“It’s not that,” I assured her. “He was talking about the prom.”
Instantly, I could see her body tighten up. “Prom?”
“Yeah,” I said. “And I was thinking, it would be kind of fun to go with you. We can finally tell all my friends and the school we’re dating, and it’ll be the talk of the town for weeks.”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Why would you think it’ll be fun?” Raiya asked.
“Because you’ll be there with me and all my friends and some of yours, and we’ll, you know, be normal for a night.”
She hesitated. I glanced closer, watching her emotions wisp off her in wavy ripples. Stress, fear, uncertainty …
I stifled a groan. I mean, geez, all that from going to a dance? How did she manage to face down demons and fight off evil with poise and grace, but fall apart at the idea of having fun at prom?
“So are you asking me?”
Her question caught me off guard. “Oh, yes,” I said. “I mean, will you go to the prom with me?”
She paused long enough for me to wonder if she would try to wiggle out of it. “Alright.” She answered firmly, like she was trying to make up for the lack of enthusiasm.
Luckily, I had enough for the two of us. I took hold of her and twirled her around, before drawing her close to me. “Thank you,” I said, before I kissed her soundly. “This means a lot to me. I’ll do my best to make sure it’s a night you’ll always remember.”
Raiya laughed, settling into the crook of my collarbone. I could feel how much more content she was as I put my arm around her. I was also more content, as we spent the next few hours walking through Shoreside Park together.
☼4☼
Spawn
As March transitioned into April, while my eighteenth birthday drew closer, and with Cheryl’s deadline on death row, Raiya and I regularly met for breakfast after I was done with school. We were even finally able to study together—me for the SATs, Raiya for her GED—something I had been hoping to do for some time. For some strange reason (I hardly ever studied, I hardly ever needed to, and I didn’t like to study with other people, so this was new), I was nothing short of sublimely happy.
I should’ve known it would come to an end.
I should’ve known it would come to an end.
Maybe I did know, but I was reluctant to admit it.
The first sensation my happy bubble was about to be blown away into pieces of bubble murder—not the exact feeling at the time, but more along the lines of the result—came the first weekend of April.
“What’s the formula to figure out compound interest?” Raiya asked as she slumped over her test booklet.
I glanced over. “It’s something with a ‘p’ in it, and a couple of ‘n’ and ‘t’s,’” I said.
“I know that,” Raiya muttered. “I can’t remember the order.”
“Doesn’t your calculator have the automatic function for it?”
“Can’t you just tell me the formula?”
“Isn’t it on the page of the practice test?”
“No.”
“Why do you need it then? Usually those tests give you the formulas.”
“I don’t see it—”
“Ugh, can’t you two just stop talking, period?” Elysian snuggled into the booth we were sharing. He put his claw over his head, dramatically, as if he was going through some kind of fainting spell. “Just look it up and then shut up.”
“Are we interrupting your rest, or are you upset I put a cap on your cookie limit?” I asked. “Because you can go back to my house. Or you’re free to go on another round of patrols.”
“Hey, I’ve been on enough patrols. You seem to forget who takes care of that sort of thing while you’re in school, learning all those facts you’ll likely only need if you wind up on a gameshow.”
“Considering how you even know about gameshows tells me you’ve spent way too much time watching television,” I said.
“They advertise it in between news reports,” Elysian grumbled.
“That doesn’t mean anything. You’d actually have to watch them to know what kind of questions—”
Raiya interrupted. “Elysian, stop hijacking my arguments with Humdinger. You know he can’t resist arguing with you. Now, he’s just going along with it so he doesn’t have to admit to me he doesn’t know how to find compound interest.”
“I cannot believe I ever wanted to study with you,” I said, half-teasing, half-exasperated. “Here, just give me your paper. I’ll write it down.”
Several minutes passed as I went through the test question and wrote down the formula for compound interest (which is P(1+r/n)^(nt) for those who don’t know).
“There,” I said.
“Thank you.” Raiya gave me a smile and went to work on the next question. “Maybe one day I’ll be able to return the favor.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I turned back to my own work, which was less interesting than counting rocks. It was English work. “Actually, what can you tell me about The Great Gatsby?”
Raiya put aside her GED math book with a very clear sense of relief. I engaged her services as tutor/entertainer while she told me all about the tragic figure of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his hollow, glamorous life that slipped into sinking madness.
Elysian periodically let out a groan, but he didn’t do much more than that.
I didn’t mind (much.) Elysian hadn’t been lying or even exaggerating—shocker—about going out and checking the town for himself. Ever since Logan had shown us what was happening with the radiation and its swirling signature, we’d been careful to make sure we checked every area close to the old Rosemont Academy building.
So for now, since we didn’t see anything, I didn’t care. More often than not, I was gratified by my semi-apathy, too, when Elysian or Raiya came back with nothing to report. I never had anything to report either, other than a headache.
True, it was a bit unnerving to worry about Draco. But as the days slipped by, and there was nothing to report, and very little to do, I was growing more sure with each passing day that there was nothing to worry about.
After all, Justice had come to Draco, and she was going to be his undoing, just like the Prince of Stars had said.
Again, I should’ve known better.
As I was finishing up a sample quiz while sipping the last of my mocha, pain pinched at my wrist.
Immediately, I shook it off. I mean, really, I was better off thinking it was possibly carpel tunnel, since I did type a lot, and working in the silly standardized testing booklet required more writing than I was used to.
Before I could question myself on the matter further, or maybe avoid questioning myself on the matter, Raiya distracted me.
“They’re talking about the Flying Angels case on the news,” she said, nodding toward the television screen over Rachel’s bar.
“Don’t pay any attention to it,” I said. “Nothing good comes from worrying.”
“They’re trying to force the police to help capture us,” Raiya said.
“Only informally,” I said. “I mean, we’re fugitives, but you don’t see the police careening around the town doing raids.”
“Still, it’s disconcerting.”
“I think it’s more than fair to say Cheryl has that effect wherever she goes,” I replied drily, not really wanting to worry about my mother.
Raiya’s eyes lit up with laughter. “That’s true enough.”
“Another couple days and we’ll be completely in the clear. Cheryl will have to appeal it, and Assistant Mayor Dunbrooke’s already told her he has no intention of pursuing it.”
“I wonder why.”
“Maybe he’s talked with Mayor Mills and decided getting too close to it would result in his own hospitalization.”
“Or maybe it’s just not popular enough of a topic to talk about anymore,” Elysian said. “After all, there have been fewer attacks e
ver since you guys started working together. They came in random bursts, and now, with the Sinisters defeated, we only have Draco to worry about.”
“They know a winning team when they see it,” I declared.
Raiya arched her brow and turned her full attention to the screen.
Another burst of pain twisted against my pulse, but I once more pushed it aside. I didn’t want to think about it. My SATs were this weekend, and my time to study was limited.
It was growing more limited, too, as I stopped more often than I should have to watch Raiya work.
What is it about really seeing someone? Raiya, as Starry Knight, told me once that I’d seen her, but I wouldn’t know her.
Now I did know her, and for some reason it was easier to see her more clearly. As if by loving her, I knew her better, and saw her better, and loved her better because of it.
Some people talk about vicious cycles; I had to wonder what the opposite would be. A virtuous cycle, perhaps?
“What?” Raiya asked, as she glanced over at me.
I put my musings away for the meantime. “Nothing,” I assured her. “Just watching you.”
“Why?” Raiya glanced over at my practice test materials. “Stuck on the reading section again?”
“No, stuck on you,” I told her.
“You know, that might get annoying,” she said.
“What?”
“All your attempts at flirting.”
“I’m not attempting if I’m succeeding.”
“Still, it seems a bit forced.”
“Only because I wouldn’t naturally do it,” I assured her.
“Sure you do,” Raiya said. “I remember how you would do this all the time with Gwen.”
The nerves around my wrist began to sound off like sirens. I grimaced. “I don’t want to talk about Gwen,” I said.
“But you flirted with her too,” Raiya said. “I’m not bringing it up to make you mad, I’m just pointing out that your time with me is more important to me than your praise.”
“I happen to like telling you that you’re beautiful,” I insisted, still trying to breathe properly while I was in pain. I cleared my throat. “Look, I might’ve flirted with Gwen while I was dating her, and probably before,” I said carefully, realizing that even at my best, this was sounding worse, “but this time I’m with you. It’s different because it’s you.”
She opened her mouth, probably to object, and I shook my head.
“Okay, look, everyone’s out there, searching for love, right?” I held out my hands, angry I had to explain myself, but also frustrated I wasn’t doing a very good job at it. “Some people try to find it with different people. It’s the same with math, you know. You keep trying and adjusting things until you find the right answer.”
“Does that make me your right answer then?” Raiya asked.
“Yes.” I never hesitated.
She considered it a moment, and then smiled. “I like that better than the cheesy flirting,” she said.
“You were the one who taught me that it doesn’t count unless I suffer,” I reminded her.
“Ugh, you need to write a movie or a sappy love song together.” Elysian shifted in his seat. “Or maybe you need to write a book. Though I doubt a lot of people would buy it.”
“Even if we included you in it?” I asked.
“Well, maybe,” he said. “But you’d have to tone down my awesomeness, or I’d easily overshadow you both, especially if you have too much of that lovey-dovey mushy stuff in it.”
I was about to start arguing with him when his nostrils flared. Elysian unfolded himself and slithered around the seat. “Something’s wrong,” he said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Can’t you tell?” He nodded toward my wrist, where what had begun as a simmer began to boil over.
“Well, um, I just thought maybe since the Sinisters were captured, I was just getting paranoid,” I lied.
Raiya narrowed her eyes at me. “You should have said something.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt our time together,” I admitted, somewhat sheepishly.
“Hamilton,” she said, “this is too important.”
“Can’t you tell anymore?” I asked.
“Not always,” she admitted. “I think it might be because of Grandpa—I mean, Draco. He knew I was sensitive to the monsters and their activity. He would be clever enough to take precautions if he could.”
“So, we’re both at fault.”
She frowned. “Just say something if you feel something next time, alright?”
“Okay, fine,” I snapped, tired of trying to impress her and please her. “Next time I’ll yell it in the streets for you, too.”
“We need to go,” Elysian interjected. “So if you’re going to fight like an old married couple, let’s save it for later, shall we?”
I felt my face turn purple as angry fireballs appeared in my vision.
“We’re coming,” Raiya said. She shut her books and tucked them into her backpack, and then she reached for mine. “I’ll put them upstairs and meet you guys on the roof,” she told me.
I said nothing, still sore from her admonishment, only nodding and hurrying off after Elysian.
Elysian was in mid-transformation when I grabbed him by the neck. He choked and gasped. “What?”
“Don’t make jokes like that,” I scolded. “Raiya and I are not an old married couple, and I don’t want her thinking that.”
“You act like it sometimes,” Elysian retorted. “And what’s wrong with that?”
I watched as understanding dawned. “Oh,” he said, trying to hold back his giggles. “I see! You’re worried she won’t want to—”
“Shut up,” I grumbled, tossing him behind me. We turned down the alley and I pressed into my pounding mark, transforming into my superhero self.
My wings caught me as I jumped up to land on the rooftop. Raiya was already waiting for me, and I was more than pleased to see the feather I’d given her—one of my own burning flame feathers—in its familiar spot, tucked securely in her own bound-back hair.
I landed beside her, already looking around for any sign of an aura.
“There,” I exclaimed, pointing off toward the marina. “There’s a dull shadow coming up from the docks.”
“I see it, too,” Raiya said. Worry lined her face. “It’s close to Lakeview Observatory.”
I glanced over at her, and another aura caught my eye. I frowned and squinted, trying to see if I could discern anything else from it.
It was the vortex, I realized a moment later. It was close to the Rosemont ruin, and it was quietly humming a steady power, while the aura by the marina was erratic and fluctuating.
Before I could say anything, Elysian took off, and Raiya followed. “Hey, wait for me,” I called.
“I don’t know if it’s Draco,” Elysian rumbled as I caught up to him. “For all he is evil, he wouldn’t leave this much of a demonic trail.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. While it was true Draco was more dragon than demon, he had captured the Sinisters, and Orpheus, too. They used their powers over their many minions to the point where, when we captured them or subdued them, their shadows still seemed to remain.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Draco was causing all the activity,” I said. “Especially if he was working his way up to full power, as you surmised months ago, Elysian.”
Raiya grimaced as she landed. “I don’t think this is his work,” she said. “This looks more like the work of a fenfleal demon.”
A fenfleal demon was a rogue demon, one who gained power and worked separately from the Sinisters. I’d worked with a few of them before, so I knew they were tricky to handle. They tended to be more unusual, which, since they weren’t following orders, was expected to some degree. But they were just as powerful, if not more so, because of their self-leadership.
As I landed, I tended to agree with Raiya’s assessment.
There were thre
e people on the ground, fallen over, their eyes vacant and their bodies still.
I walked over carefully to the nearest one, a man looking close to Mark’s age. “Hello?” I shook his shoulder. “Hello? Can you—ugh!”
I’d glanced down to see his wrist was boiling with leaking black bubbles.
“What is it?” Raiya asked, hurrying over. “Oh, my.”
“Yeah, it’s gross,” I said. “I don’t know ‘it’ is, though.”
“It looks like the demon used his mouth to suck out the soul,” Raiya said. “He bit the man on the wrist, and he left a mark behind.”
I glanced down at my own wrist, to see the Emblem of the Prince. “I guess that’s not that uncommon,” I said.
“The Prince and the demons don’t have the same purpose or motive,” Raiya reminded me. “And it’s unlikely the Prince would use a pair of fangs to poison you.”
“I guess so,” I agreed. “I guess they can’t help but imitate him in the worst possible ways.”
“True enough,” Elysian agreed. “You don’t need to look far to see that in other areas as well.”
“Well, I didn’t have to look far to see it here, that’s for sure,” I pointed out. I dropped the man’s arm and shuffled back from the burning black bubbles spitting out of his demon bite.
“Are the others the same?” I asked.
“They should be,” a new voice responded.
A creepy feeling shuddered up my spine. Simultaneously, Elysian, Raiya, and I turned around.
And there it was. The demon, the fenfleal, was lounging around on the ground. It was long in body, almost like a worm or snake, with no hands and slits for its reddened eyes.
Eyes so similar to Draco’s.
“Guys, that can’t be … uh, that can’t be Draco, right?” I asked.
Elysian snorted as he leered down at our enemy. “No, it’s not him,” he said. “But he might be a spawn.”
Even Raiya looked surprised. “A spawn?” she repeated.
“Yes,” Elysian said. “He’s been able to take a demon and overtake its sentience.”
“I still remain myself,” the demon objected. “I am Mahiem; but I will admit Draco’s power infusion was a great resource for me.”