Incubus (90 page)

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

night. My mind felt fractured. Yes, my hands gripped the wheel, some small part of me navigating the

streets in a haze—but my thoughts were miles away at the mission. I relived each moment of the

ritual, wincing as the knife sliced through my palm in memory. I gripped the wheel tighter and my

hand throbbed in protest. The pain goaded me on, a sharp reminder of our terrible mistake. But what

we’d done, we could undo. I had to believe that.

I turned onto my street. My body strained against the seatbelt, compressing the air out of my

lungs. I hit the brakes, suddenly aware of how fast I was driving. The Firebird lurched as the wheels

locked up, tires squealing against the road. I slid for a few feet, but my speed was back under control.

My heart thudded in my ears, louder than the sound of the Firebird’s engine as I tapped the gas.

Moments later, I turned up the driveway in front of my house and killed the engine, leaving the keys

in the ignition. I opened my car door and caught a whiff of burnt rubber, but paid it no mind. I charged

up the path to our front door, reaching for the doorknob. Unlocked, it turned under my hand. I shoved

the door open and burst inside, expecting to find Dad, Hale, and Thane still arguing at the kitchen

table.

Instead, I found Seth and Lucas sitting in silence. Seth hunched over a steaming mug of herbal tea

as Lucas glared at him. The spicy aroma filled the foyer. He looked beaten down, defeated. They must

have told him what we’d done by performing the ritual. Lucas turned as I entered. The look he gave

me was so impersonal it stopped my breath for a moment.

Seth looked up half a heartbeat later. His face lit up and he stood. “Braedyn!” And then the

memory of our day crashed in on him and his face twisted in misery. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I can’t

believe we—”

I strode into the dining room. There wasn’t any time to waste. “Seth, don’t. It’s not too late. We

can still stop it.” Seth gave me an incredulous look. Lucas turned his back on me, pulling a cell phone

out of his pocket.

Seth glanced at Lucas, startled. “Lucas? Did you hear what she—”

“They’re out looking for her.” Lucas cut him off shortly. “I’m just going to tell them where she

is.”

“Who—who’s looking for me?” I asked. The memory of Thane’s rage was still fresh in my mind.

Could he have set the entire Guard after me?

Instead of dialing, Lucas glared at me. “Don’t worry. Even after everything you’ve done, Hale

wouldn’t let Thane spill your secret. Congratulations. Some people still have faith in you.”

“Fine.” I turned away from him, unable to meet the anger in his gaze. “Call them. They’re going to

want to hear this anyway.”

“What’s going on?” Seth asked, walking over to me.

“It’s not over,” I gushed to Seth. “We can still stop the ritual.”

Lucas hesitated, phone in his hand, listening.

“Come on.” I pulled Seth toward the door. “I’ll explain at the Guard’s house. We’re going to need

all the Guardsman we can get to help us.”

“You need the Guard?” Seth glanced at Lucas, stricken.

“What?” I asked, sensing their sudden tension.

“Max spotted the guy in that sketch down in Old Town about an hour ago,” Lucas said. “Everyone

not looking for you is out looking for
him.
”

“But—” I felt the panic pressing up through the base of my skull. There was time before the moon

rose, but not a
lot
of time. “We’ve got to get to the mission.”

Seth stepped back, pulling away from me. “You want
me
to go back there?”

“We don’t have much time,” I said.

“But the seal is open.”

“No, it’s not,” I snapped. “You said it yourself, the ritual isn’t complete until moonrise. There’s

still time to stop it.
But we have to go now!
”

“I—” Seth eyed me, looking small and terrified and fragile. “I can’t.”

“We have to,” I said, staring at him with disbelief. “Seth, this is our fault. We’ve got the chance to

make this right. We have to take it.”

“I’m not like you,” Seth whispered. Shame burned in his cheeks. “I’m not a fighter.”

“Seth,” I pleaded with him.

“I’ll go,” Lucas said. I turned to look at him, but he was bending to pick up the jacket he’d tossed

over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

“Thank you,” I said.

Lucas ignored me. “Call Hale,” Lucas said to Seth. “Get him to pull the rest of the Guard back.

Tell them to meet us at the mission.” Seth nodded. Lucas glanced at me, shrugging into his jacket.

“Let’s go.”

I ached to reach for him, but held myself in check. “Right. My car’s right out—” Lucas brushed

past me wordlessly. I fell silent, stung.

“What’s that all about?” Seth murmured quietly into my ear, watching as Lucas paused in the

foyer to zip up his jacket.

“He knows what I did,” I said simply.

Seth bit his lip, awareness entering his eyes. “Oh.”

“You coming?” Lucas stood in the foyer, one hand on the doorknob. I turned to join him, but he

didn’t wait for me. He opened the door.

Cassie stood on the doorstep, her eyes puffy and red-rimmed. “Where’s Braedyn?”

Lucas glanced at me, zero curiosity in his gaze. “Make it fast,” he said. He walked past Cassie. She

spotted me and entered, fists balled at her sides.

“You know, after I saw you and Mr. Hart together,” Cassie stopped, her voice shaking with rage.

She took a deep breath. “I didn’t think I wanted to see you ever again. But now—”

“It’s not what you think,” I whispered.

“Don’t.” Cassie’s eyes were bright with fresh tears. “Don’t lie to me, Braedyn.”

“I know what it looked like,” I said, raising a hand, trying to appease her.

Cassie snapped. “The door was
locked,
” she screamed. “You were on top of him! When you
knew

that I—” She turned away from me, scrubbing the back of her hand against her eyes furiously.

I could feel Seth’s eyes latched onto me, burning with curiosity. My cheeks grew hot. “I know,” I

said.

“You’re supposed to be my best friend,” she whispered.

My heart wrenched, but at that moment I heard my car engine roar to life outside. “I’m so sorry—

but I can’t do this right now.”

“No, of course not. Why would you make time for a conversation that could save our friendship?”

“Cassie—”

“Don’t bother,” she said, turning away. I grabbed her arm—I couldn’t let her walk out like this.

But before I could say anything, she spun on me, pure venom in her eyes. “You’re a hypocrite,

Braedyn Murphy,” she growled. “You give me all this grief about Mr. Hart, when
nothing ever

happened
between us. Then you turn around and—” Cassie brought her hands up to her face again, as

if she could scrub the memory out of her head. “You could have any guy you want. Why him?”

Lucas honked the horn outside. I glanced out the door, torn.

“Just tell me
why,
” Cassie said. “It’s the very least you can do.”

“I’ll tell you everything,” I said. “When I get back.”

Cassie shook her head, too overwhelmed to speak. I glanced at Seth, pleading silently for help.

“I can handle this,” he said. “I’ll stay with her.” I nodded, grateful. Seth caught my hand before I

could leave. I saw the fear in his eyes. “Take care of yourself,” he whispered.

I gave him a faint smile, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t reach my eyes.

A gloomy carpet of desert stretched out before us as we sped down the highway away from town. The

night was quiet, eager. Waiting for the moon and its illumination to bring life to the darkness.

Lucas drove in silence, hands gripping the wheel tightly. The soft glow from my dashboard lit his

features, reflecting pinpoints of light in his deep hazel eyes. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him.