They all glowered at each other. I could feel the tension rising. I moved, preparing to leave, but both Rafael and Jareth each seized a wrist. Their fingers gripped me tightly, but neither one looked at me. Their gazes locked on each other.
Jareth was the first to let go. He arched a brow at the order sheet. “I’m not nearly done ordering, Sydney. Surely, you humans have other charities. Hospitals? Animal shelters? Shopaholic rehab centers?”
The word “rehab” struck a raw nerve. Shaking my hand free of Rafael’s grip, I snagged another order sheet and wrote “Children’s Hospital” on top. I was going to send every kid in there a gift basket, compliments of Mr. Nasty himself. I began to fill out the form.
“I heard the news of your arrangement today.” Jareth dipped his head at Rafael. “I found it unusually interesting.”
I glanced up curiously.
At my side, Rafael tensed and his lips tightened into a thin line.
“I’ve been wondering all day, what has the Inner Circle so concerned that they would force their favorite into marriage at such a tender age?” Jareth’s voice took on a tone of outright challenge. “And of all fiancées that you might have ended up with, you score the beauteous Raven, no less.”
My heart skipped a beat. So that’s what Harmony had meant when she said Rafael was already taken. If I had heard this news yesterday, it would have been very hard to hear. And even though it was still a bit depressing, I managed to shrug it off. Obviously, I had been admiring him, maybe even subconsciously equating him a bit to a knight on a shining white horse for rescuing me. Not once, but twice. However, I knew quite well that he wasn’t my hero. In all likelihood, he was really a lizard wearing a human suit.
At that moment, I realized I’d been staring.
Rafael’s eyes were piercing mine with that same intense gaze he had used before, and I blushed. How could I let him read those thoughts? Desperately, I averted my eyes, imagined a brick and quickly scrawled a collection of cakes, sandwiches, and cookies onto the order sheet.
In the prolonged silence that followed, I imagined more bricks, building a red-brick igloo around myself. Finally, I looked up to discover all three of them watching me attentively.
I held my breath, frantically conjuring up more bricks.
They continued to stare at me.
I focused harder on the bricks.
“What is it, Sydney?” Rafael inquired softly.
My palms began to sweat.
“Sydney?” Rafael’s voice was concerned, but a smile hovered about his lips. He reached over and bonked me on the tip of the nose. “Where are you, Sydney?”
“Oh, Rafael, she’s afraid that you’re reading her mind.” Jareth chuckled sardonically.
“Reading her mind?” A flash of humor crossed Rafael’s face as he assured me, “No one can read your mind! Where did you get that idea?”
I looked at them. It was impossible to tell who was telling the truth anymore. But then the thought struck me that if they could read my mind, then they wouldn’t have had Harmony follow me around at school, and she would have known that I had been lying about the made-up speaker in mentor class. She would also have known of my plan to test metal out on her. All at once, the utmost relief washed through me.
“Add some gourmet chocolate.” Jareth tapped on the paper with his finger.
This time, Samantha peered over my shoulder. She frowned at the order sheets and then glared at Jareth. “I don’t have time for you to play here.”
“Play?” Jareth rose. He stretched his arms for several long moments before towering over her, a little menacingly. “Are you belittling my charity work?”
“These orders must be at least $30,000.” Samantha snapped, unruffled at the rock star looming over her.
“Really? Is that all?” Jareth smirked down at me. “Then double it, Sydney.”
Samantha’s brows knit into a deeper frown. She grabbed the papers and looked at the dates. “I can’t fill such large orders! This is a small shop—“
“Then buy the dump next door and expand!” Jareth interrupted her and rolled his eyes. “It isn’t my problem.”
As Samantha continued to argue, I took the opportunity to escape. I stumbled past Reese’s table when Rafael caught up with me.
“We must speak, Sydney,” he said, his long fingers closing over my shoulder.
I looked up at him. I didn’t feel like talking. I didn’t have the chance, anyway, because Reese chose that moment to slither from her table and touch Rafael’s arm.
His response astonished me.
He froze. His expressive gray eyes widened and then he turned upon Reese, and smoothly captured her hand in an almost amorous gesture before letting it go.
Reese began to smile. Flipping her long black hair over her shoulder, she giggled, “I just wanted to tell you that you dropped this pen.”
I knew she was lying. She was holding out one of the coffee shop pens.
To my amazement, a smile creased Rafael’s cheek, and his voice deepened as he replied, “Why, thank you. Miss … ?”
“Reese, my name is Reese,” She kept giggling. Looping her arm through his, she sent me a triumphant look.
Rafael didn’t resist as she led him back to her table.
Annoyed, I stalked away. I was definitely going to remove Rafael’s stones and mirror from my sweatshirt pocket at home. I’d seen my mother deal with plenty of cheaters, and I had no tolerance for double-dealers. I’d just heard he was engaged. He had no business flirting with Reese. I hadn’t thought he was the jerk kind, but I was obviously wrong.
I kicked the door back and marched to the dishwasher, slamming dishes into the rack. I stayed in the back until Betty picked me up.
We didn’t talk much, and I was yawning by the time we got home. Though I was exhausted, I took the time to empty my pockets of the fairy runes and the mirror, dumping them all into Jerry’s cage.
I looked at them in disappointment. I had thought of Rafael as a bit of a noble character, honorable even, though a bit handy with the eye makeup. And Jareth. I couldn’t figure him out. At the moment, he didn’t actually seem that bad.
I crawled into bed, glad that the day was over, and too tired to think about them anymore. I heard Jerry’s hamster wheel begin to squeak. It was a comforting sound. Listening to it, I began to drift off, and as I did so, I heard Jareth’s voice: Oh, Rafael, she’s afraid that you’re reading her mind.
How had he known that? I woke up a little to worry about it, before I convinced myself I was just overreacting. If I was going to up my game, I had to start acting more and worrying less. Otherwise, I wasn’t going to get very far.
Chapter Fourteen - The Red Tube
I had a hard time waking up the next morning and was groggy for the first part of school. I hadn’t studied as much as I should have, but I was pretty sure I got a C on my Science test. I kept to myself during lunch, eating my sandwich in the corner with my headphones on and surrounded by a pile of books.
I wasn’t studying, though. I was updating my science notebook, adding my notes to my bullet points about Jung’s entries. I had confirmed a good portion of them already, like the Equal, the iron, and the Blue Threads of Fate. I still didn’t know anything about the Inner Circle or the Brotherhood of the Snake. I also didn’t know where Jareth, Rafael, and Harmony were really from.
If they were the forerunners of an invasion force, I was going to have to gather real evidence. I didn’t have anything of real value to offer as proof to anyone yet. Even Al would find it hard to believe at this point.
If I could get my hands on the red tube in Marquis’ car, then that would probably be a significant piece of evidence. I wasn’t sure how I could pull that off, though. I tapped my pen on the table, wondering if they had other things in their house that might serve just as well. If I could get into their house, then I could see what kind of technology they had, and maybe find evidence to shoplift. After all, I was a pretty good thief.
&nbs
p; The afternoon crept by slowly. I spent the remainder of my classes trying to dream up ways to get into Rafael’s house until I decided I really didn’t need an excuse. Rafael had said himself that he wanted to talk to me at least twice. I could just walk across the street and see what he wanted to say. I’d remember to bring a fork and my cell phone. I still had Jareth’s number in my pocket, but I wasn’t sure if he was any better than Rafael.
After school, Ellison and Grace were running a little late, so I headed for the bridge myself. As I got there, I was surprised to see Rafael’s Bentley waiting in the circular drive along with the other cars. The driver’s door was open, and he was leaning and swinging on it a little as he talked to a few giggling girls.
I squinted. They were Reese’s friends.
“Hi, Sydney!” I heard Reese’s voice approaching from behind.
I jerked, glancing over to find her stopping next to me with a superior smile.
“I see you’re staring at my new boyfriend, Rafael.” She purred.
“Boyfriend?” I frowned. “I thought he just got engaged yesterday.”
Reese blinked. It was obvious I had shocked her, just as it was obvious that she had been lying about him being her boyfriend. I was a little surprised that she had even tried to deceive me. Why would a girl like her need to lie?
She stared at me for a moment and then lifting her chin, teetered on her abnormally high heels toward his car.
Rafael saw her coming and bowed to the other girls before moving to open the door for her. After seeing her settled, he clicked the door shut, and then turned my direction and paused. He looked at me for several long moments before slowly walking around the car to the driver’s side. Again, he paused for a noticeable length of time, staring in my direction and tapping his hand on the roof of the car before finally sliding in and pulling out of the circle drive.
I shook my head, wondering what his fiancée would think of him driving off with another girl. I couldn’t presume to know what kind of relationship they had, but I knew if it were me, I wouldn’t be pleased. I shrugged thoughts of Rafael away and randomly kicked stones across the bridge, pausing again to read the inspirational words: —Man’s greatness lies in his power of thought— Blaise Pascal
I paused, looking at the words a little differently than before. In my brief Rafael-might-be-reading-my-mind paranoia, I had read those articles explaining the power of mental imagery. For a moment, I felt I was on the verge of understanding some great secret and then someone honked, and the thought slipped away.
I looked over my shoulder to see both Betty and Al had arrived. Betty had come for Grace and Al for me. I had forgotten he was taking me for my driver’s permit.
“I don’t think I’ll pass,” I muttered. I had been concentrating on aliens, not traffic laws.
“You’ll do fine, kiddo,” he assured me.
I wasn’t so sure. I slumped in my seat.
“I’ve been thinking about your alien comment,” he said unexpectedly.
I sat bolt upright.
“Ever heard of Area 51?” he asked.
“Of course!” I swallowed with a tingle of anticipation. “Everyone has heard of Area 51.”
“Well, one of my best buddies was stationed in Arizona.” He nodded, obviously expecting me to be impressed.
“Arizona?” I repeated. I had always heard Area 51 was in Nevada.
“He was at Luke Air Force Base for quite a few years,” Al continued, apparently pleased with my reaction. “I’ll shoot him an email and see what he thinks about this alien theory of yours.”
I waited for him to continue, but when it became obvious that he was finished, I prodded. “So is he an expert on aliens or something?”
“Jack?” Al blinked. Apparently, I had interrupted his thoughts. “No, Jack was the senior supervisor over all sanitation operations for the entire base.”
So Jack was a senior janitor on an Air Force base in Arizona. I didn’t see how he could know anything about Area 51 in Nevada. I looked out the window, disappointed.
“It’s all about connections, Sydney,” Al stated with conviction. “The world runs on connections.”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
We didn’t talk anymore because we had arrived at the driver licensing office. Already, I regretted not studying as much as I should have. It wasn’t long before it was my turn to stand in the little booth and answer the questions on the computer.
It was harder than I thought it would be, and I was sure I had failed. I answered the last question and steeled myself for a low score. To my surprise, I got an 88%.
I had passed!
“I didn’t doubt you for a minute, kiddo.” Al tousled the top of my head as I exited the building with a driver’s permit in my hands. “You’re a smart one. Why don’t you drive home?”
“No, not yet.” I shook my head. I was a little too nervous.
He popped into the truck, but I didn’t follow him. I was rooted on the sidewalk. No one had ever called me a “smart one” before. I stood there a few moments, a little misty eyed, and then finally ran to the passenger side.
Al called Betty to share the news and told her we’d celebrate by bringing home Japanese food. It wasn’t long before we pulled up the driveway with a couple of plastic bags filled with containers of teriyaki, tempura, and pot-stickers.
It was an unexpectedly cheerful dinner. Betty invited Jerry—as my honorary family member—to the table, and we let him loose in one of the takeout boxes with a spoonful of rice.
I found myself congratulated for passing the test on the first try and was treated to a variety of humorous stories about Grace’s first driving attempts. She good-naturedly laughed as hard as the rest of us.
Al was the only one of us to eat with chopsticks. “After the time I served my country in Japan, it just don’t taste right off a fork,” he said.
“Doesn’t, dear,” I chimed softly along with Betty under my breath.
To my surprise, Al heard me. He reached over to tousle my hair again and chuckled. “Well, Betty, she’s got your back now.”
Betty smiled. “She’s my girl.”
My eyes watered unexpectedly. I had to blink rapidly and pretend something got in them. When that didn’t work, I jumped to my feet and started putting the food away. I grabbed the handful of unused chopsticks to toss them away when Betty stopped me, saying that Al enjoyed eating the leftovers with them. She stuck them in the corner of the silverware drawer.
Once the kitchen was tidy, Betty and Al settled in front of the TV and Grace disappeared into her room to text friends. I glanced through the window across the street. Both sports cars were in the driveway of Rafael’s house. Deciding now was as good a time as any, I stuffed a fork in one pocket, my cell phone in the other, and headed across the street.
It was dark and a little chilly outside. I hugged my sweatshirt close and walked up the driveway. They were obviously home. I could see lights were on inside the house.
My heart began to pound as I gingerly stepped onto the porch and tiptoed to the door. Feeling a little nervous, I pressed the doorbell.
The buzzer sounded, ringing through the house.
I waited for what seemed like a very long time and pushed the doorbell again.
When no one responded, I cupped my hands around my face and peered through a long narrow window next to the door. The light was on in the hall and the curtain was sheer, so I could see right through it and into an elegantly decorated living room. I recognized the modern black leather couch that Betty had drooled over when they had moved in. A glass coffee table stood in front of it. There was a thick, fuzzy white rug covering the hardwood floor, and several large paintings of flowers hung on the walls.
Right next to the couch, I saw a wheelchair and a neon pink lap quilt. I frowned at the wheelchair. The neon pink lap quilt looked vaguely familiar.
Suddenly, I heard a growl.
Startled, I whirled to see Ajax strutting onto the porch. His lips peeled
back to reveal sharp, shiny teeth.
“Good boy, Ajax.” My voice shook as I held out my hand. “How are you doing?”
His growl deepened.
I rolled my eyes. Why should I even attempt to be nice to this dog? He had never liked me. “Alright, Ajax.” I snorted. “I get it. I know you hate me. Well, I don’t really like you either, so we are even.”
He kept growling.
“Fine! I’ll leave!” I snapped, edging off the porch. “You can tell your two-timing owner that I dropped by to talk to him, but I guess he’s too busy with his latest girlfriend.”
“Latest girlfriend?” Rafael repeated from the door.
I must have jumped several feet.
I whirled to find him framed in the hall, light streaming out of the open doorway. He was wearing sweats and a black tank top with his hair pulled back from his face with some kind of a hairband. He would have looked almost normal if not for the green glitter streaked under his eyebrows.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Rafael frowned, appearing faintly insulted. “You must be referring to Reese. I assure you, it was a matter of business only.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled again, but added defensively, “She thought she was your girlfriend, and I only said you were two-timing because you’re engaged and still took her out. In my books, that’s very close to cheating.” I’d seen my mother devastated several times over less.
The muscle of his jaw visibly tightened. “It’s very complicated, Sydney.”
“Life usually is.” I shrugged my shoulders. I stuffed my hand in my pocket and gripped the handle of the fork.
“Would you care to come in?” He stood to the side, waving his hand in an intricate gesture of invitation.
“Only if you really want to talk and answer questions,” I countered, deciding to get directly to the point. “I don’t want to hear how Jareth is on drugs, because I don’t believe for a second that he is anymore.”
The Glass Wall (Return of the Ancients Book 1) Page 13