Eventually, with witches and brownies in tow, the three sentries left The Shade.
“This sucks.” Julian sighed.
“I know,” I agreed.
I needed to go and look for Yelena. My mom would start panicking soon, and then Yelena might never be allowed to visit again—and that would make Yelena so upset, it wasn’t worth the drama and tears.
“I need to hunt down Yelena,” I told Julian.
“Want help?”
“No, I’m okay,” I replied quickly. She was so stubborn, if she had an audience it would only make her act out more.
It took me absolutely ages to find her. My legs and arms had been shredded by the undergrowth in the forests, but my initial hunch had been right. Sitting on a branch of a low-hanging tree on the outskirts of the treehouse residences was Yelena.
“You are a pain!” I yelled up at her.
“I don’t care. I’m not leaving.” She crossed her arms, her face set in a furious expression.
“You know you can’t stay here, right? That you do actually have parents who are probably out of their minds with worry?”
“No, they’re not.”
I sighed. She was impossible. We’d already had this argument a million times—even the Hawk boys had gotten involved, again, after our last night in Nevertide. You’d think, as they’d been orphans, they would have been able to talk some sense into her, but apparently not.
“You can come back and visit, I already told you that,” I called up, pulling out my trump card.
“I don’t want to visit. I want to live here. I like it here! I like the witches, the Hawks, the vampires, the werewolves, everyone. Zerus gets to stay, and the Oracle hasn’t gone anywhere, why do I have to be the one who leaves?”
“All the other kids have gone!” I exploded. “Why can’t you be excited like they were? They couldn’t wait to go home—you’re the only one who’s being weird about it!”
“Just let me stay!”
I leaned against the tree. I was hungry and thirsty and irritated. I’d never met anyone so difficult. I didn’t understand what her deal was. The whole time we were in Nevertide she’d been up for anything—I mean, she’d always been annoying, but she’d been generally happy to follow the ill-fated ‘Hell Rakers’ and me while I was possessed…but suddenly returning home was completely beyond her?
Realizing I was getting nowhere, I started to climb the tree. After more scrapes, and a bruise on my shin that hurt like hell, I arrived on her branch and came to sit down next to her. She didn’t look in my direction.
From here, I could see that her face was tear-streaked and her eyes were as red as Claudia’s had been.
“What’s really the matter?” I muttered.
She took a deep breath, then swung her legs in agitation. “Like I said—”
“No. What’s going on?” I asked again. “Just tell me the truth. I can’t read your mind, you know.”
“I… I’m worried that I’ll forget,” she replied in a small voice. “That I’ll just think this was all make-believe—none of it really happened, and that The Shade doesn’t exist. I’ll go to boarding school, and I’ll grow up. I’ll become boring like my parents, and only care about paying the mortgage and how much fuel’s in the tank. I’ll forget you, and Julian and the others. I’ll forget how awesome it was.”
“You don’t need to forget.” I rummaged around in my pocket. “Here, take these. They’re my treasures. I took them from Nevertide…like mementos. But you can have them, if you like.”
I held out my hand, showing her the Viking coin I’d taken from one of the chests by the cove, and the broken ghoul stone. I also had a chip of emerald crystal I’d found when we went back to visit Hellswan after it was destroyed.
She smiled.
“Really?” she asked softly.
“Yeah. Keep them. They can remind you when you forget.”
I swallowed, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with the way Yelena was looking at me, with her massive blue eyes and rosy pink cheeks.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll come looking for you when I’m a vampire anyways,” I said gruffly, “so you’d better watch out… Don’t go down any dark alleyways.”
She beamed.
“Thanks, Benedict,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
I shrugged. I didn’t know why she had to make such a big deal out of it.
“No worries.”
Derek
I wandered atop the Black Heights, enjoying a rare hour of solitude and the early-autumn breeze—barely discernible down below, but up here on the mountains it whipped at my hair and shirt.