Silence - eARC (19 page)

Sean had promised “costumes” for all of them; she checked her closet and found exactly that, only not tacky polyester stuff. And lest there be any mistake, each one was in a garment bag that had their names on them. Jake was a “greaser”-- chinos, white T-shirt, black leather jacket with a bike gang patch on the back and black motorcycle boots. Riley matched him with tight pink capri pants, a pink T-shirt and a matching black leather jacket and boots. Before she checked Seth’s bag, she had been afraid the costume was going to be a jock—but it wasn’t! In fact, it wasn’t a high-school type costume at all…it was a typical ’50s scifi scientist, complete with lab coat and goggles! Wanda—again, she was afraid that Wanda was going to get something she would
never
agree to wearing, but Wanda was a beatnik: tight black capris, little black ballet slippers, tight black turtleneck sweater and a beret. Since beatniks were basically ’50s Goths, Staci figured Wanda would like that just fine.

And as for her…her costume half-filled the little closet. And when she opened the garment bag it turned out to be a strapless full-length pink prom dress, with about a hundred petticoats. It looked like something Audrey Hepburn would have worn. But instead of being scratchy it was all soft as anything she had ever felt, because it was all silk.

And there was a note:
Staci, let your friends know they can keep these costumes. You too. I’m sure you can find a use for them!

Her first instinct was to tell Sean that it was too generous of a gift, but she checked herself. This was how he showed that he cared; he could certainly afford it, if nothing else. And really, what else could he
do
with a handful of ’50s costumes? She rather doubted any of the cousins or friends would wear something that anyone else had worn before them.

Staci, Riley, and Wanda all dressed and prepared together; Staci filled the other two girls in on what she had been doing for the past two days, for the most part, while they did their makeup and made sure each others’ hair was behaving correctly. Once they were all ready, they met the boys out in the hallway; Jake and Seth were busy arguing about the portrayal of faster-than-light travel in films as opposed to in books, but both of them fell silent when they saw the girls.

“Hubba hubba!” Jake wrapped his arms around Riley and planted a kiss on her lips, causing her to giggle and playfully slap him a few times.

Seth blushed bright red, looking at the floor for a moment. “Black really is your color, Wanda. I mean, you look nice.”

Wanda looked taken aback for a moment, then blushed. Staci had never seen her blush before. But Wanda didn’t let that stop her from making a wisecrack. “And you actually look
intelligent
! But I’d rather have Jake fix my car.”

Jake popped two thumbs up in imitation of the Fonz. “Ehhhh!” he said. “Just hand me your carburetor, baby! I’ll rev you up.”

Riley elbowed him. “You aren’t touching anybody’s carburetor but mine!”

They all laughed, and headed for the pool, where, somehow, in the time it had taken to change,
someone
had put together a complete “themed” setup. There was a “malt shop” arrangement instead of a buffet, with a counter with stools and a couple of stand-alone booths and tables, a jukebox and a dance floor. And off to the side, a “drive-in” with a screen and half-cars, just phony front ends and bench seats.

Staci was getting used to this, but her friends’ eyes all got big. “How—” said Riley, finally.

Wanda was the first to recover. “Lots of money and lots of servants can do anything,” she said dryly. “If some rich dude can completely make Lothlorien for his wedding, this is like, child’s play.” Staci found herself wondering again how much magic had to do with what she was seeing. It amazed and frightened her at the same time how much there was to the world that she was only now beginning to learn about.

Sean met them shortly after they got to the party proper, greeting each of them in turn and complimenting everyone—especially the girls, and most especially Staci—on their costumes and appearance. She couldn’t help but notice that he was in a ’50s tux—the match for her prom dress. The food, while fitting in the theme, was still clearly gourmet and expertly prepared. The servants were similarly in costume; the women were dressed as carhops complete with skates, and the men as mechanics in vintage coveralls. Both sets of costumes had the servant’s name printed over the breast.

Once everyone was properly greeted and shown the attractions for the evening, Jake and Seth, naturally, descended on the food like a pair of starved wolves. Riley and Wanda, after sharing an eye roll, followed with a measure of restraint. Sean and Staci picked up the rear, her on his arm again, talking as they went through the line with their plates. The evening only got better from there; after they had finished eating, they each had turns dancing to what came out of the jukebox…which, no surprise, had a much, much better speaker system than the original could have ever boasted. Classic pop hits, R&B, some blues, and more than a few Elvis hits; Seth turned out to be a not half-bad dancer, despite what Staci would have thought. Even Wanda seemed impressed, though she did her best to hide it.

Thoroughly danced out, Sean saw to it that everyone got milk shakes or soda floats before taking them around and introducing the gang to different cousins or hangers-on. Wanda paired off with the Blackthorne cousin she had met her first night at the estate, but didn’t stray too far from the group, trading looks with Seth every now and again.
I really hope that something happens between those two; they would work well together, if they gave it even half a chance.
The night went on; more conversation, more compliments, the occasional nibble on a morsel brought by a skating carhop or a mechanic. The partygoers started to calm and the party’s tone became more relaxed and slow-paced; after a final slow dance that Staci shared with Sean, with Riley and Jake also in their own little world as they swayed to the music, everyone settled into the half-cars to watch a double feature. Both were ’50s horror classics: the original
The Blob
and
I Was a Teenage Werewolf.
Of course, Wanda knew everything about both films; Staci was pleased to see that she was sitting with Seth in one of the half-cars, quietly expounding on the films as they watched.

Staci felt happy. It was nice and cool out, but she was warm enough snuggled up next to Sean, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as they watched the double feature. When the final credits rolled, it was apparent that everyone was ready to crash for the night. Sean escorted everyone that was staying to their rooms; he had made arrangements so that each one of the gang had a separate room. Staci did her best to suppress a smile as she watched her friends’ eyes go wide at the richly appointed accommodations before wishing each of them goodnight. She lingered a little in Riley’s room. Riley closed the door behind herself, Staci and Wanda, then did a running leap into the enormous bed, landing with a laugh. “This is amazing!” she said, rolling over and spread-eagling herself over the expanse.

“I dunno why he didn’t put all three of us in the same room,” Wanda observed, looking around at all the space.

Staci shrugged. “Maybe because he figured we’d prefer privacy over a slumber party,” she suggested. “They certainly have enough rooms to spare; I doubt they have ever completely filled the house before.”

She and Wanda left Riley exploring her own little mini-bar and refreshment center and went to Wanda’s room. It was virtually identical to Riley’s except for the color (browns and creams instead of lilac and green) and the art on the walls. “I’m almost relieved,” Wanda said, after looking around. “If this had been done up in black and red, I think I might have run away screaming.”

Staci blinked at her. “Why?” she asked, puzzled.

“Because…okay, the ’50s costume made for me…I can get that. You figure a Goth Girl is going to like being a Beat Girl, and it was all stretch stuff, so not hard to fit. But if they’d tailored a whole
room
to me? That pegs the creepy meter.” Wanda strolled into the room and threw her beret on the bed. “This…looks like a swanky hotel room. I’m okay with that.”

“I’m glad it meets with your approval,” Staci said dryly. “I’ll see you in the morning. Follow your nose to the dining room, they’re laying out a buffet.”

She didn’t wait to hear Wanda’s answer, but Wanda really didn’t have one; like Riley, she was busy exploring. Staci went back to her own room, smiling a little. This was going to be a great weekend.

* * *

Staci had another dream that night. The gazebo in the middle of the hedge maze seemed to be a central part of the dream; she kept running through the maze, trying to get away from something, but every time she turned a corner she was back in the center with the gazebo. There was some sort of faint light coming from behind it…or from the structure itself, she couldn’t tell. Everything seemed to go dark around the edges of it, and she felt as if she were being sucked into a black hole, unable to turn away or escape. Staci felt a scream rising in her throat, but before she could let it out…she woke up in bed, sheets twisted around her. She must have been thrashing in her sleep.

I’ve
never
had nightmares this bad before. What’s happening to me? Is it the magic, or all of the monsters that seem to want me dead?
And why should she have dreamed about that gazebo? It was a decorative building and a beautiful one at that. She did her best to try to forget the dream as she got out of bed and started to get cleaned up for breakfast; the clock on the nightstand said that it was nearly six, so Sean would surely be up by now. No matter what she tried to think about, however, the image of the strange gazebo kept coming back to her. It had seemed so beautiful the other day…save for the glimpse of horror that she had caught at the edge of her vision, turning the beauty into something sinister.

Once she had brushed her teeth, taken a shower, made sure her hair was presentable, and thrown on one of her New York outfits—not a vintage thing, just a nice summery top and skinny jeans, something that was completely out of place in Silence—she figured that she was ready to gather up the troops. As she made sure her top was smoothed down, she couldn’t help but think about the last time she’d worn it—just about this time last year, and it had been so hot in New York that people were searching for
any
spot of cool they could find, and the roar of air conditioners had been audible even above the traffic noise. Here…if she wore this outfit down in Silence, she’d half freeze to death.

She knocked on Wanda’s door first. “You up?” she called softly.

A few moments later Staci heard movement in the room. The door cracked open, and Wanda was there; her eyes were half-lidded, her hair a mess, and she didn’t have any makeup on. “Gimme a minute. I never sleep this hard. Must be one of those space-age wonderbeds or something. If there isn’t coffee somewhere, I won’t be held responsible for my actions.” With that the door slammed shut; for a second Staci considered opening the door and making sure Wanda wasn’t plopping back down in bed, but then she heard the faucet running in the connected bathroom. The same scene played out for Riley, Jake, and Seth; each of them was completely out of it, groggy and in full-on sleep inertia.
We didn’t party
that
hard last night. It’s not like any of us were drinking, either. Weird.

Or maybe it was just simpler than that. Staci remembered all too well trying—emphasis on trying—to sleep on the miserable excuse for a mattress that was all she could find when she first moved in with her mom. None of her friends had access to Dad’s credit card, maybe they had nothing but mattresses that were as old as their parents were…and she’d bet not one of them had ever slept on a really good bed before. That was probably all there was to it. Maybe that was what was causing her dreams; being unaccustomed to a really nice mattress. Staci shrugged it off; breakfast and seeing Sean again were more important, so she went downstairs.

Sean was alone in the dining room, but the buffet had been set up. As always, it was impressive, just like a brunch buffet at a really fancy restaurant, complete with a servant making custom omelettes, one making fresh pancakes, waffles and french toast, and one carving a whole ham. She had a hard time deciding, but eventually settled on ham quiche, some fresh fruit and a waffle with whipped cream and strawberries. By the time she was done making her selections, Wanda and the others appeared, followed by Finn, Morrigan, and a couple of the other cousins. Staci mentally shivered at the sight of Finn, but did her best to not let anything on. Wanda and the others looked awake now; the others, especially Seth and Jake, perked up when they saw the food, but Wanda looked as if she ought to have a storm cloud over her head. While the rest picked out something to eat, Wanda had an urgent, whispered conversation with the servant in charge of omelette-making. He went out and came back with a big teapot, which he gave to her. She sighed, and took it, left it at the spot she’d chosen as her seat, and got herself food. Meanwhile Finn and Morrigan parked themselves at the far end of the table; the rest of the cousins—and the ones who kept arriving, including Sean’s father and the rest of the adults, dispersed themselves over the intervening space. It was really odd; Finn kept staring at Wanda with a little half-smile on his face, saying nothing. Wanda either didn’t notice or pretended not to. Either way, she wasn’t nearly as talkative as the others, quietly eating and sipping a large mug of what she had poured out of the pot, and Sean said was strong green chai. It wasn’t coffee, but since Wanda hadn’t assaulted anyone, it must have met with her approval.

The conversations were muted, for the most part. Everyone relaxed and enjoyed the food and company. But strangely, as Wanda became more and more human, Finn lost his smirk, which slowly turned into a slightly petulant expression. Finally he spoke up.

“This morning I had to look twice to realize I was here at Blackthorne, and not in the dining room of the Hyatt, there are so many strangers here.” It
could
have been a joke, except that Finn’s inflection made it sound, ever so slightly, like an accusation. Staci felt as much as saw Sean tensing, getting ready to take issue with Finn when his father spoke.