Wraithsong (11 page)

“
Stop.” I know that if I
don’t stop now, it will be too late. Too late for what, I don’t
want to think about, but my instincts tell me that I’ve reached my
capacity for self-control.

Anthony stops and gives me
a soft squeeze. “I’m dangerous, you know.” He smiles.

“
Yeah, I believe you.” Was
that an admission to being a Huldu? It isn’t enough to convict
him.

I step away, in an attempt
to regain my faculties. My hands feel clammy, though I thought I
was incapable of sweating—anywhere, yet here I am with sweaty
palms. “So are you going to answer the question?”

“
Sorry, can you repeat the
question, please?” Anthony smiles.

I turn around and face him.
“Are you like me?” My voice, just above a whisper.

“
How do you mean?” His eyes
are almost too innocent looking to be read as real. He steps
away.

“
What happens when you kiss
people?” I try.

He smiles, but says
nothing.

I huff, knowing he isn’t
going to admit it. Not this way, at least. “Never mind, I have to
go.”

“
Strange, I thought I was
the one who needed to hurry, but you didn’t seem to care a minute
ago.” His voice is playful.

I shoot him a
don’t-play-games-with-me glance and head to the exit. “See you
later.”

“
Hey, do
you want go see the Sarasota Ballet perform
Sleeping Beauty
tomorrow
night?”

I’m speechless yet again
because he’s so back and forth with me that my head won’t stop
spinning. Maybe he isn’t any good for me.

“
You like ballet, right?”
Anthony asks, as if reading my mind.

“
Yes, but do you?” No guy
that I’ve ever spoken to will step within a mile of a ballet
performance.

“
Sure, especially if my
date enjoys it,” Anthony says.

How does he know that I
like ballet? I don’t remember telling him. “What about your
girlfriend? Won’t she get upset?” I ask.

Looking away, he says, “I
just said that so you’d leave me alone.”

“
You lied to me? Why would
you do such a thing?”

He frowns. “I thought it
would make things easier. I’m sorry.”

“
Easier? Lying to me makes
things easier?” I take a few steps in his direction—angry
again.

“
My life is really
complicated, Sonia. If you only knew…I wish I could tell you
everything, but I can’t.”

This is exhausting. “Are
we back to mysterious Anthony again? Trust me, if you want to share
your craziness with anyone, I’d be the first one to understand, and
I’m
really
trying
to understand.”

“
Listen, I’m sorry, all
right?”

My better judgment tells me
that I should stay away from Anthony and that I should run away and
never look back, mainly because I can’t trust him, and because I
can’t trust myself around him. He has even told me straight out
that he’s dangerous and if I were smart, I should believe him. Even
so, I can’t let him go for I need to be with him no matter the
cost. “All right,” I say. “I forgive you.”

“
So, will you come with me
to the ballet—please?” He’s sincere.

“
Sure, I’ll come,” I say
and shut the door behind me.

Walking to my car, I never
would have thought that my confrontation with him would have ended
this way. I had hoped for a confession, not a passionate encounter
and a date to the ballet. It almost feels as if he has me pegged in
every possible way, and the thought both thrills me senseless and
frightens me out of my mind.

Chapter 11

I change back to my school
outfit in the car, all the while cursing under my breath, thinking
I’m never going to dress like that again. Then I head home to
finish an English paper that’s past due. Homework has been a bother
lately.

My mom approaches me right
as I open the front door. I doubt she’s been waiting because she
missed me; it seems more as though she’s been hovering like a
vulture, waiting for me to come home and attack me with some new
information that she has kept from me.

“
I need to talk to you,
young lady,” she says.

I was right. I know that
when my mom calls me ‘young lady,’ it isn’t a good thing. “Okay,
just let me put my stuff in my room.” I throw my backpack onto my
unmade bed, meander into the kitchen and sit on a barstool by the
counter. My mom leans against the island, disappointed. “So, what’s
going on with you?” There’s no way that she knows about Anthony—is
there? I try to act casual, though all the muscles in my body tense
up.

“
One of your teachers
called me today,” she says, glaring at me.

“
Oh?” I try to sound as
clueless as I can, fearing that this might be really
bad.

“
She says you haven’t been
yourself this last week, so much so that she felt the need to call
me today.”

“
Oh?” I clear my throat and
paste on a smile.

“
Want to tell me what’s
going on?” she presses.

“
Nothing’s going on. I
guess I just haven’t been able to manage my time like I wanted
to.”

“
What else?” She puts her
hands on her hips. “I’m giving you a chance to confess before I
share with you what Ms. Greenfield told me.”

Maybe she knows about
Anthony. I groan inwardly. I don’t want to give away any more
information than I need to, but I know my mom will be more lenient
on me if I’m truthful. “Mom, I really like this guy named Anthony.”
I admit, hoping that’s enough.

“
And?” My mom paces around
the kitchen island with her hands on her hips.

“
And he wants to take me to
go see the ballet tomorrow.”

“
Well that’s nice, but do
you really think that Ms. Greenfield would call me based on the
information you just gave me?” She glares at me again.

“
No.” I lower my eyes. Why
would Ms. Greenfield call? Did she see me dressed in my revealing
outfit today? “Well, I did go visit Anthony, and I brought an extra
change of…clothes to go see him,” I say, hoping, no, dying for that
to be enough information.

“
What kind of clothes?” She
starts pacing again.

“
Kind of…skimpy,” I
squeak.

“
You know your school has a
dress code, right?”

“
Yes—I guess I just got
carried away because I really like this guy. And it was after
school so I didn’t think it would matter. There’s something
different about him, and I wanted to impress him.” Which is
true.

“
And you know the rules
against kissing someone and using your flair on someone, right?”
Her voice is unforgiving.

“
Absolutely, and I will not
break that rule, I promise, but I see no harm in dating
him.”

“
Just hold off on dating
for a few more months. I promise you’ll soon understand why it’s so
important.”

I want to defy her, want to
rebel at such a ridiculous rule, but instead I clamp my lips closed
and scowl.

She stops pacing and
crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Listen, you’re nearing
your eighteenth birthday. Gosh, it’s next week already, so I
understand that your flair is almost controlling you. Trust me, I
get that.”

“
Do you,
Mom? I mean, it’s been like what,
twenty years
since you went through
it?” I say.

“
Try six thousand years,”
she corrects.

“
Yeah, right.”

She stares at me, her face
is hard like a stone.

“
Six thousand years?” I say
in a mocking tone, but then I suddenly realize that she might
actually mean it. “Six thousand years?” My mouth pops
open.

“
I know. I’m rather old,
aren’t I?” She sighs.

“
You’ve lived
for—?”

“
Six thousand years,” she
finishes my question and her eyebrows rise.

“
But—how can someone live
that long?” I’m in shock. “You don’t look like you’re that…old!
Sorry.”

She chuckles. “Yes, it has
been a long time, but Sonia, I remember my maturing years like they
were yesterday.” She gazes out into the thin air. “These years
shape you as a Huldra, as a woman.” She looks directly at me. “Tell
me, honestly, did you kiss him?”

I don’t want to tell her
that I kissed him on the cheek because she might not let me go to
the prom. But against all reasonableness, I decide to be honest
anyway, hoping I’ll earn my mom’s trust. “Yes, but it’s not what
you think! It was just on the cheek.” I still feel his breath on my
face, his hungry hands on my body.

“
Sonia, how could you?” My
mom maneuvers around the counter and sits down onto the stool next
to me.

“
He didn’t even respond to
me the way you said he would. It’s like I never even kissed him at
all.” I look at my hands in my lap.

“
What are you saying?” She
studies my face then it seems to click for her. “Oh, so the other
day when you were asking me if you could lose your Huldra
flair—”

“
Yes, that was about him.
Do you think he could be a Huldu?” It feels good that I’m not
hiding the truth from my mom anymore; I have someone who truly
understands, a confidante.

“
No, there’s just no way.
We know of all the Huldras and Huldus that have been born, and
there haven’t been any males born in the last few thousand
years.”

“
But you did say that there
were three that vanished and that you don’t even know where they
came from. Do you think he could be one of those?” I
say.

She pauses. “No.” She
shakes her head and pauses again as if to reconsider. “No, we would
know about him by now. He’s your age?”

I nod. “I think, but he
hasn’t admitted anything to me yet, though I really think he’s one
of us.”

“
Do you have any other
proof? I mean solid proof?”

“
Well, he says he doesn’t
really date,” I say.

“
No good, solid proof,
Sonia,” she says.

I think for a moment. “He…”
I can’t think of anything. “What kind of proof are you looking
for?”

“
Have you seen his back?
Does he have the markings that you and I carry?” she
asks.

I hadn’t thought to do
that—not even at the beach, but I would still need to be really
close to him to see them. “He has a tattoo on his back that looks
like a beast.”

“
Still, no good. Lots of
people have tattoos.”

“
Maybe I can change our
date tomorrow to be a beach date instead, and I can look
then?”

“
Oh, no. No, no, no. You’re
not allowed to go on a date with him, young lady. No way—not after
what you just told me. He could be any manner of being. There are
codes in the Dynasty that we have to keep, and we’re forbidden to
do certain things.”

Any manner of being? “Like
what? That’s ridiculous. I’m not breaking any rules because I
haven’t agreed to any yet. I just want to go on a date with him.
I’m going on a date with him, Mom.”

“
No, you’re not—end of
discussion, and as a matter of fact, I don’t want you to even speak
to him anymore. Nothing good will come of this.”

“
What? Why are you going
psycho on me?”

“
You’ll understand after
you’ve been to the Academy.” She stands up.

I stand up too. “Can’t you
just tell me now and spare me the suspense?”

“
No, I can’t. I need you to
trust me on this, Sonia, okay?”

What’s my mom’s problem?
Why doesn’t she want me to see Anthony at all? “Well, who am I
supposed to date then, a man I’m not attracted to?”

“
Sonia, just put things off
for another month, then you’ll fully understand. Besides, what’s
the rush? You have an eternity to date and find the right
mate.”

The problem is, I don’t
feel like this can wait. It has to be now, and it has to be
Anthony.

Chapter 12

Once I get in my bedroom, I
locate my phone and send a message to Anthony.

Hey, my mom is freaking
out about my homework not getting done… and a few other things. Can
we maybe save the date for another time? -Sonia.

I press the send button and
wait. No answer comes, so I start on my homework. At 10:36 p.m.,
the answer finally arrives.

I’ll be right over, what’s
your address? ~A

My heart nearly leaps out
of my mouth at his unexpected message. Sneaking out into the
hallway, I check to see if my mom’s still up. All the lights,
except for one over the oven, are turned off, and the front door is
locked. She must have gone to bed early. Smiling, I tiptoe back to
my bedroom, shut the door and text back.