Chapter 125: Prom Day
The morning dawned fresh and lovely, the sunrise stunning. I only knew so because I was there to meet it. I was almost startled when my alarm went off. A sense of peace had settled over me through the night, something I'd been missing. But the injection of real life was enough to shatter that illusion and slam me right back into the truth.
Remembering I was powerless wasn't nearly as bad as realizing it was prom day and I had to pretend to be happy I was normal.
No, not all bad. After all, in about twelve hours I would be escorted, in a fancy dress and shoes, to the dance by the stunningly handsome Brad Peters, my boyfriend. Things could have been worse. Then again, they could have been much better. I could instead be spending the evening with the guy I was meant to be with. But Quaid chose to drop me like I'd offended him. I hadn't heard a word from him since my demon left. He'd even avoided me at school and coven functions. Not that I'd been invited to the coven functions. Used to be I wanted a pass on them. Now I just wished I could take all of it back.
Of course it was Friday. And a school day. We underclassmen still had to go to class. Which meant I found myself trudging the few blocks as the morning glowed happily around me. Birds chirped in the playful breeze while I yawned over and over again. I swore softly as I splashed myself after stepping in a big puddle left over from the previous night's downpour.
Classic Syd.
My posse waited for me, as usual, in the sunny nook by the front door. Beth's shining brown bob bounced as she spotted me and waved with her usual innocent enthusiasm. Simon's glasses flashed as he turned and smiled, badly cut dark hair falling over his eyes. Blood towered over him, Goth makeup and jet black locks always reminding me of Frankenstein. His equally emo girlfriend, Pain, hovered next to him. She met my gaze with her crystal blue eyes. Instantly, I could tell something was wrong with her.
Before I had a chance to single her out, Alison, my former cheerleader-bully-now- turned-best friend, rushed forward and grabbed me in a big hug, spinning me around in her excitement.
I gasped for breath as she stopped and grinned at me so wide I worried about her sanity.
"Prom day!" She giggled, a decidedly wicked sound. "Aren't you totally jacked?"
I shrugged, noticing the dreamy look on Beth's face, the flush of embarrassment on Simon's. Neither of my Goth friends seemed terribly impressed. "I guess."
Alison rolled her eyes and winked. "Yeah, me either." The others were already retreating deeper into the school to get ready for exams so Alison linked arms with me and led me after them.
"Seriously, I'm so happy you're going to be there." She made a face like all of this was beneath her. "I went last year and let me tell you, it sucked being the youngest. And I know, I know," she maneuvered us cleanly through a pack of giggling girls, "it's not our prom or anything. But we'll still have fun, right?"
"Sure, Al." I managed to smile. "I know we will."
"Got to run. I'll see you at lunch." She hugged me quickly before moving off, smiling at me over her shoulder.
She was right. I could have fun tonight. And if Alison attended, at least I'd have someone else to talk to besides Brad. And it was prom.
So why the feet dragging?
I dumped my stuff in my locker, freed my English book so I could return it after my exam and headed to class. I rounded the corner at a trot, actually on time, when I ran right into Brad.
He caught me before I could do too much damage to either of us, his easy smile lighting me up more than I expected it to. "Hey, Syd." He let me go once I was stable. "In a hurry?"
"Homeroom," I said.
He laughed. "Your favorite."
Yeah, right. Ms. Fiat hated my guts. One more detention with her and I'd set a school record.
"Ready for tonight?" He didn't seem concerned I was in a hurry. Brad leaned his wide shoulder against the wall and grinned at me, green eyes still amused.
"I guess." Wow, way to waffle. He leaned forward and kissed me softly, once. When he pulled back, he was frowning a little. He did that a lot these days whenever he touched me. I knew it was because I no longer had any magic to trigger his latent talent. But he still wanted to be with me, so at least I knew it wasn't just my power holding us together.
More than I could say for Quaid.
Speak of the devil, as Brad leaned back, my eyes flickered to the left and right into the chocolate brown gaze of the guy himself. For a moment my heart stopped, wanting to be anywhere but there with Brad, under Quaid's watchful eyes. But those same eyes flickered away from me as if they didn't recognize me, like I didn't exist or matter.
My blood surged, anger bitter. Just to spite Quaid, I grabbed Brad's shirt and pulled him down, kissing him back.
When I leaned away, he grinned, but there was discomfort in it. "Ease up, Syd. Save some for later, will you?"
I flushed, this time angry with myself. "See you tonight."
He hesitated, almost spoke. Then, he smiled. "See you tonight."
The bell rang so I had no time to ask him what was up. Ten feet from the door and I ran the distance.
Guess who still got detention.
Lunch couldn't come fast enough. Though, I admit I found my friends chatter more annoying than anything and sat at the end of our table, head down over my food. I wasn't the only one. I looked up to see Pain watching me. She left the others to scoot down her side across from me. Her fingers tapped nervously on the tabletop, black nail polish shining in the fluorescents.
"Hey, Syd." She looked down at my sandwich. It was a mess of torn up bits. "Not hungry?"
One of her eyelids twitched over and over again and I saw the strain around her mouth. Something was definitely off. Since my magic was gone, I couldn't feel if she was finally shedding the walls of power containing her own magic or if she was just being her same old neurotic self. I hoped the former in one way. As far as I was concerned, we were in the same boat, powerless without our consent. But at least her end was in sight. Mine? I had no idea.
I honestly hoped it was the latter too, though. When Pain finally broke out, I wasn't sure what would happen or what it would do to her. She was fragile already, though I knew it was because she sensed her power her whole life without being able to do anything about it.
Talk about a Catch-22.
"Not so much," I said, shoving the mess aside.
"Me either." I could hear the clatter of metal shaking and knew if I looked under the table her knees would be jiggling, the chains on her boots making the racket.
"You okay?" She sat there with me for a reason, clearly. Did she remember what I used to feel like? I exposed my power to her once, when she was under the thrall of Demetrius in disguise, in an effort to get through to her. But Mom erased those memories. At least, I thought she did.
Pain's shoulders rolled forward, making her huge, layered earrings sing along with the chains on her boots. "Things have just been... weird lately."
"Weird how?" For once I didn't have any inside information and found it incredibly frustrating.
"Do you remember your dreams?" Her blue eyes flickered sideways as if to check and see if the others were listening. She must have decided it was clear to continue.
Why did her question make my stomach clench? Probably because of the dream I'd had the night before.
"Sometimes."
She nodded as if that was enough. "Me too," she said. "But never ones that make sense, right? Like, you're being chased by a blue bull through an empty city while an octopus directs traffic. Stupid stuff like that."
Um. Well, not exactly. She had a vivid imagination.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this." She sat back suddenly. "It's not your problem."
"I'm your friend." I felt a surge of affection inside me, and a welling of compassion. "You can tell me anything."
Her gaze stayed flat and blank for a long moment. Then, she smiled and I saw a hint of the real Pain, the happy and innocent girl she was never allowed to be thanks to whoever tampered with her. She leaned close again, almost whispering.
"Well, it's like this. I'm in this room, right? Surrounded by people. Like a court or something, nobility. But they don't look like normal people."
I could barely breathe. It was the same dream. But it couldn't be. Could it?
"And I'm all mad and jealous," she scowled like she'd never be jealous in real life, "and I sentence this girl to death. I hate her!" Pain shuddered and hugged herself. "And they do it. They kill her. Oddest thing is, she seems familiar. It all does. Like it's more a memory than a dream."
I caught myself nodding and had to force myself to stop. "What do you think it means?" As calm as I managed to be on the outside, I was freaking out solid on the inside. What the hell?
She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe nothing. But it felt like something." Pain let her arms fall, her fingers tapping on the table. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?" Her eyes pleaded with me, like it was the most important thing ever.
I knew why the secrecy. She'd spent some time in the hospital during the whole Cesard incident, when the possessed magician took over. And from what Blood told me, she'd been in therapy most of her life. A byproduct of being blocked and knowing something was wrong while having no control over the whole thing.
"Not a word." I put all my empathy and conviction into it. "No one's business."
She smiled, black lipstick cracking a little. "You're the best, Syd."
Oh, I wish. And I couldn't wait to go home.
At final bell, I bypassed Alison with a promise to see her later and ran for Mom. I found her just descending into the basement. The look on my face must have been enough to warn her because she instantly turned back and came to my side.
"Syd," she said, "what's happened?"
I tumbled into a chair and told her about the dream and Pain's copycat of mine. She listened quietly until I was done before taking my hands in hers.
"It's okay, honey," she said. "Pain's walls are finally coming down. You said her birthday is soon, isn't it?"
That was right. Less than a week. Still, what did that have to do with the dream?
"You two were linked at one point," Mom said, "when you tried to save her from Demetrius. It's likely you're still linked. She's dreaming, possibly of the past she's been forced to forget, and you're going along for the ride."
That didn't make any sense. "Mom, I wasn't me. She wasn't her." I remembered the face of the girl accusing me and she looked nothing like Pain. Not even human.
Mom squeezed my hand and stood. "As far as I've been able to tell, the wards around her are meant to fall when she reaches her majority, which is why she's reacting so much lately. I don't want you to worry," she said. "Not about the dream or Pain. These things happen." She seemed very distracted. "If it happens again, please let me know. Otherwise, it's probably just a left over of the connection."
Mom moved off but I grabbed her to keep her with me. "What about Pain?" She couldn't just leave her like that. "She needs help."
Mom shook her head. "It's not my place," she said. "I'm not her coven leader, as much as she doesn't seem to have one. But until her power manifests completely, I can't offer her a place with us, just in case she's been claimed by whoever did this to her." She sighed deeply. "It's far more complicated than you think. As a coven leader, I have an obligation to help her, but as a coven leader, I can't. Which means I'm doing what I can. I have people watching her, Syd, so she doesn't hurt anyone, or herself. We'll be there for her when the time comes. But until then, until she is a full witch and out of the influence of whoever did this to her, my hands are tied. You know I can't interfere in another coven's business, whether they've abandoned Pain or not. And that's exactly what this is. When her blocks fall, if she is unclaimed, we can take her in. But not until then."
While I understood the logic of what she was saying, emotionally I couldn't accept it. What was the good of being a coven leader if she wasn't able to help a young witch in trouble, no matter the circumstances? I knew coven law was tricky, that many of those laws were as old as witchcraft itself, and were there for a reason. Without them, witches of ill intent would have free rein to do what they wanted. But this was ridiculous.
I tried to hold Mom back again, to see if there was a way around the law, but lost. Not because she pulled away, but because the kitchen door opened and a very wound up witch walked in.
Erica Plower, my mother's best friend and second in the coven, flipped back her blonde hair and held up her armload of bags with a huge smile.
"Prom, anyone?"
***