We'll train, then.
The three of us spend half the day in the library, studying how the Convening works. Apparently, there's a time of mingling that starts early in the evening, where the covens sniff each other out. The important voting happens later in the night. No pressure. It's also a way for covens to reconnect with each other and form a sense of identity, but I don't care about that. We'll have a hard time making new friends with just one Trueblood in our coven, and Riley warns that there will probably be at least a few anti-Nightside covens there we'll have no chance at convincing.
“Can I make myself look like a Trueblood?” I ask.
Riley's eyes widen on the other side of the table. “It may be possible with the younger Truebloods, but the High Council will smell the difference unless you can learn to alter their perceptions of smell, too.”
“That would be good, if a few of the Nightsides did that,” Lily says. “We should get them on board.”
“The High Council, though,” Riley says. “If they figure out what you're doing, it'll be over. They hate being lied to. But you can look like some other Nightside they've never seen before, and they might not bat an eye since the smell won’t tip them off. That might be best, since there's a chance someone will drop an anonymous word about Olivia before the Convening starts.”
“Dominic,” I say. He'll want revenge. It's all he has left at this point. “I'll do that.” Altering perceptions isn't as terrifying as controlling people, and probably less dangerous to me.
“Then we may have solved the Dominic problem,” Lily says. “We still need to find the Originator.”
“Dad is our best shot,” I say, facing her. “I trust you, Lily.”
She nods. “I'll get on it, today. Forget school. I hear that they stop notifying your parents of your absences when you're of age. I hope that rumor is true.”
So do I, because the last thing we need is for Lily to go under Cat's watch again. “We should start training, today. For once I want to see just what I can do.”
* * * * *
Riley drives me and Lily not to our old training place in the woods, but to the lake where those three Trueblood guys came to kill me, and Riley for associating with me. The place is quiet and gray today, with the beach stretching down to the lake. As we pull off the almost-hidden road, I search the trees for any sign of those guys. But of course, they're long dead, thrown into the lake months ago. Even that feels like ages ago.
“How did those guys know about my status?” I ask as Riley pulls to a stop. The gray, calm lake spreads out at the bottom of the gentle hill.
“They didn't, I don't think.” Riley puts the car in park with a click. “They just saw me contacting you and probably wanted to take care of the risk. The extremists don't want Truebloods to have contact with humans in case it creates more Nightsides. Well, unless we're killing them.” He frowns. “I guess Dominic was a closet extremist.”
“I know it's not an easy thought,” I say. It's the right thing to say, because Riley drops his shoulders.
“So, the training,” Lily says from the backseat. “I've never been back here.”
Riley turns the car off. “Hardly anyone can see the road. Maybe a few deer hunters have been out here, but that's it.”
We get out, and the pines tower over us, forming dark reflections on the dead, gray water. The area looks bleak, but that suits my mood. Lily slowly walks along the beach, scanning the tree line, and I know she's got weapons tucked under her baggy jeans and possibly her sweater. Letting my enhanced senses take over confirms she’s got a silver-tipped stake strapped to her ankle. The scent of iron tells me she’s also got a pistol on her other ankle. She's of age, all right, and probably now allowed to carry deadlier weapons than she used to.
“So, how do we do this?” I ask, letting my feet sink into the sand. “I've got to look harmless, but still like a Nightside. Olivia won't be at this Convening. We can say she ran off, knowing the High Council would kill her. Or that you kicked her out,” I say to Riley. “The story can be that you lost control of her and she fled.”
He nods. “I hate that story because I'm not here to control you.”
Riley can simply be angry with me, then. “Okay. We'll keep that consistent. Let me think of a look I can adopt. What seems harmless?”
“You don't want to go over the top with that,” Lily says, stopping back at the car. She kicks up a bit of sand. “I try not to look too normal at school. You know that. I just adopt a unique brand of weird. If I tried to look completely normal, I'd have to work harder to hide the truth about myself.”
“Lily, you have a knack for disguise, and I’m glad you’re here,” I say. She got us close to Addie before, and she can help us again.
“When you’re weird, no one questions why you have no friends,” Lily says.
“So I can't look completely harmless, is what you’re saying,” I say. “Should I give myself resting bitch face, then?”
Riley snorts. “Maybe? The High Council will expect any dangerous Nightside to look overly harmless. Make them think you’re a little old lady, and their radar might go up.”
“Okay. Got it. I'll be some girl with resting bitch face who hates her new position and came to the new coven to avoid being homeless. Now I need a look. A different hair color, maybe. I can be a redhead.”
Riley's eyes widen. “You? A redhead?”
“What do you find unattractive?” I ask Riley. “Seriously. If the High Council are super perceptive, they'll detect your attraction to me.”
“Olivia has a point,”
