Eternal Echoes, Emblem of Eternity Trilogy Book 2 (27 page)

Alex leaned his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“So,” I said, crossing my legs in the chair, “what happened at the meeting? Are we going to war?”

Alex opened his eyes. “Not yet.”

“How did you convince the Rebels to hold off on attacking Daevos Clans?”

He lifted his head. “Emil helped. He told them the same information he’d told me: that the Daevos are trying to figure out what’s going on, and that their Trackers are also being taken.”

“They believed him?” Considering what Simon had said about Alex trusting the Daevos too much, that surprised me.

“They were reticent, but Emil’s convincing. He’s the leader of a Clan, and even among the Amaranthine, he’s respected for his leadership abilities, and for being fair—well, as fair as a Daevos member can be.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The Rebels’ patience is running out, though.”

Emil was respected by the Amaranthine? That seemed like something I should investigate further. “Will the Amaranthine support the Rebels in an attack?”

Alex lifted a shoulder. “They might not have a choice.”

“And still, no one can figure out who’s taking the Trackers? No one’s seen anything?”

Alex shook his head.

“What about correlations to other things? Are there any patterns in the abductions?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Just the shadows being seen in areas before Trackers are abducted.”

“And we don’t know any more about the shadows?”

Alex shook his head again. A heaviness had settled over him recently, like he was holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. To an extent, he kind of was. “We’ve been looking into it, but the shadows don’t stay around long enough to get much information. Your accounts have been the most informative so far.”

I gave a slow, I-told-you-so smile. “Good thing I stuck around after ice cream with Jasmine to try and battle it then, huh?”

Things went downhill from there.

The night had gone as usual when Alex and I were being pissy with each other. He’d been flippant, I’d been snarky, and we’d both retreated to our corners for the night to regroup for the next round. I’d had a reprieve from him today, however. On my way out the door for karate, he’d told me he wanted to do some research with the Amaranthine, and wouldn’t be around until late tonight. He’d also said Emil was dealing with Tate and wouldn’t be with me either.

I’d stared at him, a little stunned, especially after my decision to go to the party without backup. “You’re really leaving me alone? Trusting me?” He stared, arms folded across his chest. “That’s uncharacteristic of you.”

He raised one brow, nodding once in agreement. “I know, especially after your huge error in judgment last night. You should consider it a gift, because what I really want to do is lock you up in my house.”

I didn’t think he was talking about handcuffs and role playing, so I wasn’t too enthused. He’d left with a warning not to do anything stupid, and said he’d be checking in on me with his ring.

Karate had been a good way to take out my aggression. After I showered, I worked on some essays and reading for class. I also got an email from Hutch saying sorry for leaving the party early. I was just glad he and Vicki had gotten out of there safely. When my phone chimed in the middle of my homework, I picked it up and saw a text from my mom.

You have a care package coming. I sent some things for your friends, too.

I loved my mom’s care packages! They always had something yummy in them. I texted back.
Thanks! You’re the best mom ever!

I got a smiley face.
I wasn’t sure how many to send…?

She’d probably seen my Facebook relationship status updates, so she knew things were complicated. Granted, I hadn’t given her the paranormal details, but she was aware I had feelings for both Alex and Emil, and had no idea how to choose.
I can share what you sent.

There should be plenty. Have a great week, sweetie!

I smiled.
I love you!

I finished my homework, and then sat down to try muddling through what Tate had said. I mentally tabulated what had happened the night before. Went to a party I shouldn’t have, got in a fight with some Daevos, met my old brother-in-law, fought about going places alone, and fell into bed exhausted. I still was. One of these days, I’d like to wake up tired because I spent the night doing something fun.

I was on my second cup of caramel flavored coffee when Jasmine came down the stairs. “Hey! How’s your studying?” She had a big test coming up in one of her math classes. I’d rather get a Brazilian wax than do fractions. Jas excelled at it, though.

“Ugh,” she said, slumping down on the couch next to me. “I’ve been at it for hours, but it feels like days. What are you up to?”

I took a few seconds to answer. “Thinking.”

“About?”

The fact that the people who have known me longer than I’ve known myself don’t seem to know what I am or who I want, so what chance do I have at figuring it out? “Life, school, guys, where I want to be in ten years.”

“That sounds serious.”

I nodded. It was.

She stared at the mantle with me for a minute before leaning over. “You know what you need?”

Yes. I need a lobotomy.

“You—and I—need to relax. Let’s order pizza, watch a funny movie, get a bunch of Pixy Stix and Slurpees, and have a fun girls’ night.”

I turned my head to the side to see her better. “Like we used to have in high school?”

“Exactly! You need to get out of your head for a couple of hours.”

I smiled, thinking that sounded better than anything I could come up with. I wasn’t expecting Alex for a while, and I needed break. Plus, there was safety in numbers. Jas had an excellent yelling voice if we needed it. Alex was watching me with his ring, and I had the SOS bracelet if anything went wrong. There was no reason not to go get some food and have a good time. “All right, let’s do it!”

Jas threw her books on the couch as I texted Alex and Emil about my evening plans, and grabbed my keys off the table. We ordered pizza in the car and stopped at the store first. We got a bag of Pixy Stix and some chocolate, then went to 7-11 for two monster size Slurpees. On our way to get pizza, I sucked down my grape Slurpee while Jas did the same with hers—though she’d gotten blueberry. It looked like Barney the dinosaur had exploded in my mouth and Jas looked like the cookie monster was living on her teeth and tongue. The gigantic Slurpees were half gone by the time we got back to the house and popped in the movie from my DVD collection.

We got halfway through
The Pink Panther Strikes Back
before the sugar high kicked into over-drive. We were laughing at everything from the movie to the pepperoni on the pizza. Sugar highs are awesome! Every little thing becomes hilarious and you get the
best
ideas!

“This movie is so funny!” I giggled as Inspector Clouseau fell down the stairs. “I can’t stop laughing.”

Jas was on the floor holding her stomach, looking like she might be sick. “Me either!”

“We might go into a sugar coma.”

“Maybe!” Ha ha ha ha ha. “Know what we should do?” Jas asked.

I stopped laughing long enough to contemplate the plethora of things we should and shouldn’t do. “No, what?”

“We should go for a drive.”

“Where should we go?”

“To Emil’s.”

My eyes got wide. “Why?”

Jas ignored my question and grinned as she ran into the other room. She came back with a year’s supply of toilet paper and a bunch of plastic forks. “Come on!” she said.

Even in my sugar stupor I knew this was a bad idea. In high school we used to toilet paper yards, and stick plastic forks in people’s grass. It was always funny, as long as you weren’t on the receiving end and you didn’t get caught. Plus, we usually did it in the summer—when it was warm, instead of below zero. “I don’t think we should be toilet papering and forking Emil’s house.”

“Why not? It will be awesome!”

I scrunched up my nose. “He might think I’m flirting. What if Alex gets jealous?”

“Who cares? It will be
super
fun!”

When you’re in a sugar stupor, no argument will beat out something that is
super
fun. Jasmine handed me my Slurpee and some Pixy Sticks. “Here, these will help.”

I took a gulp and downed a stick. Jas was right. Almost immediately the thought of toilet papering and forking Emil’s lawn seemed like a superior idea, and probably the best plan we had ever concocted.

We pulled onto Emil’s block. I had only been to his house a few times and never in the dark, but I remembered it was the third house from the corner. We counted houses as we drove to make sure we didn’t unwittingly toilet paper his neighbor, since that wouldn’t be nice.

Jasmine took a makeup compact from her purse and swept some black eyeshadow over her cheeks, and then did the same for me. I doubted we’d be caught, but according to her, it was better not to risk the glare off our faces in case a car happened by. I looked in the rearview mirror, thinking I looked pretty darn hot. When the sugar high wore off, I’d probably look like I’d been in a barroom brawl, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

We crept out of the car, closing the doors as quietly as we could in a Mustang that was almost thirty years older than we were and had doors that sounded like a tank when shut. We each took several rolls of toilet paper and started throwing them in the trees and over shrubs. Jasmine was taking way too much time and kept talking. “Ssshhh!” I stage-whispered. “We’re going to get caught.”

I kept toilet papering as fast as I could; Jasmine didn’t. She’d stopped and was staring lovingly at a four-foot tall pine tree on the side of Emil’s yard. I walked over to her.

“What are you doing?” I asked, scrutinizing the tree.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Jas said.

Jasmine had decided to use her toilet paper like garland, wrapping it around the tree in waves.

“It’s like Christmas! I’m going to use the forks as ornaments.”

Obviously I was less affected by the sugar than Jasmine. “Did you even get the forks out yet?”

She nodded. “They’re on the front porch.”

I looked at her, confused. “Why did you put them there? You’re supposed to stab them into ground.”

“I tried. There’s too much snow and it’s frozen. So I left them on the front porch. Think how funny it will be when Emil comes out and steps on them!” Jas was giggling, and she wasn’t being quiet.

I put my hand over her mouth. “That was good thinking; it will be super funny. But we have to finish with the toilet paper and you have to quiet down or someone will hear us.”

She saluted me. “Aye, aye, Captain Charmin.” She went to the other side of the yard to toilet paper a hedge. We kept going tirelessly. Toilet papering in high school had never taken this long, but we always had a lot more people helping than we did now.

Suddenly, Emil’s porch light blinked on. Jasmine and I stopped in the middle of the front lawn, toilet paper in hand, like two deer caught in the headlights. We regained our mental faculties long enough for Jas to scream, “Aaaaaa!!! Every girl for herself!” She took off for the street frantically waving her arms in the air, but was penned in by shrub hedges on three sides of the yard and instead of getting away, ended up running in circles. I took the stealthy approach, hiding behind a three foot tall rose bush.

The sugar rush was wearing off and the circle running got the best of Jasmine. She crashed on the front lawn in a dizzy heap.

I was crouched behind the rose bush when Emil came out of the house to survey the damage. He stepped on the forks, looked down, and I almost burst out laughing. Jas was right, it was pretty funny. He definitely wasn’t expecting cutlery. I remembered to keep calm, though, so Emil wouldn’t see me. I was hoping maybe the Pixy Stix had made me invisible; Emil hadn’t seemed to notice me yet. He went back into the house. I was overjoyed we got away with it, and even happier that my hopes had been confirmed and Pixy Stix really were magic. I was almost brave enough to stand up from behind my cloaking rosebush and peel Jasmine off the ground when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Damn the Pixy Stix and their false wizardry! “What are you guys, professional vandals?” Emil asked, surveying the damage.

I gave him a look full of stupor. “Who, us? We were just walking by and scared the crap out of some people toilet papering your trees and trying to stick forks in your snow. Criminey, who did you piss off?”

Emil laughed. “Is that how you’re going to play it?”

“Play what?” I widened my eyes, giving him my best innocent look. “We saved your yard’s life. Jas was so scared she passed out.”

Emil continued grinning. “And I suppose the black shimmery stuff all over your face is from fighting the vandals?”

Damn. I’d forgotten about the camouflage makeup. Luckily, I’m pretty good at lying. “Yep, sure is. Those vandals fought dirty. I’m probably going to have bruises everywhere.”

“Well, my neighbors will be really grateful when they find out you stopped the toilet paper bandits. I bet they’ll ask you to ID the vandals for the police. They’re going to have a huge mess to clean up.”