We got back just as lunch was letting out. We merged quietly into the chattering crowd, no one noticing we hadn’t been there all along. Daniel kept his arm around me possessively as the others swarmed around us. It was obvious he was worried about my earlier reaction, worried that I might run off and leave him.
To be honest, I was still considering it. It would solve so many problems. But deep down, I knew that running was the wrong thing to do. Not only would it put me in danger, but it would endanger everyone else I cared about. The only thing that made sense was finding more information…then deciding whether or not running was right.
I thought about the conversation Daniel had stolen from Susan as we walked. As I did, another conversation came to me. I ducked out from under Daniel’s arm as he stopped to buy me a soda from one of the vending machines. I took the soda then grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together so that we could talk privately.
Impressions of my face and him holding me in a dark room swirled around my brain. The image shifted to us out in the forest, under a starlit sky, the moon very close as we gazed up. I knew it was either a daydream or a vision of the future. Either way, I wasn’t complaining.
Daniel? I asked tentatively.
Yes, Clare?
I was just thinking…
I’m proud for you.
Won’t you get in trouble for protecting me? You said you thought those Seekers were from that guild thingy, and the only reason you were left alone was because you didn’t interfere with them. Won’t they come after you for this?
His hand tightened on mine. We paused under the pretense of letting a girl on crutches walk by.
I don’t care if they do. Even if they sent a whole army, I wouldn’t stop protecting you. Do you understand that? Even if I stood alone against millions, I would keep fighting.
I couldn’t answer right away. The venom and the passion in his voice were shocking. The vision of him standing in front of a legion of demons swirled up. Did he mean that literally? We started walking again and I refocused.
I didn’t think you would actually come with a protection guarantee.
It’s a two-year warranty.
Drat.
Drat? Who says drat anymore?
People… I eyed him more seriously. I would do the same for you, you know. But…I don’t want to get your family in trouble. Margaret said…
Margaret would have to get through me first, he said firmly. He didn’t have to hear the whole sentence to know what Margaret had said. He obviously knew her well.
If you’re alive…I corrected.
I pulled his arm around my shoulders, ending our private conversation. “Can you stay for dinner tonight?” I asked aloud. “I mean…” I made a funny motion with my hands. “You know…if it’s not too boring watching me eat. I know Ellen would love to meet you.”
He kissed my cheek. “How could spending time with you be boring?”
“Was that a rhetorical question?” I asked.
“I believe it was.”
We walked into the classroom then, our conversation ending. I ignored the thoughts and images, which were immediate with our entrance, and took my seat. Even Alex looked at us curiously.
Daniel started tapping on his desk with his pen as the boy in front of him turned around to talk to him. He had his fake charm look on as he talked, but I wasn’t deceived. I wondered how I had ever missed how much effort it took for him to act so normal around the others. That brought up another question. Why did he bother with the charade? With his skills at charm and lying, he could be doing anything he wanted. Why attend high school at King’s Cross? Why attend high school at all? Why come here?
I started playing with my necklace as I thought about this. I knew he and his family liked being close to nature and having privacy to perform experiments – which often blew up – but that didn’t seem like reason enough. There had to be a better explanation.
“Afternoon, everyone!” Mrs. Heart called happily as she bustled into the room, her arms stacked high with her books.
A couple of people mumbled replies, but the majority just kept talking to their neighbors. I sank into my seat when she started talking about a project she was about to assign, tuning back in long enough to hear her pair me with Daniel and loving her for it.
As I stared out the windows, my mind brought up the memory of the female Watcher’s eyes. How was it possible for someone to look and feel that evil? She made those demonic dogs look tame and friendly by comparison. How could any human not be scared of her? How could a human work for her?
Thinking about it, trying to understand even one thing about the memory and my role in it, it took me a while to notice Daniel trying to get my attention. When he saw me look over, he made a face, obviously having had to wait a while for me to notice him. He stretched out his hand across the short aisle and I took it.
I can’t stay for dinner. Beatrice is going to have an encounter with the Seekers. Nothing serious, but I want to be there just in case.
An encounter? That was vague.
Can I come? My heart was pounding at the thought.
It’ll be worse if you’re there. They’re just trying to get a feel for us. They’ve heard a lot about us from Marcus, and they are realizing that their human helper isn’t getting them the results they want. They’ll try to pretend they are just passing through.
Fine, I huffed.
He gave me an apologetic, unyielding look and turned to the front, where Mrs. Heart was preparing to hand out a pop quiz.
Thinking about the vision I had seen in Daniel’s head, a rash plan formed. If I couldn’t come along on his adventure into danger, maybe I could still have some time with him that was just ours. No reading other people’s thoughts, no worries about the future, or what all the strange things around us meant, just us being two regular people. I wanted normal, even if it was fleeting.
As I handed my paper to Mrs. Heart, I formulated strategies to get him to agree with me. Daniel watched me suspiciously as I returned to my seat, his green eyes penetrating and alert. They told me he knew I was up to something, and I knew I had better be convincing.
“I don’t see why it’s a big deal,” I said, crossing my arms in preparation for a fight.
Daniel was driving me home after school. I had just suggested my plan to him. I couldn’t tell if he thought it was inappropriate or if he was scared. I didn’t figure him for someone afraid to break the rules…but fear seemed wildly unlike him as well.
“It’s dangerous,” he said.
“It’s not dangerous!” I exclaimed. “It’s the opposite of dangerous! You’d be there!”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
I tried a different tactic. “I know you’re lonely, you told me you were.”
“I was,” Daniel admitted.
“If you came over, you wouldn’t be alone.”
“A person can be in a room full of people and be alone, Clare.”
“Only if those people are invisible…or you’re a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.”
“Was that an outdated reference meant to be obscure, yet alluring?” he asked.
“Just obscure…”
He looked at the shops we were passing in a blur, his face thoughtful as he considered my plan. “I don’t know…”
“Oh, quit being such a girl! If you don’t come over tonight, I’ll just go wandering around in the forest again looking for you. Then those Seekers might get a shot at me and it would be on your head. You wouldn’t want that kind of guilt would you?”
His lips pursed. I couldn’t tell if he was fighting anger or laughter. “I’m pretty sure that’s blackmail.”
“Is it blackmail if I don’t have incriminating evidence to hang over your head?”
“It’s the term I’m applying to this situation,” he said irritably.
“Now, if I said I would expose the fact that you are the son of a fallen angel that would be blackmail.”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“I think that I’m just shamelessly guilting you into agreeing to something that’s really not that big of a deal.”
“Not a big deal to you, maybe.” He pulled to a stop in front of my house.
“Okay, define big deal, then.”
“I’m…not a good person. I don’t…” His hands twisted the steering wheel in agitated thoughtfulness as he searched for the right words.
I finally caught up to the point he had been making. “Daniel, I’ve seen the worst parts of you. I saw the girl you loved, who hurt you so badly that you probably still think of her every day. I saw the women you were with. I saw the people you killed and the darkness you’ve lived in.” I unbuckled my seat belt. “You spend all your time trying to atone for things in your past, but I’m not going to be a continued source of that punishment. And since you’re not going to let me run away to protect you, you’re stuck with me. ”
He released the steering wheel, sparing it from certain destruction, and stared at me. We shared a moment of wordless communication, then I leaned over and kissed him. What I had meant as a brief goodbye kiss changed as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap. His lips were almost desperate. I caved into the feel of him, my lips just as hungry.
I jumped in surprise when, having gotten into the moment a little too much, I hit my arm on the car horn. I laughed and looked for the curious eyes I knew were on us. I saw the lady next door scowl at us through her kitchen window and laughed harder. My elbow hit the horn again as I tried to crawl out of Daniel’s lap.
He stopped me. “I didn’t realize how much of the…unsavory things you saw.”
“I’m sure you saw some things about me I’d rather you didn’t.” I climbed back into my seat and grabbed my bag off the floor. “I’ll see you around…eleven?” I paused. “You can sneak in without Ellen hearing you, right?”
“I could sneak in, steal all your furniture, even the bed you were sleeping on, and you’d never know the difference…until you awoke, at least.”
“Which is why I’m glad you’re on my side.” I bit my lip as I thought about what he was going to do. “Be careful…you know, later.”
“Careful is my middle name,” he said doing his best James Bond impression.
“Seriously.”
“I promise to be careful,” he said brushing back a strand of hair from my face.
Accepting his word, I got out. He waited for me to open the front door before he drove away. I watched him go, noticing that he kept his eyes on the rearview mirror the whole way. When he was gone, I dropped my bag by the door, feeling sad that he didn’t know how much goodness he had inside, and went into the kitchen to make a casserole.
I had almost finished my homework and taken the casserole out to cool when Ellen came home. She slammed the door behind her as way of a hello. I froze as her thoughts, practically a battering ram, assaulted me. I didn’t get much time to absorb them before she appeared in the kitchen door. “You were unconscious! Did you even go out to dinner last night? What happened in the woods? You tell me right this minute or I’m…I’m…I’m…”
“Going to ground me and not sign the slip to get me out of dissecting the pig in biology next year?” I supplied.
“Yes!”
“I just didn’t want you to worry.”
She crossed to the table and gripped the back of a chair.
“We don’t have secrets, Clare. Well…we have secrets, but we’ve always told each other the important things. This feels wrong.”
“I didn’t want to worry you,” I repeated more forcefully.
“I worry about you all the time, sweetie. One more thing on the pile isn’t going to change that. Besides, we’re a team. Mighty Mouse and Wonder Woman. We work together.”
I took a deep breath, smiling a little at the nicknames we had given each other. “Are you sure you want to know?”
Her eyes glinted with determination. “Yes.”
I told her the things I had been keeping from her. As I finished, she sat down in the chair with a dazed look, a hand on her chest. “I don’t think I want to know anymore,” she said. “Can I have a take-back?”
I sighed and patted the hand gripping the table. “There’s no take-back on the truth. How did you know about it anyway?”
“Sam. One of the hunters who was helping look for Susan came in this morning for some paperwork on a claim he’s filing – a faulty rifle took off a toe last month. He and Sam were talking, and I overheard. Sam said it’s all over town that you were unconscious and that Daniel and his friend whisked you away after you saved Susan.” Then he asked me out to dinner, a real dinner in town this Friday, but I don’t know if I should tell her that.
“You just did,” I said getting up to serve the casserole.
“Oh. Right.” She kicked off her heels and pulled down her elegant bun. “You don’t mind do you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“But the other thing…” She bit her lip. I heard her running through our options, wondering if we should leave.
I kept my face towards the window as I spoke. “Our running hasn’t done any good. They’ve been following us for two years. Two years! I think if we pack up again they’ll just follow us, and we won’t have the Adamses around to look out for us.”
“You mean we won’t have Daniel,” she said pointedly.
“No, I mean the entire family. Beatrice and Han have been following you to make sure that nothing happens.”
She blushed and I saw some potentially embarrassing conversations she’d had with Sam. “I’m not sure if I like that.”
“Like it or not, it’s going to stay that way until we get rid of the Seekers. I won’t risk you getting hurt.”
She laughed and I heard her stand. She crossed the kitchen and I felt her arms wrap around my waist. We stared out the window for a brief moment. “You’re too good for me,” she whispered in my ear.
“Nah.”
She laughed again and kissed my cheek. “I’m going to go change.”
“Kay.”
Ellen climbed the stairs and, with a lazy slam of the door, went into the bathroom. Just as she shut the door, I heard the front door open. Pausing on my way to the kitchen table with my plate of food, I listened, but couldn’t hear any thoughts. That could only mean one thing – the Seekers had come here after all. Why hadn’t Daniel foreseen this? That was sort of a big thing to miss. Was someone watching the house now? Did I have help?
The door closed and I glanced around for a weapon. I spotted my Algebra book and picked it up. I backed toward the door that led into the backyard wanting to lead whoever it was away from Ellen. At the very least, I could give her a chance to get away. Or, hopefully, lead whoever it was to one of my new friends.
I hoisted the book to attack, my heart pounding in my throat, then I heard the familiar thoughts of Alex trailing down the hallway like a soft breeze. Relieved, I quickly set the book down, so she wouldn’t see I had been about to kill her with math. She would never forgive me for that. I hurried to sit down to my food, breathing heavier than normal.
I hadn’t realized until Daniel had left that I was on edge, coiled like a spring and ready to either attack or run. Susan’s memory was obviously more embedded in my thoughts than I had realized. It made all the fear I carried around anyways ten times as noticeable.
I took a deep breath as she appeared around the corner. “Hey…do you want some food? We have plenty.”
“I’m worried,” she said, skipping the usual pleasantries as she sat.
“What about?”
“Ever since our talk about Amanda, I’ve been trying to talk to her, or just say hi, but she hasn’t been at school.”
“Since the accident at the pool?” I asked, remembering the thoughts Amanda had about wishing she had been in the fire. My stomach sank.
“Yeah.” Alex’s eyes were distant. “I have a bad feeling. I know how her dad can be. What if he got mad about something and she ne
eds help?’
“What happened to ‘people around here don’t butt into other people’s problems’?” I mocked.
I already knew I would do whatever it took to make sure Amanda was okay regardless of what was typical around here. I hated that she thought so little of herself. I could understand her feelings of inadequacy – I had spent most of my school years being ostracized and shunned from the crowd – but Amanda seemed to take it further. It was as if she was punishing herself for not fitting in with people like Jennifer, not realizing, of course, that she wasn’t less because she didn’t fit in. She was simply different.
“Within reason,” Alex said. “People care. I care.”
“What can we do?” I asked, pushing my food aside.
“About what?” Ellen asked walking into the kitchen. She was in lounging clothes, and her face was clear of makeup. It was my favorite Ellen look. “Hi, Alex,” she said cheerfully, even though her thoughts were filled with worry that Alex would have a problem with Sam asking her out.
“Hi. We were talking about Amanda Nichols, a girl at school. We’re worried about her. She hasn’t shown up since Monday. Things are kind of rough for her…everywhere really. The kids at school make fun of her because her dad is different, and her mom…” Alex trailed off. “Her dad gives her a hard time because he doesn’t really like much.”
“You’re talking about Gavin Nichols’s kid?” Ellen asked as she filled her plate with casserole.
“Yeah. Do ya know him?”
Ellen plopped into a chair across from me. She nodded as she opened her soda. “Well, I know of him. He was out of high school by the time I was a freshman, but I heard what happened to him with his wife, and I knew his sister, Colleen.” Ellen grinned wickedly. “She was a lot of fun at parties.”
“I think we should go check on Amanda,” Alex said, returning to my question. “I got her homework from the front office this afternoon, so I have an excuse…”
“Nice,” I grinned. “Just let me finish eating and we’ll go.”
Ellen began shoveling food into her mouth. “I’m going, too. I don’t want you dealing with that man by yourselves…” She paused and looked at me. Not with everyone looking for you. “That way I know I’m not being lied to.”
“She didn’t tell you about her forest adventure either, huh?” Alex asked.
“Not about the part where she was unconscious,” Ellen said giving me a fierce look.
“I saved someone’s life! Doesn’t that mean anything? Don’t I get a pass or something?”
“Of course it means something,” Ellen replied, “but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. If anything, the fact you had to save her life from tho… whatever has been attacking people makes it even more dangerous.”
I stood and scraped off my food into the trashcan and put the dish in the sink to wash later.
“Well, it won’t happen again. I’ve been yelled at by three people now. I know when I’m beat.”
“You could be beaten, and would still get back up for more, you’re so stubborn,” Ellen said dumping the remainder of her food into the trash can – having eaten the fastest dinner in recorded history.
“Yeah…I wonder where I get that from?” I asked her.
She made a face while running out of the room. “I’ll be right back!”
“Daniel sure was eager to show that you two are together today,” Alex said conversationally as soon as Ellen was gone. If there was one thing about my friend I had realized after a month, it was that she was persistent. To a fault.
“Was he? I didn’t notice.”
I kept my face expressionless, knowing she was trying to get a reaction. For some reason, Alex loved getting reactions out of me.
She started laughing, my expression giving me away regardless. “It’s all over the school, Clare. He kissed you in gym, and now you guys have detention on Friday. And the way he was all over you at lunch…” She made groping motions with her hands.
“Huh. I didn’t hear that rumor. Did we really get detention?” I gave her an innocent look.
“Don’t play coy with me...what happened? How’d you two realize you were crazy-bad in-like with each other? Details woman, I want details.”
There was so much to tell, and it had all happened so quickly. I’d only had two days to process a lot. I wasn’t sure if I really had a handle on it yet. But, despite the fact there had been plenty of fear and crazy occurrences, my moments with Daniel had made everything else fade into the background. It was as though I knew the fear, the danger, were just momentary blips in a life that was meant to be spent with him.
It was enough to make me want to talk about it; the emotions bubbled over and out of me, uncontainable and uncontrollable. I told Alex what I could, my story tempered by the things I couldn’t say without giving away my secret. She listened in rapt attention. Ellen came back down as I finished, and we left to go to Amanda’s house. Ellen didn’t have to ask to know what we were talking about.
“I think it’s nice,” Alex said as we walked to her Jeep. “I’ve always thought Daniel was trying too hard to be happy. Like he thought if he pretended hard enough, happiness would come. Now, he doesn’t have to pretend.”
“Relationships go bad,” I pointed out.
“Cynic. Stop acting like it’s no big deal. You know it is.”
She floored the gas pedal, cutting off my snarky reply. I heard Ellen squeak from the sudden movement. I held on to the door with a strong grip, prepared for Alex’s driving.
We rode to Amanda’s in silence. Alex’s thoughts went back to Amanda, and Ellen’s went back to the Seekers hunting us. I thought about both. Was there an answer to either? How does one realistically stop people who are serious about hunting you? How do you convince a teenager it is okay to be different? Both questions were out of my league.
When Alex finally jerked the car to a stop, my stomach slowly filled with knots at what was in front of me. We were at Amanda’s house, though ‘house’ wasn’t really the proper term. It was more like a cabin. A cabin so old and dilapidated – it was made of chinked wood and mud – it looked ready to fall down at any moment. I tilted my head and realized the structure slanted slightly to the left.
The dirt yard was deserted and bare of any kind of ornamentation or furniture. Where there should have been grass, there were rusted pieces of metal and junk covered in thick, dead vines. Three other houses bordered the small property and, while they weren’t mansions by any stretch of the imagination, the cabin made them look like Daniel’s house in comparison. Smoke curled halfheartedly out of the old stone chimney, misting the yard in a thin haze. A group of dogs tied to metal stakes near the edge of the property, got up and started barking as we stopped. A couple strained against the stakes, choking themselves in their attempt to reach us.
As I unbuckled my seatbelt, I saw a curtain in the cabin twitch. There was a moment of quiet doubt, then the door opened slightly. Amanda peeked out at us, her thoughts ghosting across the yard as much as the smoky haze. She looked scared, as if she thought we were there to kill her, or worse. I waved, to assure her we came in peace, and she stepped out, shutting the door with a click. Alex grabbed some papers from her bag and followed me, looking around sadly. Ellen stayed in the car, looking at the house, but not wanting to get involved unless Gavin Nichols did.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” Amanda turned her head to listen for sounds of her dad moving inside. I heard her worrying about her father overhearing. He was in the living room passed out. He had been on a bender since early in the day. As she looked back, I saw a faint blue color that was obviously the result of a hit on the face highlighting the bones of her cheek.
The instant I saw her face, I wanted to go inside and hit Mr. Nichols in retribution. I controlled the impulse however, figuring that wouldn’t help our reason for being here.
“What are you guys doing here?” Amanda asked.
“Alex brought your homework from school,
” I replied. “And I came along because I wanted to ask you if you’d be interested in coming to the movies with us this Friday.”
Alex threw me a warning look, but I ignored her. Amanda could still say no. I wanted her to know that I wanted her there. That somebody cared. It was important; more important than my desire to go inside and teach her dad a lesson.
Why would she do that? I’ve only talked to her a couple of times since she came here, and I’m sure I just said something stupid each time. This has to be a trap. “I don’t know…” Amanda said.
I took a step forward. “Look, Amanda, I think you’re really cool. We think you’re really cool,” I gestured at Alex, “and we would like to get to know you better. But if you don’t want to come, that’s fine. I just thought it would be a good opportunity for us to hang out.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said uncertainly, her voice barely a whisper.
Alex handed Amanda the papers. “But you’re okay, right?” she asked. “You haven’t got strep throat or the measles or anything?”
“Oh! No. I think it’s just a cold or something.” She sniffed unconvincingly, her eyes glancing at the door again. Daddy is going to be so mad if he wakes up. I wish the dogs would shut up! …I still don’t get why he said I couldn’t go to school. I’m going to get so behind! It was really nice of them to bring my work…but how will I get it back to my teachers? Amanda played with the papers nervously. “Thanks for bringing these.”
“No problem.” Alex smiled at her.
“Amanda! Shutthadogsup!” a drunken, slurred voice called from inside. Amanda jumped as if she’d been whipped. “Amanda! Dicha-hear-me! Shut-those-dogs-up!”
“I hear you!” she called back looking at us nervously. She added, “I’m about to feed them.”
“Damn straight! Then-you-best-fix-me-dinner!”
Amanda blushed from the roots of her hair to her fingertips. I felt a burning anger and my fists clenched. When Amanda had jumped, I had gotten an image of a man hitting her for burning dinner, a slap across the face for coming home late, a hit for questioning him about staying home from school…other occurrences. It was a stronger rage than the initial one I had bested. How badly I wanted to teach him a lesson!
Controlling my rage, I stepped closer to Amanda and took a pen out of Daniel’s jacket. Taking one of the papers from her hand, I wrote my number on it, using my leg as a table. “If you need anything…or you make up your mind about the movies, call me. Whatever you need. It doesn’t matter what.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Oh…she’s making me into a charity case. That’s all I need...
“Amanda!” the voice yelled again.
“We should go,” Alex said nervously. “Will you be in school tomorrow?”
Amanda hesitated. “I don’t know. I’m still feeling a bit under the weather.”
“Well, when you get back, you can show me how to do that problem you solved the other day in Calculus. I still can’t get my head around it,” Alex said.
“Sure.” Amanda said, blushing and lowering her head, ashamed to feel proud of herself. “Well, I’d…” She gestured vaguely towards the dogs.
“Bye,” I said.
“Bye.”
Amanda watched us leave, her thoughts filled with burning questions and dark skepticism. As we drove away, my stomach settled into a curious knot of foreboding.
Chapter 15