by W. J. May
No one said a word. Not even Caleb. His mouth actually hung open now.
What the –? “Listen. I can’t read the beginning or the end of the book, but the middle section’s in plain English…” Why only to me? I tossed the book on the desk, and rubbed my eyes, frustration giving way to confusion. “I don’t understand. None of you can read it?” Grace came around, sat on the top of the desk and began flipping through the pages. The look on Michael’s face confirmed the answer to my question.
He walked over and took my hand in both of his. He turned to Caleb. “What do you think?”
“I’m at a loss, but I intend to find out. This girl is no Grollic, and for everything we know, I’ve never had knowledge of the marking. This could be radical, for all of us.” Caleb looked at me but avoided making eye contact. “The Coven meets tonight. With your permission, I’d like to take the journal along. If there is anyone else who is able to decipher the writings, it could be of key importance in bringing the mongrels into extinction.” Caleb tapped his perfectly manicured fingernails on the desk.
The book belongs to me now. I shook my head. What a weird thought. “You don’t need my permission. Take it. Keep it.”
“No. It’s yours.” Caleb shot a glare at Grace who looked like she was about to say something, but closed her mouth. “I think you should take Rouge into my office and show her some of our history. See if there’s anything else she’s able to understand.” He clicked his tongue and stood. Walking over to me, he pulled at my hood and touched my collar bone with ice cold hands that instantly turned warm. “No marking, ‘eh? Just checking.” A hoarse laugh came from deep in his throat, like he didn’t do it often. “I’m interested in this little talent she’s acquired.”
A muffled growl filled the room. Everyone flinched and turned to me. I held my hands in the air. “That was my stomach.”
Grace burst out laughing. She jumped off the desk. “Let’s get you something to eat. We’ll stop by your place after and grab some clothes.” She glanced at Caleb. “We’ll be working late tonight, so Rouge’s going to need to sleep over.”
“She needs to stay here. It’s not safe for her to be on her own,” Michael said. “I’ll take her.”
Grace put her arm around my shoulders and poked Michael. “You have to go with Caleb; you’re expected to be there. The elders will be upset if you're not.”
Michael, about to argue, must have changed his mind. “Fine.”
Was there some hierarchy line? Where did Michael stand? If Caleb was royalty, would that make Michael some kind of prince?
“If you’re able to find anything out,” Michael said, “contact me and I’ll come back. Now I’m going to talk to Rouge. Alone.” He stared at Grace, and tapped the side of his temple.
Without waiting for an answer, he took my hand and led me out to the backyard. The feel of his hand in mine brought little electrical currents throughout my entire arm. He could have led me into a pit of Grollics and I’d have followed in a heartbeat.
Every piece of greenery in the back looked immaculately cut, set around a pool and a cute pool house. Barely had Michael shut the door when he pulled me into his arms. He held me tight against him. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
I kissed him. Whatever disappointment, anger or heartbreak I felt had disappeared the moment he’d grabbed my hand.
He groaned, and one of his hands came up to my neck. His fingers drummed along my neckline to the pendant of his Siorghra. I could feel him smile through our kiss, and suddenly his kissing became more intense. I went right along with him, my hands running through his hair, on his neck, his face, on his chest. I couldn’t get enough. I wanted more. Being apart had been harder than I realized.
He pulled back, his stunning blue eyes flitting back and forth to mine.
I gently leaned toward him, letting my forehead touch his.
“I’m so sorry,” His voice cracked. “I blamed myself and thought I’d put you in danger and messed your world up. You were meant to find us. I should have known. I really missed you and I’m sorry.”
I took a small step back and brushed a fallen hair from his forehead. “Don’t be. Things happened for a reason. I’d have never looked through the book if I wasn’t on my own.”
He shrugged, not looking completely convinced.
My arms wrapped around his waist and I pulled him into a hug. I ran my palms along his back and froze when I came across his bony shoulder blades. I thought back to the journal.
“What’s wrong?” he said, leaning back.
“Do you have wings?”
He chuckled. “No. There are a lot of things I can do, but flying is not one of them.”
I reached for his shoulder blades again, remembering before the Halloween party when I’d first noticed their boniness. “But…”
“We all have those protruding little bits, maybe a leftover part that never evolved with time.” He scratched his head. “I could have had them before…everything changed. I just don’t remember.”
“Oh,” I blinked. “Wait a sec.” What else had he just said? “What other things can you do?”
“Loads of cool stuff.” He smiled. “I’ve been trained to fight. And when one doesn’t have the fear of dying, it lets you push your limits a lot further. You learn a lot about the body’s ability. ”
“Can you teach me?”
Michael stepped back, apparently mortified. “No! It’d kill you.”
Shaking my head, I playfully punched him in the arm. “I meant to fight. If I’m going to be hanging out with a bunch of people who hate Grollics, I should know how to defend or at least protect myself.”
“Now that might be a good idea.” Squatting, he reached for my arm and pulled me over his shoulder. “I think you’re lighter than a sack of potatoes.”
“Put me down.” I pounded his back lightly. “I don’t mean now. You need to go with Caleb, and I don’t want to start any problems when I might have just scored some points with my crazy Grollic reading ability.”
Michael set me down and smiled. “I love you.” He tapped his Siorghra pendant. “You’ve already got my heart.”
I blinked and straightened. No one had ever said those three words to me. Not the mother who’d abandoned me as a baby, the father I had no idea of, the foster parents I’d had through the years, or any guy I’d gone on a few dates with. Not even a best friend. Is it possible to be terrified and ecstatic at the same time? I ran my teeth across my lower lip. If I said the words back would something inside me change…forever?
“Probably should have kept that too myself.” He chuckled and kissed my nose. “I think it’s a good idea we go back in, you need to eat. You look a bit faint.” He led me to the back door, through the kitchen, and into the living room. “Grace, can you take Rouge to get some food?”
I realized that while we were outside, I’d never bothered to pay much attention to what the backyard looked like, I’d been too busy concentrating on the hot body smothered against me. My skin grew warm at the thought.
Michael squeezed my hand and then darted into Caleb’s office. I stared hungrily at him for a moment and then turned to Grace.
She burst out laughing. “You might want to put your ponytail back in, your hair’s a mess.”
Face burning, I reached for my hair and tried to tuck the escaped wisps behind my ears.
Grace didn’t say another word, but her giggling didn’t stop the entire drive to Jim and Sally’s.
We walked through the front door of the house.
“It’s so quiet. Are the foster-folks out?” Grace held her arm out to stop me. She cocked her head to the side. “This normal?” she whispered.
I sucked in a quick breathe, instantly paranoid. “Maybe. I ran out earlier today without talking to them.” I glanced around. “Nothing seems out of the ordinary.”
“You wait here by the door. I’m just going to have a quick look around to be sure.” Grace darted away before I could argue.
&n
bsp; I leaned back against the doorframe and checked up and down the street. Nothing was different. Hopefully Jim and Sally were out. Besides being freaked out by Grace tiptoeing thought the house, Jim had been freaky-weird the last time she came inside. I didn’t want to have to deal with that again. When she walked back from the kitchen I said, “Let’s go upstairs so I can have a quick shower, and grab clothes for tomorrow.”
“First let me make sure everything’s clear upstairs.” She took the stairs two at a time.
I followed once she hit the landing. By the time I reached the top, she’d checked the rooms and turned back to my room. “How about you stay the weekend? You shower and I’ll have a look through…” She paused, as if searching for the right word. “I’ll check what’s in your closet and see if there’s anything I can do something with.” A hand flew to her mouth. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I just meant…”
I laughed. I’d miss her being around. “I’ve got a duffel bag on the closet floor. You can throw what I’ll need in there.”
Opening the bedroom door, I saw why Grace had paused. My room had shoes and piles still on the floor from my lame attempt at sorting it last night. “It’s not always this bad.” The argument sounded really lame and Grace’s raised eyebrows stopped me from bothering to say more. Instead, I grabbed a pair of jeans and the pretty, silver top Grace had bought before heading into the bathroom. The water needed to run for like an hour before it would heat up enough to step in. Stripping down, I stepped into the shower. I reached into my toiletry bag and grabbed a razor and shaving cream. Always better to be safe than sorry.
My shower lasted longer than my usual ten minute one. A twinge of guilt reminded me I’d made Grace wait. I dabbed a little perfume on, then grabbed my hair dryer and headed back to the bedroom. I didn’t see her right away, but I did see clothes flying out of my closet with lots of muttering going on inside of it.
She came in and out of the closet, throwing assorted bits of clothing into the suitcase. The closet was one of those old ones, kind of square shaped with hangers set on the side, perpendicular to the door. As I towel dried my hair, she continued to come in and out with more clothes. Even my dresser drawers had been opened. She rolled three pairs of my jeans and then stuffed them into the near overflowing duffel.
“Whoa. I’m only staying the weekend. That’s a lot of stuff.”
Grace shot me a sympathetic smile. “I think I got everything that can be salvaged from your closet and dresser. While you were showering, Jim came back. He was on the phone and now he’s downstairs in the living room. It sounds like he wants to talk to you.”
“How’d you…” I didn’t finish the sentence. She obviously had some super-sonic hearing or something. “You’re joking? Of all nights.” I stuffed my hair into a bun.
“He seems pretty fired up.”
“What did he say on the phone?” What am I? An eavesdropping ten year old?
“He was talking to Sally. They were fighting.”
“On the phone? That’s weird. Guess I’d better go see.” I was reluctant. Dealing with Sally had always been a two way street, with Jim it felt more like a one-way with bad construction.
I walked down the stairs and found Jim pacing in the living room.
“Hey. What’s up?”
Jim muttered something under his breath.
All I caught was the word, “disrespectful.” The sharp intake of Grace’s breath told me she’d followed me down the stairs and had heard than I did. Jim’s head shot up when he heard Grace. He gave her a weird smile, then he turned to me.
“Where’s Sally?” I asked before he had a chance to speak.
“Gone. Flew back to Ontario.” He took a swig from the liquor bottle I hadn’t noticed before.
“What?” The word was out before I could stop myself. She left, and didn’t say good-bye? Surely not. “Everything okay in Niagara Falls?” Maybe something had happened to hear family.
Jim snorted. “Figures you’d take her side.” He pointed an accusing finger at me. “You think it’s all a joke. You and her have probably been laughing at me not finding a job.”
Huh? “I—”
“Don’t bother. I can see it in your eyes.” He began pacing the room. “You know what? You’re out. I want you out. Sally was the one who wanted to help your hopeless ass, I only agreed for the crap money. You’re eighteen next month and I’d have booted you out then. Why wait?”
Who would throw a girl with no family out on the street? “I’ve got no where to go!” Sally must have left him. Left us. We weren’t super close, but still. What would make her just up and leave? Unless something had scared her.
Grace stepped in front of Jim, inches from his face.
I blinked. Did she somehow make herself look taller?
Grace spoke quietly but the power behind her voice made me glad she was on my side. “This place is a dump. You should be shot for the care you’ve offered. I’ve seen scum in this world, and you appear to be on the lowest rung. Rouge deserves better than this.”
Startled, Jim shot her a nasty glare. “Shut up!”
Grace didn’t bat an eye. “I never met Sally, but I’m not surprised she left.” She laughed a sound between disbelief and sarcasm. As she stepped back, she grabbed the duffle bag. “You’ve been such an example for Rouge—”
“Of course we have,” he snapped.
“—on what not to do in life,” Grace finished.
“Get out! Both of you and don’t ever come back, Rouge. Ever!” Jim hollered.
Grace pushed me toward the door to the fresh air outside, and led me to the passenger seat. She threw the bag into the back of the car.
“Stay here. I’ll double check if there’s anything else in your room you’re going to need.”
I sat in the car, too dumbfounded to respond.
Life freakin’ sucked. I was officially screwed. Being able to read a weird language as if English and kicked out of the only place I was barely able to call home. What do I do? I leaned my head back onto the seat and closed my eyes. Where was I going to go?
** End of Excerpt **
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Marked by Destiny
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THE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN
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BLURB:
How hard do you have to shake the family tree to find the truth about the past?
Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.
Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?
As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.
RADIUM HALOS – THE SENSELESS SERIES
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Book Blurb:
Everyone needs to be a hero at one point in their life.
The small town of Elliot Lake will never be the same again.
Caught in a sudden thunderstorm, Zoe, a high school senior from Elliot Lake, and five of her friends take shelter in an abandoned uranium mine. Over the
next few days, Zoe’s hearing sharpens drastically, beyond what any normal human being can detect. She tells her friends, only to learn that four others have an increased sense as well. Only Kieran, the new boy from Scotland, isn’t affected.
Fashioning themselves into superheroes, the group tries to stop the strange occurrences happening in their little town. Muggings, break-ins, disappearances, and murder begin to hit too close to home. It leads the team to think someone knows about their secret – someone who wants them all dead.
An incredulous group of heroes. A traitor in the midst. Some dreams are written in blood.
Chapter Excerpt included!!
Chapter 1
Zoe
I hated the mine. Like a crypt across the horizon the place always made me shudder. They had closed it down years ago and boarded up the entrance. The horror-film image still haunted me.
Tonight vehicles littered the overgrown grass field surrounding the shaft. From behind the orange and yellow flames of a bonfire, blue spirits danced about, as if the mine had allowed them to escape. Foreboding lingered in the pit of my stomach. The sound of music, chatter and laughter barely muted the feeling.
I shifted away from the fire and dropped my head against the back of lawn chair. Ominous clouds created large voids in the dotted, glittery sky. To rain or not to rain, that is the question.
Heidi waved a hand back and forth in front of my face. “Earth to Zoey. Earth to Zoey. Come back to Elliot Lake. The school bonfire is missing you.”
