Secrets of Yden (23 page)

****

When Jon showed up at Brett's house with Sela in tow, Kira couldn't mask her surprise.

"My sister found out we're going to
Megan of the Mountain Mists
and she asked to come," he explained.

"It's one of my favorite books," Sela added.

Kira recovered quickly. "That's wonderful," she said with a warm smile. "We'll enjoy the movie together."

Sela skipped to the Jeep while Jon waited for Kira to get her coat.

"Thanks for understanding," he said. "She begged and I kind of didn't have a choice."

"It's fine, really. Perhaps next time it can be just the two of us."

The three of them did manage to have a good time together, even though most of the conversation at dinner revolved around Sela. Jon's little sister was planning an exhibit for the school science fair on the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on the healing process. Although Jon was certain her exhibit was sure to be an award winner, the topic of wounds wasn't particularly romantic.

Once they were seated in the movie theater, Jon didn't feel comfortable reaching for Kira's hand. The place was too full for Sela to sit anywhere else except next to Jon, and she had eagle eyes in the dark. As soon as the movie began, however, Kira reached for his hand. When Sela snickered, Jon jostled her gently with an elbow.

At the end of the night, he and Kira had successfully gone out on a date, albeit one chaperoned by his little sister. Furthermore, contrary to Casey's prediction, Kira and Jon hadn't fought about a single thing.

I plan to keep it that way.

****

Neither Brett nor Kira had revealed what their party costumes were, but Jon was certain they'd be fantastic. The afternoon of Davy's party, he dressed all in black with a gaucho hat, gloves, boots, and a fabric mask to cover the top part of his face. His cape was fingertip-length and had a satisfying swirl to it. He even drew in a thin mustache with a wax pencil.

"Cool," Sela said, when Jon came downstairs. "But there's a caterpillar on your lip."

"Thanks, Squirt. My self-confidence needed a boost."

His father tossed him his prop rapier. "You look great, son."

"Very dashing," his mother added.

Charles and Lynn dropped January by the Hansen house on their way to a Halloween party of their own. January wore a form-fitting, off-the-shoulder red satin number with a black lace bodice. Her hair was slicked back, Spanish style, and she had a large red fabric flower tucked into the bun at the nape of her neck.

"Your costume is amazing," Jon said. "It looks like something from that reality dance show on television."

"Actually, it is. I know the show's costume guy and he let me borrow it." She gave Jon the once-over. "You're cute. I like the mustache."

Lynn's costume was a traditional black cat suit with a pair of cat ears, and she'd painted whiskers on her face. Charles wore street clothes and an inexpensive dog mask.

"Way to go, Chaz," Jon said. "Did you spend a long time thinking that up?"

"My first choice was a white T-shirt with
Halloween Costume
printed on the front, but Lynn vetoed it."

Several minutes later, Jon escorted January to the Jeep. Her skirt was so voluminous he had a hard time tucking the fabric inside the vehicle without catching it in the door.

"So… did you get good news about the school musical?" he asked.

"Well… I didn't get cast as the lead," she replied with a pout. "But I like the role I did get. I'm playing Ado Annie in
Oklahoma!
"

"That's perfect for you."

January gave him a sidelong look. "Are you saying it's typecasting?"

"No! It's a funny role for a change, and it'll give you a chance to shine."

January smiled. "What a nice thing to say."

"I can be nice once in a while."

After Jon pulled into Brett's driveway, he cut the engine. "Why don't you stay put while I get Kira? Otherwise we'll have to fold you into the car again."

"Okay."

Brett answered the door dressed up like Marie Antoinette in an elaborate, pale gold gown festooned with lace and ribbons and tulle. She even had a little beauty mark on her cheek.

"Wow!" Jon said.

Brett gurgled happily and did a pirouette. "Isn't it pretty? My mom is the best."

Jon stared at the size of her skirt, which was even bigger than January's. "How do you drive a car in that thing?"

"My friend Heather is driving and I'll sit in the back."

Heather came in from the living room, dressed in a toga made from a bed sheet. "Doesn't Brett look magnificent? I feel like putting a bag over my head now." As she stared over Jon's shoulder, her eyes widened. "Is that January Beck?"

"Hello! I decided not to wait in the car after all," January said, nudging Jon aside.

Jon introduced Heather to January, and while the girls cooed over each other's costumes, he glanced around for Kira.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to coax Kira out of her room, Jon," Brett said. "She's embarrassed."

"Why?"

"It's the whole costume thing," Brett said, flicking an almost imperceptible glance at Heather. "You know. They don't have Halloween in
Romania
."

Brett and January knew better, of course, but Heather didn't know anything about Yden and it was important to keep her in the dark.

"Yeah, okay. I'll see what I can do," Jon said.

He trotted down the stairs leading to the first floor bedrooms and found Kira pacing in her room. She was dressed in Brett's Pocahontas costume — a tunic made from a beige chamois-like material. The shimmering beaded fringe hanging from the short sleeves and the hem caught the light whenever she moved, and since Kira was quite a bit taller than Brett, the dress showed her beautiful legs to great advantage. Her large eyes were enhanced and elongated with eyeliner, her hair was plaited into two silky dark braids that fell over her shoulders, and a flirty feather headdress finished off the look.

"You're adorable," Jon said.

She blushed. "I feel silly."

He lifted her hand and kissed it, continental-style.
I stole that move from Max, but he isn't around to complain.
Just then, January's laugh drifted down the stairs and Kira flinched. "What's
she
doing here?"

"Oh. Er… Davy asked me to bring her," Jon replied, taken aback.

"Why didn't he bring her himself?"

"Because he doesn't know her well enough yet, I guess."

Her violet eyes looked stormy. "I thought tonight we would be alone."

"I'm sorry. I probably should have told you the three of us were going together."

He escorted her up the stairs, where Heather, Brett, and January were waiting. January gave her a bright smile of welcome, but Kira's response was somewhat subdued.

"If there's a prize for the best costumed couple, Jon and January will win," Heather said.

Kira bit her lip and Jon suddenly realized he'd made a colossal blunder. Not only had he failed to tell Kira he was bringing January, but she'd coordinated her costume with his and looked like his date.

"Your dress is lovely," Kira told January somewhat stiffly. "I'll ride to the party with Brett and Heather to give you more room."

She left the house to wait by Heather's car. Brett, Heather, and January glanced at Jon, surprised. He held up his hand to stop any questions. With better planning on his part, the whole situation could have been avoided. Nevertheless, he didn't want to argue with Kira in front of their friends.

"Let's just go."

****

The ride to the party was short and silent. Jon slowed to find a parking spot and finally angled the Jeep in between two compact cars. Before he could open his door, January put her hand on his arm.

"I messed things up again, didn't I?"

"No.
I
did." Jon sighed. "I should've thought about Kira's feelings. I'm an idiot."

"You're looking at this all wrong, Jon. Give yourself a break. You're seventeen years old. Don't you know you're not
supposed
to get your love life together?"

For some reason her advice struck Jon as funny and he couldn't stop laughing. It was contagious, apparently, because January joined in. Finally he sobered up enough to give her a wink. "Let's do this,
señorita.
"

"
Vámanos, Señor Zorro.
"

Orange cones marked the beginning of the party area, which stretched the entire block. A photographer intercepted January as she and Jon arrived. Since January did not seem surprised, Jon guessed she'd had a hand in tipping him off. She probably wouldn't have put so much effort into procuring a fabulous costume if she hadn't anticipated publicity. January posed for a few pictures alone and some with Jon, who was happily incognito under his mask.

While Jon waited for her to sign a few autographs, he surveyed the neighborhood. Every house on the block was elaborately decorated for Halloween. Several of the residents had put on makeup and costumes and were wandering around as classic movie monsters. He laughed when he realized many of the men were dressed up as the handsome, scarred vampire from
Immortal Soule
. A spooky bouncy house was a big draw for the smaller kids, and a haunted maze attracted the adults. Halloween-themed carnival games lined the sidewalk and a knot of football players were trying to outdo one another on a foam pumpkin toss.

As Jon escorted January through the crowd, he spotted Heather — but Kira was nowhere to be found. Davy bounded over, dressed as a superhero, complete with a red cape.

"You've got more guts than I do," Jon said, glancing at Davy's tights.

January jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "I think it's great. Go big or go home."

Davy whisked January off to the haunted maze and Jon was left to fly solo. He wandered around talking to classmates until a familiar figure walked past wearing a lab coat. A sign on the back of the coat read
Nikola Tesla — Ask Me About My Coils
.

"Yo, Tesla!" Jon said.

"Zorro!" Casey replied. "Nice mustache." He was wearing a mustache, too, but his was thick and made out of wool. "Where's Kira?"

"I don't know. I screwed up."

"
Sorry. What'd you do wrong?"

"Everything. Is Fred here yet?"

"Yeah, he volunteered to terrorize people in the haunted maze for a few minutes, but his shift should be over soon."

They strolled down the street, checking out the cool house decorations. A creepy graveyard had been created in one yard and another house had a whole light show, coordinated with spooky music. At the end of the block, a section of the street had been roped off to form a dance floor. Music was playing non-stop from huge speakers set up in someone's yard.

Casey picked up a cone of cotton candy from a booth manned by a mummy. "Did you know cotton candy was invented at the turn of the century? It was called fairy floss." Casey had a hard time navigating the stuff past the hair on his upper lip.

"You don't say," Jon replied.

Fred jumped into their path with a plastic hook protruding from one sleeve and a fake parrot attached to his shoulder. He'd whitened his skin with makeup, drawn thick black lines around his eyes, and put a trickle of fake blood down his chin. "Aargh," he said through a set of vampire teeth.

The costume started Jon off on another laughing jag, since Fred looked more like the ghoulish Moala the Merchant from his dream than the buccaneer who'd danced the Calypso.
I just hope his jaw doesn't drop off.

Fred pouted at Jon's mirth. "What? Aren't I scary?"

"Very scary." Jon bent double, unable to regain his composure.

"What's the matter with him?" Fred asked Casey.

"I don't know, but it's nothing personal. He was looking for you earlier."

"Everybody comes looking for me sooner or later," Fred said, thumping his chest.

Jon stopped laughing. "What did you say?"

"Sooner or later, everybody comes looking for me. I'm the man."

Something Moala had said in Jon's dream suddenly flashed into his head.
All wizards come to me sooner or later.
A ball of excitement began to form in his gut as something clicked into place. To recover the last piece of prophecy, Jon had to locate Amanzo's stolen owl sculpture. Before his death, Moala had been a dealer in stolen artifacts, and despite his disreputable appearance, he must have been able to deliver the goods most of the time. Even Guinn of the Fox Clan had gone to Moala when he'd been searching for the Portal Key. Maybe,
just maybe
, Moala had what Jon was looking for in his hut.

"Jon? You okay?" Casey asked.

Fred snapped his fingers to get his attention. "Earth to Hansen."

"Yeah," Jon said. "Sorry. I zoned out there for a second." Just in case Moala turned out to be a wild goose chase, he decided not to say anything.

"Hey, let's scare up some girls to dance with," Fred said.

"I've got to find Kira. Have you seen her anywhere?" Jon asked.

"Last I checked, she was at the end of the cul-de-sac at the dart game," Fred said. "The balloons didn't have a prayer."

Jon finally found Kira perched on a bale of hay, sitting next to a huge stuffed pink cat. The feather in her hair was drooping and the red ribbon on one of her braids had come undone. Without a word, he tied the ribbon for her… and was shocked to see tears in her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry. I'm sorry," he said.

She threw her arms around him. "I'm the one who should apologize. I should not have reacted to January the way I did. I-I'm not very good at this."

He pulled back, confused. "At what?"

"Romance. Sometimes I think the only thing I'm good at is weaponry." She glanced at the stuffed cat. "I won the grand prize for throwing projectiles."

He chuckled. "I'm not very good at this relationship thing either, but I want to learn. Will you give me the chance?"

Kira's gaze fell to his mouth. "If you'll give me a kiss."

Jon brought his cape up to shield them from prying eyes. "It's a deal."

Several minutes later, they found Fred and Casey near the dance floor. Casey glanced from Jon to Kira and back again.

"I see you got everything worked out," he said.

"How can you tell?"

"Because Kira's wearing what's left of your mustache."