Extracurricular Activities

I hummed in the shower; not my usual attitude on a Monday morning, but things were fantastic. Ever since last week, I felt better about everything.

I didn't have to tell Lend!

How had I not seen it before? His glamour showed whatever he thought it should-which meant that he would age (or at least, appear to age) right along with me. And he couldn't ever really see what he looked like, so he wouldn't know he wasn't getting older. We could go our whole lives together and he'd never need to deal with the fact that his wasn't going to end.

After all, Lend was planning for a future. A very human future. Telling him now would confuse him, make him question his decisions. He didn't need that. I'd tell him someday, sure. When we were like eighty and I was on my deathbed. Assuming my soul lasted that long.

But the tingle in my fingers reminded me that there were ways of making it last. Innocent ways. After all, the sylph wasn't dead, or even really hurt. In fact, I was sure the sylph would be happy to know it contributed to my ability to live a long, happy life with Lend.

"Hey." Arianna stuck her head into my room as I finished drying my hair. "You wanna do something after school?" She said it in her usual annoyed tone, but there was a hint of hesitancy. She'd barely acknowledged my existence since she thought I'd stood her up for the movie; it was like a dark cloud hung over our entire apartment.

"Sure! I've got work at seven but I'm free after school until then. What do you want to do?"

Her shoulders relaxed. "Mall? I haven't been around true evil for a while."

"And the mall is the best place for that?"

"Have you seen what the average populace is wearing? I may have to kill the next person I see wearing pants that unzip into shorts. Also, Uggs over tights are a crime against humanity. No one with a pulse should be willing to wear this stuff. I haven't had a heartbeat in twenty years and even I can tell you that."

"But what if they're pink Uggs? Surely-" My communicator beeped from my nightstand drawer and my stomach dropped. Bleep. I'd forgotten that Jack was coming this afternoon for a quick vamp-tracking job. "Oh-I-just remembered, I have a . . . study thing. After school. With Carlee. For a class."

Arianna's eyes narrowed and her shoulders tightened back into that strange protective stance. "Fine. No big."

"But after work we could-"

She turned with a wave of her hand. "Whatever. Don't worry about it."

Great. Now I was ditching my vampire friend to go tase a vampire. Wouldn't Arianna and Lend be thrilled if they knew? Still, I wasn't doing anything that his dad's group could get mad about. No werewolf persecution, and only neutering violent vamps. Whatever David and his group thought, Arianna was not typical.

I sighed heavily going down the stairs to the bus. I would figure this out-balance it all-school, Lend, being there for Arianna, side jobs for IPCA. After all, weren't extracurriculars a must for college applications? Next week's trip to Sweden to track down a troll colony and rescue the humans they'd kidnapped would look pretty darn impressive on my Georgetown application.

Yeah, I should probably join the chess club, instead.

After a long day I didn't even mind the humiliation of climbing on the old, yellow bus with its cracked seats. I was the only senior without a car, but none of them were going on international, human-saving missions after school. Suckers. Plus, I calculated my going rate for IPCA, and with eight years of back pay (a stipulation Raquel put in, bless her heart), I'd be able to pay for college and buy a car by the end of the school year.

"Arianna?" I yelled, dropping my backpack by the door. I'd hoped she'd be home so we could talk, but there was no sign of her. I'd make her go out with me that night, maybe buy her something pretty. Or, well, something depressing and black. She'd like that. It'd fix things.

Having a plan made me feel better, so when I walked into my room to find Jack sitting on my bed flipping through my pink journal, I didn't even yell at him.

Much.

Once I finished smacking him over the head with said journal, I put away my school stuff and pulled on a warmer coat. "So." I zipped up my coat and wished I had a cute, fuzzy hat to go with it. "Vamp job. You know where you're going, right?"

He jumped off my bed (literally, bouncing so high prejump he nearly hit the ceiling), and nodded. "Sure." His dark blue knit cap made his eyes look impossibly big and bright, and his blond curls stuck out along the edges. I guess I could see what Carlee saw in him. Too bad he was a lunatic; they would have made a cute couple. I could see the double dates now . . .

No, I so totally could not.

I waited as he made the door in my wall, then reached out and took his hand. He stepped forward and I followed-but as soon as I met the border between my room and the Faerie Paths, a horrible, burning weight slammed into my chest, knocking me back onto the floor.

I gasped, staring dizzily at the ceiling. "What happened?"

Jack's face loomed into view; he frowned down at me. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! That's never happened before."

He unzipped my coat and reached down my shirt before I could get away.

"Back off, perv!"

"Aha!" He pulled my necklace out from under my sweater. "Iron."

I slapped his hands and grabbed the pendant. "So?"

"So, how long have you worked with faeries? Heaven and hell, you don't know anything, do you? The reason faeries don't like iron is that it ties them too strongly to this world. The Paths aren't part of this world-you can't take iron there. It won't let you."

I frowned. "You do realize that makes no sense."

"Unlike being able to open a door in the wall and take you to another hemisphere in a matter of minutes? How odd. Everything about Faerie is usually so rational."

I couldn't hold back the smile, and he rolled his eyes.

"Take it off so we can get going. This is boring."

I reached back to undo the clasp, hesitating. It felt like a small betrayal, taking off the necklace Lend gave me to do something I knew he wouldn't approve of. Still, I was doing good. There were people who needed me. And I'd put it right back on as soon as I got home.

I stood and tucked it into my sock drawer, fingering the heart one last time before turning back to Jack.

"Any other iron on you?" he asked impatiently.

"Just my tongue stud."

His look was a mixture of curiosity and horror.

"I'm kidding, you idiot. Let's go."

He opened the door and took my hand as we walked through. I tried to ignore the oppressive darkness. "So, how come I can take Tasey through the paths?"

Jack shrugged. "All IPCA technology was specially developed to be compatible with faerie magic."

"How do you know about all this?"

"I just happen to be smarter than you is all."

I pinched his hand as hard as I could, then decided to change the subject. It kind of bothered me that Jack knew more about this stuff than I did-shouldn't I have been the expert?

"Where's this vampire again?" I was a little surprised that Raquel was pulling me for a basic vamp bag and tag. They really were strapped for help. Sure, I was about a thousand times more efficient because I didn't have to bother with mirrors and holy water, but anyone who knew what they were looking for could conduct an efficient stakeout.

Oh, I kill myself.

A sly smile spread across Jack's face. "Vampire? Who said anything about a vampire?"

"Umm, you did? I thought Raquel wanted me to bag and tag a vamp."

"Who said anything about Raquel?"

"What are you talking about? Where are we going?"

"I thought you and I deserved to have a little bit of fun." Jack stopped, his grin spreading as he opened a door. I watched, more nervous than I cared to admit, to find out what, exactly, lunatic boy considered fun.