“The longer you have one, the larger it gets,” he said, with effort, letting the book fall onto the table.
“Wow! Is that next? I have to get a tattoo. That will hurt,” Colin challenged.
“No. You do not have to get a tattoo, and if you did, it would not hurt. Believe me, I'm not fond of pain. I was simply showing you what you could do. The books don't have to be carried like you've been doing.”
“Wish I'd known that before.” Colin could not count how many times he had carried that book, hiding it uncomfortably under his sweater.
“Well, you know now. So, what it comes down to is, you want the book on your person, guarded by you and you alone. In the old days, some would turn their books into belt buckles, boot buckles, lockets, rings and yes, tattoos.”
Colin thought about it and glanced at Catrina for help.
“I don't think you're the tattoo type,” she said.
“And I don't really wear boots or belts. Not big on rings, but I think I could handle an earring. How do I...” he shut up, the book started to rattle.
“Already happening, Mr. Jacoby. You think it, the book collects the thought, and instantly knows whether to act upon it.”
The book started to reshape itself. First, it folded in on itself until it was quite small, and then it started to thin itself, layer by layer, until it was no thicker than a ribbon, but it remained tough, like leather. The leathery ribbon lifted off the table it was sitting on and floated toward Colin's left ear. Colin braced himself expecting something to pierce through his ear, but instead, he just felt a warm sensation as the leathery ribbon entwined its way into and out of the edge of his ear.
Catrina ran and grabbed a mirror so Colin could see.
The edges of the leather still glimmered with lines of black and gold, and on the lobe, if inspected closely, was a tiny lock.
“How do I get it out?” Colin asked. The entwining was so intricate there was no way he could just slip it out of his ear. It was not what he had expected, but the longer he looked at it, the more he liked it.
“Just ask it,” answered Jasper. “Don't worry, it might be years before you need to remove it.”
Jasper proceeded to return his own book back in its place as a tattoo on his arm.
“What should I do with the key?” asked Colin.
“Whatever you like, keeping safety in mind of course.”
It came to Colin simply, the only solution. The key, sitting on Catrina's palm began to shrink. A long slinky silver chain materialized through it. Colin picked it up and clasped it around Catrina's neck.
“It won't ever get lost,” he said. He would always know where she was.
CHAPTER 48
Meghan was glad it was lunchtime. The unseasonably warm weather had given way to chilling autumn breezes that hinted snow might be imminent, but even with this cooling, she found it hard to breathe inside the classrooms. The more people that came back to the island meant more students in school. Which in turn, meant more stares and behind the back whispers that she, Meghan Jacoby, was the girl who had located the Projector. And that she had betrayed her own brother by exposing Catrina. New whispers had started though, as she was also the ward of the Banon, Juliska Blackwell.
The island was gearing up for Thanksgiving and the Retelling Festival, and from what Meghan had overheard, it was to be quite the celebration.
Another group was due to arrive home just days before the holiday, bringing over half the groups home then. The rest would continue to arrive back onto the island over the upcoming months, through winter and into spring.
Meghan found a secluded spot at the back of the schoolyard and sat on a rock while eating. She pulled her thick sweater tighter around her body when a frosty breeze swept through.
“Hey, kid, move!” she heard a voice shout unkindly.
“Ugh, Darcy,” Meghan spat. She was picking on a small boy who was sitting in the spot she usually sat in. The kid moved without argument.
Meghan dropped her sandwich.
Jae Mochrie sidled up alongside Darcy, shooting the young kid a nasty look.
“You made the right move,” he taunted the kid. Darcy shot Jae a jeering look.
“What is he doing?” muttered Meghan to no one. She noticed Dulcy Hadrian sitting off to the side at a table with students Meghan didn't know. “Guess Dulcy's out of the gang now too.” Dulcy seemed entwined in conversation and didn't give Darcy a second look.
A ball rolled up next to Jae's leg. Another young student apprehensively approached him.
“Do you mind? Can I get my ball?”
“Sure,” answered Jae with a smug grin. He threw a look at Darcy that said, watch this...
The boy leaned over, picked up the ball, and turned to leave. Jae lifted his arm and made a swiping movement that sent the boy skidding face first across the grass. Angry eyes shot glares at the duo as Jae and Darcy broke out in raucous laughter. A teacher rounded the corner chastising Jae for his actions.
“That is another detention,” the teacher told him. Jae shrugged, uncaring. The teacher continued. “And seeing as you’ve skipped the last two, why don’t we make it a clean week. And you, Missy,” she aimed toward Darcy. “You can join him.” She turned and swept away before the two could argue, which they seemed to have no intention of doing. They just turned and laughed at each other.
Jae’s face went blank suddenly and his gaze swept to the hedge that bordered the schoolyard. Darcy dropped her head, her smile fading too. Jae frowned but nodded to someone Meghan could not see. She peered to where Jae was looking and a moment later, saw Viancourt member Tanzea Chase saunter by with a scowl etched on her face.
Meghan lost her appetite. She wanted to stomp right over to Jae and demand to know why he was acting like an idiot! However, now was not the time, not with Darcy sitting next to him.
As though he could feel her eyes staring him down, Jae looked up and caught Meghan's gaze. What disturbed her more than anything was that there was no guilt. No remorse in his eyes. He looked away from Meghan, treating her like she was some stranger he didn't even know.
Meghan huffed. “I have had just about enough.” She waited, biding her time, and when the lunch bell was about to ring, indicating it was time to return to class, she darted around the other students waiting near the entrance for Jae to appear. When she saw him, and that he was alone, she raced forward, grabbed his arm and dragged him around the corner and into the edge of the woods.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” she shouted in a loud whisper, letting into him. “Why on earth would you act like that? Why on earth would you, of all people, be hanging out with Darcy Scraggs like she's suddenly your new best friend?” Jae didn't speak. “Answer me,” she demanded, poking him in the chest. “And I don't want some flimsy answer! I want the truth, Jae Mochrie!”
Meghan's rampage seemed to kick Jae out of whatever mood he was in.
His face crumpled, some internal struggle surfacing.
“It’s taking over,” Jae stammered, almost like each word he said was causing him great physical pain.
“What is taking over?” she asked, only slightly less angrily.
Jae started laughing, low in his throat. When he picked up his head to look at Meghan, his eyes had turned jet black. She gasped, but stood her ground.
“Maybe I'm better this way,” he said darkly.
“What are you trying to prove, Jae? Or maybe I should ask, who are you trying to impress? Yourself, or your father?”
Jae snarled, frightening Meghan, forcing her to retreat. He stopped his near attack falling to the ground, his voice enraged. “It’s all his fault. I hate him!”
“Jae, your father can be really mean sometimes, but I know in there somewhere, he loves you and just wants what’s best.”
“You saw him when I was injured by that Scratcher, how proud he was...” Jae spat out the words like getting rid of poison. Meghan noted his emphasis on the word injured and wanted to ask if Jae had somehow
faked the injury, but let it slide, because Jae stood back up, eyes swimming in the color of dark ink.
“It doesn't matter anymore,” he told her, his breath coming out heavier. “I'm more powerful than anything he could ever be, or ever think of being.”
Meghan thought back to her conversations with Jae after leaving Cobbscott, when he had missed the power he had felt while being on his own.
“Whatever you've done, Jae, you made the choice to do it. Your father didn’t make this choice for you.”
Jae's face crumbled again. “I – I can't control it anymore.” He doubled over, looking like he might be sick. When he looked up again, his own eyes stared into Meghan’s. “Please, just leave me alone,” he begged. “You can't help me. I'm done for.”
“Done for?” she repeated. “Jae, you’re not done for! Let me help you. Just tell me what you did. A spell gone bad? A potion you shouldn’t have taken? Maybe a doctor can sort it out. We'll find someone... Juliska,” she suggested promptly.
As she said Juliska's name, Jae let out a furious groan. “Just leave me alone,” he begged her. Jae’s eyes disappeared and the black, inky ones replaced them. He lunged like he meant to attack her, but bounded over her head and ran away.
Meghan watched, horror-struck, but did not give chase. Instead, she stood, staring into nothing, a feeling of numbness spreading over her body.
The schoolyard was empty, the students now all back in class. She had no desire to return. She turned her gaze, knowing what she did want. Stiffly, she stepped onto the street, pointing her body toward the house of Ivan Crane.
The chances of him being home were slim, but she could think of nowhere else to go. She walked, holding onto this one thought. Get to Ivan’s… she ignored any passersby, ignored the strange looks they were shooting at her, not stopping until she had come to the gated entrance of a cream colored cottage.
She had never been inside. She opened the gate, hardly aware of her movements to do so, and made her way to the small front porch. She glanced through a window and saw a shape moving inside.
“Good. You're home,” she murmured evenly between gritted teeth.
She knocked.
Ivan opened the door, gasping out her name. He dragged her inside at once.
“Have you been walking around like this?” He slammed the door shut behind them.
“Like what?” she spoke, her teeth still gritted, her brain still numb.
Ivan spun her around to face a mirror. Her eyes shot open in surprise, her trance-like numbness vanishing.
The veins on her face and neck popped with pulsating, fiery lines across her skin. Ivan scooted away and came back with an ice-cold glass of water, forcing her to drink it before allowing her to say another word.
When she handed him the empty glass, she glanced in the mirror again. The fiery lines were dimming.
Ivan dragged her into his kitchen, maneuvering her body through a small pathway he had left between stacks of what looked like clutter. Somehow, she had pictured Ivan to be a neat freak. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed a pile of dishes in the sink and a slew of dirty pots on the woodstove. There were rows of empty shelves where clean dishes should have been. Ivan swooshed a bunch of papers off the kitchen table, and emptied a chair.
“Not how I pictured your house to be,” she spoke, still hazy.
“Cleaning is not real high on my list of priorities,” he confessed, ordering her to sit.
She shook her head. “Ivan,” she spoke evenly, “you're going to tell me everything. Everything!” she emphasized firmly. “I will not leave here until you do.”
Ivan sighed. “I've been counting down the hours until school let out. I was coming to see you.”
“Oh,” she stated, momentarily caught off guard. “I didn’t actually expect you to be here.”
“I took a day off,” he said, the words sounding foreign to him.
She nodded absentmindedly. He refilled her water and continued.
“I do plan on telling you... everything,” he stated emphatically. “But I need Bird's help to explain some of it, and, well, I don't want to worry you more than you are already, you're clearly about to lose it.”
“You are so infuriating, Ivan Crane,” she slurred in exasperation. The vein-like lines on her face, which had not yet fully dimmed, now darkened into deep fiery pulsating channels.
Ivan grasped her by the shoulders. “I'm infuriating,” he repeated in mock tones. “Imagine me, life going on just as I've planned it. Infiltrating a world that's nearly impossible to get into only to have the likes of you come along and shove a big, hot, burning poker into everything, destroying everything I've worked so hard for!”
“What are you working so hard for?” she demanded, keeping her determination.
“Only trying to save the world,” he spouted like it should be obvious. “I have spent every breath planning, maneuvering, and plotting to get my life exactly where I needed it to be.”
“And why do you think it’s your responsibility to save the world? And what does it need saving from?” she asked hotly.
“It’s not my job anymore,” he declared with hostility. “Because after arriving here, I found out I wasn't the only one here who knew, after all. All this time, I thought I was alone. The only one that knew. I even thought in order to fix everything, I'd have to forfeit my life.” He let go of her, having not yet let go of her shoulders, stepping back, taking heavy, labored breaths. His eyes shouted equal amounts of disdain and confusion.
“Ivan, you're still not making any sense. Can you please…”
Ivan broke in. “There's so much, Meghan. When you first came to live the Svoda, I used you.” He meant for the revelation to horrify her opinion of him.
“I know you did,” she revealed calmly.
He looked at her, taken aback by her response.
“I know you think I'm just a dumb girl, but I'm not that stupid, Ivan. I know you only tolerated me because it would look good to Juliska Blackwell.”
“Yes, that's true,” he admitted bleakly. “She took such an instant liking to you, it was too easy.”
“So what?” she asked. “Why did you have to get closer to her?”
“Because I needed proof. Proof I could show everyone. So that everyone would know the truth. They deserve to know the truth.”
“That Juliska Blackwell is... evil,” Meghan spoke, her voice wavering uncertainly.
Ivan wrinkled his face, shooting her a look of unexpected comprehension.
“She's been spying on me, since day one,” Meghan told him in hushed tones. Heck, maybe she was somehow listening in on her too. “A few nights ago I found a journal under her pillow. It was an exact replica of my own. And everything I have ever written, she has read.”
Ivan looked grave as she spoke.
“Don't worry,” she said, relieving his concern. “By some miracle, I never wrote anything of extreme consequence in there. I kept a lot to myself. I started reading back through my own entries and believe me, there's plenty I wished she did not know, but nothing that could point anything back to you.” That’s what he’d be most worried about.
“I thought I had it all figured out.” Ivan’s words, like air pushed out from a deflating balloon. “Thought I knew everything I needed to, what I’d be giving up, what I’d have to do, and then Bird turned everything I knew upside down. All my planning, all my...” he ran out of air, on empty.
“You gave up a lot, Ivan. It's obvious. But so what, your life isn't going where you thought it would. Welcome to the club,” she muttered bitterly.
“Meghan, there's more. A lot more. And I do want to tell you everything, but I need Bird's help.”
“Where is Bird?” she asked. “I still haven't seen him.”
“That's what I was coming to see you about. He’s gotten himself into a bit of trouble.”
“Well, why didn't you say so?” demanded Meghan. She got up like nothing else mattered except saving Bird. She looked ready to r
ush out of the house that very instant.
Ivan rolled his eyes. “I will never understand you.”
She shrugged. “I was having a woe is me, moment. More like, we were. Bird needs help, feeling bad has to wait.”
“Okay, well, I don’t have a clue how he got there, but somehow, he got caught in a local shop, which just recently reopened. I happened upon him while walking down the street and noticed a rather odd looking bird perched inside a cage in a front window display.”
“Do they know he's not really a bird?” she asked, completely concerned.
“Don’t think so, but we cannot take the chance. It’s going to be tricky, and require actual planning. We cannot just go strutting in.”
“Let's plan then, we have to get him out of there.”
Ivan nodded to a pad of paper. “Already started.”
Meghan needed an excuse for skipping out on school. Juliska would find out. But it had taken all afternoon for her and Ivan to plan Bird's escape, and she was confident it would go smoothly. Her not returning to school… that might not go over so well.
She planned on meeting up with Ivan early the next morning right after curfew lifted, but before any of the shops opened for business. Meghan was so wrapped up in their plan, and coming up with an excuse for missing school, she nearly missed Billie Sadorus sidle up alongside her.
“Oh! Hi, Billie.”
“Didn’t mean to startle ya.”
Theme of my life lately, droned Meghan silently.
“Actually, was hopin' I'd run into ya,” Billie said.
With everything going on, it hadn’t even crossed Meghan’s mind to visit Billie.
“Sorry I haven't been by. School,” she noted, showing her all the books in her shoulder bag.
“Ah, yes. Remember those days quite well.”
Billie walked alongside her, silent for a moment, pondering her words. “I see ya was visitin’ Ivan Crane.”
Meghan blushed. Did everyone think she liked him? And did everyone know her business? Maybe saving Bird wasn’t going to be so easy after all. Sometimes she forgot she was living on an island where everyone took it upon themselves to know everyone else’s business.
The Map, The Dagger, and The Vampyres (Fated Chronicles Book 2) Page 43
