Fierce Dawn (10 page)

Or, more likely, had just overreacted to the whole thing. Except for the ice cream weapon part. At least she’d fought back a little.

She held onto that strangely comforting thought as she let go of the door behind her and sought out Jen.

But Jen wasn’t home yet and her cousin’s replying text gave her an hour to kill. Going dancing actually sounded really good. She wondered what she’d wear and figured Jen would help. It was only eight so once in her room, Sadie plunked her iPod headphones in and selected a dance mix to get in the mood. She lay down for a minute to think of outfits, but dozed off after the first imaginary ensemble.

Tart sunlight filled the corners of her brain and the edges of her room. Dust danced in the daylight streaming in. She sat up, wiping her face. She didn’t feel groggy
,
making her realize she’d skipped last night’s dose. Oh, well. The medications made life a blur, made her own sense of self go to sleep.

Right now, she felt rather normal.

Maybe she’d stop all meds as of today instead of next week
,
as planned. After all, she was down to half of one of each at bedtime. And what would a few days matter?

She looked at the clock. “Shit!” It was noon? What had happened with Jen? Why hadn’t Jen
woken
her up last night?

Sadie scrambled out of bed. Her shoulders sagged when she found a note in the kitchen:
Sorry about last night. I tried to wake you up, but you were sleeping like the dead, girl. Tonight, be prepared! I’m making it up to you. K? K! Love, Jen.

Had Jen come home at all? Had she ditched Sadie and gone out alone? Was she home now?

Nope on the last account. No clue on the others.

Telling herself she had no call to get jealous, Sadie got herself some coffee. Scandalous amounts of fun tended to keep a person out well past midnight
,
but morning, too? Images of Jen, glorious blond hair swaying in rhythm with her hips on some dazzling dance floor, snapped through her mind. She scrambled eggs. She ate. She glared at her empty plate. Letting the fork clang unceremoniously before shoving both away.

No texts, no replies either. She propped her chin on her fist and debated calling Ben. Or, maybe she’d go snooping in Jen’s room. The idea took hold.

“Screw it. She’ll never know.” With no real idea of what she hoped to find there, Sadie
tiptoed
halfway up the stairs. The metallic scrape of the front lock stopped her short. Half-tripping over her own feet, Sadie raced back down in time to act natural as Jen spilled in.

"Oh
,
no!" Jen said, hand to heart. "Did I wake you?"

Unfortunately, a high pitch giggle threatened to break free if Sadie opened her mouth to point out she stood in the kitchen, not her bedroom. Instead, she quickly shook her head.

"No? Oh, good." Jen locked the door behind her and swaggered in. "Sadie, Sadie, Sadie." She swayed past and sat in the same chair Sadie had been sulking in, the stink of smoke and alcohol in her wake. "Not coming out with me last night was a crime! I cannot even begin to explain how cool this club was.”

"Really?" Sadie swallowed and pulled out a chair. Her heart raced hungrily for more. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“
Honey, I tried. You were dead to the world.”

Damn it.

“
And I met, hands down, the most interesting, the most captivating, the most gorgeous man on the entire planet." Jen nodded solemnly, her shiny aquamarine eyes riveted to Sadie's. "He is perfect." She lowered her voice to a throaty whisper. "Perfect."

“
Wow.” Sadie dropped her chin to her palm. “Tell me everything.”

Jen held a finger up, much like every other time they did this vicarious living thing. "And completely, totally, one hundred percent not interested."

"What?" How could any male with working vision not be interested in Jen? Her mouth alone made you stare. "I don’t believe that."

“
Believe it.”

“
But how can you be sure?”

Jen tipped her head as though to say, "Come on. When you know, you know." She slurred, "I can tell." Jen scrunched her face up. "I think I'm still drunk
,
though. Maybe once I sober up, he won't seem so amazing."

Sadie didn’t know whether to be inspired by how unperturbed Jen was by a perfect man rejecting her, or depressed. If only getting over Elijah would be so easy. "Maybe he's gay?"

"Nope, definitely not gay.”

"What was the club like?"

Jen stretched her arms over her head with dramatic flare. “The club was…glorious."

Sadie could
’ve
sighed. Next time, she’d stay awake. Next time, she’d be there. Jen’s phone rang.

"Uh-oh," Jen said
,
exaggerating each syllable. She put a wobbly finger to her lips, "Shhh. It's Heather," then answered, mumbling about being checked in on more than a kid at camp.

Sadie almost got up. But Jen waved her hand for her to stay. So she did. A few vague uh-huh’s and
uh-uh’s later from
Jen's end
—
probably about Sadie
—
accompanied with Jen's hand
-
puppeting a talking duck, Sadie's name came up. What a shocker.

"I told Sadie to go, but she stayed home, as usual." Jen winked at Sadie, pointing at the phone. "What do you mean?" A pause. “No way.” Another pause. "I don't think you give her enough credit, Heather. She'll be fine. She’ll have fun.” Longer pause. “No, of course she wouldn't drink. Yes, yes, alcohol and medications don't mix. Listen, I have another call coming in, so
—
."

“
Hah!” Jen flipped her phone shut. "She hung up on me!"

Sadie groaned. “Great. She’ll be attacking my phone next, terrified, out to save me from your clutches.”

"She's married, stays home, worries about you like you're a toddler. I swear, Sadie. Heather acts fifty-one instead of twenty-one. I mean, what harm could there be in you going out with me? Me, of all people. Family. It's a completely normal thing to do for young, single women." Jen rolled her eyes. “Like us!”

“
Coping, I guess.”

“
We used to sneak her ass in the club’s back door, Sadie!”

“
I know. I remember.” Vividly and often.

"It’s like she hit fast forward," Jen continued, staring off into space. "And you hit pause. When your mom died, you stopped. And she made up for it by doubling her growing up. Tripling, really, if you think about it."

Sadie frowned. Is that what it seemed like to outsiders? The eggs she’d eaten began to rot in her belly. Her life wasn’t on pause. Pausing sounded leisurely. Even stopping sounded like a choice. The last two years felt more like being trapped. Trapped between before and after, between the past and a future.

"Do you think Heather will ever let you go, Sadie?"

"No," Sadie said, attempting to sound amused. She stared at her hands, searching for the words to clarify, and explain how Heather wasn't what held her back. But before she could find the words, Jen had excused herself to go and “pass out”, leaving Sadie to stew.

Had Heather held her back? Or had her own fears?

If that night two years back had never happened, how different would Sadie’s life be? She hugged herself high, reaching under her tee to feel one of the scars on her shoulder blades. If only she hadn’t given in to the stress and caused such an upset.

Well, it didn’t matter now. Because nothing would hold her back again. Tonight, wherever Jen went, she would be sure to follow.

*

Seven p.m. arrived way too fast.

A knock on
the
door stopped her paintbrush midair. “Nine sound good?” Jen asked.

Sadie nodded. And gulped. She’d been doing no more than staring the empty canvas down
,
trying to paint anything but two glorious wings. She couldn’t show up at her next therapy session empty handed. It’d send
off
alarms.

In theory, returning to her old self sounded easy. Would it be? Tonight would be a little test.

She had two hours to get ready, which sounded like a lot. But Sadie might as well have been getting ready for prom. Plus, one niggling worry kept creeping through. What if another glowing-eyed beast came bounding across the dance floor?

Sadie scrunched up her nose at her reflection in her bedroom mirror. “Don’t answer that. There will be no freaky dark streets to walk through. Nothing to spook you.”

She leaned closer, trying to apply mascara with clumsy fingers.

A knock sounded on her door. Jen peeked in. “Ready?”

“
Almost. Can you explain again why I have to wear a bra half my size?”

“
Lift.”

“And if I so much as sneeze, this skirt ain’t gonna make it.”

“
That’s cool. I can buy another.” Jen strolled in on red velvet stilettos, accented by her tapered skinny jeans. “You look incredible, Sadie.”

Sadie gasped. Oops. She had meant to sigh. A nice, long breath designed to calm her nerves and shut her worrying brain up. Her own cobalt heels elongated her legs. “I didn’t think it’d be so hard. You know? I thought it’d be like riding a bike.” She was almost a hot wreck in high heels.

“
It will be. Give yourself a break. We’re out to have fun. Just dancing. No pressure. We can leave anytime, okay?”

Dancing. In these? “Okay. No pressure.” Damn it, she was going to do this.

Short of wetting herself in public, nothing—glowing or otherwise—would send her running home tonight. Nothing.

“
Ready?” Jen asked.

Her hair couldn’t get any straighter, thanks to Jen’s ionic flat iron and some magical shine spray. All in all? Not so bad, actually. She turned so her bared shoulders showed back at her. Impressive. Jen had concealed the crescent shaped scars on back. In dim lighting the skin there looked perfectly smooth “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Sadie said.

“
Gorgeous,” Jen said.

“
Thanks,” Sadie took one last glance and a deep breath. “So, where are we going?”

“
Fire and Ice.” Jen jingled her keys. “Later. To start things off, we’ll get some sushi at Ra.”

“
Is that where you went last weekend? Fire and Ice?”

Jen sighed. “No. I was at Déjà Vu. Sorry. I couldn’t get us on
that
list. Next time?”

“
Definitely.” A chill slid up her spine. Sadie ignored it along with the urge to look behind her as they went to Jen’s Mustang. The garage door closed as Jen reversed the car onto the street.

“
Don’t worry,” Jen said, laughing. “Fire and Ice is only a
far
second.”

With the press of a button the convertible top folded back above their heads, baring the star
-
spangled night sky. Sadie shut out the sound of her name on the breeze. Nerves were normal.

Jen stuck a compact disc in and wriggled her eyebrows. She shifted into drive, accelerating so fast their heads pushed back. Sadie forced her eyes to stay open and as the car sped away, dismissed the shadowy outline on Jen’s rooftop, telling herself only birds had wings. Even very large ones.

*

“
How exactly does Sadie escaping the safety of the home fit into our brilliant plan?” Lyric said as the car below sped away.

Elijah unclenched his fists. The feeder was pushing every last button tonight. “Did you get a feed off her, or not?”

Lyric stood and walked the spine of the roof’s tile shingling. “No. I don’t see how you expected me to
,
though.”

“
I expected you to quickly read her for signs that she’s either half immortal or a changeling. What’s the problem?” Elijah mentally cursed Lyric. The car’s taillights faded in the distance.

“
I couldn’t tell. Whatever she is, the human part of her is clogging my feed. I’ll need more time with her.”

“
We’ll follow them.”

“
Or find another location, one where I can have more than a short minute. Call me.” He angled his feet, skidded down the slope of roof and leapt down.

Elijah opened his wings and cut through the air, heading Lyric off on the street. “Forget it.”

“
Forget what?”

“
I’m not going to drag you around all night.”

“
Good. If you think I’d climb onto your back and play hang-glider, or transport with you, you’re dead wrong.”

“
We don’t have time for arguing, Lyric. And the last place I’d trust you is anywhere near my back.”

“
You’re just mad at yourself. You should have approached her when you had the chance.” Lyric hopped over the side wall.

Elijah stalked after. “No. I had to be sure. I still have to be sure. It isn’t like we can pop into her bedroom and introduce ourselves.”

Lyric shrugged noncommittally and mounted his realm-modified motorcycle. He flicked two gold metallic switches and the carved metal beast purred to life, steam puffing gusts from the chrome and brass exhaust. “You have a trace on her, why not simply follow?”