Illusions

Chapter Five

TAMANI SHUT THE DOOR NOISELESSLY BEHIND HIM, breaking into a silent run toward the darkening tree line. He didn’t have much time — one of the less pleasant parts of his job was seeing that David got home alive once Laurel was safely in for the night. Keeping the human boy breathing didn’t rate high on Tamani’s personal priority scale, but since Laurel’s happiness was second only to her safety, David was watched.

Aaron reached out to grab Tamani’s arm as he passed the nearest tree. “What’s happening?” he whispered.

“We have trouble,” Tamani replied grimly.

Trouble was the least of what they had. Now that he didn’t have to look confident and strong for Laurel’s benefit, Tamani sank to the ground, ran his fingers through his hair — he still wasn’t used to it being so short — and let his worst fears wash over him. Not for the first time, Tamani wished Jamison would simply order Laurel to Avalon for good. But Jamison insisted it wasn’t time and that Laurel had to come willingly.

“Another faerie has arrived,” he said.

Aaron raised one eyebrow. “Shar didn’t say anything—”

“With the Huntress. Not from Avalon.”

Aaron’s other eyebrow went up. “Unseelie?”

“That doesn’t seem likely. She’s got to be some kind of… wild faerie.”

“But that’s impossible,” Aaron said, stepping closer, his fists on his hips.

“I know,” Tamani said, looking toward the house and seeing two silhouettes moving about the kitchen in the dying evening light. He recapped the visit to Aaron, fear gripping his chest as worst-case scenarios ran through his head.

“What does this mean for us?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t know,” Tamani replied. “More reinforcements, for one.”

“More?” Aaron stared in disbelief. “At this rate we’ll have half of Avalon here by winter.”

“It can’t be helped. We’ll need at least one squad watching the new girl. Maybe two. Jamison promised me more sentries if we need them, and I don’t want to take anyone from Laurel’s house.”

Tamani looked up at the sound of a car engine turning over. David’s car — it had a distinctive tick that had become all too familiar the last couple weeks. It was time to go. Rising to his feet, Tamani pulled his phone out of his pocket. He’d try Shar again as he tracked David. He turned and placed his free hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “This faerie has the potential to destroy everything we’ve worked for. We cannot take her lightly.”

He didn’t wait for Aaron’s reply before sprinting off after David’s taillights.

Whatever Yuki was up to, it apparently required her to ignore Laurel at all costs.

At first Laurel thought Yuki was simply shy, as any attempt to approach her resulted in a murmured apology followed by a hasty retreat. But when Laurel settled for smiling at her in the hallway, Yuki pretended not to notice. By Thursday, even finding Yuki became a challenge, and Laurel’s efforts were giving her a headache. Laurel didn’t want to go to Jamison before she’d found something out about Yuki, but the elusive faerie wasn’t giving her much choice.

On Friday morning Tamani wasn’t in Government when Laurel walked in. She was beginning to worry when he plopped himself down in his seat just as the final bell rang. Mrs. Harms didn’t mark him tardy, but she did raise one menacing eyebrow that seemed to say, Next time.

“Shar’s still not answering,” Tamani hissed as soon as Mrs. Harms turned her back to write on the whiteboard.

Laurel shot him a concerned look. “Not at all?”

“Not once.” He was practically twitching in his seat. “It could be nothing,” he added, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. “Shar hates his phone. He doesn’t think we should be using human technology; says we always get into trouble when we do. So he’s stubborn enough to not answer it on principle. But it… it could mean something’s happened. We’re still on for today, right?”

“Yes,” Laurel said earnestly. “I told my parents and everything. We’re good to go.”

“Great,” he said, sounding more nervous than excited.

“Are we still going to get to see Jamison?” Laurel asked.

Tamani hesitated and Laurel looked questioningly at him. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Shar is really paranoid about opening the gate — especially without warning.”

“We have to see Jamison,” Laurel insisted in a whisper. “That’s the whole point, isn’t it?”

Tamani looked at her for a moment with a strange expression on his face that almost made Laurel think he was mad at her. “For you, I guess,” he said darkly, then turned to the front of the room, doodling furiously as Laurel took notes. Laurel tried to catch his eye, but he looked steadfastly away from her. What had she said?

As soon as the bell rang Tamani stood and hurried toward the door without a backward glance. Just as he passed into the hall, Laurel heard a grunt and a scuffle. Craning her neck, she saw David and Tamani standing chest to chest, a couple of books on the floor at their feet.

“Sorry,” David murmured. “Didn’t see you.”

Tamani glared at David for a moment, then he lowered his eyes and mumbled an apology as he retrieved his books and slid out into the hallway.

“What was that?” Laurel asked as she and David fell into step beside each other in the hall.

“It was an accident,” David said. “The bell rang and he came barreling out. I didn’t have time to move.” He hesitated before adding, “He didn’t look happy.”

“He’s mad at me,” Laurel said, watching Tamani’s back disappear into the crowd. “I don’t know why.”

“What happened?”

Laurel explained as they walked to their side-by-side lockers. Being a senior was not without its perks.

“Is it because I’m not that worried about Shar?” she asked.

David hesitated. “It could be,” he admitted. “Don’t you get mad at him when he doesn’t seem worried about me? Or Chelsea?”

“Yeah, but that’s different. You and Chelsea aren’t like Shar. Tamani doesn’t worry about you because you don’t matter to him,” Laurel said, stifling the anger she always felt at Tamani’s general scorn for humans. “I’m not worried about Shar because he is totally capable of taking care of himself. It’s… a respect thing.”

“I get that, but if Tamani’s worried,” David said, lowering his voice, “don’t you think maybe you should be too?”

It made sense, and Laurel felt her old grudge melt away — for the moment. “You’re right,” she said. “I should apologize.”

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time this afternoon,” David said in a deceptively light voice.

Laurel laughed, giving a mock gasp. “David, are you jealous?”

“No! Well, I mean, I’d love to spend the afternoon with you, so in that way, yeah, I guess so.” He shrugged. “I just wish I could go.” He paused, then looked at her with transparent innocence. “I could wait in the car.”

“It’s probably not a good idea,” Laurel said softly, thinking about the conversation she’d just had with Tamani. “We’re trying to get into Avalon without advance notice as it is. Bringing you with us would probably just put them on edge.”

“Okay.” David paused again, then leaned his head closer to her and said in a fierce whisper, “I wish I could go through that gate with you.”

Her throat tightened. Avalon was the one thing she could never share with David. And it wasn’t just that the fae would never let him through the gate — Laurel was a little worried about how David would be treated even if he were allowed. “I know,” she whispered, reaching her hands up to touch his cheeks.

“I’ll miss you,” he said.

She laughed. “I’m not leaving yet!”

“Yeah, but you’re going to class. I’ll miss you till it’s over.”

Laurel slapped his shoulder playfully. “You are so sappy.”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

“I do,” Laurel said, folding herself into his arms.

When class let out for the day, Laurel headed straight for the parking lot, knowing how anxious Tamani was. And, admittedly, she was a little curious to see what kind of car he drove. She shouldn’t have been surprised to see a convertible. Tamani said nothing as he unlocked her door and lowered the car’s top.

For the first couple of minutes, Laurel was simply fascinated by the sight of Tamani driving. The novelty of seeing him in distinctly human situations was starting to wear off, but it wasn’t gone yet.

As Tamani pulled onto the highway, Laurel finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“For what?” Tamani replied, donning a convincingly unaffected air.

“For not taking you seriously. About Shar.”

“It’s okay,” Tamani said guardedly. “I overreacted.”

“No, you didn’t,” Laurel insisted. “I should have listened.”

Tamani was silent.

Laurel sat, not knowing what to say next.

“If anything happened to him, I don’t know what I’d do,” Tamani finally said, his words coming out in a rush.

Not wanting to interrupt and make him clam up, Laurel simply nodded.

“Shar is… I would probably say he’s like a brother, if I knew what that was like.” He glanced over at her for a second before returning his eyes to the road. “Everything I am now, I owe to him. I wasn’t even technically old enough to be in the guard when he took it upon himself to make a proper sentry out of me.” Finally, Tamani smiled again. “He’s the main reason I got to meet you again.”

“He’ll be fine,” Laurel said, trying to sound confident rather than dismissive. “From everything you’ve told me and everything I know about him, he’s really amazing. I’m sure he’s okay.”

“I hope so,” Tamani said, edging his speed up a little higher.

Laurel watched the road, but out the corner of her eye she could see Tamani stealing glances at her. “You hardly talk to me at school,” Laurel said a few minutes later as Tamani sped down the passing lane, overtaking a convoy of RVs. She was impressed. He had a manual transmission and was shifting through gears way better than she had when she was a new driver.

Tamani shrugged. “Well, we’re not supposed to know each other, remember?”

“Yeah, but you talk to me in Government. You could at least wave in the halls.”

Tamani glanced her way. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because of Yuki. Klea. Trolls. Take your pick.” He paused. “I worry about too many faeries being together in one place. I’d like to,” he added, smiling, “but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Laurel said in mock cheerfulness. “We should hide our friendship instead, and then if anyone sees us driving around like this they’ll assume I’m cheating on my boyfriend. That’s a much better idea. Why didn’t I think of that?” She glanced sidelong at him. “Trust me, in a small town, scandal draws way more attention than group vegetarianism.”

“What do you want me to do?” Tamani asked.

Laurel considered that. “Wave in the halls. Say hi. Don’t ignore me in Speech class. In a couple of weeks, it won’t seem out of the ordinary to anyone. Not even Yuki or Klea, assuming they care.”

Tamani grinned. “Don’t you think you’re brilliant.”

“I don’t think,” Laurel said with a laugh, leaning her head a little to the side so the wind caught her long, golden hair and threw it back behind her. “I know.” After a pause she added, “You could be David’s friend too.” She glanced at Tamani when he said nothing. He was frowning. “The two of you really have a lot in common, and we’re all in this together.”

He shook his head. “It wouldn’t work.”

“Why not? He’s a nice guy. And it would do you good to have some human friends,” she said, hinting at what she suspected was the root of the problem.

“It’s not that,” Tamani said, gesturing vaguely with one hand.

“Then why?” Laurel asked, exasperated.

“I just don’t want to cozy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing,” he said flatly, without looking at her.

Laurel stared silently out the window for the rest of the trip.