Black Ruins Forest (The Elder Series Book 1)

by Karen DuBose

  We walk out of the bathroom and I hold a finger up to tell Kira to wait a few minutes to see if the girl will come out. The door opens and Tama comes out with tears streaming down her face, she is one of our friends. Her red hair and green eyes stand out in a crowd, but that’s what makes her unique. She’s maybe five feet tall. That’s short for a witch, but she is one badass witch when you push her too hard. I would never want to be at her mercy.

  “Tama, what’s wrong?” I ask.

  She looks scared. I give her a few moments to see if she’ll talk to me. She just shakes her head and walks away. That’s weird, even for her. There had better not be anyone teasing her again. The last time this happened, I had to break someone’s nose for messing with her. I don’t want to do that again, but I will. That is one thing I cannot stand; bullies. No wonder I can’t stand Nessa.

  “I wonder what is wrong with her?” I say to Kira.

  “Only she knows. I just hope Bruno doesn’t get wind of this. All hell will break loose.”

  “You aren’t lying there. He has a temper on him, and he will use it to get what he wants.”

  “I don’t want to be anywhere near that.”

  “So, what are you wearing tonight?” she asks.

  “I have no clue. I’ll probably borrow an outfit of yours.”

  “I swear, you are never going to shop for yourself. I know what I’m getting you for your birthday; a whole new wardrobe,” she says, sighing.

  “I can’t help it if I’m not a fashion guru like you. I like to be comfortable. Let’s get back before he sends out the search party. We all know who will ask to be in it.”

  “Nessa!” We say together.

  We both burst out laughing. That is one thing I love about Kira; she knows when to make me laugh.

  Walking back to my class, I see Kiernan talking to Nessa. Just great. Now she’s trying to ruin things with Kiernan for me. She has never once talked to him until he started to talk to me. I’m not even going to sweat it. If he believes everything that comes out of her mouth, then he’s no better than her. Turning around to face Kira, I notice that Kelso is in Mr. Jarvis class too. I see him staring at Nessa. Well, what do we have here? I think Kelso likes Nessa. Poor guy. Doesn’t know what he is getting himself into with her. I feel sorry for anyone who wants to be with her. She doesn’t keep a guy for long.

  I turn back to my desk and take my things out. Looks like we’re in pairs. Good thing Kira is with me. We get to pair up.

  I walk up to Mr. Jarvis “I would like to know what the subject we are talking about in pairs.”

  “You’re paired up to research and define some terms. Here is the list of terms I want you to look up and the question sheet. Make sure you finish this before the bell rings.”

  I look at the paper. There are fifty terms to find. I look up at the clock. We have fifteen minutes with which to do this assignment. Good thing I have a tech-savvy best friend. We’ve got this. I go back to my seat. I look over the terms briefly, wondering what half of them mean. Here goes nothing.

  Chapter Three

  “Why is Nessa talking to Kiernan? She’s never talked to him before,” Kira remarks from behind me. I jump.

  She scared the hell out of me. I was so lost in thought.

  “Next time make some noise! You about gave me a heart attack.” I take a deep breath and sit down. “She saw him talking to me earlier. It’s the only reason I can think of right now. We need to get these terms done before the bell,” I say.

  “I saw her talking to Kiernan and wanted to know why. What terms? Let me see that. Oh, this is going to be fun. We have twelve minutes left. I got this.”

  Kiernan notices I’m at my desk. He gave me that jaw-dropping smile that I only see occasionally. He gets up from his discussion with Nessa while she’s mid-sentence and walks over to me. Now that’s something new. I’ve never seen a guy walk away from Nessa⸻ever.

  “Hey, you! How is your first day going? Do you mind if I take the seat next to you?”

  So far so good. “Sure, you can take a seat. I see Nessa finally talked to you for the first time. What did she want?”

  “I knew you guys didn’t talk, but I didn’t know you guys hated each other. She asked me out, but I told her I had eyes for someone else.”

  “Oh, ok,” I say quickly, dropping my head down. How could I be stupid enough to think that he even liked me like that? How dare she ask him out? She has crossed the line!

  “Why do you look so bummed? You must realize⸻that person is you, Dariya.”

  I whip my head up to face him. He has a bright smile on his face. Was he playing with me? I look over at Kira. She gives me the thumbs up and goes back to work. Shaking my head, I turn back around to face him.

  “No, I didn’t know it was me you were referring to,” I say calmly, although my heart is beating wildly.

  “I thought I made myself clear earlier that I thought you were beautiful.”

  “Yes, you did, but I didn’t think that meant anything other than just that⸻an observation.”

  “Wow. I know I’m rusty with making a woman feel wanted, but that hurts,” he says, laughing. “I’d like to get to know you, if that’s alright with you. Even if nothing does happen between us⸻which I hope it does⸻I would still like to be your friend.”

  He wants to get to know me? This is what I have been wanting for so many cycles. Suddenly, I get a strange feeling of having déjà vu. If this is one of my daydreams, then me being a seer could be a possibility. If that is true then me becoming a dragon is never going to happen? No—no—no this isn’t right, this can’t be.

  “Dariya, what’s wrong? Are you ok?” He looks genuinely concerned. “Calm down. Is everything ok?” he asks again.

  I turn to him with tears in my eyes. “I have to go. I’m sorry, it’s not you. I promise.” I get up and leave, heading to the bathroom. I hear him behind me calling my name. Running to the bathroom, I push the door opens with too much force, and I barely notice when it bangs against the wall. I go into a stall and sit down, crying so hard that I am barely able to breathe. I hear someone walk in the bathroom.

  “What’s going on, Dariya? I saw you leave. Did Kiernan upset you somehow? He said you were upset,” Kira’s voice calls out to me.

  I can’t talk to her. I am heartbroken over what I have just learned. How would she possibly be able to understand how devastating it is to learn that my dreams of being a dragon were false? I just knew I was going to be a dragon with every fiber of my being⸻until today, that is.

  I decide after a few moments to try explaining. She is my closest friend, and she deserves an explanation. “All those feelings and dreams of being a dragon are gone. I’m a seer, Kira, a stupid seer. What good is being a seer? You can see things that may or may not come true. Who would want that? I saw myself as a dragon. How is that possible? It was all a lie! Every single one of those daydreams was a lie. I have had déjà vu most of my life cycle. Now I know why. It’s because I am a dumb seer,” I say.

  She sits on the floor to talk to me. “How long have you’ve known you were a seer?”

  “Just since today. I had a daydream while talking to Kiernan this morning. He asked if I had visions. His question stunned me, but now that I think about it, I know have. I’ve been having visions⸻ not daydreams. I was forced into them.”

  “So, you are a seer? Do you know how rare that is? I would love to be a seer!” she says excitedly.

  “We can’t tell anyone about this, Kira. I don’t want to be used for my visions. That is not the life cycle I want.”

  “But being a seer is awesome. You can see people’s futures and past. Why are you freaking out?” I can’t see her face through the door, but I can hear her confusion.

  “Think about what you just said. I would never have any peace from people or our leaders. They’ll want to use me for their own purposes. Look at the last seer we had. She went off her rocker and didn’t even know what was real and what was a vision anymore.
That was from using it all the time. I don’t want that for myself.” I open the door to the stall and walk out, brushing tears away from my eyes.

  “You have a point there. Your secret will be safe with me. I won’t tell anyone unless you ask me to. I promise you that,” she says, giving me a hug.

  I’m finally able to calm down enough to head back to class. I go and wash my face and give Kira a small smile. I wouldn’t know what I would do if she wasn’t in my life cycle. She is the sister I never had. I love her to pieces. I give her a tight hug.

  Walking back to class is the worst thing I could do right now. I wasn’t myself when I freaked out in front of Kiernan. He knows what I am. I hope he can keep that a secret. I don’t want anyone to know. I’m debating if I want to tell my mom. She’ll have to tell the elders what I have become, so they can write it in their book⸻or whatever they do with the information. I don’t want that burden to fall on her. I just don’t know how I’m going to hide it. So far, I have been able to say I’m just a daydreamer. What if someone else like Kiernan figures it out? I need to figure out how to control my visions. It still breaks my heart that I won’t be a dragon.

  As I get seated at my desk, everyone stops what they’re doing to stare at me. Great. Now I’ll be known as the freak who has meltdowns in class. I look around to see if Kiernan is looking at me. He is, but it’s more of a curious look than a ‘what the hell’ look. After everyone finally goes back to what they were doing, Mrs. Jacobs walks up to my desk.

  “Is everything ok?”

  I have my head down, looking at my desk. I look up and see Nessa smirking at me from beside Mrs. Jacobs. Where did she come from? I don’t remember her being in here. I wasn’t really paying attention. What is that smirk for anyways? I turned to face Mrs. Jacobs

  “I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”

  “If you have a problem with anyone here, come find me. We do not tolerate bullies,” she turns and looks at Nessa when she says the last part.

  Nessa wipes the smile off her face and goes back to her desk. Mrs. Jacobs pats my shoulder and heads back to the front of the class.

  “Are you alright? Was it something I said or did to make you so upset? If so, I do apologize.” Kiernan looks sad and worried. I start to feel a little bad for how I ran off earlier. He probably thinks I’m a loser now. The damage has been done. There’s no going back to a few minutes ago.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. No, you didn’t upset me. Something caught me off guard, is all. I really need to talk to you when we get out of school.”

  “Yeah, sure. No problem. I was going to ask if you and Kira wanted to hang out with me and Kelso after school.”

  “I would like that a lot. How do you know Kelso?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “He’s my cousin. His parents are going to be traveling for the next few cycles, so he’s staying with us.”

  “Does he like Nessa? Sorry, that’s none of my business.” Why do I keep putting my foot in my mouth?

  “No, actually he likes Kira,” he says, looking over his shoulder. “But he doesn’t ever say anything. He’s shy when it comes to the ones he likes. It’s like he doesn’t know what to say to a female. I guess that’s what happens when you’re sheltered.”

  “So, why does he look at Nessa like he likes her? I saw him earlier staring at her,” I say, frustrated. I don’t understand Kelso’s behavior. He gives off too many vibes. I feel like I have whiplash.

  Laughing he says, “He was looking at Kira from the corner of his eye. He’s trying to figure out how to approach her.”

  Wow. My best friend has a crush. I laugh to myself. This year is going to be awesome. I just hope it lasts. I haven’t been this happy in a long time. I just need to keep it cool. I don’t want to count my chickens before they’re hatched, though. It’s never good to assume things.

  Lunch is here before I know it. As I walk to the dining hall, Nessa walks up behind me and pushes me. I stumble forward but catch my balance before I fall.

  I turn around to face her. “What the hell is your problem?”

  “Haven’t you figured it out yet? You are my problem⸻always getting the best of everything. Leaving the rest of us to play catch up.”

  “What are you talking about now? I haven’t done a damn thing to you!”

  “Oh, I think you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Why does it have to be me she’s targeting? In which of my different lives did I piss her off? Did I stick a corn cob up her ass or something? Because if that was the case I would do it again.

  “What are you talking about… for the second time!” I say.

  “Oh, so you don’t know you’re a seer. I find that kind of funny, when you were confessing your little heart out to Kira a little while ago.”

  My heart starts to race. I should have made sure we were the only ones in the bathroom. This is bad— really bad. I need to think fast. Where the hell is Kira when I need her?

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. I am not a seer.”

  Kira walks up to Nessa and pushes her away from me. I didn’t even see her there.

  “You need to keep your mouth shut, and don’t spread rumors that aren’t true. You got me?” she says with a barely contained fury.

  “Oh, everyone will know she’s a seer sooner or later. I’m just making sure everyone knows what she really is.” Nessa has a smirk on her face.

  Kira is about to attack her when Kiernan walks up to her.

  “Nessa, have you ever wondered why I never even looked your way all these years? It’s because you cause nothing but drama everywhere you go. No one wants a snobby bitch like you. Now go find your little followers and leave.”

  He looks at me and holds out his hand for me to take. He starts to pull me away, but before he does, I walk up to Nessa. “I hope you know you brought this on yourself. You have no one else to blame but you.”

  Walking to into the dining hall with Kiernan and Kira, I get another vision. I am beginning to regard them differently⸻more seriously⸻now that I know what they are.

  I see Nessa with someone I can’t make out. She’s crying and telling him something. It looks like she’s begging him. When she turns around, I see that she has something in her hand. It’s some kind of device. What in the world is she doing? The guy is telling her something, but I can’t hear it. He looks pissed off. I’ve never seen him before. The guy turns around, and I see it: the elder mark on his neck. Oh my god! What is she thinking, pissing off an elder?

  I stop dead in my tracks and look straight at Kira

  “Did you just have a vision?” Kira whispers into my ear.

  I nod my head. I don’t want to talk about it right now. “I’ll tell you later.”

  I look around to make sure no one else saw. Kiernan gives me a funny look. I just shake my head at him. There is no way he needs to know about this. If he thought Nessa brought drama he will flip out if he hears what I just saw.

  Kiernan asks. “What would you like to eat?”

  “Surprise me. I’m not picky like she is.” I point over to Kira

  “Hey! I’m not picky. I just don’t like a lot of things.”

  “Like I said picky.”

  Kiernan laughs. “Ok, grab us a table and I will bring our food. Pizza ok with you Kira?”

  “A man to my heart. Too bad you are spoken for.” She looks at me and winks.

  I think my cheeks just turned fifty shades of red. I grab her arm and pull her to an empty table.

  “Are you trying to see how many colors of red I can turn in one day?”

  “Oh, Please. He already told you he likes you and you’re beautiful. Plus, he is hanging out with us after school.”

  “Doesn’t mean you can embarrass me like that. It doesn’t take much remember who you are talking about.”

  I look to see where he is. I don’t need him over-hearing this conversation.

  I turn back to Kira. She’s giving me this look like she caught me doing someth
ing I shouldn’t have been doing.

  “Why are you giving me that look?”

  “Looking at you like what?” she says with a smirk on her face.

  “Like I did something that I shouldn’t have been doing.”

  “I wasn’t looking at you in any way. I was just waiting for you to stop drooling and come back to the present.”

  “I was not drooling, and I was right here. I can’t help it if he has a nice backside. Besides, I was only making sure he wasn’t going to overhear us. Geez, woman.”

  Kelso walks up to the table with Kiernan behind him. They both have two trays in their hands. When did Kelso come in?

  “Kira, you remember Kelso right? This is Kiernan’s cousin.” I look at her as she realizes what I just said.

  Kira turns around to talk to Kelso. I let them have their conversation in somewhat private. I turn to talk to Kiernan. This place is just as good as any to get to know each other. Right?

  “So, what do you want to do after school? I still need to talk to you about something”

  “I was thinking we could go hang out at the new club.” Was he eavesdropping on the conversation that Kira and I had earlier? I’m starting to think he can read minds. He has answered my thoughts a few times.

  “That’s what Kira and I were going to do after work,” I say with a smile.

  “Well, now you don’t have to change your plans. You just have to add two more to your plans,” he laughs.

  Laughing, myself, I say, “I guess so!”

  “Do you think when we change it will hurt? I mean my mom said it was uncomfortable. That explanation didn’t really give me the answer I was looking for.”

  “I’m sure it will be uncomfortable. I don’t think she wants to scare you. My dad says it does hurt⸻the first shift.”

  “My mom says it happens on your nineteenth birthday at the exact time you were born. It starts with a fever, and then you shake like you’re sick. She also said that the changes are how your body gets ready for the shift the first time. I think that it’s a little more than uncomfortable. I know we’re all excited to see what shifter we’re going to be, but I’m guessing I’ll never know, if what you said is right.”