Incubus (21 page)

five mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Sabrina’s specialty. The hot chocolate was laced through with

cinnamon and a dash of red chili powder. The combination was a delicious one-two punch, leaving a

subtle fire on the tongue after each sweet sip.

Cassie pulled a gift bag from under the table. “Happy birthday.”

I felt a twist of regret for the things I’d said to her earlier in the day. “Cassie, you didn’t have to do

this.”

Cassie gave me an eager smile. “Open it.”

I pulled the decorative tissue paper aside. Gingerly, I lifted a simple black dress out of the bag.

“Cassie?” My eyes swept over the dress. Another elegant Cassie Ang creation. The lines were sleek. A

shimmering spray of tiny iridescent beads sparkled indigo around the hem. “How in the world did you

find the time to do this?”

“She practically lives in that costume shop,” Royal said.

“I had a little side project,” Cassie explained.

I held it up to my body, but I already knew it would fit perfectly. “It’s gorgeous,” I breathed.

“I hate it when you go first,” Royal said with a sigh for Cassie’s benefit. He handed over a box.

Judging by the heft, it was a pair of shoes. “Here. They don’t compare to Cassie’s magnum opus, but

they do compliment it nicely.”

I opened the box, revealing a pair of elegant heels. They were dyed a deep indigo that picked up on

the sheen of the beads Cassie had hand-sewn around the hem of the dress. “I love them,” I squealed,

my voice jumping up an octave of its own accord.

“I hope we don’t have to discuss what you’ll be wearing to junior prom,” Royal said.

“I’ll cross that off my list.” I took another moment to admire the beautiful clothes. It was with

great effort that I pushed aside the thought that junior prom was a long way off, and so much could

happen between now and then. If the final battle had begun, no one would be attending junior prom.

Not in Puerto Escondido.

It was a wonderful afternoon. We stayed in that booth for almost two hours, talking and laughing,

ordering food to share until we were pleasantly stuffed. As five o’clock rolled around, I got a call from

Dad.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“You knew?”

“Of course I knew.” I could hear him smiling over the line. “Were you surprised?”

I looked at my friends, laughing over something Royal had just said. My heart was full. This was

what it meant to be content. “Yes,” I answered.

“I just wanted to let you know, Hale’s giving you and Lucas the day off from practice.”

“Oops,” I said. I’d forgotten all about practice.

Dad chuckled. “Happy birthday, sweetheart. Enjoy it.”

I tried to hang on to that sense of well-being, but as we gathered our money to pay the bill, I could

feel it slipping away. How long would it be before we were all together like this again, safe and

happy?

Royal offered to give Cassie a lift to her place, and they said their goodbyes in the cramped

entryway of Sabrina’s.

“Thank you,” I murmured into Cassie’s ear as I hugged her goodbye. “It was perfect.”

“I’m glad,” she pulled back. “Once this play is over, things will get back to normal. You’ll see.”

I smiled, not trusting myself to speak. After they’d left, Seth pulled something out of his

backpack.

“I’ve got a present for you, too,” he said. He handed over a manila envelope stuffed with papers.

“Sorry it’s not wrapped.”

I pulled the papers out of the envelope and flipped through page after page of photocopied notes.

Angela’s notes.

“What did you do?” Lucas asked Seth, frowning.

“I figured,” Seth looked at me, confused. “I thought you guys wanted to know whatever Mom

found out about the ritual.”

Lucas glanced at me, uncomfortable. I knew he was torn. He respected the hierarchy of the Guard,

and disobeying Hale wasn’t easy for him. But if this ritual could help me become human sooner, he’d

want to know.

“Has she figured it out?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t have time to read everything. But look.” Seth took the papers out of my

hands and flipped to a photocopied image of a small vase. “She calls this the vessel. I think it’s a part

of the ritual.”

“The vessel?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah. Does that mean anything to you?”

“Let me see it.” Lucas took the sheet out of Seth’s hand and reacted.

“Do you recognize that?” I asked.

“No.” Lucas studied the image with a thoughtful frown.

“Are you sure?” I asked. I could tell something was troubling him.

“I’m pretty sure I would remember a funky metal vase,” Lucas said. “But there is something

familiar about it. Weird.” He shrugged and handed the sheet back to me. “Don’t let Hale catch you

with that.”

“Right.” I put the research into my school bag, meaning to hide it in my room when I got home.

But once I started to read it later that night, I couldn’t put down. Angela was convinced the vessel

was the key to locking the seal for good. She’d painstakingly reconstructed the history of the vessel

through her research. There was an image in the carvings from the mission that she believed to be the

vessel, which placed it at the mission for the fight with the incubus and his sister. Later, it had shown

up in Boston, around the time of the revolution. Still later, it had resurfaced in California. Present—if

her research was to be believed—in San Francisco during the earthquake of 1906. From that time on,

it had been in the Guard’s safekeeping, though she wasn’t sure exactly where.

I became obsessed with her notes. I took them to school with me. I pored over them in my spare

time. I stared at the grainy image of the vessel, trying to make out the details of its surface. Some part

of me became convinced that this small metal vase would be my salvation.

I hid my obsession from the rest of the Guard. Not even Lucas knew how much of my time I spent

thinking about the vessel. There were moments where I could push it out of my mind for a little while,

but like a homing pigeon, it always found a way back into my thoughts.

Training seemed to keep the thoughts at bay better than anything else in my daily routine.

Matthew and Gretchen had stepped up our practices. Lucas and I spent three hours after school every

day in the basement, training. Hale would check in on us, but he’d left our training in the hands of

Matthew and Gretchen while he helped get the new Guardsmen settled.

One afternoon, a few weeks after my birthday, we were training in the basement as usual when the

door opened at the top of the stairs. I expected to see Hale or Dad, but it was the newcomers: Chris,

Paul, Jason, and Max. Matthew and Gretchen halted our training session.

“Mind if we practice down here with you guys?” Max asked. They didn’t wait for an answer,

simply walking deeper into the basement and spreading out. Their practice was fast and brutal. Lucas

and I stared, transfixed.

Gretchen was the first to pull her eyes off the soldiers. “Back to work, kids. We’re not done yet.”

Matthew waved for my attention. He didn’t rely on the forms, like Hale and Dad did. Matthew

believed you trained in the basics, but fights were about reacting in the moment, as effectively as you

could.

“You ready?” he asked. When I nodded, he came for me, shooting a fist toward my face. I knocked

the punch aside, launching a fist for his stomach in counterattack. We struck at each other, each trying

to land a blow, each fighting furiously to keep from getting hit. I sensed rather than saw an

opportunity; Matthew had overcompensated in blocking one of my punches—he was off balance.

Acting purely on instinct, I moved. My fist connected with his cheek, rocking his head back with a

meaty thunk. He took the punch and danced back, blinking tears of pain out of his eyes. “Good one.”

From across the basement, I heard Jason and Chris laughing. They had paused in their sparring to

watch us.

“Damn,” Chris said. “She tagged you pretty good.”

“She’s had good teachers,” Matthew said with a forced smile. He turned back to me, putting his

hands up. “You ready?” he asked again. There was an edge to his voice. He didn’t like getting bested

in front of his comrades.

“Yep.” I didn’t take my eyes off of him. He threw himself into the attack, not holding back. It was

all I could do to defend, but I managed to keep him from landing a single punch. He pressed the

attack. It was the first time I’d been pushed so hard since we’d started training again. I felt my breath

coming faster, my lungs working to keep up as my body demanded more oxygen.

I heard a low whistle and was dimly aware that the newcomers were all watching us spar. Matthew

feinted and, distracted, I fell for it. As he dodged out of my way, I realized I’d stumbled into a trap. I

dropped to the mat and swept out my leg, knocking Matthew clear off his feet before he’d had a

chance to strike. Matthew hit the ground with a loud
ooof!

But it was Lucas who cried out in pain. I looked up. Lucas was reeling back, clutching his nose.

Gretchen dropped her fighting stance immediately.

“Oh, Lucas. Let me see.” She moved toward him but Lucas drew back. “Let me see,” she insisted,

when he wouldn’t let her get close.

“Just—just give me a second,” Lucas said. He took his hand away. Blood streamed freely from his

nose.

“Crap,” Gretchen said. “Tilt your head back.” She reached for Lucas’s nose, but he jerked away.

“You ladies are a force to be reckoned with,” the Guardsman named Paul said.

“Hey, kid. Come here,” Max called. “I know a trick for bloody noses.”

Lucas glanced at Gretchen, then walked over to Max. Max probed at Lucas’s nose gingerly. I heard

Lucas suck in a sharp breath, but he didn’t protest.

“Doesn’t look broken,” Max said. “Let’s go get you some ice.” Max led Lucas out of the basement.

Chris and Jason turned back to their practice.

Gretchen sank into a chair, running her hands through her hair. She looked twisted with guilt. Paul,

partnerless now that Max had left the room, walked over to us.

“That was stupid,” Gretchen said.

“He wasn’t paying attention to his fight,” Paul replied. “You did him a favor.”

“How do you figure?”

“If he’d been fighting a Lilitu, he’d be dead.”

Gretchen nodded slowly, her eyes flicking to my face. Paul glanced at me with a spreading smile.

“Though I totally get the distraction. If she was my girl, I’d be keeping an eye on her, too. I’d

better go help Max. He’s got the bedside manner of a warthog.” Paul tipped an imaginary hat at me

and headed up the stairs after Max and Lucas.

Hale appeared at the top of the stairs a minute later. “Gretchen?”

“Yeah,” she asked, as if expecting this.

“You want to tell me what happened?” Hale walked into the basement, pulling Gretchen aside for

the debrief.

Matthew glanced back at me. “We’ve still got an hour left. Want to try another round?” I didn’t,

actually. I wanted to go check on Lucas. Matthew seemed to read the conflict in my face. “How about

this,” he said. “You land three punches, you’re free to go to Lucas.”

I tried, I really did. But Matthew wasn’t holding back. After an exhausting five minute bout, we

broke, breathing heavily. A thin sheen of sweat covered Matthew’s brow, and I felt dampness

spreading down the back of my shirt. I grabbed a bottle of water from my school bag and downed it.

Hale finished with Gretchen about the same time. “Go check on him,” Hale said. Gretchen,

relieved, nodded. She hurried up the stairs and was gone. Hale glanced at us. “How’s it going?”

I shrugged.

“She’s doing pretty well one on one,” Matt said.

“Let’s step it up,” Hale said. “Time for another session of two on one.”

I groaned inwardly, but once Hale got something into his mind you’d better just deal with it.

“Fine.”

“Don’t worry,” Hale said with a smile. “Practice makes perfect.” Matthew and Hale took up

positions on either side of me.

To say that my heart wasn’t in it would be putting it mildly. But when two skilled fighters come

after you, you learn to move. I might heal quicker than the normal girl, but that didn’t make the