Vex (43 page)

“No, it’s Marshall. That’s where Gage is. Marshall has him. And that’s who’s been tormenting you.”

Logan’s jaw redefines itself with anger as he jostles into the crowd, only I have a feeling Gage isn’t the one he’s looking for.

I spot Chloe in the back and head over.

“Where is he?” I shout into her. Her skin has puckered dramatically since I’ve last seen her. She looks haggard, old and tired like a witch.

She doesn’t hesitate in picking up my hand, rubbing me hard with her thumb.
Like you weren’t just hooking up with Gage. Is this little Ms. Stupid act your cover? Because it’s lame like you
. She digs her gaze back over to the dance floor and nods to the audacious music blaring overhead.

I think Dudley’s got him
, I say.

Is this the part where we unite and fight for our right to party? Stick it to the Sectors and Fems of the universe in the name of righteousness with some of that old Celestra magic? We can be besties. Chicks before dicks and all that good stuff.
 She rattles my hand in front of me.
I hear you’re looking for some dirt on me—that you’re going to great lengths to get it.

You can sleep at night,
I say.
I don’t have anything. You know, Chloe, I really thought we were friends once. Back when it was just you and me before you showed your true colors. I actually thought of you like a sister.
I was a fool of the highest order.

Back when it was just a few little light drives between friends?
She lets out a cackle.
I was never that into you. Personally, I don’t see what Gage sees in you either.

I’m not Michelle,
I say.
I don’t rise and fall by your every opinion of me. I’ll tell you what Gage sees in me—a heart, something you seem to be able to function without.

A hard slap burns over my cheek. Chloe speeds out of the ballroom at an agitated clip.

I’m glad I pissed Chloe off. The slap was almost worth it.  

I make my way over to Ellis who’s sandwiched between two chicks from East.

 “What?” Ellis is markedly irritated after I yank him free from his unholy arrangement.

“Where’s Gage?”

“What do you mean where’s Gage?” He gives an intrepid look of irritation.

“Have you seen him at any point tonight?”

He places his hand across my forehead, mockingly checking for a fever.

“I talked to both of you an hour ago.” He stops gyrating to the music and sobers up. “What the hell’s going on?”

That’s what I’d like to know.

***

I drag Ellis outside the ballroom. The decibel level drops, but my ears remain stopped up from all the noise.

“We went on a light drive.” Ellis unbuttons his shirt to cool himself. “I asked if we could do a quick run, and the three of us went together,” he says it like it actually happened. Ellis is a Count, maybe this is their way of luring me back to the stone dining table, so they can fill their ruby goblets with my blood.

“Um, did I say anything? Did I mention anything I might be doing back there?”

“I don’t know,” he shakes his head, “you said you were going to show him the secret at the base of Devil’s Peak.”

“How’d you get back to the dance?” I ask, full with suspicion.

“You brought me back. You said Gage would be fine, that we could get him later.”

A dry laugh gets caught in my throat.

“Thanks Ellis,” I pat him on the back.

Marshall thinks he’s so damn funny. Wait until I drag him by the balls all the way back to the Transfer.

***

To my surprise, Marshall gladly leaves a disgruntled Logan and heads back to the Transfer with me. Apparently, there’s a Fem out there who obediently dons my face at Marshall’s bidding. I can’t believe she or it would be so convincing that even Gage could be fooled.

It turns out Gage has won himself a room at the estate.

The pristine mansion sits high on the ridge in all of its haunted house glory, complete with black wrought iron fence that knifes mercilessly into the lavender sky. A mass of gossamer slinks in the corner of the doorway, thick as fishnet.

God forbid, this is the hotel room that Gage foresaw us copulating in for the first time. It’s dank inside, gone is the pleasant scent of apples, replaced with the much more rancid and oppressive scent of mildew. Marshall leads me to the same breathing door and spins the knob until it spontaneously opens.

It’s my old room—nice to know it maintains its creepy ambiance with or without my presence. The dark hall is lined in navy velvet. Pictures of ghastly people hang disjointed on the wall as if to testify to the insanity of the structure.

“I’m invisible—he can’t hear me,” Marshall informs.

The distinct sound of giggling emits from the living room, and, sure enough, Gage is sitting there, along with some girl.

Shit. The Fem version of me is still here. He’s probably already married and had sex with her,
she
was the one he was having those visions of all along. What if my entire future, as predicated by Gage, was based on nothing more than a misunderstanding?

“Gage?”

He turns to face me before springing to his feet.

 “I’m so sorry! Are you OK?” I press a heated kiss on him that momentarily makes me forget we’re standing in the unholy armpit of the Transfer and that the possibility of him having rutted with my lookalike was still looming overhead.

“I’m so sorry,” Marshall mocks me from behind.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. And, yes, I’m OK.” Gage touches the tip of his nose to mine. “I’m more concerned with what happened to you. Did he touch you?” Gage flexes his eyes over me quickly as if inspecting for signs of damage.

“No,” I can’t even look at him. Someone far worse touched me. It would kill Gage if he found out. It might even send him to Chloe’s arms for real this time.

“Excuse me?” A female voice pipes up from behind him, and I’m almost afraid to look, but I do.

“Giselle!” Sisters are the best type of females to leave your boyfriend with.

“Hi Skyla,” she says, before giving a flirtatious wave toward Marshall. I bite my lip and turn around to look at him accusingly.

Marshall turns with a guilty expression. As much as Gage hates him, I think Marshall and his sister have a definite spark. But, then again, Marshall can ignite a spark in just about anyone.

“You know, I was thinking,” Giselle looks around nervously, “you think I could come around sometime and hang out with the family?” Her eyes are heavy with concern as if she were truly asking for permission.

“Yes! I’m sure your parents would love that!”

“I know they would,” Gage pulls her in with his free arm and hugs her goodbye.

“Maybe I can see about getting you a—”

Marshall cuts me off, “No.”

“I’m OK with my present state of being,” she says. “I mean, you know, as long as I’m not discriminated against for being flesh deficient. I can totally handle my life this way.”

“We can get together tomorrow,” Gage offers.

“Perfect. I’ll stop by the house in the evening.” She steps back and begins to deteriorate.

“What kind of food do you like?” Gage calls out.

“I can’t eat,” and with that she disappears.

“Bummer,” I whisper.  

The screaming starts in the corridors—the sound of cryptic piano playing permeates through the walls.

“Let’s get out of here,” my voice quivers.

“Yes, my schedule is rather full this evening.” Marshall places a hand on both our shoulders. “I have recompense to tend to.”

Chapter Seventy-Five

The Switch

I’d like to think that the chaos that has taken over the winter formal was some strange phenomenon that we brought back from the Transfer, or even that this was just your run of the mill teenage super bash that was getting way the hell out of control. But, the truth is, once we land back in the ballroom, in the midst of a sea of bodies, and as soon as I see the chandeliers up above start to sway, I know full well that Holden’s latest and greatest fleshly disaster is long over.

“Excuse me, Love. I’m afraid it’s time the pretty Oliver receives his due.” Marshall’s features sharpen as he pulls the spirit sword from underneath his jacket, illuminating it discretely against his arm.

Light bulbs explode overhead one by one like some ghostly rendition of the Fourth of July.

“No,” I shout up at Marshall. “Anything but this.” There’s no way I can stand by and watch him kill Logan.

“Have it your way. I’ll execute my delivery another hour, another way.” The sword replaces its glow with the look of dull metal as Marshall tucks it back into his coat. “Ms. Messenger,” he brushes past me into the crowd.

The lights continue to burst in quick succession, causing tiny shards of glass to fall like hail. The exits congest as bodies collapse upon one another in a bid to escape. The room darkens with the exception of the votive candles dancing on the tables. Cell phones ignite across the expanse until the backup lights come on, just a shade lighter than the candles.

I look back in the direction Marshall was headed. I don’t see any sign of him. No sign of Logan either. 

***

Gage and I finally make our way out into the parking lot where the rest of the student body has amassed.

My cell goes off. It’s a text from Mom.

It was touch and go. We lost him for a minute, but he’s back! He’s recovering rapidly. It’s unbelievable
.

I can believe it. I can believe just about anything.

“Holden’s gone,” I say.

“But is he out of our lives?” Gage digs a smile into his cheek, and it makes me want to run and hide in his dimple.

“Probably not,” I say, shaking the glass out of my hair. “While you were in the Transfer, I couldn’t help but think you might have accidentally got it on with the fake me.”

“I swear as soon as we hit Devil’s Peak, I knew it wasn’t you. She had this cold look in her eyes just like that day you disappeared.” He winces. “No offense, but I might need to kiss you before I go anywhere with you again.” He pulls me in, brushing my lips with his.

I look up at him with the harsh light of the parking lot showering over his person. Gage is flawless. I can hardly stand to be near him, tainted in this dress of Marshall’s.

“I’m not sure I want you accidentally kissing a Fem,” I say. “What if it were Ezrina disguised as me, and you fell madly in love?” I pull my head back, and he peppers my neck with kisses. Truth is, I feel really bad for Ezrina, and the rotten sentence the justice alliance handed down to her and poor Nev.

“I can never love Ezrina like I love you. Unless, of course, she’s a great kisser,” he teases.

“Let’s hope you never find out.” I press in a warm series of kisses. “What kind of kisser am I?”

“The kind that keeps me up all night wanting more.”

A bullhorn goes off. A nebulous voice apologizes for the unfortunate power outage that disrupted the dance, then asks us to leave the premises.

Bodies switch back and forth in every direction as talk of heading over to the bowling alley filters through the parking lot.

“You think the bowling alley is ready for the onslaught?” I pull Gage in tight by the waist.

“I think Logan will welcome the business. Where is he anyway?”

“He’s pissed off at Marshall. He probably took off.”

“We should do the same,” Gage gives a naughty smile. I think we’ve ditched the subject of Logan and Marshall for now. “Let’s start a party of our own.”

***

  I tell Gage I need to do a quick change and that I’d meet him back at the bowling alley. Instead, I drive myself to Marshall’s to do the unthinkable. Tonight is the last night I’ll be kissing Logan, and the last night I’ll be kissing Marshall. Logan’s kisses may not have benefited me but Marshall’s will. I’m done with Chloe and her threats. The season of her wicked reign has come and gone. I’m reclaiming my life and my relationship with Gage. I may be Marshall’s for less than a night, but Gage will be mine for a lifetime.

I let myself in, not bothering to acknowledge his overtly friendly, yet mocking, hello, and head straight upstairs. I take off the ten thousand pound dress, before strutting back into the living room with my bra, underwear, overgrown angel wings, and four-inch stacked heels. Really, I’d just like to take them off, but I think it adds to the effect, plus they can double as weapons.

“Skyla.” Marshall looks up at me from the couch. He drops the remote, far more intrigued with the entertainment in front of him.

“Marshall,” I let his name trickle off my tongue as I round out the stairwell. In theory, this is exactly what I should be doing to right all the wrongs in my life. In theory, people do this every day for a whole lot less. “Tell me about that enchanted dress.” Really I’d just love conformation that it possessed me into almost doing the unthinkable with Logan and not confirm my suspicions that I have absolutely no control over my feelings for him.

“The dress?” Marshall jumps up, and the room ignites with lightning. “Should you have obeyed my words you wouldn’t be wearing that look of trepidation. You would be swooning. Delivering yourself to me rather than circling furniture. However, you do need a kernel of interest or its efforts are null and void. And you do have more than a kernel of interest where I’m concerned, you affirm it each time you’re in my presence.”

I exhale, exasperated at the thought.

“So,” I say, pulling an arm up over the couch seductively, “tell me how you punished Logan.” I’m dying to know what happened. Maybe he’s in the Transfer? Only I wouldn’t make such a stink about rescuing him. I think a celestial time out might do him some good.

“My aren’t we quizzical? I’ve yet to administer justice,” he purrs.

Marshall and I engage in a game of cat and mouse as we twirl around the sofa, the table—the piano. I’m not entirely sure who’s running away from who, but if the fact my heart is about to give out in fear, counts for anything, I’d probably guess it was me.

“Now, now, you’ve already committed,” his lips curve, a malevolent gesture all their own. Marshall is at his best when he’s about to get his way.