“Thanks. You look pretty hot yourself,” I reply.
“Are you going to this thing, too?” Kateri asks as she moves to the back of the car, wobbling slightly.
“Father wanted me to go as a chaperone. Whatever that is.”
“We don’t need a chaperone,” I say.
“Hey. Talk to Father. I’m not really going for you anyway, it’s more for the younger ones.”
“That’s better.”
“You’re going by yourself?” Kateri asks.
“Reeva is still in Minneapolis,” he replies, and I can see the disappointment in his eyes.
“I think we should stop by to see them before we leave.”
“Ya think? Because they would kill us if we didn’t,” I say.
The lift stops and a moment later the doors slide open. We step into a scene of chaos, but in a good way. Dozens of people are rushing about, many of them dressed for the same event we’re heading to. They’re all laughing and joking, which is good to see, considering everything we’ve been through lately. I glance over at Jax, and I can sense his sadness even through his stoic facade.
We stride through the library, on the way to the control center. In my head, we’re moving in slow-motion, like some ridiculous action movie while explosions go off behind us. The mess hall is empty, except for the staff, mopping the floor and wiping the tables. Ka’ve looks over and shoots us a thumbs-up. I give him a nod in return, and I feel a blush run across my face. When we walk into the globe room, it’s as frenetic as usual. A couple of the technicians look up briefly, but they’re far too busy to pay much attention to us. As we’re approaching the stairs to the office, my stomach gets tight, and I look over at Kateri.
She reaches out and takes my hand, gently squeezing my fingers. We climb the steps slowly, with Jax just behind. Father is sitting at the desk, his head down, sorting through a collection of papers, while my mother is seated in one of the other chairs, reading through something on her tablet. When they see us, they get to their feet, smiles on both of their faces.
“My goodness,” Father says as he comes out from behind the desk.
Mom is standing silently, just staring at us, a few tears in her eyes.
“You both look so lovely,” she says quietly.
I blush again, and I see Kateri do the same. Her eyes are watery, and mine are too.
“You both look so beautiful,” he says, and the next thing I know, he’s hugging me.
I hold him tight, only releasing him when I feel his grip on me relax. He immediately pulls Kateri to him, and they embrace like father and daughter. I can see a few tears in Kateri’s eyes when she steps back before she quickly wipes her cheek, trying to hide her reaction. Mom steps forward, an expression that is love in its most pure form. She reaches out for us, and we both embrace her at once. She kisses each of us on the cheek before releasing us.
“My girls,” she whispers, and I feel Kateri hug her even tighter.
Father looks at Jax, who’s been standing in the back near the door, his hands clasped in front of him.
“And Jax,” he says, stepping up to her. “You look very dapper.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Dapper?” my mom asks. “He’s positively handsome.”
She steps forward and hugs him, wrapping her arms around his much thicker frame. He returns the embrace, the two of them standing there for a few moments while Kateri and I fade into the background. I see her whisper something to him, but I can’t make it out.
“Reeva would have loved to have seen you like this,” Mom says, “so, let me get a picture.”
“Really?” I complain.
“Hush. Now smile,” she says, raising her tablet and snapping a bunch of pics.
“Anyway,” Father says, “You all look amazing. Have fun, but don’t be back too late, okay?”
“We won’t.”
I hug him one more time.
“Thank you, Father,” Jax says with a little bow.
“What did I tell you about that?”
“Sorry,” he responds with a sideways grin.
Father hugs Kateri again and we head toward the stairs when Wren walks in. She’s definitely not dressed for the prom, with the jeans, boots, leather jacket, and sword dangling against her right hip. She smiles broadly.
“Wow,” she says as she looks us up and down.
Without thinking about it, I suddenly do a twirl and immediately regret it when I see Kateri’s expression.
“What the hell was that?” she asks, half frowning and half smiling.
“I don’t know. I just felt like it.”
I can feel my face getting redder by the second.
“Leave her alone,” Wren says. “She looks beautiful and if she wants to twirl, then she can twirl all she wants.”
“Sorry,” Kateri replies, putting her hands up in a sign of surrender.
“That’s better,” Wren says.
“You’re not going with us?” Jax asks.
“Somebody needs to stay behind and defend the world,” Wren replies with a sly grin.
“You should hang out with Andrew,” I suggest, and she immediately frowns at me.
“Shut-up.” She bumps her hip into mine, but I can see the happy expression hidden beneath the down-turned mouth. “Besides, even if I wanted too, I have work to do.”
“Yes. And speaking of that work, we need to get to it, and you all need to get going before you’re late,” Father says.
We all give him one last little wave before heading down the stairs and out to the front door. When we step outside, there are a few other couples gathered in the parking lot. It seems odd to see everyone dressed in gowns and suits, when we’re usually covered in leather, denim and blood. One by one, the groups stream off, stepping into the shadows thrown by the building and vanish from the lot until only the three of us are left.
“Okay. We’ll see you there,” I say to Jax.
He smiles at us, although it’s hard to tell how genuine his expression is. He gives me a silent nod and then just before streaming off, turns and looks at us.
“By the way. You both look pretty enough to twirl,” he says, before taking a step and vanishing.
Kateri laughs and I take her hand.
“You ready?”
“I’m ready.”
We fade together and stream to the top of the apartment building across the street, using the shadows created by the setting sun. I still feel a thrill every time we do this together. We land a few inches from the edge, and I immediately target the top of an old billboard two blocks away, but first I link us to the gravel-covered roof of a small bank building turned restaurant. We launch off the bank, headed for the sign. As we’re streaming above the city, I look over at Kateri for a moment. The smile on her face as we glide toward our landing spot makes my heart swell with love for her. I look back at the top of the billboard at the last second and try to make a final adjustment, but it’s too late.
We touch down and I’m forced to pull her back from the edge, grabbing the rusting handrail to keep us from tumbling off the edge.
“You need to keep your eyes on the prize,” she says, looking deep into my eyes before peering down at the ground, some forty feet away.
“I was,” I reply with a wicked grin.
She laughs, grabs my hand and leaps off the edge, pulling me with her.
“My turn to drive!” she yells as we’re falling.
I’m not afraid. I trust her with everything that I am.
We fall for two seconds before she fades us into a shadow cast by a water tower on top of one of the many buildings in downtown Collinsburg. Streaming in the dark is inherently dangerous, but it’s also invigorating. The day is giving over control of the world to the night and telling the difference between shadow and darkness is not easy. I always remember back to the little rhyme that Kateri taught me so long ago:
We use the shadows thrown by the light, but not the darkness born of the night.
/> We touch down in the alley a block from the school, where Kateri first called me her girlfriend. The front of the building is crowded with kids arriving on foot, in cars, or even the occasional stretch limousine. A huge banner is strung over the doors:
Class of 18’ Prom
There’s a group of Shayds near the entrance waiting for an opportunity to slip in behind some other students.
“Come on,” I say, starting to pull Kateri behind me.
She doesn’t move when I tug on her hand.
“I need to tell you something,” she says, her expression stern.
“What?” I ask, my heart suddenly racing. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s something I never told you before.”
“Jesus, Kateri. What is it?”
“I don’t know how to dance.”
“Really? That’s what you need to tell me?” My shoulders drop as the tension drains from my body.
“I don’t want to look stupid,” she says, and suddenly I realize she’s totally serious about this.
I chuckle, squeezing her fingers gently.
“You’re not going to look stupid.”
“How do you know?”
“Because everyone is going to be looking at me anyway,” I say, raising my arms to the sides and winking at her.
“Yeah, okay. Let’s not get carried away.”
“Come on.”
We dart across the street, making sure to stay in the shadows, and then up the stairs, slipping in behind a group of students just before the doors close. I’m careful not to bump into anyone, and to stay faded, but Kateri just has to worry about colliding with someone. With all the lights, and the decorations hanging from the ceiling, it’s not as hard as you might think to stay hidden in the myriad of shadows.
We make our way down the hall toward the gymnasium, staying as close to the lockers as we can to avoid the other students. It doesn’t always work, but even the ones we accidently touch don’t seem to notice. They’re far more interested in talking, laughing, or making out to pay any attention to us.
The music grows louder the closer we get, and my heart is beating faster with every step. I’ve never been to prom before, and certainly not with a girl. The school was always fairly progressive, so I probably would have been allowed, but I didn’t even know another girl I could have taken. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure the old me would have been brave enough…but the new me is a different story…even if no one can see me except for the other Shayds.
I take Kateri’s hand and we walk into the gym, or the ballroom, or whatever you want to call it. Multiple disco balls are hanging from the ceiling, spinning slowly, creating a mesmerizing light show of color that bounces off every inch of the space. At the far end, a long table is set up with drink dispensers and what looks like an endless supply of blue plastic cups. I spot a few of my old teachers standing along the walls, chatting amongst themselves, including Mr. Zelinski. I wish I could tell him I’m okay, that he doesn’t need to feel guilty about the day I ran out of the school and was never seen again.
The center of the room is filled with hundreds of kids dancing in couples or groups, including some Shayds in the mix, although most of them are on the fringes of the crowd.
I spot Amanda across the room. She’s with a boy I don’t recognize. She didn’t tell me about him when we saw each other at the park, but we don’t get to talk as much as we used to of course. It makes me sad to realize that before all this happened we shared everything, and now, we need to carefully schedule a reunion four times a year. Her date is a handsome guy, and I can tell from the way he holds her hand and laughs at her jokes, that he’s a good guy as well. I weave my way through the crowds, with Kateri just behind, deftly avoiding a few encounters with other students, while failing at a few others, but again, no one seems to notice. The chaos of the event helps me remain hidden in plain sight as I move from shadow to shadow.
When I reach Amanda, I touch her free hand and she immediately closes her fingers around mine, as if she was just waiting for me. I place my other hand on her shoulder and squeeze gently. She smiles, and I know it’s for me, although the others around her probably think it’s for them. Suddenly, Kateri steps up and places her hand on Amanda’s shoulder as well, directly beside mine. She releases her boyfriend’s hand and then raises her own and brushes her fingers across ours, making that contact across the realms; Solas to Umbra. To everyone else, it looks like she’s scratching her shoulder or dislodging something off her dress, but we know what it means. Another couple walks past, just a few feet away, and she looks over at them.
“Have fun,” she says while her head is turned in our direction.
“What?” her companion asks.
“Nothing,” she replies. “I was just telling David and Lisa to have fun.”
David and Lisa didn’t hear her, which is fine, since she wasn’t talking to them anyway.
“You want to dance?” her boyfriend asks.
She nods enthusiastically, and they head to the dance floor, but not before she turns in our direction and mouths the words…I love you.
I turn and look at Kateri.
“How about you?”
“What?”
“Do you wanna dance?”
For a second, I think she’s going to say no, but instead, she nods as a smile builds on her face.
“Yeah, I do.”
I feel giddy as I drag her behind me to an open spot in the center of the room. When I turn around, she’s smiling at me, her eyes a hurricane of colors, swirling and twisting around one another.
“Be gentle with me,” she whispers.
“Don’t worry. We’ll take it easy,” I say, placing my hand on her right hip. “Just do what I do.”
She copies me, and then I place my other hand on her shoulder, and she does the same.
“This doesn’t feel right,” she says. “Doesn’t one of us lead?”
I laugh and nod, even blushing slightly.
“Yeah, actually. I didn’t know if you wanted to…or if you’d be mad if I did.”
“You’re the one who knows how to dance, so you take the lead.”
“Okay. Gimme your hand.”
I hold her gently, our fingers intertwined.
“Ready?”
She nods nervously.
“We’re just going to sway back and forth a little while moving in a circle.”
I start us moving, and she follows along. Right from the beginning, we’re in perfect sync. We stare into each other’s eyes and my heart feels like it’s going to burst, it’s so filled with love and joy and happiness. She leans in and we kiss, our lips just grazing, but it still feels electric.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” I reply.
We move around the floor in perfect unison, weaving our way through the other dancers in a delicate and graceful ballet. I feel myself becoming visible in flashes as I move between the shadow and the light, but it’s far too fast for anyone to notice. Kateri’s hand on my hip feels amazing as her fingers gently massage my side.
“You’re a natural,” I say.
“Only because you’re a great teacher.”
We dance for nearly an hour before reluctantly retreating from the floor to the chairs set up along the walls. They’re empty except for a lone girl sitting by herself, her gold and silver dress cascading over the sides of her chair, and a small trio of three boys huddled by the wall, not far away. My heart aches for her. I know what it’s like to be alone, to be the one that no one seems to notice. I wish there was something I could do, but there isn’t.
Kateri puts her arm across my shoulder and pulls me to her, placing a kiss on the side of my head.
K ~ You really are such a good person.
E ~ Stop reading my thoughts.
K ~ Stop thinking them.
“Be right back,” she says.
“What are—”
I watch as she walks over to the three boys and then unceremon
iously pushes one of them toward the girl. He stumbles forward, and she jumps up to keep him from falling.
“Are you okay?” she asks, taking a small step back.
He nods silently.
“Yeah. I…I don’t know what happened. I guess I tripped or something,” he says, looking back at his two companions before returning his attention to the girl.
For a few seconds, they just stand there looking at each other.
“My name’s Aaron,” he finally says.
“Lindsey.”
“I like your dress.”
“Thanks,” she replies, looking down at her gown and brushing it flat.
“Did you…um…maybe want to dance, or something?”
“Sure,” she says, smiling for the first time since arriving more than likely.
I walk over to Kateri, passing them as they head to the dance floor.
“That was nice. Why did you pick him?” I ask.
“He kept looking at her, over his shoulder.”
“What if she had ignored him, or didn’t want to dance?”
“Hey. Everybody has to take a chance sometime, right?”
“Right,” I answer with a smile.
I reach out to take her hand and suddenly a chill runs down my spine and I look toward the ceiling.
“Did you feel that?” I ask.
“I felt it.”
I touch my earpiece.
“Evan.”
“Here.”
“Do you have anything?”
There’s a short pause before he responds.
“Affirmative. I have two incursions happening now.”
“Where?”
“Both in the school.”
“In the school?” I ask, making sure I heard him right.
“Affirmative.”
“Jax.”
“This is Jax,” he responds immediately.
“You need to get the younger ones back to the Factory.”
“What? I can—”
“Jax. This is Father. They’re in your charge, you need to keep them safe. Bring them home. Most of them are not ready for a fight yet and they’re not armed.”
“Yes, Father.”
I can hear the annoyance and disappointment in his voice.
“Do you two have weapons?” Father asks.
All Things in the Shadows II Page 19