The sun had broken through the clouds, and shimmered on the wet road as I drove home. I was thinking about everything Jules had told me, trying to make sense of it. I couldn't imagine how hard it must be—dealing with usual teenage drama was bad enough, without piling supernatural concerns on top of it. It was a wonder no one had had a complete meltdown yet.
I was glad I had gone. It was relief to be able to talk to Jules, even about the hard things, and seeing her smile again was worth whatever I got when I got back. I'd been right, there hadn't been any danger...
These things were drifting in and out of my head as, when I happened to glance up at the rear view mirror, expecting to see empty road as I had a second before, there was suddenly a car there. A silver Volvo, glinting dangerously in the sunlight.
All my courage and bravado instantly evaporated, and I dropped my head, hunching my shoulders in an attempt to make myself a smaller target.
"I'm dead," I muttered.
I could have pulled over right then and talked to her. But I was completely not mentally prepared for that conversation yet, and I opted to keep right on going.
The Volvo rode my bumper with inches to spare, and I didn't look back once. I could feel the gaze burning a hole in my mirror, but I kept my eyes fastened to the road ahead all the way to Becca's house.
She kept right behind me the entire way. I pulled up along the curb, parking behind Allen's mom's minivan. The Volvo kept on going. I didn't turn to see the expression on her face.
I didn't get out of my truck until the Volvo was safely out of sight, and then I headed up the walk.
I rang the doorbell and I waited a minute before Becca answered it. She was looking a little harried, her short black hair a bit ruffled, her glasses slipping down her nose. When she saw me, her face brightened.
"Great! You're here—I'll take you upstairs, Allen's already started."
"Becky, dear, where are you?" called an affectionate, but slightly exasperated woman's voice from the other room.
"Coming, Mom!" Becca called back. "I'm just going to show Beau upstairs!"
She turned to me as we took the stairs two at a time. "Thanks so much for coming, Beau, you guys are the best. If you can address the announcements for me, that would be such a huge help. My mom's taking me out shopping for everything for the graduation party and to get the house ready for guests—we're putting up three cousins, two uncles and an aunt who are coming down for the ceremony and she wants everything nice and stocked. I think I'm going to go crazy."
"No problem," I said. "Just tell me what you want me to do."
Becca led the way up to a room I could only assume was her bedroom. It looked as though she'd hurriedly shunted the junk—an assortment of makeup, clothes, and comic books—aside to create a space of floor, where the stacks of envelopes with announcements waited.
My mouth fell open.
"Yeah, there's a lot," Becca said apologetically.
I stared at the mountains of white. There were more stacks on a desk at the back of the room and it wasn't until Allen raised his head from his writing that I saw he was behind them.
Becca handed me the list and showed me what to do. She'd set up a second makeshift desk with a couple of cardboard boxes and a piece of plywood.
"Becky!" her mother called again, a little more insistently this time.
"Coming, Mom!" she called back. She turned to us. "I've got to go." She looked at me. "Thanks for your help, Beau, really." Before she went for the door, she paused, and suddenly threw her arms around Allen, kissing him on the cheek.
"You are absolutely the best boyfriend ever!"
Allen was a little pink in the face as he muttered something that sounded like 'No problem' before Becca raced out the door as her mother yelled her name a third time.
Allen rubbed the back of his neck, still looking embarrassed.
"Legitimately, though," I said, as I went to take my seat at the second desk. "You are the best boyfriend ever. How many guys do you know who would do this?" I eyed the looming mounds of announcements.
Allen shrugged, still a little pink about the ears. "If Edythe needed help with something, you'd be there, wouldn't you?" he said, trying to deflect the compliment.
"Well, yeah," I admitted. However, after a moment I said, "Though to be honest, I can't remember the last time Edythe needed my help with anything."
Allen didn't seem to know what to say to that.
It occurred to me that most boyfriends did do stuff for their girlfriends. If a girl's car broke down, she could call her boyfriend to come down and fix it, or at least pick her up. Or if she was out late at night, her boyfriend would walk her home. But even if he wasn't a tough guy or an expert on cars, he could do stuff like Allen was doing now, silently help where he could, be a rock of support when she was stressed and freaking out. But Edythe never needed my help for anything. I'd taken care of my mom far more than I could ever hope to take care of Edythe.
Allen was looking at me out of the corner of his eye with concern, and I suddenly realized how gloomy my expression had turned at these disgruntling thoughts. I forced a grin. "Guess I better get started. We'll probably be here all afternoon."
"Bec has a lot of relatives," Allen said with a rueful chuckle.
We worked in silence for a while, nothing but the sound of our pens scratching across paper. I tried not to think about what would be waiting for me when I got back, but writing addresses was a repetitive task that didn't require much attention, and I couldn't stop myself fidgeting and glancing at my watch every so often.
"You've got somewhere you've got to be?" Allen asked at last when I sighed again. "Because I can do this. It's no problem."
I started at the sound of his voice and dropped my arm hastily. "No—no, I've got all day."
"You sure?" he asked. "Because if you wanted to spend the day with Edythe..."
I shook my head quickly. "No, Edythe's away for the weekend. Hiking with her family, you know."
Allen was studying me out of the corner of his eye, and I knew he was wondering why I was acting so strange.
I sighed. "I guess I'm just on edge. A bit."
"What about?" he said casually, eyes back on the envelope he was writing on.
"It's nothing," I said, with my best attempt at a nonchalant shrug. "Really."
Allen shrugged too, and didn't say any more.
I knew Allen wouldn't press me to talk about anything I didn't want to. He wasn't the prying type, morbidly curious about other people's business—he just honestly cared.
And maybe that was the reason I felt a sudden, uncharacteristic impulse to do just that: talk. A part of me was so tired of all the constant vampire-werewolf mortal enemies crap, I wanted to talk to someone from the normal world.
"Well, actually," I began. "It's Edythe. She's kind of pissed off at me."
Allen tried not to look surprised, but didn't quite manage it. "Is she?" he said. "I kind of find that hard to imagine."
I grinned a bit ruefully. "Yeah, you'd be surprised. She really has a temper when she gets to going. You don't want to get on her bad side."
Allen looked back at me, and I added quickly, "Not like she's temperamental, or flips out over little things or anything. She's not like that. It's more like...she gets passionate about things she feels are important."
Allen nodded slowly. "So what did you do to get her mad?" he asked. However, a second later he looked like he was regretting the way he'd phrased that. "I mean..."
I laughed a little at his expression. "That's about as diplomatic a way to put it as any," I said. "It really is my fault. Partially, at least."
I sighed, staring down at the blank envelope in front of me. "You know Julie Black down from La Push? She...kind of showed up at our school last week."
"Oh, yeah," Allen said, a little cautiously. "I sort of saw something was going on." He paused. "Edythe did look a little...upset."
I nodded. "Yeah. Jules is a good friend of mine. Kind of like family. But she and Edythe don't get along."
"So they're fighting over you?" Only Allen could say that with a straight face and legitimately concerned expression, and not a trace of teasing.
I shook my head. "No, it's not that. Edythe doesn't like me to be around Jules because—well, she sort of sees Jules as being some kind of bad influence or something, I guess. She thinks it's dangerous for me to be around her. I did get in trouble a few months back—you know, because of the motorcycle thing. But honestly, Jules may look rough around the edges, but she's not dangerous. Not too long ago, she helped me out a lot, but Edythe just doesn't understand."
Allen had turned away from his announcements, and was peering at me out of the corner of his eye with an expression that was hard to interpret.
"What?" I said. "What do you think?"
Allen shrugged slightly, and I knew I'd have to press him to spill what he was thinking.
"What?" I said again, grinning a little. "You think something else?"
"I don't know," he said hesitantly. "Julie Black likes you, doesn't she? At least—" He colored slightly. "That's what I heard from McKayla."
I shook my head. I'd overheard a little of what McKayla was saying, but I wondered what she'd told the rest of the student body.
When I didn't reply, Allen continued, "I mean, you don't think Edythe could be just...you know...jealous?"
I hesitated for a moment, entertaining the possibility, then shook my head. "Edythe knows she's the only one for me. The only one ever. There's no contest. She's way too mature for things like that."
Allen shrugged again. "Well, maybe. But you know, she is a girl. And girls...I think sometimes they can get insecure kind of easy. Even if they don't seem like they have anything to be insecure about."
This distracted me enough to make me pause. Trying to imagine putting Edythe and insecure in the same sentence.
At last I shook my head and muttered, "I can't picture it. Edythe jealous." I sighed. "Anyway, whatever the reason, we've sort of been having a problem. Even if Edythe doesn't like her, Jules is still my friend. She's going through a rough time right now; I can't just not be there. I don't want to make Edythe anxious or insecure or whatever it is, but if I were the kind of guy who just up and ditched my friends when they needed me, I don't see how I could be even close to the kind of guy Edythe deserves."
Allen looked at me for a long moment, then he smiled. "You know, I wouldn't worry. I think if Edythe really cares about you, and I know she does, she'll come to see that, too. She'll appreciate you doing the right thing."
Allen turned back to his announcements and picked up his pen again. "In the meantime...I'd just try to cut her some slack. Just...let her have some space, and time to try to work through it. Girls' emotions can be complicated."
"Yeah," I said, sighing a bit. "Guess you're right."
Allen seemed to sense I'd said all I was going to say, and we both fell silent, and continued to work quietly.
We talked a little more off and on. What our plans were for college, what we were thinking about majoring in and where we would go. He was surprised when I told him about Alaska.
It wasn't until I mindlessly reached for the next envelope, putting my finger on the address book, when I looked down and realized we'd come to the end of the list.
"Hey," I said. "Did we finish?"
"Looks like it."
I helped him put on the stamps, then sat back in my chair, stretching.
"So," I said. "Now what?"
"Now I guess you're free," Allen answered. "I think that was all Bec was going to have us do. You can go home. I'll wait her for her to get back...Maybe I'll look at one of her comic books. She's always trying to get me to read them."
His eyes turned to the bookcase against the wall, but he didn't look all the enthused at the idea.
"You don't like comic books?" I asked, curious.
Allen shrugged. "Bec likes girls' comics. You know, like the ones you get from Japan. She has a word for them. Sho...Sho something."
"Oh." I followed his gaze to the books, and noticed the line of white bindings, some with bits of pale pink.
"Well, I could stay and keep you company," I offered. I really wasn't in any hurry to get home.
Allen opened his mouth to respond, but just then I heard the door slam and a voice shouted, "We're back!" I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
Reluctantly, I got up from my chair. "Well, I guess that's my cue to go. I hate to be a third wheel. Have fun."
"Thanks for your help," he said. "It was more fun with the two of us."
"We should hang out more often," I said.
Allen nodded, and he looked pleased at the thought.
I wondered if it was a bad idea, letting myself get more attached to people I would soon be leaving and never see again. However, I decided not to think about that just now.
Becca's eyes popped when she saw we had finished and she thanked me profusely for my help, but she seemed relieved when I said I had to get going.
I probably looked like a fugitive as I crossed the driveway to my truck. My eyes kept scanning the road, and I glanced continually over my shoulder. However, the silver car wasn't there, and the road remained empty behind me on the drive back.
The silver car wasn't there when I got to the house, but I didn't relax. That only meant, if she was there, Charlie didn't know it. Which wasn't much of a comfort.
I heard the murmur of the TV as I went inside.
"Beau?" Charlie called from the living room as he heard the door slam. "That you?"
I kicked off my shoes in the hall, and paused in the living room doorway. "Hey, Dad. Yeah, it's me."
"Have a good day?" he asked. "I heard you went down to La Push."
"Bonnie called?"
He nodded. "I'm glad you went. How was everything?"
"Good," I said. "They didn't need me at work, so I thought I would drop by. Then I went over to Becca's, and Allen and I helped with addressing announcements."
"Good for you," he said. "Glad to see you spending time with some other friends."
I managed to smile a little. "Yeah, me too."
I stood there a minute, as Charlie turned his attention back to the game. I seriously considered sitting down with him and watching the it with him, but then he would know something was up. I went to the kitchen, looking for something to do, but Charlie had already cleaned up after his lunch, and I'd already cleaned the whole kitchen recently, so there wasn't anything to do.
I sighed to myself. Well, time to man up and go face my punishment.
"I'm going to go study," I said gloomily, turning for the stairs.
"See you later," Charlie called absently.
Fatalistically, I wondered if that would be the last thing I ever heard.
I slowly walked up the stairs, one step at a time. As I passed inside, I spent a minute carefully shutting the door behind me. Then I took a silent breath and slowly turned to face my room.
She was there. Standing against the wall across from me, in the shadow beside the open window. She was perfectly still. For a moment I couldn't see her face beside the blinding glare of the sunlight streaming in from outside, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust.
She was cold as a winter snow, her face carved in marble. Her eyes were hard as flint.
When the silence lengthened, at last I said, "Hey."
Edythe didn't answer. She didn't move. She could have been a statue.
"Er...so, I'm still alive," I said at last.
Edythe closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, then let it out again. However, when she opened her eyes again, they were still hard.
She said in a low, almost delicate voice, "Do you have any idea how close I came to crossing the line today?"
I felt something cold drop in my stomach. "But that would have broken the treaty."
"Yes," she said evenly. "It would have."
I shook my head. "Edythe, you can't think like that. You have no idea—they'd take any excuse for a fight. It would be chaos. Some of you would get hurt—maybe killed."
"So you know what you almost did," Edythe said in a low voice.
I flinched. However, now that I was here, I was determined not to be intimidated.
"You shouldn't have been thinking about coming after me," I insisted. "I was fine."
"But I couldn't know that," she snapped. "They're dangerous—you have no idea how dangerous they are. Especially her. She isn't stable. She can't control herself."
"Jules is not dangerous," I said, angry. "She's no more dangerous to me than you are."
I blinked. Edythe had disappeared from where she was standing by the window, and she was suddenly right in front of me, her face inches from mine. I stared into her eyes, and saw they were flat black.
"She doesn't have self-control," she hissed. "Nowhere near enough to be safe. If her instinct to kill you was a tenth of mine—I'd kill her sooner than let her within a hundred miles of you."
I stared back at her, into her fierce expression. I tried to hold onto my own glare, but after a moment, my eyes dropped away from hers. I stood there, quietly stunned.
There was silence for a full minute, nothing but the sound of my breathing, coming too fast in the quiet. When I looked back up at her again, her face had softened slightly, though only a little.
"You have no idea how anxious I've been," she said quietly.
I was still for a moment longer. Then I sighed and put my arms around her, resting my chin on her head. I could feel the chill of her hard body through my shirt.
"Sorry," I muttered. "You weren't supposed to know. I thought you'd be gone longer."
I pulled back a little, hooking my fingers under her chin to make her look up at me. She complied with the movement and I gazed down into her coal black eyes.
"You didn't hunt at all," I sighed. "Now you're just going to have to go again."
I felt Edythe's icy hands reach up to hold mine. She stroked the tip of her finger along my wrist.
"I can wait," she said softly.
I shook my head and pulled away from her.
"Edythe, this is ridiculous. You're completely overreacting. Jules isn't dangerous—I spent weeks around her when she just barely changed, and she's completely got a handle on it now. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the wolves. Their instinct is to protect people, not hurt them. Look—I'm not going to promise not to go down to La Push. Jules has been there for me and I'm going to be there for her when she needs it. So...please. Try to relax. Nothing bad is going to happen."
Edythe's expression was flat, unyielding. "This isn't a negotiation, Beau. If you're going to try to put yourself in harm's way, you give me no choice but to have to stop you. I do appreciate what they did—but that was then, and this is now."
Maybe I was just mad, but I found myself thinking about the conversation with Allen. Before I could stop myself, I heard myself blurt, "Is this really just about keeping me safe?"
Edythe betrayed only the barest hint of surprise. "What do you mean?" she said cautiously, suspiciously.
Now that I'd said it, I had to finish, though the theory sounded even more ridiculous and unlikely than before. Backing down a little, I muttered, "I mean...you know better than to be...jealous, right?"
Edythe hesitated. She studied me for a long minute, a deep slash of thought in her brow.
At last she said, "Whatever my feelings are, I would never stop you from doing something you wanted to do if your safety wasn't involved. You're free to have as many friends as you want. Just not when one of them is a werewolf."
As I looked into her eyes, I couldn't doubt that she was sincere.
"Okay," I said, sighing. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But you should know when it comes to all this werewolves-vampire bad blood crap—I'm not taking any sides. I'm neutral, like..." I searched around for an appropriate metaphor. "Switzerland. If you guys are determined to duke it out, I'm the country outside all the politics. Jules is family, and nothing's going to change that. And you're the girl I love more than anything, and nothing's going to change that. If Allen turns out to be a sorcerer or something he can join the club, too."
Edythe regarded me for a long minute, her expression unfathomable.
"Switzerland," I said again.
Edythe sighed. "Beau..." However, she paused, and her nose suddenly wrinkled with disgust.
I frowned. "What now?"
"Don't take this personally," she said. "But at the moment you smell like a dog."
Then her face relaxed and she smiled up at me, showing her dimples. And I knew the fight was over—for now.
Edythe had to make up for the missed hunting trip, so it was arranged that she would leave Friday night with Eleanor, Jessamine, and they'd even convinced Carine and Earnest to go, too. The plan was to hit a reserve in Northern California with a mountain lion problem.
I figured after our conversation, I'd made my position pretty clear, and there was no point playing more games with trying to time snap decisions. That was really too complicated for me to make work anyway. So I just straight up called Jules and said I meant to come over Saturday, adding I might have to have her pick me up, if my truck was acting up. I considered Forks and my house neutral territory, just like I was. I knew Edythe might not like it, and we hadn't really come to an agreement on the issue, but this was just the way things had to be. Edythe would learn not to worry so much when nothing happened.
Unfortunately, when I'd conceived my plans, I'd failed to take into account how resourceful Edythe could be. And literally inhumanly stubborn.
When I got off from work Thursday, I was a little surprised when I went out to the silver Volvo in the parking lot and found, not Edythe in the driver's seat, but Archie.
The volume on the stereo was turned up all the way, the heavy metal shaking the frame of the car with every beat of the bass, and as I leaned my head in through the passenger door, which was open, I had to shout to be heard.
"Hey, where's your sister?"
Archie was singing along to the song, imitating the guttural voice, though he had better pitch than the singer. He didn't answer, only gestured for me to get in.
I did, though I had to plug my ears to keep my eardrums from bleeding.
Archie grinned broadly, then obligingly turned down the music to a more tolerable level. Then he hit the locks and the gas in the same second.
"What's going on?" I said. Dropping my hands and frowning. "Where's Edythe?"
Archie shrugged. "They left early."
"Oh," I said. My frown deepened. "And we are...?"
Archie's responding grin was brilliant. "All the women are gone, so you and I, Beau-man, are going to be doing guy stuff. First, you're going to drink so much Mountain Dew you won't sleep for days, and naturally there will be pizza—think three boxes will be enough? And I got us the deluxe package with over seventy-two hours of martial arts films—not the new, trashy junk, but the old, classic stuff."
I glared at him, as it finally settled in what was happening. "Edythe put you up to this." It wasn't a question.
"Bribed me, actually," he said, without the least hint of shame. "She finally got me that Porsche she promised me. Exactly like the one in Italy. Earnest already got this all cleared up with Charlie before he left. Basically, you come back with me tonight, we go to school tomorrow together, I bring you back here, and Edythe will be back by Saturday. No dangerous werewolf encounters, everybody goes home happy."
I gritted my teeth.
I watched the trees flash past too fast as we wound down the long drive. Archie swung us around to the garage, and my eyes scanned the cars. Eleanor's jeep was there, as was Royal's red convertible. And nestled between it was, sure enough, a wasp-yellow Porsche.
Archie got out and loped over to it. He draped an arm casually over the hood and sighed, staring down at it lovingly. "A beauty, isn't she?"
I shook my head. "Unbelievable. I can't believe she gave you that just for keeping me hostage for a couple days. You guys are so extravagant."
Archie paused, glancing back at me. His grin was apologetic. "Uh, about that."
I looked back at him a minute before it finally dawned on me.
"It's for every time, isn't it? Every time she's gone."
Archie nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."
I slammed my door hard and stormed toward the house. Archie caught up to me easily, hands casually in his pockets.
"Don't you think this is kind of controlling?" I muttered. "Psychotic, maybe?"
Archie shrugged. "You really should take the werewolf thing more seriously. They are dangerous—Edythe's got more than a right to be worried, especially when I can't see them. 'Fraid I'm on Edy's side on this one."
"Yeah, because hanging out with vampires is the pinnacle of safety consciousness," I muttered. Archie laughed.
In the end, it really wasn't that bad, besides the fact I was a prisoner. Archie had bought an entire case of Mountain Dew, and ordered pizza—four pizzas, which was way overkill as I knew I was the only one eating anything, but I got a sample of everything; the veggie kind was my favorite. Archie had gotten movies, too, though they weren't all old martial arts films, and I was surprised at how many were actually my favorites. Evidently, he'd done his homework. Royal was there too, drifting in from time to time to grab something. I did my best to pretend he wasn't there. I wondered why he hadn't gone with the others. Maybe he was backup enforcement, in case I tried to give Archie the slip.
"So," said Archie, as we headed to the kitchen to drop off the now empty bowl of popcorn. He tossed me another can of Mountain Dew. "Should we push on 'til morning?"
I frowned and set the can back on the counter.
"You may not need sleep, but I do. And I've got school in the morning."
"You're no fun." Archie took another can of Dew from the case and eyed it warily for a moment, then shrugged and cracked the lid, taking a swig.
I stared at him. "Doesn't that taste bad to you?"
Archie tanked at least half the can before he let his hand drop, casually wiping his mouth. "Really bad," he said. "Like bubbling wet sand. But it's not a about the taste, it's about the camaraderie. Sorta like you don't stay up at a late party because you want to, you do it to be sociable. So you don't end up being that guy."
I raised my eyebrows. "But I am that guy. First to go home at parties, does all his homework, goes to bed early on school nights. I'm a model student, and rock bottom of the social scene. I think it's better if we just accept that and move on."
Archie sighed dramatically. "And to think, I drank Mountain Dew for you."
My eyes wandered toward the stairs. "So where am I sleeping anyway? I know you don't keep beds here. Why can't you just keep me under surveillance at my house?"
"Obviously, it wouldn't be a real guys' night with parental supervision," he said. "And you'll be sleeping in Edy's room. I set out some pillows and a blanket on the couch. Trust me, you'll probably find that thing more comfortable than your bed at home."
I could well believe it. The Cullens had the best and highest quality of absolutely everything. The thick gold carpet of her floor was probably luxurious enough to sleep on.
"Okay," I said. "Did you remember to grab me a toothbrush? And something to sleep in?"
Archie grinned. "Overnight bag's in Edy's room. You'll find everything you need in there."
"Thanks. Guess I'll go to bed now then." However, before I got to the stairs, I hesitated a moment, turning back.
"Am I at least allowed one phone call?"
Archie shrugged. "No point. I told you, your old man knows where you are."
I frowned. "Actually, I apparently have some plans to cancel."
Archie's eyebrows raised. "Ooh, I got ya." He paused. "Yeah, man, I don't know. I'm not sure if that's okay..."
"Come on," I said, exasperated. "What's she going to do, go wolf and growl at me through the phone?"
Archie sighed. "All right, all right. Chill out." He vanished from the room, and when he reappeared, he had a black cell phone in hand. "I guess she didn't specifically prohibit this," he muttered.
I turned my back to him and punched in Jules's number. I could only hope she wasn't out running with the pack tonight. I wondered what would happen if I didn't show up, with no explanation. Would she come looking me, cross the boundary line as Edythe had threatened to do? I didn't think so—yet I couldn't be totally sure.
I sagged with relief when Jules picked up the phone on the fourth ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jules, it's me."
There was a moment of silence on the other end and when Jules spoke again, her voice was cautious. "Hey. What's up?"
I sighed. "Apparently Saturday's off. I won't be making it over after all."
Jules muttered some epithet. "What's her deal? Does she keep you chained to her crypt whenever she leaves town?"
I almost laughed. It was close to the truth. "Sorry. Apparently the plans changed. She'll be back Saturday."
"Sticking close to town, then?" she said. "Or in town?"
The implication in her scathing tone was clear, but I didn't react. I was peeved enough with all these games myself.
"No, she just left early."
Jules perked up at this. "She's gone? Well hey, why don't you come down right now? Or I'll head up over there to Charlie's and pick you up, doesn't matter."
"That would be nice, if I was at home right now," I said, glaring at the kitchen wall. "We've been kind of thwarted this time. They've been very...thorough."
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
"Jules?" I said at last, wondering if she had hung up.
"What?" she said at last, her voice abruptly angry, demanding. "Are they holding you prisoner there, Beau? We'll come and get you. Right now."
The sudden deadly serious tone in her voice sent a chill down my spine.
I kept my voice light, tried to make a joke out of it. "Yeah, I'm prisoner. I've had so much pizza and Mountain Dew I think I'm going to puke. Archie's diabolical, I'm telling you."
Jules hesitated. "I really would come and get you," she said, though I was relieved her tone had eased a little. "If you needed me to, I'd be there in a heartbeat."
"It's okay," I said. "Everything's good. I understand why they're doing it, even if it sucks."
"It really does," Jules muttered.
"Sorry to ditch out on you like this," I said. "I'm going to try to get some sleep, but I'll give you a ring again soon."
"Are you sure they'll let you?" she said scathingly.
"No," I said honestly, sighing. "But I'll do my best. Night, Jules, hope to talk again soon."
"Okay. See you."
Archie reached out for the phone, but I was already dialing another number.
Archie watched my fingers and said, "I don't think she'll have her phone on her."
"Good thing she's got a message machine."
The phone rang four times, followed by a beep. There was no greeting.
I decided to keep it succinct. "You are in trouble. Court-martial, inappropriate conduct-level trouble. Expect your sentencing when you get back."
I snapped the phone shut and tossed it to Archie. "That's all. I'm done."
Archie grinned. "You know, this hostage stuff is kind of fun."
"I'm going to bed now," I muttered, heading toward the stairs.
I found the overnight duffel stashed beside Edythe's couch, closest to the door. I got changed and brushed my teeth in the bathroom across the hall. Archie had also packed me some mouthwash, and I used it to cleanse my pepperoni breath.
I situated myself on the couch, throwing the blanket over myself and putting the large pillow under my head. Archie was right—the plush, black leather sofa probably did give my back better support than my bed at home.
I laid there in the darkness, staring out at the glass wall, at the moon glowing in the dark sky. Again I found myself thinking about the wolves. About the stories Jules had told me, and the seemingly timeless hatred between the wolves and the vampires. I wondered if there really might be a way to bridge the gap, make them all see they really wanted the same thing, or if it was stupid and naïve to think an ordinary guy like me could have any impact on a mythical, centuries-long feud.
I really wished I was seeing Jules tomorrow, or Saturday. Of course it was always a little tense these days, and I had to ride out all the jabs at vampires, but I could deal with that. What I couldn't deal with was this feeling like I never could know the next time I would see or speak to her again.
I'd been laying there, mulling these things over, for maybe a quarter of an hour when I sighed and sat up again. I really couldn't get to sleep. I blamed Archie and the endless cans of Mountain Dew he'd forced down my system.
I crept carefully downstairs to the immaculate kitchen. Archie had shown me earlier that he'd gotten it completely stocked before I came, mostly with junk food. I thought I remembered seeing a box of chocolate milk mix somewhere, which was what I was after. Hot chocolate sounded good right now, and sometimes hot drinks put me to sleep. I poured some milk into a mug and put it in the microwave to heat.
I didn't know anyone else was there until I heard a low cough behind me.
I grumbled to myself. "No, I'm not staying up," I insisted. "I couldn't sleep, and I just wanted to get something to..." As I spoke, I half turned around.
I blanched when I saw it wasn't Archie standing there, but Royal.
Royal's powerful arms were folded, and he was leaning casually against the island counter. He was perfectly still.
"Oh," I said in a small voice. "I, uh, thought you were Archie."
Royal didn't answer, arms still folded.
"Were you, uh, looking to get into the fridge? I'll be out of here soon..."
I shifted over closer to the microwave, so I wouldn't obstruct the way, then could have smacked myself. Moron, of course he didn't need in the fridge.
"Um," I said, croaking a little on the word. "I'll be going back upstairs soon." I looked at the microwave, willing it to go faster.
Royal looked at me, with his usual piercing, icy gaze. When he spoke, his voice was deep and powerful, but soft, like a lion's purr. "Just a second. I'd like to have a word with you."