The Bonding Ritual (Girls Wearing Black: Book Four)

by Spencer Baum

  “And the answer to the final clue was a room in Renata’s house?” Suzette said.

  “That’s right,” said Jill.

  “How did you know?” said Suzette. “How did you figure it out?”

  Jill wasn’t ready for any of this. For the past year, the lies she spread were all carefully thought out and rehearsed. Tonight she would have to make up her answers on the spot.

  Fortunately for her, Shamus came into the parlor at that moment and announced that dinner was served.

  “We’ll have to continue this conversation at the table,” said Suzette.

  Ryan stood quickly and held out his hand for Jill.

  “Thanks,” she said, allowing him to help her up. She expected Ryan to let go of her hand once she was on her feet, but he didn’t. He held her hand as they walked through the parlor, down the hall, and into the dining room, letting her go only so he could pull out her chair. As Jill sat, Suzette gave her another big smile, as if the two of them were in on some secret.

  If only Jill knew what the secret was.

  Shamus brought out the first course of the night, a creamy pea soup with carrots and ham, served in wooden bowls.

  “Ertwensop,” Roger said in a booming voice.

  “I’m sorry?” said Jill.

  “Our chef is from Holland,” said Roger. “We hired him for his expertise in French cooking, but it turns out his best dishes are traditional Dutch. Go figure.”

  “Christoffel is his name,” Ryan said, quietly.

  “Oh my goodness, Jill hasn’t been here since we hired Christoffel, has she?” said Suzette. “Yes, I suppose it was two years ago when he came on and…oh, you’re going to love his cooking! I’m so happy to have you back in this house.”

  “I believe you were about to tell us how you solved the final Ransom clue,” Roger said.

  “Yes, I’m dying to hear,” said Suzette.

  Not sure what to tell them, Jill ate a spoonful of soup and said, “This is delicious.”

  “Yes, it’s very good tonight,” said Suzette, then, more forcefully, “How did you solve the clue?”

  Jill had nothing. Dinner had just started and she was struggling on the first question Suzette asked her. How many more questions were coming after this one? How complicated were the lies about to become?

  She felt a sense of panic stirring inside her. She wasn’t ready for this. Telling lies on the fly like this—Jill felt like she was about to sink.

  How could she answer? Could she just decline to say anything? Tell them it’s her secret? Yes, maybe that should be my stance for every question I don’t want to answer, she thought. Just refuse to answer at all.

  Or maybe tell the truth. Tell them she solved the first two clues with the help of a vampire who was now dead because Jill’s friends had killed her. That would shut them up.

  As her head spun with these thoughts, Ryan placed his hand on her arm.

  “It was an article in the school paper,” he said.

  “The school paper?” said Suzette.

  Ryan turned to Jill. “Tell her what you told me,” he said. “At your house. The old article in the Thorndike Herald where Renata talked about that room.”

  Roger clapped his hands together. “How rich!” he said. “The answer to the clue was in an old article from the school paper! Bet Renata made the clue that way on purpose!”

  “Oh, I think she did,” Ryan said. “Tell them, Jill.”

  Jill was looking down at her arm, where Ryan’s hand lay comfortably just above her wrist.

  “Yeah,” she said. “It was simple once I found…that article.”

  “Renata even used some of the words from the article in the clue, didn’t she?” said Ryan.

  Jill looked at his face as he spoke, hoping for some answer from him about what he was doing. He gave her nothing.

  “Yes,” she said. “Death and new life made manifest. She used those words in the clue, and those same words in the article.”

  “My oh my you’re a clever one!” Roger bellowed. “Who would have thought to look in the archives of the school paper? But it’s just like the immortals to leave the clue there, isn’t it? Old World technology! While everyone else was scouring the Internet, you went looking in the library. Microfilm was it? Was that how you found it?”

  Jill nodded her head, meekly.

  “A technology from Renata’s own era,” Roger went on, smiling at everyone at the table. “That’s how Renata would want it to be done. Kind of a way to pay tribute to her generation.”

  “Yes,” said Jill. “I think you’ve nailed it.”

  “Incredible,” Suzette said. “You are an incredible girl. I’m so, so pleased that you’re back in Ryan’s life.”

  Ryan let his hand slide down Jill’s wrist and interlaced his fingers with hers.

  “I’m pleased too,” he said. “And I think it’s time we told my parents the truth. Don’t you, Jill?”

  Jill was starting to wonder if she was in a dream.

  “The truth is always good,” she said, and let out a little laugh. “Maybe you should start.”

  His hand still wrapped around Jill’s, Ryan looked to his mother.

  “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry for what I’ve put you through these past three years,” he said. “I know I was difficult to be around. Truth be told, it wasn’t easy for me either. But it was necessary. It all had a purpose.”

  Jill found herself holding her breath. What the hell are you doing, Ryan?

  “When Jill and I were together, it was for real,” Ryan continued. “I know, I know, kids as young as we were think they’ve fallen in love and don’t really know, but believe me, we knew. It was different with us. We knew right away we had something special.”

  He turned to Jill. “Didn’t we?”

  She was frozen in place. All the horrors she had faced these past few months—none of them made her as frightened as she felt right now. She had no idea what was happening here tonight. Ryan was holding her hand, putting his arm around her, hugging her tight when she entered…and Suzette…Suzette still had that goofy grin on her face. All night long she’d been looking at Jill like the two of them were in on the same joke.

  “Yes, what we had was special,” Jill said.

  Ryan beamed at her. It was a look she hadn’t seen from him since freshman year.

  Since they were a couple.

  He turned back to his parents. “Everyone at school knew we were seriously, madly, head-over-heels in love,” he said.

  “Mmm-hmm,” said Suzette, nodding her head a little too vigorously. “Roger and I knew it too.”

  Roger looked like he shared Jill’s confusion at all of this.

  “As you might imagine, our love was threatening to some people,” Ryan said.

  “To one person in particular, I expect,” said Suzette.

  Now was the time to stop this. It sounded like Ryan was about to tell them about Kim Renwick, and the secret that was held over his head for three years. Jill absolutely did not want the Jensons knowing the truth about her mother.

  “Ryan, I don’t know if we--”

  “It’s okay, Jill. Everything’s okay now. We don’t have to lie any longer.”

  “Please, no more lies,” Suzette said. She looked like she was about to cry.

  “Kim Renwick knew that if Jill and I were together, we’d be calling the shots come senior year,” Ryan said. “A union between two of the richest families at Thorndike.”

  “You two made such a beautiful couple,” Suzette whispered.

  “Ryan, I’m not comfortable…” Jill began. She didn’t finish because Shamus entered to clear the plates. But he was barely two steps into the room before Suzette snapped her fingers at him like he was a dog. He turned around and left immediately.

  “You never broke up,” Suzette said. “That’s what happened, isn’t it? You just pretended.”

  Ryan nodded his head. Still holding Jill’s hand, he pulled her closer to him.

  “It was
so hard, Mom,” he said. “I’m angry we had to do it. Sometimes this town can be a terrible place.”

  It was all Jill could do to sit quietly in her chair. She was baffled by this entire conversation.

  “You did what you had to do,” Suzette said. “The Renwicks would have thrown everything they had at us. Our families would have been at war. The whole thing would have been terribly expensive.”

  “You can say that again,” said Roger, who followed up the quip with a big swig from his wine glass.

  “We knew that Kim had people watching us all the time,” said Ryan. “There was no place for us to hide. Not the phone, not email, we couldn’t even pass notes in class. A total breakup. That was the only way. A complete detachment that was visible to everyone at school. That was the best way to make sure Kim wouldn’t think we were trying to play her.”

  Suzette was in tears now. “You poor dear,” she said to Jill. “I can’t imagine how awful it was.”

  “It was…pretty terrible,” Jill said.

  “Unspeakable,” said Ryan. “The hardest thing I’ll ever have to do in my life.”

  Now he was crying too, and the tears on his face set Suzette into an emotional breakdown.

  “I’m so proud of you both!” she cried, her hands to her face. “The maturity it took to go through with this. The strength!”

  Ryan was squeezing Jill’s hand so tight it hurt. She wanted him to stop, but was frightened to make a move.

  “When Nicky showed up, things only got harder,” Ryan said. “We needed to have some place for the Renwicks to aim their war chest.”

  “So you led Kim to believe that you and Nicky—oh Ryan, I’m so sorry I ever doubted you,” Suzette said, adding in a whisper, “Forgive me.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. You did nothing wrong.”

  “I didn’t understand. When I heard that you bid on Nicky Bloom at the Date Auction…”

  Overcome with emotion, Suzette wasn’t able to finish her sentence. Roger reached awkwardly across the table to comfort his wife, but he was too far away from her, so he grabbed the wine bottle instead.

  “It’s over now,” Ryan said. “The plan has worked. Kim spent all last semester coming after Nicky, ignoring the real threat to her all along.”

  “The real threat?” said Suzette. “What’s the real threat?”

  Yes, Ryan, please tell us, Jill thought.

  Ryan didn’t have to, for at that moment, Suzette figured it out.

  “Samantha!” she shouted. “Jill gave the Ransom money to Samantha!”

  “Precisely,” said Ryan.

  “Haha! It’s brilliant!” Suzette said, slapping the table with both hands. “You’ve won!” She turned to Roger. “We’ve won!”

  Smirking, Roger raised his wine glass. Jill wanted to tell him she knew no more than he did.

  “It was Jill’s idea,” said Ryan.

  “Of course it was!” Suzette said. “From the moment you started talking I knew that Jill was the brains behind this plan! It’s wonderful! Kim has spent all her time and resources looking for dirt on Nicky, when all this time, it was Samantha you intended to support. And now Samantha has an insurmountable lead! The two of you can share your love out in the open again, and when Samantha becomes the new immortal she will owe her crown to you. Oh my, the doors that will open to you—you’ll be amazed. There is nothing more powerful than a good connection. Tell them Roger!”

  “An immortal’s a good friend to have,” Roger said. “I got in good with Lena Trang, who became the immortal from my class. Let me tell you, that connection has meant everything for our business.”

  “This is incredible!” Suzette squealed. “I’m sorry to be so emotional. It’s just so wonderful to see your child succeed!” She turned to Jill and added, “Your children, really.”

  Suzette jumped up from her chair and ran to give Jill a hug.

  “And to think I was upset that Ryan didn’t call me when he was at your house,” she gushed, her arms wrapped tightly around Jill’s back. “After all the two of you have been through, you deserved some time to yourselves! Oh, you little lovebirds! You both make me very, very proud!”

  Suzette stood up and shouted towards the kitchen.

  “Shamus! You may serve dessert now! And open a bottle of champagne, will you? We’re celebrating in here!”

  Suzette gushed over Ryan and Jill for another hour, getting more and more drunk as the night went on. After dessert, and dessert wine, and champagne, and cigars with brandy served in crystal snifters, the dinner mercifully ended. But Jill wasn’t allowed to leave. Suzette insisted that, after all that alcohol, Jill had to spend the night. With a wink, she said it would be just fine with her if Jill slept in Ryan’s room.

  Ryan led her upstairs. Jill waited until his bedroom door was shut before saying, “What the hell just happened down there?”

  “I put us back in the game, that’s what happened,” said Ryan.

  “Back in the game? What does that even mean? Where did you come up with this story?”

  “I thought about it while I was out walking this morning,” Ryan said.

  “So you remember going out walking? You remember leaving the safe house?”

  “Of course I remember. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because last night you were out cold with a severe concussion and were doped up on pain killers! Ryan, you’re acting very strange and I’m not even sure who I’m talking to! You snuck out of the bedroom this morning and didn’t tell anyone you were leaving! How far did you walk in the cold without a jacket?”

  “Not far,” Ryan said. “I got lucky and found a cab a few blocks from the house.”

  “Why were you in such a hurry to get home? Why didn’t you tell anyone where you were going? Why did I hear from your mother and not from you?”

  “Because there was work to do and you guys weren’t willing to do it! I heard you talking yesterday. You were planning to skip town!”

  “Of course we were! We’re still planning to. Or, at least, I think we are. I swear, you all have lost your minds today! Ryan, tell me how you feel. Did you know you were delirious when we brought you home from Renata’s?”

  “I’m better now.”

  “Are you really?”

  “You tell me, Jill. You’ve just spent a whole evening with me and my family. Do I seem alright to you?”

  Jill took a step back. The truth was that Ryan did seem fine. He seemed like he was perfectly in control.

  “Ryan, what happened down there tonight, at dinner…”

  “What about it? We needed a story that would explain everything. Now we’ve got one.”

  “Ryan, a cover story isn’t just something you tell once and you’re done with it. If you’re planning on staying here--”

  “I am staying here, and you are too. This story will change everything. Don’t you see? We had a ton of problems to solve, and in one fell swoop, I’ve taken care of all of them. We’ll just need to be a couple for the rest of the semester. We need my parents and everyone at school to think we’re madly in love.”

  “You’re acting really weird. I’m worried about you.”

  “I’ve never felt better. My mind is so clear. I know exactly what we’re going to do. And I’m sorry I brought you in this way, but I knew you wouldn’t understand. At least, not at first. Now that you’ve seen how my mother has reacted, you get it, don’t you?”

  “No! I don’t get any of this!”

  “It’s so simple, Jill. We convince everyone we’ve been planning this from the get-go. Everyone at school will follow along. The story is so sweet. Lovers, kept apart by fate, reunited in victory over a common enemy. This whole town is going to eat this up like you wouldn’t believe, and my mom is the key to all of it. Right now, she’s calling all the best gossipers in DC. By tomorrow, we’ll be the talk of the town. We’ll go back to school as the class couple, and not just that, we’ll be the class couple who gave Samantha an insurmountable lead in the Coronation contest! As fa
r as everyone at school is concerned, the Coronation contest is over. You won the Rose Ransom and gave Samantha a hundred million dollars.”

  “The Coronation contest is over, Ryan! The whole point of us being here was for Nicky to win. There’s no way she can do that now. There is no point in staying if Nicky doesn’t win.”

  “You’re not getting it! Nicky will win. My plan will make sure of it. Did you see how my mom reacted to us? Did you see how it was like all her dreams came true?”

  “Your mom totally creeped me out tonight.”

  “Yeah, she can be like that. But now that we’ve got her in our pocket, we’ll have access to my family’s funds, eventually.”

  “Eventually?”

  “I don’t think they’re very liquid right now, you know, after forking over a hundred million for the Rose Ransom. But that’s okay. We wouldn’t act until the end of the year anyway. Like the kissing booths at spring carnival. Whatever opportunity there is for open donation at the end of the semester, that’s when we’ll act. We’ll have the checkbooks from two of the fattest bank accounts in town in our hands, and we’ll each write a check for Nicky Bloom that’s so large no one will possibly be able to match it.”

  Jill leaned back against Ryan’s desk. “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?”

  “I’m telling you, Jill. My mom is so high on us right now, she’s going to trust me with a blank check when the time comes. All we have to do is be the perfect couple that she’s always wanted us to be.”

  Jill didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything. In truth, it was a really clever plan. In its way, it was a far more certain road to victory for Nicky than anything Jill had devised for the mission.

  “You know this will work,” Ryan said. “You know this is what we have to do.”

  “No, I don’t,” said Jill. “Your story does a nice job of taking care of the politics at school, I’ll give you that, but it does nothing to protect us from the vampires who will be looking for Renata’s killer. And Bernadette’s killer. And Melissa’s. Ryan, this mission was risky when it began. To continue it now after all that’s happened would be reckless.”