Five: A Maor Novel (Maor series) (15 page)

‘Oh…Thank you.’

Kael let’s go of the pendant and it settles into place
beside the locket from Nan.
 

‘You know, we used to be friends,’ he says. ‘Best
friends.’

I cross my arms and stare out the front window. How is
it possible that we were ever friends? He evokes so many strong and conflicting
emotions within me. On the one hand, I feel a definite pull toward him, on the
other, a deep resentment over the power he holds over my life.

He exhales loudly, reading his own interpretation into
my silence.

‘I’m not the enemy, Shaylee.’

I glance at his profile as he starts the truck’s engine,
before I turn back to the window.

If Kael isn’t the enemy, why do I feel so close to
danger every time he’s near?
 

Chapter
24

Trepidation

Tastes like: Jelly

Smells like: Smoke

Sounds like: A police siren

Feels like: A persistent
itch

Looks like: A child outside
the principal’s office, shifting from one foot to another

‘He’s bad news, babe.’

Michelle’s first words to me when I slide into our usual
booth at the
Bistro
are straight to
the point, as I’ve come to expect from her, but there is something especially
vulnerable about her as she motions to Peter, who is standing, back toward us
at the other side of the student restaurant. He appears to be deep in
conversation with a tall, leggy blonde who looks like she has just stepped from
the pages of a fashion magazine.

‘That’s what Kael says,’ I say.

Michelle turns away from Peter’s direction and gives me
a sharp look.

‘Did something happen last night?’ she asks.

‘No. Sort of…’

She raises her eyebrows and tilts her head forward, so I
admit reluctantly:

‘Well, Kael is convinced something
would
have happened. I doubt he’ll let me come to the next meeting.’

‘Well he shouldn’t have let you come on your own in the
first place.’

‘Um…’ I flush guiltily and look down at my plate.

‘Wait - you didn’t tell him?’ Michelle says, her voice
rising a little.

‘It was just down the road.’

She shakes her head.

‘Babe, you are playing with fire.’

‘Don’t you start too,’ I grumble. ‘I got enough of a
mouthful from Kael last night.’

‘What happened?’

‘Nothing, honestly, but he was convinced Peter was about
to ravish me or something...’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised,’ Michelle says. She glances at
something over my shoulder and her expression becomes shuttered. ‘Speaking of
the devil.’
 
 

‘Hey there, partner.’ I glance up as Peter comes to
stand beside me. He tilts his body my way, completely ignoring Michelle.
 
‘Are we still on for our date?’

I search his face, and relax slightly. There is no hint
of last night’s dazed expression but my hand still moves to the tiny stone
nestled in the hollow of my neck.
 

‘We sure are, Pete!’ Michelle interrupts, in a false,
bright voice.

Peter finally looks at her and she gives him a sarcastic
smile in return.

The undercurrents swirl between the two of them, making
the air around us feel thick and hot.

‘I thought we could get a head start on the banners,’
Michelle says, ‘I’ve booked Mrs. Jay’s classroom for the committee.’

‘Sorry,’ I say, ‘I won’t be able to make it now. Mrs.
Whitcomb wants to see me about an assignment.’

‘Ouch. Good luck, babe,’ Michelle says.

I grimace and stand. Peter steps aside to let me pass
but his arm deliberately brushes against mine. I scoot away with an involuntary
shiver and hurry toward English class, refusing to look back.

Mrs. Whitcomb is sitting at her desk in the front of the
class, a stack of papers piled high before her. She looks up at the sound of
the door, swinging closed behind me and slides her glasses off from their
position on the tip of her nose.

‘Ms Greene,’ she says, motioning with her glasses for me
to come closer.

‘You wanted to see me?’ I ask, stopping in front of her
desk.

‘Yes,’ she pauses and runs her gaze over me. I shift the
weight of my bag uncomfortably on my shoulder. Her eyes lift to meet mine and I
see a tiny flicker of something like disappointment in her plain brown eyes,
but then she blinks and I’m sure I just imagined it.

‘You’ve missed a large portion of the semester, Ms
Greene. I don’t quite understand why your parents insisted on starting you here
at this time of the year.’

‘They had their reasons,’ I say in an even tone. I may
not agree with my parents’ decision, but I also don’t appreciate her tone.

‘Evidently.’

She comes around the table and stops before me, letting
the frames of her glasses rest contemplatively against her bottom lip.

‘I understand they didn’t accompany you to the UK?’

I nod, feeling strangely uneasy with her questions.

‘So your guardian is…’

‘My grandmother.’

‘And she is…’

‘Tanya Greene.’

The tiniest hint of a smile flickers across her face before
she whirls back to snatch a plastic file from atop the stack of papers on her
desk.

‘Since you’ve missed a number of tests already, you will
need to complete an additional assignment,’ she says, handing the thin file to
me.

‘You have two weeks. Don’t disappoint me.’

‘Yes, Mrs. Whitcomb,’ I say. She turns back to her chair;
I hesitate, and then head toward the door.

In the empty corridor, I pause and look through the
glass pane in the door at the teacher, once again pouring over her stack of
papers. Something about the whole exchange we just had has left a sour taste in
my mouth. I’m not sure why.

With a mental shrug, I turn - and run straight into the
hard wall of Kael’s chest. The shock of the impact is nothing compared to the jolt
of electricity that shoots from his body into mine. Before, when we’ve touched,
it was just a brush of skin, a meeting of hands but this – this unexpected
contact is like rolling all those touches into one big firework. I take an
unsteady step back and he curls an arm around my waist to steady me. Our eyes
meet and I draw in a quick breath. Clearly, he feels it too.

‘Sorry, I didn’t see you -’ I stammer.

My voice seems to spur Kael into action. He drops his arm
from my waist, clamps one large hand over my wrist and pulls me toward the
exit.

‘We need to leave
now.
’

The urgency in his tone sends a shiver of apprehension
through me.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘There’s no time for explanations.’

‘But -’

‘I’ll explain in the car.’

I have to sprint in order to keep up with him and by the
time we reach the car, I am breathless and my heart is pounding with
trepidation. Kael pushes me into the passenger seat, secures my seat belt
buckle and races to the driver’s side.
 

‘What’s wrong? What happened?’ I demand as the truck
roars into the road.

Kael shifts down a gear to overtake a four-tonner that,
unlike us, is adhering to the speed limit. Once we are back in our lane, he
glances once at me, turns his attention back to the road ahead and puts his
foot down flat on the accelerator.
 

‘There’s a fire.’

Chapter
25

Impatience

Tastes like: A bitter
tablet that takes forever to dissolve under your tongue.

Smells like: A delicious,
home-cooked meal, wafting into your meeting room.

Sounds like: Incessant
tapping.

Feels like: Sitting in a
doctors room, awaiting the results of an important test.

Looks like: A child waiting
for permission to open a gift.

My mind is filled with visions of the fiery blaze from
my dreams. I can smell the smoke in the air and hear the screams. I gasp and a
million possibilities race through my mind. Where is the fire? Is Nan alright?
Sandra and Jake?
 

‘Fire?’ I shiver at the mere mention of the word. ‘Where?’
 

‘Lydney.’

I exhale loudly and twist in my seat to face Kael.

‘I don’t follow,’ I say. ‘Why are we racing home because
there’s a fire in Lydney? I mean, shouldn’t we just call the fire department or
something?’

‘It’s in the forest, Shaylee,’ he says. ‘
Our
forest.’

‘So we’re all going to just grab a branch and go fire-fighting?’

I shoot Kael a scornful look and freeze.

‘You’re not serious.’

Kael gives me an odd look and I’m certain he can hear
the terror in my voice.

‘You won’t be fighting any fires. I’m taking you home to
Kent.’

‘Kent? But why?’

‘Someone has to protect you while I’m gone.’

‘You’re going to the fire?’ I ask. My voice rises in a
squeak.

‘Of course, like I said; it’s
our
forest, our responsibility, our lives.’

‘But isn’t it dangerous?’ I ask, biting my bottom lip.

‘I guess but don’t worry. I’ll look after your
grandmother.’

‘Nan’s going with?’ My voice jumps another octave.

‘We all are.’

‘But -’

‘Stop worrying, Shaylee. We’ll be fine.’

We pull into the drive of the Gregor’s house and hurry
through the front door into a living room crowded with both unfamiliar and
familiar faces. Kael steps into the situation like it’s something he does every
day, pairing teams of fire-fighters and sending them off to Lydney. I stand in
the corner of the room, watching.

They seem so organized; this team of soldiers and the
way they interact is fascinating to watch. Each person seems to just know what
is expected, and they don’t question Kael’s instructions, they merely obey. When
only the Gregors’, Nan and I are left, Kael turns to Kent.

‘Will you cope with her?’

Kent glares at him.

‘I’m as equipped as you are.’

‘Not quite,’ Kael says, ignoring his brother’s glare.
‘She goes nowhere.’

‘I’m not stupid.’

Kael gives me a hard look. ‘I know you’re not good at
following instructions but for once, could you just listen and stay put?’ I
glower at him but he ignores me and heads toward the door, issuing one last
instruction over his shoulder. ‘If she doesn’t listen, lock her in my room.’

‘You might as well sit down. You’re wearing a hole in
the carpet,’ Kent says.

I stop pacing before the window and sink down beside him
on the sofa. For the twenty-second time in the past hour, I hit redial on my phone
– and grunt in frustration when it goes straight to Kael’s voicemail.

The television is blaring some silly home video program with
people tripping over skateboards and falling off horses. I personally can’t imagine
why injuries like that are supposed to be funny but Kent obviously does,
because he bursts into fits of laughter every few minutes.

‘They’ve been gone two hours already,’ I complain. ‘What’s
taking so long?’

‘It’s a forest fire, Shaylee, not a campfire.’ Kent
replies. ‘Would you just relax?’

I stare at the flickering television for a while,
twisting a lock of hair around one finger and then sigh and go to the front
window again. It is dark outside but the night is brightly lit by the full moon.
It’s light enough to make out the trees at the edge of the property but there
is only deep shadow beyond. They’re out there, in the dark forest, possibly
surrounded by a wall of fire, inhaling smoke. Nan, Sandra, Jake…Kael.

The clock on the wall opposite the window ticks loudly,
marking each agonizing second. I can feel my nerves winding tighter with each
tick and Kent’s laughter seems to be getting louder and louder. When the clock
chimes, marking the passing of yet another hour, I snap.

‘How can you just sit there like that? What if one of
them is hurt?’

‘They’re fine, Shaylee,’ Kent says mildly, eyes still
glued to the screen, ‘and either way, I can’t do anything from here.’

‘Well that’s exactly my point! Shouldn’t we go find
them?’

‘You’d just be in the way. Relax. They’ll be home soon.’

‘How do you know?’ I demand. ‘Has this happened before?’

‘Once or twice.’

‘Well
you
might be able to sit around and wait but I won’t, I’m going to find them.’ I have
absolutely no idea how I’ll get to Lydney but all I can think of is Nan, Jake
and Kael, lying somewhere, injured, burned… or worse.

‘You’re being silly,’ Kent says. ‘Just come sit down.’

I ignore him and stride with determination to the front
door. I make it as far as the porch steps before Kent clamps a hand around my
wrist.

‘You’re not going anywhere, Shaylee, now come inside.’

‘No.’ I say desperately, ‘I’m going.’

I shake my wrist free of his hand and turn to run down
the steps but in one swift motion, he clasps an arm around my waist and lifts
me clean off my feet, onto his shoulder.

‘Put me down!’ I demand.

‘What, so you can run away?’

‘I’m not a prisoner, you can’t stop me.’

‘Wanna bet?’ He bounces me into place on his shoulder and
the air rushes out of my lungs in an indignant whoosh.

He carries me down the narrow passageway, into a bedroom
on the right and drops me onto the black queen bed.

‘You are not seriously going to lock me in here?’ I ask
in disbelief, remembering Kael’s parting instructions.

‘You bet!’

‘But -’

‘Good night, Shaylee,’ Kent says and leaves the room. I
hear the unmistakable click of a key turning in the lock.

‘Ahh!’ I grab one of the white, cotton cushions from the
bed and fling it against the locked door. I want to scream and bang my fists
against the door but I know it would be useless. I check the window but no
matter how I push and pull, it refuses to budge. With a sigh of frustration, I
sink to the edge of the bed to examine my prison.
 
 

Kael’s room – it can’t be anyone else’s - oozes
masculinity with its dark and uncluttered furnishings. The walls are bare, save
for one black, white and red abstract art painting above the leather headboard.
In one corner of the room, there are three wooden shelves on which rests an
array of CD’s. Upon closer inspection, I discover the likes of
Metallica, Linkin Park, Live
and some
other bands I don’t recognize but, judging from the artwork on the covers,
they’re either heavy metal or alternative. Other than the modest CD collection
and the mini hi-fi on the shelf below, there isn’t much else that draws
attention in this plain room, besides the bed, with its black and white
cushions, which takes up most of the space.
 

Since I could end up being locked in here for a while, I
insert a
Live
CD into the player,
flop down on the bed and turn my face into the soft feather pillow. The scent is
all Kael, musky and strangely comforting and…

What the hell am I
doing?
I roll off the bed and stare at the offending
pillow with a mixture of longing and distaste. Why does Kael evoke these strange
emotions within me? How can I find comfort in the mere scent of him?

With a groan of frustration, I resume pacing before the
window. The curtains are still open and as I peer out into the darkness, a
sudden wave of dizziness engulfs me. My first instinct is to turn back toward
the bed so I can sit down but I don’t make it even the few steps that requires.

Pain, so intense that it makes my heart stop and leaves
me unable to breathe, hits me squarely in the middle. I double-over and sink to
my knees.