There could only be one explanation for my sudden change of heart: love really did make you crazy. Or maybe you had to be crazy in order to let yourself be this in love. Or I had finally just accepted that I had to take the good where I could find it, because there was certainly enough bad to go around.
Not that I knew for sure that Taren was in love with me. I really hoped he was, but we’d only been dating a few months and neither of us had actually said it out loud. I’d said it in my mind a dozen times, but even I knew that didn’t count. Why wouldn’t he just say it already so I could?
“You were right,” Taren said, interrupting my reverie. “I do have to work, so I should probably get going.”
“You work too much,” I said, hoping I didn’t look as pouty as I felt.
“Look who’s talking,” he said, lifting my chin. The flecks in his hazel eyes shone extra golden.
“Yeah, but I’d take time off if they let me,” I said. “You…”
Taren had been volunteering for extra shifts, wanting to get ahead of the demon procreation.
“I’m a Guardian,” he said. “It’s what I do.”
“I know,” I said and laid my head on his chest. “I just worry.”
He kissed the top of my head but remained silent. What was there to say? We led dangerous lives and we each feared for the other on an almost constant basis. It was why I still hadn’t mentioned my nightmare. Nightmares plural, now. I just couldn’t add another burden, however small, to his already heavy load.
“I’ll text you later,” he said.
I never texted him first when he was on patrol—what if he forgot to silence his phone and the sound revealed his location just as he was sneaking up on a nest of demons?
“Be safe,” I said, then kissed him, not caring who was looking.
Before either of us could get too carried away, he pulled back a fraction and said, “I’ve really gotta go. Have a good night and I’ll see you at noon.”
One last peck and he was walking away, his long legs taking him in the direction of the parking lot.
I entered the dormitory and found it quiet. Though the Institute might have liked to confine all students within its walls, they were forced to maintain a rotating schedule that allowed them periodic visits home to their families. True, there was an increase in the unwelcome demon chatter that bombarded Keepers, and the only completely safe place was within the Sanctuary, but the farther one got from the Gate, the less influence those voices had. Besides, there would have been no way to explain to parents not in the know about what the Institute really was, why they could suddenly no longer see their kids. And having dozens of parents wandering the grounds was out of the question. As far as they knew, the Institute was an alternative to the mental institutions where most potential Keepers were found. A higher-end, yet somehow free home for their troubled teens, complete with top-notch schooling and counseling services. One glimpse at Guardians practicing swordplay and that cover would be blown.
I passed the two students watching TV and climbed the stairs to my floor. My friends, Callie, Crystle, Madison, and Bridget had invited me to meet them after my shift—they were planning to use the student kitchen to make cupcakes—but I had too much to do.
Upon entering my room I noticed my sheets, still in a tangle, which reminded me of the prior night’s dream. I wondered if it was time to tell Master Dogan about it.
My iPhone chimed and vibrated on my nightstand. One of the perks of being a full-fledged Keeper was that even though I was in the dorm, I was allowed a cell phone. Another was getting paid, which is how I afforded an iPhone in the first place. I wouldn't have access to most of the money for another year, when I turned eighteen, but I was given an allowance that took care of incidentals. Which, because of my current confinement, mostly amounted to online purchases. My days of hunting for treasure at thrift stores with my mother were behind me, at least for now.
“Happy almost-birthday, Em!” the text read, followed by half a dozen x’s and o’s.
“Thanks, Mom,” I wrote back. “C u tmrw.”
I set the phone back on my nightstand and took a seat at the small desk placed below my lone window. Cracking open a textbook, I settled in for some quality time with algebra.
A few hours later I was cross-eyed and not sure I’d retained anything about the subjects I had just studied. Why did a demon fighter need to graduate high school anyway? I mean, my career was pretty much sealed once I’d learned what I was, it’s not like I was suddenly going to want to become a math teacher.
I gathered my books and papers and stuffed them into my messenger bag. I had no intention of even looking at them again until Monday. Homework on a birthday was anathema.
I then took a seat on my bed and pulled up the browser on my phone. As I had so many times in the past several weeks, I began searching for credible incidences of telekinesis or telepathy. Could the reports of one twin feeling the pain of the other be a result of Daemon lineage? What about Hindu maharishis who claimed powers of levitation? I scrolled through report after report, looking for something I could bring to Master Dogan.
He never said it out loud, but I could tell even he realized Gretchen and I needed more than what he could offer. When it came to meditation and focus, there was no one better than Master Dogan, but accessing our powers? How could he teach what he’d never experienced? Not that he didn’t try, poring over ancient texts for clues on how better to guide us.
Still, I was desperate to find another Daemon—someone who already knew how to do the things I needed to learn. A war was coming, one we had to win, yet all we could achieve was the smallest of our potential. I'd been unable to even come close to replicating the power I'd displayed the night I'd—
No. Not now. Focus.
I went back to searching.
3
“Rise and shine, birthday girl!”
I woke with a start, my eyes flying open as I bolted upright.
“Whoa, easy there,” Bridget said, making a soothing gesture with her hand.
“Sorry, Em, we didn’t mean to scare you,” Callie said, looking sheepish. “We just wanted to surprise you.”
I swallowed and tried to slow my racing heart. Who needed cardio when you lived at the Institute?
Disoriented, I took in the sight of Callie and her roommates, Bridget, Madison, and Crystle, all looking abashed. Callie and Bridget held trays heaping with French toast, berries, syrup, and plates, while Crystle and Madison each carried a large, impeccably wrapped gift.
My phone lay beside me; I must have fallen asleep mid-search. Had I really slept more than fifteen hours? Without nightmares, no less. Happy birthday to me.
As per usual, my efforts had yielded nothing of value. The last thing I remembered was a link titled, “Body Found in Griffith Park. Fatal Injuries Resemble Shark Attack.” Taren hadn’t mentioned that Dahraks had taken up residence in Griffith Park, but I was sure he was aware. What else but those double rows of jagged teeth could—
One of the girls cleared their throat and I realized all four were still standing in the same positions, awkward and expectant.
“Oh, God, sorry. Come in, sit down,” I said. “Sorry. You know I’m useless before coffee.”
Relief flooded each of their faces and they settled on the floor. I slid down off my bed to join them.
“Funny you should mention coffee,” Crystle said, smiling, and handed me the large package she’d brought.
“It’s from all of us.” Bridget said.
“And Kat, too,” Madison added, sliding the other present toward me. “She had to be out late on patrol and said she’d be seeing you later, anyway, so she decided to skip round one of the Ember Birthday Extravaganza.”
Round one? What was round two? What did Taren have planned?
Not one to open even beautiful packages delicately, I ripped open the wrapping on the first box to reveal a coffee maker. Not just any coffee maker, but one of those high-end, one-cup-at-a-time beau
ties I’d been coveting.
“You always say that by lunchtime the coffee around here tastes like you’re licking an ashtray,” Madison said. “Now you can come sneak up here and make your own.”
“And maybe one for me, too,” Crystle said with a grin.
“Sneak up? Am I not allowed to have this?” I asked. I hadn’t gotten far enough in my plans to purchase one to ask.
Crystle shrugged. “We figured it was better to ask forgiveness than ask permission.”
I laughed. A motto after my own heart.
“Thanks, guys. This is awesome,” I said.
“Open the next one so we can fire this baby up,” Madison urged.
I did as she said while Bridget opened the coffee maker box and set about reading the instructions. The second box was a sample box filled with different flavors of coffee.
“There’s even espresso,” Callie said, pointing. “That’s your favorite, right?”
“It is,” I said, pleased.
I hadn’t had espresso in months. Not since I’d been given leave to visit my mother and Kat and I had gone to see a band play. The terrible memory of being dragged backward from the stage, struggling futilely against the impossible strength of a Red, and of Taren killing that Red, flashed before my eyes. I took a deep breath and tried to get centered.
Callie was busy dishing up breakfast. She handed me the first plate, which I accepted greedily.
By the time I’d demolished half my breakfast, Bridget was handing me a steaming cup of espresso. I inhaled deeply, the aroma of a good cup was as pleasing as the taste.
“I am so gonna use this,” I said. “And you all are welcome over anytime for a cup.”
“Does it make hot chocolate?” Callie asked, wrinkling her nose.
At twelve, she had yet to develop a taste for coffee. Which really meant, she’d yet to feel the glory of a caffeine high. Master Dogan had been trying to get me to kick the habit, but I didn’t see it happening any time soon. Between classes, three shifts a week at the Gateway, and my daily training sessions with Dogan and Gretchen, he was lucky caffeine was the worst of my habits. My days started at dawn and frequently went until past nightfall before I was able to start my homework.
“No,” Crystle said, “but it does make mochas. We’ll get that cherry popped, don’t you worry.”
The rest of us laughed while Callie blushed. No doubt Crystle meant cherry in reference only to coffee, but with Crystle, you just never knew.
“So,” Crystle asked, “has Taren dropped the L-word yet?”
“Lesbian?” I arched my eyebrows. “No, why? Do you think he’s a lesbian?”
She rolled her eyes. “Not lesbian, you goofball. Love. Has he told you he loves you yet?”
“It’s only been a couple of months,” Madison said, always the rational one. “We don’t all fall in love right away.”
“Exactly,” I said. “We’re taking things slow.”
Which was a total lie, of course. I was completely in love with Taren. I’m not sure when the scales tipped from like-way-too-much-for-my-own-good to love, but I suspected it was about the time he saved me from the Dahrak demon at Windsor. Or maybe it was seeing how carefully he handled Callie when she was losing it. Or when I woke up in his parents’ room to realize he’d slept the entire night in a chair, just so I wouldn’t wake up alone. It was one of those. Or all of them. I really wasn’t sure when it happened, but I was sure that it had happened; that it continued to happen every time I saw him. I was trying not to take it personally that he wasn’t in love with me. Or that if he was, that he wasn’t telling me. It’s not like either of us didn’t have our hands full, and Taren had good reason to fear loving a Daemon hybrid. He’d agonized over all that had happened with his mother.
But, Daemon hybrid demon fighter or not, I was still a girl, and I couldn’t help daydreaming about the day Taren would pull me close, look into my eyes and tell me he was in love with me. That I was the one. Not like last time he told me I was the one, when he meant I was the one who could save the Gateway, but, you know... The One.
“Well,” Callie said, “I think it’s obvious Taren loves her. You just have to see the way he looks at her to know.”
I smiled. Callie had recently admitted she’d never even kissed a boy, so it was hard to consider her an expert on boy behavior, but I appreciated the sentiment.
Before the conversation could spiral farther into a dissection of my relationship, I said, “How about you, Crystle? Things still good with Javier?”
“Javier? He was so three weeks ago,” she replied. “I’m dating Colin now.”
Ever since her long-time boyfriend, Michael, had said he needed to focus more on work than on being in a relationship, Crystle had been on a mad tear as far as guys were concerned. She tired of each as quickly as she became infatuated, though, and I suspected she was still pining after Mike, though she’d never admit it. As an outgoing, beautiful, Rubenesque blonde, Crystle was used to commanding the attention of any guy she wanted. Not having the one guy she really wanted had to be a blow not only to her ego, but her heart. But still, Colin? Even with her recent scattershot method, he hardly seemed her type—gangly and unsure of himself, a full year younger.
“How does Michael feel about you dating one of his Guard set?” Bridget asked.
Ah, that explained it. He hadn’t reacted to her recent string of beaus, so she was pulling out the big guns.
“I wouldn’t know,” Crystle said, her forced casualness belying her true feelings, “and I don’t care. He made it clear what’s important to him. What I do is none of his concern anymore.”
The three of us exchanged glances, none of us willing to call her bluff.
Callie broke the tension by asking, “So what does Taren have planned for today?”
“No idea,” I said, looking at the clock. “But I should probably jump in the shower soon if I’m going to be ready by noon.”
Crystle looked at me askance.
“What?” I said. “I am capable of putting some effort into my appearance. Some of us don’t have the easy schedule of a student-in-training, you know.”
Bridget snorted, and rightly so. Even as students, their days began as early as mine and included a full day of classes and homework on topics ranging from calculus to the evolution of demons. Still, they knew I had all of that and more, so no wonder that on days I wouldn’t be seeing Taren I did the bare minimum of upkeep, and on days I would see him, my beauty routine was still pretty basic. Luckily he didn’t seem to mind, always telling me I looked beautiful.
“Well, if you are gonna get all sexed up for Taren, I’m the last person who’s gonna stop you,” Crystle said, grinning and starting to clean up.
“Don’t get carried away,” I said, stacking dishes, “there’s only so sexy I can get when hiking is on the agenda.”
Madison gave me a sympathetic frown. “Still no word on when the embargo might be lifted?” she asked.
I shook my head and sighed. “Not yet, but I hold out hope.”
I thanked the girls again for my birthday breakfast and my dream-come-true coffee maker and a few moments later I was on my way to the shower.
Over an hour later, my hair was dry and tousled the way Kat had shown me, and I was putting the finishing touches on my “daytime smokey eyes”—also courtesy of Kat—when my phone chimed.
Taren’s text simply read: Here.
My heart skipped a beat. It was my birthday. And I had a boyfriend. A super-sexy almost super-hero like boyfriend. This birthday ruled.
One last look in the mirror and I bounded down the stairs, slowing when I reached the bottom so I could project some semblance of cool as I walked toward the common room.
I found Taren chatting with Callie. While she no longer needed him to silence the demons that still buzzed in her brain, the brother-sister bond they’d developed for each other remained. When I was a few steps away Taren looked up. Even had I been trying to sneak up on him I wouldn’t h
ave been able to. Taren was never caught off-guard.
“Wow,” he said, his hazel eyes widening and his jaw on the verge of dropping.
I blushed furiously and looked down. I’d tried too hard.
“You look...” he walked over to me and took my hand.
“Maybe a little overdone for a picnic?” I said. I should offer to go change; this was ridiculous.
He smiled that semi-crooked smile of his and said, “Breathtaking.”
He gave me the lightest of kisses.
“Well, I’ll let you two get to your picnic,” Callie said with a mischievous grin.
“Later, Cal,” Taren said as she practically skipped away.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“I think she thinks you’re going to approve of your birthday surprise,” he said. Now he was grinning!
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” I said, “What is it?”
I readied myself to react with great enthusiasm when he told me we were going for a walk before my mom got here and we all ate lunch in the cafeteria.
“Wait, what?” I was so busy mentally preparing I was sure I’d misheard him.
“A day pass,” he said again. “Or, part of a day, anyway. Long enough to get lunch at your favorite Indian restaurant.
Now my jaw dropped. “No freaking way,” I said.
“What can I say?” he said, putting a hand on my waist and pulling me closer. “I’m good.”
“You are,” I said, my grin nearly splitting my face. “You are so good.”
I threw my arms around him and squeezed him tight. “That is so the best gift you could have gotten me.”
Even wrapped in the safety of Taren’s arms, a memory bubbled to the surface that was frightening enough to send a shiver down my spine: Taren killing the Red that had grabbed me in the club. His blade flashing, the blood—
I was a little abrupt in pulling away. “Will we, um...have security?”
“Ha!” Taren pulled back so that he could look me in the eye. “Will we have security? That was how I sold Annys on this deal in the first place. With you and Mom being prepped for travel, your Guardian detail needs a dry run. We had to do one anyway, so why not today? She saw the necessity and came around. There will be a lead car and one tailing us, plus a slew of Guardians at the restaurant. And check this out. We’re wired for sound.”
The Gateway Trilogy: Complete Series: (Books 1-3) Page 21