Darkest Day (9 page)

The power to change the rules.

‘She’s a Changeling daughter of a goddess, Winn. She’s even more special than anyone could imagine, they just aren’t telling her because they’re a bunch of stodgy old farts.’

At the time, I’d laughed, but what if a Council member wanted to keep their human. Couldn’t someone with magical powers do that? Hadn’t Moira said her husband, Phelps, ‘converted’?
To what?

The temperature in my head shot up. Lying down, with my laptop at my side, I stared up at the ceiling, and one other big note I’d jotted down jumped into my mind. Josie had said, ‘The future of the entire Council rests in Mac’s hands’.

I grabbed the tennis ball on my nightstand and threw it; it missed the ceiling and fell back into my hand.

None of it made sense.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

With the fifth throw, the proverbial light bulb went off.

Everyone on the Council is a liar. The whole group.

I popped up, grabbed the laptop, attached all my files and wrote a short note, ending with: “I know the biggest secret of them all.”

9

Mac

Winn stood in front of me in the hallway at school, three weeks into Caroline’s insane plan to ‘do the opposite’, which had turned into ‘be more like Winn’. I’d tried to give him the sweet nods, head bobs and girly junk Caroline suggested—flirting, she’d said—but instead, I managed to avoid looking at him, walked away when he came toward me, and generally anti-flirted. It surprised me he’d want to talk to me at all.

Around us, signs for the prom and graduation announcements plastered the walls of our school. One month ‘til prom. Two and a half months ‘til graduation. I should have put up a sign that said ‘End of Mac’s life’ and added a countdown to it. I still couldn’t believe I’d gone to the library fifteen times, which totaled fifteen times more than my BW years—Before Winn.

Winn grabbed my hand, the contact searing into my soul. We hadn’t so much as touched in weeks, and the sensation made me rock on my heels. It made me want to kiss him, hug him, bury my face against his chest and breathe in his essence. He stood there as if waiting for me to acknowledge him.

Am I supposed to say something? Does deliberate flirting include random commentary?

“All I was going to say was ‘check your email’.” Winn said as I stayed silent. “Then we really need to talk. It’s been two weeks, and I haven’t—”

It’s been three, Winn. Twenty-two days in fact. I counted. I could even give you the hours and minutes.
Caroline’s words played out again, ‘keep the relationship simple’. Little did she know what would come of ‘us’, but I promised to stick to the plan until April fifteenth. After that, if he didn’t make a move like Caroline promised me he would, I had other ideas.

After what seemed like hours, I said, “’Kay.”

Winn tilted is head left, right, left again, a grin taking hold of his lips right before he pulled me toward the sunshine, to the openness of outside, with no Caroline or anyone to keep me on my plan.

My back went against the outer brick, and Winn’s hand went to the side of my face. Lowering my lids, I turned into it, breathing in his scent. Upon opening my eyes, an instinctual pull to kiss him tugged at me, but my view of Ridge, standing at the far edge of the wall with a giant smile across his face, squashed it.

“I think humans and non-humans are engaged in more … long term adventures,” Winn said.

Holy shit. Play it cool. Don’t get excited.
“You mean beyond the three ‘Fs’?” I’d nicknamed the only long-term interactions—food, finance and fraternization—we non-humans had with humans.

Winn nodded.

Humans were only supposed to be a means to an end, which did not include long-term interpersonal relationships. Then again, with what Suze told me about Moira and her doctor husband, Winn’s revelation kinda made sense. “Okay. Well. You know … we got needs. Felix has to eat. Magwa needs guinea pigs to test stuff on. Etcetera. Etcetera.”

Winn chuckled. “Come on, Mac. You know what I mean.” Deep emotion clouded his eyes. “You know what that could mean. For—” He closed his mouth and tilted down, shaking his head. “Just think about it, okay? It’s in my notes. In your email. It has an impact … on … for you.”

Was he going to say ‘us’?
I breathed in his scent, so Winn. So human. So mine. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Promise you’ll read it?”

On a breath of air, I said, “Yes.” One more week. Ish. If I could hold out until the fifteenth, I could show Winn I could be like him. He’d understand how much he meant to me, and we’d get to actually enjoy our last eight weeks together.

In theory.

Unless there could be more to us afterward. Which I didn’t really believe.

Ten more days.

Ten.

Or, as the gods are my witness, Caroline, I’m going to kill you for making me wait.

• • •

“You
’re spending an awful lot of time being human these days, you know that?” Suze turned a giant Superman wrist watch his way. “Like, ever since boy-o returned, you haven’t changed more than half a dozen, or is it six and one-half or—” He stopped at my glare. “You’re human right now, too. I can smell it.” At least he hadn’t put on the suit again. “And it’s nearly eleven in the o’clock. This is prime Mac-out-fighting time.”

Since we’d found ourselves in his crypt with any number of creepy-crawly, bloodsuckers in the cemetery above us, I could easily have picked a great training battle. Hands on my hips, as cocky as Suze but without the getup, I said, “I’ve been—”

“Don’t say busy.” He waved his hands through the air. “Please not too busy to be you. You’re conforming.”

“Who said that?”

“Said what?”

“That I’m conforming.” I poked my finger into his not-man-of-steel demon chest. “Did Raven say that? ‘Cause I’m not. I had a good sparring session with both Lucas and Felix just a few days ago.”

His eyes darted left and right. “Liar.”

“Am not.”

“Are, too. Lucas, Felix, Josie and—” He pinched his lips together.

My eyes narrowed. “Suze? Who’ve you been talking to about me?”

He huffed. “Everyone! What else am I supposed to do? You want answers, I gotta ask questions. So I ask questions, and people give me answers, and a gazillion opinions, too. But then they ask
me
questions, and I gotta answer those, too.” His finger wagged at me. “You’ve put me in a right position, you know.”

I placed my hand on his chest. “I am not conforming. I told you what my plan was. Do all my homework. Figure out the answers to what to do with my life. Get Winn back. “

Suze’s head angled my way. “But you could have him now, and you’re still gonna have to give him up.”

“I know.”

“Seems a little selfish to wait so long when we all know he wants you, too.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You should go to him
now
. Use all the time you got.”

“But—Caroline told me I’m doing everything right. Like all the other stupid humans. I’m doing something the way the human half of me would do it, not how the other half of me would do it.”

“The human way instead of the supernatural way?”

“Yes!”

“Whatever you say, boss.” After a grand flourish and head roll, Suze stood still again. “So you want me to keep keeping my eye on one-hundred-percent-human boy?”

“Yes, please.” I started for the door and spun.”

He bowed toward me like some old fashioned butler. “I am, as always, at your service.”

“Keep an eye on Raven, too.”

“Raven? Why?” As he asked, he pulled out his notebook and jotted something inside it—probably another notch on my massive ‘to-do’ list of people I wanted on surveillance.

A small growl bubbled in my chest. “Because … since you’re talking to everyone, I can safely assume everyone knows what I’m doing with Winn and that, yes, I’ve been human for most of the time. Which means, the lovely—”

Suze snorted.

“—Raven is probably waiting to pounce, believing I won’t make the right choice on my birthday. If she’s planning something early, I need to know.”

“That makes somewhat logical sense, smart-girl.” He held his hand in a finger-gun position and dipped it toward me. “But you’re going to stay … one of us … aren’t you?” Worry coated his tone. “You’re not going to go and be a human or let Raven pick for you … right?”

“Right. Just let me know if she starts making plans on my behalf, so I can—”

“Beat her to an angelic pulp?” Suze giggled like a little school girl.

“Yeah, that.”

“You know …” Suze tapped his chin. “Speaking of the devil … though can you call an angel a devil?” His head cocked to the side.

“You can if her name is Raven,” I mumbled.

“She’s been ill a lot lately, which is kinda weird for an Angel, so maybe you’re right. I
should
keep an eye on her.”

I glared at him. “Ill?”

“If you went to your meetings, you’d know this. You skipped March, and they all ganged up on me.” Suze sucked in air as if to draw back in every word he’d said.

“They ganged up on you … like
how
?” I stalked to him, each step a lion preparing to pounce.

He shook his head, eyes closed.

“You aren’t allowed to keep secrets from me, Suze.”

His head moved faster, to the point I expected it would eventually spin all the way around.

“Suze!”

He stopped. “The Council has their own list of stuff for me to tell them, and it’s all about you, and it’s all about Winn, and it’s all about your plan, and it’s all about the fact you’ve been being human too much.”

I knew it.

He blew out a breath, inhaled and said, “And they made me tell them everything—well most everything—and I tried not to, but they know you gave him up, and they know you want him back, and they know—”

I raised both hands, halting his words. For them to know my entire business irked me, but I knew they would. They always did. Suze, though, answered to them first. Me second. I had to remember that. “It’s okay, Suze. You’re forgiven.”

“I am?” Big lashes batted at me. “For reals?”

“Yeah. It’s not your fault since the monster-squad has you on the payroll.”

His eyes widened to saucers. “You’re gettin’ real nice with this ‘new Mac’ thing you got going on, you know that?”

I wouldn’t admit it if he tried to make me. “Thanks, Suze.”

His finger pointed right at me. “And that! You never say thank you.”

“I’m sorry! Okay?”

The same finger bounced up and down. “And that, too! Oh, my goddess, you
are
getting nice. You want Winn so bad you’re getting manners! I love Caroline! I love Caroline! I love Caroline!” He clapped harder with each repetition of her name.

“Enough, Suze!”

“And there she is. Our Mac is back.” All humor left his voice, but not his eyes.

“Go dig into some details. I want to know more.”

“On it. Anything else for you then, ma’am?”

“No. Oh, wait. Hypothetical question.”

He rubbed his palms together. “I like these.” A giant grin curved his lips.

“Say humans and non-humans were to … um … get together for more than the three Fs.”

His head popped over to the right.

“No one ever said there was a law against, it, right? So, it’s reasonable to think … that we … that they might …”

“You wanna know if humans and non-humans do the Jersey-Shore hook-up for keeps?”

I rolled my eyes. “Basically, yes.”

“Yes,” Suze said.

“What?” My eyes opened wide. “What the hell, Suze? Years and years and years of people telling me that’s not allowed. How is this possible?”

“Well, it’s
not
allowed for Council members. Maybe they just thought if they stretched the truth a little, it would make life less complicated for ya?”

I snorted. “Less complicated, Suze? So, you’re telling me, if you wanted to go marry a human, you could?”

He nodded. “But it wouldn’t be easy. If I wanted to stay demon, I’d have to fake my humanness … get all old and wrinkly with my girly-mate until she died. And then when she died, I’d be all alone and sad.” His big bottom lip poked out. “That’s why most of us don’t go down the yellow-brick path of human fraternization. It’s way too hard on the ticker.” His hand covered his heart.

That made sense. “Why not Council members?”

His head lolled back and forth. “Don’t know. It’s just … the rules.”

• • •

It
took every ounce of willpower not to run to Winn and kiss him when he walked into school Friday morning, April fifteenth: F-day for me, ‘F’ standing for Finally!

“Don’t do it,” Caroline said from my side as Winn sauntered toward us.

“Do what?”

“What you’re thinking in that head of yours.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking? And didn’t I already meet my thirty-day trial period, whereby I acted all normal and scholarly,”
and human
“like you said?”

She bit at her nails. “You’ve thought it every time you’ve seen him, every week for the last four. At the library every day. When you drove past his house ten times the other night.” She bumped up against me as Winn came up close. “Keep it cool, remember? You jump into his arms now, he’s gonna know it was all a ploy. This is the last day. Tomorrow is the big reveal.”

I lifted my chin as he stopped by us but gazed off toward the hallway full of students.

Caroline took his arm and rubbed. “How you doin’, Winn?”

“Good. Thanks.”

“Cool. Good. Gotta go.”

I forced my eyes not to widen as she disappeared into the mix of people.
How the hell am I supposed to play it cool when he’s standing right there making every nerve ending in my body heat up like last time? I barely got out alive before!

“Mac?”

Do I look at him? What the hell does cool mean, anyway? Dammit. Screw this.

In a whiplash-inducing move, I faced Winn, took his cheeks in my hands and kissed him.