Thrall (32 page)

I leaned over and hugged him. He squeezed me warmly in return. When I pulled back, I could see all the questions he wanted to ask burning in his eyes.

I got out of the car. It felt like I was looking through a window onto normal teenage life, but I was forever trapped outside of that world now. How could anything ever feel normal again? The world was poised on the edge of a crisis. And only a hundred people out of the billions of us who shared this world knew it. Tomorrow. Everything would be decided tomorrow.

“I’m going home to sleep for a short forever,” Royal yawned. “See you guys tomorrow.” He pulled out of the driveway, leaving Lucas and me alone.

Lucas glanced at his house. “I should see if Gretchen’s back.”

“Yeah, I’m going to go look for Dad.”

We parted ways and I walked up the front steps of my house. I put my hand on the front door and it shifted. The door was unlocked. I edged it open, uncertain.

“Dad?” There was no response. I glanced in the kitchen and the living room; both were empty. I gripped my book bag tightly and walked to the base of the stairs. The phone rang and I almost jumped out of my skin. I picked up a handset in the living room. It was Lucas.

“No one’s here,” he said. “Did you find Murphy?”

“I don’t think he’s here,” I said quietly.

“You okay?” he asked.

“The front door was unlocked.” I hesitated, then bit my lip. “Something’s wrong.”

“Stay where you are. I’m coming over.”

He was by my side twenty seconds later, eyes sharp. We walked upstairs and peeked into Dad’s room, the first door on the right. It was empty. So was the upstairs bathroom. My room was the last door on the left. The door was slightly ajar. When I pushed it open, I screamed.

My room was trashed. Empty dresser drawers were jumbled in a pile under one window. Shreds of clothes obscured the floor. The mattress had been upended and slashed, ribbons of fabric and a few bent springs spilling out of it like entrails. My bookshelf had been cleared, the books tossed in a heap alongside the scattered collection of artifacts from my childhood.

Lucas pulled me back down the hall, down the stairs, and out of the house. We ran into the Guard’s house and locked the front door.

“Come on,” he said, helping me up the stairs. “My room has a good view of your house. We can wait there until your dad comes back.”

I nodded stupidly as my reason started returning. My room was the only room in the house that had been trashed. It wasn’t a robbery. Someone was looking for something. Something of mine. Or something about me. We got to Lucas’ room and I went straight for his window.

I could see my room. The curtains had been ripped off the rod, there was nothing to screen the devastation from view. Who would have done this? Thane and Gretchen? Maybe, if Hale had sided with Dad, they might consider taking matters into their own hands. But why trash my room? Why not just wait for me to return and attack? If not Thane and Gretchen... I drew in a shaky breath. There was one other person who wanted to hurt me. Amber thought I’d done something to Parker. She wouldn’t know what she was looking for so she might search everything. And she was mad enough at me for wrecking her life that she might see it as justice to wreck my room.

Lucas put an arm around my shoulder. I turned toward him, and buried my face in his shirt. I felt his arms tighten around me. As he held me, a question burned white hot in my mind.

“What would you do if you found the Lilitu that killed Eric?” I asked. I felt Lucas’ back tense. I leaned away from him to study his face. But instead of the anger I expected, I saw uncertainty.

“I don’t know. I...” he looked at me, solemn. “I don’t know if I have it in me to kill something.” I swallowed, hardly daring to believe what I was hearing.

“Maybe,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Maybe running away is the best option.”

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “You may be good at sparring, but neither of us are soldiers. All we’d be taking from the Guard is another pair of mouths to feed.” I felt a swell of feeling, and tears stung my eyes. Lucas reached up to touch my face. “Hey,” he said. “It’s going to be okay.”

I kissed him, and he responded. As the kiss grew in passion, I felt the swirling, roiling storm rising to meet him. I froze, remembering the kiss from the movie theater. Lucas pulled back, concerned. I felt the storm recede, and could trace the edge of the power inside me. If I could keep it from reaching him...

I leaned back into the kiss. Lucas’ arms tightened around me again. He drew me down onto the bed with him. I felt the storm surge. It strained to connect with him like the questing tendril of a tornado seeking the ground. I struggled with it and it fought me, furiously wrestling against my will. I managed to push the storm to the back of my mind, to focus on Lucas and the other - the human - sensations of our kiss.

I didn’t hear the front door open, or the footsteps on the stairs. The first moment I was aware that Lucas and I weren’t alone was when Gretchen grabbed me by the hair and wrenched me away from him. I was so startled that I didn’t have the presence of mind to catch myself. I sprawled on the floor.

“Gretchen? What the hell?!” Lucas was on his feet, furious.

I looked up at Gretchen, sick with dread. I knew there was nothing I could do to stop her. No reason for her to protect him from the truth any longer.

“Look at her, Lucas,” Gretchen said, her eyes tight with rage. “She’s one of them.”

Lucas looked at me, but no flicker of recognition passed over his face.

Gretchen gripped his shoulder, hard. “Braedyn is a Lilitu.”

For one breathless second he just stared at her. “No. That’s... That’s crazy. Braedyn’s...” Lucas’ eyes swiveled toward me, pleading. “She’s one of us.”

“If you don’t believe me,” Gretchen said. “Ask her for the truth.” Lucas turned toward me, eyes brimming with confusion.

“I can explain,” I said. But even to me, the words seemed hollow.

Lucas shook his head, fighting the dawning comprehension. “But... it can’t be true.” His eyes searched mine, holding fast to a frantic hope. “Unless... Those dreams...?” My silence confirmed his worst fears. He stepped back, sick.

“I would never hurt you,” I said, my voice a hoarse whisper.

As the truth sunk in, I saw him transform into a stranger. Understanding leached all the compassion from his face. A terrible alchemy moved through him, changing his feelings of warmth to hatred, chasing up every tender memory of our time together and poisoning it. I watched it happen in silence. There was nothing I could say to make it better.

And then Lucas moved. I heard the sound of metal sliding free from a sheath.

Gretchen caught Lucas’ wrist and I saw the Guardsman’s dagger in his hand. “No, Lucas. Not like this.” Terror flooded through me like an icy wash. I was on my feet and diving for the door before Gretchen could wrestle the daggers away from Lucas, snatching my bag on the way out.

I stumbled into the hallway and half-ran, half-fell down the stairs. I heard Gretchen race out of the room behind me. By the time I reached the foyer, she was on the stairs, taking them two at a time. I burst out of the house and directly into Hale, who was standing on the porch. He caught me reflexively. The light of the afternoon highlighted the scar on his cheek. We stared at each other for half a second. I don’t know what he saw in my face, but he looked haggard.

“Hale! Stop her!” Gretchen was pounding across the foyer behind me.

Hale’s head whipped toward her. I felt his hand move for the daggers at his side. But he hesitated.

“I found her with Lucas!” Gretchen screamed. Hale’s eyes swiveled back to me, full of pain.

I shoved past him and vaulted over the porch railing. When I hit the ground, I ran flat-out across the Guard’s front lawn and hurtled the low dividing fence. I raced to my car, spilling the contents of my bag on the grass until my fingers closed on my car keys. I saw my phone hit the ground and spared a second to grab it. In that second I saw Gretchen leap off the porch steps next door and start racing across the lawn.

Somehow, I got into my car and locked the doors before she made contact. As Gretchen pounded on my windshield, I turned the key and gunned the engine. She fell back as I peeled out. The last thing I saw in my rearview mirror was Gretchen frantically waving Hale toward her car.

The Firebird roared as I hit the gas, desperate to put as much distance between us as possible. I felt the tiny hope I’d been nurturing all day sputter and go out. The Guard might have been willing to forgive me for what had happened with Parker, but Lucas was one of their own.

And every single one of them had warned me to stay away from him.

As the adrenaline wore off, I found myself heading toward the freeway and realized I had no idea where to go. I pulled into an empty parking lot to think. I killed the engine and the car shuddered into silence. It was cold outside; the sun was already dropping toward the horizon. Sunset came earlier and earlier as Winter Solstice drew near, preparing for the shortest day of the year. As I sat in the car, listening to the muffled sound of the passing traffic, my breath fogged the windows. I noticed something in the rearview mirror; a neat bundle of dark green piled on the back seat. I’d never taken Cassie’s gift out of the car. I pulled the velvet jacket onto my lap and spread it out over my legs. It kept the chill at bay while I considered my situation. I didn’t want to leave town without talking to Dad. Which meant I needed somewhere to wait. Preferably somewhere with heat. I thought about heading to the mall and trying to lose myself in the crowd, but the thought of being around so many strangers made me feel even more lost and alone. I perked up at that thought. I wasn’t entirely alone. I turned the key in the ignition, making a decision.

I drove across town, toward the mountains. As the road took me higher, the city opened up in my rearview mirror. When night fell and the streetlights kicked on, it would look like a vast pool of stars. I pulled to a stop at the guardhouse barring entry into the sprawling gated Foothills community. I gave the guard my name and told him where I was heading. He checked his computer, nodded, and let me through.

I drove past mansions with artfully xeriscaped front yards. Prairie grasses stood in elegant contrast to spiky succulents, both nestled among boulders collected from the foot of the mountain. A lot of Coronado Prep students lived in these houses. I drove higher into the foothills and turned down the last street on the left.

Royal’s house looked out over the city below. The entire front portion of the modern adobe house was glass, to take advantage of the breathtaking views. I pulled into the driveway and parked. As I got out of the car, I shrugged into the green velvet coat, grateful for its warmth. By the time I’d walked up the stone path to the front door, the sun was balanced on the horizon like a fat red jewel. Royal came to the door, slightly disheveled. He hadn’t been joking when he said he was going home to sleep. For once, his tousled brown hair actually looked like bed head. He rubbed at his eyes, took one look at me, and opened the door.

A few minutes later, I sat curled up at one end of the window seat in his family’s kitchen. Royal pushed an oversized stoneware mug into my hands and sat on the other side of the window seat, facing me. Steam curled off the surface of my tea. I breathed it in, taking the spicy aroma into my lungs. Royal leaned back against the curving adobe wall of the window seat and waited.

“I have to tell you something,” I said. “It’s going to sound crazy, but I need you to listen.” I took a deep breath and told Royal everything, starting with the Homecoming dance when I’d first seen Karayan, all the way through the night I’d visited Parker in his dream and how Thane had felt my touch on his mind. I left Lucas out of it, but I told Royal everything else. Ais, the Wall, the coming war. He listened in silence, keeping his face smooth. When I began my story, the sun had just started to dip behind the horizon. By the time I’d finished, the sky was filled with the glimmering pinpricks of stars, which seemed mirrored by the streetlights of the city at our feet. I sat back, my hands trembling around the mug. It wasn’t steaming any more, but it was still warm between my palms.

“Hm.” Royal said. I stared at him, expecting some further reaction. But he just took another sip of his tea.

“That’s it?” I couldn’t get a read on his reaction.

“Sorry, did I miss my cue? This is my first ‘By the way, I’m a demon’ conversation, so if you’re looking for the standard response, you’ll have to give me some flash cards.” Royal’s eyes glimmered.

“I’m not kidding,” I whispered.

“You’re not a demon, Braedyn,” he said, his smile fading. “These people who are trying to make you think you’re evil, they’re... they’re sick.”

I stood, turning away from him in frustration. “You’re not listening to me.”

“Because you’re talking crazy. Start talking sane, and you’ll have my full attention.”

I shook my head. The terror and grief of this afternoon were catching up to me. I felt wrung out, as though I’d burned through my lifetime allotment of tears. “I have no place to go.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” When I didn’t answer, Royal walked over to me. He put a hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him. “Come on, Braedyn. If you’re not careful, you’re going to scare me. Do you really want that on your conscience?”

“Maybe you should be scared.”

“We’ve known each other since first grade!” he said, exasperated. “I know you better than you know yourself.” He crossed his arms when I laughed bitterly. “You can’t believe this crap. What’s your proof? You had a revenge dream about hurting Parker? I’ve got some news for you, I have multiple fantasies about hurting Parker every single day.”

I glanced at him sharply, my breath catching.

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“You want proof?”

Royal eyed me up and down, unsettled. “Yeah, sure. Hit me with your best shot.”

I took a deep breath, letting my mind return to the night of Derek’s death. Hale had named it
the call
. I felt a vibrating energy build from a tiny flicker to an almost violent storm with in me. I focused on Royal, desperate to make him hear me.