Torment - Lauren Kate [106]
Steven had said that sometimes the Announcers distorted what was real. Like the shadows cast on the cave wall. But that there was always some truth to them too. Luce could feel the truth in the cold, soggy pieces, even as she wrung them out, trying to squeeze out all her agony.
Daniel and Cam weren’t enemies. They were partners.
FIFTEEN
FOUR DAYS
“More Tofurky?” Connor Madson—a towheaded kid from Luce’s biology class and one of Shoreline’s student waiters—stood over her with a silver platter at the Harvest Fest on Monday night.
“No, thanks.” Luce pointed down at the thick stack of lukewarm fake meat slices still on her plate.
“Maybe later.” Connor and the rest of the scholarship wait staff at Shoreline were suited up for the Harvest Fest in tuxedos and ridiculous pilgrim hats. They glided past each other on the terrace, which was nearly unrecognizable as the swanky-casual place to grab some pancakes before class; it had been transformed into a full-fledged outdoor banquet hall.
Shelby was still grumbling as she moved from table to table, adjusting place cards and relighting candles. She and the rest of the Decorations Committee had done a beautiful job: Red-and-orange silk leaves had been strewn across the long white tablecloths, fresh-baked dinner rolls were arranged inside gold-painted cornucopias, heat lamps took the edge off the brisk ocean breeze. Even the paint-by-number turkey centerpieces looked stylish.
All the students, the faculty, and about fifty of the school’s biggest donors had turned out in their finest for the dinner. Dawn and her parents had driven up for the night. Though Luce hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Dawn yet, she looked recovered, even happy, and had waved to Luce cheerfully from her seat next to Jasmine.
Most of the twenty or so Nephilim were seated together at two adjacent circular tables, with the exception of Roland, who was sitting in a faraway corner with a mysterious date. Then the mysterious date stood up, lifted her broad rosebud-shaped hat, and gave Luce a sneaky little wave.
Arriane.
Despite herself, Luce smiled—but a second later, she felt close to tears. Watching those two snickering together reminded Luce of the sickeningly sinister scene she had glimpsed in the Announcer the day before. Like Cam and Daniel, Arriane and Roland were supposed to be on opposite sides, but everybody knew they were a team.
Still, that felt different somehow.
Harvest Fest was supposed to be a last pre-Thanksgiving hurrah before classes were dismissed. Then everyone else would have another Thanksgiving, a real Thanksgiving, with their families. For Luce, it was the only Thanksgiving she was going to get. Mr. Cole hadn’t written her back. After yesterday’s grounding and then the rooftop revelation, she was having a hard time feeling thankful for much of anything.
“You’re hardly eating,” Francesca said, spooning a great dollop of shiny mashed potatoes onto Luce’s plate. Luce was growing more attuned to the thrilling glow that fell over everything when Francesca was talking to her. Francesca possessed an otherworldly charisma, simply by virtue of being an angel.
She beamed at Luce like there’d been no meeting in her office yesterday, like Luce wasn’t under lock and key.
Luce had been given the seat of honor at the expansive faculty head table, next to Francesca. All the donors came by in a stream to shake hands with the faculty. The three other students at the head table—Lilith, Beaker Brady, and a Korean girl with a dark bob Luce didn’t know—had applied for their seats in an essay contest. All Luce had had to do was piss off her teachers enough that they were afraid to let her out of their sight.
The meal was finally wrapping up when Steven leaned forward in his chair. Like Francesca, he displayed none of yesterday’s venom. “Make sure Luce introduces herself to Dr. Buchanan.”
Francesca popped the last bite of a buttered corn bread muffin into her mouth. “Buchanan’s one of the biggest supporters of the school,” she told Luce. “You might have heard of his Devils Abroad program?