see?” Anything to give me a hint of what I’m supposed to do?
I heard her bitter smile without seeing it. “Anywhere but here.”
* * *
School the rest of the day was a lost cause. I couldn’t concentrate in any of my classes, couldn’t think of anything at all except the coming night. I wasn’t so distracted that I didn’t notice Brian Kingston glaring at me in the halls, however, his two cronies at his back. Thankfully, he didn’t attempt a repeat of the day before. I felt a small, vindictive pleasure knowing I’d kicked his ass yesterday and gotten away with it, but it was never a good idea to tempt fate. At least now he knew that I couldn’t be abused like some stray dog, but knowing him, the next time I would be facing the entire football team.
I went home, surfed around online, attempted to do my homework and drove myself crazy glancing at my watch every three minutes, cursing it to go faster. When evening rolled around, I showered, changed into my “nicer” clothes—nonripped jeans and a shirt that didn’t scream “I’m a thug”—and flopped onto the living room couch with the TV on to wait out the last few minutes.
“I’m going out,” I announced when the clock finally hit five-thirty. Bouncing upright, I turned off the screen, not even remembering what I’d been watching. Mom wasn’t in the room, and I raised my voice to shout down the hall. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t wait up for me.”
“Ethan,” Mom called as I snatched my jacket from the back of the couch and headed for the door. Her face was suspicious as she came out of the kitchen, eyeing my clothes and the keys in my hand. “It’s not karate night, and hospital visiting hours are long past. Where are you going?”
I stifled a sigh. “I have a date,” I said simply.
Mom’s eyebrows shot up. “A date?” she repeated, like she couldn’t quite believe it.
“Yeah. With a real girl and everything.”
I expected her to ask where we were going or to at least warn me to be careful. But unexpectedly, a smile broke across her face, almost like she was...relieved. Relieved that I was acting like a normal teen, maybe. Or that—and I cringed at this thought—I was finally “making friends.” Whatever the reason, it was nice to see her happy with me for once, even though this wasn’t quite as normal as she thought.
“Where did you meet her?” Mom asked excitedly, and I stifled a groan. “At your new school? Do you have classes together? What’s her name?”
“Mom, I’m going to be late,” I said, backing away. “I’m picking her up now. Back before eleven.”
“Ethan.”
Impatient, I turned in the door frame. Now what?
Mom still wore that faint, relieved smile. “Midnight,” she said, shocking me. “Curfew is at midnight.”
I blinked, astonished, but I wasn’t going to question it. With a quick smile, I nodded and let the screen slam shut behind me.
Tonight was going to be normal, I told myself as I hopped into my truck. A normal evening with my girlfriend, no weirdness or craziness allowed. However, as I was pulling out of the driveway, I caught a hint of movement in my side-view mirror, a shadow moving through the trees behind my house. The silhouette of a tall, impossibly thin man paused in the space between trunks, glowing eyes fastened on me.
I stopped the truck, turning back to look, but there was nothing there anymore.
I muttered a curse. This was nothing new. I’d been seeing things move my whole life: silhouettes in the trees, shadows from the corners of my eyes, brief glimpses of things in mirrors, doorways and reflections. That was the world of the fey, and you either got used to it or you became a neurotic freak. I just wished they’d stop hanging around my house despite all the anti-fey charms I’d placed inside and around the property. And I really wished they would quit popping up at the worst possible times.
Whatever. I wasn’t going to worry about the fey tonight. They couldn’t get into the house, Mom wasn’t going anywhere, and Dad wouldn’t be home from work until early morning. Tonight, I had a date with Mackenzie St. James, and I wasn’t going to miss it. The damned fey could just go bother someone else for once.
Putting my truck into Drive, I shoved all thoughts of invisible pests from my mind and roared off down the street.
* * *
I cruised through an older, well-kept neighborhood, massive trees towering over either side of the road, until I found the right address.
“Are you kidding me?” I stared up the circular driveway, past the glowing fountain shooting plumes of water into the air, to the huge mansion at the top of the steps. I didn’t know much about houses, but this thing looked like a Victorian-era castle, with stone columns and a round turret soaring above a perfectly landscaped yard. “Yeah, that’s not intimidating at all.”
I felt weird parking my old truck behind the silver Audi in the driveway, and even more uncomfortable walking up the lighted path to the double doors looming at the top of the steps. This place probably had a ton of security and cameras, all fixed on me right now. I wondered if a security guard would automatically call the cops if he saw me edging up the walk, a lurking shadow definitely out of place.
The huge doors had a brass lion-head knocker and a doorbell, but I chose to just rap on the polished wood. A great, booming bark echoed from inside, making me wince. I suddenly had a vision of myself tearing across the lawn, two snarling Rottweilers on my heels.
Without so much as a squeak, one of the doors swung open. And there was Kenzie, grinning up at me. She wore tight black jeans, a green sweater, and the neon blue streaks in her hair had returned, brighter than before. She was beautiful, smiling and not lying in a stark hospital bed, pale and fragile. My stomach untwisted, muscles relaxing, as suddenly everything was fine.
Then a massive shaggy head pushed its way past her leg and lunged at me, and I leaped back with a yelp.
“Oh, Tiny. No.” Kenzie grabbed the thing’s collar, dragging it back inside. “Bad dog. Sit! Stay.”
The huge black animal panted and plopped into a sit. Kenzie turned back with a sheepish grin, raking bangs from her eyes. “Sorry ’bout that,” she said, maneuvering around the dog to pull the door shut. “He doesn’t bite. He’s just overfriendly. Most he’ll do is slobber on your pants. Newfies are good at that.”
“Yeah?” Seeing her like this, bright and bouncy and back to normal, awakened something inside me. This was the Kenzie I knew, the girl who had gone into the Nevernever with me, who’d seen my screwed-up world for what it really was and hadn’t left. I had the impulse to pull her into my arms and kiss her until we were both breathless, but I didn’t want to do that here, on her doorstep, while any number of cameras could be pointed at us. I wondered if her dad would make good on his threats if he saw me later on the security footage.
“Ready to go?” I asked instead, and she nodded vigorously.
“God, yes. Get me out of here. Between my stepmom’s hovering and Alex being extra clingy, I need the air.”
We hurried down the driveway. I kept a close eye on the gate, half expecting Kenzie’s father to pull in at any moment. For once, luck was on my side and the drive remained empty, though
