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Standing, he stretched. Did I mention how weird it was watching my body do this stuff? He even had the hair right--a little messy this morning, since I hadn't bothered to brush it yet.
“Can you please go back to normal?” I wanted to look at him more now that I could see him better.
He smiled, flashing my perfect teeth at me. I had to go through three years of braces for that smile; no fair that he could copy it in a second. “Normal? What's that?”
“How you really look. ”
“Can you take off all your clothes?”
Okay, weirdest thing ever--I just asked myself to take off all my clothes. It doesn't get much creepier. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“You asked me to be naked; I thought it was only fair. ”
“I just meant stop wearing me. Be yourself. But yourself with clothes. ”
“These are my clothes. But, if it bothers you. ” I melted off him and he grew a few inches. In my place was a teenage guy. Black hair, dark brown eyes, olive skin, and, oh yeah, absolutely gorgeous. Like, belonged on one of the shows I loved so much gorgeous. “Better?” His voice had changed, deepened, and I wished I was talking with an actual teenage guy.
“Definitely. ” I looked closer. Still Lend under there. Even the dark eyes didn't hide his water-?colored ones; I could see him shimmering through.
“This seems to be a popular one. ”
“Yeah, I can imagine. ” Then I frowned, curious. “What does your real voice sound like?”
“What makes you think this isn't it?”
“I think it would sound different. Softer. Like water. ” I realized how stupid that sounded, but his smile dropped off and he gave me a considering look.
“If you didn't come here to kill me, why are you here, Evie?”
Awkward. Here I was, no makeup, ratty hair, in front of the hottest teenage guy I'd ever seen, fake or not. Why was I here? “It's my job. ”
His smile returned, this time with the usual ironic twist to his lips. “Oh. Your job. Quite the career for someone your age. ”
“You're not much older than me. ” Now that I'd seen him better, I was sure of it. Corrupted mortals like vampires show their real bodies' ages--old and nasty--underneath. True immortals, like faeries, have eternal youth, but there's something different in their faces. All those years don't add lines; they smooth, like a piece of glass turned around forever on the ocean floor. No mortal has that polish. His face was neither old nor ageless.
The shift in his expression confirmed it. “Ha!” I smiled smugly. “I'm guessing. . . fifteen. ” I went low on purpose.
He looked indignant. “Seventeen. ”
“See? You told the truth. That wasn't so bad, now, was it?”
Lend shook his head, then sighed. “Trouble. ”
“You bet I'm trouble,” I countered with a smile. Sure, maybe I was flirting, a little. Could you blame me? The only guys I ever met were too old, half monsters, living corpses, or immortal creeps. At least Lend was close to my age, whatever else he was.
“No, you're in trouble. ” He looked and I followed his eyes right to Raquel, who was not happy. At all. She finished crossing the hall and fixed a steely glare on me.
I was about to apologize, but then I rolled my eyes. “What are you going to do, ground me?” Maybe I shouldn't have been so flip about it, but really. After the night I had, the last thing I wanted was a lecture.
“Out. Now. ”
I walked past her, turning my head to glance back at Lend. He winked at me and I couldn't help but smile.
Instead of going to my room, I made my way to Central Processing. It was still early but that's another great thing about Lish: she doesn't sleep. I loved Central Processing. Unlike the rest of the Center, it didn't look sterile. The entire room was a circle, with desks placed against the wall and everything based around Lish's gorgeous aquarium. About fifty feet in diameter, it was fifteen feet high and a perfect circle. They even managed to transplant a living coral reef, complete with tropical fish in the crystal blue water. Way better than my unit.
Lish was staring at the series of screens that lined the front of the tank. She was like the ultimate personal assistant. No sick days, no vacations, no sleep, and she wanted to be there. A lot of the paranormals couldn't be trusted with too much. Even though they're neutered, most of them harbor a bit of resentment toward IPCA because of the loss of freedom. But Lish loved her job. She was in charge of scheduling, monitoring, transports, you name it. Girl knew everything.
Apparently not today, though. Her green eyes widened with interest when I walked up to the tank. I smiled. “What's up, Lish?”
