Falling Darkness: The second book in the Falling Awake Series (26 page)

“Blood and water,” said Sabre. “Do you know what that means?”

Ressler swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Say it,” Sabre hissed through his teeth.

Ressler looked at me in apology as I stood there helpless and in agony. I couldn’t wish for unconsciousness to come soon enough.

“Divine,” he said under his breath.

My whole body felt like it was shaking. “Pria? Are you okay?” I opened my eyes and I was still in the classroom.

“I’m fine,” I said. I grabbed my bag, shoving my pencil and book back inside. I had to go and see Leah. I was done with school for today.

“Here’s your picture.” Mr. Kelly held the scrap of paper out to me. “It’s really very good. You should keep it.”

I shook my head. “No thanks, just put it in the trash.” I didn’t need that. The image was burned into my mind, I couldn’t ever forget it.

I hurried out of the classroom towards one of the exits when I saw Tamara leaning against her locker talking with another cheerleader, Minka. I stopped, hiding myself around the corner with my back pressed up against the lockers.

“I’m seeing him tonight,” Tamara said and every nerve in my body twisted together.
Oh god, she was talking about Caleb.

“You’re so lucky,” Minka replied in a wishful voice. “He is so gorgeous. Seriously, I have never seen anyone like him.”

“You know…” Tamara dropped her voice to a quieter level and I shuffled closer to the edge of the row of lockers to hear her better. I would probably be able to hear just fine if my breathing wasn’t so erratic. “Mellissa is finished with his friend, Drake. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he is pretty smokin’ too. Turns out she likes to have her cake and eat it.” I could hear the smirk in her voice.

Minka giggled under her breath. “I kinda like the other one. The one with the dark hair.”

“Ressler? We could double date!” Tamara squealed this time and I pressed my lips together. Fucking bitch. I wouldn’t put it past Caleb to agree to that nonsense, either.

“I’ll call him right now,” said Tamara. I heard her searching through her bag for her cell and then after a few seconds of silence, I heard, “Hi, Baby.”

Barf!

“I was thinking… you, me, my friend Minka, and Ressler. Tonight.”

I was too far away to hear his response but I was left staggering after her next words. “So, jets? This is going to be so great. I can’t wait to see you, I’ve missed you.”

So there it was. I’d heard firsthand how it was with the two of them. None of their relationship was for show. Tamara never knew I was there and Caleb wasn’t even here. I realized that all along I had been hoping that maybe them dating was some kind of scam or act, purely for my benefit. But I knew now, it was the real deal. It had finally fucking sunk in and it couldn’t have come at a better time. For once, I really had bigger things to deal with. I couldn’t get distracted over worrying about what Caleb and Ressler were doing. In fact, having the two of them tied up with dumb and dumber, I was free to do what needed to be done, without them stopping me. I would use this to my advantage. There was just one problem, I was still angry, and clenching my hands into fists I stormed back the way I had come, when every single locker in the hallway slammed open, metal clashing against metal and Tamara and Minka screamed. I didn’t need to witness it to know that the door of Tamara’s locker had knocked her flying. The shrill noise echoed around the hallways and I smiled triumphantly.

“That’s better,” I said on my way out.

I wasn’t banking on Caleb being there when I burst into his apartment. He wasn’t in the slightest bit shocked to see me, his expression was completely deadpan. I wouldn’t blow up in front of him. No way was he ever getting that satisfaction. He had completely ruined everything. I couldn’t talk to Leah now, not with him here. I couldn’t bring myself to speak to Caleb and went straight through to check on my dad before I had to get out of there. Caleb didn’t seem too bothered that I was back from school and on my way back out he eyed me with what could only be depicted as pure disdain. I took one step out of the bar and came face to face with Ressler and Drake.

“Hey,” said Ressler, slowing me down. “Where are you rushing off to?” He shook his head like he had just realized the time. “Why aren’t you at your school meeting? Did something happen? You’re out early.”

“Do you know Caleb has a date lined up for you?”

Ressler’s eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, he has. With Minka… you know, Tamara’s fangirl? Have fun won’t you?” I shoved in-between him and Drake and took rushed steps over to my car. Throwing my bag in, I took off, and not one of them followed me.

I had just told Mellissa about Tamara’s double date plans and I was starting to feel a little less wound up.

“You know, my mom and dad are out of town this weekend,” Mellissa said. “Why don’t we have a party? Here at my house.”

“We could…” A party didn’t sound that great to be honest. I didn’t feel in the mood.

“If only we could invite your two new best friends. That would be awesome. I really need to get my mind on anything but Drake.”

That was it. The perfect solution to get away from what felt like a freaking hell hole. And seeing Matoskah would be just what I needed right now. But could I? Could I take Mellissa there? It would be a lot safer than being here, I reasoned. Sabre was here, somewhere, not there, somewhere. Yep, it would definitely be a lot safer.

“I’m going to try something now,” I said to Mellissa. “And you can’t freak out. I will explain everything after.” That was if it worked.

“You’re scaring me,” she said. Her face crinkled in worry.

“Trust me, okay? You wanna escape Drake, and I know the perfect way.”

A partial smile crept onto her lips but she still looked dubious. I went over to her wardrobe and squeezed in whatever I could grab into my bag. I had my own toothbrush here from when I used to sleep over and I grabbed that and hers, too. I just managed to zip my bag up and I slung it onto my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she asked, frowning. “You’re freaking me out again. Are we like running away or something? I don’t wanna be away from Drake that bad. I think I’d miss my family.” Mellissa shook her head. “On second thought, I hardly even like my family.”

I laughed. “Nope, better.” I sat down next to her and with the added motivation of knowing I had my talisman with me,
just in case of course;
I gripped onto her hands. “I hope this works,” I said to her, but truth be told- I had never felt more confident in myself.

M
y body was strumming with energy. I closed my eyes and focused on bringing the harbor in Neah bay to life. More precisely, the desolate forest nearby and the grey stretch of lonely road. I opened my eyes and Mellissa gasped when her bedroom around us, melted away, piece by piece like thick, dripping paint and we were standing by the edge of the forest. A few seconds ago, this scene had been alive in only my mind. Now, it was real. The warmth of Mellissa’s pink and cream room was replaced entirely with cold, fresh air and not a rug or piece of bedroom furniture in sight.

“Oh my freaking god,” I said, gaping at my surroundings. I released Mellissa’s hand. “I did it.” I could hardly believe it. I’d done it. Everything else I’d learned about myself was minute in comparison to this.

“What the fuck just happened?” Melissa muttered, looking dazed and confused. Her eyes were wide with fright. “And where the hell are we?” She raised her voice to something more significant than a terrified quiver. “What the fuck, Pria!”

“It’s okay,” I said to her. “We’re on the Makah Reservation. Don’t freak, but we’re in Neah Bay.” How could I honestly expect her not to freak? Even I was freaking out.

“Am I dreaming?”

“No, sorry. You are one hundred percent awake. There’s something I need to tell you about me and I need to do it now, and quickly.”

“Go ahead,” she said with her usual attitude re-surfacing. Well that was good, at least. I’d rather she act like herself than be scared of me.

“I can do things,” I started. “Strange things. I’ve only just found out and what just happened there- that is one of the things I’ve just figured out.” My words were one big desperate rush. I didn’t waste time in letting her know that this was for real and there was no need for her to question her sanity.

“Magic? Are you on drugs? Magic is a crock of shit.”

“It’s hard to believe, I know. I didn’t believe it at first, but I’m telling you the truth. How else do you explain what just happened? And it did happen. I’m not lying to you. Watch…” I might as well really go for it, since I had started. I was winging it, still not having any real idea on what my limits were and I let my energy seep out of me in waves and into everything around me. I could feel it escaping me like silk, filtering through the air in ribbons. I flinched a little when a light wind rustled through the branches and as if they had voices of their own, a gentle humming noise filled my ears. The tinkling of the forest was all around us. Nature’s voice was everywhere, coming from every direction now, and not just the trees.

“The trees are singing?” Mellissa cupped her hands around her mouth, laughing. “What are you, Pocahontas or something? Show me something better than that and maybe I won’t consider calling the asylum.

“Okay,” I said. “How about this?” When the entrancing hum died down, I pointed my finger towards the sky and painted an imaginary archway. Within seconds, the brightest rainbow I had ever seen shimmered above us. Mellissa’s hand flew to her mouth. “It’s magic,” she breathed. “I don’t even believe in magic.”

“Trust me, I’ve been exactly where you are now saying exactly the same thing.” There was more I could stun her with but I would keep Drakes secret. She didn’t need to know every detail. I felt weightless just getting my own secret off my chest. I’d been dying to confide in her for ages.

“Do something else,” she said, getting excited.

“I really shouldn’t, and it’s not magic, exactly. I’m not sure yet what it is.” I had already done too much. And in broad daylight. “Later. I don’t want anyone else to see.” The last thing I should be doing was drawing attention to us. I had to keep Mellissa safe. That was the most important thing.

“So you can just, what… go anywhere? Just like that, one blink and…”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever tried it,” I said. I’d half done it before with Caleb, but I wanted to keep him out of it. I wasn’t in any position to confide in her too much.

“I’m going to need about a month to get my head around this. My best friend is friggin’ Houdini.”

“I’m still getting my head around it.”

“But that is the best freaking thing I ever saw.” Mellissa was ecstatic and it made me feel so much better. She could have took me as being some crazy witch, but she didn’t. I seriously underestimated her.

“You want to go find Matoskah and Quidel?” I asked her. That was why I’d brought her here, after all. To get away and to have fun with people that knew how to chill out. I’d had my fill of serious people to last me a lifetime and I needed a break.

“Oh, you bet. I am truly in need of something beautiful to look at. No offence, babe.”

I sent Matoskah a text and he called straight away telling me that he had only just made it back home from travelling all day. A few minutes later, he pulled up in his beat up jeep with the window rolled down. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“How’d you get here?” he asked, getting out and taking my bag. “Come on, get in.” He smiled at Mellissa. “Nice to see you, again.”

“It sure is.” She hopped up into the truck, sitting in the middle of me and Matoskah.

“So you got here, how?” Matoskah asked again, driving us away from the harbor.

How was I going to explain this one? Turns out I didn’t need to, Mellissa was already answering for me.

“One minute we’re in my bedroom,” Mellissa contributed, “and then the next thing I see, is this place.”

“What?” Matoskah looked straight at me.

“Oh, shit.” Mellissa clamped her hand over her mouth. “My brain, it’s in overdrive. I’m so sorry, Pria.”

“It’s true,” I said to him. “I wanted to come here, and so I did. I guess I kinda wished us here. Sounds crazy, I know.”

Matoskah was either being polite, or he sensed that Mellissa would probably be pissed if she found out that he knew my little secret before she did, and he did a great job of acting clueless.

“Well you already know I’m a converted believer. There’s not much that will shock me.” He smiled at me and I was eternally grateful he didn’t rat me out. “The spirit is more powerful than you think.”

“Actually,” I said to Mellissa, “My mom kinda had the same gift and Matoskah’s heard all about her. This is where she grew up. Turns out, she’s pretty important around here.”

“Your family is so cool.” Mellissa shook her head with disbelief. “The only thing I ever inherited was my grandmas webbed toe.”

“You got that off your grandma?” Two of Mellissa’s toes were slightly more joined than the rest and I always used to laugh about it until one day she threatened to get plastic surgery. Now, though, you can hardly even notice it.

“Yeah, god rest her weird little soul. I will never thank her for it.”

“This conversation just turned weird.” Matoskah grinned at us. “I don’t know anything about any webbed toes, but did you guys have time to grab your swimsuits?”

“Hello, it’s November. Swimsuit season is over,” Mellissa said.

“Me and the boys are heading out to Hobuck tonight, surfing. You guy’s in?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “I think I could give surfing a go.” Again…

It was dark, very dark. The beach was surrounded by forest and cliffs and there was no light offered from either. A roaring fire was already set up on the sand and I could see the pinched face of Rona as the flames flickered golden orange across her face, sharpening her already harsh angles. She was a lot prettier when she wasn’t scrunching up her face like that. I really needed to make friends with her if I had to spend time with her. I liked Quidel and I didn’t want his sister to hate me, especially if it was because of some boy I had no interest in that way. There could be no other reason why she hated the sight of me so much. She knew nothing about me.

She was the only one sitting around the fire, and I saw Quidel already had on his wetsuit and board in hand. It was pretty cold tonight and I had already decided that I wasn’t getting in that water.

“I could have sworn I just left you in Friday Harbor.” Quidel was smiling at me when I walked over him, and he threw his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. “I’d ask how you got here so fast but I don’t think I need to.”

“You got that right,” I said. “I needed to get away, and I missed you already, so…” I looked up into his face. A face full of mischief.

“You’ve got good taste. I’d miss me, too. You coming in the water?”

I wrinkled my nose. I had on my wool dress and coat, but the cool night was already getting to me without adding freezing water into the equation. “Um, no. It’s going to be freezing in there. I’ll die of frostbite, no doubt. I’ll be right here where it’s warm.”

“Then you better go sit with the ice queen over there.” Quidel signaled toward his sister and I tried to quash my smirk. Frostbite threatened me from every angle, it seemed.

“I guess I better.” I went and sat down next to Mellissa while Matoskah and Quidel got ready to go into the sea. “Is that Skah out there?” I asked Rona, pointing towards the figure that was already riding the churning, night waves. It looked scary out there. But to these boys, that chilling ocean was nothing more than a plaything.

“Yeah,” she said bluntly, hardly paying me any attention. Mellissa’s lips quirked up at the side and her brow creased, but Rona wasn’t paying any attention to her, either.

“You know,” I started, “You could just tell him you like him. I’m sure he has no idea.” Ice breaking, here I go.

Rona brought her head up to look me in the eye. “What are you talking about? Tell who?”

“Matoskah. You like him, right?”

“Who told you that?”

“It’s kinda obvious.” I think the only person who didn’t know was Matoskah.

Rona wrapped her arms around herself and tucked her knees into her chest. “He’d have to like me back for me to go there. And he doesn’t, so…”

“How do you know that he doesn’t?”

“Are you kidding me?” She asked sourly. “Ever since you came along, he doesn’t even see anybody else. I’m sick of hearing about you.”

“Ooh, harsh,” said Mellissa. But I could see her budding smile. Rona liked me even less than I originally thought. It was an injustice if you asked me.

“Me and him, we’re friends, that’s it. Nothing more and he knows that.” I think he knew that. We’d never spoken about it before but I didn’t think we needed to. He knew how it was with us. I’d never let him think otherwise.

My innocent plea fell on completely deaf ears. “Keep deluding yourself, but keep me out of it.”

Oh stuff her. I came here to have fun, not explain myself all night. “Fine,” I said, getting up. “I’m not sitting her all night while you wallow in self-pity. I’m going in the water. I’d rather freeze than end up as miserable as you.” So much for getting on her good side, but she was making it too difficult. I was tolerant but not
that
tolerant. This girl had stretched my patience to the max.

Rona’s lips tightened, but she didn’t say anything else, just carried on staring into the fire.

“Are you coming?” I said to Mellissa.

“Sure. It beats this.” Rona’s face soured even more, but I was out of there. Bitterness was a disease and it made me question whether I really wanted to let Caleb tear into my soul anymore, and end up like her. Or was it too late for that? Was that how I looked every day, thinking no one could see it, but me?

“I’m not really going in there,” Mellissa said to me when we stood by the edge of the ocean, the water barely touching our feet. “I just didn’t wanna sit with
her
any longer. She’s hard work. At the end of the night, we could just use her to put out the fire.” I chuckled softly. We probably could.

Quidel’s surfboard came rolling onto the sand. He picked it up and stuck it under his arm, shaking his hair like a wet dog. “Come on in. I dare you,” he challenged us.

“Like hell,” Mellissa said, wiping the spray off her face from Quidel’s short hair.

“You know…” Quidel raised his eyebrow suggestively. Like I said, full of mischief. “You could always make it a little warmer.”

Mellissa turned to me. “You can do that?”

“I’ve never tried.” I lowered myself down onto my knees and leaned over, pressing both my hands into the freezing water. I guess, just thinking what I wanted would do it. It had worked for me every other time. My fingers were freezing. Almost numb from the cold water, but gradually, the feeling of heat returned into my fingers and soon, the water was a comfortable temperature. It was warm. Luxuriously warm. Wow, what could I not do? Nothing had come so easy to me before. I was starting to take myself by surprise.

“Try it,” I said to Mellissa, getting to my feet. She leaned down and put her hands in. “I can’t believe it. It’s warm.” Mellissa looked back at me, a shadow of disbelief crossing her face. “It’s warm and it’s winter. You’re amazing.”

Quidel was next to test it out. “Fuck,” he said. “You are amazing. This is incredible. I wish I’d known about you ten years earlier.”

The wave that Matoskah and Skah had been riding came crashing to the shore and they both jumped up, boards in hand. “What’s going on?” Skah asked. “It’s like a heat wave just struck.”

“This is you?” Matoskah asked me, giving me an easy smile.