Hades (8 page)

wondered? Was I going completely crazy or was this

bizarre party to blame?

I jumped when the screen door slammed. Mol y

appeared on the porch.

“Beth, there you are!” She seemed relieved to see me

and leapt down the steps. “Way to freak me out! I didn’t

know where you’d gone.” Her gaze swept disdainful y over

Ryan and his cohort. “What are you doing with
them
?”

“Ryan was just helping me,” I mumbled.

“I’m a helpful person,” Ryan declared indignantly.

Mol y caught sight of the hand-rol ed cigarette in his hand.

“Are you high?” she demanded as she thumped his

shoulder.

“Not high,” Ryan clarified. “I believe the term is
greened

out
.”

“You loser!” Mol y erupted. “You’re supposed to be

driving me home. No way am I spending the night in this

creepy dump.”

“Quit your whining, I drive better high,” Ryan said.

“Sharpens my senses. By the way, I think I need a bucket …

.”

“If you’re gonna puke, don’t do it near me,” Mol y

snapped.

“I think we should cal it a night,” I said to her. “Wil you

help me find Xavier?” My suggestion was met with a swel

of protest from Ryan and his friends.

“Sure,” said Mol y, rol ing her eyes at them. “I doubt

tonight could get any weirder.”

We had just headed back toward the house in search of

Xavier when the sound of a motorcycle tearing through the

grass caused us to turn around. There was something

urgent about the way it screamed to a halt in front of us,

spraying gravel through the air. Mol y shielded her eyes

against the glow of the headlights. The rider slid off in one

easy movement but left the engine running. He was

dressed casual y in a worn aviator-style leather jacket and

backward basebal cap. I recognized the tal , wel -built boy

immediately as Wesley Cowan. Xavier and I passed his

house every Friday afternoon on our way home from

school. Wes would inevitably be crouched in his driveway

polishing his dad’s old Merc in preparation for a weekend

of partying. Wes played on Xavier’s polo team and I knew

he numbered among his closest friends. Like Xavier, Wes

was one of the hardest boys to rattle. There was very little

that succeeded in shaking his air of confidence. It was

surprising to see him now with his shirt muddy and his face

creased with worry.

Instinctively Mol y reached out to grab his arm.

“Wes, what’s wrong?”

His chest heaved as he struggled to get the words out.

“There’s been an accident at the lake,” he gasped.

“Someone cal 911!”

Ryan and his friends sobered in an instant, col ectively

withdrawing cel phones from their pockets.

“No reception,” Ryan announced after a few minutes of

trying. He shook his cel in frustration and cursed under his

breath. “We must be out of range.”

“What happened?” Mol y asked.

Before he spoke, Wesley threw me a strange look; it was

almost imploring, like he was seeking my forgiveness.

“We dared him to dive-bomb from a tree but there were

rocks in the water. He hit his head. He won’t wake up.”

As he spoke, his gaze never left my face. Why was he

singling me out like this? I’d remained silent, but now a cold

panic seized me, wrapping around me like icy fingers. It

wasn’t Xavier. It couldn’t be Xavier. Xavier was the

responsible one who had gone down there to keep an eye

on the others. Xavier was probably down there right now,

using his first-aid training until help arrived. But I knew my

heart wasn’t going to stop pounding until I knew for certain.

Someone else asked the question I couldn’t bring myself to

utter.

“Who’s hurt?”

Wesley’s eyes looked guilt ridden and he hesitated a

fraction too long, so I knew the answer before he spoke the

name out loud.

“Woods.” It came out as a bland statement of fact, devoid

of emotion, which didn’t strike me as odd until later when I

replayed the scene in my head. But in that moment, al I

could feel were my legs giving way beneath me. My worst

fear—much greater than anything happening to me—was

that any harm should come to Xavier, and now it had just

come true. For a second it was too much to take in and I

sagged helplessly against Ryan, who tried to hold me up,

despite his own lack of balance. So this was what Xavier

and I got as reward for spending time apart. I couldn’t

believe fate could be so cruel. The one night our paths

diverged he ended up unconscious. Wes put his head in

his hands and groaned.

“Man, we are so screwed.”

“Was he drunk?” Ryan asked.

“Course he was,” Wes snapped. “We al were.”

In al the time we’d been together I’d never known Xavier

to have more than a couple of beers. I’d never seen him

touch hard liquor; he thought it was irresponsible. I couldn’t

reconcile the image of him drunk and reckless in my head.

It didn’t add up.

“No,” I said numbly. “Xavier doesn’t drink.”

“Yeah? Wel , there’s a first time for everything.”

“Shut up and cal an ambulance!” Mol y screeched. Then I

felt her arm around my shoulder and her auburn curls

brushed my cheek as she leaned her head against mine.

“It’s okay, Bethie, he’l be okay,” she said.

Wesley watched us. His panic seemed to have

transformed into a perverse delight in my distress. Others

had gathered now and everyone had an opinion to voice on

the best course of action. Their voices combined to create

a meaningless babble.

“How bad is it? Should we try getting him to a doctor?”

“We’re al screwed if we cal 911.”

“Oh, great idea,” someone retorted sarcastical y. “Let’s

just wait and see if he comes to by himself.”

“How bad is it, Wes?”

“I’m not too sure.” Wesley looked defeated. “He cut his

head. There was a fair bit of blood … .”

“Crap. We gotta get help.”

The image of Xavier lying on the ground bleeding

spurred me to action.

“I have to find him!” I was already stumbling toward

Wesley. “Someone show me the way to the lake!” Mol y

was suddenly by my side, her hands gripping my shoulders

both restraining and comforting.

“Calm down, Beth” she said. “Can somebody drive her?”

“Don’t be stupid, Mol y, the lake’s in the woods,” Ben

said. “You can’t get there by car. Someone drive into town

and cal a friggin’ ambulance.”

I couldn’t waste another second listening to their facile

deliberations when Xavier was hurt and my healing powers

could help him.

“I’m going,” I announced, breaking into a run.

“Wait! I can take you.” Wes had suddenly reverted back

to his former concern. “It’s faster than runnin’ in the dark,” he

added weakly, as if he knew that taking me to Xavier would

in no way exonerate his involvement in the accident.

“No,” Mol y said protectively. “You should stay here while

we try and get a doctor.”

“What about cal ing his dad?” someone suggested. “He’s

a surgeon, isn’t he?”

“Good idea. Find his number.”

“Mr. Woods is a cool guy, he won’t report us.”

“Yeah and how are you gonna contact him without

reception?” Ben sounded exasperated. “Telepathy?”

I was struggling to keep my wings from bursting free and

carrying me to Xavier. It was my body’s natural reaction,

and I didn’t know if I could contain them much longer. I

looked impatiently at Wesley.

“What are we waiting for?”

By way of reply he mounted the bike and offered me his

arm so I could use it to wedge myself in behind him. The

shiny motorcycle glinted like some alien insect in the

moonlight.

“Hey! What about a helmet?” Ben asked churlishly as

Wes kicked the bike into gear. He resented the school

jocks and their daredevil antics. I could see in his face that

he was also concerned about my safety given Wesley’s

questionable level of responsibility. I understood that Ben

was only being protective, but right then I had only one

objective in mind and that was to get to Xavier.

“No time.” Wes was curt. He reached back to grab both

my arms and positioned them securely around his waist.

“Hold on tight,” he instructed. “And whatever you do, don’t

let go.”

The bike spun around before careening down the

driveway and out toward the black ribbon of highway.

“Isn’t the lake the other way?” I shouted over the roar of

the engine.

“Shortcut,” Wes bel owed in reply.

I tried reaching out to Xavier to sense the extent of his

injuries. But I drew a blank. It surprised me; I could usual y

sense his moods even before he did. Gabriel had told me I

would know immediately if he were ever in trouble. But this

time I’d missed it. Was it because I’d been too busy

stressing out over a ridiculous seance?

Wes had just turned onto the highway and begun to pick

up speed when I heard a voice cal ing my name from

behind. Even over the din of the engine I knew it was a

voice I loved more than any other and I’d been waiting to

hear it al night. It revived me. Wes swerved the bike

around, and I saw Xavier standing, washed in moonlight, on

the side of the road. My heart lightened immediately. He

looked perfectly healthy.

“Beth?” he repeated my name in a cautious tone. He was

standing just meters away from us and I was so excited to

see him in one piece that it didn’t even occur to me that

anything might be amiss. I didn’t stop to wonder why Xavier

looked so surprised to see us.

“Where are you guys going?” he asked. “And, Wes,

where the hel did you get that bike?”

“Xavier!” I cried out in relief. “Thank God, you woke up!

How’s your head? Everyone’s so worried. We need to get

back and tel them you’re okay.”

“My head?” he asked, the consternation on his face

deepening. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the accident! Maybe you have a

concussion. Wes, let me off this thing.”

“Beth, I’m fine.” Xavier scratched his head. “Nothing

happened to me.”

“But I thought—,” I began and then stopped short. Not

only did Xavier look fine but there wasn’t a mark on him and

no evidence of an injury. He looked exactly the way he did

when I’d left him, in jeans and a fitted black T-shirt. I saw

Xavier’s posture shift subtly into a more defensive stance.

His ocean blue eyes darkened as understanding dawned.

“Beth,” he said slowly. “I want you to get off that bike.”

“Wes?” I tapped him lightly on the shoulder, suddenly

aware that he hadn’t spoken a single word for the entire

duration of my conversation with Xavier. The bike was stil

vibrating beneath me and yet the person in front of me

remained motionless, his gaze fixed ahead.

Xavier strained to take a step forward, but something

prevented him and he remained rooted to the spot. He tried

to keep his voice level, but I couldn’t miss the undercurrent

of urgency.

“Beth, did you hear me? Get off
now
!”

I planted both feet on the ground in order to appease

Xavier, but when I tried to shift my arms from around

Wesley’s waist, he suddenly revved the engine and the bike

shot backward. I had to clutch him even tighter to avoid

fal ing off.

Until that moment I stil thought the whole thing was an

elaborate hoax on Wesley’s part that Xavier failed to find

amusing. Then I saw Xavier run a hand helplessly through

his hair and watched his forehead crease in anguish. I saw

a look in his eyes I hadn’t seen since that fateful afternoon

in the cemetery when he’d been incapacitated and I’d been

captured before his very eyes. He wore that same look now

—the one that told me he was desperately searching for an

escape, even though he knew we were cornered. It was as

if he were facing off against a poisonous snake that might

strike at any moment and the slightest wrong move could

be fatal. Wes spun the bike in random circles, enjoying the

anxiety he was causing. Xavier yel ed out and tried to run

forward but an unseen force held him back. He gritted his

teeth and hurled himself against the invisible barrier

blocking his way, but it was no use. The bike careered

tauntingly in al directions.

“What’s going on?” I cried as the bike final y stopped and

settled into the dust. “Xav, what’s happening?”