At this point, Jade wasn’t convinced of that anymore.
By the following afternoon, Lauren and Jade were no further forward. Jade had taken a break from worrying about real life by focusing on a book she needed to read for a paper, Lauren also found a route to escapism through binge-watching trash TV.
By late afternoon Jade made an excuse to go out. She needed fresh air and time alone. Initially, she wandered, not thinking about the direction, just that she needed to walk.
Two blocks from the high school, she came upon Beaumont’s only gas station, which brought back many happy memories. In the evening, by the light of the setting sun, the old pumps shone, and the tinted windows of the gas station lit up like jewels. The gas station was an old haunt from her high school days where she’d spent lazy afternoons sipping on slushies with Lauren and goofing off on their way home.
Right now, she welcomed a little of that nostalgia.
Jade opened the door to the shop front. The cheerful chime of the bell over the door took her right back to childhood. She went to the right and headed down the first aisle, intending to cross in front of the freezers to dodge the lines by the register. The slushie machine was tucked in an alcove beside the cash in the back corner of the store. She never made it.
Karl stood before the chilled drink display.
Jade came to an abrupt stop, her heart leaping into her throat. Karl wore a different suit today and was no less refined for it. He looked gorgeous.
No doubt, feeling eyes on him, Karl lifted his head, noticed Jade, and sneered. "You’ve got to be kidding me."
"What?" Jade clenched her fists, instantly on the defensive. "Do you have a problem with me being here?"
"No. I have a problem with you stalking me." There was no kindness in his eyes. "You’re not going to make me change my mind."
"Wait, hold on, back it up." Jade furrowed her brow. "Stalking you? You think I’m stalking you?"
"The hotel room, then the bar, and now here? I’d say it’s a coincidence, but then why is it that I’ve run into you three times and I’ve yet to run into your squatter friend? You need to stop, or I'll have you removed from my presence."
The arrogant, selfish, self-involved asshole. The nerve of him. He got right under Jade’s skin.
"Do you even listen to yourself talk, or have you become so numb to how self-absorbed you are that you block it all out?" Jade stood her ground. Humor wasn’t going to diffuse this situation. She was so far beyond wanting to make fun of this until it went away. What Karl needed was a reality check. "Your head is honestly so far up your ass that I’m wondering how you’re able to see at all."
"Really?" Karl turned, so he was facing Jade head on. "You really think that I’m the bad guy in this situation? Two barely legal young things are warning me against developing a plot of land I legally purchased, but won’t come out and say why. Then one of them resorts to stalking me. You may live in a fantasy world, but you have to be able to understand my side of things."
"I can see your side of things, sure, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a raging asshole about it. As for stalking you, do you see how big this town is? And I’ve lived here all my life. You know, maybe you should humor me and my friend. Maybe, as long-time residents of Beaumont, we know what the hell we’re talking about."
"If there was anything in that forest—anything at all—I would’ve been briefed about it already." Karl’s voice was like steel. "The town would have gathered to fend off the construction crew. But there was nothing. There is nothing. So get the hell off my back."
Nothing Jade said was going to convince Karl that the forest was more than it appeared. Nothing was going to get him to stop leveling trees and eating into the woods. Lauren had shot down the idea of introducing Karl to Sparta out of fear that he would capitalize on it, but Jade was at a point now where she didn’t see another way forward.
If she didn’t prove that something was going on in the woods, Karl would tear it down. If he tore it down, Lauren would go to live with the Spartans permanently, and it was likely that people on Karl’s new property would start to disappear never to be seen again.
Jade couldn’t let that happen.
If Lauren didn’t want to upset the Spartans and the gods, that was fine. Jade would take the blame.
"You want to know why we don’t want you in the woods?" Jade asked. "You really want to know the truth?"
"Yes, I do," Karl replied tersely.
"Then I’ll show you." Jade stood a little taller, her shoulders back, her expression as stoic as she could get. She was sure that she still looked irritated as hell, but she held onto decorum. "I’ll show you why we’re so serious about getting you to step down."
"Oh?" Karl hitched a brow mockingly. "You want to show me your tree fort? How sweet."
Half of Jade wanted to slap Karl around the face. The other half wanted her to kiss his lips so viciously that Karl couldn’t say anything else. Jade did neither of those things. "Outside, come on."
Jade turned and left, checking Karl followed behind.
Once they were out of the shop, Jade turned to face Karl. "No, I’m not going to show you a sweet tree fort," Jade said stiffly. "I’m going to show you what we’re fighting so hard to protect—what needs to be kept hidden out there in the woods… the rift that leads to many other lands."
Karl laughed, the kind of belly laugh that made Jade feel like she really was insane. Jade didn’t care. All that mattered was that Karl followed her.
After a few minutes of Karl laughing while Jade watched, Karl stopped and asked, "Are you serious?"
"I am." Jade reached forward and grabbed his hand. She hated the way pinpricks danced up her arm the second their palms met.
The gas station was only a couple of minutes walk from the edge of the woods. And Karl came along without protest or further laughter. He didn’t even try to withdraw his hand from Jade, so she kept holding it. It tingled where her skin touched his, sparks seemed to dance over her palm and shoot out along her fingers. She refused to acknowledge the strange sensation.
After Jade had admitted what they were going to see in the woods, Karl’s attitude changed. After a bout of laughter, he was no longer bitter and cold but had become playful and teasing. His changing personality was driving Jade up the wall.
Jade only vaguely knew the way to the location where they might transcend dimensions. But as they stepped under the shadows of the first trees, they heard shouting.
"Hey, Karl, wait up."
Three of the construction crew came walking along the road toward them. They were some way off, and it would be a minute or two before they were close enough to talk. Jade recognized Nic among them.
She let Karl’s hand slip from hers. She was convinced he intended to come along with her and so she didn't need to drag him any further.
There may have been the small matter that she also didn't want to give the wrong impression to Nic. She didn't want him to think there was anything between her and Karl. Although, it was possible he'd already seen her leading Karl by the hand.
When the workers drew close enough to talk without shouting Nic said, "You'll want to watch out if you're going into the woods. Some of the men have caught glimpses of activity in there."
"What sort of activity?" Karl asked.
One of the men said, "I saw an archer, I swear, some dude carrying a big old-fashioned style of bow, but I only caught a glimpse, and when I focused on what I'd seen, they'd gone."
"Hunting, all right." Karl nodded thoughtfully.
"The weird thing is a few of the blokes say they've seen people just through the trees, but they've heard nothing and then the people disappear without any trace or sound. I'd say there's probably skillful hunters working there and you want to be careful you don't get shot."
With a screwed up mouth and annoyance written all over his face, Karl tilted his head and looked at Jade.
All the men focused on her.
She shifted her weight
between her feet.
"So where are you lot off to?" Karl asked the workmen.
"We plan to start putting the fencing up along this stretch, it might deter further hunting and we can attach notices to it," Nic explained. "We're walking ahead, Seamus and Pat were just getting ready to drive the vehicles down here with tools and fencing. They'll be here any minute."
"Leave some gaps in the fence so that no one is trapped in the wood, including us," he looked at Jade as he said it. "That will give people ample warning that this section is about to be completely fenced in.
"Nic, you can come with us, because that still leaves enough men to do the fencing. You guys know what you're doing?"
They did.
The men continued walking in the same direction, and Karl took a few steps into the forest leaving Jade and Nic staring at each other in surprise.
"Sorry about this Nic, but this young lady has something to show us that's going to completely alter our plans for the forest. But if she's got a crowd of youths ready to jump out on us I'd welcome back up. It's only fair I warn you, I've no idea what I'm walking into here. So if you don't want to come, I understand."
Nic looked surprised and turned his attention on Jade.
She placed her balled fists on her hips. "What you've already told me is that you've had no opposition from the town. There are just two barely legal girls against you two. Don't tell me you're scared."
"I didn't know about the hunting."
Nic raised a pacifying hand between the three of them. "I know you're not like that, Jade. We'll be perfectly safe with you. So lead the way."
She stormed forward, determined to make her point.
Lauren might be upset with her decision, and Jade knew she risked pissing off Lauren’s otherworldly lovers, but she’d made what she thought was the best decision given very difficult circumstances. Jade didn't want to risk never seeing her best friend again.
The only way Karl would believe her and change his plans was if he stepped beyond the veil and had firsthand experience.
She didn't look around, but she could hear Karl and Nic's feet crunching dried twigs as they followed close behind.
At first, no one spoke. Jade wasn't sure of the way, and when she stopped in a clearing to catch her breath and get her bearings, Karl and Nic came right up beside her. She set off again, and they followed.
"So you've no idea what she's planning to show you?" Nic asked.
"I don’t know, a rift that leads to other lands is what she said," Karl replied slyly. "Part of me thinks this is some excuse to get me away from the public eye so she can finish what she started the other morning. Another reason to have you along."
Hot. Despite her better judgment, her pussy pulsed.
He either wanted Nic as a chaperone or for a threesome? She wasn't clear on his meaning but wasn't about to ask.
Nic chuckled. What happened the other morning was apparently not news to him.
Jade screeched to a stop, bristling with the knowledge they'd talked about her, she turned to face Karl who crashed into her.
She sprung backward like Karl’s touch was poisonous. "Excuse me?"
Fuck, did Karl look sexy? Too bad he was all looks without any substance. He seemed arrogant, shallow, and rotten to the core, Jade had to keep reminding herself.
"You wanted me badly in my hotel room. I liked that. I’ll be honest and admit I have no idea what changed."
Amazed, Jade’s mouth fell open.
She blushed to hear him speaking of her like this especially in front of Nic.
The man didn’t get it at all; he couldn’t see things from Jade’s point of view.
She didn’t want to talk about it. "I realized that I couldn’t bring myself to sleep with an ass," she snapped. She didn’t want to admit that her flesh was weak, and she certainly didn’t want to fess up to feeling things for Karl or Nic. Superficial, shallow things, of course, but those things still counted for something.
"Ouch," he said.
"From the very start, you’ve been an asshole to me and Lauren. Did you think I’d want to become best friends with you?" Jade let her eyes wander across Karl’s shoulders, down his chest, and to his waist.
"And did you think I’d be nice when your friend came over to chew my head off about some trees?" Karl was just as stubborn. "Both of you have been nothing but crazy pains in the ass since I arrived. Telling me the area is dangerous but not telling me why. Why should I show you any consideration when you’ve shown me none in return?"
He had a point. Jade wasn’t used to the challenge. When Karl put it that way, it almost made Jade reconsider her stance. From the second she’d driven into town, she’d been on Karl’s case about the development project. Of course, Karl wasn’t going to be nice to her, but then… Why did he fall into bed with Jade so quickly?
"Calm down, Karl, try to understand things from Jade's point of view."
Karl eyed his foreman warily.
"Perhaps she might've liked you if you'd have given her the chance to see your better side."
Jade huffed, finding it hard to believe the man had a better side to his personality even though every side to his physical appearance seemed pretty good.
"She offered to show us why we shouldn't level the area and build on it. Why don't we take this as a chance at a fresh start?" Not only were his words reasonable and calming but his voice sounded deep and smooth, and it made Jade ache with a different kind of need.
"Well, whatever." Jade pushed the thought aside. She didn’t have time to be compassionate. Not now. That could come later. "When you see that we had a reason to be angry, will you let it go, and work with us to protect the area?"
"Sure. And when we find nothing at all, no rainbow bridge to another world, just boring, normal old trees, will you and your friend leave us alone so we can continue with our plans, please?"
Jade shrugged and walked on. "Sure. Fine." Jade agreed because it was an easy bargain to strike. She knew what they’d find in the Beaumont woods. Once they’d stepped through to a different dimension and emerged in Sparta, Olympus, or some place else, Karl would have to eat his words. "Now come on, it’s not far."
"Right. Lead the way." The disbelief in Karl’s voice irked Jade, but she didn’t let it get to her. She had more important things to worry about.
Jade led the way. There was just a little further to go if she remembered it right. The exact location of the rift moved from time to time, some gateways closing while others yawned open. The wall between dimensions was thin, but it wasn’t irreparable. The tears did patch over time, only for new ones to open.
The problem was, Jade couldn’t see them.
They came across a part of the forest Jade recognized. The ancient, gnarled trees were different from those anywhere else in the forest. While they conformed to the rules of the mortal realm, they were influenced by the dimensions beyond. It made the trees familiar, yet eerily different in appearance.
"… So. This is it? Some twisted trees?" Karl came to a stop. There was a hint of friendly humor in his voice. "They do look interesting, beautiful I'll grant you, but…"
"No. They look cool, but no. Like I told you, there’s a portal between dimensions here."
Karl smirked. "Forgive me if I call bullshit on that."
Jade scowled at Karl. She took a few hurried steps forward, searching for the breach. It had to be somewhere. It had to be. As she frantically searched, Karl shook his head.
"You’re cute—very cute, even—and every bit my type, our type, I can’t deny that." Karl glanced at Nic who nodded. "I’ve been tolerating these fantasies because I thought it might be good to see where they led, perhaps somewhere good like your bedroom, but you’re crazy." Karl stood casually, his hands in his back pockets.
Jade barely spared him a glance—she was too busy searching for the veil. But she was also totally thrown off kilter by the comment about being their type, whatever that meant? "If you decide that you can be a normal, groun
ded individual, come back to see me. I’m going to be in town overseeing the project until it’s through, so for a good few months."
"Hold on. We've walked all this way, I’d like to give Jade the benefit of the doubt and more time." Nic held on to a low-hanging branch. "I might not always be the best judge of character, but this time, we should give Jade a chance."
Too late, Karl had already turned and taken a few slow steps in the return direction.
"No, you’re not… ugh!" Jade threw her hands up in frustration. "It’s here! I know it is!"
"Okay. Well. You keep looking for it, and if you find it, take some footage and show it to me. How’s that sound?" Karl’s tone was pitying. It only made Jade more frustrated. She wasn’t crazy. "I’m going to go back to my room now. Thanks for the walk. I hope you and your friend find a new place to play let’s pretend."
"Stay!" Jade insisted. The more desperate she got, the crazier she sounded, but she couldn’t let Karl walk away now. "It’s here. I know it is. It’s just—"
Nic shrugged and looked suitably embarrassed on her behalf. Then he raised a hand. "Shh!."
All three people stopped moving and looked in the direction of the noise.
Someone crashed through the bushes not ten feet to their right, and Jade flinched as a familiar figure burst through the trees and kept running. He had a burlap sack slung over his shoulder.
Most striking of all was that he was mostly bare flesh covered in a swath of white fabric, possibly silk based on the way it moved and reflected the light. He could've been in fancy dress for a costume party.
"Who the hell is that?" Karl stepped forward as the man darted by.
Jade recognized Autolycus.
According to Lauren, Autolycus was terrified of the major gods catching him when he was up to no good. Therefore, he must have found a back route between dimensions that wouldn’t attract too much attention.
"He’s our ticket out of here!" Jade exclaimed. She grabbed Nic’s hand and dragged him forward, chasing through the trees.
Autolycus didn’t seem to notice them, and if he did, he didn’t show it. Jade watched him in the distance, running full speed ahead until it seemed like he slipped.
Architects_Sons of Olympus Page 7
