Core (3 page)

Unlike Cale, Rory had no problem twisting the truth. He had been testing Ava, trying to find what Cale had seen in her. He hadn’t been impressed with Ava during the boxing match, and he wasn’t impressed then. To him, she looked small. Small and weak.

But Cale didn’t need proof. He knew what Ava was. And she was more than enough.

“We can eat now,” Cameron said from behind the grill.

He set some of the food on the picnic table that stood off to the side of the big back yard. Water already sat in pitchers on the table, and Ava was grateful for a drink. Her body always let her know when it needed the stuff. Apparently,
so did the Anders brothers–with the exception of Cameron, who stood silently by. Cale and Rory each took a jug for themselves and downed it.

“Manners,” Karma said smoothly as she reentered the backyard with more raw vegetables and a disapproving frown. “We have a guest.”

“A guest, huh? I would have put on pants.” The voice was deep, a tint of a southern drawl to it.

No one laughed
at Mac’s attempt at a joke. The large man rubbed a towel against his wet hair until Karma pulled it from him. “You’d think we were all barbarians,” she said, scowling as she folded it. “Not at dinner. Set a good example.”

Ava had a feeling
the Anders’ were trying very hard to be polite for her. She could tell they were monitoring the things they said and even the things they did and didn’t do. She wondered whether Cale’s father would be angry that he hadn’t been told she was coming.

“Call me Mac,” he said, stretching out a thick arm to Ava and swallowing her hand in his. “I have to apologize. These heathens are my doing.”

When Mac grinned he looked exactly like his oldest, Rory. Same sandy hair and freckles, same hearty, muscular build and height. Ava shook his hand in complete surprise. Mac was not what she expected. She felt genuine warmth when he smiled. His sons didn’t shy away from him. In fact, it seemed like Cale and Rory were glad he was finally outside.

“Eat, Dad, we’re starving,” Rory said.

“Aren’t you going to introduce her to me first?”

Everyone’s
heads whipped around to Cale, who was holding his empty pitcher and practically blushing. “Um…this is Ava. This is her.”

Ave grimaced
.
 Why did he say it like that?

Mac’s faced turned serious and Ava braced herself. His eyes zoned in on Cale like the thunderstorm Ava expected all along was about to break loose.

“You mean…you found her? This is 
her
?”

Cale looked over at Ava, as if to make sure before he spoke, but he felt ridiculous that he even bothered to double check. He knew it was Ava. There was no way around that truth. He nodded his head.

Suddenly, Mac rushed forward and wrapped his big arms around Cale. He hoisted him into the air as he jumped up and down. He was shouting. Not words, not even a song. Just shouting out of some gladness Ava didn’t understand. Rory joined in, hopping along with them. Karma and Cameron shared quiet looks. Ava just stared, bewildered at the show of happiness. 
I didn’t think affection could be this loud.

Finally, when Mac released his boys, he picked a steak up right in his hands and tore a big chunk out of it. With his mouth still full, he yelled, “Tonight, we eat!”

Cale and Rory snatched steaks of their own and the others –Karma and Cameron–sat without even looking at the food. The pile of grilled vegetables steamed before Ava, all hers. She tried to remember her etiquette as she ate, despite the sound of the boys scarfing down their food.

Mac sat down and put an arm around her. “Welcome to the family.”

Ava stiffened before she pulled away. “Look, I don’t get what’s going on here,” she said, looking around the table, her eyes landing on Cale. “I just met this dude today.”

Mac froze,
then gave Cale a stern look. “She hasn’t said ‘yes’ yet?”

Cale’s face flushed. He was mid bite, his mouth stuffed with meat. “We haven’t talked about it.” He swallowed and chased the lump in his throat with water. “I haven’t had the chance.”

“Talked about what?” Ava asked. She was starting to get frustrated. 
Maybe it’s time for me to get my money and get out of here.

“Go now,” Mac said.
“Now, Cale.”

Cale fo
ught the sudden surge of panic, reasoning with himself. 
You’re a red dragon. Be brave. Be brave. She’ll say yes
. Despite his self-motivating, the tightening of his gut held on to reality. He wasn’t sure of that at all. There was a good chance she’d forbid him from seeing her. And that would be it. Cale would have to obey. He’d never have a rider.

“Ava, can I talk with you inside for a second?” he said, scratching his head awkwardly.

Ava stood up quickly and walked towards the sliding door. She stepped into the kitchen, hoping he was ready to give her the cash he’d promised. She’d had enough vegetables to fill her up anyways. No reason to stay any longer.

“Look, this is getting weird,” she said. “No offense. Your family seems really nice, I ju
st–I should get home, you know?”

Cale chewed the inside of his mouth for a minute before speaking. When he did, the anxious, flitting eyes Ava had already grown accustomed to
were still. Deathly still.

“Ava, this will sound strange, but I need you to hear me through. Can you do that without running off?”

Just the fact that he mentioned she might want to run set her on edge. Mentally, she was stretching, tying her shoelaces, preparing to get out fast.

“Sure,” she said. “Just hurry up.”

Cale took a deep breath. Then another. “Last night, I saw you boxing and, even though I’ve never seen you before, I was drawn to you–to your character. And because of that…” He stalled. He ran a hand through his hair and began to pace. 
How do I explain this?

Ava started to relax a little.
 
So far, it doesn’t sound that creepy.
 Sounded like he had a crush. She could handle that. That was normal enough.

“I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m just going to put it out there,” he said. “I’m a dragon.”

Ava blinked at him. “A dragon.”

He nodded.

“You mean in some computer game or something? Like, you have to fight a wizard and get to the temple of doom? That kind of dragon?”

Cale almost laughed. He tapped his fingers against the countertop before an idea popped into his head. “Mom,” he shouted. “I need you for a second.”

Karma came in and closed the sliding door behind her. She walked over, her eyes analyzing their body postures, the dilation of their pupils.

“Okay, my mom here is a blue dragon, so her job is to protect knowledge. And her core is made of water. Show her, mom.”

“Show me what?” Ava asked.

But Karma took in a shallow breath, opened her mouth, and shot out an icicle. It flew through the air, landing in Cale’s hand before it could shatter against the counter. He stretched it out towards Ava, who could not keep from touching it, just to see if it was real.

“How did you do that?” The ice was cold against her fingertips. “Do you guys work at a carnival or something?”

“My mom doesn’t need a rider to access her core or to switch forms. If we were near a body of water, she could change for you in a second. But I’m a red dragon, and I have to have a rider. I can only choose one, Ava.” He
swallowed, his mouth dry. “And you’re it.”

Ava chuckled uncomfortably, almost embarrassed for him, but still curious enough about the icicle to keep from racing out of the kitchen. Still, she made sure there was no one between her and the exit.

“You look so serious saying it,” she said. “Are you rehearsing for some play where you have to practice being committed to your characters? Was the ice a prop?”

Cale frowned, color draining from his usually lively face. “I
 
am
 serious. If you reject me, I’ll never change forms. And I’ll never have another chance at choosing someone else. It’s a big deal for me. And for my family.”

“Yeah, well this has been interesting, I’ll admit that.” She was hot suddenly, wishing she didn’t have to wear such a warm outfit. She eyed the door eagerly.
  “I don’t know how to say this nicely, but can I have my money now?”

Cale reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. He handed it to Ava and she crouched and stuck it into her shoe.

Cale’s shoulders slumped and his eyes hung low. “Do you need a ride home? I can take you,” he offered, his voice monotone.

Ava thought about rejecting it, but figured she’d be safer braving it with weirdo dragon dude than catching the bus and walking home in the dark. And there was no way she was going to call T. He’d ask too many questions. He’d want her to giggle and chat with him. Even the thought of the fifteen minute drive from the Anders’ house to her own made her cringe when she imagined enduring T’s good intentions.

She followed Cale to Rory’s truck and climbed into the passenger seat. Cale put it into drive and hit the gas, progressing carefully, following every traffic rule to the tee. Ava could tell he was upset from the way he chomped down on his jaw, yet she had never met anyone who tried to control their emotions so entirely. He hardly even swerved, his hands perfectly steady on the wheel.

“Hey, it’s cool if you’re into that kind of
dragon stuff. Everybody’s got a thing, you know?” She was trying to ease his embarrassment, but it didn’t appear to be working. The back of his neck grew red, as though he was going from upset to angry.  
Is he looking for a video game buddy? Someone who shares his interests?

Cale foll
owed her directions wordlessly–a mixture of rage and disappointment choking him–until he pulled up at her house. He took a breath and fought his feelings down, trying not to do anything reckless. Even his hands were shaking. He kept them both on the wheel so Ava wouldn’t notice.

“Look, I didn’t mean to offend you, okay?”

“I’m not offended,” he said as calmly as he could. “Just upset.”

“
Well, I don’t know what you expected.”

“You don’t understand.” He gripped the wheel tighter, unt
il his knuckles went white. “I Chose you, Ava. Because you’re strong and talented and because you’re smart and you’ve got more courage than anyone I’ve ever met.”

After turning the engine off, he closed his eyes, trying to get the words out right, trying to convey exactly what he felt for her without screaming or punching the windshield.

“You don’t even know me. We literally just met,” Ava said.

Cale had
dreamed about his rider all his life, imagining the strongest warrior to fight beside him. Someone cunning, someone agile and fierce. He hadn’t pictured someone like Ava, but now that he’d met her, now that he’d seen who she really was, who she could be, he knew he’d never Choose anyone else, even if he could.

“Ava, you amaze me.” He opened his eyes and started the truc
k back up. “No matter what you Choose to do.”

Ava reached over and put a hand on Cale’s shoulder. “You’re a sweet guy,” she said. “Maybe we’ll spar again sometime, yeah?” And she got out of the truck. “Thanks for the ride, and for dinner.” She patted the truck’s hood and walked to her front door. Cale waited until she was safely inside before he could summon the strength to drive away.

Four

Guests

Ava made it to her room without event and threw herself onto her bed. She pressed her toes against the lump that the twenty dollar bill made in the sole of her shoe. Her thoughts were a jumble of guilt and relief. Oddly, she liked the Anders family. They were loud and colorful and kind. They respected privacy and they crossed boundaries. It was evident that they were different, and it wasn’t just the icicles and all the talk about dragons. It was how they interacted, how they ate, how they communicated. 
Doesn’t matter. I’ll never see them again, anyways.

Ava sat up, her thoughts cut short.
 
Somebody downstairs?

She
knew she’d checked the driveway for Jim’s car, but maybe he had come home earlier than usual. On weekend nights especially, he tended to stay out late “working.” Ava knew it meant he was sleeping around with campaigners, but she didn’t bother to break it to Miriam. At times, her foster mom was so deluded that Ava had half a mind to give up on her.

She jumped to her feet as she heard a crash.
 Could it be that Jim is home 
and
 drunk? 
She checked the clock. It was only eight. Ava peeked across the hall to make sure that Miriam’s bathroom light was still on. She checked the driveway from the window and Jim’s car still wasn’t there. Then, she grabbed her cellphone and primed it so that 911 was just a call away. She tiptoed down the stairs, keeping close enough to the wall to stay hidden.

Ava saw them, but they didn’t see her. Her heart picked up its pace.
 
How did they get past the alarm?
 Three intruders, dressed all in black. They made the hair on the back of Ava’s neck stand up. She was about to press "call" on her cellphone when it lit up. She blocked the light with her hand in a panic, thankful that she always kept it on silent. She didn’t recognize the number and thought about ignoring it. Instead, without understanding why, she swiped her finger across the screen and pressed the phone to her ear.

“Ava?” His voice was deep, calm. “Don’t say a word, just listen. I’m on my way back.”

She recognized the caller immediately. Inexplicable relief fell over her, like she had just dived into a pool of it.

“Find a safe place to hide,” he said. “Then, look at their feet. What do you see?”

Their feet?
 Ava peeked around the wall that was separating the staircase form the kitchen. The intruders were whispering to one another–hissing really. They looked…odd. Their hair flowed like silk, hiding their faces, impossibly dark against the whitest skin Ava had ever seen. Their features were sharp angles in perfect proportions. They were stunning, and each wore a plain matching necklace of crude leather and iron.

Ava studied their feet, just as Cale told her to. She had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing correctly. Instead of shoes, Ava saw black shadows,
curling and wrapping around their ankles, writhing up to their knees–like snakes, like spitting and coiling darkness.

Ava’s heart stopped. Any relief that she’d felt a moment before was replaced by raw fear.
 
What are they? What 
are
 they?
 Ava’s hands trembled as she pressed the phone to her ear again, saying nothing.

“Sirens,” Cale said, cursing under his breath.

Ava didn’t even have to speak. By the pace of her breathing, Cale knew she was terrified. “I’ll tell you what to do, Ava, just stay quiet, okay? Find your backpack and look through the front pocket. Inside you’ll find a leather pouch. Open it and press the little grey stone on the front of the blade.”

Ava fought against hysterics to keep her brain working. She could fight off a grown man if she had to. She’d prepared for things like that, trained for it since she was a little girl. But this wasn’t the same. The rules she’d been programmed to follow didn’t apply to people who hissed when they talked and dressed in shadows.

“Cale,” she whispered, out of fear, out of pure fear.

Three heads, three pairs of shining eyes in perfectly sculpted faces turned to her in one heartbeat, so sharply that Ava dropped her cellphone.

“Run, Ava,” Cale shouted from the phone that lay upturned on the stairs. “Run!”

Ava didn’t need to be told again. She raced up the stairs on all fours, unwilling to waste the time it would have taken to stand upright.
She made it to her bedroom, to the backpack, to the front pocket. She pulled out a leather pouch she’d never seen before, her hands fumbling with the object. 
What is this? How did it get here?

The black trinket inside looked like a pocket knife, so Ava pressed the gray stone on the handle. A black blade sprung outward just as Ava was tackled from behind. She screamed as she was thrown forward, the knife skidding across the room. Instinctively, she threw her head upward so that it connected with her assailer’s face. A hiss and a cry of a pain as Ava slipped out of its grasp and ran for the knife. She grabbed it and twisted her body so that the next time the creature lunged at her, the blade sunk into its chest. It whimpered and fell to the floor.

Ava got to her knees, ready to stand, ready to run, but another hand grabbed onto her leg and pulled her back. She screamed again as the second creature forced her onto her back and pinned her arms down.

Fangs the length of Ava’s entire hand gleamed inside the open mouth of the creature, saliva creating a glossy web between its lips and its teeth. The beauty
of its porcelain skin was convoluted by the purple veins that scrawled their way across its face.

The only thing that scared Ava more than the monstrosity bearing down on her was the scream that came from the doorway.

Miriam.

 
No, 
Ava thought, panic seizing her on Miriam’s behalf. She curled her knees up to her chest to keep the creature’s fangs from getting any closer to her and tried to fight her fear off long enough for her to think of a way out. 
Be brave, Ava,
 she told herself. 
Save Miriam
.

But the monster hissed at her again, its fangs retracting. Purple liquid welled in the creature’s eyes
, spilling over onto its cheeks. Tears. Ungodly tears.

From its throat came a song. A shrill peak and a low moan all at once that froze Ava’s blood in her veins. She could do nothing but listen and watch as the creature’s voice floated into her ears, as the thick, purple tears oozed down its cheeks, to the tip of its chin. Then, the monster’s eyes flashed and Ava gasped as its fangs returned, bathed in saliva, poised at her throat.

A blood-chilling shriek, then a clean slice. The head of the creature that had cornered Miriam rolled across the floor, an expression of pain frozen onto its flawless face. The one that had been attacking Ava flew toward Cale, its fangs extended. He sidestepped it, then lunged forward, forcing the blade into its heart just as it reached him. The thing shrieked unbearably until Cale swung his weapon over his head and brought it swiftly across its neck. Its head tumbled off of its body and onto the floor. Then, he slashed his blade through the throat of the motionless beast Ava had already stabbed.

As if they were being boiled, the bodies and heads of the creatures sizzled into the floor and disappeared, leaving behind the plain metallic necklaces each had been wearing. Cale pressed the stone on his blade and it retracted into its handle. He hurried to Ava, who was already standing, trying to press herself into the wall, trying to hide.

Cale grabbed her by the shoulders, his golden eyes strange, almost serpent-like as they bore into hers.

“Did they hurt you?” he asked.

His voice was gravity. It made her blink, made her senses start working again. Ava took a rattled breath. She didn’t feel hurt. Just afraid. More afraid than she’d ever been. Miriam was crying in the doorway, her hands over her eyes. She didn’t look wounded–just as scared as Ava felt.

“I think–
I’m fine,” Ava said, ashamed at how shaky her voice sounded.

Cale pressed a palm to her cheek, holding her face steady, like he didn’t want her to fall a
part. The way he looked at her–it was as though she meant more to him than…than anything.

Then,
without theater, Cale knelt on the floor as casually as he could manage. When Ava saw things like that in movies, when people collapsed, wounded after a long battle, it always seemed so dramatic, like the person wanted attention. But Cale was quiet, calm–kneeling simply because it was too much work for him to stand any longer.

“Did
–did they hurt you?” Ava asked. She still didn’t sound like herself. “I should call an ambulance.”

“No,” Cale said. “They can’t help me. It would be better if you called my mom. She knows what to do.” He reached into his pocket and handed Ava his cellphone. Then, slowly, he lay back onto the floor, his hand resting on his stomach like he was trying to relax.

Ava searched through his contacts and dialed Karma’s number. She answered after the first ring. “Cale? Where are you?”

“Uh…” Ava couldn’t think of words. Her mind was all jumbles, as though all the wires in her head had been plugged into all the wrong places.

“Ava?” Karma didn’t sound surprised. “Is Cale with you?”

“Yes. He said to call you. I
–think he’s hurt.”

Cale reached out his hand for the phone and Ava had to force herself to pass it to him. His fingers were covered in the reddest blood
she’d ever seen. It soaked through his light blue t-shirt, spreading like ink on paper.

“
Maman,” Cale started.

He spoke in a language Ava had never heard b
efore. It was beautiful really–falls and rises, guttural rolls that sounded like he was being punched in the gut, hushes that tickled her ears when he lighted on them. When he was finished, he handed the phone back to Ava.

“Ava, I’m on my way,” Karma said. “First, make sure you have a weapon on you, just in case. Do you?”

“I do.” The mysterious knife that she had found in her backpack was at her feet.

“Good. Next, you need to
examine Cale’s wound for me. Tell me what it looks like.”

Ava put the phone on speaker and peeled Cale’s shirt up. The gash was just below his ribs, so deep it could have been done with a watermelon scoop. Around the edges, where his blood pooled onto his skin, was a dark purple ring of liquid.

“It doesn’t sound too bad. He should make it until we get there,” Karma said after Ava explained. “No need to worry.” She sounded so cool and sensible that it grounded Ava. She felt her courage returning to her in small doses. “Go make sure your mother is alright, but stay where Cale can see you,” Karma said.

Ava left the phone next to Cale and crossed the room to Miriam. She was still sniffling, still terrified. Ava pulled her foster mother’s hands away from her face.

“Miriam, are you hurt?”

She shook her head furiously, her pale blond hair flapping around her ears. “Did they get you?” she asked Ava. Her voice sounded swolle
n, thick with confusion. “What–what were they?”

Ava tried not to think about that. It would only scare her again and she needed to stay sharp. “I’m fine. But my friend Cale over there is hurt. I might need your help to look after him until his family gets here.”

Miriam nodded, not even bothering to wipe away the streaks of tears on her cheeks.

Ava hesitated. “Miriam, there’
s a lot of blood. Don’t look if you think you’re going to faint.”

Miriam swallowed.
Then swallowed again. “I won’t faint. I want to help you.”

She followed Ava back to Cale. Only a few seconds had passed, but he didn’t look the same at all. Perspiration beaded on his forehead and neck, dampening the collar of his shirt. He was breathing faster, shallower.

Ava picked up the phone. “Karma, are you still there?”

“I’m just ten minutes away, Ava. Cale already told me how to get there.”

“Okay, good, because he looks like he’s in a lot of pain.”

Karma fell silent.

“Karma? Are you there? What should I do?”

“Check the wound again.”

Ava gasped as she examined it. The purple had spread underneath his skin, a swirling mess of it moving upward towards Cale’s chest like a hideous network of spider webs. He groaned every time it spread a little further.

“The purple stuff…
it’s moving.”

“Is he perspiring?”

“Yeah, a lot. And breathing really fast.” Suddenly, Ava wanted Karma to be there right then. No waiting, no ten minutes away. “Karma, what should I do?”

“Hold the phone to Cale for me,” she said.

Cale could hardly speak in between his shallow breaths. They exchanged words, Karma’s quick and sharp, Cale’s staggered between winces. Finally, Karma asked Ava to put the phone back to her ear.

“I won’t make it in time.”