Flicker (35 page)

Filo crossed his arms over his chest. “We’ll see.”

Jason shrugged and turned away, the kids trailing after him. “I
sincerely
hope,” he told them quietly, “that you learned a little something about the dangers
of wandering around in the park on Halloween
.
…
”
 

* * *

Cast in a cold, ethereal light by the moon, the Bridgestone City cemetery looked like something out of a movie. A tall iron fence surrounded the cemetery; beyond the fence, concrete walkways spiraled across the dry grass. Polished tombstones and statues gleamed
, their edges looking too sharp, almost menacing.
Everything was terribly clear through Lee’s new eyes.

Lee jumped at the sound of rattling chains, spinning around in time to see Nasser shaking the chains that held the front gate shut
experimentally. “It’s locked
.”

“I guess we’ll have to move on, then,” Lee said, somewhat hopefully.

“It’s no problem. We just have to be a little daring.”

Nasser to
ok the padlock in his hand. For a second, the metal shone faintly; then the
lock popped open, and the chains slid to the ground like metal sn
akes. He pulled
the
just
wide enough
to slip through. “Ladies first.”

“Great
,” Lee sighed,
side-
stepping through. “Just when I thought I’d gotten out of wandering through the creepy graveyard, you find another way.”

Smiling as he followed her through, he as
sured her, “Don’t worry
. I’m a professional.” He seemed to find her nervousness amusing.

“And just so you know,” she grumbled, “this absolutely does not count as our date.”

He burs
t out laughing. “That’s too bad.
N
ow I’l
l have to make other plans.
How do you feel about aba
ndoned insane asylums
?”

She tried to smile, but she was still tense.
Nasser started up the n
earest pathway and Lee fell in
step
beside him, flinching at
each
shadow.
“What are we
looking for, again?”
she asked.

“Redcaps. They’re a
kind of goblin. They
live off blood—around here, that
usually
means
stray animals, road kill
,
squirrels
,
birds.
That kind of thing.
But when they can’t find enough
of that
…” He shrugged uncomfortably. “They
seek
out…
other

kinds of
food.”

“
In the cemetery?” She gave him a horrified look. “
Don’t they know that nobody gets buried with blood in them anymore?”

“Apparently not. They go in the middle of the night and dig up coffins
, even though it’s dangerous for them. Redcaps are highly allergic to religious artifac
ts.
They know to keep away from any graves with crosses or Stars of David or anything like that, but we can still use that stuff against them. Now—”

A dark shape dar
ted across the path before
them. Lee shrieked and
grabbed Nasser’s hand. Her vision sharpened
so painfully that she recoiled in shock, stumbled, and tripped.
Her head cracked against the pavement as she fell backward
.
She lay stunned, only
able
to focus on the too-bright stars above her and the sound of her own pulse beating in her ears.

* * *

When Lee’s head cleared and she sat up, Nasser was kneeling in front of her, his expression
grim
. She remembered the last time he’d looked at her that way: days ago, when she’d woken
up
in Filo’s bed and he’d handed her a glass of salt water.

“What
was
t
hat?” s
he asked, standing. He
reached out to help her, then drew back
like her touch might burn him
—or maybe vice versa.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?
”

“I think so
…
”

“I’m so sorry.
It was an accident.
I should have warned you.”

“Warned me about
what?”

“If you touch a Sighted person with your bare skin, you get the same Sight as the othe
r person. My Sight is much stronger
than what you got from you
r necklace. It
…
surprise
d you
.”

“Don’t worry about it
.”
Lee rubbed th
e back of her head
: s
ore, but not bleeding. “So let me
get this straight.
If I want to hold hands with you, I’ll have to get used to Seeing like that?”

“Pretty much
,”
he replied
. Then her words registered and
he quirked an
eyebrow.

Lee just smiled
calmly
. “What was that thing that ran across the path?”

“Just a rabbit with a pixie on its back.”

“Good to know.” She paused. “What were we doing, again?”

“We were going to look for redcaps.”

“Are we still doing that?”

“As long as you feel up to it.”

“All right
then
.”
Lee took
his hand. She was rewarded with two things: his expression, which was so surprised that she nearly laughed; and clear, perfect vision.
She winced
at the brightness, but it
didn’t s
hock her so deeply this time. “Lead the way.”

* * *

“Your face is cut,” Alice noted. All the anger seemed to have gone out of her, replaced by the same calm tenderness that he remembered from their childhood, whenever he’d been hurt or sick or just upset. “What happened?”

Filo shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Come on,” Alice insisted. She hesitated, then reached out to touch his arm. “
You’re all wound up.
Don’t tell me it’s Samhain making you nervous. What’s going on?”

He
pulled away from her. “
Morgan
gave me an order not to go on rounds wit
h Nasser and Jason. But I went
anyway.” He sighed. “There’s something wrong with me. I keep screwing things up, doing stupid things.”

“Filo,” Alice said, very patiently. “You’re a sixteen-year-old boy. You’re
supposed
to do stupid things.”

He scowled. “Don’t joke.”

“I’m not joking. Real people are allowed to do dumb t
hings sometimes, you know. Real
people get to make mistakes.”

“But—” Filo began, unsure if he could voice the fear that
plagued him
:
But, Alice, we’re not real people.
He stopped,
however, when Alice
grabbed his right wrist. She pushed up his sleeve, revealing the carved wooden bracelet he’d worn every day since he was thirteen.

“I didn’t think you still had this,” she
murmured
, her voice soft and strange.

“You gave it to me
,” he said.
“
Of course I do.”

Her expression turned p
inched. She traced
her fingers lightly over the runes she’d
so carefully
etched into the wood
, all those years ago
. Luck.
Speed.
Strength.
Direction and wisdom
entwined, so he’d
always know where he was going. Wisdom together with
heart,
so he’d always find his way home.

“Alice!”
called a clear, piping voice.

They both turned. Alice shrank a bit as Filo’s eyes fell on the pair striding toward them.

One was a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in a crisp shirt, vest and pants. He hadn’t bothered to mask his pointed ears or curved horns with glam
our. Anyone he met
would simply think he was wearing a costume. At his side was a dark-haired elf with almond-shaped eyes. She wore a green tank top and brown pants. A pair of sandals dangled from her hand.

“Conall,” Filo said, bending slightly at the waist: respectful
, but not submissive. H
e nodded toward the elf. “Tipper.”

“Filo Shine,” Conall said, dipping his head. “How rare
to see you out
on a holiday. It’s good to see you taking a rest.”

“
Oh,
Alice,” Tipper squeaked, seizing Alice’s hands. “
Tell me.
How did you like the
Rade
?”

“I didn’t see it. I was a bit
…
busy.”

“On Samhain? Surely not.” Tipper looked scandalized. “When you left early, I thought you were goi
ng out to find a good spot to view the Rade
.”

“I was heading out for rounds,” Alice shrugged. “I thought you knew.”

“We don’t do that at Sandpiper, Alice,”
Conall
reminded her
. “We leave that
to the larger shops.”

“Old habits die hard
, I guess
.”

Conall smiled. “You seem occupied j
ust now. Perhaps we’
ve chosen a poor time to chat,” he said, looking at Filo out of the corner of his eye. “
We can tal
k more when you return tonight.
Enjoy the festivities.”

In a moment, the pair disappeared around a bend in the path.

“You’re working at Sandpiper?” Filo growled, the moment
Conall and Tipper
were out of earshot.
“You should have told me.”

“It’s none of your business where I work.”

“
Come on.
You owe me that much, Alice.
”

“I owe you?” Alice repeated, incredulous. “
I
owe
yo
u?
”

Filo groaned. “You’re so ungrateful.”

“I’m not generally grateful for pity,” Alice retorted.

“It’s not pity.”

“It
is
. It became pity when you s
tarted handing me money like
I was
a
some kind of
beggar.”

“Money that you accept,” he
snapped
.
“
You’re
just
too stubborn to admit you need help.”

“No, Filo!”
Without warning, Alice shoved him.
He staggered backward, caught off guard.
“I don’t need help! I don’t need
yo
u!
”

The edge in her voice sliced him wide open. He felt cold and exposed.
He looked away.

“This would be so much easier,” Alice muttered, “if
you
would just stop needing
me
. Then maybe I could stay away from you.”

“I don’t—”

“
Every time I turn around, there you are. You’re
killing
me, Filo.” She broke off. “Look. Nasser and Jason and me
.
…
We made our choices, just like you made yours, and we’re living with them now. We respect each other’s decisions. But you won’t.”

“Alice
, if you would just come back
—”

“No
.” Alice swallowed, and he was acutely aware of how small she was, how breakable, though she
’d
always seemed so much
stronger
than any of them. “I’ve kn
own you my whole life, Filo. I care about you.
I worry. But no matter how much I worry, no matter how much I care, I can’t come back. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. It’ll never be the way it was.”

Without another word, Alice turned and hurried away. He watched her for a moment, th
en willed himself to turn
. There was nothing for him here.