Afterlife (33 page)

“Awesome,” Vic said, and he and Maxie shared a quick look
before she ducked her head, which hid her smile.

Patrice nodded. “So, once the traps are emptied, we destroy
them. That’s not easy, though, given that adds up to, like, a couple hundred
pounds of metal.”

“A great cataclysmic force will be required,” Ranulf said.
“I shall handle the explosives.”

“Whoa, there, cowboy,” Lucas cut in. “We don’t have to break
them down to atoms. All we have to do is make them useless as traps. Mrs.
Bethany can’t have an infinite supply of these things.”

My father said, “Our bigger issue is the magical element within
the traps. I don’t know much about that — I don’t think any of us here does — but
it’s not as simple as demolishing scrap metal. I should be able to come up with
a chemical solution that will work, but the results will still
be .
..
how
did you put it, Maxie?”

“Fireworks,” she replied.

“I do not see how this is different than explosives,” Ranulf
said.

That won a round of laughter, and then people began talking
animate — dly about the plan and our chances of success. For some reason, it
hit me then how extraordinary it was that these people had come together. The
only obvious thing they had in common was that they each knew me, but they
weren ‘t here for me — at least not only.
or
not
mostly for me. They were here because they’d learned to look past their old
prejudices and fears and see each other for who they were. Maxie’s willingness
to engage again with the living world, the vampires’ acceptance of wraiths and
humans as their equals and allies, Lucas taking what was good from his Black
Cross training and leaving behind what was bad, Vic’s ability to deal with the
supernatural world as easily as the natural one — that was what bonded us now.

For a moment, our plan seemed easy. If we’d managed to come
together like this, surely we could do anything.

“HOW DOES A TOWN THE SIZE OF RIVERTON KEEP a classic movie
house going?” Lucas said, standing before the red — and — gold blinking lights
of the marquee.

“It’s a very small town with very good taste,” I whispered
into his ear.

Behind us, in the town square, the charter bus from Evemight
Academy was emptying out the last students who had come along to Riverton
fewer than before, due to fears of “gang violence.” There Wasn’t much to the
city — a pizza place, a diner, a couple of vintage shops, and this amazing
movie theater. This week, they were showing An Affair to Remember, my favorite
Cary Grant movie ever. It made me wish we’d actually come here to see the film.

Lucas had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.
In one of those pockets was my jet brooch, but I didn’t think he was checking
to make sure he had it. He looked more like he was attempting to stay calm.

“You’re nervous,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Dana was
right about 13lack Cross not coming here again, right?”

“That sounds right. But, yeah, I’m nervous anyway. Can you
blame me
?
”

He still had trouble believing that Dana would accept him as
a vampire. Maybe he still doubted that he would be able to keep himself from
attacking her. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Lucas bought a single movie ticket, and I floated invisibly
in along with him. He half grinned as we went up the steps to the balcony. “Can’t
say you’re not a cheap date.”

“Shut up, or I’ll make you buy me dinner after.”

“You don’t even eat!”

“Doesn’t matter.”

We took our seats just as the film began, with loopy cursive
text for the credits and the lush theme song. Although there were other viewers
on the bottom floor, we were alone in the balcony, so I went ahead and
materialized; Lucas pressed my jet brooch into my hand, so that the process
became effortless for me. I pinned the brooch to my camisole, and Lucas offered
me his coat, so it Wouldn’t be totally obvious that the girl he was sitting
next 212 to was wearing pajamas.

I felt weird being away from the school when so much was
going on. My parents were keeping tabs on Mrs. Bethany; if she left tonight,
they would have to find out how long she’d be gone, and if not, they’d have to
come up with a way to get her to go, at least for a day. Meanwhile, everyone
else was smuggling the traps to the Great Hall, preparing for tomorrow night’s
efforts. Going to a movie — one of my all — time favorites — felt a little like
playing hooky.

Enjoy it, I told myself. Everything’s about to change.

As Vic Damone crooned about a love affair, a couple of other
people edged their way onto the balcony and sat by us: Raquel next to me, and
Dana on the other side, next to Lucas. “I got popcorn,” Raquel said.

The two of us grinned at each other, and for a moment it was
like nothing had ever happened — no, I corrected myself, it happened. And we
got through it anyway.

Next to us, Dana and Lucas didn’t seem to be able to find
words. Lucas leaned back in his seat, as though he were exhausted and couldn’t go
any further; despite the darkness in the theater. I could see that Dana’s eyes
were filling with tears.

She took his hand in hers, and I remembered what a shock it
had been to me the first time I touched Lucas when he had no warmth, no pulse.
He had always been the most alive person I’d ever known. No matter how many
powers and abilities he now had as a vampire, there was no forgetting what he’d
lost.

“Little brother, what happened to you?” Her voice shook.

“I keep thinking it’s a bad dream,” Lucas said. “But there’s
no waking up. Not from this.”

“And yet — You’re still you,” Dana said.

Lucas sighed. “More or less me.”

“They never told us that, in Black Cross.” Dana wiped at her
cheeks with the back of her free hand. “How come they never told us that?”

He turned his face toward the movie screen, where Cary Grant
was striding along the deck of an ocean liner. I could tell he didn’t care
about the 213 movie; he was fighting to remain steady. “Mom always said that,
if she got turned, I should forget I’d ever had a mother. I guess she forgot
she ever had a son, huh?”

Raquel put her hand to her mouth. That small gesture — compassion
for a vampire — told me how much she, too, had changed. “It’s okay,” Lucas
said, before he corrected himself. “It’s not okay. But it’s over.”

Dana swaddled Lucas in a bear hug, just as the soundtrack
swelled. “I’ve always got your back, Lucas. You know that, right?”

“That’s good to hear, “I said, “because we need your help.”

While Deborah Kerr flirted with Cary onscreen, I explained
what we were trying to do. Neither Dana nor Raquel hesitated for a second. “We
can get you guys out,” Raquel said. “And we’ll take you wherever you want to
go.”

“Black Cross taught me how to fake IDs nobody will ever
catch,” Dana promised. “We can get you guys clear and free, for whatever you
want to do next. What is that, exactly?”

Lucas and I looked at one another. We didn’t have an answer.

After the pause had stretched for a few seconds, Dana said,
“Y’all can make up your mind about that later. Tell the others to expect us,
okay?”

“And tell Balthazar
— ”
Raquel had
trouble saying this, but she managed. “Tell him I should ‘ve done more, when I
saw him last. I should have helped him out.
like
you
guys did.”

“He’ll be okay,” I promised. “But tell him that yow·self,
okay? Balthazar would probably like to hear it.”

Raquel nodded. “We should go. If anybody who was at
Evernight last year sees me, there could be questions.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“You don’t have to thank me,” she said flrmly. We smiled at
each other, and it felt so good to know we’d found our way back to being
friends.

Once they’d gone, Lucas and I remained in the movie theater,
watching the story unfold. Normally that would’ve been because there was no way
214 I would walk out of a Cary Grant movie. But this time, I felt as though the
unanswered questions between us were weighing us down, so we were held in
place.

Finally I said, “Where do you want to go after Evernight?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Never spent much time out west.
Maybe we could try that.”

“Or Europe,” I suggested. “Balthazar says it’s actually
easier to cross a large body of water than a river.” Lucas grimaced; the trip
over the river on the way into town had shaken him. ‘If he says so.”

On screen, Cary and Deborah promised to meet one another at
the top of the Empire State Building if their love held true. I took Lucas’s
hands in mine. “I know it’s scary — going to a new place
— ”

“I’m not scared of that. I never lived more than a few
months in any one place — not once in my whole life. But what are we going to
do
?
We couldn’t support ourselves in Philly, and that
was when you could work, too.”

I hadn’t thought about it before, but being a ghost pretty
much eliminated my chances of getting a job. “Mom and Dad will help us this
time. They’ve got plenty, and besides, they know how to fit into the world.
They’ll teach you. We don’t have to worry about that.”

Lucas didn’t like the thought of borrowing yet more money, I
could tell, but that obviously wasn’t our biggest problem. “Sitting here,
between Dana and Raquel — 1could hear their heartbeats.”

“You’ll get past the hunger. I know you will. Look at
Balthazar, or my parents, or Ranulf.”

“It’s harder for me, and we both know it. And if I haven ‘t
gotten any better at this after a couple months at Evernight, there’s not much
chance I ever will.”

“You’re not crazy. You’ll never be a killer like Charity.”

“If I kill even once — if I ever slip, and God, Bianca, I
just know in my heart I’m gonna slip — I’d rather be dead.”

“No,” I insisted, taking his face in my hands. “Lucas, I’ll
always be here. I’ll never leave you. You have to promise not to leave me
behind. You 215 have to be strong.”

Lucas’s eyes met mine, and I knew he was making me a more
solemn promise than he ever had before. ““ll never leave you behind. Never.
Whatever happens, we’re together.”

That should have made me happy, because I knew how deeply
Lucas meant it. But instead, I realized what I’d demanded of him. He hated
being a vampire, and suffered from such powerful blood hunger that it ground
him down, every day, every moment. For him, going on like this was torture; our
love for each other could only provide temporary comfort. He’d sworn to endure
countless centuries of that existence rather than leave me alone. I could get
Lucas to carry on, but he would never be right again. Nothing would ever really
be right again. Our last shot at true happiness had died when Charity changed
him.

I hugged him tightly, and he returned the embrace. His voice
muffled against my shoulder, he said, “I wish she’d never showed me. It’s
worse, knowing there’s a way out I can never take.”

Mrs. Bethany had shown him how to live again. She’d wanted
to win him to her side, but she ‘d realized the other side, too — that if he
turned her down, he’d be tormented by the possibilities forever.

I tried to tell myself that it would be okay, as long as we
were together, but the world wasn’t that simple. I knew that now.

On the movie screen, Deborah Kerr was trying to reach the
Empire State Building, but I’d seen the movie before. I knew she didn’t make
it.

 That night, I’d planned to enter Lucas’s dreams again.
With Charity permanently exiled from his mind, it was finally safe for us to be
together there. But, weighted with guilt from the night’s realizations, I felt
as if I couldn’t face him yet. I drifted through the hallways, restless. For
the first time, I really felt like a ghost.

I should put a sheet over my head, I thought. Start going
“Boo!” eve.ry time I see someone. I could haunt the girl’s dorm, or the great
hall — And then it hit me. If our plan worked the way we wanted it to, this was
the last night I would ever spend at Evernight Academy.E Despite every terrible
thing that had happened here, I realized, I loved so much about this place. I
couldn’t imagine what it would be like never to be here again. This school had
become a part of me — literally, now that I was a wraith. I had bonded to the
very stones of this place. Even when I left forever, part of Evernight would
always be able to draw me back.

So I went to all the places I remembered, hearing words
spoken long ago, seeing everyone as we had been then. Raquel, on her first day
here, scowling in the back of the great hall while Mrs. Bethany gave the
welcoming speech. Balthazar, learning how to take pictures with a cell phone in
Modern Technology class. Vic and Ranulf, stargazing with me out on the grounds.
Patrice, braiding my hair for my first — ever date. Courtney, gossiping in the
stairwell. Mom and Dad, smiling at me as we passed each other in the hallways
between classes. And everywhere, Lucas: whispering to me in the library,
running to rescue me after the fire last year, kissing me for the first time at
the gazebo.

But thinking of Lucas reminded me of the dilemma before him.

How can I ask him to face immortality, when it’s the last
thing he ever wanted?

I decided that I needed to be solid for a while. Often it
made me feel steadier about things, and there was just something comforting
about being able to hug yourself. So I drifted up to the records room and began
to take shape.

By that time of night, everyone else was in bed, so the
records room was deserted.The traps had all been moved to the lower levels of
the school, hidden in trunks; the room was just our hangout once more. Patrice’s
German textbooks lay in the center of the beanbag chair, and Vic had left
behind one of his hula — girl ties. Smiling slightly, I removed the brick in
the wall where we’d hidden my coral bracelet — And a sick, horrible tidal pull
seized me.