Mark of the Seer

by Kay, Jenna

  Mark of the Seer

  By

  Jenna Kay

  Mark of the Seer

  This eBook is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Text Copyright © 2012 Jenna Kay

  All rights reserved

  Published by

  Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, LLC.

  Algonquin, IL 60102

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.

  Edited by: V. Blondell Williams

  For Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing

  Cover by: Para Graphic Designs

  “For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world - the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare.”

  ~Ephesians 6:12

  For my Daddy,

  I love you.

  I miss you.

  Mark of the Seer

  Chapter One

  My favorite day of the week is Saturday. I can sleep until noon, shower or not (depending on my mood), and do whatever I feel like doing. Things I can't do during the week can be done on Saturdays. It's my happiest day of the week.

  Usually.

  Slinging my arm over my body, I turned off the pesky buzz of the alarm clock. I hated having to set my alarm on Saturday, but I had no choice in the matter. That day I was scheduled to work a double at Bakers Supermarket. Why had I cheerfully said “Sure thing Mr. B!” when Mr. Baker asked me to work on my special day? Temporary insanity, I guessed. As if working Friday nights weren't enough. But working Fridays never stopped me from partying Friday nights, and I'd stayed out extremely late the night before. Or should I have been saying this morning?

  Whatever—doesn't even matter. I still had to work all day, even if I was going on two hours sleep. Aunt Caroline did it all the time. Of course A.C. (that's what I called her) worked third shift as a nurse at the hospital making a decent living, unlike me, who was a check-out girl earning minimum wage at a crummy grocery store. The only grocery store in town, I might add.

  Plus, adding more pain to my wound, this was a special Saturday not only for me, but for every one. This was the last Saturday of summer break. All the kids living in this hick town would have to hit the books, getting back into the humdrum routine of teachers, test, and lousy cafeteria food. Also, my least favorite of all, was getting back to all the snotty girls who started fights and lived to gossip. Was absolutely not looking forward to that part at all.

  Rays of sunlight flooded through my curtains, the red-orange beams reflecting off my yellow walls. I closed my eyes, soaking in the warmth flowing through the window. The soft singing of birds could be heard outside, belting out their early morning melodies. Not even a beautiful morning like this could help my hollowed state. I really didn't want to work all day. I needed to take a moment to think, to reflect on all the fun and happy times I'd had this summer…ponder on the things I would miss during the school year.

  Nights partying and hanging out with friends. Swimming in the cool rivers and eating ice cream cones on the square. Watching movies at the drive-in, and dancing wildly around a bonfire with a beer bottle attached to my hand. Walking through sunflower fields with the blue cloudless sky above, and gazing at the stars from my rooftop at night. The earthy aroma of freshly cut grass in the mornings, and a stray shower cooling things off in the afternoons. Picking honeysuckle and tasting its sweet flavor. But the most fun I'd had this entire summer, what I was going to miss most of all: Staying up all night with Brenton Sparks.

  Just thinking about Brenton caused my heart to flutter and a shiver to course through my body. I didn't know why, but every time he crossed my mind, I acted like a total goob. I used to not be that way. I had known Brenton all my life—he was my best friend. And since the beginning of summer, my boyfriend.

  It was the easiest decision that I'd ever made, answering yes to the most difficult question I'd ever been asked: Will you be my girlfriend?

  I flipped over to my back, eyes staring up at my speckled ceiling. I replayed the moment in my brain; the moment Brenton asked me to be his girlfriend. Oh, what a moment it had been! The crickets and frogs that had serenaded us under a full moon would forever be burned into my memory. We had been sitting on my roof, just outside my bedroom window. A.C., as always, was at work, so I'd had no worries of being caught at three in the morning with a gorgeous guy.

  He had been holding my hand, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

  “So, what do ya say? Wanna be my girl?”

  The feeling of nervousness, giddiness, and anticipation, all rolled into one, had crashed into me like a truck with no brakes. Without blinking or giving the question a second thought, I had answered, “Yes. Yes I will.” Then we kissed…….a kiss that lasted about an hour.

  It felt right, being with Brenton. Without trying to sound corny, it was like we'd been made for each other. Gah, that did sound corny. But our relationship had been a long time coming. Our parents had always been close, taking vacations and having cook-outs. Unfortunately, vacations and cook-outs didn't happen anymore. Not since the death of my parents when I was thirteen.

  Brenton had been there, holding me while I cried, holding me until I'd fallen asleep. Honestly, if he had not been there when my world came crashing down, I'd be dead. My parents meant everything to me, and when a car crash ended their lives, I'd wanted to end my own life.

  Luckily for me, Brenton helped me get through the fire. Since then we'd been inseparable. He'd always had my back, I'd always had his. We understood each other—and that was why I was going to let my guard down, the guard that had been built years ago. I was prepared to tell him three words that I had not spoken in years.

  I love you.

  Yeah. Pretty heavy stuff. Love was not the kind of word to throw to just anybody. But after all these years, I had saved the word for the person I was closest to, the person that I could possibly see myself grow old with. The person I knew I could trust with anything, and count on when times were tough.

  That person was Brenton.

  Before I could drop the L-word on him, I would have to put in a full day at Bakers. I had been such a moron for scheduling an all day shift, the huge barn party that everyone would be attending that night not crossing my mind. Maybe I was losing it. Or maybe all the alcohol I'd downed this summer was finally taking its toll on my brain. Whatever the explanation, it would not stop me from being present at the last throw-down of the summer.

  I sighed, willing my tired bones out of bed, stepping on a mound of dirty clothes (yeah, for a girl I'm a bit of a slob). On my way to the bathroom I stubbed my big toe on my dresser, letting out a curse.

  Man, today already sucked.

  Once in the bathroom, putting my game face on, I got ready for a torturous day as a bored out-of-her-mind cashier; a mind-numbed zombie behind a register.

  * * * *

  Bakers Supermarket was located right before you entered the town square. The brick building was ancient, having a small parking lot and housing only three check-out lanes. The original owner died years ago, leaving the family business to his grandson, Stanley Baker.

  Mr. Baker was a great boss. A short chubby man who resembled Santa Claus, he was singl
e and lived with his two cats, Salt and Pepper. The reason I say he's a great boss is because he never hassles his employees (there's only three of us). The only time he can be seen is when the store opens and the store closes. Most of his time was spent behind the door of his office playing video games, browsing chat lines and, per Casey Anderson, looking at naughty pictures of busty women. I'm not sure if he peeks at naked women, but what would you think? Single, two cats...never mind. Soooo not going there! Anyway, it was nice not having a boss standing over you, breathing down your neck.

  The day flew by in a dizzy haze. Before I could blink the clock read eight PM—almost time for me to get off!

  As I began counting down my drawer, in walked my bestie, Kora Dodd. She wore a black tank top over skin tight jeans. Her short black hair was spiked in all directions. Hyper as always, she bounced up to my counter with a contagious grin, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. Thankfully the customers had stopped coming in, and I was able to start my closing duties.

  I looked up at Kora as she leaned her elbows on the counter, resting her chin. “What ya doin' here?” I went back to counting the cash.

  “Hey to you, too,” Kora remarked dryly.

  “Sorry,” I told her, grinning wearily. “It's just I'm surprised to see you. Usually you show up after my shifts.”

  She shrugged. “Yeah. I know. Just thought I'd try somethin' different.” She looked around the store. “So, how was your day of cashiering?”

  I groaned. Where could I begin? “Crazy—it's been a friggin' madhouse today! Casey called in sick, and Janey had plans that didn't include working. I've been by myself all day checking people out. I'm totally gonna kick Casey's butt tonight if I see him. First thing this old lady who smelled like cheese gave me, like, a hundred coupons, causing the people behind her to complain and act like corn holes. And after that a baby puked all over the conveyor belt, and the mom didn't even offer to clean it up.” I paused, taking a quick breath. “I had to clean up the green, slimy, stringy puke by myself.”

  When I found out that Casey wasn't coming in to work at all, I knew the day would be hell. And I had been right.

  Kora cocked her head, then nodded. “So. You're telling me you had a bad day?” I rolled my eyes.

  “No, Kora. It was a fantastic day.” I said sardonically. “For real. Why are you here?”

  She blew a pink bubble of gum, popping it with her pointer finger. “Just thought you and I could ride to the party together.”

  “Why?” I questioned. “Isn't Nick takin' ya? Or did his daddy plan a last minute trip to the Bahamas?” I laughed, then halted when I saw her face. “Or not?”

  She sighed, her face blank. “I wouldn't know.”

  “Wouldn't know what?” I finished balancing my drawer, placing the cash and credit receipts in a money bag. Time to disinfect the workstations.

  “If he was going to the Bahamas.” Her voice quieted down, which concerned me. Kora was never quiet.

  “Oh, I get it,” I said, a flood of comprehension washing through me. “You guys had another fight and are ignoring each other.” I sighed, shaking my head. “Why don't you guys just get it over with and break up?”

  “Actually that's pretty sound advice, Clare. And I want you to be the first to know...” she grinned slowly, “I dumped him last night.”

  I dropped the bottle of disinfectant, startled at her revelation. “No you didn't!” I accused, bending over to pick up the bottle.

  She nodded, her grin growing wider. “Yeah. I did.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “No joke?”

  “No joke.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “For real?”

  “UGH! Clarity, for real!” She threw her hands in the air, agitated. “I have dumped his sorry butt. I hung'em out to dry. I quit'em. I'm no longer dating him. I'm no longer sleeping with him. I'm no longer his possession. I'm no longer...”

  “Okay okay okay,” I interrupted, shushing her. “I totally believe you.”

  She let out a loud, exasperated sigh. A few seconds went by before she asked, “Are you happy for me?”

  Was I happy for her? Oh man, let me count the ways. First, I was happy she'd finally grown-up and seen the real Nick Reece, who I could only describe as being the biggest douche bag in South Georgia. Second, I was happy that she was giving up being his possession, which he controlled with drugs, sex, and money. And third, it was about freaking time that she realized that she deserved much better than the egotistical King Nick. Was I happy for her? Yes. Yes I was. But instead of jumping for joy and shouting hallelujah in the streets, I decided to play it cool. Just in case she was down about it, which would tick me off if she was.

  “Depends,” I answered.

  She snorted. “On what?” she questioned, her forehead creasing.

  I shrugged, my eyes regarding her facial exhibits. “On if, you know, you're bummed.”

  “Oh,” she exclaimed with a laugh. “I'm soooo far from bummed. I feel like I've lost one-hundred and seventy pounds of jackass off my back!”

  I laughed along with her, high-fiving her. “Well, if that's the case, then WOOOOO-HOOOO! Goodbye to the King of douche bags!”

  Kora laughed. “He gets so mad when you call him that.”

  “It suits him,” I told her. “He always calls me princess, and knows that I hate being called that.”

  She sighed. “You've never liked him and he's never liked you. I used to cuss him out when he made fun of ya, calling you the most nastiest names in the book.” She paused as if recollecting her thoughts. “The whole time we dated he thought you were trying to break us up, saying you were jealous of him.”

  “You know, Kora,” I told her with a smile, “I've never been jealous of him—I was just worried about you. He's the one that was jealous, and that temper of his? Talk about a looney! Also, I've never cared what Nick thinks about me. You know that. I'm just glad you've come to your senses.” I paused, a snarky gleam harbored my eyes. “Plus Brenton was not lookin' forward to going out with the two of you.”

  Kora snickered. “No worries now—unless the next guy is an even bigger douche than Nick.”

  My eyes grew wide with mock panic. “Don't even say that!”

  She giggled, adding, “Hopefully the next guy will have a much bigger...”

  “Stop right there, cowgirl,” I told her, holding a hand to her face, then dropping it to my side. “Hey, give me five minutes and I'll be done. Could ya...”

  “Yeah, yeah, wait in the car,” Kora interjected, finishing my sentence. She was always doing that. “Just hurry up—I don't want all the fresh man-meat getting stupid drunk before my arrival.”

  I rolled my eyes to the ceiling, thinking to myself that this was going to be one interesting night.

  Chapter Two

  Arriving at the party, I pulled my late-model Honda into the field. The red barn was lit up like Christmas, lights hanging haphazardly all over the place. The smell of a bonfire lingered in the air and into the car. Music blared from inside the barn, vibrating everything in its path.

  Ah, the three S's—sights, smells, and sounds—of a summer in the south. Gotta love it!

  Kora and I quickly commenced our ritual of primping and smoothing. I applied pale pink lip gloss, and she added black eyeliner to her already darkened eyelids. A little perfume here, a little powder there, and we were ready and rarin' to go. Before we opened the doors to get drunk (a better term was get stupid), I wanted to talk with Kora about her new found singleness.

  “Kora,” I began cautiously, “before we go I want to talk about something. Something you may not like.”

  “Alright-ee,” she said wittingly. “Just hurry, because I'm single and on the prowl!” She growled at me, pawing the air.

  I chuckled. “Yeah. Well, that's kinda what I wanted to talk about.”

  She stopped pawing, confused, and gave me her full attention.

  “Okay, here goes.” I swallowed the
sudden lump in my throat, nervousness clutching to my lungs. “Remember the last time you were single? We were at Janey's birthday party, and her parents were out of town.”

  Kora winced, her expression telling me she did not want that part of her life to be brought up.

  “Yes,” she turned her head, gazing out the window. Now I was wishing I had the gift of time travel, so I could go back to five minutes before. Wishing I had not opened my big mouth.

  Too late.

  “Okay,” I continued, choosing my words carefully. “Remember what happened in Janey's bedroom between you...and three other guys?” She didn't answer, didn't look at me. “Remember how you felt after, uh, what happened...”

  Jerking her head from the window, a scowl formed on her lips. “Get to the point...fast.”

  Oh, I wished I could go back in time right about now!

  “My point is...I don't want that to happen to you again. It killed me the way people treated you after that, calling you the nastiest of names. And I'm not trying to open up old wounds. I'm just lookin' out for ya, Kora. You are my bestie.” I smiled at her sincerely.

  Kora relaxed, a sly grin appearing on her polished lips. “You're, um, not gonna try to kiss me, are ya?”

  “NO! Jeez, Kora. You're a moron!” I laughed, shoving her lightly. That was Kora—never serious, always the joker. Unlike me who, mostly, got right to the point. “Just take it slow. Enjoy being single. Forget about boys and relationships, and just have fun.”

  “OK, ma,” she spoke sarcastically. “I'll be a good little girl tonight.”