Incubus (41 page)

If I found the incubus, I’d be ready. I slipped the daggers back into their sheath, then tucked them

into my school bag. I stood, catching sight of my reflection in the mirror above my dresser. The girl

who looked back at me was pale, with beautiful blue eyes and long, dark hair that gleamed richly even

in this dim light. But there was something cold and hard in her expression.

I turned away from the mirror, not liking what I saw there. I hurried out of my room and into the

hall. The men were still arguing at the dining table downstairs.

I didn’t have time to deal with them, their bickering, or their interference. I cloaked myself and

descended the stairs. No one heard me. When I reached the front door, I hesitated, risking a glance

back into the dining room. Only Dad was visible, but his back was to the door. No one would notice

me leaving. I pulled the front door open, and slipped into the night.

20 seconds later I was behind the wheel of my car, speeding off toward school.

The campus parking lot was packed. It looked like half the school had turned out for opening night. I

pulled into the first parking spot I could find and killed the engine.

I’d thought this through, and if Royal was even partly himself tonight, he’d be here.

I got out of my car and ran across the parking lot for the performing arts center. Campus seemed

deserted; everyone must be inside watching the show. My shoes slapped against the pavement with a

sharp, staccato sound that echoed across the parking lot. I’d realized on the drive over that I didn’t

know if “one night down” referred to today or last night. If it had been last night, and the incubus had

found Royal again today...
No.
I was going to find Royal first. I wouldn’t let myself consider the

horrible thought that it might be too late to do anything for him.

The lobby was empty. I could hear the musical intro for the second song through the doors to the

theater; the play was well into the first act. I bypassed the theater entrance and headed down the

hallway that led backstage.

The main lights were off in the greenroom, replaced by blue backstage working lights to help the

actors and the crew find their way. And even though they were much dimmer than the lights in the

lobby had been, my eyes needed no time to adjust. I scanned the faces of everyone I passed, looking

for Royal. No luck. I turned to see if he was in the costume closet. The door ahead of me opened, and I

froze.

Cassie emerged from the costume closet with Mr. Hart, her arm curled through his. As I watched,

she gave him a kiss on the cheek, then slipped into the chaos of backstage, ready with the mantle that

Guinevere wore in the next scene. I felt my blood run cold. All the denials, all the secrecy—but what I

was seeing seemed pretty clear.

Mr. Hart watched her go. His eyes swept over the crowd of students, all busy with their jobs for the

show. Then he saw me and froze.

I hurried after Cassie, catching up to her in a few strides.

“Braedyn?” Surprise flashed across her face. “What are you doing backstage? We’re in the middle

of the—”

“Where’s Royal?” I asked, cutting her off.

She read the urgency in my eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Is he here?”

“No,” she said slowly. “He missed crew call. I tried to reach him but—” her eyes searched my

face. “Something’s wrong. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know yet,” I said. “You—you should focus on the show. I’ll look for him.”

“Tell me what’s happening,” she said, grabbing my arm before I could escape.

“Shhh!” The stage manager, hunched over an annotated script, shot us a withering look and jabbed

his finger at the stage, just beyond the double doors in front of us. He held a finger to his lips and

gestured for me to leave. “Scene change in two pages,” he whispered to Cassie.

Cassie looked torn, but she grabbed me by the arm and led me away from the stage, oblivious to

the stage manager’s panic behind us.

“I knew something was wrong,” Cassie breathed.

“When’s the last time you saw him?” I asked.

“Last night,” she answered. “He was working costumes backstage so I could watch the dress

rehearsal. He was supposed to come tonight to help me prep, then he was going to watch the show—”

A sudden thought sprang into my head. “He said something about a date—”

“What?”

“A date to his brother’s wedding,” I said.

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever met Royal’s guy?” I asked. Cassie shook her head. Another student dressed all in

black tapped Cassie on the shoulder.

“10 seconds, Cassie,” she said. Cassie looked at me, worry distorting her features.

“Go,” I said. “I’ll find him.”

Cassie didn’t look happy, but she nodded and left.

I glanced back to the costume closet. Mr. Hart was still standing there, watching me. After a

moment, he approached me. “Braedyn,” he said. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“Why is that?” I asked, thrown.

“I thought you’d want to be with your friend. I imagine he must be pretty traumatized.”

Royal’s face flashed across my thoughts. Mr. Hart gave me a look full of pity.

“He seems like a nice kid, I hope he makes it through. Something like that—it could scar a person

for the rest of his life.”

Fury darkened the corners of my vision. Mr. Hart laid a hand on my shoulder. I recoiled.

“
Don’t touch me,
” I hissed. “I know what you are.”

Mr. Hart’s eyes went flat and cold. He glanced around. Suddenly the crew leapt into action for the

scene change. No one was paying any attention to us.

“All right, Braedyn,” Mr. Hart said. “You want to do this now? Fine.” He grabbed me by the arm

and pulled me into the costume closet. I jerked out of his grasp and stumbled back into the worktable.

Mr. Hart closed the door and flipped the lock. He turned to face me, spreading his hands wide. “There.

No one will interrupt us. Why don’t you get it all off your chest.”

I fought to keep the fear out of my eyes. “Keep your hands off of my friends or— or—” but what

could I do to an incubus?

“I’m not loving the threats,” he said. “Why can’t we talk about this like two reasonable people?”

“Reasonable?” I stared at him, incredulous. “You still think we’re on the same side?”

“We are,” he said. “You just can’t see it yet.”

Something inside of me snapped. I lunged for him, fueled by the helpless rage I’d felt since

finding Royal’s hat on my bed.

I shoved him hard, and Mr. Hart hit the ground, curling his arms around his head. “What the

hell?!”

I dropped onto his chest, straddling him. In the same motion, I pulled the dagger out of my bag.

“What did you do to Royal?!”

Mr. Hart eyed the dagger, but he kept his voice calm. “Put it down, Braedyn. I don’t believe you

want to hurt—” but his voice cut off as I grabbed his hair and leveled the dagger at his throat. He

squeezed his eyes shut.

“Why?” I asked. “Why him?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he whispered, looking for all the world like a terrified

victim.

“Don’t lie to me!” I jerked his hair and his eyes flew open. “You completely shielded your mind.

No human could do that. Most Lilitu can’t do that.”

Mr. Hart met my gaze. “Please. Put the knife down.”

“I’m going to ask you one more time,” I said. I glared straight into his eyes—and suddenly his

pupils began to dilate.

“I don’t know what you want to hear,” he whispered.

I gripped his hair tighter, but a sick fear was working its way into my stomach. His pupils—what if

I’d made a terrible mistake? There was one way to test him—to know for sure.

“
Tell me the truth,
” I said. “
What did you do to my friend?
”
The call
burrowed through the air

between us, cracking through this reality with sounds like little chimes.

“She needed someone to talk to,” he answered. His words came haltingly, but they came. “About

Parker. Someone who wouldn’t judge her.”

“Not Cassie,” I growled. But I’d done my work too well, he couldn’t stop. He told me the entire

story of their relationship, from the first time he found her crying at the worktable, to the day he

joined her for a session with the school counselor. He recounted the day I’d seen him and Cassie

talking in the closet. He’d worried then that it had looked like a compromising situation, and he’d

decided to find a time to talk to me about it. He’d wanted to allay my fears, knowing that the last thing

Cassie needed right then was more suspicion or judgment. He thought he’d gotten through to me that

day behind the theater—
the day I’d fought with Lucas,
I realized. Based on the story he told, Cassie

had truly come to depend on him this past semester. And why not? Royal wasn’t the confidant she

needed for this, and I hadn’t been there for her. I didn’t want to believe him. Part of me kept looking

for the glimmer of the incubus behind his words. But as he finished the story, I realized it was true. It

was all true.

Mr. Hart was human.

“I’ve been afraid she’s got a crush on me, but I’d never—” he blinked, and a tear slid free from

one of his eyes. “I’d never hurt one of my students.
Never.
”

I lowered the dagger back into my bag and released his hair. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I—I was wrong.”

He blinked and looked up at me, shaking off the power of
the call
with some effort. “Braedyn?”

The lock flipped and the door opened. “Mr. Hart? Are you in—?” Cassie entered and saw us. Her

expression went slack. “Oh. I didn’t—I didn’t know.” She turned, fumbling to pull the door closed.

Mr. Hart’s eyes found my face. “No. No—Cassie! Wait!” He pushed me off of him and rolled to

his knees, standing a few moments later. But when he reached the door, he turned back to me, torn.

“This—this could end my career.”

“I’ll go after her,” I said. “I’ll explain.”

Only, when I left the costume closet, I couldn’t find Cassie anywhere.

I scoured the backstage, then moved out into the theater’s lobby. At the next scene change, I could

hear the chaos backstage—and the growing panic when it became clear that the costume department

had gone AWOL.

I crossed the lobby toward the glass doors. When I opened them to exit, a sudden, frigid wind

greeted me, blowing in from the east. It bit through my sweater, driving straight into my bones.

“Cassie!” I shouted. No one answered. I ran out into the parking lot, looking for any sign of

movement that might give her away. But Cassie had picked her hiding place well, and if she could

hear me, she was choosing not to answer. Finally, I was forced to admit it; Cassie was gone. But Royal

needed me more right now. Whoever the incubus was, he was still out there. Only—I had no idea

where to look for Royal. And if he was with the incubus right now, they could be anywhere in the

town.

I slumped against the trunk of one of the school’s aspen trees, wracking my brain for any ideas.

My eyes rose to the sky. The moon hadn’t risen yet.

My breath caught in my throat.
The moon hadn’t risen yet.

We hadn’t been able to return the vessel because according to Angela’s notes, the ritual wasn’t

complete until moonrise. What if the seal was still closed?

I pushed off the tree and ran for my car. I might not know where Royal was, but I had a pretty good

idea where the incubus might be. He’d gone to great lengths to get us to perform the ritual for him. I

was willing to bet that he’d do whatever it took to makes sure no one disturbed the vessel until the

ritual was complete.

Unlocking the driver’s side door, I slid into the car and keyed the ignition. The Firebird roared to

life, and another thought pushed into my mind. I
was
betting—I was betting with Royal’s life. Because

if I was wrong, and the incubus was with Royal right now instead of where I guessed he was, Royal

would be lost to us forever.

But if I was right? If I was right, there was still time to stop the seal from opening.

Chapter 17

A sprinkling of stars dusted the sky overhead, frozen in place against the velvety black backdrop of