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“So you really don’t mind Adam tagging along with us?”
Gwen laughed charmingly at my question. “I like kids,” she assured me. “It’s not a chore to be around your little brother.”
I looked at her now, her auburn hair streaming in the dull winter sunlight, as she held onto Adam’s hand. She was perfect, I decided. She was pretty, smart, and kind-hearted. Everything that would fit into my life perfectly.
“Well, still,” I remarked, “There was the matter of his daycare. That place is just scary. Makes me wonder how I survived.” I shivered to give the proper effect.
Gwen laughed again. “Nice to know daycares are terrifying to you, Hammy.”
“I am more terrified at the thought of you not wanting to go out with me today when I’m stuck with my brother.”
The sincerity in my voice seemed to affect her quite nicely. She might have even blushed a bit, but I pretended I didn’t notice as I turned to go through Shoreside Park. It was the quickest way to get to Rachel’s.
Yes, it was a perfect Tuesday. Nothing, not even arguing with Raiya during history, or my friends constantly calling me “Humdinger,” could break me. Gwen had a magical appeal to my day, and getting to talk about our date with my friends and social media only seemed to make it more exciting.
“Adam, come back here!” I called out as my brother suddenly sped off. There’s a possibility of ice, and if Adam wasn’t careful—
“Waaahh!”
I smacked my hand to my forehead. Adam never listened. One of the reasons I didn’t really like being responsible for him.
Gwen and I hurried over, picked Adam up, and began dusting him off while Adam cried his eyes out. His wailing drew the attention of all the people nearby, and of course I probably looked like some creepy teenager to everyone watching, or some incompetent type of parent. I sighed, brushing some more snow out of Adam’s hair.
Adam inherited a lot more from Mark than I did. He’s got the black hair and brown eyes, and even the facial structure of Mark’s side of the family. I suppose I picked up more of Cheryl’s side, because of my brown hair, but I had blue eyes and a distinctively straight nose which seemed to have popped up out of nowhere. There was also an age difference of thirteen plus years between Adam and me.
“Come on, come on, don’t cry, there’s no hole in your jeans,” I tried to reassure my brother. “Shush, would you? It’s okay now.”
It took him a few moments, but he eventually tore his hand away from mine and bustled off again, heading towards the play area. Finally, I thought. Gwen and I could actually talk.
“So, uh, I wonder when the snow’s going to melt?” I asked, gesturing to the high piles of packed snow lining the ends of the streets.
“Probably not till March or April,” Gwen replied. “But it’s been a mild year for the weather.”
Conversation steadily grew harder. But we settled into silence, and for a few moments, we just enjoyed it. I was just thinking about mentioning something else when my chance was stolen.
“Gwen?”
Ugh. I gritted my perfect teeth together angrily enough to make every dental hygienist in a two-block radius cringe. Of course Tim Ryder had to show up to ruin my day.
Gwen and I turned simultaneously to see my favorite spaz boy. Of all the nerve. Who did he think he was? He was Tim, the equivalent of a jester in the court of my own little kingdom. The poster child for future busboys, present acne problems, and past mistakes ... that was who he was, and who he would always be.
I put on my fake smile, which only became real when I remembered I was on a date with Gwen. “Hi, Tim,” I greeted. It’s better to take the initiative with things like this. It would make it easier for me to dismiss him when I got tired of him in about a minute or less.
“Oh, hi, Dinger.” He smiled, and then turned to Gwen. “I, uh ... wanted to ask you if you had the notes from Spanish last week ... when I was out sick.”
“Oh. Uh, I think I left them in my locker, actually,” Gwen said.
It was so much fun to watch them work at their awkward conversation. When Gwen and Tim finally decided a few broken sentences later to meet at her locker in the morning, I decided it was time for me to step in.
“Well, nice seeing you Tim, but Gwen and I are headed to Rachel’s for our date. I’d promised I’d meet up with some of the guys while we’re there.”
He took the hint, noticeably. Thank goodness Gwen was just staring at the ground, or I think she would have been upset to see the wounded look in Tim’s gaze.
“Sure. Uh ... yeah, well, have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow, Gwen. Bye.”
And then Tim waved hesitantly, and hurried off. Not quickly enough for my liking, of course, but still quickly enough when he tripped a few yards away, he landed on his knees. I pretended not to watch as a sense of supreme satisfaction washed over me.
“What are you meeting up with the guys for?” Gwen asked, drawing my attention back to her.
“Oh, Drew, Simon, and Jason just need some help with the biology homework from Elm’s class,” I said, smiling in a reassuring way. “Poncey might show up too. But don’t worry. It’s more of a matter of exchanging papers than anything else.” Was it my fault if I would also get to flaunt Gwen there in front of my friends?
“Oh. Uh, okay.” She then frowned.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Adam’s run off again,” Gwen replied in a worried tone. She scanned across the playground and into the woods nearby. “I didn’t even hear him run off.”
“Great, just great,” I muttered. “Well, he is notoriously quiet for a three-year-old,” I surmised, starting to get slightly terrified myself (This was enough to make me not want to have children.) “I’ll look over here in the woods. Can you check the playground?”
“Sure,” Gwen nodded, and hurried off towards the larger gathering of screaming children.
I watched her go long enough to appreciate just once more how pretty she was, rushing through the snowy background, and how grateful I was she was there to help.
“Well, are you going to go look for your brother or not?”
I jerked at the sound of the voice coming from directly behind me. “Elysian! What are you doing here?” I growled, pulling the small form of my changeling dragon out of my hoodie. “Never mind. I can hazard a guess. Hey, help me find my brother, would you? He ran away again.”
Elysian groaned. “If you had been paying attention, you wouldn’t have lost him!”
“Just stop talking, would you? You’re giving me a headache.”
“I’m giving you the headache? You’ve got to be the most thick-skulled, hard-hearted person I’ve ever met! And I’ve been in existence much longer than you!”
“Just hush up and help me find my brother,” I spat angrily. “We’ve got to find Adam before something happens to him.”
Or more importantly, me. Cheryl and Mark would kill me if Adam gets hurt or taken or ...
“I’ll look from above,” Elysian told me, half-reluctant, as he jumped into the air. Seconds later, a huge dragon emerged from the quiet of the wooded area of the park. Several children were heard screaming as I ran down the park walkway, calling for my brother.
Several moments go by, at once both fast and slow. Quickly approaching my death. Slowly drawing out my torture. I was about to give up and call the police when I saw a little shadow tottering into the woods.
“Adam!” I called.
“Did you see him?” Elysian asked, flying overhead.
“I think he just went into that woody area. Go around to the other side and see if he comes out. I’ll go in after him.”
Elysian didn’t question me (for once) and flew off. I hurried through the snow and icy patches toward the trees.
I caught sight of my brother’s jacket and exhaled, slowly, abnormally. He’s not too far from me; thankfully, he’s not running anymore. I had almost rejoiced when a sliver of pain leaked out of my marked wrist again.
My feet stopped. My heart raced. Could we be in danger? I looked at the mark on my wrist, peeking out from underneath my hoodie. It’s glowing again.
Oh crap. What if Adam got his soul sucked out? Cheryl would kill me for sure!
That had to be it, too, because I suddenly see him, and he’s just standing there, his gaze transfixed. I inched closer, trying not to make a lot of noise. Maybe I could interfere enough without transforming and still get Adam’s soul back.
I was three thick trees away when I stopped.
Adam wasn’t getting his soul sucked out of him. He was staring at a girl.
A girl, sitting on a blanket on a rock. She had a light jacket on, and her plain, brown hair was pulled back behind a winter headband. Her nose was red, and her eyes were focused on the canvas in front of her.
I could hear Adam whisper. “Pretty,” he murmured. I was surprised; he almost never talked outside of the house. It was for this reason I curiously stood to watch him.
Cheryl believed Adam was autistic. She was thinking of getting him into see a few specialists before, as he was three and he didn’t really seem to communicate well with a lot of people. I didn’t really pay attention, but it was true there were only a few people Adam really warmed up to, and he was usually shy unless he’d known them a long time.
I watched as he leapt out from behind his bush. “Roar!” he called out.
“I heard you coming,” the girl said; I could hear the smile in her voice, even as it was muffled. “Sorry to ruin your surprise.”
Adam walked up closer. “Pretty,” he said, pointing to her.
“I thought you looked familiar,” the girl said. “You’re that same little boy wandering around the woods last fall. I found you and took you to Gwen Kessler. What are you doing here?”
What? I remembered that day as though it was yesterday. It was the day I accepted my duty as Wingdinger, although the name hadn’t yet been given to me. I’d lost Adam while I’d been arguing with Gwen and Tim, and then an eela, a shadow demon, had shown up, distracting me. It hadn’t been until later Adam had been found ... by a girl. Who’d turned him over to Gwen.
A girl who’d looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t place her at the time.
Now I watched as she climbed down from her seat, and knelt at eye level with Adam. He pointed at her, touching her nose lightly. “Angel,” he said.
“You can call me Raiya,” she told him, taking his hand, and I nearly choked.
“Raiya?”
She turned and saw me staring at her. “Oh. It’s you. What do you want now?”
“That’s my brother.”
Raiya stood up and brushed the snow off her knees, still holding onto Adam’s hand. “He’s your brother?” she asked. Her eyes widened in what looked like surprise. Or maybe shock. “You’re Cheryl Dinger’s son?”
Huh? That was a bit weird. “How do you know my mother?” I asked.
Raiya immediately bristled. “Who doesn’t know your mother?”
“Hammonton!” Adam called, waving.
“Hey, Adam,” I waved back. “You want to go get something to eat? You must be tired after running away from me and Gwen.”
Adam giggled.
“Mischievous little fellow, are you?” Raiya smiled down at him, who looked up at her with an expression of wonder and reverence. “Well, it was nice meeting you. But time to say good-bye, Adam.”
He let go of her hand quietly, and then stomped over to me, as if it was some kind of chore.
I rolled my eyes on the side. Of course my brother had a crush on the girl who was the biggest pain in my life, I thought bitterly to myself. I cleared my throat. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Raiya replied. She brushed back her bangs and sat back down on her blanket. There was a glint in her dark eyes as she added, “Humdinger.”
I said nothing to that. As I made my way back to the play area with Adam in tow, I tried not to curse at my bad luck (I had to clean myself up around Adam—Cheryl would’ve tanned my hide for teaching Adam any words more offensive than ‘butt’.)
“What’s wrong?” Elysian asked as he transformed and jumped back into my jacket hood. “Is Adam hurt?”
“No ... I just ... We’re fine. Let’s not worry right now,” I muttered. I didn’t want to think about Raiya anymore. I didn’t like her. And I really didn’t like the idea of Adam liking her (Was there really any doubt about that?) “Let’s get something to eat, Adam. And none of this Russian meat diet junk Cheryl’s been making us eat.”
Cheryl’s latest and greatest inspiration for a diet had been included only sugar-free smoothies and tons of freshly slaughtered organic meat. Her new chef, Helga, was very scary. Like KGB scary. Needless to say I didn’t find it an appealing diet.
“So, where are we going?” Elysian asked, clearly too interested for his presence to seem like a coincidence to me any longer.
“What does it matter to you? You don’t need food to survive,” I reminded him.
“I know.” Elysian leered back at me. “However, I do like to occasionally snack on some human treats ... things like cookies, cakes, those muffin things, and some pudding—”
“You’re pathetic,” I cut in. “Come on, we need to go get Gwen. She’ll probably be wondering where we are by now.”
☼8☼