by Amanda Ashby
Suddenly, Thomas’s words came racing back to her. Trust the sword.
The moment she thought it, a blast of energy tore through her body. She lashed forward and watched in detached fascination as the sword sliced directly through the demon’s chest. The creature was so startled that as it fell, its expression was almost comical. But Cassidy didn’t waste any time trying to examine it. Instead, she groped around in her pocket for the spare Zippo Nash had given her and set the creature on fire. She waited until she was sure that the flames had consumed the beast before she turned her attention to her sword and knife and cleansed them just as Nash came hurtling toward her, his face drained of color.
“Holy freak show. What happened? Where’s the demon?”
“I killed it,” Cassidy said, nodding at the faint pile of charcoal that was left behind. “And get a load of this: I didn’t even have Thomas here.”
“Are you insane?” Nash demanded as he hurried over to her and began to check her arms and legs for signs of injury. “You ran after a demon with no backup?”
“It’s not my fault that Thomas has gone AWOL,” Cassidy protested. “And besides, I made sure that Reuben sent you a text. Did you have any problems finding me?”
“No, strangely enough, I just followed the freaked-out shoppers who kept pointing in this direction. Speaking of which, we should get moving in case any of them decided to call the police.”
“Of course.” Cassidy finished putting her sword away, suddenly feeling bad about the worry lines still imprinted across Nash’s face. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m okay, I promise.”
Nash seemed to relent as he slung a protective arm around her shoulder, and they began to walk back around to the front of the mall to wait for Celeste. “So tell me what happened, and don’t forget to include the part about why I had a text message from Reuben.”
It didn’t take Cassidy too long to fill him in, and while he wasn’t 100 percent happy, by the time Celeste had finished having her nails done and they’d safely followed her home, he grudgingly admitted that it had all turned out okay.
“And don’t forget that your amulet totally worked,” Cassidy reminded him as he pulled onto her street. “The demon didn’t even blink as it walked past the salon. It obviously knew the Black Rose was somewhere, but it couldn’t find it.”
“Cassidy Carter-Lewis, please don’t try to butter me up,” he instructed, even though a small smile nudged its way onto his mouth. “Okay, yes, it’s cool that the amulet worked. But next time you have to promise that you won’t go racing after demon knights on your own.”
“Fine, I promise,” Cassidy assured him.
“Thank you,” he started to say before he slowed the car down and glanced farther down the street toward Cassidy’s house. “Oh, dear. That can’t be good.”
“What?” Cassidy asked, just as she caught sight of the large brown owl circling her house. She might not know much about owls, but she was pretty sure that this one was very pissed off. Oh, dear, indeed.
TWENTY
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in with you?” Nash asked, but Cassidy shook her head as she stood on the curb, sports bag in her hand.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll call you later and tell you what happened,” Cassidy assured him, and by the time Nash had driven off down the road, the owl was gone and Thomas stepped out, his arms crossed and his mismatched eyes blazing.
“You fought a demon without me?” His rage was so palpable that, despite his being an apparition, Cassidy took a step backward.
“Um, yes, and in my defense I also killed it,” Cassidy was stung into retorting as she glanced toward the front door. “Oh, and for the record, showing up at my house isn’t such a great idea. I can’t really talk to you here, on account of the fact I don’t want my parents to think that I’m crazy.”
“The house is empty,” Thomas informed her, and Cassidy was momentarily distracted as she glanced at her watch. It was almost six at night, and her mom hadn’t mentioned that they were going anywhere. For a moment she stared at him before fumbling with her keys and unlocking the front door.
“Dad? Mom? Hello?” she called out, but there was no answer, which meant Thomas was right. That didn’t improve her mood. However, since she didn’t exactly want her neighbors seeing her talking to, well, no one, she nodded for him to follow her in. He didn’t move; instead, the vision disappeared and an owl took its place and flew down the side of the house, presumably toward her bedroom window. Cassidy shut the front door and hurried down the hallway.
She flicked on the light before dropping her sports bag by the desk. At the same time she caught sight of a brand-new copy of Romeo and Juliet sitting on her bed and let out a groan as she realized that the news about her getting the part of Juliet’s understudy was turning into the worst-kept secret ever. First Travis knew about it, then Reuben, and now, obviously, Mrs. Thompson had found out and told Cassidy’s mom.
A pecking noise on the window broke into her thoughts, and Cassidy begrudgingly opened it so that the pissed-off owl could dart through with a rustle of feathers. A moment later Thomas was standing in the far corner, looking around her bedroom with interest.
Cassidy knew that he wasn’t even really there, but it still felt strange. Plus, with his coarse woolen shirt and his battle-scarred hands, he looked completely out of place against her calming apricot walls and polished floors. Nothing about Thomas was calm. He was all anger and fire and duty, and, as he narrowed his eyes at her, Cassidy realized that he hadn’t finished yelling yet.
“What were you thinking? You should never have fought the demon on your own. You do not possess the skills.”
“How come I managed to kill it then?” Cassidy retorted, her anger from the previous day surging up again. “And why are you so mad at me? I thought I was meant to kill demon knights. That’s why you gave me your very sharp sword.”
“No.” He gave a violent shake of his head. “You are meant to protect the Black Rose, and since the amulet prevented it from finding the vessel, you had no need to fight it. You should’ve let it pass.”
“No need?” Cassidy paced the room to stop herself from throwing something at him. “It was tearing through the mall, knocking people over and causing all kinds of damage. Are you seriously telling me that I should’ve ignored it?”
“Oui. That is exactly what I’m telling you. Or you should make sure that the vessel does not go out in such public places. This is not some game. It’s serious.”
“We’ve been through this. Celeste can barely stand the sight of me, so she’s hardly going to listen if I tell her not to go to the mall.”
“Well, you need to make her listen. You need to do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Because your duty is to—”
“Protect the Black Rose,” Cassidy mimicked, angrily folding her arms. “So you keep saying. But what about your duty? Aren’t you meant to be helping me? It’s all very well for you to come here and tell me what I should’ve done, but where were you this morning when we were meant to train? And this afternoon?”
For a moment he didn’t speak, as he clenched his jaw and balled his fists. “I had some business to take care of.”
“Of course you did.” Cassidy was so mad that she marched right up to where he was standing and pushed her face close to his. “And let me guess, you can’t possibly tell me what the business is because I’m just a stupid girl whom you don’t trust to—”
“Trust you?” Thomas asked in a surprised voice, as his eyes, one as pale as the sky and the other a swirl of browns, fixed on her face. “Perhaps I haven’t been clear, Cassidy, but I trust you completely.”
“Wh-what?” she stammered, taken aback by his disarming admission. “You do?”
“I do. I-I’m sorry that you would think otherwise. That was never my intention. Forgive me.” As he spoke, his eyes flickered for the briefest of moments with something that looked close to pain. Cassidy studied his face like she might a painting, tryin
g to make sense of his mercurial change. But whatever had brought it about was hidden from her.
What made him like that? The need to know burned in her until she found herself reaching up to his face and tracing her finger along the red scar that ran the length of his cheek. Then she gasped. Despite the fact that there was only air where his flesh should’ve been, Cassidy could almost feel him. Skin to skin. Heartbeat to—
Thomas flinched, and Cassidy dropped her hand as if she’d been bitten. Shame and embarrassment flooded through her. Had she just tried to touch his face? And had he felt it, too? Was she insane? Suddenly, she needed to get as far away from him as possible, so she darted to the other side of the room, trying to hide her flaming cheeks.
“Okay, I’m so sorry. I totally didn’t mean to do that. It’s just, you made me so mad and then you went all nice and . . . Well, I’m sorry.”
“No apology is necessary,” Thomas said, his voice blunt. “The scars that I bear are not pleasant to look at. I am familiar with the fascination.”
“Thomas, no.” Shame rushed through her as she took in his controlled expression. “That’s not why I tried to touch you. You just seemed . . . in pain. I was stupidly trying to help. Ask Nash, I do stupid things all the time. It’s part of my DNA.”
Thomas didn’t say anything. For a start he probably didn’t even know what DNA was, but then he merely shrugged, as if being accosted was all part of his precious duty. Suddenly, Cassidy was grateful for his taciturn manner.
“So.” She groped around for a change of subject. “There is something you can tell me. How did you know so much about the fight this afternoon if you weren’t there?”
“The remaining guardians of the Black Rose have pooled their earth magic to observe as much as they can.” Thomas spoke like nothing had happened, though she couldn’t help but notice that he rubbed at his scar. She made a mental note never to try to touch a fourteenth-century apparition again. “However, like me, they find it frustrating to witness the danger yet not be able to prevent it.”
“They’re watching me?” Cassidy was alarmed. “Are they watching me now?”
“Non. To maintain any kind of connection is physically demanding,” he explained, and once again Cassidy noticed just how pale his face was, apart from the throbbing red scar that slithered down his face like an angry snake. Then he gave her a rare smile. “They said you fought well and killed the demon cleanly.”
“Really?” Cassidy was surprised; Thomas wasn’t normally forthcoming with compliments, and she found herself confiding in him. “Actually, it almost ended in disaster, but then I saw the runes blazing on the sword and I remembered what you had told me about trusting it.”
Thomas widened his eyes. “I’m impressed. It takes most guardians many years to work as one with their sword. This is . . . unexpected.”
“But good unexpected, right?” Cassidy asked, and when he nodded his head she found herself grinning. “Well, that’s okay then. By the way, Nash wanted me to ask you about the engraving on it.”
“I explained the runes to you.”
“No. The other engraving,” she clarified. “Just above the quillon it says ‘As above.’ He was wondering what it did. Does it give strength as well?”
Suddenly, the stoic mask he usually wore was back, and whatever moment they’d shared was gone. “My father hoped that it would give the sword extra strength, but personally I do not care for it. I will return tomorrow so that we can continue your training in earnest.”
“Okay, I guess—” Cassidy started to say, but before she could finish Thomas was gone, and the bird had darted out of the open window, leaving her alone in her bedroom. For a moment she just stared out into the night sky. She was pretty sure that she would never understand Thomas. She would definitely never understand why she had tried to touch his face.
Not that it mattered. After all, according to Nash, the winter solstice was in six weeks, just before Christmas. And assuming that everything went according to plan and she managed to send the Black Rose and the grimoire back to Thomas in his own time, she couldn’t see him making any more twenty-first-century drop-ins.
She shut the window and pulled the white drapes as her stomach rumbled. It had been a long time since lunch, and she wandered down the hallway into the kitchen, while trying to figure out just how long her parents would be and if they would come bearing food. As she went, she checked her cell phone, but neither of them had sent her a text message. Not that it was a surprise, since they still treated texting like it was for emergencies only.
She peered into the fridge, but, like always, indecision clawed at her as she looked from the leftover lasagna to the cheesecake that her mom had bought the other day. Then she thought of Travis and his theory that you could have whatever you wanted. Even picturing his face made her smile as she reached in for the lasagna and the cheesecake. And to think that she’d spent years and years trying to make decisions when all she’d had to do was pick everything. So simple.
As she ate, she also realized another thing. Thomas was right. If this was going to work, she was going to have to get Celeste to listen to her. Which meant she would have to find a way to become friends with Celeste. This job was getting more impossible by the minute.
TWENTY-ONE
The following afternoon Cassidy walked into the auditorium for the first rehearsal. Nash had refused on pain of death to go anywhere near it, but after the last two demon attacks, Cassidy knew she didn’t have a choice. Plus, there was the fact that she was now Celeste’s understudy in the play.
It was now becoming second nature to search for Celeste, and she quickly spotted her over on the far side of the stage in an old-fashioned rocking chair that had been used in a previous play. She was having an intense conversation with a girl Cassidy didn’t recognize, so she decided to wait until she was on her own before she attempted Operation Become Friends.
Over to the side of the stage was a bunch of props and set decorations, including a rosebush and a fake sword. Without thinking, Cassidy walked over and picked up the sword. She automatically took her stance, unable to hide her distaste at how light it was. There was no way the flimsy blade could pierce demon flesh, that was for sure. Then she realized that a couple of people were looking at her oddly, so she put the sword down and stepped away.
Mrs. Davis stood near the front of the stage, but there was no sign of Travis. Cassidy’s entire body tingled as memories of their perfect rooftop lunch yesterday, complete with the kiss, came charging back. They were so strong and overwhelming that they almost felt like a physical bubble surrounding her, separating her from the rest of the world. Making her feel safe, happy, and, most important, wanted.
“Hey, there you are.” Reuben suddenly appeared at her side, causing her delicious Travis bubble to pop. She turned to face him and tried to ignore how his sludge-colored eyes were ringed with guyliner and his black hair was sticking out in all directions. “I was hoping to see you so we could arrange our date.”
“Reuben, there’s no date.” Cassidy folded her arms. “I said I would talk to you about stuff. It’s not the same thing.”
“It is to me,” he assured her, not remotely put off by her lack of interest. Perhaps she hadn’t quite mastered Thomas’s glacial glares yet. She would have to work harder on those.
“I’m serious. I’m never going to change my mind about this.”
Suddenly, his face darkened. “This is about that Travis guy, isn’t it?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“He’s bad news, Cass.” Reuben shook his head as he began to tap his backpack with his fingers.
“Why? Is it because he’s a nice guy? Or so good-looking? I can see how you would find that disturbing,” Cassidy was stung into replying, since Reuben didn’t seem to take regular-size hints.
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he snapped in a high-pitched voice that made Cassidy wonder why he was wasting himself as a stage manager when he had
such a flair for drama. But before she could answer, she looked up and saw Celeste disappearing through a red door into the changing rooms. She quickly checked the grimoire, but it wasn’t glowing, so that meant there were no demons around. It also meant that it was the perfect time for her to try to befriend Celeste.
“Reuben, I’ve got to go,” Cassidy said, then, not waiting for an answer, she followed Celeste to the changing rooms.
A long mirror ran down one wall, and Celeste stared at her reflection while she unscrewed a tube of mascara. As soon as she saw Cassidy in the mirror, she slammed the mascara down on the table in front of her and glared. “What?”
Cassidy took a deep breath and made a mental note to get an easier hobby, like skydiving or alligator wrestling. Then she stared at Celeste’s unflinching face and plastered on a bright smile.
“H-hi, Celeste. The thing is, I’m not sure if you know this, but I’m your understudy.”
“Yes, loser, I do know. I also know that Rachel was meant to get that part, so in case you can’t tell by my superb acting skills, I’m not happy.” Celeste folded her arms and poked out her bottom lip, still staring into the mirror.
“I know. I really am sorry. It was as much of a surprise to me as it was to you,” Cassidy said in an appeasing voice, wondering if she was going to have to talk to the back of Celeste’s head for the entire conversation.
“You think you’re so great, don’t you?” Celeste bristled as she finally turned around, her blue eyes narrowed. “First, you convince Nash not to be in the play, and then you go and ruin everything with Travis as well. Do you even care that I wanted to put this performance on my reel?”
