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Smiling at him, I edged closer.
 Killian, I wanted to ask you--- I began.
 I love this song! Kil ian shouted as the jukebox started
another number.  Come on! Clambering out of the booth, he
grabbed Bree s hand, who grabbed Robbie s hand, who
grabbed my hand, and then we were all dancing together on
the tiny dance floor with sawdust slipping under our feet. And
my opportunity was lost.
I ve never been a big partier, and I hate dancing in public.
The thing about whiskey sours, though, is they make you
mind that kind of stuff less. Back at the table, Sharon and
Ethan were actual y bickering. When Ethan grabbed a beer
off the waitress s tray, Sharon s face set like cement, and
she grabbed her purse. I saw her ask Matt to take her home,
and he agreed, shooting Ethan a glance.
 Do you want me to come with you? Jenna said, and though
I couldn t hear the word physical y, I heard them in my mind.
Sharon shrugged, looking upset, and Jenna got her coat and
fol owed Sharon and Matt.
Ethan was sucking down his beer, watching Sharon angrily,
but he didn t stop her from leaving. In moments he had
finished the first beer an started on another.
 What was that about? I asked Robbie. He and I had edged
away from the crowd and were now leaning against a back
wall that felt sticky. I felt hot and out of breath, and a third
whiskey sour felt fabulous going down my throat.
 Ethan had stopped drinking, Robbie told me, not looking
happy.  I didn t think it was a great idea for him to come
here.
 Oh, crap, I said, my head feeling light.
Robbie shrugged. At the table, Ethan s second beer was
empty. He signaled for another, but the waitress tapped her
watch.
 Good, I said, setting my empty glass on top of the jukebox.
"It's closing time. They'l cut him off, and we can go home." I
staggered a bit when I pushed myself off the wall, and that
seemed amusing. It took forever for us to get our coats and
scarves and pay our check, which was a stunning amount.
Bree put it on her credit card, and we all promised to pay her
back.
The shock of the night air took my breath away. "Oh, it's
beautiful out," I said, gesturing to the wide expanse of sky.
The night seemed darker than usual, the start brighter. But
looking up made me lose my balance, and I would have
fallen over if I hadn't crashed into Kil ian.
Laughing, he held me up until I was steady, and I blinked at
him as the realization slowly came to me: I was wasted.
Robbie was loading Bree and Ethan into Breezy, and they
were both feeling no pain. Raven was plastering herself to
Killian, kissing him good-bye, and he wasn't resisting.
"Take me home," she said softly, holding his face between
her hands. I rol ed my eyes and started pawing through my
fanny pack for my keys. Do not go home with her, I thought.
Sky wil kill you. And I need to talk to you alone. With a
sudden pang, I wished Hunter were here.
He would know what to do. He would help me. I would feel so
much better.
"Raven, come with us," Robbie said. My hero. "You live close
to Ethan, and I can drop off.
Morgan takes another exit."
"I want to come home with you," Raven told Kil ian. She
pressed her hips against him and smiled. "And you want me
to."
He laughed and disengaged himself easily. "Not tonight,
Raven. I'l take a rain check."
For a moment Raven couldn't decide whether to be angry or
to pout, but in the end she was too drunk for either and fel
backward into the backseat of Bree's car. Robbie sighed
and slammed the door shut. Bree's fine dark hair was
pressed against her window, and I saw her eyes were
closed. With a wave good-bye, Robbie started Breezy and
drove off.
"Fun people, your friends," said Killian. His words came out
with puffs of condensation.
I looked at him for a moment until I understood the actual
words. "Uh-huh," I said stupidly.
Killian grinned with delight and brushed my damp hair off my
neck. "Little sister, are you tipsy?"
"I'm a mess," I said, feeling like my tongue needed to lie
down and rest. Then two more synapses fired. "Oh, crap!" I
said. "We're both drunk. Who's going to drive? We'l have to
call a taxi."
"Oh, love, you're so concerned with what's right and wrong,"
Killian said soothingly. "It'll be fine. You know these roads.
That car's a tank. No worries."
I was so drunk that I almost believed him. Then I shook my
head, which felt loose and floppy.
"No. We can't drive drunk," I slurred. "That would be bad."
His dark eyes glinted in the night.
I'm related to him, I thought in a daze. We share the same
blood, I have a brother.
Slowly Kil ian reached out again and spread his hand on the
side of my head, pushing his fingers beneath my hair.
Smiling down at me, he whispered some words in Gaelic
that I didn't know but somehow understood the meaning of. I
started to feel strange and closed my eyes.
When he quit speaking, I waited till he had moved his hand,
then opened my eyes. I felt stone cold sober.
I looked around. I felt completely normal. I could walk, talk,
and think. Killian saw the comprehension on my face and
laughed again, his white teeth gleaming against his lips.
"Okay, I can drive," I said.
We got into Das Boot, my brain clinking away efficiently. I
was sober; Killian was plastered.
And I was going to find out where he was staying. There
were possibilities here. I might get some information from
him after all.
I drove slowly back down old Highway 60. Kil ian was leaning
against his door, his head against the window. Eyes closed,
he was singing under his breath.
"How did you get home last night?" I asked. "I ran after you to
offer you a ride home, but you were already gone. How did
you do it?"
Killian was looking out the window, not at me, but I could stil
sense his mischievous smile.
"Oh, didn't you see, love?" he asked. "I had my portable
broomstick in my pocket."
Al right, I thought. I took that as something that I shouldn't
press further. Let's try a new tactic.
"Where am I taking you now? Where are you staying?"
"Oh, ah..." Killian peered out the window, as if trying to figure
out himself. "I don't really know the names of the roads here.
I'l just have to tel you where to turn. You stay on this road for a
while."
Okay. "You and Ciaran don't seem that much alike," I said,
keeping my eyes on the road.
He blinked sleepily, giving me a sweet smile. I could see how
he would be popular anywhere he went. He was fun,
undemanding, flexible, and not at al mean-spirited.
 No, he agreed.  We re not.
 Is that because he just wasn t around that much when you
were little? Killian thought.  Maybe. Partly. But it s the whole
nature-and-nurture thing. Even if he d been around al the
time, signing my school mark report, It s probably stil be
pretty different from him.
 Why? Note to self: Do not become a lawyer. Your
interrogation skil s suck.
He shrugged.  Don t know. He sat up in his seat.  Take a left
here. So he wasn t Mr. Introspection. Okay. New tactic.
 What are your brother and sister like?
 They re different from him, too. I don t know. Kil ian looked
out the window into the dark woods on his side of the car.
There was no moon tonight; the sky was laden with heavy
clouds that seemed almost to touch the treetops.  It s just---
Da is very ambitious, you know?
He married Mum so he could lead her mother s coven. He
just wants power, no matter what.
It s more important than family or... His voice trailed off, and I
wondered if he thought he d said too much. He stil seemed
very drunk---his words were thick and seemed to take a lot of
thought.
 Is your mom like that, too?
Killian gave a short bark of a laugh.  Goddess, no. Which is
why Da inherited her coven, not her. She should be real y
strong, it s in her blood, but she just pisses it all away, you
know?
Ma s a housewife, a princess, real y. Always complaining
about her lot in life. I think she loved Da, but he loved her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]