Appointed Read online

  Then Denver spoke.

  “Oh yeah, definitely. Girls love confidence, and if you take the initiative to ask her out, she’ll be like putty in your hands. You could get away with anything.”

  “Kissing even? Do you think she would kiss me?”

  “For sure! She’ll be all over you if you do what I told you to.”

  Anj shook his head as they reached him. “Oh brother. Do I even want to know?”

  “Chill. I told him to go get her some flowers. Just helping the kid out so he can have some fun, since he’s not gonna be around for much longer. I haven’t corrupted his innocence… yet.” Denver laughed. “Teague, buddy, I’m gonna go. But you hang out here with Mr. Uptight, and we’ll get together again later. Okay?”

  “Okay!” Anj imagined Teague saying it with his usual wide, blue eyes and huge grin. He’d rather not be left alone with the boy, but it was much better than the alternative of leaving him alone with Denver. Whatever Denver wanted with Teague, it couldn’t be good.

  It didn’t take long for Teague to make himself comfortable in a chair near Anj. “I like your dog.”

  “So you’ve said,” Anj said. Every time we talk.

  “Right, sorry.”

  “You’re asking a girl out with flowers?” Anj asked, trying to keep the conversation on something interesting and new.

  “Yeah, because it’s Valentine’s Day soon. Girls like that kind of thing, right?”

  Anj nodded. “Usually. Is this girl by chance Halyn?”

  “How did you know?” Teague gasped with awe.

  “Lucky guess.” Anj resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Every time I’m with you, you’re either talking about her or hanging around her. But if Anj said what was on his mind, Teague would only apologize and get quiet. I must be nice to him even if it kills me.

  Teague laughed. “You’re smart. You pay attention. I’m working on being more observant about stuff. Seems to be getting better as I get more of my memory back. Lots of details are still missing, though. I put some new pictures up. You should see them.”

  “Sure thing,” Anj said dryly. The last thing he wanted to do was go into Teague’s bedroom and look at his wall art. As a psychological experiment, the kid had been painting things from his memory on the walls of his dorm room. One half was a beautiful day, comforting, calming, and the other half was dark, scary, and all too reminiscent of the underworld. Anj was glad it seemed to be working, at least.

  Anj adjusted his books in his lap. “I don’t want to say it, but I think Denver is right. Halyn would love flowers for Valentine’s Day. She gives me the impression of being interested in all the bells and whistles.”

  “So I should get those for her too?” Teague asked.

  “Just stick with the flowers and maybe a little chocolate.” Anj paused. “So you and Denver are friends?”

  “He’s nice.”

  “To you, yeah.”

  For a moment, Teague didn’t say anything, but made a lot of noise as he fidgeted in his chair. The sound of his body rubbing against the cushions was almost as bad as nails on a chalkboard to Anj’s ears.

  He clenched his teeth together. “Yes?”

  “I haven’t seen the blue door for a while. Do you think they’re mad at me?” Teague asked in a whisper.

  “If they’re mad at you, then they’re mad at me too. I haven’t seen the blue door for a while either, but I still dream.”

  “I can’t remember my dreams, but I know they happen. Only bits and pieces, and those go up on my wall,” Teague explained. He sighed with relief. “Good, they aren’t mad. But I don’t understand how we’re supposed to help each other if we can’t talk to them too.”

  “The El — the people from the blue door probably want to see how we work together. Tell you what, I’ll help you try to remember your dreams more so you can make more progress with your memory, and you can owe me one later?” It seemed like a fair trade. Then if Anj needed guidance or knowledge about something in the future, he had somewhere to go. Not that he thought Teague would prove to be all that insightful. But there had to be something the boy could do to help or the Elders wouldn’t have told them to rely on each other.

  Teague was clearly putting a lot of thought into his answer because he went quiet again — a good quality for him to have. It meant he wouldn’t leap into promising something he didn’t think he could deliver.

  Finally, he said, “We can do that. I have this feeling that I need to be here right now, but not for long. If I wait too long, then I’m going to miss something back home.”

  Anj ripped a page from his notebook, then turned on his magic so he could write a list of all the memory techniques he’d acquired over the years. Sometimes his lack of sleep caused him to mess up on simple, everyday things like homework, chores, or even walking down the hall. He felt a little bad for Teague. There was so much sadness in the boy’s voice. It couldn’t have been easy to be far from home and have no idea where he came from. Whatever urgency Teague felt, Anj did too. His gut instincts were telling him something was wrong. Things were off balance, and it had to do with the Elders and Denver.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As had been the case for much of Zes’s relationship with Cheyenne, it was time to celebrate another first: his first Valentine’s Day with a girlfriend. For so long, he’d watched his brother go out with Jewl. He’d always been a little jealous, but he channeled it into planning the best date ever now. Zes had taken notes from movies and his brother’s successes and blunders. Granted, Jewl wasn’t into a lot of romantic things, which was good because Anj was the farthest thing from a sap. However, Zes had noticed when she lit up from small gestures.

  After many observations, he’d concluded that quiet dinners were better than fancy ones; a fun, simple, and intimate activity was better than something showy; and smaller, heartfelt gifts were better than shiny balloons and hundreds of roses. He was going to make dinner himself and then take Cheyenne to the gazebo where he’d first asked her out. Cheyenne would like that.

  Zes worked on the final touches of a blue rose he’d made for her out of glass. One of his favorite hobbies was making glass sculptures with his magic. Her favorite color was blue, and she said she didn’t have a favorite flower, but roses were supposed to be the most romantic. Blue roses were a symbol of prosperity, something he wished for their relationship and for her to have a lot of.

  Things had been a little weird ever since her last bite from Denver. Nothing was necessarily bad, but they weren’t quite right either. She was doing what she’d done when he’d first met her: keeping to herself and avoiding everyone. For a little while, he had let her have the space. They’d spent a lot of time with each other over break, and he figured she needed some time to herself for recharging. Some of his classes were hard anyway, so it gave him an excuse to get ahead as much as possible before senioritis kicked in. Zes wanted to spend his last semester soaking in as much time with Cheyenne as possible. Hopefully their Valentine date would put everything back on track.

  “I wonder what she’s doing now,” he said aloud. He’d hardly seen her at all today. His fingers touched the obsidian mirror pendant on his neck, and he thought about using it for the first time. No, that’s creepy. He shook his head. Or maybe it’s sweet? Just to see if she’s okay? If she’s in the shower or something, I won’t look. He nodded; that seemed like a good enough rule. So how does it work? He decided to start by focusing on Cheyenne. The magic inside the pendant hummed to life, and the glass became warm. When he gazed into it, he saw an image of Cheyenne locking lips with Denver.

  It was just their profiles. Then the angle shifted, and he could see them kissing against a tree in the forest outside the school. They wore their winter jackets. She had on her cute pink hat. Denver’s green eyes were fixed on her, a confident smirk on his lips as he moved in to kiss her again. Her eyes closed, and her mouth opened slightly in invitation.

  Zes closed his eyes, hoping maybe they were playing tricks on him
. When he opened them again, he saw Denver hovering over her neck as if he was going to bite it.

  “This isn’t happening,” Zes said. “This can’t be happening.” His heart ached and his stomach twisted into tight, painful, knots. He sat there for a long time and stared at the evidence before him.

  No wonder she’s been distant and strange. Wait, don’t jump the gun. Give her the benefit of the doubt. But that was hard to do when he noticed the way Cheyenne was looking into Denver’s eyes. Maybe he’s manipulating her again. I have to get there and stop this. Anj said I could use this thing to travel, so maybe…

  “Please,” he whispered. “Please take me to her.”

  Zes closed his eyes and felt his body become light, as if he was floating. Briefly, he opened them and watched his fingers turn into sand. There was a loud whoosh like the wind, and then he felt himself become solid. The cold winter air blew over him. Somehow he’d reappeared right by Cheyenne’s bag, fifteen feet away from her and Denver.

  “Hello?” Cheyenne asked, mid-giggle. She turned her head, and her blue eyes went wide when she caught sight of him.

  “Hey,” Zes said. “What’s up? Busy?”

  “Yes.” Denver sneered.

  Cheyenne pushed away from Denver, walking toward Zes slowly. “I… What are you… How did you…?”

  “I can’t believe this,” Zes whispered, reality finally sinking in.

  “I swear we’ve only kissed, nothing more,” she pleaded.

  Denver rolled his eyes. “Figures.”

  “Get lost,” Zes snapped at him. He wanted to rip Denver’s head off his shoulders.

  “Make me,” Denver said, strutting forward. He brushed past Cheyenne and got right up in Zes’s face.

  Rage filled Zes, and he began to lose control over his magic. At that moment in time, he didn’t care. He let the power of the earth fill him, muscles becoming harder, stronger, and energy flowing through his veins. He punched Denver hard in the jaw. The guy flew back several feet and into the tree he’d been kissing Cheyenne under. The ground shook slightly underneath him.

  “Do I gotta hit you again? Or do you get the picture?” Zes shouted at him.

  Cheyenne shook her head. “Please don’t fight.”

  Slowly, Denver picked himself up off the forest floor. He ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away blood. “Sure thing, princess, but only for you.”

  Zes waited until Denver was gone from sight. He used the time to recollect himself so he didn’t lash out at Cheyenne too much. “Just kissing, huh? He sure sounds disappointed by that.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.

  “Just this one time?” Zes asked, needing to know although he probably wasn’t going to like what she said. Even if it was just the one time, why had it happened to begin with? That was the real question he wanted answered. But he’d take this one thing at a time.

  She shook her head. “It’s happened three times. I want to tell you he brainwashed me into it, made me do it, but I… can’t. It’s been killing me, because you deserve better. I should have said no, but I had to know. I can’t help it. He—”

  “Shut up,” Zes said, fists clenched.

  “I love you. It’s not your fault. I—”

  “I said. Shut. Up.” He glared at her, the magic inside of him surging once more with his growing anger.

  Rather than stick around and watch her cry, he grabbed hold of the pendant and thought about the mirror inside of his bedroom. The magic worked faster this time. Within seconds, he was transported from the cold of the forest to the warmth of his bedroom, though he didn’t feel much of a temperature change because of all the adrenaline pumping through him. Anger filled him, but when that passed, he was nothing but an empty shell.

  He needed to sit down and process everything. Soon his knees gave out, and he was on his bedroom floor, staring blankly in front of him as he replayed the entire scene. What did she just have to know? How many times have they gone off to make out? Only three? Why? Why do this?

  He snapped out of his daze when he heard the front door open, his brother’s heavy footsteps, and the jingling of Guy’s tags. Taking in a deep breath, Zes collected himself, determined not to have a breakdown.

  “Are you home?” Anj called from the den.

  “Y-yeah,” Zes croaked out. He coughed then tried again with more confidence. “Yeah, I’m in my room.”

  He’d been hoping Anj wouldn’t come back to see him, but he didn’t get so lucky.

  Anj stood in the doorway and leaned against the frame. “What are you up to?”

  “Nothing,” Zes said, probably a little too quickly. He’d have to tell his brother eventually about what had happened. Sooner rather than later even, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. He needed a little more time to process the whole thing. Unfortunately, or maybe it was a godsend, Anj was being observant for a change.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his tone firm, suggesting Zes better not try to lie. Yet there was a gentleness to it, as well. The bottom line was, Anj wouldn’t be dropping it until Zes spilled his guts. That was new for his brother. In the past, Anj always waited until Zes felt ready. He’d gotten a lot pushier with some things.

  Zes bit down hard on his lip, determined to keep himself together. “Pretty sure Cheyenne and I are broken up.” He waited to see if Anj would say anything, and when his brother remained silent, he continued. “She’s been seeing Denver behind my back.”

  His brother walked over and put a hand on his knee. Guy also padded over and nuzzled Zes with his wet nose.

  “That sucks,” Anj said, but didn’t say anything more. Which was fine, because Zes didn’t want any words of wisdom or obligatory words of comfort. He didn’t want to hear about how he was better than her. He already knew he was, because even if she didn’t think so, at least he would have been upfront instead of cheating.

  With a sigh, Zes nodded and went about telling his brother the whole story of how he’d found out. “Is it normal to feel numb?”

  “Usually there’s a period of time when you do. That’s before everything else settles in. It’s the moment when you can’t quite believe if it actually happened or if you’re dreaming. Because it happens fast, and then you’re left alone,” Anj said. “From the expert of breakups, it’s perfectly normal. I’d say maybe you could get back together again after this, but I’m not sure if you’d want to. It’s disappointing to me too, because I thought she would be better than that and had better taste. Unfortunately, he’s good at being appealing until he gets what he wants. I figured she’d be smarter than that, but… it must be a girl thing.”

  Zes frowned, wondering what exactly Anj wasn’t saying. “Did Jewl fall prey to his charms too?”

  “Not romantically, but in a way, yes. It’s a story for her to tell you herself. The point I’m trying to make is, you need to decide how much you want to forgive. And take your time figuring it out. Either way, I have your back. You have every right to kick her to the curb, so to speak,” Anj said with a small shrug.

  “I don’t know what I want,” Zes said honestly. “I gave her everything.” And that was the part that killed him the most. They’d rushed their romance, and now he had to deal with the consequences. He’d always hoped to only know one woman intimately. Wasn’t that everyone’s dream? He shook his head and blinked back tears.

  “I’m an idiot,” he said.

  “You’re not an idiot for falling in love with a girl and having a relationship with her,” Anj said.

  Zes shook his head. “And you’re not listening. I gave her everything.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh.” Zes rolled his eyes.

  Anj shifted from where he was kneeling, his hand never letting go of Zes. “And how long has that been going on?”

  “Chr-Christmas.”

  “Wow, merry Christmas! And you didn’t mention this earlier why?”

  “You never said anything about you and Jewl,”
Zes said. “So I didn’t think it was something we needed to talk about. Plus, I didn’t want to be one of those guys. You know, brag, or whatever? I figured that’s why you’ve never said anything.”

  A small smile formed on his brother’s lips. “I haven’t mentioned anything because there isn’t anything to mention. We haven’t, I mean, I’m still a…” Anj waved a hand and let go of Zes. Not for long though, because he put it back on Zes’s knee.

  “Oh,” Zes said.

  “Yeah. Oh. Don’t worry, I’m not going to lecture you. If left to my own devices, things would probably be different for me. Our circumstances are different. With what happened to you… I’m not even going to pretend I understand what’s been happening between you and Cheyenne. You’re always going to be connected by a number of experiences,” Anj said. His eyes took on the soft blue glow that always appeared when he used his magic to see, and he made eye contact with Zes. “Did she… with Denver?”

  Zes shook his head. “They’ve just been sucking face. He’s been sucking other things out of her too, because her neck isn’t getting better again.”

  “Then maybe there’s hope.”

  “I haven’t decided yet if I want there to be or not. Let’s not talk about that.”

  “Right, of course. Would you prefer to stop talking, period? Or something else?”

  “I don’t know.” Zes sighed. “I think I need to lie down.” Hopefully it would stop his head from spinning and his heart from hurting so badly. Fat chance, but it’s worth a shot. There was a lot he could talk about still. If he knew his brother, Anj probably had a million questions on his mind as well, most of which Zes wouldn’t want to answer right then. The wave of sadness washing over him made him want to sleep even though he wasn’t physically tired.

  Anj squeezed his shoulder. “Then I will let you rest.”

  “You don’t have to go.” I don’t want to talk, but I don’t want to be alone.

  “Come on.” Anj helped him stand.

  It may have been childish, but Zes liked that his brother was taking time to care for him. Anj had done the same thing when he’d been released from the hospital wing after Lucien’s attack. He cared, and he was actually showing it. They walked to the bed together, and Anj helped him settle under the covers before also lying down. Both of them stared up at the ceiling.