Thrall (23 page)

“What does it say?” Gretchen asked when Hale finally looked up.

“Twelve college kids missing in the last two months, all young and healthy. All men.” Thane looked around the room, grim. “They’re making more Thrall.”

Dad sent me home after dinner. He stayed back to confer with Gretchen, Thane, and Hale. Outside the November air was cold enough to sting my nose and make my eyes water. I smelled the faint scent of firewood burning. As a kid I had always loved that smell. It meant winter had officially arrived, and Christmas was coming soon. This year, the aroma filled me with dread.

When I got home the phone was ringing. I picked up the living room handset. “Hello?”

“Braedyn? It’s me.” Cassie’s voice was tight with excitement.

“Cassie? What’s going on?”

“It’s Parker. He likes me! He said he thinks about me all the time. He has since we were in geometry together last year.” She giggled, thrilled. “Can you believe it?!”

“That’s... great, Cassie.” I felt like my thoughts were tripping over themselves. I couldn’t believe it. Parker hadn’t given Cassie the time of day since... ever. The first time he’d shown any interest in her was when he joined us for lunch out of the blue. “What did you say?”

“At first I didn’t know what to say, but then... I told him everything.” Cassie breathed out a long breath. “It felt so good to tell him.”

“Everything? Everything like... how much of everything?”

Cassie laughed at my consternation. “
Everything!
How I’ve had a crush on him since middle school. How I’ve been to every one of his games, even the one they played in Colorado. How I’ve bought him birthday cards for the last three years but chickened out before I got up the courage to mail them to him. Everything, everything.”

“Okay,” I said stupidly. I wished Royal were here. He’d know how to handle this.

“Look,” her voice dropped to a whisper. “Can I say I’m coming over to your place? He invited me to his house, but his parents are out of town and I don’t want
my
parents to freak out.”

“Cass, I don’t know if that’s...”

“Please, Braedyn. I
have
to go. He’s going to make dinner. They have a grill out back. We’re going to eat and hang out and look for shooting stars.”

“Isn’t it too cold for grilling?” I asked.

“I’ll wear a sweater!” When I didn’t answer, Cassie made a little sound, half-longing, half-irritation. “Please, Braedyn. I’d do the same for you if it was Lucas asking.”

“Um...” It felt wrong, but she sounded so hopeful. “Okay. Don’t do anything crazy.”

“How about this,” Cassie said impishly. “I won’t do anything with Parker that you wouldn’t do with Lucas. I have to go. He’s waiting downstairs!”

“Wait, Cass, before you...” but she had already hung up. I set the handset down slowly. Cassie was fun and smart. Maybe I was worrying for nothing. Parker was going to the trouble of cooking for her. Maybe he really did like her.

I heard a tapping on our new living room window. I turned and saw Lucas peering in.

“What are you doing?” I asked. I started toward the front door to let him in, but Lucas tapped the window again and gestured for me to meet him in our backyard. I slipped through the house and let myself out through the kitchen door. The yard was dark, but my eyes adjusted quickly; I never had trouble in the gloom anymore. Lucas stumbled blindly around the side of the house.

“Lucas,” I called quietly. He made his way over to me. I took his hand. He reached for me, burying his face against my neck. My stomach fluttered. I held him tightly.

“I had to see you,” he said. “Hale’s in there, talking about sending us all out in groups to look for Thrall. I know you’re learning to fight, but don’t... You have to promise me you’ll never go up against one of them. I’ve been in a lot of fights. I... I had some trouble with authority growing up. But I’ve never faced anything like Derek in Thrall. We were lucky,” he breathed. “Luckier than I think we realized...”

“Lucas.” Thane stood at the fence, watching us. Lucas and I flew apart, startled. Thane didn’t smile. “Gretchen’s going to be looking for you soon.”

“Promise me,” Lucas whispered with an agonized look. I nodded, and he left.

“I thought I might find you two together,” Thane said softly. “He’s really taken with you, isn’t he?” Thane didn’t move from his spot at the fence.

A sick dread washed over me. If he told Gretchen what he’d seen... “We were just talking,” I said. I forced myself to smile, trying to disarm him.

Thane tilted his head to one side. “It won’t work on me, child.” His eyes were like steel in the night, cold and hard. “Lilitu only hold power over those who desire them, and there is nothing about you that I find attractive. Every one of us can resist you. Hale is young, yes, but if you try to work your wiles on him, he will know it. Murphy sees you as his daughter, not as a woman. And Gretchen...” his smile was dark. “She doesn’t fancy girls.”

I reeled as his words helped me see something I’d never noticed before. Desire. That explained why boys my age seemed to respond the strongest to me. Girls were mostly unaffected, and teachers... I remembered the day I’d stood on the dining hall table. Fiedler had bent the rules for me, but he never leered at me the way Greg or Parker or Rick had done.

“That just leaves Lucas,” Thane said. I realized he was still watching me.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” I said, faintly.

“It’s not what you’ve done. It’s what you are.”

“What I
am?
” I flashed. “I’m trying as hard as I can to help you!”

“And yet you still haven’t managed to escape your dream,” Thane murmured. “I wonder how long we will be expected to tolerate you if you don’t prove useful to the cause?”

“Hale believes in me,” I said hotly.

“Hale is playing with fire,” Thane answered. “But when your self-control fails, it’s Lucas who will get burned.” Thane studied me impersonally. “The Lilitu in you will win out eventually. It’s just a matter of time.”

Thane’s words haunted me all weekend. I don’t know if he told Gretchen what he’d seen, but nothing seemed to change in her demeanor. I couldn’t get close enough to Lucas to ask if he’d noticed anything different about her. I tried to keep myself busy with schoolwork. I’d gotten an extension on my English paper, but as I tried to write it, I kept catching myself staring absently out the window for a glimpse of Lucas. When I was away from him, I had this constant nagging sensation that I needed to be somewhere else. But when we were together for dinner at the Guard’s house, we had to pretend a distance we didn’t feel. We were close enough to touch, and yet unable to talk beyond asking each other to pass the bread. It took an extraordinary amount of effort and energy, and it left us both short-tempered. The whole weekend was an exercise in frustration. By Sunday afternoon I had a throbbing headache.

I was still feeling achy and irritable when I woke up on Monday morning after yet another failed attempt to access the dream world.

I left the house for school, shrugging into a wool jacket. It was Thanksgiving week, so we only had school until Wednesday. Which meant Lucas and I only had three days together this week instead of five. I got the Firebird started and cranked the heat. Cold air blasted me, but as I gunned the engine I felt a hint of warmth. I pulled onto the road.

Lucas was standing on the corner at the end of our street. I stopped for him, my heart giving a little leap.

“Can I bum a lift?” he asked, opening the passenger door.

“Get in,” I said, smiling. He sat down and pulled the door closed. I glanced in the rearview mirror. “What about Gretchen?”

“Gretchen left early this morning. Marx’s unit needs her. They’re on a Lilitu’s trail but their spotter’s appendix burst. She had to have emergency surgery. Gretchen will be gone for three or four days, at least. Maybe even a week.”

“Are all spotters girls?” I asked, pulling out onto the street.

“Most of them, yeah. We don’t officially know why, but...”

“Thane has a theory?”

Lucas grinned. “You guessed it. He thinks people share a part of themselves when they have an intimate bond,” Lucas said. “So when a Lilitu attacks a guy, she’s also attacking the girl who loves him. It’s just a theory. But whatever the reason, once you’ve seen one Lilitu, you can see them all.” Lucas turned to me, curious. “You’re kind of rare. A natural, I guess. Gretchen... well, you know.” Lucas shrugged sadly. He got the same look every time he thought about Eric. “Anyway, I’m glad for Gretchen. She’ll get some quality time with Matt.”

I noticed a little grin on Lucas’ face. “Who’s this Matt you speak of?” I asked, smiling.

“He’s in Marx’s unit. Gretchen hasn’t said anything, but it’s pretty clear she’s interested.” Lucas’ smile faded. “She needs some R and R. She was out looking for the Lilitu hunting ground until three or four in the morning both Saturday and Sunday night. No luck.”

“Hunting ground?” I asked, making the turn into the school parking lot.

“Lilitu typically stake out one or two places for their hunts,” Lucas said. “They’ll hunt the same spots until they move onto a different city.”

I had more questions, but as I shut off the engine, Cassie bounded up to us. Her long black hair hung free, except for two tiny ponytails perched on top of her head. She was so excited, she practically floated above the ground.

“Sorry, Lucas. Can I...?” Cassie pulled me away before Lucas could speak.

“I take it the date went well?” I asked.

“The
dates.
” Cassie said, breathlessly. “I saw him every night this weekend! But last night was...” She squeezed my arm, her eyes gleaming. “It was amazing. We bundled up in sleeping bags and watched the sky for shooting stars until midnight, and then he invited me to stay the night.” Cassie smiled, an inward smile that hinted at more than she was saying. “It was the most romantic night of my life.”

“Unfortunately, the romance ended this morning when she had to call me to come pick her up.” Royal joined us, his expression cool.

“He didn’t give you a ride to school?” I asked, angry on Cassie’s behalf.

“Well, he was already gone when I woke up.” Cassie saw me glance at Royal. “No, it’s cool. I’m sure he had a morning practice or something and he just didn’t want to disturb me.” Doubt entered Cassie’s eyes for the first time. “I thought it was sweet.”

I draped an arm around Cassie’s shoulders and warned Royal with a look to keep his differing opinion to himself. “Yeah. I’m sure you’re right,” I lied.

I spent the morning worrying about Cassie. When we got to lunch, Cassie looked around eagerly. I saw her eyes snag on something and her face clouded over with pain. I followed her gaze and spotted Parker sitting between Amber and Missy. I noticed Royal staring at me. He jerked his head at Cassie as if to say,
distract her or something, will you?

I cleared my throat. “So, Cassie, am I ever going to see this mysterious present you keep talking about?”

“Hm?” Her eyes focused on my face and she forced a smile. “Oh, yeah. Almost done. Believe it or not, I really am putting the finishing touches on it right now.”

“How’d you learn to sew?” Lucas asked. I felt his hand catch mine under the table. He gave it a brief squeeze and released it. So he had caught on. Which meant he knew something was wrong, too. Cassie launched into the story that Royal and I knew inside and out. We’d lived half of it with her; taking trips to fabric stores, haggling for a better price per yard, sitting through epic fitting sessions...

While Cassie talked, I took a bite of mashed potatoes and glanced around. Amber’s table was staring in our direction, snickering. It gave me an uneasy feeling. I could tell Royal was burning with the same nervous curiosity I felt.

We were no closer to unraveling the mystery by the end of gym. It was my turn to stay behind and help Ms. Davies put away the equipment. Afterwards, I hurried to change, hoping I might catch Royal and Cassie before they left for English. They were already gone when I came out, but Lucas was waiting for me outside the doors to the gym.