by Dean Murray
I snorted out a chortle. “What am I? A prize boar?”
She didn’t even laugh. “You’d be surprised.”
I would be astonished. Despite Cassie’s insistence, I was no cover model. There had to be a reason she got dream dates throughout high school, while my social life could have used some work. Once she started liking football, she was way more popular than either of us thought possible. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get into it.
I still couldn’t figure out why Brody Smith, captain of the football team, had picked me instead of her. Man. I so needed to stop thinking about this. I couldn’t afford to let him enter my mind again.
Back to the topic at hand, I asked, “Let’s pretend for a moment what you told me was true, and fae lords really are hunting me right now. What could I possibly have that any other girl here doesn’t?”
The word she whispered floated through the airwaves like an ephemeral prayer. “Power.”
Her statement shocked me so much I sat there dumbfounded. Power could mean so many things, but at the base it was control. At the moment, I could hardly manage my emotions. “I’m quite sure I can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, or run faster than a speeding bullet. Trust me, I’ve tried. What sort of power do I supposedly have, then?”
“You are an Elemental. You were created for the fae.”
Gah. Was she on drugs? “What the heck is an Elemental?”
“You have the capability to manipulate matter, Rayla. The squadron of lords will hunt you down until one of them claims you. Once bonded, your power will enhance his.”
This sounded like the makings of a bad late-night movie. “I’m not saying I believe a word you’re saying, but I’m suspending disbelief once again just to clarify something; why would they have waited until now to hunt for me? And if they are so dangerous, why haven’t you come to get me?”
“It’s complicated. I would be there in a heartbeat if I could. There’s something you need to understand. I have to protect —” Her words cut out. She said something else I couldn’t put together. Gobbledygook was all I heard, then, “shielded.” There were more non-words. The last one I made out was “mom.”
“I can’t understand you, Aunt Grace. What did you say?”
Just like that the jumbled words were clear. “It’s beginning already.”
“What is?”
The mixed-up sounds started again then, “…talk to Cassie. She can see...” She emphasized see in a way that made me think Cassie had lied about the pegasus. Maybe I wasn’t crazy, after all.
“What does Cassie have to do with this?”
“…stay with her, okay? Keep away from Notre Dame!”
All I could hear were partial words and silence after that. “You’re breaking up. What’s wrong with Notre Dame?”
“…talk…Cassie…”
“What?” The call dropped. I tried her again and again, but my calls wouldn’t go through. Even though she’d probably kill me, I decided to send her a text:
Phone died. Call later. Luv U!
I didn’t even get to tell her what that guy had done. I doubted she would’ve dismissed him so quickly if I had.
Cassie was making my bed when I entered our room. Distractedly, she looked up at me, and her eyes flew wide. “That bad, huh?”
If she only knew how surreal the call had been. “Aunt Grace just told me fae lords want me for some sort of power I have. You said they don’t exist. Which of you is correct?”
Chapter Three
Cassie turned her back to me. I had expected her to laugh, but her breath came in rapid gasps. I waited: No response. Abandoning my bed, she moved to a suitcase and sorted through the contents.
Maybe this was more serious than I thought? Maybe Cassie did know something? There was only one way to find out. “Aunt Grace told me I was in danger,” I hedged. “In my estimation that puts you in danger, too.”
She stopped folding her delicates into neat piles and faced me. Tears brimmed in her pale blue eyes. The smooth angles of her face contorted into a distorted grimace. I cringed when I heard the horror in her voice. “I can’t talk about this.” She covered her eyes with both hands. Her body trembled from sudden sobs.
I edged closer and placed my hand gently on her shoulder. She shrugged it away.
I gritted my teeth. “It isn’t like I wouldn’t believe you. First the trip here, and then, Aunt Grace’s call — I’m up for anything just about now.”
She thrust her arms violently to her sides. “You can’t possibly understand what it’s like.” She hesitated for a few seconds, her tone frigid with fear. “I spent five years in counseling to combat my hallucinations. I embraced them once, and it cost me. I won’t do it again!” Quicker than I could respond, she spun away from me.
She thought she was hallucinating? Could two people have the same delusion? I closed the distance between us again. “I might understand if you were the only one who saw the creature. It was black and scary and that guy made me feel … so strange. I need you to tell me what you saw, Cass.”
She offered a contemptuous look over her shoulder. “My eyes don’t work any differently than yours do.”
“Then, you did see the pegasus?”
She huffed, shoving her hands into her hair. “I didn’t say that!”
I frowned. We weren’t kids anymore, and we weren’t playing make-believe. “I guess I imagined the whole thing. Stress got to me. Is that it?”
She wouldn’t look at me when I stood in front of her. “It could be.”
“I thought we didn’t have secrets. Going through counseling for that long had to be horrible. I can’t say I understand, but I want to.” If Cassie really had seen the pegasus, it could only mean there was some truth to what Aunt Grace told me. “What if there’s more to this world than we know? What if you weren’t delusional all those years ago? Your stories —”
“We’re here for school, not to talk about imaginary people.” Cassie narrowed her eyes, sending me a frosty glare. Even with the attempt, she hadn’t covered the fear lingering beneath her contempt. “I’ll go to Snow if you continue with this nonsense.”
I clenched my fists at my sides, trying my best to understand her. “You would leave over a question?” I couldn’t lose this life before it even started.
St. Mary’s would be unbearable without her. A horrible thought hit me. If she left, would her dad’s money go with her? I hated myself for even thinking it.
She sounded sincere, but I was beginning to think I didn’t know my best friend at all. “I hope I don’t have to.”
Her gaze chilled me more than her blunt words. I gaped at her. She had only been like this once before.
Her mother had taken her away for a seven month sabbatical. She missed half of the sixth-grade. I hadn’t ever fit in with the kids at school. Without Cassie, my days had almost been unbearable.
When she finally came home, I expected vivid details about India. What I got was, “It was hot, but nice.” She refused to play our usual games after that trip. Soon afterward, her obsession with football began.
I never got the appeal. She loved the games more than my cousin Travis did. I didn’t think it possible. Travis was always practicing. I’d once thought Cassie had a crush on him, but I could never be sure.
I missed our excursions into fantasy. Unfortunately, I had to make-believe on my own after that. It wasn’t the same. My tone fell flat when I answered her. “I’ll just have to figure things out without you.”
She thrust a finger at me before turning to her clothes again. “Grace is trying to teach you a lesson for lying to her. It isn’t anything more than that.” Despite her solid exterior, a shudder rippled along her back. “It can’t be.”
I didn’t want Cassie to leave, so I decided to save my arguments for another time. “I guess so.”
She pulled away when I tried to hug her. I never thought I would see a day when I would want some distance from Cassie. I was wrong.
. . . . .
I went for a run. The one thing that usually cleared my mind wasn’t working.
My thoughts cycled in a whirlwind of why’s. Cassie was definitely lying to me about something big, and I had come to the conclusion she had been dishonest for quite a while. I wanted to think Aunt Grace was the deceitful one, but it didn’t feel right. Her words came back in a rush: ‘Fae lords will be coming for you.’
Considering such a thing went against the foundations of reality. Even if I had hallucinated the pegasus, the guy on the bike was more than an ordinary man. Something within him called to something within me. I didn’t understand it. The only thing I could really hope for now was to never see him again. I shuddered at the thought, even though I had always wished something magical would to happen to me.
I hadn’t realized as a child how frightening being swept off my feet by a fairy prince would be in real life. What would the stranger have done with me if I had stopped the car? He hadn’t exactly been the prince charming I had conjured up as a kid, either. He was a far sight larger and an eternity scarier.
Falling down a rabbit-hole sounded great compared to this. After all, Alice was in a land of wonder. And as amazing as it was, I was in Indiana.
I just needed to keep telling myself none of this was true — that none of this was real. The logical part of my mind sure thought so. Cassie was right. Aunt Grace was probably playing a trick on me.
My feet flew over the pavement, making short work of campus. I should have been recuperating from our trip, but I couldn’t rest with a parade of unknowns marching through my brain.
I slowed, my lungs needing more air than I could currently give them at the pace I had set. My mono-vision blurred outward. Enormous pine trees surrounded the narrow path I stood on. Dizziness overwhelmed me when I looked up at the sprawling branches. What the heck? No buildings were in sight.
How had I gotten into the woods? The place looked more like the Redwood Forest than the Nature Area of campus. This was just great. It probably wasn’t the best idea for me to be out here alone.
Okay. No need to panic. The rush of water thundered somewhere near me. If I followed the river, I could find my way back to the dorm. I headed toward the sound, kicking myself for not paying attention to where I was going.
A fat drop of rain pelted my cheek and slid down my face. A couple more splattered on my scalp. What was going on? The sky had been clear moments before. I gazed unbelievingly at the voluminous clouds rolling toward me. They were the deep, dark gray of a turbulent summer storm. The wind picked up, sending my hair whipping around my face. I pulled it into a makeshift bun to get it out of my eyes. I had to find shelter. If only I had a clue where I was. Why had I been so stupid?
The heavens dumped on me like a waterfall. I usually loved staying out in the rain—that was because I had never had the pleasure of getting soaked in a second. A small roofline caught my attention, barely visible through the trees. I cut into the bushes toward it. The bramble dug into my flesh, leaving a crosshatch of scratches on my arms.
The door of the old shack hung open at an odd angle, only attached by one leather hinge. Most of the windows were broken. I raced inside, even though this was the sort of place an ax-murderer would hang out. It wasn’t like I had a better option.
The musk of wet earth and ancient wood surrounded me. I breathed in deeply, savoring the freshness. The world seemed newer somehow.
The intricacy of the hand-planed walls mesmerized me. Even with how small it was, the place must have taken forever to build. I sat cross-legged on the rickety floorboards, waiting for the clouds to break. I could probably stay here for hours without much of a problem, even if it weren’t raining.
The sounds of nature floated near — the song of a bird melded with the percussion of the rain in a timeless, soothing rhythm. I closed my eyes, my nerves calming with every revitalizing lungful of air.
I would figure this out. Whatever the danger was, I would deal with it. My plight couldn’t be as bad as Aunt Grace had implied.
I pulled out my phone, trying her number again. It was busy. Of course.
I called Cassie to smooth things over before I went back — the same. It didn’t even roll to voice-mail.
I hit every saved number I had. They wouldn’t go through.
I tried the customer service number. No luck.
Frustration bubbled up in me like an over-full pot. What was going on? Despite the trees and the rain, I had a clear signal.
I took some more calming breaths, squaring my shoulders. Once I got back to the dorm, I’d use Cassie’s phone to call home. Everything was going to be fine. It had to be.
A twig cracked near the back of the shack, startling me. My scar lit up like a skyscraper at midnight. I turned toward the broken window. Nothing was there, but my senses shot to high alert. A dark foreboding washed over me in thick waves. Was that the wind or a hungry growl?
Another crack.
I bolted out the door, bounding on the sodden ground, ignoring the branches pulling at my arms and hair like greedy fingers. The rain soaked through my sweatshirt and jeans as if they were nothing more than linen sacks. I had to get to my dorm. I needed the safety of people.
A person stepped onto the path up ahead, undoubtedly male. I skidded to a stop, my arms flailing for balance.
Most of his face was shrouded by the hooded trench coat he wore. Despite that and the sheets of rain, the caress of his gaze traveled the length of me. Not a second later, he started toward me in determined strides.
Frantic to find an escape, I searched the landscape for a side trail. I was being ridiculous. He was just a man — probably a Notre Dame student caught in the rain, just like me.
I would glide past him calmly. I might even say hello just to cut the tension.
A niggling thought made its way to the surface of my mind: What if he won’t let you?
A new emotion hit me like a tsunami. Need climbed into my pounding heart. My body ached to be near him … just like the man on the bike. Could it be him? Had he really followed me here?
I stepped forward timidly.
What was I doing?
One more step.
Oh, no. Why were my legs moving without me telling them to?
A horrible impulse surged through me to rush to his side. I longed for him to fold me in his all-encompassing embrace.
I was insane.
I did not know this man.
So why did his pull command me forward, no matter how hard I fought? Maybe I was hallucinating again. But how could a hallucination make my heart ache like this?
My faltering will and terrible need collided in a violent torrent of emotion. I had to get closer to him.
He was my world.
I was reborn.
I smiled at my redeemer.
He moistened his bottom lip, biting down invitingly. Ever so slowly, his hands moved to the edge of his hood. Purple light pulsated from his fingers, spiraling down his body.
That wasn’t normal.
The thought floated away before I could grasp it. A new one needed my attention.
I was going to see him. My heart beat frantically in my chest, as if it might sprout wings.
Did I look okay? I raised a self-conscious hand to smooth my saturated hair and wiped running mascara from under my eyes. Hardly aware of what I was doing, I took another step toward him.
My body convulsed when he hesitated. When he pulled his hood back into place I nearly screamed. The only part of his face I could see was those glorious lips turning in a violent frown? Did I do something wrong?
Voices cut through my thoughts.
No.
Laughing.
Giggles to be more precise. I hadn’t seen it before, but another path shimmered into view between us.
The hold he had on me shattered.
Apprehension flooded my veins in a relentless wave.
He moved closer.
What was I still doing here? Why hadn’t I
run when I had the chance? I retreated a step, searching for happy people that might just be my salvation. I could still scream.
He frowned, as if reacting to my thoughts and spun toward the chatter.
His rugged jaw tightened before his head veered to the right and back at me. His fists clenched at his sides.
One heartbeat. Two.
A flash of white.
A predatory smile curved his mouth moments before he saluted me. Then, he stepped off the path toward the forest, disappearing behind a thicket of trees.
Finally, I remembered how to breathe.
A group of girls stomping through puddles barreled toward me. One of them gasped, breaking away from the others. “Are you okay,” she asked, concern clear in her tone.
“I — I think I’m lost.” I glanced ahead. The man was gone. The tree line looked different, not so thick. I would have sworn I had been in the middle of a vast forest, but I was on a large path in a thinly wooded area. I even heard the sounds of campus now. Where was the shack that had been there moments before? I forced myself to turn toward the girl on trembling legs. “How do I get back to Le Mans Hall?” My smile took quite a lot of effort. I didn’t want her to know how freaked out I was.
She gazed at me through kind, green eyes. “This trail is tricky. I’ll show you.” Holding her umbrella higher, she stood beside me. “Here”
“Thanks,” I said, ducking under it. I welcomed the cover, even though the rain had turned into a drizzle.
She laughed. “Won’t do you much good now. You look like you’ve been swimming in the river.”
My lips twitched into what I hoped passed for a smile. Was the man still lurking in the shadows waiting to strike until I was alone? Could he have been a fae lord? The idea chilled my bones. Aunt Grace said they ran in packs. I prayed he was merely a figment of my overactive imagination, all the while knowing in the bottom of my soul he wasn’t. With more effort than it should have taken, I tore my gaze from the trees. “I should have paid more attention to the weather when I left my room.” I glanced at the woods again. I couldn’t help it.
