SHATTERED: SECRET SOCIETY OF SOULS, BOOK 1

by K. C. RILEY

  “Hello. I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but I’m looking for Professor Jonas Jacobs? He stopped by the café where I work in Shadowick and left a picture of a young woman on the table. My name is Lizzy. Elizabeth Maverick. I think he was trying to tell me something? Something about a Blood Book?”

  There was only silence.

  “Hello?” I held the phone tighter. “Are you still there?”

  “You have the wrong number.” His voice was skittish, like he was lying.

  “Wait, is this Emil? Emil Quinones?”

  “I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

  There was a click and then a dial tone.

  “He hung up,” I said to Cassie. “Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the Blood Book part.”

  I redialed the number. It went straight to voicemail. Frustrated, I dialed four more times. Same thing, voicemail. “I give up.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it,” Cassie said. “Serene and Hannah’s ascension. What if your mom is trying to warn you about the same thing? What if you’re going to ascend?”

  Cassie’s words were like being struck by a car. “What? No,” I immediately said. My skin grew clammy at the thought. “No,” I said again. “That wouldn’t make any sense.” As much as I tried to trash the idea and not go to the dark side, it was too late.

  “What am I saying? You’re right. I forgot about the whole seventeen thing. That’s a rule. Your mom and Hannah didn’t ascend until their birthdays, or at least close to. You said you’re birthday was four months ago. You’re fine. It’s got to be something else.”

  I knew what Cassie was doing, but a match was struck, and the paranoia had already set in. All I could see was me strapped to a post next to Serene, being electrified to a crisp inside the Black Mist.

  “Right. My birthday was months ago.”

  “Yeah. I don’t think that’s it at all,” Cassie said reassuringly.

  It was late. I was exhausted. “I better go.”

  “You can stay here if you want.”

  Being alone with my mind and the thought of going through what my mom had gone through wasn’t a good idea. At first, I hesitated. But I took Cassie up on her offer. I went back to my room to put the Blood Book away. I changed into my PJs and grabbed my sleeping bag and a pillow.

  Back in Cassie’s room, I made myself comfortable on the floor.

  She blew out the candles and got in bed. “Goodnight,” she said. “And don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.”

  “Yeah. Thanks,” I replied unconvinced. I lay in the dark on my back as Serene and Hannah’s screams rolled through my head.

  What if I was next? And if so, then who was the little boy? And what did he have to do with all of this? Cassie was right. At least, that’s what I hoped. If there were rules to this thing—turning seventeen—I was safe. I twisted and turned in my sleeping bag all night until I completely bought into it. Well, mostly bought into it.

  At some point I finally fell asleep.

  14

  I woke up the next morning better, but still anxious about what Cassie had said. Me ascending. I had to re-convince myself that that was impossible. Especially since I had turned seventeen months ago. I sounded like a broken record.

  I checked my phone and email for anything from Jonas. There was nothing. I was grasping at straws. Without solid answers, I had to push the whole thing of ascending out of my mind. Instead my thoughts zoomed into Jake, what happened at the lake, how I took off like an idiot, and his mysterious super strength.

  I wanted to apologize for running off like I did. And I wanted answers. I looked for him in class. But he was nowhere to be found. He never showed, not even for PE. Meghan was also absent. The thought of ascending completely vanished from my mind and was instead replaced with the fiery heat of wondering if Jake and Meghan were together. What if I had sent him straight into the enemy’s arms?

  In their absence, I ended up practicing with Meghan’s partner, Christopher from theology class. While I tried to stop thinking about it—Jake and Meghan—everyone else went on about the big Homecoming game that night. It was All Saints against the Sacred Hearts, competitors from a town about two hours away.

  Mason and Boyd eventually joined the crew of students that hung out at Vye’s almost every afternoon. I overheard them one day talking of plans to steal a yeti. I didn’t get it, and didn’t give it a second thought as I served them their usual, iced coffee and nacho fries. Whatever they were going on about sounded absurd until Josie showed me a picture of the Sacred Hearts’ lacrosse team. Their mascot was, indeed, a yeti. What the boys were up to for so long finally made sense.

  The night of the big game came. I sat with the Josie and Cassie in the front row bleachers near the field gate. The smell of freshly mowed grass, hot popcorn, and hotdogs lingered in the warmth of the air. The visiting team cheered and clamored as the Sacred Hearts were leading by two points close to the second quarter. With one minute to go, All Saints tied, and the crowd went insane. The band kicked into high gear while dancing at the same time.

  My mind, however, was still on Jake holding a tree over my head with eyes of black fire. It was also weird how he was always there at the exact moment when I was in trouble, almost like a guardian angel. Jake was hiding way more than he was letting on.

  I had an idea. Probably a bad one, but an idea none the less. Even though Jake wasn’t returning any of my texts, I was fairly sure he was at work. I scrolled through the dorm room directory. Jake’s room number was 201. Everyone was at the game, so the boys’ dorms would be empty. Never in a million years would I have stooped so low. But Jake wasn’t leaving me much of a choice.

  Cassie leaned in. “Tonight, my room, after the bonfire.”

  I looked up from my phone and nodded. I needed all the help I could get.

  Josie leaned over. “I think someone is flagging you.”

  “Yep.” Cassie smirked. “That looks like a flag to me.”

  They both nodded to Christopher waving at me. It was a little awkward. I really didn’t know him that well, other than class and dancing with him earlier. I half waved back.

  Christopher got off the bench, walked over to the fence, and called me over.

  “Hey, Liz. You look great tonight.”

  “Uh, thanks,” I said. “Nice job out there.”

  “Thanks,” he replied. “Dance class was fun. You’re really good.”

  “Yeah, it was. You’re pretty good yourself.” Distracted over Jake, I wasn’t quite sure where the conversation was going.

  “I was thinking. We make a pretty good team.” Christopher took off his helmet. “Has anyone asked you to the dance?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Well, I was thinking. Would you wanna go with me?”

  I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “That’s really kind, but I think I’m gonna go this one alone. Things are still kind of hard, you know? Since my mom.”

  I said a quick prayer to Mom to forgive me for throwing her under the bus. Don’t get me wrong. Christopher was a nice guy. But I was holding out for someone else to ask me. Maybe that was stupid.

  “Right. Sorry,” Christopher said.

  “No, it’s fine. But thanks for asking.”

  “Hey, it’s none of my business, but are you and Jake like together?”

  “No, of course not,” I said defensively. What was wrong with me? I immediately changed my tone. “Sorry, I haven’t been sleeping. I’ve been told I’m a bit of an ogre lately.”

  Christopher brushed his dark hair from out of his eyes and smiled. His golden eyes gleamed. “I get it. School, work, rehearsals. It just seemed like you might be into him. I didn’t want to overstep.”

  “Not at all,” I lied not wanting to seem desperate.

  “Burrows,” Coach Weigl yelled. “Flirt on your own time. Get your ass over here.”

  The guys and girls around us catcalled and cooed. Christopher turned beet red.

  I did too, but for different
reasons. “Sounds like you better go.”

  “Yeah. Just...” Christopher sounded agitated.

  “Just what?”

  “Be careful with Jake. He’s not who you think he is.”

  Who was he telling?

  “Burrows,” Coach Weigl yelled out again.

  “Got to go. I’ll see you at the bonfire. It’s supposed to be a doozy. And, uh, wish me luck.”

  “Yeah. Good luck,” I said.

  The coach yelled a third time.

  “Got to go.” Christopher put his helmet back on and ran out onto the field.

  Everyone settled down after the band played. It was the second half and everyone was having so much fun. I tried, but I couldn’t get my head in the game. Nevertheless, when Cassie and Josie stood up and cheered, I did the same. Just so I didn’t stick out.

  The crowd settled back down after the uproar of Christopher scoring another goal and it was the perfect time to put my plan into action.

  I leaned over to Cassie. “I’ll be right back.”

  I parted through the crowd and made it over to Gooding Hall, the guys’ dorm room. The entire place was deserted as my heart wedged itself in my throat. With sweaty hands I opened the door and crept up the empty stair well to the second floor. What in God’s name was I doing?

  I followed the numbers to Room 201. My heart pounded with second thoughts. What if I got caught? It didn’t matter. I needed to know who or what Jake really was. The first thing I did was lightly knock on the door. No one answered.

  I pulled out my library card, crossed my fingers, and slid the card down between the frame of the door and the lock, something I caught on a YouTube video. At least this one went way better than the haircut.

  The door opened.

  “Hello?” I whispered.

  No one answered. I stepped into a room that was fairly clean and basic, a total guy’s room. There were no mandalas that hung over the bed, no potted plants, floor pillows, or chalkboards with encouraging affirmations and hearts and unicorns scribbled over them. And there definitely were no fairy lights. Instead, a blue plaid comforter lay neatly over the bed. Above that hung a poster of a black motorcycle. And above a hefty desk, a large map of Hogwarts. So he had taste after all.

  But what was I looking for? I had never illegally broken into anyone’s room before. I thought about jail time and swallowed.

  If I was hiding something where would it be?

  I decided to start with his desk and opened the drawer. There was an old report card with Jake’s name on it. All A’s. Who knew? So, he had supernatural strength and was also a genius. I shuffled through the drawer some more as the thought of Jake catching me twisted my gut into knots. I was sure he would kill me, resuscitate me, and then kill me again if he found me in his room.

  I dug deeper into the drawer. Underneath the report card was a sketchbook. I opened it and turned from page to page, astonished at the details of each drawing. I had no idea Jake was an artist. The sketches were so good, they almost felt alive. There was a picture of All Saints on a hill, a picture of a deer eating grass, and another of a girl with bright doe eyes and long flowing hair standing in a field of flowers. Underneath the sketch was the name Riley. His sister was beautiful.

  I turned to the next page, and the sketchbook fell from my hands.

  Butterflies fluttered from my toes to my chest as I picked it back up. The sketch was of me in class, holding a pen at my lip. The details took my breath away. It might as well had been a photograph, it was that good.

  Jake Patrilo actually liked me, meaning there was evidence. With a heart of goo and a smile I wanted to smack off of my face, I closed the sketchbook and placed it on the desk.

  I shuffled deeper into the drawer until I came to a folder with Riley’s name on it. It was covered in weird alien-looking symbols. I opened the folder to what looked like snapshots from pages of someone’s notebook. The smile that beamed from Jake’s sketch soon disintegrated into a black hole. The blood in my fingers went numb. The photos were scribbled figures and shapes around an amulet. The one from the Blood Book. The one from Kai’s drawing. It was called The Stone of Origins.

  I spread the other papers on the floor and took pictures of them, one by one, with my phone. I couldn’t figure out what Riley or Jake was doing with them. There was a map of Shadowick Mountain with several spots circled and crossed out in red. Wasn’t that the place where they found Riley’s body? At least, according to Josie. There was also another map of the town with the same red markings.

  With a few more clicks with my phone, my blood raced at the thought of getting caught in Jake’s room. I quickly gathered and shuffled all the papers together, closed the folder, and was about to put it back in the drawer when the doorknob twisted. Crap. Not getting caught was too good to be true.

  “What are you doing here?” Jake stared at the folder in my hand. “That’s not yours. You had no right.”

  Every time I managed to get one step closer to Jake, we ended up three steps back. But this was totally my fault. I tried to talk, to defend myself. But how the hell was I going to do that? I broke into his room.

  Jake snatched the file from my hand. I had never seen him so mad, angry. Guilt burned away at my vocal cords.

  “Look, I’m sorry for barging into your room,” I said.

  Jake stared at me like I was the biggest liar on the planet. And maybe I was.

  “Okay, breaking in,” I said. “But you weren’t answering my texts and I needed to know about last night, how you did what you did. I also need to know about that amulet, The Stone of Origins.”

  “I can’t believe you did this.” Jake turned his clenched jaw to the side and would no longer look at me.

  I hated hurting people’s feelings and felt horrible. But the fact remained. Jake knew something and wasn’t telling me.

  “Just...go,” he said with gritted teeth.

  I gave up. What was the point? Jake was stubborn as a mule. Not only that, I had destroyed any trust he had ever had in me.

  Before I closed the door behind me, I said, “Six months ago I lost my mother. Riley died around the same time. That’s got to be more than a coincidence. When you’re ready to talk about it, all of it, let me know.”

  He still wouldn’t look at me. Way to go Liz. Way to go.

  Outside, the band played while the crowd cheered, “Saints, Saints, Saints.”

  I hugged my hands under my arms on the way back to the girls’ dorms while the images from Riley’s folder rolled through my cranium like tumbleweeds.

  The Stone of Origins. Was that were they were looking for? And why? Was that how Riley died?

  On the floor in my room, I wasted no time laying out the photos from Riley’s folder I printed from my phone. I studied them over and over.

  Someone knocked at the door.

  “Just a minute.”

  I gathered all the papers and shoved them under the bed.

  They knocked again.

  “Coming.” I opened the door.

  It was Josie. “There’s no way you’re staying up in this room by yourself tonight.”

  Cassie was behind her and mouthed, I tried.

  “You’re on the committee, you’ve got to be there,” Josie barked. “Besides, you missed the winning point of the game.”

  “But—”

  “Cassie said you were sick, but you don’t look sick to me. What’s really going on?”

  Cassie shrugged.

  I had to think fast. “Guilty as charged. You caught me. It was all a part of your surprise.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

  “Cassie was supposed to keep you busy.” The lies poured from my lips.

  Cassie’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. “Uh, yeah, I tried.”

  “Well, that’s enough birthday planning for the night. You’re still on the board, and we’ve got to show up for HCB.” Josie let out a whoop whoop sound and flailed her arms in the air.

  “HCB?” I as
ked.

  “Homecoming Bonfire. Duh.” Josie leaned over and whispered, “BTW, I can’t wait to see what you guys have planned for my party.”

  I couldn’t either.

  Josie marched out the doorway with Cassie and turned back. “Well?”

  “I’m right behind you.” I grabbed a light sweater and was about to close the door when the med bottle on my desk caught my eye. I grabbed it and shut the door behind me. “I’ll be right there,” I said, passing the girls by the stairs. “Got to go to the bathroom.”

  Josie huffed as she looked at her watch. “Hurry up, we don’t want to be late.”

  Inside the restroom, I opened a stall, poured all the pills in the toilet, and flushed them away. I was never taking another pill again. I was never crazy at all.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Cassie said. “A cemetery? Whose idea was this?”

  “Don’t look at me.” Josie followed behind the caravan of cars that were in front of us.

  We slowly drove by an old weathered gate with the name P tt rs Cem tery illuminated in moonlight. Some of the letters were missing, but one word was clear enough. Cemetery. My throat tightened.

  “Having a bonfire on top of the dead?” Cassie asked. “It doesn’t feel right. I’ve never even heard of this place.”

  “Look, we can leave anytime. But we’ve got to show our faces.” Josie turned off onto a dirt road that led deep into the forest. Following the others, she soon pulled off to the side and parked in front of a tree.

  All I could see was woods, darkness, woods, and more darkness. We all got out of the car and met up with Boyd and Mason. There was a clearing up ahead.

  Cassie wasted no time diving into both of them. “You brought us to a spooky cemetery?”

  Boyd lifted a big keg over his shoulder and led the way. “I know. Awesome, right? Keg, keg, keg,” he roared.

  “Sure, if you’re a moron.” Cassie’s voice was drowned out by the crowd as they chanted behind Boyd. The expression on her face didn’t lie. She was nervous.

  Then again, so was I.

  Boyd set the keg down on the ground. “Relax, this place has been abandoned for years.”