Velocity (The Gravity Series) Page 17

  Theo immediately began walking into the crowd, her head held high. “You guys go and have fun,” she said, grinning. “I’m gonna go get my dance on.”

  Henry took my hand and smiled at me, pulling me onto the dance floor. I felt an anxious quivering in my stomach―he’d seen me dance before, of course, but I was really rusty. What if I tripped over my own feet and faceplanted?

  “Just like the first time,” he said, grinning and pulling my arms around his neck. He gently pressed his hands to my waist as our hips began to sway. “I think you might look even more gorgeous tonight, though, if it’s possible.”

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, blushing. “It’s been so long since then.”

  “Not that long. It’s just that so much has changed,” he replied, smiling softly. Then the music was too loud for us to keep talking. Henry moved me around and I felt my worries melt away.

  I kept track of Theo, who looked so beautiful and seemed to be having a great time dancing with different boys. She twirled around effortlessly, her movements graceful even when she was being goofy. I hadn’t seen her so carefree since we’d gotten back to Hell, and her intimidating beauty magnetized the guys to keep coming. Then I lost her in the crowd.

  Henry and I kept dancing as the night wore on. When he’d catch me getting too serious, he’d break out the silly dance moves and make me laugh. With the lights low, it really was hard telling who was who. I couldn’t pick out any of the Thornhill kids.

  “Is this a glimpse of things to come?” asked a girl speaking with her friend. I tried to listen closer, but couldn’t hear them.

  “Yeah, when we go trick-or-treating,” the other girl said after a moment. Then they moved away.

  I caught site of Theo again, dancing close. When a romantic song started, a tall boy came over and swept Theo up.

  “What do you think of that?” Henry breathed in my ear, noticing that my attention was elsewhere.

  “I think Theo has an admirer,” I whispered back.

  “She’s not the only one,” Henry said, and kissed the space behind my ear. I held my breath as he pulled me closer.

  As the song drew to a close, the boy dancing with Theo leaned down and kissed her. She pulled back, looking shocked. The boy took of his mask, and I saw that it was Alex.

  “What are you doing?” she mouthed.

  “Dancing with you,” I saw him comment back. I should have known by his bright red Adidas high-tops. His love of shoes always gave him away.

  “Why did you dance with me? Are you playing games again?” she shouted. I knew her anger was masking her tears as she clenched her hands into fists.”

  “Of course not.” Although the music was still playing, everyone had started to move away from them. They seemed to be unaware that they were causing a scene.

  “You came with her. She’s the one you wanted!” Theo shouted, stabbing a finger at what must have been Madison, wearing a low-cut, short dress and a purple mask.

  “All I ever wanted was you,” Alex shouted back. “But you didn’t want me.”

  People around them continued to stare. Theo seemed to realize this, ripping off her mask and blushing. She took off and started running towards the exit. Alex chased after her with Madison on his heels.

  “Oh, no,” Henry and I groaned at the same time. We broke apart from each other and followed our friends.

  We passed a group of teachers sharing punch around the exit door. “Why can’t we ever have a stress-free dance at this school?” one of the women clucked.

  Our train followed Theo out to the front vestibule. She wasn’t slowing down. All of a sudden, I felt a buzz in my head. My eyes focused on the exit, and I saw Susan Wright and Charlotte Gary, both girls that Thornhill had sacrificed, standing on either side of the vestibule door. Susan’s party dress was grimy and stained with blood, and blood ran beneath Charlotte’s septum piercing, her eyeliner blackened eyes looking like that of a wraith.

  Oh no, oh no, oh no, my mind skipped like a broken record. A very anxious feeling crept over me. Something bad is about to happen.

  The ghosts’ heads were lowered, but they raised them to look pointedly at me as we all ran out through the front door.

  “You guys, wait up!” I shouted for Theo and Alex, but they didn’t hear me. Theo ran out like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight. The heel of her shoe broke but she just ripped of the pumps off and ran in her tights.

  Madison stopped at the stairs, watching Alex and Theo down below in the parking lot. She plucked purple feathers from her mask. Raised voices erupted from my friends.

  Alex caught Theo’s arm, but she wrenched away, her face tomato-red, her hair tumbling down from its topknot.

  “Can I feel your pulse?” Theo asked as I got closer. She grabbed Alex’s wrist, then dropped it dramatically. “Oh, so you do have a heart?”

  “I don’t know why you keep forgetting that you’re the one who broke up with me.” He pounded his chest angrily with one fist.

  “I know that. I just didn’t know what I wanted. You were smothering me. You wanted to hang out all the time, you never left me alone…”

  “I love you!” Alex barked furiously, his hands knotted into fists. “I didn’t want to lose you but all I did was push you away. I’d give anything to have you back.”

  Theo seemed taken aback by that. “Still love?”

  “Of course, Theo,” he said, his eyes softening. “Those feelings don’t just go away.”

  I ran down, standing beside them. “You guys, you both need to calm down. It’s obviously just a misunderstanding.” I squeezed Theo’s shoulder, going in front of them. “You just need to take a breather and go talk it out somewhere.”

  Theo was crying and hiccuping at the same time. She wiped her nose and nodded.

  “Besides, I have this weird feeling―”

  Alex glanced over my shoulder, and his eyes widened. I heard something behind me, a low roar, but I didn’t register it. It all happened so fast. His hands shot out, grasping my shoulders roughly and without warning, and he spun me around, pushing me backwards. Then he scooped up Theo and tossed her to the ground. I was about to protest, but then I heard the roar turn into the sound of an engine at high speed, coming our way. Alex had flipped our positions, tossing Theo and I out of the way.

  A scream stuck in my throat as the horribly familiar black car slammed into Alex. His legs crumpled below the knees as his body shot onto the hood. He rolled off the side and crashed to the pavement. Theo screamed in my ear, deafening me.

  The car spun around again, looking like the driver had lost control, and lifted off two tires before slamming down again. It doubled back, brakes squealing but doing nothing, and came towards us like it was going to hit us. Theo and I got to our feet and scrambled to the side. The Cadillac crashed hard into Thornhill’s hideous commemorative fountain, breaking it into pieces.

  A jet of water sprayed into the air as the driver was ejected onto the hood amidst a spray of blood and glass like red glitter. When the smoke cleared, I saw that the driver was Roger, Phillip’s assistant and his wife’s lover. His elongated, grim face was set in a mild look of surprise. Blood oozed from cuts all over his face.

  I stood up, heart pounding. Time had seemed to slow down. It had all gone down in mere seconds. I heard Henry talking to a 911 operator in a shaky voice. Madison had dropped to sitting on the stairs, rocking herself. I turned and saw Theo cradling Alex, screaming and sobbing at the same time over his motionless, mutilated body.

  Eleanor stood silently at the foot of the stairs, nodding at me. The black dog snarled from his place at her feet.

  CHAPTER 21

  THE ROUTINE WAS so technical. Theo had schedules for everything―when to change Alex’s bandages, when they came in to dose his medication into his IV. She’d written down all of the instructions from the doctors in a notebook she kept with her at all times. Every day during visiting hours she drove down to U of M hospital. Even Alex’s parents gave her room to be at
his side.

  The police had written off Roger’s crash as an accident. I knew better. He’s been following me, using the tracker to figure out my location, probably on Phillip’s orders. Then, Phillip sent him to the school dance in the hopes that he could take me out. I knew I had no proof, but it made perfect sense.

  “So, what is the doctor’s prognosis?” I asked her as we sat beside his bed, listening to the ventilator breathe for Alex. Our hands were clasped together. Her face was washed clean, free of glitter and makeup, and she was wearing her glasses and very plain clothes. Alex’s mother was knitting on the other side of the room. She set her needles on top of her knitting bag, attached to an unfinished blue sweater.

  A tube ran into Alex’s mouth, hooked up to a ventilator. Bandages wrapped his head. He had a black eye and several bruises. The macabre thought hit me that his purple hospital gown looked very festive. It would have made him laugh. It reminded me of the grape-colored pimp suit he wore at our sophomore Halloween dance.

  “They don’t know if he’s going to come out of the coma,” Theo said, staring at nothing in particular. “He has a spinal fracture, broken ribs, and his left leg is broken. The head trauma was pretty bad. They don’t know how bad yet. They have to run more tests, and they might not know at all until he comes out of it.”

  I would have said I was sorry, I wanted to, but I felt like it would make me sound selfish, like everything was about me. Even though Roger had been aiming for me, this was not my time for any kind of spotlight.

  So instead I said, “I will do anything to stop them. They won’t hurt anyone else. We will get them back.”

  “Is it okay if I’m not involved with the meeting?” Theo asked, looking at me then. “I want to stay here, in case there’s news. If all of it goes down, then I want to be there.”

  I nodded. “Of course. And don’t worry, only a few of us are going to the meeting. Hugh doesn’t want to draw too much attention to us.”

  Alex’s mom, her laptop balanced on her knees, was reading condolence messages out loud on his fanpage.

  “‘Life never gives you more than you can handle,’” she read aloud. “That’s such a nice sentiment.”

  “Do you girls need anything to eat?” Alex’s mom asked, her face as pale as the white sheet covering her son. “I need to get something to calm my blood sugar.”

  “No thanks, mom,” Theo said. Alex’s mom smiled at us and left.

  “I can’t stand those little phrases that people throw around,” Theo said bitterly. “People who barely knew him are acting like they have a right to grieve.”

  I nodded, remembering from Jenna’s death.

  “If only I had known sooner,” Theo said, tears welling in her eyes. “If only we had stopped playing that stupid game, the hot and cold garbage…”

  “You can’t think like that,” I said, rubbing her back. “He’s going to be okay. Alex is one kick ass dude. He will find a way back.”

  She smiled at me and rested her head on my shoulder. “I just want to be here when he does.”

  There was a light rapping on the door. We looked up and saw Madison step into the room. She was dressed demurely and carrying a bouquet of flowers with a condolence card attached. I felt Theo stiffen beside me.

  Avoiding our eyes, she stepped in and set the bouquet on the table next to Alex’s bed. She glanced over at him, taking in his condition with grim shock.

  “What are you doing here?” Theo asked coldly.

  “I just wanted to show my support,” Madison said, her voice croaking. I could tell she felt very uncomfortable being here.

  “You could have showed it by staying home,” Theo said.

  Madison opened her mouth, then apparently thought better of it. She bit the inside of her cheek, and tried again. “Look, I know we’ve been acting really stupid. I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I lost all of my friends when Lainey went to the dark side. I guess I was just looking for somewhere to fit in, and Alex was…is…helping with that.”

  Theo just glared at her.

  “If it helps, we were never serious,” Madison said. “All he ever talked about was you when we were alone. About the things you had done together. He cares about you very much.”

  Theo didn’t say a word. Madison gave up and left the room.

  “I wish I could hate her. It would make this easier,” Theo said finally.

  ###

  The night of Thornhill’s gala dinner and meeting fell on April 29th. While they were having their dinner at the Hush Lake Golf Club, our opposition group was preparing our plan of attack.

  Henry had sneaked out enough copper pins and masks for the three of us―me, Mr. Golem, and my father. I didn’t like wearing Thornhill’s symbol, but I tried to pretend it wasn’t there. I could smell the copper even on my collar.

  The entire time Hugh was coaching us over what would happen, all I could think of was the car coming after Alex, knocking him off of his feet. The way he had saved both Theo and me. He’d been a good friend to me, and she was practically my sister. I was doing this to avenge them just as much as any other reason.

  “Ariel, are you paying attention?” Hugh asked, his expression serious. I made myself focus and nod. “Noah and I are going to be wearing microphones in the hopes that we will get some information we can take to Stauner. They have no reasonable expectation of privacy, as this amounts to a fairly public place. They’re having the meeting at the ballroom, so we will drive there, park in the next block, and join up with the other people entering the building.”

  “And when we’re in?” I asked. My nerves were boiling over with anticipation now that the night had come, and I struggled to stand still.

  “We shouldn’t talk to one another. And we should try to spread out as far as possible,” Golem said.

  “Callie and the Taylors will be parked in the unmarked van in the parking lot across the street. If we need help, we can call or alert them,” Hugh said. He checked his watch. “We need to get ready.”

  We put on our masks, which unlike the ones for the masquerade ball, were just plain, expressionless white ones that covered our whole faces. They had me wear a blonde wig to cover my hair, and both of them dressed in the best suits Hugh could find in his closet.

  The walk to Thornhill’s office set my nerves even more on edge. There were tons of cars in the parking lot across the street, and I searched through the small eyeholes in the mask, trying to see the van that our allies were in. But it was just too crowded. We crossed the street and entered the building.

  Right inside, a woman with her arms full of black fabric stopped us. “Everyone is to put on one of these robes,” she said evenly. “Phillip Rhodes’ orders.”

  We didn’t question it, grabbing three black robes and putting them on. The hoods covered the tops of our heads so the wig wasn’t even necessary. We followed the rest of the guests to the back room, which had been set up as Phillip’s domain at the time. Now it had been completely cleared out again, except for a bunch of folding metal chairs.

  The crowd looked incredibly creepy, all wearing the same white masks and black robes, like a bunch of clones. I looked beside me to see that I could no longer discern between my father, Mr. Golem, and the others. I could feel a panic attack beginning to come on as my heart began to gallop.

  The lights were turned down low. An altar had been set up at the end of the room with candles glowing on it. They were definitely showing their cult side now.

  The mustard-yellow curtains still hung on the walls, and I tried my best not to look at them. It still made me uncomfortable to be in this room, but it looked different enough to not stir my bad memories of Warwick.

  I snagged one of the metal folding chairs, trying not to look at the people around me too much. Next to the altar was Harlow’s father, Dr. Briggs, as well as Cliff Ford. They were standing silently with their hands crossed.

  Phillip walked to the center, wearing a crimson red robe. He turned and addressed his captive audience.<
br />
  “Umbra Regnum. The night of the ritual is fast approaching,” he intoned, his voice carrying all the way through the room. I sat up and watched him. “In another week we will gather at the seal beneath the Dexter Orphanage and carry out the final rites. All of you need to be prepared. This is not going to be easy.”

  A week from now. They had set a date. I shivered despite the heavy robe, drawing annoyance from the cult member beside me. I curled myself up tighter and continued to watch.

  “You must shed your human ties. But if we succeed―when we succeed―you will all have a special place in the new realm. You will enjoy power that you’ve never known before in Dark. Hell will become a new kingdom, our Dark playground. But you must show me loyalty. If called on to act to defend the ritual, you must be willing to do what it takes.”

  He looked out over the assembly and smiled in self-satisfaction. I thought about the prayer group I had witnessed. He loved commanding other people. He was in his element.

  There was more to the evening, with Cliff Ford and Briggs giving speeches.

  “It’s very important you keep the copper pins on yourselves,” Briggs said. “If any of you notice strange symptoms of illness―headaches, prolonged nausea, nosebleeds or seizures―please let us know as soon as possible.”

  “And just know that the physical side effects are humble grapefruit.” Phillip stopped, clearing his throat. “The physical side effects are only temporary,” he corrected carefully. No one called him on his obvious flub.

  The end of the meeting arrived, and he pulled out a screen. “Now is the time to close out our meeting,” he said, as Deana Ford and Mary Slaughter snuffed out the candles.

  I shut my eyes as tightly as possible. I didn’t like the looks of the screen. I heard a humming, buzzing sound, and could sense lights flashing in front of my closed lids. The room went entirely silent. I stayed the way I was for what felt like forever, my eyelids twitching, when finally the light came back on.