Enticed (6 page)

Dad was flying out to visit his international clients. He goes on the same trip every year, which is almost more flying than anything else, travelling from Tokyo to Dubai to Paris. It used to take about three weeks but he"d gradually been scaling back. Last year, he was home in a record ten days. This year, he"d managed to schedule the trip into one week.

Given the chance, Dad would prefer to remain locked in his office where he can actually keep the rest of the world away, but certain clients insist on face-to-face dealings.

„I"m not, but just in case I get caught up in work I …"

I nodded. He didn"t need to say any more.

„So," he said, changing the subject and putting on his responsible parent voice.

I wondered if maybe he had heard me sneaking in this morning, or noticed I wasn"t in bed last night. I glanced at him watching my hands as they gripped the frothing milk jug. I double-checked that the markings on my wrists were covered properly by the silver bracelets which were now a permanent fixture. I stil didn"t know why I had the new improved version compared to the leather wristbands all other Grigori received. My markings were wrapped around my wrist in a swirl of silver, like a tattoo or something, and when I used my power the reacted, churning like a river of mercury, reflecting different colours. Steph says I"m my own walking mirror-bal and swears one night she"l talk me into putting them to the disco test.

I won"t.

„We should probably run through the house rules."

„Oh. Sure," I said, letting out a breath of relief that also held some disappointment.

„Same as always, real y," he went on. „If you have any trouble, go next door. I"ve told the Richardsons that I"m going to be away and they"ve given you an open invitation for dinner and to come and see them if you need anything. I"l call you every night. At different times,"

he gave me the,
I was a teenager once, too
look, „on the home phone and no overnight guests other than Steph. I"l be checking with the doorman. Okay?"

I gave Dad a military nod. „Yes, sir."

„Very funny. Just look after yourself."

But actually it was funny. It was going to be harder to do whatever I wanted while he was away than when he was at home.

Yeah, we"re a totally functional family.

„I always do," I said, finishing the longest conversation I"d had with Dad in about three weeks. He didn"t even realise, of course, which made it even harder. I wanted to be mad with him, tell him to pay attention, but I knew deep down, now that I was a Grigori, it was for the best.

-

The airport was packed with early-morning travellers.

Who"d want to go anywhere at this time of day?

All I wanted was to crawl back into my bed and pass out for a week, maybe more.

At least Lincoln will be here.

I looked at the information screen. The flight in from JFK had already landed. I headed towards the arrivals area, keeping an eye out for Lincoln, but there were too many people. In the end, I gave up and just looked for our link. Our bond as partners. I can always feel him when I try. It"s like searching out something that shines brighter than anything else.

But before I had a chance to zero in on Lincoln, I got a kind of flash of the whole airport. It reminded me of looking at one of Dad"s blueprints, but instead it was driven by the senses.

Somehow the shades of morning and evening were drawing me a map and then a buzzing energy focused in on some areas. It was just a glimpse and I didn"t have any idea how I did it
or
how to do it again. The strangest part was, I sensed something that I couldn"t put my finger on. The taste of apple was there but it was faint, more like a memory stimulating the flavour. I smelled flavours, but again they seemed distant. It felt like an exile, or exiles, but it also made me feel numb, like my insides had gone to sleep. I had no clue what it meant.

Maybe that I"m seriously not getting enough sleep.

I pushed my senses aside, unable to draw any rational conclusion. I found Lincoln quickly after that – could feel him – and started in his direction.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. I should have guessed – he was buying coffees.

„Good morning," he chirped, passing me a fresh cup as soon as the barista had put them on the counter. He looked exactly like the man of your dreams is supposed to look first thing in the morning. White shirt, sleeves rolled up neatly, blue jeans, faded just enough. His light brown hair was ruffled, the streaks of sun-bleached blond haphazardly thrown about. The only noticeable sign of a particularly early morning was that he hadn"t shaved yet. I had to work hard not to stare wide-eyed and was grateful for my hot drink keeping my hands firmly engaged, preventing me from reaching out to touch the stubble, which made the perfect accessory.

„Good timing," I said, my voiced tell-tale catchy. „Are they here yet?"

„Just getting their bags. Should be out in a few minutes." He put his hand on the curve of my lower back, guiding me closer to the arrival gates.

Just breathe, you idiot.

But the problem was every touch, every moment with Lincoln was so intensified that his hand on the small of my back was all I could concentrate on.

Which is probably exactly why Grigori are never meant to be together!

„Hey, do you know if there have been any exiles returned around here lately?" I asked after we took up a spot near a side wall.

His eyebrows lifted. „No, not that I know of – but that doesn"t mean they haven"t. why?" He started looking around, unsure if he should be on the alert.

„It"s probably nothing – I just feel a bit off this morning," I reassured him as I leaned against the wall and blew on my scalding coffee. I hate it when they make them too hot. I slumped a little as I let my head hang back and decided to wait until we were outside the airport. Then I would try again to see what I could sense.

„Not much sleep?" Lincoln asked.

„No. You?"

„Enough." He shrugged.

I stood up straighter. I wasn"t going to come off as a whimp – if he could be tough, so could I.

„Where"s Griffin?" I asked, ignoring the smirk he was giving me.

„Right there." He pointed through the crowd and sure enough, Griffin was walking towards us.

„Good morning," Griffin said, narrowly avoiding two peroxide-blonde girls manoeuvring backpacks that were bigger than them. I couldn"t hold back the giggle when one of them spun around and he had to duck.

Griffin gave them a foul look before redirecting his attention to me. „I hear you had an unexpected end to last night."

„Yeah, did Linc tell you about Onyx?"

„Yes and I"m amazed he"s resurfaced. I"l give it some thought. Maybe we can get him to a halfway house or something."

„What do you normally do?" I asked, blowing through the little mouth-piece on the lid of my takeaway cup. There must be some kind of plan in place for these things.

„Violet," Griffin said, raising his eyebrows, „Onyx is the first exile I know who has become human and then resurfaced."

„What? I … I don"t understand. Surely others have chosen to be made human along the way?"

He just gave his head a little shake. „There have been a few, by they never reappear afterwards. We"l talk about it later. Your new tutors should be out in a minute and I need to brief you."

„Okay," I said, not entirely sure I could concentrate.

Was being human really that bad?

I remembered only a month ago when I would have given almost anything to have kept my boring human existence.

„Right," he said, kicking back beside us like any ordinary twenty-five-year-old – something he rarely managed to pull off. „So, Nyla and Rudyard are the tutors. They"re both old friends of mine and they"ve been partners for almost four hundred years. Actual y …"

„Hang on!" I butted in. „Four hundred
years
!"

Yeah, just kicking back talking about his four-hundred-year-old buddies.

„Yes, almost. Probably closer to three hundred and eighty-five, but when you get that high I believe it is acceptable to round up to the nearest fifty. Don"t you think?" he asked, smiling.

Lincoln laughed.

„Ha, ha. Very funny. I"m glad you find me so amusing. I mean, I know you said we would live for hundreds of lifetimes, but it"s different when you start, you know, meeting people that will soon be celebrating a quad-centenary."

„Technically, they"re over four-hundred and two years old. They weren"t always Grigori,"

Lincoln said, enjoying himself as well.

„What about the other ones? They"re my age, aren"t they?" Suddenly, I was freaked out that I was about to be surrounded by a crew of ancients.

„Yes, give or take a year or two. I believe they"re bringing three with them. A partner set and one in waiting. I don"t know their names," Griffin explained.

„In waiting?"

„Partner hasn"t come of age yet," Lincoln said, his tone flat.

„Oh," was all I could muster.

Lincoln hitched one shoulder and looked around casually, even though it wasn"t casual at all – not for him. He"d had to wait nine years for me, which was a long time for a Grigori.

Mostly partners only had to wait a few months or maybe a year for each other. No one knew why Lincoln had had to wait so long for his but I knew it mustn"t have been easy for him during that time. Even Grigori who lose their partner are usually offered a new one within a year and even though some refuse – choosing instead to help in other ways, like the clean-up crew, or some just opting for retirement, though apparently that rarely panned out well –

at least they have a say in the matter.

Griffin was watching the flow of people coming through arrivals. It seemed obvious when the wave of New Yorkers started. They didn"t seem to notice the people standing beside them, or in front of them for that matter – they just walked at their own pace, which was faster.

I nudged Lincoln, „I wonder what they"l look like?" I whispered.

When someone is more than four hundred years old, they would have to look weird,
right?

I didn"t have to wait long and when the group of five came over to where we were standing and two of them started hugging Griffin, I was shocked.

The people, whom I was assuming were Nyla and Rudyard, looked no older than Griffin. I mean, maybe a year or two, but there was nothing in it. Their skin was rosy and youthful and they were wearing normal, young-people clothes. Their jeans and T-shirt selections were more „in" than any of Griffin"s, who only occasionally ventured away from his reliable navy-blue button-down shirts.

The three standing behind were obviously the students. They all looked about my age.

They stood back while the reunions took place. I felt their eyes burning several holes in me. I started fidgeted. Unsure where to look, until I felt a hand smoothly brush my back. In one brief touch, support, confidence and power that could only come from my Grigori partner.

Only from Lincoln.

Once the hugging and amusing „You haven"t changed a bit" comments were finished – I mean, they probably hadn"t seen each other in decades – Griffin turned to us.

„Lincoln and Violet, this is Nyla and Rudyard."

We all started to shake hands. I greeted Nyla first. She was beautiful. She looked a bit Egyptian, with black hair, cut short around her face – Cleopatra style – bronze skin and a tall slim figure that made her look strong and athletic rather than fashionable or skinny. When I said hello she lit up with a beautiful warm smile of perfect teeth framed by deep currant-coloured lips. I liked her instantly.

Rudyard seemed more reserved. He took my hand, but didn"t shake. He smiled briefly out of courtesy and inspected me with well-mannered eyes. I could see he wasn"t sure of me.

Then I felt a twinge. First at the back of my neck but then it stretched out like an electric current, both into my head and down into my body.

I yanked my hand back, but he didn"t let go. It didn"t hurt, but it was real y uncomfortable.

Something was pushing against my power from inside. Something that wasn"t me.

My eyes, urgent, flickered to Griffin. He seemed to be watching me with interest, not alarm.

Damn it. They"re doing something to me. Testing me.

I fought off the urge to shudder at the unwelcome intrusions and instead started trying to put up the barriers around my power, protecting it and myself. It reminded me of when I had done the same thing with Phoenix not so long ago.

It took a lot of concentration and I lost control a few times and had to start again. I was still tired from the last couple of days and by the time I was getting command of the situation I was more angry than anything else.

Once I had my power protected I pushed what I realised was Rudyard"s invasive power out from within me. I didn"t bother with being polite.

He released my hand and stumbled back a few steps. Nyla had her arm out to steady her before he even moved. When he looked up at me, his eyes glistened with wonder and he smiled so widely it almost touched his ears.

„Impressive," he said with a nod as he looked to Nyla again, who also gave a small nod. I watched as their hands automatically linked, fingers intertwining delicately as if the grooves between them had been moulded to each other over time.

What the …

Both Rudyard and Nyla seemed overly interest in something as their eyes went back and forth between Lincoln and me. Strangely, it didn"t seem as if they were looking at us as much as the space between us. I was feeling exhausted and increasingly uncomfortable as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and was on the verge of a toilet excuse when Rudyard just snapped out of it. He gave Griffin a slap on the back, at which point I was free to deliver a death-stare to both Griffin and Lincoln, neither of whom had stepped in to help me at any point.

„I"m glad you called us, old friend," Rudyard said, hoisting a bag onto his shoulder.

Griffin beamed. I was glad he was happy while I was still panting like an idiot.