Ambush. Part 19

Malcolm stayed still.

"Fine," I said again. "I'll keep bringing you food, and we'll figure something out."

The dragon was silent.

"A thank-you would be nice," I said half joking.

I didn't get my thank-you, but when the elevator finally reached the bottom, it was clear that Jude and Paul had been just as upset about Malcolm leaving as he had. All the empty buckets were overturned, and hay was strewn everywhere. The lights I had set up were knocked over, and one of them was smashed to pieces. The generator hadn't been touched, but I could tell by Paul's facial expression that if I had not returned when I had, that too would have been destroyed.

Malcolm joined his companions, and all three screamed in some sort of screechy harmony. It wasn't pretty, but it was nice to see them happy.

"We could all die down here," I pointed out.

They didn't seem to care.

Chapter 24.

What Goes On Eventually I got back up to the fifth floor, where I a.s.sessed the damage that Malcolm had done. It looked like the entire place was in the midst of extensive and poorly executed remodeling. I knew that if anyone came up here there was no way I wouldn't be busted. My only hope was that n.o.body ventured past the fourth floor.

I spent the rest of the time that Millie and Thomas were away hauling down more water and supplies. I went to the pantry and took as much food as I could without it being instantly obvious that I had ransacked the place. I took everything that was on the back shelves and the tall shelves. I took things that I knew Millie never used. I gathered a bunch of frozen deer meat that was in the deep freezer in the garage. After all of my hard work, I knew I still had enough food for the next couple of days.

When Millie and Thomas got home, I was sitting at the big worktable in the kitchen, acting as if I were doing my homework.

"Beck," Thomas said.

"Hi," I greeted them. "Back already?"

"It's nice to see you behaving," Millie said kindly.

The three of us had an amazing dinner. Millie made a crusty meat pie with potatoes and gravy that was outrageously good. For dessert we had gingerbread cake smothered in a hot, b.u.t.tery caramel sauce. Thomas was so taken by the taste that he actually blushed while complimenting Millie.

"Did you see my father?" I asked.

"No," Millie replied. "They're not allowing any visitors."

"For how long?"

"He's not well," Thomas said solemnly, ruining the taste of dessert just a bit. "We are greatly concerned. Although he's had spells in the past, this last year has been a real setback."

My brain pulsated-talking about my father bothered me in ways that I wasn't accustomed to. I felt anger and pity. I also felt fear that he would try and take away what I had. He had tried before and almost killed me. I couldn't let him do it again. I suppose that's why I was so happy to hear he was going to be kept in the hospital.

"Beck," Millie said interrupting my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I said. "I'm just sort of dazed by your cooking."

Millie appreciated that.

"So I picked up your tux for your dance," Thomas announced.

"What?" I asked confused. I had neglected to tell anyone that Kate and I were over and that I wouldn't be going to the prom. I had figured there would be less chance of me having to explain what happened if I never told them it happened in the first place.

"This is so exciting," Millie clapped.

Thomas stepped out of the kitchen and returned with a long cloth bag.

"You shouldn't have," I said uncomfortably.

"It's my responsibility," Thomas said humbly.

"Open it," Millie said with excitement.

I didn't want to open it. I also didn't want them to know about Kate or about how Wyatt was taking her to the prom instead of me.

"Open it," Millie said again.

I reluctantly stood up and hung the top of the bag on a hook on the wall. I untied the bottom of it and pulled the cloth sack up. The color of the tux was somewhere between beige and vomit green.

"Try the jacket on for size," Thomas asked.

"That's okay," I said.

"Beck," Millie snapped. "This is important."

I took the jacket off the hanger and put it on. The lapels were six inches thick and made from heavy velvet. It had gold b.u.t.tons on the front and a satin trim running down the sleeves.

"My word," Millie said. "You look so handsome."

"Like a true dandy," Thomas said proudly. "Like a dandy. I daresay there will be no other with such finely made formal wear."

That was a dare I wished I didn't have to experience. I hated Thomas's taste in everything.

"Kate's going to go soft in the knees," Millie bragged.

I remembered that I wasn't actually going to the prom. That thought made me feel a little better, knowing that I would never have to wear this.

"The fit is exquisite," Thomas said proudly.

"Now take that off so you don't get it dirty," Millie scolded.

I was more than happy to oblige.

"If you want, we can leave the kitchen so that you can call Kate and tell her what color you're wearing," Millie said excitedly. "She'll need to know for the boutonniere."

I had no idea what a boutonniere was, but the thought of them leaving and me calling Kate seemed like a good one. I knew I had done a lot of things wrong, but I still believed that if I could just talk to her for a few minutes she would come around.

"Would you like us to leave?" Millie asked.

I nodded, and Thomas and Millie got up and exited the kitchen as if I was a fire they needed to escape from. I waited until I heard their footsteps fade and then walked over to the phone and picked it up. I knew that Kate's parents didn't really like me to call, so I prepared a fake voice and name to give them so that they'd actually hand the phone to Kate.

"Ashley Harrison," I said, practicing to try to sound like a girl.

I dialed Kate's number and waited. After four rings, Kate herself picked up.

"Hi," I said softly.

"What do you want, Beck?"

"I just can't shake the feeling that this might be my fault," I joked.

"I need to go," Kate didn't joke.

"No, wait," I pleaded. "Can't we talk about all of this?"

"I don't trust you," she said. "You've lied to me one too many times, and unless you can explain to me why I should believe you again, there's nothing to talk about."

"Remember how I told you about that problem I had when I was young?" I asked. "Would someone who wasn't open and honest have shared that?"

"Wetting the bed and destroying the world are two different things," Kate pointed out.

"But they're both kinda awkward."

"I need to go," she said again.

"This isn't fair, Kate," I begged. "You know there are things I have to do."

"Apparently being honest isn't one of them."

"Are you saying that if I had told you, you'd be fine with all this?"

"No," she said, "but I might still care for you."

My heart was not enjoying her tone of voice.

"What about the prom?" I asked.

"What about it?" She was short and cold.

"You're not really going with Wyatt."

"I told you that's none of your business."

"You can't do it," I insisted.

"Really?" Kate said strongly. "I don't think you're in any position to tell me what I can and can't do. Good night."

The phone clicked.

I cleaned off my plate and returned to my room, where I hung up my ugly tux and then spent some time with The Grim Knot. I knew that there were still things inside it that would help me with the dragons below.

After an hour of reading, I stood up and looked in the mirror above my dresser. I looked so different. My dark hair was getting long, and my eyes looked more intense than I remembered them. But the biggest difference was the hardness in my jaw and in my expression. I didn't really like it. I looked like someone I wouldn't want to be friends with.

"That makes sense," I said to myself. "I have no friends at the moment."

I thought about who I had been when I had arrived in Kingsplot and who I was today. The things I had experienced and the stuff I now knew were heavy memories and thoughts. I could see why Kate didn't like me. I wasn't the kind of person that cried, so I didn't. True, there were things that I wish I had done differently, but there was no way I was going to regret planting the last stone. Jude felt like an extension of me, and it was a part of me that I did like.

"Prom," I said aloud. "Who needs it?"

Mr. Binkers just stared at me, gently reminding me that besides Jude, Malcolm, and Paul I had no real friends anymore-and according to most people, dragons didn't even exist.

I lay on my bed feeling lonely and growing increasingly angry.

Chapter 25.

Revolution Coping with my new state of mind made the next couple of days horrible. My brain felt like a throbbing bruise that wouldn't stop hurting. I couldn't think straight, and I would get really angry about the littlest things. Wane asked me a question about Kate one night as I was eating, and I could barely contain my rage.

The next afternoon Thomas mentioned that it was going to rain, an event that happens almost every day, and my blood boiled. As I sat eating lunch with Millie on Thursday I felt so out of sorts I wanted to scream.

"Are you all right?" Millie asked me as I ate. "You seem very agitated."

"I'm fine," I said briskly.

"Is it the prom?" Millie asked. "I know how jittery one can become in antic.i.p.ation."

"It's not the prom," I snapped.

"If you're nervous about dancing, don't worry," she said, scooping a large portion of her sweet-and-sour apple pie on my plate. The smell of the salty sweet apples and b.u.t.ter crust were phenomenal and calmed me down a bit.

"I'm not worried about the prom," I insisted.

I still hadn't told them about Kate and I being kaput, which meant I also hadn't mentioned I wouldn't be going to the prom.

"Just remember," Millie continued. "A true gentleman always leads."