by Sophia Sharp
I smiled to show him I appreciated what he said. Really, I did. And it was amazingly frustrating to be unable to speak clearly. Why had I taken that oath in the first place? I was sure now, thinking back, that I could have gotten away without swearing on the crystal. I never would have done it if I had known what it meant. It was a trap set up by Liz, and I had jumped in headfirst.
“I believe you, but…” I grimaced, “…I just can’t say.”
Rob considered me for a moment. “Well, you’re not in any danger right now, are you?”
“Like right at this moment?”
“Yeah.”
“No, of course not.”
“Then you have time to figure it all out.” He smiled. “Nobody can disturb us up here.”
I thought about that, and realized it was true. We were alone in the observatory, just the two of us. Rob had the only key to the room, and it was somewhere in his jacket pocket. From here, we overlooked the entire island, but nobody could see us. Even the forest off to one side, with its thick evergreens and mysterious trails, didn’t seem so menacing. I only wished we weren’t sitting on two separate couches.
As if he had read my mind, Rob slid beside me. He slipped his arm around my shoulder, and gently pulled me into him. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe. Tiny, and safe. Nobody could disturb us here. I leaned closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder.
We sat like that, together, in complete silence. I could hear Rob’s calm breathing as he looked out toward the water. I peeked up at his face. His eyes were focused intensely ahead, but even from the side I could tell how beautiful they were. His lips were pressed together gently, so tantalizing. I wondered absently what they would taste like.
He must have caught me looking, because he turned his head slowly toward me. Our eyes met. For a moment, I thought we were going to kiss. But instead of tilting his mouth toward me, as I had hoped, he gave me the cutest smile. It was strange thinking of Rob – hard, impervious Rob – as cute. But that was what that smile did.
“I know you can’t say what’s bugging you,” he said softly, stroking my hair, “but if you ever change your mind, I’ll be there for you.”
“Thank you,” I murmured into his side. He smiled again, and turned his attention back to the view. We sat like that for a long time, each lost in our own thoughts. I treasured every second. It was good to just be held.
“Tracy?” he said after an indeterminable amount of time had passed.
“Mhmm?”
He looked down at me. “There’s one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Some advice I just thought of.” He started stroking my hair again.
“Yes?”
“Sometimes, you just have to learn to trust your feelings.” Without warning, he swept his head down and kissed me.
It was a kiss unlike any I’ve ever had before. It was an explosion of pure, unbridled passion. His lips were hot against mine, his tongue eloquently dexterous. It was intoxicating, it was impassioned; it was everything I was missing in my life. All the stress I kept bundled up burst out of me like a flood. I leaned into him for more. We shared, for a long, perfect moment, nothing less than pure instinctual chemistry.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Twists in the Pattern
“Wow,” I breathed as he pulled away.
“Not bad, huh?” he joked.
“I’d say.” I wanted to grip his head between my hands and pull him back for more. I wanted to feel his tongue racing through my mouth again. I wanted to experience the passion of his lips, the ecstasy of his embrace. But – I had to contain myself. Still, I couldn’t help it when a little giggle escaped.
“Just trust your feelings,” he repeated with a smile.
“Now what happens?” I asked.
“That’s up to you. I’d never push you into anything.”
“I should probably go back to my room,” I said hesitantly.
“Sure,” Rob nodded. “I can walk you.”
“I’d like that.”
***
“So? What progress do you have to report?”
His father leered down at him from the mighty leather chair. It stood raised on a dais at the far end of the massive room. There was a large, oak table in front, also elevated. The other furnishings in the room all served to amplify the prominence of those two pieces.
The boy looked down at his feet. His father was a powerful man, more so than anybody here even suspected. Only he knew the truth of it. He did not like to disappoint. In fact, he had spent his whole life trying to please father. No matter how hard he tried, it always seemed his efforts were in vain. His father was never satisfied, even with his greatest achievements. Any mention of failure only brought a flurry of vexations and screaming.
“Come now, son. Tell me what you have achieved these past few days.”
He glanced up at his father. In that massive chair, he looked like a king. It was his natural position in the world. The boy yearned to stand beside him. He would do everything he could to help his father attain the penultimate prize. His father stared down at him, eyes as hard as death. Those eyes could see through every lie, through every tiny fib he had ever considered. No! As hard as it would be, now was not the time to deceive. He would have to face the truth of his current failure, and endure his father’s wrath for it.
“Nothing, father.” His voice was barely a whisper, a wisp of a breath escaping from his lips.
“What was that, son? Speak up. I didn’t quite hear you.”
He gnashed his teeth nervously. He knew full well his father had heard, and was only goading him to make the moment last longer. His father sometimes took perverse pleasure in his failures, it seemed.
He drew a deep breath, and spoke again. “I have achieved nothing, father.”
“NOTHING!” his father screamed. The boy cowered where he stood. His father was a proud man. Failure was not something he took lightly. “You are a worm, boy! Anybody worthy of the honor I can bestow upon them would have gotten everything done by now! You are slime, unworthy of carrying the family name! How is it that you have achieved nothing, when I have given you all the tools to succeed? Such incompetence is not something I will take lightly!”
“I know, father.”
“You know? You KNOW?” There was the scream again. It took all he had in him not to cover his ears. “You know nothing, boy, for if you did, you would be as motivated as I am to see this through. Do you not realize how much is at stake for you, for us?”
“I know what is at stake, father.”
“Oh? So you claim.” His father sneered. “So you claim, and yet you come before me exhibiting such stark incompetence that I begin to wonder if letting you in on this was the proper move. Perhaps it is time for me to go at it alone. I cannot tolerate such failure, boy! We do not have the flexibility right now to fail. This is the most critical moment. And if you cannot do what has been assigned to you…” his father shrugged those powerful shoulders, “…then perhaps you are not needed anymore.”
“No, father,” he begged. “I have proven my worth before, have I not? Please. Please! I know I can do what you ask of me. Just give me more time.”
“Time is not on our side, boy. How many chances will you need, to do what is required? Anybody worth the honor would not have failed the first time.”
I have not failed, he wanted to say, but he could not stand up to father. The best thing to do, the only thing to do, was cower and beg. And pray the violent mood swing would pass. “I have proven my worth before, father, and I will do so again.”
“Oh? So you claim. Tell me, what have you done that has furthered our cause?”
The boy clutched at his neck, where the pendant lay. He knew of its true value, even if his father could not see it. The ruby at his neck gave them a precious advantage when seeking what they needed. And what they needed, of course, were the crystals – those mystical stones that unlocked such great power. Only females could harness it. But
it had been his father’s life work to bring males into it – to bring both of them into it.
Males, of course, were clearly the superior sex. They were stronger, and inherently more powerful than weak, emotional women. And if it were just possible for a man to tap into the power of the crystals, he could do things in his sleep that even the most powerful triangulation of girls could never achieve. The triangulation was a way for three females to link their powers, to achieve strength many times greater than their individual parts. And now, his father’s dream of bringing males into it was closer than ever before.
But before that dream was realized, they were both blind to when a crystal was being used. That is, except with his pendant. The ruby hanging from his neck could detect the after-effects of an activated crystal. It could detect the leftover aura that seeped away from a crystal that had been used. Moreover, it marked the intensity of that use. It could tell them how much power had been drawn through the crystal based on how hot it grew. His father laughed at the cheap toy the first time he had brought it to him, but he knew, that on the darkest nights, his father was working to replicate the ruby’s secret. His father had never been able acknowledge his son’s accomplishments much less to praise them.
“I saw her today, son.” His father’s voice took on a more conciliatory tone. “And you were right. She is the one.”
The boy’s eyes widened in surprise. Never before had he heard those three simple words. You were right. Elation, such as he never felt before, flooded his entire body. He had been right, and his father admitted it. It was the closest thing to praise he could ever expect. He reveled in the moment.
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, now.” His father smiled. The mood swing had passed, and the boy had survived the worst of it. “There is still plenty to do.”
“Tell me what, and it shall be done.”
“Don’t play coy. You know what we need yet.”
“Yes, I do.”
“We’re closer than we’ve ever been, son. With her here, we can finally unlock the secret of harnessing the crystals. And with them, you and I will revolutionize the modern world. The power of the crystals gives us an unlimited source of energy, and when we tap it, it will be the greatest breakthrough in mankind’s history. We’re going to change how the entire world runs, son.” His father was trembling with anticipation. “You know what happens next. We control the vital resource, and he who controls the resource controls the fate of the world. We will make billions of dollars together, son. Trillions! The crystals will give us power to rule the world, and then everybody will cower before me! Everybody!” A bit of spittle flew across his father’s desk. The man noticed it, took a deep breath, and composed himself. “The crystals will give us an unlimited source of energy, son. Do you realize how much that’s worth?”
“Of course I do.” He had thought about it every day for the past ten years.
“The oil sheiks will pale in comparison to who we will become. There is no oilfield in the world that is worth a tenth of what we have here. A hundredth!”
“I know, father.”
“Good.” The imposing man grinned. “It will be just like the sorcery of the stories. And only you and I will know the truth of it. Together, we will alter the very fabric of entire nations!”
Together. That was what the boy was searching for this whole time. Companionship, accompanied by a sense of worth. Fulfilling father’s requests would finally grant him that. But there was one problem, a contingency of sorts. While he knew the solution, he was not quite ready to face up to it. “…others know of it too, father.”
His father waved a hand dismissively. “They will be taken care of in time. You understand, of course, that it is vital for us to be the only ones to know how this works?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Once we get Tracy on our side, we can set about disposing of the others.”
The boy gulped. “Yes, father.”
“And so, the next time we speak, you will have accomplished what I expect?”
“Of course, father.”
“Good. You will need to bring her to us.”
“I understand.”
“Good. You may go.”
He started to turn away, but hesitated for a sliver of a second. His father’s sharp eyes caught the pause.
“There is something else?” his father prodded.
The boy closed his eyes. He had hoped to avoid speaking of this. “There is… a complication.”
“Oh?” His father raised an eyebrow. “You’re not having second thoughts at this stage, are you?”
“Of course not! But… it’s something else.”
“Yes? Do not be afraid to tell me, son.”
He took a deep breath. What he had to reveal could threaten his father’s entire life work, and he did not want to think of it. But he could not hold secrets at this stage. “There is someone else.”
“What?” his father hissed.
“Another guy. A brat, really.” Rob. How he detested him. “I’m afraid there might be something between them.”
“Well, son, I trust that he will not be a problem?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Come now, my little Casanova. I am sure with your charm and wit you can win her over for us.” Was his father mocking him? No. He refused to believe that. “But if this truly is the case, it means that time is running short.”
“I understand.”
“She is not slipping away from you, is she?”
“No.”
“You need to bring her to us. She has to be on our side. This… other boy… he cannot stand in the way.”
“Yes, father. It is a complication, but…” he lied, “…I can take care of it.”
“See that you do.”
He bowed slightly, and turned away. Just as he reached the great doors, his father called him again.
“Chris?”
The boy looked back.
“Bring her to us, tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-Five – A Confrontation
A knock at the door made me turn from my bed. I was wearing my robe, bundled under the covers after a hot bath, daydreaming about Rob. Could that be him? My heart skipped a beat at the thought. I jumped out of bed and ran to the door.
My hopes plummeted. It wasn’t Rob. It was Chris, and he looked… not angry exactly, but somehow glowering.
“Tracy,” he nodded, letting himself in.
I gaped as he walked into my room. Wow. Talk about awful timing. Chris, who was the other boy I kissed. How did that happen again? After a moment it all came back, and I was ripped rudely from my daydream. It was the moment after he saved my life, when I was trapped in a whirlwind of emotions. In comparison to Rob, Chris had been fumbling and inept. When I kissed Rob, I could feel the passion explode between us. He had wanted me more than I’ve ever been wanted before. In comparison to him, Chris was a mere child.
“Chris,” I said, caught off-guard. “What are you doing here?”
“We had to talk. Remember?” He sat down on the edge of my desk. “I was waiting for you that day, but you never showed up.”
“Right. I…”
“And I’ve been to your room many times since then, but you never answered the door.”
“You were?” I said, mocking surprise. “I never heard…”
“Don’t lie to me! I know you were in here. You’ve been avoiding me after what happened. Why?” For a second, the mask he wore broke, and I could see the hurt in his eyes. But then it was covered up again.
“Chris,” I said slowly. I was in unchartered territory here, and had no idea what to do. “I wasn’t avoiding you. I was just… busy… with other things.”
“Busy with other things, huh?” He sneered. “You’re lying, Tracy.”
“I am not! That’s the truth. School’s started, and—”
“I know school’s started, but you can’t pretend you’ve been busy with that. Hell, the teacher’s haven’t even handed out
a single assignment yet!”
“Maybe not in your classes,” I said desperately.
“We’re in the same classes, just at different times!” Chris yelled. I was taken aback. I’d never seen him angry before.
“Look,” I started, “I’m sorry if I’ve done something wrong. There’s just been so much going on, and I’ve been feeling very overwhelmed…”
“Not good enough, Tracy.”
“Will you just listen! I know I said we needed to talk, and I meant it. But other things just kept getting in the way. If you can’t tell, I’m not very good at this yet!”
“Good at what?” he asked enticingly.
“At everything! People, relationships, everything that’s new here! If you haven’t noticed, I’m a little bit out of my element.”
His face lit up at the mention of a relationship. “Does that mean… you wanted to have a relationship… with me?”
I exhaled. How to let him down easily? “Chris, listen. You’re a great guy. Really, you are. And I treasure our friendship—”
“So no!” he spat.
“I didn’t say that!” I defended. “Just listen, will you? What we shared that night was amazing. I had a great time. And I want to spend more time like that with you in the future. But… maybe back then I was a little lost… in a different way than right now. And even though I thought I did want a relationship back then, I’m just not sure I’m ready for it now.”
“So no,” he repeated, more slowly this time. “I knew it. It’s Rob, isn’t it?”
“What? No!”
“I can tell you’re lying to me, Tracy.”
“I am not,” I defended, crossing my arms. “If you’re going to make false accusations like that, you might as well just leave.”
He smiled ruefully. “Except that we both know it’s not a false accusation, don’t we? I saw you and Rob together today. He took you up to the observatory, didn’t he? That’s where he takes all the girls.”
“No,” I denied.
“You thought you were special to him, didn’t you? They all fall for that. He’s cunning, manipulative. He preys on vulnerable girls here, just like you. Didn’t it seem odd to you that he appeared right at the moment you were at your weakest?”
