Two weeks later…
Within the circle of Jacob’s arms, Malini swayed to the ballad the DJ played from the corner of the gym. At times like this, with her head rested on his chest, it was easy to forget their house of cards could tumble at any moment. She expected Lucifer’s first temptation to come sooner rather than later. All of the Soulkeepers practiced daily, ready to defend against an onslaught. This waiting promised a more sinister enemy, silent, invisible, deadly. Perhaps already among them. She pressed her eyes closed. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t ruin homecoming worrying about the inevitable.
“What’s wrong?” Jacob asked. He kissed the top of her head. How did he know?
“Thinking about what I promised I wouldn’t think about.”
“Well, don’t think about it.”
“I’m trying but now you are talking about it, thereby making me think about it even more.”
Jacob pushed her to arm’s length and met her eyes. “Okay. Let’s talk about something else. How do you like the homecoming decorations?”
Malini raised her chin to take in the gossamer curtains, the flat wooden cutout of a horse-drawn carriage, and the stage-set balcony reused from the school’s earlier production of Romeo and Juliet. The theme was Wishes Do Come True, complete with a shooting star that sparkled from the ceiling. “I love them. Dane did an incredible job, as always. It’s too bad so many people missed it because of the bird flu.”
“Yeah, Katrina has it too. The symptoms are so bad she came home from college. I guess the entire student health service is overrun. She’s spent the week tossing her cookies, and I mean that figuratively because she can’t eat anything.”
Malini stopped dancing and looked Jacob in the eye. “Is she going to be all right?”
“I think so. Dr. Howard has some new drug to treat it, Elysium. Said she should be fine in a couple days.”
“Hey, I thought we weren’t going to talk about anything serious,” Malini teased.
“You brought it up.” Jacob pulled her back into his chest and started to sway. “So, the decorations. Technically, Samantha came up with the idea while she was acting as Dane, but Dane did most of the work. I wish he could enjoy it a bit more.”
“Maybe I should ask him to dance.” Malini glanced over at the round table where they’d had dinner. Dane, dateless again, was folding origami cranes out of a stack of cocktail napkins.
“Yeah. I need a break anyway.” Jacob threaded his fingers into hers and led her to the table. “Hey, Dane, uh, I’m beat. Do you want to take over for a while?” Jacob pointed a finger at Malini.
“Do you want to dance, Dane?” Malini asked.
Dane scowled. “You guys are sweet but unconvincing. I think I’ll pass on the pity dance, thank you.”
“Dane—”
“It’s cool, Mal. I’m fine right where I am.”
She sat down on the chair next to him, facing the dance floor. The music picked up, and the other attendees swarmed the floor, gyrating to the rhythm.
“I’m going to get something to drink. You guys want something?” Jacob offered.
Malini nodded. He left for the buffet table.
“You should have brought Ethan.” Even as Malini said the words, she understood the situation wasn’t as easy as that.
“I haven’t come out to my parents yet. The last thing I want is for them to find out from the neighbors.”
“How’s your dad doing, anyway?”
“Stable. They’ve started him on a new medication. Something experimental. He was able to move his hand a few days ago.”
“Excellent.”
“Yeah, another few months and he might be able to come home and completely ruin my life.”
Malini placed a hand on his. “Think positively, Dane. It’s possible this experience will change his priorities. How is the rest of the family?”
“Keeping up with the farm, thanks to Ethan and the most hired help we’ve ever used before.”
“Well, that’s something.”
He returned to folding the napkin in front of him. Malini smoothed the royal blue waist of her off-the-shoulder dress.
“How are you holding up?” Dane asked. The napkin he’d been folding, now in the shape of a crane, landed in her lap.
“Fairly paralyzed with guilt over losing Abigail. Three weeks. Can you imagine what he’s doing to her?”
Dane scowled. His normally warm composure turned icy and hard. “Yes. I know exactly what Lucifer is doing to her. And so do you. We’ve both been in her place, remember? But I also know Abigail, like you and I, wouldn’t want us to make a hasty but stupid decision to save her. She’d want us to be careful with ourselves, especially now when there’s no telling where or when Lucifer will strike.”
Malini sighed, then threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Thank you, Dane. You’re absolutely right. If our roles were reversed, I’d never want Abigail to compromise the Soulkeepers for me. She’d want us to do exactly what we’re doing.”
“Exactly. So stop the guilt trip,” Dane said into her cheek.
“What is going on here?” Jacob asked, setting the drinks on the table.
Malini plopped back into her chair and lifted a glass of the foamy punch. “You caught us. Our tawdry love affair is exposed.”
“As long as it’s tawdry. Nothing but the best for my girl.” Jacob leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips.
“Jacob Lau, I am going to pretend I didn’t see that.” Principal Bailey marched to their table and placed a hand on Dane’s shoulder. “Can I see you for a moment, Mr. Michaels?”
“Um, sure.” Dane followed the older man through the gym doors.
“What do you think that was about?” Jacob asked.
“A problem with the dance? Dane organized it, so he’s in charge. Someone probably flushed streamers down the toilet or something.”
Jacob took a seat next to Malini and crossed his feet at the ankles. She leaned against his shoulder and rested her head, watching her classmates party on the dance floor.
“It’s our last homecoming,” Malini said sadly.
“Of course it’s not,” Jacob insisted. “The whole point of homecoming is to welcome back alumni. We’ll be back.”
“But it won’t be the same.”
“The theme might be different.”
“We might be different.”
Less than a song later, Dane came back in. “He’s been crying,” Malini said, standing from her chair.
“I need to leave. Can you tell Erica West she’s in charge? The DJ has already been paid.”
“Of course, Dane. Are you all right? What happened?” Malini asked.
Dane searched her eyes, then looked at Jacob. “My dad … he died. He passed away tonight.”