“I highly doubt Lacey will consider being covered in paint a day of fun,” Aylie laughed. “And her mom’s the school principal so she practically lives there already. I don’t think she’s going to like the idea of spending the first day of break on campus.”
“It’s not on campus!” Ren qualified. “Maybe you could just mention the idea and try to convince her of how fun it will be?”
“Oh, no. I’m not going to be the one to tell Lacey that you canceled our ‘girls day out’ to play in a paintball tournament.”
“But she likes you more than me!” Ren reasoned. “Please? She’ll take it better coming from you.”
Aylie sighed. “Okay, but I’m telling her it was all your idea.”
“Fine. Meet us at the Silvervane Outpost in thirty minutes.”
“The Outpost?” Aylie cringed. “We’re playing in the forest?”
“Where else would we play? It has the best terrain for staging a battle, at least that’s what I heard Derek say.”
“Yeah, well…it’s also the best place to meet bears,” Aylie replied, secretly fearing something far worse. “I’m surprised the school is sanctioning this event.”
“You’re usually the brave one, Aylie—don’t fail me now,” Ren coaxed. “If you’re not up for it, Lacey will never agree to play.”
“I just think there has to be a better place,” Aylie hedged, trying to think of an excuse that would get her out of going back into that forest.
“The decision’s already been made, Aylie. The school approved it and the boys are already there setting up the course. We can’t back out on them now.”
“I’ll tell Lacey, but I can’t guarantee she’ll be willing to do it.”
“Convince her, Aylie,” Ren begged. “Please…do it for me.”
Aylie rolled her eyes. “Lacey’s not going to be happy about this.”
“Thanks, Aylie!’ Ren said, quickly hanging up the phone.
Aylie shook her head and finished getting dressed. After what happened with Ryder in the forest three days ago, she had been hoping to avoid it for a while. Apparently she was doomed to be forever reminded of what she couldn’t understand or explain. She hadn’t seen Ryder since he’d nearly ripped her head off in his panther-altered state, and she hadn’t wanted to. His very existence now represented the impossible and the dangerous unknown—both of which seemed foreboding somehow. She only prayed they wouldn’t run into him in the woods somewhere because she wasn’t sure what she was going to do if they did.
Lacey was adamantly opposed to the idea of the tournament, just as Aylie had predicted. It took a lot of persuasion to get her to even agree to drive there, let alone play. She remained un-swayed in her resolve until they reached the Outpost and met up with the guys. The instant she laid eyes on Eli, she caved. The very next moment she was carrying a rifle full of paint balls and wearing enormous plastic goggles that would’ve horrified her fashion sensibilities to the core if she could’ve seen herself in a mirror.
Relieved that Lacey was no longer an obstacle, Aylie turned her attention to the tournament at hand. There were ten teams, each with their own ‘home base,’ which consisted of forts made from tree limbs, logs, and leafy branches. They were impressively constructed for having been built in only a few hours. They were spread out over a two-mile radius, giving the teams the ability to move around quite freely without being shot at close-range. There was plenty of cover from the dense trees and shrubs, and the tall underbrush was easy to manipulate, if necessary.
Aylie had played only once before, in a tournament like this one with her brother Lucas, but that had been near Silver Lake and not in a forest. This felt like a totally new experience and she was nervous for some reason. She tried to focus on Derek—he was their team captain and was giving everyone tips and pointers before launching into an all-out tactical strategy. She glanced around at the rest of the team. She was standing between Lacey and Ren, across from Derek, Eli, and Chance.
She was surprised to see Chance with the post-graduate boys instead of his hockey buddies. “How did you end up on this team?” Aylie asked him when they had been given their posts. “Why aren’t you playing with Marcus and Kyle?”
“Derek asked me to be on his team almost a week ago,” Chance replied, giving her a flawless, yet boyish smile. His perfectly styled blond hair was crushed beneath his paintball helmet, but his green eyes were un-obscured by the plastic goggles resting on top of his head. “Blake Kavanagh is playing with them instead.”
“Don’t forget your goggles,” she reminded him, tapping the clear plastic mask covering her own eyes.
“Oh, thanks.” He grinned, pulling the goggles down over his eyes as he crept toward his post several hundred yards away.
Aylie looked at the map Derek had given her. It was a hand-drawn sketch of the entire playing field. The spots each person had been assigned to cover were marked with personal initials. The drawing was very detailed and it wasn’t hard for her to locate the area she had been assigned to. She maneuvered her way quickly through a patch of thick underbrush, along one of the dirt trails that followed a creek bed. A set of steps had been cut from the side of a dirt-covered hill, curving upward toward a manmade footbridge. There was an opening beneath the bridge on the opposite side, which provided her with a perfect view of the clearing, while still giving her cover. The sunlight was streaming through the trees, casting leafy shadows all around her.
It was very quiet as Aylie crouched down to fit into her spot beneath the bridge. She had checked the area for spiders first and was satisfied that nothing too large or creepy was lurking there. The opening was shallow, so there wasn’t enough room for anything larger than a scary insect, anyway. She scanned the clearing in the distance for approaching threats. Far off, she heard the sound of a paintball rifle and shrieks of laughter, followed by the sounds of swearing and pounding feet. She was on the edge of the course, so she was unlikely to catch much of the action, which was fine with her. She wasn’t really in the mood for anything intense.
After nearly forty-five minutes had passed without any excitement, Aylie’s legs started to cramp. She crawled out of her hiding spot to stretch her stiff muscles and caught the unmistakable sound of a snapping branch close by. She whirled around, holding her rifle up to her shoulder blade, as she scanned the trees for the intruder. She couldn’t see anyone within range, but some people had taken the tournament seriously enough to dress in camouflage. It wouldn’t be impossible for someone to sneak up on her if they were able to blend in with the foliage. She glanced up at the sky to see what time of day it was getting to be. The sun was almost directly overhead.
It’s almost noon already, she thought. I wonder if they’ve considered pausing this tournament for lunch?
Then she saw something dart through the trees up ahead. She couldn’t see what it was, but it looked big. She couldn’t tell whether it was a person or not. She squinted to see further into the trees on the other side of the clearing. A moment later she saw it again, but this time it was much closer and it was unmistakably inhuman. Her heart pounded, but only for an instant, as she realized it couldn’t possibly be Ryder. This creature was white. Pure white. It was far enough away that she was sure it wasn’t something she needed to worry about…at least not yet.
As Aylie turned to crawl back into her hiding place, she felt someone grab her from behind, covering her mouth with their hand. She screamed in surprise but the sound was muffled by her abductor’s palm. The paintball helmet kept her from being able to see who it was, so she did the only thing she could think of and jabbed the culprit in the chest with her elbow as hard as she could. Her assailant stumbled backwards pulling her to the ground on top of him. Yanking an arm free, she ripped her helmet off. When she finally looked over her shoulder, Ryder was laughing with his arms still locked around her, pinning her to his chest.
She didn’t know whether to feel angry or relieved. “What the heck are you DOING?” She cried. “You scared me t
o death.”
Ryder grinned, releasing his hold on her so she could sit up. “Top secret strategy,” he winked.
Aylie surveyed him skeptically. “Oh yeah? Where’s your paintball gun, then?”
Ryder laughed. “I don’t need such a primitive weapon, as you well know.”
“You’re not even part of this tournament, are you?”
“Maybe I am—maybe I’m not.”
“If you’re not playing then you shouldn’t be here.”
“You’re in my neck of the woods, might I remind you,” he said. “Literally.”
“You don’t own the entire forest,” Aylie retorted, standing to her feet as she attempted to wipe the dirt from her knees.
Ryder looked up at her from his spot on the ground. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Yeah right.”
He grinned. “Okay, maybe I meant to scary you a little bit but I wasn’t trying to give you a heart attack.”
Aylie heard a rustling sound behind her. Before she had time to react, someone shot her twice in the back and ran off, leaving her covered in blue paint. She was officially out of the game and hadn’t gotten a single shot in on her opponent. Derek was going to give her a hard time about this and she wasn’t looking forward to the teasing that would undoubtedly follow. “This is all your fault!” She accused, sounding more upset than she really was.
“I’ll make it up to you, then.” Ryder stood to his feet.
“How do you plan to do that?” She asked, turning her head to assess the paint splattered all over the back of her jeans. She couldn’t see what the back of her jacket looked like but she’d felt the hit, so she knew it was probably covered with paint as well.
“I’ll take you back to my place and help you get the paint out of your clothes so no one will even know how close the shooter got.”
“I can’t leave in the middle of the tournament—my teammates would be furious.”
“They won’t even know you’re gone. Besides, the tournament usually lasts till sundown. That’s hours from now.”
“What if they come looking for me?”
“They won’t,” he assured her. “I’ve seen them play for years.”
Aylie raised an eyebrow. “You’ve watched them play for years? Nothing creepy about that.”
Ryder rolled his eyes. “Not like that. This was the one school-related activity my brothers and I used to participate in.”
Aylie felt bad for jumping to conclusions and looked at him apologetically.
“Do you want to get that paint off your clothes or what?” He asked, nodding toward the mansion.
Aylie looked up at the sky. Sundown seemed a long way off. Maybe Ryder was right. Maybe no one would even notice she was gone. “Okay.” She agreed.
Ryder led her through the forest to the gravel road she’d taken with her mom when they’d visited the Mansion the week before. “How far is your house from here?” She asked.
“Only about two miles. We’re more than half-way there.”
That was a relief. She followed him down the long, winding road, doing her best to keep up with him. She still had questions to ask him, but she was trying to decide where to start first. She never knew what kind of mood he was in or how likely he would be to give her a straight answer, but she had to try. “So…that thing you did the other night…how do you do it?”
“That’s a very vague question,” he replied, without looking over his shoulder.
“You know what I mean.”
“I suppose you’re asking how I’m able to transition.”
“Is that what it’s called?”
“Changing from a human form to a genetically altered state is called transitioning.”
Aylie furrowed her brows. “I thought it was called ‘phasing,’ or ‘morphing,’ or something like that.”
Ryder laughed. “Maybe if you’re watching a sci-fi movie.”
“So how does it work?”
“It requires a certain genetic disposition—a chain of DNA capable of being split and rearranged into a very specific pattern.”
Aylie was good at biology and physics, but they weren’t her strongest subjects. “How do you force your DNA to split and rearrange like that?”
“Well, you have to have the genetic disposition, as I said, but it also requires an outside force of manipulation.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not sure if you’d believe me if I told you.”
Aylie rolled her eyes at him even though he couldn’t see it. “Are you serious? I’ve already seen you transition into a savage panther and experienced your mind-reading skills. I think I can handle whatever explanation you have to offer.”
“It requires the ability to harness the elements of another metaphysical dimension.”
Aylie’s brows pulled together in confusion. “Speak normal English, please.”
“It requires magic.”
“What?” She narrowed her eyes at him skeptically.
“Just what I said. The DNA is split and rearranged by pulling power into this dimension from a supernatural dimension. Most people just call it magic—it’s a much more simplified explanation.”
Aylie tried to wrap her brain around what he was saying. “So the panther I saw was some kind of optical illusion?”
“No.” He said with exaggerated slowness. “The DNA is altered by a supernaturally derived source of power.”
Aylie bit her bottom lip. Certainly Ryder wasn’t trying to convince her that magic was a real thing. There must be a more scientific explanation behind what he was saying that wasn’t registering. She could tell that he was getting annoyed with her lack of understanding so she decided to let the subject go for now.
They were finally approaching the Mansion and the apprehension Aylie had felt when she’d last visited was beginning to return. She swallowed hard, remembering how lightheaded and dizzy she’d been inside the vault…the thickness of the air that had constricted her windpipe. She started to feel those same sensations again before they’d even reached the front door.
“Do you ever feel like it’s hard to breathe inside the Mansion?” She asked, hesitating in the doorway. Ryder reached for her hand to pull her through. “Every day.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
R yder closed the heavy door behind them and ushered Aylie into the Great Hall. The butler appeared almost immediately and Ryder requested that he summon Bridgett to the hall right away. While they waited, he asked Aylie if she was hungry and gave instructions for the chef to prepare a light lunch as soon as possible.
Moments later, Bridgett entered the room. “You wanted to see me, sir?” She asked, looking up at him shyly.
“Yes. Would you please take Miss Bryant’s clothes and see to it that all traces of paint are removed as quickly as possible?
Bridget nodded. “What will she wear in the meantime, sir?”
Ryder was perplexed for a moment. “Wait here,” he said, disappearing from the room. The only thing he could think to give her was a pair of his gym shorts with a drawstring that she could synch to prevent them from falling down. She might not like the idea, but it was better than walking around naked while she waited for her clothes to be cleaned. He returned with the shorts and gave them to Aylie. He watched the horrified expression cross her face as she realized his intentions, but she took the shorts and followed Bridgett silently out of the room.
“I’ll be waiting here,” he called after her, unable to hide his amusement.
When Aylie returned, she was dressed in the long-sleeved t-shirt she had been wearing underneath her paint-soiled jacket and the black gym shorts he had given her. They were extremely long and baggy, and he couldn’t help chuckling at the look of chagrin on her face. “It’s not that bad, Aylie.”
She held up her hand to silence him, shaking her head.
“Alright, now that your clothes are being taken care of, I will try my best to answer your questions.”
Aylie nodded in silent resi
gnation, as he led her through the west wing corridor, at the end of which, was a long, spiraling staircase. He took each step with ease, forgetting how awkwardly narrow and steep they were for people who weren’t used to climbing them everyday. It was dark and there were no railings. He was completely oblivious to the possible dangers of falling until he heard Aylie’s gasp behind him. He whirled around just in time to catch her as she missed a step and slipped, nearly falling a full story to the stone floor below. He steadied her and waited for her to catch her breath. He felt her shiver. Whether from fear or cold he couldn’t tell, but the look in her eyes when she glanced up at him stopped his heart for a second.
“Do you climb these stairs everyday?” She asked slightly winded.
“Yes, but you get used to them after eighteen years or so.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I could ever get used to taking my life into my hands like this on a regular basis.”
Ryder smiled at the irony of her words. She was about to discover far worse dangers than stone staircases. He released her from his steadying grip and proceeded to lead her up the stairs. This time he slowed his pace, looking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure that she was okay. When they had reached the door of his father’s study, he pushed it open and signaled for her to enter ahead of him. Even though it was broad daylight outside, it was still hard to see inside the four walls of this room and he wanted to light a few oil lamps so they could see each other more clearly.
Then he proceeded to light a fire in the hearth so Aylie could warm herself. He pulled one of the wing-backed armchairs closer to the fire and motioned for her to sit down, which she did without protest. He walked over to his father’s desk and retrieved the journal. He felt a spasm of fear at the idea of sharing something so precious and sacred with an outsider, but Aylie was the closest thing to a friend he had and if he couldn’t trust her, whom could he trust? After all, she’d taken a blood oath and that was no small thing.
WAKENED (The Silvervane Chronicles Book 1) Page 10
