Piper LeVine, A Gypsy's Truth

by Eris Kelli

  Chapter Thirteen

  There was a strange feeling in the air in the forest on the mountain. Maybe I was just imagining it because of that thing I’d seen.

  Great. Why did I think about that?

  Adriel was digging quickly at my side. I saw a flash of camouflage pulled up from the dirt before he raced a few yards away. When he came back, he was in pants and looked as nervous as I was. “Be silent,” he whispered.

  He moved in front of me, and I followed close behind. I had a million questions. This was a terrible time to have to be silent. I kept my mouth closed, but everywhere I stepped made a noise. Adriel looked over his shoulder at me with a drawn back lip and a furrowed brow. He held up his hand, and I stopped.

  Adriel mouthed at me to stay and then dashed away in a blur before I had a chance to argue with him. I stood there listening to silence that hurt my ears. There wasn’t even wind to rustle the leaves on the trees.

  A cool breath shot across the back of my neck and I didn’t think. I just started running. I didn’t know where I was going anymore, but I had to run. It had circled around me, and I was trying to stop myself from running into him. His skin was pale like dirty chalk and though his hair was blond his eyes were just as black as the other one I had seen.

  Ice cold fingers gripped my chin, and he brought my face up to his. My body fell limp, and my mouth was numb like before. He was looking into my eyes, studying them as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His mouth grew into a smile and every one of his teeth were as sharp as daggers reminding me of a shark. “So pretty.” His voice sounded like echoing harsh whispers.

  The sound scared me, and I forced my limbs to move and struggle in his grip. I grabbed his wrist and tried to pull my face free. He was opening his mouth when I saw a giant werewolf reaching for him. The black Sith let me go and turned to fight. A second werewolf was behind me and joined the other one in the battle.

  They killed the black Sith quickly, but I could still feel the cold fingers on my face. Nicholas was himself first, and he grabbed me and hugged me tightly against him. “Why did you come back? It’s not time yet.” I heard him, but I didn’t answer I was shaking and just glad that he was alive and holding me up. Nicholas began rubbing my arms, and Adriel changed into his human shape.

  “You let her come on the mountain?” He didn’t yell, and that would have been better than the sound of anger in his voice.

  “Sorry.” Adriel bowed his head low. “We wanted to make sure you were alright.”

  Nicholas tilted my face upward and I could see the concern in his eyes. His thumb ran over my bottom lip. “You didn’t answer my calls.” I was shivering, and it was not cold. I hated the lack of control and tried to ignore it.

  I will never sleep again.

  “I was hunting.” He put my head in the crook of his neck. “There is something I have to tell you.” I pushed away from him. His body had gone all tense, and I knew it was bad news.

  “What?”

  “I have to take you home with me.” I frowned at him and shook my head. “I am a gypsy, Piper. My people are the only ones who can help you now.”

  My breathing was fast, and it looked like there were little sparks around the edge of my vision.

  There are more black Siths.

  “Help me what?”

  “You’ll get all the answers you’ve wanted.” I sat down and tried to blink away the dizziness. “You’ll get answers you don’t want, too.” I glared at him. Why couldn’t he ever have good news? He knelt down next to me. “It’s the only way you can be safe, and it will make the black Siths stay away from your grandma’s land.”

  “I’m not running away.” My grandma would be in a panic. I couldn’t do that to her.

  “We’ll be gone for only a few hours.” He pulled me to a standing position. “We’ll tell Sidney we’re going on another date. Are you ready?” He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking around us, and it made my stomach tie into knots. “We need to go.” I crashed forward a few steps, and he picked me up. I put my arms around his neck and held on, though my grip was still weak.

  “It’s the effect of the black Sith.”

  “I figured.” He was moving fast, but it wasn’t the pace I had expected. “We’re not in a hurry?”

  “If there are any more on the mountain, Adriel and I will kill them before we leave.” A freezing cold chill ran through me, so I closed my eyes and buried my face in his neck. I didn’t want to see another black Sith as long as I lived. “I think that was the last one.”

  “What do you mean you’re a gypsy? You never settle down, and you move from place to place? Is your grandma going to give me a potion?”

  I thought of all the black and white movies I saw with these really old hag women gypsies who sold potions and charms. He didn’t answer so I looked at him finding his nose and lips scrunched up like he’d just swallowed a mouth full of vinegar. “I think you should tell me something to prepare me.”

  He held me a little tighter, so I didn’t say anything else because I was afraid there was another black Sith. That and his warmth and strength melted away the cold feeling the black Sith had left me with.

  Eventually, I relaxed and didn’t even notice that we were off the mountain until Nicholas cleared his throat and stopped walking. When I looked up at his face, he had his jaw clenched and his eyebrows drawn together. “What?”

  “Adriel told me about Rick.”

  I tried to look around for Adriel but Nicholas was holding me pretty tight. “When?”

  “When you were asleep just now.”

  I was asleep?

  “It’s just a leftover effect of the black Sith. You let him kiss you?”

  I glared at him and wished I’d kicked Adriel harder in the car. “Put me down.” I released his neck and realized he had not needed my help at all.

  “What did you mean he will always be your friend?”

  I glared at Adriel, who I’d finally spotted hanging back a few yards. “You’re just all kinds of help aren’t you?” He was unapologetic with his big smile. I looked at Nicholas and noticed that his face was leaner than before. The look in his eyes was not anger, but I couldn’t distinguish exactly what it was. It sure was not happy. “Rick has nothing to do with you. He is none of your business.”

  “He is if he’s in your life.”

  “What?” Adriel was shaking his head at Nicholas with a ‘you’re saying too much’ expression on his face.

  “Piper, I don’t like it when you converse, look at, or come into contact with Rick.”

  “Oh please.” I marched away from him, but he caught up with me.

  “What about that night of freedom?” He was walking backwards so he could look at me, and I’m sure he did not miss the smile that came out at the memory. “You were worried about me too.” He put his hands on my waist bringing me to a stop.

  Nicholas looked into my eyes. His were dark, which only increased the intensity of them. Everywhere they traveled, they left a path of warmth. I wanted him to kiss me, and it scared me to my core.

  He was openly the most dishonest person I’d ever come into contact with, and he was the one I wanted? I brushed his hands off my waist and took a step back.

  “Well, I’m sure anyone would have been in my position.” I glanced at Adriel and Nicholas told him to go check the perimeter. “I can’t afford to care about you, Nicholas.” His body went tight, and I could see his muscles flexing.

  “You don’t tell me the complete truth about anything, you are bossy, and you endangered my grandma. That pretty much writes you off.”

  “If you’re going to blow me off, Piper, you’ll have to say it all.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He drew even closer to me bursting any illusion of personal space. “My being a werewolf and a gypsy is too low for you to stoop, right? I’m not good enough for the daughter of a Senator?”

  “You’ve said it all for me.” As soon as I
said it, I felt my heart flutter with panic.

  What if he ditches me? What if he hates me?

  “Go tell your grandma we’re going on a date. See if she’ll let you stay out later than midnight.” His voice had such an edge to it. I was a little afraid his temper might win out, and he’d tear my head off.

  He didn’t come with me. Later, I found out that he had asked Johnny to borrow his truck again. Grandma Sidney was happy I wasn’t dwelling on my birth mother. I told her I was going out on a date with Nicholas and I asked her if I could come home after midnight. She said I had to be home by one thirty, which was the latest curfew I’d ever been given.

  I didn’t change out of my work jeans or graphic tee, but I did grab my jean jacket. Adriel didn’t come with us. He stayed behind to watch over the sanctuary. It was only six when we pulled out. Nicholas did not appear angry anymore. I knew he still was.

  I was mad at me too.

  He turned on the radio and tried several times to make polite conversation with me, but I was in no mood to pretend. On top of everything that was going on between the two of us, I had not forgotten what he had said. I was going to learn things that I did not want to learn.

  I’m not stupid. I couldn’t ignore that he and Adriel, had pounded my birth mother issues into me every chance they had got. There was no way I could foresee how she would play into all of this. I had a feeling in the part of my stomach that wanted to empty itself that she would.