Dusk (2 page)

Right now he stood within the second-highest level, which he used
as his living quarters and research station. The stone pillar in the center of
the floor was structural and technological—part of the tech bequeathed to him
and the other Sentries by the Others. The material mimicked natural stone, but
it was actually a complicated matrix of nanotechnology, quantum circuitry, and
organic filaments. He used it as a communication viewer, a research computer,
and as one of the nodes in the Stronghold quantum network that held together a
sensor array that shielded the planet from alien incursions. The top floor he
used as his bedroom.

“Which she will never see,” he told himself. He frowned, and
turned to the pillar. An indicator glowed, letting him know that Greyson wanted
to speak with him. He strode over and passed his hand along the blank surface.
The stone wavered, and then his brother’s image appeared, almost as if he were
standing in Solomon’s tower. He knew that for Greyson it looked as though he
were standing in the heart of his stone house in the woods.

He touched the corner of his eye with his finger and inclined his
head. “Greyson.”

“Always dutiful and all-seeing,” Greyson teased, smiling as he
returned the gesture. The Sentries used it to show their dedication to duty.

Solomon frowned. “There is no need to mock our customs.”

Greyson lifted a shoulder. “I’m not mocking them. I’m mocking
you
.”

From somewhere behind Greyson, a light female voice called out. “Greyson,
stop picking on your brother. It’s not nice.”

Solomon smiled, despite his irritation. “I see Eva keeps you on
your toes.”

Greyson scowled, even as his eyes twinkled. “Women are so tedious.”

“Speak for yourself,” Eva laughed.

Greyson shook his head. “I heard you called Lucy.”

Solomon nodded. “I wished to assure myself of her health.”

Greyson cocked his head. “I’ve told you numerous times that she is
fine. Eva sees her almost every week, as do I.”

Solomon firmly suppressed the urge to fidget. “Even so, I wished
to check for myself.” He didn’t like the thought of Greyson seeing Lucy every
week. It unsettled him. He didn’t want his brother near her.
That is
irrational,
he told himself firmly.

His brother looked at him for a long moment. “You are welcome to
come visit. It would be nice to see you again after so long.”

“Tell him I’m cooking dinner on Friday and he’d better be there. I’m
making steak,” Eva called out again.

Greyson smiled wryly. “She’s cooking dinner on Friday. You’d
better come, or God knows what she’ll do to me.”

“I heard that!” Eva yelled.

Solomon smiled faintly as he looked away from the viewer to the
windows. White enshrouded his tower like a tomb. Maybe some fresh air and a
clear view would help resolve this unnatural fascination with a mortal woman. “Very
well. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Excellent. Five o’clock on Friday,” Greyson said. “Until then.”
He touched the side of his face and then the viewer went dark.

Solomon stared at the stone for a moment, then headed to the
spiral stairs that led to the upper floor. He climbed them quickly and walked
to the dresser nestled against the pillar in the center of the room, set
opposite the bed. For a moment, he just stood there, hand hovering over the small
drawer tucked between two larger ones, but then he steeled himself and slid it
out. He slowly extracted an old wooden box and eased it open. Nestled inside,
on frayed velvet, sat a small silver ring. The flat top held an abstract design
carved into its face. It was too small to fit on his fingers, but he drew it
out anyway, clenching his fist around it.

If you do this, there is no going back,
he thought, but then he recalled
Lucy’s voice on the phone. The fear she carried around with her had struck him
to the bone. Slowly, he unclenched his fist and slid the ring into his pocket.

It’s already too late.

Chapter Two

“How was your day, sweetheart?” Lucy’s father asked. He smiled at
her as she passed where he sat at the kitchen table.

She sighed, dropping her purse on the bench by the window. “Exhausting.
One of the patients had a seizure in the office. And then, after the EMTs came,
we ran late for the rest of the afternoon.” She shook her head. “I don’t know
what possessed me to take a job as an assistant manager at a doctor’s practice.”

Her mother laughed. “How about because it’s one of the only places
that is hiring in this area? And your degree is in business management?”

Lucy made a face. “This is not exactly what I imagined myself
doing after graduation, Mom.”

“It’s an entry level position. Everyone starts at the bottom, but
you won’t stay there for long.” Her mother shrugged. “And at least you don’t
have to pay rent. I like having you back home, especially since you stayed in
New York through the summers when you were in college. It’s nice seeing you
everyday.”

“You’ll have to thank Eva for that. I wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t
talked me into it. She said something about the virtues of small town life, but
I think she was drunk at the time.” Lucy smiled, dropping into the seat next to
her dad.

He chuckled. “Eva doesn’t drink. Ever.”

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. “I was joking. What’s for dinner?” she
asked, pointing to the empty plates at the table. Two of them were dirty.

“Dinner is pizza. Which your father was kind enough to bring home,”
her mom answered, taking a plate out of the oven. “I kept a couple slices hot
for you.”

“Oh, wow. Okay, you’re officially my hero,” Lucy said, picking up
the pizza. “God, that tastes good,” she mumbled.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” her dad said.

Lucy gave him the look of death, but he just laughed.

“Someday your face is going to freeze like that,” her mom told
her, sitting down next to her.

“Oh my God, you’re tag-teaming me,” Lucy complained. She sipped
her drink and shook her head at her parents. “I may have to move back to New
York.”

Her father held up his hands. “Okay, okay, no more teasing.” He
was smiling as he spoke, so Lucy knew he wasn’t really angry. “Were you able to
pick up my new eyeglasses, Alice?” he asked her mother, clearly trying to
change the subject.

“Yes, Hank,” her mother replied, reaching into her purse for a
package. “I already told you I had them, when you first came home. Here. They
said you need to come in so they can adjust them for you.”

Lucy’s dad sighed, sliding his new glasses out of their case. “I
don’t have time for that.” He tried them on, checking the fit.

Lucy concentrated on her food as her parents kept the conversation
going, only occasionally contributing a comment now and then. She
was
tired. Tired from work, and tired from stressing over the phone call from
Sentry Dusk.
No, he said to call him Solomon,
she reminded herself.

“Are you okay, Lucy?” her mom asked, gathering the empty plates.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Lucy said, standing up and taking
the dishes from her, hoping to distract her from her question. She really didn’t
want to get into a discussion about her weird phone call.

Her dad cocked his head. “Something happened.”

Lucy froze with her hand half in, half out of the dishwasher. “What
makes you say that?”

He shrugged. “You have that look. I know that look.”

Lucy stacked the plates in the washer and turned to him. “What
look? I don’t have a look.”

Her mother laughed. “You do. It’s the
I-stole-a-cookie-and-feel-guilty look.”

“Oh, come on. That was just the one time,” Lucy complained,
sitting down again. “I definitely need to find my own apartment,” she muttered.

“You only stole the cookie once, but the look lives on,” her
father stated. “So, what’s happened?”

Lucy pursed her lips, wondering what to tell them. “You remember
how Eva met Greyson? When I got hurt early this summer?”

Her dad sat up, his face losing its smile. “Are you okay? Those
things didn’t come back, did they?” He glanced at her mother, then turned back
to Lucy. “I didn’t see anything on the news about it. The Sentries would have
told us, wouldn’t they?”

“No, nothing like that. I’m fine,” Lucy reassured him. She showed
him her arm. “See? Not hurt.”

“Then what’s bothering you?” he asked, not looking entirely
convinced.

Lucy glanced away from his clear brown eyes, wondering if hers
seemed that penetrating when she talked with people. She’d inherited both the
color and his direct way of looking at someone when she wanted to know
something.

“You can tell us anything, you know that,” her mom offered,
leaning into her father.

Lucy had watched them hold each other up so many times through her
childhood that their relationship seemed both completely natural, and totally
impossible for anyone else to replicate.
It would be cool to meet someone I
could depend on like that,
she mused.

“Lucy?” her dad prodded.

“I got a call. From Solomon Dusk.” She twisted her fingers
together. “Today.”

Her mom frowned. “What did he want? You haven’t heard from him
since he dropped you off here, after the attack, right?”

“Exactly. This is the first I’ve heard from him since.” Lucy
lifted a shoulder. “He said he just wanted to see if I was okay. I don’t know
why he would call me.”

Her father’s eyebrows went up. “When a man calls a woman just to
see if she’s okay… Well. We all know what that’s about,” he declared.

Lucy made a face. “No. No way is a Sentry going to call me up for
that, Dad. Sentries don’t date. Like, at all.”

He smiled. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Lucy. You didn’t see
the look on his face when he brought you to us.”

“And your best friend managed to hook one,” her mother reminded
her. “Greyson is a nice man.”

Lucy stared at her parents. Greyson? Nice? “Um, no. That’s
impossible. Solomon did
not
ask me out, oh my God.”

“You’re calling him by his first name?” Her mom rubbed her nose
suggestively.

Lucy’s face went hot. “He asked me to.”

“He likes you,” her dad said. “There are worse men in the world,
by far. I think you should call him back. It wouldn’t hurt to hook up with him.”

Lucy almost choked, but then her phone rang, saving her from the
horror of her dad talking about her dating life.
With a Sentry, dear God.
She pulled out her cell and glanced at the display. “It’s Eva. I gotta get
this,” she mumbled to her parents. She stood up, almost knocking the kitchen
chair over, then fled for her bedroom. She swore she could hear her parents
laughing behind her.

“Holy crap, you saved me,” she said, holding the device to her
ear. “My dad just said the words ‘
hook
up’
to me. This is all your fault, Eva. You’re the one who talked me
into moving back here!”

“Your parents are not my fault, Lucy,” Eva said, her voice sounding
tinny through the phone. “And also, you’re welcome. That’s what besties are
for.”

Lucy rubbed the bridge of her nose. “They’re making me crazy. I
need to get out of here. They’re actually trying to give me dating advice.”

“Great! You can come to dinner Friday night. I’m making steak,”
Eva chirped, way too cheerful, in Lucy’s opinion.

“Um, okay? That’s random. It’s only Tuesday.” Lucy felt the
beginnings of a headache creep up her neck. “And by get out of here, I meant I
need to move out of my parents’ house. This is torture.”

“You have the nicest parents on Earth, Lucy,” Eva said, sounding
more serious. “Count your blessings.”

Lucy sighed. She hadn’t meant to pluck her friend’s neuroses. “I
know, I know. I didn’t mean it that way, Eva. You know that. I know your
childhood sucked.” Eva’s dad had killed himself when she was in high school and
her mom had gone through a slew of loser boyfriends until she’d married the
last one.

And John Parkinson was the worst of the bunch,
Lucy reminded herself. He’d hacked
into the Sentries’ Stronghold tech base several months ago and was directly
responsible for luring the alien Spiders to Earth. Lucy’s childhood, in
comparison, was idyllic.

“I know, I’m sorry too. I guess I’m still kind of sensitive about
it,” Eva said.

“Life sucks…” Lucy said, trailing off.

“…and then you die,” Eva finished, laughing.

Lucy grinned. “Yeah, except for you, now, right? I mean, you’re
going to be around for a long time.” The moment the words left her mouth, she
knew she’d screwed up. “Oh hell, Eva, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I
was joking,” she rushed to say, mortified with herself. “I don’t know what’s
wrong with me today.”

“No, don’t apologize.” Eva sounded sad. “You’re right, of course.
And it’s selfish, since I’ll probably get to see amazing things in my lifetime,
but I’m really hung up on the fact that I’m going to outlive you. You’re like
the sister I never had.”