CRYSTALLUM (The Primordial Principles Book 1)

by McMann, Laney

  Cole nodded as if his neck wouldn't bend quite right. "If that's what you want."

  "It is."

  11

  A BLACK JEEP SAT PARKED in the semicircular driveway. The top of the tires came close to Kade's chest. She stared up at the passenger door, trying to figure out the best way to get in without busting her butt in the driveway.

  "Need help?" Cole chuckled. "I forget how little you are." He took her hand in his and placed it on the inside of the door frame on a handle.

  "I'm not that short."

  "You're smaller than the rest of us." He came up behind her and nudged her body forward. "Put your foot on the running board, grip this bar, and pull yourself up."

  Kadence did, but the bottom of her boots were slippery from the snow, so she slipped, and cracked her knee against the edge of the metal door frame. Dammit. Cole caught her hips with both hands, and heat enveloped her entire body.

  He picked her up and shoved her onto the seat. "I'm beginning to wonder if you're clumsy, Sparrow."

  She rubbed her knee. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

  "Sparrows are little birds. It fits you. And it's your name."

  "Last name."

  "Still your name. And anyway, I like it." He shut her door and walked to the driver's side.

  "I'd give you directions," Kade said, slightly breathless after all the hip touching and shoving. "But I guess you know the way."

  "I know it well." The engine rumbled to life.

  "Thanks again for staying with me. For all of it. Finding me last night, bringing me home."

  Cole shifted gears. "You never told me why you were out in the snow with Dracon."

  Kade focused on the trees out the window. "I saw all the lights shifting through my bedroom window, so I went out to see what it was, and there he was."

  "That's not what I meant. How do you know him?"

  Kade could tell Cole was trying to keep his tone even. Casual. "I don't, really," she lied, and instantly hated herself for it. She was so tired of all the lies. Her life was nothing but lies and loneliness.

  "That's not what it looked like. You didn't seem shocked that a nine foot tall demon had you in his grasp." His brows rose.

  "I've seen a lot of weird things, Cole. All my life. The Shadows have hunted me since I was really young, and I've seen Dracon before," she mumbled. "But not in a while. I first met him when I was five."

  "Excuse me?" An audible growl rumbled from his throat that surprised her.

  She let out a breath, wondering if she should explain. Probably not. "Dracon told me stories about the Primordial race, the Devil's Children. A place called the Infernal Plane. He's the reason I know what I do."

  "Why would Dracon do that? Tell you stories?"

  She made herself say more. "He said he needed me." Her fingers fiddled in her lap. "I've always been alone, Cole. I've never known anyone like me, like you, and after most of the fear passed...I mean, after I accepted that I wasn't human, I thought maybe he could help me to understand what I was."

  Cole stared at her. "Help you?"

  She cringed at the tone in his voice. "He told me everything I know about what you are, the Leygates, Shadow grounds, but I didn't understand most of it, still don't, and I thought it was stories and lies, because he also told me he used to be one of you. A Primori." Kade wished she would have just kept her mouth shut like always. Like she was supposed to.

  "That's true," Cole conceded, his tone softening. "It was before I was born, but he was a Primori. He turned. Some do."

  "Turned?"

  "Went evil. Chose the opposing side. When that happens, their true nature is altered, or really their true want changes them, and that desire transforms their bodies into demons."

  "When you told me you were a Primori last night, I realized Dracon hadn't been lying to me. You're one of the Celestial Children." Kade gazed at him. "Born of the ancient gods. You're not from this planet."

  "Neither are you." He grinned. "And it sounds so enigmatic when you say it."

  "Well, it is. I look at you and I look at me, and..." Her cheeks heated and she glanced back out the window.

  "What?"

  "It's nothing. Stupid." Kade shook her head.

  "What is it?"

  "When I'm around you." She chanced a glance at him. "I want to stay near you," she said under her breath. "I want you to stay near me."

  With the shocked expression he gave her, she was afraid he might swerve off the road and hit a tree.

  "It's stupid, I know. We hardly know each other," Kade continued in a rush. "But in some weird way, while I was asleep, all the pieces sort of fit together and made more sense. I'm not afraid, or freaking out, well, too much, like you said most fledglings do when they find out the truth because I've known a lot of this for a long time. I just never believed it, never let myself believe it, but now that it's looking me in the face." She glanced at him again. "A weight's been lifted. And being around you makes me feel...safe. I've never felt safe before," she mumbled.

  Hard lines marked the contours of Cole's face. "You are safe with me."

  "I know."

  "Why didn't your dad tell you anything about the Primordial? I don't understand that."

  She shrugged. "My mom died when I was a baby and—"

  Cole released a breath. "Kade, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed."

  "It's okay." She sighed. "Anyway, my dad, he's always trying to make up for it and he wanted us to just be...normal. He told me to stay hidden, keep the real me under wraps. I have rules I live by. Never let anyone know what you are. My dad won't talk about anything that matters, and I just got used to it. Moving all the time, being alone all the time, being different from everyone."

  "Kade, I'm..."

  "It's okay. Really. Can I ask you something now?"

  "Anything."

  "I heard the doctor say that you were the Alpha of the Brotherhood."

  He smiled. "I am."

  "What's that mean? Sounds like a wolf pack term."

  "It is. There are a lot of different species who have alphas, not just wolves. Our meaning is the same. I'm the lead Primori of my house. Leader of the flock, you could say."

  "How does that get chosen?"

  He rubbed his chin. "We get chosen based on strength. The same as any other species would. The strongest in a wolf pack is the Alpha." He gave a shy smile, and Kade could tell he was embarrassed telling her that.

  "So, you're the strongest of all the Primori?"

  "My age and younger and a lot of the Principals in the Ward. When we come of age after graduation we're placed in different positions within the Ward, that's sort of like our government, and then we're called Principals. Until graduation, we get placed into common house ranks. Danny, you remember him from the other night at Crystalline?"

  She nodded.

  "He's my Beta. Second in command of the Brotherhood. He's also my best friend."

  "So, you're kind of a bad ass, then?" Kadence smirked.

  Cole smiled wider and his whole face lit up. "Don't let Danny hear you or he’ll think I asked you to say it." He turned into her driveway and yanked on the emergency brake, turning in his seat to face her. "I'm sorry you missed the second day of school."

  "I didn't miss it. I was with you." She glanced at her hands. "Sorry, that's stupid. I keep...my mouth and my brain don't always function in sync. I don't mean to say things like that."

  Cole lifted her chin. "It wasn't stupid. Other than you being unconscious for half of it, the past twenty-four hours have been the best I've had in a really long time. Actually, that's not true. The past seventy-two or so hours have been. Since you tackled me Saturday night."

  Kade tried to breathe normally, as he held her stare, picturing him lying on top of her. His thumb brushed over her cheek in a circular motion. "Can I ask you one more question?” Her body leaned closer to him as if he was a magnet she couldn't repel.

  "Anything." He drew a little circle at the corner of her mo
uth. The motion was electrifying.

  "Don't take this the wrong way," she whispered, as he edged closer to her, their mouths only inches apart. "But, I thought..."

  "What?" He trailed his finger down her jaw, and she trembled.

  "I thought you said..."

  His hand slid behind her neck.

  "I thought…"

  He leaned in and his lips grazed hers, the slightest of touches. A surge of energy rushed up over her like a wave about to break. He kissed her softly again.

  "I thought Primori and Primeva weren't allowed to intermingle," she whispered, inches from his mouth.

  Cole pushed himself away from her. Hard. “No…we…I'm sorry, I... shit." He glanced over, but he might as well as have slapped her.

  She opened the door without a word.

  "Kade." Cole leaned over, but she'd already slammed it shut. "Kadence. Shit." She heard him fumble with the door handle before he jumped out of the car. "Wait."

  She was already halfway up the front steps.

  "Kadence, can we talk about this for a second? Please. Sparrow, come on."

  "Stop calling me that!” She unlocked the front door.

  "Will you wait a minute?” He walked toward the steps, but she kept going. “I'm sorry. Just—"

  She slammed the door.

  ***

  Cole stood in Kade's front yard, hands on his hips, for what felt like forever. He couldn't get his legs to work. Couldn't make himself move, and that falling sensation, whatever it was, kept happening. Every time he was near Kade, he wanted to stay near her. He needed to stop feeling that way, though. After today, she wouldn't remember their time together. Not that she'd fallen in the snow, gone to the Kinship, or that he'd kissed her.

  He'd knocked on her door a few times, but she wouldn't answer, so eventually he gave up and climbed back in his Jeep as the sun began to set and the chilly air set in. Sitting back in his seat, he stared at his open hand. Red lines filtered through his palm and wrist like stark veins and reminded him of lightning.

  When Cole was young, his father made him stand outside during thunderstorms and try to reroute the lightning strikes. Move them a foot, two feet, ten yards. It took months for him to harness that kind of energy without getting knocked on his butt, thrown several feet, or burned badly, but he'd finally managed it.

  Closing his hand, he reached for a book out of his glove compartment. He'd grabbed as many as he could carry from the common house library earlier that morning. Keeping them in his car limited the number of possible awkward questions about what he was reading, and why. None of the books had provided much information on amalgamations that he'd found so far, but he hadn't been surprised by that. Amalgamations were so rare, he doubted most of his kind had even heard of them, much less had any idea what they were.

  If Cole hadn't been forced to read so much as a kid, he wouldn't know anything about them either, but from Roman history, to demonology, to theology, his father made sure he'd read about it. When Cole found out he was a Primordial, he'd been relieved. Thankful. It explained why he was different. When he moved into the Brotherhood, his parents stayed in Rome. Later they moved to England, guarding the largest Leygate system in the Mortal Plane, or Mortalis Planum, Cole corrected himself. As far as his father had been concerned, Latin was the only language worth knowing.

  He reread the same sentence three times before closing the book in his hands. The conversation with the Warden, still fresh in his mind, made it hard to concentrate. He'd wanted to say so many things before he'd left the meeting that had nothing to do with the fact that he'd accidentally placed an extremely rare, and forbidden, crystal that he knew little about, into Kadence's hand. That knowledge was bad enough, and should have been eating at him for his disobedience of not disclosing the information, not to mention the red streaks climbing up his arm should have him in a state of panic, but none of that was bothering him nearly as much as why the Warden had been undecided on where to place Kade one minute, and certain she belonged in the Kinship the next.

  If she was a true Primeva, she wouldn't have been overlooked by the Ward for seventeen years and allowed to live at home. Fledglings weren't permitted to stay with their parents once their powers strengthened enough to potentially expose the race. Maybe Kade's powers weren't strong at all. Maybe that was the problem. It was one possible explanation. Some fledglings never reached their full potential and were allowed to stay hidden in their human guises, never joining the ranks within the Ward. But that was extremely rare. Very few made it past the age of twelve living outside the protection of a common house. Most were tracked and killed or turned before they even reached puberty.

  Nothing explained how Kadence had been carrying a crystal telum. The crystal had been small, the smallest Cole had ever seen, but there was no doubt it was a weapon. And if only Primori wielded crystals...then Kade belonged in the Brotherhood. Cole’s house. Not the Kinship with Jake.

  None of it made sense, and the more he thought about it, the crazier he felt. Regardless, he would find out why Dracon had taken such an interest in Kade, and he would do everything in his power to make sure he came nowhere near her again.

  He pulled his cellphone out of his jean pocket. Danny's name lit up at the top of the screen, and Cole typed in the text.

  At Kade's. I need you to come drive the Jeep home.

  What the hell? Why are you over there again?

  Just shut up and come over.

  Now?

  Yes, now.

  Good, god, you are so stupid. Give me a minute.

  Cole cleared the text and shoved the phone back in his pocket. Whether or not Kade wanted him to leave, he wouldn't until her dad got home, but that didn't mean he was planning to have a conversation with him. Until he was given proper clearance, communication with Kade's dad was the Warden's responsibility.

  Danny's form loomed in front of the Jeep's hood seconds later, and Cole hopped out, throwing him the keys.

  "Why in the hell are you here again?" Danny asked.

  "Don't even start. Warden's orders. Kade wasn't waking up."

  "Oh." Danny's shoulders fell. "Is she okay?"

  “Yeah, I think so. I'm staying until her dad gets home." Cole shoved his hand in his pocket, withdrawing a small vial.

  Danny climbed in the driver's seat. "What's that?"

  "Memory effacer." Cole stared at the vial.

  "Shut. Up."

  "Apparently Kade is...hell, I don't even know, but the Warden doesn't want her remembering what happened last night. Or today."

  "Okay..."

  "My thoughts exactly." Cole kicked one of his tires. "He took us off the investigation. Warden Caelius."

  “What…?” Danny's tone pitched.

  "I guess he doesn't want me finding anything I shouldn't in regard to what happened to my dad."

  "Cole, I'm..."

  "Anyway," he interrupted. "I'll meet you at home."

  Danny backed out of the driveway. "No spending the night here again." He smirked.

  "Just go." Cole laughed, and Danny took off down the road.

  The blinds on the front window of Kade's house shifted and a narrow stream of light bled onto the darkening front yard. A painful lump formed in Cole's throat. Kadence wouldn't remember what happened in the last twenty-four hours. Not holding his hand, kissing him, laughing at all of his stupid stories, or most importantly in his mind, asking him not to leave her.

  12

  THE LOW, RASPY VOICE rang in Kadence's head. "There you are. I have been looking for you."

  Tree limbs shook ahead of her, snow falling to the ground, and deep red wings took shape, horns, taloned feet and hands, smoke from the demon's wide mouth, followed by its barbed tail.

  Kade took a step back, and then another. Colored lights flitted through the wide clearing below. A shout tore through the silence, followed by a curdling scream.

  "Well, I am sorry to see him go, I must say. I rather liked the Primori." Dracon towered over her. "It i
s time we go."

  Kadence shot upright in bed, bringing her bedroom into blurry focus. Her gaze traced the U-Haul boxes, the plain vanilla walls, and her breaths slowed.

  "Kadey?" Her dad peeked his head in the door. “Good, you’re awake. Feel better?"

  "Better than what?" An ache radiated down the back of her neck. She touched a lump at the base of her skull. “Ow.”

  "Better from that." Her dad set some orange juice and toast on her desk. "You slept all day yesterday. It's Wednesday." His tone was gentle, and he seemed unusually...concerned? She wasn't sure.

  "I did?"

  "You did. I think all the stress has taken a toll so I let you sleep. You needed it."

  She stared at him. "Okay...well, okay.” She headed toward her bathroom. "I'm confused. It's Wednesday?"

  He nodded. "I think you'll feel better once you take a shower."

  Rubbing the back of her head again, she noticed a small, empty, glass vial next to a cup of water on her desk. She'd seen the vial before. Somewhere.

  ***

  Giselle had sent Kade about fifteen text messages over the course of Tuesday, and she now stood near the front office, her brown hair in perfect loose curls around her round face, waiting for Kade. She smiled brightly as Kade walked closer. Crazy or not, Kade had to give it to Giselle, she'd been a loyal friend. Something Kade had never had before.

  "Where'd you park? Alaska?" Giselle readjusted the strap on her backpack, which she'd apparently traded out for her usual tiny pink purse.

  "In the dirt. There weren't any other spots."

  "We should take turns driving." Giselle started up the stairs.

  "That works."

  "So, what happened yesterday? You just slept?"

  "I guess. My dad said I needed it. Kinda weird. I don't remember coming home from school on Monday or anything.” Kade followed Giselle up the stairwell, and the rubber sole of her boot caught the edge of the concrete step. She tripped and stumbled backwards with a yelp. Strong hands wrapped her shoulders and waist.