“Not as good as this,” Ronan corrected. He pulled Michael closer and kissed him on the lips, only once, then rested his forehead onto his. Michael loved how Ronan's skin feltâstrong and warmed by the sun that flooded the gym. Their noses pressed against each other, their breaths instantly adjusting to the other's rhythm.
“I made a decision,” Michael whispered.
“What's that, love?”
“My father isn't going to stand in the way of my freedom and ruin my life,” he said. “I drove my car.”
“Good for you,” Ronan replied, genuinely happy.
Michael broke their connection and sat back. “And you'll never guess who drove shotgun.”
“Who?”
“Nakano.”
“Seriously?!” Ronan shouted, genuinely surprised.
“Believe me, I'm more shocked than you are,” Michael replied. “I'll tell you all about it later.”
Smiling, Ronan said, “However it happened, I'm glad you finally got behind the wheel.”
“Me too,” Michael agreed. “But just because I did doesn't mean I forgive my dad. It just means that I like to drive, and of course I had to park my car properly before David had another hissy fit.”
Ronan closed his eyes. “I'm glad you understand that the relationship between parents and their children can be complicated.”
Ronan's tone had hardly changed, but Michael knew he was no longer talking exclusively about him and his father. “Um, you don't have another secret to tell me, do you?” Michael asked, only half-kidding. “Like maybe somebody else came before Morgandy?”
Opening his eyes, Ronan shook his head. “No, you know about everyone from my past now.”
Well, if it wasn't Morgandy or another boyfriend, what could it be? “So then what's wrong?”
Smiling wistfully to cover up a sigh, Ronan covered Michael's hands with his own. “I still haven't heard from my mum.”
“After all this time she still hasn't gotten in touch with you,” Michael said. “Even, you know, just a telepathic âHey, how ya doin'.' ”
Ronan kicked his feet in the water, his body as restless as his spirit, and the pool was immediately filled with tiny waves. Up and down and up and down, the water kept rising and falling, slapping into the sides of the pool so hard that water sprayed over onto the gym floor even after his legs stopped moving. “I tried reaching out to her telepathically, I tried calling her cell phone, I even tried calling her private line that she instructed us to use only if it was a dire emergency and we didn't want to risk someone's tapping into our minds, and nothing, not one word from her!” Ronan blurted. “It's like she's deliberately blocking me out.”
Angry and frustrated, Ronan let go of Michael's hands and leaned forward. His body hunched, tense, he stared into the pool, the surface once again calm, as if the water could unlock the mystery of his mother's silence. The water held no answers, but Michael did.
“Let's go.”
Looking up, Ronan saw that Michael was standing next to him, towering above him, his hand outstretched. Still lost in his own emotions, Ronan was too confused to respond right away. “I said, let's go,” Michael reiterated.
The firmness of Michael's voice propelled Ronan into action. He took his hand and stood up, half on his own and half relying on Michael's strength to hoist him upright. “Where are we going?” Ronan asked quietly.
“To get to the bottom of Edwige's vanishing act,” Michael proclaimed. “Now that I've sort of made resolution with my father, it's time you did the same with yours.” Michael smirked, “Well, with your mother, but you know what I mean.”
Always the romantic, Ronan kissed a few knuckles on Michael's hand. “Yes, I do.”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Michael once again repeated himself. “Now come on, let's go visit your mother.”
As Michael made a move toward the front entrance of the gym, Ronan lurched toward the back door. “Why are you going that way?” Ronan asked. “Someone might see us sprinting off campus.”
Smugly, Michael smiled. “We're not going to use our water vampabilities to visit your mother's flat. I'm taking you for a drive.”
“You can't drive to London,” Ronan protested, his voice shrilly echoing in the gym. “You heard what David said.”
Michael grabbed Ronan's hand firmly. “And don't you remember what I said? Rules were made to be broken.”
Yes, they were,
Ronan thought.
Weren't they living proof of that?
“Well, all right then,” Ronan agreed. “Let's go to London.”
Just as they were about to step outside, Michael turned to Ronan, his eyes wide with excitement. “And don't you love my new word? We've got water vampabilities!”
This time it was Ronan who had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He couldn't, however, stop himself from teasing Michael. “You are off your dot,” Ronan said, giving Michael a playful push. “Do you know that, Howard?”
Proudly, Michael responded, “Yes, Glynn-Rowley, I most certainly do.”
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Just before Michael started the engine he got nervous. What if David was lurking in The Forest? What if he was standing in his office, peeking through his blinds, watching them right now? Or what if one of his minions were spying on them? Anything was possible, Michael thought; any scenario could be real. And just like that Michael thought any alibi could be the truth.
He started the engine, and as the sound of the Benz's delightful purr filled his ears, Michael decided that if David approached them, he would simply say they were driving into Eden since it was Friday, which was technically considered part of the weekend. A bit of a stretchâwell, an out-and-out lieâbut Michael thought it would suffice as an explanation. Turned out his preparation was unnecessary, and no one stopped them as they drove toward the front gate. But just as they were about to cross the metal entrance gate and exit the Archangel campus, they faced another obstacle. “Stop!” Ronan cried out.
As Michael slammed on the brakes, the boys lurched forward and then were flung back into their seats. “What the hell's wrong?!” Michael asked, not at all happy at the interruption.
“The electronic fence!” Ronan shouted back. “Just because it's summer doesn't mean it's been shut down.”
Seriously? That's why you made me stop?
“That can't hurt us,” Michael said.
“No, not us, but the car might not survive the shock.”
“Oh yeah,” Michael said dejectedly. “I hadn't thought about that.” Disappointed, Michael didn't want to give in, but it looked like he had no choice. “Guess we'll have to travel the old-fashioned way,” Michael said. “On foot.”
Just as he was about to put the car in reverse and return to the parking lot, Ronan ordered him to stop once again. “I have an idea.” He jumped out of the car, shut the door, and ran to the metal gate. Silently, Ronan explained his idea to his boyfriend.
“I'll absorb the shock of the electronic current as you drive through the fence.”
Michael's face lit up. “That's brilliant!”
“I know,” Ronan said, smiling. “You think up funny little phrases, and I think up smashingly brilliant ideas.”
If Ronan had been sitting next to him, Michael would have kissed him.
“That's why we're the perfect team,”
Michael replied.
“Ready?”
Standing to the side of the entrance gate, Ronan grabbed onto the metal pole.
“Go for it!”
Michael took his foot off of the brake pedal and placed it on the gas, all the way down until the car zoomed under and past the front gate, untouched by the electronic current. He turned back and saw Ronan, equally unharmed, pumping his fist underneath the twisted metal lettering that spelled out Archangel Academy. They did it; they found a way around yet another hurdle. They were so excited they were acting as if they were going for a joyride instead of in search of a missing person.
Jumping into the front seat, Ronan was beaming. “Take me to London, James.”
Michael kept his eyes looking forward as he drove onto the cobblestone road and away from school. “You do know that my name is Michael, right?”
Staring out the window as the countryside rolled alongside him, Ronan stifled a laugh. “Just drive.”
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Finding a parking spot in front of Edwige's flat proved to be as effortless as the long drive itself. It was partly due to Michael's enhanced reflexes and vision and partly due to his growing confidence, he mastered the British highway system and maneuvered the car through city traffic like an expert. If Ronan hadn't been so anxious he would have told Michael how impressed he was, but after the thrill of their getaway had passed all he could think about was what he was going to say to his mother, how he was going to tell her off for ignoring him all this time. He was going to give her an earful the second after she opened her door.
After the third knock it was apparent he wasn't going to get the chance. “She isn't home,” Ronan observed.
Instinctively, Michael took hold of the doorknob and twisted. The door was open. “Are you sure of that, Ro?”
Anxiety, curiosity, fear, all wriggled around inside Ronan's head and in the pit of his stomach. If her door was open she had to be home and if she was home why didn't she answer him? Was she that determined to stay out of his life? Was she that angry with him for some unknown reason that she wouldn't even respond to his call? Or was it simply that she wasn't home?
They entered the living room, and it was like entering a morgue. The whole apartment in fact was still, quiet, and, after a quick look into every room, Edwige-free. “What the hell is going on?” Ronan asked, fear rising to the surface amongst all the emotions he was experiencing.
“I ... I ...” Michael stuttered, searching for the right thing to say. Then he realized nothing he said was going to sound right. “I don't know, Ro. It doesn't make any sense that she's ignoring you, it doesn't make any sense that her door's open, but she isn't here.”
“It doesn't make any sense that her painting's gone.”
Ronan's comment made Michael look up at the living room wall, and he noticed that it, like the apartment itself, was missing something. “You're right!” Michael exclaimed. “The painting's gone!”
The painting that depicted two men in the Atlantic Ocean, their bodies suspended side by side, their skin touching, forever connected, was indeed missing. It was one of Edwige's most prized possessions and one that she would never part with; it reminded her of Ronan and Michael, of her own heritage, of her species' future. “Do you think she was robbed?” Michael asked. “Somebody could probably get a lot of money for that thing.”
It was a valid theory, but it was wrong. There hadn't been a robbery; no one had broken into the apartment to steal that one item. Edwige had taken it with her when she left. Ronan was sure of it. “She's gone.”
Michael heard the certainty in Ronan's voice, but he didn't understand it. “What do you mean?”
“Look.”
When Michael turned around he saw what Ronan was pointing at. The only thing on the surface of the wooden table that stood next to the window was dust. Gone was the mahogany box that housed Saxon's ashes and gone tooâfor the moment anywayâwas any hope of finding Edwige. “Wherever she went she has no intention of returning,” Ronan said. “That's why she took those two things with her.”
Standing next to Ronan, Michael placed his hand in the small of his back so he would know that even though his mother had apparently left him, that she had apparently decided to take a leave of absence from his life, he wasn't going anywhere. Michael also hoped Ronan knew that he would remain by his side and scour the earth until they found her if that's what he wished to do.
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“Nooooo!!!” Imogene screamed in the middle of her song as if another set of fangs had been plunged into her neck, as if once again the life was being torn from her spirit. “Leave me alone!!”
Climbing into the coffin, Brania took hold of Imogene and cradled her in her arms to try and comfort her, try to calm her down. “Imogene, what's wrong?” Brania cried.
Cold sweat poured down the sides of Imogene's face, plastering her jet-black bangs against her forehead. Her body convulsed, turning her skin an even paler shade of white. “It's Edwige,” Imogene said, choking on the words. “She's here.”
As she whipped her head around, Brania's fangs descended over her lips as quick as the flick of a switchblade. Her eyes darted wildly, left, right, left, but she didn't see anyone else with them in their cave. Since they were safe for the moment, her fangs retracted, and she turned back to her ward. “No, it's just the two of us.”