Ominous (Private 13)

I laughed, relieved for real now. I glanced at Kiki reluctantly. “I should go.”

“That’s cool,” she said. “Just find me when you come back down.”

“I will. Thanks.” I shoved the note and the phone back into my bag and headed for the door. As much as I wanted to see Josh, my excitement was tinged with regret. If Kiki could really perform spells, I was dying to see it. Maybe I’d just have to cut the Josh-time short. I was halfway through the lobby when I almost collided with Noelle, Ivy, and the Billings pack.

“Hey! We were just coming to dance with the birthday girl,” Noelle said.

“Actually, I’m on my way upstairs. Josh is up in our—your—room,” I told her. “Distract Sam so I can slip away?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Ivy asked, glancing up the stairs. “Maybe he should come with you.”

“They’re not letting anyone upstairs unless they’re on the family’s approved list,” I said, gesturing toward the two beefy guards at the foot of the steps. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Noelle said. “But come right back. I mean it. No naked birthday fun. Josh is just going to have to wait until the threat is neutralized.”

I blushed hard and glanced at Ivy, who was also pink around the edges. “I have no intention of engaging in naked birthday fun,” I assured them, wondering if Noelle had said that only to torture Ivy. “I promise, we will both return to the party in fifteen minutes. If we don’t, you can call in the National Guard.”

I turned around and started toward the stairs. Sam made a move to follow, but Noelle stepped in front of him, one hand to the center of his beefy chest.

“Let her go. She’ll be fine,” she said.

“But I—”

“It’s her birthday and she wants some alone time with her man,” Noelle told him. “So unless you want to be part of an illegal threesome …”

That was the last thing I heard before jogging up the steps. I laughed under my breath as I made my escape, my heart beating wildly, knowing that for once, only good surprises awaited.

At the top of the carpeted steps, I turned left and made my way down the hall toward the elevator that would whisk me to Noelle’s floor. It was amazing how muffled the sound was from up here. Aside from the dull thud of the bass coming through the floorboards from the ballroom and the occasional shriek of laughter, everything was silent. As I approached the small elevator alcove, my steps slowed. Usually light radiated out from the alcove at all hours, but right now it was dark.

I felt a cold wisp of a wind tickle the hair on the back of my neck, and suddenly, the gold locket felt warm against my chest. My hand fluttered up to touch it.

Images from my last dream flooded my brain. The birthday cake, the robed figures, the dead bodies. What was wrong with me? This had to be a trap. Of course it did. How could I have possibly thought it was a good idea to go anywhere alone right now?

I took an instinctive step back, heard a creak, and whipped around. There was no one there. Down in the foyer, a glass shattered and was met by a resounding round of applause.

I should just go back to the party, I thought, taking one step in that direction. Surrounded by a crowd, I’ll be safe.

But then, all I had to do was get in the elevator and it would take me right to Josh. No one could attack me if I was alone in an elevator. And I wanted to see him. Really, it was all I wanted right then. If I could just see him, everything would be fine. I turned around again and something caught my eye. A video camera bolted to the ceiling in the corner, trained right at me. I let out a breath, feeling foolish. Surely if someone shady had somehow slipped by the guards on the first floor—which was unlikely—and come up here, they would have been pounced by one of the dozens of security personnel. I was just being paranoid. Not that anyone could blame me, after everything that had happened to me in the past two years.

Steeling myself, I walked over to the alcove. The lightbulb in the overhead fixture was out. That was it. There was no sign that it had been tampered with—no shattered glass on the floor, no hanging corners or wires sticking out. No one was lying in wait. I hit the button and the elevator instantly pinged. My heart hit my throat.

Damn, I was jumpy.

The doors slid open and I stepped inside. As soon as I did I had this awful premonition that a hand was about to descend on my shoulder. I turned around quickly, but no one was there. Reaching out a violently shaking hand, I hit the button for Noelle’s floor. The doors couldn’t close fast enough. Every second it felt like someone was about to leap inside and grab me. Every moment a gloved hand was going to come around the corner and hold the door. By the time the doors finally did close, I was hyperventilating.

“Okay, calm down,” I told myself, as the elevator ascended with an efficient hum. I leaned forward, resting my head against the cold, reflective gold doors. “Everything’s fine. Everything’s fine.”

When the doors slid open again, I stepped out slowly, glancing left before I turned right. Again, I heard a creak. The door to the emergency stairs wasn’t closed all the way. Had someone just come through there? Suddenly terrified, I sprinted into Noelle’s room, slamming both the doors behind me, and whirled around, fully expecting to be jumped, blindfolded, dragged away. But when I turned, the only person standing in the candlelit room was Josh. He wore a blue suit and a dark gold tie. His hair was slightly neater and more styled than usual, and in his hand was a small red jewelry box.

“Hey, Reed.” He pried the box open with a creak and a pop. Inside was a gorgeous square aquamarine stone, surrounded by tiny diamonds. A ring. “Happy birthday.”

“What? What are you?” I tore my eyes away from the sparkling stone, which seemed to magically reflect every one of the dozen candles dotting the room, and looked at Josh. Suddenly I was breathless for a whole new reason. “Are you serious with that thing?”

Josh cracked up. He took a step forward. “Don’t worry. It’s not an engagement ring or anything,” he said. He plucked the bauble from the box, holding the delicate gold ring between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s your birthstone.”

“I … I know,” I said, stepping toward him. “It’s beautiful.”

Josh swallowed hard. He took my right hand delicately in his own and slipped the ring onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly and felt surprisingly light. “I just wanted you to know … how much you mean to me,” he said earnestly, looking me in the eye. “If we were ten years older, I’d be asking you to marry me right now.”