Marked by Time (The Mark Series Book 1)

by Victoria Basnuevo

  “Ow!” She spun. “You bitch!”

  I smirked.

  “You slut. Whore. Wannabe. Pain in the ass.” I paused, “Should I keep going?” Her face turned red and her left eye continued to twitch. “I never wanted to be popular. I’m not popular. If being known by the entire school is your thing, then go for it; but leave me out of it. I was fine before you two started getting me involved, and I’ll be fine without the entire school knowing what I had for breakfast. You can go and be worshiped, but I rather go to class.”

  Without another word, I got up and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving Camille screaming something about the party and Melanie cowering quietly beside her. I didn’t care enough to know the details.

  A victorious smirk conquered my face as their sounds faded. This day wasn’t turning out as bad as I thought it would, and here I thought I would have leveled the school by now.

  Just like the morning, the afternoon flew by. The classes seemed shorter than usual and I didn’t have to deal with Camille or Melanie. Overall, my day was quiet and enjoyable. I was practically walking on air by the time I got home and had to check every now and then to make sure I wasn’t actually flying, though the skill would have been useful. I was hoping to convince Daris to teach me sooner rather than later.

  When I first entered the apartment, I noticed no one was home, as usual. Mom was still at work, and Daris hadn’t shown up yet. I threw my heavy backpack on the floor and was about to plop onto my bed before something caught my eye. Resting on my bed was a beautiful bouquet of pink Amaryllis flowers. I smiled as I breathed in the sweet scent and rested them on my lap. I instantly felt calmer.

  To my surprise, next to them was a sheathed dagger that piqued my interest. The leather was glossy and new with intricate leaf designs around the edge that matched the leaves of the bouquet. In the center of the masterpiece was a sparkling red bow that reminded me of rose petals. I removed the decoration and admired the leather. It looked as though the leaves had grown on the leather instead of being carved. I couldn’t tell- I couldn’t feel the indents because the carvings were so smooth. My fingers wrapped around the edge of the handle and the dagger glided out of hiding.

  The metal was polished to perfection and the blade looked lethal, seeming to emit power by only reflecting the little light in my room. I inspected every inch of the marvelous blade like a child with a new toy, watching my expression of wonder in the shiny surface of the cold metal.

  “Don’t cut yourself.”

  I jumped, flipping the dagger so that the icy blade was along my forearm and the warm leather handle was grasped tightly in my hand. My eyes were narrow and my body was coiled. On the outside, I looked like a tiger ready to pounce, but I was trying desperately to drop the dagger.

  “Whoa, easy!” Daris said, shocked, “Calm down, Blossom!”

  My eyes widened and the dagger finally dropped from my hands at his voice. He sounded humored and panicked, but I felt drained. I looked to Daris who had his hands in the air and his eyes wide, the laughter in his eyes the perfect companion to the smirk on his face. My expression was the opposite. I’m sure my eyes took over my entire face and my hands were hugging my arms. Terrified of what would happen if I touched the dagger again, I moved away from it, my body quivering with each step back. My gaze never left the blade on the floor. A pair of hands landed on my shoulders. I closed my eyes and flinched, hugging myself a bit tighter.

  “Blossom.”

  I closed my eyes tighter.

  “Blossom, it’s ok. It’s normal.”

  I shook my head. “How?” I mumbled, “How is that possibly normal?”

  “Well, it isn’t, but neither are you. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a dagger take such a strong hold of a Luxator before, but you were still able to control it.”

  “So what? There’s no way I’m doing that again. It felt like I was a puppet. I had no control and, and you were there and the only thing I felt was this urge to attack.”

  “But you didn’t, Blossom. You controlled it and I’m okay. Even though the dagger was strong, you still managed to control it.”

  “But I didn’t!”

  “Yes, you did. The fact that you managed to drop the blade instead of killing me is proof enough.”

  “But-” I got cut off by him shaking me roughly.

  “Get this through your head, Skyler: you fought the control of the blade and the small part of you that wants me alive won. Believe what you will, Blossom, but you are strong enough to control the blade.” He took a step back and picked up the dagger. His demeanor didn’t change, his eyes blazing with determination and confidence. He moved cautiously, but his belief didn’t waver like I thought it would.

  Daris flipped the knife expertly in one hand so the blade rested in his fingers. He grabbed my wrist.

  “What are you doing?” I wasn’t stupid. I knew what he was doing. I just wanted to know why he was willingly putting himself so close to the dagger.

  “I’m teaching you to control your power,” he replied as if the answer was written across his forehead and visible to the world.

  “My power?”

  “I’ll explain later.” And with that, he closed my fingers around the leather hilt. It felt as if I had been shoved backward and out of my body. I watched myself look at the dagger in wonder. My body looked up at Daris and my gaze turned lethal. My eyes sharpened. The dagger spun and the blade rested along my forearm. My body was in the same position it was when it was going to attack Daris the first time. Daris didn’t seem fazed. He didn’t move. I wanted to yell at him to run and to get away because, even out of my body, I felt my blood pumping. I felt the instinct to kill. Why wasn’t he running?

  “I know you can see this, Blossom. It’s normal. Step into control.”

  What the hell did that mean? Step into control? I took one look at my body and thought it couldn’t hurt to try. I took three steps forward and did what he said. I stepped back into my body, but the blade wasn’t so ready to let go. My body started shaking as the internal war raged on. I couldn’t see anything to hit. I just felt pain in my head. My hand was cramping, torn between dropping the dagger and clutching tighter. It felt like a game of tug-of-war and my body was the rope like there were two of me, one with the instinct to kill and the other with the heart to win, fighting for control of my mind. My fingers gripped tighter and I was thrown out of my body again. It hurt.

  Standing across from me, though, seemingly without any concern for what this blade could do, Daris looked like the epitome of control. His body was tight, his eyes wary, as his own instincts prepared him to run the longer my body stood poised to strike; but behind that caution, there was a stubborn fire that wasn’t going out. He wasn’t doing anything to protect himself, and that terrified me. I stopped breathing when the dagger started moving.

  Daris danced out of the way with each move my body made, moving like it was a choreographed dance we had been doing for years. His hand lingered at his side, though, and the fighter in me found his own dagger attached to his hip and saw his fingers twitch, ready to grab it should my body get too close.

  “Blossom, step into control!” He dodged a swipe to his head and my heart stopped.

  With a deep breath, I ran at my body and dove in, ready to take it back and drop this dagger. If only it had been that easy. The animal in me was trying to kick me out of my own body. It was ready to kill Daris without a care. Too bad I wasn’t going down without a fight. Back in my own skin, I got my footing and began the struggle once again, determined to stop my body from lunging at Daris again.

  “Blossom,” Daris called. I opened my eyes and looked at him through narrow slits. “Just let go.” My eyes clamped shut and I felt sweat drip down the side of my temple. My palms were sweating, too. I took a shaky breath and felt the muscles in my hand loosen slightly. One more difficult breath and the dagger dropped, clattering to the floor.

  I nearly fell with it, but I straightened my spine and opened my
eyes to reveal a stunning smile on Daris’s face. Even though I felt extremely exhausted, I felt the warmth that shot through my body. He could not look that good after I just battled my internal demons in an immense effort to keep him alive. He should not have been flashing me that proud and confident smile and his eyes definitely should not have been glowing as bright as they were, but that wasn’t stopping him or the butterflies in my stomach.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Tired. Angry.”

  “Angry?”

  I hit him, growling. “At you! You should have run!”

  “If that’s all you’re angry about, then we’re fine. Now pick up the dagger.” I didn’t bother questioning him this time, expecting the surge of resistance, but none came. The metal no longer fought to control me; instead, its power hummed alongside my own as though the dagger was an extension of me. However, I still felt the stubbornness of the blade. I tightened my grip and the power mixed with mine, the two again becoming one. I looked up to see Daris with an appreciative smirk on his face.

  “Told you, you could do it.”

  “Just consider yourself lucky this dagger isn’t a sword.” A teasing smile was on my face, but annoyance laced my words. The dagger hummed with life and glowed slightly before the handle expanded in my grasp and the blade shot out.

  “Shit!” My eyes shot out of my head as I examined the new and more dangerous weapon in my hand. The longer blade was sheathed in a red aura that radiated power and ferocity. “Whoa.” I focused a bit of power into the sword and it immediately responded, shrinking back into its dagger size. This time, the blade was surrounded in a light, soothing blue light. I was in a daze as I slid the weapon back into its sheath. I ran my fingers over the leather once more.

  “You got that a lot faster than I thought you would.”

  “Glad to know you have so much confidence in me.” I walked out of the room with my head down and waited.

  “Wait, no- no, that’s not what I-.” At the sound of the panic and desperation in his voice, I started laughing until my sides hurt.

  “You little birthday witch!” He growled and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed less than a child. He started spinning and my laughter turned to shrieks. I hadn’t felt this happy in a while, and the change in emotion was a definite bonus after dealing with Camille and Melanie. His arms were wrapped tightly around the back of my knees and mine were wrapped around his upper torso as though to protect me from the impossibility that he would drop me.

  “Daris! Put me down.” I was wearing a face-splitting grin and part of me hoped he just held me tighter. He slowed and stopped spinning, but my feet never touched the ground. I gripped Daris for dear life, though I wasn’t scared of falling the six feet to the floor.

  “Not until you tell me if you liked your presents.”

  “So, the flowers are from you too?”

  “Yep; and I hope you can guess why I chose the pink Amaryllis.”

  “Because you’re cheesy and you know I hate the color pink.”

  “Liar. You love the flowers.”

  “Yes, I love the flowers. Now can you put me down?” Daris spun me around again before letting me go. I tightened my grip.

  “Blossom, let go.” His tone was commanding but still a soft whisper. Hesitantly, my arms relaxed. Before I could blink, he was in front of me, his smile reaching his blue eyes and showing every ounce of amusement. I was captivated.

  “What are you smiling at?” That smile was going to be the end of me.

  “I want you to slowly look down. When you do, do not panic.” He was beaming, and not in a good, sweet, and comforting way. I looked at him like he was crazy before doing as he asked. I glanced down and finally realized why I could look straight into his eyes. Six feet below me was my floor, and my feet were nowhere near it.

  “Daris, put me down!”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Blossom.” He sat on my bed and watched me float in the middle of my bedroom.

  “Daris, put me down!”

  He just laughed. “I can’t.”

  “What do you mean you can’t?”

  “I can’t put you down if I didn’t put you up there in the first place, now can I?”

  “You picked me up to this height.” I pointed out.

  “I may have put you at that height, but I’m not keeping you there.” He crossed his arms and leaned against my pillows, his smile sending shivers down my spine. I tried moving around, flailing my arms and kicking my legs, anything to get me to the floor, but nothing was working. I slumped, defeated. Daris chuckled.

  “Oh ha ha. Go ahead and laugh, but when I get down from here, you are so dead.”

  “One: you wouldn’t hurt me. You proved that when you took control of the dagger. Two: you can’t do anything from up there.”

  “Really?” My tone was menacing and threatening, but it held a hint of amusement. Daris stiffened slightly, and the humor in his eyes morphed to caution. I smirked. “Because I’ve had a lot of practice recently controlling my emotions and keeping a blank face. I was shocked when the school didn’t collapse this morning when I exploded at Camille and Melanie. I wonder what would happen if I just let go.”

  His eyes widened. Neither one of us knew how strong I was, but we knew when I was out of control, the outcome was fierce. I continued my story.

  “Let’s see. What happened today? I got to school, saw Camille and Melanie, had some asshole kiss me—”

  “What?!” His voice roared and its anger ricocheted in my head. I calmly put my hand up.

  “Let me finish.” I scolded. He took a deep breath and started sulking, stroking the petals of my flowers with a gentleness that was the opposite of the scowl on his face. “I slapped the bastard.”

  “Good!” He crossed his arms and glared at the floor, causing me to smile. “Why did he kiss you?”

  I had pegged him as protective, but never as possessive. I liked it. “It was supposed to be a birthday present.”

  He chuckled, his previous anger somewhat pacified.

  “It’s not funny!” I pouted. “And stop messing with my flowers.”

  “Why? Of all the possible gifts in the world, why give you a kiss? It’s not like it means anything to kiss someone.”

  I deflated at that.

  “It didn’t mean anything, right?” His tone was light and concerned, but I was both surprised and satisfied to hear a note of jealousy and Daris’s protective nature shine through.

  “He stole my first kiss,” I whispered the admission, hoping I could get it off my chest without anyone hearing. I must have underestimated his sense of hearing because his face contorted into one of shock then immediately into fury. Note to self: Daris’s temper will come and go as it pleases without any warning to bystanders.

  “What?” The word sounded venomous under his breath. He kept mumbling to himself, looking like he wanted to hit something or someone.

  “Calm down, Daris. What’s done is done.”

  “Doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been prevented.” He looked at me and I caught a glimpse of what looked like pain or regret before he got up from his place on the bed and walked out the door. I watched him retreat, the muscles in his back taut and filled with unexpressed frustration. He kept mumbling to himself, seemingly forgetting I was still in the air.

  “Hey wait! How do I get down?” I called. No response. I waited for a few minutes, hoping he hadn’t ditched me. After ten minutes, though, a girl is allowed to get suspicious…and a bit peeved. “Daris? Daris, you better not have left me here! Get back here and get me down!”

  “I’m coming!” He walked in looking more composed, but the tension was still evident in his shoulders. “I had to calm myself down.” He wouldn’t meet my gaze.

  “What did you do?”

  “Nothing that hurt anyone.” He still wouldn’t meet my gaze.

  “Daris.” He looked up and I could see the wall behind his eyes crack.

  “I may have set a tree on
fire.” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to look sheepish, but I heard the hint of pride in his voice. At my shocked expression, he hastily added, “Don’t worry. I made it grow back healthier than ever.”

  I tried to respond, but all that came out were meaningless stutters. I sighed. “Just get me down so I can hurt you for hurting my tree.”

  He went to sit.

  “Don’t even think about it, hotshot. Get me down.” Though I was six feet above the ground, I saw the room start to shake and felt the heat rising in my palms. The energy had started building at the thought of Travis and I clenched my fists to keep too much of it from getting out. Daris must have noticed the slight quiver in my voice because he switched topics.

  “Your tree?”

  I glared at him.

  “Fine, fine. I’m shutting up.” He reached up and put his hands on my waist. “I am going to pull you down. You need to try to imagine yourself falling slowly. If you don’t, I won’t be able to get you down.”

  I looked at him before feeling a slight tug. Instead of feeling myself resisting, I just fell.

  “Ah!” Our screams joined together before we met the floor. Daris groaned as I landed on him.

  “Ow.”

  “Why are you saying ‘ow’? You fell on me!”

  “You’re not exactly the softest landing, Daris. Besides, you deserve it for putting me up there in the first place!” I glared at him from my spot on his chest.

  “I told you how to get down.” He wanted to be hit. That captivating, shit-eating grin and those glinting blue eyes just wanted to be swiped right off his face. Since hitting my taller, stronger, more experienced trainer would probably result in me landing on my ass, though, I did the only thing I could think of: I stuck my tongue out. He just laughed.