Vala Heritage
by J.F. Jenkins
Published by Astraea Press
www.astraeapress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
VALA HERITAGE
Copyright © 2012 J.F. JENKINS
ISBN 978-1-62135-032-3
Cover Art Designed by For the Muse Designs
Edited by Chynna Laird
For my Peanut Butter.
Chapter One
Jewl Dite knew she was difficult to get along with. So when Anj Willam somehow fell in love with her, she knew better than to ever let him go. He had the ability to see things inside of her no one else could. Instead of embracing his love, however, she shoved it back into his face and continued to keep her walls up.
Homecoming night was going to be different, though. She would let herself open up a little. She knew if there was one way she could communicate her love for him clearly it was through dance. The two weren't always the best with words. Sometimes when they weren't talking, they said so much more than when they were. Neither one of them lied or withheld things from the other. Hopefully she could convey her message accurately.
Getting ready for the big dance wasn't a big event. She kept everything simple, pulling her curly, white-blond hair back into a ponytail so it was out of her face. A few coil-like tendrils framed her face. Even her dress was basic. White with a slight shimmer, it was loose enough on the bottom for her to be able to move adequately on the dance floor. In fact, the whole night's attire was planned around her being able to dance with Anj.
Dinner was surprisingly undramatic given the mixed company in their group. Always with Jewl and Anj, who were in the off stages of their on-again/off-again, two-year romance, was Anj’s twin brother Zes. With the trio that evening were Zes’s crush Cheyenne Loveless, her roommate Halyn Alpay, and Denver Collins, Hayln’s reluctant date for the evening. Putting Denver and Anj in the same room together was never a good idea, let alone having them sit at the same table for a meal. Denver was only allowed to join the group because he was with Halyn. They were a complicated group of individuals, but everything had gone smoothly.
Once at the dance, they all went their separate ways. Zes took Cheyenne to sit and chat. The two never took their eyes off each other. Cheyenne's blue eyes lit up, making the dark- haired beauty even more glamorous than she already was. Denver, no doubt, went about his own business. It wouldn't have been a surprise to Jewl if he tried to spike the punch, or something equally as childish. Halyn didn't care in the slightest that she had been ditched and mingled with a group of jock boys. The petite, dark- haired Asian girl was glowing as she talked animatedly to them. She was turning out to be quite the flirt for having only been at the school for a couple of weeks. Jewl would have to make sure to follow her gossip with extra interest.
With everyone else occupied, it left her alone with Anj. At first, he'd gone off on his own, chatting with his plethora of female fans. Even if he was fighting with Jewl, for whatever reason, that didn't keep him away from her for long. About half an hour into the night, they were on the dance floor.
Jewl had never properly been taught how to dance until she met Anj. He had taken it upon himself to learn. A handful of lessons later, they were both practically pros. She could not dance with anyone else as she did with him. They were made for each other. When Jewl and Anj were on the dance floor together, it was as if they were one.
Anj was born legally blind. Without his magic, he could occasionally make out a few solid shapes in brighter lighting. As he often told Jewl though, it was more of a pain than anything. His vision was useless to him and, for the most part, he relied on his other senses to make it through life. More often than not, he was capable of taking care of himself, so he didn't need to use a spell. He only saved his magic for special occasions, or so he'd told her in the past. She must have been one of those.
As he pulled her closer to him, completely breathless, his eyes changed from bright blue back to their natural dark brown. She smiled. She always felt a tingle of happiness when he used his magic just to look at her. He didn’t have a lot of it, so she felt honored to be important enough for him to want to see.
“I think I need some fresh air now,” he said leaning closer to her ear so she could hear him over the music. “It’s become a bit stuffy in here. But that may be because I’m surrounded by my own ambiance”.
His warm breath made her shiver. “Always the delicate one,” she said with a smirk. “All right. Go get your fresh air.”
“That was an invitation. You wouldn’t leave me to walk the hallways alone and defenseless, would you?”
“You’re hardly defenseless. I might be more inclined to join you if you said you wanted me there.”
“I do.”
“You do what?”
“Want you there. Why do you always have to make everything so difficult?”
Jewl threw up her hands in frustration and walked away. If she'd done anything else, she knew she would regret it later. She’d rather not spend the rest of the night avoiding him. Though walking away could have been worse since he hated to be abandoned. Either way, she was doomed.
I can’t cry, she thought as she exited out of the side door of the ballroom. I can’t. It would ruin everything.
She didn’t expect him to follow her. After all, he was much too prideful to show himself as anything less than in control. Which was why she was so surprised when he came after her.
“That was rude, you know, leaving me there and not waiting. I told you to come with me. What more do you want?” he said, his heavy footsteps matching up with hers.
Jewl shook her head. “And you tell me I’m the difficult one. You’ve got a lot to learn about how to make people feel wanted.”
“Ah, yes, wise kettle, please teach this here lowly pot. I will take notes thoroughly because you know so well how to effectively treat a person,” he said, voice heavy with sarcasm.
“I left because I didn’t want to fight with you.”
“I don’t want to fight with you either.”
Jewl didn’t say a word. She folded her arms across her chest, pursing her lips.
Anj stayed quiet, too. He'd never been comfortable with silence, always describing it to her as complete emptiness. “You’re giving me your doubtful pouty lips, aren’t you?”
“Close enough,” she said through clenched teeth.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other while idly running his hands over his black suit jacket. When he wanted to clean up, he knew how to do it with style. His shaggy dark hair was styled so she could actually see his eyes for a change. It was no wonder that all of the girls went wild over him. Not only was he mysterious, he was also strong, confident, and flat-out good looking. Jewl was the one he had chosen, and she continually rejected him. Still, he pursued her anyway which made no sense to her most of the time.
“I told you, I don’t want to fight,” he insisted. “It’s just that it’s the only way you will actually communicate with me.”
“And here I thought you just got off on it,” she said.
“I refuse to acknowledge that with an on-topic response.”
If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn he was blushing, but Anj didn’t blush. He was far too cool for something childish like that. Y
et, there was an ever so slight shade of pink across his cheeks.
“Can we please go somewhere else? I’d like to go somewhere darker.”
“And that makes a difference why?”
“Because when it’s dark I’m not tempted to use the last of my magic to watch you. You look absolutely stunning tonight and it’s distracting.”
It was her turn to blush as she felt the heat rising on her face. She wasn’t as lucky as the other girls at the homecoming dance. There was no family to help her get ready. She didn’t have a roommate or any real friends. Somehow she had managed to put everything together alone. While it was simple, it was good to know her efforts had at least been successful.
“Well?” he asked.
“Fine, where to?” she said.
“I don’t care. Inside, I suppose. I think it’s a bit chilly out tonight.”
“Only a little. Since when have you been sensitive to the cold? I thought you were like a lizard. Cold blooded and uncaring.”
“No. It's cold blooded to go with my cold heart, get it right. And I care because I don’t want to invade my brother’s space. He has plans.”
He smirked, then nudged her to lead him through the hallways of the school. Making sure her sigh sounded as annoyed as possible, she took his arm in her own, with great delight.
The main building of the school was an old mansion of fine architecture. It had glorious stone walls and luxurious high ceilings. The building was commonly referred to as Lord Reyld’s manor. Wanting a place for those who were creatures of myth, legends, and stories to learn and grow accustomed to their special behaviors, the now deceased lord had donated the property hundreds of years ago to be used for the boarding school known as Vala.
“Is he with the new girl?” she asked.
The idea of Zes’s dating was a little surreal. For being identical twins, the two were hardly alike. The boys both had the same dark hair, but kept in different styles. Anj's was shaggier and fell in front of his dark eyes, whereas Zes liked to give his more of a tousled look to hide the tiny satyr horns on the top of his head. While Anj was more assertive and liked attention, Zes kept to himself. Jewl couldn't remember the last time the guy had a date. Too bad he had to be into Cheyenne of all people.
“Cheyenne, she has a name. And yes, with her.”
“He’s pretty smitten huh?”
“He likes that she gets him. Zes isn't exactly the easiest to break out of his shell. Most don’t give him a chance, but she does. You know he doesn’t have much experience with women. I think they're a good match. He feels confidence with her. I can't remember the last time I've seen him be so independent before. That’s huge. They balance well.”
“If you say so.” Jewl tried to get along with Cheyenne, but there was something about the girl that rubbed her the wrong way. She hadn’t been there for long, a handful of weeks to a month at most. But from day one Jewl hated her. Anj liked her. But Zes was like a brother to Jewl. She was just as protective over him as she was with Anj. The last thing she wanted was to see his heart get crushed, again.
“He does have a tendency to fall fast and hard,” she added.
“We both do,” Anj said quietly.
The two turned a corner, venturing deeper into the school. The further they went, the darker it became until the only light was the faint glow of the emergency guides overhead.
“Is this a good spot?” she asked, hoping they wouldn’t be caught by a hall guard.
“Perfect,” he whispered.
Before she could say another word, he pressed his lips against hers. As gentle as the kiss was, she felt the deep longing and hunger he had for her.
A long time had passed since they had shared such an intimate moment. As much as she wanted to push him away, she found herself giving in and reciprocating. They held the kiss for much longer than she had originally anticipated. But once started, she didn’t want to stop.
She put her arms around his shoulders, using him for support. Then she leaned her back against the wall. His hands were just as feverish, starting at her waist, holding her close to his body as if his life depended on it. Then he shyly slid them up her back, caressing her with an unexpected shyness, like he was unsure of how she would react. She was in control and he was obediently following whatever course she wanted to take.
His hands shook ever so slightly as he moved them around toward her front, though he knew better than to let his hands venture underneath her dress. She’d cut off his hands for that one. She almost said something, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, trusting he had good intentions.
Getting lost in his touch was easy. Clinging to those feelings of love and tenderness kept her going. What if she never got a chance to experience them again with him or anyone else? She internally debated how much was too much. If she was doubting and unsure, that was enough of a sign to stop there. But she wouldn’t have to. He suddenly pulled away.
Anj gasped and stepped back. At first she thought he was lingering in the moment, having pulled back because of his own morals. In the darkness, she saw him clutching at his head before stumbling back into the wall behind them.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, rushing to his side. She helped him sit down on the floor and cradled his face close to hers.
“I…” He took in a deep, shuddering breath. He held his head in one hand and his chest in another. “I can’t find my brother.”
The Willam brothers were identical twins. While there have always been stories and rumors of twins being connected physically and mentally to one another, she’d never believed them to be true. Then she met Anj and Zes. Jewl was almost certain their deep connection had something to do with Anj’s strange sixth sense of knowing things. He seemed to know a lot more about what was going on than anyone else did. Zes read his brother well, but he never talked of feeling his brother’s presence in as much detail as Anj did. While Anj was one to over exaggerate for attention, it was one ability she knew first hand was not a show.
“What do you mean you can’t find him?” It could have meant a number of things, but judging by his reaction she knew for sure it was not good.
“He’s gone. It feels like he doesn’t exist. I feel like part of me has…” He stopped. Instead of saying the word, he began to cry. But as soon as the realization hit him at full force, he was practically sobbing, his entire body shaking.
Tears filled her eyes at the thought of Zes being gone forever. She had to keep being the rational one, though. There would be plenty of time for tears later. He needed her to stay strong and think clearly. After pushing aside the last of her own grief, she comforted him by stroking his hair. Hopefully, she could keep him calm enough to not go into some kind of shock.
“We need to tell someone so we can get help. Can you stand? Or should I bring them back here?” She couldn’t think of anyone who could possibly know where to begin looking for his brother.
Anj shook his head. She doubted he’d be able to move.
“I’ll be right back. I promise.” Removing her heels and setting her purse aside, she ran as fast as she could back to the ballroom. She found the closest staff member in the room, Mrs. Orinda.
A young and beautiful witch, Mrs. Orinda advised a good portion of the female students. When Jewl found her, she was in the middle of flirting with her husband. From what Jewl understood, the two rarely saw one another. Her husband, Jonathan, did not look enthused about being interrupted from their moment. Jewl did not like Jon, so she didn’t care.
“Something is wrong,” Jewl said.
“What’s going on?” Mrs. Orinda asked.
“Zes Willam is missing and we don’t know where he went.”
“I saw him leave with Cheyenne. They probably went off to be alone. I’m sure they’ll both be back later tonight,” she said. Mr. Orinda let out a quiet snort. His wife scowled at him.
“No, you don’t understand. He’s missing… gone. Anj can’t sense him at all. You know them. He wouldn’t ma
ke something like this up. Please come help. I can’t get him to calm down and I’m worried he’s going to hurt himself.”
Jewl had no clue how she was going to be able to explain the situation in a plausible way. Even for a school centered around the study of all things magical and out-of-the-norm, there were things about the twins that made them surpass even the most bizarre.
The Orindas followed Jewl to where she had left Anj. He was more composed, though still cowering in the dark, trying to steady his breathing.
“And what exactly were you two doing out here anyway?” Mr. Orinda asked as he surveyed the dark hall.
Mrs. Orinda ignored her husband and knelt down by Anj. “What’s going on? I don’t think I understand.”
“My brother,” Anj tried explaining in-between deep breaths. “He disappeared. I think I can feel him again, but it still isn’t good. He’s in a lot of pain. It feels like he’s being ripped apart.” He shuddered.
Jon turned on the lights. Anj was drenched in sweat as if he were breaking a fever. He shivered despite the thickness of his suit. Mrs. Orinda frowned, and her husband pulled out his cell phone.
“It’s okay. We’ll find him. You know he’s alive, right? That’s a good thing.”
Mrs. Orinda was always the optimistic one. Her words were meant to be comforting, but felt only slightly so. It was difficult to decide which was worse: death, or being dismembered while conscious.
“I can find him,” Jewl said.
“You’re not going anywhere. Whatever is happening, it’s too dangerous.” Mrs. Orinda said.
“I don’t have to leave to do it,” she clarified. She picked up her purse and pulled out a small bag of stones. To the untrained eye, they were nothing more than shining and harmless rocks. To Jewl, each held a different possibility of magical power. As far as she knew, it was the only ability she had. Sometimes she wondered if maybe she'd inherited a deeper power from her mother's side. She had no solid evidence of that, though. She was a summoner.
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