“Hey,” Lucas said with a weak smile. “Is he okay? He’s not going to hurt me, is he?”
I laughed. “No, he’s harmless… well, usually.” I hoped. Lucas was dressed in jeans with a tucked-in pale blue shirt. He looked nice, but unusually preppy. Not clothes I would have expected him to wear, after his rumpled, dingy look at the party the night before. “This is for you,” he said, handing me a shopping bag with vegetables sticking out of the top.
“Thanks.” I shut the door and turned toward the kitchen. Lucas followed after Neal reprimanded him for not carrying the grocery tote for me. I couldn’t help but snicker to myself at Lucas’ lack of manners. Then again, I wasn’t sure Matt would have carried it, either.
Lucas helped me unpack the groceries, while Aunt Barb put the flowers in a vase and Neal opened the bottle of wine. Chester stayed beside me. He was unusually clingy. Every time I tried to shake him off, he sat down with a deep sigh as if I bored him.
“Did you want something to drink?” I asked Lucas. “Barb’s got Coke, Diet Coke, water, lemonade, or green tea.”
“That’s all?” he asked with a smirk.
“I know, right?” I laughed, but when he didn’t answer, I continued. “There’s also orange juice, grapefruit juice, tomato juice, coffee, or milk. Which do you prefer?”
He smiled and took a seat at the island snack bar. “Coke is fine.”
“After that whole list, you pick the first thing I offered?” I teased, handing him a can of soda. I wondered if Lucas was hungover.
We sat at the island, while my aunt washed vegetables and Neal seasoned the steaks. They talked between themselves, mostly, including us only on occasion. Aunt Barb asked if Lucas liked mushrooms, and Neal wanted to know how I liked my steak prepared.
They interacted like my parents did when I was little. Just as thoughts of my past surfaced, Lucas nudged me. I looked up to see Neal feeding my aunt a taste of something he called demi-glaze.
“Want to try?” Neal held the wooden spoon toward me, as my aunt complimented him.
“No thanks,” I answered. He looked at Lucas, who just waved him off.
When Neal and my aunt had their backs to us, Lucas rolled his eyes. It was the icebreaker that got us talking. He asked if I liked school and where I moved from. We talked about Lewis and Jet Skiing on Lake Bell. When he asked if I was still dating Matt, I answered, and then quickly changed the subject. Lucas admitted he and Stephanie broke up, too.
By the time dinner was ready, I liked him. Not the same way I liked Ben, but Lucas was nice and easy to talk to. He was completely different from the drunk, stoned guy I saw the night before.
Lucas sat across from me at the table. He had pale gray eyes and a lean build. It was almost opposite of Neal’s dark features and broad shoulders. The only common characteristic I noticed was their square chin. I wondered if Lucas looked like his mother.
Neal grilled the steaks to perfection. Lucas seemed pleased with his and dug in like it was the first meal he had in ages. I wasn’t very hungry and found myself full before I barely started. I pushed food around on my plate, as the conversation flowed between questions about school and classes Lucas and I had together.
“I’ll clean up the dishes, and then serve dessert,” Aunt Barb said after everyone finished.
“No, I’ll do it,” I answered, anxious to get away from what seemed like formal conversation compared to before. Even though Neal was pleasant, he didn’t seem like himself with Lucas around.
I loaded the dishwasher, while Lucas cleared the table.
“Are you going to Trent’s later?” he asked.
“Umm… I don’t think so.” I actually wasn’t invited.
Lucas was silent for a minute, and then said, “You can if you want. We can go together.”
“Uh… Who’s going? Anyone else I know?”
“TJ. Probably Hannah and Justin. I’m not sure. It’ll be a small group,” he said. “Don’t worry; I won’t leave you.”
I laughed. “I wasn’t worried about that,” I lied. Although, I should be concerned he couldn’t drive me home afterward.
“And I won’t get drunk or stoned,” he said with a brilliant smile. “Scout’s honor.”
“You were a Boy Scout?”
He shook his head and looked away. “Not a chance. I just heard the expression on television and thought it would impress you.”
I chuckled. He was definitely a different person from the gross guy I talked with before. Instead, he resembled the almost-charming guy I met in history class three days earlier.
Chapter 51
Ben's Story
I was on the trail of a hybrid scent.
The pungent smell was one I couldn’t forget. Sort of like that distinct odor marijuana had. Once your nostrils tasted it, you would always remember it, no matter what. When the scent arose again, your mind would take you back to that first time you smelled it. Like the scent of a new car bringing back the memory of your first purchase. Or the smell of autumn leaves reminding you of your first kiss.
I trailed him for hours, since late afternoon when I knew Emma was at home with her aunt. Of course, when I realized they invited Lucas for dinner, I put Claire on surveillance duty.
At first, I scoured the countryside, looking for buildings and silos that resembled the images in the hybrid’s memory. Some looked familiar, but most were dead ends. I stumbled upon the sweet odor by accident in a cornfield. The scent alone would not alarm humans. They would find its aroma pleasing.
Immortals have a keener sense of smell, and the gentle cotton candy fragrance was much more pungent to us. Each hybrid had a unique perfume, yet all had the same sickly sweet foundation. It was their aftertaste, the bitter bite of green apple in our nostrils that sets hybrids apart.
I followed the trail from barn to barn, from one farm to the next, each with increasing depth of the odor. Some buildings were a conundrum of smells; a gathering place of numerous hybrids, I guessed. I wondered if Victor created a dormant army. And if he did, why?
Immortals gave off a presence. The soundless, scentless energy of their existence was overlooked by humans and most others of my kind. With years of undercover work on earth, I trained myself to sense them and pinpoint their location. It was like noticing a speck of dust on a radar screen, paying attention to it and recognizing what it really was. Most immortals would overlook it, assuming the speck was just dust.
When immortals left a building, a trail remained, similar to the exhaust from an airplane that humans could see in the sky long after the jet flew away. The difference was that the exhaust from an immortal was invisible to humans.
I felt a lingering presence in the last barn I visited. I was grateful Molly willingly stayed behind on my reconnaissance task. At first, she argued, but she knew it was best for me to go alone.
The presence led from the barn through rolling hills and a cow pasture to Summit Road, to a farm owned by the Kensington family in the town of Mosel. It was a small farm with no animals and few crops. The weathered, two-story house was across the road from the barn, perched on a hill.
It was the eighth farm I visited that day.
The barn had white, chipped-paint walls that were dirty and damaged. Many boards were missing and those that remained hung by a single nail. A short silo to the east of the barn provided the shelter I needed to propel. My body remained frozen, hidden from view by the overgrown, leafy brush surrounding the building. When I propelled above the barn, I realized a portion of the right side of the roof was missing. Moonlight came through the gaping hole, but around noon, I guessed the sunlight would brighten the barn like I saw in the hybrid’s memory. The scent of multiple hybrids overwhelmed the air. Some were fresh, while other sour smells were much older. I scanned the property’s interior before committing my body to enter. I couldn’t tell if there was a portal inside and if danger lurked, I’d be trapped without one.
Portals weren’t hard to find. They were located prac
tically everywhere. It was just a matter of looking for them. Any building over a hundred years old had a portal. Most were in the cellar, or the attic. Humans couldn’t see where two planes intersected, the wavering line we called portals. They only saw what we wanted them to see.
The west end of the barn was poorly lit and had a loft with messy stalls beneath it. The barn was home to horses, years before. I could sense the remains of their presence even though they transitioned. Their lingering energy directed me to a portal in the loft, in the corner where old hay was stacked, as if hiding the entrance to my world.
As I shifted my spirit closer to the portal, I heard a sound that resembled a twig breaking under the weight of a human foot. It took a fraction of a second to realize my human body was about to be discovered.
Chapter 52
Emma's Story
“I’m warning you. One more slip and I’ll send you to boarding school.”
Neal’s voice was firm and elevated. I caught a glimpse of Lucas’ nod as I descended the stairs. I was afraid to join them in the living room below, but as Aunt Barb heard my footsteps, she cleared her throat. The look on Neal’s face was stern, not like the compassion I’d seen from him before.
“You look great,” she said, giving me a quick hug.
Great? I had put on a sweater and jeans.
Neal smiled, as if that could erase the anger I saw in his face moments before. “Lucas was just promising to have you home early tonight. Isn’t that right, Lucas?” Neal asked.
“Yes, sir,” he answered. What was I getting myself into?
I gave my best fake smile and headed out the side door to the driveway. Chester tried to follow me, but I heard my aunt scold him and shut the door.
“Sorry about my dad,” Lucas said as we crossed the street. “He gets like that once in a while.”
“It’s okay,” I answered. “Parents can be like that… I guess.”
Lucas sighed and then said, “I should consider myself lucky to have parents to yell at me, right?”
“I didn’t say that.” Of course, the thought had crossed my mind.
He led me to a red pickup truck with orange flames painted on the side. Twin exhaust pipes rose from the bed behind the cab. “Sometimes it sticks,” Lucas explained as he opened the passenger door. He didn’t wait for me to climb in. Instead, he went to the driver’s side and had the engine started by the time I closed the door.
“Nice truck,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. It was definitely unique. Nothing like it roamed the streets of Highland Park.
“It’s Ray’s, actually.”
“Who’s Ray?”
“Char… I mean, my mom’s husband,” Lucas answered. “He owns a used car lot.”
The truck spewed exhaust and rumbled, as Lucas pulled away from the curb. We bounced through a neighborhood of old-fashioned mansion-looking houses before turning left, and then right, where the homes were smaller. When Lucas slowed in front of a brown brick house, he pointed. “That’s where my dad lives,” he said.
“Oh. Justin said Neal lived nearby. But you live with your mom, right?”
“Yup. In Riverside.”
He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t feel right asking any questions as we drove in silence. He pointed out Justin’s house a block away before circling back to North Avenue and heading west like we were going to Lake Bell.
“Where exactly does Trent live?” I asked after he turned on an unfamiliar road.
“In the country.”
The drive seemed long, and the silence between us was awkward at times. I was grateful when Claire texted me. She told me she was bored at home and asked what I was up to. When I told her where Lucas and I were going, she buzzed back with a “What?” followed quickly by a “With Lucas?” text.
I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. After all, Lucas and I were just friends but, when I suggested she meet us there, I realized it wasn’t my place to extend an invitation. I thought Claire maybe felt the same because she didn’t seem to like the idea, texting, “Yeah, maybe.”
***
At the end of a long, wooded road, Lucas parked behind a beige sedan and shut off the engine. “Come on.”
I followed him down the poorly lit driveway, hoping I wouldn’t trip over anything. The moonlight that brightened the road suddenly diminished under the canopy of dense trees that separated the road from Trent’s house.
“It’s kind of creepy out here,” I said.
“I told you. We’re in the country, City Girl,” Lucas said with laughter in his voice.
He kept the same pace we had in the road, despite the minimally visible asphalt. I barely trusted it was sturdy, as I took each step trying to keep up with his pace.
“Do I hear running water?” I asked when we reached the entrance.
“There’s a river out back. Well, actually, it’s a creek, I guess. Mosel Creek.” He opened the unlocked door and let us in without knocking or ringing the doorbell. I couldn’t imagine leaving your house unlocked. Then again, Melissa and I were best friends since forever and I’d never walk into her house, either. Living in Wisconsin was definitely different from what I was used to.
“If you want to, that is,” Lucas said, his eyes focused on mine.
“Huh?”
“Go with me. Canoeing.”
“Oh, yeah,” I answered quickly, hoping he didn’t realize I wasn’t paying attention.
After a wicked smile flashed on his face, it dawned on me that he didn’t ask because he wanted to be friends. I followed Lucas through the dimly lit first floor and down a set of stairs. When we reached the lower-level family room, a tall, blonde-haired girl jumped up to greet Lucas. As I stepped beside him, Lucas put a gentle hand on my back, and the girl’s enthusiasm deflated.
“Stephanie, this is Emma.”
“Hi Stephanie,” I answered, stepping forward so Lucas was no longer touching me.
She mumbled a hello and retreated to her spot on the couch next to TJ.
The Badger game was a tie with seven minutes left in the first quarter and we had the ball. Lucas was right. There were only a handful of people there. The guys didn’t get up to greet us. TJ and Justin waved hello, but Drew and Trent were intently watching the play and making comments that peaked Lucas’ interest. He joined them on the couch, as Hannah crawled over Justin and ran toward me. She gave me a welcome hug and whispered in my ear, “Oh-my-god, I’m so glad you’re here. You came with Lucas? What’s up with that?”
“Nothing. We just had dinner with my aunt and Neal, that’s all.”
She gave me a peculiar look, as if gauging the truthfulness in my comment. When it appeared she believed me, she said, “Steph’s been waiting for him. She’s probably pissed he came with you.”
I didn’t know Stephanie, but anyone could tell she was mad.
When a commercial came on, Trent offered Lucas and me beer. Before I could answer, Lucas said, “No thanks, man. Not tonight.” He glanced in my direction and added, “You want one? You can drink, I’m driving.”
I shook my head, shocked. “No, I’m good.”
“Hannah, want something while I’m up?” Trent asked as he walked passed us to a small kitchen area tucked behind the stairs.
“Diet Coke,” she answered. “I drank too much last night.”
I looked around the room and realized only TJ was drinking beer. Everyone else had soda or water. It was a bit of a relief. As I glanced at Stephanie, she yelled, “Trent, can you mix up something for me?”
“Sure. Like what?”
“Surprise me. And make it strong,” she added.
I felt her piercing eyes on me briefly, but when I looked in her direction, she turned away.
Chapter 53
Ben's Story
“What are you doing here?” I snapped at Claire in a low tone.
“I called you…”
“Shhh.”
I called you, but you didn’t answer me. What was I suppos
ed to do? Claire spoke in thought.
Sorry. I was shielded. I was in pursuit… still am, I answered, realizing how stupid that was of me, not letting a rookie through my barrier. Would Molly have reached out to me? The mention of her name in thought brought a quick response from her, and I knew she was okay. I should have known. Her screeching voice would surely pierce any barrier I had in place, if she really needed me. What did you need, Claire?
She mumbled a thought about Emma, and my heart raced. What do you mean—she’s at Trent’s house with Lucas? I asked. Then why are you here?
Because, I… ah…
Claire, I can’t leave. I’m on the trail of something… a hybrid and something else… an immortal, I think.
Victor?
I don’t know for sure. Not yet. But I can’t leave right now, I answered. You need to handle this, I added.
Her thoughts turned to Molly, who joined the mental conversation.
Absolutely not. I won’t let Molly take this assignment, either, I interjected their discussion. I thought it might be a trap, but I shielded them both from my concern.
What then? Claire asked.
You need to handle this. I don’t trust Lucas. You know that. That’s why you were on call tonight. You need to be there.
How am I supposed to get invited to Trent’s? Claire asked. I sensed a twinge of panic in her tone.
Molly began to think a snide comment, but I cut her off. Claire, you’re immortal. You have the ability to compel humans.
But we were taught never to use that power, she answered. There would be consequences.
Unless it’s the only justifiable course of action, or your director authorizes it. Either way, it’s acceptable in this situation, I answered, continuing to ignore Molly’s negative thoughts. With Victor back in the picture, she had less patience for rookies than ever before.
Claire was silent. She knew Molly was displeased. Not that they didn’t get along, just that Claire understood her rank in comparison to Molly’s. In other words, Claire was streetwise and knew when to keep quiet.
After a deep, cleansing breath, I released my shield and allowed Molly back into the conversation. Then, I calmly asked, How did you find out what Emma was doing tonight? Did you propel to her house?
No, I haven’t solo propelled.