“But—”
Wisteria clasped her hand. “I am not without influence. Rest assured, I will send someone to look after my son.”
“And you think he will be safe?”
Wisteria nodded. “I feel that he will be safe.”
The conviction of Wisteria’s words sent a measure of relief over Cinderella. She relaxed her head against the pillow.
But Wisteria wasn’t finished. She held up a finger. “Remember, thou must not breathe a word to anyone about thy feelings for my son. Promise me!” Wisteria leaned into her, willing her to make eye contact.
Something about this felt very wrong. While she understood Wisteria’s desire to keep Rushton safe, she did not understand how feigning affection for the Prince would help. She fleetingly wondered if she could trust Wisteria but then dismissed the thought. She was the mother of the man she loved. And Wisteria loved her son. That much was evident. “Very well,” Cinderella finally said. “I give thee my word.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Stone
Adele reached for a tray of white chocolate truffles and placed them on the top rack of the display case. Then she pulled out a tray from the bottom of the case, containing the few remaining brownies and cookies that had not been purchased during the day. “Would you like to take these leftovers home?”
Elle shrugged. “Sure.”
Adele cast a sidelong glance at her. “For someone whose band just got selected to perform at the Castle High Formal next week, you don’t look too happy.”
“Yeah, I’m happy about it,” Elle said, her voice flat.
Adele chuckled and brushed a stray curl from her eye. “Yes, dear, the enthusiasm is dripping from your voice.”
“Huh?” Elle said and then “oh” when the words registered. She gave her aunt a slight courtesy smile before turning her attention back to her own thoughts.
A little while later, they had the case cleaned out and somewhat arranged for the next day. Adele wiped her hands on her apron and surveyed their work. “I’ll need to pull out some more cookies and brownies from the freezer for tomorrow. We’ll need to do some baking on Wednesday, and we need to dip some more chocolate.”
Elle nodded, “Okay.”
Adele gave her a speculative look. “I think I’ll try something different next time—chocolate covered ants maybe?”
“Sure, sounds good.”
Adele whisked off her apron and slapped it on top of the case, causing Elle to jump. “Enough!”
Elle seemed to focus on her aunt for the first time. “What?”
She put a hand on her hip. “Chocolate-covered ants? I told you we were going to make chocolate-covered ants, and you said ‘sure, sounds good.’”
“Yuck!” Elle wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“Exactly!” Adele said with a chuckle. “Now, that I have your attention, why don’t you tell me what’s going on in that flaxen head of yours?”
For a split second, Elle thought about feeding Adele some line about how she was worried about some stupid test at school or something at home, but then she thought better of it. Adele could see right through her, and she had the uncanny impression that her aunt could read her mind. So, she might as well come right out with it and save herself the trouble. “I’m mad at Rush. One minute, he seems to like me, and the next … ” She shook her head, thinking about his date. The thought of him with another girl was tearing her up inside.
“I see. And how are things with Edward?” Adele prodded.
“Fine, I suppose. He’s crazy about me, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“How do you feel about him?”
Elle blew out a breath. Adele knew how to get right to the heart of the matter. That was the problem. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Edward. “I don’t know,” she admitted, shaking her head. “I just don’t know.”
Adele reached for a couple of chocolate peanut clusters and placed them on napkins. She handed one to Elle. “Come, let’s sit down for a few minutes and talk about it. Perhaps I can help you make sense of it all.”
Elle considered the offer. It couldn’t hurt to have an unbiased opinion. “Okay,” she agreed. They sat down, and Elle took a large bite of the cluster, hardly noticing how it tasted.
“Spill it,” Adele said.
“Edward and I have this long history together. According to what everyone says, we’ve been together since we were kids. He’s a wonderful person—nice, good-looking, charming—the perfect guy.”
“But … ” Adele prodded.
“But Rush and I have this strong connection. He makes me so angry sometimes, I could wring his neck, but then other times, he’s wonderful. I shouldn’t be with him, but I can’t seem to help myself. It’s like he has this control over me, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t break free.” Her face colored slightly as she spoke the words. As embarrassing as it was, it felt good to admit it to someone.
Adele gave her a long look. “Why is being with Rush so wrong?”
Elle thought for a minute. “I don’t know.” She made a face. “Other than the fact that his mother hates my guts. The other night, she told me that I’d better stay away from him.”
“Sounds about right,” Adele said.
Something Adele said gave her pause. Why did she feel that being with Rush was wrong? And furthermore, why did she feel this strong sense of obligation to Edward? She looked at Adele. “Do you think it’s wrong for me to have feelings for Rush when I’m dating Edward?”
Adele peered at her over her glasses. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
“No, I suppose not.” She waved a hand in the air. “I just don’t understand why I feel so obligated to Edward. I guess a part of me wants to be the same girl I was before the accident. The girl that was dating Edward.” And running around with Rush behind Edward’s back, she mentally added. She shook her head. “The crazy thing is that I don’t even know who that girl was. I’m not sure I want to know,” she added quietly.
“You can’t go back and change the past. All you can do is to figure things out from where you are now, dear.”
She looked at Adele, her eyes pleading. “What do you think I should do?”
Adele started drumming her fingers on the table. She looked as though she might say something but then looked up and muttered something unintelligible under her breath. Finally, she looked at Elle. “I would like nothing more than to tell you what to do—to offer a bit of advice. But I can’t.”
Elle’s face fell. “Why not?”
“It’s complicated, dear. I can’t get involved in your decision-making. It is forbidden,” she whispered, leaning close to Elle. Then she looked over her shoulder as if she were afraid someone would hear.
Forbidden? A chill ran through Elle, and she had the uncanny impression that they were somehow being watched. Then she chuckled inwardly at her paranoia. Adele was rubbing off on her. She would do well to remember that her aunt was crazy—a wonderful, caring woman, but crazy nonetheless.
Adele looked at her, a hint of reproof in her eyes. “Despite what you think, I’m not crazy.”
Elle rocked back. Her face paled. “You can read my mind!”
“Whatever gives you that idea? You have quite the imagination.” She laughed and took a bite of the cluster.
“You can!” Elle countered. “And what about the chocolate gum?”
“Gum?”
“The gum you gave me right before the tryout. It calmed me down and helped me to play the bass. I could feel the energy flowing through me.” She looked Adele in the eye. “Don’t deny it.”
“Yes,” Adele said evenly, “the gum did help you ease those jitters, but the rest was all you. I’m not allowed to give you anything that would control you.”
Not allowed? What in the heck was she talking about? The room started to spin. Adele was talking like she’d been there at the try-outs. “How do you know what happened?”
“Rae told me, dear. The last time she was
here practicing.” She gave Elle a funny look. “Are you all right? You seem a little flustered.”
Elle waved the question away. “I’m fine. Rae told you?”
Adele nodded.
“But I never told anyone about the gum.”
“Rae told me how nervous you were right before the try-out and then how you went onstage and—” she paused— “‘killed it’ I believe was the phrase she used.”
“Yes,” she said slowly, “that’s what happened.” She relaxed a little at that. Adele’s explanation seemed plausible, but whenever she was around her aunt, she got the feeling that she was only seeing a sliver of all that was really happening, like somehow the wool was being pulled over her eyes.
“Getting back to the Edward and Rush situation … I can tell you that you need to take some time and figure out what you truly want. Not what other people want you to do, but what you truly want.”
That was easy. She wanted Rush. She’d always wanted Rush. There was no question about that. She clenched her jeans with her fists. Where had that come from? She’d never thought about it in such plain terms before. And before this moment, she’d never admitted to herself that she wanted Rush. It was a revelation of sorts. Not a pleasant revelation but a revelation nonetheless.
Adele gave her a peculiar smile. “See, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” She stood and glanced at the clock. “Time to close up shop for the day.”
As Elle stood, the door chimed, and a customer walked in. Elle walked around the back of the case. “You made it just in time,” Adele said cheerfully. “We’re just about to close up.”
The guy stepped up to the case, and a jolt of fear ran through Elle when she got a good look at his face. She took a step back. It was Huntsden, the guy that had tried to get her into his car. He offered a friendly smile, but there was something predatory in the way his eyes were raking over her face. He was tall, towering over the case, and he was strong—strong enough to snap a bone with his bare hands. She shivered. Snapping bones with his bare hands? Really? Where were these thoughts coming from? Every instinct told her to flee, but that was ridiculous. She was in The Chocolate Fountain in the light of day, and Adele was here with her. Admittedly, she’d been frightened when he caught her alone on the side of the road, but here she was safe … she hoped.
She glared up at him. “What do you want?” she said coldly. Adele flashed her a surprised look and acted like she was about to say something, but then the phone rang, and she hurried to the other side of the room to answer it.
He gave her an insinuating smile. “Which is your favorite?”
Her blood ran cold. “I’m not the one buying the chocolate,” she snapped.
He laughed and pointed. “I’ll take a half a dozen of those white chocolate truffles and four of the dark chocolate clusters.”
Elle nodded and began filling his order. All the while her heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel his eyes on her, brazenly scoping her up and down like she was a slab of meat.
“You could join me and help eat these.”
“No thanks.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
Was he flirting with her? Her apprehension was quickly turning into irritation.
“Did you get your essay written for Ms. Porter’s class?”
She gave him a curt nod in response. “That’ll be $18.75,” she said crisply, hoping that her voice would convey what she couldn’t say out loud, which was: Get lost, jerk!
He handed her a twenty. “You can keep the change,” he said in an intimate tone.
“Gee, thanks.” She rolled her eyes.
She placed the bill into the change drawer. When she went to hand him the bag, he reached for it and caressed her hand in the process of taking it. She jerked her hand back, and his eyes grew hard. “Don’t knock what you haven’t tried,” he said quietly. He leaned over the case, invading her personal space. She felt his putrid breath on her face. “I’ll be seeing you around, Elle.” He spoke the words with some hidden meaning she couldn’t detect, and she felt like a helpless rabbit being taunted by a rabid dog.
She didn’t let out a breath until he’d walked out of the shop. Then she looked down and realized her hands were shaking.
Adele ended the call and walked over to her. “Who was that?”
“Some jerk at school. He thinks he can intimidate me.” She rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans.
“What’s his name?”
“Huntsden something or other. He’s a friend of Edward’s, and is in one of my classes.”
Adele crossed her arms over her chest, looking thoughtful. “There was something familiar about him.” She shook her head. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something …”
“He tried to give me a ride the other day, but I told him to get lost.” She shivered. “Something about him gives me the creeps.”
She cocked her head, looking thoughtful. “Yes, I quite agree. You need to stay away from him.”
“Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll stay as far away from him as I can get.”
“Very good.” She seemed to have forgotten that Elle was even there. She looked at the ceiling. “Who was that? Do you recognize him? Hmm … I wonder …” She shook her head. “No … impossible … ” She walked past Elle and into the back room.
Elle just shook her head. Adele was a strange duck. A few minutes later, she had the cash register closed down. “Adele,” she called. “I’m leaving for the day.”
“Just a minute dear,” Adele said. She rushed back into the front room. “There’s one more thing I need to tell you?”
Please don’t let it be something crazy, Elle prayed. She slung her purse strap over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“The girl in the mirror.”
Elle froze as dread encircled her chest. She’d never told anyone about the reflection—had been avoiding the mirror at all costs. Was she somehow being drawn into Adele’s craziness? “What did you say?” she said slowly.
“The girl in the mirror.” She looked furtively over her shoulder and leaned in close and whispered. “You need to stop ignoring her. She’s trying to tell you something important.”
* * *
Rushton halted in his tracks, straining to hear. There it was again, that slight cracking sound. Were those footsteps he was hearing? Fear slivered up his spine, and the empty space around him seemed to close in. He looked over his shoulder at the tall trees and lush vegetation of the forest. A bird squawked, and he looked up to where a large blackbird was resting on a branch. He had the uneasy sensation that the bird was watching him with its fathomless eyes. His senses were on full alert, making the unfamiliar sights and smells of the forest seem exaggerated. His pulse accelerated as he looked at the large rock formation in the clearing up ahead. ’Twas the place he was searching for, the one on the map. He looked past the leafy branches to the darkening sky. Sunset was fast approaching on the heels of an impending storm. The moisture in the air was oppressive, making it hard to get a good breath. He cast a cautious glance over his shoulder, making sure that he was not being followed. Only a few more paces, and he would arrive at his destination. He was anxious to complete the task and return home to Cinderella.
It had been easier than he thought to escape from the group, which was comprised of mostly guards, along with a handful of the King’s most trusted knights. He was one of only three squires. From the time they left the castle, the captain had kept a keen eye on the group, making sure that everyone was accounted for. They kept to the main road and saw no one except for two merchants on the way to the castle to sell their wares. Nerves of the company were raw, as they had feared an attack from the bandits for days, an attack that had not come. The bandits seemed to be nonexistent. They had questioned the travelers and received the same answers—no signs of bandits or thieves.
Today marked a crucial part of the journey, for it was the day they approached the perimeter of Briarbane Forest. The forest hel
d a portent of bad omens, and the very air they breathed seemed menacing. The men were uneasy and the horses jittery. The captain decided since it was late in the day, it would be wise to make camp on the edge of the forest for the night and wait until the light of day to go into the belly of the forest. A sigh of relief settled through the men, for no one wanted to venture into the forest at night. Even though none dared voice it, they were all thinking the same heartrending thoughts—fear of death, fear of the unseen, fear of some faceless monster that was more dreadful than the fiercest flesh and blood enemy. Hurried whispers of dark magic floated in the evening air as the captain tried to maintain a semblance of order.
Thunder sounded in the distance as the first tendrils of smoke from the camp rose into the dank air. It was when the men huddled around their small fires, seeking a measure of comfort in their meager rations and shared stories of home that Rushton was able to steal away. He had kept to the trail running along the edge of the forest. He was relieved when he learned that he would only have to travel through a small tip of the dreaded forest in order to get to the clearing. Now that he was here, the urge to get out of the forest intensified. The tall trees and vicious vegetation were suffocating, and there were too many dark secret places where one could hide and ambush him.
As he entered the clearing, he felt the first drop of rain. He looked at the large formation that was jutting up before him. The sharp points on opposing sides of the jagged rocks marked the two towers, as his mother had called it. He examined the map. This was it! He removed the stone from the pouch and clutched it in his hand. It felt smooth and light, a seemingly ordinary stone. He wondered again if the protective shield was some delusion his mother had concocted. Supposedly the stone would glow red when the connection was made. Another drop of rain, followed by another. The thunder was growing louder. His mother described the location as the face of wisdom, wedged between the mountains. The rocks in between the sharp points were flat on the top, forming a terrace of sorts upward to the sky. The first ledge was a good twenty feet up from where he was standing. If he could make it there, he would have a better vantage point of the land. He hoped to then be able to see the face. He had to make it to the top of the first ledge. “You must insert the stone into one of the eye sockets on the face,” she warned. “It must be done at sunset, as the last rays are touching the earth.” He looked up at the dark clouds and cursed the approaching storm. It would be impossible to discern when the sun was actually setting. Nevertheless, this was his one and only chance.
Banished: Book 1 of The Grimm Laws Page 27
