Incubus (17 page)

we’re depending on for answers that we’ve been snooping through her private journals.” His eyes cut

to me.

“We need to make learning about this ritual a priority,” Dad said. It wasn’t a question.

“Thane can research it independently,” Hale said after some thought. Thane didn’t look happy

about this, but he nodded in acceptance. Hale turned to me. “All right?”

“All right.” It was the best I was going to get for now.

Dad gave my shoulder a warm squeeze. “Just hang on. We’re going to figure this out,” he

promised.

That promise didn’t make life any easier. School became an exercise in patience. Whatever progress

Thane might be making on his own, he wasn’t talking about it. And Angela still hadn’t come forward

with any of her theories. But Lucas and I had agreed to give them time. And so we were stuck, waiting.

Going through the motions of our everyday lives. School. Training. Dinners spent planning with the

Guard. And all the while we were trying to ignore the possibility that all this was unnecessary because

maybe, just maybe, there was a way to lock the door between this world and the Lilitu world forever.

One week became two. Two weeks became three. And then it was Halloween. Lucas and Seth came

over to watch TV with me. The pumpkins Dad had bought for us sat on our porch, un-carved. Next to

them I’d set out a bowl of self-serve candy for any trick-or-treaters brave enough to walk up to our

dark front door. It just didn’t feel like Halloween without Cassie and Royal. We’d spent Halloween

together every year since elementary school, but this year they had other plans. They’d been invited to

a big party that some of their theater friends were throwing. Cassie had asked us to join them, but

neither Lucas nor I felt up to it, and Seth wasn’t exactly well liked around campus. After half-

heartedly flipping through some Halloween specials, I told the guys I wanted to turn in early. Lucas,

understanding, said he thought it was time to be getting home, too.

Dad offered to make popcorn if Seth wanted to stay and finish the show, but Seth made his excuses

and left to drive himself home in the car he’d borrowed from his mom for the night.

Moments later, after hastily brushing my teeth and jumping into bed, I slipped out of this reality

and into my dream. I sat in the rose garden, hugging my knees to my chest, next to a pool of flickering

dreams. It felt like a small eternity had passed before Lucas fell asleep, but as soon as he did I could

sense him. The glimmering light of his unconscious mind rose up and out of the pool at my feet. I

closed my hand around it and felt the comfort of Lucas’s presence drawing me into his dream.

I found him squinting against a bitter wind, anxious and unfocused. When he saw me his troubled

brow eased. He came to me and I buried myself against his chest, holding on to him tightly, drawing

comfort from the embrace. I felt Lucas’s hand brushing the side of my cheek and looked up. His kiss

was warm, urgent. I responded, threading my fingers through his hair—trying not to compare the

sensation to what it felt like in the real world. In the dream, everything felt somehow muted, watery.

Which wasn’t to say it wasn’t nice. It just wasn’t... real. And yet, it was all we had. We spent the night

trying to take our minds off the agony of waiting.

November settled over Puerto Escondido, teasing the last of the leaves off the aspen and oak trees, and

we still had no answers about the ritual.

That week in physics class, while Mr. Harris stood at the board going over the math for another

experiment, Seth was watching me. I had been trying to take notes, but my pencil kept straying to the

margins, filling the page with anxious doodles.

“Something’s bothering you,” he said. “I think—I think I get it.”

I glanced at him. “What?”

“You know, because that ritual is all about shutting the door on the Lilitu world forever. I get why

that would freak you out.”

“It doesn’t,” I looked at Seth, surprised. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, if I were you, I mean,” Seth shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. “Aren’t you curious? About

what’s on the other side?” Seth studied my eyes. “If my mom figures it out,” Seth shrugged, “you’ll

never get the chance to find out.”

“This ritual, it’s a good thing,” I said, studying Seth sharply. “Do you know something more about

it?”

“No. It’s just,” Seth glanced quickly to the front of class. Mr. Harris had his back to the class,

carefully writing out a list of formulas on the board. “Why do you want to be human? I mean,” he

lowered his eyes sheepishly. “I think your powers are cool.”

I looked at Seth. Unfamiliar feelings tickled the back of my mind.

“What?” he asked, seeing my expression.

“Not even Lucas thinks my powers are cool,” I admitted.

“Why not? They’re a fundamental part of who you are,” Seth said. He looked honestly surprised.

“I mean, you can turn yourself
invisible.
How much cooler does it get?”

I couldn’t help smiling. No one—with the possible exception of Karayan—had ever talked about

my powers like this before. Seth looked at me with awe, but not like the boys who were caught in the

snare of a Lilitu’s beauty. This was different. Seth looked at me,
really looked
at me, and saw all of

me as beautiful. The feeling was strange, but nice.

Seth was still watching me, curious. “He seriously can’t see that?”

Stubbornly, I defended Lucas. “Lilitu hurt his family.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t you. I mean, from what Gretchen says, you saved Lucas’s life.” I had no

answer for him. Seth shook his head. “I thought Lucas was cooler than that.”

Try as I might to push Seth’s words out of my mind, they stayed with me all day. I found myself

watching Lucas at lunch, trying to spot any signs of revulsion or fear. Once, he caught me staring and

gave me a faintly bemused smile. I glanced at Seth, who was talking animatedly with Cassie across

the table. Lucas followed my gaze, then turned back to me.

“It’s nothing,” I said in answer to his unasked question. Before he could call me out, I turned my

attention to Cassie.

“I’ve got a few more things to do, but it’s ready for a fitting today,” she was telling Seth.

“Which costume is this?” I asked, forcing enthusiasm into my voice.

“It’s one of Guinevere’s dresses, the one she’s wearing when she meets Lancelot. You want to

see?” Cassie looked suddenly hopeful. “Will you come over today after school? I’d love to show it to

you; you haven’t seen any of the stuff I’ve been working on lately.”

I felt a twinge of guilt for being so absent from Cassie’s life. “I’d love to,” I said, and this time my

enthusiasm wasn’t faked. I could feel Lucas watching me, but I spent the rest of lunch engaging Cassie

in stories about what it was like to be a costume designer.

After school, I walked into the performing arts building. There were posters along the walls from

former musicals and concerts. From some rooms I could hear violins or horns running scales. At the

end of a long hallway, I found the heart of the theater program—the green room.

Cassie and Royal were sitting on an old worn couch, talking and laughing with some kids I didn’t

know. Cassie jumped up when she saw me.

“Braedyn,” she said, “you’re here! Come on.” Cassie led me back down the hall to a set of double

doors. “This is the costume closet,” she said, opening one of the doors.

Closet
was a bit of an understatement. It was massive—at least the size of a classroom. Shelves

and racks lined the walls from the floor to the high ceiling 20 feet above us. The floor in the back half

of the room was crowded with rolling racks of clothes, but the front of the room featured a huge

worktable piled with bolts of fabric, buckets of tape measures, pencils, scissors, and stick pins. It

looked like Cassie’s personal heaven.

A dress form stood next to the table, and I recognized Cassie’s work instantly. A shimmering, pale

grey velvet gown hugged the dress form snuggly to the waist, then the creamy velvet spilled down in

gleaming folds of fabric that just barely kissed the ground.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed. It was true. The gown was perfect, delicate, pure. “I want to get

married in that dress.”

Cassie giggled, pleased. “It’s not totally finished,” she said. “I can’t put the trim on until I’ve

hemmed everything up for—oh! Here she is!”

I turned as Missy bounded into the costume closet. “Where is it?” she asked eagerly. I don’t think

she even saw me standing there.

Cassie gestured at the dress, beaming. Missy squealed when she saw the gown. She threw her arms

around Cassie. “You are a genius, Cassie!” Finally, Missy noticed me. “Oh, Braedyn.”

“You’re in the play?” I asked.

“She’s the star,” Cassie said.

“Well,” Missy lowered her eyes, pleased. “It’s really Arthur and Lancelot’s show. I’m just the eye

candy.”

Cassie hit Missy lightly on the arm. “That is so not true,” she said, turning to me. “She’s got an

amazing voice.”

Missy tipped her head down, letting the red curls cascade around her features to hide the pretty

blush spreading across her cheeks. “Thanks, but we all know who the most talented lady of this

production is.” Missy threw an arm around Cassie’s shoulders and grinned at me. “Right, Braedyn?”

A tight knot of jealousy worked its way into my stomach. I tried to push it aside. Cassie was one of

my best friends in the world, but I didn’t own her. Of course she had other friends.

“Absolutely,” I said, trying to keep my voice light.

Royal arrived at that moment, carrying a huge box. “Delivery for Miss Ang,” he said.

“Put it on the table,” Cassie said. She pounced on the box with a pair of scissors. When she had it

opened, she pulled out a deep blue material. It had a luxurious sheen, but was shot through with the

rougher strands distinctive of raw silk. “Very nice,” she said with satisfaction.

“Is this the material for the outer dress?” Missy breathed. At Cassie’s nod, Missy practically

swooned. “I wish we could dress like this every day.”

“Yeah, to heck with Women’s Lib,” I said. “Who needs pants?” Cassie and Missy looked at me. I

cleared my throat, feeling awkward.

Royal perched on the worktable, eyeing me. “Look who decided to visit.” He still wore the

skullcap everywhere, but he wasn’t tugging on it self-consciously anymore.

After an awkward moment, Cassie turned to lift the dress off the dress-form. “Try it on?” she

asked Missy.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Missy took the dress and slipped out of the costume closet to go

change.

“So,” I said, turning to Royal. “How’s it going?”

“It’s grueling, but I think I could get used to this assistant gig,” Royal said. Cassie snickered.

Apparently I was missing out on a joke.

Cassie saw my confusion and explained. “His duties as my assistant basically consist of sitting

around and keeping me company.” Cassie grinned at Royal. “But yes, he is really good at it.”

“You should join us,” Royal said. “As you can see, there’s plenty of room in the closet for all of

us. And no, the irony is not lost on me.”