Slayers: Friends and Traitors (11 page)

Revolutions happened all of the time. The founding fathers’ children hadn’t refused to take part in their new country just because blood was shed in the process. The men who faced each other across the battlefield during that war—they might have been friends once, too.

“Yes,” Dirk said. “We’re agreed.”

“Good.” His father looked into his eyes for another moment, seemed reassured by what he saw, and finally relaxed. “Were you able to copy the encryption algorithms and key for Dr. B’s tracking program?”

Dirk nodded, felt numb. He had done that right before the raid.

His father smiled. “You have remarkable talent. You’ll be an excellent ruler someday.”

CHAPTER 7

T
HE
SECOND
S
ATURDAY
IN
A
UGUST

Jesse hadn’t planned on going to the Natural History Museum. He’d already shot down Tori’s idea of meeting together, so there was no point in going. But he went anyway. If Tori made an appearance, he wanted to talk to her, to explain things better than he had at camp.

He showed up at eleven forty-five instead of twelve. The elephant display was in the middle of the atrium right in front of the museum entrance. The curators had posed the elephant in action, so it had a startled look to it—like it had just woken up, found itself surrounded by tourists, and was about to charge out of the room in a rampaging panic. Jesse didn’t want to stand by it for the next fifteen minutes. He went up to the second story, he wasn’t quite sure why, but he was used to following his instincts.

The second- and third-floor balconies wrapped around the atrium. Jesse wandered around near the railing, keeping an eye on the main floor without looking like he really was. As usual, the museum was packed with tourists, families, and kids on field trips. Constant noise, constant commotion. If there was something wrong on the first floor that his Slayer senses had picked up, Jesse didn’t know how to figure out what it was. Too many people were coming and going.

Besides, Jesse didn’t expect Tori to show up. She hadn’t even wanted to talk to him at camp after he told her not to put her life on hold for him. She flew away, ditched dinner, and went off with Dirk somewhere. They didn’t come back until late. Jesse knew how late because when Dirk came into the cabin, he shook his head at Jesse and said, “You are an awesome boyfriend. Wherever you learned your boyfriend skills—great job.” Then Dirk had slow clapped.

That was the problem with counterparts. They were all fiercely loyal to each other. Even Alyssa and Rosa, who ignored each other most of the time at camp, would come to the other’s defense the moment they thought another Slayer was too critical. And you didn’t want to get them mad or they would both be slower than needed to heal your burn wounds.

Jesse and Tori were supposed to be counterparts, too, and there were times that he’d felt so sure of her, he was positive they were. But they didn’t have the same abilities the other counterparts did. Maybe you couldn’t be that with two people, and Tori was Dirk’s counterpart before she learned to fly.

Twelve o’clock came. Tori didn’t. Jesse wandered around looking at the signs for the butterfly exhibit and the gem and mineral section. The words he wanted to say to Tori ran in a loop through his mind.

I never said I didn’t care about you anymore. I only said we needed to make sure our feelings didn’t get in the way of our training. I said I didn’t want you to sit home for nine months waiting to see me again. Most girls would appreciate a guy being unselfish about it. I never even said
I
was going to date other girls. And you didn’t bother to ask.

Tori had assumed the worst; they were over and he’d never really cared about her to begin with. Jesse had meant it, though, when he told her he only wanted the separation to last until next summer. He had meant every kiss. It hadn’t been just a pastime or an ego kick.

Jesse wandered back over to the railing and glanced down at the elephant again. Tori stood in front of the sign. She was here. She had come.

Tori stood out from the rest of the crowd. She couldn’t help it. She was tall, graceful, and looked like a model. For a moment, he could only stare at her. He’d gotten used to seeing her in shorts and T-shirts, her hair always pulled back in a ponytail or braid. Now she wore a white skirt and a red-and-white top. Her long golden-brown hair fell around her shoulders in loose curls. She had not only come, she’d dressed up to see him. He smiled and turned toward the elevator, ready to push through the crowds.

Then he stopped. He knew why he had come up to the second floor instead of waiting on the main one. It didn’t have anything to do with his Slayer senses or problems on the first floor. If Jesse went and saw Tori right now, they would go somewhere private. He would apologize, explain, and basically bend over backward to show how much he cared about her. They would end up kissing and he would promise to meet her wherever and whenever she wanted.

Jesse was Team Magnus’ captain, and Tori was supposed to become A-team’s captain. She was new to all of this, but he was supposed to have some self-control. He’d been taught, trained for years to keep his feelings for the other Slayers in check. During a dragon fight, he couldn’t favor one Slayer over the other. He was only supposed to think about one thing—killing the dragon.

How could he be objective about Tori in a battle if he couldn’t even keep his feelings in check long enough to stay away from her a few days after camp ended?

Down on the main floor, Tori glanced around at the people streaming around her. She walked slowly around the elephant exhibit.

It wouldn’t hurt to see her this once. Maybe twice. Really, what did it matter if they saw each other over the school year? He was allowed to have a life, wasn’t he? And that stuff he’d said about her dating other guys—that clearly had bad idea written all over it. The girl was gorgeous. Other guys should stay as far away from her as possible.

Jesse walked toward the elevator and then thought of the night the Slayers raided Overdrake’s compound. Jesse had led that mission. After Overdrake trapped them in the compound, Jesse felt … it had been worse than fear, worse than despair, because he knew the failed mission was his fault. He’d been sure he would see his friends die. Knowing that he would die with them didn’t bring him any relief. His death meant no one would be there to stop the dragons when they attacked. His death carried more deaths with it.

Jesse had to be careful. He had to be unselfish and think about what was good for everyone else.

Tori had come full circle around the elephant now. A group of kids in matching blue T-shirts streamed around her on their way to one of the halls. How long would she wait for him?

Jesse took another step to the elevator and another and then was mad at himself because he knew going downstairs was the wrong decision yet was doing it anyway. He couldn’t be objective about Tori. Dr. B was right. Having a relationship was only going to make things more dangerous for both of them.

He should break up with her—not for the school year, but permanently. Or at least until the dragons were killed. Of course, that would become a permanent breakup, because when Jesse went down there and told Tori they needed to officially end their relationship, she was never going to speak to him again.

He stopped, leaned against the railing, and watched her. If he could prove to himself he had enough self-control to stay up here, then it meant he had enough self-control to be an objective fighter. He wouldn’t need to break up with her. They could be together next summer. Maybe even after that, when he was at college. He just had to be sure he could master his feelings, keep them in their place.

Tori walked over to one of the benches at the side of the room. She pulled a book out of her purse and read while she waited. Or maybe she wasn’t really reading. He never saw her flip a page. He stood there, watching her watch the entrance. She waited until twelve thirty, longer than Jesse had expected. Then she got up and walked out the door without looking back.

Jesse stayed on the second floor for a while longer. He leaned against one of the pillars and let the crowd wash by him. He felt strong, capable of being a captain, and horrible at the same time.

CHAPTER 8

T
HE
END
OF
S
EPTEMBER

Tori’s parents spent the entire ride to the White House lecturing her on etiquette. What she was allowed to say. What she wasn’t. “Thank the president and first lady for inviting you,” her mother said, “and make sure you talk to all of the teenagers there, not just your friends. You don’t want people to think you’re cliquish.”

Tori sat in the backseat of her family’s Lexus, tapping her newly manicured nails against her armrest. She’d broken all of her nails off at Dragon Camp and still wasn’t used to the acrylic ones. It was one more reminder that life wasn’t the same anymore.

Tori’s mother turned toward the backseat to make sure Tori was paying attention. Her blonde hair was swept up into a French knot, her makeup immaculate. If Tori had worn the same shade of bright red lipstick, she would have looked trashy. On her mother it looked glamorous. Her mother had a way of making everything work. That was her talent, making all the many things she did look effortless. Reporters could say completely horrible things to her mother, and she would laugh it off and then redirect the conversation to her husband’s positive message for America.

“Are you listening?” her mother asked.

“Yes,” Tori said.

Aprilynne, Tori’s older sister, had her phone out, texting one of the guys who regularly orbited around her. She was obviously not paying attention to the conversation, but then she didn’t have to. Aprilynne hadn’t told a reporter last week that he should get a job that didn’t involve stalking her family. Which Tori probably shouldn’t have done. That was another effect of spending two months training to fight. She didn’t feel like suffering fools anymore.

The fact that Tori’s father had officially announced his candidacy for the next election only made all of the reporters worse. They lay in wait for her family like piranhas.

“Whatever you do,” Tori’s father said, sending her a look through the rearview mirror, “be polite to the president.”

Tori’s father was tall, with the same honey-brown hair and green eyes she’d inherited. Blogs had been written about his green eyes. One magazine had dubbed him the most kissable candidate—which Tori thought was creepy because, hello, strangers were talking about making out with her dad. She didn’t think of her father as handsome, just as dependable, strong, and calm.

“You don’t have to give me this lecture,” Tori said, tapping her fingernails again. “I’m always polite to the president.”

Aprilynne let out a snort of laughter.

Tori rolled her eyes. “Honestly. You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

Her mother’s voice took on a patient tone. “You posted online that the president wasn’t two-faced, he was dodecahedron-faced.”

“I was ten,” Tori pointed out. “Most parents would be proud that their ten-year-old knew what dodecahedron meant.”

“The post went viral,” her mother reminded her. “Reporters were talking about it in China.”

“I wouldn’t have posted it on Dad’s account if you guys had let me have my own.” Tori smoothed out a wrinkle in her skirt with an air of nonchalance. “Besides, I was only telling the truth. The president acted like Dad’s friend in private, and then told the media Dad wanted to starve old ladies and kick kittens.”

Aprilynne put her phone away. “And so now the president doesn’t act like Dad’s friend in private. That’s better.”

Tori fluttered her hand, waving away her sister’s words. “Big loss. Who wants to be friends with President Dodecahedron-face?”

“Victoria”—her dad said her name with equal parts pleading and warning—“be on your best behavior.”

“I will,” Tori said. Really, her parents didn’t need to look so worried. She had seen the president a dozen times since that event. Christmas parties, senate family parties, and the occasional times like this one where the president was trying to schmooze big business leaders.

Unless you counted the time when Tori was eleven and threw an Easter egg at the White House—and okay, she’d also thrown one at an especially surly secret service agent—she had always behaved beyond reproach. And in Tori’s defense, the agent had been standing so far away, she didn’t expect to actually hit him. She hadn’t realized back then how accurate her aim was becoming.

“Good,” her mother said. “The last thing we need is some sort of incident while the president is around.”

The car stopped at the guard station in front of the White House. A marine strolled up to the car, checked her father’s papers, and took an account of everyone inside the car. Another marine with a German shepherd sniffed around the outside of the car. When the guards were assured that they weren’t smuggling terrorists inside, they waved the car through.

A few minutes later, Tori’s family walked into the White House. Tori had been here before, and she’d certainly been in enough mansions and historic homes that she shouldn’t have felt awed. She always did, though. The colonnades, sweeping grounds, the portraits of presidents in the hallways—the whole place was saturated with history. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln had walked these halls. Dolly Madison hung out her laundry here. How could Tori not be impressed with the White House?

When her family got to the East Ballroom, they took their spot at the end of the reception line. From the looks of it, it would be twenty minutes before they could greet the president, pose for the obligatory photo, and go mingle with the other guests. A couple hundred people milled around underneath the ornate crystal chandeliers. Women confident in their silk dresses and pearls. Men exuding power in crisp designer suits. The whole room smelled of expensive perfume.

Tori wished she could skip the line altogether and find some friends. She didn’t suggest it. Her mother would only point out that they couldn’t appear to be snubbing the president—not since the dodecahedron incident.