Dark One: One for Sorrow... (The Khiara Banning Series Book 1) (19 page)

“Okay,” I say, unsure where to start. “Well, from the beginning of the year till today, my locker has been randomly broken into a whole bunch of times. That’s not even the strangest part either. Every single time it’s been broken into, whoever has been doing it has never once stolen anything from me. Not once!”

She gapes, “That is so weird!”

“Right?” I nod. “So today, when I got to my locker before the first bell and saw it open, I was like beyond pissed off, because again, nobody took anything. But – and this is the strange part – where I usually put my mirror, this necklace was hanging, like some weird gift.”

“That’s messed up!”

“I know,” I whisper.

Cael picks the perfect moment sneak up on us, and scares me half to death when he says from behind me, “That’s a really special necklace you’ve got there.”

“God!” I practically shriek, “scare me right out of my skin why don’t you?”

He chuckles. “Sorry, it’s a bad habit.”

Lisa points towards the necklace. “It’s so…
shiny.
” Cael nods and absently runs his hand through his hair.

“You said it was special?” I say hesitantly, “what did you mean?”

He crinkles his nose, a thoughtful motion that makes me smile because it’s something I do as well, and takes a moment before answering. “Well,” he says, “I can’t tell you much, but what I can tell you is that necklaces like that are incredibly rare. There are many counterfeits for fashion purposes, but they are useless. They say that necklaces like that are crafted by God himself.”

Lisa’s eyes are full of wonder, her mouth slightly agape, as Cael reaches for the necklace. I hand it to him without a word, and he examines it. He whispers something in that beautiful lilting language I’ve heard him use a couple of times, and then turns to look me right in the eye.

“Khiara,” he pauses, “you should put this on.”

Narrowing my eyes, I ask, “Why?”

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Well extra protection is always a good thing, I think.”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, and then louder, “it just showed up in my locker.”

Cael nods his head, “Yeah, I heard you talking to Lisa about that.”

“Such an eavesdropper!” Lisa says and smacks him on the arm. He smiles good-naturedly and shrugs again.

“I believe everything happens for a reason,” he says seriously. “If that necklace ended up in your locker, you’re supposed to have it.”

Unable to believe what he’s saying, I exclaim, “But it’s so creepy!” Lisa nods emphatically and says, “Sooo creepy.”

“I don’t know,” says Cael thoughtfully. “Maybe somebody noticed your locker was open again and decided that you needed some protection. I mean, it’s just a superstitious legend about a ruby necklace, right? It’s probably not even true.”

I look down at my lap and think for a second about what happened with the necklace in class, and the strange pulse of heat. If what Cael’s legend says is true, somebody thinks I’m in trouble, and this necklace is supposed to be for my protection.

“Cael.” I look up from my lap. “Do you really believe that?” He sighs and oddly, he and Lisa exchange a look I can’t interpret.

“I can tell you this much,” he says, his mouth quirking into a small smile I can’t help but return. “I’m still not a vampire.” He winks at me and Lisa giggles so hard she snorts endearingly.

“You’ve mentioned,” I say drily, only slightly aware that nobody is manning the cash, though there is nobody in the café anyway which explains why Cael was eavesdropping in the first place.

“I will tell you everything you want to know,” he says as he crouches down to my eye level, reaches out and strokes my hair. “And it will be soon. But right now,” he says, “right now I can only tell you to trust me.”

Even though this makes absolutely no sense, even though I’ve only known Cael for a week and a half and I have no idea what is going on…I feel deep in my soul that I would trust this boy with my life. “I do,” I say. “And I’m glad that you’re still not a vampire.”

I turn to Lisa and ask, “So, you’re not a vampire either right?”

She shrugs. “No promises.”

“So,” I say to Cael. “I should put this thing on, hmm? For protection.”

He holds out the necklace, “I’ll put it on you, if you want.”

I nod, “Okay. Put it on then.”

Sixteen

A soft rain pounds on the windows of my room, and as I close my eyes I know that I’m safe.

Two weeks have gone by since I got the necklace, and so far I haven’t taken it off. The minute Cael put it on me that day, an overwhelming feeling of safety instantly flooded me. He’d smiled at me and asked how I felt, and I just couldn’t help but reply honestly. Cael smiled at me then, and told me
again
that he’d explain everything when the time came, and I’ve just had to trust that what he’s said is the truth.

He’s my boss, my boyfriend, and a possible supernatural being. I can deal with that, I suppose. For the most part, it’s been really great between us. We’ve been together for about a month, and though there is an
obvious
elephant in the room – the secrets he carries – I can’t deny that I’m really falling for him. I’ve always hated it when I read books where the main character falls I love right away, but this is something more than a shallow attraction.

There is something between us that I can’t ignore, and I won’t ignore. This is much bigger than young love; I’m certain.

As I drift off to sleep, a shadow of light plays behind my eyelids, but I know that it’s nothing to worry about. Nothing can hurt me. I am safe.

~*~

It’s Saturday, and semi-formal is soon and I still don’t have any accessories to go with my dress. I don’t really want to go because I won’t have a date – unfortunately Cael is busy that night until pretty late – and going stag to a dance is something I don’t look forward to doing.

“Dad,” I say as my father buttons up his fall jacket, “did you ever go to school dances back in France?”

He stops unbuttoning his jacket and walks over to where I’m sitting down on the couch. “Yes,” he says, “I went to dances. They were not as fancy as the ones you have here in America, but yes.”

“We’re not
too
fancy, Dad. This is the State of lumberjacks and farmers.” I lay my head on his shoulder and he puts his arm around me.

“My sweet, is there something troubling you?” He asks

I nod my head. “I’m worried about going without a date to the dance.”

Mom walks into the room and smiles at the pair of us, “I see you’re nice and comfy.”

Dad chuckles, “We are having a nice talk about the upcoming dance. Khiara is worried about going without her boyfriend.”

She sits down on my other side and puts her feet up on the coffee table. “Oh? I went to lots of dances without a date in my day. I had lots of fun; I’m sure you will too. How come Cael can’t come?”

“He still works part time at the bookstore. His boss won’t give him time off that day.”

“Well I’m sure he wishes he could be there with you.” Mom says, patting my leg.

I nod my head, “Yeah, he feels bad he can’t come.”

“Well I hope you find something today when you and Cara go out shopping.” Just as mom says that the doorbell rings twice in fast succession, and Cara walks in, Tristan in tow.

“Hello simple peasants, the queen has arrived!” She crows.

“Come, darlings, sit with us a second,” says Dad. He nods at Tristan who smiles and nods back at him, and he scoots over for Cara to sit next to me.

“So, what is today’s plan, Petit Reine,” he says to Cara, who beams at his use of her nick name. It’s something he’s called her since we were kids; it means
little queen
in French.

Cara stops chewing her gum to pop a bubble, and then smiles at my dad. “Shopping out of town. Maybe we’ll take a drive to Moosehead Lake, just for fun.”

“Lovely,” says Mom. “Well I hope you find what you’re looking for, but if not, don’t worry too much. You’ll find something eventually, if not today.” She stands up, “Come on now Jaques,” she says to Dad, “let’s get to the gallery.” Dad leans over Cara to kiss me on the cheek, and gets up to follow Mom to the door.

“Have a good day, kids. Drive safe. Oh, and Tristan?” says Mom.

“Uh, yeah?” he replies awkwardly. No matter how many times he’s met my parents over the last month, he can’t get over the fact that they’ve taken to him so quickly. But how could they not? He one of the nicest people in the world!

She smiles at him and he blushes. “Take care of my girls.” With that, her and my father head out to her studio.

“Okay then,” says Cara. “Let’s get ourselves some great accessories!”

~*~

Cael and I have created a game, kind of like twenty questions, except for every question one of us gets wrong, the other has to make a game show buzzer noise. It’s the day before the dance, or should I say the night before – it’s about ten o’clock at night – and I should have been home from work a while ago, but nobody is home, and I really don’t want to be alone tonight.

Cael, Lisa and I have stayed long after work was over, and we’re supposed to be helping her with her French work, but of course we’ve decided playing our little game is way better than doing that instead. It’s Lisa’s turn to ask me a question. She squirms in her seat while she thinks, her red tartan leggings standing out against the soft brown of the seat she’s sitting in.

“Okay,” she says, her freckled nose crinkling, “Did you lose your virginity to
anyone
yet?” The way she says anyone, I know exactly who she is talking about, even as her eyes drift between Cael and I.

Cael chokes on his coffee.

My face turns bright red.

I want to hide under the table, but she’s looking at me as if it’s the most important question in the universe. So, I answer.

“Nope,” I say awkwardly, looking anywhere but both of their faces. “I have not. I’ve been with him for a month, so…and uhh, you have to be ready for sex…and oh God I don’t know how to explain this…”

“Darn,” she says, “Because from what I’ve heard, everybody in the grades above me has already had sex,” and I swear to God I didn’t know Cael could live off of breathing just coffee because he is still choking on his drink and hasn’t died yet.

“Who told you that?” I ask as I awkwardly pat Cael’s back.

He waves me away, not unkindly, and chokes out, “Her father.”

“Oh,” I say, my face still not quite recovered from the nuclear bomb of a blush that my cheeks are broadcasting live to the world. “Well, he uh,” I say, “he’s probably thinking of somewhere else. This town is kind of…kind of sleepy – no not sleepy, what’s a good word?”

“Normal?” Lisa supplies, and I nod, thankful for the way out.

“It’s Cael’s question now!” She crows happily, and he and I exchange a look as she thinks of a question to ask him.