4 Waxing & Waning (18 page)

Aric raised an eyebrow. “Was?”

“Yeah. Will doesn’t have it anymore.”

“Do you know who has it?”

“I do know who has it.”

Aric snorted. “Do you have it?”

“Yup.”

“Does Will know you have it?”

“I doubt it,” I said. “If he did, he’d have tried to reclaim it by now. I’ve had it for months.”

Aric rubbed his chin. “You stole it that night we found you outside of the house, didn’t you?”

“I should be appalled that you think I’m a thief,” I said. “Since I am, though, I’m going to let it slide.” I finished applying the last piece of tape to his abdomen. “Are you okay? Should we take you to get stitches?”

Aric pulled his shirt down. “It’s fine. You won’t even be able to tell it happened tomorrow morning.”

“That’s a wolf thing, right?”

“Yeah.”

I leaned back on my haunches, lifting my head so I could look him in the eye. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of my mouth.”

“I’m not.”

“Well, you’re not very bright,” I said, pushing myself to my feet.

I made a move to clean up the stuff on the table, but Aric stilled me by grabbing my hand. “How did you figure all of this out?”

“I’m smarter than I look,” I said.

“Still … .” He was rubbing my hand with his fingers. “Does Blake know you know?”

“I think he knows I’ve figured some of it out,” I said. “I don’t think he knows how much I know.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Do you want to lay down or something? Rest?”

“What?”

“You just got stabbed,” I said. “Don’t you need time to recuperate?”

“And you want me to stay here to do it?”

I bit my lower lip. “You can stay here.”

Aric’s face cracked. “Really?”

“You can stay here,” I said. “I’m not ready for … anything else. You can stay here, though. It’s probably safer if you do it here anyway, at least until you’re all the way better.”

“How do you figure?”

“Paris warded the house,” I said. “Only people who are invited by her, me, and Kelsey can enter.”

“Which explains the bathroom,” Aric said. “You said something about that the other day, but it didn’t really register I guess.”

“Yeah.”

Aric got to his feet. “Where is your room?”

I pointed to the door behind him. He moved toward it wordlessly, pushing it open. He inclined his head. “Are you coming?”

I sighed. “No funny business.”

“No funny business,” he agreed. “A night of sleep without looking over my shoulder sounds pretty good all on its own – especially if you’re next to me.”

“No funny business,” I repeated. “I’m still mad at you.”

“Baby steps,” he said, unsnapping his pants and letting them drop to the floor as he kicked off his shoes. “Just sleep next to me tonight. That’s all I want.”

I stripped out of my own pants and hoodie, leaving my underwear and tank top in place. “If I feel your hands wandering, I’m going to break them.”

Aric barked out a laugh. “I believe you.”

We settled into the bed, Aric moving in close enough so I could feel his warmth, but not so close that he invaded my personal space. “Can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure,” I said, weariness washing over me.

“How did it feel to beat Caitlyn up? I know you hit her before, but you beat the shit out of her tonight.”

“Pretty good,” I admitted, yawning. “I’m hoping to get a chance to do it again.” Something told me that was going to be an option.

We both drifted off to sleep quickly and, at some point in the night, Aric’s hands wandered far enough to draw me into his arms. We both slept like the dead after that. I think it was the first time in almost a year either of us felt any comfort.

“We’re ready,” Paris announced, joining Kelsey and me in the living room.

It was finals week, and Paris had finally completed everything she needed to destroy the resurrection stone.

“Can we do it inside? Or is this an outdoor activity?”

Paris scrunched up her face. “It shouldn’t be messy,” she said. “Just to be on the safe side, though … .”

“Outside it is,” I said, getting to my feet. “Let’s do it now.”

“You’re awfully anxious,” Kelsey said. “Can’t we eat dinner first?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just have … this feeling.”

“Things are about to go south, aren’t they?” Paris asked.

“We need to destroy it now,” I said. “I’d just feel better about everything if we did it now. Once it’s done, it can’t be used against us.”

Paris nodded. “I’ve learned not to argue with your feelings,” she said. “If we do it now, we can celebrate with a big dinner.”

“I’ll even take you guys out,” I said. “My treat.”

“Sold,” Kelsey said. “So, um, what do we do?”

“Let me get the stuff from my room,” Paris said. “Meet me in the driveway in five minutes.”

I started to move toward the back door and then stilled. “Why the driveway?”

“Just in case things get … melty.”

“Ah, good thinking.”

Once the three of us were gathered in a small circle, Kelsey and I watched Paris with a mixture of morbid curiosity and general nervousness. Since we were out of our depth, we both wordlessly let Paris do her thing.

Paris placed the necklace on the cement and then knelt next to it. “Okay, Kelsey, hand me that baggie.”

Kelsey peered into the box, rummaged around for a second, and then retrieved the requested item. “What is this?”

“Herbs.”

Kelsey wrinkled her nose. “Like basil?”

“Um, more like mandrake, agrimony, Solomon’s Seal, wolfsbane, and toadflax.”

“Yum. And what does it do?”

“Just watch,” Paris admonished. “I need to concentrate.”

“Fine,” Kelsey sniffed. “You don’t have to be so rude.”

Paris ignored her. She opened the bag and dumped the herbs on top of the necklace.

I cocked my head to the side, watching the necklace curiously. “It’s weird,” I said. “It still sounds like it’s talking to me.”

“What does it say?”

“I don’t hear words,” I said, leaning closer. “It’s like … singing.”

“Do you recognize the song?”

“No.”

“I can’t hear anything,” Kelsey said, turning to Paris. “Can you?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Why can Zoe hear it? Is it because she’s a mage?”

“That would be my guess.”

“Do you think it knows what is happening?” Kelsey asked.

I considered the question. “Yeah. I think it does.”

“And?”

“And it’s … happy. Can inanimate objects have feelings?”

“Those imbued with magic can,” Paris said. “Maybe this one knows its time is done.”

I nodded, feeling suddenly reticent. “Let’s get this over with.”

Paris glanced at me, reading my expression perfectly. “We’re putting it to rest,” she said. “We’re not killing anything.”

“It’s dangerous,” Kelsey added. “We can’t risk Blake getting his hands on it. If he builds his army … the werewolves won’t be the only ones at risk.”

“I know.”

I inclined my head in Paris’ direction. “Do it.”

Paris nodded, raising her hands over the stone. She started to chant. I couldn’t make out the words, and I wasn’t sure what language she was speaking. The whole ritual took about five minutes. As Paris’ chanting started to build, the stone began to glow.

I was so lost in the scene in front of me, it took me a few seconds to realize Paris had stopped chanting. The stone flared brightly twice and then … died. When it was all over, the necklace was still resting on the driveway. Untouched.

Kelsey wrinkled her nose. “Did it work?”

“I don’t know,” Paris admitted. “I thought the necklace would have been destroyed.”

I knelt down, tilting my head to the side so I could listen. There was nothing. “It’s gone.”

“You don’t hear anything?”

“No.”

“Why is the necklace still here?”

“Because the power was contained in the necklace,” I said. “Paris freed the power. The necklace remains because there was no real power attached to it.”

I reached down and picked it up, dusting it off.

“What are you doing?” Paris asked. “It’s useless now.”

“I know that,” I said. “You know that. There’s a whole bunch of people out there who don’t know that, though.”

Paris nodded knowingly. “You’re holding onto it just in case,” she said. “That’s smart.”

“When are you people going to realize that I’m always smart?”

DINNER
that night was festive. I took Kelsey and Paris to a local Mexican restaurant, and we celebrated with margaritas and fajitas. Now that we were all twenty-one, having drinks with our supper seemed like a natural progression.

“So, are you going to tell us what happened with Aric last week?” Paris asked.

“Nothing happened,” I said. “I bandaged him up and that was it.”

“He spent the night,” Kelsey scoffed. “Are you telling me nothing happened?”

“We just slept,” I said. “It was … nice.”

“You’re so getting back together,” Kelsey said. “I always knew you would.”

“Maybe,” I hedged. “We have some things to work out.”

“Like?”

“Like I’m not comfortable with the pack stuff,” I said. “It makes me nervous.”

“I get that,” Paris said. “Nobody is perfect, though.”

“Aric is pretty close to perfect,” Kelsey said. “What does he look like naked?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, tell me,” Kelsey said. “He looks great with his clothes on. That means he looks even better with his clothes off.”

“He looks … good with his clothes off,” I conceded. “He’s more than just a body, though.”

“Yeah, he’s got those dimples, too,” Paris teased.

“Why don’t you ask Paris what Seth looks like with his clothes off? I bet that’s even more impressive.”

“She’s shown me pictures,” Kelsey said. “And, yes, it’s impressive.”

“You took pictures?”

Paris shrugged. “What? He was asleep. It’s not like I’m posting them to my Facebook page.”

“You want to, don’t you?”

“Totally,” Paris said. “If I didn’t think it would freak my mom out, I would.”

I sipped from my margarita. “What about Kevin? How does he look with his clothes off?”

“He looks good,” Kelsey said. “He doesn’t look Aric-and-Seth good, but I’m more interested in his mind than his body.”

I snorted. “Whatever.”

“Hey, I like a guy with brains.”

“Aric has brains,” I said.

“Seth kind of does,” Paris said. “I’m really attracted to the body. I can’t lie.”

“Hey, he’s loyal and he dotes on you,” I said. “How can you find fault with that?”

“It’s the doting that bothers me,” Paris admitted. “I like to argue. Not a lot, just a little. He doesn’t argue.”

“That was your problem with Mark,” I reminded her.

“Oh, Seth is so much better looking than Mark,” Kelsey said. “That makes up for a lot.”

“That is really shallow,” I said.

“I don’t care,” Kelsey said. “I’m shallow. I can live with it.”

“Speaking of Mark, have you talked to him lately?” Paris asked.

I shook my head. “I haven’t even seen him since I left the Academy.”

“See, that worries me,” Paris said. “I would have thought he would try to talk you into returning. You know how into them he is.”

The thought had occurred to me, too. “Maybe he’s just cutting his losses with us,” I said. “I mean, you broke his heart, and I crippled his monster hunting. He’s probably pretty pissed off.”

“Still, when this is all over, you should try and talk to him,” Paris said. “Just to get a feel for where his head is at.”

“Yeah, great, I’ll add it to my list of things to do,” I grumbled.

“I’m sure that Mark is going to fall below Aric,” Kelsey said.

“And Will. And Blake. And Caitlyn.” I made a face. I still hated her.

“What about Rafael?” Paris asked.

“We had a talk and came to an understanding,” I said. “We both agree it could never work between us. He finds me immature and tiresome.”

“Then why is he here?”

“What?” I glanced over my shoulder, my gaze meeting his from across the restaurant. “What is he doing here?”

Rafael stalked toward the table, not caring how many odd stares he incurred as he made the trip. “I’ve been looking all over the place for you.”

“Sit down,” I ordered. “You’re drawing too much attention.”

Rafael glanced around, frowning. He settled in the chair between Kelsey and me and fixed me with a hard look. “We have a problem.”

“What?”

“One of Blake’s minions found me on campus,” he said.

“Did he try to hurt you?”

Rafael shook his head. “He was actually looking for you.”

“Did he give you a name?”

“Paul.”

“Ah, numb nuts. What did he want?”

“To give you a message.” Rafael’s face was unreadable.

My mouth was suddenly dry. “What message?”

“They know you have the stone,” he said. “I don’t know how they know, but they know. They want to make a trade.”

“For what? What could they possibly have that I would want?”

“How about your wolf?”

Rafael’s words made my blood run cold. “What?”

“They say if you don’t give them the stone, they’ll kill him,” Rafael said. “I believe them.”

I glanced over at Paris. “Where do they want to meet?”

“You can’t give them the stone,” Rafael said.

“Where do they want to meet?”

“Behind the library,” he said. “You still can’t give them the stone.”

“I’m not going to let them kill him,” I said. “They can have the stone.”

“Even if you give them the stone, that doesn’t mean that they won’t kill Aric,” he said.

“I know.”

“If you go there, they’re going to try and kill you, too.”

“I know.”

“You can’t go there,” Rafael said, banging his hands on the table for emphasis.

“We destroyed the stone today,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Well, destroyed isn’t the right word. We released the magic. The necklace is still intact.”

Rafael faltered. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. We were here celebrating.”

“What if they know the stone is powerless?”

“I’ll have to deal with that when it comes to it,” I said, getting to my feet. “I have to go.”

“I can’t help you on this,” he said. “They can’t either.” He gestured to Kelsey and Paris.

“I know that. I’m on my own.”

“You have the strength to do this,” Rafael said. “Just believe in yourself – and believe in the wolf.”

“If something happens … if I die … make sure these guys are okay,” I said. “Promise me that.”

Rafael sighed. “I promise.” I started to move away from the table but he stopped me with a hand on my arm. “You have to promise me something in return.”

“What?”

“You have to promise me that you’re going to win.”

“Oh, I’m going to win,” I said grimly. “I’m going to win – and I’m not taking any prisoners.”

Rafael searched my face for a second and then let go of my hand. “Give them hell.”

“I plan to.”