Incubus (20 page)

weren’t wearing uniforms, but something about them screamed soldier nonetheless. Matthew had his

arm around the neck of a handsome black man, steering him roughly into the living room. “That’s her

over there. Gretchen,” he said, “Meet Max. Max, Gretchen. I cannot wait to watch her take you apart

on the mat.”

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Max said, grinning. “What do you say, Gretchen? Up for a bout

sometime?”

“Looking forward to it,” Gretchen said. Her smile was mild, but her eyes crinkled with

anticipation.

Max’s eyes travelled around the room, snagging on me. “So come on, man,” he said, hitting

Matthew in the stomach. “Introduce the crew.”

“Right,” Matthew said. He pointed out the newcomers as he listed off their names. “Privates Chris,

Paul, and Jason. You already know Max.” Matthew turned into the living room, naming the rest of us

for the newcomers. “Gretchen, Lucas, Thane, Hale, Braedyn,” he ended by sweeping a hand toward

Dad. “And this is Murphy.” The newcomers reacted, eyeing my dad with more than a little

amazement.

“For real?” the blond guy—Chris? Or was it Jason?—asked.

“In the flesh,” Matthew said.

“It’s an honor, sir,” the blond guy said, offering Dad his hand.

“Please,” Dad said, shaking it. “We don’t stand on formality here. Come in, put your feet up.”

The newcomers crowded around Dad and he was stuck fielding questions. I couldn’t help but grin.

It was still strange to think of Dad as the living legend so much of the Guard saw him as.

“Braedyn?” Hale pulled me away from the crowd. “This probably goes without saying, but you

should keep your secret under wraps for now.”

I glanced at the soldiers, my smile fading. “What about their spotters?” I asked.

“Marx and his team are recruiting the spotters for their mission. They’re just sending the fighters

on to Puerto Escondido right now, so we have a little time to get them familiar with you before we

drop that bomb.”

“Okay.” I let out a deep sigh. I wasn’t looking forward to another round of “what do you mean

she’s a Lilitu?”

“Keep an eye on Mr. Hart,” Hale added. I glanced at him, surprised. “If he is what you think, we’ll

take care of it.”

I nodded just as Dad managed to extract himself from his band of groupies.

“Why don’t you go home, honey,” he asked. He was smiling, but I could see his tension. It didn’t

take a genius to work it out. He didn’t want me around the Guard soldiers any more than was strictly

necessary.

“Sure, okay.”

“I wanted to make you breakfast for your birthday,” Dad said. He glanced back at the new

Guardsmen. “But I think I need to help sort out the arrangements.”

“No, I get it.”

“I love you, honey,” Dad said, planting a kiss on my head. “I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.”

But before I could tell him it was okay—who needed a birthday breakfast anyhow?—he was walking

back into the living room.

My seventeenth birthday went from disappointing to downright depressing.

At school, no one even mentioned it. Cassie and Royal had been so eager to help me plan my

sixteenth birthday. But they’d completely forgotten my seventeenth, being so caught up with the

theater production.

Lucas was focused on Mr. Hart, waiting for the drama teacher to make any mistake that could

reveal his true nature. I was late to lunch, and when I got there only Seth was sitting at our table.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“Dunno,” he shrugged, shoving another bite of food into his mouth.

I sat down and reached for the nearest bowl of food. Tater-tots stared up at me, covered in a slick

sheen of oil. “Actually, I’m not all that hungry,” I said, pushing the bowl away.

“Does that mean...?” Seth eyed the tater-tots.

“Knock yourself out,” I answered. I pushed back from the table and stood.

“You’re not going to eat anything?” Seth asked.

“No.” I gave him a smile in apology. “Not feeling too great today.”

“Is there anything I can do?” He asked awkwardly, suddenly looking like a frog on a hotplate.

“No, it’s okay. I’m going to head over to the library. I’ve got a quiz to study for.” It was true, but

when I left the dining hall I didn’t feel like studying.

Instead, I walked over to the performing arts building, thinking I might run into Lucas patrolling

the halls for some sign of Mr. Hart.

I walked into the building, but it was empty. Which made sense; most of the students were at

lunch.

Searching the halls for Lucas, I turned up empty handed. I stopped in the green room, frustrated.

That’s when I heard the muffled conversation. It was coming from the costume closet. I cracked the

door open and peeked inside.

Cassie and Mr. Hart were sitting on the worktable, side by side. He had an arm around her back,

and she was looking up into his face. The moment was clearly private, intimate.

Instead of obeying my instincts and retreating, I pushed the door open with a cheerful, “Oh, hi,

Cassie. There you are. We missed you at lunch.”

Cassie and Mr. Hart sprang apart, caught. Mr. Hart slid off the worktable and gave Cassie a careful

smile. “Well. I don’t want to keep you from your lunch.” He walked past me quickly.

“I lost track of time,” Cassie said, laughing nervously. “Sorry. You didn’t have to come looking

for me.” She gathered up her things and headed to the door. “What are they serving today?”

I closed the door before she could escape. She looked at me, startled.

“Cassie,” I said. “What was that?”

“What?”

“With Mr. Hart?”

“What? We were just talking.” Cassie’s cheeks reddened and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“That’s not what it looked like,” I said.

“What did it look like?” Cassie asked. I was surprised by the hostility in her voice.

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt. Like before.”

Cassie looked at me, genuinely confused. “Before?” I realized instantly I’d made a mistake. Her

eyes narrowed. “You mean, like Parker?”

“Cassie,” I said, reaching for her arm. She jerked away from me, pissed.

“You too?” she said. Tears of anger sprang into her eyes.

“I didn’t mean—”

“I needed someone to talk to,” she said. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to—” she shook her head,

disgusted.

“If you want to talk, why can’t you talk to Royal and me?” I asked.

“You?” Cassie laughed in disbelief. “You haven’t exactly been around lately and Royal... he still

treats me like something that’s going to shatter if he’s not careful.”

“Okay,” I said, scrambling for the right thing to say. “But I just think Mr. Hart’s—”

“What?”

“Not... appropriate,” I mumbled under the heat of her glare.

“Listen,” Cassie snapped. “You want to be my friend? Stop trying to be my babysitter.”

Cassie pushed roughly past me and yanked the door open. I blocked her path, desperate to get

through to her.

“Wait,” I said. Cassie wouldn’t meet my gaze. “I feel like I don’t even know what’s going on in

your life right now.”

“Whose fault is that?” Cassie didn’t give me a chance to respond. She pushed my arm out of the

way and marched out of the costume closet. I stared at the racks of old clothes lining the room. Cassie

was right. I’d disappeared from her life, leaving a convenient hole available for Mr. Hart to slip right

into. I couldn’t have made it easier for him if I’d tried.

My fault. This was all my fault.

Chapter 9

A storm was gathering across the mountain. Swollen, purple clouds crouched over the earth, casting

darkness onto the land below. The anticipation of rain became a building tension that seemed to ache

for release. I leaned my head against the school library’s picture window, unable to look away. This

wasn’t a view you could get in most of Puerto Escondido. But here, standing at this window, I could

see through the break in the mountains that encircled our town out to the land beyond. It felt soothing,

looking down over the desert stretching away for hundreds of miles. A reminder of the larger world

beyond my little town.

I saw Cassie’s reflection in the window and turned.

“So,” she said. She was standing there awkwardly, shuffling her weight from one foot to the other.

I stood. “Cassie, I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Cassie said. “I—I know how it must have looked.” I could only

shake my head, miserable. Cassie looked down at the floor. “But the truth is, I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” I said.

“How about we take the afternoon and go down to Old Town.”

I brightened. “Yeah? You can do that? What about the show?”

Cassie shrugged. “Whatever. I doubt they’ll miss me for one day.”

I wasn’t going to argue with her. “I’ll drive.”

Cassie and I made our way to Old Town, and parked on a quiet residential street across from the

main plaza. Stepping out of the car, I could smell a wood fire burning in someone’s chimney to ward

off the November chill. The scent was filled with the promise of winter. When I was a little girl, that

had meant snow, hot chocolate, Christmas trees and stockings. Now, the turning of the seasons

heralded something different.

Winter solstice. The longest night of the year. A night when Lilitu were at their most powerful.

Lucas and I had barely survived the last one. I shivered, trying to push the unwanted memories out of

my head.

Cassie looked up from her phone, concerned. I saw her send a text, but then she slipped the phone

into her pocket. “Are you warm enough?”

“Yeah.” I gave Cassie a quick smile. “So, where do you want to go?”

“I was thinking we could grab a Mexican hot chocolate from Sabrina’s.”

“Yes!” I said, suddenly eager. “It’s been too long.”

We headed into the plaza, steering our feet toward the ancient little restaurant on the edge of the

square. The front steps led down into a thick adobe building. We had to bend our heads to keep from

hitting them on the low door. Inside, the ancient windows were so tiny the space felt almost like a

cave. But the roaring fireplace, coupled with candles sprinkled across every tabletop, filled the space

with a rosy light. I couldn’t think of any building in town as cozy as Sabrina’s. It was a historical

landmark; the old adobe building was over a century old. But with creaky wooden floorboards and

exposed logs supporting the roof, it felt like a home.

“I see a table,” Cassie said. I followed her back to a sheltered alcove.

Lucas and Seth sat on one side of the booth while Royal sat on the other. Between them, 17

flickering candles adorned a beautiful cake artfully accented with red rose petals. Red velvet.

“Surprise,” Cassie said.

“Guys?” But my voice felt thick, and I couldn’t say much more.

“Happy birthday, Braedyn,” Lucas said. His eyes twinkled with warmth. So they hadn’t forgotten

after all.

“What are you waiting for?” Cassie nudged me with her elbow. “Sit!”

I scooted into the bench beside Lucas while Cassie slid in next to Royal.

“I know it’s abysmally low-key, compared to last year,” Royal said. “But all my ideas got vetoed.”

“I love it,” I said. “This is exactly the way I wanted to spend my birthday.”

“You might want to hurry and blow this sucker out,” Seth said, eyeing the wax dripping into little

pools at the base of each candle.

“Don’t forget to make a wish,” Cassie said.

I felt Lucas squeeze my hand under the table. There was one thing I wished for every day. I closed

my eyes.
Let me become human soon.
I blew out the candles.

“Excellent,” Royal said, clapping his hands. “Now, let’s eat. I’ve been staring at this thing for half

an hour.”

“Right?” Seth echoed. “It’s like an exercise in pain.” Royal smiled, giving Seth an appraising look.

I felt a warm hope kindle in my chest. Seth hadn’t had much time to get to know Royal or Cassie. Yes,

he’d been eating lunch with us, but he’d kept his thoughts mostly to himself, only really opening up to

Lucas and me when we were alone. It was encouraging to see him engage with my other friends.

Lucas handed me a knife. “You want to do the honors?”

I cut five generous slices of cake and we dug in. While we were eating, a waitress appeared with