Later that afternoon, I was lying on my bed, brooding, when I got a text from Dominic.
First Friday in December. Christmas tree lighting is tonight. Want to go?
We’d been so preoccupied with Dad’s illness that Christmas had crept up on us. Usually we put the tree up on the first day of December—as soon as Aunt Elizabeth would let us—but that had passed yesterday without comment.
The idea of throwing myself into the festivities lifted my heart. What else was I going to do? Lie here all night, thinking about how my mother never wanted me?
Yes! I replied, fingers flying over the phone’s tiny keyboard. Dad woke up last night and I want to celebrate.
Dominic arrived twenty minutes later, a huge smile on his face and his aura a swirl of pink he’d never wear on a T-shirt. “I’m so glad about your dad,” he said, kissing me hello.
“Me too!” I grinned, looping my arm through his as we walked to the car.
“Have they figured out what caused it?”
I hesitated. “No.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s useful.”
I grimaced but didn’t say anything as we slid into the car. The hospital staff had given Dad the best care they could. There was no way they could’ve identified the cause of his illness, but how could I explain that without sounding like a crazy person?
Fortunately Dominic changed the subject once we hit the road, turning talk to the festivities. The Christmas tree was between the fountains on Civic Square, in front of the theatre and library. Tonight there would be kids’ entertainment, carols and even a Santa, before the sun set at eight and the tree was lit. We didn’t mind missing the preliminaries, so we ate at Paddy’s, the pub that had offered Dominic a job—although he hadn’t had his first shift yet.
The pub crowd disoriented my newly awakened ability; an overwhelming rainbow of emotions surrounded the other patrons. Some of the colours were blurry, as though I was looking through an unfocused pair of binoculars. Was that what drunk looked like? I kept my eyes fixed on either my food or Dominic.
But when we approached the square, my stomach swooped. I wasn’t going to be able to join the crush immediately surrounding the tree. It rose twenty metres above them; unlit, the decorations blended into its green limbs. The people underneath, however, were a riot of colours. Children were predominantly violet, while the adults were every colour of the rainbow. Looking at them made my head spin, even from across the road. Gasping, I leaned into Dominic’s chest, eyes squeezed shut. He put one arm around me, switching the picnic blanket to the other.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s really crowded over there,” I mumbled into his shirt. “Can we set up on this side?”
“Uh, sure.” A few other couples had done the same, but there was still space for us on the grass under the leafy trees lining the pedestrian heart of the city. Even the trees were strung with pale blue fairy lights, giving them a magical glow, and the sound of carols carried over the intervening racket of cars and people.
“This is nice,” I said, sighing and leaning against the trunk of the tree. Dominic sat beside me, long legs resting against my own. As long as I kept my eyes down, I could almost forget my new ability.
“It is,” he murmured, wrapping one arm around my waist. His warm fingers curled against my hip. A moment later, his other hand brushed my cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I said, feeling the heat of a blush burn the back of my neck. I forced my way past embarrassment and looked up, meeting his warm brown gaze. This close, his aura—which was shifting from pink to scarlet—was background noise. Ignorable. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
We leaned into each other as though acting on a single thought, our lips meeting in a gentle kiss. Dominic’s hand stayed on my cheek, thumb stroking it even as his tongue flickered into my mouth. I forgot the hard trunk behind me, the cool grass beneath me, and lost myself in the moment—in him.
“Can I have a turn?”
A man loomed over us. Lime green and red blurred together in his aura, clashing in a way that hurt my eyes. Beneath his aura, his hands were on his hips. His eyes were bleary and his breath when he leaned over us reeked of beer.
“Go away, mate,” Dominic said, pulling me closer.
“Make me,” the drunk said.
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t want that.”
“Why? Are you a fag? You won’t mind if I spend some time with your girl then.” He grabbed for my arm, but missed.
Dominic’s aura shifted even as he leapt to his feet, to the same red and black I’d seen in Nana’s aura the night before. I gasped, scrambling to the side across crushed grass, as the drunk shoved him.
“Last warning,” Dominic growled. The black grew in his aura as his eyes narrowed.
The drunk’s aura shifted to a blurry copy of Dominic’s. Neither of them was going to back down. Fingers shaking, I grabbed the drunk’s hand and yanked out the red and black, spinning it into the sickly yellow of fear that Jack had shared with me the night before.
“Forget it,” the drunk gasped, stumbling over his feet in his haste to disappear into the throng.
Dominic glared after him, swearing under his breath.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, wriggling under his arm. “They’re about to light the tree.”
He hugged me back as the tree flared to festive life across the road. The crowd cheered.
Isla's Inheritance Page 23