Infinite Risk (14 page)

Carmen looked at her phone. “If you're riding back with me, meet up here at eleven fifteen. I have a curfew, and some of you need to catch the midnight bus home.”

“Sounds good.” Devon squared his shoulders and locked on a target I couldn't pick out of the crowd.

Kian put a hand on my arm. “You won't ditch me, right?”

“Of course not. I'm the one who talked you into coming tonight. Relax, it'll be fine.”

The others drifted off, in twos and threes, probably not wanting to seem so nervous that we had to rove in a pack like wolves. With black lights and multiple strobes, the room possessed a surreal air, making it hard to recognize anyone. Though I'd likely seen most of these people at school, I couldn't ID Jake or Tanya. In fact, the whole place gave me a weird vibe. From the corner of my eye, I caught odd movements and sourceless shadows. Sometimes a guest seemed to have mouths too big for their faces, or too many teeth, but when I shivered and peered closer, they seemed human.

I'm freaking out over nothing.

Just because the one party I'd attended in Boston ended with the host being devoured by demon dogs, it didn't mean this one was cursed by association. A tall figure skirted the crowd, some of whom were dancing, but their movements were weird. I attributed that to drinking as Jake's features clarified. The strobe made it seem like his smile was cut into his face with a serrated knife. One blink, and that impression faded. He seemed genuinely pleased to see me.

“You made it. That's awesome.”

“What the hell are you playing, though?”

“It's a mix of Skinny Puppy, Frontline Assembly, and NIN.”

“I haven't heard of any of that,” I said.

“Not a fan of industrial?”

“Not so much. But in all honesty, music isn't really my jam anyway.” I had to practically yell to be heard over the growl and grind of the song.

“It's too loud,” Tanya whisper-yelled.

She slipped her hand into Jake's in an affectionate gesture. I noticed Kian tense at my shoulder, but he didn't react otherwise.
Come on, say something. I won't be around to pass you perfect segues forever.
Jake rolled his eyes. Across the room, I watched a dark shape approach Carmen in staccato movements.
It's a guy, it's just some guy.
She disappeared from one flash to another, and I stared hard at the space where she had been, chills crawling up and down my spine. The foreboding from earlier rebounded and intensified.

Probably because Tanya agreed with me, Jake went over to the iPod dock and shifted to a different playlist. The first song that came on didn't drown out all attempts at verbal communication at least. She smiled at him, but the strobes made her expression seem strange and predatory. I had the urge to ask to see their belly buttons. Not just Jake and Tanya, either, I pretty much wanted to inspect everyone in the room. But that would ruin what social cred I'd managed to accrue and I couldn't be branded an outcast for Kian's sake.

“Your boyfriend isn't coming?” Tanya asked.

“It's hard to tell with him. I told him, but…” I shrugged, not wanting to talk about the weird conversation I'd carried on while the Harbinger hugged me, which was like surviving a close encounter with a lion.

“Does he have a gig?” Kian wanted to know.

“Maybe. Full disclosure isn't his style.”

“I'd put up with a lot for a guy that hot,” Tanya said.

Jake strolled up just in time to hear that. “I could get a complex. Every time I turn around, you're looking for an upgrade.”

“Like that's possible.” She grinned, stretching up to kiss his cheek.

Kian shifted beside me, and I read his discomfort, but I didn't know what to do about it. If anyone did, I understood the pain of hiding your feelings; my emotions were a hot pot bubbling with conflicting impulses. But before I could make an excuse to break away, Carmen reappeared across the room. She seemed a little mussed, and if I found her smile slightly alarming, maybe I'd just never seen someone who just got laid before.

That was fast.

A frisson of unease prickled the skin on the nape of my neck. Glancing around the room, I caught someone—or something—staring our way, but the focus wasn't on me. Whoever—or whatever—had locked onto Kian like a laser targeting scope.
Something terrible is going to happen tonight. Wedderburn can't let him get too far from extremis.
The insight didn't feel like a hunch, more of a certainty. I stopped trying to convince myself that the bad feeling came from my imagination and frantically tried to factor damage control.

“I think we have bio together,” Tanya was saying to Kian with a friendly smile. “You took best on that last test. Thanks to your ninety-nine, I got a B.”

He didn't freeze up. “I guess you have to try harder.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, I will. You'll be eating my bell curve next time.”

Smiling, he said, “I doubt it. You have extracurriculars to worry about while I'm focused on grades.”

“How come?” Jake asked.

“Not everyone lives in a house like this,” I reminded him. “Some of us need scholarships, or we'll be asking if you want fries with that for life.”

“Come on. I'm pretty sure I could land a job at Staples even without college.” Kian seemed to be relaxing, even as terrible anticipation wound me up like a clockwork ballerina.

“Best Buy,” Tanya suggested.

“Sorry.” Jake had the grace to look embarrassed.

“No worries. You're tolerable for a rich brat.”

“Whatever. I have to mingle. Hope you have fun tonight.”

I thought Tanya would go with him, but she showed no signs of being tired of our company. For Kian, this had be heaven and hell combined. He could finally talk to the girl he'd liked for so long, but she was firmly off-limits. I'd keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't drink some spiked punch and then make a drunken declaration.

“I always wondered what your deal was,” she said.

“Mine?” Kian's eyes widened.

“Yeah. When you transferred, there was a lot of talk, but some of the stories…” She shook her head. “Anyway, I'm glad you're not as weird as they say.”

“Uh. Thanks?”

“Oops.” She flashed a charming smile. “Guess I should lay off the schnapps.”

“Maybe so.” I hadn't touched any of the liquor on offer, and I devoutly hoped Carmen hadn't either since she was our ride.

Maybe I should check on her.

But I couldn't leave Kian, and he wouldn't thank me for dragging him away from his first contact with Tanya.
Makes it sound like she's an alien species.
For him, that might not be too far from the truth, as long as he'd idolized her. In his defense, she
was
smart, pretty, and nice, way more approachable than any member of the Teflon crew at Blackbriar, so maybe it was the difference between public and private school attitudes.

“Crap, Lara's about to make a poor life choice. Catch you guys later.” Tanya hurried to the stairs, stopping a burly guy from hauling Lara off.

“Let's circulate,” I said to Kian.

He nodded, sticking to me like I was his bodyguard … No doubt, Aegis's weight on my wrist in the form of a gold bangle gave me the confidence to push deeper into the crowd. Whirling colors joined the strobe effect, tinting people blue, red, and then green. The flashes tinted their eyes, imbuing a demonic glow, and I reached for Kian, remembering the Harbinger's bash.
Whatever happens, don't let go.
But my hand found only empty space. I spun, but he was gone.
What the hell?
My heart went into overdrive.

Carmen stood a few feet away, so I hurried over to her. “Have you seen Kian?”

Her eyes were wide and glassy when she smiled at me, and the bruise on her neck looked exactly like the one that I'd acquired at the Feast of Fools when the time slip happened and something awful fed from me.
Damn it, the monsters
are
here.
I set my hands on her shoulders and jostled her a bit, hoping she'd come out of it on her own, but the vacant smile lingered.

Devon came over, disengaging from the guy he was chatting up. “Is she okay?”

“I don't think so.”

“Shit, did someone lace her drink?” He spun in a slow circle as if the culprit might be watching the show.

Which would've been likely at Blackbriar.

But immortals didn't operate on the same level as bored kids. While they used humans for entertainment, we were also food. I fought a frustrated scream, swallowing it like necessary medicine. I located the other members of our ride share, but still didn't see Kian. Devon seemed to sense my anxiety.

“This party is a lot to take in, even if you're used to…” He trailed off, likely not knowing how to put it. “You think he found a quiet corner?”

“I don't know, but I have to find him. Can you stay with Carmen? I don't think she's in any shape to drive.”

“Me either.” He put an arm around her and led her over to one of the leather sofas.

I searched the whole room but didn't find Kian. The rest of our group hadn't noticed a problem, and they were playing beer pong with some of the more popular folks. Trouble was, this house was so damn huge that I had no idea where to start. Plus, if an immortal had taken Kian, there was no guarantee he was on the property. The Harbinger couldn't be the only one with the ability to whoosh through time and space.

Fifteen minutes, I'd checked out the kitchen, formal dining room, pantry, laundry room, and every other space the downstairs had to offer. I found a few people making out in dark corners and one couple on their way to third base, but no Kian. Bracing myself, I jogged up the stairs. If the displays of affection were so intense in public areas, the bedrooms would be like Cirque du Soleil. Two locked doors later, I stepped into what had to be the master suite. Apparently, people felt weird about doing it in the parental bed.

It was a gorgeous space, decorated in dove gray and lavender, a low yellow light emanating from the walk-in closet. It was quiet enough that I heard my own heartbeat, the rasp of my own breathing. The prickle of unseen eyes made me turn around, but there was nobody in the hallway. As I stared, the door swung shut of its own volition and the temperature dropped, cold enough that I could see my next exhalation.

“Is someone there?”

In answer, the closet door creaked open and the lights went out. Below, the music stopped, bathing the house in eerie silence. Then the screaming started. Stumbling forward, I set a hand on Aegis. The switch didn't respond when I flipped it.

This was my idea. Kian didn't even want to come.

I waited, because someone—something—was clearly setting a mood. At this point, a normal teenage girl would be pissing in terror, too frozen to defend herself. And I couldn't break character unless my life depended on it.
And it might.
The slow thunk of boots on a hardwood floor came from the closet, and in the murky light shining through the window, I made out a shadowy form. A flashlight clicked on, highlighting a white face with a smeared red mouth and sharp yellow teeth.

Buzzkill. Someone's dying tonight.

“It's not your lucky day,” he said.

“Nobody told me this was a theme party.” The tremor in my voice came naturally; I'd barely won our last fight, and I hadn't been training lately. Plus, even if I managed to take him out, it would alert Wedderburn, assuming he didn't already know.

“Hold still, I'll make it quick.”

As I was about to activate Aegis, the pane in the nearest window exploded and the Harbinger arrived in a shower of glass and the frantic beating of black wings. He was full on, radiating power like a nuclear reactor. With him on total wattage, it hurt to breathe, and I staggered, catching myself on the bed. Buzzkill didn't react.

“This is a bad move,” the clown said. “Unless you're here to watch the carnage.”

“I think you already know she's mine.” Shivers raised goose bumps on my exposed skin at the iciness of his tone.

“She may be your latest pet, but she's also interfering in Wedderburn's business. That makes her a snafu that I
will
eliminate.”

“Over my dead body,” the Harbinger said.

“I'm ninety percent positive Boss won't have a problem with those terms. You sure you want to do this? Making an enemy like him over a meatsack is a dumb shit move.”

The Harbinger wrapped his arm about my shoulders, his eyes all lightning anticipation. “Do your worst, scary clown. Let's go to war.”

 

UNNATURAL DISASTERS

Buzzkill took a step toward me, and I could tell he was thinking about forcing the fight here and now—without waiting for Wedderburn's approval. Aegis burned on my wrist, whispering that I should unleash. And I might have if not for the Harbinger digging his fingers into my shoulder. How odd for him to serve as the voice of reason.

“You should know better than to interfere with what's mine,” he added.

“Flesh puppets are easily replaced.” I'd never heard a conciliatory tone from Buzzkill before. Interesting that he seemed to respect or at least remained wary of the Harbinger.

A chill wind blew over us, gusting the gauzy panel as if this was a haunted house, not a sophomore's party with nervous laughter echoing through the halls.
They probably think the blackout is a joke. They have no idea what's coming.
For the moment, the greatest threat was contained as the Harbinger studied Buzzkill with eyes like two downed electrical lines sparking at passersby.

“Did I fail to communicate in some fashion?” He bit the next words as if they were ice cubes, cold and grinding. “Mine is mine.”