"Mom told me I was staying home again tomorrow," Ashe said. "Want to go ask Marco if he can get away for an hour or so?" Ashe felt scared and excited at the same time.
"Dude, I don't know," Sali backed up a little, staring at Ashe in disbelief coupled with a healthy bit of fear.
"Come on, try it for five seconds. If you don't like it, I'll put you down."
"Fine," Sali shivered with fear and anticipation, as if Ashe were about to ask him to leap off a tall bridge with only a slender bungee cord attached to his feet.
"All right," Ashe grinned triumphantly and became mist. Once that was accomplished, he touched his mist to Sali, who also became mist. See, nothing there, Ashe said silently to his friend as they hovered before the mirror atop Ashe's dresser. No image of either boy was reflected in the glass. Ashe let Sali go and Sali reappeared immediately, staggering to remain upright in the floor.
"Dude," Sali whispered reverently, his dark eyes blinking at Ashe in something akin to worship, "I heard you!"
"What?" Ashe became corporeal, staring at Sali in surprise. "What did you hear?"
"You said see, nothing there," Sali replied, grinning hugely. "That was amazing! I could see and hear! Let's go tell Marco."
"He has to promise to keep his mouth shut," Ashe warned, shaking himself. He had mindspeech after all. He had both rare vampire gifts.
"If you take him tomorrow, I think he'd do just about anything," Sali observed.
"Then let's go." Ashe became mist again, gathered Sali up and went straight through the ceiling, through the kitchen floor past his mother, right through the attic and out the roof. Arriving at Sali's home bare moments later, Ashe zipped right past Winkler and Marcus in the DeLucas' kitchen and straight into the hall, where Ashe dropped Sali before changing back to himself. Sali knocked softly on Marco's bedroom door.
"What do you want?" Marco's muffled voice was surly.
"Marco, I think I have the answer to your problem," Sali said softly, leaning against his brother's door.
"What?" Marco almost flung his bedroom door open, halting in half swing when he saw Ashe standing there with his younger brother. "When did you get here?" he demanded.
"Just now," Ashe said. "And we can always leave, if you don't want to go into Cordell with me tomorrow."
"And just how are you going to get me there?" Marco's words were snarled.
"Dude, we're supposed to be at Ashe's house right now, and we may not have much time. Let us in and we'll explain," Sali whispered, his black eyes begging his brother to hear him out. Ashe got the idea that Sali wasn't allowed inside Marco's room very often.
"And this was my idea," Ashe said. "So Sali isn't to blame for any of this."
"Get in," Marco stood aside to allow both boys inside his room. Ashe took in the rumpled bed, scattered clothing and books piled on the dresser. It was an older version of Sali's room. Ashe wasn't about to say that to Sali, though. He bore enough pressure as Marco's younger brother. Marco shut the door and Ashe and Sali moved uncomfortably into the space between Marco's bed and dresser.
"Marco, I can get you into Cordell and inside the church tomorrow, but you have to promise you'll never tell that we went or how it was done," Ashe mumbled, staring at his feet. He'd worn his new shoes; they didn't pinch his toes.
"I don't think that's possible, but go ahead. Tell me how you plan to do this." Marco flopped onto his bed, prepared to be unimpressed.
"All right. Sali, do you want to be the guinea pig?" Ashe turned to his friend.
"Sure. Let's show him impossible," Sali wore a smug smile as he studied his older brother. Ashe nodded, went right to mist and had Sali drawn into his mist and invisible in only a second or two. Marco was backing up on his bed, his feet pushing the bedspread into a puddle as he scrabbled with his feet and hands.
"What the," Marco didn't finish his statement. He stared, hard, as Ashe and Sali became visible again.
"Mom and Dad don't know yet," Ashe said. "You can't tell, Marco, or I'll be in trouble for sure. I found out I could do this on the last full moon. If I come for you right at two tomorrow afternoon, I'll take you to the Prairie Harvest Baptist Church and we'll find somewhere to sit so nobody will see us. We have to come right back after the service, though. If Mom finds me gone, I'll be in hot water for sure."
"Yeah. I know that feeling. You don't feel weird doing this?" Marco slid to the edge of the bed as he asked Sali about riding with Ashe as mist.
"Dude, its flying. Weightless flying. And you can see and hear everything while you're with Ashe. And Ashe can talk to you while he's taking you. In here." Sali tapped his temple.
"I don't know how this is possible," Marco stared at Ashe.
"Dad says there are some really rare vampires who can turn to mist and mindspeak. I think that's all it is, Marco. I get this from Dad, somehow. I'll be here tomorrow at two unless something happens. Be ready to go."
"I'll be ready." Marco still seemed stunned but nodded at Ashe anyway.
"Ready?" Ashe turned to Sali.
"Ready," Sali grinned. Ashe went to mist, turned Sali to mist as well and scooted right through the roof.
"Dude, that is an awesome talent," Sali sighed as Ashe dropped his friend on his bedroom floor moments later. "We should have timed it," Sali added.
"Yeah. I had to be going around sixty or seventy when I caught up with Mom's truck on the highway," Ashe said, flopping onto the bed with a sigh.
"And it was just speeding along without a driver?" Sali asked.
"Yeah."
"Dude, that's just weird. You think somebody started driving and then jumped out?"
"Had to. I guess. How else could it have happened?"
"No idea. Have you started writing your essay yet?"
"Are you kidding? I'm stumped. I don't have a single good idea." Ashe chewed thoughtfully on his lip.
"Me either. And I really want a cell phone."
"A cell phone would be nice." Ashe agreed completely. "But we have to write the essay first, and then it has to be better than anybody else's. Wait—we have a whole box of essays to look through." Ashe stared at Sali.
"Yeah." Sali hauled the box that Ashe had stolen from Principal Billings' attic out of Ashe's closet. Ashe jerked the lid off and lifted out half the papers inside. "I'll take this half, you take the other half. See what you can find, dude."