Thomas looked over from where he stood. Met my eye. Nodded.
I nodded back.
'Nuff said.
The next night, after a full day of rest and relaxation, I pulled on my best clothes and regarded my short blonde hair in the mirror. I looked pretty badass, I had to admit, even if the coloring looked a bit fake. Oh well, it'd grow out. I stepped into the hallway and walked to the bottom of the stairs. It felt very strange to be staying in the same house as Elyssa's parents.
Elyssa stood at the bottom of the stairs looking stunning in a short, purple dress and high heels threatening to make her taller than me. When I came closer, I realized how perfectly the dress complimented her gorgeous eyes. She even wore makeup that wasn't Goth, enhancing every facet of her face. I felt my mouth hanging open and clamped it shut before drool happened.
"You are so beautiful," I said, taking her hands in mine. I opened my mouth to say more, but couldn't think of a strong enough word to express how I felt at that moment. I loved her so much it hurt.
"Have her home at ten," said a stern voice from behind.
I spun to see Thomas Borathen, cold blue eyes staring at me, and gulped.
"I'm sure ten-thirty would be fine," Leia said, coming up behind him and leaning on his shoulder. "After all, they were out way past midnight last night."
Elyssa rolled her eyes. "Mom, Dad, seriously? Are you trying to give him a heart attack?"
Thomas let out a booming laugh.
Everyone else went wide-eyed with shock.
Elyssa actually looked like she might run for the hills. "Mom, someone's kidnapped Commander Borathen and replaced him with an alien!"
Thomas abruptly stopped laughing. "Eleven o'clock." He pursed his lips. Narrowed his eyes. "Have fun, kids."
Elyssa and I left, chuckling as we made for one of the black Templar SUVs. I drove to the Grotto and led her to Ancient Chinese Secret, one of the nice restaurants I'd seen the last time we'd been there. Supposedly, they had fresh ingredients delivered via the Obsidian Arch every day, and the ratings I'd read on the Howl app on my smartphone indicated it was a cool joint.
"I cannot believe my dad laughed," Elyssa said for at least the third time as she used chopsticks to shovel lo mein into her mouth. "He probably hasn't done it for at least two centuries." She took a sip of oolong tea and gave me a look. "You have this very mind-bending effect on people. It's like you change them just from being in the vicinity."
"Incubus pheromones," I said, winking. "Not even the men can resist."
She threw a noodle at me. "You'd better not be using those pheromones on anyone but me, Mister."
I laughed. Bit into an eggroll. "This place is really good," I said. "I've eaten a lot of Chinese food, but this place is tops."
Elyssa's eyes turned serious. "My dad said he's sending all the vampires you turned back into noms to the same kind of rehab they usually reserve for noms who accidentally find out about the Overworld. Some of them were suicidal when they found out they were noms again."
"I feel kind of bad about it," I said. "Although, the world is probably better off without a bunch of juvenile vampires gallivanting around without strict guidance. I wonder how many ended up like Ash and Nyte."
"Dad said they rounded up at least twenty, but he's certain there are a lot more. He doesn't even know what to do with them. It's like a whole new class of super.""Well, they don't need blood, and they don't need to seduce women for food." I shrugged. "Maybe he could train them as Templars?"
"That's one idea. He doesn't want to just cut them loose without guarantees they won't abide by Overworld law." She sighed. "It's a huge mess. I don't even want to think about the ones who weren't in range of the spell."
"Not to mention anyone else Maximus turned that we don't know about."
"With him in prison, there are plenty of vampiric orphans out there. Most of them probably don't know a thing about Overworld law or the Red Syndicate." Elyssa shrugged. "Guess we'll have to deal with them as things happen."
"Any idea how many we're talking about?"
She shook her head. "The Arcanes are digging through Maximus's records for clues. Dash Armstrong put wards on his files, though, so breaking into them will take time."
After dinner, we headed to Arcanus Apparatus, a popular night club. Music boomed from inside, and I was thankful I'd instinctually figured out how to lower the sensitivity of my super hearing so I didn't get a migraine. When we stepped through the vestibule, I gasped at the sight of the dance floor. People our age were boogying in what looked like a magic forest, while unicorns and little glowing fairies zipped through the air, touching magic wands to some couples, causing them to float off the floor with hoots of enjoyment. I saw werewolves and vampires bumping and grinding, and even a couple of supernatural types I didn't recognize.
"Fairies are real!" I said. "And unicorns, oh my god, I want one!"
Elyssa laughed. "This is all illusion, silly." She put her hand up in front of a fairy, but it went right through like a ghost. "And I've already found my unicorn." She gave me a naughty wink before pulling me close for a kiss.
We danced for hours, enjoying the freedom to let go and just be kids again. Somehow, I managed to forget about everything, at least for a little while. When the lights came on and the illusions shut down to reveal a large white room, everyone groaned. I checked the time and almost had a heart attack when I noticed it was almost two in the morning.
A cold ache had settled into my leg, but I did the best to ignore the cancerous curse in my body. For now, it seemed to have stopped spreading, or at least slowed its march through my system. I wondered if my dual nature might afford me some protection from the inevitable, or if I was doomed to watch, helpless, as it consumed me.
Elyssa seemed to catch my change in mood, and her violet eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?"
I smiled. There was still plenty to be happy about. Plenty to look forward to. "Yep. Just wondering if your dad was serious about that curfew."
She laughed.
"'Scuse me, Your Highness," said a very familiar voice as the crowd squeezed through the doors outside. A hand pressed into my pocket. I tried to grab the hand, but it slipped away like greased putty.
As we stood in the darkness outside, our breaths steaming in the cold night, I looked at what the hand had left. It was a piece of paper. I opened it.
Bigdaddy found out what you did to my spell, bro-bro. Not nice at all. I know you can't help being evil. That means, I gotta stop you. >:(
*smoochies* -Ivy
Elyssa scowled as she looked at the note. "Well, I guess you'd better start training."
I balled up the note and tossed it into one of the magical trash cans nearby, which incinerated it the moment it landed inside. Grabbed Elyssa's hand and twirled her around as we waited on the next trolley to take us to the parking deck. "My twisted little sister can wait her turn," I said, and pulled her in for a kiss. "For now, I plan on making this a night to remember."
She bit her lower lip. Leaned into my ear and whispered a suggestion that almost caught my pants on fire.
True, my sister and evil grandparents were out there plotting with an insane angel. My dad was about to marry his demon princess. And my mom might be an angel. Stranger things had happened. Or maybe they hadn't. I didn't care.
Because the night was still young, I had my beautiful girlfriend, and saving the world could wait another day.