by Jen Kirchner
In my defense, those things are tasty. Who can say no?
Grandpa continued, “Luucas, you are to remain at Eliana’s residence—” He paused, as if considering the length of our punishment. “—indefinitely.”
As he said it, I felt a jail cell slamming shut. Luucas and I shot each other a panicked glance. I could barely stand this guy, and I knew he felt the same way about me.
“Grandpa, there’s no reason to do this. Brad can stay with me.”
“This has escalated far beyond Bradley’s ability to protect you. Your safety is of the utmost importance, Eliana, and I will not take any unnecessary chances. Also, according to the shipping company, your new telepath arrived today and should be in your mailbox. As soon as we hang up, I want you to put it on and not to take it off for any reason.”
The rules had never been that severe before. What if I had to do something private? “But what about—”
“Luucas will be there while you are home, and that is the only reason you may remove it.”
“Is this coming from you or my mom?”
“Both.”
Great.
SIXTEEN
As soon as Grandpa hung up, Luucas’s professionalism disintegrated.
“I shouldn’t have to do this,” he said, looking at me as if I were the problem. “How am I supposed to do my job while looking after you? One night in New York City while I’m trying to uncover your story is fine. But forever?”
“Hey,” I said, “I didn’t ask for this arrangement, either.”
He groaned and turned to Mikelis. “I have to get my car.”
“Forget it,” Mikelis said. “The windshield is destroyed. One of the hubcaps is lodged in it.”
Brad and I exchanged a look. Apparently we didn’t communicate as covertly as intended because Mikelis and Luucas saw our reactions and turned on us.
“Who destroyed my windshield?”
I pointed at Brad. I’m such an adult.
“Your ex threw it at Kari,” Brad said, as if that satisfied the complaint. “If you need a car, use Kari’s Audi.”
“Oh!” I had forgotten about the car because it’s not an option for me, but Luucas was welcome to it. “That’s a great idea. Can you drive a stick?”
The corner of Mikelis’s mouth perked up into a mischievous, lopsided grin.
“The Rendon’s Audi?” Luucas boggled. “What will people say when they see me driving that frivolous sports car? I’m supposed to be an example of immortal frugality! If citizens lose confidence in me, I’ll lose my job.”
Brad stood and started for the door. “As far as sports cars go, an Audi TTS is cheap. Also, it’s all that’s available to you. So quit complaining.”
Mikelis stood up and started backing out of the room. “If you’re that worried about it, you can drive my car and I’ll take the Audi.” He turned and ran out of the room. I heard his footsteps heading up the stairs, presumably toward the garage.
Apparently Luucas had a change of mind, because he ran after Mikelis.
At this point, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I still had to get the new telepath from the mailbox. I walked up the stairs and found Brad waiting for me at the front door, reading his phone.
“This is a pretty good arrangement, actually,” he said. I assumed he meant Luucas.
“I guess.”
“At least we have a day off tomorrow.”
I frowned. “You do. I have a photo shoot in the morning.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. Want me to walk you to the mailbox?”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
Brad opened the door and stepped outside. I started to follow but stopped when I heard Luucas yelling something from the garage. I poked my head back inside.
“What?”
“Where are you going?”
“To the mailbox.”
No immediate answer. Was he debating whether I could cross the street?
“I don’t need supervision to get the mail. If I’m not back in five minutes, you can be worried.” I stepped back outside and shut the door behind me. “Oh, yeah,” I sneered, “this new arrangement is going to be fantastic.”
Brad chuckled and walked toward his guitar case and a small suitcase, still sitting in the center of the driveway. His car chirped and the trunk popped open with a soft thunk. “Call me if you need anything tomorrow.”
I walked down the driveway toward the street. Three new second-channel spells hovered on the wrought iron fence, courtesy of my attorney, including a new access spell. I didn’t give them much thought as I unlocked the small door set off to the side and stepped onto the sidewalk.
The street was quiet. Faint lights from my porch and garage cast themselves against the thick, untamed bushes and trees across the street, though the foliage had grown so dense the light couldn’t permeate it. The only other nearby light was the street lamp on the corner. My neighbors' houses were both dark and nothing showed up on Death Radar except Luucas and Mikelis in the garage. For the first time in my life, I felt very alone. I wasn’t sure if I liked it.
I crossed the street and opened the mailbox, a lone red box standing on a wooden post. Inside it were a few bills, a thick envelope sent from our fan club, and a small, white box sealed with brown packing tape. I grabbed the box and tore the packing tape with one of my keys. Inside, a lavender, felt box sat amidst bits of packing foam. I took out the felt box and shoved the packaging back in the mailbox.
I flipped open the lid. A small note card, slightly larger than a business card, rested on top. “Happy Birthday. May you always be safe. Love, Grandpa.” Under the card lay a bracelet of interlocking medallions made of white gold.
“Wow,” I whispered. The bracelet was amazing, but I wished he hadn't spent all that money.
Behind me, the bright headlights of Brad's car lit up the bushes. A spell pulsed against me but cut off before it could complete.
I turned around and watched the access spell deny Brad; the gate wouldn’t open. That seemed odd since it had worked an hour ago.
I put the bracelet back into the box, cast another look around the street to make sure I was alone, then pulled the access spell out into the street. Smoke started to swirl around me as I separated the spell’s layers.
A few of the fingerprints, including Brad’s, had become marred and combined into one. The fingerprints that had been jumbled were foggy and unreadable, and it made my nose itch to play around with them. Maybe it had happened when Mikelis forced his way in tonight? That didn't make sense—he had come in plenty of other times over the last few years and never broke any of my spells—but it was the only explanation I had. Maybe in the morning, when I felt more awake, I could figure it out.
I erased the garbled fingerprints and pulled off a fresh one from Brad. It floated straight out of his car and onto the gate. I sent the spell back into place and the gate swung open. Brad waved goodnight and drove off.
I waited for the gate to start closing, then turned back toward the mailbox and inspected my new, beautiful piece of jewelry.
Once again, the access spell pulsed, only this time it was so slight that I almost missed it. There was nothing on Death Radar, though that didn't mean there wasn't a necromancer standing behind me.
“I really hate it when you do that,” I said.
“I know,” Mikelis answered.
Of course he knew; that's exactly why he did it. I snapped the felt box shut, flipped up the mailbox lid, and whirled around. Before I could start yelling, he held up one hand, stopping me.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “I shouldn't have gone through your things, and I’m sorry about your kitchen, and...” I sensed nervousness and frustration. “And I am not afraid of your underwear.”
“Are you sure? Stubby seems convinced.”
The light came from behind him, obscuring his expression, but I could see his head cock slightly to the side. “I’m sorry about what I did to you in the beginning. I didn't know. I was sleeping...”
&nb
sp; I thought about my kitchen. “You have a lot of knee-jerk reactions when you’ve been sleeping.”
“Thanks to Ruairí, I haven’t slept well in four hundred years. After I realized what had happened and how young you were… I hated myself after that.”
I couldn’t help my surprise. For some reason, I thought Mikelis lived his life without apology or remorse. “Well,” I said, “everyone makes mistakes.”
The light above my garage clicked off, flooding the street with darkness.
Mikelis gave a slow nod, as if feeling out where we stood, and stepped a little closer. “We're okay then? After the pranks, your lab, blowing up the kitchen—”
“Whoa,” I said, holding up one hand. “We are not okay about the kitchen.”
“How can I make it up to you?”
“I'll keep you updated.”
His mouth relaxed into a smile that made my heart race. His eyes fell to my mouth. Was he going to kiss me? First kisses never go the way they do in the movies; they always start out clumsy and awkward. Luckily, they are so delicious and exciting that by the time the kiss is finished, no one cares how it happened, just so long as it did. It had been a long time since I had one.
“I don’t scare you at all, do I?” he asked.
“Not really, no.”
His head tilted toward mine. “There aren’t many people who aren’t afraid of me, Kari. Eliana. Whatever your name is.”
Our lips came together gently, mouths closed. My heart seemed to stop. Time stopped. The kiss lingered, then our mouths opened. His lips closed against mine gently. Before I could open my mouth again, his tongue flickered against my lips on an exploratory mission. Dammit! I wasn't ready! I waited a second, then tried catching him open. I got nothing but lips.
The next time he tried it, I was ready. Both of our mouths were open. Our tongues touched. My insides turned to mush.
By the time we pulled away, both of his hands were searching under my coat, my hands were in his hair, and I was panting. If Luucas hadn't been in the house, the night would have ended differently.
“May I see you tomorrow night?” he asked.
The question was old-fashioned and gentlemanly, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it.
“Yes. I have a photo shoot tomorrow, but I'm free afterward.”
He nodded and took his keys out of his pocket. “Tomorrow then.”
I grabbed my mail and walked back to the gate, while pretending not to watch him walk to his car.
“Hey,” I said.
His front door hung open, and he was just getting in. He stopped and looked up.
“When you came over tonight, did you have any problems getting past the access spell?”
“No, same as always, though I was a little mad when I got here, so…” He smiled, embarrassed. “I hit the spells pretty hard when I came through. Is something wrong?”
“It was just a little scrambled when Brad tried to get out, but I fixed it.”
I hesitated at the gate, and he hesitated at the car door. Neither of us wanted to go. We were acting like teenagers.
“Well, see you tomorrow,” I said.
“Goodnight.”
I skipped to bed.
Sleep came quickly and left the same way when my house phone rudely woke me. I let the call go, pressing a pillow against my head until the answering machine picked up.
It didn’t, and the phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
I opened my eyes. Had it not been for the red, digital numbers on my clock that shone 4:32 AM, the room would have been black. I reached for the phone.
I sounded exactly as I felt: like hell. “Hello?” I croaked.
“Is this Kari Hunter?”
The voice was male, baritone, with a definitive Irish accent. I rubbed my eyes and hoped it wasn’t an enthusiastic fan. Once, I had a heavy breather who called every Thursday. That was when I knew our band had finally made it.
“Who’s calling?”
“This is Ruairí O'Bryne.”
Maybe it was the early hour, the bad week I had been having, or the fact that I had just been groped by Cody Springer in front of two million people, but the impending doom effect he intended was lost on me. This had to be a stress-induced dream.
“Of course it is,” I said, “because that’s the kind of week I’m having.”
The other end of the phone went silent for a second, and in the background I heard a car pass by. It stalled. Then the engine turned over again and the car zoomed away.
“Mikelis led me to you,” he said. “I saw you two by your mailbox. You looked as if you had a lot of chemistry.”
“You saw us? How?” There weren’t many houses on my street to hide behind and nothing around except… “Were you hiding in the bushes?”
Yeah, this was definitely a dream. I waited for an answer or protest that never came, and I started to giggle. His silence was an affirmation that made me laugh even harder. I shook the bed so much that Nadia got up again and resettled by my feet.
His voice suddenly lost its mysterious tone and became agitated. “Do you know who I am?”
“Yeah, you’re a pervert who needs a better hobby.” I reached over and flipped on the light. “The rumor is you’re also a wacko who doesn’t know where you are or even what day it is half the time because your body houses two opposing magics. In case no one has told you yet, you’ve made it to the twenty-first century. Welcome.”
“I know what year it is,” he snapped. “And the day. Today is...” He paused. “Sunday.”
“Gold star for you, but you had to think about it first.”
Another thoughtful pause. “I have a rigorous schedule and sometimes it is difficult to keep track.”
“Or,” I said, “you have events designated for certain days of the week so you always know what day it is. This way, you never embarrass yourself in front of your freakish society of voodoo devotees.”
I was on fire with my retorts. If only I could do this when I was awake!
“There is nothing wrong with being scheduled. Mikelis is very scheduled.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t do it to remember what day of the week it is. He does it to stay a step ahead of you.” I rubbed my eyes, thinking about the absurdity of this conversation. The more this guy talked, the less he scared me. “So,” I said, with a giggle returning to my voice, “this is what the leader of the voodoo nation does on a Saturday night? You stalk Mikelis?”
“I would not call it stalking.”
“Hiding in the bushes and watching us make out? What do you call that, besides creepy?”
“I call it maintaining surveillance on a target.”
“You wish. You had your chance, and now you’re pining for the one that got away. You’re Ahab and he’s your white whale. You’re completely obsessed!”
“I am not!”
I rubbed my eyes and mumbled, “I can’t believe I’ve been afraid of you my entire life.”
“I am very dangerous, Kari,” he snapped.
“Get yourself some help. You need it.”
“I do not need help. I need you to grow strong for me.”
“Not interested.”
“Neither was Mikelis, but I changed his mind when I killed his family.”
I snorted. “Yeah, that worked out well for you.”
He ignored my remark and asked, “Would that upset you? How would you feel if I killed...” I heard a page from a notepad being flipped, as if he was reading my dossier. “Your cousin? Brad Kasen?”
“You don’t want to do that. Besides, you’ve got a bigger problem,” I said. “I know about the Styx.”
He sounded startled, almost panicked. “What?”
“I know it’s sucking up powers from The Floor. You’re expanding your magical capacity so you can take on Mikelis.” My voice was low, with a venomous bite. “I’m going to stop you, Ruairí. I’m going to find you and your little spell, and I’m going to stop it. You’ve just gotten yourself in trouble with all the w
rong people. I hope you’re prepared.”
I hung up the phone and turned off the light. As I lay back down, I thought what a badass I was in my dreams.
I had a feeling that I was being watched. My chest felt heavy and I couldn’t move. Immediately, I thought of the dream I had about Ruairí O’Bryne. Oh no, he found me! My eyes flew open—
Nadia was perched on my chest, staring with unblinking eyes, silently demanding that I produce some breakfast, pronto.
I brushed her off and untangled myself from the sheets. I showered and dressed quickly, then migrated to my office for two telephone interviews. Both interviewers asked about the same things—they wanted to know all about my relationship with Cody. For some reason, they asked about my relationship with Brad, too.
The questions about Brad struck me as odd, but I brushed them off. If I worried about every rumor that went around, it would drive me crazy.
Downstairs, I saw Luucas was settling in. The curtains were closed, the air conditioner and television were on, and he had made himself at home on the couch.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Good morning.”
I inspected Nadia’s bowls. The water bowl looked fine, since I had refilled it last night. The food bowl was empty. I poured in a heaping scoop and immediately heard the pitter-patter of feet heading my way.
“How was the Audi?” I asked.
Luucas gave a sheepish smile. “I stalled it once. It was fine other than that. A lot of staring. A lot of whispering. I’m sure the rumor mill is circulating.”
I stood up and faced him. “You stalled the Audi?” The dream about Ruairí O’Bryne came back to me. It really was a dream, right?
Luucas’s smile faded. “It was just one stall. The car is fine.”
“Not that. You stalled the car in front of the house?”
“How did you know?”
“I heard it.”
His upper lip curled. He turned off the TV. “There’s no way you could have heard me stall at the corner. Your bedroom is in the back of the house.”
I went straight to the bookcase and pulled out Liberace. As the bookcase swung open, Luucas asked, “Are you all right?”
