The Lost Prince. Julie Kagawa
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chest felt tight. It was happening again. It didn’t matter what that thing was, the damned faeries were out to ruin my life and hurt everyone around me. I had to find Todd, warn him. I just hoped that he was okay; the half-breed might be annoying and ignorant, but he shouldn’t have to suffer because of me.
“Ethan! Just a second! Will you please hold up?” Kenzie put on a burst of speed as we reached the edge of the field, blocking my path. “Will you tell me what’s going on? I heard voices, but I didn’t see anyone else. Was someone threatening you?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not into anything illegal, are you?”
“Kenzie, get out of here,” I snapped. The creepy faery could still be watching us. Or creeping closer to Todd. I had to get away from her, now. “Just leave me alone, okay? I’m not doing the damn interview. I don’t give a crap about what you or this school or anyone else thinks of me. Put that in your article.”
Her eyes flashed. “The parking lot is the other way, tough guy. Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.”
“Then you won’t mind if I come along.”
“You’re not coming.”
“Why not?”
I swore. She didn’t move, and my sense of urgency flared. “I don’t have time for this,” I growled, and brushed past her, sprinting down the hall toward the library. The girl followed, of course, but I wasn’t thinking about her anymore. If that faery freak got close to Todd, if it did something to him like it had the piskie, it would be my fault. Again.
The librarian gave me the evil eye as I burst through the library doors, followed closely by the girl. “Slow down, you two,” she barked as we passed the desk. Kenzie murmured an apology, but I ignored her, striding toward the back, searching for the half-breed in the aisles. Empty, empty, a couple making out in the history section, empty. My unease grew. Where was he?
“What are we looking for?” Kenzie whispered at my back.
I turned, ready to tell her to get lost, futile as it might be, when something under the window caught my eye.
Todd’s jacket. Lying in a crumpled heap beneath the sill. I stared at it, trying to find an explanation as to why he would leave it behind. Maybe he just forgot it. Maybe someone stole it as a prank and ditched it here. A cold breeze whispered through the window, ruffling my clothes and hair. It was the only open window in the room.
Kenzie followed my gaze, frowned, then walked forward and picked up the jacket. As she did, something white fell out of the pocket and fluttered to the floor. A note, written on a torn half sheet of paper. I lunged forward to grab it, but Kenzie had already snatched it up.
“Hey,” I said sharply, holding out a hand. “Give me that.”
She dodged, holding the paper out of reach. Defiance danced in her eyes. “I don’t see your name on it.”
“It was for me,” I insisted, stalking forward. She leaped away, putting a long table between us, and my temper flared. “Dammit, I’m not playing this game,” I growled, keeping my voice down so the librarian wouldn’t come stalking toward us. “Hand it over, now.”
Kenzie narrowed her eyes. “Why so secretive, tough guy?” she asked, deftly maneuvering around the table, keeping the same distance between us. “Are these the coordinates for a drug deal or something?”
“What?” I grabbed for her, but she slid out of reach. “Of course not. I’m not into that crap.”
“A letter from a secret admirer, then?”
“No,” I snapped, and stopped edging around the table. This was ridiculous. Were we back in the third grade? I eyed her across the table, judging the distance between us. “It’s not a love letter,” I said, silently fuming. “It’s not even from a girl.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then you won’t mind if I read it,” she said and flipped open the note.
As soon as her attention left me, I leaped over the table and slid across the surface, grabbing her arm as I landed on the other side. She yelped in surprise and tried to jerk back, unsuccessfully. Her wrist was slender and delicate, and fit easily into my grasp.
For a second, we glared at each other. I could see my scowling, angry reflection in her eyes. Kenzie stared back, a slight smirk on her lips, as if this newest predicament amused her.
“What now, tough guy?” She raised a slender eyebrow. And, for some reason, my heart beat faster under that look.
Deliberately, I reached up and snatched the paper from her fingers. Releasing her, I turned my back on the girl, scanning the note. It was short, messy and confirmed my worst suspicions.
They’re here! Gotta run. If you find this, tell my folks not to worry. Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to drag you into this. —Todd.
I crumpled the note and shoved it into my jeans pocket. What did he expect me to do now? Go to his parents, tell them a bunch of creepy invisible faeries were out to get their son? I’d get thrown into the loony bin for sure.
I felt Kenzie’s eyes on my back and wondered how much of the note she’d seen. Had she read anything in that split second it had taken me to get across the table?
“It sounds like your friend is in trouble,” Kenzie murmured. Well, that answered that question. All of it, apparently.
“He’s not my friend,” I replied, not turning around. “And you shouldn’t get involved. This is none of your business.”
“The hell it’s not,” she shot back. “If someone is in trouble, we have to do something. Who’s after him? Why doesn’t he just go to the police?”
“The police can’t help.” I finally turned to face her. “Not with this. Besides, what would you tell them? We don’t even know what’s going on. All we have is a note.”
“Well, shouldn’t we at least see if he made it home okay?”
I sighed, rubbing my scalp. “I don’t know where he lives,” I said, feeling slightly guilty that I knew so little. “I don’t have his phone number. I don’t even know his last name.”
But Kenzie sighed. “Boys,” she muttered, and pulled out her phone. “His last name is Wyndham, I think. Todd Wyndham. He has a couple of classes with me.” She fiddled with her phone without looking up. “Just a second. I’ll Google it.”
I tried to stay calm while she looked it up, though I couldn’t stop scanning the room for hidden enemies. What were these transparent, ghostlike fey, and why had I not seen them before? What did they want with Todd? I remembered the piskie’s limp body, an empty, lifeless husk before it disappeared, and shivered. Whatever they were, they were dangerous, and I needed to find the half-breed before they did the same to him. I owed him that, for not being there like I promised.
“Got it,” Kenzie announced. “Or, at least, I have his house number.” Glancing up from her phone, she looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “So, do you want to call them or should I?”
I dug out my phone. “I’ll do it,” I said, dreading the task but knowing I had to finish what I started.
She recited a string of numbers, and I punched them into my phone. Putting it to my ear, I listened to it ring once, twice, and on the third, someone picked up.
“Wyndham residence,” said a woman’s voice. I swallowed.
“Um, yeah. I’m a … friend of Todd’s,” I said haltingly. “Is he home?”
“No, he isn’t back from school yet,” continued the voice on the other end. “Do you want me to give him a message?”
“Uh, no. I was … um … hoping to catch him later today