loni and Tyler spent all last night at the library but still couldn’t find a thing on the darkhel. That’s why I need to go back to my house. My mom had a really big collection of one-of-a-kind elemental books. I’m hoping there will be something there.” Her voice probably sounded a bit gruffer than she had intended, but it was only because his own change of tone had caused such an overwhelming sense of relief that she suddenly felt like crying. However, she quickly jabbed her nails into the fleshy part of her palm and managed to regain her composure. Slayers didn’t cry. She didn’t cry.
Curtis started to swing his way toward where the taxi was still waiting. “So you need to get the books and get back here before the minibus comes to pick us up.”
“That’s right . . . and Curtis, thanks,” she said as she swallowed hard. She seemed to be saying that a lot to him lately.
“It’s no big deal.” He gave a dismissive shrug as he came to a halt next to the taxi and held the back door open for her. She slid in and had just given the driver her dad’s address when she realized that Curtis had made his way around to the other side of the taxi and was trying to maneuver himself, his crutches, and his slaying kit into the cramped space next to her. Finally, he was settled and he reached to put on his seat belt.
“What are you doing? You don’t have to come with me. I’ll meet you back here,” Emma assured him as she rubbed her sore eye.
He shook his head. “Nope, I don’t think so.”
“But, Curtis—” she started to explain.
“Yes, Jones?” He cut her off with a serene smile, which reminded her why he was so annoying. She took a deep breath and tried again.
“Can’t you just go and look for the troubadour dragons and do the assignment?” she urged, but he merely shook his head.
“Strangely enough, I’m not really in the mood for doing my assignment. Probably because you got attacked by something that no one else can see, and part of me thinks it might not be the best thing to let you go there alone.” He turned to the driver. “Okay, we can go.”
“But I’m the only one who can see t
he darkhel, so even if it did attack me again, you couldn’t help,” she pointed out, and for a moment Curtis’s face froze again before he gave her a tight shrug.
“All the same, I’m coming,” he replied. Then he paused. “Actually, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. It’s about what happened yesterday outside the simulation labs.”
“Oh.” Her face started to heat up. “You mean with the tie?”
“I mean, how you asked if I wanted to go to the practice range,” he clarified.
“R-right.” Emma suddenly decided that it might be a good idea to study the handle of her slaying kit, since reliving humiliating experiences wasn’t exactly her number one hobby.
“The thing is—” He paused for a moment and cleared his throat. “It’s not that I didn’t want to go with you, it’s just the practice range isn’t really my thing. I find it easier to fight in the simulation labs.”
Emma looked at him and blinked in surprise, since of all the things she thought he might say, that wasn’t one of them. “So that’s why you said no?”
“Sure.” He nodded, then his expression turned confused. “Why else?”
“Er, no reason.” She blinked as she realized that Curtis must be the only student at Burtonwood who didn’t know what “going to the practice range” was code for, but before she could say anything else, the taxi suddenly turned onto a quiet suburban street and too late she realized that she had been so focused on her conversation with Curtis that she was now woefully unprepared for her visit.
The taxi slowed down and came to a halt. Emma felt something catch in her throat as she stared out at the pale wood veneer and teak trim of the house on Larnark Road. It was the place she had grown up, but it no longer felt like home.
“Are you okay?” Curtis asked from beside her.
“I’m fine,” Emma said, a little bit too quickly, as she busied herself getting out of the taxi, hoping he couldn’t see her reaction. Curtis followed. She didn’t even like telling Loni about her dad, so she was hardly going to talk to Curtis about him, even if they were friends now. Especially because to the outside world her dad was a pretty decent guy. Cheerful, happy, supportive. Capable of transferring his affections from her mom to Olivia less than a year after her mom had died.
Then without saying another word she hurried up the path and knocked on the door of the place she had once called home.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Emma. This is a wonderful surprise. We didn’t expect you.” Olivia appeared at the door wearing a soft green sweater to hide her baby bump, while deeper in the house Emma could hear the faint sound of music and smelled roast pork wafting through to the front. Turning up here unannounced suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea, and she felt a flood of emotions catch in her chest.
“Er, yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” Emma reluctantly stepped out of the cool autumn evening into the warmth of the house. Curtis followed.
“Don’t be silly, you’re not interrupting anything,” Olivia assured them before ushering them into the living room, which had once been papered in sky-blue stripes but had now been painted a pale yellow, while the old comfy sofas that Emma had bounced on as a child had been replaced by stiff brown leather ones. As for the floor, the white carpet that she remembered had been ripped up, and in its place were polished hardwood floors and large Turkish rugs.
“You’ve redecorated?” Emma felt a lump form in her throat as she tried very hard not to notice that her mom’s antique console table was no longer under the window and there were no signs of the silver-framed photographs that used to sit on top of it.
“Oh yes, I forgot you haven’t been here in a while. I know there’s still two months to go, but we thought we’d better start making the house baby-proof. Do you like it?” Before Emma was forced to answer, her dad came into the room.
“Ah, so you haven’t been eaten by swamp monsters. I was starting to wonder when I didn’t hear back from you.” He crossed over to her as he undid the frilly apron that he insisted on wearing when he cooked.
“Hey, Dad. Sorry I haven’t been in touch. I know I promised I’d call every day after the accident. It’s just, well . . . it’s been a weird week.”
“Well, at least you’re here now,” he said as he hugged her before stepping back so he could inspect her face. “So how’s the eye? I see the patch is off, which is a good sign. Does it still hurt?”
“No, it’s better now,” Emma hastily assured him, feeling guilty that she kept forgetting to return his calls. Despite how awkward things sometimes felt, she knew he probably had been genuinely worried. Then she realized her dad was looking at Curtis with interest, and she reluctantly nodded toward him. “Anyway, this is Curtis. He goes to Burtonwood with me.”
“Ah, the dragon slayer. Olivia told me she met you at the mall.” Her dad held out his hand. “So have you had any luck with a kreplin yet? Most of the time I’m happy to be sight-blind, but I must admit when Emma’s mom used to talk about the green kreplins, I had a longing to see them for myself.”
“Hey, Mr. Jones.” Curtis stretched out his hand. “I actually managed to slay my first kreplin the other day. As you can see, it left me with a souvenir.” He nodded down to his cast, and her dad instantly lost his easy smile.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Curtis.” He started to frown. “Any parent who has a child at Burtonwood worries about injuries. Thankfully, except for her sore eye the other day, Emma’s been lucky.”
“I’d hardly call it lucky. I just haven’t had anything decent to slay,” Emma mumbled as she picked up a weird-looking plastic thing on the mantel and started to fiddle with it before realizing it was actually a blue baby toy that said IT’S A BOY across the front. She instantly put it back down and tried not to think about the fact that she was going to have a half brother.
“Well, call me an old-fashioned sight-blind civilian but I’d rather you be safe than injured,” her dad merely said before shooting her a hopeful glance. “So can you both stay for dinner? Olivia always teases me that I make too much food, but the advantage is that there is always plenty for extras.”
Emma shook her head. “Sorry, but we’re kind of in a hurry. We have a taxi waiting outside. Actually, the reason I’m here is because I need to look at some of Mom’s books. Is it okay if I go up to the study?”
“Oh.” A flash of guilt ran across her dad’s face. “Do you mean all the old ones with the brown leather covers?”
“Yes.” She croaked as a stab of panic raced through her body. “Why? Is there a problem?”
“It’s just—Well, we decided to turn the study into a nursery.” He shot her an apologetic look. “Right now the only books in there are of The Very Hungry Caterpillar variety.”
“And you have no idea how long it took him to set up the crib,” Olivia teased as she put an affectionate hand on his arm.
“Hey, those things are hard to do,” her dad protested as he returned her embrace, and Emma stared at them in horror.
“S-so what about Mom’s things? You didn’t . . . ”
“What?” He looked at her blankly for a moment before shaking his head. “Oh sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to scare you. Of course I didn’t throw anything out; they’re just up in the attic. Do you need them right away?”
“Yeah, it’s kind of important,” she said, just as a timer went off in the kitchen.
“Bill, I’ll check that and you can go get the books for Emma,” Olivia suggested in a sunny voice before heading for the kitchen while her dad went upstairs.
“Are you okay?” Curtis whispered to her when the room was empty. “You went a little pale for a minute.”
“I’m fine. I was just worried they threw out my mom’s books and then we would be back at square one.”
“Why would they throw them out?” Curtis looked surprised.
“Same reason they’ve changed the furniture and put away all the photos.” Emma shrugged as she glanced around the room a
nd tried to connect it with the home she had once known. “Out with the old and in with the new, I guess.”
Before Curtis could answer, her dad reappeared with a weathered-looking cardboard box, and Emma felt her shoulders sag in relief.
“Thanks.” She hurried over and took it from him.
“Did you find them?” Olivia reappeared from the kitchen with a matching frilly apron tied around her large bump, her face flushed from the heat of the kitchen.
“Yes. Anyway, we’ve got a taxi waiting outside, so we’d better get going, but thank you so much for these.” Emma protectively gripped the box while next to her Curtis looked like he was trying to figure out a way to carry a box and use his crutches at the same time.
“Emma, you don’t need to say thank you. They’re as much yours as they are mine,” her dad corrected as he took the box from her and followed her over to the front door. “And if you’re sure you can’t stay, why don’t I drive you back to Burtonwood?”
“No.” Emma quickly shook her head, thinking of the minibus that would be waiting to take her and Curtis back to the Academy. Then she caught her dad’s hurt look. “I mean, your dinner’s ready. And you don’t need to come outside. It’s cold.”
“Nonsense,” Olivia said as she followed them down to the taxi while the driver put away his cell phone and started the engine. “Being pregnant is like suddenly finding yourself on a tropical island, just minus the sand and the sun. I’m boiling. Plus, it will give me another chance to convince Emma to change her mind about not coming to Serena’s wedding this weekend. I know she would love to have you there, especially now that your induction ceremony has been canceled.”