The Girl and The Raven (24 page)

I leave him there, standing by the picnic table, his slacks torn from his fall, surrounded by half-smoked cigarettes.

On Friday, Marcus is waiting for me on the front porch when I arrive home from school. My smile falls away when I see his angry expression. He makes no move to hug or kiss me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he hisses, grabbing my arm.

I try to wriggle free. “What are you talking about?”

“Jude’s upstairs in my apartment at your request. Are you insane? I told you to stay away from him.”

“I’m doing what I need to do to help Dylan.” I wrench my arm from his grasp.

He follows me inside as I drop my stuff off in my uncles’ apartment.

“I’m asking you not to do this,” he pleads. “I thought you finally understood.”

“That’s the thing, I
do
understand. Besides, with you and Aiden nearby, nothing bad will happen.” I can see he doesn’t agree, but I slide past him and race upstairs before he can stop me.

I raise my hand to knock when the door opens. Aiden stands there, his expression smooth and blank. “You’ve been a busy girl.”

“Hello, Aiden.”

He pulls the door open and gestures for me to enter. Is that a hint of a smile on his face?

Once inside, I notice Jude standing at the window. He turns and his face breaks into a smile as he spreads his arms wide. I hide my smirk. His standard greeting, I suppose.

“Lucy, it’s good to see you.” I stand rigid as he approaches and hope he won’t touch me. “What can I do for you?”

Marcus storms past us and shoots a dark look at Jude. He twitches. I have to make this quick, for his sake.

“I’ll be in the next room,” he growls.

Jude nods in Marcus’ direction. “He has feelings for you.”

I sit down on the couch. “That’s not what we’re here to talk about.”

“Very well.” He takes a seat in the neighboring chair. “Why am I here?”

I realize Aiden isn’t in the room. I glance at the door. Did he leave?

“Don’t let others poison your mind toward me. You have nothing to fear.” He sits perfectly still, elbows resting on the arms of the chair, fingers steepled, watching me.

“You and Pierce Douglas. Can we talk about that?”

There is a flicker across his face—ever so slight. Surprise. “What is it you want to know?”

“You made Mr. Douglas a very rich man in exchange—”

“I encouraged a savvy business man to take his talents to the next level.”

“I can’t believe you made Dylan part of this.”

Jude shrugs. “Pierce and I had a business arrangement. He has enjoyed the fruits of that arrangement for a long time, but defaulted on his end of the deal.” His black eyes meet mine. “That is unacceptable.”

“And you’re making Dylan pay the price?” I clear my throat, annoyed by my shaking voice. “You’re torturing him. He’s having nightmares, hallucinations, and seizures. He’s in a coma.” My voice fades to a whisper. “You did this to him.”

“Someone must be filling your head with tales. Who? Persephone? Henry? Surely not my dear Marcus.” His voice is gentle but chiding.

“No, I just…” I pause, feeling unsure of myself all of a sudden. It does sound crazy. He flashes me a sympathetic smile.

“You came up with this elaborate scenario all by yourself. My dear, I think perhaps you need to spend more time with your father. Get to know me better. Then you wouldn’t be swayed by the gossip of others.”

Then I recall being hurled from the roof. And the gray-haired man who broke into my bedroom on two occasions. A demon. What about Marcus, who has wings and the power to erase my worries and lull me to sleep? What about Gram, Persephone and Henry—a trio of witches?

If Jude is a demon like Persephone says, who knows what he can do?

Anger swells inside of me. “How can you negotiate for the life of another person?”

Our eyes lock on one another. That look of love is back on his face. I look away. The room wobbles and I clutch the edges of the couch cushion and blink several times until it stops.

I fight the urge to squirm. An unfamiliar feeling comes to life inside of me, a strange chaos. My pulse quickens and I feel warm, too warm, all of a sudden. A strange chatter of hissing, whispery voices erupts in my head. Jude’s making this happen.
It’s not real
, I tell myself.

I want to run to the safety of my uncles’ apartment. Instead, I raise my chin and look him directly in the eye.

He shrugs. “Pierce had nothing else to offer.”

“What about all the money he made?”

“Money means nothing to me,” Jude says, his posture relaxing.

“Money means something to everyone,” I protest.

“I have more than I’ll ever need.” He frowns for a moment. ”Can we talk about your mother? Do you mind?”

My whole body stiffens. I shake my head. Momma’s off limits to him. “She’s dead. There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Lucy, it’s difficult to explain the relationship she and I had, so I won’t try. But know this…” He leans forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, his eyes looking blacker than normal. “It wasn’t my choice to leave you in that godforsaken place. If I’d known where you were, I would have come for you.”

I choke as I fix my attention on the opposite side of the room. I will
not
cry, not now, not in front of him.

I look at him through tear-filled eyes and snarl. “Just me? Or for both of us?” I immediately regret my tone as he stiffens. I need to take care of Dylan, then Lola. I can’t risk screwing this up.

“Lucy…” Jude pushes himself up from his chair and joins me on the couch.

“I really don’t want you to…” But he takes hold of my hand.

I feel the blast as my inner circuitry goes haywire. I try to yank my hand away, but he holds tight.

He leans toward me. “Do you feel it?” His voice is barely more than a whisper and his eyes shine bright. “You
are
my daughter.”

His face blurs. He is oblivious to my tears, my hitching chest. I study our entwined hands, then the palm of my free hand. My wicked palms. Demons throw fireballs. I know that now. How much longer before Marcus views me as the enemy?

“What you feel, when we make contact…” he says excitedly. “I knew it once I met you at the airport.”

“Your touch…” I frown at him. “Forget the taser, you could stun people with your hands, and right now there…there’s a crazy chatter in my head…”

Jude’s eyes grow wide. He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

“And there’s a buzzing sound in my ears. Like a swarm of bees.” I shake my head. “I don’t like it…any of it.”

He tightens his grip as I try to pull my hand back. The whispery voices circle inside my head.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited,” he breathes. His fingers dig into my arm and I feel the energy coursing between us. He closes his eyes and smiles. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as a prickly sensation races down my arms.
Creepy.

I jerk my hand away and force myself up from the couch, crossing the room to the window. Marcus’ warning comes back to me. K
eep some distance
. 

With my back to Jude, I stare out the window. Katie is across the street, on her front porch with Trevor. I bet he’s asking her to Homecoming. I watch them talk and laugh and I know I’m right. Katie has it so easy. The next time she complains about her life, I’m going to—

I turn away from the window and nearly bump into Jude. I swallow a shriek. I never heard him leave the couch.

Evil emanates from Jude’s entire being. It hums between us like the vibration of a guitar string, but I’m sure Marcus is wrong. Gram was wrong. Jude’s hurt people, but he’ll never hurt me.

Dylan.

“I need to ask you for something. Please.”

“Anything.” He doesn’t hesitate.

“Fix Dylan. Right away.” How much can I ask for? I pause for only a beat. “Renegotiate the deal and leave Dylan out of it.”

“I’ll consider it.” He shoves his hands into his pockets and tilts his head. “Now I want something from you.”

I hold my breath, my body still as a stone, afraid of what he’ll ask of me.

“Tell me about your powers. Aiden relayed information to me from your grandmother.”

“If Aiden’s been spying for you, then you know about the fireball.”

“Not just the fireball. You have other powers too.” His gaze burns into me.

“I don’t have any other powers.”

He rubs his chin, a gesture that looks practiced, as he stalks around the room. “Think back, Lucy. Have you ever been in a crisis situation, overcome with fear, anxiety or even rage?” The chatter in my brain grows louder and I press my fingers to my temples, willing it to stop. “And then things just happened?”

I am about to protest again when he holds up his hand. “Think.”

I take a deep breath as I reflect over the years. All the fights with Momma. Her broken promises. All the times I begged her to let me live with Gram. I recall how angry those fights made me and how hopeless I always felt afterwards. Nothing more than that. Until the night of the fireball.

“Relax, Lucy. It’ll come to you.” His smooth voice melts my tension away. I finger through my memories like the index cards in Gram’s recipe box, searching.

Momma partying in the living room with Carl. The music throbbing against my bedroom wall as I tried to read a book for my eighth grade English class. Momma screams. I race out of my bedroom. I see her cowering on the floor, Carl looming over her, about to strike. I try to push him off her, but he flings me away as if I weigh nothing. He goes after her again and that’s when it happened. Terror and rage. A ball of emotion so powerful, so out of control…I couldn’t contain it. With no idea what I was doing, I ran at him again.

I watch the scene in slow motion. Momma with her hands over her face. I charge Carl. Carl runs toward the door. Carl hits the door as if launched into it. Carl and the door fly outside and slam into the big oak tree. My eyes fuzz over. Blackness.

I continue to search.

I can’t find the iPod Gram had given me for Christmas. I tear apart the entire trailer. Momma comes home, dragging a case of beer behind her. There are dark circles under her eyes and familiar white crusties at the corner of her mouth. She lies on the couch, her arm thrown over her eyes and confesses she hocked it for groceries.

I ask where the groceries are. No response. I look at the case of beer and ask where she’s been all day. No response. I focus on the white crusties. My anger bubbles up from my stomach until it is a fever burning my brain. The case of beer explodes. The foamy, smelly liquid shoots everywhere. Momma jolts, groans and slumps back against the couch.

When I open my eyes, Jude is regaining his balance halfway across the room, a huge smile on his face. “You just shoved me a good six feet away.”

I take a clumsy step backward. “I moved you?”

He nods, that crazy smile still there.

I don’t want to do this anymore. I gulp down several breaths, trying to ease the pain in my chest. I head for the door. “I have to go.”

“Lucy.”

I freeze.

“If I make Dylan better, you’ll owe me.”

I peek at him from the corner of my eye.

“I guess you and Momma aren’t that much different after all.”

I have BIG NEWS! Text me ASAP!

I grin as I read Katie’s message, then text her to ask if the BIG NEWS has anything to do with a certain guy asking her to Homecoming.

Within seconds my phone rings.

“Oh my God! How did you know?” I pull the phone away from my ear as she squeals.

“Wild guess,” I reply, bringing the phone back to my ear. “Since you talk about him all the time.”

“You should’ve seen him. He was so nervous at first. I thought he was going to break up with me. He kept starting and stopping, and he wouldn’t look at me. It was torture. I was nearly in tears before he finally asked!”

“That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.” I stare out the window. We’re all supposed to go shopping for dresses, but spending time at the mall with Caroline and Ella is the last thing I want to do today.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you. Shawn asked Suzy to Homecoming. Actually, she told him she wanted to go and then he asked her. She’s ecstatic,” Katie says. “You were right. They’re a great match.”

“That’s awesome!”

“I have a huge favor to ask and I know this will put me in the worst friend ever category, but I’m begging you…”

“What?”

“Trevor wants to spend the day together and I know we’re all supposed to go look at dresses, but I’m hoping maybe you and I can go next weekend and we could both skip going today.” She speaks fast and her words all mush together. I cover my mouth to keep from laughing.