Submerging, Page 3

  “I like the strawberry best,” Gwen offered. “Especially with the chocolate icing.”

  “Sounds good,” I agreed. “But since there are—how many people coming now, Mike?”

  “About fifty,” he said, wiping some peanut butter icing off his face.

  “Well, since there are a bunch of people coming, maybe we should do something a bit safer? Something more agreeable?”

  “So you think the chocolate?” Gwen asked.

  “I think everyone would probably prefer the chocolate. I would like the strawberry,” I said with an apologetic sigh. “But with so many people coming, I wouldn’t want to have them disappointed.”

  “But it’s your birthday,” Gwen argued. “If you really want it, get it.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure no one will really mind,” Mikey offered. “After all, all of these taste great.”

  “Still . . . I don’t know. It doesn’t seem fair. I mean, they’re bringing me all the presents and everything.”

  “Why don’t you just tell them your favorite is the chocolate one?” a new voice asked from behind me.

  I groaned under my breath. I didn’t even have to turn around to know Raiya had made her appearance. I steeled myself before facing her. “What makes you think I like the chocolate one best?”

  I didn’t exactly know what it was about Raiya that made me dislike her. She was slightly shorter than me and seemed a bit scrawny for sixteen or seventeen. I didn’t think she was particularly attractive. She seemed rather plain.

  I was willing to bet I didn’t like her because she disagreed with me on a lot of points, and she was good at making a case for her claims, too. Maybe she reminded me too much of my mother.

  She arched an eyebrow at me from behind the curtain of her long bangs. “You order mocha practically every time you come in here, and you’ve had two samples of the chocolate, but only one of the others. It seems logical you’d like the chocolate cake with the mocha icing best.”

  “That’s mocha-flavored?” Mikey asked. “I thought it was a weird sort of milk chocolate.”

  “The crumble on top is made from espresso beans,” Raiya told him, as he looked on the cake with renewed interest.

  “I happen to agree with Gwen,” I muttered defiantly. “I like the cherry best.”

  “Strawberry,” Gwen muttered.

  “Strawberry,” I corrected.

  “If you really did,” Raiya said with a saccharine smile, “then you wouldn’t mind inconveniencing the people at your party with it.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked darkly.

  “It means you usually do what you want, regardless of what other people think.”

  “I don’t always do what I want,” I argued back.

  “Oh, you mean like losing to me in gym class the other day?” Raiya gave me another syrupy smile; I swore I was going to get Diabetes talking to her.

  “Wait, what happened?” Mikey started laughing as he saw my face. “I gotta hear this.”

  Gwen spoke up. “We had an archery contest for gym class, since we’re starting on track this week. Raiya ended up beating his score.”

  “By two points,” I stressed.

  It was a make-up exam for me, since the previous week I had to cut out of class due to “illness” (another supernatural attack). Coming out of the locker room, I’d been all too pleased to see my favorite Raiya sunshine heading to join us, knowing I could easily beat her. After all, from all the time I spent watching Starry Knight with her bow and arrow, I’d learned a few tricks and I had easily risen to the top of my own gym class.

  As Gwen was repeating the story to Mikey and Raiya was filling in some comments here and there, I felt my humiliation fume.

  Finally, I couldn’t take anymore. “I only lost because I was too shocked to see you wearing something other than your old, ugly Rosemont school uniform,” I huffed indignantly. “That alone would’ve given anyone a heart attack.”

  Raiya, Gwen, and even Mikey all quieted immediately. I knew at that moment I probably didn’t say quite the right thing.

  Rachel came back at just the right moment. “So, Hamilton, what’s the verdict?”

  “I’ll have a strawberry cake,” I said, glaring at Raiya, who made me even angrier by just standing there, looking amused. “With the chocolate icing.”

  Raiya shrugged and moved away, while Rachel smiled. “Great!” she exclaimed. “I’ll put it in. Jason’s coming in soon, and I’ll see if he wants to help me make it.”

  “Okay,” I said, the steely smile briefly resurrecting itself as Rachel skipped off to the kitchen, her golden eyes gleaming. I sat down again and grabbed another ginger cookie. “Well, that’s taken care of.”

  “You know, if you want, we can ask Rachel to make two cakes,” Gwen offered. “If you really liked the chocolate cake.”

  “No, no, it’s cool, Gwen.” I put my arm around her and shifted closer to her. “I liked the strawberry best. Really.”

  Gwen stiffened underneath my touch, and I pulled back under the guise of checking my phone. Mikey also looked at his phone as the moment passed in awkward silence, before glancing at me from over his phone.

  I decided to bribe them out of their mood. “So, uh, what do you guys want? My treat, since you’ve been planning my party.”

  “If you’re treating them, I want in on it, too.” Jason Harbor, another one of my best friends, came up to our table and sat down in Rachel’s empty chair.

  “I’m already doing you a favor.” I snorted. “You’re helping Rachel with her baking.”

  “You can tell she’s excited about the opportunity to expand her business, can’t you?” Jason smiled. “She’s been thinking about getting into the higher end of catering for a long time now. Remember my party last year, the one that ended with the meteorite smashing through the city? That was the one that gave her the idea for it. Your birthday’s going to be a trial run.”

  He turned to look at Rachel as she came out of the kitchen with another full tray, this time for some other table. She grinned and waved his way, and Jason, who had a tragic crush on her, helplessly grinned back.

  “Still waiting for her to dump Lee, I see,” Gwen said. “Even though the wedding’s this summer.”

  “Yep, he sure is,” I agreed.

  “He really should just let it go,” Mikey murmured. “It’s getting creepy.”

  “Says the person in love with a superhero,” I countered smoothly. “I guess it takes a hopeless guy to know one.”

  Mikey frowned, while Gwen laughed. “Are you really still mooning over Starry Knight?” she asked.

  “Shut up,” he muttered. “Dinger, I’ll take the dinner special, if you’re buying.”

  Classic Mikey, I thought. He’s learned well from me. Change the subject if uncomfortable. “Sure. How about you, Gwen? What can I get for you?”

  A spark of pain flared around the mark on my wrist, sending through me a sensation of mixed irritation and, to my surprise, a bit of relief. While it was pinching and painful at times, it was the warning I received when the Sinisters and their minions were causing trouble. The supernatural enemy was at work, and it was time for Wingdinger to step up.

  “I filled up on cake, but I’ll take a drink,” Gwen said, interrupting my train of pain.

  “Ugh . . . sure, no problem. Let me, uh, go talk to Rachel.”

  Jason spoke up. “I can put the orders in for you. You don’t have to worry Rachel about it.”

  “Oh. Cool. Thanks, man.” Ugh. How am I going to get out of here now?

  “I’ll go get it started,” Jason remarked, as he stood up and headed toward the kitchen.

  “Great. Sounds great.” The spark surged into a flare. I gritted my teeth together in slight discomfort. The mark on my wrist, a blood-red diamond star, was tingling in response to something wicked.

  I waited until Jason was gone before I said anything else. Gwen wasn’t really talking, and I was pretty sure the discussion of Mikey’s crush
ed aspirations for a relationship with Starry Knight had silenced him for a bit. I glanced down at my phone. Maybe pretend there was an emergency? That Cheryl needed me? Or maybe the mayor’s office? Or my brother had an accident? Which excuses hadn’t I used recently?

  Somewhere inside my mind, I was disappointed with myself. I couldn’t think of anything remotely likely in a moment of pressure.

  Mikey met my gaze again, and I glanced down at my phone, trying to signal him to text me. When he just looked at me with a confused, quizzical look on his face, I sighed. It’s not like I asked him a math question. “I have to go,” I mouthed silently to him.

  Thankfully, Mikey caught on. “Oh, shoot!” he said. “Ugh, Gwen, can you excuse me and Dinger for a moment? We have to talk to Jason about our next game night. It’s his turn to host again, and we forgot to tell him.”

  “Okay,” Gwen agreed, shifting in her seat so I could get out. “Are you allowed back in Rachel’s kitchen?” she asked, as we headed over.

  “Yes, totally,” Mikey assured her.

  I don’t think Gwen bought that; I certainly didn’t. We scurried around back too quickly for it to be convincing. I peeked around to see the kitchen was empty for the moment.

  “Thanks, Mikey,” I said. “I appreciate it. I’ll slip out the back. Just wait here, and tell Gwen Jason needed my help with something from Mrs. Smithe’s class. Martha’s class is hard, she’ll buy that.”

  “No, I want to come with you,” Mikey insisted. “I need more info for my blog.”

  “Come on, please? Just stay here and keep her distracted. Tell her about stuff. Tell her about how your dad’s back in town and you don’t want to see him.”

  “Really, Dinger?” Mikey scowled. “That’s what I should talk to her about?”

  “Sorry,” I muttered, instantly recognizing I’d overstepped a line. “I’m sorry.”

  Another change, I noticed. I was more apt to apologize, since I’d accepted my calling.

  But I didn’t have the time to wonder at it; I had to get Mikey to help me out here. And talking about his dad was just brilliant. It was exactly the kind of thing Gwen would get wrapped up in and barely even notice I was gone. “Come on, I don’t want to have to apologize to Gwen for cutting out early again. Do you know how many times I’ve had to do it in recent weeks?”

  “Yeah. You usually ask me to watch her for you while you go off and fight the bad guys, remember?”

  “Then you should know how much I hate doing that.”

  “Actually,” Mikey said, “I think you kind of like it.”

  “What?” I groaned. “Ugh, never mind. I don’t have time for this argument now. Please, just distract her. I’ll be back as soon as this demon is taken care of.”

  “Yeah, well, then you really owe me now.”

  “Okay. Give me your phone. I’ll take pictures and a video while I’m gone. Whatever you want for your blog. Here, you take my phone. I’ll text you when I’m coming back.”

  “Fine.” Mikey handed me his phone. “See if Starry Knight will take a picture with you.”

  “Ugh, really? Come on, you know I don’t like her.” Mikey’s hardened look said it all. “Okay, fine. But we’re even after this. And if she says no, there’s nothing I can do about that.”

  “Fine. Now go before Jason and Rachel get back,” Mikey hissed.

  I gave him a grateful smile and skipped out the back door. Taking a quick assessment of my surroundings, I headed through the back alleyways, pressing into the mark on my wrist as it continued to echo a cautioned pain throughout me. Power blazed out from the mark, wrapping me up in a flame of power, as my ordinary high school student identity burned away, and only my fallen star self, Wingdinger, was left behind.

  Reaching out into the air, I summoned up my sword; it appeared at my will, like fire and light coming out of nothing, and my fingers gripped it with a certainty in full accordance with my heart. I was tempted to take a moment, to sit back and marvel once more at the workmanship of the Sealing Sword, my own weapon, given to me to wield. There was nothing in the world like knowing power, and having the chance to change your life.

  “Time to get to work,” I said with a grin.

  As much as I didn’t want to admit it to Mikey, there was a certain excitement to getting to save the world. I didn’t see the point in telling him. He would just be jealous, and after the last time I had to worry about that, I didn’t want to make him jealous in the least. I didn’t really like leaving Gwen behind either, but she seemed to be okay with it. Honestly, I dreaded the day when she wouldn’t believe my excuses anymore. But I could count on Mike to keep her busy during my absence. That’s what friends were for, right?

  The burning twinge in my arm began to glow, and as I pushed a wayward feather from my renowned wingdings out of my face, I caught sight of a growing aura just a few blocks away. I grinned; I’d found the battlefield. I couldn’t tell what sort of demon monster it was just yet, but I was close enough to know it wouldn’t be a terribly long battle. There was something about the power that seemed to be subdued already.

  Hopefully, I thought, that means Elysian is already there, taking care of it. That was part of his job, whether he did it or not.

  Starry Knight could be there, too.

  I faltered only slightly at the thought, and more because I didn’t want to look bad in front of her than anything else. If there was someone I would die trying to impress, it was Starry Knight.

  ☼3☼

  More Work

  An odd mix of confusion and disappointment surged through me as I came upon the center of the wicked aura. “Huh?” The confusion became more pronounced as I looked around.

  Starry Knight wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Elysian hadn’t arrived yet, either. There was no sign of some demonic spirit or shadow monster wailing around.

  I was starting to wonder if something had gone wrong when a cry thundered out from behind me.

  “Stop! Please stop,” a man was calling out as he ran in my direction. “I already gave you my wallet, and I told you I don’t have anything else for you.”

  Okay, I thought. “Here we go.” Stress crept up through my body, and my fingers gripped ever more tightly around the hilt of my sword.

  Before I could say anything, another man came running out. I was taken aback; the man looked normal, but there was a toxic shadow clinging to his body.

  “I still need your Soulfire.” The man’s voice reverberated in a discordant way, like he was talking, but there was someone—or something—talking through him.

  Creepy, I thought.

  “Come on, man, this isn’t funny. I’m sorry I laughed at you earlier.” The first man tripped and fell, then he scrambled to get further away from the demon-man. Shaking myself free of my initial shock, I hurried over.

  A blazing arrow of light shot out from behind me and landed between the demonic man and his prey. I glanced around briefly, and my heart soared in both appreciation and excitement. I could see the familiar outline of my co-defender as she stood on a building top behind me. Her white wings gleamed in the small amount of sunshine left from the rainclouds, and her hair, pulled up in its half-bun, shifted with the wind of her own power. I gave her a small smile while she took out another arrow.

  I saw the demonic man was focused on her, so I didn’t miss my chance; I reached down, grabbed the fallen man, and pulled him up. Starry Knight could deal with the demoniac. “Come on,” I told him. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

  “Thank you! Oh, thank you so much.” The guy was breathing hard and fast, and his hands were shaking. “He just starting attacking me for no real reason.”

  “How do you know him?” I asked, as he hobbled over me. He was a full-grown man, in his mid-forties or early fifties, and it was hard to keep my own balance while he grabbed at me. I knew he was afraid, so I couldn’t fault him. But I still wish he’d been just a bit more aware of how he wasn’t helping me help him, either.

  “He works with me
. I know he’s been acting weird lately—but still, I never thought he’d attack me; I mean, management, maybe, but we’ve been colleagues for a year now.”

  Dealing with people, I thought, is difficult. Especially when it comes to difficult people.

  I supposed I’d have to get used to it, if I wanted to work in politics. As he rambled on, I thought about how Mayor Mills might deal with such a person. He’d empathize, then he’d get practical. I decided that was a good way to do it.

  “That’s definitely a tough situation, sir,” I said. “Starry Knight and I are going to see if we can stop him. You need to stay out of the way.” I let go of him, even though he didn’t let go of me. I sighed quietly. “I’ll need you to step back so I can help your friend.”

  “Oh. Oh, okay. Sorry. Never been in this kind of situation before . . . do you think it would be okay if I smoked?” he asked.

  “Ugh . . . ” Never thought I’d be asked that question. He seemed to answer it himself as he pulled out a cigarette and began to try to light it with shaking hands. I couldn’t resist watching him as he burned himself a few times before managing to get it lit. “Okay, then. Just be safe. Stay out of sight. If you move, go somewhere safe.”

  He mumbled and bumbled around a bit, and I finally decided, at the sound of a loud crashing noise and seeing Elysian’s shadow hurling toward the scene, it was time to go.

  “Elysian!” I shouted, as I moved out toward the street.

  “Kid!” he called back, swooping down to meet me. Starry Knight was holding her own against the possessed man. “We’d better get this taken care of soon,” he told me in a soft tone; no easy feat for his deep big-dragon voice. “There is a crowd watching from a lot of the buildings. Police are on their way.”

  “Can you give us some cloud cover?” I asked. “That guy told me that the demon monster is a friend of his.” At Elysian’s frown, I added, “Not like a real demon, but maybe there’s one inside of him? Like there was with Mikey a couple of months ago?”

  “That would explain it. Go find out. I’ll give you the cover you need,” Elysian replied. “Watch yourself.”