Radiant - By Christina Daley Page 0,54

rather daring. On the rare occasions that one of my kind has done that, humans have mistaken them for all sorts of things. But Mayim is around humans a great deal, and she knows quite a lot."

"Do you have a real form, too?" she asked.

He nodded.

"May I see it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because my energy is different from hers," he said. "I could blind you."

"Oh," she said.

"It's time to go," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Wait," she said. "I want a kiss."

"After what happened before?" he asked.

"It wasn't bad at first," she said. "Maybe if it's only for, like, three seconds. You won't hurt me then."

He thought for a moment. "Well, she did say to 'be careful.' But she didn't say 'no kissing.'"

Mary smiled. "Yup."

He chuckled. "In that case—"

Phos kissed her. Short and sweet. It still felt like a hot pot on her mouth, but Mary didn't mind.

"Okay?" he asked.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him so that they could translate back home. Mary was glad. As long as they stuck to their three-second rule, Phos wouldn't burn her. She also made a mental note to get SPF lip balm. After school the next day, Mary stopped by the corner store to buy some.

Again, the woman behind the counter told her the price in Vietnamese.

Mary stared at her for a moment. Rather than argue this time, she paid for the lip balm without a word. The woman also said nothing as she gave her the change.

Mary turned to leave. But at the door, she stopped and looked back at the woman. She didn't know much Vietnamese, but she did know how to say thank you. "Cám ơn, chị."

The woman looked at her in surprise. Then, she nodded. "You wewcome."

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- 22 -

Promise

Mary,

I may have something. Email or call when you get this.

- Drew

Mary deleted the message from her inbox. She hadn't figured out how she was going to tell Drew about Phos. Or even if she should. She closed the computer and leaned back in her chair. Phos was supposed to pick her up soon for their next date, and she felt weird. Drew had made it clear that Phos shouldn't be possessing Carter. And she had agreed with him before. But things were different now, since Phos told her who he was. And since he was keeping Carter alive, he shouldn't leave him yet. Or her.

In fact, Mary was starting to feel like Phos shouldn't leave at all.

The buzzer rang. Downstairs, Mary found Phos wearing cowboy boots and a hat.

"Good evening," he greeted. "Have you ever seen a rodeo?"

"Just in movies," she said. "Is that where they kill cows?"

He wrinkled his brow. "I think you're thinking of bullfighting. That's in Spain."

"But there are bulls involved, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "They don't kill them, though."

"Just making sure," she said. "Are we driving or translating?"

"Translating. We're going to Texas." He smiled. "And I have a surprise for you there."

They went up to the roof and translated. Instantly, they were at a fair, complete with rides, cotton candy, and clowns twisting balloons into animals. But unlike the fairs she'd been to before, everyone wore a cowboy hat.

They followed the crowds to an outdoor arena with stadium benches arranged around a large oval rink filled with dirt. The air was thick with the smell of farm animals.

They took their seats, and Mary looked around nervously.

"Is something wrong?" Phos asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm reading all the signs around here. Why are all the sponsors hospitals and urgent care clinics?"

Before he could answer, an announcer with a heavy southern accent boomed into the microphone. Mary couldn't understand anything he said, but the crowd apparently did, and they whooped, hollered, and raised their beer bottles into the air.

For the next hour or so, they watched several events. In one of them, young men jumped from their horses and wrestled small cattle to the ground. The goal was to get the animal onto its side and tie three of its feet together with a cord. Even though the cows were small, they were strong and irritated.

Then came the agility races, which Mary appreciated better. Women had to ride their horses through an obstacle course without knocking over anything. The ones who posted the fastest times with the fewest penalties won.

Finally came the event that Phos was eager to see. "Here is the bull riding," he said. "This is the main event of the evening."

Mary watched as young men strapped on padded