Rive (12 page)

“Screw this!” Victor stomped out.

Celeste chased him out, catching up to him in the hallways. “Victor, I—”

“I know.” He rubbed his bunched fist on his forehead. “Your parents need protection. Is there somewhere they could go for a while? Distant relatives? A Hawaiian vacation?”

“I’ll talk to them.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “What about meeting the dark one tonight?”

He pushed out a small smile. “We’ll manage. Don’t worry.”

***

Celeste stood in her small bathroom at the compound, pulling a brush through her long auburn hair. She pulled it into a loose bun, shaky fingers clumsy with the bobby pins she stuck in to kind-sorta hold it in place.

“You all right?” Rylan asked. He leaned against the doorway, watching her.

“I’m fine.” She stuck one last pin in, and then turned to face him.

He smiled. “I like your hair up so I can see your beautiful face.”

“Thanks.”

He tucked a piece of hair that sprung loose back into her bun. “Your parents are safe, now. No one but you and I know they’re in Maine.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’m anxious to hear what he has to say.”

“Yeah, me too.” He kissed her forehead. “He creeps me out, though.”

“Let’s go. Now.” Victor appeared behind them.

“Right.” Rylan put his arm around her, and she jerked into motion. She barely had time to crouch, but she did, landing in the middle of the ring of trees. Thick black immediately surrounded them, alerting them to the presence of the
Sidhe
.

“Hello?” Celeste said. She watched the oily black smoke condense into the vague person shape, right in front of her.

“Yes.” He drew out the s, hissing like a snake.

“Well, what did you find out?”

He fully formed, with clear legs, arms, and torso. He paced in front of her, shadows deepening around him as he walked. “There are those that seek to destroy the
Tuatha
. A splinter group.”

“Why?” Victor asked.

“They don’t wish to be controlled by the
Tuatha
. They wish to control the
Tuatha.
They seek to destroy.”

She stepped closer to the shadow
Sidhe.
“Don’t they need us, to get back and forth between the worlds?”

He shrugged. “They view you as something controlling and dominating them. They wish to be free from it. They especially want you to be destroyed. I didn’t stick around to get all of the details.”

“Who is it? How do we stop them?”

He faded back out in front of her, disappearing and reappearing like he had before. “They call themselves Rive.”

“Rive?” Celeste echoed.

“They have a leader, the glue that holds them together. Kill it.” He started to disappear and drift away, another shadow in a night full of darkness.

She fought back the urge to scream. “Um, who is the leader?” she asked in the general direction where she’d last seen him.

His voice floated back to her. “Someone near. A betrayer.”

“What?” Celeste said. “What does that mean?” She circled the ring of trees, looking into the sky, but he was gone.

Rylan grabbed her hand, intensity made his eyes flash like an electric storm in the distance. “He’s gone. You’re shouting at air.”

“I know.”

“No time to chat. We need to get back to the compound before they catch us out.”

“Okay,” she started to say, but before the worlds were out of her mouth, she was spinning.

Chapter 13

She arrived back in her room, then sank into the foot of her bed, allowing the waves of nausea to roll over her. They’d subside soon enough.

Rylan sat next to her. Victor continued his pacing, this time confined inside the walls of her room.

“What are you doing?” she asked, watching him move back and forth.

“Thinking. Assimilating. He actually told us a lot, for a shadow
Sidhe
.”

“He did,” Rylan said.

“But he barely told us anything!” Celeste said. She kicked off her shoes.

“They speak in subtext. We know the name of the group. First off, that’s huge. Nobody has been able to identify this so-called rebellion. We know they want to destroy the
Tuatha
because they feel they are controlled,” Victor said. He stopped pacing, standing in front of the window. “It was a warning. Somebody betraying us. Someone here,”—he made a circular gesture around his head—“is betraying us.”

“But who? Someone on the board? Someone who lives here?” Celeste said.

Rylan crossed his arms. “Yeah, Victor. Who?”

Victor’s jaw jutted out. “You better not be implying what I think you’re implying.”

Rylan stood. “I’m not implying jack shit. You see, Victor, I really don’t know you that well, and neither does Celeste. So you understand that I’m a little nervous.”

Victor’s shoulders rose and lowered slowly as he took a deep breath. “I understand you are trying to protect her, but I am too. Do not blame this on me. Disunion is deadly.”

Celeste tugged on Rylan’s hand. “I trust him, Rylan. And he’s right. We have to stick together. No matter what. Let’s just take any suspicion of each other off the table.”

His eyes flashed over to hers, jaw muscles working. Finally, he spoke. “All right. Her trust is good enough for me. Do you have any ideas?”

Victor tapped his fingers on the windowpane. “Let’s start ruling people out the best we can. The most obvious betrayal would be someone in the inner circle of the
Tuatha
.”

“Usha?” Celeste asked.

“Possible,” Victor conceded. “But why now? And he’s so detached. He doesn’t seem like the type to get emotionally attached or angry enough to organize this.”

“Agreed,” Celeste said. “Possible but unlikely.”

“Okay, who’s next?” Rylan said. “I hate to say it, but what about Regina?”

“No,” Celeste and Victor said in unison.

“I just don’t see it,” Celeste said.

“She’s kind of crazy, but okay,” Rylan said. He pulled of his sneakers and scooted back on the bed, feet hanging over the edge. “Sorry, man. Mateus?”

Victor stopped tapping on the window. “I know I’m biased, but I know that man better than my own heart. He is my father, and I am one hundred percent sure he would never be involved in anything like this.”

Rylan and Celeste shared a glance. “Okay, sure.” Celeste said. “Who does that leave?”

Victor turned away from the window. “That leaves the other
Tuatha
, perhaps using this to make a power grab.”

Celeste swallowed a lump in her throat, her thoughts moving to sweet blond Ashley and Betty. “I can accept that it needs to be investigated. Who else?”

“Everyone’s attendant to the inner circle: Guards, support staff and the like,” Victor said. “Keep your eyes and ears open. I will start watching now that I know all of this.”

“Me too,” Rylan said.

“Be safe,” Victor said. “Please, both of you. Trust me.” He disappeared, leaving Rylan and Celeste mercifully alone.

“Wow,” Rylan said. “Quite an evening we’ve had, you and I.”

“Yeah, I know. I just want to change into my jammies and go to bed.” She pulled off her shoes and threw them into her partially open closet.

Rylan pushed his hair back. “I’ll watch.”

She smiled at him, then pulled out some soft cotton pants and a tank top. She turned away from him, quickly changing out of her clothes and into the clean, comforting pajamas. She could feel his eyes on her bare skin as she pulled off her top, then her bra, then pulled the tank top on.

He pulled off his pants, stripping down to his green striped boxers and undershirt. She allowed herself to stare at the coils of tight muscle down his legs and his broad shoulders. After all, he was her boyfriend. “Nice boxers,” she said.

“I’m glad you approve.” He jumped into her bed, pulling the covers down and patting the empty space next to him. “Get in, you need to rest.”

She smiled and slid in next to him, relishing the cool cleanness of the sheets against her skin. She folded herself into him, spooning together. His lips rested near her ear.

“Celeste,” he whispered. It was so quiet, she had to strain to hear him.

“Yes.”

“I think we should make a run for it.”

“Oh.” She whispered too, understanding now that he was making sure her invisible
Sidhe
guards stationed just outside her door wouldn’t hear their conversation. “What do you mean?”

He pushed his hand into her hip. “I don’t trust anyone. Not even Victor. You’re in danger. I’m in danger.”

She rolled to face him, nose to nose with him. “What about Regina? And Mateus? Don’t they need us here?”

He pulled the blanket up, resting it on her exposed shoulder. “No. They’re too busy fighting with each other. They’re not doing what they need to do.” He kissed the tip of her nose, making her smile. “It’s just me and you. For now, at least, until we figure out what to do.”

She sighed. “I know. We have to tell my parents, and Tink.”

He ran his hand over her skin from shoulder to wrist before he answered. “Your parents will understand. I’m not sure if we should tell Tink, since he’s with Victor now.”

“I trust Tink with my life,” she said.

His eyes bore into hers, flashing with light, green and gold. She was transfixed as he watched her. “Okay. Visit him tomorrow. We leave tomorrow night.”

***

“Are you sure we won’t get caught?” She was sitting in the atrium, unwrapping a breakfast wrap as they sat together on a bench the following morning. They’d woken up so early, it wasn’t even light outside. Most of Dublin was still asleep.

“Yeah, I can maneuver in the underworld to make it hard to track us, then we’ll have to keep moving.”

“All right.” She took a bite of her sandwich. Some of her blackbirds milled around outside the window they were sitting next to. Her heart dropped as she thought of her small room back in Kansas that faced the backyard, which used to be always filled with her birds. “And Tink?” She forced herself back to the present.

“Let’s do it now. It should be around lunch time in Kansas. I’m sure we can catch him at school. It’ll be good practice.”

“Okay.” She tossed her sandwich aside. She wasn’t hungry.

He looked around them, then grabbed her hand and led her down a hallway. “All right, I’m going to do this fast, but it might take a little longer so I can hide our steps. Okay?”

“Okay.” The violent twisting feeling started as he transported her. She was hurtling through darkness, then she was somewhere else entirely.

“This isn’t Kansas,” she said. She caught glimpses of low square buildings and crowded streets.

“New Jersey. Just a pit stop.”

They were moving again. Her stomach revolted. She clapped her hands over her mouth to stop what little she had eaten from coming up. This time she landed on her knees, sending pain shooting up her legs.

It was ugly blue and white linoleum. She was actually happy to see it, because she knew exactly where they were: the girls Gym bathroom at her high school in Kansas, currently deserted for lunch.

“Be quick. I’ll wait here.”

She pressed her lips into his temple, then ran into the nearby hallway. She saw Tink leaning against his locker while the rest of the students filed into the cafeteria to eat, fingers flying over his smart phone as per usual.

He looked up, shock on his face.

“What are you—”

“No time.” She pulled him into a nearby classroom, shutting the door behind them.

“Does Victor know you’re here? Is everything okay? Where are your creepy guards?”

“Tink, shush. Just listen, okay?” She pressed her fingers to her lips.

He dropped his cell into his pocket. “Always.”

“I’m going to hide for a while. It’s a secret. Victor doesn’t know. Nobody knows, except my parents. We sent them a message last night.”

“What?” He stepped closer to her. “Cupcake, what on earth are you talking about?”

“Rylan and I are going to hide. The board is disorganized and trying to keep us on lockdown. There is a betrayer in the inner circle, but we don’t know who. If I stay there, I’m just going to get everyone killed, and I’m not going to do that.”

He pushed the palms of his hand into his eyes. “Okay.” He dropped his hands. “Are we saying goodbye?”

“Top-secret goodbye. And only for now.”

“Shit.” Tears welled in his eyes. He hugged her, resting his chin on the top of her head. “You know I love you and stuff, right?”

“I love you more.” She sniffed to hold back her sobs. “I’ll contact you as soon as I am able. And Tink, if something happens to me—”

He grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t you say that to me. Don’t you dare say that!”

She rested her hands on his wrists. “Listen to me. If something happens to me, know that I love you and I am thankful for everything. And please, look after Rylan and my parents.”

“Be careful,” he whispered. “But I won’t need to do those things because you will be fine.”

She stepped back, hand on the door. “I need to go. Remember, I was never here. Not even for Victor.”

He smiled, but it was weak. “You owe me big time. Like, name your children after me big.”

She smiled back. “Big time.” She slipped out the door and walked down the hallway with her head down. The doors to the cafeteria were propped open, peppering her with a wall of noise; conversation, clanking dishes, and dinging cell phones. She paused only for a second to look at her normal classmates inside, then moved on.

This wasn’t her world. Not anymore.

Chapter 14

“Remember, act casual. Don’t let Victor catch on,” Rylan whispered into her ear. He’d just taken her back to Dublin, retrieved her breakfast sandwich, and walked her back to her room. He pressed his lips against her, cool against her nervous warmth, then disappeared.

She stared at the empty space where he stood, torn between guilt for putting him in harm’s way, relief he still wanted her, and sadness that he was gone.

“How come he gets to leave and we don’t?” Victor’s voice floated down the hall.

Celeste forced a smile, hoping it looked natural. “I don’t think Regina gives a shit about him, but it’s totally not fair.”