Part 14 (1/2)

”Renee,” he said, studying me through his gla.s.ses. ”You move like a cat. Soundless.”

Smiling, I bent down and picked up his book. Colorful drawings of heroes and villains filled the pages. All of the dialogue was in French.

”Comics?” I asked with a smile, and handed it to him.

”You say it with such disdain,” he said.

I laughed. ”What's it about?”

”Superheroes fighting the Napoleonic wars. But really it's about so much more. Life, death, violence, love, immortality. The meaning of our existence on earth.” His tone was serious, but his eyes seemed to be teasing me. ”I think you'd like it.”

”Why do you say that?”

”Don't you have a superpower, too?”

I shrugged. ”Well, I can't read French, whatever that's worth.”

”And her true tragic flaw is finally revealed,” he teased, and stood up.

”Have you been here the whole time?”

He shrugged. ”I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I picked at a piece of mud clinging to my s.h.i.+rt, not wanting to be reminded of the mortifying incident. ”Thanks.”

It was evening as we left the building and walked across the courtyard to the dormitories. Just as I was about to thank Noah and go up to my room, he turned to me.

”Hey,” he said, ”are you hungry? I know of a really great French deli.”

”What about Clementine?”

Noah's smile dropped a little. ”Oh, I think she's busy tonight. But she won't care.”

Unable to help myself, I let out a laugh. Of course she would care.

But Noah didn't see the humor. ”What's funny?”

”Nothing,” I murmured.

”So what do you think?” He tilted his head to meet my gaze. ”If you don't like French food, we can get something else.”

I bit my lip, my face going soft with guilt. ”I can't.”

Noah stepped back. ”Oh, okay.”

”I'm sorry. I just-”

”No, it's okay. You don't have to explain.”

Feeling grateful, I nodded, and was about to turn away when he said, ”It's a boy, isn't it?”

”Excuse me?”

”I can tell by your expression.”

I brushed my bangs away from my face. ”I don't know what you're talking about.”

”I knew you'd say that,” he said with a wink. ”Just thought I'd try.”

He held the door for me, and after giving him a wave, I slipped inside. I pa.s.sed Clementine in the hallway, where I overheard her asking one of her friends if they had any dinner plans. I must have paused for a little too long, because Clementine glared at me and asked me what I was looking at. Without answering, I squeezed by them, wondering why Noah had lied about her being busy tonight.

In my room, I showered the river water out of my hair, rifled through my closet for a dry outfit, and set off. I crept past the school gates and through the city until I reached the long curving path that led me to the base of Mont Royal. I pulled my coat closer to me as I climbed the mountain, pa.s.sing the spot where I saw the girl and boy kissing by the water fountain. I could still remember the way they'd held each other, kissing as if it were an afterthought.

I was about to walk on when I heard something rustle in the leaves behind me. I froze. A rock tumbled down the hill. For a moment I thought it was the couple, back to haunt me with their happiness. A moth fluttered about a lamp, but otherwise all was still.

I continued until I found myself in front of the twisted gates of the Mont Royal Cemetery. I stopped in front of them, running my hand along the cold bars. Beyond them, tombstones stuck out of the ground in great winding rows that stretched as far as I could see. Dim lamps lit the path.

The gate creaked as I pushed it open just wide enough to squeeze through. Inside, the graveyard was just as I had envisioned it.

Frost laced the gra.s.s, making everything appear frozen in place, but when I stepped onto it, a headstone seemed to s.h.i.+ft.

I gasped, backing against a tree as the ice seemed to crystallize up my feet and around my legs. Dante was here.

He was standing by a black marble tombstone carved into the shape of a pillar. All that was visible were the angles of his face, ivory against the shadows like the planes of a statue.

”Renee?” Maybe it was the wind distorting his voice, but something about the way he said my name made me think he was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

Just before our arms met, I hesitated. It seemed strange that I would find him here, right after my vision.

”Is everything okay?” he said, his eyes searching mine.

”You scared me,” I said.

”I wasn't sure you'd come. This cemetery is so far away from St. Clement that I was worried you wouldn't sense me. But you did.”

I nodded as he wrapped his arms around me until there was no s.p.a.ce between us. My visions couldn't have been his, I thought, burying my face in his chest. Everything felt right, now that we were together. Everything felt like it was in its place. Except that I hadn't felt him. I'd been too focused on finding the cemetery to notice his presence.

Extricating his arms from mine, Dante took a step back and studied me, his eyes dark and clouded like the sky. Maybe it was my own nervousness, or the fact that we were in a cemetery, or the fact that he never blinked, but something about the way he was staring made me uneasy. I tried to move toward him, but he stopped me.

”Let me look,” he said, the words low. ”Please.”

My voice cracked. ”At what?”

He didn't answer for a long while. ”Sometimes I worry that I'll forget.”

Beside us, a crow swooped onto a tombstone. My coat was unb.u.t.toned, letting a chill creep beneath my clothes, but I didn't care. ”Forget what?”

Dante's eyes traveled across me, but his mind seemed far away.

”Forget what?” I repeated, as some part of me began to panic. ”Me? Us?”