Page 45 of Talon

My eyes rolled up. “How did I ever survive so long?”

“I have no idea, but the important thing is, I’m here now.” She rubbed her hands together, already scheming. “Andgood news for you. I already know where we’re going to look first.”

Garret

Apparently, parties at seven o’clock didn’t really start at seven o’clock.

“Garret? Ohmygod, hi!” Kristin greeted, looking surprised as she opened the door. “I didn’t expect you to show. You’re, uh, early.”

I checked my watch. It read 6:55, barely toeing the line of punctuality where I was from. Let another couple minutes slide, and you’d be begging your drill sergeant to make an example of you. Confused, I glanced back at the girl and switched the case of beer to my other hand. “You said 7:00 p.m. this Saturday, right?”

“Well, yeah, but...” She shrugged and opened the door wider. “Come on in. Nobody’s here yet, but make yourself at home.”

“Thank you.” I stepped through the door into the foyer, taking a quick scan of the room. Bright and airy, with floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a clear view of the ocean, it was large, open and quite expensive looking. Everything was decorated in white. The walls—those not dominated by windows, anyway—were white. The kitchen was white marble and stainless steel. A white leather sofa curled in an L-shape around a black-and-white coffee table, which sat beneath a seventy-two-inch flatscreen on the wall. There were small splashes of color throughout the house—blue pillows on the sofa and fake trees in the corners—but most everything else was a stark, unyielding white.

“You can put the beer in the fridge, and there’s more there, if you want one,” Kristin called from a half-open door down the hall. “Or soda. Help yourself. People should be arriving soon.”

Uncomfortable, I took care of the beer then wandered into the living room, feeling awkward and out of place. Parties and strange houses weren’t really my thing. I would adapt, of course, but the only reason I was here hadn’t arrived yet and, from the looks of it, wouldn’t be here for a while.

“So, where’s your cousin?” Kristin asked, still yelling at me from down the hall. I wondered why she didn’t come out of her room if she wanted to talk. “What was his name, again? Travis or something?”

“Tristan,” I called back. “He came down with something and couldn’t make it.”

“Oh,” Kristin said. That was all. No “That’s too bad” or “I hope he feels better.” After another few seconds, I heard the door close down the hall. Just as well. My partner wasn’t really sick, of course. He was hunched over his laptop, watching the front door of the Hill residence. If the two guardians left the house, he would follow, see where they were going. If they didn’t, he would continue to observe. I was glad Tristan was on the computer tonight and not me. He didn’t mind long hours of surveillance; it was one of the reasons he was so good at what he did. Nothing escaped his notice, no matter how small or insignificant. If something strange was going on at the Hill residence, Tristan would know about it.

I also had a mission to accomplish tonight, though mine would be very different.

* * *

“I think we’re onto something,” my partner had said last night, regarding me over the open take-out cartons on the counter. Outside the window, the sun was setting over the ocean, tinting the sky pink and the clouds a brilliant red. I sat in the living room, carton of Mongolian beef in hand, picking at it with my chopsticks and trying not to think of how the sunset somehow reminded me ofher.“I think I know what our next move should be.”

“How do you figure?” I muttered.

“Simple.” Tristan tossed back a carrot, looking thoughtful. “Ask her out.”

I nearly choked on an onion, swallowing with difficulty. “Out?” I gasped.

“Yes, out.” My partner seemed happily oblivious to my burning face. “On a date, Garret. You do know the word, right? Teenagers do it all the time.” He waved an airy hand, still holding the chopsticks. “Dinner, movies, all that garbage. Get her talking. Get her to trust you. It shouldn’t be too difficult—she did kiss you, after all, right?”

My face heated even more, remembering. “That doesn’t mean anything,” I protested. “Dragons assimilate to whatever surroundings they’re in. She could have kissed me for any number of reasons.”

“Regardless.” Tristan shrugged. “I don’t see her kissing anyone else, do you? And being asked on a date is common human practice, so there’s no reason she should refuse. Eventually, she’ll invite you inside, and then we’ll be in business. Plant a few bugs around the house, and boom...we’ll have them.”

“And if she’s not our target?”

“Then she’s not our target. We cut her loose and move on. What’s the problem?”

I didn’t answer right away. I didn’t want to tell him that the thought terrified me in a way a twelve-ton raging dragon never could. I’d never been on a date; I didn’t know what was required.

But most of all, I didn’t know if I could control myself around her anymore. The feelings she stirred in me—the heat, the desire, the urge to touch her—that was all new. I’d never felt anything like this before.

“Nothing,” I said finally. “No problems. I understand.”

“Good.” Tristan smirked and threw back a scallop. “Because you have a party to attend tomorrow night.”

* * *

Nearly an hour after seven, the first guests—besides me, anyway—finally started to show. With more beer. Several kinds, including a large keg, which they carted around back and placed next to the hot tub on the deck. Soon there was a steady line of teenagers coming up the drive to the house, and the living room quickly became crowded, as did the deck and the swimming pool out back. Music started from somewhere, cranked up until the bass vibrated the walls, and groups of teens danced and surged against one another in the center of the open room. I had moved to one end of the sofa, watching the chaos and occasionally taking sips from the plastic cup in my hand. The beer tasted cheap and lukewarm and, frankly, unpleasant, but as Tristan had said, everyone else seemed to be drinking and I didn’t want to look even more out of place than I already was. When in Rome...

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