Wraithsong (20 page)

“
I’ll be home around five
if the flight’s on time. All I’ll say is that there are many fewer
Lightálfars than I thought, but they’ll absolutely join
us.”

“
How many?”

“
Three,” he says,
sullenly.

“
That’s it?” My heart sinks
as if to the bottom of an endless ocean. “Well, maybe that means
that there aren’t too many Darkálfars, either.” Yeah, right, a
little voice says inside my head.

“
I hope that that’s the
case.”

“
That’s wonderful, great
work, Anthony!” I say, trying to be encouraging.

“
Hey, is that a compliment
I hear?” he says.

I let my guard down for
just a moment. “Yes,” I say firmly. I feel so vulnerable—why? It
was only a compliment, right? “You did great.”

“
Well, while we’re praising
each other, can I say that…I think you’re the most stunning person
I’ve ever met?” he says.

“
Wow, that’s a little over
the top,” I say. Why is it so hard for me to be nice to this guy
and accept his compliment? “I’m sorry, I meant to say thank you.”
Was that too honest?

“
Well, it’s true. So I hope
you take it.”

I can’t speak, only smile.
Stupid smile.

“
I’ll see you at home
around five then?” Anthony says.

“
Yes, have a safe
trip.”

He hangs up the phone. Am
I actually really falling for this guy? I thought I just had a
crush before, but maybe I’m starting to develop strong feelings for
him. I remind myself that he’s dangerous and that he might be the
enemy. I can’t let myself feel anything for him. I tell myself that
I mustn’t focus on
him
, but on saving my mom. I feel so selfish and it’s just so
wrong that I should think about Anthony, especially when my mom’s
life is on the line, and especially since my mom has specifically
forbidden it. “What’s wrong with me?” I say out loud.

“
Nothing, you’re just like
you’re supposed to be,” Ashley says, coming up behind me. “Is
everything all right?”

I breathe. I can share part
of my story, I figure. “I kind of like Anthony…a lot…but my mom
won’t allow it.”

“
Well, on Sunday you’ll be
considered an adult, and can’t you just do what you want to then?”
Ashley smirks playfully, her right eyebrow rising.

“
I suppose,” I say, knowing
that having a meaningful conversation with Ashley on the subject
can never happen. It tears me apart because Ashley is such a good
friend, and I’m unable to return the favor.

* * *

Anthony arrives home at a
quarter to five, and I surprise him with a roast and potatoes I
picked up from a local restaurant.

“
I was only half-joking
when I wrote that note this morning,” Anthony says. His eyes are
red and his face isn’t as vibrant as usual.

“
And I only half-cooked
it,” I say. “So tell me everything.”

“
Maureen called and she
wants me to prepare the Portal of Blufire so we can leave in a few
days.”

My eyebrows rise up. “The
what?”

He takes a bite of his
dinner. “This is really good, Sonia, I didn’t know you were such a
talented cook.” He scoops up some mashed potatoes. “It’s a portal
where we are immediately transported to Wraithsong Island. All
portals lead there.”

“
Like an instant transfer?”
I ask.

“
I guess you could call it
that,” Anthony says, “I’ll show you after dinner.”

“
It’s here in this
house?”

“
Yes. There are three of
them actually, and Maureen owns one of them. Well, technically she
stole it from the governesses. They used to have two.”

“
Who has the third
one?”

“
It is an exhibit in the
Viking Museum in Oslo, but the Norwegians don’t know what it is or
how to use it,” Anthony says.

Was that why she had lived
in Norway? “So, you walk into it and—zap?”

“
Zap—I like that word, but
no, it’s more of a scorching blaze. It almost feels like your skin
is being burned off,” he says.

My face twists. I’m not
looking forward to traveling through it. Scorching and blazing
aren’t exactly things I want to experience.

“
Shifting gears, Skuld, the
Lightálfar I met in Arizona, told me that they’ve been on Maureen’s
heels for years, trying to track her down,” Anthony
says.

“
Why were they after her?”
I ask.

“
Because…” He clenches his
glass so hard his fingertips turn white. “She killed some of
them.”

“
That’s horrible,” I
say.

He nods. “And she stole
many things from them too.”

“
What kinds of things did
she steal?”

“
Important things, they
say, but they weren’t too specific.”

“
Are you being vague on
purpose?” I have had enough of everybody’s vagueness.

“
No, she took things like
important scripts with formulas and spells and also ancient
weapons,” he says solemnly.

“
Well, now we can make it
all right again, right?”

“
I suppose we can try. It’s
like our whole world just exploded, and now we’re left to clean up
the mess.”

“
Nothing is so bad that we
can’t fix it.” I reach for his hand, but he withdraws it right
away. His rejection of me stings deeply, even though I’m not sure
if I would want him to accept me. “Is there something you’re not
telling me?”

“
No, there’s
not.”

“
We can’t afford to have
any lies come between us, Anthony,” I say.

“
Just because I’m not
prepared to share my innermost feelings with you, doesn’t mean that
I’m lying to you.”

“
You can trust me to
understand whatever you tell me; I hope you see that,” I say as
sincerely as I can and I mean it.

“
I know I can,” he says,
gulping some water. “I guess this situation is so much more serious
than I thought. Many more lives are at stake than yours and mine
and the other Huldras.”

“
I suppose we’ve been a
little lax on things lately.”

He glances at me. “A lot
more people are going to be involved in this, and we’ll have to put
our personal differences…and feelings aside.”

I know immediately that I
don’t want that at all and I’m frightened by my nearly complete
change of heart. “So what kind of powers do the Lightálfars
possess?”

“
I don’t really want to
talk right now,” he says, lifting his plate with him. “I’ll finish
eating in my room. I’d prefer it if you stayed down here for a
while.” He gets up and leaves.

I remain sitting for a
while, not knowing exactly what to do or how to read the situation.
Did I say or do something wrong? I try really hard not to read into
his actions tonight, but fail miserably. Since he said we need to
put our personal feelings aside, I feel like I have lost something
of immense value, but then again, if I never really had it, how
could I have lost it?

Chapter 22

Graduation today was a mere
distraction in my otherwise thoroughly messed up life. After
receiving my diploma, I had to explain to my friends and teachers
why my mom hadn’t been there. “She had to travel to visit her very
ill sister,” I explained. I felt her absence deeply. I hate that
the days are dragging on too long. We should have left by now and
should have saved my mom. It’s torturous that we’re still stuck
here waiting, especially since I don’t know how much longer I’ll
need to wait until Anthony and I can embark on our rescue
mission.

Ashley confirms with me
that I’ll be at the graduation party, and she gives me a hard time
about not having been at prom the night before. I just tell her
that since Anthony and I are dating now, we decided to do something
else instead. She doesn’t question me about it, being a little
wrapped up in her almost boyfriend, Jimmy. I promise her I’ll be at
the graduation party, even though I don’t feel like going. Anthony
says that we need to keep up appearances, but it only makes me
suspicious of him, and makes me think he’s stalling. Proceeding
with life as usual, in my opinion, is a waste of precious time.
Nobody is watching us and nobody will miss us, except for maybe
Ashley.

Our after graduation party
is held at Christopher’s on East, and the decked out ballroom is
packed with seniors. A black banner with ‘Congratulations Sarasota
High School Seniors’ written in gold hangs from the ceiling. Dozens
of roundtables with white tablecloths and white covered chairs with
black bows on them have been set up. I arrive with Anthony and we
sit down at the table with Ashley, Jimmy, and another couple we
don’t know, but who disappear a few minutes after they arrive,
probably to make out somewhere. Anthony has acted a little gloomy
all day but is now in a much better mood.

Three tea light candles
float in a bath of yellow and white rose petals in the middle of
the table. We finish eating the chicken cordon bleu dinner and
brownie with ice cream dessert and sit and talk about all the
things that happened during our senior year, laughing extra hard
when we talk about Savannah’s personality shift. Anthony and I
exchange glances; it’s nice to have someone who knows what actually
happened. After dinner, the lights dim even more, and the first
slow song starts to play.

“
Come dance with me,”
Anthony says suddenly.

“
You dance?” I
ask.

“
A little, but not ballet.”
He smiles and then takes my hand in his, pulling me toward the
dance floor. It’s been a long time since he actually touched me,
and without fail, I feel my Huldra desires start raging through my
body. His touch stirs up the dormant desire in me, awakening the
need to be close to him again. Reason seems to slip away
effortlessly. I never want to dance with anyone but him again; it
feels so comfortable, yet exciting at the same time.

Leading me onto the dance
floor, he winds his way around a few seniors to the center. More
students are coming up to dance by the second. He draws me in
close, takes my right hand in his, and places his other arm around
my waist. He seems unusually affectionate, making me think that he
feels the attraction too, but I can’t tell for sure because of his
calm and collected appearance. I like how his hand rests on the
small of my back, how his fingers interlace with mine, and how his
breath breezes across the top of my head.

“
You’ll be eighteen in less
than an hour.” Anthony readjusts his hand around my waist, pulling
me in a little closer. I like it so much more than I
should.

“
I know,” I say. “Should I
be concerned about that?”

“
Hmmm...maybe.” The sides
of his lips tilt playfully upward.

“
When
is
your
birthday exactly?” I realize I don’t know how old he is. He
could be much older than I assumed.

“
My eighteenth birthday was
last year, in February. I’m actually nineteen now,” he
says.

I’m glad to learn he’s not
ancient. “So they held you back in school?” I ask.

“
They start a year later in
Europe, so when I moved here, they held me back a year,
yes.”

We dance on for a while in
silence. “What was
your
eighteenth birthday like? Anything I need to
prepare for that you could tell me?” I ask.

“
It was—” Anthony looks up,
the lights from the disco ball dancing across his face. “You know
how all the fairytales have the ‘at the stroke of midnight’ in
them?”

“
Yes—?” I say.

“
Well, that rule actually
originated from ancient Huldra tales. At the stroke of midnight on
a Huldra or Huldu’s eighteenth birthday, their entire world
changes. Instead of a magical spell being broken, it’s the spell of
your human eyes that will fade away. You’ll begin to see humans in
a whole new light.”

“
That sounds—exciting?” I’m
not sure.

“
Just remember, if you’re
not careful, you could pick up some bad habits the first year
you’re a grown-up Huldra.”

“
Like what?” My desire for
Anthony increases by the second, and grows much quicker than it has
before. Maybe that’s what he’s talking about.

“
Unfortunately, your mom
isn’t here, so I’m going to have to teach you about some of those
things tonight.”

“
What are you saying,
Anthony?” I ask in a deep, inviting voice. Is he telling me he’s
going to be making a move on me?

“
Nothing, but I want you to
know that I won’t take advantage of you in any way,” Anthony says
sincerely. “Besides, the education isn’t about—well,
that.”

“
Then
what
is
it
about?” I nuzzle in to his chest. He smells so good.

“
It’s more about learning
to manage your urges to control humans, to make them do what you
want, and about appropriating things the right way. You used your
flair on Savannah, right?” Anthony says.