wipe her bare feet on the mat.
“The usual,” Tod said. “Self-destructing in slow motion.”
I shot a frown at him. “Your guess is as good as mine,” I said
to Sabine, staring out into the dark after her, just in case. But I found
nothing out of place except for her car, which was parked on the wrong side of
the street, in front of the neighbor’s mailbox.
“My guess is probably better.” She dropped her keys on the
coffee table and headed for the hall, ignoring Tod when he called after her.
“He passed out, Sabine. You may as well let him sleep it
off.”
“So, what?” I said when she’d disappeared around the corner.
“They let Scott out—for no reason I can think of—and he heads straight for
Nash’s house?”
“Or for yours,” Tod said. “We don’t know where Nash saw
him.”
“Do you think he’s still possessed?”
“How much did he drink? He’s out cold,” Sabine said, rounding
the corner into the living room again to eyeball the half-empty bottle of
whiskey. “Who’s possessed?”
“It’s a long story.” I sank onto the couch next to Tod and
folded my legs beneath me.
Sabine shrugged. “It’s not like anyone here’s missing out on
sleep.” Maras only needed around four hours a night,
and Sabine had already gotten nearly that much before I called and woke her
up.
“Okay, but hold it down.” We were trying not to wake my father
up, and I couldn’t mute her voice—much to my own frustration. “There’s this guy
named Scott who used to go to our school—”
“Scott Carter?” Sabine interrupted. “The frost junkie?” When I
could only stare at her in surprise, she rolled her eyes. “Nash’s my best
friend, Kaylee. We talk.”
Good to know. I’d assumed they’d skipped straight to body
language.
“How much do you know?” Tod asked.
“Nash and two friends got hooked on frost—breath from Avari,
the hellion I met in the cafeteria.” The time she’d tried to sell me out so she
could have Nash to herself. “Doug died, Scott went insane, and because Nash
isn’t human, he got off with withdrawal and total abandonment from the one
person who should have been there for him, no matter what.”
“I didn’t… That’s not…” I gave up trying to explain that I
hadn’t abandoned Nash, and that frost wasn’t what
broke us up. “What matters now is that Scott’s out, and Nash says he saw him
tonight.”
“Okay, why are the two of you talking about a visit from an old
friend like that’s worse than Nash being passed out in her bed. Which we’re
going to discuss later, by the way.” Her dark-eyed glare narrowed on me. “You
could have at least given him a shirt, Kaylee.”
“Like you’re an expert on when it’s appropriate to wear a
shirt,” I snapped, thinking of the time she’d pulled hers off and jumped Nash,
with me in the next room, and Sabine bristled.
“This seems headed into girl-fight territory,” Tod said.
“Should I make popcorn?”
I elbowed him in the ribs and glared at the mara. “The point is that Scott shouldn’t be out of the
hospital. He wasn’t just a little unbalanced, Sabine. He suffered permanent
brain damage from the frost, and Avari sent him enough visual and auditory
hallucinations to make sure there was no doubt about his mental
instability.”
“So, how’d he get out?”
“We’re not sure,” I admitted. “But he was half packed when we
saw him tonight, so it looks like he was actually released.”
Sabine frowned. “You saw Scott tonight?”
“Sort of. We went to see if he’d ask Avari some questions for
us, but when we got there, he was possessed, so we wound up dealing with Avari
directly.”
“Well, then, it sounds like you’ve answered your own
question.”
Tod glanced at me in question. “Is it just me, or is she making
even less sense than usual?”
Sabine rolled her eyes again. “You knew he was possessed
because he wasn’t acting like himself, right?” she said, and we both nodded.
“The usual,” Tod said. “Self-destructing in slow motion.”
I shot a frown at him. “Your guess is as good as mine,” I said
to Sabine, staring out into the dark after her, just in case. But I found
nothing out of place except for her car, which was parked on the wrong side of
the street, in front of the neighbor’s mailbox.
“My guess is probably better.” She dropped her keys on the
coffee table and headed for the hall, ignoring Tod when he called after her.
“He passed out, Sabine. You may as well let him sleep it
off.”
“So, what?” I said when she’d disappeared around the corner.
“They let Scott out—for no reason I can think of—and he heads straight for
Nash’s house?”
“Or for yours,” Tod said. “We don’t know where Nash saw
him.”
“Do you think he’s still possessed?”
“How much did he drink? He’s out cold,” Sabine said, rounding
the corner into the living room again to eyeball the half-empty bottle of
whiskey. “Who’s possessed?”
“It’s a long story.” I sank onto the couch next to Tod and
folded my legs beneath me.
Sabine shrugged. “It’s not like anyone here’s missing out on
sleep.” Maras only needed around four hours a night,
and Sabine had already gotten nearly that much before I called and woke her
up.
“Okay, but hold it down.” We were trying not to wake my father
up, and I couldn’t mute her voice—much to my own frustration. “There’s this guy
named Scott who used to go to our school—”
“Scott Carter?” Sabine interrupted. “The frost junkie?” When I
could only stare at her in surprise, she rolled her eyes. “Nash’s my best
friend, Kaylee. We talk.”
Good to know. I’d assumed they’d skipped straight to body
language.
“How much do you know?” Tod asked.
“Nash and two friends got hooked on frost—breath from Avari,
the hellion I met in the cafeteria.” The time she’d tried to sell me out so she
could have Nash to herself. “Doug died, Scott went insane, and because Nash
isn’t human, he got off with withdrawal and total abandonment from the one
person who should have been there for him, no matter what.”
“I didn’t… That’s not…” I gave up trying to explain that I
hadn’t abandoned Nash, and that frost wasn’t what
broke us up. “What matters now is that Scott’s out, and Nash says he saw him
tonight.”
“Okay, why are the two of you talking about a visit from an old
friend like that’s worse than Nash being passed out in her bed. Which we’re
going to discuss later, by the way.” Her dark-eyed glare narrowed on me. “You
could have at least given him a shirt, Kaylee.”
“Like you’re an expert on when it’s appropriate to wear a
shirt,” I snapped, thinking of the time she’d pulled hers off and jumped Nash,
with me in the next room, and Sabine bristled.
“This seems headed into girl-fight territory,” Tod said.
“Should I make popcorn?”
I elbowed him in the ribs and glared at the mara. “The point is that Scott shouldn’t be out of the
hospital. He wasn’t just a little unbalanced, Sabine. He suffered permanent
brain damage from the frost, and Avari sent him enough visual and auditory
hallucinations to make sure there was no doubt about his mental
instability.”
“So, how’d he get out?”
“We’re not sure,” I admitted. “But he was half packed when we
saw him tonight, so it looks like he was actually released.”
Sabine frowned. “You saw Scott tonight?”
“Sort of. We went to see if he’d ask Avari some questions for
us, but when we got there, he was possessed, so we wound up dealing with Avari
directly.”
“Well, then, it sounds like you’ve answered your own
question.”
Tod glanced at me in question. “Is it just me, or is she making
even less sense than usual?”
Sabine rolled her eyes again. “You knew he was possessed
because he wasn’t acting like himself, right?” she said, and we both nodded.
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