The Children of Hypnos

[Vol. 2] Chapter 18: Van der Gelt

Emery often forgot how beautiful the interiors of the Fenhallow campus buildings could be, so when she walked into the transformed Crossing atrium, she forgot she ate almost every meal there. The cafeteria tables were gone, cleared to make space for the dance floor around the fountain in the middle of the room. Red poppies and purple gladiolus ringed the fountain and spiraled around the second-floor railing and down the staircases. The food lines were hidden behind gilded walls, and servers dressed in black and silver crossed the room with platters of drinks and hors d'oeuvres. A string quartet played to fill the room on a stage before the atrium's windows.

Emery and Wes arrived well after the room had filled. Emery wanted to make sure her entrance was seen by everyone in attendance, some more than others, and Wes hadn't wanted to get there too early for fear he'd have to talk to more people. When they'd met in the lobby of Kirkland and Emery had asked him how she looked, he'd given her a cursory glance and said, "Yeah, good."

She squinted at him and put her hands on her hips. "I look super hot right now. Do you not find me attractive?"

He shrugged, looking wary, and said, "You're like a mean sister. You're beautiful, but no, I'm not attracted to you. Sorry."

"Oh." Emery dropped her arms. "I like that a lot better, actually."

The dress swirled around her like smoke as she and Wes entered the dining hall, and the depths of the material writhed like purple storm clouds. Crystal-studded pins winked from her coiled mass of black hair. Her makeup made her eyes icy and piercing, raised her cheekbones and softened her jawline, so the final effect of the makeup, dress, and hair was as if she herself was forming from a Dream cloud.

Wes himself didn't look too shabby; he'd finally ditched his threadbare sweatshirt for a tux he'd rented from a business in the Sleeping City that dealt mostly with high school proms. He looked more comfortable in his sweatshirt or his hunting armor, but Emery had assured him several times that he looked great, and that he should consider wearing suits more often.

Emery kept her chin up and didn't look to see who watched them enter. She and Wes made for one of the tables around the stage, where their names stood on small white placards on the plates. They'd been seated with Klaus—"I'm surprised they want him here," Wes said, to which Emery replied, "So they can keep an eye on him"—but not Jacqueline. A quick scan of the room found Jacqueline already there, standing near one of the front tables with Veronica and looking annoyed and uncomfortable. When she caught Emery's eye, she first pretended to wear glasses and drink tea, then mimed shooting herself in the head. Emery held up her wrist and jangled the shrunken Peacemakers hanging from it. Jacqueline and Veronica both laughed.

"They seated her with my grandpa," Emery told Wes, who just looked confused. "Probably going to show her off to Van der Gelt. The last Fenhallow dreamseeker, stuck in a zoo."

At least Jacqueline had Veronica with her; Veronica Lash was known for her ability to derail any conversation with anecdotes and nonsense, so if Grandpa Al thought he was going to get a peaceful dinner, he had another thing coming.

They got drinks and hovered near their table while the crowd of guests grew. Most were people Emery didn't know: directors of various Hypnos State departments in the city, older men and women who looked like they might belong to Van der Gelt Industries. Moxie and Temper arrived together, Temper looking more bladelike than ever in a trim black suit, Moxie his exact opposite, resplendent in a gown of blooming poppies of all colors, with more poppies woven into the braid of her hair. Shortly after them came Lana and Stainer—Stainer had chosen a suit of all white and Lana a dress of caution orange that clashed magnificently with her complexion.

"Have you seen Van der Gelt yet?" Emery asked.

"No," Wes replied. "Why?"

"Just wondering."