Page 94 of Heart of Mischief

“Hmm.” Elias waded into the water, his steps sending out little ripples splashing up against Charlie’s shins. “And how is she going to get onto the senior dock?”

“Just watch.”

Right on cue, Abigail arrived in front of the seniors who were blocking the entrance to the dock. She said something, then turned aside and pointed right at Elias.

“See?” Charlie laughed. “Now give them a thumbs-up.”

Elias did as he was told. Reluctantly, the senior boys stepped aside and let Abigail onto the dock.

Chuckling, Elias looked at Charlie. “Seriously? That’s all it takes?”

She shrugged. “The senior guys look up to you. They think you’re cool. They’d probably throw themselves on top of the bonfire if you told them to.”

He looked at her with wide, excited eyes. “Really?”

“Not that I’m advocating for that,” she said quickly. “In fact, I regret even putting the idea in your head.”

Elias grinned. “You should.” He squinted at the dock. “And why is our dear Abby apologizing to her homecoming date?”

“Because,” said Charlie, “she told Bex she was running out of the dance to change shoes, but ended up leaving with us. She was helping us find Lou, but she couldn’t exactly tell Bex that. Now Bex thinks that Abigail ditched her.”

“Ouch. Thatdoessound like it warrants an apology.”

“No kidding.”

“Moving on to more important matters.” Water sloshed against Charlie’s legs as Elias turned to face her. “There’s something of dire consequence we need to discuss.”

“What?” She looked up at him, and when she did, she found none of what she normally saw there: sarcasm, cockiness, playfulness, dismissal. Instead, he looked oddly serious.

Panic washed over her.Oh gods, she thought.This must be about Rattatosk.

“What happened?” Her voice was low as she glanced around the Gut. “Is he here? Do we need to get everyone out?”

“No, no,” Elias said, touching her arm lightly. “You’re safe here. This has nothing to do with Rattatosk.”

You’re safe here.

There it was again. That word.

Safe.

“If it’s not about Rattatosk,” she whispered, “what is it?”

“It’s an even bigger problem,” he said, voice deadly quiet. Moonlight illuminated the left side of his face, amplifying the pale white of his skin and casting shadows from his long eyelashes. With one hand, he reached behind his back and produced an unopened can of beer. “You are disturbingly sober for what was billed to me as the best party of the year.”

Charlie let out a bewildered laugh.

And here it came: that feeling of safety. The sense that she could let go. Could finally relax, after four weeks of clenching her fists so tightly they ought to be broken.

She took the beer from Elias.

“You know what?” she said, cracking it open with a grin. “Why not?”

33

“Esteemed upperclassmen of SilverShoresHigh,” yelled a shirtless Mason from on top of a plastic table that looked ready to collapse. His hair was ruffled, his cheeks ruddy. A half-crumpled beer can was clutched at his side. “Your attention, please.”

A round of shushes swept the crowd, along with a few calls of “Boooo” and “What’s your mom’s number?” and “Take your pants off,” the latter of which Charlie was fairly certain came from Lou. It was hard to tell, as Charlie was standing in a small circle of people up by the tree line and couldn’t actually see where Lou was. She assumed it was somewhere near the beer pong table.