Storm: a Salt novel (Entangled Teen)

by Danielle Ellison

  Maple’s family came an hour ago and the Lins sit on the other side of the waiting room, whispering in Chinese. I look over at the Lins, and Maple’s sister sends me a soft smile, but no one else looks my way. How is she now? When they brought her in, she wasn’t breathing on her own. I can still see her lying there, eyes closed, blood on the ground…

  “Ric Norris.” Carter, Connie, and I jump up in unison. The balding doctor with thick-rimmed glasses walks in our direction. “You’re his partner?” This whole floor of the hospital is the magical level. To the Nons, it’s a regular floor with nothing exciting, but only witches come here. All the doctors who work on this floor are witches. Another way we stay cloaked in the Non world.

  “Family friends,” I say. But Carter steps forward.

  “William Prescott, and you are?”

  “I’m Dr. McGervey,” he says.

  Carter holds out his hand, and the doctor takes it. I stare between them and watch as Carter uses his name to get something else done that they’d never let us do normally. “Mrs. Norris is on a flight in from Seattle. It will be another hour, at least, and we’re really the only people here for him.”

  Dr. McGervey nods slowly and flips open Ric’s file. Apparently his Prescott charm works on everyone. There’s nothing readable from the stony expression on his face. “Once he was stabilized, we were able to do a CT scan. He suffered a mild concussion, and we had to do emergency surgery on a ruptured spleen. He has a few broken ribs and some bruising, but he should recover fully. He’ll have to take it easy for a couple weeks.”

  Ric doesn’t do that. Rest and relaxation are not in his vocabulary.

  “Can we see him?” Connie asks. Her voice is practically dancing with excitement. Ric is my best friend, but he’s like a brother to her. He’s always been around us, eating dinner with us, scolding boys who looked at Connie too long. Ric is family for both of us.

  “One at a time,” he says.

  “And what about Maple—Che Lin?” I ask, looking toward the family on the other side of the room. Dr. McGervey follows my gaze, then lowers his voice.

  “She’s still in surgery, as far as I’m aware.”

  “Thank you,” Carter says. “Your service is impeccable.”

  As soon as the doctor walks away, Connie throws her hands around my neck. I stand there as she hugs me, and close my eyes. What a relief. I could’ve lost Ric today. I could’ve lost someone else who I love.

  “You can go to him first,” I tell Connie.

  She looks surprised and shakes her head. “He’s your best friend, he’ll need to see you.”

  As much as I want to go, the ground feels shaky. Carter’s hand rests on my back without me saying anything else. “I need a second,” I say. “Go, please. I don’t want him to think he’s here all alone.”

  Connie nods and heads down the hall to find Ric. Carter’s hand rubs against my back and I turn to face him. Ric could’ve died. I could’ve lost my best friend and it would’ve all been my fault. A week ago, I was so determined to save Carter from the demons I thought took him that I caused people to die. Statics have magic now and have killed people. Their blood is on my hands, and I’m horrible for being thankful that it’s not Ric’s.

  “He’s all right,” Carter says, pulling me into his arms. He holds me against his chest, and I breath in the familiar scent of him. It’s crazy how much of my life Carter has become. Sometimes I feel like I didn’t have anything good before him, and that’s a scary and strange feeling. I’m only seventeen. How can I need someone so badly?

  Carter’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out between us and makes a face. Probably his father. “Take it,” I say.

  He looks conflicted, but says, “I’ll be right back.”

  While he’s gone, I sit again and fiddle with my salt necklace so my fingers and brain have a distraction from this whole mess. I scroll through my phone and stare blankly at the seventy alerts. All of them related to Statics. How do I stop this?

  A blond woman with an oddly disproportionate body and a large red hat lowers herself into the chair beside me. She smiles at me, but I can’t focus on anything but that hat. She could seriously injure someone with it. I slide my phone back in my pocket—I can’t read any more of this—and stare out into the space of the hallway. The woman clears her throat and rests her hand on my forearm.

  “I’m Lindley Arthur. I notice you’re an Enforcer,” she says, eyes moving to the gold triangles on my shirt. Right. I’m still in uniform. I nod toward her and she clasps her hands together. “Quite a lot of ruckus going on these last couple days. My friend said her second cousin manifested yesterday.” Taylor Plum said it was two days for her, too, but she was the first report. How is spreading around our area so quickly?

  “I love your hat,” I say, changing the subject.

  “I am quite fond of it,” Lindley Arthur says with a smile. “Anyway, we are all hoping that the Triad has a plan in place for all of this. Is there any clue about which Statics are going to get magic? Or why? Or when?” Her voice drops into a whisper. “As one myself, I’m quite interested in obtaining some magic.”

  There’s no response to that. Magic isn’t acquired—you have it or you don’t. At least, that’s how it used to be. Now? Who knows. She’s staring at me like I have some secret answer to change her life. What does she expect me to say? I have no answers to any of this. “Well,” I start.

  Right on cue, Carter appears with his million-dollar smile that’s oh-so better than mine. “Hello, Mrs. Arthur,” Carter says. The woman turns to look at him and he rests a hand on her shoulder. She practically melts because he can do that to people. Even fifty-year old women. “I’m William Prescott—”

  She nods, huge smile on her face. “Victor’s boy. Your father has a dangerous situation on his hands, young man. I sure hope he can handle it.”

  He gets this reaction a lot from the women. I’d be a little offended if I didn’t completely understand it.

  “These are dangerous times even before the Statics, Mrs. Arthur. I can assure you that my father and the Triad will make the best of an unusual situation. You know what his number one priority is?”

  “The Nons,” she whispers. Her eyes are serious and glassy. I hadn’t even thought about how much danger the Nons are in.

  Carter shakes his head. “You. The Statics. He told me personally that someone such as yourself—best-selling author of some most beloved children books—is required to be under the protection of the Triad, in case the magic comes your way as well.”

  I blink. How does he know that she’s a ‘beloved’ author’? Surely he hasn’t memorized every single person around.

  Lindley Arthur gasps. “He said that?”

  “Directly to me a moment ago,” Carter says. He’s such a good liar. Or is he lying? He did have a phone call. “The Enforcers have a meeting to discuss all this. But I promise that once we have information, we will share it with everyone in the community.”

  “Even Statics?”

  Carter smiles that Prescott winning smile. “Especially Statics. Until then, let’s focus on more exciting things. Like the Observance. You’ll be attending the party, won’t you?”

  Of course she will. Everyone, witch and Static, come. It’s the one time we’re given an exception to the separation in our community, even if it is for show. Lindley Arthur’s face lights up. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Excuse me, Mrs. Arthur, but we have to attend to some official business,” he says. Carter grabs my hand and pulls me from my seat.

  “You’re going to make a great leader, Mr. Prescott.” Lindley Arthur calls as Carter and I leave the lobby. He doesn’t look back toward her, but by the way he squeezes my hand tighter, it’s the worst thing she could ever say to him. Ever. Not just the idea of leading of the Triad, but calling him ‘Mr. Prescott.’

  We’re down the hall across from Ric’s room before he lets go of my hand. I explore his face. “You all right?”

 
“Yeah,” he says. “Never better.”

  I scoff. “You’re a horrible liar.”

  He flashes that smile. The public one, not the real one. “I’m a great liar. I’m a Prescott.”

  “Well, I can tell when you’re lying so you’re not that good,” I say. He smile fades and looks at me with those green eyes. With eyes like that, I’m not sure how I didn’t know he was a demon. “You’re good at it.”

  “What?”

  I sit next to him and inhale. He’s not going to like this speech, but as his loving girlfriend it’s my duty to tell him what he doesn’t like to hear. “You could lead the Triad. You would be a better leader than your dad.”

  “I don’t want it,” he snaps. I take his hand quickly, before he can pull it away. I need him to hear me out.

  “Yeah, but you could do it better. You’re already twice the man he is. And you’re great with people,” Carter finally meets my gaze. I keep talking since I have his attention. “Leading people, convincing them that everything will be work out, keeping them all calm, even joyful. You do it for me every day. You care about people, not their social status.”

  A silence spreads between us, but I can tell he’s thinking from the way his cute little eyebrows furrow together. “There are too many things I hate about the Triad.”

  There are things I hate about the Triad, too. The way they force some into marriage, test us all for Enforcer duty, and keep the Statics away from the witches, like they have some disease we could all catch. The way they focus on purebloods, don’t equip witches to protect themselves without Enforcers, and what they would do if they knew we were halflings is deplorable. Since he’s got more direct access to them, I’m sure Carter has more on his list than I’m aware of.

  “Maybe you could change some of those things,” I say. I lean into him. “I’m not saying you have to do it and I will stand by you whatever you choose. But if you change the way our whole society works, then that could be a great thing.” I almost see it as I talk. A better way for Enforcers to get hired. Stopping those arranged marriages, a removal of emphasis on status in the community, a re-integration and acceptance of Statics. All of it could be better.

  He pulls his hand away. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

  I sigh and lean back in the chair. “Please think about that before you write it all off.”

  He looks at me, surprise and anger flitting across his face, but nods.

  Connie bounces out of Ric’s room. Her face is bright, which is a good sign.

  “He’s making jokes, so I guess he’s almost normal,” Connie says. She tilts her head to the door. “You ready now?”

  I nod, but jokes aren’t an indication of normal. More like a hiding place. “Stay out here in case his mom shows up?” I ask. Carter nods my way and I leave him and my sister to go see Ric.

  Ric doesn’t look so good. His face is really pale and his eyes are bloodshot, but he smiles slightly when he sees me. I refuse to look upset or guilty or anything but positive right now. “Hey, buddy.”

  “Buddy?” he repeats.

  I shrug. “Would you prefer hot stuff?”

  “You’re not my type,” he says.

  “I won’t be offended.” I force a smile and sit next to his bed.

  “Don’t look at me that way,” he says, his eyes on me. “I’m not dead.”

  “You could be.” The words are barely a whisper. Saying it is all too real, and if he’d died then it’d be on me. Ric squeezes my hand.

  “I’m not. Any word on Maple?”

  I shake my head. Silence fills the small room, and I wonder if he feels as vulnerable as he looks.

  “So, this Static stuff is crazy. Any idea what’s happening?”

  “Not yet. The Triad is working on it.” The words are supposed to be some kind of comfort, but they aren’t. “Your mom should be here soon. Your dad called me twice.”

  “Nothing like an injury to reunite a family.” The bitterness is not missed on me. I get how he feels about his dad. Not only the anger that he’s gone, but the sadness, too. “I have a bad feeling…”

  I shake my head. “Don’t. Don’t focus on that.”

  Ric’s eyes are a little glassy. He cannot cry right now. I can’t handle that.

  “Not for me, for Maple. It’s strange but it’s almost like I can feel how hard she’s fighting. Maybe it’s part of the pairing ceremony, of the magic and the vows, but they definitely never tell us about that being a thing,” he says. His voice is like a whisper.

  I lock my jaw, and try to be positive. To be strong. He needs me, and I have to be the one he can depend on right now. “The Triad is going to figure this out. The Statics will be fixed. The doctors will save Maple. You’ll heal. Everything is going to be fine.”

  But even as I say it, I don’t fully have faith that all of those things can work out, even if I want them, too.

  Chapter Eight

  Carter

  The next morning, the WNN announces a mandatory Enforcer meeting. Dad must have figured out what to say. Probably some new plan for a cover-up. They can’t keep it quiet now—it’s too late for that—but they’ll want to keep all of this as calm as possible.

  “Cutting it close, William,” Dad says when I come into the kitchen.

  I look at my watch. Two minutes until ten. “I was trying to miss seeing you completely. Next time I’ll be better,” I say.

  Dad smirks across the table. Sometimes I really hate him.

  Lucy, the current housekeeper, brings the food in. I watch her scurry around the room and steal a glance at Dad. Even though he doesn’t talk, I can see him critiquing her movements. He does this with all of the Statics he hires. The help, he calls them, which is more insulting than calling them all Statics. Most of them have a two-month turnaround. No one wants to stay in the Prescott manor. Not even me.

  “Thank you,” I say to Lucy. She nods at me. They’re always so surprised when I thank them. God knows that Dad doesn’t. I take a fork from the table, and look at my plate, filled with some kind of omelet.

  Dad takes a knife to his sausage. “Do you have thoughts on the situation with the Statics?”

  I groan. I hate when Dad tries to make me feel involved. It’s his job to fix the problems, not mine. “No,” I snap. Aside from telling him what the mauve demon said, I have nothing. Yet. I’m not going to trust a demon until I have hard facts. I’m not telling Victor Prescott anything else about Pen and me.

  Dad takes a sip of his water, eyes on me from across the room. “You tend to have a thought about everything, so I figured this would be the same.”

  It’s not like I have anything solid. I only have a feeling. “I feel that the whole thing is convenient.”

  “Convenient?”

  I stare at him. Last week I had to trust in my dad, even though I don’t. I had to pretend like I could. This time, I can’t do that. Not yet. There’s really no one I can talk about this with except Penelope. When we have answers, then we’ll share them. Until then, I’m playing with my cards close to the chest.

  “Demons always want something,” I say. He stares at me from across the table. I hate the way he looks at me like that. “What? Say whatever it is.”

  “I was thinking that you looked like your mother today.”

  I drop my fork on the plate with a clash. “Why would you bring her up?” My voice is rougher than usual. But talking about Mom is too fresh. It was only a week ago when I learned she was really a demon. Only a week since she tried to turn us over to her side. I’m not ready to talk about her. Especially with him. He was the reason she chose demons and left me.

  “Because you do,” he says. “I was thinking that you’re going to make a fine leader in the Triad.” I shake my head. There it is. The not-so-subtle hint that my life has a purpose. “I would do anything for you. You’re my number one priority, even above this position.”

  “Are you trying to make a heartfelt moment? Because you’re not so good at them.”<
br />
  “William.”

  “Carter, Dad, Carter. Stop trying to force it.”

  “Your name is William.”

  I stand at the table and my chair makes a scratching sound against the floor. “No, it’s not. And none of this is about me—it’s about you.” It all comes out in one big rush. Once I start, it’s hard to shut off. “I don’t want this. That’s you. Your whole problem is that I’m your number one priority. It should be this community, not me, not this secret.” His face changes immediately from stoic to harsh lines of disappointment and warning. The look he wears when he’s trying to remind people that he’s in charge and they’re about to cross a line. Good. I’m going to jump over that damn line and never look back.

  “I’m a halfling, Dad.” I say the words slowly and purposefully. He doesn’t want to face the truth and that’s on him. My mom was already pregnant with me when she became a demon. Dad found out and kept her locked away until I was born, and then he sent her out. He told me that I was a halfling when I was nine, and he has always used it as a warning. Stay in line, William, or everyone will know. Statics are exiled from our community. Halflings shouldn’t exist. Me not existing, him losing his power, those are his biggest fears. The latter more than the former. I’m a piece of his game, a pawn, and he needs me around to win. “You need to accept that.”

  Dad’s face falls. Good. Anything I can do to show him how much I don’t want to be here, that I don’t have to live my life as his, I will do it.

  I toss my napkin from my lap onto my plate. He opens his mouth to speak, but I leave. I don’t want to stay to listen to any of his crap.

  …

  There’s an itch in my hand that’s only satisfied by blood. It’s always like this when I feel like I’m losing control. It’s my escape. But today, I need to fight it. To not be that person who needs to kill demons for sanity. I need something else to focus on, so I drive.