FAUSTINE (Bonfire Chronicles)

by Imogen Rose

  “Mom!” she protested angrily.

  “It’s okay, Alexandra. I’m here on a social call, not formally.”

  “I take it, by the insolent reaction from my offspring, that you two have met?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, fill me in,” she demanded, as we sat down to a breakfast of black-and-blue steak, seared on the outside, practically raw on the inside. Yum.

  “Mom, got anything else? You know I can’t stand steak!”

  “That’s just silly talk. You’re a demon, sit down and eat. Stop being so petulant in front of our guest. You’re embarrassing me,” Alexandra growled under her breath. The room immediately felt dark. Alexandra’s fingers had fused together, and her eyes were practically firing red flames at her daughter.

  “Mom! Stop! I’m sorry,” Taylor pleaded, as I sat glued to my chair in silence. Bad scene.

  As if she suddenly remembered that I was watching, Alexandra reverted back into her normal–for me–self and smiled sweetly.

  “Mother-daughter issues,” she said, by way of an apology.

  I smiled sympathetically, though I really had no idea what she was talking about. I guess Mom and I had been separated through the development of that kind of a relationship. I wondered if it would kick in, now that I was home. I had to make sure that I did everything within my power to prevent it. My life was complicated enough.

  This could be my first go at diplomacy. I needed all the practice I could get. I bet I would have to deal with some whoppers soon. I smiled at them both. “Taylor, this is awesome!” I exclaimed with false enthusiasm. “I’m so glad I have someone I can talk to!”

  She didn’t look too enthused.

  I smiled even wider. “I’m a bit confused, though. How come you don’t have red eyes? And you seemed in awe of mine when we first met... What was that all about?”

  “Taylor is not a full demon. She is only part demon. Not even a half demon really,” Alexandra explained. “Her father is a warlock, and she retains most of his genes, even though I’m her mother. She has almost no demon qualities. Sad really, or she would be a demon princess, just like you.”

  “But, why were you surprised about my red eyes when we first met?” I asked Taylor again.

  “Because I’ve only ever seen them in demons, and I had no idea you were one at the time,” she explained. “I should be angry with you. I spent ages online last night trying to find contacts like the ones you said you were wearing. L-O-L at the whole Milan thing. Half the school wants contacts in that shade, now.”

  I chuckled. That would be so cool, a great way to make myself totally anonymous. “So, Taylor, are you a witch? Or a female warlock, is there such a being?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know for sure yet. Given the option, I’d rather do the witch thing; warlocks don’t get good press.”

  “I’m trying to get Edith, the witch sovereign of New York, to take Taylor under her wing and teach her, but I’m getting a bit of resistance at the moment,” Alexandra shared.

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m new, and she doesn’t trust me yet.”

  It all made sense now. New. I remembered Dad always mentioning the Demon King of New York, not the Demon Queen. “How new?”

  “About a week.”

  “Wow! That’s really new. Almost the same as me!”

  “Except that I’ve been sworn in,” Alexandra added.

  “So, how do you know my mom? I just assumed you knew her through my dad....”

  “Oh, I’ve known Annabel for years. I have known both your parents for years. I actually set them up on their first date! Your mom was at my coronation last Thursday.”

  “What happened to the last king?”

  She shrugged.

  I raised my eyebrows at her; I wasn’t going to be blown off that easy.

  “I have no idea. All I know is that the charter decreed me his successor, so here I am!”

  “But, what about the former king’s kids?”

  “They protested, of course. However, it was decreed,” she repeated.

  “Wow. So, two sovereigns are replaced in practically the same week. Don’t you find that a bit odd?”

  “Perhaps, but it’s not my business to dwell on old sovereigns. My job is to rule the demons in New York. Quite a job that’s proving to be!”

  “Faustine, if you’re done eating, we should go to school,” Taylor interrupted.

  She was right. This conversation needed to be continued later, though.

  The school day started out as a snooze-fest, much like yesterday. My main objective was to talk to Ryker and find out what the heck was going on. If he was going to break-up with me, he could at least tell me properly, even via text. Just grumping at me was unacceptable.

  I spotted him on my way to the cafeteria. I’d have to blow off lunch, but this was important.

  “Ryker, hold up,” I yelled, running up to him and grabbing hold of his elbow, firmly, so that he couldn’t avoid me. “We need to talk.”

  He turned around and looked down at me intently. I was sure he was trying to convey something, but nothing was coming through. He raised his eyebrows, questioningly.

  I shrugged “Nothing. Talk to me, or text. Just let me know what’s going on.”

  He grabbed hold of my shoulders, and I immediately felt myself floating in a weightless, warm blanket. My eyelids were forced shut, but I opened them as soon as I felt something firm beneath my feet. We were back in my bedroom. Got to love wandering!

  “Start talking,” I said sullenly. I couldn’t bear to look at him while he dumped me, so I sat down on the bed and stared at my shoes–red, quilted Chanel ballet flats.

  “Faustine, I’ve been told to stay away from you.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know, but the orders came directly from Spencer Darley–our global Sigma-W leader–so I don’t have a choice. I’m sick about it.”

  “I met Spencer at the meeting we had. He seemed nice. Why on earth would he prevent you from seeing me?”

  “Like I said, I don’t know. I didn’t speak with him directly. He sent his wife, Amadea. She made it clear that she wasn’t answering questions.”

  Geez.

  “I did come over to watch at Pauline’s....” he continued.

  “You were there?”

  “Yes, it was before I got my orders. I was waiting outside by the car, just in case you needed help. I should have come inside... What happened to Luke?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I traveled through the dimensions trying to find him once you guys left. Nothing. And that’s when Amadea appeared at my side and told me to stay away, not to get involved.”

  That sucked. I had hoped that of all the paranormal sovereigns I had met, Spencer would have my back. Why would I even think that? His calm, almost fatherly, countenance had fooled me completely.

  “Whatever is going on with your dad is obviously very dangerous, Faustine. I don’t know who’s involved or why. I’ve been tracking you as much as I can, hoping that Amadea doesn’t find out. I was even at the Plaza when you were having tea with that other demon. There was a dark aura surrounding her. That’s why I warned you.”

  “You were the breeze that whispered?”

  He nodded.

  Why should I believe him over my own kind? Ryker and I had only become friends a few days ago. Before that, we’d never even spoken. Sudden changes should be regarded with suspicion. Sure, it could be attributed to Neave setting us up. But there could be more. Neave may have been manipulated. Perhaps I was being manipulated. The Academy’s second rule had to be heeded: Trust no one.

  I felt an overwhelming need to trust someone. Anyone! Maybe I should get a pet, a small dog? With my luck it would probably turn out to be a demon-hating shifter. Sigh.

  Ryker laughed.

  “What?” I asked, annoyed.

  “Cute Chihuahua visual...” he smiled.

  “You read my mind? You visualized my thoughts?”
I screeched and threw him across the room. His head bounced off the wall, and he slid to the floor in a heap.

  “Sheesh, Faustine! That was a little unnecessary, don’t you think?”

  “No, I don’t! What the heck are you doing invading my thoughts? Who gave you permission?”

  “You did. Your wall isn’t up.”

  I closed my eyes, willing a shield around my thoughts.

  “Wow, you really suck at that,” he remarked.

  “Gee, thanks!” I tried harder.

  “Good job, I can’t hear you at all anymore. You should have that shield up at all times, especially now with all these new paranormals in your life. By the way, do you suck as bad at reading thoughts as you do shielding them?”

  “Drop your shield, and I’ll tell you,” I challenged.

  He chuckled.

  “It’s not up, is it?” I asked, turning crimson.

  “I never have it up when I’m alone with you. I just assumed we could communicate without using words that way. So much easier.”

  Maybe I was less than half demon, like Taylor, and therefore not fit to be a princess. I slumped on my bed, feeling defeated. Perhaps I was my mother’s daughter. Maybe I should give up on the demon thing and follow in my mom’s footsteps, instead.

  “I can’t see you as an Upper East Side anesthesiologist, going back and forth to Lenox Hill every day.”

  “Stupid shield,” I muttered.

  “Faustine, this is serious. Didn’t you learn all this at the Academy?”

  I shook my head. “No, I had so many other issues that I didn’t have time for some of the basics. I guess they thought I knew all that stuff already....”

  “Let me teach you?” Ryker offered. “You can trust me, really.”

  “All right, but if you just read my mind, you know I’m having issues with the trust thing. Don’t take it personally. I don’t know if I can even trust myself at this point.”

  Ryker spent the rest of the afternoon going through mind control exercises with me. It was exhausting, and I must have fallen asleep at some point. I woke up feeling slightly disoriented, but remembered to shield my thoughts right away. I could hear voices coming from outside my door, from the living room. At least my enhanced hearing was working! It was Mom and Alexandra. There was a knock at my door moments later. I had just tapped into my mother’s thoughts successfully, so was prepared for....

  “Why did you cut school, Faustine? Are you ill?”

  “Yeah, I wasn’t feeling good, so I came home,” I lied.

  “Well, your principal called me. You must get permission from the school before coming home. Will you try to remember that? Please.”

  “Yes. Sorry about that. I’m still getting used to all the new rules.”

  “Are you feeling well enough to talk to me?” Alexandra asked.

  “Sure!” Hopefully, she had some news about Dad.

  “Private demon biz?” Mom laughed, and then left us.

  “I’m impressed,” Alexandra remarked. “You have your shield up.”

  “As do you,” I smiled.

  She laughed. “There are things in here,” she said pointing to her head, “you really don’t want to visualize. Trust me.”

  Maybe not, but I would love a peek. I managed to keep that little thought to myself.

  “I do have some news,” she offered.

  “Did you find Dad? Or Luke?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. I did, however, speak to Edith about it.”

  “Oh, can we trust her?”

  “No. But I need her to think that I trust her, so this was a good opportunity to project that appearance.”

  “Why do you need her to think that you trust her?”

  “Oh, another matter. It has nothing to do with this. Anyhow, she agreed to help us track Kismet. Kismet is quite a rare treasure; all paranormals seem to value her existence, so I knew Edith would be fairly amenable to tracking her for us. I didn’t mention Sebastian or Luke. Hopefully, we’ll get some leads–or even find them–when we are tracking Kismet. I understand you’ve tried tracking her before. Who did you track her through? I assume it wasn’t you, since you’ve never met her.”

  “Luke was tracking her, remember? And he’s not here. So what do we do now?”

  “We need to find someone else who knew Kismet.”

  “Someone else receptive to visions?”

  “Yes. And I think I know just the right person–Taylor. She knows Kismet from school. They aren’t friends, but I think Taylor knows her well enough to be able to see her.”

  “But would Taylor even agree to it? It’s not an easy task. And she could disappear, just like Luke.”

  “We’ll take precautions to make sure she doesn’t. I won’t let that happen,” Alexandra assured me.

  “Why would she agree, though?” I asked, totally unconvinced that Taylor would want anything to do with this.

  “To ingratiate herself with Edith, in the hope that she gets taken under the wing of the most powerful witch in Manhattan.”

  I guess.

  Once Alexandra left, I went to find Mom. It felt so wrong to exclude her from my life like this. Everyone said I had to exclude her to protect her–to protect her from being abducted and potentially tortured for information. It didn’t make any sense. If someone wanted to kidnap her and use her against me, they would, no matter what. The sheer act of taking her would unleash my entire demon wrath, and Dad’s. He loved her. So, did they think that knowing about stuff would freak her out? Was that the reason? If so, that was just silly. Heck, it freaked me out! Mom was a big girl. She could take it. I would at least test the waters. I needed to be able to talk to Mom. In Dad’s absence, she was the only one I could truly trust.

  “Mom, are you busy?” I asked, wandering into her suite.

  “No. I’m on call, though. So if my pager goes off, I’ll have to go in. What’s up? Hungry?”

  I was.

  She smiled. Mom radar. We walked to the kitchen, and she threw a steak on the indoor Hibachi. The tantalizing sizzle and incredible smell of grilling meat made my mouth water. She caramelized some onions and made a Gorgonzola sauce as garnish for her steak, but served mine the way I liked it. Naked.

  I devoured it in silence, and then looked up at Mom, who was picking at her plate. “Mom, have you heard from Dad at all?”

  “Faustine, I’m not an idiot. I know he’s been missing since you came home.”

  I nodded. “Any idea where he might be?”

  “No. But, honey, he’ll show up. I’m sure the appropriate authorities are trying to locate him. He’ll come back. He has to,” she said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

  “Mom, how much do you know about all the demon stuff?”

  “Probably not as much as you. I knew something was up when you asked to meet Alexandra–very unusual. Care to tell me what that was about? Much as I enjoy shopping with her, I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her. Be careful.”

  “Mom, Dad named me as his successor.”

  “Well, that’s just ridiculous! Successor? What was he thinking? What about his older children? Besides, he’ll be back.”

  “He named me, so that’s just the way it is.”

  She shook her head. “Well. I won’t allow you to move to London....”

  “I don’t have to,” I reassured her. “I’m going to govern via proxy. I have the details worked out, so there is no need to worry about that. The coronation is next week. I want you to come.”

  “Hon, I still think this is an awful idea. I mean, you’re just back from St. Moritz, just started at a new school. You really ought to concentrate on that.”

  “Oh, believe me, if I had any choice, I would! I want to respect Dad’s wishes, however, and being the demon sovereign places me in a better position to find him.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be there, right by your side, and help you in any way I can. I’m glad you felt you could confide in me,” she said gratefully.

  I debated t
elling her about Peter’s death and Kismet’s disappearance, but decided against it. That information would make her freak, and she’d have Tessa contain me in my room for like–forever.

  She suddenly reached for her cell phone on the table beside her, but then stopped and looked me up and down.

  “What?” I asked concerned. “You don’t like this color on me?” I asked, looking down at my shoes.

  She laughed. “It’s an appropriate color, don’t you think?”

  “I guess. Red’s a bit cliché, though.”

  “I was actually about to call Manuel and ask him to come over. You’re going to need something spectacular for the coronation.”

  I wondered if I could find a way of accessorizing my something spectacular with Ryker.

  Watching Ryker kick the soccer ball around with the rest of the varsity team was boring, even though he did look kind of cute in the green team shorts. It was just a practice; surely he could take a little break and let me know why he needed to see me so urgently. Normally, I wouldn’t mind hanging out in Central Park, but today, a slight drizzle sprinkled down on us. It was just a mist, but catastrophic for my hair. I looked at the girls gathered by the sideline. I’d say at least half of them looked like they would rather have their legs waxed than hang out here, getting a natural afro for all their hair-straightening efforts. I was tempted to bail. But Ryker apparently needed to talk to me urgently, and right after practice would be his first opportunity. So, I twiddled my thumbs as I waited. Would it be a punishable offense to bring out a book and read while I waited? As I reached for my book, the whistle blew, and the sweaty bodies came running up to the sideline.

  “Wassup?” I asked, while trying not to inhale the putrid aroma oozing from Ryker. Blech.

  He laughed as he planted a kiss on my forehead, and surreptitiously slipped me a note. Then, he was gone. To the nearest showers, hopefully.

  I waited until I was safely in my room before I retrieved the crumpled bit of paper from my bag and peeked at it. It had my half sister Katerina’s contact information scribbled on it. How on earth had Ryker managed to get hold of it? I didn’t really care how, I was just grateful that he had passed it on to me.