“Of course I’m going to wear it.” My tone bears the same conviction I w
ear on my face, aware of my friends staring at me with varying degrees of disbelief.
“Daire, you can’t be serious.” Lita frowns. “While I agree that it’s stunning, wearing that dress will only result in putting you in even more danger than you already are. Nothing’s free where the Richters are concerned. Every act of their so-called charity comes with a price, and a steep one at that. Question is, why is he doing this?”
I continue to hold the gown against me, running my palm down the soft, silky front. The cut is exquisite. Every tuck and seam falling right into place. Conforming to my contours so precisely it’s as though it was tailor-made.
“So long as there are no blue tourmalines hiding in the hem, I don’t see why I shouldn’t wear it. Besides, he doesn’t expect me to wear it, and that’s exactly the reason I will.” I splay my fingers against the waist, twirl the skirts around my legs.
“I don’t get it,” Xotichl says, as Jennika echoes a similar sentiment.
“Listen, so far nothing I’ve done to stop Cade has worked. So, it’s time for a new strategy.” I take a moment to glance at each of them, letting them know I’m deadly serious and this is not at all negotiable.
“And I suppose you’re going to wear the raven mask too?” Lita scowls, makes no attempt to hide her disapproval.
“I think they’ll go nicely, together. Don’t you?” I refold the dress and return it to the box the same way I found it.
“Daire, why are you doing this?” Jennika looks at me, and I know the question is not nearly as limited as it seems on the surface.
What she really means is: Why the dress? Why the mask? Why are you ignoring our concerns? And, more importantly, why do you insist on hanging onto the very same tourmaline that killed your grandmother?
Jennika means well. They all do. They’re only trying to protect me. Still, I look at them and say, “Ever since the very first Seeker went up against the first Coyote, the goal has been to resist the enemy at every turn.”
“Um, yeah. Isn’t that pretty much the job description of a Seeker?” Lita frowns.
“Up until now, yes. But what if it doesn’t have to be? What if there’s another way to handle them?”
“By playing right into their hands?” Xotichl screws her lips to the side as though trying to make sense of my words. Reluctant to disregard them outright, yet a long way from accepting their truth.
“Partly.”
“You’re going to have to explain.” Lita shakes her head, looks to Axel for backup, but he just slips a comforting arm around her waist, and wisely stays out of it.
“Ever hear the saying what you resist persists?”
Xotichl and Axel nod, Jennika assumes a thoughtful expression, Auden checks his cell, and Lita folds her hands across her chest.
“What it basically means is, the things we resist, the past, the present, the shameful parts of ourselves, have a tendency to become even more prominent. We waste so much of our time and focus on fighting things, ideas, or people we don’t like, when, in the end, it only serves to make those things even more magnified in our lives.”
“Like when you first showed up at Milagro High, and instead of ignoring you and getting on with my life like I should have, I focused all of my attention on you until it seemed like you were everywhere, and it made me dislike you even more?” Lita says. And while it’s not an example I would have chosen, there’s no doubt it fits.
“Yeah. Something like that. And, well, what if the same thing could be said for the Richters? I mean, Seekers have spent countless generations fighting Coyote’s advances. But what if we stopped? What if we played along instead? Or at least gave the impression of playing along.”
“Well, then I’m pretty sure that would result in the world-plunging-into-eternal-darkness Apocalypse scenario the Codex warns about.” Xotichl frowns.
“Not necessarily.”
I motion toward the swath of carefully folded silk fabric. “Clearly this is just another one of Cade’s taunts. So imagine how he’ll react when I call his bluff and show up to the party in full-on, Coyote-style regalia.”
They fall silent, taking a moment to imagine how that might look.
“It’ll throw him completely off track, which will buy me just enough time to take him down before he even realizes what hit him.”
“This is crazy!” Lita says. “Seriously, crazy. And I’m sorry for saying it, but I’m merely voicing what everyone else is thinking. Not to mention that by taking Cade down you also kill Dace. And while you know I’m all for slaying the beast before he can slay us, last I heard, you were dead set against it.”
“And I’m still dead set against it. I have no intention of killing Dace, but Cade has to be stopped or we’re all doomed anyway. Listen, all I can do is trust in my training, my magick, and the tools Paloma left for me. And when it comes down to it, I pray that not only will my ancestors aid me, but that my love for Dace proves stronger than evil—stronger than death.”
Axel shoots me a saddened look, Jennika shakes her head softly and gazes down at her feet, while Auden and Xotichl avoid my gaze, and Lita frowns.