by Gwen Hayes
“Touch me,” I whispered.
“I shouldn’t,” he ground out. But the very tips of his fingers traced my shoulders. I shivered from the contact. “Theia.” His voice had never been richer, as if the word had been spoken directly from his soul.
Softly, while I watched in the looking glass, his lips replaced his fingers. So tenderly, they traveled a slow path from my shoulder to my neck while his hands gripped my arms firmly. I understood that he needed to hold me tightly to keep us both from floating away. I arched my neck, giving him more access, and leaned my shoulders into his frame.
His warm kisses on my neck turned my bones to gelatin. My hands reached behind me and I grasped his formal overcoat to keep from sliding into a puddle on the floor. Even knowing it was my downfall, I wriggled against him. Urging him down a dark path. He bit me then, lightly, covering the sting with his gentle lips. I whimpered then, and the tug of desire careened into frenzy.
Turning me towards him, he took my mouth in a kiss, a ferocious kiss. I was dizzy with the sensations ricocheting through my body. I tried to loosen his cravat, but it tangled in my fingers, and he had to push me away while he undid it himself. As soon as his neck was exposed, I lunged back on him, pulling his shirt open, exploring his neck and shoulders with my own kisses. We stumbled to the bed, Haden whispering words of love as he pulled kisses from me. I had never felt so very much in my own body before. It was as if I was aware of every eyelash, every cell.
“Theia, wait. We need to . . .” He paused. He tried to blink away the fog, tried to be good, but I didn’t want him to stop.
I saw it in his eyes. The wonder, the love, the desire. My heart burst with the power of it, bleeding love like blood through my veins.
“We can’t do this. I can’t do this to you.”
I turned my head when movement caught my eye. Though the mirror faced the bed, Haden’s reflection, and only Haden’s, was visible. Where I should have been was empty space. My heart seized and I felt myself disappearing again. I tried to clutch him to me, but my hand went right through him and I sank into a spinning vortex. Alone.
Again.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The world was a fuzzy place. I was traveling through a downy, nebulous expanse—falling, twisting, turning. It wasn’t like when I fell Under. There was no burning, no sulfur, and no pain. Yet there was also no up and no down. Just a whirlwind of twirling into an abyss. Drowning in stars instead of water.
My body seemed to separate from . . . me. I couldn’t see anything, but I knew we weren’t together anymore as I spun. My body had been a heavy weight; once I’d shed it, the floating became easier.
“Holy shit. I can’t believe that worked.” Donny? The voice sounded far away.
A man responded. “It didn’t work yet. She needs to come all the way into her body.”
“But she’s right there.” Donny’s voice was forceful. That meant she was scared.
“Theia’s body is right there. I don’t know where Theia is.” The man’s voice again. Did I know him?
The spinning stopped. I continued to surf on waves, indefinite and murky, gliding in the dark. Oddly, it didn’t occur to me to be afraid. Peace like I had never known washed over me. Nothing mattered now.
I felt a sharp tug. Something tethered me from floating completely away. I didn’t think it was gravity. I began to resent it. Floating through the universe seemed so much nicer.
The tug became a hard yank. A rush of sensation slammed into me. I was falling. Fast. The darkness had been replaced by a kaleidoscope of too much light and a spinning color wheel. Every sound I’d ever heard rushed into my ears instantly, and I hit something with a thud.
Myself. I’d hit myself.
My body felt confining and cumbersome. Gravity physically hurt. Needles of oxygen poked my lungs with each breath, and the taste of bile overwhelmed me.
“Thei? Tell me you’re all the way back now,” Donny begged.
I groaned in response.
“Oh, thank God.” That sounded like Amelia.
With a lot of concentration, I was able to open one eye. Sure enough, Donny was on her knees on the floor next to my prone body. I had to squint at the brightness. Amelia was on my other side, shell-shocked and pale. They both looked to the person sitting behind my head. I turned to assess, but the world got heavy again, and I had to rest. I threw my arm over my eyes. “What’s going on? What happened?”
“We totally rescued you,” Donny assured me. “Nice dress, by the way.”
“Who hit me with a lorry?” I asked.
Amelia stroked my arm. “Oh, she’s back. She’s even speaking British again. Truck, sweetheart—you want to know who hit you with a truck.”
“How did I get here?” And when would it stop hurting?
“We convinced Varnie to help us find you.”
“ ‘Convince’ is a nice way of putting it, Miss Donny.” Ah, that was the voice. Varnie. “Now that I’ve helped you bring her back, will you call off your goons at the door and let me go?”
Goons?
“I don’t think so, Madame. Theia might still need more help.”
I raised onto my elbows very slowly. I was still wearing the dress from the banquet. “Where’s Haden?” I looked at both my friends. “You left him there, didn’t you?”
Ame bit her lip. “We didn’t know he was with you.”
“Well, can you get him now?” We couldn’t just leave him there. Mara would be very angry when she found out I’d escaped. She might take it out on him.
“We can’t get him the same way we got you. That was a spell used for finding loved ones. Human loved ones.” Ame was trying to keep things politically correct.
“He’s half-human!” I protested.
“Which half?” Donny answered. “I’m just wondering.”
I shot her a look of surprise that she could joke at a time like this. “His life is at stake, Donny. This isn’t the time for anatomy jokes.”
“You’re welcome. You can stop gushing anytime about how we saved your life and rescued you from the underworld.” Donny sat back on her heels and glared at me.
“I’m sorry.” I lay back down. “I’m really, really sorry. I’m just scared.” I reached for her hand, and she held mine tightly.
“We were so worried about you.” Ame grabbed my other hand. “Varnie said the spell was a long shot. Actually he said something about a rodeo, but it didn’t make any sense.”
Varnie sighed heavily. “I said it would be like laying down a rodeo flip without a juicy wave.”
“Are we talking about surfing?” Donny asked. “Why are we talking about surfing?”
“It’s not just surfing.... It’s the holy grail of surfing.” He shook his head. “What it means is that there is no way that a cross-dressing psychic and an enthusiastic novice should have been able to pull Miss Theia out of that off-the-Richter dimension.”
“How did you guys do it?” I asked.
“I’d read about aura trails recently. . . . They’re like ribbons of leftover light that trace people’s spirits.” Ame grew more animated as she spoke. “It’s really amazing—you know how when someone dies or moves away, but you feel like they’re still around?”
“Like ghosts?” I asked.
“Kinda . . . but not really. How can I explain it . . . ? Have you ever touched something that made you feel the last person who touched it? It’s not like they are haunting you; it’s more like just a vibe of them?”
I touched my talisman. “Maybe.”
“I have a sweatshirt of Gabe’s that I won’t give back,” Donny admitted. “It’s been through the wash, but I still feel . . . God, you guys suck. I can’t believe I’m telling you this. When I put it on, it’s like he’s kinda holding me or something.”
Ame snorted. “Yeah, okay, tell me again how you don’t like him. Anyway, we did a mash-up of some finding spells and a little voodoo. Oh, and some pixie dust.”
“Pixie dust?” I asked.
Ame picked up an economy-size bag of glitter. “I got this at Target. Anyway, it was pretty cool. Varnie opened up his channels, I said some words while holding your trig book that I took from your locker, and then I threw the glitter in the air and instead of landing on the floor it hovered in the air and then formed a plume above the book.”
“Yeah, and then,” Donny interrupted, “Ame got all chanty and weird, like she was half gone herself, and the plume turned into this long ribbon of fog. It was so bizarre—it was like the ribbon went and found you and then you started appearing right in front of us.”
“But you don’t think it would work on Haden?” I asked.
Ame shook her head. “Haden is a demon. We could invoke him, maybe.”
“No way.” Varnie crab-walked away from my head. “I am not having anything to do with summoning demons. You guys are on your own. I’ll take my chances with the goons.”
Donny helped me sit up, and I tried to figure out where we were while Varnie and Amelia stood up and argued.
“Who are these goons he keeps prattling on about?” I asked Donny under my breath.
“We dressed Mike and Gabe up like Dog the Bounty Hunter. They even have mullet wigs,” she said. “We tracked Varnie down. It wasn’t hard—he has a Web site. We made an appointment using a fake name, and the guys helped me convince him to come back with us.”
Wow. “Have I been gone long?” My father. Oh, dear God, this was going to get complicated.
“You didn’t come to school today.” A day. I’d only been gone a day. It seemed as if weeks had passed. Donny continued, “When you didn’t answer your cell, Ame talked to Muriel. Your father is out of town again. Which, by the way, he’s been doing a lot of.”
“Father will never believe me. How did you know to come looking for me . . .”
“You mean . . . off the grid?” Donny said. “Ame had a feeling. She’s kinda freaking me out with all her paranormal activity lately. Well, you both are.”
We both looked up to watch Ame argue—argue, of all things—with Varnie. Ame hated confrontations. “We can do it without you, Varnie. We know the demon’s name and we have something . . .” Ame paused and looked at me with a wry expression on her face. “We have something he’s touched.”
“Invoking a demon is ludicrously dangerous. You have no idea what you’re doing. Just because you read about it on somebody’s MySpace page doesn’t make it safe.”
“Well, we can’t leave him there. And if you won’t help us . . .”
“A person needs to be very skilled to summon a demon. It’s an open door for anything at all that might come in with it.”
“Again,” Ame argued, “if you won’t help us . . .”
We were in a cabin. A fairly rough one. Rain hit like pebbles on the tin roof, and the inside seemed functional, though just barely. The walls were irregular timber planks, and Donny and I were sitting on a rug thrown over a plywood floor.
“Where are we?” I asked her. I didn’t recognize any of it.
“Gabe’s brother’s hunting cabin. I guess he and Gabe built it themselves.” She shrugged and pointed to an old, worn couch. “We almost did it on that sofa.”
I held up my hand. “Really, Donny.Too much information.”
“Did you and Haden . . . ?”
I shook my head vehemently. “No.” Too vehemently, judging by the look she angled at me. “Well, almost.”
Varnie was stalking about the cabin, pacing and arguing. Ame stood still and let him talk himself into a corner he couldn’t get out of. She looked so different to me. The last few weeks had changed her. Watching Varnie now, she was serene and so in control, like she had him on a yo-yo string and was just waiting for the right moment to bring him back with a flick of her wrist.
I doubted that her newfound control had anything to do with Mike Matheny finally orbiting her atmosphere. It seemed more like the closer she got to actual mysticism, the more her inner confidence blossomed.
Varnie stopped pacing. “You have no idea what you are asking me to do.”
Ame shrugged. “I haven’t asked you to do anything.”
“But you know I am going to.” He raked his hand through his blond hair. He was kind of cute when he wasn’t wearing eye shadow. “You know I can’t walk out of here and let you do something that could get you all killed. Or worse.”
“I’m going to bring the goons in. They’re probably freezing out there.” Donny crossed between Varnie and Ame, who continued playing chicken with their eyes.
I curled up, bringing my knees to my chest, and watched Varnie try to reason with Ame. I missed Haden so much. I was sure that if he were asked, he would agree wholeheartedly with Varnie. Opening a door to demons was probably foolish. Expecting that only the one you invited would enter was naïve. Still, it seemed that demons were already here in Serendipity Falls, so why should it matter?
I had a feeling it did.
The boys came back in with Donny. They were unrecognizable. They wore wigs of long dark hair with shorter layers on the top. Gabe’s had a braid. They had on camo pants and tank tops with black leather vests over them. Also Gabe wore a utility belt, but it looked like Mike had on a tool belt, the kind a handyman wears. I supposed a hammer was as good a tool as any when chasing fugitives, but it was a little odd.
Gabe had a lot more muscles than I’d given him credit for, and I could see how the boys might have fooled Varnie into thinking they were menacing. Especially with the big black boots.
Varnie flinched when Gabe passed him, and I noticed a shadow of bruising under his eye. Maybe they didn’t fool him; maybe they’d had to convince him.
I shuddered. I didn’t want to hurt Varnie.
How much had Donny told the boys, I wondered? It wasn’t a good idea to broadcast the fact that my boyfriend wasn’t human—but then again, it was comforting that they were on my side. Especially with those big black boots.
Varnie tried to talk reason to Donny next. Bad choice, of course, since reason wasn’t a language she spoke.
“Donny, it would be like opening a barn door during a stampede and expecting only the brown cow with the blue collar to enter. You can’t control a stampede.”
Donny threw up her arms. “Well, I can’t. But I bet you have the ability to. I saw what you did to bring Theia back. You’re not just a nut job—you’re a really talented nut job.”
“I could never have done that alone. Without Miss Amelia’s strength it would have fizzled.” He realized his mistake as soon as the words were out.
“Well, good thing Miss Amelia is still here, then,” Ame said.
I tried to get off the floor, but my dress and gravity were dueling for the privilege of humiliating me. Gabe rushed to me and helped me up.
“Cheerios, English,” he said.
Despite everything, I smiled. “Cheerios to you too, Gabe.”
“I have no idea what’s going on,” he said. “But you look real pretty.”
His eyes twinkled, and I knew he had a better grasp of the situation than he was pretending. Sometimes it was just easier to play dumb.
Mike still stood by the door looking confused. I didn’t think he was playing dumb like Gabe was. In fact, Mike had that same dazed look a lot. What on earth did Amelia see in him?
Having six people in the small one-room cabin was beginning to make me claustrophobic. And nobody seemed to be getting any closer to finding a way to save Haden.
“Varnie, if you don’t want to invoke Haden here—can you send me back? It was a realm called Under,” I said.
Donny and Ame chimed in with a resounding “no,” but Varnie just stared at me like I’d sprouted a second head or something.
“I can’t let him stay there alone. I just can’t.”
Mike finally spoke. “Is there anything to eat?”
Donny shot Gabe an exasperated look.
Gabe seemed to understand what that expression meant, and that if he didn’t get Mike out of there, Donny was going
to blow a fuse. “Well, it looks like the prank went really well,” he said. “So I guess I’ll drive Mike back home now. Thanks for playing along, Varnie. We totally punk’d you, dude. I can’t believe you really thought we were bounty hunters.”
Gabe clapped Varnie on the shoulder and Varnie flinched. “Prank?”
“Taking Mike home is a great idea,” Donny said. “See you tomorrow. Thanks for your help.”
Gabe kissed her hand. “I’ll be back in an hour, honey.”
She snatched her hand away. “No need, sweetheart. We’re all fine here. See you tomorrow at school. We’ll lock up when we leave.”
“Sixty minutes, sugarplum.” He leaned in for a kiss.
“Get your pleather-wearing long-haired paws off me—”
Gabe kissed her soundly, cutting off her protest. When he pulled back, she was quiet. “Don’t burn the cabin down.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Be careful, okay? I’m coming back.”
Donny nodded. Her fingers lingered a touch too long to be considered uncaring as he brushed past her.
The door clicked behind him.
Varnie glared at Donny. “The thug is your boyfriend?”
“Hell, no.” She had her hands on her hips. “But, Ame, when this is all over we need to have a serious discussion about Mike. I think he has way too much frosting on his flakes.”
“I know, I know,” Ame answered, her cheeks a little pink.
Varnie turned to Ame. “The other one is your boyfriend?” he asked incredulously.
“No. Not yet,” Ame answered.
“You like him?” Varnie looked a little . . . angry.
“The mullet is a just a wig.” Ame crossed her arms in front of her. “Besides, who I like has nothing to do with anything right now.”
“I don’t care if he’s bald. He’s practically mute.”
Donny and I exchanged glances. The kind that said, “Well, isn’t this interesting?”
“He’s not mute. He’s shy. And why do you care who I do or don’t date?”
Varnie threw his hands up. “I don’t. I just think you could do better.”
