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And then it was over. We stepped out into one of the cool, fluorescent-?lit hallways of the Center. I yanked my hand away from Reth's; his special brand of warmth had already spread through my arm and was creeping even farther.
“Not even a thanks?” he called after me as I stalked down the hall toward my unit. I didn't look back. Suddenly he was right next to me. “We haven't danced in so long. ” His melodic voice was low and intimate. He reached for my hand again and I jumped back, pulling out Tasey.
“Back off,” I hissed. “And if you come out without your glamour on again, I'll report you. ” His glamour wasn't much less good-?looking than his real face, but it was regulation for faeries.
“What is the use? I could never hide anything from your eyes. ” He moved closer.
I shoved down the feelings bursting through me. Not again. Not ever again. Luckily we were interrupted by a shrieking alarm. Something was loose. A hairy little gremlin, mouth open wide and acidic saliv
a dripping from sharp teeth, was booking it on all fours toward us.
I watched it as if in slow motion. The gremlin made straight for me, a rabid gleam in its eyes. It leaped into the air and I kicked out hard, sending it sailing down the hall, right into the arms of the containment worker chasing it. “Goal!” I shouted. Dang, I was good.
“Thanks,” the worker said, voice muffled through the mask.
“You betcha. ” Reth's hand had found the small of my back. I wanted to lean into him, let his arms wrap around me, let him take me away. . . . Then I remembered the time. “Oh, crap!” I ran down the hall past the worker and still-?snarling gremlin. After a couple of turns, I put my palm on my door pad, bouncing impatiently until the door slid open. Reth hadn't followed me. I was glad. Okay, maybe a little disappointed. And then mad at myself for being disappointed.
I dashed inside, grateful that my settings kept the unit at eighty-?five degrees, and flopped onto the purple couch. Turning on the flat-?screen TV that took up nearly the entire pink wall, I sighed in relief. My favorite high school drama, Easton Heights, was just starting. Tonight's episode promised to be spectacular--a masquerade ball in which tiny masks somehow hid identities enough for everyone to make out with the wrong person. Where did they come up with this stuff?
A POPULATION OF NIGHTMARES
The vid screen next to my couch buzzed again. It had been doing that off and on for the last thirty minutes. Finally, my show over, I hit the connect button. I was staring into a pair of green eyes, right in the middle of a green-?tinged face. The image wavered, like always, since Alisha was underwater.
“Why haven't you checked in yet?” a monotone voice asked. I always wondered what her real voice was like. All we got was the computer program translating what she said into something we could hear.
“Got done early--my show was on. ”
Her eyes crinkled up into a smile. It was good that she had expressive eyes, since her mouth barely moved. “How was it?”
“You wouldn't believe it. It was a costume party. First Landon? He totally made out with Katrina. Who's dating Brett, right? But then Brett thought he was with Katrina, but really it was Cheyenne, her sister, who knew that he thought she was Katrina and tricked him into kissing her, then took off her mask and he was, like, what on earth? And then Halleryn filmed Landon kissing that tramp Carys. ”
Alisha blinked her transparent eyelids slowly.
“Man, high school must be awesome. ” I found myself wishing I could be part of normal drama for once. Paranormal drama didn't have nearly as much kissing.
“You need to check in with Raquel,” Alisha prodded, her eyes still smiling.
“Fine, fine. ” I adored Lish. She was my best friend. Once you got past the weirdness of her robo-?voice, she had a great sense of humor for a paranormal. Of course, unlike most of them, she was grateful to be here. Her lagoon had become so polluted it was killing her. Now not only was she safe, but she had something to do. Apparently being a mermaid is dead dull. I watched The Little Mermaid with her once a few years ago--she thought it was freaking hilarious. She couldn't stop laughing about the shell-?bra thing, given that mermaids aren't mammals. Plus, as she put it, Prince Eric was far too hairy and “peach colored” for her taste. I always thought he was pretty hot, but then again, I am a mammal.
Leaving my unit, I walked down the cold, sterile halls to Raquel's office. We could have just done follow-?up over the vid screens, but she always wants to see me in person after a job to make sure I'm okay. I kind of liked that.
I knocked once and the door slid open. The room was white--white walls, white floor, white furniture. Can you say boring? Raquel was a nice contrast. Her eyes were so brown they were nearly black, and her dark hair, pulled into a severe bun, was streaked with just enough gray to be distinguished without looking old. I sat, and she looked up from a stack of papers on her desk.
“You're late. ” Her voice had a slight Spanish accent that I loved.
“Actually, I'm early. I said I'd need four hours; it only took me two. ”
“Yes, but you got back almost an hour ago. ”
“I figured I'd take a little personal time as a reward for a job well done. ”
Raquel sighed. She was a professional sigher--the woman conveyed more emotions with a single exhalation than most people do with their entire faces. “You know how important follow-?up is. ”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry. My show was on. ” One of her eyebrows rose ever so slightly. “You want a recap, too?” Most of the paranormals didn't care about my shows, but Raquel was human. She'd never admit it, but I was sure--sure--that she liked television dramas as much as I did.
“No. I want you to debrief. ”
“Fine. Walked through the cemetery. Froze my butt off. Saw the vampire. Vampire tried to attack me. Tased the vampire. Tagged the vampire. Read the vampire his rights. Sent the vampire along. His name was Steve, by the way. ”
