Thrall (10 page)

After school, Royal and Cassie found me at the edge of the parking lot, staring. They followed my gaze and saw Amber, smiling into Lucas’ eyes possessively.

“What does she think she’s...?” Cassie started.

“Come on,” I said, interrupting. “Let’s get out of here.” Royal glanced back at Lucas, uncertain. “Lucas is getting a ride with someone else.” Amber was already leading Lucas to her car.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, fury and grief battled within me, alternating stabs of fire and ice. Cassie watched me in the review mirror.

“Okay, seriously. What is going on with you and Lucas?”

“Nothing.” I stared out at the passing scenery.

“Clearly,” Royal said. “But we want to know why.”

I couldn’t tell them. I couldn’t tell my best friends why I had just asked the first guy I really liked to leave me alone permanently. Cassie saw the tears brimming in my eyes and shook her head at Royal, warning him to let up.

When they finally dropped me off at home, Cassie squeezed my hand. “If you want to talk,” she said.

I nodded and forced a smile. “Thanks. See you tomorrow.” I watched as Royal pulled back onto the road, then turned to go home. The front door was unlocked. I pushed it open, unsettled. “Hello? Anyone home?”

“In here,” Dad called from the dining room. I found him sitting at the table with Hale.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling a knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

“I want you to start training,” Dad said.

“Training for what?”

“Self-defense,” Hale answered. “We’ll start with hand-to-hand combat. I won’t transition you into bladed weapons until you’re ready.” The memory of Lucas in the basement came back in a powerful rush. I turned away from Hale, flushed.

“I’m... I don’t want to fight.”

Hale nodded, calm. “I see. What happens if you meet another Guardsman one day? If he doesn’t know you’re on our side?” His tone was mild, but his eyes burned. “Do you know what Guardsmen do when they capture a Lilitu?” I glanced at Dad.

“Okay, Hale,” Dad said. “I think you’ve made your point.”

Hale’s eyes didn’t leave my face. “You’ve seen our armory. Not all of those weapons are used to kill.”

Dad stood up. “That’s enough.”

“She needs to understand what’s at stake,” Hale said. He turned to me. “I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.” Hale left. I faced Dad, pissed.

“Did it even occur to you to ask if I wanted this?”

“I would do anything in my power to protect you,” Dad said. “But I’m not always going to be around. Let Hale help you. You may need to know this stuff some day.”

Something in his voice chilled me.

Fifteen minutes later I was walking into the Guard’s house in yoga pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. Lucas sat at the round dining room table doing his homework. He looked up as I entered. When he saw me, his expression grew stony.

“Training,” I said by way of explanation.

He watched me cross the foyer to basement door, then turned his attention back to his homework. His hair fell forward, shielding his eyes from view. It hurt more than I’d expected, getting the cold shoulder from him. I slipped quietly into the staircase and pull the door closed behind me.

Hale was waiting for me in the basement. “Have you ever studied any martial arts before?”

“No.” I shifted self-consciously, feeling like a fool.

Hale didn’t let this bother him. “Not a problem. We’ll keep it simple at first. Sound good?” he asked. I shrugged. He ignored my lack of enthusiasm and began the lesson. He taught me three basic punches to start. For the next four hours I practiced them against a punching bag while Hale watched, correcting my form, encouraging me. By the end of the session I was exhausted and my arms felt like lead weights hanging from my shoulders.

“Good work,” Hale said. “Same time tomorrow.”

“But I can barely move now,” I complained.

Hale smiled, incorrigible. “Just think how strong you’ll be in a month.”

We settled into a routine. Every day I’d come home from school, change into yoga pants and a t-shirt, and spend the next four hours in Hale’s windowless basement working out my frustration on a punching bag until dinnertime. Lucas watched me come and go, but he was as good as his word; he left me entirely alone.

By the time Winter Solstice was two months away, none of the powers Hale seemed to think I should be developing had appeared. He and Dad grew more anxious by the day. I didn’t have time to worry about powers or solstices or whatever the Lilitu had planned. I was too busy trying not to care about what Lucas was doing. It hadn’t taken long for him to end up as a semi-permanent fixture on Amber’s arm. He joined her lunch table. He made friends with her friends. He let her hang all over him. And he ignored me. It was cold comfort knowing he was doing exactly what I had asked him to do. Lunches were the worst. Amber’s laugh was high and shrill. Each time it cut through the lunchtime chatter I’d look up and catch sight of Lucas smiling at her, or laughing at something she’d said, or sitting with his arm thrown casually around her shoulders.

On Halloween, Amber was extra giggly. In honor of the holiday, the school was serving French fries with lunch. Amber dipped a long fry in ketchup and dotted the end of Lucas’ nose. He smiled and moved to wipe it off, but Amber caught his hand, stopping him. She leaned forward and licked it off. Their friends laughed at the show, and Amber grinned, satisfied. I turned away, feeling hollow inside.

That night, I was spreading newspaper out on our portico when Amber pulled up in front of Lucas’ house. She got out of her car wearing a skin-tight black costume and bounded up to Lucas’ front door, adjusting a pair of cat ears perched on top of her head. I drew back behind one of our carved wood columns to watch surreptitiously. She knocked on the front door and waited. When Lucas answered, Amber looped her arms around his neck and kissed him casually. I drew back sharply, feeling a pit open up in the bottom of my stomach. Amber took Lucas by the hand and led him back to her car. Before they pulled away, I thought I saw Lucas glance in my direction.

“I’ve got the pumpkins.” Royal emerged from my house, carrying three fat pumpkins. “Who’s got the knives?”

“Here,” Cassie replied, following him out of the house. “Oh, we need a bowl for the guts.”

“There’s one in the kitchen,” I said, rising. “I’ll get it.” Cassie’s eyes shifted to something over my shoulder. I turned. Derek was walking up the flagstone path to my house. He nodded a greeting to Royal and Cassie.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Derek asked me. Dark circles marred the skin under his eyes, giving his face a drawn, sickly look. “It’s important.”

Royal’s eyes narrowed to unfriendly slits. “I sincerely doubt that.”

“It’s okay,” I said, standing. “I’ll be right back.” Royal’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. Cassie handed him a carving knife, but her eyes were full of questions.

I followed Derek back to the sidewalk. We huddled together against the crisp autumn breeze. The sky was a blank gray slate that seemed to draw the color out of everything around us. Derek faced me.

“You don’t look so good,” I said.

Derek smiled humorlessly. “Didn’t sleep so good.” He was quiet for a moment. “You remember when we were kids and Scott Legant’s gang whaled on me every day after school?”

“Of course I remember,” I said. “It was because of me. You stood up to them when they tried to take my field trip money.”

“Yeah. Pretty stupid of me.”

“I thought it was pretty decent,” I said. “You were a decent guy, briefly.”

Derek shrugged. “I was weak. I went home with bloody noses four days in a row, and my parents never said a word about it.” A deep bitterness filled his voice. “My dad didn’t believe in coddling weakness. He expected us to take care of our own problems. When I finally went to him for help, he says, ‘In this life, you’re a predator or you’re prey. You decide which it’s going to be.’ So I decided. And it’s been like living someone else’s life ever since.” He kicked at a clump of brown grass. “I know I’ve been an ass to you these last couple of years. You guys, trying to help with this...” He stopped, frustrated, and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I’m not good at this stuff, but... For real. I appreciate it.” He looked up, meeting my eyes. “And I’m really sorry.”

I didn’t know how to react. I’d never seen him like this before. He looked... sincere. I nodded, and Derek gave me a half-hearted smile.

“So. Do you think I’m screwed or what?”

“I don’t know,” I said. He deserved the truth.

Before Derek turned back to the clump of grass at his feet, I saw a flash of something in his eyes. I realized he was terrified.

“Okay, cool. I’ll just...” He shrugged again. “Wait and see.”

A patch of air seemed to darken over Derek’s shoulder. It took a minute for me to realize what I was seeing. A thin ribbon of shadow coalesced in the air, like a line of ink spilled into water. The twisting blackness edged toward Derek, curled around his face. It stroked his cheek, then seemed to dissipate. Derek did not react to the touch. I stared.

“What is it?” Derek asked. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“Nothing,” I stammered. “I should get back... They’re waiting for me.”

Derek gave me a strange look, then shrugged. “Happy Halloween,” he said, and walked down the street.

I turned away from Derek and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, dialing Dad. He was with Hale tonight. Guard business.

He picked up on the second ring. “Braedyn? What’s wrong?” I described what I’d just seen. Dad listened silently. When I finished, I heard him take a deep breath. “Okay.”

“What do you mean okay? What was that thing?”

“The Lilitu that attacked Derek is trying to keep their connection alive. She’s making sure he doesn’t forget about her.”

“He didn’t even react,” I said.

“He couldn’t see it,” Dad said. “Most humans can’t.”

A jolt of panic speared through my stomach. “So my being able to see it, this is a Lilitu thing?”

“Stay calm. Remember, we knew this was going to happen.”

I hugged myself tightly, trying to calm down. “What do I do now?”

“Go about your evening. Have fun with your friends. I’ll talk to Hale.” He hung up.

I heard the shrill laughter of a group of elementary school kids and glanced up. Trick-or-treaters darted along the sidewalks, chaperoned by smiling parents. Kids walked past me, talking and laughing.

“Braedyn,” Cassie called. “It’s getting dark!”

“Coming.” I shuddered, and this time it wasn’t because of the cold October air. There must have been a hundred people walking the street, admiring costumes, collecting candy. Not one of them sensed a demon in their midst.

The following Monday in gym class, Ms. Davies announced we’d be starting volleyball.

“I’m going to split the class into four teams of four,” she said. “You’ll each play a three-game set.”

“I call Cassie and Braedyn,” Royal said.

“Not so fast.” Ms. Davies held up a sheet of paper. Instead of letting us pick teams, Ms. Davies had randomly assigned them. She read off the teams. As more and more names were called, I felt a growing sense of unease. Royal and Cassie were sent to the other side of the gym to face off on opposite teams. And Lucas and I were assigned to the same team on this side of the gym.