Incubus (34 page)

corner me, he was going to dig and dig until he heard an answer that satisfied him. My best bet was to

put a little distance between us and hope he’d forget or lose interest in his suspicions. It didn’t work. I

walked out of the dining hall and found him waiting for me, lounging on the low brick wall of a school

planter.

“So what was that all about?” He held up a finger before I could speak. “And let’s skip the part

where you play dumb.”

“I’ve got it under control.” I pulled my sweater tighter around my shoulders, but the chill

spreading down my spine wasn’t due to the surprisingly mild December day.

“Ah.” Royal looked at me sharply. “So the
something
is a Lilitu thing.”

“Royal,” I hissed. No one was close enough to hear us, but that didn’t soothe my frayed nerves.

“Something you’re afraid to tell Lucas.” Royal scrutinized me with ruthless focus.

“Can we do this later? I’m going to be late to class.” I tried to walk past him. He stepped into my

path, blocking me.

“What was the point of the whole ‘hey, I’m a teenage demon’ share-fest if you’re going to shut me

out now?” he asked. This time he kept his voice low. I looked into his face and saw genuine concern.

“Something’s going on,” he said. “It’s pulling you away from me and Cassie. It’s pulling you away

from Lucas. Are you sure you want to be driving all your friends out of your life?”

I dropped my eyes. His words stung. “I just—I just need to get through this week,” I said. “Then

things can go back to normal.”

“Just like that?” Royal asked, snapping his fingers. I bit my lip, unsure. Royal sighed. “I thought

you and Lucas were two peas in your own little supernatural pod. What could be so bad that you can’t

tell him?”

Another pair of kids exited the dining hall behind us. We waited in silence for them to pass. When

they were out of earshot, I turned back to Royal. “I think I hurt him,” I said.

“Hurt?” Royal eyed me, suddenly uncomfortable. “Not—you didn’t—?”

“Sleep with him?” I smiled bitterly. “I’m pretty sure if I’d done that you’d be able to tell.”

“So what did you do?” Royal looked sickly fascinated.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I hurt him and I don’t know how to make it right. Or if I can make it

right.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Talk to him,” Royal said. Instead of answering, I shook my head. “Okay. Think this through. Did

you mean to hurt him?” Royal asked.

“No, of course not!” I snapped. Then, when some part of me rebelled against this half-truth, I

shook my head. “I didn’t realize it would turn out like this. I never wanted to cause him pain.”

“So tell him that,” Royal said, like it was the most obvious idea in the world.

I stared at Royal. “You don’t understand,” I said. “Lucas can
never
know what I’ve done.”

Royal shook his head. “I think you’re underestimating how much that guy likes you.” He turned

and walked away.

Why do you think I can’t tell him?
I asked in my head as I watched Royal walk away. Lucas’s love

was one of the truly good things in my life. I needed him. It wasn’t just that I’d stolen the secret of the

vessel from him, or that I’d ripped the memory of my crime out of his mind. I’d made Lucas give up

the one thing he’d sworn to Hale and my father he’d protect. I’d made him betray the Guard. And if he

ever found out, I’d lose him for good.

Seth eyed me all day, clearly eager to get me alone. I wasn’t ready to tell him what I’d learned about

the vessel. I’d stolen the secret from Lucas. It didn’t feel like it was mine to share. Seth didn’t seem to

see it that way. I ran into him in the hall between fifth and sixth period, and he pulled me aside before

I could enter my trigonometry class. The hall emptied as students entered their classrooms, leaving us

mostly alone in the hall.

“So, we didn’t get a chance to finish our conversation this morning.”

“Our conversation?” I asked, feigning distraction.

“The vessel.” Seth prompted. “Did you find out where it is or not?”

“Braedyn? In or out?” Ms. Yates, my trig teacher, called from the doorway.

“Sorry,” I said to Seth, concealing the relief I felt. “See you next period?” I followed Ms. Yates

into her class without looking back. I couldn’t stomach his anticipation. In an effort to avoid him, I

made sure I was late to English. I arrived as Mr. Avila started writing notes on the board.

“Braedyn, nice of you to join us. Have a seat.” Mr. Avila waited until I’d dropped into a desk in

the front row to turn back to the board. I dug in my backpack for the reading assignment, catching a

glimpse of Seth’s face a few rows back. I shrugged, feigning helplessness. Seth gave me a faint smile.

I couldn’t tell if he guessed I was trying to avoid him or not. I spent the rest of class staring at the

board, but keenly aware of Seth’s eyes boring holes into the back of my head.

When the bell rang at the end of seventh period, I took my time packing things up. Seth stopped by

my desk, as determined as he’d been that morning.

“I need to talk to Mr. Avila,” I said. “Meet you at the car?”

Seth glanced at Mr. Avila and back to me, confused and more than a little frustrated. “Sure.”

I took my book to the front of the class. Mr. Avila looked up from his desk. “Sorry about coming

in late,” I said.

Mr. Avila looked a little surprised. “Thank you for the apology.” I felt Seth lingering in the

doorway; I couldn’t leave just yet. Mr. Avila sat back in his chair. “Is there something else?”

My mind cast around for something to say. “I was thinking about doing an independent study on

Shakespeare next year,” I said.

Mr. Avila’s eyes lit up. “That’s a wonderful idea. I actually thought your essay on
Twelfth Night

had some very astute observations. Are you looking for a faculty advisor? I’d love to help you, but you

should also talk to Dr. Gloer. She did her PhD on the nature of love and passion in Shakespeare’s

England, believe it or not. Did you have her for English freshman year?”

As we talked, Seth gave up and left. By the end of my conversation with Mr. Avila, I had half-

convinced myself that I really wanted to do this independent study I’d pulled out of thin air just

moments earlier. Mr. Avila gave me Dr. Gloer’s email address and promised to talk to her about me at

the staff meeting later this week.

I made my way to the parking lot. Lucas and Seth were standing by my car, talking. They looked

up as I arrived.

“Sorry, didn’t mean for that to take so long,” I said. My voice came out a bit too cheerfully, but

neither Seth nor Lucas called me out. I drove us back to my house. As we were getting out of the car,

two Guardsmen raced up the block and into the Guard’s house.

“Where’s the fire?” Seth asked.

“Seriously.” Lucas stared at his house, uneasy. “Maybe we should check it out, make sure

everything’s okay.” We walked into the Guard’s house. Two of the newcomers stood guard in the

foyer.

“Sorry, kids,” one said. “You’d better hang at Murphy’s today.”

“We’ve got practice,” Lucas said, bristling. He tried to push past the Guardsmen. They stepped

closer together, blocking his path.

“Practice is cancelled.” Max entered from the living room, carrying an old leather satchel that

looked like it had seen a lot of abuse. As he shifted it in his grip, I heard the sound of metal objects

clanging together. It gave me the creeps. Max glanced down the hallway leading to the basement, then

back at Lucas. “You might want to crash at Murphy’s tonight, too.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Gretchen?” Lucas started, trying to push into the house. “Where’s Gretchen?!”

“She’s fine. But we’re all a little busy right now.” Max turned to the two guards with a stern look.

“Just get them out of here.” Without another word to us, he disappeared down the basement stairs.

“Something’s wrong.” I strained to see past the guards. “Is someone hurt?”

“Not yet,” one of the guards said. The other one smirked.

I felt my blood run cold. “What does that mean?”

The guards exchanged a glance. “Sorry,” the taller one said. “Orders are to send you to Murphy’s.”

“This is my house,” Lucas snapped. “You can’t send me away.”

“Lucas, do as they ask.” Dad entered from the living room, looking haggard. His eyes found mine.

Something
was
going on—something he didn’t want me to see. “You shouldn’t be here for this. I’ll

come home as soon as I can.”

Lucas looked consumed by curiosity, but he couldn’t say no to my dad. Seth, Lucas, and I left

together, walking across the yard into my house in silence.

When we reached my living room, Seth voiced the question I was thinking. “Do you think they

caught the incubus?”

“No way,” Lucas said. “They’d have said something. Whatever they’ve got in the basement, they

don’t want us to know about it.” He looked at me askance.

“Lucas,” I breathed. With a sickening twist of fear, I pictured Karayan, broken and bleeding on the

basement floor, ringed around by Guardsmen. “What if it’s Karayan?”

Lucas’s lips tightened. He didn’t like Karayan, but she’d saved all our lives the night Ais had died.

And whatever he might feel for her, he didn’t like the thought of her at the mercy of the Guardsmen

any more than I did.

“Who’s Karayan?” Seth asked.

Lucas and I looked at one another, searching for the right answer. After a moment, I turned to

Seth. “A friend.” I glanced back at Lucas. He nodded. “I have to know, Lucas.”

Lucas blanched. “You can’t go over there.”

“If I cloaked myself—?”

“No,” Lucas said, catching my hand. “Even if they don’t have a spotter over there—” He

swallowed, looking sick. “You’re not going to be able to get her out. You’ll just get yourself—” He

stopped. But I didn’t need to hear the words to know what he was thinking.

“You guys think—you think they’re going to kill someone?” Seth asked.

“We don’t even know if it’s her they’ve got,” Lucas said.

“I’m going to find out.” I turned my thoughts to Karayan, composing my mind.

I could feel the barrier between physical reality and dream reality like a shifting curtain. I closed

my eyes and pictured pushing against it, meaning to step into the dream to find her. Instead, I felt

myself divide into a physical Braedyn and a dream Braedyn, both tied together by my consciousness.

It was a uniquely disorienting feeling - I felt like I was halfway between realities. I could sense my

body, even as I watched it from outside. And - from this
in-between
perspective - I could also see the

vast darkness of the universal dream, swirling with the pinpoints of billions of minds, some awake,

some asleep.

I sensed Karayan in my conscious mind, and
felt
her notice me. Suddenly we were together in this

in-between space.

Braedyn?

Karayan? Is that you?

You called me,
I felt her exasperation through our connection.
I wasn’t aware you could drunk dial

via telepathy.

I breathed out in a rush, my body giving voice to my amazement. Seth and Lucas looked at me.

“What? What is it?” Lucas asked.

“I’m talking to her right now,” I said.

“Talking?” Lucas gaped at me. I held up a finger. It took all my concentration to maintain the

connection.

Are you okay?
I asked Karayan.

Yeah... are you okay?
There was a slightly mocking tone to her voice, but I didn’t care.

“She’s okay,” I told the guys. Lucas’s face eased, and I felt a surge of warmth toward him.

Is there a point to this little tête-à-tête?
Karayan’s impatience was almost palpable.

The Guardsmen captured someone,
I explained.
We were afraid it was you.

You’re checking up on me?
I felt Karayan’s surprise through our link. And, more than that, I could

feel that she was moved by my concern.

Not that it makes us BFFs or anything,
I said. And through our link, I could feel Karayan’s soft

chuckle.
But if they don’t have you,
I asked,
who could it be? Are there any other Lilitu here?

I felt a hesitation, sensed that Karayan knew something and was debating whether or not she