The Nightmare Affair (34 page)

“Yes. I don’t believe they had a choice.” An amused smile rose to Lady Elaine’s face. “They’ve been surprisingly open about everything. They even sent representatives to explain matters to the students here during an assembly yesterday. They told them all about the Red Warlock and how you and your friends defeated him.”

I gulped, uncertain how I felt about everybody knowing I’d killed a person. A part of me wished
I
didn’t know it. I’d already had one nightmare about it. “Why would the senate do that?”

“Damage control. Marrow may be gone for now, but he has his followers. I imagine they feel the truth will help flush them out, in case any of them are students.”

“Makes sense, I guess. Given Paul.” I shivered from the idea and tried to push it from my mind.

Lady Elaine left a few minutes later, and I drifted off, not waking again until the next morning when the nurse arrived to dismiss me.

“You can visit your mother before you go if you’d like. She’s in room twelve down the hall,” said Nurse Philpot.

I thanked her as she left. I stayed in the room another couple of minutes, trying to muster the courage to face my mother while I changed out of the hospital gown into a pair of jeans and a shirt someone had fetched from my dorm room. Mom must hate me. Still, I had to see with my own eyes that she was okay, and I needed to say I was sorry, even if it didn’t matter.

My mother was lying in the bed when I came through the door. Huge bruises rimmed her cheekbones, and she’d lost weight, making her look almost old. Though still beautiful.

“Hi, Mom,” I said when she looked up at me. She didn’t speak for at least a minute, and I stood there, wondering what to do. Saying I’m sorry didn’t seem enough. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Better,” said Moira.

“Oh, well, you look great.”

She narrowed her bright eyes at me. “You never were much good at lying. I suppose that’s one trait you didn’t inherit from me.”

I tried on a smile, but it felt weak around the edges. “I think that one’s Dad’s. But all the good ones are yours, right? Like the stubbornness and independence.”

My mother returned the smile, shattering the tension between us. She held out her arms, and I ran forward, hugging her so hard she groaned.

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” I whispered against her shoulder.

“It’s all right.” She stroked my hair. “It’s my fault, too. I should’ve told you what I was doing. I should’ve been around more. You had no reason to trust me.”

I pulled back and looked up at her. “That’s not true. You were around, I just didn’t pay attention.”

Moira chuckled. “Your generous nature is
also
from your father. Speaking of which, you need to call him as soon as you can. I’m sure he’s worried. But he has no idea what’s been happening, and I suggest you don’t tell him. If he finds out the kind of danger you’ve been in lately he’ll kidnap you to Siberia.”

“I promise I won’t,” I said, laughing.

“Good.” She hugged me and whispered, “It was never about magic, Dusty. I’ve always loved you. Always. I just let my own selfishness,
childishness,
get in the way. But not anymore.”

I nodded, tears stinging my eyes. It was the first time she’d ever called me Dusty. “I love you, too, Mom.”

There was more to say, more healing that needed to take place, but I knew this was the start of it. And I was glad.

I said good-bye a few minutes later and stepped back into the hallway. I turned to leave, but I noticed that the room beside my mother’s was occupied. Mr. Culpepper was lying in the bed, with George the hellhound curled into a ball at his feet. I imagined the nursing staff was thrilled about that one.

I stopped in the doorway, staring in at him. He stared back, his expression inscrutable.

“Can I come in?” I asked, even as a part of me wondered what the hell I was doing.

“Okay,” Culpepper said.

George raised his head and looked at me with his glowing eyes. But he didn’t growl, which I took as a good sign.

“Are you doing okay?”

Culpepper grunted. “Been better. What do you want?”

I shoved my hands into my front pockets. “To, uh, say I’m sorry. For everything. And to thank you for helping us out.”

He grunted again.

“But why did you help us?” The question had been bugging me for a while now. It seemed that a demon like Culpepper would stand to gain a lot more with Marrow in power than the Magi.

George made a strange, whining noise, and Culpepper patted him. “You mean why didn’t I volunteer for that lunatic’s army?” He looked up at me. “Oh, yes, I was there. I heard him saying those things to you about putting ordinaries in their place and whatnot. But I don’t believe in it. Not at all.”

“Why not?”

“It’s like they teach you in the military. Power has to be kept in check. You’ve got to have rules and guidelines for things to work proper. Otherwise people get hurt that don’t need to.”

I stared at him, my brow furrowed in confusion. “Okay, but what about your magic? I thought Metus feed off fear and stuff.”

Culpepper’s expression turned stony. “We do. But there’s plenty of fear enough for me coming off you high school kids every day. Worries about tests and boyfriends, break-outs and squabbles with friends. I don’t need nothing more.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this, but I couldn’t help seeing him in a new light. “Well, I’m glad you’re all right. I promise not to bother you again.”

Culpepper tilted his head at me. “Does this mean you’re not going to tell everybody about my business?”

I frowned, not having thought about the warehouse at all. “Um, sure. I mean, you’re not planning on blowing up the school or anything, right?”

“Nope. And I don’t sell the explosives, neither. I just like to be prepared in case Arkwell’s ever attacked.”

I decided his paranoia was a good thing, considering that nobody knew when or if Marrow was coming back. “Well, okay, but I might hit you up for a candy bar or two every now and again,” I said, grinning.

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Don’t usually sell to students.” He paused. “But I suppose I can make an exception for you.”

The grin slid from my face as I remembered the files in his storeroom. “What about Rosemary?”

Culpepper shifted his gaze to the window, looking as if I’d slapped him. “She was an exception, too. Always so nice to me she was. So sad when she left that way.” He faced me again, moisture in his eyes. “I’m glad you stopped her killer.”

Unsure what to say, I nodded. When I left a moment later, I couldn’t help thinking how strange it was that Culpepper turned out to be one of the good guys. I’d misjudged a lot of people it seemed. I vowed to work on that. I needed to stop jumping to conclusions and give people a chance no matter what. Who knew, maybe even Ms. Hardwick would turn out to be okay.

I checked the clock over the nurse’s station as I passed and saw it was noon, which meant Selene and Eli were probably at lunch. Nurse Philpot had told me I was excused from classes for the rest of the week, but I wanted to see them.

When I walked into the cafeteria, everybody fell silent. I froze. I hadn’t expected this kind of reception. I spotted Selene sitting at our usual table. Even from a distance, I could see the line of stitches running down one side of her face from the worst of the cuts the black phoenix had made. To my surprise, Eli was sitting with her.

I never knew who started it, but someone clapped, slowly at first and then with more enthusiasm. An embarrassed flush came over me as most everybody joined in. Next thing I knew Melanie Remillard was there, giving me a huge hug. She cried so hard she left wet marks on my shirt.

The applause didn’t last long, but more than a few people told me how glad they were that I’d stopped the Red Warlock.

When I finally reached the table, Selene stood up and hugged me. “Don’t feel weird,” she said. “Everybody’s been congratulating me and Eli, too.”

“Oh, well, that’s good.”

As she let go, I said, “Are you okay?” The stitches weren’t large, but the sight of them made my skin prickle with alarm. I wasn’t used to her looking anything besides perfect. She was still beautiful, but different now.

Selene raised a hand to her face and touched the red puffy skin beneath one stitch. She smiled. “I’m fine. The doctor says it might leave a scar, but I’m okay with that.” Her easy acceptance of it surprised me.

Before I could question her further, Eli pulled me in for a hug, enveloping me with his arms and dwarfing me with his body. “We did it,” he whispered against my ear. His breath made me shiver. He took his time letting go, and I knew in that moment the kiss hadn’t been a dream. He cared about me; we were something more than friends.
Dream-seers
.

I wanted to be happy about it, but I was afraid to read too much into it. Thoughts of Paul kept crowding my mind, provoking that ache in my heart.

As he stepped away from me, I saw Lance watching us from across the cafeteria. No, that wasn’t right. He was watching Selene, not me, his gaze locked onto her like a missile-targeting system. He looked pissed off, but somehow I didn’t get the impression the anger was directed at her.

Across from Lance, Katarina was watching us, too. Her face looked red from crying.

“You hungry?” said Eli. “I can go through the line for you.”

“Um, okay.” I wasn’t in the mood to eat, but I wanted to talk to Selene alone.

I sat down as Eli left and said, “So what’s the deal?”

“They broke up, or are on a break or something,” said Selene.

I blinked, surprised she’d known exactly what I was referring to. It was a testament to how well she knew me. “Why?”

“Because of what Paul did to you. I think Eli was worried Katarina was manipulating him.”

“Do you think she was?” I’d suspected it before, but I didn’t want to offend Selene by assuming all sirens acted that way.

“Not like Paul was.” Selene’s expression darkened. “Most sirens can’t help themselves when it comes to manipulating. It’s our nature. And it’s expected, too, you know? That’s why I keep saying we’ve got to change the system and stop treating sirens like sex objects.” She slapped the table in emphasis.

I grinned at her enthusiasm and the underlying confidence I sensed behind it. That surety hadn’t been there before. I was thankful for the distraction from thinking about Paul. Only, I couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for Katarina. Selene was right. She hadn’t done anything like what Paul had done, and I thought her feelings for Eli were probably genuine. She had no reason to use him, after all.

Eli returned a moment later with my tray.

“Thanks,” I said.

“No problem.”

We ate in silence for a couple of moments.

After a while, Eli leaned across the table toward me and said, “You know. There’s really something to this dream-seer stuff. I was thinking we should start our own private investigation service. We could take on student clients for now and maybe teachers and staff later. I bet between the dreams and our natural investigative instincts, we could do a lot of good.”

I frowned at him. “We can’t just point the dreams at whatever mystery we’re trying to solve and figure it out.”

“Sure we can.”

“
Hel-lo
? Remember the stuff Bethany said about manipulating dreams and trapping people?”

“She lied. Or exaggerated greatly, to be more accurate.”

“How do you know?”

“He asked Lady Elaine about it,” said Selene, patting her lips with a napkin.

Eli nodded. “She came to see me in the hospital. Apparently, we’re
supposed
to do that kind of thing. Lady Elaine thinks Bethany just told you that because she wanted you to keep suspecting your mom and not her. That, and she didn’t want us spying on what Marrow was up to, like we did when the phoenix attacked us.”

I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking it over. “But if she only exaggerated, then there’s still a risk, right?”

Eli waved a dismissive hand. “Not enough to worry about. We’ll be careful.”

I didn’t answer.

“Oh, come on, Dusty,” said Eli, his blue eyes fixed on my face in a way that made me want to squirm. “Together, we’re unstoppable. Besides, what else have we got to dream about now that we found the killer?”

I began to fiddle with my hair, dropping my gaze off Eli. “Nothing, I guess.”
Well, not until the Red Warlock comes back
.

“If you two are starting a detective agency, I want in,” said Selene, adjusting her ball cap.

“Well, duh,” said Eli, beaming at her.

“And we’re going to need a name,” Selene said. “Something good and catchy.”

“You’re right.” Eli scratched his chin. “How about the Arkwell Detective Agency. The A.D.A.”

Selene wrinkled her nose. “Sounds too much like a chemical or something.”

“What about Booker and Associates?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not all about you, you know?”

Eli grinned. “Says who?”

“I think we should call it Selene Investigations.”

“No, Nightmare Investigations.”

“Dreamer Investigations.”

“The Dream Team.”

“How about Magic Eyes? You know, like private eyes, only for magic.”

“Corny much?”

On and on it went, everybody arguing and trying to one-up the other. But it was all in good fun. After a while, I realized I was even
having
fun. Despite the terror we’d faced down in the tunnels, death and blood and all things horrible, we were okay. Funny how having friends beside you could do that. With friends, you could survive just about anything.

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