"So, five minutes to Altican Manor?" he asked, slowly swirling his drink. He wasn't looking at the girls; his intense brown eyes just stared at me. Something was going on with the Spark,something he couldn't understand... yet. "We're going to have to break several sound barriers. Nothing the Fenris can't handle. But still, why the rush?"
"Just get the keys, Josh." My skin still buzzed from where Layla had touched me. Every molecule felt supercharged. I turned to her to find her pale, her eyes moving from her watch to the exit, and back to the door once again.
"Fine," Joshua grumbled, fishing into his pockets for his keys. He produced a key fob of polished diamond. "But if I get a speeding ticket, you're paying in blood."
We all made our way to my car. A couple of teenagers stood taking pictures in front of it. Even under the drizzling rain? I sighed.
Humanity, chasing clout with doomsday two weeks away. I pressed down on my key and the car roared to life, floodlights blazing, sending the tourists scampering away.
"That's your car?" Catherine's jaw practically hit the pavement. Well, I had to admit, the Fenris was... what would people call it?
Badass.
A cursed blend of Bugatti and armored vehicle. It had a sleek, cold-blue paint job and rims so low you'd think they touched the ground.
"I call shotgun," Catherine chirped, already diving for the door. Joshua slid into the driver's seat, his hand gripping the wheel like a madman.
Catherine buzzed with excitement. "You're going to need to put on your seatbelts," I warned. "Joshua doesn't believe in brakes."
"Oh, brother. What's the fun in those?" He laughed.
Catherine giggled like a schoolgirl next to him. Layla just stared down at her watch. "How fast is this thing?"
"Fast enough," Joshua replied, shifting the car into gear.
"It better be," she whispered, looking at me. "We have less than five minutes to get back."
Joshua floored the pedal. The car surged forward from zero to a hundred in four seconds, the force slamming us into the leather. When we reached the gridlock of the FDR, Joshua didn't even tap the brakes.
With a low harmonic hum, the car vibrated, turning the world around us translucent.
New York's traffic did nothing to stop it; the car simply phased through obstacles. To mortal eyes, the road was probably empty. Even the girls noticed nothing unusual.
"Getting home on time is one thing," Catherine said as a semi-truck phased through her door, "but how do you sneak back into your room without getting seen?"
"I wouldn't have left if I didn't have a way back in, Cat." She turned to me, her emerald eyes staring hard. "What we should be worried about is why you're bringing my father's biggest business rivals to his doorstep."
Yes, why were we heading to his doorstep? I wanted to barrage my brother with every insulting slur I knew, but he kept his mind blocked.
"There's nothing much to worry about; Magnus and Joshua are my... business associates..." Catherine lied, turning to Joshua. "You do know business, right?"
Joshua didn't take his eyes off the road. "Of course. Uhm, board meetings, and deadlines, and other things... business-related."
"Uh-huh," Layla sounded unimpressed.
"Plus, it's a masked gala. Nobody's going to pay special attention to them. It's not like they've got snowy white hair or something out of the ordinary." Catherine continued.
The temperature in the backseat plummeted. Layla's eyes snapped to mine, her breath hitching.
"Yeah, snowy white hair." Her eyes traced my brown hair like she expected it to turn into frost.
Shit! Layla and I had been having the same nightmares. She saw me in battle, in God-mode: snowy white hair, cold blue eyes. She had seen the Northern Shadow. The Sterling icebreaker. Son of the Storm.
"Yes..." Joshua said awkwardly. "Definitely no snowy white hair. Just normal, mortal hair color."
Shut up! I didn't say it. I blasted it telepathically into his mind, hitting his mental blocks like a sledgehammer. He winced, the Fenris swerving slightly as he gripped the wheel.
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic hum of the car as we neared the Altican estate. Layla stole frequent glances at me, her green eyes now filled with uncertainty. I could read into her mind if I wanted to, but I didn't want to pry. Plus, something told me I wouldn't like what I would find.
We pulled out of phase mode into thick greenwoods, a rising peak before us.
"Your old man's got some ego," I whispered.
"I think the word you meant was taste," Joshua corrected.
I had to admit the view was breathtaking, and coming from the child of a multi-trillionaire god, that was saying something.
A beautiful asphalt road cut through the mountain, a black scar winding up to a domed structure at its peak. The dome was completely opaque, reflecting the moon and stars beautifully. It looked like one of those tiny, spherical universes.
The Fenris's tires dug into the asphalt, the forest floor receding lower and lower, replaced by walls of rock on either side.
"I'll stop here," Layla announced, her voice sharp and shaking.
Joshua brought the car to a halt. Layla didn't wait for it to stop before the door flung open.
She turned to Catherine. "I do hope you know what you're doing," she said, before making her way through a dense patch of shrubs.
"Likewise," Catherine muttered, her excitement replaced by the realization of the risk. The engine roared back to life and we continued our ascent.
"Question," Joshua announced, turning to Catherine. "If we're here for a debut and then a gala, why are you dressed in a hoodie?"
Catherine's eyes looked down at the hoodie, the blue lights of the Fenris reflecting on the woolly material.
"It's my godfather's house," she snapped, her voice tight with the realization of the mess she was in. "I could go change before the debut starts. But the two of you," she twisted in her seat, her eyes landing on me, "what the hell do I do with you?"
"What happened to us being business partners?" Joshua asked in his usual cheerful tune.
"It was stupid. You can't get in without an invite," she said with a frustrated sigh. "The guards will stop you the moment you get there."
I stared at the rising wall of rock and rubble. Something was meant to happen tonight. Father had said he'd heard no word from destiny's deity, Askarion. But for some reason, it felt like I could feel destiny itself pulling.
These dreams, these visions. The countdown. Layla. A web was being woven, and being here tonight was a major string in its thread.
"Do not worry about my brother and I," I said, my voice vibrating with conviction. "We'll get in."
Joshua killed the engine.
Massive flood lights flooded the parameter and one landed on us.