Underworld (17 page)

Someone yelled
“Farah!”
and she looked back towards the group from which she’d disentangled herself in order to come over and issue her invitation.

“Oh,” she said, biting her cherry-red lip. “I gotta go. But try to come, will you? It’s gonna be
epic
.”

Then she ran back to Seth with an excited wave to us.

I stood there for a moment, feeling dazed. Not too long ago, someone else had said
It’s gonna be epic
to me.

It had been Jade.

The uneasy feeling inside me suddenly got a little worse … and not only because of what I’d learned about my mom and Mr. Rector’s high-school relationship. A drop of rain hit me squarely on the cheek. I held out one of my hands. Another drop hit me in the center of my palm.

The groups of people around us began to move more quickly, searching for shelter. Henry started taking extra-large bites from his cotton candy, fearful the rain would melt it before he had the opportunity to enjoy it.

“It’s not as bad as all that,” John said, grinning as he noticed my expression. “It’s only rain. And at least now we know where the coffin is.”

“Where it’s going to be
tomorrow
,” I said. I couldn’t keep the anxiety I felt out of my voice. “It isn’t even built yet. What if you’re right about that image I saw on my phone? What if it’s of the future … the distant future? We can’t keep chasing after Alex like this every night.”

I remembered asking John that morning if I could have a tablet like the one he kept in his pocket, and his response —
Definitely not.
Now I knew why he had been so curt.

“If all your magic mirror thing ever shows is people suffering, but there’s nothing you can do to help, what’s the point in even having one?” I asked him bitterly.

“That’s not all they ever show,” John said. “They show your heart’s desire … what you most want to see — or who — at the time you’re looking.”

“Then mine must be broken,” I said. It made sense. Why wouldn’t mine be broken? I was broken, too. Or at least I hadn’t felt normal in a long time.

“Yours isn’t broken,” John said. “Considering it’s a mobile device from earth, and no mobile device from earth has ever functioned in the Underworld before, I don’t quite understand … yet.” He was looking at me speculatively. “But it did exactly what ours do. You were worried about your family, so what you were shown was your heart’s desire: the one member of your family who’s in immediate danger, and needs your —”

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted. Something dawned on me. “Was that how you always knew when
I
was in trouble and needed help? Like that day at school, with Mr. Mueller? And at the jeweler’s that time? Because
I
was the one you most wanted to see when you looked down into your —”

“Oh, look,” John said, seeming infinitely relieved by the interruption. “Here comes Frank.”

Frank was sauntering over. “Found him,” he said, with casual nonchalance.

My heart gave a swoop. Only something as monumental as my cousin finally being located could distract me from the discovery that all those times my boyfriend had rescued me from mortal peril, it had been because he’d been spying on me from the Underworld via a handheld device seemingly operated by the Fates. “
Where?
”

“Exactly where Miss Kayla left him.” Frank led us a few booths down, to a dark passageway set back from the street. Over the passageway was an arch made of wrought iron, covered in twinkling fairy lights, through which vines of bright yellow bougainvillea twisted.

On top of the archway sat Hope, cooing to herself. When she noticed me, she lifted her wings and took off, ducking inside the arch.

The archway led to the large outdoor courtyard, thickly canopied by tree branches through which more fairy lights had been strung, and colored lanterns had been hung to give the place a deeply romantic air.

It was from this courtyard, I realized, that the lively Spanish music we’d been hearing all night had been playing. I could see a small stage lit with floodlights, with several musicians standing on it, including a few guitar players and a beautiful singer in a tight red dress, a hibiscus flower in her hair. In front of the stage, couples of all ages were dancing. Small tables were scattered throughout the yard, many of them empty. That was probably because most people preferred the vibrant activity on the street.

There was food available, however. A long table on one side of the courtyard offered up a buffet. Hope had planted herself in front of this table, pecking the ground for any morsel that might have dropped from diners’ plates. I didn’t blame her. I could smell the delicious aromas of marinated chicken and seafood, and realized once again how ravenous I was. The frozen fruit I’d eaten hadn’t been enough to satisfy my appetite.

“Madame.” Kayla startled me by stepping out of the deep shadows of the archway and giving a dramatic sweep of her purple velvet cape. “Your cousin Alex awaits.” She pointed at one of the white plastic tables sheltered by the branches of a large tree.

There was no mistaking the figure sitting slumped in the glow of his cell phone. It was Alex, all right. His thumbs were moving rapidly over his keypad.

“Thanks, Kayla,” I said. To John, I said, ignoring the hunger pangs from my stomach, “I’ll be right back,” and started walking over to my cousin’s table.

“I’ll accompany you,” John said, falling into step beside me. “If you don’t mind.”

I stopped. “John,” I said. I felt flustered because of the aroma of the food and the fact that I’d come so far only to find Alex texting —
texting
— in such a beautiful courtyard while everyone else was having a good time at the festival, even if what they were celebrating was something macabre … the death and burial of my boyfriend. At least underneath the thick canopy of leaves I couldn’t feel the hard intermittent drops of rain. “I know your magic mirror probably doesn’t work up here on earth, but you can see with your own eyes that I’m not in danger right now.”

His dark eyebrows lifted. “I beg your pardon?”

“I don’t need your help right now,” I explained. “You’ll actually only get in the way. You don’t know Alex. And he doesn’t know you. All he knows is whatever my grandmother told him about you … and I highly doubt that was anything good. He isn’t going to talk in front of you.”

“Perhaps not.” John’s smile was polite. “But you’re wrong about not being in danger right now.” He nodded at my chest.

I looked down. In the rosy glow of the party lanterns, I saw what he meant. The diamond dangling from my necklace had gone the same color as the storm clouds that had been gathering all night.

Somewhere close by lurked a Fury.

D
on’t worry,” John said. “We’ll take care of it …
without
getting in your way.”

Already, Mr. Liu and Frank had split up, Mr. Liu taking the outer edges of the courtyard, scanning the few people at the tables, and Frank whirling Kayla out onto the dance floor so he’d have a reason to be in the middle of all the couples gathered there. Even Henry left his cotton candy and drink on an empty table, and scrambled up one of the trees for a better lookout position.

“What will you do if you find a Fury?” I blurted. “Kill it?”

Even before the words came out of my mouth, I regretted them. A cloud as dark as the ones blackening my diamond came over his face, and John looked away, saying, “No. As you reminded me earlier, killing doesn’t stop Furies … unfortunately. But pain can be a remarkably effective deterrent sometimes.”

I bit my lip. His tone was flippant, but I’d heard the wounded pride behind it.

I put a hand on his arm and said, “John, I’m sorry. Surely we can find another way to defeat them.”

He shook his head, looking vaguely amused.

“Go and talk to your cousin,” he said. “I’ll keep watch.”

Pressing my lips together, I walked to where Alex was sitting. I guess I could understand it. John had been doing this for nearly two hundred years, after all. Who was I to think I was such an expert, after less than a week?

“Alex,” I said, sliding into a chair next to him.

He didn’t acknowledge me, still entirely focused on his phone. It took me a few seconds to realize it was because he was wearing earbuds. Sitting in a courtyard where fantastic live music was playing, and he was wearing earbuds. Unbelievable.

I reached over and yanked one out.
“Alex.”

He jerked his face from the screen, and turned to look at me. When he realized who I was, he didn’t smile. He frowned.

“Oh, hey, Pierce,” he said. “My dad said you were back. He just called, actually, and said all hell has broken loose because you went to the house with your new boyfriend and left some kind of note saying that you’re running off with him to get married or something. Congratulations. So what are you doing
here
?”

Married? I hadn’t said anything about getting married. Why was everyone in my family so dramatic?

“What are
you
doing here?” I shot back. “Didn’t Uncle Chris tell you to come home?”

“What are you now, the parental police?” Alex asked, with a laugh. “You’re one to talk. Where have you been for the past two days? Off with this guy? Who is he, anyway? Did you know the cops are looking for you? Your dad is on the way into town, and I hear he isn’t too happy with you. Better watch out, or he might cut off that thousand-dollars-a-week allowance.”

“It isn’t a thousand dollars a week,” I said, even more annoyed. “Who are you texting?”

He showed me his screen. “
World of Warcraft
.”

“Well, Alex, put it down,” I said. “I need to talk to you.”

“What about?” He didn’t put down the phone. “How your new boyfriend punched Grandma in the face? That was classic, by the way.” He snickered. “Wish I could meet him.”

A second later, his phone disappeared. Not because he’d decided to put it away and have an adult conversation with me, but because John had removed it from his grasp.

“Looks like you’re getting your wish,” he said, sliding into an empty chair beside Alex.

“Dude,” Alex said, looking outraged and a little stunned at the same time. “That’s my personal property. What did you do with it?”

The mobile had disappeared into thin air. It wasn’t in either of John’s hands.

“Your cousin asked you to put it down,” John explained, pleasantly enough. “And my name isn’t
dude
, it’s John. Pierce has gone to a lot of time and trouble to find you tonight. The least you can do is give her the courtesy of your full attention.”

Alex glared at him. Even in the pink glow of the party lanterns, I could see that his face was red, but whether it was from anger or embarrassment, I didn’t know.

Perhaps it was from astonishment. Because a second later, a wide, low bowl, laden with steaming lobster tails, shrimp, chicken, chorizo, vegetables, and Spanish rice appeared in the middle of the table, along with a pitcher of ice-cold water, a plate piled high with warm Cuban bread, and enough plates, glasses, and cutlery for everyone.

No waitperson was seen delivering these things. They were simply not there one moment, and there the next.

“Now,” John said, leaning forward to reach for a napkin, “we’re going to enjoy this food. You’re welcome to join us. When we’re through, you’ll get your phone back. Do you understand, Alexander?”

Now Alex wasn’t glaring. He was staring, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

I could relate to the feeling. How had John done all this? I thought the Fates worked only in the Underworld.

Then I remembered the bird John had brought back to life that day in the cemetery, and the burst of light he’d created in my mom’s house. A cheap magician’s trick, he’d called it….

There’s nothing cheap about this, I thought.

Deciding that I was so hungry, I didn’t care how he’d done it, I reached for my own napkin, spreading it onto my lap, then accepting the heaping helping of paella John served onto my plate from the bowl in the center of the table.

“How … how are you doing this?” Alex demanded, his gaze darting suspiciously between John and me. He sounded nervous. His voice shook a little. “What do you want from me? Is this some kind of reality TV show?” He looked around the courtyard, seemingly scanning for hidden cameras. “I know my rights, you know. You can’t show my face unless I’ve signed a waiver. And since I’m still under eighteen, my dad has to fill out a consent form.”

“Alex,” I said to him. “This isn’t a TV show. I just want to talk.”

“Why?” His eyes narrowed distrustfully. “I didn’t do anything. Whatever you’re messed up in with this guy, Pierce, I don’t want to get involved.” He glanced down at the food. It was clear he thought it was all stolen … or possibly bewitched. For all I knew, it might have been. “I’ve got my own problems to deal with.”

“That’s what I want to talk to you about, Alex,” I said. I was feeling better already from the few mouthfuls of rice and shrimp I’d swallowed. For food that might have been conjured up from the realm of darkness, it certainly tasted heavenly. “I know how upset you are about your dad, and him getting dragged in for questioning about Jade’s murder —”

Alex’s expression grew defensive. “He was home with me during the time she was killed,” he said. “This whole thing is completely bogus. You know who they should be asking about Jade?
This guy.
” He stabbed a nail-bitten finger at John. “Who the hell is he? I’ve never even seen him around here before.”

“Okay,” I said, in a soothing voice. Alex wouldn’t have liked hearing it, but he had a lot in common with John. When Alex felt cornered, he too lashed out at the people who were only trying to help him, because for so many years the only kind of treatment he’d experienced was indifference and cruelty. It was my grandmother who’d raised him, after all.

“But John was with me when Jade was murdered,” I explained. “So he didn’t do it, either. Someone else on this island did. We don’t know who yet. So taking out your frustrations about your dad on Seth Rector and the entire A-wing isn’t —”

Now instead of red, Alex’s cheeks went pale. He appeared startled … and maybe even a little guilt-stricken.
“What?”

“That’s right, I know,” I said, giving him my best disapproving older cousin look. I was older than he was only by several months, but it still counted. “I know you’re going to try to do something to the coffin.”

Alex’s shock only increased. “The
coffin
?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Alex,” I said. The water John had poured into my glass was refreshingly cool, especially after the spicy paella. “You told me yourself it was kind of perfect that I was on the coffin committee. That way you’d know where they were at all times. That’s what you said. It’s obvious you’re planning on ruining the senior coffin to get back at Seth Rector for something he did to you.”

Alex shook his head. Some of the shock must have worn off. “Yeah, Pierce,” he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. “That’s it. The reason I was so excited you were on this year’s coffin committee was so I could destroy all of Seth Rector’s dreams, the way he destroyed all mine by bullying me in kindergarten. Are you serious with this? Come on.”

I glanced uncertainly at John. His attention was focused on Alex. But his fingers, I noticed, were moving restlessly, even as they held his fork. He was ready in case of any kind of attack.

I looked over my shoulder. Frank was still spinning Kayla around on the dance floor. She looked as if she was in heaven, a huge smile on her face, her head thrown back, her wildly curling hair a brown and purple aurora. She was completely unaware that as they were dancing, Frank, like John, was watching the rest of the courtyard, especially the dark corner where our table was located. Not that it mattered that Kayla hadn’t noticed this … or that I was looking her way. She’d never been able to give me any insight as to why Alex hated Seth Rector so much, either.

I looked back at Alex.

“Actually,” I said, “I
am
serious about this, Alex. I know you’re planning on doing something that’s going to get you in big trouble with Seth Rector. And I’m not going to let you.”

Alex’s face contorted into an ugly sneer. “Oh, why?” he demanded. “Because you’re so concerned the popular crowd won’t like you anymore? You don’t want to be associated with us lowly Cabreros? Well, let me tell you something, Pierce. You kind of shot your opportunity to hang with A-wingers when you took off to go slutting around with this muscle-bound freak —”

To emphasize his words, Alex reached out and flipped the table over, sending paella flying everywhere, then lunged at John.

I don’t know what Alex could have been thinking. John was almost a foot taller than he was, and quite a bit heavier, all of it lean muscle. Then there was the small fact that John was keeper of the dead and ruler of the Underworld … though Alex had no way of knowing this.

In a heartbeat, Alex was thrown back into his plastic chair. John stood over him, holding him down with one hand as Alex panted and struggled, looking like a bait worm on a hook.

“Are you insane?” I asked Alex in disbelief as I flicked bits of rice from the skirt of my dress. “What is
wrong
with you?”

John looked over at me and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Of course I’m all right,” I said. “But your beautiful dinner …” I stared at the mess on the courtyard floor. “It’s ruined.”

“Never mind about that,” John said, turning his attention back to Alex.

How was I supposed to not mind about that? I could feel everyone’s gaze on us — though mercifully the music hadn’t stopped. Pieces of broken plate littered the bricks, along with glass from the smashed water pitcher. Rice and lobster tails were scattered everywhere.

Mr. Liu strode over, as boldly as if he were running the place. “Everything is all right here,” he said in an authoritative voice, standing in front of John and Alex and blocking the view of them from onlookers with his bulk. “Everything is fine.”

The curious drifted away, though Henry scrambled down from his tree, and Frank and Kayla were making their way from across the dance floor.

“We’re only trying to help you,” I said to Alex. “I don’t care about being popular, or the stupid coffin. I care about
you
. I’m trying to keep you from getting hurt.”

“If you really cared about me,” Alex said in an angry voice, still straining against the hand holding him into the chair, “you’d leave me alone. You have no idea what I’m going through.”

“No,” John leaned down and said to him in a low, dangerous voice I knew he hadn’t intended for me to overhear. “You have no idea what
she’s
been through to get here to talk to you. The only reason you’re still breathing right now is because she doesn’t like it when I hurt people.”

Alex threw him a rebellious look, but seemed to believe him, since he pressed his lips together.

Kayla rushed over, clutching a handful of napkins.

“Oh, my God,” she said, beginning to dab at the front of my dress. “Chickie, you’re a mess! Alex, what is wrong with you? I saw the whole thing, don’t even try to deny you started it. Whatever happened to letting it go, like they taught us in the program?”

Alex scowled at her. Apparently he didn’t care to listen to New Pathways rhetoric just then.

“Kayla is right,” I said. “I don’t know why you hate Seth Rector so much, or what he ever did to you, but you’ve got to let it go. It’s only going to get you in trouble.”

“Show ’im, miss,” Henry said, gravely, pointing at my bag. “Show ’im how much trouble, on your magic mirror. Then he’ll believe you.”

I saw John’s eyes flash silver at me, catching the light from the nearby hanging lanterns. I wasn’t certain if it was with approval or disapproval of Henry’s idea, but I figured I had nothing to lose, now that my parents knew I was not being held against my will. How fast could the FBI triangulate a signal, if they were even tracing it anymore?

I reached into my bag for my cell, then turned on the power. Disappointingly, my phone behaved exactly the way it was supposed to, showing me my messages — over a hundred of them, mostly from my mother — instead of the creepy video of Alex. That was nowhere to be found.

“My, er, magic mirror doesn’t work the same way here as it does back home, Henry,” I said.

Henry looked disappointed. “Well, you really want to do as she says, anyway,” he told Alex. “Trust me.”

Alex seemed unable to sit in silence anymore. Looking from Henry, in his strange clothes, to me, he burst out, “Jesus, Pierce, what is going on? Who
are
these guys? I get that your dad is the richest guy in America, but what did you do, go out and buy your own circus?”