The Nightmare Affair (17 page)

Paul shifted his backpack again. “It was a bad fall. There were lots of steps. I broke my wrist, too, and sprained an ankle.”

“Ouch,” I said.

Paul opened his mouth to reply, but the loud creak of the gym doors opening stopped him. We all turned to look as the first in line finally started moving inside.

“Let the fun begin,” Paul said, stepping in beside me. It seemed his level of enthusiasm for the assembly was on par with Selene’s. He moved in close to me, our bodies nearly touching.

Most of the talking stopped as everybody filed in and sat down. The three of us ended up in the top row of the bleachers, which was nice. If this thing really was as boring as Selene claimed, at least I could lean my back against the wall and nod off. Well, I could if I’d wanted to, but with Paul present, I didn’t think I would be so inclined.

It took more than twenty minutes to get everybody seated. Fortunately, Katarina and her friends were in the next section, adding enough distance that I wouldn’t have to listen to any more taunts. I wondered where Eli was, and I looked around, hoping to find him sitting elsewhere, a sure indicator that the relationship was in trouble.

No such luck.

Eli jogged up the stairs in between the two sections a few minutes later. His eyes met mine, his expression dark and intense like always. My heart seemed to seize in my chest. He looked away first, shifting his gaze to Paul. A disapproving frown curved his lips. Was Selene right?
No, don’t be silly,
I told myself as Eli turned and sat down beside Katarina.

Dr. Hendershaw appeared on the makeshift stage set in the center of the gym floor. She gave us the usual welcome stuff, then handed the microphone over to the show choir director, Mrs. Hovick. Hovick, along with all the show choir performers, male and female, was a siren. Selene couldn’t stand her, but I found her entertaining in a ditzy, over-the-top kind of way.

She introduced the choir, who then performed. Chickery High School had a show choir, too, but it was nothing like this. When the sirens began to dance and sing everybody in the gymnasium went quiet, completely mesmerized. A pleasant, tingly warmth swept over my body as my thoughts turned fuzzy. I was vaguely aware of Selene muttering beside me something about how wrong it was for sirens to be made into sexual objects in front of the whole school and how there was so much more to sirens than being beautiful. I didn’t pay her any mind, my eardrums too enchanted to listen.

When they finished, I stood and cheered same as everybody. As the sirens exited the stage, the force of their magic slowly faded. I once again became aware of myself, where I was, and what I was doing—sitting in a darkened gym next to Paul Kirkwood. We sat so close, his leg and shoulder touched mine. I couldn’t resist tilting my head toward him. My heartbeat quickened as he did the same.

Before us, a movie started, displayed in the area over the stage. Well, it was more of a hologram than an actual movie, the 3-D images created by magic rather than any type of electronic equipment. The voice-over began to narrate the history and significance of Samhain while images flashed, documentary style. The narrator explained that Samhain was a time when the wild magic that dwelled between the realm of the living and the dead was allowed to run free and renew all the magic reservoirs in the world, like the one that supposedly resided beneath the grounds of Arkwell itself.

I did my best to focus on the presentation, but I didn’t catch more than a sentence or two. I was too preoccupied with the sound of Paul’s breathing, the way he shifted in his seat, and especially how good he smelled, the scent somehow intensified in the darkness.

“So, speaking of Samhain,” Paul said, leaning close. His breath tickled my ear, sending shivers over my skin. “Any chance you’d go to the dance with me tomorrow?”

I held my breath, unsure of what to say. I wanted to so badly. But I was afraid of getting hurt again.

“That is, if you don’t already have a date.”

I almost laughed. Me? The Nightmare? I shook my head. “How do I know you’ll come through this time?” I turned toward him so that our eyes met.

A stricken expression crossed his face, and I almost regretted doubting him. His story about the fall down the stairs might not be true, but there was no denying he’d gotten hurt somehow. Paul reached over and took my hand in his. A pleasant thrill slid up my arm into my chest.

“I will,” he said. And then he held my hand through the entire assembly. His touch was all the promise I needed.

*   *   *

That night, I decided to go to my dream-session with Eli on time for once, confident and unafraid of facing him for the first time in days. Only that confidence vanished completely when I stepped into the dorm room and saw a shirtless Eli emerge from the bedroom. His bare chest was even more stunning than I remembered, that black scorpion tattoo and rock-hard abs.

Realizing too late I was gaping at him, I forced my mouth shut. Eli smirked as he slid a T-shirt over his head.

“Long time no see,” he said, pulling the shirt down around his hips.

I shrugged, trying to play it cool even though my face felt like it was on fire.
Just remember Paul,
I thought.
Just remember Paul.
To my relief, it helped.

Eli turned and sat down on the sofa in the place I normally occupied while I waited for him to fall asleep. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I haven’t been avoiding you.”

Eli arched an eyebrow at me. “Uh-huh. Right. That’s why I haven’t talked to you since the night you ditched gym.”

Since the night I terrified you with my evil, Nightmare powers,
I silently added for him. “It’s not like we hang with the same crowd.”

He didn’t answer, but stared at me for a couple of moments, his face expressionless. I contemplated sitting in the chair he normally occupied, but I didn’t feel like walking past him just now. I hadn’t managed to get the sight of him half-naked out of my head, and it was making me jumpy. With my luck, I’d probably trip and break something.

“So who was that guy you were sitting with during the assembly?”

I blinked, surprised by Eli’s tone. He didn’t sound annoyed exactly, but I could tell it wasn’t just a casual question, either. “Nobody to you.”

Eli grunted. “Is he your boyfriend or something?”

“Nah, I just like to randomly hold hands with strangers.”

“Is that so?” He turned sideways and stretched out, laying his head on one arm of the sofa with his feet dangling over the side of the other. “I guess that’s why you’ve never held—” He broke off, yawning hugely. Then he fell asleep.

I stared at him for a long time, wondering what he’d been about to say. Then I walked over and climbed on top of him, grateful he’d chosen the sofa this time. It made my job a lot easier.

I entered his dream, wanting to get this over quickly. When the dream world solidified around me, I saw the familiar setting of Chickery High School’s gymnasium as it normally looked for the homecoming dance. Red and white streamers hung from the walls and across the ceiling. More streamers rimmed the tables set around the edges of the dance floor. Loud pop music blared from the speakers, providing some sense of beat to the chaos of writhing bodies.

I saw Eli nearby, dancing with Katarina. I considered switching into my old-lady disguise to hide from him again, but I never got the chance as a strange, horrible sight drew my attention. In the center of the dance floor, towering over the heads of the students, was a Minotaur. It was dancing along with the music, having a good time, just one of the crowd. A huge iron ring hung from its snout. Blood dripped from it, splattering the creature’s bare chest with crimson.

I took a step toward it, trying to make sense of its presence in Eli’s dream. A loud shriek rang out above the music, and I froze in place. I looked up, my head pounding with a sudden surge of adrenaline as I saw the black phoenix swoop down at the dancing crowd, claws outstretched, beak opened. Before I could react, it grabbed the Minotaur by the neck and ripped its head from its body with a sickening crack. The students began to scream as the creature’s huge body fell to the floor, blood spurting from its neck.

The next thing I knew, Eli was standing beside me, his face slack with shock as people swarmed past us in a frenzied panic. Seeing his fear only increased my own. I didn’t want to deal with this. Not now. Not ever. I’d seen enough and didn’t want to see anymore. I pulled back from the dream and fled before Eli woke up. I went to bed as soon as I finished typing my dream journal. But I didn’t sleep. Not for a long, long time.

13

Samhain

Paul picked me up at my dorm room before the dance. Selene and her date, a siren by the name of Justin Damico, had already left. I spent a whole ten minutes by myself, utterly convinced I would be stood up again. But Paul’s knock sounded promptly at seven-thirty, and I hurried to answer, almost breathless with relief.

“Hello,” he said, taking in the sight of my dress, an off-the-shoulder ball gown made of gold silk overlaid with cream-colored lace. “Wow. You look great.”

A flutter rose in my chest at the way he looked at me, his mouth half-opened, his eyes wide. I didn’t consider myself very pretty, but his expression made me feel like I was. I’d borrowed the gown from Selene. It was beautiful, though there was no helping my unfortunate red hair, which even now was starting to frizz despite the liberal amounts of hair products I applied.

Paul, of course, was a knockout in his black suit and black tie offset by a red waistcoat. “So do you,” I said.

“Where’s your mask?” He glanced behind me at all the mess in the dorm room.

“One sec.” I retrieved the matching gold-colored mask from beside my computer. The Samhain dance was a masquerade ball, the first I’d ever attended. I felt a little silly as I slid the mask on, but it was sort of fun, too. The mask was a Columbina, according to Selene, which meant it only covered the top half of my face. Bedecked in feathers and sequins, I looked a bit like a golden peacock.

I came back to the door. “What about yours?”

Paul reached up and pulled his mask down from the top of his head, where he’d been wearing it like a pair of sunglasses. It was a Columbina, too, but just a simple unadorned black. Combined with his blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, he looked like he could grace the cover of a romance novel.

“Let’s go.” Paul extended his arm, and I slid mine beneath his. He pulled me close to him, our sides brushing as we moved along. Walking arm in arm with him felt as natural as breathing. Heat radiated off his body, keeping me warm as we headed across campus to Vatticut Hall.

The front lawn was packed with students and the occasional faculty member. They congregated around the bonfires lit here and there, passing the time until the feast began. A couple of werewolf policemen were patrolling around, their presence so commonplace since Rosemary’s death as to go almost unnoticed.

“Pop quiz,” Paul said as we walked along. “Let’s see how much you were paying attention in the assembly.” He ran a hand down my back and up again.

I blushed then felt a thrill as I realized nobody could see it. This mask thing was pretty cool.

“Why do we wear masks on Samhain?”

I grinned. Too easy. “To hide from the spirits of the dead, because this is the one night of the year they can come out and terrorize magickind. Lucky us.”

“That’s correct.” Paul shook his head. “Seems I didn’t do a good enough job distracting you yesterday.”

I blushed harder, remembering the way he’d traced his fingers over my hand and up and down my forearm, each touch sending tingles over my body. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

He laughed as we stepped through the doors into Vatticut Hall. It was the oldest structure on campus and only used for special occasions, like dances and graduation. Tonight the building resembled a medieval castle even more than usual. Blue and silver silk streamers had been strung in between the ornate tapestries and heraldic banners that decorated the outer corridors. Torches hung beside the banners, creating a flickering, romantic ambiance. Of course the grandeur out here was nothing compared to the grand ballroom.

Long wooden tables set with crystal plates and goblets were spread across the hall among glistening ice sculptures of magical creatures like unicorns, dragons, and even our school mascot, the hydra. In each corner of the room stood four trees enchanted by the school’s fairy gardeners to grow out of the floors. With trunks the size of industrial stovepipes, they stood tall enough that their branches covered the ceiling, creating a dark, leafy canopy. Beneath it, thousands of free-floating orbs of light shone in various colors as they flitted here and there, creating an aurora borealis effect. Every now and again, one would shoot across the room, leaving behind a trail of glittering light and a smell like fresh roses.

Paul and I joined Selene and Justin at a table across the room. Justin shared Selene’s views on the anti-objectification of sirens, but neither of them seemed much concerned with politics tonight. They both looked stunning in their masquerade getups, she in pale blue silk and he in a white-on-white suit. They exuded that hypnotic sensuality specific to sirens. Still, I knew Selene and Justin were just friends and nothing more.

Selene took care of the introductions, and we sat down to wait for the feast to begin.

Eating in a mask was tricky, but I managed okay. We spent most of the feast playing a “guess who’s behind the mask” game. Mask wearing during Samhain was pretty serious business for magickind, which meant nobody had taken theirs off. It was surprisingly hard to figure out who was who.

“That’s Katarina,” Selene said, pointing to a girl in a pink gown with a matching pink Columbina mask encrusted around the edges with sparkling pink and red jewels. A long pink feather rose up from one side of it.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“See how it looks like a cat?”

I took in the angular slant of the eye holes and the feline shape of the nose and nodded.