The Evensong (32 page)

I pushed myself into the corner of the bed as much as I could. More yelling followed, and I realized I was in a house where mostly everyone hated me. With amazing clarity, I suddenly knew I was right in Linden’s shoes. This is what would have happened to him had he been in my house; this is what it felt like to be hated.

Nerio’s voice carried the most when he yelled. Next to that, Tally’s high voice could pierce through the walls with ease when she needed it to. I didn’t doubt she was purposefully yelling things about ‘filth’ and ‘creatures’. This would be hard, but I tried not to let it get to me too much.

I dozed after a while. I don’t know how much time went by, but when I heard the door open, I shot up fast despite how it made my head throb. But it was only Linden.

“You scared me,” I whispered, trying to catch my breath.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

I glanced at the clock; it was after midnight, but I stood and took the hand he offered.

The house was dark and quiet as we walked through. Everyone seemed to have gone to sleep already, but I still moved as silently as possible, sticking close to Linden’s side. We made it out the door without interruption, and he pulled me along to the end of the paved drive where he told me to take off my shoes and socks. I left them beside his and we walked onto the sand.

I’d never felt anything so soft and fine. It was almost hard to walk, my feet sinking in as my ankles struggled to keep me balanced. Linden seemed to move fluidly while I stumbled along admiring the warmth of the sand. The moon was high and white, casting enough light for us to walk.

When we reached the cold, wet slope near the water, Linden sat down on the dry spot. I followed suit and gazed out at the water.

“So who wants me dead?” I asked after we sat in silence for a bit.

He laughed quietly. “No one wants you dead.”

“Then who wants me to just disappear?”

He sighed and raised his knees, resting his arms over them. “Tallulah is always hard to get to. If she doesn’t like something, she doesn’t like it. But Rhys made it clear that she needs to tone it down.”

“He says I can stay?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“It wasn’t a question of whether or not you could stay, he would never kick you out. He just wanted to know what’s been happening. Now he gets it, and he’s fine with it.”

“And Calder?”

Linden stared thoughtfully at the sky. “I’m not sure about Calder. He’s quiet. I can tell you though that he doesn’t hate you. He’s young; he’s never really come in contact with someone like you.”

“How young?” I asked.

“He’s sixteen, according to you.” He smiled. “So he’s young on all terms. He hasn’t quite made up his mind yet. He gets the witches-are-okay speech from Rhys all the time, but Tally shoves it down everyone’s throat that you shouldn’t be tolerated.”

“
She
shouldn’t be tolerated,” I muttered, digging my toes into the sand.

“She’s not,” Linden laughed.

“And Nerio? I heard him yell when he came in.”

“Yeah, Nerio . . .” He tried to find the words for a few minutes. “Nerio is Nerio. He’s like Tally. Just worse.”

I grimaced. “Was he part of the witch trials?”

Linden’s sharp look caught me off guard. “Where’d you hear that?”

“I only heard it as speculation,” I replied quickly.

That seemed to calm him. “He wasn’t alive then. We’re not immortal, you know.”

“Okay.”

“He wouldn’t kill you for no reason.”

I laughed loudly, reminding myself the house wasn’t that far away. “No reason? I wonder what he would consider a reason, though.”

“Just don’t worry about it,” he assured. “They all know that you have to be treated like a guest here, under Rhys’ orders. And no one goes against those.”

I hoped no one would. I sincerely hoped no one would ever try. This was all about protection, and I wondered how much would be offered if I was ever alone.

“All right—ocean time.” Linden stood and tugged off his shirt, his skin white in the moonlight. He tossed it to the ground and insisted I stand. “Come on, first-timers have to just be thrown in.”

“What? No,” I replied, hugging my arms defensively.

“I’m just kidding. Come on, it’s pretty warm,” he said, already walking across the wet sand to the waves. I paused, looking down at the shirt he’d neglected. I didn’t want to just go in fully clothed or I’d leave a trail of water in Rhys’ house. It was dark enough . . .

I looked back at the waves realizing Linden wasn’t standing there anymore. There was just water. Afraid, I stood fast, scanning the water, but I didn’t see anything. Hurriedly, I took off my shirt and pants leaving me shivering slightly in my bra and underwear.

Just go,
I thought fiercely. I followed his footsteps, still imprinted in the ground, until the water was rushing up over my ankles. I gasped; it was colder than I thought. How did Linden think this was warm?

He suddenly burst up from under the surface, pushing his hair out of his face.

“Linden, it’s freezing,” I said, my arms crossed over my chest.

“It is
not,
” he defended, walking closer.

“Can you make it warmer?”

“No, I don’t mess with the ocean,” was his instant reply, accompanied with a smile. “Not for first-timers, anyway.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes, still standing there with the water barely touching me. I could feel the blood rising to my cheeks; this was the barest he’d seen me.

“I will throw you in,” he threatened.

I yelled when he approached. “No!” I clapped a hand over my mouth when I remembered the house. “No,” I whispered. “I’ll come in, just hold on.”

He made a show out of standing there and waiting, the water up to his waist. I finally just rushed in, tense with cold, my arms still above the surface. I stood in front of him shivering, swaying slightly as the waves moved.

“There. Not so bad, is it?” he asked, watching me.

“No,” I lied, still cold.

“You have to swim a little to get warm,” he said, lowering himself into the water.

“But it’s—”

“Just swim, Riley.”

I sighed and obliged. I let myself sink under the surface, holding my breath and keeping my eyes closed. Just letting the current pull me gently was a comfort, and when I felt Linden’s arms pulling me up, I let myself relax completely.

I wiped the stinging water out of my eyes when I surfaced. Linden was smiling widely as he held me in place.

“Well?” he asked.

I smiled, “It’s great.”

We spent enough time in the ocean that it tired both of us out. Soon I was out of breath as I tried to swim, my limbs getting sore. Even through it all, I felt great and completely forgot any other worries I’d had before. I finally stumbled back to shore, lying on my back. Linden followed shortly after, collapsing next to me.

“I’ve really missed this,” he said, having no trouble breathing.

“I—bet,” I replied, catching my breath.

He smiled at my condition. “Good workout, yeah?”

I just nodded. “Is it okay to shower? There’s sand everywhere.”

“Yeah, no one will care. They should be asleep by now,” he said, sitting up. He offered me both hands and helped me to my feet.

As he said, everyone seemed asleep when we crept back into the house. Creeping back upstairs, he led me to the long bathroom with the wide bathtub.

“Wait, wait,” he said before he left me alone. He cupped my face and kissed me, and I let my tongue glide across his lips, tasting the salt.

He smiled slowly. “I’m glad you were in the trunk.”

My shower took longer than I wanted it to, but there was so much sand in my hair. When it all seemed to be gone, I rinsed out the clothes I’d swam in, grateful I still had a dry shirt and pants. I dried off quickly and slipped into my confining clothes, quietly going back to the room where Linden was already lying in the bed. It was smaller than his old bed, and there was just enough room for the both of us to fit.

“Feel better?” he whispered.

“Yes,” I replied, seeing he had already brought in our bags at some point. I knelt to look through mine, pulling out my pajamas when I found them. I hesitated, not wanting to return back to the bathroom. Instead, I just walked to the corner near the closet and turned my back on him.

Once I pulled my shirt off, I almost didn’t want to put another one on. Somehow the whole swim had turned my attitude around; I wasn’t uneasy anymore, or worried in the least. Maybe it was Linden, or maybe he was picking up on me.

I felt his fingers lightly trailing up my spine. I shivered agreeably, and his hands settled on my shoulders. He squeezed as I leaned into him and put my hands over his.

“Mm, the ocean smell stays on you,” he mumbled into my hair.

“I can’t tell if that’s good or bad: salty, fish and seaweed kind of smell?” I laughed.

“Believe me, it’s good.” He kissed my neck before he moved away. I instantly missed his touch and hurriedly put on the shirt.

There was just enough space for the both of us in the cool bed. Even if Linden chose to sprawl out in his sleep, it wouldn’t be too bad. He already had his arms around me as I lay down.

“So what happens tomorrow?” I asked, facing him.

“Mostly just some hellos to everyone, now that most of the anger’s been vented,” he said, moving the thick strands of my wet hair from my eyes.

“Am I included in all of that?”

“Yes. I think you should be. Hiding out forever won’t do you much good.”

He was right, and any other time I might have been concerned, but now I didn’t care much.

“I guess I’ll deal with it when the time comes,” I said, closing my eyes.

“Good plan,” Linden agreed.

No other words were exchanged; there was no need. We both fell asleep fast and carefree while the ocean quietly swooned beyond the window.

DAY

The following morning wasn’t nearly as peaceful as I’d have hoped. I was woken fairly early by Tally’s complaining as she walked through the hall. My ‘awful aura’ seemed to have kept her awake all night, and she was stubbornly whining to Rhys to do something about it. I didn’t hear his reply, but Linden sighed and got up.

“Guess this means the day’s started,” he said, taking a moment to really wake up.

The previous nights’ elation gone, I sighed. “Guess so.”

Luckily, Tally seemed to have left in a fit when we emerged from the room. Her wrath still lingered in the house, and I could hear Nerio in the kitchen.

“You’ve met him once,” Linden said, picking up on my mood. “It can’t get much worse.”

“Right,” I replied, half believing him.

Calder and Rhys were sitting at the kitchen table while Nerio hovered over the counter. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked in, shyly sitting in the chair Linden pulled out for me, conveniently next to Calder.

“Long time no see,” Linden said to the brooding undine. Nerio just nodded once, putting his bowl of cereal into the sink. Sparing me a scathing look, he turned and left, disappearing out the front door. I let out a breath.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Rhys said, relieved. “I expected worst, to be honest.”

“Me too,” Linden shrugged, looking through the cabinets. “What do you feel like, Riley?”

I wished he hadn’t asked. I would prefer to try to remain as invisible as possible, and addressing me brought Calder’s eyes to my face.

“Um—anything’s fine,” I replied.

“Easy enough.”

I sat there in silence as Calder tried to ignore me, though his eyes would sometimes stray my way.

“Sleep all right, Riley?” Rhys asked.

“Fine, thanks,” I replied. He smiled, saying he was happy no one tried to make a disturbance, except for Tally’s outburst earlier.

“She’s got to learn,” he said, shaking his head. “She’s got to be more like you, Cal.”

He jostled Calder’s shoulder as he stood. The phone was ringing in the other room, and he left to answer it. Linden was still at the counter trying to decide which cereal was best, leaving me too close to Calder with absolutely nothing to say.

“How’s life, Calder?” Linden asked, graciously breaking the silence.

Calder glanced up from his food and shrugged. “Same as usual, I guess.”

“You going to school or what?”

I caught the way he dropped his chin and smirked. “On and off.”

Linden laughed sarcastically. “Meaning no.”

“I don’t want to if I have to keep on moving,” Calder said, his tone hard.

“You’re missing out,” Linden replied. “I’m right, aren’t I? He is missing out.”

I realized he was talking to me, and I stuttered to reply. “Um—yeah . . . yeah, I guess you’re kind of missing out.”

Calder eyed me for a moment, surprised I’d spoken to him. “Do you go to school?”