“Hey Heather,” she said and looked out the door into the foyer, trying to see what was so fascinating.
Heather jumped, startled like she was caught doing something wrong. “Hey Evie,” she said and took a step back, flinging her long hair over her shoulder.
“Are you looking for someone?” Evie had to ask.
Heather chewed on her lip, like she was contemplating whether or not to say anything. “Yeah, I am actually.”
“Really who?” Evie asked with sudden interest.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Just this guy I met,” she said, like it was no big deal.
“Oh.” Evie didn’t know why but she didn’t believe her. “So is it anyone I know?”
Heather let out another heavy sigh, pulled a perfect curl over her shoulder, and began running her fingertips over the top. “No. I don’t think so. I only just met him myself.”
Evie contemplated her for a moment. There was a distinct flush to her cheeks; they looked rosier than usual, as did her lips. “So is he cute?” she prodded, connecting the dots.
Heather giggled, actually giggled like a little girl, and leaned forward. Evie couldn’t stop the shock from showing on her face.
“Yeah, actually he is,” she gushed excitedly.
Heather’s excitement was contagious. Evie could understand her reaction. That’s how Adriane made her feel, hot and bothered but it was even more than that. She smiled back at her she couldn’t help it. Heather seemed so nice all of a sudden. Not like the bitch, she had dubbed her at all. It was weird. Moriah was acting sketchy, and Heather, her arch nemesis was acting nice. It was all very twilight zone. She shook her head, not quite able to comprehend the weirdness of it all. “So… what does he look like?” He had to be pretty-great for Heather to start being nice to her all of a sudden. She only hope it lasted.
Heather stepped closer to her in conspiratorial way warming to her subject with enthusiasm. “Well he’s tall, and muscular. He has dark hair and a crazy weird tattoo on the inside of his left arm.”
Evie gaped at her in shock.
“What’s the matter Evie?” Heather asked, looking worried.
Evie swallowed hard and waved her hand. “Oh nothing…he sounds…um great.” The guy she was describing sounded just like Adriane.
“Hey, have you heard of Adriane,” Heather asked not having any idea the reaction she would cause with her question. A horrible tightness started at the center of her chest, squeezing where her heart was and her stomach dropped to the floor. She felt sick. Oh no… “Why?” Evie was barely able to ask, not really wanting to, but doing it just the same, she had to know.
“Oh the guy I was with…” she said and paused. “ Never mind, it’s probably not important.”
Evie grabbed her arm and squeezed hard, not meaning to. “What? Tell me,” she demanded.
“Ow, Evie that hurts.”
“Sorry.” She released her hand and quickly shoved it into her jacket pocket.
“Yeah…”Heather gave her a weird look. “ Anyway, the guy I was with, you know the one I was telling you about…”
“Yes…” Evie asked, holding her breath.
“Well he told me to tell him something, if I saw him, that’s all.” She shrugged her shoulders indifferently and looked back to the foyer.
Relief washed over Evie. Thank God! She couldn’t believe it. She wanted to break into song suddenly, like a bad episode of Glee. “What did he want you to tell him?”
“Oh, what was it…” She tapped her chin. “It was weird…he said to tell Adriane there is a hot one on the loose,” she finished, frowning.
“A hot one? What is that supposed to mean?” she asked completely confused.
“I have no idea, but he sounded pretty adamant about it. Then he took off after him,” she added, and then jerked her head over towards where Simon was standing.
Evie whipped her head around and looked at Simon. Well there was only one way to find out. “You should totally go ask him what he was talking about.”
“Me!” She gaped. “Why me?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Evie replied, and she didn’t know, really. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to find out and it seemed like the best course of action at the moment, besides the fact she didn’t want to do it herself.
“Okay.” Heather took a deep breath and ran her hands over her clothes. “How do I look?”
“Great,” Evie answered, surprised she actually meant it. She shook her head. Was she starting to like Heather? Things were getting really-weird.
“I’m off,” she said turning. “Be back in a bit,” Heather promised with a sly smile. “Wish me luck,” she tossed over her shoulder as she strutted off towards Simon.
“Yeah, good luck,” Evie called after her.
DIVERSIONARY TACTICS
SATURDAY * 11:33 PM
Heather smoothed her damp palms over the sides of her jacket and purposefully wedged her body between Addison and Brianna, shoving them out of the way.
“Hey watch it,” they both whined out in unison gaping at her in disbelief.
Heather cut them a warning glare.
They both slinked backward. It was obvious neither was pleased, but she knew they wouldn’t say anything. She was the leader of their little group. Still, they both wrinkled their pale faces in displeasure. She ignored them.
“Hey you,” Heather purred enticingly.
“Hello.” Simon cocked his head to the side. His dark gray eyes alight with humor.
“So where are your friends?” she blurted without thinking.
“Are you interested in talking with me or my friends?” Simon asked casually, raking his eyes down her body then back up to her face.
A flush of heat crept into her face. She had meant to act nonchalant, toying with him a little to get him at ease, and then once he was putty in her hands she would pry him for information. Instead, she asked exactly what she had intended, straight out of the gate. She shook her head confused, not knowing why she had asked that so soon.
“Let me guess, you didn’t mean to ask me that? At least not yet…am I right?” he asked, raising his brow.
“Ah…yeah…I guess,” she responded lamely, not feeling as confident any longer.
Simon laughed loudly. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I have that effect on all females, not just you.”
“Somehow that doesn’t reassure me as much as you would think.”
Simon let out another peel of laughter, his body shaking with amusement. “You’re a fun one, aren’t you?”
Heather’s mouth fell open. She shut it quickly, her cheeks flushing again. “I hope so,” she answered finally, stepping even closer.
“So what would you like to know?” Simon asked all business now.
Heather shook her head. It was weird. She had felt such a pull to him only moments before and now suddenly he seemed no different from any other guy. She didn’t get it. “What, who are you?”
Simon slowly turned back towards her, a crease pulling between his brows. “Ah,” he said. “Now that is a tricky question.” He crossed his arms and thoughtfully stroked his chin. “You sure you want to know the answer to that? It’s a loaded question you know?”
“What?” she asked, and shook her head as if to clear it. “Well, of course I do… I think…wait, what?” She couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought, her brain felt muddy.
Simon dipped his head down, his mouth inches from her neck, inhaling deeply. “I am your best dream and worst nightmare all rolled into one,” he whispered hotly.
Heather visibly shivered.
“HEY EDIE,” Colton yelled down from the balcony.
Evie cringed. What a dolt. She had to wonder if he was doing the name change shit on purpose cuz he seriously couldn’t be that stupid—could he? “Yeah,” she called back not really caring what he had to say.
“Why you in this book,” he asked, tearing through the pages quickly.
“What are you talking a
bout?” She balled her hands into fists. She wanted to hit him in the face until he said her name right.
Simon turned and jerked his head up to the balcony surrounding the room. His eyes zeroed in on the big lummox with the short-cropped blonde hair. He was flipping through an ancient tome—like a Neanderthal. He found it. What were the odds? He didn’t know why this surprised him so much. Adriane and Alistair were off looking who knew where all this time and here it was, literally, right under their noses. At least part of what they were looking for.
Barnaby fast walked across the landing and yanked the book from Colton’s hand.
“What the hell Barnaby,” Colton complained, clearly miffed. “You could just ask you know.”
“Yeah—right—sorry,” Barnaby, said even though he wasn’t sorry at all. Carefully leafing through the pages of the old book, he tried to decipher the language it was written in. It didn’t look like anything he had seen before. There were symbols too. Alchemical ones, these he knew. There was the symbol for water, moon, and stone. And sure enough, there was an old lithograph of a young girl, standing under a full moon with her hands raised in the air, which looked a lot like Evie. He turned a few more of the fragile pages as delicately as he could. Some of the pages were torn from the book itself. He cut Colton a scathing glare, noting the torn edges. There were pictures of creatures too, ones he had never seen before, and they were grotesque.
Evie blinked rapidly. One minute Simon was beside Heather and the next he was up at the top of the stairs, which wasn’t possible. She must be seeing things. She turned around and looked behind her but no one else seemed to have noticed how freakishly fast he just moved. But that wasn’t possible…right? But then again, a statue coming to life wasn’t possible either, and yet she had believed that readily enough and so had Adriane. She bit her lip, contemplating. Adriane had said, “one was a Gargoyle” that was a weird statement to make—granted it was all weird, but what did he mean? Well she would just have to ask him, that is, if she ever saw him again.
“Give it to me,” Simon asked pouring on his charm.
“NO,” Barnaby barked, grasping the book tightly to his chest.
A slow wicked smile crept out across Simon’s face. “You want to dance with me boy?”
“What the…?” Barnaby barely mouthed the words, before the book was wrenched quickly and effectively from his grasp.
Simon eyes glittered with amusement, holding tightly to the book. “Thanks…boy,” he said, laughing lightly and then dropped down over the railing. He landed on the floor in a crouched position, his feet barely made a light thudding noise on the marbled floor before he straightened.
Evie barely blinked before Simon was standing next to her. “How’d you do that?” she asked in amazement.
“Tricks of the trade,” he said and then winked at her, a glimmer of something sparking in his deep gray eyes.
Evie shook her head, not quite able to process what he said. When he smiled at her, what she saw him do didn’t seem so important any longer. She leaned back reflexively as he leaned towards her, inhaling deeply.
“You… smell…,” he said pausing.
She could feel his lips against her ear. His warm breath floated over her making her insides quiver.
“Just like…candy. Hmm, so sweet.”
“Ah, thanks,” she said awkwardly. He gave her a strange look his smile faltering and then ran his hand through his hair. That is when she noticed that he too had a strange tattoo on the inside of his left arm, just like Adriane. It looked exactly the same. Were they in a gang or something? And just as she was about to ask him that very question, her gaze drifted back to his face. Up close, his skin was so smooth, so flawless; it looked like it was chiseled from marble or stone. Dark, long, lashes rimmed his eyes making the color even more vibrant. His lips were full, centered perfectly with his strong jaw that had a subtle cleft in the middle. He was almost as beautiful as Adriane. He could definitely be a model though. Who knew, maybe he was. His tight t-shirt stretched across a slender but muscular chest. Her eyes traveled lower, taking in his batman seatbelt belt, his tight fitting jeans, but what held her gaze was the tattoo on the inside of his left arm. She glanced nervously back to his pretty face, and her breath caught when she realized he was looking at her. His lips tugged up at the corners showing off perfect white teeth. She swallowed hard, not from his smile but the look in his eyes.
Suddenly, she saw only him. Everyone and everything in the room fell away. She was blind. Nothing but darkness surrounded her. Her heart sped up starting to freak. Did someone turn out the damn lights? She felt his fingers close around her upper arm and suddenly he materialized beside her. He was whispering something to her but she couldn’t make out the words. She felt his warm breath against her ear as he continued to speak rapidly to her. They were both in a dark vortex. Nothing was around either of them, but as Evie stood there frozen—another scene started to unravel in front of her eyes, taking shape over Simons left shoulder. A clearing much like the one on the side of the mansion, came into focus. A huge hole was in the ground. Dark shapes were dotted along the edges, a lilting chant filling the air. The gaping black hole in the ground began to sputter and the dark images shook back and forth, swaying. The vibrations from their combined voices made her skin tingle from the inside out. She took a step forward, trying to see what they were doing but she felt Simon grip her arm tighter. She could feel his mouth moving rapidly again, against her ear, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. The lilting chants drew her closer. The sound was so alluring.
“Simon,” she said and turned her head. He was gone. There was nothing to stop her from walking over to them now. She took a step…“Stop! Come back,” a deep voice, whispered, so low, she almost didn’t hear it over the droning chant that was pulling her forward. She ignored it and took another step.
“Evie stop!” This time she did stop. She knew that voice. How did she know that voice? Her mind wouldn’t work. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out what she was seeing, and tried to focus on the voice she heard, instead. She turned around, trying to follow the sound. The dark forms began to come into focus, the hole sputtered out little crackles of bright blue light.
“Come…come… to us,” they chanted in unison, their voices getting stronger. Her body shook. She spun around trying to find a way out, even though she still held her eyes tightly shut, trying to close out what she was seeing. She didn’t want to see them. And she didn’t want to go to them either. Somehow, she knew if she did nothing good would come of it. Something cold slid over her back. Tremors of fear raced through her body. Scared, she bolted forward, trying to run and was pulled up short by her hair. Not again. The fresh memories flooded back like the gates of a damn were lifted. “Get OFF of me!”
The doors to the library swung open, banging loudly against the wall. Cold gusts of air blew directly inside, swirling violently. Books went flying in the air.
“Get off of her—Bastard!” Barnaby yelled, running headlong down the spiral stairs. His body slammed in to Simon’s back, knocking him forward, making him lose his hold on Evie.
Evie was free now. She ran, blind, in the darkness, trying to get away. There were no stairs in front of her this time. Nothing but blackness surrounded her on all sides. She faintly heard someone yelling to her, not a monster, no someone else. She tried to search her brain, shutting out the luring chants, concentrating solely on the voice that called to her. But she couldn’t remember who it was. Who are you? She fought against the lure it was so strong. Part of her wanted to give in and simply do what they were bidding her to do, but another part was terrified. Evie stuck with the terror. Blinded, she ran further into the darkness…and then abruptly her flight for freedom ended and she slipped away into nothingness.
WICKED IS AS WICKED DOES
SATURDAY * 11:37 PM
Otherworldly creatures filled Briarcliff Manor’s foyer. The largest of them all, held Evie in his grasp, turning her back and f
orth, making her dangling feet swing in the air.
“Shit!” Simon slid to a halt just outside the library doorway. Dythius was the last person he wanted or needed to see at this juncture… “Really?” he asked looking up. Of course, nothing was easy—“no, of course not”, his mind chided. Penance… really was a bitch.
Now Dythius held Evie in his massive hands shaking her like a doll and if he didn’t stop soon she would be a broken one. “Don’t!” Simon lifted his arms to stop one of the humans from moving forward.
“I don’t have to take orders from you,” Barnaby said, standing taller like he was ready to fight if necessary.
Simon gave him a disparaging look and then stepped to the side so he could get a good look at his would be opponent. “
“Wh-at-who…is that?” Barnaby stammered his momentary bravado completely gone.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Simon muttered. “No one you want to piss off,” Simon said. “Now take this so I can go and save your little friend.” He pushed the book out.
Chance reached out and took the book when Barnaby wouldn’t. Lifting his shirt, he tried to shove the book underneath. It dropped to the floor with a thud. Quickly he bent down to pick back up the book and then shoved it into the waist of his jeans, in the back this time.
What to do? What to do? Simons’ body pulsed, poised for attack. This was not how he imagined this going down. Helplessly he watched Dythius shake the girl violently trying to get her to wake. Talk about stupid. Either Dythius would tire of the girl and drop her to the ground, which would probably break her neck, or he would keep shaking her, break her neck, and then drop her to the ground. Neither looked like viable options.
Feeling a familiar push against his mind, he looked up. Hidden in the shadows on the landing at the top of the stairs were Alistair and Adriane. Simon lifted his chin in acknowledgement and had to repress the urge not to roll his eyes.
Gargoyle: A Reawakening (Briarcliff Series, #2) Page 15