The Nightmare Affair (18 page)

“She
always
wears a mask like that. Can’t stand not to be recognized. It’s her signature. You know,
Kat
-arina.”

“That’s original,” Paul said.

I grinned at the derision in his voice. “That’s Katarina. About as original as a Salvador Dalí print.”

“About as pretty as one, too,” said Paul.

Yeah, this could be love.

I shifted my gaze from Katarina to the person beside her. Eli wore a black cloak over a white dress shirt that he’d unbuttoned far enough I could see the edge of his tattoo on the left side of his chest. Vivid memories of the night before popped up in my mind. A white mask covered the left side of Eli’s face. He looked like a sexy, teenage version of the Phantom of the Opera. He turned his head in my direction and our eyes locked for a moment. I glanced away first, certain that he knew it was me. My mask did little to disguise my red hair.

The teachers were harder to figure out. Probably because we didn’t spend as much time thinking and looking at them as we did our classmates.

“I think that’s Mr. Ankil,” I said, pointing to the front of the hall where the teachers’ tables were set beneath the dais.

“Which one?” asked Paul.

“In the purple mask with the gold trim.”

“Why do you think so?” said Selene.

“Look under the table. He’s wearing jeans and sandals.”

Selene dropped her gaze. “That’s him, all right. But who’s that in the Medico della Peste?” She pointed to a man walking across the front of the hall wearing a long black cape over a white shirt and black pants.

“The what?” I asked.

“The plague doctor,” said Paul. “That’s what the masks with the long beaks are called.”

“Oh.” I looked at the man again. He walked with a slight hitch in his gait that I recognized at once. “That’s Mr. Culpepper.”

Thankfully, nobody asked how I knew.

When the feast ended, the tables and chairs disappeared, clearing the floor for dancing.

Even though it was a formal masked ball, the dancing was typical of any American high school, lots of jumping around and grinding while a band played cover songs of popular ordinary music from atop the dais. Paul liked to dance, and we spent five straight songs out there. He paid me constant attention, touching my waist, my shoulders, my hips.

But after a while, I began to feel like I was wearing railroad spikes on my feet instead of high heels, and I had to sit down at one of the small round tables in the back of the ballroom.

“Want something to drink?” Paul said, trailing his fingers along my neck.

I closed my eyes to better savor the feeling. “Sure. Anything cold will do.”

Then I watched him walk off as I scooted farther underneath the table so no one could see me kick off my shoes. I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back, awash with contentment. Not only because of my feet, but because I was having such a good time. The bad stuff about Nightmares, Keepers, and murderers seemed very far away.

At least until I spotted Eli walking toward me, his mask dangling from his fingers. I shot up and shoved my feet into my shoes as he stopped beside the table. The relaxed feeling vanished, butterflies taking its place.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down.

“Hey.” I debated leaving my mask in place then decided if he was brave enough not to wear one on Samhain then so was I. I pulled it off and set it on the table.

He stared at me a moment without speaking, his bright blue eyes unnerving. I dropped my gaze only to catch sight of the edge of his tattoo again. The number of butterflies in my stomach seemed to grow exponentially.

Annoyed with myself, I forced my eyes upward again before he caught me staring. “What do you want?”

He blinked at my harsh tone. “I’ve been thinking about the dream last night. Do you think it means something?”

“No idea.”

His eyes narrowed, eyebrows slanting closer together. “What’s
with
you? I thought you wanted to catch the killer, too.”

I shook my head. “Catching him was never my job. I’m just supposed to report the stuff I see in your dreams, which I did. The rest is on the senate.”

Eli thumped the table with his hand. “How can you say that? That dream was different from the others. Don’t even try to tell me you weren’t scared by it.”

I gritted my teeth, unable to keep the flood of images from my mind. The Minotaur with the iron ring in its nose. The black phoenix. All that blood and screaming. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this right now, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. Not if you’re gonna keep avoiding me.”

I glowered at him. “What difference does it make?”

“We’re supposed to be a team.”

“Right. A team.”

“What is your deal? Are you ever
not
sarcastic?”

Oh no he didn’t
. I started to stand up, but Eli grabbed my wrist, pulling me back down. It surprised me how quickly he moved, a definite reminder of how physically daunting he could be. As if I needed a reminder.

I stared at him, frozen in place. His hand was so large his fingers easily encircled my wrist. My skin burned where he touched me, but not in a bad way. Oh, no. Just the opposite. Getting a grip on myself, I pulled my hand away. He slowly let go, but there was something reluctant about it.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what your problem is,” he said.

I wracked my brain for a safe, acceptable reason. “Fine. Your
girlfriend
is spreading rumors that I try to seduce you during our dream-sessions.” It was the first complaint to come to mind and the only one I felt comfortable talking about.

“What?” His face reddened. I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. Maybe both. “Man, I can’t believe her sometimes. I’ll get her to stop.”

“Good.”

“She doesn’t like us spending time together. She’s jealous.”

“Please, like I’m stupid enough to believe that excuse.”

“It’s not stupid. It’s true.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him what he meant, but I caught a flash of pale pink across the ballroom, heading this way. “I think it’s time for you to go.”

He drummed his fingers on the table, a scowl on his face. “Why? You afraid your
date
is going to see us and get mad or something?”

“No, but yours is.”

Eli looked over his shoulder. “Crap.” He stood but didn’t leave. “We still need to talk about the dream. What if that Minotaur represents the killer’s next victim?”

The same thought had occurred to me. “You’re right. But seriously, if you don’t go Katarina’s gonna make a scene in a
big
way.” She was close enough now that I could see the thin, furious line of her mouth beneath her mask.

“I’ll deal with Kat,” said Eli. “She won’t bother you, and she won’t be spreading any more rumors. I can’t stand that crap.”

He sounded a bit disgusted, and I couldn’t resist asking, “Why are you dating her? Do you even have anything in common?”

A puzzled expression crossed Eli’s face. “I don’t know. I’m just
really
attracted to her. I can’t seem to think straight around her. We don’t do much talking anyways.”

Yuck
.

“Might want to think about that,” I said. I realized it must be hard dating a siren, especially one like Katarina who regularly abused her natural abilities. I didn’t think Eli had any idea that the compulsive attraction he felt for her could be mostly siren magic. Then it occurred to me that this might be one of the chinks in The Will spell that Marrow had mentioned. Sirens weren’t able to lure people to their deaths or anything, but they still excelled at seduction, which I imagined could be equally harmful.

I supposed there were some things so fundamental to a creature’s nature that no spell could ever control it completely. Maybe that meant Katarina and I had something in common. I shuddered at the thought.

“See you around.” Eli slid on his mask and hurried off, intercepting Katarina in the nick of time.

Paul returned with drinks a moment later and handed me a goblet of apple cider.

“Thanks.” I drank it down in three swallows.

“You okay?” Paul asked. “Was that guy bothering you?”

“No.” I stood up. “I’m fine. Ready to dance some more?” I’d caught sight of Eli and Katarina heading out to the floor, and the last thing I wanted was to sit here and watch them.

“If you are.”

“I am.” My feet gave a loud protest that
they
weren’t, but I ignored them.

Another hour slipped by. The fervor in the grand ballroom grew as the clock drew closer to midnight. Selene warned me that when midnight arrived, the whole place would descend into pandemonium as everybody celebrated the official start of Samhain. She hadn’t been exaggerating. I felt like one of those crazy people in New York City, waiting for the ball to drop for the New Year. Only those people weren’t in ball gowns and masks.

The gowns were okay, but the masks were starting to freak me out. The plague doctor ones were bad enough, but the full-faced ones with the long pointy chins and tall pointy horns were worse. Every time I spotted one, my thoughts turned to the Minotaur, and the gruesome memory of its head being ripped from its body.

After a while, I began to feel light-headed. “I need to sit down,” I said into Paul’s ear. He nodded and escorted me off the dance floor to the tables in the back. I sat down and removed my mask, uncaring about any risks from ghost attack. The air felt cool on my face.

“Are you all right?” Paul asked, rubbing my shoulders.

“Just a bit dizzy.”

“I’ll bring you something more to drink.”

I closed my eyes when he left and didn’t open them again until he returned with more cider and a goblet of water.

“Will you be all right by yourself for a few minutes?” said Paul.

“Sure. What’s up?”

He looked nervous. “I think Senator Kelly’s here. She’s supposed to be writing me a recommendation, and I want to ask her about it.”

I smiled. “Go for it. I’ll be fine.”

Paul smiled back then bent toward me, pulling off his own mask as he did so. He kissed me. It was short and soft, hardly more than a brush of the lips, but it sent ripples of heat bubbling through my body like lava down the side of a volcano. I leaned into him, wanting more, but he pulled away and left. I closed my eyes again, savoring the tingly feel that lingered for minutes afterward.

I sat there through several songs, drinking the water and cider. Then I stood and headed for the bathroom. Careful not to smear my eye makeup, I splashed water on my face.

Through the mirror, I saw the bathroom door open behind me. A girl in a pink mask strolled inside, flanked by another girl in green taffeta—Katarina and Carla. I tried to ignore them, but Katarina stepped right behind me and poked me in the back. Hard.

“Hey,” I shouted, spinning around.

Katarina pulled off her mask and sneered at me. For the first time ever, she looked less than beautiful. More like scary. “What were you doing with my boyfriend?”

I poked her back, jamming my forefinger into her shoulder. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“Don’t touch me,” Katarina hissed.

“You started it.” My hands clenched into fists at my side, and I resisted the urge to slap her. I could do it, no question, already seeing it in my imagination. And I was just as sure she wouldn’t be able to do much more than that finger poke to me. It was a heady thought, the surety of such power.

“What were you talking about?” she demanded, hands on hips.

I moved toward the door. “None of your business. If Eli wanted you to know, he’d have told you.”

“Come on, Kat,” Carla said. “Don’t let her get to you. It was probably something stupid and you’re freaking out for nothing.”

“Yep,” I said in my most sarcastic tone. “There’s
nothing
to worry about at all. Nothing going on between
me
and
your
boyfriend.”

Katarina raised her hand and tried to swipe at me like a cat. An invisible force held her back. “Owww!” She stamped her foot in frustration. I expected her to descend into full-on tantrum any second, hair pulling and all. “It’s not fair. If I could just—”

“What? Do this?” I reached out and shoved her hard enough she tipped backward in her high-heeled shoes and fell into Carla.

“You
bitch,
” Katarina huffed, righting herself.

Beside her, Carla pulled the bracelet off her wrist. The glamour on the bracelet fell away to reveal her wand.

“What do you think you can do with that?” I said.

A flush spread across Carla’s neck, and I laughed.

The door to the bathroom swung open, and a person in one of those plague doctor masks came in. At first I thought it was a man, given the suit and cape outfit and short hair, but then a familiar female voice said, “What’s going on here?”

The blood drained from my face. It
couldn’t
be her.

My mother pulled off her mask and fixed a hawk-eyed glare at the three of us. “Well?” she said.

“We were … um … just leaving,” said Katarina, wiping back strands of brown hair that had fallen into her eyes when I shoved her.

“Yeah,” seconded Carla, and the two of them squeezed past Moira toward the door.

“Me, too,” I added, trying to follow after them.

Mom grabbed my arm. “Wait just a minute.”

I turned and faced her, the power trip I’d been riding officially over.

“Were you
fighting
with those girls?”

“Uh, no, of course not. I mean … The Will won’t let us do that.”

She gave me a look that told me she wasn’t buying it.

I decided to employ my usual tactic: an offense is the best defense. “What are you doing here, Mom?”

“Checking to see you’re all right.”

“I don’t mean in the bathroom. I mean
here
at the
dance
.” I waved with both hands.

“Oh … I’m chaperoning.”

“Yeah, right. Since when do they let someone like you chaperone?”

Moira’s skin went from tan to red. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She sighed. “Never mind.” She slid her mask back over her face. “You’d better stay out of trouble. And put your mask on. It’s almost midnight.” She swung around, her cape flaring dramatically behind her as she disappeared through the door.