Ridley leaned against the doorframe. “Surprise, surprise!”
Gramma put her teacup down. She picked up her knitting. “Ridley. What a pleasure to see you, dear! Your new look is very becoming, darling. I’m sure you’ll have lots of gentlemen callers.” Gramma flashed Ridley an innocent smile, though her eyes weren’t smiling.
Ridley pouted, but continued sucking on her lollipop. I walked over to where she was standing. “How many licks does it take, Rid?”
“For what, Short Straw?”
“To get Savannah Snow and Emily Asher to throw a party for Lena?”
“More than you know, Boyfriend.” She stuck out her tongue at me, and I could see it was streaked with red and purple. The sight was dizzying.
Larkin sighed and looked past me. “There’re maybe a hundred kids out there, in the field. There’s a stage and speakers, cars all along the road.”
“Really?” Lena looked out the window. “There’s a stage in the middle of the magnolia trees.”
“My magnolia trees?” Macon was on his feet.
I knew the whole thing was a farce, that Ridley was bringing this party to life with every suggestive lick, and Lena knew it, too. But I could still see it in Lena’s eyes. There was a part of her that wanted to go out there.
A surprise party, where everyone in school shows up. That must have been on Lena’s regular-high-school-girl list too. She could deal with being a Caster. She was just tired of being an outcast.
Larkin looked at Macon. “You’re never gonna get them to leave. Let’s get this over with. I’ll stay with her the whole time, me or Ethan.”
Link pushed his way to the front of the crowd. “Dude, let’s go. My band, the Holy Rollers, it’s our Jackson High debut. It’s gonna be awesome.” Link was happier than I’d ever seen him before. I looked over at Ridley suspiciously. She shrugged, chewing on her lolly.
“We’re not going anywhere. Not tonight.” I couldn’t believe Link was here. His mother would have a heart attack if she ever found out.
Larkin looked at Macon, who was irritated, and Aunt Del, who was panicked. This was the last night either one of them wanted to let Lena out of their sight. “No.” Macon didn’t even consider it.
Larkin tried again. “Five minutes.”
“Absolutely not.”
“When’s the next time a bunch a people from her school are goin’ to throw her a party?”
Macon didn’t miss a beat. “Hopefully, never.”
Lena’s face fell. I was right. She wanted to be part of all this, even if it wasn’t real. It was like the dance, or the basketball game. It was the reason she bothered to go to school in the first place, no matter how horribly they treated her. It was why she showed up, day after day, even if she ate on the bleachers and sat on the Good-Eye Side. She was sixteen, Caster or not. For one night, that was all she wanted to be.
There was only one other person as stubborn as Macon Ravenwood. If I knew Lena, her uncle didn’t stand a chance, not tonight.
She walked over to Macon and looped her arm through his. “I know this sounds crazy, Uncle M, but can I go to the party, just for a little while? Just to hear Link’s band?” I watched for her hair to curl, the telltale Caster breeze. It didn’t move. This wasn’t Caster magic she was working. It was another kind altogether. She couldn’t charm her way out from under Macon’s watch. She would have to resort to older magic, stronger magic, the kind that had worked best on Macon from the time she first moved to Ravenwood. Plain old love.
“Why would you want to go anywhere with these people after everything they’ve put you through?” I could hear him softening as he spoke.
“Nothing’s changed. I don’t want anything to do with those girls, but I still want to go.”
“You’re not making sense.” Macon was frustrated.
“I know. And I know it’s stupid, but I just want to know what it feels like to be normal. I want to go to a dance without practically destroying it. I want to go to a party I’m actually invited to. I mean, I know it’s all Ridley, but is it wrong if I don’t care?” She looked up at him, biting on her lip.
“I can’t allow it, even if I wanted to. It’s too dangerous.”
They locked eyes. “Ethan and I never even got to dance, Uncle M. You said it yourself.”
For a second, it seemed like Macon might relent, but only for a second. “Here’s what I didn’t say. Get used to it. I never got to spend a day in any school, or even walk through town on a Sunday afternoon. We all have disappointments.”
Lena played her last card. “But it’s my birthday. Anything could happen. This might be my last chance…” The rest of the sentence lingered in the air.
To dance with my boyfriend. To be myself. To be happy.
She didn’t have to say it. We all knew.
“Lena, I understand how you feel, but it’s my responsibility to keep you safe. Especially tonight, you have to remain here with me. The Mortals will only put you in harm’s way, or bring you pain. You can’t be normal. You weren’t meant to be normal.” Macon had never spoken to Lena like this. I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the party, or me.
Lena’s eyes shone, but she didn’t cry. “Why not? What’s so wrong with wanting what they have? Did you ever stop to think they might have gotten something right?”
“What if they have? What does it matter? You’re a Natural. One day, you will go somewhere Ethan can never follow. And every minute you spend together now will only be a burden you will have to carry for the rest of your life.”
“He’s not a burden.”
“Oh, yes he is. He makes you weak, which makes him dangerous.”
“He makes me strong, which is only dangerous to you.”
I stepped between them. “Mr. Ravenwood, come on. Don’t do this tonight.”
But Macon had already done it. Lena was furious. “And what would you know about that? You’ve never been burdened with a relationship in your life, not even a friend. You don’t understand anything. How could you? You sleep in your room all day and mope around in your library all night. You hate everyone, and you think you’re better than everyone. If you’ve never really loved anyone, how could you possibly know how it feels to be me?”
She turned her back on Macon, on all of us, and ran up the staircase, with Boo trailing after her. Her bedroom door slammed, the sound echoing back down into the hall. Boo lay down in front of Lena’s door.
Macon stared after her, even though she was gone. Slowly, he turned to me. “I couldn’t allow it. I’m sure you understand.” I knew this was possibly the most dangerous night of Lena’s life, but I also knew it might be her last chance to be the girl we all loved. So I did understand. I just didn’t want to be in the same room with him right now.
Link edged his way to the front of the crowd of kids still standing in the hall. “So is there gonna be a party or not?”
Larkin grabbed his coat. “It’s already a party. Let’s get out there. We’ll celebrate for Lena.”
Emily pushed her way next to Larkin, and everyone else trailed after them. Ridley was still standing in the doorway. She looked at me and shrugged. “I tried.”
Link was waiting for me by the door. “Ethan, come on, man. Let’s go.”
I looked up the staircase.
Lena?
“I’m gonna stay here.”
Gramma put down her knitting. “I don’t know that she’ll be coming down anytime soon, Ethan. Why don’t you go with your friends and check in on her in a few minutes?” But I didn’t want to leave. This might be the last night we spent together. Even if we were spending it in Lena’s room, I still wanted to be with her.
“At least come out and hear my new song, man. Then you can come back and wait for her to come down.” Link had his drumsticks in his hand.
“I think that would be best.” Macon poured himself another scotch. “You can come back in a little while, but we have some things we need to discuss in the meantime.” It was decided. H
e was kicking me out.
“One song. Then I’m going to wait out front.” I looked at Macon. “For a little while.”
The field behind Ravenwood was crammed with people. There was a makeshift stage at one end, with portable lights, the same kind they used for the night portion of the Battle of Honey Hill. There was music blasting from the speakers, but it was hard to hear over the cannon fire in the distance.
I followed Link to the stage, where the Holy Rollers were setting up. There were three of them and they looked about thirty. The guy adjusting his guitar amp had tattoos covering both arms and what looked like a bike chain around his neck. The bass player had spiky black hair that matched the black makeup around his eyes. The third guy had so many piercings it hurt just looking at him. Ridley hopped up, sat on the edge of the stage, and waved at Link.
“Wait till you hear us. We rock. I just wish Lena was here.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint.” Lena walked up behind us and wrapped her arms around my waist. Her eyes were red and teary, but in the dark, she looked just like everyone else.
“What happened? Did your uncle change his mind?”
“Not exactly. But what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and I don’t care if it does. He’s being so awful tonight.” I didn’t say anything. I would never understand the relationship between Lena and Macon, any more than she could understand the relationship between Amma and me. But I knew she was going to feel terrible when this was all over. She couldn’t stand to hear anyone say anything bad about her uncle, not even me; for her to be the one saying it made it that much worse.
“Did you sneak out?”
“Yeah. Larkin helped me.” Larkin walked toward us, carrying a plastic cup. “You only turn sixteen once, right?”
This isn’t a good idea, L.
I just want one dance. Then we’ll go back.
Link headed for the stage. “I wrote you a song for your birthday, Lena. You’re gonna love it.”
“What’s it called?” I asked suspiciously.
“Sixteen Moons. Remember? That weird song you could never find on your iPod? It just popped into my head last week, all in one piece. Well, Rid helped a little.” He grinned. “I guess you could say, I had a muse.”
I was speechless. But Lena grabbed my hand, and Link grabbed the microphone, and there was no stopping him. He adjusted the microphone stand so that the mic was in front of his mouth. Well, to be honest, it was more like inside his mouth, and it was sort of gross. Link had watched a lot of MTV over at Earl’s. You had to hand it to him, since he was about to get rolled off the stage, holy or not. He was pretty brave, all things considered.
He closed his eyes, sitting behind the drums, sticks poised in the air. “One, two, three.”
The lead guitarist, the surly-looking guy wearing the bike chain, hit one note on his guitar. It sounded awful, and the amps began to whine on either side of the stage. I winced. This was not going to be pretty. And then he hit another note, and another.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, if there are any a either around.” Link raised an eyebrow and a ripple of laughter moved through the crowd. “I’d like to say Happy Birthday, Lena. And now, put your hands together for the world premiere of my new band, the Holy Rollers.”
Link winked at Ridley. The guy thought he was Mick Jagger. I felt bad for him, and grabbed Lena’s hand. It felt like I had plunged my hand into the lake, in the winter, when the top of the water was warm from the sun and an inch below that was pure ice. I shivered, but I wouldn’t let go. “I hope you’re ready for this. He’s going to go down in flames. We’ll be back in your room in five minutes. Promise.”
She stared up at him thoughtfully. “I’m not so sure about that.”
Ridley sat at the edge of the stage, smiling and waving like a groupie. Her hair was twisting in the breeze, pink and blond strands beginning to loop around her shoulders.
Then I heard the familiar melody, and Sixteen Moons was blasting out of the amps. Only this time, it wasn’t like one of the songs from Link’s demo tapes. They were good, really good. And the crowd went wild, like Jackson High was finally getting to have a dance after all. Only we were in a meadow, in the middle of Ravenwood, the most infamous and feared plantation in Gatlin County. The energy was amazing, surging like a rave. Everyone was dancing and half the people were singing, which was crazy, since nobody had ever even heard the song before. Even Lena had to crack a smile, and we began to sway with the crowd, because you really just couldn’t help it.
“They’re playing our song.” She found my hand.
“I was just thinking that.”
“I know.” She laced her fingers through mine, sending shivers through my body. “And they’re pretty good,” she said, shouting over the crowd.
“Good? They’re great! As in, the greatest day of Link’s life.” I mean, it was crazy, the whole thing. The Holy Rollers, Link, the party. Ridley bobbing on the edge of the stage, sucking on her Ridleypop. Not the craziest thing I’d seen today, but still.
So later, when Lena and I were dancing and five minutes came and went, and then twenty-five, and then fifty-five, neither one of us even noticed or cared. We were stopping time—at least that’s how it felt. We had one dance, but we had to make it last as long as we could, in case it was all we had.
Larkin was in no hurry. He was all tangled up with Emily, making out by the side of one of the bonfires someone had made out of old garbage cans. Emily was wearing Larkin’s jacket and every now and then he’d pull down the shoulder and lick her neck or something gross. He really was a snake.
“Larkin! She’s, like, sixteen,” Lena called over toward the fire from where we were dancing. Larkin stuck out his tongue, which rolled further down toward the ground than any Mortal’s could have.
Emily didn’t seem to notice. She untangled herself from Larkin, motioning to Savannah, who was dancing in a group with Charlotte and Eden behind her. “Come on, girls. Let’s give Lena her present.”
Savannah reached into her little silver bag and pulled out the little silver package that was sticking out of it, wrapped with silver ribbon. “It’s just a little somethin’.” Savannah held it out.
“Every girl should have one,” Emily was slurring.
“Metallic goes with everything.” Eden could barely stop herself from ripping off the paper herself.
“Just big enough for, like, your phone and your lip gloss.” Charlotte pushed it toward Lena. “Go on. Open it.”
Lena took the package in her hands, and smiled at them. “Savannah, Emily, Eden, Charlotte. You have absolutely no idea what this means to me.” The sarcasm was lost on them. I knew exactly what it was, and exactly what it meant to her.
Stupid to the power of stupid.
Lena couldn’t look me in the eye, or we both would have burst out laughing. As we made our way back into the crowd of dancers, Lena tossed the little silver package into the bonfire. The orange and yellow flames ate their way through the wrapping, until the tiny metallic purse was nothing but smoke and ash.
The Holy Rollers took a break, and Link came over to bask in the glory of his musical debut. “I told ya we were good. Just one step away from a contract.” Link elbowed me in the ribs like old times.
“You were right, man. You guys were great.” I had to give him that, even if he did have the lollipop on his side.
Savannah Snow sauntered up, most likely to burst Link’s bubble. “Hey, Link.” She batted her eyes suggestively.
“Hey, Savannah.”
“Do you think you could save me a dance?” It was unbelievable. She was standing there, staring at him like he was a real rock star.
“I just don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get one.” She gave him another Snow Queen smile. I felt like I was trapped in one of Link’s dreams, or Ridley’s.
Speak of the devil. “Hands off, Prom Queen. This is my Hot Rod.” Ridley draped her arm, and a few other key parts, around Link to make her point.
 
; “Sorry, Savannah. Maybe next time.” Link stuck his drumsticks in his back pocket and headed back onto the dance floor with Ridley and her R-rated dance moves. It must have been the greatest moment of his life. You would’ve thought it was his birthday.
After the song ended, he hopped back onto the stage. “We got one last song, written by a good friend a mine, for some very special people at Jackson High. You’ll know who you are.” The stage went dark. Link unzipped his hoodie, and the lights went up with the twang of the guitar. He was wearing a Jackson Angels T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, looking as ridiculous on Link as he intended it to. If only his mother could see him now.
He leaned into the microphone and began to do a little Casting of his own.
“Fallin’ angels all around me
Misery spreads misery
Your broken arrows are killin’ me.
Why can’t you see?
The thing you hate becomes your fate
Your destiny, Fallen Angel.”
Lena’s song, the one she wrote for Link.
As the music swelled, every card-carrying Angel swayed to the anthem targeted at them. Maybe it was all Ridley, and maybe it wasn’t. The thing is, by the time the song was over, and Link had tossed his winged T-shirt into the bonfire, it felt like a few more things were going up in flames along with it. Everything that had seemed so hard, so insurmountable for so long, just sort of went up in smoke.
Long after the Holy Rollers had stopped playing, even when Ridley and Link were nowhere to be found, Savannah and Emily were still being nice to Lena, and the whole basketball team was suddenly speaking to me again, I looked for some small sign, a lollipop, anywhere. The lone, telltale thread that could come loose to unravel the whole sweater.