by MJ Fletcher
“Fine? That’s all you can say?” Val was talking with her hands like she did whenever she got annoyed.
“It’s just that I thought you and Edgar might—well—you know.”
“Edgar had his chance and didn’t do anything, I’m moving on,” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m sure if you gave him time.”
“No, he had enough time. I like Jasper. He came in here and talked with me and he’s really interesting. Plus, he goes to school with you guys so it’s perfect. This way we can all hang out.”
I couldn’t tell her about Faith and how I punched Jasper in the nose for being such a creep. Not yet anyway, not until I figured out just what slime-ball was up too.
“I’ll make sure I talk with Slade so that we can all get together the night of the dance.” I was still angry with Slade but I wanted to talk to him and this gave me as good an excuse as any.
“Great, I’m so looking forward to it.” Val grabbed me giving me yet another hug and then ran off, her break ended.
I slid back in my seat and grabbed my coffee taking a long swallow before I saw to getting everything straight. I’m trying to access an ancient Chronicle page to find a mythic artifact that has world altering consequences. Also my mother is threatening my friends, and my life, if we don’t deliver it to her. Not to mention the school dance, which I’m supposed to attend with my maybe boyfriend that I don’t really want to attend. On the same night, I now need to hang out with my best friend and her date who I had punched in the face for being a slimy bastard. But you know my life is just peachy, I took another long swallow.
That’s it. After this is all over I’m taking a vacation to some remote island that no one knows exists and sleeping for a week. I stood up and dropped a tip on the table and waved to Val as I walked out of the Cape Beanery.
I rummaged in my bag pulling out my phone and flipped it open. I scrolled to Slade’s name and typed a quick text and hit the send button. I was just going to have to swallow my pride, not to mention my anger and talk with Slade and see if we could work it out. I figured we were better off fighting than not even talking.
I scrolled through the names to Jess and sent her a text as well letting her know about Jasper and Val and asking for advice. I scrolled once again, this time to Faith’s name. I figured she would be one of the best people to talk to about this and then saw the name above hers and my head drooped. I had completely forgotten about him and now realized that I was going to have to be the one to tell him.
“Damn it.” Edgar was not going to be happy.
My phone buzzed and I checked to see a message from Slade. I clicked on it and he was offering to meet down by the beach. I responded with time and place; five minutes in front of Carney’s Bar, and turned down the street and walked toward Beach Avenue.
I knew I was avoiding talking with Edgar but I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t really want to be the one to tell him. He was a good guy and I knew this would hurt him and I didn’t want to see him hurt. I looked down the street and saw Slade leaning against the wall facing the beach. I made my way quickly to him.
“Hey,” I said as I approached, Slade turned and smiled at me.
“Hi, look, Chloe, I know that you’re probably still mad at me. But I can’t help that I prefer to do things according to the rules. I wasn’t trying to attack your dad or family. I say it as I see it that’s all.” His hands were shoved in his pockets and his big eyes stared at me. He had been honest as always. Now it was my turn.
“I know, Slade, but I am not a by-the-book kind of girl. You need to understand and accept that.”
“I’m trying.” He reached out taking my hand in his. “And you need to accept that I’ll always try and get you to do the right thing.”
“One of these days we’re going to have to debate what the right thing is. For now though, I want to make certain that it’s your choice to help with this. I don’t want this to be about me. I’m not one of these girls who will manipulate a guy to get what she wants. If you’re going to help us you have to do it for you, not me.”
“I know and I’ve been thinking about it. This is an incredible chance to find the Impossible Engineer Artifact and I have to take that chance.”
“You’re willing to help us then?”
“I still think we should bring the Chronicle page and any Artifact we might find, to the Council, but you’re right, we need to find it before the First Kind. So, yeah, I’ll help.”
“Thank you,” I said with relief, not wanting to think how difficult it would be not to have an Impossible Engineer along with us on this one.
“What about us?” he finally asked.
I’d been thinking about us a lot in the last few days. I cared about Slade and I liked feeling almost normal with him. But there were times I felt that he didn’t know me at all. Despite my doubts and apprehensions I wanted to give it a try with him. I had the habit of walking away fast when a relationship hit a snag. Maybe this time I should stick around and see about making things work.
“I’m sorry for what I said, I really do care about you,” Slade said and stepped closer.
“I know and I really do care about you. It just that I’ve never been good at relationships, hell this is the longest one I’ve ever had.”
“I think we can work it out.” He intertwined his fingers with mine. “The question is do you want too?”
I had feelings for Slade but I couldn’t help wonder if I was missing something. I wasn’t surprised to hear the broken me in my head warning me to run... run now. Was the broken me right? Was I too messed up for him to ever really get to know the real me? Was it fair to let him invest so much in us only to have me disappoint him? Damn if the broken me wasn’t making me feel crappy.
“I got a dress for the dance,” I spit out with a smile, though I didn’t know where it came from. Did I actually want to go to the dance? Yeah, just like I want gremlins chasing me.
Slade leaned closer and placed his forehead against mine. “Can I kiss you?”
I wish he hadn’t asked; I wish he had just kissed me. I nodded and he tilted his head and lowered his mouth to mine. It was a gentle kiss as if he still wasn’t certain he should kiss me. He slid his arms around me and hugged me, though not as tightly as I would have like him to. I enjoyed being in his arms, feeling close to him, having his lips on mine, but I also felt guilty of being unsure if this was what I really wanted.
“I missed you,” he whispered after the kiss ended.
I never got to respond, my phone buzzed with a message and I was kind of relieved since in our time apart I hadn’t thought about missing him as much as I had thought about what he had said to me. I pulled out my phone to see the response was from Jess.
What about Edgar?
Slade saw the message and I told him about Jasper and Val.
“Does Edgar know?”
“No, I haven’t told him yet.”
“I can tell him if you want.”
Damn, if a hefty weight wasn’t lifted off my shoulders when Slade offered and I quickly nodded my head in agreement. More guilt rose up to bite me in the butt, but I was tired from carrying the weight of the world on my back.
“I appreciate it,” I said quietly and turned my attention on the ocean waves crashing one after the other along the beach.
“No problem, it might be better coming from a guy anyway. Have we figured out any plans for the dance?”
I hadn’t thought about that but he could be right, though I couldn’t shake the notion that I was a coward for not being the one to tell Edgar. Did I really think it would make a difference that he’d hurt any less if I told him?
“Jess thinks we should all meet at my house and leave from there.”
“That sounds good to me. So are you ready for this?”
Give me the First Kind chasing me down and me running for my life any day over this dance stuff. I wouldn’t be ready for it in a million years.
“Sur
e am,” I lied.
“Great so am I.” He hugged me close and I worried if maybe I had made a big mistake.
Chapter 17
Status: Um, what?
The next few days were a whirlwind with me constantly texting Nightshade on updates about the Chronicle page with the same response every time... Gavin’s still working on it. The rest of my messages revolved around the dance, which had by all measures taken over every aspect of my life and I was dizzy trying to figure it all out. Edgar had heard about Val and from what Slade had said he didn’t want to talk about it. I mentioned it to him once and he just ignored me. I’d also tried to get a hold of Faith but her family had gone on vacation and she wasn’t do back until today, the day of the dance.
“Chloe, what time are people getting here?” Dad called from downstairs as I was sitting at my mirror looking at my new hair style that Jess had forced me to get. It looked nice all pulled up and tight but I felt so naked with my neck exposed. I glanced at the clock and sighed.
“Any minute, Dad.” I leaned forward and started putting on my makeup, which is where I had drawn the line when Jess wanted the girl at the shop to do it. She had looked like some seventies hooker so I decided against that.
A surge of energy hit me and I recognized the power signature, a few seconds later Jess ran up the stairs and into my room. Her dress was draped over her arm and her face glowing.
“You’re not done with your makeup yet?” Her tone scolded as she hung her dress on the edge of my wardrobe, unzipped the bag and took it out.
“I’m working on it.” I gritted my teeth wishing the night was already over and tried to concentrate as she finished getting ready.
“Gran is coming over, you better hurry.”
“What? Why?” I spun looking at her not sure why anyone would voluntarily enjoy these things.
“Because, silly, she wants to see us before we leave.” Jess looked at me like I had three heads.
“Does Dad know?” The two had been cordial since Dad had been reinstated and we hadn’t yet told Gran about my mom being a traitor.
“I told him when I came in and he seemed fine with it.” Jess leaned across me and checked her makeup in the mirror one more time. Then she sat on the bed and pulled out her pale pink heels and slid them on, standing she slid her hands down over her pink dress that looked utterly amazing on her. It was the color of shimmering pink cotton candy, strapless, hugging all her perfect curves and reaching to a few inches above her knee.
“You look great.” I smiled at her stunning reflection.
“Thanks, Cuz, now get finished. They’ll be here any minute.”
“I know, I know.” I grabbed my eyeliner and went to work. I felt the surge of power again and knew more people were arriving. Then my stomach twisted in knots as I felt more portals opening and realized the number opening was far more than I thought necessary.
“What’s going on?” I asked Jess.
“I’ll go check.” She patted my shoulder and went to the stairs.
I took a deep breath. My mom had given me two weeks, the last day being today. But I figured I had until tomorrow when she would make her move. We’d already decided after we met up with Val and her slimy cohort tonight that we would all head to the Reliquary until Gavin had accessed the page and we found the Artifact. It was decided that would be the safest move for everyone involved.
I hoped the First Kind wouldn’t jump the gun and show up early. I smiled at the mirror, and seeing my reflection looking like some girly girl I realized this was it, there was no way I was getting out of going to the dance. I shook my head annoyed with myself. I was going and I needed to try and enjoy myself even if it killed me.
“It’s nothing,” Jess reassured me with a grin when she returned.
“Then why so many portals?”
“Gran is here and so is Nightshade, Slade and his family.”
My breath caught in my throat and my voice trembled as I said, “Um, what?”
“Slade’s parents and brothers are here too.”
“Are you kidding me, he brought his family?” I took a deep breath realizing I was now going to have an audience when I went downstairs. I already felt like some odd bird on display in a zoo and this just made it more acute.
“It’s only a few people, oh and Mr. Miller is here too.” Jess smiled weakly realizing that I might be on the verge of opening a portal and running.
“He invited our teacher?” I bowed my head, taking deep breathes trying to calm myself. This was what I meant when I thought that Slade had no idea who I was. It was bad enough I agreed to go to the dance but now I was being trotted out like some prize in front of people.
“It’s going to be okay.” Jess placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed, perhaps in an attempt to calm me or hold me down so I couldn’t run. ”We take a few pictures and wave to people and then go to the dance. It’ll be over in ten minutes.”
“I can do ten minutes.” I took another deep breath and managed a smile. If I could stare down a gremlin I was sure I could deal with a few minutes of uncomfortable small talk and gawking.
I finished applying my makeup and grabbed my dress from the wardrobe. Jess helped me slide into it. She zipped up the back and handed me my heels. I took them giving her the evil eye. She knew I wanted to wear my boots, but she had threatened my life if I wore them. I slipped into a much-too-high heel and took a quick look at myself in the mirror.
The black dress fit well with my complexion according to Tilda and also highlighted my assets. Not too bad I had to admit for once.
Jess saw me checking myself out and gave me thumbs up. “You look great, Cuz.”
“Let’s do this.” I pasted a smile on my face and headed for the stairs.
We walked down to the first level to find everyone hanging around the stairs waiting. Dad was standing to one side talking with Gran and Slade’s younger brothers were running around in a circle chasing each other. Mr. Slade was standing off to the side talking on his phone. He smiled and waved in my direction. I politely waved and was happy I didn’t have to speak with him.
Gran noticed us first. “Girls, you look amazing.”
After that everyone descended on us like a pack of wolves hungry for a meal. People were hugging and kissing me and telling me how lovely I looked and I was trying desperately to get away from them, not being the touchy, feely kind. Dad was beaming and Jess was completely in her element accepting each compliment with grace and poise.
“Hi,” Slade said walking out of the living room with his mom, both of them beaming at me. He was dressed in a tux and looked like someone you might see in a men’s magazine ad; perfectly put together. “Let’s take a picture.”
I didn’t have a chance to say anything before he pulled me into his arms and everyone began snapping pictures of us with their phones and Slade’s dad with what must have been an Impossible Engineer camera as it made a high-pitched squeal before nearly blinding me. Then I was pushed along to take pictures with Jess, Dad, and Gran. My eyes started to water from all the flashes and my ears buzzed with the chatter around me. I heard them dragging Jess along for her round of pictures and I used the distraction to step out onto the front porch away from the crazy chaos.
I took a deep breath and relished the moment of silence and solitude that I was able to steal. I heard someone walking along the porch and turned to see Nightshade approaching me. He was wearing a suit instead of a tux and it appeared as if it was made especially for him. I was shocked by how different he looked after seeing him in jeans and t-shirts for so long. The dark suit that was cut to accent his athletic body and the shirt and tie were solid contrasting colors. I could see the hint of his necklace hanging under his tie and I almost grinned since it made me realize that the Nightshade I knew was in there somewhere just like the real me was beneath this dress somewhere. I couldn’t get over at how undeniably handsome he was and how his dark blue shirt highlighted his two different colored eyes adding even more to his
good looks.
He walked right up to me and looked down at my shoes, then his eyes slowly followed up the length of me until he stopped at my eyes and smiled.
“You look beautiful.” He spoke so low that if anyone else had been around they wouldn’t have heard him.
“Thank you,” I whispered myself as if we were sharing secrets. His hand reached out and his fingers brushed across my neck sending a spark through me that made me shudder.
“Your hair is different.”
“You look different too,” I commented as he pulled his hand back.
“I figured I had to clean up for my last big shindig at Paladin.”
“It looks good on you.”
“Not as good as you look”
“Um, thanks,” I said. “Weird, right, us two going to this thing?”
“Yeah, it’s not really my thing, but Jess wanted to do at least one dance before she and I graduated this year.”
“That’s good that you and her are finally... well you know.”
“Finally what?”
“Dating.”
“I wouldn’t call this a date, though I think Jess has other ideas.” For a moment I saw anger in his eyes but it passed quickly.
“Oh, I thought it was,” I said, “that would be good wouldn’t it? I mean I know you haven’t really been with anyone since Lauren.”
“It’s difficult to explain, I guess when you’re hung up on someone it’s hard to see past it.”
“Then this is a good first step.”
“I suppose, Masters, but I wasn’t talking abo—”
“There you are. We need you for some group pictures.” Gran pushed the front door open and smiled at us. I turned blinking and nodded to her. “Wait a second let me get one of you both.” Gran smiled and stepped outside aiming her camera at us.
Nightshade stood next to me his hand sliding to the small of my back and around to rest at my waist. I closed my eyes for a moment and remembered the last time he had touched me like that. We had been stuck alone in a closet with no space to move and I hadn’t forgotten how good his arms felt around me. I opened my eyes and smiled wide for the camera. Gran snapped the picture and Nightshade let go of me and walked past Gran into the house. I stepped forward about to walk in when Gran’s arm slid over mine stopping me.