“Just call her,” Vicky whispers in my ear, making me shiver.
Just when I tap on the face that says Mom, my phone rings. Charlie’s name flashes across the screen.
I pick up. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Dante, I’m with Simon and Quinn. We’re having a meeting about Paul. Can you come?”
I look at the time. It’s too late to go to that bird park and I really want to know what’s going on with Paul. “Sure. Where are you?”
“We’re at a bar called The Winged Centaur.”
My eyebrows shoot up as I try to envision such a creature. “Please tell me that name was made up.”
He chuckles. “I’m afraid not.”
I place my fingers against my temple to contain the headache sneaking through my brain. “Okay, whatever. Just give me the address.”
“Pine street 2A.”
“That doesn’t exist.” As soon as I say it out loud, I remember all the houses and buildings popping up out of nowhere. “Never mind. I’ll be right there. Order me a Monster, I need it.”
After explaining to my Shield what the plan is, I call Mom. She’s over the moon when I ask her to come with me to the bird park tomorrow and I feel a bit better.
“We won’t all fit into the car, though,” I tell the ghosts. “I know you can all… overlap, but that just makes me nauseous.”
“That’s okay,” Vicky interrupts. “Maël and I will stay here, to search for a spell to cure her.”
I want to object. I’d rather take Vicky with me and leave someone else here. But I know she’s the spell expert, so in the end I agree. “I’ll have to come up with an excuse to come here first.”
“Leave your wallet here,” D’Maeo suggests.
I take out some money and drop the wallet on the kitchen counter. “Guard it with your lives.”
They all frown at me, except for Taylar, who bends over with laughter.
I shrug at the others. “I guess it’s teenage humor.”
Just as expected, there’s an unknown building next to the hotel on Pine Street. An iron sign in the shape of a horse with a man’s torso screams THE WINGED CENTAUR. Large wings protrude from its back and touch the roof. Although it’s just after four in the afternoon, it’s crowded inside. Yellow and red light bounce off the shiny interior.
A sign I’ve never seen before points towards a small parking lot at the side of the building. I lock Phoenix and walk towards the front door as confident as I can manage. I expect to be hit by the scent of sweat and alcohol as soon as I enter, but it actually smells better here than outside.
I sniff the air. “Sea breeze and freshly mown grass,” I mumble to myself.
As soon as I close the door, there’s a hand on my shoulder. “Hey handsome.”
I whirl around to face a girl with golden hair and red eyes. You’d think the red eyes would be her most prominent feature, but when I say golden hair, I don’t mean blonde. Her locks actually shine like gold. She is extremely hot. Literally.
I shrug her hand off and suppress a shiver when I see her long claw-like fingers. “H-hi,” I stammer. “I’m meeting some friends. So, uh… see you later.”
I turn away from her when someone slaps my ass. When I try to see who hit me, all I find is a tail. A dragon’s tail. It belongs to the girl with the red eyes.
I grin like a maniac, trying to hide my fear. “Got to go.”
“Ooh,” she coos, “don’t go yet. How about a dance first?” Her tail wraps around me and pulls me closer to her. Heat almost burns my skin.
“Dante!” A loud voice booms beside us.
Quinn’s smile lights up the room. “Hey man!” He holds up his hand and I slap it. “Shouldn’t you stay away from pretty beings? What would your girl think if she saw this?”
I blink for a moment. “Right. Vicky wouldn’t be happy.” I throw dragon girl a crooked smile. “Sorry, maybe in another life.”
She finally lets go and points a sharp finger at me. “I’ll hold you to that.”
I grunt while we walk away. Why did I say that? She could stalk me for eternity if we end up like ghosts.
Quinn leans toward me. “Don’t worry, dragons are very loyal and respect loyalty in others.”
“Oh good.” It doesn’t come out as enthusiastic as I meant it, because I’m still trying to wrap my head around the concept that dragons, witches, wizards, fairies and centaurs exist.
I keep my head down all the way to the table at the back, ignoring everything and everyone around me. I really don’t want to bump into another strange creature out of some fairy tale or myth.
Simon gets up as soon as he spots me. He dives around Quinn, who’s pushing his broad body between a bench and table, that look like they were taken from the set of Alien.
“Dante!” Simon yells, making some people look around. “I’m so glad we don’t have to pretend anymore.”
He pulls me into an awkward hug and I pat him on the back. “Yeah, I’m glad, too.”
He lets go of me as if something stung him. “You aren’t mad at us, are you, old man? We couldn’t tell you, you know. Literally. It was physically impossible.” He blows a lock of hair out of his dark eyes.
I slide in beside Quinn and bump fists with my best friend, who’s sporting a shirt with a beach on it. “Charlie told me that, yes.”
“But you didn’t believe him, right?” Simon winks at me. “I didn’t either at first.”
“I’ve seen a lot of things that were hard to believe lately.” I stroke the metallic bench. It feels more like a soft fabric than metal.
“It’s enchanted,” Charlie says, sipping from his beer.
Simon is still acting like a five-year-old with an ice cream cone. He’s hopping from one foot to another and talking way too loud. “I’m finally not the newbie anymore. Now I can teach you a thing or two.”
Quinn puts down his glass of beer with a thump. “Sit down, you twerp. You’re embarrassing us all.”
I want to thank him for stating the obvious, when my gaze is pulled back to his glass. Wait a minute. Beer?
I point at it. “How did you manage to get that?”
He grins broadly. “Magical beings mature faster, so the legal drinking age is fifteen here.”
I gawk at him. “No way!” I gulp down the Monster in front of me. “Why didn’t you say so? Give me a beer then!”
Charlie hops from the bench and makes his way to the bar.
I lean over the table. “So you’ve all had your powers for a while?”
Simon shakes his head. “Not me. I discovered all this about three months ago. Charlie’s veil lifted six months ago and Quinn…” I can see his mind racing. Eventually he looks at our friend. “You’ve known your whole life, haven’t you?”
Quinn tilts his head a little. “Pretty much.”
I narrow my eyes. “I thought the veil lifted when someone’s power developed.”
He finishes his beer. “It does.”
Charlie comes back with four large beers.
In just a few seconds, I empty half of mine. “What kind of beer is this? It’s delicious.”
Charlie holds up his glass. “It’s goblin beer. Cheers.”
I almost spit out my next swig.
Simon slaps my back. “Don’t worry. Not all goblins are bad.”
I study the contents of my glass. “But they did something to it, right?”
“Of course.” Charlie licks his lips. “It tastes better than human beer, and it’s much safer, you know. You can get drunk, but it will wear off when you’re thirty feet from where you drank it.”
“No drunk driving, and no fights,” Quinn says.
I grin. “Awesome.”
“Definitely.” Quinn wipes the foam from his lips. “So who’s Vicky?”
My face heats up at the thought of her. But I’m not ready to tell them. “Don’t change the subject. We were talking about you. You’ve had your powers since y
ou were a baby? You’ve always known about this magical world?”
His dark eyes avoid mine. “Yes, as far as I know.”
“So what is it?”
He rakes his hand through his hair. “What is what?”
“Your power. What can you do?”
Charlie answers before he can. “He can read your mind.”
“No way!” I shoot Quinn a questioning look. “Really? That is so cool.”
He shrugs. “Sometimes.”
I try to imagine what it would be like to be able to hear everyone’s thoughts and agree that it could also suck a lot.
“That can’t have been easy on your father. Raising you alone, knowing you could hear everything he thought.”
His shoulders move up again. “He was used to it.”
“Oh right, I forgot. You’ve got brothers. Do they also have powers?”
Quinn moves his glass around in his hands. I’ve never seen him this uncomfortable. It’s like he doesn’t want to talk about this. But why not? We all have powers now. There shouldn’t be any more secrets between us.
Unless of course…
I feel his gaze upon me as soon as I think about the possibility that Quinn can’t be trusted. Too late I realize that he must have heard my thoughts.
I take a couple of sips from my beer and try to clear my mind.
“Yeah, they all have powers. The same as me. But as you know, I hardly ever see them.”
His voice is flat. I can’t look at him, so I just nod to my beer. I try to remember what I’ve been thinking around him before. He must already know about Vicky and the Shield, because I thought about them at my pre-vacation party a couple of nights ago. What if…
“Don’t worry about Quinn. You can trust him more than anyone.”
Oh great. The voice has decided to join us. Thanks, now he knows about you, too.
“Don’t worry. He already did.”
Of course he did, the first time the voice spoke to me was at the party at my house.
Slowly I look up. Charlie and Simon are whispering to each other about some girl dancing in the middle of the bar. They haven’t noticed the awkward silence between me and Quinn.
When I meet Quinn’s eyes, he lifts his beer.
“See, it’s fine,” the voice continues. “You should be more worried about Paul and Simon.”
Oh, I am. Especially about Paul.
Quinn doesn’t answer. Does that mean he feels the same way?
“Yes,” he says out loud.
Can you also hear the voice? I ask him in my head.
“Yes.”
This is the strangest conversation I’ve ever had. If I hadn’t seen all this crazy stuff over the last couple of days, I would have checked myself into a mental institution.
But I’m not crazy and I have to find out whether I can trust Simon.
“So,” I say, pulling the attention of the others back to me. “How about you, Simon? What’s your power?”
Charlie opens his mouth again to answer, but I raise my hand. “He can tell me himself.”
It’s obvious that Charlie wants to fill me in on everything now that he finally can. That makes me trust him more again. But I want Simon to explain his own powers to me. He might give away something about his intentions.
“I am an air elemental.”
I almost choke on my drink and wipe the spilled drops off my pants. “You’re a what?”
CHAPTER 10
A wide grin spreads over Simon’s face. “I’m an air elemental. Which means I can transform into wind.”
My disbelief must show on my face, because he stands up and beckons. “I’ll show you.”
“Can’t you do that here?”
He gestures towards the crowd and benches. “I don’t want to break anything or anyone.”
The others are already on their feet. Charlie conjures a block of grease and puts it on the table. There’s a word carved into it and I bend over to read it. Reserved.
He straightens his Hawaiian shirt with a grin. “We don’t want to lose our seats, you know.”
“I have to admit that’s pretty cool.”
He’s already on his way through the crowd and I dive after him, afraid of another mythical creature seduction.
Simon is standing in the middle of the driveway to the parking lot. “Are you ready?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Sure.”
He lifts his arms towards the sky, and makes a pulling motion. I watch closely and step back in alarm.
He just disappears. It’s like he’s erased, from head to toe. All that’s left is a transparent wave, like gas that moves through the air.
“Did he go invisible?” I whisper at Charlie, who’s pulling his hair together.
“Nope. He turned himself into wind.” He smirks at me. “Hold on.”
I want to ask why, but find out half a second later when a small tornado hits me. I keel over backwards, waving my arms for balance. Before I hit the ground, the wind lifts me off my feet.
“Do you believe me now?” Simon’s voice asks from all around me.
“Yes!” It comes out frightened and he chuckles.
“I could carry you to the roof easily.”
“No, that’s fine. Just put me down.”
Still laughing he slowly sets me down. Charlie holds out his hands to steady me.
With a soft whoosh, Simon appears again. First his legs, then his slender body and finally his grinning head with the messy brown hair. He bows and we all clap.
Charlie releases his hair, while I recover.
Simon steps closer, his thumbs hooked into his belt loops. “Well?”
I shove him playfully. “Now I understand why your hair is always sticking out in all directions.”
I expect him to smile at that, but he just presses his lips tightly together.
I slap him on the shoulder. “But all kidding aside. That’s a great power to have.”
His smirk returns. “Thanks.”
We go back inside. Quinn walks to the bar to get us more drinks.
“So on a scale of one to ten, how powerful are you guys?” I ask after we toast.
This time Charlie isn’t too eager to answer. As expected, Simon is. “I’d say I’m a nine. Charlie is probably a seven and Quinn a six.”
The others hum in agreement and Simon turns his gaze to me. “What about you? Are you powerful? What can you do?”
Charlie waves his glass at me, spilling more beer on my pants. “Dante here is probably an eleven. He has-“
One warning look from me silences him. He pretends to choke on his beer and waves his hand in apology.
Simon cracks his knuckles. His nose is scrunched up. His true self is pouring through his frozen smile. All doubts about him go up in smoke. I can’t let him know how powerful I am. Or will be.
“Charlie is exaggerating, as usual,” I say lightly. “I have premonitions. That’s it.”
Simon relaxes a little.
“Premonitions are cool,” Charlie mumbles, taking a bowl of peanuts from the bartender and digging into it.
Simon narrows his eyes at me. “Charlie said you were a Mage, like him. That means you can cast spells, too.”
“Oh, that.” I pick up my beer, pretending it’s way more interesting than any power I could have. “I tried one, but it didn’t work, so I’m probably more like a five or less on the scale of awesomeness.”
Simon observes me for another minute, while I enjoy my beer. Then he finally leans back and sighs. “Well, don’t sweat it man, I’m sure you’ll get better.”
I certainly will.
“Nice job,” the voice says. “Keep it going.”
Going where? I wonder.
“Ask him about Paul.”
I put down my beer. “So guys, we’re here to talk about Paul, right?”
Quinn and Charlie take a silent swig from their glasses, while Simon flinches alm
ost unnoticeably.
I turn to Charlie. “Did you find out anything new?”
He twists his long blond hair together. “Nothing. Nobody knew anything and Paul has vanished. My locating spell didn’t even work, you know.”
I watch Simon’s reaction from the corner of my eye. “That’s strange.”
“The only explanation I could think of was the one you gave, Dante.”
Simon looks up with a start. “What explanation?”
I turn my glass around in my hands. “I figured he was under some kind of dark spell. But hey, what do I know? I’m new to this. I don’t know what I’m talking about.” I take another swig from my beer and look from Simon to Quinn. The latter is watching Simon intently, as if he’s trying to see straight through his head.
He’s trying to read Simon’s thoughts, but by the looks of it, it’s not working. Something must be blocking him.
Simon interrupts the suspicions rolling around in my head. “I think you’re right. Paul has been acting weird lately. This might explain it.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I just can’t believe he’s evil.”
He nods vigorously. “Exactly.”
“If he was,” I continue, “You would have noticed something sooner. You’re his best friend, after all.” I try to hold his gaze, but he hides his dark eyes behind his glass.
So he does have a conscience, that’s good to know.
Quinn’s gaze is still fixated on Simon’s face, and that gives me an idea.
I slide off the bench. “Where’s the toilet? I have to make room for more beer.”
The others point to the corner of the bar.
I hurry into the nearest cubicle and pull Dad’s notebook from behind my waistband. “Please let there be something here I can use.”
I flip through the pages and hold back a cry of victory when I find what I’m looking for.
Anti-blocking spell.
I scan the ingredients and sigh. “This won’t be easy.” I should ask Charlie or Quinn to help me.
A knock on the cubicle door makes me jump and I almost drop the notebook in the toilet.
“Dante? Are you in there?”
It’s Charlie. I open the door and peek out. “Yeah, what is it?”
“We can’t trust Simon.” He looks over his shoulder. “Something is really wrong with those two, you know.”
The Second Premonition Page 6
