Inquest Page 6

  "And the others?" He raised an eyebrow.

  "They're cool guys, friends, but as much fun as it would be to go it's not something I have to do." She winked a couple of times. He wasn't sure he bought the statement, seeing as how she was just complaining about it rather openly only a minute before. She moved a little closer to him. "The activity night should be fun. Overnight at the Crow's Nest."

  He frowned. "I don't know what that is."

  "It's one of those massive indoor playgrounds. The staff is reserving it for the night for everyone not going to prom. There are going to be movies and lots of junk food and games."

  "Sounds kind of...childish," he said.

  Halyn's smile faded. "For some reason, I thought it would be your cup of tea."

  Because I'm supposed to be like a child. He forced a smile, not wanting to discourage her. "It still sounds fun. When you describe it, it comes across as something the elementary kids would like the most. I...I'm trying to grow up more anyway. Jewl said –"

  "What did I tell you the last time she was giving you a hard time about being you? There's nothing wrong with who you are. So you embrace your younger side sometimes. Maybe if she had more fun, she'd be less of a sour puss. Do you want to turn into one of those people? Do you want to be like her?" Halyn folded her arms in front of her, lips pursing.

  He shook his head, knowing that was the response he was supposed to give. Once more, he wanted to jump to his mother's defense. Jewl wasn't always negative and serious. Most of the time he saw her, she was smiling and laughing. At home, where she was comfortable, she didn't hold back and hide. Not everyone was comfortable with being around a group of strangers.

  Slowly, Halyn's expression softened. "Sorry, I know she's your sister. She just...bugs me. And as much as she and Anj claim to be meant for each other, I don't get what he sees in her. He could do a lot better."

  "Okay," he mumbled. He definitely didn't agree with that statement. If anything, it was the other way around and Jewl was too good for Anj. As much as he loved both of his parents, his father liked to overdramatize things — especially in the past. Teague noticed how much more selfish Anj was and how he thrived on attention. Jewl definitely put up with a lot. She might not have liked lots of people, but at least she left them alone.

  "Sorry," Halyn said again. "Anyway, back on topic. You should go to the activity night with me."

  Because she asked, he nodded, smiling, wanting to make her happy. Be careful. Be very careful. Activity night was innocent, though, and well-chaperoned. He would not be allowed to get close to her.

  He nudged her, playfully. "If I had been asked to prom, then what?"

  "I would have agreed to go with one of my prospects, ditched them, and hung out with you all night." She giggled.

  "Guess it's a good thing I didn't get asked then. I'd hate to hurt anyone's feelings," he said with a small smile.

  She nodded. "Something tells me it would have been okay. You know, with us being pathetic sophomores and all."

  "You're not pathetic, Sparkles," he said, using the nickname he'd given her when they'd first met. Names weren't one of his strong suits before. She'd reminded him of sunshine, happiness, and all things beautiful. For whatever reason, that manifested in the name Sparkles.

  Halyn moved a little closer, leaning toward him. "Neither are you."

  I think she wants me to kiss her. He swallowed. "That's super nice of you to say."

  "Just telling it like it is." She tapped his nose with her index finger. "Visitation hours are ending soon. I'll see you tomorrow."

  When she stood, he did as well, wanting to be polite and see her to the door. Right before she walked out of his dorm, she leaned up and kissed his lips quickly. He didn't get a chance to say anything, because she bolted down the hallway. Slowly, he closed the door and made his way back to the couch. Be. Careful.

  Chapter Seven

  With prom on the brain, Teague ended up dreaming about it. Of course, whenever he had a dream, he could never only dream for the sake of dreaming. He shivered as he wrapped the blankets around him tightly.

  ****

  Prom at Vala was a grand affair, just like for any other high school in the United States of America. When it came to schoolwide activities, the students got heavily involved and took them incredibly seriously. There were few things Vala students were allowed to do that were just like every other teenager on the planet. School dances were one of those things.

  An off-campus venue was chosen: a grand mansion turned hotel was the pick for the year. From the high ceilings of the entryway and the luxurious marble columns lining the wooden staircase going up to the ballroom, it wasn't all too different from Lord Reyld's Manor on the Vala campus. If anything, Teague thought Vala was a lot more majestic of a setting than whatever place the prom committee had chosen for the dance. The appeal came from getting away from school, though. That was the most important part.

  In his dream, he found himself involuntarily following Zes around. His uncle wore a simple, black suit with a tie that matched the same shade of red as his date's dress. He ended up going with Noel after all. Teague didn't have many encounters with her, but she seemed nice enough. She was a cute, petite, redheaded junior, who had just enough charisma and guts to counter Zes's quiet, shy demeanor. In that sense, she was like a female version of Anj only, unlike him, she was a lot more respectful of Zes's wishes and didn't try to push him into something he absolutely didn't want to do.

  They made a cute couple. She was clearly into him with how she constantly gazed up at him with wide, glittering, green eyes while she held on to his arm. Every so often, Zes would look down at her and smile shyly. His entire body remained tense as they made their way to the ballroom for the dance.

  As much as Teague wanted to wander off and explore, he was glued to his uncle's heels. If he had actually been present in body, they'd have plowed into each other several times. Thankfully, he was just an observer. Even if he wanted to offer Zes encouragement and try to get him to relax, it wasn't his place to do so. Just having the time to view Zes's life was a treat in and of itself.

  "Do you need anything?" Zes asked, leaning toward Noel so he could be heard over the music.

  She dragged him over to a table. "There's plenty of time for punch and snacks. Come on."

  "I'm not much of a –"

  "Dancer? I know. You said that earlier when we first talked about going, and then again at dinner," she said. "Relax. We're just going to sit. You look kind of pale."

  "Just the lights. I'm fine."

  She peered up at him for a moment then pushed him into the nearest chair before placing herself on his lap. "Maybe, but before we get into the full swing of things, it would be good for you to relax. You seem to like getting all wound up."

  "That's when all of his best tricks come out," Anj said, joining the duo. He had on a full tuxedo, tails included, along with a top hat and cane. The cane itself was the one he used to help him get around when he didn't have his Seeing Eye dog, but he had a confident swagger to him that made it look a lot classier.

  Zes blinked, frowning. "That makes no sense."

  "Wound up? Like those toy dogs? When you let them loose again, they start doing back flips and what not."

  "I don't do back flips," Zes said quickly, returning his attention to Noel. "Can't say I do any tricks at all."

  "You have talents," Anj insisted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a dance floor to go dominate." He offered a hand to Jewl, who was just joining the table. She took it, and together they left Zes with Noel. On his way toward the dance floor, Anj nudged his brother sharply in the back with his cane.

  Scowling, Zes rubbed at the spot where he'd been poked, then his gaze locked on Teague. "This is important."

  Everything around Teague began to blur as people rushed by and the dance progressed. Almost like someone had pressed the fast forward button on a remote. Just as time started to slow down again, Zes said something to his date and got up from
the table. He walked to the balcony outside. The air was cool, but refreshing. Teague took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. For some reason, he felt anxious and like he was suffocating. None of it made sense, because he loved dances and group gatherings. But Zes doesn't. Zes hates this kind of stuff. Maybe I'm feeling what he did.

  Briefly, Zes closed his eyes. "She likes me. What's my problem? Why can't I like her back?"

  "Because you still love me," a soft female voice said from behind him.

  He faced the source, as did Teague, and found Cheyenne Loveless, wearing a long, slender, black-sequined gown. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, and she wore dangling diamond earrings that sparkled under the lamp light.

  "Ch-Chey! Are you okay?" Zes rushed to her side and held her close. For someone who was supposedly over her, he didn't embrace her as such.

  She let him hold her for a few seconds before pulling away from him. "What I am isn't of any concern at the moment. I need you to tell me straight and simple. Do you still love me?"

  "I..." Zes swallowed. "That depends."

  "On?"

  "On you."

  Her expression darkened and she leaned toward him, her blue eyes narrowing as she poked his chest with her index finger. "How I feel about you shouldn't impact how you feel about me."

  "I wasn't talking about that," he snapped. "What I mean is, I know you're in love with Denver or something equally as stupid. The thing is, there are so many different versions of you it's hard to keep up. There's the girl I first met. I love her. Then there's the girl who doesn't make any sense and is nothing like the one who originally came to Vala. That girl I'm not too into. Nor am I into this aggressive, bossy version you're showing me now."

  Cheyenne laughed. "Oh, honey, you need to learn. Women are so much more multidimensional than men are. One day we're good, sweet, innocent girls, and then the next we're going to devour you. If you want sweet Chey, I can certainly bring her out again for you. The thing is, it'll cost you."

  "It's probably not something I want to pay." He glared at her. "Multidimensional sounds like another way of saying you don't know who you are."

  "I know who I am." She pressed herself close against him. "The question is, do you know who you are?"

  Swallowing, Zes took a step back. "I've got a good idea."

  "The sweet, kind martyr?" She ran her hands along the length of his suit jacket. "I've seen you be just as wild and aggressive as me. You want to know what else I saw?"

  "No, I don't think –"

  She leaned up and whispered in his ear. "You liked it."

  "We can get you help," he said firmly.

  "And I can get you help."

  "I don't want it."

  She smirked, and Teague realized then that Zes wasn't talking to Cheyenne but Persephone. There was a glimmer of magic pulsating around her. "You do. Look me in the eyes and tell me you –"

  "There you are!" Noel called out from the doorway back inside. She skipped over to Zes. Cheyenne disappeared into a soft, violet poof of smoke before she arrived. "Who were you talking to?"

  Zes shook his head. "One of my brother’s many fans." He put a hand on Noel's shoulder. "It's kind of cold out here, so maybe we should head back in."

  His gaze went past her and settled on Teague. "Don't judge me. This is –"

  "Important too," Teague whispered.

  A wave of dizziness washed over him. His eyes closed for a brief moment, and when he opened them again, he found himself lying on a plastic-covered pillow that was part of the Crow's Nest playground setup. Groaning, he rubbed at his eyes, trying to remember how he even got there in the first place. Next to him was Halyn; both of their clothes were in a disheveled mess, and he noticed they were hidden in a small compartment of the playground some thirty feet above the ground.

  Slowly, Teague sat up and put a hand to his forehead. "Weird dream..."

  Halyn reached up and touched his bare chest through his opened button down. "It'll be gone when you go back to sleep."

  "I..."

  "I know," she whispered. "It was everything I wanted it to be, too. We don't have to talk now if you're tired."

  What just happened? He didn't remember anything. "I'm so confused."

  "What confuses me is why you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend," Halyn said.

  He frowned. "If I didn't tell you, then how come you know?"

  She sat up again and he found himself face-to-face with Chanel. Her blond hair framed her face, and she forced him to look into her honey-colored eyes. "I always knew you didn't love me as much as you said. How could you? You're surrounded by goddesses who look like super models and all sorts of other exotic women. I just wish you would have told me before you cheated."

  "But I didn't..."

  "Cheat?" Chanel laughed, and then her features melted from the sweet girl he cared for to those of Cheyenne.

  He scrambled away from her, but she was too fast. She leaned over him, her face inches away from his.

  "You're not your daddy, but you sure are adorable," she purred. "I couldn't get him to notice me. Sweet Zes is a little too boring for my tastes, but he fits my needs. You could be fun, though. Why not join with me and forget all about everything else. If you wanted, you could still be the next king of the underworld. We can make anything happen."

  Teague didn't want to hurt her, but the whole 'don't use physical force against a girl' rule needed to be broken. He shoved her off of him and jumped to his feet. The mesh netting holding him up in the playground was replaced with solid concrete, and the blue door appeared. He grabbed the handle and bolted through the door, not once looking back.

  ****

  When Teague woke up, he was drenched in sweat, yet freezing in his bed. He pinched himself a few times to make sure he was, in fact, awake and listened carefully for any uninvited strangers in his room. Footsteps could be heard in the living room. Slowly, he pulled the blankets over his head, wanting to hide from whoever might be inside of his dorm.

  The bedroom door opened.

  "Teague?" a soft male voice said. "Are you awake yet? I thought I sensed you were."

  He recognized the voice. Kale, one of the Elder Fates. Nervously, he peeked his head out from under the blankets and looked at the man. Of all the Elder Fates, Kale was his favorite. He was a man who appeared to be in his early forties — dark hair, a friendly smile, and slight wrinkles around his eyes. The guy was also the most understanding of the Elders, which always earned him a lot of bonus points.

  "It's just me," Kale said.

  Slowly, Teague pulled the blankets off of his head, keeping himself nestled underneath for warmth. The contents of his dream still had him shaking. "What are you doing here?"

  "I wanted to see you after your...adventure..." Kale sat down at the end of the bed, much like Teague's dad used to whenever he'd woken from a bad dream at home.

  "You saw what happened?" Teague asked.

  Kale nodded. "I did. The others weren't around, which is good."

  "It is?"

  He nodded again. "It's not a good idea for me to get into details, but just know that you can trust me. I need you to listen to this piece of advice carefully, okay?"

  This time, it was Teague's turn to nod. "I'm listening."

  "Awesome. The things you saw in your dream are going to happen. Unless you fake sick for the activity night, I mean. If you go, the chances of you being able to return home drop to one in about a billion. You want to go home again, right?"

  "Yeah," Teague said. "I wish I could leave now, but I don't remember how, and I still have things to do." He shuddered at the idea of his nightmare coming true. "But how would Chanel get here and –"

  Kale shook his head. "Chanel was your guilty conscience. You know you don't dream of the future often. This is probably the first time you've had a dream that was metaphorical as well as literal. If you go to that activity night..."

  "I'll cheat," he mumbled. "And Cheyenne?"

  "It gives her
a path into your heart as she gets more in touch with the darkness. You didn't see Cheyenne, you saw Persephone. Lucien is manipulating her every chance he has, and as much as Persephone the First likes to think she's the tougher of the two, it is Cheyenne's heart that is keeping both of them from being lost forever. She is the strong one, though she comes across as weaker."

  Teague let out a quiet whimper. "Maybe all of this was a mistake. Maybe I should just...not do this."

  "Don't give up. There is a lot of good you can still do. While you can't stop Cheyenne from seeing Zes at the prom, you can touch the goodness inside of him. Let him know he can trust you. And whatever you do, avoid her because she is going to try and kill you."

  "M-me? Why?" Teague gasped.

  Sighing, Kale patted Teague's ankle through the blanket — a small, but appreciated, paternal touch. "She wants you dead so she can use your Fate powers to unlock another Fate. Or rather, that's what Lucien wants, and he's letting her do a great deal of his dirty work, since she can manipulate Zes and others of your peers a lot easier than him. She can also get inside of places guarded by the campus angels. He's a demon. There are wards in place to keep his kind out."

  "And Cheyenne is nothing but a harmless nymph." He frowned. "Why does he want to unlock the powers of a certain Fate? I'm confused."

  "I wish I was allowed to tell you, but you'll remember it soon enough. I'm confident you will." He smoothed the blankets around Teague. "Go back to bed. If I can see you again undetected, I will. Your dream is over, and just remember what I said about faking sick. Don't put yourself in the line of temptation."

  Yawning, Teague shifted to his side. "Sure thing."

  Kale left the room, leaving Teague alone in the dark quiet of the night. He tried not to be insulted by the man's suggestion that he couldn't keep himself in control. After all, Teague knew all too well the repercussions of making a move at inappropriate times. Cory was the master at that and provided more than enough examples of why it was important to wait.