Dusk (3 page)

Lucy knew that. “It won’t be for a hell of a long time, Eva. I
plan on being here for decades.”

“Well, I hope so,” Eva replied after a moment. “Anyway, this is
not why I called you.”

Lucy wanted to smack herself in the head. She’d made her best
friend unhappy, and Eva had been nothing but supportive for years. “What did
you call me for?” she asked, knowing there was nothing more she could say to
make it better.

“I wanted to ask you to come for dinner on Friday.”

“Which you already have,” Lucy interjected.

Eva chuckled. “Yeah, but that’s not all. I also wanted to give you
a heads up that Solomon will be there, too, if that’s okay? He’s finally agreed
to come down out of his tower and hang out for a bit.”

Solomon?
Lucy bit her lip, heart skipping a beat at the thought of seeing him again
after so long. “Uh, okay. But you don’t need my permission.”

“I know you like him,” Eva stated. “And in the interests of
preserving your sanity, I thought I’d warn you ahead of time.”

“Okay,” Lucy said, distracted. Her mind was busy going through all
of her outfits. She eyed her closet door. What could she wear that would make
her look like a grownup? She cursed her stupid curly hair and stupid round
face. Almost everything she wore made her look about twelve years old. And if
Solomon was going to be there, she wanted to at least look presentable. The
last time he saw her she had blood all over her and had been a screaming wreck.
“What time should I be ready?”

“Five o’clock.”

“Ah crap. I just remembered that my mom needs her car Friday
night. Dad’s taking her to Columbus for date night—” She made gagging noises at
the thought of her parents doing romantic things, “—and they said they can’t
take Dad’s pickup. And I can’t drive manual, so I can’t take his truck. Is
there any way you can pick me up?” She stretched out on her bed and stared at
the ceiling. She hated depending on others for transportation. Someday soon she
had to buy a car.
Yeah, when I’m rich, ha
ha.

Eva chuckled. “Sure! No problem. I’ll come get you around five.”
She paused. “Date night, huh? That’s so cute.”

“Oh my God, don’t say that! The thought of my parents kissing in
public makes my stomach roll,” Lucy exclaimed. “And you know they’ll do it.
They’ll probably hug, too, where people can see. The horror.”

“Shut up. You love that they’re still together,” Eva said,
amusement coloring her tone. “It’s cool that they still love each other so
much.”

Lucy laughed. Her best friend had a point. “Maybe, but I admit to
nothing.”

“Fine, fine. See you on Friday. And wear something pretty,” Eva
told her. “I think Solomon likes you.” With that ridiculous statement, Eva
disconnected the line.

“I’m going to kill her,” Lucy vowed, blushing at the thought of
Solomon liking her. She sat up, catching sight of herself in the mirror over
her dresser. Her curly brown hair was a mess. Her lipstick was smudged because
her lips were too full to keep any kind of lip tint evenly spread. And her
light brown eyes sparkled with something she was afraid to call hope.

There is no way a Sentry would ever like a girl like me,
she told herself firmly, dropping back
down across her bed and letting out a huge sigh. She stared at her ceiling
again.
What the hell am I going to wear?

Chapter Three

Solomon ran through the calculations in his head one more time,
then
placed his hands on the pillar in the middle of his
tower. Outside, fog swirled past the windows, cloaking the barren landscape
beyond the stone with tendrils of ice. The temperature had dropped this
morning, too. He’d hoped for some clearer weather sometime this week, but every
day had dawned thick with precipitation. Even so, he’d managed to get a great
deal of work done on the transporter.

When there’s nothing to look at outside, the bleak view tends to
focus one’s thoughts,
he mused, eyes flicking over the equations he’d programmed into the Stronghold
net. A portion of the pillar had darkened into the flat interface he used when
he was tinkering with the quantum network. Strings of numbers flew down the
screen as he checked his results against the last set. When he was satisfied
that all the results were correct, he stepped back, smiling.

“That should do it,” he murmured, pleased with himself. He’d been
working on the new tech for months, and it was finally ready for
implementation. He slid his palm across the pillar. “Greyson.”

He waited. A few minutes later, the pillar wavered, and his
brother stood there wearing, of all things, a bright pink apron. He held long
tongs in his hand. Solomon tilted his head. “Pink?”

Greyson scowled. “It was all she had.”

“It looks good on you.” Solomon smirked.

“Didn’t you leave yet? You’re going to be late,” Greyson said.

“No, I just wanted to let you know that I will be using the
transporter. I did not want you freaking out when I appeared in your living
room.” Solomon smiled.

Greyson’s eyes widened. “It works? You’ve been testing it for
weeks.”

Solomon inclined his head. “Indeed.”

“That is excellent news, my brother,” Greyson said. He stepped
back. “I promise not to freak out.” His eyes twinkled.

“Good. It would be very awkward for me if you started screaming
when I appear,” Solomon teased.

Greyson rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t scream. I might punch you
though.” He pursed his lips. “By the way, Eva needs someone to go pick up Lucy.
She doesn’t have a car. Would you mind fetching her?”

Solomon froze. “You didn’t tell me she was coming to dinner.”

Greyson looked at him for a moment, then his lips quirked. “No, I
didn’t.”

“You enjoy being difficult.” Solomon frowned at his brother.

Greyson grinned.

Solomon wished Greyson wasn’t so irritating. He wanted to see Lucy
again, but he didn’t want his brother having anything to do with it. The thought
of Greyson, or any other man, anywhere near her had him growling.

“Very well. I will take your motorcycle to fetch her. Expect me
shortly.” His hand shot out and he dismissed the viewer without saying goodbye.
He stepped back and considered his situation. He had to make a decision.

“Damn,” he muttered, rubbing his face. His hand slid to his
pocket, and he drew out the silver ring he’d taken to carrying around with him.
Staring at it, he concentrated, then pushed energy into it. It shimmered in his
hand. When beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, he lowered it, slipping it
back into his pocket. The ring was now fully charged. If he gave it to Lucy, it
would protect her from the Spiders, should they come again.

Which they will,
he thought, staring out at the white swirling past his windows.
He couldn’t see them, but he knew they were out there, in the dark of space.
Waiting.

Watching.

****

Lucy stood in front of her dresser, glaring at her reflection. “You
are an idiot.” She’d changed four times. Four times! And she still wasn’t happy
with her outfit. Even the soft white wood that framed the mirror didn’t help
make her look any better. She tugged at her dress, wishing she was ten pounds
lighter. Even five pounds would help. Her boobs were ridiculous.

At least I was able to cover up the shadows under my eyes with
makeup,
she mused.
She felt like she never got enough sleep anymore. The nightmares came at least
once a night, leaving her tired and cranky in the morning. She rubbed at her
right arm, frowning.
You’re safe. There are no Spiders here,
she chanted
silently. She looked around her room, checking out of habit: windows closed,
filmy curtains drawn. Closet door partly open because she’d been looking at
shoes. She’d switched the comforter on her bed to a short one so that she could
easily see under the mattress and bed frame. She glanced at her nightstands.
The white-painted wood was spotless and nothing cluttered the top except for a
couple pieces of jewelry.
You’re safe, stop obsessing.

“You look lovely, Lucy,” her mother said, standing in the doorway.

Lucy whirled around. Her mother could move like a ninja sometimes.
“Lovely? Yeah, right. I look fat.”

Her mother chuckled. “You’re not fat. You simply have a bit more
on the top and bottom than most girls. Some men appreciate that,” she said
dryly. “I should know. You have my figure. And your waist is tiny.” She walked
into her daughter’s room and sat on the bed. A sweater slid from the jumbled
pile Lucy had made and landed on the hardwood floor.

“Sorry,” Lucy said, striding over and picking it up. It was her
favorite purple cardigan.
Funny how I think my mom is beautiful, but on me,
the same curves just make me feel like I’m overweight.

“It’s your room, sweetie,” her mom said, smoothing a hand down the
cream-colored comforter. “You’re all grown up now. You can do what you want
with your clothes.”

Lucy shook her head, not commenting on her mother’s
misunderstanding of her apology. She kicked at a pair of shoes she’d discarded,
shoving them back into her closet and closing the door. “Eva just called and
told me that I should dress for riding a motorcycle.” She looked down at the
floral dress she wore. “This isn’t going to work.”

Her mother shook her head, smiling. “Just put on a pair of jeans
with your red sweater. The color makes your eyes and skin look gorgeous. I love
your father in red, and you have his coloring.” She tucked a stray lock of
blonde hair behind her ear.

Lucy chewed on her lip. “You think?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Five minutes later, Lucy stared at herself again. “I like it.” The
red
did
bring out her eyes. She smoothed her hands down the tight
sweater. It covered everything it needed to, without making her look like a stuffed
sausage. And her black boots were perfect for riding on a vehicle of death.

Her mom clapped her hands. “Yay! Perfect!”

Lucy rolled her eyes at her. “Stop. Please. No more valley girl
impressions, Mom. The universe can’t take it.”

Her mom stifled her grin, covering it with a cough. “Who did you
say is picking you up again?”

“Eva.”

“Hmm.” Lucy’s mom pursed her lips.

“Hmm? What does that mean?” Lucy strode over and started folding
the sweaters on her bed.

“I didn’t know Eva learned how to ride a motorcycle.” Her mother
began helping her, smoothing out the seams on one particularly soft cashmere
top, then laying it aside. “Oh, and also, I didn’t know she was six feet tall.
And a dude.”

Lucy almost dropped the sweater she’d been trying to shove into
her dresser drawer. “What?”

“I came to tell you that your date—” She coughed again, eyes bright.
“I mean, your ride is here.”

Lucy told her heart to stop banging on her ribs. “Oh no. Please
tell me Eva didn’t do what I think she did.”

“She did,” Lucy’s mom nodded. “Sentry Solomon Dusk is right now
standing in the kitchen talking politics with your father.”

****

The ring in Solomon’s pocket felt like a brick weighing him down.
He nodded at Lucy’s father, trying to keep his attention on the conversation.
He failed. Instead, his thoughts wandered back to Lucy and the insanity of what
he was contemplating.

“You can’t tell me anything? I don’t want Lucy hurt anymore. She
still has nightmares,” Lucy’s father said, continuing his dogged pursuit of
information about the Spiders.

“We do not have any evidence that there will be any new incursions
anytime soon. If there were, we would let you know,” he said, trying to
reassure the man. Hank’s worry scratched across Solomon’s emotions as his
empathy picked up the man’s agitation. Sometimes having the power to detect
what other people felt was more of a burden than a gift, though he couldn’t
blame the man for his concern. After all, his daughter had been injured and
almost died the last time the Spiders appeared on Earth. “And I would never let
any of them harm your daughter again.” Solomon hadn’t realized she’d been
having nightmares about the Spiders. That worried him. The energy that was part
of being a Sentry flared within him as his concern for Lucy increased. With the
ease of long practice, he controlled his power. The last thing he wanted was
for his empathy to spiral out of control. He’d end up with a splitting
headache. After two hundred odd years of life, he knew better than to let
himself feel too deeply.

Hank rubbed his chin. “Do I have your word on that? That she will
be safe?”

Solomon went still, looking into the man’s light brown eyes, so
like Lucy’s. Somehow, her father understood that a Sentry’s word wasn’t lightly
given. He considered the request, and then took a deep breath. “You have my
promise that I will protect Lucinda, with my life, if necessary.” He resisted
the urge to slide his fingers into his pocket and touch the ring. Now wasn’t
the time. Truthfully, he hadn’t believed it would ever be the time to give the
ring to someone again, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Lucy suffering when
he had the means to help her.
You feel
too much for her
, her admonished himself.