Incubus (61 page)

Seth didn’t read the warning in Lucas’s eyes. “You know the truth,” he said. “How can you not

take a stand?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Seth’s smile faded when Lucas didn’t respond. “Okay.” Seth shrugged his

shoulders and leaned closer to me conspiratorially. “Guess no one told him not to drink the Kool-Aid,

huh?” Lucas turned abruptly and walked toward my house. I could see the tension in his shoulders.

Seth watched him go, surprised. “He’s serious about this stuff?”

“His brother was killed by a Lilitu,” I said, but I couldn’t pull my eyes off of Lucas. “Lucas was

there when it happened. So was Gretchen.” Across the yard, Lucas disappeared into my house. I heard

the door close softly, and my heart wrenched for him. Eric’s death was a wound that never healed for

Lucas.

“Seriously?” Some of the color seemed to drain out of Seth’s face.

“The Lilitu who killed him got away,” I explained. “As far as we know, she’s still out there.

Hunting. So yeah, he’s serious about this stuff.”

“I didn’t know.” Seth glanced at my house, his expression sober.

“Now you do.” I left Seth standing on the Guard’s porch, alone with his thoughts.

When I walked into our comfortable foyer, I heard Lucas in the living room. He was planted on the

couch with the TV on. He wasn’t paying it much attention, though. I sat gingerly beside him. Silently,

he draped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in tighter.

Seth appeared in the entryway to the living room a few minutes later. “Mind if I join you? Or is

this going to turn into another make-out session?”

Lucas only glanced at him.

Seth leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “Let me ask you something. I’ve been

reconsidering my approach to making new friends. The ‘putting-my-foot-in-my-mouth’ plan isn’t

working out as well as I’d hoped it would.”

“I don’t know,” Lucas said. “It’s better than the ‘I’m-an-arrogant-asshat’ act you pulled in the

mission.”

“You think?” Seth said, moving to sit on the leather chair next to the couch. “I was afraid it might

be too subtle. Could give people the wrong idea, like I’m some kind of sensitive, decent human

being.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Lucas said, finally breaking into a smile.

“Oh, good,” Seth leaned back in the chair. “As long as it’s clear I’m a total jerk-face.”

“It’s clear,” Lucas replied. “Who wants pizza?”

“I’ll get the phone.” I hopped up and went to grab the handset from the kitchen. From the living

room, I could hear Seth say something and Lucas laugh in return. The sound gave me a warm feeling

inside, easing a tension I’d felt since Seth had looked at me with that aching vulnerability after the

fight at school.

It was a roundabout way to do it, but Seth had finally made some friends in Puerto Escondido.

It’s strange how, when you’ve got a major problem absorbing all your attention, the things that really

matter to you can fall through the cracks without your notice.

The last chilly days of September sped by, ushering in a crisp October. The Guard kept Lucas and

me busy after school with practice, while Cassie and Royal were making themselves comfortable

fixtures in the theater building. Outside of class and lunch, we didn’t see much of each other. When

Cassie made a comment about missing me, I reassured her that things would settle down eventually.

The truth was, I was so caught up worrying about the coming war that my non-Guard friends got

shoved way down on my list of priorities. And so much of my time was spent with Lucas and Seth that

it didn’t occur to me I barely saw Cassie and Royal anymore.

Seth started coming over to the Guard’s house every time Angela found some new piece of

research or wanted to consult with Thane about something. Then he started coming over even if she

was nose-deep in some book at their house. Before too long, Seth was catching a ride home with Lucas

and me every day after school. He watched us train some afternoons, but each time Hale offered to

show him a few things he politely declined and fled back up the stairs to wait for us in the Guard’s

living room.

Lucas was warming to Seth day by day. It felt strangely comforting to have another friend our age

to talk to about the Lilitu. With Seth, Lucas and I could be—almost—completely honest. Hale had

warned Lucas and me to keep my secret. Angela and Seth might be part of the Guard, but there was no

telling how they’d react if they learned I was Lilitu. And so the days passed as my life fell into this

new routine.

I was so focused on my own thoughts that I completely missed the signs that morning.

Amber and her friends were gathered outside the North Hall when I arrived at school with Lucas. I

noticed Ally turn to look at me. I hesitated. The other girls with her pulled her back, hands clamped

over their mouths to muffle their laughter. Suddenly self-conscious, I nudged Lucas.

“Is something wrong with my hair or something?”

He looked at me blandly. “You look ready for a photo shoot. Isn’t that one of the benefits of your

genetic heritage?” But when I didn’t smile, he tilted his head to the side, trying to catch my eye. “Why

do you ask?”

“No reason.” When I glanced back at the girls, they were already hurrying into the building, out of

sight. Only Amber paused at the door. The look in her face sent a chill down my spine. Her face could

have been carved from granite. Her eyes flickered to look across the quad. A moment later they

returned to my face and her lips pulled back in a smile that was more of a sneer.

I turned, trying to follow her gaze. I could just make out a group of guys beyond the dining hall,

gathered at the edge of the faculty parking lot at the other end of campus.

“What is that?” I murmured, my heart suddenly leaping into my throat. Lucas saw the group a

second later. Before he could answer, I was running across campus.

As I got closer, I could hear the jeers of the crowd. They were looking at something on the ground.

I reached the edge of the crowd and shouldered a few guys out of the way.

“Dude, take it easy,” one of them said, rubbing his arm.

I elbowed my way through to the heart of the group. Two guys from the soccer team were holding

Royal down on the ground while Rick ran a buzzing razor over his head, sheering off the last of his

hair.

“
Stop,
” I screamed.

Rick stood, grinning. “My work here is done.” The two guys holding Royal down released him and

stood, giving Rick high-fives. Someone in the crowd gave a loud
Wooo!

“Braedyn?” Lucas arrived, winded. The crowd was already starting to disperse.

“What is wrong with you?!” I spun on Rick.

“Chill out,” Rick said. “It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.”

“Why?” I was so angry I could barely speak. “Why would you do this?”

Rick smiled a secretive smile and shrugged. “Let’s just say I owe someone a favor.”

I lunged for Rick, ready to tear that smile off his face.

“Don’t,” Royal said hoarsely from the ground behind me. He had pulled himself up to his knees,

but his hands were shaking. A few stubbly patches of hair crisscrossed his bald head, but my eyes

latched onto the red, raw places where the razor had sheared skin. A few spots of blood stood out

starkly against his pale white scalp.

“Later,” Rick said, walking away with a spring in his step. The last of his friends joined him,

turning their backs on us with a last snicker.

I dropped to the ground beside Royal. His shirt was a rumpled mess of dirt and grass stains. I saw a

small rip at the shoulder, evidence of the futile struggle against his tormentors. He was staring down.

The wind stirred drifts of light brown hair along the pavement. Royal lifted a shaking hand to touch

his head. What he found there seemed to break something inside him.

“I don’t think—” he looked at me, his brown eyes wide. He cleared his voice, trying for a measure

of calm. “Tell Cassie I had to go home. I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“Royal,” I tried to catch hold of his hand, but Royal pulled away from me with more strength than

I expected. I stood to follow him into the parking lot. Lucas grabbed me by the shoulder, holding me

back.

“What are you doing?” I hissed at Lucas. “Let me go.”

“I think—I think you should leave him alone for now,” he said. His eyes, tight with concern,

followed Royal across the faculty parking lot toward the soccer field. “I don’t think he wants anyone

to see him like this.”

“But I’m not anyone,” I said. “I’m his friend.” As I heard the words leave my lips, I froze inside.

I’m his friend.

Amber. Amber had done this. A strange calm came over me, as though my mind had pulled some

kind of emergency switch, disconnecting my emotions from my body. Like some part of me knew I

couldn’t be trusted to act with this helpless rage boiling inside of me.

But when I spotted her, hovering in the doorway to the girl’s locker room, I moved into action.

Amber saw me coming and ducked inside the building.

“Braedyn?” Lucas chased after me, but drew up short when I darted into the girl’s locker room.

“Braedyn!”

I ignored Lucas, determined to settle this score now. I skidded into the empty locker room. Amber

was sitting calmly on a bench, waiting for me.

“Leave my friends alone,” I growled, advancing on her.

“It sucks, doesn’t it?” Amber purred. “Not being able to help your friends when someone messes

with them. Like Parker.”

I stopped. “Parker.”

“I know you did something to him,” Amber said, standing. “You messed with his head. No.
With

his mind.
” She walked toward me, curtains of ice blond hair framing her face.

“He hurt Cassie,” I said. “My friends have done nothing to you.”

“So it was revenge.”

“It was a mistake.” Even as I said it, I felt a twinge inside.

“But you admit it.”

Something was terribly wrong. I was the one with the supernatural powers, why was Amber the

one controlling the situation?
Just like middle school,
I thought. I winced, remembering the years I’d

been powerless before Amber’s taunts. I could protect myself now. It’d be easy. So why wasn’t I

acting?

Because it would be the end of my life at Coronado Prep,
I told myself.

“How did you do it?” Amber walked right up to me, so close I took a step backwards involuntarily.

“Did you say something to him? Did you kiss him?” I tried to turn and walk away but Amber shoved

me back into a bank of lockers. “I want some answers, demon.”

“Leave me alone,” I said. My voice sounded weak, and I tried to muster some confidence. “Leave

us all alone.”

“Or what? You can’t do anything to me. I’m a girl.”

“You have no idea what I can do,” I mumbled.

“Oh? You want to fight me?” She flipped her hair back from her shoulders, as though giving me a

cleaner target. “Go ahead. You’ll be expelled before the lunch bell rings.”

“I don’t have to hit you to hurt you,” I said, dropping my voice.

“Sticks and stones,” Amber shrugged. “You think I care what you say to me?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Enlighten me.” Amber’s eyes gleamed hungrily. When I didn’t say anything, her grin deepened.

She brushed some imaginary lint off my shoulder. “That’s what I thought. You’re not as powerful as

you’d like me to believe, are you?”

I stepped forward. Startled, Amber fell back a few paces. “You want to know what I did to

Parker?” I asked, my voice low and threatening. “I found him in a dream and planted a seed in his

sleeping mind.”

“A seed?” Amber tried to scoff at this, but her voice wavered.

“Into that seed, I channeled my anger, my hatred for Parker. It was easy; all I had to do was think

about Cassie, and what he’d done to her. The seed grew heavier and heavier, until I couldn’t hold it

any longer. And I left it to grow in Parker’s mind like some kind of slow-acting time bomb. It worked

on him, until those thoughts I poured into the seed became his thoughts.” I took another step forward

and this time Amber stumbled back away from me.

“He tried to kill himself—” Amber stared at me. For the first time she seemed aware, really aware