His jaw clenched tightly. “Yes.”
“As in… created by her?”
“Yes.”
Clutching her stomach to hold down the nausea, Eden looked away from Ryan. God, they were so evil a goddess had created a race of humans to take them out. Awesome.
“Eden?”
“What?”
“I’m glad you’ve agreed to the Ceremony. Trust me… when it’s over… this… whatever this bizarre human thing you’re going through is… it will disappear forever. All this… unnecessary pain you’re feeling… you won’t have to deal with it anymore.”
She watched as he turned on his heel and left the room. That had almost been an actual conversation. A very sick and twisted conversation, but one nonetheless.
Her phone buzzed.
Where are you? Everything OK? N.
Hot tears brimmed over her eyelids. She’d agreed to the Ceremony. Which meant…
No more Noah.
Chapter Seven. You and Me, Dude
“It has been a few days now,” Cyrus sighed down the other end of the phone line.
Noah winced at the reproach in his sigh. “It’s not like I’m not trying, Cyrus, but if I push her now, I might not get her back.”
“If you do not push her now, we might not get her back.”
Noah exhaled heavily. It was Friday tomorrow and still Eden was avoiding him like the plague. In any other hunt it wouldn’t have been a problem. He’d have gone in aggressive and had a hold of his prey in record time. But with Eden he felt he needed to tread carefully. She was going through a traumatic time right now, and pushing her to talk to him when she was so clearly afraid, might ruin their friendship forever.
“You are becoming too involved, Noah,” Cyrus softened, his understanding worse than the recrimination.
You’re one to talk. “I’m not too involved. I’m just trying to be careful.”
“No. You are concerned about losing her trust. Well that is something that will probably occur, so it is best you resolve yourself to that outcome. Right now, I am concerned about losing her. If she has broken away from you, Noah, it can only mean she has decided to go ahead with the Awakening Ceremony. We cannot let that happen. Do what you must to get through to her.”
Noah groaned inwardly as he flopped back on his bed. Cyrus was right. He’d effed this one up. Got too close. Too attached. “Of course, Princeps. I’ll fix this.”
“Good. Alain would like to speak with you.”
He brightened a little. He hadn’t spoken with his parents in a few weeks except for a couple of text messages from his mom.
“Noah,” his father’s heavily accented voice murmured in his ear and his whole body relaxed.
“Hey, dad. How are you? How’s mom?”
“Good. Missing you. We did not think this assignment would take so long.”
“I know. I had to take my time. Build trust.”
The line was quiet for a moment and Noah could hear his father moving, a door closing in the background. Finally Alain sighed, sounding as weary as Noah felt. “Cyrus has been keeping me updated on your progress.”
Noah didn’t like his tone. That tone had always signalled a lecture. A lecture that somehow managed to make him feel seventeen instead of seventy. “Yeah?”
“I was never keen on this, Noah. I wanted what was best for Cyrus, what would make him happy, but I’ve never been sure of this creature, this girl-”
Noah flinched at the disdain in Alain’s voice and unexpectedly found his hands curling into angry fists.
“-but for Cyrus I would agree to almost anything. He’s a good man. But now my son is caught up in this girl’s life; acting like a friend, tip-toeing around her feelings. I’m worried you grow too attached to something that you shouldn’t.”
His cheeks felt flush with anger. ‘something’? “Dad, don’t you trust me?”
“Of course, but you are still young, Noah. Still easily-”
“No. Think on Valeria. Cyrus was right. He’s seen this before. I can back up his claims now, OK. I’m not duped by a clever soul eater. Eden is a messed up, confused kid who deserves a chance to get the hell out of a world she should never have been born to.”
His father remained silent for a while. “She’s still one of them, Noah.”
“Not if I can help it.”
Noah heard the familiar sound of his father growling unhappily. “Fine,” he snapped.
“Does mom feel this way too?” Noah squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his fingers into the sockets as if to stem an imaginary headache. Ankh didn’t get headaches. But they got pissed off pretty easily.
“No,” Alain bit out. “Emma thinks we should trust your instincts but I’m still-”
“Maybe you should listen to mom.”
“Maybe you should remember it is rude to interrupt. I swear every time you go on assignment as a teenager you turn into one.”
Noah snorted. “That’s kind of the point, dad.”
He grumbled. “Alright. I better go. But be careful, son.”
“Always am.”
But as Noah ended the call, he gazed at himself in the mirror, a look of mockery curling his upper lip. How could he guarantee anything to anybody in this situation? Nothing had gone to plan so far. Eden had turned everything upside down. And then there was the added pressure of how important this was to Cyrus.
OK. Cyrus was right. He had to get his game face on.
***
It was sneaky and underhand but Noah couldn’t think of another way. He stood with the door to the janitor’s closet open a crack, waiting on his plan unfolding. As he waited, a fake note from the principal’s office had found its way to Mrs Sorenson’s Business Studies class. Eden Winslow would then be told the principal wished to see her. She’d have to walk this corridor to get to the school office.
There she was.
Noah’s heart picked up at the sight of her and he deftly ignored his reaction to her. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a frown of consternation, clearly wondering why the hell she’d been called out of class. He held his breath, waiting for her to come closer, to nearly pass. He studied her for a moment. She was looking a little thinner, easily noticeable on her tall frame and with her hair pulled back tight off her face in a long ponytail. Noah smiled as his eyes wandered downwards. Over a long-sleeved black shirt, Eden was wearing the Killers t-shirt he’d shrunk in the wash. Stupid, but it gave him hope that this would go his way. He couldn’t lose her.
Just as she past the door he snapped the door open, shot his hand out and wrenched her into the closet, closing the door with a quiet click. All in seconds.
“What the hell? Noah, you scared the crap out of me!” Eden hissed, her warm breath tickling his throat. It took a moment but his eyes adjusted to the dark and he began to make out the shape of her, trapped inches from him in the tiny closet.
“Sorry, but it seemed to be the only way I could have an actual conversation with you.”
She gasped into the dark. “You wrote the note?”
He grinned. “Yup.”
He winced as she slapped his arm in retaliation. “Dude, I was freaking out wondering what the hell I had done.”
For once Noah was glad to hear her call him ‘dude’. “Well if you wouldn’t turn tail and run every time you see me I wouldn’t have to resort to such measures.”
“Whatever.”
Drawing on his skills of manipulation, Noah pushed anxiety and hurt into his words. “No, no whatever. OK. Eden, come on, what did I do?”
He saw her head drop, her eyes trained on the floor. “You didn’t do anything,” she replied quietly. “It’s me. I’m just… going through a rough time. And Ryan doesn’t really want us hanging out anymore.”
Noah wasn’t sure he believed that or not. He was kind of under the impression Ryan would like Noah to push Eden over the edge with her need, with her hunger for him. Then again if Ryan had grown suspicious of him he would ban Eden from seeing him. Noah didn’t l
ike that possibility one iota. If Ryan knew who he was, they’d have to move fast.
He took a moment, his arms crossing over his chest, brushing Eden’s skin. A frisson of tingles and heady heat was quickly ignored.
Nah, if Ryan knew there was an Ankh in town he’d have the whole Winslow family on the move.
“I thought you didn’t give a crap what your dad thinks?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know anymore.”
Oh no. oh no no no no no. Noah shook his head. No way was he losing her. He grabbed a hold of her arms, jerking her closer so her head shot up. In the dim light he could make out those pale eyes, staring straight up into his. “Eden, we’re friends. OK. We survive whatever crap is thrown at us here because we have each other. Whatever you’re going through, don’t shut me out. Life would kind of suck without…” He shrugged, trying to appear like a bumbling embarrassed teenage boy. “Well without you. So… I dunno… if you don’t want to hang out, you gotta tell me,” he snorted, like he knew he was making an ass of himself.
It worked.
He felt Eden’s hand wrap around his wrist; felt the tension in her body. “It’s not that. You’re my friend, Noah. You and Stellan. You’re my only friends.”
Noah winced at the mention of Stellan, the other huge complication in this. If he had it his way, Eden would hate all her family and would happily choose Noah and Cyrus. But the situation was not that straightforward. There was Stellan, Eden’s big brother. Eden loved him completely. And from what Eden had told Noah, Stellan adored Eden. That was a problem. That was a huge problem.
He shrugged it off. He could only deal with one thing at a time.
“So, can we start hanging out again, or am I going to have to drum up weird and wonderful ways to make you stop avoiding me?”
Eden took measured breaths like Celine had shown her last night. After nearly taking out Lucy in the library, Ryan had ordered Eden to sit with Celine an hour or two every night to learn some mental and breathing exercises that would help her fight the hunger until the Awakening Ceremony. Stuck in such close proximity to Noah was torture but the exercises helped a little. As did his charmingly awkward attempt to tell her, her friendship meant a lot to him. Eden had felt this awful pang in her chest at the words, mentally berating herself for being so callous with his feelings. Noah always came off so cool, like nothing could touch him. She’d thought he might be bothered by her avoiding him but that he would eventually just give up. Even though she knew that it would have been so much easier on them all if he had just given up, Eden couldn’t help but feel a little psyched that he’d gone to so much effort just to get her to talk to him.
She bit her lip, thinking it over. Her heart fluttered as his scent flooded her insides, making the hunger yawn and bat at it, like a kitten at a mouse. She closed her eyes, pushing his scent back out of her. After a moment the trembling in her hands ceased.
Still, she felt the familiar heat of his presence, could make out his expectant wicked smile. God, she missed him. She missed how easy it was to be with him; how sitting in total silence with Noah was the only time she didn’t feel alone.
Maybe I can keep seeing him. I just have to be strong for the next few weeks. After the ceremony I’ll be able to be around him no problem. And it’s not like he knows what I am. It’s not like he can condemn me for my nature.
No. She would do enough of that for the both of them.
“OK,” she breathed, feeling the sadness drain out of her with the words. “But for now, we can only hang out at school.”
Eden saw the outline of his smile. “Sounds good to me.”
Chapter Eight. Unquiet Misdeeds
Despite everything, Eden couldn’t help but feel relieved over her decision to remain friends with Noah. They’d hung out in the cafeteria again and he’d given her a playlist of all the new bands he’d been listening to. Like old times they joked and kidded around, and Eden felt that weirdness again… other people called it contentment.
It was a good idea to keep it secret for now.
Eden had headed home after class, singing along to the radio and her secret music crush Lady Antebellum. Eden had been OK with hanging out alone in her room but Stellan had cornered her and pulled her back downstairs to play the Wii. Feeling nostalgic, they were playing tennis.
“You really suck at this, Eden,” Stellan laughed.
She huffed, shaking her wrist out. “You chose tennis because you know you can beat me. This would be a different story if we were boxing.”
“We can switch.” He puffed up his chest at the accusation. “I’m willing to prove you wrong. I’m just vastly superior at this game.”
Sighing, Eden flopped down on the sofa. “Change it. I forgot how much it blows.”
Stellan chuckled and put in a disc. Mario Kart flashed on the screen. A wide grin replaced Eden’s scowl. Her brother winked at her and Eden nodded gratefully. She rocked at Mario Kart.
For a while, as she always did when she and Stellan hang out like this, Eden forgot about her troubles. They were just a brother and sister, hanging out, teasing one another, having fun. Their parents hadn’t bothered them all evening which only made it even better. Eden glanced at the clock. She frowned.
“Stel, it’s a Friday night. Why aren’t you out with your friends?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes it’s more fun kicking back here with you.”
She glared at him. “Is this a pity hang?”
Stellan grunted, not taking his eyes off the screen. “No. Although I gotta say I am glad you’re not hanging out with that Noah kid anymore. Guy was a freak.”
Noah was a freak? Eden snorted. They were the ones sucking souls out of people but oh no… Noah was the freak. She shook her head and returned to the game.
“Hey kiddies, what’s happening?”
She immediately tensed at her cousin’s voice behind her. Stellan had gone all stiff too but he shrugged it off and overtook her on the track. Eden bit her lip, trying to ignore Teagan as he moved further into the room.
“How sweet, Stellan, hanging out with little sis.”
She shivered. He somehow managed to make everything sound perverted.
“Of course.” He drew to a stop between them, and she felt his eyes bore into her. She refused to look at him. “That’s not exactly a hardship.” His hand slid down her back and Eden jerked away from him before it could slide any further downwards.
Stellan’s hand whipped out and he slapped Teagan across the back of the head pretty hard. Teagan winced and glared at his cousin, while Eden smirked.
“I told you to back off,” Stellan warned.
Teagan held his hands up a surrender gesture. “Hey, I wasn’t doing anything. I-”
“NOOO! STOP! NOOO!!” A man’s terrified scream rent the air, cutting off Teagan. The blood drained from Eden’s face as her eyes automatically sought the exit.
“Oops.” Teagan grinned wickedly, sidling back to the doorway. “Did I forget to shut the basement door again?”
They both knew he had done it on purpose. Eden’s heart was pounding in her chest as she tried desperately to forget the scream. Stop thinking about it, she demanded inwardly, fighting back a swell of nausea. She looked up at Stellan for comfort… and wished she’d never done so. Her brother was frozen solid, glaring at Teagan. But there was something there. Something sick. Something envious of Teagan. Did Stellan want to be down in the basement? Did he want to inflict pain and shame on someone? He must have felt her staring, his eyes flicking to her. Her expression gave her away, and Stellan cast his gaze down to the floor, colour flooding his cheeks.
Teagan began to chuckle at the interplay between them, but before he could mock them Celine came hurrying past the door to the parlour. “Teagan, shut that door right now!” She screeched at him. “I’ll be speaking to Ryan about this.”
Her cousin licked his lips. “Uncle Ryan might not be up for a while. He had a twin brother and sister brought in from Ohio. Delicious. Blonde.
” He winked and set off across the foyer towards the basement.
Eden was shaking from head to foot. She felt so much. So much anger, frustration, disgust, shame. Too much. Too much to handle. And Stellan… Eden felt his eyes on her, pleading with her. But she couldn’t look at him. She dropped the game controller and walked out of the room, her arms wrapped around herself as if she could somehow contain all her feelings.
Once inside her room, she shut the door quietly and leaned back on it, staring around at the large bedroom with its canopied bed and en-suite bathroom. It looked like a normal teen bedroom. Posters of bands on the wall. Hot guys. Art work by Michael Parkes she found beautiful and twisted and ethereal all at the same time.
But her bedroom wasn’t normal.
It existed in a house with a basement where unquiet misdeeds occurred.
And that was putting it politely.
It was a house of horrors. And she was part of it.
Her eyes blurred with tears. Every time she’d thought she’d come to terms with it… a scream would rent the air and kill her determination.
She wondered what it would be like to be normal.
The pocket of her jeans buzzed and Eden wiped at her tears, as she dug in for her phone.
You were right. Twinkies. I don’t get them either. N.
Eden burst out into tearful laughter, thanking whatever fate had uprooted Noah Valois and landed him at South Salton.
Chapter Nine. I Am Ankh
“So, we’re just… sitting?” Noah asked her, a teasing smile in his eyes.
Eden smirked back at him, hoping the sadness she felt wasn’t written all over her face. School had been better this week, now that she had decided to stop avoiding Noah. She was supposed to be worrying about the SATs coming up in a couple of weeks, but since she somehow got through the PSATs last October, and considering the Awakening Ceremony was around the same time… she just wasn’t in the mood to care. So she was cutting class. And had enlisted Noah in her truancy. They sat together in his car, having managed to sneak out of the school unseen by her dad’s goons. Noah was fantastic at this spy crap. She wondered where he got that from.
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