Feudlings (16 page)

It hadn't been a powerful spell because by the time Ari had raced down all three flights of stairs, knocking people out of her way as she went, the mist was gone. She couldn't find where it had originated. She stood in the hallway, turning in circles, her breath coming in and out in fast, ragged gasps. A red curl had escaped from her ponytail, and she shoved it furiously behind her ear.

Nothing.

The mist was gone. Shaking her head, she dropped onto the last stair, her head on her knees. The halls were empty now. The bell had rung sometime during her mad dash down the stairs and she hadn’t even realized it. Not that it mattered now, anyway. Slowly, she got up and walked out the door to her dorm to pack her things, her heart numb. It was time to go. She dug her phone out of her pocket. She needed to call Will.

****

"Will, it doesn't matter. If Richard finds out there's Carules magic here, he'll send in the troops. I have to go." She sat on the floor, her back against her bed, half-heartedly shoving clothes into the duffle bag between her outstretched legs.

"No you don't. How's he gonna find out, Ari?" Will argued. She didn't answer. "You said it wasn’t a powerful spell. That means that whoever threw it isn't powerful, right? Anyway, do you have any reason to be afraid? Have you thrown any spells or said anything that might give away who you are?" Will’s voice was intense even through the phone. "Think, Ari."

Ari leaned her head back against the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "No. I haven't," she said.

"Then you have no reason to run. Stay there, keep an eye on things. Do you want me to come?" he asked.

Ari laughed despite her best intentions not to. "And say what when everyone asks who you are? That you were held back for the last ten years? Or we could tell them you’re the new janitor. I think telling them you’re my bodyguard might be a tad bit counterproductive."

"It doesn't matter what I say. I'll be there to protect you," he said quietly.

Ari abruptly stopped laughing. He was serious. "It's not me that needs protecting, Will. This place… if someone decides to attack me, Richard will level it. I can't let that happen." Her mind whirled with devastating images of her friends under an Edren attack.

"And by leaving, you think you'll be stopping that? What reason will you give the Family when they ask why you left? They'll know, Ari," Will said. "If you're afraid something is going to happen to you, then come here. But if it's to protect that school and the friends you keep insisting you don’t have, the best thing you can do is stay there. Whatever you do, watch your step. No magic. Ever."

Ari hung up the phone and bit her lip. She didn’t know what to do. Maybe she could just ask Richard if there had been any Carules activity in the general area that she should know about. She mulled over how to pose her question as she dialed his direct line. She had to phrase it right, so that he didn’t suspect it was at her school or somewhere close by.

But the call went straight to voicemail. Sighing, she hung up and called his front desk. She had been hoping to avoid this, as calling Richard’s secretary was always awkward.

“Richard Delacour’s office. This is Vivian,” the quiet, no-nonsense voice answered.

“Hi Mom. It’s Ari.”

“Arianna? What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?” Ari could hear the panic flood her mother’s voice. This was why she hated calling.

“No, no. Nothing’s wrong. I was just trying to reach Richard — er, Grandfather, but he isn’t answering his direct line. Could you patch me through or whatever it is you do?” Ari didn’t want to talk to her mom. She didn’t understand her mother or why she put up with Richard running — and ruining — her life. Ari had been told that Vivian was a powerful sorceress, but Ari had never seen any indication of it. All she had ever seen her mom do was cower.

“Sorry, Arianna. I can’t seem to reach him. Is there something you need that I can do for you?” Vivian asked.

“Umm, no. It’s okay. Could you just have him… no, you know what, forget I called. It isn’t important.”

“Are you sure? Arianna, how are you?” Vivian’s voice was even quieter than it had been before, and Ari had to struggle to hear her. Fear often choked her mother when she was forced to talk to Ari.

“I’m fine, Mom. But I’ve got to go. I’ve got class. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

Ari hung up. Yeah, that had been just as awkward as always. Sighing, she got up.
Guess I’ll go back to class, then
. She flung her backpack over her shoulder and trudged out the door, tucking her phone in her back pocket as she went.

Chapter Twelve

The day of the dance dawned overcast and cold. Nev and Liv both had dates. Shane, Hunter, and Charity were all going as a group and they had somehow talked Ari into going with them, even though she had rarely seen them for the past two weeks.

She had kept her distance as much as possible; it hadn't been too hard since they were always MIA. They showed up to classes, mostly, but even at lunch they were making lame excuses and never sat still long. Nev had mentioned a few times how bizarre they were acting, and it got worse as the days went on. Charity got more and more pale and looked downright ill. Dark circles framed her eyes and her cheeks had taken on a sunken appearance.

Ari tried not to care. Charity obviously didn't want her to care. But she couldn't help it. She worried, although she refused to admit it. She had her own problems anyway, driving herself nuts watching for any trace of Carules magic.

That was the whole reason she had let them talk her into going to the dance at all, so that she could watch for Carules. Or at least, that’s what she told herself.

****

"So what I want to know is, how did Shane get out of going with someone? I know he had like ten thousand girls ask him," Nev said as she painted her toenails bright candy-apple red. The dance was casual, but it was still a dance, which in Nev’s eyes meant they should all spend the day making themselves beautiful.

"Yeah. Brittany asked him. I know because she just about broke the door to our room down after he told her no. She accused me of asking him first, and wow — can that girl shriek." Ari shook her head in disbelief, her eyes wide. Livi snickered. "We know. We heard her from clear over here." She was painting her fingernails bright pink, her long brown hair up in big curlers, and still dressed in pajama pants and a tank top.

Ari sat next to her on the bed, painting her toenails too, something she secretly loved but would never admit to anyone, not even Will. Her nails were dark metallic blue, and she refused to believe she chose that color because it reminded her of Shane's eyes.
Yeah
, she thought,
that would be more than a little pathetic
.

It was almost six p.m. and she wasn’t dressed yet. Spending the whole day in her pajamas was not something Ari could remember ever doing, and it was lovely.

"Anyway," Livi continued, "He’s just been saying he isn’t even sure he’s gonna be there. So you can imagine how furious every girl in this school is going to be when he shows up with Ari." She giggled, then smacked a freshly painted hand over her mouth when she saw the look Ari was giving her.

"C'mon!” she squeaked through her hand. “You know they're going to think you're there together. The way he looks at you? Everyone knows he's got a thing for you."

Nev threw a pillow at Livi, frowning indignantly on Ari's behalf. "Everyone but Ari knows that, Liv."

Ari just shook her head. "He does not. We're just friends, if that even. We're just part of the same group." She stretched out her leg to admire her toes. "Pretty," she said and smiled. Nev’s eyes sparkled at her in agreement.

"Oh no. Shane and I have been friends for a long time and I have never seen him look at someone the way he does you." Livi hurled the pillow back at Nev. "What? She has to know," she said when Nev threw her hands up in exasperation.

Ari leaned back against the wall, watching them with amused envy.

"How long have you two been friends?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject to one less painful. They both looked at her in surprise, not used to her interrupting them. She batted her eyes innocently.

"Forever," Nev said at the same time Livi said, "Since we were babies."

"Wow. I didn't know people could stay friends that long," Ari answered.

Nev flopped over on her stomach and reached for Ari's hand across the bed, grabbing the blue fingernail polish. Ari obediently gave it to her, slightly baffled. "Good grief, Ari. You have lived a deprived life."

Livi nodded, her face lighting up as she said, "Good thing you met us when you did!"

"Yep," Nev agreed matter-of-factly and Ari felt her face break into a stupid grin. She watched Nev paint each of her fingers and realized with a pang that no one in the world had ever painted her fingernails before. "We lived next door when we were born. But then my dad died when I was twelve, and Livi—”

"My dad left when I was eleven." Livi said casually. Ari was surprised at her tiny friend’s tone. She might as well have been saying she got her homework done. There was definite pain in Nev’s voice but there was no pain or bitterness or anger at all in Livi’s.

"I'm sorry," Ari said, unsure what else to say.

"Don't be. He was a jerk. It was a good thing.”

“And my dad was sick for a long time. It was a blessing when he could finally rest in peace,” Nev said sadly, even as she smiled.

“Anyway, both our moms were having a hard time making ends meet, so we sold our house and moved in with Nev and her mom. We've been there ever since," Livi continued with an understanding look toward her best friend.

"So you guys are like sisters," Ari said in slow amazement.

"Yeah. But we don't share clothes because she's so tiny." Nev snickered.

Livi stuck her tongue at her and went back to her nails. "There. Done." She held up her bright pink fingers and wiggled her matching toes. "Gorgeous," she said with a nod.

Nev took Ari's other hand. "To be honest though, I thought Shane had a thing for you too… but he has been acting weird these past few weeks."

Ari stifled the pain that shot through her chest, shoving it down deep where it couldn't hurt her. "Yeah. Like I said," she replied with a flippancy she didn’t feel, "I'm not sure we're even friends. We just hang out in the same group."

Livi unwrapped the curlers and let her hair tumble down her back in shiny brown waves. "All ready," she said, turning toward them. "Good thing. It's almost time to go." Nev gave Ari her hand back.

"I guess I'll go get dressed. I'll see you guys over there?" Ari asked, standing and stretching while she admired her nails against the white of the ceiling.

"Are you sure you won't walk over with us? It'll be fun," Livi asked, a mischievous sparkle in her big brown eyes.

"I would love to, but I told Charity I would walk with them." Nev and Livi exchanged a glance and Ari laughed, snatching two pillows off Livi's bed and tossing them, hitting both girls at once, wincing when she realized she’d probably just smudged her nails. "That does not mean I'm going with Shane. We're going as a group. That is
all.
"

Charity was standing in the hall when Ari came out. She was pale and shaking and looked horrible.

"Charity! Are you okay?" Ari asked, too surprised to remember that she was trying not to care.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I was just waiting for you." Charity gave her a weak smile.

"I've just gotta change and I'm ready." Ari motioned at her black and blue fleece pajama pants and blue tank top. Charity nodded and leaned against the wall. Ari walked over, took her by the shoulders, and steered her down the hall to her room, opening the door and easing her down on the bed.

"No offense, but you look terrible. Why are you even going?" Ari asked, and then winced at her own lack of tact.

Brittany turned away from her mirror to scowl at them both. "Nice, Ari. I sure am glad we're not friends so you can’t say things like that to me." She was wearing a tight, bright pink strapless dress that barely brushed her thighs, and fishnet tights. She looked like she was going to a club, not a school dance.

"The dance is casual, Brittany. Didn't anyone tell you that?" Ari glared back.

"This
is
casual. We don't all run around with our hair in a messy braid all the time. Some of us like to look half-decent occasionally." Brittany sniffed.

"I'm going because I have to go," Charity said in answer to Ari's question, appearing not to have noticed Ari and Brittany's whole conversation. She stared out the window into the dark outside, still shaking. Brittany heaved a sigh and grabbed a black jacket, tugging it on over her dress.

"Well, now you don't look quite so skanky," Ari said, appraising Brittany’s outfit with a raised eyebrow as she went to her own closet and started pulling out clothes. She reached up and pulled the elastic out of her braid, finger-combing the waves loose, then pulled off the pajamas that she had been wearing all day. She pulled on a denim mini skirt and a gray flowy top. Digging through the bottom of her closet, she emerged holding her knee-high black boots with the four-inch heels. They made her tall, and most boys wouldn't dare ask her to dance because she towered over them. Just the way she liked it.

Ari plopped on the bed and started tugging on her boots.

"Wow. You look good," Charity said.

"Whatever. She looks okay." Brittany put her hands on her hips and looked away.

Brittany’s weird friend she was always with showed up right then and they both left, leaving the door wide open. The only time Brittany bothered to shut the door was if she was slamming it to make a point.

"Okay, Charity. Spill. What's wrong?" Ari leaned forward with her hands on her knees. Charity wouldn't meet her eyes, but a tear escaped and snaked its way down her pale cheek. She whispered, "I could tell you, but you'd never believe me."

Just then, Shane appeared in the open doorway, wearing distressed jeans and a brown T-shirt with a skull across the back. Ari tried not to notice how it hugged his shoulders.