FEARLESS: The King Series, Book One (21 page)

He laughed. “Okay, big talker, how about a dance right now?”

I was telling the truth, I did love to dance, but I really wasn’t ready to join the throng on the dance floor just yet. Before I could think of a good excuse, one walked right in the door. Anne, looking lovely in her strapless deep purple dress, hesitated a moment, looking around the room. At that very second, as though it had been perfectly orchestrated by the powers that be, Jim returned from the buffet and set his plate down. He followed my gaze and spotted Anne. I saw his mouth drop open, and he stood completely still for the span of several minutes.

Anne found us and began walking across the room, giving me a little wave and smile. Her steps only faltered when she saw Jim staring at her.

By now everyone at our table was watching this drama unfold.  Anne seemed to have to force her legs forward until she was at our table. She tore her eyes from Jim’s and smiled just a bit too brightly at all of us.

“Hi, everyone! Sorry I’m late. Hair trouble, can you believe it? With
my
mother?”

Brea, followed by her dancing partner, returned just then and greeted Anne. “About time. But you look great, so it was worth it, I guess! Do you all know Alex?” She indicated the boy behind her, whom I recognized vaguely from my Trig class. We all nodded and mumbled greetings, and they both took seats. Everyone was sitting except for Anne and Jim, and I noted with satisfaction that the only two empty seats were next to each other. Anne took one, and Jim finally seemed to come out of his thrall and sit down next to her.

He ate silently and steadily, not taking part in any of the conversation that flew about the table over the music. Anne was flushed and animated, and she cast me an amused look when I caught her eye. I tried to send mental encouragement her way, wishing again that someone else could hear
my
thoughts.

Finally the music changed from the up-tempo fast songs to an older slow song that I recognized. I saw Anne lick her lips, take a deep breath, and turn to Jim.

“Would you like to dance?” she asked.

He gazed at her as though she had spoken a foreign language. “Me?” he said, incredulously. When she nodded, he looked stunned and then gestured to his plate. “But-but I’m eating.”

I thought for the space of a heartbeat that she was going to shrug and turn away from him. But instead she smiled at Jim, a full and understanding smile I’d rarely seen on her face.

“Jim,” she murmured, “I would really, really like it if you could dance with me now. Please?”

I had to smother a laugh at the expression on Jim’s face. He was a goner. She could have led him through fire at this point, and he would have followed without complaint. Slowly he rose and offered her his hand. They moved onto the dance floor, and I turned to Michael, beaming in triumph.

“See! I told you!”

“And about time, too,” Brea leaned over Alex to address me. “I don’t know how it happened, but I’m glad they finally both realize it. The two of them were really starting to bug me.”

“Then why didn’t you say something?” I asked her in surprise.

Brea lifted a shoulder. “Not my business. I might have had to, if Jim hadn’t made a move soon. Now I don’t have to worry. Come on, Alex, let’s dance.”

As they left the table, Michael rose, too. “Are you ready to eat?” I asked, looking up at him inquiringly.

He gave me an intimate smile that robbed me of my breath every time. “No, I’m ready to dance. Let’s get out there so I can show off the most gorgeous girl here.”

I made a face at him, but I got to my feet and took his hand. This part was nothing I had been dreading. Dancing in the arms of the most wonderful, handsome boy in town, if not in the world? I had no complaints.

Following two slow dances, the DJ played several fast songs. After the third one, I pulled Michael off the dance floor, fanning myself with my hand. “I can’t believe how warm it is in here!” I fairly shouted to be heard over the thrumming music.

Michael pulled me closer to him and bent his head over my ear.“Do you want something to drink? I can get us some sodas or water over there in the corner.”

I nodded. “Please. I’ll just sit right here.” I plopped down in the nearest empty chair. “Recovering.”

“Resting up for the next dance, you mean,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes. “Just get me something to drink, please!” As he strolled off toward the refreshment table, I scanned the room quickly, looking toward Nell’s table. Even through the dark, I could make out Liza and Madeline sitting there along with a few other girls I didn’t recognize because they had their backs to me. But I could clearly see that neither Amber nor Nell were at the table. I looked at the dance floor, then all around the room. As far as I could see, there was no sign of Nell’s flaming red dress. I jumped out of my seat and met Michael on his way back to me, holding two bottles of water.

“Couldn’t wait? Just had to get back out to the dance floor?” he teased.

I shook my head. “Did you see Nell or Amber over there anywhere?”

His smile fading, Michael shook his head. “No. Why?”

“They’re not at their table, or anywhere I can see in here. I’m going to check the ladies room, and if they’re not there….” I met his eyes anxiously. “We’ve got to assume the worst.”

He didn’t hesitate. “Go check, I’ll make the rounds in here, just to make sure they’re not just hanging out in the shadows.”

The girls’ rest room was small, with a long line outside. I paused, considering the best way to find out who might be inside. Desperate times, I decided, called for extreme measures, so I stood in line, closed my eyes and relaxed my mind.

The murmur of minds coming from the line was the first thing I heard before I stretched out my parameters. Inside the bathroom itself, it sounded as though there were three people, including one at the sink. I winced as I tuned into their very private thoughts, but it was fairly simple to be sure that none of the girls were Nell or Amber.

As I turned to leave the line and find Michael, I nearly ran right into Casey. Her light red hair was gelled back away from her face, and the short green dress she wore made her look even more like an adorable pixie than usual. The look on her face as she stepped away from me was far from cute, though.

“Do you mind!” she exclaimed, annoyance dripping from her voice.

I didn’t have time for the niceties. “Casey, I didn’t see you. Sorry. Where is Nell?”

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows lifted in surprise and sardonic amusement. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t have time to explain right now. I just need to find her.”

Even as her mouth opened to stall me further, I shook my head in impatience and concentrated on listening to her, ignoring what she was saying out loud to me.

What is the deal with this freak? Like I would tell her anything about Nell. If I tell her Nell left, she’d probably rat her out to some teacher.

“Did she leave alone?” I interrupted Casey’s sarcastic reply to my last statement.

She looked at me, startled into honesty for once. “Yes. She was alone. She said she had to get something ready. I don’t know, Nell can be… cryptic sometimes. I just thought she was preparing—well, never mind. Why would you be looking for her?”

I didn’t bother to answer, just walked away from Casey and looked around frantically for Michael. I spotted him across the room, moving away from the table where Liza was still sitting.

“They’re not here,” I reported as soon as he was near me.

“I know. I just got it out of a very reluctant Liza, that Nell left about half an hour ago, and then Amber got a call and said she had to leave, too. It’s too much of a coincidence. It’s got to be tonight.”

“But where?” I was panicking, feeling helpless. “The only ones who might know are Nell’s friends, and they’re not going to tell us any more than they have.”

Michael looked as stressed as I felt. “If I start asking them, can you listen, to hear what they might be thinking and not telling?”

I nodded, and we both turned back toward their table. Liza was walking past us, and Michael grabbed her arm.

“What is your
deal
?” she shrieked at him. “You know, you used to be halfway normal, until
she
got here. I don’t know what your problem is.”

“I need to know what Nell’s been up to, Liza. I’ve been hearing rumors, and I want to know where she is right now.”

I closed my eyes and focused on Liza’s mind.
How could he know, what does he know? Is he bluffing? Can’t say anything to him, Nell will kill me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Like I told you when you dragged it out of me, Nell said she had to leave a little while ago. Maybe she wasn’t having a good time here. Who knows? What do you care?”

Could Nell be up to something the rest of us don’t know about? She’s been so secretive lately, even more so than usual. Maybe she’s planning something.

“Where do you hang out, all of you? Is there a special place Nell might go?” I knew Michael was trying to get information without giving away too much of what we suspected.

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is. I’m not going to tell you anything about Nell. We both know that. So why don’t you just leave me alone and get back to whatever it is people like you do at dances?”

Would she go to the woods? Without the rest of us? I thought before she might be going there more often than just when we had our meetings, but she told me I was wrong. It’s not safe for her to be there by herself.

I saw a flash of images in her mind, pine trees, girls in the dark, but it could have been anywhere. I thought of the acres of wooded fields and forests that lay between the boarders of town and Sawood Nursery, land I saw every time Michael drove me out to his house. It would be impossible for us to find Nell and Amber there, and I wasn’t even certain those were the woods Liza was remembering. The entire town was surrounded by trees like that.

I shot Michael a pleading look. “I need more,” I whispered. “She’s not being specific enough.”

Liza was looking at the two of us suspiciously. “What’s going on?” Her voice had lost some of its rancor.

I could tell that Michael had decided we had to risk a little more, in order to get what we needed from Liza.

“Nell’s involved in something, and it’s putting both her and Amber in danger. You need to tell us what you know, so maybe we can stop anything really bad from happening. That’s all I can tell you.”

Liza was unsure. Her eyes darted back and forth between us, and her thoughts were scattered and sketchy.

“I don’t know,” she breathed. “Nell will be so angry at me. If you’re lying to me—if you’re trying to use me to hurt her—”

“Liza.” I put all the urgency I was feeling into my voice. “I promise you, we’re trying to help. This is serious. You’ve been suspicious about what Nell’s been doing. You’re right. Please, tell us where she would go.”

I could feel the moment she gave in. “We—we sometimes meet in the forest out by Lake Rosu. You park at the lake, then follow the trail at the east end. There’s a large rock in the middle of the trail that divides it in two. You turn off the trail at that point, just walk straight to the east. There’s a clearing about—oh, I don’t know how far it is, we always just know when we get there.” She dropped her head and sighed. “That’s all I can tell you.”

Michael grabbed my hand. “I hope it’s enough. Come on, Tasmyn.”

As it turns out, while the dress my mom and I had chosen was perfect for the Harvest Moon Dance, it wasn’t quite the thing for walking in the woods.

Michael had broken every speed law getting us from the town hall to Lake Rosu. It was on the other side of town, still within the borders of King.

“That makes sense,” he muttered to himself as he drove. “They’d want to be on King property for anything supernatural they’re trying to do. And Rosu is the only lake completely within town.”

“I’m not even sure where it is,” I admitted. “ I think I’ve seen the signs for it, but I couldn’t get us there.”

“Luckily I can. Listen, Tas,” he abruptly shifted the tone of his voice. “When we get there, you stay here in the car, and keep my cell phone, in case you need to call for help. I’ll go in and try to find them—”

“No way,” I shook my head emphatically. “You’re not doing this without me. And who am I going to call, anyway?”

“The police. Tell them we heard that Nell was planning to hurt Amber. I don’t know, you’ll think of something. I’m not dragging you out there and putting you in more danger.”

“No, you’re not dragging me anywhere. I’m going of my own free will. Arguing isn’t going to change that.”

His hand tightened on the steering wheel, and I heard a sharp intake of breath.

“Fine,” he spit out. “But you stay behind me, and don’t get near Nell—”

I knew it was his worry that was talking and not a lack of confidence in my ability to take care of myself, so I let it pass.

We turned into the lake parking lot, just a small gravel patch between the lake itself and the woods. There was only one car in the lot.

“Nell’s,” Michael nodded toward the sleek black vehicle. We both climbed silently out of the Mustang. I stumbled on the gravel, catching high heels between the rocks. Michael steadied me, holding my elbow.

“How are you going to walk in the woods in those?” he inquired in a low voice.

“Very carefully. I’ll take them off if it gets too bad,” I promised, and then shuddered at the idea of what I’d be walking on in my bare feet. Michael rolled his eyes at me as he pulled me toward the start of the trail.

“You insist on walking into potentially life-threatening danger without blinking, but you’re afraid of stepping on—what, fire ants? Bugs?”

“Or scorpions,” I agreed in a whisper. “Yuck.”

He shook his head.
She’s the strangest girl I ever knew. If she weren’t just adorable about it… it would probably frustrate me to death.

I snorted quietly. “I’m not adorable. Remember? I am elegant and sophisticated.” I indicated my dress with a flourish of my hand, and then ruined the gesture by losing my balance again and clutching a tree to keep from falling.

Michael stepped in front of me. “Here,” he whispered. “Jump on.”

“Your back? I’m too heavy, I’ll hurt you.”

“Tas, we have no time for this. You’re not going to hurt me. Please, you’re insulting my manhood.”

Without another word, I leapt up onto his back. He caught my legs around the knees and gave me another boost to secure me as I held onto his shoulders. I laid my head down on his back as he moved much more quickly down the trail.

I raised my head only when I felt him take a sharp left. He didn’t slow down, only turned his head slightly and whispered, “Boulder.” So I knew we had come to the point where we veered off the marked trail.

My heart was pounding, with fear that we would be arriving too late and with trepidation that we’d have to figure out some way to stop Nell once we got there. I took deep breaths and quieted my head, straining to hear any thoughts that might be coming from up ahead. I purposely ignored the undertones I could hear from Michael—now was not the time—but there was only silence until—

No no no no no… please no… someone please save me… oh, God…

It had to be Amber. I leaned closer to Michael’s ear. “I can hear Amber—what she’s thinking. We must be getting close. She’s alive, but I can’t tell if she’s already been hurt or if she’s just afraid.”

He nodded and increased his speed. I listened harder, and this time, over the screaming fear of Amber, I could hear Nell, too.

They’ll see, they’ll all see. My power is going to be greater than anything they’ve known. I’ll be the most powerful witch in generations. Even my mother…
A flash of painful memory flew across her mind at that, and I winced in shared pain. And then we could hear both of them, just in front of us.

“Nell, please… don’t do this. You’re my friend—”

Nell’s unpleasant laugh cut across Amber’s words. “Shut up. This is
why
I’m your friend. Did you really think I spent all this time and attention on you because I liked you? Please. This has been my plan from the beginning. I need a blood sacrifice, Amber. You’re the one whose blood I’ve chosen to spill. You really should be honored—your sacrifice is going to go a long way to making me more powerful. Once she sees what I’m capable of doing, Marica won’t be able to ignore me. She’ll see that I’m the one who deserves all her attention. Now, please, step into the sacred circle. I really don’t want to cut you until you’re within.”

Amber’s laughter was hysterical. “You think I’m going to do
anything
you ask me to? Are you crazy, Nell?”

The answering screech was pure pain and fury. Michael stepped into the clearing just in time to see Nell launch herself at Amber and knock her into a tree, still holding onto her. He released my knees, and I dropped easily to my feet, sliding down his back. The minute I was clear of him, Michael was across the clearing. He grabbed Nell from behind and pulled her off Amber, who immediately fell to the ground at the base of the tree.

I ran to Amber as quickly as my shoes would allow me. She was lying against the tree, and I could tell she was breathing. I pulled her up to me, leaning close to her ear.

“Amber, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

She grabbed onto me with a grip of steel. “Don’t leave me here, she wants to hurt me, please don’t leave me!”

I held her close, instinctively rocking as I would a young child. “Shh, we’re not leaving. It’s okay.”

About five feet away, Michael was still holding a struggling Nell. She twisted, trying to kick him, attempting to get free. He had her hands restrained, and I looked about wildly for the knife, terrified she might break free and stab him. But I didn’t see it anywhere.

“Amber, did Nell have a knife with her?” I asked her urgently.

I could feel her head move against my arm, nodding. “Yes. She had the athame—but she was going to use it for more than just drawing the circle this time. She was going to use it on me—”

“Shut up!” Nell screamed. “Keep your stupid mouth closed! You know the secrets don’t go beyond the clearing—and now you’ve ruined our sacred place. The presence of a male within the sacred—” She clamped her mouth shut abruptly, and then turned to hiss at Michael. “You don’t know anything. Let go of me. I’ll tell everyone you came here to attack Amber and me—”

“Oh, yeah?” Michael’s voice was amused, even as he tightened his hold on a still-struggling Nell. “So I brought Tasmyn along, what, just so she could watch?”

“You have proof of nothing. Nothing any of you says will mean anything. What Amber and I choose to do out here is our own business and you interfered.”

Another hysterical laugh rose from Amber, and she pushed away from me. “What I
choose
to do, Nell? You were going to kill me. I didn’t
choose
that.”

Nell stopped moving for a moment and rolled her eyes. “It was all metaphysically speaking, Amber. I was never going to really hurt you—how could I? You’re my friend—haven’t I shown you that you can trust me?”

Amber stood up, slowly. “I should never have listened to anything you said to me. I knew, down deep inside, I knew it wasn’t real. But I wanted it to be, so I didn’t pay any attention to what I knew. And that almost killed me.”

Nell laughed. “Again, I remind you, there’s no proof of any of this. How was I going to kill you, Amber? I don’t have a gun, do I?”

“The knife. You had the athame. You were going to use it on me.”

Nell’s eyes glittered in the moonlight. “Really, Amber? A knife? What knife would that be? Do any of you see a knife around here?”

I had been looking around, all this time, and she was right. There wasn’t a knife anywhere on the ground, and it wasn’t in Nell’s hands.

“Check her,” Michael instructed me. “She’s got to have it on her somewhere if it’s not on the ground.”

But Nell’s well-fit blood red gown really left little to the imagination. I could tell that she didn’t have it hidden beneath her dress. I clumsily patted her down, ignoring both her spitting-mad thoughts and her verbal noises of outrage.

I closed my eyes and listened to Nell, which should have been simple, given the volume of her thoughts. But Amber’s were nearly as loud, as her fear still screamed, and even Michael’s were interfering.

They’ll never find it, and without a weapon, they don’t have any proof. And no witnesses, so it’s their word against mine. Everyone knows that no one will go up against a Massler. It’ll backfire on them, and the whole school—the whole town—will be talking about them, laughing at them.

I was quiet, thinking. She was right. Without the knife, it was just two girls in the woods, maybe fighting, maybe not. There was no proof that Nell had lured Amber here, and we hadn’t alerted the police or teachers to what we suspected. It was, as Nell pointed out, our word against hers, and who was going to believe us? Michael might hold some clout, but Amber and I were at a distinct disadvantage. And knowing Nell, she would figure out some way to turn things around to hurt Michael.  I wasn’t going to let that happen.

I moved to stand in front of Amber. “Michael, let her go,” I said wearily. “As much as I hate to say it, she’s right. We don’t have any proof.”

Behind me, Amber sucked in a breath. “But she was going to kill me. She had a knife and she was going to—” she stopped, unable to continue.

“Amber, I’m sorry,” I answered. “I know what you’re saying is true. We believe you. But there’s nothing we can do.”

I saw the same realization cross Michael’s face. Grimly, reluctantly, he released Nell. She stumbled forward, surprised, and then she righted herself. Her eyes narrowed as her gaze flickered among the three of us. For the briefest moment, I could hear, she considered going ahead with her plan. But Michael’s presence had truly sullied this spot for her. Instead, she spun to face all of us, backing toward the trail.

“I’ll have to think about what I’m going to do.  I might still press charges.” Her voice was smooth, but I could sense it was mostly bravado.

“Give it up, Nell,” Michael said dismissively. “You don’t have proof any more than we do. Only difference is, we all know what went down here. And we’re not going to forget it.”

Nell stood there for another silent minute. And then she turned and disappeared into the woods.

Michael shook his head, looking at Amber. “Amber, I’m sorry we had to let her go. You know you can still press charges—”

“No!”  I nearly shouted. “No, Michael. If Amber pursues this, Nell is going to go after you. And I’m not going to have that. She’s not going to ruin your life.”

“So we’re just going to let her get away with all of this?” Anger and frustration tinged Michael’s voice, and I could feel the depth of it emanating from him.

I was suddenly so tired that I could barely stand. “We stopped her from hurting Amber. That was our real goal, right?”

“We stopped her for tonight. What’s going to stop her next time?”

I stifled a yawn. “Amber’s not going to put herself into a position to be hurt again by Nell, are you, Amber?”

Amber was leaning against the tree, looking from Michael to me in bewilderment. I could hear that she was struggling with the same fatigue I was—a reaction to the extreme stress, I imagined.

She shook her head slowly, in answer to me. “No. I don’t want to have anything to do with Nell, not ever again.” Her head dropped and her voice lowered. “You tried to tell me. You didn’t even really know me, but you were warning me. And I didn’t listen, and it could have cost me my life…” She shuddered, and I began to worry that she was going into shock.

“Michael, we need to get her out of here,” I said, my voice low but intense. “We all need to get out. Amber, how did you get here? We only saw Nell’s car in the parking lot.”

She was attempting to keep her focus, but it was getting more difficult. “I—she told me not to park there—she said to leave my car alongside the woods, in a pull-off, and then I walked into the clearing from there.”

“Okay, you’ll come back to the parking lot with us, then we’ll drive out to your car and Tasmyn can take you home. Let’s go—can you walk it?”

Amber nodded, and Michael reached out to take my hand, leading us through the trees, onto the trail.