Through the cracks in the wooden slats of the fence, I had a decent view of the party. Several guests milled around the food – which I could smell with uncanny distinction – while others congregated in the enormous pool. I spotted Katie immediately. She wore a bright pink dress, her blonde hair piled high on her head.
I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.
‘Hey, Katie,’ I said as she answered. ‘Nice party.’
I heard a choking gasp on the other end of the line. ‘Sebastian! You’re here? Avery said you weren’t coming, but I didn’t believe him. There’s no way you’d miss something this important.’
‘Absolutely not,’ I replied, smiling as I watched her through the slats. ‘I couldn’t pass up the chance to see my favorite girl.’
‘Careful now,’ Katie replied brightly. ‘I do have a boyfriend, you know.’
‘So you and Mitchell are an official couple now?’
‘Yup, he’s totally off the market, thanks to me,’ she replied as she scoured the food line. ‘Now, about you …’
‘Nope,’ I replied, my smile widening. It felt good to have a normal conversation again. ‘I’m still off-limits.’
‘Some things never change,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Now, tell me where you are. Mom invited way too many people to this party.’ She weaved through tables and lawn chairs, searching for me. ‘She thinks all my friends are going to scare off my family.’ She craned her neck. ‘I don’t see you, Sebastian.’
I hesitated. ‘That’s because I’m behind the fence.’
‘Seriously? I didn’t think it was locked. Hang on a sec, and I’ll let you in.’
I whirled around, pressing my back against the wood. ‘No, I can’t stay. I just stopped by to say hello.’
Katie laughed. ‘Yeah, I don’t think so, Sebastian. I haven’t seen you in forever, and you think you’re getting off with a stalker phone call? Not going to happen.’
The latch rattled, and I flung my hand across the gate. ‘No, Katie. I don’t want you to see me like this.’
‘See you like what?’ she said, pushing the door I’d wedged closed with my foot. ‘It’s not like I haven’t seen you since the accident. You can’t possibly look worse now than you did then.’
The accident.
I hated the story Hugo and Ms Lucian had concocted to explain my absence from school – the car accident I’d supposedly suffered the night of the Circe de Romany’s opening performance at the Fairgrounds. Serious injuries, long recovery times, and homebound studies had worked to get me through the last semester of my senior year, but it had also meant lying to my best friend.
‘I know,’ I replied with a heavy sigh. ‘It’s not that.’
Katie and the others tried to visit me, but Hugo kept everyone at bay – allowing them in only twice, and both times my brother made sure the lights were low and I was bandaged up enough in bed to effectively hide the truth. But my excuses were wearing thin.
‘So what’s the deal then?’ Katie pressed.
‘It’s just … it’s not that simple.’
I felt Katie hesitate on the other side of the fence, and the pressure on the gate went lax. I heard her slow intake of breath. ‘Do you have scars?’
‘Yeah.’ There was more truth in my answer than Katie would ever know. I shook myself off and changed the subject before she could start digging for details. ‘Hey, I got my diploma in the mail today, so I guess that makes me official.’
‘Please come in, Sebastian. At least get something to eat.’
My mouth watered at the mention of food, but I gritted my teeth and ignored my gnawing insides. ‘No, I’m fine, really.’
‘Then let me come out.’
‘No.’
‘Sebastian, let me out right this minute, or I swear I’ll punch you in the face.’
For some reason, my hand dropped from the handle. She opened the gate. I averted my gaze and kept my head low, grateful for the increasing shadows. ‘Thanks for the invite,’ I managed, not sure of what else to say. Making contact like this with Katie had not been one of my smarter decisions. My wrist throbbed, and I rubbed at it with my glove.
‘You’re one of my best friends, Sebastian,’ she said, sounding offended. ‘Why wouldn’t I invite you?’
‘Maybe because I’ve basically dropped off the face of the planet?’
Katie gave a small huff. ‘Yeah, there’s that.’
‘Can you forgive me?’
She placed a hand on my arm, and I flinched at her touch. ‘Sebastian, why are you avoiding me?’
I fixed my eyes on the ground, pinned under the crushing weight of Katie’s stare. She wanted eye contact, but I couldn’t give it to her. I shrank further into my hood. ‘I told you, I’m not healed up yet.’
‘You think I care about a few scars?’
I gritted my teeth. ‘No.’
‘But you’re still not ready to tell me what’s been going on, are you?’
‘No.’
Katie was silent for a moment, waiting for me to say something more. My chest hurt. I wanted to fix this – to fix what had crumbled between us – but it just wasn’t possible. Not tonight.
‘Okay,’ she said finally. ‘If that’s what you want.’ Her gaze moved to my back and she examined the lumps of my jacket. I shifted self-consciously, pressing my body into the fence. ‘Speaking of healing up, how long did the doctor say you had to wear that back brace thing?’
‘I’m not sure,’ I replied vaguely.
The attention was making me uncomfortable. Crazy uncomfortable. Katie peered hard into my hood, shifting closer. I felt something awaken inside me – a survival instinct. A rush of heat spiked into my skull, and my fingers curled into my fists. I jolted as Katie’s hand touched my back. Warning prickles skittered down my spine.
‘It feels really weird for a back brace,’ she said.
‘Ah, well … it’s a new kind,’ I stammered, trying to twist my body out of her grasp.
Katie moved before I could stop her.
‘Let me see.’
She yanked up the side of my jacket. There was a rush of air, and I felt – rather than saw – the bottom corner of one wing exposed.
‘Katie!’
I pushed away, my lip curling defensively. Katie’s eyes went wide.
‘Did you just … snarl at me?’
Don’t panic, Sebastian.
My breathing was shallow. My wings quivered dangerously against their straps.
I had to leave.
Now.
‘I’m sorry, Katie.’
I backed away from her, into the shadows of the woods.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ she demanded.
‘I never should have come,’ I said, clutching my wrist to my chest. ‘I’m really sorry.’
Then I turned and fled.
I ran for all I was worth, and I didn’t stop until I was well away from Katie’s cultivated suburbia and deep into the woods. I skidded to a halt in front of a rippling stream. I yanked off my gloves and sunglasses and hurled them into the water. Pressure built to unbearable levels inside my chest. I dropped to my knees, threw my head back, and let out a roar of frustrated rage. The sound echoed eerily through the trees.
But the feeling didn’t pass. I gasped for breath between snarls I couldn’t choke down, and I dug my claws into the rocks along the bank like I was holding on for dear life. The tattoo on my wrist burned in a way it hadn’t in months, and the pain only made me think of one thing.
Of one person.
Josephine.
Each beat of my racing heart carried her name with it. Time had done nothing, except to deepen the hurt. I’d made my choice. I’d accepted my life with the Corsis, and I didn’t regret what I’d done. But no diploma, no party, and no forced attempts at closure would ever cure what was really eating away at me.
I surged to my feet, stripping off my jacket and clawing with a madman’s frenzy at the straps around my torso. They snapped, and the lumps on
my back expanded like an accordion. I filled my lungs with air. Then I flexed my shoulders and spread my wings.
I hated them. I hated everything about them. But at that moment, it was the most glorious feeling in the world – like taking a long hot shower after a really hard day. My cramped shoulders relaxed as sixteen feet of wingspan unfurled around me. I stood there, gingerly flexing muscles that were still too new and disconcerting. The leathery membranes rippled in response as I exercised the bony joints and framework.
A desire to take to the air suddenly flooded my system – so much so that my wings shuddered and ached. But I stubbornly resisted. I had flown only once, and I would never fly again. I refused to give in to this thing I’d become – not when the entire reason I’d done it was to protect someone who no longer existed in my life.
‘Whoa!’ yelled a voice out of nowhere. ‘What are you!’
I stumbled, wings flailing, and landed in the middle of the stream. Two young boys stood on the opposite bank, fishing poles in hand, gawking at me. My wings snapped flat against my back, and I scrambled out of the water. The twilight shadows weren’t enough to hide me from their wide eyes.
‘I’m, ah, nothing,’ I stammered. I grabbed my jacket, pulling it on as fast as I could. ‘Just, um, trying out a new costume. For a … upcoming … gaming convention I’m attending. Next week. In the city.’
The first boy stared at his buddy. ‘Dude, he looks just like Azgog the Demon King from my video game, remember?’ The boy turned to me, bouncing excitedly. ‘Is that who you are?’
I threw on my hood; but the action was really to hide the dark flush creeping over my face rather than to disguise my already observed appearance. ‘Oh, yeah,’ I said quickly. ‘That’s totally who I am.’
‘Freaking awesome!’ said the other boy.
‘Thanks.’
‘Man, it looks so real,’ said the first boy.
I backed away slowly. ‘Oh, believe me, sometimes it feels pretty real, too.’ I stuffed my hands in my pockets and smiled. ‘Well, I’ve gotta get going. Finishing touches to put on the costume and all that. It was, ah, nice meeting you.’
The second boy grinned. ‘Yeah!’
I turned and hurried away before my fan club decided to follow. How stupid could I be? I shook my head in disbelief. First, I stalk a graduation party, then I snarl at my best friend, and now I was gallivanting in the woods in all my gray glory.
‘I have got to get home,’ I said aloud.
I glanced at my surroundings, trying to determine exactly where I was. I knew the strip mall was nearby. I saw the hint of buildings through the tree line. I picked up my pace, eager to be back in the safety of the Gypsy Ink. It may have been stifling there, but at least I didn’t have to hide what I was.
My jacket fell from one shoulder, and I forced it back. Ripping off the wing straps hadn’t been very smart. Without the thick nylon to rein in my wings the jacket wouldn’t button. I considered going back to retrieve them. A wisp of breeze rustled the leaves above me, and with it came the slow realization that I wasn’t alone.
A twig snapped behind me, and I stopped with a sigh. ‘Look, guys,’ I said, not bothering to turn around. ‘It’s not that big a deal. A little grease paint, some cheap prosthetics, and you’ve got yourself a costume.’
No answer.
I spun quickly on my heel, another excuse forming on my lips, but no one was there. I could hear the rippling of the stream and, just beyond that, the faint voices of the boys as they moved farther away. The air wasn’t cold, but I shuddered anyway.
Someone was following me.
My heart kicked up a notch, and I felt the tingles of adrenaline along the back of my neck. Something dropped to the ground beside me. I yelped and fell back, catching myself against a tree trunk. Esmeralda Lucian rose from her crouched position and looked me over.
‘Just a costume, huh?’
‘Ms Lucian!’ I panted, struggling to recover my wits and my dignity at the same time. ‘I mean, Esmeralda … Ezzie … sorry. There were some kids back there and I … they thought … well, it’s not important.’ I took a steadying breath and stared at my former teacher. ‘I thought for a second you were something else.’
‘Something else?’
I stared past her into the woods, though I didn’t have a clue what I was looking for. ‘It’s nothing. Well, I mean, I don’t know if it was nothing, but thought I was being followed earlier. Was it you?’
‘I only just arrived,’ she replied.
‘What are you doing out here?’
Esmeralda put her hands on her hips. She wore jeans and a T-shirt, and her red-streaked black hair was pulled back against her neck. She was still smiling, but there was a silver glint in her eyes – a subtle reminder that she’d once been a gargoyle like me. ‘I knew you were in the woods, though it took a few minutes to determine your exact location.’
‘You were tracking me?’
‘Of course.’ She brushed her hands over her jeans. ‘We can do that sort of thing, you know.’
‘I guess I never really thought about it,’ I replied. In truth, it was more like I refused to think about it, or any of the other inhumanly freakish abilities I’d inherited. Then I tilted my head, suddenly curious. ‘How exactly, if you don’t mind me asking?’
She smiled slyly. ‘I can smell you.’
‘Hey, don’t believe Hugo. I do take regular showers.’
‘You try it. Go on. Take a good sniff of the air.’
My eye twitched. ‘Okay, that’s just weird.’
‘You’ve experienced the sensation before,’ said Esmeralda with a knowing look.
I colored. ‘Yeah, but I didn’t try to smell her. I mean, I just … she just …’
‘Has a signature scent?’
My face felt hot. ‘Yeah.’
‘By now, you’ve discovered you can pick up on quite a number of things using your nose, but it goes far beyond simply being able to determine what the people across the street are cooking for dinner. Gargoyles were specifically designed to detect others of our kind – as well as those of Roma blood – by using a mixture of scent and internal sensation. It’s your own special radar. Now, just close your eyes and sniff the air.’
‘You make me sound like Lassie.’
‘Just do it.’
I obeyed, closing my eyes and taking a deep whiff. Esmeralda’s scent was strong, but it wasn’t like the other gargoyles I’d encountered all those months ago. Anya and her gang had smelled like rotting fish and made my stomach turn. Ezzie smelled cool and crisp – like a summer’s night.
‘Not what I was expecting,’ I said, opening my eyes.
‘It takes some practice, discerning signatures. But it’s something you’ll get better at doing. You’ve been too confined since your awakening. No doubt you can’t even differentiate any of the Corsis at this point.’
‘Well, they do all have a certain smell. I just assumed it was a hygiene problem.’
‘That could be the case, too,’ she said. Then her expression grew serious. ‘But I must ask, what are you doing out here? I thought you were going to look in on Katie Lewis’ party.’
I grimaced. ‘Hugo told you?’
‘Yes, but unless I’m mistaken, she doesn’t live in the middle of the woods.’
‘I was there, but I had to leave.’ My gaze drifted to a growth of wild shrubs as I pondered what to say next. Discussing things with Ms Lucian was still uncharted territory. I worked the words around my tongue before continuing. ‘I’m starting to feel weird again.’
Esmeralda leaned against a tree. ‘Care to clarify?’
‘I was trying to keep out of sight, but Katie found me, and then she almost saw my wings, and my emotions just all of a sudden went haywire. I was afraid I was about to lose it, so I ran away.’ My clawed fingers closed around the dandelion tattoo. ‘I came out here to cool down, I guess.’
‘And that’s it?’
I swallowed hard. ‘I’ve also been thinkin
g about her again.’
Esmeralda’s gaze shifted to my wrist. She knew exactly who I meant. She pursed her lips together for a moment, her eyes narrowing. ‘Sebastian, what you’re experiencing isn’t your fault. A great deal has happened to you. Managing such raw emotions would be difficult for anyone, let alone a fledgling gargoyle.’
‘No, it’s more than that,’ I said quickly, rubbing my wrist. ‘I didn’t tell Hugo earlier, but I think something’s wrong with me. I mean, besides the obvious. My appetite’s crazier than usual. I get headaches even when I’m not out in the sun, and there’s something … something I can’t define … constantly churning in my chest.’ I shoved my hands into my pockets, my claws picking the denim. ‘It’s like my control is slipping again.’
‘And you haven’t mentioned this to Hugo because …?’
I almost laughed. ‘Have you seen the way the Corsis look at me? There’s enough walking on eggshells around the Gypsy Ink as it is.’
Esmeralda nodded slowly. ‘I see.’
‘But why now? I thought I was done with the flirting with insanity stuff.’
‘Actually, that brings me to why I was looking for you, Sebastian. Your brother sent me to fetch you back to the shop.’
‘Hugo?’ I frowned. ‘Why?’
‘It’s not my place to say,’ she replied. ‘Now, come on. They’re waiting for you.’
‘Can I change first?’ I asked Esmeralda as I pushed open the back door of Hugo’s apartment. My feet sloshed inside my shoes, and my jeans were plastered to my legs.
She glanced at my wet clothes. ‘Don’t be long.’
I hurried to my room and pulled on a fresh pair of jeans, socks, and Converse. I didn’t want to keep Hugo waiting. He was probably ticked about my bailing out of their dinner party. But my stomach cramped as I walked down the hall, and there was a weird chill in the air – a sensation I hadn’t felt in a while.
The waiting room of the Gypsy Ink was full, but not with customers: Hugo and the rest of the clan stood quietly around the counter. Esmeralda hovered in the corner. But it wasn’t the Corsi clan or Ms Lucian who held my attention. I stopped dead in my tracks. Nicolas Romany was sitting on the couch, staring right at me.
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