Keeper of the Innocents

by Kristy Centeno

  Mom, having heard about Mina’s nasty side from both Evan and me on other occasions, understood and questioned me no more about the matter. Like me, she agreed that my priority was Renee, even though the guilt over having hurt my best friend’s feelings nagged at me.

  I decided to give her another call so that we could talk things through. This time she did pick up but cut my apology short when she said she wasn’t ready to talk to me yet and that I should give her some time to gather her thoughts.

  I ended the call with a sigh and decided I should focus my attention on my upcoming date instead. In an hour and a half I’d be expected to show at the front of the building and it was barely enough time to pack something to eat and figure out what I was going to wear.

  With a shake of the head, I strolled over to the kitchen and stood around for a moment, trying to figure out what my date would like. I knew little—nothing about him, including his taste for food, and that proved to be difficult when it came to figuring out what to bring along with me.

  If everything went well during the date though, I’d know more about him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Barriers Aside

  Rhyzel had mentioned to bring along some sandwiches, cold drinks, and a blanket so I had to presume he was taking me to someplace outdoors.

  Plus, he’d practically said as much when he mentioned how hot it was going to be.

  I still had no clue as to what he had in mind, but it didn’t really matter. My whole reason for going was to determine once and for all whether Rhyzel was a threat to me or not. If Lady Luck was on my side, my continuous suspicions of him would prove to be no more than just that.

  It was bad enough that half the time I had to worry about Mina representing a danger to Renee, even when I knew that as long as Evan was present, she’d be protected. When it came to Rhyzel however, I wasn’t sure where I stood. If he turned out to be a danger to me, there wouldn’t be anyone present to protect me.

  I had to take the risk. I knew that much. I needed to find out who wanted to hurt Renee and so far the only two suspects on my list were Mina and Rhyzel. Evan never left Renee alone with Mina, so knowing that made it easier for me to go on the date with Rhyzel.

  Feeling a little more confident, I decided to prepare lemonade, which I poured into a thermos. I also made a few BLT sandwiches, made a salad of the fresh fruit in the fridge, and packed everything in plastic containers. For a moment I thought about cramming all the food along with the thermos into a picnic basket but then decided against it.

  How would I be able to hold it while holding on to Rhyzel? And tying it to the back of the bike would probably be too uncomfortable for me. Besides, the way Rhyzel liked to put pedal to the metal so to speak, we’d probably end up losing our food along the way.

  So I came up with what I thought was a better solution. A backpack. Since the food was packed into plastic containers, there was no issue at all with stacking them inside alongside the thermos of ice cold lemonade. I threw in a couple of bottles of water, and a pair of granola bars just in case, plastic cups, paper plates, napkins, and eating utensils.

  After zipping up the backpack, I ran into my bedroom to rummage through my closet and figure out what outfit to put on.

  It took about fifteen minutes for me to decide what to wear, but I went all casual. If I was going to be outdoors I wanted to be as comfortable as possible, so the best course of action was to pick a pair of jean shorts with a golden sash for a belt, a simple, blue cotton shirt with a low V-shaped neckline, and a pair of golden gladiator sandals.

  After a quick shower, I pondered for a few minutes what to do with my hair. Just before graduating high school I’d had made the decision to cut my blonde tresses. Going for a fresher hairstyle—something different from the long, wavy locks I’d sported all through my high school years, I’d shortened it into a bob and added some red highlights.

  It had seemed like a drastic decision once I viewed the end result, but everyone seemed to fall in love with the newer version of me. So I learned to enjoy my new hairstyle.

  The only problem I had with it was deciding how to style it on special occasions. Since my time was limited, I opted for pinning a couple of locks in front back with a pair of blue bow shaped hairpins and calling it a day.

  A pair of gold hoop earrings and some lip gloss completed my look. I sauntered out of my room and into the dining room just in time to bump into my dad.

  He looked up from the plate sitting in front of him and smiled. “You look beautiful.”

  I picked up my phone from the table where I’d left it after calling Mina, and stuffed it into my jeans pocket. “Thanks, Dad.”

  Even though Mom knew I was going out, she didn’t appear too happy. That worried me. Did she know or suspect I was meeting with Rhyzel? She sat beside Dad, her eyes taking in my appearance with a mixture of disapproval and concern.

  “Mom, are you okay?” I asked as I picked up the backpack I’d left on top of a chair earlier and swung one strap over my left shoulder.

  “I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” She looked straight into my eyes.

  My insides knotted as she said that. She knew. What did I expect? She always knew.

  Dad turned his attention to Mom. “Is there something I should know?”

  Mom took her gaze off me and shook her head. “No. I’m just concerned after last night. That’s all,” she assured Dad, who didn’t seem too convinced.

  “Mom, I’ll call if I’m going to be late. I promise,” I assured her. “I won’t stay out too late anyway.” I looked at Dad. “You guys have no reason to be worried.”

  Mom picked up her fork and played around with the only carrot left on her plate. “I hope so, Demi.” She wouldn’t even look at me.

  I didn’t know how she knew I was meeting up with Rhyzel, but I had no doubt she knew and her sullen demeanor had everything to do with the issues she obviously had over this meeting.

  Dad reached out and patted Mom on her right shoulder. “I’m sure if anything happens, Demi will let us know.” He then added, “Don’t worry as much. Demi is a strong girl.”

  I nodded. “That’s right, Mom.”

  “I know that,” Mom said.

  Dad glanced up at me and smiled once again. “Go and have fun. Be home at a decent hour, okay?”

  “I will, Dad.” I inched closer to the door. “I’ll see you guys later.”

  Mom didn’t bother looking up at me. She didn’t add another word either, and the whole scene made me incredibly uneasy. What did she know that caused that distant attitude toward me?

  I tried not to think about it as I exited the apartment and made my way toward the main entrance of the apartment building.

  I had issues myself over being alone with Rhyzel, but I was as determined to find out more about him and willing to put any uneasiness aside in order to achieve my goal.

  My mind was a little clouded with doubts as I descended the stairs, but they all vanished the second I spotted Rhyzel sitting astride his bike, his green eyes scrutinizing me with interest. He wore a brown t-shirt with a red and white guitar logo on the front that accentuated his biceps perfectly, blue jeans that molded his long legs and tight buttocks to the point of envy, and a pair of Timberland boots.

  Demon or not, he looked good enough to eat.

  “You came.” He seemed surprised to see me. “You look great.”

  The way his gaze traveled from my face down to my feet was hard to miss. It certainly caused a shiver to go down my spine—and it had nothing to do with fear.

  “I told you I was coming.” The temperature wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still a little hot and humid out. “I have a feeling we might end up drinking all the lemonade and water I brought along with me. You do like lemonade, right?” It had never even occurred to me that he might not like lemonade.

  Rhyzel cocked his head to the side and grinned. “I do like it.” He reached behind him and produced a small black h
elmet. “Here,” he handed it to me, “you’ll need this.”

  I took it. “How come you didn’t provide this last time?”

  “I have a confession to make.” He grabbed the black and neon green helmet I’d seen him wearing before from the seat in front of him and lifted it to neck level. “I don’t wear my helmet most of the time.”

  “What, you think you’re invincible or something?”

  He gave me a guilty look. “I…kind of cheat on occasions.”

  “What does that mean?” I was very curious about what he meant exactly. When he avoided eye contact I figured he must have meant something supernatural. “You mean, you use your powers?”

  This time he did turn his gaze toward me. “Only when I’m in a hurry.”

  I was a little shocked. “Last night?”

  The expression of a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar was visible in Rhyzel’s face. “Well, you said you were in a hurry.”

  “And I was worried we’d be stopped by the police on our way there.”

  Rhyzel put his helmet on, but lifted the visor. “The police couldn’t have seen us even if they tried.”

  I have to admit, I was mildly amused by his confession. “I guess you speeding like a maniac is the least of my worries.” He’d used whatever demonic powers he had to cloak us from view and I never noticed. It seemed I learned something new of Rhyzel every encounter we had.

  He laughed softly. “I promise I’ll take it easy on you tonight.”

  Maybe it was me, but I thought his words might have held a double meaning.

  “Don’t try anything funny, or I just might have to hurt you,” I warned before setting the helmet on my head and looping my arm through the backpack’s free strap to accommodate it on my back.

  “I got that.” He actually gave me a military salute before adding, “Now hop on or we’re going to miss the show.” He set the visor back down over his eyes and turned on the bike’s engine.

  I did as instructed and made myself comfortable behind him. A minute later we were on our way.

  ***

  It took about fifteen minutes to get to our destination. To my relief, Rhyzel maneuvered the motorcycle like a decent human being and not once did he try to scare the living daylights out of me, which I was grateful for. After my first ever bike ride, I was terrified of traveling at speeds not recommended by the state law—especially when you have no chassis protecting any part of your body in case of a crash.

  Rhyzel had decided to take me to an Outdoor Cinema at the outskirts of town. Each year a film festival was brought to town and would feature free indie films from unknown directors for about a week. I’d never gotten the opportunity to attend because my summers were usually busy, but I’d heard from friends some of the films were worth the trip.

  Fortunately for me, once we arrived and Rhyzel carefully searched for a good parking spot, I began to relax and realized instantly why he’d chosen to meet me around seven and told me to dress comfortably. Not only was it pretty warm out, but we’d be exposed to the elements for a while. He’d known the best time to attend was after the sun had begun to set and the heat of the day would begin to simmer down a bit.

  So far I was in complete agreement with his plan. The weather was great, the ambience lively, and the company enigmatic and mysterious. It was just my cup of tea.

  My date managed to find a good parking space near a copse of tall pine trees. I got off first and he followed suit, turning off the engine, and pushing out the kickstand with his foot before removing his helmet. I followed his lead and freed my head from the restrictive thing.

  Rhyzel shoved his keys into his jean’s pocket and turned to me saying, “I think we should secure a spot under these trees.” He pointed to the huge pine trees in front of us. They could have easily been about forty feet tall if not taller and the long branches near the bottom formed a nice covering of sorts that could very well keep us cooler.

  I took a moment to glance around. Behind me, the makeshift parking lot was full of vehicles of all makes and models. About thirty feet ahead of me there must have been at least a hundred people gathered and waiting for the enormous screen to flash with the feature film. Many were comfortably sitting or lying on blankets while others had brought camping chairs along with them.

  There were men, women, and children sporadically scattered throughout the place.

  “I think that’s a good idea,” I started forward. “By the way, what movie are we watching?”

  “Today’s Monday, right?” When I nodded he said, “I think it’s a romantic comedy called, More than Friends.”

  I stopped walking and turned to meet his gaze. “Romantic comedy? What’s up with that? You don’t seem like the romantic comedy type.”

  He walked past me with his helmet under his right arm. Since he didn’t leave his behind, I didn’t either. I took it with me as we strolled between the trunks of two giant pine trees and made it to the edge of a small ledge. About four feet below was a nice, grassy area we could hopefully spend the next few hours on.

  “I thought you’d like it. Chicks like these kind of movies.”

  He offered me his hand as we had to descend the small hilltop and I took it, holding on tight as we hiked down a few feet before reaching the grassy bottom.

  “Assumptions like that can get you in trouble. Not all girls like those kinds of movies,” I said as I took off the backpack I’d been wearing and opened it, searching for the lilac colored blanket.

  “You mean you don’t like romantic comedies?” He stood next to me, paying close attention to me as I retrieved the blanket and placed the pack gently on the ground.

  “Do I look like the type that does?” I answered his question with another.

  Rhyzel no longer appeared too sure of what to say. “Maybe.”

  I placed one hand on my hip. “You’re lucky I happen to enjoy romantic comedies. If I were another girl I’d be storming out of here right now.”

  He stepped forward to help as I spread the blanket on the ground. “I’ll consider myself lucky then.”

  Ignoring his comment, I sat sideways on top of the blanket and reached for the backpack. “Are you hungry?”

  Rhyzel joined me, sitting as close as possible without actually touching me. “Yeah, I haven’t eaten since lunch today.”

  “Speaking of lunch, how was your day? You did go to work, right?” I took out all the containers, stacking them neatly in front of me.

  “I did.”

  “I only got a couple of hours of sleep and needed a nap during the day to be able to function. How could you work without much sleep?” Taking the lid off one of the containers with sandwiches, I handed it over to him.

  “It’s not the first time I’ve experienced a sleepless night and I’m sure it won’t be the last.” He took the plastic container and eyed the food appreciatively. “Thanks.”

  I reached for a paper plate and placed it in front of me. Then I grabbed the container with the fruit salad and opened it. “You could’ve just stayed home and caught up on some sleep.” I took a fork and used it to spoon some of the juicy fruit onto the plate, which I then offered to him.

  He wrinkled his nose as if he’d caught a whiff of some foul odor as he took the plate and I thought he had automatically rejected my food, but when he spoke I knew his expression had nothing to do with it at all. “No. I don’t like to stay home on days I have work. I like to keep busy. It’s better for me if I keep busy.”

  “Why is that?” I eyed him curiously. Something about what he said forced me to stop and stare.

  “When I don’t have much to do I tend to think too much.” He looked up me and winced. “I don’t like to think.”

  He didn’t explain further but he didn’t have to. I knew exactly what he meant. I’d both felt and seen it before—when I’d touched him during one of those moments he’d been deep in thought and I happened to catch a glimpse of his emotional state thanks to my supernatural abilities. The past haun
ted him constantly. He was a prisoner of his own thoughts. He blamed himself for what happened to his mother. He was tired of running. Of hiding. Of being harassed.

  “Besides, classes will be starting soon and I want to make and save enough money to pay for this year’s tuition.” It was his way of changing the subject and I took it as a sign he didn’t want to dwell on painful matters.

  “What college do you go to?” I asked as I served myself some fruit.

  “Albertina University.”

  I should have been surprised to know that he attended the same institution I planned to go to but quite frankly, I expected it. Albertina University was the school with the best programs around and most chose it over any other not only because of that, but because it was only a forty five minute drive.

  “I’ll be a freshman this year.” I plopped a slice of melon into my mouth and chewed, savoring its sweet flavor.

  Rhyzel didn’t add anything. He opted to remove a sandwich from the container and take a bite. Neither of us spoke much afterwards. We ate and drank in silence. Apparently, we were both famished since we consumed all the food I’d brought and half the lemonade, too.

  Once we were done eating, I packed everything except for the granola bars and the bottles of water into the backpack and sat cross-legged as the screen flashed with images of trailers from other movies that had either been showcased during the first two days of the film festival or would be in the next few days.

  As Rhyzel positioned himself next to me, with one leg folded so that he could rest his forearm comfortably on it, I couldn’t help the thoughts that nagged me. One of them was how he knew what type of witch I was and what kind of mission I had when I asked him to give me a ride.

  There were many types of witches, with branches that included everything to the most evil kind of witch, that being warlocks. For him to just guess I was a Keeper was too much of a coincidence.

  “How did you know?” I grabbed a bottle of water with both hands, squeezing the plastic as I stared forward, unable to look at him. I focused my gaze at the screen. At the many people waiting for the movie to start. On a couple of dogs running from side to side, bumping into a pair of twin toddlers playing with an assortment of cars nearby. Anywhere but at him.