Although… I did have to pass right by the drink table to get over to her… and I was really thirsty… Maybe I should grab a punch on my way…
Thirty minutes and two drinks later, I was standing at the end of the drink table hating myself. Why was this so damn hard? Was it because I missed out on the normal high school experience? Was that where you were supposed to learn all this stuff? I’d kept my eyes on her the whole time I’d stood at the bar, trying to figure out what the hell it was about her that got to me so much. Had it been Chloe, or Ryland, or anyone else in my shoes, I would have told them to rise above it and not to give her another thought. So then why did I constantly let her beat me? I mean, what was there to be afraid of? I hadn’t even met her!
Finally something in me snapped. No more. I threw back the last of my punch, gathered up more bravado than I wanted to admit I needed, and walked across the room without so much as pausing to take a breath. Before I let myself change my mind, I stepped up to the small group that Shannon was talking with and introduced myself.
“Hello,” I said, praying my voice wouldn’t shake as they all turned toward me. “I hope I’m not interrupting, I just wanted to come and say hi. I’m Becca.”
“Yes, of course,” one of the girls to my right said. “It’s lovely to finally meet you. I’m Aiofe.”
“Brennan,” the boy next to her said, offering me his hand which I shook.
“I’m Kerra,” the girl opposite me said, “and this is Miach,” he motioned to the second of the two men who also offered me his hand.
“Pleasure,” he said.
“And Shannon,” Kerra added with an uncomfortable nod when it became clear that Shannon was not going to introduce herself.
“Yes,” I said turning to Shannon, my courage growing. “It is nice to finally meet. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Shannon looked down at me, her smile somehow only adding to the contempt in her eyes. “Have you? How kind of you to say.”
“How are you enjoying your time with us so far, Becca?” Miach asked after a strangely awkward pause.
“It’s certainly been interesting,” I said, going with the nice version of the truth.
“You grew up in the States, yes?” Kerra asked.
“Yes.”
“How long have you been in Ireland?”
“Almost three months now.”
“Quite a big change, was it?” Brennan asked.
“Not as big as I thought it would be.”
The conversation continued pleasantly as I answered questions, surprised to find that they all seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. Turned out that Aiofe had done a semester abroad in America studying at Harvard, and Brennan had been accepted for a semester at Columbia the following spring. It was turning out to be a far pleasanter conversation that I would have thought possible. The only problem was the fact that there was one member of our circle who was decidedly not participating.
“That reminds me,” Kerra said, after Aiofe made a comment about enjoying some of the current American fashion trends, “your gown was stunning last night, Becca. Who was your designer?”
“Madame Loute.”
“Oh, isn’t she fabulous? She did the gown for my last birthday, I just loved it!” Kerra raved.
“And isn’t her shop amazing?” Aiofe asked.
“Spectacular,” Kerra agreed.
“I actually didn’t get to see it,” I said. “We didn’t have much time, so she came out to St Brigid’s to make mine.”
“Wow,” Kerra said. “I didn’t know she would even do something like that.”
“Becca,” Shannon said suddenly, causing all of our eyes to fly in her direction. “I could do with a refill,” she said, holding up an empty glass I hadn’t even realized she’d been holding, “would you care to join me?”
“Sure,” I said, noting how the other four decidedly turned away and began casually talking amongst themselves as though obeying some silent command. Did this chick seriously run the world, or was it all just a coincidence? I wasn’t sure why, but somehow it didn’t feel like the latter.
We walked silently together, stopping at the drink table so Shannon could fill her glass, then stepped off to the side and looked out over the room.
“This must be wonderful for you,” she said after a taking a dainty sip of her punch. “All this attention.”
“Actually, I don’t really care for it,” I said, trying not to let my sudden nerves show.
“Come now Becca,” she chided, a snide edge to her tone, “false modesty may be better than none, but it still isn’t very attractive. I think we both know that you are quite enjoying the spotlight. So much so that when it doesn’t come to you on its own, you have to go and seek it out.” She lifted her glass slightly and gestured with it toward her friends.
“I wasn’t seeking anything,” I said, mortified that I was actually blushing.
“Of course you were,” she said taking another sip. “If not, you would have stayed over at the drink table where no one had even bothered to notice you.”
“Well, it seems like someone took the time to notice me,” I challenged, “or she wouldn’t have known where I was standing.”
She glared down at me, her face a perfect mask as her hazel eyes frosted over. “Yes, well it’s always easy to spot the thing that doesn’t belong.”
“What is your problem?” I asked, beyond sick of her crap.
“That’s simple; I don’t tolerate mediocrity. And I certainly don’t celebrate it. My friends may have been kind enough to humor you, but don’t mistake cordiality for acceptance. Learn where you belong,” she handed me her empty glass with the slighted jut of her chin as though I was nothing more than one of the staff, “and we’ll get along fine.”
With that, she turned on her heel and floated back over toward her friends, leaving me standing with her discarded glass while everyone around us pretended not to be watching out of the corners of their eyes. I set the cup down on the end of the drink table, straining to keep my face relaxed and casual as though nothing at all had happened – even though it was clear they all knew better.
Desperate to leave, but not willing to let them see me cower, I feigned an interest in the hors d’oeuvre table, which just so happened to be on the way to the door.
Don’t walk too fast, they’re watching. Keep smiling…
I scanned the selections thoughtfully, not actually seeing a single one.
Don’t let your hands shake, they’ll see. Keep smiling…
Pretending not to find anything that I wanted to try, I glanced over to where Shannon and the others were gathered, to see if any of them were looking at me.
Don’t let them see you looking. Don’t let your nostrils flare. Keep smiling, keep smiling…
When I was positive that none of them were looking, and that the majority of the people around me had lost interest and moved on to other entertainment, I took my opportunity and slid quickly through the door and out of the room, not stopping until I was down the hall, down the stairs, and around a corner, tucked into a small dark alcove in an unlit hallway, completely out of sight. Backing all the way against the alcove’s high window, I stood there for I’m not sure how long, silently venting all the things I couldn’t bring myself to say to her face.
Mediocre? I’ll show you who’s mediocre… And your friends were not humoring me, you cow! What’s wrong, mad that they wanted to talk to me more than you? Gee I wonder way that could be… Oh! causeyou’re an evil bitch!
I leaned back against the window and crossed my shaking arms, refusing to let the tears I felt stinging my eyes fall. It was bad enough I was hiding for the second time in two days, I was not about to add crying to the list of things I could be ashamed of having done this trip. But much as I hated running and hiding, there was no way I was going back up to that reception, 9 o’clock or no. Now the only thing to do was figure out how I could get back to my room from here without anyone seeing me.
However, just as I went to come out of my hiding nook, I heard the tap of footsteps in the adjacent hall coming my way. Having no desire to get caught hiding in a corner like scared cat, I stepped back against the window and slid behind the long velvet curtain, pulling myself completely into the shadows.
I held my breath as the silhouette of a man appeared, quickly turning the corner from the main hall into the one I occupied, ducking behind a stone pillar just across from where I stood. He hesitated there for a moment with his back pressed to the pillar and his head turned to the side, listening carefully as he remained perfectly still. When only the echo of silence followed him, he glanced around once more before stepping out from behind the pillar and into a ray of light from the window he passed beneath.
It was Bastian.
I’d wondered why I hadn’t seen him at the reception – who knew it was because he was busy playing shady secret agent?
Ducking his head, he continued on down the dark hall, quickly and quietly like a sinister breeze. I watched him turn to the left at the far end of the hall before I stepped out into the light myself and followed him, my adrenaline already pumping. Sneaking around again, was he? Well, his luck was about to run out.
I hurried down the hall, peeking around the corner I’d seen Bastian turn before tiptoeing down it as well. I began to worry I’d lost him until I heard low voices carrying from an open door a short way off. Barely allowing myself to breathe, I crept into the hollow of the door next to the occupied room, craning my neck to hear what was being said.
“So he did go?” an older man’s voice asked.
“Yes,” said another man, “this afternoon.”
“Did he get anything?”
“Not sure. The four of them went together, so it was too risky to follow, but they were only gone just over an hour. That would mean he spent less than twenty minutes at the grave.”
My chest clenched as I deciphered their words. “Grave’.” “Four of them.” They were talking about us.
“Doesn’t sound like enough time to get anything. Especially if he didn’t know what to look for.”
“But if he didn’t find anything, there is no way Liam will be able to, even with the help.”
“Doesn’t matter, we still have to try. If the weather holds out, we go immediately after the game. If it doesn’t, then we leave at dawn…”
He continued to speak but my ears went numb the moment I realized that his voice was getting louder. They were headed for the door. Panic clawed my back as my eyes darted around me looking for a place to hide. I couldn’t let them find me – not after what they would know I heard – but there was nowhere to go. My only option was to bolt back down the hall and pray I made it to the first turn before they looked in my direction.
Without another thought, I backed out of the cover of the doorframe, preparing to run as fast as I could, but instead felt my heart stop as I bumped into the chest of someone who’d been poised directly behind me. I turned to see Bastian, his face like stone as he looked down at me while at the same moment I heard a hand grasp the handle of the open door. Before I could conjure a coherent thought, Bastian grabbed my shoulders and spun me around to face the door. His arm like a steel beam, he locked me against his chest while his free hand came up to cover my mouth and nose. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t even breathe. All I could do was watch as the door swung open, and then…
…everything went black.
CHAPTER 16
It all happened in the timespan of a blink; the world around me went black, there was the sensation of falling, then suddenly the darkness burst to life again, only now I was now looking at a wall in what appeared to be one of the manor’s guest suites. As I tried to remember how to breathe, I felt Bastian slowly release me. “Easy,” he cautioned quietly, as his arms opened, his hands spread wide as though to keep me calm.
I tried to speak but I couldn’t seem to coordinate my brain with my mouth. What the hell just happened? Where were we? Were we alone? Should I run? How did… we…
“Whoa,” Bastian said, quickly grabbing me as my legs gave out. “That’s why I said easy,” he chuckled as he lowered me into an armchair a few feet away. Luckily for him I was still too close to passing out to mind that he found any of this amusing. “Deep breaths,” he said before stepping away, returning a moment later with a glass of water. “Here.” He handed me the glass then took a seat in the chair next to me, looking oddly relaxed. “Sorry, under normal circumstances I would have warned you, but there wasn’t time. Though for future reference, if you close your eyes you won’t get dizzy.”
I emptied the glass in three gulps, allowing the cold water to ease the hot tingling in the front of my forehead. Once I was sure I could raise my head without getting queasy, I looked up at him, hoping my death grip on the glass would hide the fact that my hands were shaking.
“Better?” he asked.
I stared at him blankly. “That’s something of a loaded question.”
He huffed a laugh, though oddly enough, there didn’t seem to be any arrogance or derision lurking under the sound. He still gave off a cocky sort of air, but now instead of haughty and off-putting, it was almost playful. “I suppose it is, but that’s why I brought you here; I think we need to talk.”
“I’d say so,” I agreed, not nearly as calm as he clearly was. “And we can start with you telling me what the hell you just did to me.”
“If memory serves,” he smirked, “I believe I saved you from being discovered as probably one of the clumsiest spies in history.”
“OK, first off I was doing fine until you showed up, and secondly, you know that’s not what I was talking about. Where are we and how did we get here?”
“A,” he began counting on his fingers, “you were not doing fine. You were seconds away from being seen, and I can assure you that would not have ended well. Cleen and McGary are not the sort of men who would take kindly to being followed and eavesdropped on, particularly by one of the subjects of the conversation. And B, we are in my room. I ported us here after you nearly got us caught.”
“Ported…” That’s right. I’d forgotten he was a Porter. Well if that was porting, it was pretty cool – if not borderline vomit-inducing. Too bad now was not the time to dwell on it. “What do you mean got ‘us’ caught? I was following you. What were you doing over there if you weren’t with them?”
“The same thing you were, trying to hear what they were saying. I was just doing a better job of it.”
“I guess I’m just not as practiced at spying on people as you are,” I challenged, crossing my arms and waiting for the denials to begin.
He looked long and hard a me for a moment before letting out a long breath. “Yes,” he said, “you’re probably right.”
I froze for a second, totally thrown. “Right about what?”
He paused again, holding my gaze long and hard before speaking. “All of it,” he finally said. “The spying, Pennsylvania… everything.”
I stood there motionless, staring at him, trying to figure out what in God’s name was going on. I’d expected the moment when he finally broke down and admitted I’d been right about him to feel satisfying and triumphant, but this wasn’t right. He’d been fighting me tooth and nail since we’d met, hitting me with nothing but denials and excuses every time the subject came up, yet now, out of nowhere I was supposed to buy that he was ready to come clean? Yeah right.
“You are so full of it,” I said, in no mood for whatever game he was playing.
“What?” Obviously not the response he’d expected.
“I don’t buy it. And if you think you can play me by telling me what you think I want to hear, you’ve got another think coming.”
“Hold on,” he said, his face both amused and annoyed, “you have been harping on at me for two days to come clean, and now that I do, you don’t believe me?”
“It’s too easy. You’re up to something.”
“You can’t jus
t make this easy, can you?” He rubbed a hand over his face, more annoyed than amused now. “I did just save you when I could have left you to hang, doesn’t that at least earn me the benefit of the doubt? Just listen to what I have to say.”
“Listen?” I snarled, as the fragile hold I had on my temper snapped like a frozen twig. “No. No, I won’t listen. Why the hell should I? So you can spout more lies, or pacify me with whatever you think I want to hear? Well, you can stuff it.”
I stood, and turned toward the door, but Bastian caught my arm before I could storm off. “Becca, please–”
“No!” I pulled my arm free. “I’m done with you; I’m done with all of you! You are absolutely the worst kind of people and I am through playing your games. You all think you can hold yourselves above everyone else when the truth is you don’t even deserve the abilities that you think make you so great. And now you, who have done nothing but treat me like an idiot from the moment we met, have the audacity to act like I owe you something – are you out of your mind? But then why would I expect special treatment when you treat even your own brother like trash? But then I guess he deserves it,” I laughed once without humor. “After all, the way he is, he’s barely worthy to do your laundry, much less share your blood, isn’t that right?”
Bastian had stood quietly while I ranted, never once interrupting me with even so much as a sideways glance. However, the moment I mentioned Steven, a fierce and strangely familiar fire lit under his eyes, and I knew I’d struck a chord.
“Steven,” he said, taking a slow step toward me, “is the best man that I know, and I am proud” – his intensity almost turning the word into a growl – “to call him my brother.”
I tried not to shrink back under his glare. “Certainly didn’t seem that way this morning.”
“That’s because you don’t understand how things work here. You think that defending someone means confrontation. That crossing your arms and stomping your foot is the only way to stand up against wrong. That may have been how it worked for you back home, but here, yelling and screaming will get you nowhere. They,” he pointed angrily out toward the hall, “are in charge here, and if you want any chance of winning in their game then you must play by their rules. It might not make any sense to you, but I do what I do because I am the only thing that stands between them,” he pointed again and I was shocked to hear the unveiled loathing slicing though his tone, “and my brother. And I am not going to do anything to jeopardize that.”
The Seers Page 16
