Silence - eARC (18 page)

Maybe that is another reason why Sean’s asking me up there.
He
thinks I can help him.
Now that thought made her feel really, really good. She hoped it was true—both that Sean thought she could help him, and that she actually
could
help him.

Well, now all she had to do was wait for Mom to wake up.
I’ll make her breakfast pancakes, then give her the number and tell her to call Sean. Between a carb coma and her hangover, she’d probably agree to let me hitchhike across Europe with a witchcraft cult; getting her to let me go to her boss’s boss’s party should be a snap.

* * *

Mom was a pushover. In fact…right after she got off the phone with Sean, she was ready to shove Staci out the door right then and there. Staci would have considered this suspicious, except that Mom had looked guilty about it. Not the “I know I am doing a stupid thing to my daughter” sort of guilty, but an “I know I am going to get something out of this” sort of guilty. With maybe a touch of “thank god I can get rid of her for a week” guilt. Staci had thought that her opinion of her mother couldn’t get any lower before today. She was wrong.

Well, whatever it was that Sean had said to her, Mom made sure she was ready and at the curb Wednesday morning, with a bag in hand. Meanwhile, Staci had made sure that the rest of her friends were informed and on board with showing up on Friday and Saturday nights; even Wanda seemed to have some enthusiasm, this time. Staci thought it was too bad
they
couldn’t stay overnight too, but it didn’t appear that Sean had included them in that part of the invitation. When the limousine arrived, it was all that Staci could do to keep her breathing even. Every time she was taken up to the Blackthorne Estate, it seemed like she was being whisked away to another world, far away from the common and boring one of her life in Silence.

The driver was as polite as ever, opening her door for her and shutting it behind her before speeding off. Well, “speeding” was something of a misnomer, because he took his time, this time, giving her plenty of opportunities to watch the “scenery” of Silence pass by outside the limo windows. From in here…well, the panorama looked like a depressing art film.

She helped herself to some of the crystal clear water; even the
water
tasted better than anything she could find in Silence. Finally, when she was starting to consider tapping on the partition and asking the driver to speed up, they were on that mysterious road through the forest, and then, turning into the long driveway to the Blackthorne Estate.

Sean didn’t meet her; instead, there was a woman in a maid’s outfit waiting at the front door, who took her bag from her. “I’ll just show you to your room, miss,” the woman said politely. “The Master asked me to have you join some of his early guests by the pool. Master Bradan, that is, not Master Sean.”

Master
Bradan?
That’s Sean’s father…
Well, Sean
had
said that he wanted her to meet some of his father’s…what had he called them…“associates.” But he hadn’t said anything about his father being here for the party.

Okay, okay, maybe that was because he didn’t want to make it sound like “visit to meet my parents” relationship stuff,
she told herself. Which made sense, they weren’t even
dating,
much less at the “meet my folks” stage. Nevertheless, she decided to change into one of her vintage couture finds, rather than stay in “New York casual.” It sounded like this was going to be a more formal gathering than that. She chose a vintage 1960s silk Dior jumpsuit; it was both sexy and covered everything but a little cleavage and her arms.

When she got to the pool, she knew her instincts had been right to change. There was a string quartet playing classical music out there, a scattering of three-piece suits among the designer “leisure” outfits, and she strongly suspected that had anything like a hot dog been found in those covered dishes on the buffet tables, there would be at least one mortified heart attack.

As she approached, one of the elegant men turned to her, smiling broadly; it was Sean, looking dashing as ever. He was standing among a group of older men, all of them—including Sean—holding glasses full of an amber liquid that she assumed was Scotch. Sean quickly walked up to her, embracing her gently so as not to spill his own glass.

“Thank goodness you’re here. I thought I was about to be bored to death by those doddering old farts,” he whispered into her ear. Then he asked, loud enough for the group behind him to hear, while holding his arm out, “Staci, would you like to meet my father and some of our friends?”

She was…well, petrified was not the right word. She’d met plenty of men who had quite a bit of power at the various fundraisers and whatnot that her father had taken her to. Not that they ever paid any attention to
her,
or even to her father, but she’d certainly brushed elbows with them.

Now, however, they were bending their gaze to her; she was not some insignificant lawyer’s daughter. She was someone who…was worthy of introduction. So she wasn’t
petrified,
but she became hyperconscious of every move she made, and every word she might say. She would have to put her best foot forward for this; first impressions were everything with people like this, and she couldn’t afford any mistakes.

“First, my father, Bradan Blackthorne.” Sean’s father could have been his twin. That is, if their birth had been separated by thirty years, and the eldest had none of the mirthful laughter in his eyes as the younger one had. If nothing else, Staci now knew that Sean had good genes; his father was dignified and handsome, age having given a slight amount of haughtiness to the boyish features that Sean also carried. He nodded to Staci, bowing slightly at the waist as he held out his right hand, which she accepted.

“Charmed, my dear,” the elder Blackthorne said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “You’re even lovelier than my son had led me to expect. And he is usually prone to exaggeration about the women in his life, so this is a welcome surprise.”

Staci could see Sean bristle at that last quip from his father; he did a good job of hiding it, however, and she suspected that no one else had noticed. Feeling awkward, she moved carefully, vigilant in making sure she didn’t do
anything
that could be interpreted as ungraceful. Men like this one kept company socially with no-kidding movie and theater stars. She needed to live up to that sort of standard, at least temporarily.

“It’s good to finally meet you, sir,” she said, still feeling the heat on her cheeks.

“Here, let me introduce you to the rest of the circle.” Sean stepped forward, his arm in hers carrying her forward with only a little encouragement. “From the left, we have Ryan Dubghail, Lynch Collins, Nolan Gearalit, and Stewart Casey. All longtime friends of my father’s, even before I was born. They help to keep the business running along smoothly, in between games of golf or hitting on secretaries.” A polite chuckle ran through the group, several of the men raising their glasses before sipping from them.

“You’ll be able to appreciate the finer things in life once you have more responsibility on your shoulders, young Blackthorne.” The man who spoke was the one that Sean had introduced as Lynch Collins. The two Blackthorne men were tall and well-built by any standard, but he was a giant; easily a head taller than any other man at the party, with a barrel chest and wide shoulders. He looked like a legendary hero come to life…save for the coldness in his blue eyes. After he spoke he speared Staci with his gaze, and she felt those eyes boring through her.

“The boy still needs to earn that responsibility before he can enjoy the fruits that come of it, of the hard work that it takes to keep a family going.” Staci remembered the name of the man speaking now: Stewart Casey. He was tall and thin, with long dark hair that was pulled back into a neat ponytail. “It’s not something taken lightly. Parties such as this, bought and paid for with the wealth of his forebears, do nothing to secure his position. Do they, boy?” Stewart turned to look at Sean, a hint of challenge in his voice.

“Come now. What is youth if not for spending in enjoyment?” Nolan Gearalit was a bear of a man; not as tall as Lynch, but certainly as strong-looking in his squat frame. His full beard outlined a bemused smile that never seemed to leave his face, and his eyes were quick to dance from one person to the next whenever he spoke. For now, however, they seemed fixed on Staci and Sean.

“Father has always expressed the need for a balanced life,” Sean said smoothly.
“Work hard, play hard,
is what he’s said. As long as the ‘work’ comes first, that is.”

“And what work are you doing, boy?” Stewart leaned forward, raising his drink before taking a loud slurp of it conspicuously close to Sean’s face.

“What a Blackthorne has always done, sir,” Sean replied, without even a hint of deference. “Tending the harvest. It should be a particularly good one this year.”

“What benefits the Blackthornes benefits us all,” said Lynch, nodding to Sean’s father. Even though his words were warm enough, Staci couldn’t shake the feeling that the man had nothing but ice in his veins, cool clockwork for his brain.

That these men were powerful was a given. That they were very definitely cut from a different cloth than the powerful businessmen and politicians she had seen in the past…well, that was also a given. Sean and his father were certainly elves; most, if not all, of the “cousins” were certainly elves. But there was no telling what these men might be. Wizards? Psychics? Something even stranger? She just didn’t know what was possible. All that she
did
know was that magic or psychic powers would probably make succeeding in business much easier than mere money and talent alone.

Being able to conjure up pure gold when you need it wouldn’t hurt either.
What did investment losses matter when you could do that?

There was only one thing she was certain of: they were not involved in conventional politics. This coterie of the powerful looked like men who were not at all interested in anything outside of their spheres of influence—whatever those were. And she had the feeling that anyone who tried to shine any light on what those spheres of influence were would find himself in more trouble than he could handle.

The only one that didn’t talk was the man that Sean had introduced as Ryan Dubghail. He was as thoroughly unremarkable as her own father, with sandy colored hair and gray eyes. Still somewhat handsome for an older man, he paled in comparison to Sean or his father, or even Lynch and Stewart. What made him stand apart was the way he hung on every word that everyone was saying, without looking terribly interested in it. Staci had picked up on that sort of body language, from all of her experience with her stepmother; this was someone always looking for some advantage to capitalize upon in either conversation or something that someone might let slip.

“Enough of that, you old dogs. My son will do the family proud, I’m sure.” Bradan’s tone was easy enough, but from the way his eyes met those of the other men, Staci could tell that he wouldn’t brook any further discussion of the point. He turned to Staci and Sean, smiling again. This time there was some emotion in his smile. It looked like…approval? “I’m sure you two have much better things to do than listen to us go on about business. Go, have fun, enjoy the party. Sean,” he said, “we’ll talk later, once you’re free.”

Sean smiled back. Not a big smile, but not one of those tight little “this is not really a smile” things she’d seen on his face when introducing her to the group. “Thank you, Father. I hope your guests will enjoy their entertainment as well. I personally made sure it was going to be the sort of thing they prefer.”

Then he took Staci by the elbow and steered her towards the pool at the buffet. “Thank God that’s over,” he said in an undertone. “It’s easier swimming with sharks. And I’ve swum with sharks.”

She wondered if he meant that literally.…

Actually, he probably did.

Chapter Fourteen

Despite knowing the quality of parties that Sean threw, she was still taken aback with the opulence and service every time. He introduced her to a few more people, some more “friends of friends,” and occasionally had to stop to talk with a gaggle of his cousins, but for the most part he did his best to spend time with her and her alone. The next few hours were a blur of music, food, and staring into Sean’s eyes as they talked. He showered her with compliments at every turn, making her blush despite her best efforts not to. Whenever she needed anything, a servant was immediately at their side to attend to her every wish. It was magical.
Everyone should live like this
, she found herself thinking more than once. She felt
good
, and that went a long way towards keeping her mind off Dylan and her ulterior motive for being at the party. Besides, there was a whole week this time, seven whole days in which she would probably find herself temporarily abandoned while Sean tended to “business”—whatever that was—and played courtier to his father. Time enough to snoop around when she was alone.

Tonight, she wanted just for herself. Was that too much to ask? Of course not. Ever since she had arrived here,
she
had had to be the responsible one.
She
was making sure there was food in the fridge, and that Mom paid the bills on time.
She
did the housecleaning, the laundry. Heck,
she
had gotten together with Sean, who had pretty much safeguarded Mom’s job! All after being thrown in the deep end from the only life she knew in New York City. She deserved something for herself, and this was it.

So she enjoyed the fantasy of being part of a fabulous party right out of a movie. She wasn’t the star of the movie of course, that was Sean. But she was part of it, and she liked being part of it.

When about half of the partygoers had drifted off…to bed, she presumed…she found herself fighting back yawns, to her chagrin. And to her even deeper chagrin, Sean caught her at it. But he just smiled. “I was looking for an excuse to call it a night,” he said, and pointedly looked around the poolside, which at this point was all but vacant. The only actual group of people still awake were Sean’s father and his cronies. He stood up, and offered her his hand to get her to her feet. “Let’s both get some rest. I hear that lounging by the pool is a very exhausting activity; we’ll need our energy. I’ll see you in the morning, Staci,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and turning to walk to his poolside “bachelor pad.”

Well, a kiss on the cheek was better than no kiss at all.…She glanced at the group still standing, conversing and drinking together, but they didn’t seem to notice that Sean had left. She made her way to her room, yawning the entire time, and fell into bed.

* * *

Staci was having a surreal dream when she started to wake up. Through the haze of her sleepiness, she could only remember the barest details of the dream; Sean and Dylan were both in it, as were her friends. It all seemed shrouded in mist, though. She would see Dylan’s face, turning away from her with a half-smile, and then Sean’s, fading away. Her friends all looked worried, even terrified, but vanished just as quickly. Even Tim was there, looking stern and staring down at her. She knew that there was something beneath it all, but the sense of the dream retreated from her as she came back to consciousness.

Her eyes drifted open, and she could see a dark shape in the chair by the window across from the foot of her bed, silhouetted against the dim light coming through the curtains. It took her a few moments…until she realized it was a person. Then her eyes shot open fully. Panic ran through her entire body like a bolt of lightning as she focused on the person, until she recognized who it was.

Sean sat there, staring back at her.

“What are you—” she squeaked, mouth dry and throat tight, still frightened by the unexpected intrusion.

“Staci, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He smiled, and suddenly all her fear just washed out of her. Of course there was nothing wrong. This was
Sean!
He would never hurt her! “I came to see if you wanted to come down to breakfast with me, and you were so pretty lying there, like Sleeping Beauty, I just sat down to watch you for a moment.”

Self-consciously, she pulled the covers up a little further, and put her hand to her head. “What, with bed-hair?” she replied, trying to sound funny. She squinted at the light from the windows. It seemed
awfully
dim. “What time is it, anyway?”

“About five-thirty,” he replied. “I’m a lark, I always have breakfast before everyone else does. Even Father, workaholic that he is, waits until eight. It gets kind of lonely.”

“I’ll meet you down there, okay? I need a couple of minutes at least to get presentable, throw something on other than a nightie.”

“Of course! I’m glad you’re awake enough. I’ll see you there.” He smiled again, and although she was both afraid and hopeful that he would approach her, he went straight out the door, and closed it softly behind him.

As soon as he was gone, she jumped out of bed, grabbed the first approximately reasonable thing she saw in the closet and retreated to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. And then she chided herself for being silly. What did she have to fear from Sean? He had been nothing but gentlemanly towards her the entire time she had known him. He hadn’t tried to ply her with alcohol—though plenty was available—or otherwise force her into anything she didn’t want to do. He was everything he seemed to be, expect for the elf thing. Wasn’t he? Still, she kept the door locked, some tiny voice in the back of her mind winning that much from her.

This wasn’t one of her own outfits, which she was obscurely grateful for. With Sean’s father lurking around the edges of the weekend, she wanted to look…well…
Blackthornely.
It was silk, she could tell that immediately: finely pleated palazzo pants and a matching sleeveless tunic in a soft turquoise. She took extra care with her makeup, and all but ran down the stairs to the huge dining room. Staci paused for a few moments before rounding the final corner of a wall that opened up into the dining room, catching her breath and putting her best smile on.

Sean was sitting alone at one end of the empty table, with a woman in a maid outfit at his elbow. He waved Staci to the seat beside him. “The buffet will be when everyone else is up,” he said, as Staci looked at the empty tables in curiosity. “Just tell the girl what you want; she’ll bring it up for us.”

Staci suddenly felt tongue-tied. “I think—I’m still too foggy to think—” she said.

He chuckled, and turned to the maid. “Steak and eggs for both of us. My usual side dishes. Chamomile tea and pomegranate juice.”

For a moment Staci wondered why no coffee…it was going to be hard to get her brain started without it. Then she remembered: the Blackthornes, and presumably a lot of the cousins, were allergic to caffeine.
Oh well. Caffeine deprivation is a small price to pay for a week of all this…

Breakfast was heavenly. She didn’t think that she was going to feel quite up to something as hearty as steak and eggs until she took the first few bites. Every item was done to perfection, and somehow exactly the way that she preferred. Staci wondered how much of that was magic or just good service. Staci and Sean passed the meal quietly eating, enjoying each other’s company and the food without need of small talk; there would probably be plenty of time for that later.

After they had finished the meal and the dishes were cleared away by the servants, the two of them sat for a spell, finishing their drinks, until Sean suggested that they take a walk on the grounds since the weather was pleasant. Staci agreed to the idea enthusiastically; if nothing else, it was more time alone with Sean, and away from the possibility of Finn interrupting them. She hadn’t seen Finn since she had arrived at the estate, and hadn’t pressed Sean for any information on him; part of her didn’t want to show that she was afraid of his cousin, but she also just didn’t want to know, as if the mere mention of his name would summon him to them. And to tell the truth, she not only was not sure if Sean could protect her from Finn, she was not sure if Sean could protect
himself
from Finn. Now would not be the time to find out, not when everything was so perfect.

As they walked, Sean firmly took her arm and placed it under his. Staci stiffened for a moment, but quickly relaxed. The sun was still low in the sky, and the air was cool and slightly moist. Here and there she saw gardeners tending to the lawn or potted plants around the pool. After walking for a few minutes, Staci noticed that Sean was leading her towards the hedge maze. Memories of the night when she had followed Finn there came unbidden to her mind, and she felt a well of coldness build in her stomach for a moment.
It’ll be okay. Sean is here. If anything happens, you can just use the moves and tricks that Dylan showed you. Relax, girl,
she told herself. Staci willed herself to calm down, and it started to slowly work. The maze wasn’t nearly as frightening in the daylight; just like everything else on the estate, it looked magical, as if it was from a princess fairy tale instead of something from a nightmare.

Sean took her through the maze, showing her plaques and statues that she hadn’t noticed the first time she had gone through it. At one point they became separated for a few moments…until Sean jumped from around a corner, shouting “Boo!” and causing her to yelp. But he was laughing, and a minute—and a few mock punches into his arm—later, so was she. When they got to the middle of the maze—something she hadn’t managed to do on that scary night—she found that the center was occupied by an amazing gazebo. She would have expected wrought iron, but this was wood, all carved into what looked like lacework. It wasn’t painted; the wood itself was a strange silvery color and lacquered to a glasslike finish. Actually, it looked as if the wood had been coated in ice. It was breathtaking. “Oh wow, it looks like it would break in a high wind! Aren’t you guys scared the first storm will take it down?”

“Here, take a look at this.” He pulled her along, taking her hand and placing it against one of the upright braces. The surface felt…natural, but at the same time much more firm than it should have been. The material of the gazebo was extremely dense, whatever it was; a few experimental raps from her knuckles didn’t give the usual knocking sound that wood did, but a flatter, almost muted
whud.
“It would take quite a bit more than a storm to come close to harming this. It’s been in my family for…many, many years. Before either I or my father were born. The wood comes from a kind of tree that is incredibly rare. But of course”— he laughed —“that didn’t matter back in those days. If people with money came across a tree that was rare, that was just all the more reason to cut it down and make something out of it.”

Sean started to lead Staci away. Something made her look over her shoulder towards the gazebo one last time; a funny feeling running up her spine and down her arms. As she was turning away, she caught a glimpse of something in the corner of her vision. It looked as if the gazebo floor was covered in symbols…and blood. There was a dark figure standing in the middle, clutching something; a person, also covered in blood. Staci drew in a sharp intake of breath, ready to scream as her head snapped around. Whatever she had seen, it was gone now; the gazebo was as pristine as it had been moments ago, no sign of blood or menacing figures. She quickly quashed her fear when it became apparent that Sean had noticed her reaction. “Thought I saw a bee on my shoulder,” she said, trying to brush it off. Sean looked at her strangely for a moment, then smiled, and put his hand over hers on her shoulder. Immediately she felt reassured. Of course she hadn’t seen anything! It was just her own overactive imagination, fueled by that night when she’d been so frightened here. She let him take her hand and lead her out of the maze again.

When they came out, she suddenly realized that the sun was high overhead, she was
ravenous,
and there were lots of people poolside. How long had they been in there? She glanced at her watch.
Noon? Already?

“Time seems to do funny things in the maze,” Sean laughed, seeing the expression on her face. “I think it’s because there is so much artwork and so many interesting things in there that you just lose track of it. Time, that is. Look, they’re serving lunch, and Father and his friends are off somewhere so we won’t have them lurking like vultures over us.”

The afternoon went by in a blur of music, pool games, food, and lounging. For a change, this evening, the whole group dressed for dinner, and gathered around that enormous table for a full formal meal with the senior Blackthorne and
his
guests. Staci was grateful that she’d been to a couple of dinners like this with her father—pre-Brenda, of course—and knew how to use all the silverware in the right order. She hardly tasted the food, though, she was so acutely aware of Bradan Blackthorne’s watchful eye on her. It was an acute relief when dinner was over and Bradan announced that he and his friends would be retiring to “the lounge” for the rest of the evening. “You all enjoy yourselves,” were his final words, tempered with a kind of…sardonic look.

The partying was just a bit more subdued, probably because of the knowledge that “the lounge” had windows that overlooked the gardens and pool. Finally everyone went to the pool house to watch Sean and three of the cousins kick ass on another one of their fantastic video games. Which was yet another one that Staci couldn’t identify. It seemed to involve horse-riding and hunting something, using packs of scary-looking hound-things. She got sleepy early, probably because of the
really
early morning. Sean gave up his seat on the couch and his controller to give her a kiss goodnight. A real kiss this time, though it wasn’t what she would have called a “passionate” one. Still, that let her float back to her room, and fall asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

Friday went much the same as Thursday had. Staci and Sean had breakfast together, went for a walk for conversation and taking in the beauty of the grounds, then lunch and more socializing with the rest of the family. After lunch and spending time by the pool with Sean, she had retired to her room to get ready for the party that evening; her friends were finally going to be coming up, and she wanted everything to be perfect when she saw them. They all arrived together in a car that Sean had sent for them, and everyone was all smiles and hugs; even Wanda, in her own semi-sarcastic way.