Radiant (22 page)

"
I would have waited until tomorrow, but she's very busy," he said. "And if she'll see you at all, it has to be now."

Mary thought for a moment.
"My mom's here tonight. I can't be gone long."

"
I'll have you back in no time," he said.

She climbed
onto the fire escape and left the window open by an inch. Then she put her arms around his neck and blinked.

When she opened her eyes again
, she saw they were standing on a beach. The sand was soft and powdery under her feet, and the air was heavy with salt and humidity.

"
Where are we?" she asked.

"
An uninhabited island near French Polynesia," he said, looking towards the water. "She's here."

"
Punctual as ever," came a flowing voice.

Mary watched
amazed as a small wave rolled onto the beach. But it didn't fall back with the other waves and kept moving up the dry sand, growing taller until it formed a slender figure robed in flowing crystal robes. An astonishingly beautiful face appeared on the figure's head.

"
Mary, this is another radiant like me," Phos said. "You can call her Mayim."

Ma
ry stood speechless as the watery creature flowed closer.

"
My, my. That was quite a smooch," she said.

Mary wrinkled her brow.

"Is there anything you can do?" Phos asked.

Mayi
m took Mary's chin in her hands. If those could be called hands. She didn't have fingers.

"
This might be a stretch for me," she said.

"
You've helped burns before," he said.

"
Fires," she said. "I wash, cleanse, and shield against energy like yours. But a burn on a human? That is a job for the M—"

"
Please," Phos said. "Will you try?"

Mayim looked at him for a long time, as if they were exchanging words
that Mary couldn't hear.

"
All right," she said at last. "I will try something. Hold still, so that I can find the energy frequency."

Mary
didn't move as Mayim placed her "hand" over her mouth. Suddenly, Mary felt cold. It stung as sharply as the burning pain she had already. The two types of energy felt like they were fighting against one another. Is this how Scotty felt when Phos touched him in the hospital?

Mary shuttered
and wanted to pull away, but she fought to keep still. After what felt like ages, the stinging cold finally stopped.

Mayim removed her hands.
"How does that feel?"

Mary
opened and closed her mouth. It didn't hurt anymore. "That's amazing."

"
Thank you," Phos said.

"
Do not thank me yet," she said. "I helped the burn, but the skin is still damaged. It will peel tomorrow."

"
But it's better," Mary said. "Thank you."

Mayim smiled.
"Then you are welcome." She looked at Phos. "Just be careful from now on. And—"

They
're eyes locked again as they exchanged silent words.

Phos nodded.
"I understand."

"
I must go," Mayim said. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mary. I can see by your energy why he can not leave you alone."

Mary watched
Mayim turn and flow back into the ocean.

"
I'll take you home now," Phos said.

"
Wait," Mary said. "What did she just say to you?"

"
You heard what she said," he said.

"
I mean the part that I couldn't hear," she said. "I'm not dumb, Phos. You looked worried."

He
hesitated. "She just…reminded me of something. That is all."

B
y the look on his face, she knew there was more. "Well, can you tell me something about Mayim then?" she asked.

"
What is it?" he said.

"
She sorta looked human," she said. "How is that?"

"
She chose to appear to you in her 'real' form but in a human shape," he explained. "It was rather daring. On the rare occasions that one of my kind has done that, humans have mistaken them for all sorts of things. But Mayim is around humans a great deal, and she knows quite a lot."

"
Do you have a real form, too?" she asked.

He nodded
.

"
May I see it?"

"
No."

"
Why not?"

"
Because my energy is different from hers," he said. "I could blind you."

"
Oh," she said.

"
It's time to go," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"
Wait," she said. "I want a kiss."

"
After what happened before?" he asked.

"
It wasn't bad at first," she said. "Maybe if it's only for, like, three seconds. You won't hurt me then."

He
thought for a moment. "Well, she did say to 'be careful.' But she didn't say 'no kissing.'"

Mary smiled.
"Yup."

He chuckled.
"In that case—"

Phos kissed her
. Short and sweet. It still felt like a hot pot on her mouth, but Mary didn't mind.

"
Okay?" he asked.

She nodded and
wrapped her arms around him so that they could translate back home. Mary was glad. As long as they stuck to their three-second rule, Phos wouldn't burn her. She also made a mental note to get SPF lip balm. After school the next day, Mary stopped by the corner store to buy some.

Again, the woman behind the counter told her the price in Vietnamese.

Mary stared at her for a moment. Rather than argue this time, she paid for the lip balm without a word. The woman also said nothing as she gave her the change.

Mary turned to leave. But at the door, she stopped and looked back at the woman. She didn't know much Vietnamese, but she did know how to say thank you. "
Cám ơn, chị
."

The woman looked at her in surp
rise. Then, she nodded. "You wewcome."

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- 22 -

Promise

Mary,

I may have something. Email or call when you get this.

- Drew

Mary deleted the message from her inbox. She hadn't figured out how she was going to tell Drew about Phos. Or even if she should. She closed the computer and leaned back in her chair. Phos was supposed to pick her up soon for their next date, and she felt weird. Drew had made it clear that Phos shouldn't be possessing Carter. And she had agreed with him before. But things were different now, since Phos told her who he was. And since he was keeping Carter alive, he shouldn't leave him yet. Or her.

In fact, Mary was starting to feel like Phos shouldn't leave at all.

The buzzer rang. Downstairs, Mary found Phos wearing cowboy boots and a hat.

"Good evening," he greeted.
"Have you ever seen a rodeo?"

"
Just in movies," she said. "Is that where they kill cows?"

He wrinkled his brow. "I think you're thinking of bullfighting. That's in Spain."

"But there are bulls involved, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "They don't kill them, though."

"Just making sure," she said. "Are we driving or translating?"

"Translating. We're going to Texas."
He smiled. "And I have a surprise for you there."

They
went up to the roof and translated. Instantly, they were at a fair, complete with rides, cotton candy, and clowns twisting balloons into animals. But unlike the fairs she'd been to before, everyone wore a cowboy hat.

They followed the crowds
to an outdoor arena with stadium benches arranged around a large oval rink filled with dirt. The air was thick with the smell of farm animals.

They took their seats, and Mary looked around nervously.

"Is something wrong?" Phos asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm reading all the s
igns around here. Why are all the sponsors hospitals and urgent care clinics?"

Before he could answer, an announcer with a heavy southern accent boomed into the microphone. Mary couldn't understand
anything he said, but the crowd apparently did, and they whooped, hollered, and raised their beer bottles into the air.

For the next hour or so,
they watched several events. In one of them, young men jumped from their horses and wrestled small cattle to the ground. The goal was to get the animal onto its side and tie three of its feet together with a cord. Even though the cows were small, they were strong and irritated.

Then came the agility races
, which Mary appreciated better. Women had to ride their horses through an obstacle course without knocking over anything. The ones who posted the fastest times with the fewest penalties won.

Finally came the event that Phos was eager to see.
"Here is the bull riding," he said. "This is the main event of the evening."

Mary
watched as young men strapped on padded vests and tan leather gloves. Then, there was a loud
crash!
Mary looked in the direction of the noise and saw handlers coaxing a monster of a bull into the narrow bucking chute. A guy who looked young enough to still be in high school climbed up the iron bars of the chute and mounted the bull, gripping the braided rope handle as tightly as he could. Sweat gathered on his brow just under the rim of his hat.

The crowds cheered as the announcer said the rider
's name. Seconds later, the air horn blew, and the chute swung open. The bull leapt out into the rink, leaping and bucking into the air while kicking up storms of dirt. The rider was whipped about like he was a rag doll. He had to stay on for at least eight seconds. And the longer the young cowboy rode, the louder the cheers came.

The seconds on the timer ticked down.

But the cowboy was slipping from the bull's back, and with a few seconds still to spare, the bull threw him off like a fly. The young man landed with a loud and painful
thud
on the dirt.

R
odeo clowns jumped out into the rink, and their calls and saggy clothes got the bovine's attention. The bull looked at one particularly annoying clown, pawed the ground once, and charged.

"Watch out!" Mary cried. But she wasn't heard over the cheers as the
clown jumped the fence just as the bull ran past him and out the gate. The audience whooped again as the rider got back to his feet and walked off the field.

"
That was brilliant!" Phos said. "You know though, I think he might have been able to hold on just a little longer if he…Mary? Mary, are you all right?"

Mary
had buried her face in her hands. "No."

"
You're shaking," he said. "Are you cold?"

"
No, I'm not cold!" she snapped. "I'm
terrified
!"

"
Terrified?" he asked. "Of what?"

"
Of this!" She pointed at the next rider and bull as they took their positions. "That beast could've killed that guy. And people are cheering!"

Phos looked at the audience. T
hen at her. "It's a sport to them. It's what they do for fun."

"
It's a stupid sport!" she said, looking at all the hospital sponsor signs again. "People can get really hurt here. I don't want to see anymore. Take me home."

The air horn sounded, and the new battle began.
Mary wasn't sure, but this bull looked bigger than the first.

"
But Mary, this isn't any more dangerous than driving a car," Phos reasoned.

The
cowboy was in the air and on the ground in a couple seconds. Clowns came to get the bull's attention, but he didn't seem to care about them. He already had his eyes set on the downed rider. And with a powerful snort from his massive nostrils, he charged.

Mary heard a disgusting
snap
! as the bull's head collided with the rider's rear. The cowboy flew at a perfect arc across the field. The bull pawed the ground again, but a bunch of clowns managed to get his attention this time, and they got him back through the gate. A couple a medics rushed out to the field to see to the rider. After a few tense seconds, they were able to get him up and awkwardly out of the rink. The crowds cheered again.