“You know what he is?” I whispered, checking to my left and then my right to make sure no one was listening. “How? Who are you?”
“I can see through his glamour. Call it a gift. I can help you, if you ask.”
“I don’t even know you.” I stepped around him.
Caden kept pace with me. “Sure you do. I’m the Creepy Dude turned Mystery Guy turned Nice Guy watching out for a friend’s brother. Ask me.”
I stopped just outside my next class. “How do you know what I’ve called you?” I’d never said those nicknames aloud. He didn’t answer. “Are you psychic?” Again he was silent. Asshole. I waited to see if he got that thought. After a few seconds, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t need help, and your minute’s up.”
With that, I marched into my classroom without looking back, seriously wondering what the hell was up with Caden, who I decided was definitely Creepy Dude squared.
Chapter 16
Intruder
That evening, Chase and I sat at the kitchen table, sharing a frozen pizza and swapping stories about our day. Dad had promised he’d be home early, but these days that meant sometime after seven.
“And then Haley dumped green paint all over Suzy. Suzy cried worse than the baby seals at the zoo. Her mom had to come and bring her new clothes.” He had already told me that Suzy had called Haley’s painting ugly, claiming she knew art when she saw it. Chase assured me that the only thing Suzy knew was how to be mean to Haley.
“I bet Suzy will think twice before insulting someone else’s project again,” I said.
Chase plucked a piece of sausage off his pizza. “They both had to sit on the bench at recess, and Haley has to pay for Suzy’s top.”
There never seemed to be a shortage of drama in his first grade class. In turn, I told him about surprising Kaylee for her birthday and how I had to read twenty pages in The Scarlet Letter to catch up on my homework. “Speaking of homework, you got any?”
“Nope.” He pulled the cheese off his pizza and stuffed it into his mouth.
“You know, the whole idea of pizza is to eat the crust, cheese, and toppings together,” I said, handing him a napkin.
We were silent as we munched on dinner. I had told Isaac about Caden’s visit on the way home from school. Based on what Isaac’s grandfather had told him about psychics being able to read minds, sense witches, and see through glamours, we decided Caden had to be a psychic. But we also deduced he wasn’t clairvoyant or else he’d know exactly where to find Emma.
Regardless, neither of us trusted Caden enough to ask him how he intended on helping. Not to mention psychics were extrasensory, but they didn’t possess supernatural abilities. Our coven was already four strong—together we represented the elements: Kaylee earth, me air, Josh water, and Isaac fire. So four witches trumped one psychic in our book.
The wind hit the house, causing the siding to creak. The front screen door rattled too, and I wished I had reminded Dad the screws were loose. I was on my third square of pizza when the floor above us groaned. Chase and I stopped chewing and stared at the ceiling.
“It’s just the wind,” I said, hating how our old house squeaked and moaned on gusty days.
The next noise sounded identical to that of someone stepping on the wobbly floorboard in front of my closet.
It’s just the wind, I repeated to myself.
But the eerrrrr that followed sounded more like the drawer on my nightstand being slowly slid open. Winter’s bony fingers clawed at the siding. Chase chomped on the remainder of his crust, obviously trusting that I knew what I was talking about when I’d said the strange noises were the blustery weather.
“I’m going to make sure I closed my window,” I said as I placed another slice of pizza on his plate.
I glanced up the staircase. It’s the wind. You’re only checking for peace of mind.
Climbing two steps, I paused with my fingers curled around the banister as if it were a lifeline. What if I was wrong? What if someone was in the house with Chase and me? The wind hit the front, rattling the screen door forcefully and sending my heart into a frantic jog.
I took a deep breath. “You’re not going to find anything,” I whispered and forced myself to walk up another step. “And you don’t want to worry Chase.” The last thing I needed was for him to see me scared to death in our home. He’d never go upstairs by himself again. That thought was enough to have me taking the remaining steps two at a time.
A sad melody filled with flutes and strings drifted out of my room. The song was too extraordinary to be coming from the radio.
“Finally!” I rushed into my room, expecting to find Brea.
Instead, I found myself alone listening to the longing of what might have been a waltz spilling out of unseen speakers all around me. A cool breeze brushed the nape of my neck. The alluring aroma of meadowsweet mixed with the woodsy scent of pine filled my senses. Brea’s perfume had reminded me of a summer’s day. This was more like the dead of winter.
My pretty bouquet was encased in ice once again. I focused on my powers, hoping they would allow me to see what I knew was just beyond my human sight. I still appeared to be alone. The urge to bolt back down the stairs was strong, but my legs locked in place, frozen in fear. I dug my nails into the palms of my hands to keep from screaming and scaring my brother.
“I know you’re here,” I said, my voice much steadier than my tangled nerves. I kept chanting silently to myself, Please let it be Brea, please let it be Brea, even though I knew if she was there, I’d be able to see her. I pulled my powers closer to the surface and let their strength support my trembling knees as I continued to survey the room. “I know what you are.” Silence answered. “I’m wearing iron.” Nothing. “I know it’s your cologne I smell.”
Reed appeared near the window. He stood with a clear flask in one hand. Iridescent blue liquid sloshed back and forth inside it. Instead of workpants and a flannel jacket, he wore khakis and a dark long-sleeved turtleneck.
He looked at the glowing contents of the flask when he spoke. “You’re not wearing enough iron for it to be bothersome, and I’ve no need for cologne.” His voice was as sad and longing as the song that continued its depressing ballad.
“Where’s Brea?” I would have felt safer if she were near.
“She went home.”
Knowing I’d been right about who’d invaded my privacy didn’t make me feel any better about Reed standing in my bedroom and looking back at me with eyes as white as snow. Without his glamour, he was taller and leaner and incredibly handsome. His ears poked out from beneath pale blond hair that looked as if it were spun from silk, and his skin was as smooth and creamy as Brea’s.
My powers itched to be used, but I didn’t want to be the one who scarred such a beautiful face. I could strike lower instead, propel an energy ball right at his rock-hard chest.
What was wrong with me? Who cared if I marred his pretty face? He was a faerie. One who—if Isaac was right—collected human girls for sport, and I was next on his list. Feeling surer about my emotions, I said, “Isaac told me about you.”
“I bet he failed to tell you everything.”
“He told me enough. I’m not going to join your harem.”
“I hardly have a harem.”
“Really, then what are Natalie and that brown-eyed girl to you?”
“You scried. Very good. Annabeth was homeless when I crossed paths with her. She’d run away from an abusive father. I offered her a new life, and she accepted. And Natalie wanted romance. She wanted to be whisked away from the everyday to live a fairy-tale life.”
“She wanted that in her own realm near her family and friends. A girl wanting her version of happily ever after doesn’t mean wanting to leave her existing life behind altogether. Did she even know what you are?”
“When you saw her, did she look in anguish? Was she sad?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t see why you’re upset.”
&
nbsp; “You took her from her family! That’s not ‘romance.’”
He raised a shoulder. “Semantics.”
“You’re a cold-hearted bastard, you know that?”
Reed took a sip of the curious blue liquid and then held the flask out to me. A tantalizing, fruity bouquet nuzzled my nostrils.
I shook my head.
“Did Isaac tell you how we first met?” There was a bitter edge to his words.
“You need to leave.” I stepped aside, providing a clear path to the door.
Instead of taking the hint, Reed placed the flask on my nightstand and took a seat on my bed.
“We were courting the same girl,” he said, his voice like the purest honey. “She was special, as you are.”
“She possessed the powers?”
“She did. Only, unlike you, she not only invited me into her world, she was happy to see me.”
“She cast the same spell I did?” I interrupted again. This girl must have been the one to write Dellis and Rhoswen in Isaac’s book. But if Reed expected me to be glad he was in my personal space, drawing lazy circles on my comforter with his long fingers, he was sadly mistaken.
“Yes, although I see now she had better manners than you.”
“Since you liked her so much, why don’t you go torment her?”
“Maddie,” Chase bellowed up the stairs, startling me. I’d almost forgotten Reed and I weren’t completely alone. “I’m done!”
I quickly stepped into the hall so that my brother wouldn’t run upstairs. “Wash your hands and go watch TV,” I hollered.
“’Kay!” His small feet thudded all the way from the foyer into the powder room downstairs.
Reed’s unearthly music continued to seep into my pores.
“Shall I go on?” he asked.
“Do I have a choice?” I replied, exasperated yet curious about how Reed and Isaac had come to date the same girl.
Reed’s lips quirked upward into a coy smile. “Heather was stunning. She had crystallized amber eyes and silky caramel-brown hair. She was tall and slim with some of the most delicate features I have ever seen on a human.”
Feeling suddenly inadequate compared to the girl Reed described as perfect, I fought the urge to run my hand over my hair to smooth it. I didn’t dare look at my reflection in the mirror. I knew what I’d see: an average girl who hadn’t brushed her hair since she’d gotten out of the shower that morning and whose makeup had faded hours ago. Reed’s voice was soothing, though. Like a child’s lullaby.
He kept talking. “However, she was as shallow as she was pretty. She wanted the grace and agility to become captain of her dance squad, taking the position from a girl she called her best friend.”
“She could have cast a spell to accomplish that,” I pointed out, remembering how Isaac had run his hands over the blades of his ice skates and, poof, he could skate as well as I could.
My powers trickled back inside me as if retreating before they could lose the battle against a member of the Winter Court, or maybe they were standing down because there was no need to fight. Either way, their withdrawal left me feeling drained. I leaned against the wall near the door for support.
Reed stretched out on my bed, head on my pillow and boots hanging over the edge of the mattress. “Apparently not. Her powers only made her good enough to secure a spot on the team. She, how do you humans say it, had two left feet without them. Whereas her friend had real talent. Heather couldn’t stand it.”
“Nice friend,” I said, glad that I didn’t have a Heather amongst my friends—but then I remembered Paige and realized at one time I had.
“Sarcasm?”
I gave him a smug look, regretting the small gesture the moment my vision blurred. I grabbed the doorframe and blinked several times. I hoped Reed hadn’t noticed.
He smiled approvingly, like my reply made him fonder of me—definitely not my intention. “She summoned an audience with me with the intentions of trapping me in her world.”
Brea hadn’t been kidding when she’d said humans normally wanted more than a little help around the house when they summoned a faerie. That left me with a nagging question. “What do you get in exchange for enhancing one’s talent?”
“A piece of their life essence.”
“Their soul?”
The room shifted, or maybe it was my brain swimming in my skull. My fingers squeezed the doorframe. Reed was suddenly next to me, guiding me to the foot of the bed. I hadn’t even seen him get up.
“I’m fine,” I said, shrugging his hands off me. Now that I was sitting down, the room no longer twirled frantically in front of me. “Answer my question.”
“I couldn’t care less about a human’s soul.” His snowy white gaze studied my face. “You don’t look well.”
I didn’t feel well, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Then what is their ‘life essence’?”
He crouched in front of me, head cocked to the side. I willed myself to look healthy.
After a moment, he said, “Fairies are complicated. We eat, drink, and sleep, much like you. Only it’s not enough to keep us strong. We need energy from nature. Humans offer the best source, but it is in our very being to have to give something in order to take. A balance that needs to be maintained.” I must have looked totally lost, because he sighed heavily. His breath smelled sweet like the fruit punch Kool-Aid Chase liked. “Do you know what an aura is?”
“It’s the invisible light that surrounds every living thing,” I replied, remembering how my seventh grade science teacher used to say she could tell a lot about her students by their aura, swearing she could see the color of everyone’s in her class. She had told me mine was a bright rosy pink. Rumor in middle school had been that Mrs. Casper sniffed the chemicals in her classroom one too many times. Now that I thought about it, I wondered if she possessed the powers, or maybe she was psychic.
“Close,” Reed replied, pulling me out of my reverie. “It’s the energy around many living things. We don’t have an aura of our own. We take bits from humans during celebrations or in exchange for favors. That is why we grant such gifts to aspiring musicians and dancers.”
“So you absorbed part of Heather’s aura?”
An evil glint flashed in the back of his eyes. “As I stated, she intended on trapping me here. I don’t take kindly to those who take and do not give. Our deal was grace for companionship.”
“You wanted to hang out with the pretty girl?” It couldn’t have been that simple. Isaac’s warning replayed itself in my head: Faeries will twist your words to their advantage. My eyes grew wide with acknowledgement. “You meant the word in a permanent sense: you’d make her a better dancer and she’d live in your realm.”
“It seemed only fair that she learn a lesson. She did intend to trap me in her world. I decided to turn the tides and trap her in mine instead.”
“And Isaac stopped you. So now what, you want retribution?”
My stomach did a somersault, but if it was because of what I’d learned or because I wasn’t feeling so hot, I couldn’t tell. I inhaled, trying to shake the lightheadedness that had gripped me ever since I’d come upstairs.
“It’s you.” I scooted away from Reed. “You’re the reason I feel this way.”
He sat on the corner of the bed but made no attempt to come closer to me. “I would be honored if you would escort me to the Winter Solstice Celebration. I know the perfect gown. Bright red, something that caresses your skin with every step we take on the dance floor.”
“You’re asking me out?” I stammered.
“It’s the gentlemanly thing to do, don’t you think? And I believe I’ve been nothing but adorable so far.”
“Creepy and stalkerish is more like it. And, no, I will not go with you to the whatever you just said.” I pointed to the door. “Get out of my house.”
His gaze fell on the chain wrapped around my wrist. When he didn’t get up, I willed my powers to get the hell back to the surface and sent a gust of
air at Reed, pushing him off my bed. “Out!” I demanded.
He glowered, and the temperature in the room dropped a good twenty degrees. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the air around us. When I opened them again, I sent a pulse of heat outward to warm the air and make it bearable again.
I stood, keeping the back of my legs against the bed to help steady me. “You need to leave.”
“Say yes,” he coaxed. “Be my date for the solstice, and I’ll leave your world alone.”
I took “alone” to mean he wouldn’t wreak any more havoc in this realm, but I’d be trapped in his.
“No.” I raised my hand, producing a ball of fire as I did.
But before I could whip it at Reed, he seized my forearm in his unyielding grip. It only took a few seconds for my flame to be smothered as it froze into a glowing blue ball of ice. My weapon dropped to the floor, useless, and I saw the chain around my wrist was a mere inch from his hand.
“Does iron not affect you at all?”
“It is vexing, and I would prefer you removed the bracelets.”
“And I’d prefer it if you’d go to hell.” I yanked my arm away from his hand. “You don’t screw with people’s lives over losing a girl,” I added with less punch than I’d aimed for.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Madison.” At the sound of my name rolling off his tongue, my head did that swimming thing again. I thought about lying down and decided against it. Reed kept talking. “Messing with lives is the perfect way to get back at someone, but that isn’t the only reason I marked you as mine.”
“What?” I shook my head hoping to clear my thoughts, regretting it the moment my brain banged against my skull.
The front door slammed shut, and Dad called out loudly to let Chase and me know he was home.
“You might want to answer him,” Reed pointed out. I didn’t like how close he was.
“Hi! Upstairs doing homework,” I yelled back. I sank back down onto my bed, fingers curling around the edge of my mattress for balance. “What did you do to me?”
I felt as if I was in a haze that grew thicker and darker with each passing second. I closed my eyes and almost fell forward off the bed. It was Reed’s strong hands on my shoulders that kept me upright.
Hold Tight (The Embrace Series) Page 13