Matt Archer: Legend by Kendra C. Highley Page B

what? That you have complete control over
me?” I asked, getting angrier by the second. “Or are you trying to tell me that
I’m not allowed to love anyone? Because if that’s what you’re saying, then I
quit. Find another wielder.”
    You won’t quit.
    I opened my mouth to tell her to try me and see, but the
floodgates of my memories were flung wide: flashes of a little girl wearing a
nightgown as she was yanked from my arms; Schmitz, impaled on a giant
scorpion’s stinger; the sound of my nightmares, as Mamie screamed in the dark.
    You won’t quit, the knife-spirit insisted. You know
worse will happen if you do, and I’m the only one who can help you beat back
the darkness.
    “There are days when I really hate you,” I said. But Tink
was right, even if I constantly questioned her motives. My ironclad sense of
honor, probably something I inherited from both my dad and Uncle Mike, wouldn’t
let me turn my back on anyone’s suffering, not if I could prevent it. Still, I
couldn’t help wondering if I was just a puppet to Tink, turned into a thing
without a heart who moved at the will of the entity pulling the strings.
    If that was true, I was no better than any of the monsters I
killed.
    Sick to my stomach, I walked faster, ready to leave school
behind. When I got to my car, Will’s BMW wasn’t parked in the next spot over
anymore. Just as I suspected—he’d cut out, too.
    Ten minutes later, I pulled into the circular drive in front
of Will’s mini-mansion. His car was nowhere to be seen, but no surprise
there…the Cruessans had garage space for seven vehicles. After taking a minute
to pull myself together, I trudged up to the front door and knocked.
    Millicent, Will’s housekeeper/surrogate mom answered the
door. Her expression was stern. “Mr. Matthew.”
    Oh, man, I was in trouble for sure. Usually, she burbled
some sweet welcome and let me inside after shoving a half-dozen cookies into my
hands. Today, her expression would rival the toughest guard at the state pen.
    I clasped my hands behind my back. “Is Will here?”
    Her frown was the very definition of disapproval. “That
depends. Why aren’t the two of you in school?”
    Ugh. if I wanted to get inside, I would have to grovel. “He
took off, upset about something, and I got worried, so here I am.”
    Millicent’s frown melted into a sad smile. “Well, it would
be shame to waste an entire German chocolate cake on William alone. Go on
upstairs, and I’ll call you two when the cake comes out of the oven.”
    She let me inside, then disappeared into the kitchen without
another word. The smell of baked goodness stirred in her wake, but it didn’t
make my mouth water like usual as I stared up at the balcony rimming the second
floor. Had Will been upset for a while? Had I been too preoccupied, whether by
Tink or my own stupid drama, to notice? If that was the case, I was the worst
friend on the planet.
    No matter what, I wasn’t getting the job done standing in
the foyer. Out of excuses, I started the climb up the curved staircase. Will
had most of the second story to himself, especially since his parents were
rarely home unless they were entertaining. His room was a like a
mini-apartment, with its own bathroom and living area. A dream for most people,
but now that I didn’t have to share the second story with Brent and Mamie, my
house felt too quiet and I’d taken to falling asleep with my iPod on just for
the background noise. What if my whole life had been like that?
    Knowing Will would curse me for feeling sympathetic, I shook
off that thought and knocked on his bedroom door. His heavy tread creaked the
floorboards.
    He cracked the door open. “What?”
    I bit back the angry retort ready to leap off the tip of my
tongue. “I came to find out what’s eating you. You gonna let me in, or am I
going home before the cake’s finished baking? Because I might have to hate you
forever if you did that to me.”
    He didn’t open the door.
    I