Halo

  “Love you more,” I said playfully.

  “Not a chance,” Xavier said, fully awake now. “I’m bigger, I can contain more love.”

  “I’m smaller, therefore my love particles are more compressed, which means I can fit more in.”

  Xavier laughed. “That argument makes no sense. Overruled.”

  “I’m just basing it on how much I miss you when you’re not around,” I countered.

  “How can you possibly know how much I miss you?” he said. “Have you got some sort of built-in miss-o-meter that can give us a reading?”

  “I’m a girl; of course I have a built-in miss-o-meter.”

  I drifted off to sleep reassured by the feel of his chest pressed against my back. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I traced the smooth skin on his arms, made golden by time outdoors. In the moonlight I could see every hair, every vein, every freckle, and I loved it all. That was my last thought before I fell asleep that night, and I found that fear had abandoned me completely.

  A Friend in Need

  Taylah haunted my dreams. I saw her as a faceless ghost with a pair of bloodstained white hands that grasped aimlessly at the air. Then I was inside her body, lying in a pool of sticky warm blood. I heard the dull dripping of the taps in the girls’ bathroom as she slipped into death. Then I felt the grief and overwhelming sorrow of her family. They were blaming themselves for not having noticed her depression, wondering if they could have prevented the outcome. Jake was there in the dream too, always at the edge of the frame, slightly out of focus and laughing softly.

  In the morning I woke to find the covers rumpled and the place beside me empty. If I pressed my face into the pillow where his head had rested, I could still faintly catch Xavier’s scent. I rolled out of bed and opened the curtains to let golden sunlight pour into the room.

  In the kitchen, it was Xavier and not Gabriel cooking breakfast. He had pulled on his jeans and T-shirt, and his hair was tousled. He looked fresh faced and beautiful as he carefully cracked eggs into the sizzling pan.

  “I thought a decent breakfast was in order,” he said when he saw me.

  Gabriel and Ivy were already seated at the dining table, plates heaped with scrambled eggs on sourdough toast in front of them.

  “This is really good,” Ivy said between mouthfuls. “How did you learn to cook?”

  “I had no choice, I had to learn,” Xavier said. “My whole family besides Mom are useless in the kitchen. When she works late at the clinic they order pizza or eat whatever they can find that says, ‘add water and stir.’ So I cook for them whenever Mom isn’t around.”

  “Xavier’s a man of many skills,” I told Ivy and Gabe glowingly.

  Xavier had stayed only one night yet I marveled at how easily he had become integrated into our little family. It didn’t feel like we had a guest in the house—he was just one of us now. Even Gabriel seemed to have accepted him, and found him a clean white shirt to wear to school.

  I noticed we were all carefully avoiding the subject of what had happened the previous afternoon. I knew I was certainly trying to block out the memory.

  “I know yesterday came as an awful shock to us all,” Ivy said eventually. “But we’re going to deal with this situation.”

  “How?” I asked

  “Our Father will show us the way.”

  “I just hope He does it soon, before it’s too late,” Xavier muttered, but I was the only one who heard him.

  A shock wave had torn through the school after the discovery of Taylah’s suicide. Although classes continued in an attempt at maintaining normality, everything seemed to be operating tentatively. Letters had gone out to parents offering grief counseling and encouraging families to support their children in any way they could. People walked around as if on eggshells, not wanting to be too loud or insensitive. Jake Thorn and his friends were notably absent.

  An assembly was called mid-morning, and Dr. Chester explained to the students that the administration didn’t know exactly what had transpired, but they had placed the investigation in the hands of the police. Then his voice became less matter-of-fact.

  “The loss of Taylah McIntosh is shocking and tragic. She was a great friend and student, and she will be greatly missed. If any of you would like to speak to someone about what has occurred, please book a time with Miss Hirche, our trusted school counselor.”

  “I feel sorry for the doc,” said Xavier. “He’s been getting phone calls all morning. The parents are up in arms about this.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Schools go down over incidents like this,” he said. “Everyone wants to know what happened, why the school didn’t do more to prevent it. People start to worry about their own kids.”

  I was outraged. “But this had nothing to do with the school.”

  “Well, the parents sure don’t see it that way,” Xavier said.

  After the assembly, Molly caught up with me, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Xavier saw that she wanted to talk in private and excused himself to go to a water-polo meeting.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked, taking her hand. Molly shook her head, and fresh tears trickled down her cheeks.

  “It just feels so weird being here at the moment,” she said in a choked voice. “It’s not the same without her.”

  “I know,” I said softly.

  “I don’t get it,” Molly said. “I can’t believe she would do something like that. Why didn’t she talk to me? I didn’t even know she was depressed—I’m the worst friend!” She let out a sob, and I rushed forward to hug her. It seemed she might collapse if something wasn’t holding her up.

  “This isn’t your fault,” I said. “Sometimes things happen that no one could’ve predicted.”

  “But . . . ,” Molly began.

  “No.” I cut her off. “Trust me—there was nothing you could have done to stop this.”

  “I wish I could believe that,” Molly whispered. “Did you hear how they found her in all that blood? It’s like something out of a horror movie.”

  “Yeah,” I mumbled. The last thing I wanted was to relive the experience. “Molly, maybe you should talk to a counselor,” I said gently. “It might help.”

  “No.” Molly shook her head forcefully and then laughed. It sounded high-pitched and hysterical. “I just want to forget that it ever happened. I want to forget that she was ever here.”

  “But, Molly, you can’t just pretend things are okay.”

  “Watch me,” she said, her voice suddenly falsely cheerful and bright. “Something good actually happened the other day.” She smiled broadly, her eyes still shining with tears. It was frightening to watch.

  “What?” I asked, wondering whether she might give up the charade if I played along.

  “Well, it turns out that Jake Thorn is in my IT class.”

  “Oh,” I said, amazed at how quickly the conversation was spiraling downhill. “That’s great.”

  “Yeah, it really is,” Molly said. “Because he asked me out.”

  “What!” I burst out, spinning around to face her.

  “I know,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it either.” It was obvious the shock had messed with her head. She was grasping at any sort of distraction that would take her mind off the pain of her loss.

  “What did you say?” I asked.

  She laughed harshly. “Don’t be stupid, Beth. What do you think I said? We’re going out this Sunday with some of his friends. Oh, I almost forgot, are you okay with it, after what happened at the prom? Because you said you didn’t have feelings for him . . .”

  “No! I mean, of course I don’t have feelings for him.”

  “Then you don’t mind?”

  “Molly, I do mind, but not for the reasons you think. Jake’s bad news—you can’t go out with him. And would you please quit acting like everything’s fine!” My voice had gone up an octave, and I knew I sounded stressed.

  Molly looked confused. “What’s
the problem? Why are you being all weird about it? I thought you’d be happy for me.”

  “Oh, Molly, I would be if you were going out with anyone but him,” I cried. “You can’t trust him—surely you can see that. He’s got trouble written all over him.”

  Molly got suddenly defensive.

  “You just don’t like him because he made trouble for you and Xavier,” she said heatedly.

  “That’s not true. I don’t trust him, and you’re not thinking straight!” I said.

  “Maybe you’re jealous of his uniqueness,” Molly spit out. “He said there are some people like that.”

  “What?” I spluttered. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Sure it does,” Molly replied. “You think that you and Xavier are the only people who deserve to be happy. I deserve to be happy too, Beth, especially now.”

  “Molly, don’t be crazy,” I said. “Of course I don’t think that.”

  “Then why don’t you want me to go out with him?”

  “Because he scares me,” I said truthfully. “And I don’t want to see you make a huge mistake because you’re a mess over what happened to Taylah.”

  But Molly didn’t seem to be listening to me anymore.

  “Do you want him? Is that it? Well, you can’t have all the guys in the world, Beth, you have to leave some for the rest of us.”

  “I don’t want him anywhere near me or you. . . ,” I began.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he killed Taylah!” I yelled.

  Molly stopped and stared at me, her eyes wide. I couldn’t believe I’d spoken those words aloud, but if they got Molly to come to her senses, if they could save her from falling prey to Jake, then it would be worth it. But a moment later Molly narrowed her eyes.

  “You’re out of your mind,” she hissed and took a step back from me.

  “Molly, wait!” I cried. “Just hear me out. . . .”

  “No!” Molly interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it. You can hate Jake as much as you want, but I’m still going to see him because I want to. He’s the most amazing guy I’ve ever met, and I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to be with him just because you’re having a little PMS freak-out.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “And for your information, he says you’re a bitch.”

  I opened my mouth to respond when a shadow fell across the pavement and a figure appeared at Molly’s side. Jake leered at me as he draped an arm around Molly’s shoulders and pulled her close. She nestled into his chest and giggled.

  “Envy is a deadly sin, Bethany,” Jake purred. His eyes were completely covered by a glistening black film, so I couldn’t distinguish between pupil and iris. “You should know that. Why don’t you just congratulate Molly and be gracious?”

  “Or start writing her eulogy,” I snapped.

  “Now, now, that’s below the belt,” he said. “Don’t you worry; I’ll take care of your friend. It seems we have a lot in common.”

  Then he turned and swept Molly away. I watched her disappear from sight, russet curls bobbing.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon desperately looking for Molly so I could explain things to her in a way she might understand, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. I told Xavier what had happened and saw the muscles in his face tighten ever so slightly. Together we looked all over the school for Molly, and with every empty classroom I felt my insides twisting with anxiety. Xavier made me sit down on a bench when I began breathing loudly and erratically.

  “Hey, hey,” he said, lifting up my face so we were looking eye to eye, “calm down. She’s going to be okay. Everything is.”

  “How?” I asked. “He’s dangerous! He’s completely unstable! I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to get to me through her. He knows she’s my friend.”

  Xavier sat down beside me.

  “Think about it for a moment, Beth,” he said. “Jake Thorn hasn’t hurt anyone in his inner circle yet. He wants to recruit people—it’s what he does. So long as he has Molly on his side, she’ll be safe.”

  “You can’t know that. He’s completely unpredictable.”

  “Unpredictable or not, he still won’t hurt her,” Xavier said. “We have to keep our wits about us now; we can’t afford to lose our heads. It’s easy to overreact given what’s just happened.”

  “So what do you think we should do?” I asked.

  “I think Jake might have given us a clue to finding that proof Gabriel is after.”

  “Really?”

  “Did Molly say where he was taking her?”

  “She just said it was going to be on Sunday . . . and his friends were going to be there,” I said.

  Xavier nodded. “Right, well, Venus Cove isn’t that big a place—we’ll find out where they’re going and follow them.”

  We relayed our concerns to Ivy and Gabriel. The problem was working out where Jake might take Molly. It could be anywhere in Venus Cove, and we couldn’t afford to miscalculate. This was our one chance to see what he was really up to, and we didn’t want to blow it.

  “Where would he go?” Ivy mused. “Of course there are all the normal places in town, like the movie theater or Sweethearts, the bowling alley. . . .”

  “There’s no point thinking normal,” I said. “He’s anything but that.”

  “Beth’s right,” said Xavier. “Let’s try to think like him for a moment.”

  Asking an angel to get inside the head of a demon was a tall order, but Gabriel and Ivy tried to mask their disgust and complied with Xavier’s request.

  “It won’t be somewhere public,” Ivy said suddenly, “especially not if he plans to bring his friends along. They’re too big a group, too conspicuous.”

  Gabriel agreed. “They’ll go somewhere quiet and private, a place where they won’t be interrupted.”

  “Are there any abandoned houses or factories around here?” I asked. “Like the one where the after-party was held? That would suit Jake.”

  Xavier shook his head. “Jake strikes me as a little more dramatic than that.”

  “So let’s think exaggerated and over-the-top then,” Ivy suggested

  “Exactly.” Xavier looked at me, his azure eyes sharp. “His followers . . . think about what they look like, how they dress.”

  “They look like goths,” I replied.

  “And what is the center of goth culture?” Gabriel said.

  Ivy looked at him, her eyes wide. “Death.”

  “Yes.” Xavier’s face was grim. “So where would be the best place for a bunch of weirdos obsessed with death?”

  The realization hit me, and I drew a sharp breath. It was overstated, it was grim, it was dark, and it was the perfect place for Jake to stage his show.

  “The cemetery,” I breathed and Xavier nodded.

  “I think so.”

  He turned to my brother and sister, who were looking dour. Gabriel’s ringed fingers tightened around his coffee mug.

  “I think you might be on to something,” he said.

  “Honestly, you’d think the boy might be a little more original,” Ivy snapped. “The cemetery indeed. Well, I suppose one of us is going to have to follow them there on Sunday.”

  “I will,” Gabriel said immediately, but Xavier shook his head.

  “That would be asking for a fight. Even I know you can’t just throw an angel and a demon together like that. I think I should go,” Xavier said.

  “It’s too dangerous,” I argued.

  “Beth, I’m not scared of them.”

  “You’re not scared of anything,” I shot back. “But maybe you should be.”

  “This is the only way,” he insisted.

  I looked up at my brother and sister.

  “Fine but if he’s going, I’m going with him.”

  “Neither of you are going anywhere,” Gabriel cut in. “If Jake were to turn on you with a group of others to support him . . .”

  “I’ll look after her,” Xavier said. He seemed offended by Gabe’s insinuation
that he wouldn’t be able to protect me. “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen.”

  Gabriel looked skeptical. “I don’t doubt your physical strength,” he said. “But . . .”

  “But what?” Xavier asked in a low voice. “I would lay down my life for her.”

  “I know you would, but you have no idea what you’re facing here.”

  “I have to protect Beth—”

  “Xavier.” Ivy put a hand on his arm, and I knew she was sending a soothing energy through his body. “Please listen to us. We don’t know what these people are . . . we don’t know how strong they are or what they’re capable of. From what we’ve seen so far, it’s likely they have no reservations about killing. Brave as you are, you are still only one human facing . . . only Our Father knows what.”

  “So what do you propose we do?”

  “I think we should do nothing until we’ve consulted a higher authority.” Gabriel’s face was expressionless. “I’ll make contact with the Covenant right away.”

  “There isn’t time for that!” I cried. “Molly could be in serious trouble.”

  “Our first concern is protecting the two of you!” The anger in Gabriel’s voice caused a hush to fall over the room. Nobody spoke until Ivy looked at us with sudden decisiveness.

  “Xavier, whatever we decide to do, you cannot go home this weekend,” she said. “It’s not safe. You must stay with us.”

  The scene at Xavier’s house wasn’t pretty. Gabriel and Ivy waited in the car while Xavier and I went inside to tell his parents he was staying with me for the weekend.

  Bernie glared at him when he broke the news. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.” She followed Xavier into his bedroom and stood in the doorway, hands on hips as he packed a bag. “You can’t go—we have plans for this weekend.”

  She seemed to have missed the part where he’d told her he was going rather than asked.

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” he said, striding around the room and throwing clothes and underwear into his sports bag, “but I have to go.”

  Bernie’s eyes widened. She threw me an accusatory look, evidently holding me responsible for her model son’s transformation. It was a shame because we’d been getting along so well. I wished there was a way we could tell her the truth, but there was no chance she would have understood that it was too dangerous to leave Xavier unprotected.