Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (18 page)

Have I really been bested by a peasant? A squatty, obtuse, parasitical peasant?

Perhaps in the morning, the situation will appear less grim. One can only hope.

In the meantime,
I
don't suppose you might offer me some insights into the punishment I will face in the event of failure on my part? I should like to begin preparing myself mentally. Especially if I face the worst. I have always preferred to confront fate with shoulders back and head high, as you taught me. And one can best do that if one has the opportunity to steel oneself.

Yours in doubt and with no small measure of confusion and concern,

Lucius

Chapter
22

"YOU'RE GOING TO do fine, dear," Mom promised, pinning my number on the back of my riding jacket.

"I'm going to throw up," I said. "Why did I sign up for this?"

"Because we grow by challenging ourselves," my mom replied.

"If you say so." In a few minutes, my turn would come. I would ride Belle into the 4-H ring, and we would jump a series of obstacles.

The whole thing would last about three minutes, tops.

So why was I so terrified?

Because you might fall. Belle might balk. You're not an athlete; you're a mathlete. . . .

"I should have just raised a calf, like last summer," I said, groaning. "All you have to do is walk into the ring and wait to see if you won a ribbon."

"Jessica, you are a fine horsewoman," Mom insisted, spinning me around by the shoulders to look into my eyes. "And it's not as though you've never competed in front of people before ..."

"But that's math," I protested. "I'm good at math."

"You're a good rider, too."

I thought of Faith and Lucius. "But not the best."

"Then today is an excellent time to push your boundaries. Risk a second or even third place."

I glanced across the field, where Lucius was cantering on his horse, which he'd named "Hell's Belle."
Ha-ha.

"Risks aren't always so great," I said, watching Lucius work to control the still half-wild animal. Lucius was the only one who could touch her. He insisted that she was misunderstood, but I thought the mare was just plain evil.

"That's a little
too
risky," Mom conceded, following my gaze. She sighed. "I hope he's going to be all right."

The way she said it, I got the weird feeling that she wasn't just talking about the jumper class competition.

"He needs his number, too," Mom added. She shaded her eyes, waving to Lucius.

He raised a hand, acknowledging, and trotted over, dropping from his mount and looping the reins around a fence post. Hell's Belle would never be the kind of horse that could wait without a tether.

Lucius bowed slightly. "Dr. Packwood. Jessica."

I gave a small, uncomfortable wave. "Hey, Lucius."

He turned around, and my mom pinned on his number. To my surprise, Mom then spun Lucius around, just like she'd done with me—and hugged him. Surprise blew up to shock when Lucius actually hugged back.
When did those two bond?
Sometime since Halloween, I guessed. Lucius and I had given each other a wide berth since our weird moment on the porch.

"Good luck," my mother said, brushing imaginary lint off Lucius's impeccable, perfectly fitted show coat. "And wear your helmet," she added. "It's mandatory."

"Yes, yes, safety first," Lucius said, voice dripping sarcasm. "I'll go find it." He looked at me, eyes neutral. "Good luck."

"You, too."

Lucius untied his horse and led her off. Mom watched him, face tense.

"He'll be fine," I promised her.

"I hope."

"I'm second, right?" I asked.

"Yes. After Faith."

Great.
The toughest act I could possibly follow. Faith didn't just compete in the annual 4-H show. She did bigger horse shows on her expensive gelding. My stomach clenched again.

"You'll do great," Mom promised. She hugged me, too.

The intercom blared, and it was time.

"Let's go."

Of course, Faith completed a flawless run on her thoroughbred, Moon Dance. She dominated the course, her horse's fleet, fine-boned legs launching them both over every fence, even the fifth, which loomed like a tower, impossibly high from where I was waiting on the sidelines.

I really needed to pee, a nervous pee, but there was no time. I mounted up as Moon Dance's hooves pounded by, run completed.

"Next up, Jessica Packwood, Woodrow Wilson High School, riding Belle, a five-year-old Appaloosa."

They'd said my name.

I took a deep breath, catching sight of Jake, who watched from the bleachers. He grinned, giving me an okay sign. I forced myself to smile back.

Lucius was also in the arena, watching, leaning against the fence.
Dammit.
Like I needed his hypercritical eyes on me, judging me.

I glanced over my shoulder, wondering what would happen if my horse and I just sort of backed out. . . . But it was too late. There was no turning back.

Taking a deep breath, I dug in my heels. Belle's hooves thudded quietly in the thick dirt of the nearly silent arena. Feeling my horse's power, her familiar steps beneath me, I began to focus. The first obstacle approached. A hedge. We cantered, jumped, and cleared it.
You're just jumping with Belle. Just like at home.
We cleared the next low rails, and the nerves faded, replaced by exultation. All of those people were watching us, and we were doing it.

Belle cleared the next two fences, hooves not even nipping at the rails.

The fifth, highest fence loomed, and my heart thudded. But Belle lifted, soared, and we were past.

A perfect round. No faults. In the end, we'd completed a perfect round. A huge, victorious smile broke across my face.
Take that, Romanian all-star.

As I cantered toward the exit, I waved to my parents, who were cheering, and to Jake, who had both fingers jammed in his mouth, whistling. Seeking out Lucius, I saw that he was clapping heartily, hands raised, and he mouthed "Good show." Whatever had broken between us, it had just been fixed a little.

I returned from cooling down Belle just in time to see Lu-cius's round.

He sat easily, regally, on Hell's Belle, as if he'd been born there. The midnight black horse seemed strangely calm, too. Nudging her flanks, Lucius urged her to a canter, rising close to a full gallop. The pace was insane for the small course, but Lucius didn't seem to notice. There was a small smile on his lips as he approached the first fence. Hell's Belle flew over, landing smoothly, and I realized this was a horse born to jump. They seemed fused together, horse and rider, tearing up the course, Hell's Belle reaching twice as high as she needed to clear, and all at once the spectators were cheering. Gasping and cheering.

It was reckless. Too reckless. I glanced at my parents in the stands. They looked terrified, and suddenly I was, too.

As Lucius soared over the fifth fence, a hand clamped down on my wrist, causing me to jump. "Look at him go," Faith Crosse whispered to no one in particular. I was pretty sure she hadn't even realized who she touched, she was watching Lucius that intently. Faith tapped her riding crop absently against her calf, in time to the hoofbeats. I tugged my arm away.

"Sorry," Faith murmured, without removing her gaze from Lucius.

Hell's Belle cleared the last fence, and the announcer called a new 4-H record for time.

Lucius and the horse pulled up in front of the gate, and Lucius slipped down, coolly peeling off his riding gloves like he'd just been on a trail ride through a park, seemingly oblivious to the applause.

Always the show-off.

"I'm going to congratulate him," Faith said.

I caught a peculiar look in the future prom queens eyes.

Faith disappeared into the crowd, headed for the exit, following Lucius out behind the ring. That's when I thought about the riding crop. Hell's Belle would not like the crop. Lucius had even posted a warning sign in the barn—a sign I saw almost every day. "Faith, wait," I called, following.

But I was too slow. By the time I caught up with her behind the barn, Faith had reached Lucius and Hell's Belle, and was waving the crop, calling for Lucius's attention. The crop nipped the horse's flank, and Hell's Belle spun around in a fury, backing away, nearly ripping the reins from Lucius's hands before he realized what was happening.

I heard him order Faith to drop the crop, but it was too late.

The mare reared, pawing the air, too close to Faith. I screamed, seeing what was about to happen, as Lucius pushed Faith away, putting himself in front of the flailing hooves, falling under them.

There was a sickening, audible crack as the force of Hell's Belle's hooves, driven by a full ton of sinew and muscle, collided with Lucius's legs and ribs. It was all over in seconds, before I could even scream again, and Lucius was lying, his tall body folded, broken, on the grass. There was blood on his white shirt, blood seeping from his high leather boot and staining his fawn-colored riding breeches.

"Lucius!" I finally found my voice, crying out, running over, dropping beside him. I was so scared for him that I completely forgot about the dangerous beast looming over my shoulder, still loose.

"Catch her," Lucius insisted through clenched teeth, trying to roll over, gesturing toward the horse, which stood, flanks heaving, scared but still wary. "You can do it. Before she—"

Faith began crying, abruptly and loudly as reality sank in, but no one heard us out behind the barn. Everyone was inside now, watching the competition. Hell's Belle stood, head low, snorting like a furious sentinel over Lucius. I could feel her hot breath on my own neck, and then I got scared for me, too.
No sudden moves. . .

"She needs to be tied up, Jess," Lucius begged, wincing with the effort of the words.

I nodded mutely, knowing he was right. Standing very slowly, as slowly as possible, I turned.

"Easy, girl," I whispered, extending my hands, palms up.

The horse flinched, and so did I.
Just stay calm, Jess. . . .

I edged closer. Hell's Belle's eyes spun more wildly, but she didn't run. Didn't lash out.

She seemed to understand that something had gone horribly wrong. With shaking hands, I reached for her loose reins, dangling from her bridle. "Easy, girl." Keeping my eyes on the horse's, I located the reins with my fingertips. Her breath kept coming heavy and fast, but still she didn't move. Lucius groaned. I had to work more quickly. Moving with more assurance, but trembling fingers, I fumbled to tie the reins to a post.