Channeler's Choice (33 page)

He turned his back on them and stepped back toward the gym, pausing only to glance at the two freshmen and say, “none of them are allowed in.”

“
That son of a bitch. Just give me five minutes, I’ll change his mind,” Caitlin said.

Eren shook her head and patted Caitlin’s arm, sending out more calming energy as she did so. It pushed back the pressure of Caitlin’s anger, but only a little.

“
What you’d change is his face,” Fane said with a dark laugh.

“
Maybe,” Caitlin mumbled.

“
Let’s go, guys. This isn’t worth it,” Aiden said as he turned Eren towards the exit.

“
I’m really sorry,” the Romanian girl at the ticket table said in a small voice.

When Eren’s eyes met hers she was surprised to see that the girl actually was sorry. Eren gave her a weak smile and shook her head as they walked away. In her eyes, people who tolerated prejudice were almost as bad as the ones who dished it out. The world couldn’t change if people ignored its problems. She knew it really wasn’t fair to judge this fourteen year old girl for not standing up to her teacher, but it was still hard not to.

The second they turned down the hallway, Eren felt Aiden’s simmering anger explode into a boil. It poured over her in a scalding wave that took her breath away and raised the hair on her arms. Green power flared and he punched the front door as they walked past, denting it so badly it probably wouldn’t shut right.

“
Aiden!” Eren said as she grabbed his hand. She knew it would be totally unscathed but she had to look anyway. “Don’t let them get to you.”

Her power leaped up in response to his anger, but rather than allow it to fuel his and make matters worse, she concentrated on calming him down. It worked better than a sedative. The crease in his brow disappeared and tension drained from his muscles. It stunned Eren; she hadn’t known she could affect Aiden’s energy so powerfully.

Instead of going down the stairs, he pulled her off into the grass and led them over to a copse of light-adorned trees around the left side of the school. Looking up into the lighted boughs reminded Eren of the star-filled sky they’d been gazing at earlier and helped remind her of what really mattered. Her heels sank into the lush grass, making her walk on her toes, but she didn’t care. It was kind of secluded here behind the trees, and right now she wanted to be away from prying eyes.

“
I’m really sorry, Aiden. I was afraid this might happen,” she sighed.

“
No E, don’t be. I’m not mad that we didn’t get in. I’m mad about what that jerk said. You coming to this town was the best thing that ever happened to me, but people like him will never understand that,” Aiden said as he cradled her face in both his hands.

Leaning her forehead against his, Eren let her body sink against him.

“
McCready is just afraid of change and I think that’s what he sees when he looks at us, his world changing,” she said.

Arms snaking around her, he pulled her close. Eren’s breath caught as she realized she could feel every plane of his body through the material of her dress. The realization washed away all her stress and any remaining thoughts of Mr. McCready. Her power tried to rise and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to hold it back, but then Caitlin’s voice reminded her they weren’t alone.

“
Come on, let’s dance,” Caitlin told Fane as she took her heels off and tossed them aside.

Only then did Eren realize she could hear the music out here almost as good as she had in the hallway. It didn’t really come as a big surprise considering they were right beside the gym and the top of the building was lined with windows that had been opened for the event.

Caitlin pulled Fane into the grassy clearing in the center of the grove of trees and began to sway in time to the music.

“
Come on,” Aiden said, smiling as he led Eren over to them.

Tossing her own heels aside, Eren sighed at how wonderful the soft grass felt beneath her feet. She hadn’t remembered heels being so uncomfortable, but then almost all shoes felt uncomfortable now. It wasn’t that they hurt, just that they felt unnecessary.

They danced for over an hour, never tiring and never sitting a song out. Their little makeshift dance floor amidst the trees and lights seemed much more wonderful to Eren than any gym. In a way, she was glad they hadn’t been let in. This way the night was just about the four of them and it was free from any further drama they would have had to endure inside. The music slowed again and Aiden put his arms around her. It stretched into one of those wonderful, dream-like moments she wished would never end. Then it was shattered.

“
How dare you do this, Aiden,” Bridget’s voice cut through the peaceful night like a swarm of wasps.

Grinding her teeth against a retort, Eren turned to glare at Bridget. She wasn’t alone; she’d brought her blond entourage along with all their dates. They were outnumbered—four to ten—and Eren really didn’t feel like ruining her beautiful dress. If it came to a fight she was afraid she’d take it out on Bridget’s face. Since she was starting to enjoy fighting, that thought kind of appealed to her. But then she remembered her aunt’s advice again. Next month’s tournament was the time for this, not now.

“
How dare I what? Go to the dance with the girl I love instead of the one I hate?” Aiden snapped.

Of all the things for him to say, Eren hadn’t expected such a harsh response. Did he hate Bridget because she had tried to scare Eren off, or was there more to it? Had she done something else? Something to just Aiden?

An almost theatrically loud gasp escaped Bridget and she covered her mouth with her hands. Bridget’s date put an arm around her and gave Aiden a nasty look that wilted the moment their eyes met. He quickly looked down and sort of shrank in on himself. He was one of the boys Aiden had already defeated in the tournament. The other four couples stepped up beside him and Bridget and he lifted his head with renewed courage.

Eren felt Fane and Caitlin step up beside her and Aiden in response to the threat.

“
We didn’t attend the dance. No one was disgraced, let’s just leave it at that,” Fane said.

“
Like hell no one was disgraced,” Bridget snarled at him.

Rather than flinch under the weight of her hate-filled gaze, Fane narrowed his eyes at her and shifted into a fighting stance. Bridget’s date glared back at Fane as he rubbed her shoulders before turning to Aiden with a serious look that almost covered his fear.

“
It’s one thing to ruin your own life, Aiden. But by ignoring our traditions you’ve disrespected the whole town,” he said.

Clenching his fists, Aiden took a step forward and Eren saw a glow building around his arms. She stepped up with him, letting her own power build until her hands glowed as well. She hoped showing these idiots what they were up against would deter them from taking this farther. As much as she enjoyed sparring in a controlled environment, she didn’t want to hurt anyone. Well, maybe Bridget, a little.

“
And why shouldn’t I? This town does nothing but disrespect us. Take your date and leave or this will not end well for you,” Aiden said.

To help him emphasize his point, Eren splayed her hands open wide and focused her power until a ball of blue energy glowed upon each palm. The four couples with Bridget and her date made sounds of shock and a few of them even drew back. But when Bridget stepped up and got in Aiden’s face they surged forward.

“
I can’t believe you would do this. I thought you were a nice guy,” she snapped.

“
I would do anything for Eren, so you’d better believe it. And I’ve never really cared what you thought of me,” he said.

Fury contorted Bridget’s overly made up features, and she drew her hand back to slap Aiden. The barriers holding Eren’s power back collapsed and it erupted from her to merge with Aiden’s. Their combined power worked as a magnet, drawing in Fane and Caitlin’s power as it formed an invisible shield before them that Eren could both see and sense. Bridget’s hand collided with the shield, seeming to stop in mid-air a foot from Aiden’s face. The moment she touched their power, it reacted by shoving her back so violently she went flying and crashed into two of her friends. They ended up in a heap on the ground, staring up at the four of them in horror. Those of the entourage who hadn’t been knocked over took several steps back.

Eren had a pretty good idea what had just happened, and from the look on Bridget’s face she figured she knew too. Good, that would make this easier.

“
That’s not possible. The four of you can’t be a bonded Society,” Bridget spat.

She struggled to get up without letting her slinky dress ride up too badly. When her date tried to help her she batted his hands aside.

“
We get that a lot, yet here we are,” Caitlin said.

The fallen managed to scramble to their feet and all of them drew back except for Bridget. She glared at Eren as she brushed off her gold-hued dress.

“
Leave Bridget. You don’t want to fight me without a referee,” Eren warned.

Though she tried to look brave and mad as she turned and stormed away, fear shone in Bridget’s eyes and she trembled. The burning feel of her hatred was almost enough to make Eren go after her. But she was too quick to disappear through the trees after her friends.

“
What was that we just did?” Caitlin asked in a fascinated voice.

“
With our power, you mean?” Fane asked.

She nodded and he shrugged before turning to Aiden and Eren with a questioning look. Aiden smiled down at her, waiting for her to answer.

“
We shared our power to protect each other. Only a bonded Society can do it,” Eren said.

She remembered reading about it in the book her grandfather had given them. It described it as a rare thing for a young Society to be able to do. Mixed Societies weren’t even supposed to be able to exist, let alone do such a thing.

“
Sweet. That’s why she looked so shocked. We’re even breaking the laws of nature,” Caitlin said with a huge grin.

“
Amazing!” Fane exclaimed.

Caitlin laughed as he picked her up and spun her around. Eren smiled and felt her power dissipate as she watched them. Slowly, the crackling intensity of her and Aiden’s energy calmed completely and she felt a sense of excitement take its place. He turned her toward him, sliding his arm around her as he did so.

“
We’re a Society and this town is just going to have to accept it,” he said.

There was still an edge of anger to his voice, but there was joy too. It made Eren’s smile grow. Of course the feel of his warm arm around her waist—fingers trailing down her hip—didn’t hurt either.

No one could deny they were a Society now, not after what had happened tonight. It would no doubt be the talk of the school tomorrow. But as far as the town accepting the fact, Eren was afraid that was never going to happen.

“
Fight with your head not your heart. Do not

let your instincts rule the fight.”

~from
Life In A Society

Chapter 32

The Tabasco from Eren’s scrambled eggs was still warming her tongue when her grandfather snatched the plate out from under her. Two envelopes dropped into its place. Eren looked from the envelopes to her aunt’s smiling face and wondered how the heck she’d come in without Eren hearing her. Was she really that distracted? Considering the tournament was tonight and she and Aiden were leaving for Europe in only two day’s time, distracted was probably putting it lightly.

She’d been packed for a week and had re-packed twice just in the last few days. The hotel reservations were made—two rooms at her aunt’s insistence—and the tours of three campuses had been arranged. First, they’d travel to Scotland to the Edinburgh College of Art. Eren had high hopes for Edinburgh since it had equally good art and architecture programs, though she wasn’t willing to admit that to her aunt yet. Next, they’d be visiting the renowned University of Westminster in London, practically upon Aunt Sylvia’s command. While still in London, they’d also visit Kingston University which had an outstanding architecture program.

It was going to be an incredible week and Eren could hardly wait to get the next few days out of the way. As much as she was looking forward to tonight’s tournament, it paled in comparison.

Excitement bubbled through Eren as she picked the envelopes up. She bit her bottom lip to keep her smile from looking like it was splitting her face. Her fingers shook as she looked inside.