by Julie Kagawa
Page 4
“Whatever,” I muttered, not looking directly at him. He frowned as if taken aback by the reaction, and I kept my expression blank and unfriendly. Just because I rescued you from the jock and his goon doesn’t mean we’re buds now. I saw your little friend. You’re playing with fire, and I want nothing to do with it. Go away. Todd hesitated, then followed me in silence for a few steps, but he didn’t leave.
“Uh, so,” he continued, lowering his voice as we approached the end of the lot. I had parked my truck as far as I could from the Mustangs and Camaros of my fellow students, wanting it to avoid notice, as well. “When did you become able to see Them?”
My gut twisted. At least he didn’t say faeries or the fey, because voicing their name out loud was a surefire way to attract their attention. Whether that was deliberate or ignorant on his part, I wasn’t sure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said coolly.
“Yes, you do!” He stepped in front of me, brow furrowed, and I had to stop. “You know what I am,” he insisted, all subtlety gone. There was a hint of desperation in his eyes as he leaned forward, pleading. “I saw you, and Thistle caught you looking, too. You can see Them, and you can see what I really look like. So don’t play dumb, okay? I know. We both do. ”
All right, this kid was pissing me off. Worse, the more I talked to him, the more attention I would draw from Them. His little “friends” were probably watching us right now, and that scared me. Whatever this half-breed wanted from me, it needed to end.
I sneered at him, my voice ugly. “Wow, you are a freak. No wonder Kingston picks on you. Did you not take your happy pills this morning?” Anger and betrayal flashed in Todd’s orange eyes, making me feel like an ass, but I kept my voice mocking. “Yeah, I’d love to stay and chat with you and your imaginary friends, but I have real-world things to do. Why don’t you go see if you can find a unicorn or something?”
His face darkened even more. I shoved past him and continued on, hoping he wouldn’t follow. This time, he did not. But I hadn’t gone three steps when his next words stopped me in my tracks.
“Thistle knows about your sister. ”
I froze, every muscle in my body coiling tight as my stomach turned inside out.
“Yeah, I thought you might be interested in that. ” Todd’s voice held a note of quiet triumph. “She’s seen her, in the Nevernever. Meghan Chase, the Iron Queen—”
I spun and grabbed the front of his shirt, jerking him forward off his feet. “Who else knows?” I hissed as Todd cringed, flattening his ears. “Who else has heard of me? Who knows I’m here?”
“I don’t know!” Todd held up his hands, and short claws flashed in the sunlight. “Thistle is hard to understand sometimes, ya know? All she said was that she knew who you were—the brother of the Iron Queen. ”
“If you tell anyone…” I balled my fist, resisting the urge to shake him. “If you tell any of Them, I swear—”
“I won’t!” Todd cried, and I realized then how I must have looked, teeth bared, eyes wild and crazy. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down. Todd relaxed, shaking his head. “Jeez, take it easy, man. So They know who you are—it’s not the end of the world. ”
I sneered and shoved him backward. “You must be very sheltered, then. ”
“I was adopted,” Todd shot back, catching himself. “How easy do you think it’s been, pretending to be human when my own parents don’t know what I am? No one here gets me, no one has any idea what I can do. They keep stepping on me, and I keep pushing back. ”
“So you did put a snake in Kingston’s car. ” I shook my head in disgust. “I should’ve let him stick your head down a toilet this afternoon. ”
Todd sniffed and straightened the front of his shirt. “Kingston’s a dick,” he said, as if that justified everything. “He thinks he owns the school and has the teachers and the principal in his pocket. He believes he’s untouchable. ” He smirked, orange eyes glittering. “Sometimes I like to remind him that he’s not. ”
I sighed. Well, it serves you right, Ethan. This is what happens when you get involved with Them. Even the half-fey can’t keep themselves from pranking humans every chance they get.
“The Invisible Folk are the only ones who understand me,” Todd went on, as if trying to convince me. “They know what I’m going through. They’re only too happy to help. ” His smirk grew wider, more threatening. “In fact, Thistle and her friends are making that jock’s life very unpleasant right now. ”
A chill slid up my back. “What did you promise them?”
He blinked. “What?”
“They never do anything for free. ” I took a step forward, and he shrank back. “What did you promise them? What did they take?”
“What does it matter?” The half-breed shrugged. “The jerk had it coming. Besides, how much harm can two piskies and a boggart do?”
I closed my eyes. Oh, man, you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. “Listen,” I said, opening my eyes, “whatever bargains you’ve made, whatever contracts you’ve agreed to, stop. You can’t trust them. They’ll use you, because it’s their nature. It’s what they do. ” Todd raised a disbelieving eyebrow, and I scrubbed my scalp at his ignorance. How had he survived this long and not learned anything? “Never make a contract with Them. That’s the first and most important rule. It doesn’t ever go how you imagine, and once you’ve agreed to something, you’re stuck. You can’t ever get out of it, no matter what they ask for in return. ”
Todd still looked unconvinced. “Who made you the expert on all things faery?” he challenged, and I winced as he finally said the word. “You’re human—you don’t understand what it’s like. So I made a few deals, promised a few things. What’s that to you?”
“Nothing. ” I stepped back. “Just don’t drag me into whatever mess you’re creating. I want nothing to do with Them, or you, got it? I’d be happy if I never saw them again. ” And without waiting for an answer, I turned, opened my car door, and slammed it shut behind me. Gunning the engine, I squealed out of the parking lot, ignoring the half-breed’s desolate figure as he grew smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror.
* * *
“How was school?” Mom asked as I banged through the screen door and tossed my backpack on the table.
“Fine,” I mumbled, making a beeline for the fridge. She stepped out of the way with a sigh, knowing it was useless to talk to me when I was starving. I found the leftover pizza from last night and shoved two slices in the microwave while chewing on a cold third. Thirty seconds later, I was about to take my plate up to my room when Mom stepped in front of me.
“I got a call from the principal’s office this afternoon. ”
My shoulders sank. “Yeah?”
Mom gestured firmly to the table, and I slumped into one of the chairs, my appetite gone. She sat down across from me, her eyes hooded and troubled. “Anything you want to tell me?”
I rubbed my eyes. No use trying to hide it, she probably already knew—or at least she knew what Hill told her. “I got into a fight. ”
“Oh, Ethan. ” The disappointment in her voice stabbed me like tiny needles. “On your first day?”
It wasn’t my fault, I wanted to say. But I’d used that excuse so many times before, it seemed empty. Any excuse seemed empty now. I just shrugged and slouched farther in my seat, not meeting her eyes.
“Was it…was it Them?”
That shocked me. Mom almost never spoke of the fey, for probably the same reasons as me; she thought it might attract their attention. She would rather close her eyes and pretend they didn’t exist, that they weren’t still out there, watching us. It was one of the reasons I never talked openly to her about my problems. It just made her too frightened.
I hesitated, wondering if I should tell her about the half-breed and his invisible friends, lurking in the halls. But if Mom found out about them, she might pull me out of s
chool. And as much as I hated going to class, I did not want to go through the whole “starting over” thing one more time.
“No,” I said, fiddling with the edge of my plate. “Just these two dicks that needed a lesson in manners. ”
Mom gave one of her frustrated, disapproving groans. “Ethan,” she said in a sharper voice. “It’s not your place. We’ve gone over this. ”
“I know. ”
“If you keep this up, you’ll be kicked out again. And I don’t know where we can send you after that. I don’t know…” Mom took a shaky breath, and covered her eyes with her hand.
Now I felt like a complete ass. “I’m sorry,” I offered in a quiet voice. “I’ll…try harder. ”
She nodded without looking up. “I won’t tell your father, not this time,” she murmured in a weary voice. “Don’t eat too much pizza or you’ll spoil your appetite for dinner. ”
Standing, I hooked my backpack over one shoulder and took it and the plate into my room, kicking the door shut behind me.
Slumping to my desk, I ate my pizza while halfheartedly jiggling my laptop to life. The episode with Kingston, not to mention the talk with the half-breed, had made me edgy. I went to YouTube and watched videos of students practicing kali, trying to pick out the weaknesses in their attacks, poking holes in their defenses. Then, to keep myself occupied, I grabbed my rattan sticks from the wall and practiced a few patterns in the middle of my room, smacking imaginary targets with Brian Kingston’s face, being careful not to hit the walls or ceiling. I’d put a couple of holes in the drywall already, by accident of course, before Dad made the rule that all practice must be done outside or in the dojo. But I was much better now, and what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.