Dance of Fire Read Free

Coalition Falls Apart was clearly about politics.
    â€˜Dear, it’s rude to read someone else’s newspaper.’
    Vanessa sighed. ‘Fine, Mom.’
    Never mind the demon. She wondered if having her mother by her side all week might be the most challenging part of the competition.
    â€˜There he is!’ Vanessa’s mother said as passengers rushed past them towards customs. ‘Oh, Justin!’
    Justin was standing in front of the boarding gate, his backpack slung casually over one shoulder. He was wearing a grey sweater that was loose around the neck, a snug pair of jeans and crisp-looking white sneakers.
    Vanessa had to admit he looked good.
    Her mother drifted ahead, pulling out her phone to call Vanessa’s dad, as Vanessa and Justin fell in behind her. ‘How was your flight?’ she asked.
    â€˜Fine,’ Justin said. ‘Yours?’
    â€˜Oh, fine.’ Vanessa wasn’t sure what else to say. Was Justin nervous about the competition? Had he been in touch with Enzo? They hadn’t exactly spoken since the end of the semester. Even though they’d been in touch to make arrangements for the trip and choose their pas de deux , it had all been by text, short and sweet and businesslike. There’d been nothing personal, nothing about their kiss in the snow.
    â€˜Being in England already makes me want tea,’ Justin said, eyeing a restaurant in the terminal. ‘And, like, a crumpet.’ He smiled at her suddenly, his blue eyes warm and friendly.
    â€˜Crumpet,’ Vanessa repeated. She’d never actually had a crumpet. She didn’t even know what one was. Why had she just repeated the word crumpet ? Oh, God.
    â€˜Watch where you’re going!’ an older woman yelled as she cut across the walkway, nearly knocking Vanessa to the ground.
    â€˜Careful,’ Justin said, catching Vanessa’s shoulder. ‘You OK?’
    â€˜I’m fine, thanks.’ Glued to her phone, her mother hadn’t even turned round.
    Justin gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and Vanessa felt her stomach flutter. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’
    Forty-five minutes and one stamp on her passport later, ­Vanessa was through customs. Her ears were full of English accents – everyone sounded like Russell Brand or the old dowager on Downton Abbey , which was weirdly comforting.
    â€˜You may not know this about me, Justin, but I abhor being late,’ Vanessa’s mother said. ‘That and Chinese food. Neither are good for you, you know.’
    Justin stifled a laugh, but Vanessa just shook her head. She already knew her mother was crazy.
    Their overnight flight was supposed to have arrived just before 8 a.m., but now it was nearly ten. Vanessa could see the weak morning sun hiding behind grey clouds, and she shivered as the three of them stepped outside into the cold December air.
    Vanessa turned on her cellphone while they waited. A few text messages came in at once. The first was from her friend TJ: Be safe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
    There was one from Steffie that said, Say hi to Justin for me , and one from Blaine: Kiss Justin for me. Blaine was spending the holiday at Steffie’s house in Cincinnati, while TJ was in Manhattan, trying to convince her parents to let her fly to London and spend Christmas with Vanessa and her family. All of them were hurting – missing their friend Elly, who’d gone missing in September and was probably dead, murdered by Josef or Zep. Vanessa shivered, remembering dancing withZep, kissing him, how crazy she’d been about him, while all the time he was working with Josef to raise a demon. What a creep.
    â€˜Anything interesting?’ Justin said.
    Vanessa stuffed her phone into the pocket of her jeans. ‘Not really.’ She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, and she turned away.
    â€˜Come on, let’s hail a cab,’ Vanessa’s mother said, but