The Eternity Key (22 page)

“Bite me,” I say, losing any pretense of being polite.

“Is that an invitation?” he whispers, and pulls me back upright.

The song ends, and Rowan lets go of me. “Thank you for the dance,” he says, with a bow that makes me wonder if he learned his party skills by studying Jane Austen movies. He is doing a fine job of impersonating Mr. Wickham. “Discuss my proposition with my brother. I will wait in the entry hall until nine for your … decision.”

He turns on his heel and heads for the entry hall. Haden starts after him.

“Wait, Haden,” I say, grabbing his shoulder. “I’ve made a deal for the Compass.”

But I know he isn’t going to like the terms.

“Who’s the major hottie you were dancing with?” Lexie asks as she and Tobin approach the coat-check closet. I’d texted them to meet us here as soon as I saw them coming down the stairs. Dax had volunteered to take over manning the station from Ethan when Garrick reported that someone was trying to spike the punch.

“Rowan,” I say, like his name tastes bad on my tongue.

“Seriously?” Lexie says as they squeeze into the closet with Haden and me. “And I thought Haden would be the more dashing of the two—”

“Did you get the scroll?” Haden asks, cutting her off. He seems to be barely holding himself together since I told him about Rowan’s demands. I have a feeling that had been Rowan’s exact
intention when he’d demanded a kiss from me. Either that, or having to come up with fifty thousand dollars of Simon’s money on the fly is what has Haden on edge.

Tobin pats his jacket. “Locked and loaded.”

I nod with approval and then tell them about what happened with Rowan. “The only problem: I insinuated that we had a talisman. Now I’m thinking that was probably a mistake. How are we supposed to trade something we don’t have?”

“I’m certain he will try to double-cross us as well,” Haden says. “This can still work. We can use his same tactics against him. Dax went out the kitchen exit and is already outside in the parking lot, waiting to follow Rowan when he leaves. If we know where he’s living, we can go for the Compass when he least expects it.”

“What about the kiss?” Tobin says, looking at me. “That’s a pretty creeptastic demand.”

“You’re not doing it,” Haden says, his face reddening. “He only said that to rouse my ire. I can make it clear that he won’t be doing it.…”

“And what, risk a fight in the middle of town hall?” I say. “He’s not leaving here until he gets what he wants.”

“You make it sound like you want to kiss him,” Haden says, glaring at me.

“Who I kiss is none of your business,” I say. “But, no, I certainly don’t
want
to.” I take in a deep breath and glance out the closet window where Rowan stands, leaning against a white marble column near the exit. He stares at the phone in his hand, as if counting down the minutes until nine. I am impressed with how he is able to convey that aura of arrogance just in the way he stands.

I guess I’m going to have to take one for the team
.…

“I’ll do it,” Lexie says. We all look at her in surprise. “What?
He said he wanted a kiss. He didn’t specify that it had to be from Daphne. We could send Tobin over to kiss him, and he wouldn’t have the grounds to argue.”

Tobin sputters. I don’t know if it’s over the thought of him kissing Rowan or Lexie volunteering to do it so nonchalantly that flusters him so much.

“It’s not a problem,” Lexie says, with a shrug. “He’s tall, he’s blond, he’s hot, and he drives a Ducati. It won’t take much of a stretch of my imagination to act attracted to him.”

“Excuse me?” Tobin says. “Are you forgetting he’s the enemy? Don’t sound so happy to march over there and start making out with him. It’s not like you can kiss a guy like it’s no big deal and walk away.…”

“My life, my lips. You have a problem with that?”

From Tobin’s expression and the chaotic tone coming off him, it seems he does, in fact, have a problem with that.

I raise my eyebrows, questioning him, but he turns away.

“So, let’s get this over with,” Lexie says, pushing her way out of the closet. Haden, Tobin, and I watch from the window as she approaches Rowan. When he sees her, he lowers his phone. He says something to her that I can’t make out, but whatever it is, it doesn’t deter her. She rocks up on her heels and reaches her hand behind his neck and pulls his head down toward hers—and kisses him with an intensity far beyond what I would have thought necessary. Tobin groans and turns away from the window.

Lexie slips her hand down Rowan’s arm and wraps her fingers around his phone. He pulls away and tries to take it from her, but she holds up a finger and says something that makes him stop. She types something into it and then stretches way up on her heels again and whispers in his ear, while she slips his phone
into his jacket’s breast pocket. Rowan smiles as if he were Prince Charming.

Haden makes a noise like he’s trying not to gag.

Lexie kisses Rowan one last time and then walks back toward us with an exaggerated sway in her hips.

“See you soon,
little
brother,” Rowan shouts down the hall, then walks out the front doors with a satisfied swagger.

“That seemed a little over the top, don’t you think?” I say as Lexie reaches us.

“Perhaps,” she says, like she kisses random guys without regard all the time.

Tobin groans again, and I let him be the first to leave the coat closet. I follow a few seconds later, and then Haden waits a full minute before exiting just as Dax comes dashing through the front doors.

“I lost him,” Dax says with a pant.

“Already?” Haden asks.

“I don’t know how he did it so quickly, but he went around the corner of the building and was gone two seconds later.”

“
Kopros
,” Haden says, shaking his head. “We need to know where he’s going.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I sent his number to my Friends with Benefits app, then,” Lexie says, pretending to blow dust off her fingernails.

“You did what?” Tobin and Dax ask almost simultaneously.

“I entered my phone number into his phone and told him to call me when he wants to make the exchange for the Compass. But while I had his phone, I sent his contact info to my Friends with Benefits app. It’s this app one of my sophomore Sopranos’ brother invented, where you can enter your … um … 
special friends’
 … 
contact info into their database. And then any time that friend texts or calls you, it’ll ping you with their location. It’s for hookups, you know?”

“Hookups?” Haden asks, clearly confused.

“Booty calls,” she says.

He looks even more bewildered. She rolls her eyes. “The gist is that when he calls me to set up the exchange for the Compass, the app will tell me where he is. Since he had absolutely no other contacts on his phone, I’m betting there’s a good chance that location will be his house.”

“That’s brilliant, Lexie!” I exclaim a little too loudly, bringing the attention of a few too many bystanders to our small group.

“Tobin!” I hear a voice call over the crowd in the entryway.

We all look up to see the mayor in the archway that leads to the rotunda. Her hands are on her hips, and she seems particularly perturbed as she approaches. Tobin’s hand goes to his jacket, like he’s checking to make sure the scroll is still safe.

“You didn’t think you were going to get away with that, did you?” she asks.

chapter thirty-three

Tobin’s face goes ashen. He steps away from the group like he doesn’t want to incriminate the rest of us by association.

“Get away with what?” he asks his mother.

“You didn’t think you could leave before I had a chance to get a picture of you and your date, did you? I’ve been looking for you two all evening.”

“No,” Tobin says, ducking his head in relief.

“Come this way, where the light is better,” she says, leading Tobin and Lexie back to the rotunda. She doesn’t give me, Daphne, or Dax a second glance.

“I guess we’re sticking around a little longer,” Daphne says, like she’s anxious to get home. From the rotunda, I hear Joe announce the last song of the night: “Shadow of a Star.” The crowd cheers in response. It’s the band’s most famous song, and the one Daphne had helped him write when she was a girl. “So grab that special someone before it’s too late,” Joe says in a deep, almost longing voice. “Don’t let your Valentine slip away.”

As the song starts, Daphne drifts toward the archway as if the music is calling to her.

Dax leans in close to me. “Tonight is a good night,” he says.

“I suppose. Other than Rowan, things have gone according to plan.”

“I mean, tonight is a good night for expressing one’s feelings, that is.” He nods toward Daphne. “Perfect occasion, if you ask me.”

I sigh, shaking my head.

“Come on, man. Don’t be a coward.”

I scowl at him. “Why do you care so much anyway, if I tell her? You think you’re Cupid or something?”

“I care, firstly because I want you to be happy, and secondly because I think Daphne is part of your destiny, and if that’s true, then it’s my job to help you along that path …” Dax trails off into silence. His eyes watch the dancers in the rotunda, and a strange sense of longing creeps into his face. That’s when I remember that Sarah the Oracle had tasked Dax with the quest of helping me find my true path—and that if he succeeded, he would be reunited with Abbie.

A wave of guilt crashes over me, because I know that his happiness is dependent on me.

Dax nudges me with his elbow. “Ask her to dance.”

“What about the Skylords?”

“I saw Terresa and Calix leaving when I was in the parking lot, and I can find Ethan if you want me to keep him busy.… So do it,” he says, and disappears into the crowd.

I stand and watch Daphne as she sways to the music in the archway, her hands on her hips. I can’t believe how much more stunning she seems to get every time I see her. I imagine asking her to dance and then clasping my own hands over those hips. I wouldn’t force her to follow my lead as Rowan had; I would hold her in my arms and sway with her to the rhythm of the song.

I want to erase any thoughts of Rowan from her mind. I want
to hold her and let her lean into me, her head resting on my shoulder. Maybe I could whisper it to her then. Whisper the words I want to say into her ear—get them off my chest—and maybe she wouldn’t be sure what she’d hear me say over the music.…

But none of that will ever happen if I don’t make my move before the song is over. However, my feet seem to be stuck in one place.

I feel absolutely paralyzed until I see one of the tenors from our music class approaching Daphne.

Hades help me, I’m not letting someone else steal my perfect moment
.

Gathering my courage, I take a step in her direction.

Only to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

“Can I borrow a moment of your time?” Ethan says. I look around, expecting Dax to be nearby, but he isn’t.

I start to form the words to refuse, but he looks me squarely in the eye and says, “You promised me the favor of hearing me out, or have you already forgotten?”

“I haven’t.”

“I’ve come to collect. I would like to request a meeting with you and your compatriots.”

“Right now?” I glance in Daphne’s direction and see her take one of the tenor’s hands and walk with him onto the dance floor.

My moment is gone.

“Not here. You meet with your friends in the workshop room behind the stage before rehearsals, yes?”

“How do you know that?”

“You will allow me to join you on Monday,” he goes on, without answering my question. “Make sure all of your comrades are present, but do not tell them I am coming.”

“What do you want?” I can’t help but imagine that letting Ethan join us is the same as letting a snake into our inner sanctum. We would all be sitting targets in that small room.

“Only an audience. For you to hear me out, as I said before. I think you will find what I have to say … interesting.” He claps me on the shoulder and says in a much louder, more jovial voice, “I expect to see that essay rewrite on my desk Monday morning.”

I am surprised by the shift in his demeanor until I notice Tobin and Lexie approaching us.

“It’ll be there, Mr. Bowman,” I say.

“Oh, looks like I need to start helping with cleanup,” he says, indicating that the last song is ending. “Good evening.” He nods and takes his leave.

“What did he want?” Tobin asks me.

“Just to talk about a homework assignment.”

“Come on,” Tobin says. “Let’s get Daphne and get out of here. This scroll is burning a hole in my pocket.”

“I’m here,” Daphne says as she approaches. I can’t help but notice she sounds a little out of breath. “I, for one, would like to find out what’s on the mayor’s precious scroll.”

chapter thirty-four