Dance of Fire (5 page)

‘We couldn't speak properly in front of your mother,' Enzo said, ‘and most of my communication has been with Justin. So I wanted to just . . . chat.'

‘Chat,' Vanessa repeated softly. ‘All right.'

Enzo tightened his lips. ‘So you know why you're here, yes?'

That was a loaded question if she'd ever heard one. ‘At the competition, you mean, or –'

‘The demon you helped raise is on the loose,' Enzo said. ‘That much you know.'

The memory of the nightmare from a few weeks earlier filled her: her angry helplessness as the demon possessed her. How, after Vanessa drove the spirit out, it devoured Hilda whole, burning her away into nothingness. Justin's body lying in a crooked heap. TJ, Blaine and Steffie, whimpering, shaking, speechless in horror. All while the dark pool of blood spread from under Josef's corpse, wider and wider until it seemed to swallow all the light in the room.

And then Vanessa remembered something even worse: her dream on the plane. ‘But we left it behind in New York, right?'

Enzo's lips tightened into a frown. ‘We believe it is now in London.'

Her stomach lurched. ‘Did
I
bring it here?'

‘Not exactly, though it probably followed you.' Enzo spoke softly but with great intensity. ‘Understand, Vanessa, you are a target for the demon – a former vessel who still lives. No one before has played host to a demon and survived the experience. At the moment it's just a free-floating malevolent spirit, looking for a home in our world. You're the closest thing it has to a gateway.'

She leaned against the corridor wall, her knees weak. If it was here, waiting to use her as a portal, was she safe? Was anyone she cared for safe? ‘I need to lead it away,' she said. ‘My mom's here, Justin's here.'
My sister
, she thought.

Enzo shook his head. ‘You are safer here than you would be anywhere else. The Lyric Elite will protect you, Vanessa. In fact, your deep connection to the demon may turn out to be to your advantage.'

‘How?' Vanessa asked.

Enzo paused, glancing down the corridor to make sure they were still alone. ‘The Royal Court Ballet has a dark faction,' he said. ‘They are like Josef but worse, and I have reason to believe that they are working to summon a demon and harness its power for themselves. I have been trying to uncover the identities of these sinister members of the Royal Court for years, to no avail. But now . . .' He trailed off.

‘Now what?'

‘Now we have you,' Enzo said. ‘A secret weapon.'

‘I'm not a weapon,' Vanessa said. ‘I'm a person.'

‘You misunderstand me,' Enzo said. ‘If Josef told this dark group about you, they will do their utmost to have you win the Royal Court competition. Your ties to the demon will be . . .
very
attractive to them.'

‘Is that why you asked me to London?' Vanessa asked. ‘So you can use me as bait with this dark faction and uncover its members?'

‘I would never do anything to compromise your safety, Vanessa. Or Justin's. But by the same token, you must help us
protect you. Be extremely wary. If you feel any . . . contact by the demon, let me know immediately.'

‘Why?' She felt sick at the realisation that her dream hadn't been a dream at all. ‘How can you possibly help?'

He gave her a grim look. ‘There's a book the Lyric Elite has heard rumours of called the
Ars Demonica
. It contains rituals and instructions that will help us control the demon.'

‘A book? You're going to drive a demon away with a book?'

‘It's not just any book, Vanessa, as you'll see soon enough. But for now, let's keep any discussion of the demon between the two of us.' He handed her a slip of paper with a room number on it. ‘There is more to discuss, much more, but I'm saving some of it for our first practice. Until then, get some rest. You're going to need it.'

Enzo turned and walked down the hallway. She was about to call out to him, to tell him about her dream, when her phone buzzed.

She slipped it out of her back pocket. It was a text from Justin.
Meet me in the stairwell, 5th floor. 5 minutes.

She thought about dropping off her toiletry bag in her room, but she didn't feel up to seeing Svetya again. Vanessa scanned the hallway and located the stairwell door. Then she was off.

Justin was waiting for her at the top of the stairs, on the landing. He said something to her, but she barely registered his words. She couldn't shake her conversation with Enzo.
What had she got herself into?
she wondered, dread swelling within her.

‘Vanessa?' Justin said, placing one hand on her shoulder.

‘Sorry,' she said, coming back to the present.

‘So . . . we're finally alone.' He grinned. ‘Sit.' He looked as if he had just showered; his hair was wet and matted to the sides of his head. He was wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of green mesh shorts. His feet were bare.

He dropped down on the landing and sat cross-legged, patting the space directly next to him. Vanessa sat down too and leaned against the white brick wall. The sight of him calmed her, made her feel safe. He reminded her of home, she realised.

‘How's your roommate?' Justin asked, his voice echoing in the quiet stairwell.

‘Terrible. Her name is Svetya.'

‘She sounds Russian.'

‘Maybe originally,' Vanessa said. ‘But I think Russia expelled her or something.'

Justin leaned back against the wall beside her, his smooth arms flexing beneath the cotton of his shirt as he ran a hand through his hair. Realising she was staring, Vanessa quickly looked away.

‘I'm rooming with this guy named Geo,' Justin said, a glimmer in his eye. ‘He's pretty nice, I guess; we didn't talk much.'

‘He goes to the same school as Svetya.'

‘Oh?' Justin said. ‘And you know that how?'

‘Enzo came to see me. Did you know he's our coach? And they're training with us – Geo and Svetya?'

‘I knew that Geo was,' Justin said. ‘Enzo found me earlier and told me. But I didn't know he had a friend.'

‘Well, they might train together,' Vanessa said, ‘but I doubt she and Geo are friends.'

Justin inched closer, pressing his leg against hers. ‘Why's that?'

Vanessa's cheeks flushed with warmth. ‘Svetya isn't the kind of girl who has many friends.'

‘Fair enough.' Justin shook his head lightly, and droplets of water fell on Vanessa's shoulder.

‘Hey! Watch it,' she said. ‘You're like a dog after a bath.'

‘A dog, eh?' Justin raised an eyebrow.

‘You know what I mean,' Vanessa said.

‘Sure.'

She could feel the warmth coming off his skin as, silently, he placed his hand on top of hers, interlacing their fingers. He cupped the other hand behind her neck, and Vanessa felt herself moving towards him, her lips closer to his. All she could think about was their first kiss, and now they were about to have their second . . .

A vision burst into her mind like fireworks. Her dream, dancing with Justin, the demon taking over his eyes, his mouth, his body.
Your kiss will bring me home again, my love
, it had said. She tried to tell herself that it was just a nightmare. The demon had never entered Justin; it had never been interested in him. But what if there was some part of the demon still lurking within
her
, buried deep beneath her skin even after she'd forced it out? Sometimes she imagined she could still feel its tickle of heat within her. She had tried to ignore it, and yet she wasn't completely convinced. In her dream, the demon had devoured
Justin. It seemed so strange, such a premonition, that it frightened her. What if the demon
had
left a shard of itself inside her? And what if kissing Justin would somehow put him – and her – in danger?

She yanked herself away as if she'd just touched a hot coal.

‘What's wrong?' Justin's eyes were wide, confused. He inched closer, but Vanessa pulled back. She looked around at the floor, the stairs, the door – anywhere except at him.

‘Please,' she said, ‘don't.'

‘Don't what?' Justin asked. ‘Touch you?'

Vanessa nodded.

‘Why? What did I do wrong . . . ? I thought –'

‘It's not you,' Vanessa said. ‘It's me.'

Justin laughed. ‘What, are we filming a movie for MTV or something? Even you can come up with a better line than that.' He paused, and she could tell he was trying to figure out her motives. ‘Do you . . . not like me?'

Vanessa shook her head. ‘Justin, it has nothing to do –'

‘Because I thought you liked me. I mean, I thought we liked each other –' he began to say, before cutting himself off. ‘Oh,' he said, looking at Vanessa as though seeing something in her that he hadn't before. ‘I understand now. You're still stuck on Zep.'

She trembled, remembering Zep's nightmarish face melting into Justin's, her heart racing to the beat of his name. ‘No,' Vanessa said. ‘That's not it at all. Just the thought of him frightens me. I promise you, it has nothing to do with him.'

‘Then what is it?' Justin said, his voice cracking. ‘I'm not good enough for you?'

‘Of course you are,' Vanessa said. ‘You're a great guy. It's just more complicated than that.'

Justin frowned. ‘How?'

She told him about her dream, about the demon's promise. ‘If I kiss you, whatever part of it is still in me . . . it could hurt you. And I can't be responsible for that.'

There was a long pause as she watched him take in her words.

And then he started to laugh.

‘Seriously?'

‘This isn't funny,' Vanessa said. ‘I'm being honest with you.'

‘I know,' Justin said. He took a deep breath and said, more calmly, ‘but Vanessa . . . that's crazy talk.'

‘After everything we've been through, now you're going to tell me that I'm crazy?' She stood up, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. ‘You're an ass, Justin Cooke.'

She turned, about to press open the door, when Justin's warm arms wrapped themselves around her. ‘I'm sorry,' he whispered. ‘You're not crazy.'

Vanessa could feel the muscles of his chest against her back, the sweet warmth of his breath on her neck. ‘Thanks,' she said. ‘And you're not . . . an ass.'

He chuckled softly. ‘The demon is not going to hurt you. Not while I'm around.'

She let out a long sigh. ‘But it's so close –'

‘We don't know where the demon is, Vanessa.' Justin gave her a gentle squeeze. ‘And mark my words – at the first sign
that it's here, in London, well . . . I'll make up some crazy excuse to your mom and we'll hop on the first plane back to New York.'

Vanessa froze. There was no way she could leave London – the Lyric Elite were here, and they were the only ones who could help her find her sister.

‘I don't want to leave London,' she said softly.

‘I'll do whatever is necessary to protect you,' Justin murmured, softly kissing her neck.

‘Justin!' she said, spinning around in his arms. She wanted to tell him that the demon
was
in London, Enzo had said so, but she couldn't. She wanted desperately to kiss him, but she couldn't do that either. Not now. Not until the demon was destroyed.

‘The demon possessed me, and I survived,' Vanessa said stiffly, breaking away from Justin's arms. ‘There is some sort of . . . link between us. I can feel it. And I can't risk putting anyone I care about in danger.'

‘So what are you saying?' Justin asked.

She stared into the clear blue eyes of this boy who clearly liked her. And who – if she was going to be honest – she liked back. ‘I'm saying . . . we need to be just friends for now. OK?'

‘That's ridiculous,' Justin said. ‘I don't understand –'

‘Please,' Vanessa said. ‘If you care about me at all, you won't question me on this.'

Justin still looked as if he didn't quite believe her, and it made Vanessa sick that she was hurting him this way. ‘OK?' she whispered.

Justin looked away. ‘I guess.'

The silence between them was deafening. Vanessa pushed the bar on the door leading back into the hall. ‘I'll see you at rehearsal.'

He nodded. ‘Later.'

And with that, Vanessa climbed down the stairs, along the hallway to her room. Alone.

Back inside room 321, Svetya was nowhere to be found. Which was probably a good thing, because Vanessa still hadn't unpacked, and her chat with Justin had unnerved her. She pressed her back against the closed door. She had wanted Justin to kiss her, more than anything, but she had to be careful. She couldn't let anyone else be hurt because of her, especially not Justin. She was trying to protect him . . . even though, right now, it didn't feel that way.

One of Svetya's shoes was lying in the middle of the floor. Frustrated, Vanessa kicked it and it hit the wall with a satisfying thud. She sighed, then picked up the shoe and set it back where it was. Piece by piece, the demon was taking her life away from her.

With new resolve, she set her toiletry bag on her bed and unzipped her suitcase. There, staring back at her, should have been Margaret's ballet shoes.

Only they were gone.

Two And A Half Years Earlier

From the Diary of Margaret Adler

March 2

It was just after four in the morning when I woke up, startled.

The engines had fallen quiet. After six days of that steady vibration in my bones, its sudden absence was like the loudest alarm clock.