Slayers: Friends and Traitors (30 page)

All the other Slayers had a built-in excuse for being out late. They were meeting with FBI agents. But as far as Tori’s parents knew, she had ditched them at the hospital, hadn’t told anyone where she was going, and had refused to answer her phone. She was going to be in massive trouble when she got home, and taking an hour-and-fifteen-minute plane trip to Vermont was only going to make things worse for her.

“I’ll go with you,” Tori said. How could she not? It was her fault Ryker and his family were in danger. “I’ll need to turn my phone back on long enough to text my mom that I’ll be out late with friends.”

Which was, technically speaking, the truth. No need to worry her parents with details about her possibly running into gun-toting men. Tori also reminded them to turn on the house alarm. Her hands shook a little as she did that. If it sounded cryptic, well, at least they would be careful.

They needed to be extra careful now.

Tori had expected a pilot to join them in the plane. Instead, Dr. B sat down in the cockpit. The others weren’t surprised at all. As they settled into their seats, Rosa told her, “For a couple of years, Dr. B was hoping Sam’s contacts would come up with a design for planes that could take off out of the range of the EMP and then rely on manual technology to maneuver in the air. He thought we might be able to fight the dragons that way. One summer we had to practice fighting while parachuting to the ground.”

“They couldn’t get a design that worked?” Tori guessed.

“Not one that could maneuver well enough,” Kody said. “And the parachutes—yeah, we were pretty much just hanging in the sky like dragon hors d’oeuvres.”

While the group flew to Rutland, they went over the remaining details of their plan. They would land at Southern Vermont Regional Airport, rent a van, and drive the five miles to Rutland. When they got to Ryker’s house, Tori and Bess, dressed in their Halloween costumes, would ring the bell. If someone from Ryker’s family answered, they would pretend to be from Ryker’s school and ask to see him. When Ryker came to the door, they would clarify that they were new students moving into the area and ask to talk to him about the school.

Kody was flipping through pictures of girls on the Internet who listed Rutland High School on their profile pages. “Tell him that Paige Child told you Ryker was the guy to ask about the school. She looks nice. You know, the friendly sort.”

Tori nibbled on some trail mix. None of them had eaten dinner, so they all went through the stash of snacks on the plane. “And you think Ryker will believe that? Out of the blue, two girls show up on his doorstep and want to talk to him?”

“If he’s cute, he will.” Bess reached over and stole some M&M’s from Tori’s trail mix. “Hot guys are used to girls throwing themselves at them.”

“We don’t know if he’s cute,” Tori pointed out.

Bess gazed upward. “If God is merciful, he is.” She shut her eyes as though praying. “Ryker will be cute, single, and like girls with curly hair and a sense of humor.”

Kody was still reading the Internet page. “Do ya suppose Ryker really knows Paige Child? I wonder if she’s the type who’d go for a long-distance romance…”

“Back to the plan,” Tori said. “I’m worried about just showing up on Ryker’s doorstep. I mean, what if he doesn’t want to go off somewhere private to talk to us?”

Jesse’s gaze traveled over Tori. “With you dressed like that?” His voice was tinged with accusation. “Don’t worry. He’ll go with you.”

Bess eyed Tori and let out an exasperated huff. “Jesse’s right. This is totally unfair. I’m dressed as a cowgirl and you’re dressed like a hooker with a superhero complex. Ryker isn’t even going to look at me.”

Tori blinked, offended. “Hey, I didn’t design the outfit—DC Comics did. And it doesn’t even show that much of my midriff.”

Bess stole more of Tori’s M&M’s. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. If Ryker is the type of guy who’s only interested in girls in miniskirts and halter tops, then I don’t want him.”

“This isn’t a halter top,” Tori insisted, tugging it down. “And I don’t care what Ryker looks like. I’m not interested.”

“Good,” Jesse said. “Can everybody stop acting like this is speed dating, so we can finish planning the mission?” He put his pen to the paper. “Do we need to buy any supplies in Rutland?”

“Lipstick,” Tori said.

“Lipstick?” Jesse repeated. “Why do you need that?”

“It’s part of my cover. If I was really going to Ryker’s house to hit on him, I’d touch up my lipstick first.” She ran a hand over her hair. The wind had made it a mess. “I’ll need a brush, too.”

Jesse tapped the pen against the paper. “That’s not worth a trip to the store. You’ll have to manage without it.”

“No, you won’t,” Bess whispered. She patted her jacket pocket. “I was going to a party with hot guys. I’m prepared.”

Eventually the planning was done, and then everyone got up and made a second trip through the food cabinets. Everyone except for Jesse. He sat by himself, looking out his window. Tori grabbed a few things and went and sat next to him.

She offered him a soda. He shook his head. She held out a package of cookies. He shook his head at those, too. He had to be hungry. She was starving and she hadn’t flown as far or as long as he had.

“Well,” she said, surveying the food she brought over. “We know one thing about Sam: He isn’t into health food.”

Jesse didn’t comment. The lines of his face were hard, angry.

“Are you thinking about Dirk?” she asked.

“I’m thinking about Alyssa.”

He was angry at himself then.

Tori put her hand on his arm. “It wasn’t your fault—telling Dirk about the tracking program. We all trusted him.”

“But I’m the one who told him. Now we only have one healer. How many lives do you think that will cost?”

“If Dirk hadn’t been a traitor, telling him that information could have saved all of our lives.”

“
Could have
doesn’t matter.” Jesse went back to staring out the window. His gaze was fierce and determined. And worried. He didn’t look at her, didn’t speak again.

“I’m trying to make you feel better,” she said. “You’re making it hard.”

“Sorry.” He kept staring out the window.

She opened the packages of cookies and bit into one. Her stress made everything taste bland and chalky.

“You probably think it’s ironic,” he said. “I refused to break the rules with you during the school year, and then broke a rule that nearly got us all eliminated.”

Tori hadn’t thought of it that way. Now it stung. “You’re right.” She took another bite of the cookie, crunching it extra hard between her teeth. Jesse had trusted Dirk enough to tell him important secrets, secrets he’d never told her. Jesse wouldn’t even show up at the Natural History Museum to have lunch with her.

And Dirk wasn’t any better. He’d used Tori to get information about Ryker. He’d played her. “When you come right down to it, guys are jerks.”

Jesse finally gave her his full attention. “Tori, you stink at making people feel better.”

“Sorry, I stink at a lot of things.” She took a cookie from the package and handed it to him. “Eat it,” she said. “You’ll need your strength.”

CHAPTER 29

It was almost nine o’ clock by the time Dr. B pulled onto Ryker’s street. His house was on the east side of Rutland in a neighborhood that backed up to a forest. The yards were so large and the pine trees so big that you couldn’t see one house from the next. Tori had hoped Ryker lived in a tract-home neighborhood, one that would be hard for Overdrake’s men to converge on without being noticed by neighbors and trick-or-treaters. This house—an entire SWAT team could have hidden in the trees.

Dr. B parked down the street. Tori and Bess walked to the house, both of them surveying the area. The night was even colder now. Tori was grateful the simulator energy helped keep her warm. She would be shivering otherwise. The only jacket she had was the Kevlar one, and she couldn’t very well wear that while pretending to be a trick-or-treater.

“I’m Courtney, you’re Britney,” Bess told her. “You’re the pathetic stalker girl. I’m your normal friend that you brought along for support.”

“I’m always the pathetic stalker girl,” Tori mumbled.

“Also,” Bess went on, “when you’re off your medication, you do impulsive things. It can’t be helped.”

“Thanks,” Tori said. “Thanks a lot.”

Bess rang the doorbell. A few moments later a woman holding a bowl of candy answered the door. She was tall and trim with shoulder-length blonde hair and perfectly applied makeup. She had a professional air about her and looked so young Tori worried they had the wrong house. Could this woman be the mother of a seventeen-year-old? The woman held out a couple of miniature Snickers to Tori and Bess, then noticed they didn’t have bags.

“Hi,” Tori said sheepishly. “We’re not trick-or-treaters. We were actually wondering if Ryker was home.”

The woman didn’t look confused or surprised by the name. They had the right house.

Before Mrs. Davis put the Snickers back in her bowl, Bess reached out and took one from her hand. “We’re friends of his.”

“Oh,” Mrs. Davis said, looking them over more closely. Her eyes lingered on Tori’s miniskirt with a twinge of disapproval. “He’s not home right now. He went to a party at Jason’s house.”

“Jason?” Tori repeated, fishing for more information.

“Jason Ferguson,” Mrs. Davis said.

A teenage girl walked up to the door. She was also tall and blonde, with high cheekbones and a build like a ballerina. Ryker’s sister, most likely. She looked them over, probably expecting to recognize them and seemed perplexed that she didn’t. Rutland was such a small city all the teenagers probably knew one another. Time to switch stories.

“You’re Ryker’s friends?” the girl asked.

“We’re actually from Burlington.” Tori said. “Ryker and I met at a football game, and he told me if I was ever in Rutland to stop by.” She said it too fast, wasn’t sure if it even sounded believable. If Ryker had a steady girlfriend, the next few moments were going to be very awkward.

Tori smiled and silently hoped Ryker’s sister didn’t ask anything about Burlington’s football team. It wouldn’t help their story if Ryker’s family realized that Tori didn’t know certain key facts, like the name of Burlington’s high school or the name of their team.

“Oh,” Mrs. Davis said again, and made another survey of Tori’s costume. This time her eyes stopped on Tori’s bare midriff. “What were your names?”

“Britney and Courtney,” Bess said. She ripped open her Snickers and took a bite. “Since we’re not from here, could you tell us how to get to Jason’s house?”

The teenage girl stepped around Mrs. Davis onto the porch. “I can give you directions.”

“Don’t leave with them, Willow,” Mrs. Davis said. “You’re staying in tonight.” The sentence was said in the tone of a parent who had grounded their child and wanted to make sure they remembered that fact.

“I won’t,” Willow replied, exasperated.

Mrs. Davis shut the door. Willow waited a moment, then glanced behind her to check that they were alone. She walked down the steps with Tori and Bess and lowered her voice. “Actually, Ryker’s not at that party. So don’t waste your time going.”

“Oh. Okay,” Tori said. “Where is he?” A chill breeze blew against her legs. No wonder Ryker’s mother had kept staring at her costume. Clearly only crazy people and trampy girls would wear this little clothing on such a cold night.

“Probably on his way home … or maybe he just had to come back to town for something…” Willow seemed like the friendly type, not overly suspicious. That was good. She pulled out her phone and texted the words, “Where are you?”

Tori tried to catch sight of Ryker’s number but was only able to glimpse a few numbers. “Don’t tell him I’m here,” she said. “I want to surprise him.”

Bess leaned back on the heels of her cowboy boots, casually glancing around the front yard. “He’s not out on a date, is he? That would be embarrassing. I mean, if he is—tell us where he’s going so we don’t accidentally run into him.”

“He’s not on a date,” Willow said quickly. “He’s just … out.” She was withholding information. “Sometimes it’s hard to get a hold of him. If he’s not answering it probably means he’ll be out until late.”

Tori looked down at the ground and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, pretending to feel reluctant. “I don’t get to Rutland very often and I was really, really looking forward to seeing him. Can you at least tell us where he was going?”

Bess leaned toward Willow with a confidential air and motioned to Tori. “They’re soul mates. Britney talked about Ryker the entire car ride up. Please help her see him or I’m going to hear about it all the way back to Burlington.”

Willow fiddled with her cell phone, looked uncertain, then typed out another text. The way she held her phone, Tori couldn’t see what she was writing. “Okay,” Willow said, “but I’ll have to ruin your surprise. It might be the only way to get him to reply.”

Tori’s stomach lurched. When Ryker texted back and said he didn’t know any Britneys from Burlington, she was going to look really stupid. What could Tori do then? Laugh and joke about what bad memories guys had? Burst into tears?

“Are you Ryker’s sister?” Tori asked, because it seemed like she should say something.

“His cousin. I’m staying here while my parents are working in India.” Willow cast a look back at the door. “It’s sort of like a prison sentence. I keep thinking it’s going to be over and then find out that, no, I didn’t make parole.”

Bess nodded sympathetically. “Your aunt and uncle are strict?”

“Yeah,” Willow said, like it was an understatement. She tilted her head, giving Tori a meaningful look. “Before you sign on as Ryker’s soul mate, you might want to ponder his parents as your in-laws. Just saying.”

At that, the door opened again. Mrs. Davis stuck her head out. “Willow, what’s taking you so long?”

“I’m just telling them who to avoid at Jason’s party,” Willow called back.

“One more minute, and then you need to come inside.” Mrs. Davis shut the door.

Willow’s phone chimed. She glanced at it. “He’s up at the ridge on Bird Mountain—the one where he goes hang gliding.” She seemed to think Tori should know where that was, and perhaps a soul mate would. Willow headed back up the stairs, unconcerned. Either Ryker only answered Willow’s first text message, or Willow’s second text message didn’t tell Ryker who was looking for him.