Silver Smoke (#1 of Seven Halos Series) (18 page)

The scene had bizarrely changed back to normal, as if he'd entered the Twilight Zone for only a few seconds. Sirena sat back down in her seat. "Brie told me about it," she said casually. "I wanted to see it for myself."

Rykken set his chair upright and sat back down at the table.

"But you probably left it at home," Sirena continued, a gleam in her eye. "You wouldn't wear something so valuable to a pool party."

"I didn't wear it here." Rykken stared at Sirena's eyes. They looked familiar to him, but he wasn't sure why. "What exactly did Brie tell you about the pendant?"

Sirena smiled. "That it was pretty," she said. "She wanted to borrow it from you, I think."

Rykken exhaled. Sirena was lying to him; Brie wanted nothing to do with that pendant when they found it, and now she wanted it for something else... something that she wouldn't tell Rykken about.

"Really," Rykken said thoughtfully, licking his fingers. He set a clean rib bone on his plate. "She told me she needed the pendant to protect Pilot."

The gleam in Sirena's eyes disappeared and her lips formed a thin line. She leaned back in her chair and elbowed Cora, who smiled at Rykken as if she'd been listening in the whole time.

"Is
that
what she told you?" Cora asked.

"Yeah, it is." Rykken said. His heart skipped along the walls of his chest. Rykken already knew the pendant had magical properties, but Sirena and Cora's strange behavior made his problems with the pendant seem so much more real. He wondered if Sirena and Cora put Brie up to asking him about the pendant. Was Brie a pawn these girls were using to get something they wanted?

"Well if that's the case," Cora said mischievously, "then Brie told you too much." She placed her hand on his. Rykken felt something small tugging on his insides, a shadow of a crush he once had on the girl holding his hand.

And then, it was gone.

*****

Brie grabbed a soft, thick beach towel, happy the volleyball games were over and the party was dying down. She curled up in a wicker love seat away from the rest of the group. The night was almost over, and if she could hold out a little longer, it might end on a good note.

She didn't realize Justin had followed her, but she was grateful. "Can I sit?" Justin asked, gesturing to the spot next to her.

"Sure." No one would approach them now.

Justin sat down and turned to her hesitantly. "So... about yesterday, at school," he started.

Brie went rigid. The scene in the hallway with Rykken at his locker was one of her most embarrassing moments, ever. The whole school was talking about it, which was almost worse than the media talking about it. She did not want to rehash the previous day's events.

"It's nothing bad," he said quickly. "I didn't tell Pilot what happened. I'm just not sure how much of our conversation you overheard." He took a deep breath, and then asked, "Do you have a date to Homecoming?"

Brie sat up. With all the things on her mind, she had forgotten Justin needed a date to Homecoming. "No, I guess I don't."

"Do you want to go with me?" Justin had this funny, lopsided grin on his face.

"Of course," Brie said with a smile. It was nice that he asked, and now she wouldn't have to worry about a date.

"Awesome. You won't regret it." Justin stared deep into her eyes. "You're so pretty, by the way. Did you know that?" Brie blushed as he tucked her bangs behind her ear on one side. He let his hand linger, and for a moment, Brie felt sheer terror that he was going to kiss her right then in front of James, Pilot, and all of their friends. But Justin only took the back of his index finger to Brie's face, brushing the space between her cheek and jaw bones.

"Pilot thinks I'm going to be a bad influence on you," Justin said, sitting back in the chair.

Brie looked at Justin again, relieved that there was some distance between them. "Why would he think that?"

"I don't know." Justin's grin reminded Brie of Adele's little brother, when he told their dad he hadn't eaten any candy even though he'd left the wrappers all over the counter. "I guess I've dated a lot of girls at Punahou."

"Well, don't worry about him." Brie pulled her towel around her tighter. "Pilot is overprotective of me, but he's not my dad."

"What about your actual dad?" Justin asked. "I saw him talking to you about me earlier. Is he overprotective too?"

Brie laughed, but inside she got that feeling again, the same one she'd had earlier at the kitchen counter. "James has his own life to worry about. He can't worry about mine, too." Her stomach twisted around itself. Justin looked confused, but Brie waved him off. "It's fine," she said. "I'm used to it."

Justin rested his elbow on the armrest, tugging on his own fluffy curls with his fingers. "Did you ever date Rykken?"

Brie was surprised; the question seemed to come out of nowhere.

"No," she said quickly. "We don't get along."

"I know. I thought maybe that was why though." Justin's eyes sparkled, the lights reflecting in them the same way they bounced off the surface of the pool. She wondered if they were contacts, as she'd never seen blue eyes on someone with his skin tone.

He stared at her intently. "No," Brie repeated. She couldn't hold his gaze.

He sat back, his features relaxing. "So why don't you get along with Rykken?"

Brie plastered a smile on her face. "I'm, like, too superficial for him," she said, in the ditziest voice she could manage.

Justin laughed appreciatively. "There's nothing wrong with being superficial," he said, looking around.

Brie followed Justin's gaze to Rykken. It was strange to see Rykken sitting at a table alone; normally Pilot and Rykken were inseparable. All around him, people were chatting and laughing and saying their goodbyes. But Rykken stared off into space with a hard, pained look on his face.

He glanced over at them. Brie was still mad at him, but he looked so sad she almost regretted the way she ignored him in the pool. Maybe he was having a bad night earlier, and she should have heard him out?

His eyes met hers for a second, then flitted to where Justin was sitting. He stood up and walked inside without a word to anyone.

Just beyond where Rykken was sitting, Sirena motioned to Brie.

"Excuse me," Brie said, standing.

Justin grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?"

Brie shook her wrist out of his grasp. "I haven't talked to Sirena all night." She stood to walk away.

Justin seemed perturbed. "I guess I'll see you at school then?" he asked, standing up. "Don't I at least get a hug though? We spent the whole evening together."

Brie turned around and smiled at him. "Sorry," she said. "I'm a little distracted."

She embraced him, feeling every muscle of his bare chest against her neck and arms. The palms of his hands touched her back, sending tingles through her body.

He kissed her quickly on the cheek with soft lips. "See you Monday," he said, before letting her go.

She pulled out of his arms reluctantly. She wasn't sure why though; sometimes Justin made her uncomfortable, other times it felt good to have something simple, less complicated than the rest of her life.

She walked to where Sirena was sitting, and Sirena gave her a look that reminded Brie of her mother.

"Having fun?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Brie said. "I talked to the twins already though. They said everything went fine."

"'Fine' is probably an overstatement." Sirena leaned in. "Pilot caught Clara and Cora sneaking into your dad's study."

"What?" Brie gasped. "How is that possible? I thought Cora could feel people's emotions when they're near."

"She wasn't able to sense his emotions until she touched him. Even then they were faint. Clara's powers didn't work on him either."

"Why?" Brie asked loudly. Sirena gave her a pointed look, nodding to the patio door. Brie looked around; there was hardly anyone there anymore. They went inside and walked upstairs to Brie's bedroom.

Brie sat down on her bed. "I thought the Hallows had rules. Consistency. Why would my brother be resistant to the twins' powers?"

"I know how you feel," Sirena said, looking older, tired. "I wish I had answers for you. It might just be a small manifestation of the Hallow blood that runs in his veins."

"I don't buy it," Brie said. "Why didn't Clara and Cora notice this earlier?"

"They don't go around trying to work their powers on earthlies. Sure, he's your brother and that makes him a little different, but they still have limited interaction with him."

Brie felt her lower lip jutting out. "What if Pilot is starting to get his powers now?"

"Don't start on that again," Sirena said, a worried look on her face. "You can't keep holding on to this idea that Pilot has powers that haven't developed. Believe me when I say that if he had powers, we would know by now."

"What if I confided in him a little? Would it be so bad if he at least knew what was going on?"

"Brie, he'll look at you differently for the rest of your life. He might not even believe you."

"I'll show him then. I trust him."

"No. And this conversation is over," Sirena declared. "Also, don't bother with Rykken anymore. He doesn't have the pendant."

Brie looked up, surprised. "How do you know?"

"He has a permanent mark on his chest. The good news is that the pendant doesn't have hold over him anymore, but the bad news is that the pendant has a dark purpose. It takes three tries to get rid of a dark magical object, and once it leaves the person's possession... I can only assume Rykken tried to get rid of the pendant three times, because he didn't have it with him when I talked to him this evening."

"That's impossible. He had it earlier. I sensed it under his t-shirt when I was talking to him in the kitchen."

"He lost it between the beginning of the night and when I saw him, then."

Brie wondered if that was what Rykken wanted to talk to her about. As angry as she was with him, she didn't want anything to actually
happen
to him. He was Pilot's best friend. "Tell me about the mark, Sirena."

"I recognized the mark. The crescent moon with a star in the center is a symbol of change and transfiguration."

"On Rykken? It sounds very Hallow-esque." Brie's heart pattered with excitement. "You don't think he's―"

"No. Brie, you have to stop with these fantasies about other Hallows! Hallows are very rare, and most of them have known Hallow parents. They don't pop up out of nowhere."

Brie flopped only her bedspread, pulling the other half over her body so she was sandwiched inside her covers. She held back the tears that had been forcing their way out all night. She was close to breaking, but if she could hold out a little longer...

Sirena seemed to notice her mood-shift. "Why are you so desperate for another Hallow anyway?"

"I want to share my secret with someone."

"You have me and the other Hallows. You can tell us anything, ask us any questions..."

Brie sat up, poking her head out from under the covers. "I meant someone my own age, who is going through the same things as me."

"I went through the same things you're going through now."

"It was a long time ago. It doesn't really count."

Sirena eyes took shape, forming sharp slits. "Well, you can't talk about your secret, even if Rykken were a Hallow. Remember what you said earlier? All the Hallows loyal to the New Order want to kill you.

Be
happy
Rykken's not a Hallow."

"Fine." Brie was tired, and she wasn't going to get what she wanted anyway, no matter how much she argued with Sirena. "So about the pendant―what are we going to do? Should we even try to find it anymore?"

"I don't know. I need time to think." Sirena walked outside onto the balcony and disappeared, leaving Brie alone in her room. Again.

*****

Rykken heard the sounds of a party dying down as he got out of the shower. He was spending the night at the van Rossum's in the guest bedroom next to Pilot's because the two of them were going to hit the beach early the next morning.

After he brushed his teeth, Rykken stepped through the double doors of the guest room onto the second floor wraparound balcony. Rykken loved the balcony for two reasons: one, because it was dead quiet in the evenings, and two, because you could see the entire city of Honolulu, miles in every direction, all the way to the shoreline.

But tonight, he heard the sounds of sniffling and outright tears. He knew he shouldn't roam someone else's house at night, but his curiosity got the best of him. He wandered the balcony around the corner and found Brie alone, still wrapped in the large towel she'd had earlier.

He backed up; he was the last person Brie would want to comfort her. He stubbed his toe on a potted plant and swore as it tipped over and broke, spilling dirt everywhere.

Brie heard him. "Who's there?" she asked, her voice full of alarm. The buildings behind her twinkled like a strand of gold Christmas bulbs; red lights blinked like eyes as vehicles stopped and started along the freeway.

"I'm sorry," Rykken said. "Do you want me to get Pilot? I know I'm probably the last person you want to see."

She gave him a funny look. "Yeah, you are. And the last person I expected."

Rykken's heart twisted, but at least she wasn't yelling. The balcony was open to the world, but he couldn't hear or feel anything beyond the railing. They were insulated, truly alone.

"That was my mom's favorite pot," Brie said.

"I'm sorry," he said, pulling the plant upright. He looked closer. The pot was green with a raised floral pattern encircling the brim. There was only one piece that had broken off, and Rykken wondered if he could repair it.

"What did you want to talk to me about earlier?"

Rykken hesitated. Pilot was fine, so it shouldn't matter that he gave him the pendant. But the minute Brie found out, she'd be back to yelling at him. He didn't think he was ready to confront that yet, especially when he didn't know where the pendant was.

"Nothing," he said. "I was trying to find Pilot, but I found him inside."

Brie sniffled and rubbed her nose with a tissue. "Don't call Pilot for me," she said. "This is not something I can talk to him about."