Forbidden (The Seeker Saga, #2) (8 page)

“What are you talking about?” I asked, taken aback. 
I
was handling things better than
him
?  All I had done was fall onto my bed the moment they got the man out of my room!

Rob laughed.  “Look at me.  I’m a mess.  Rambling on and on.  You must think I’m the biggest idiot in the world by now.”

“I do not!” I said fervently.  The emotion in my voice must have caught him by surprise, because he took a small step back.  “You’re a hero.  You saved me.  If it wasn’t for you…”

“We just got lucky,” Rob said.  Eyeing his baseball bat on my bed, he gave a coy nod toward it.  “I see you have the sense to protect yourself now?”

“Oh!” I said hastily. ”Do you want it back?  It’s yours anyway.  You probably need it.”  I went to the bed to pick it up, but when I turned back, I found Rob standing right behind me.

“No,” Rob said softly, placing his hand over mine.  “No, don’t worry.  If it helps you feel safe, I want you to have it.”

“Well,” I admitted in a small voice, “it does a little.”

 “Good,” Rob smiled.  Then he cleared his throat.  “Well, I should get going.  There’s a lot to think about.  Promise you’ll let me know what you girls decide?  I hope it’s fairly clear I won’t say anything about it to anybody without your permission.”  He glanced to the door, and back to me.  Slowly, almost regretfully, he slid his hand from mine.  “Well… alright then.  Bye.” 

With that, he spun around, and walked stiffly to the door.  I watched, not really knowing what to say or do.  I felt completely awkward—and totally uncertain.  Rob was usually so smooth and in control.  Never before had he been so
rigid
.  My heart fluttered when he stopped at the door. For the briefest moment, I thought he was going to turn around.  But then I realized he was just placing his hand on the doorknob. 

Maybe it was Rob’s sincerity when he said he wanted to know how I was.  Maybe it was my mind getting scrambled by the strangeness of the night.  But, I knew in no uncertain terms that I was an emotional wreck right now.  The thought of Rob leaving,
especially
after he had saved me, was too much to handle.  I did not want to be alone.  I felt weak, maybe even a little faint.  All I knew, at that precise moment in time, was that I couldn’t let him leave.

“Wait!” I burst out.  I ran to his side and took his free hand.  It was compulsive, maybe even a little crazy, but I didn’t care.  I needed to have somebody with me right now.  “I can’t be alone.  Stay with me here. 
Please
?”

Rob blinked uncertainly, his hand frozen in the act of opening the door.  My heart was pounding uncontrollably.  Had I been too forward?  But before I could take anything back, Rob pushed the door back into its frame. 

“Sure,” he said softly, and gave a smile so sincere that it made my heart melt. 

Rob placed his arm reassuringly around my shoulder.  He led me to the bed, where I leaned into him comfortably.  I felt safe with his arm wrapped around me.  It was the same feeling I had gotten when he hugged me at the party for the first time, just a few days after we met, except there was real meaning to it now.  I needed it more than anything.

Taking solace in that feeling, I let my head fall against his side.  He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t need to.  Feeling the warmth of his body against mine, I closed my eyes and relaxed for the first time in what seemed like ages.

Chapter Four – A New Threat

Rob was gone when I woke up the next morning.

That was the first of two surprises.  The second was that I found myself tucked beneath the covers.  I remembered falling asleep on top of the bed, so Rob must have placed me under the sheets.  I didn’t know why, but that simple act endeared him to me in a very small but very human way.

I slid my legs to get out of bed. A small piece of paper fluttered to the floor.  Frowning, I picked it up.  It was a handwritten note, signed by… Rob.  It was very simple: He said he had to go to class, and apologized for leaving without saying goodbye. 

The mention of class made me realize it was already bright outside.  My eyes darted to the clock.  It blinked at me mockingly: 1:18 p.m.

One-eighteen p.m
.  That meant I had slept through
three
full classes already!  I sank into my bed with a groan.  After everything that had happened last night, the last thing I needed was dealing with annoyed teachers today.

The logical part of my brain told me that there was nothing I could do, that I should go and salvage what little of the school day remained.  The emotional part said that I should just hide under the covers until all the unpleasantness went away. 

Ultimately, the logical side won out.  What was done was done. Besides, class wasn’t the first thing on my mind today.  Not even close.  What I wanted to know was how the girls fared with the man last night, and what we were going to do next.

I went to get my phone, and saw it flashing with a text message.  It was from Liz.  She said to call her as soon as I woke up so we could meet.  She also added that she hadn’t arranged anything yet because she didn’t know how long I would be asleep for, but expected I would rise late after an exhausting day.  Sometimes, it seemed like she knew me better than I did myself.

 I dialed her number, and she picked up on the first ring.

“Tracy!” she exclaimed.  “Finally! I thought you’d never get up.  How are you doing?”

“Not bad after some rest,” I said.  “Better than last night anyway.  What’s going on?”

“Me and the girls are all together.  We’ve been up all night.  You have to come meet us.”

“Of course!” I agreed.  “Where are you?”

“The main yard.  By the fountain,” she answered.

“
All
of you?  Isn’t anyone watching the man?”

“Rob’s down there,” Liz said quickly.

“Rob?” I repeated, caught off-guard.  “What?  Why?”

“He came down to the caves around dawn.  Said he couldn’t sleep knowing we were the only ones watching your attacker.  Of course, we didn’t tell him that we have—” she caught herself, and bit off what she was going to say, “—well, you know.”  Of course I did. 
The crystals
.

“And… the man?” I asked.  “Is he still unconscious?”

“Yes,” Liz said slowly.  “Madison’s kind of worried.  She thinks he might be hurt worse than we know.”

“What about you?”

“I think he got no more than he deserved,” she said.  “Less, even.  We just left him there, but Eve wanted to… well, she can tell you in person.”

“Alright,” I said.  “The fountain in the main yard?  That’s where you are?”

“All of us other than Rob.”

“Alright.  I’ll be right there.”

“
Hurry
.”

I heard a click, and the line went dead.  I couldn’t tell if the ‘hurry’ was meant to be ominous or encouraging.  In either case, I moved quickly.  Less than five minutes later, I was showered, dressed, and ready to go. 

Before I left, however, I took a small strip of dark leather from a necklace pendant, undid the cheap jewel that was in there, and fashioned the crystal in its place.  I fiddled around with the setting to make sure it wouldn’t come loose.  I hung it on my neck and let it fall to my chest.  If anything dangerous happened again, I wanted immediate access to the crystal.  Having it around my neck was the simplest solution.

I didn’t know if I was imagining things, but when the crystal touched my bare skin, I felt a very slight vibration come from it.  It produced a humming noise, just on the edge of hearing – and in time with my heart.  I paused, frowning.  The crystal had never done that before.  Why—

My eyes shot wide.  As soon as that tiny reverberation began, my desire to use the crystal simply… vanished.  The pull that came every time I was near the crystal had disappeared!  How? 
Why
?  I had managed to ignore the pull before like a fly buzzing around the room, but there was no need for that now.  The pull was just…
gone
.

At the same time, my awareness of the crystal increased.  The link between it and my mind wasn’t formed, and wouldn’t form unless I snapped it into place. But, I was acutely aware of the crystal’s exact location on the leather cord.  Actually, it was more than just feeling it in place.  It was almost as if the crystal had become an
extension
of me.

I made a note to explore this further another time.  Right now, I had to go meet the girls.

A shiver ran down my spine as I went to my closet to get a jacket.  This was where the man had hidden before he attacked me.  Taking a deep breath, I snatched the garment, and bolted down the stairs and out of the dorm.

The walk to the main yard was long, but the air was crisp and clean.  There were a few other students walking along the path, and their presence allowed me to relax a little.  In a public space, I didn’t have to worry about anonymous attackers.

I spotted the girls from a distance. They were seated around the fountain in the main yard.  There were a lot of other kids having lunch outside near them.

“Hey,” I said as I came up to them.  “Isn’t this kind of… public?”  Bits of different conversations drifted through the air, although there was too much noise to pick out who was talking and to whom.

“Nobody’s paying us any mind,” Liz said.  “But we can move somewhere quieter if you want.”

“How about down there?” Ashley suggested, nodding toward a nearly-empty street.  There was a vacant bench and a small bit of grass in front of a building.

“Sure,” Liz said, starting toward it.  Eve went with her. Madison hopped off the cement edge around the fountain to follow them.  Ashley and I went together.

“How are you doing?” Ashley asked while we walked.

“Better, definitely,” I said.  “Although, last night still feels a bit surreal.”

“I’d imagine,” Ashley said as we sat at the bench and gathered around in a circle.

“So what’s going on?” I asked the girls.

“Here’s what I think we know,” Liz volunteered.  “It’s obvious Tracy was not just a random target.  The man waited in her room specifically for her.  And this isn’t the first time Tracy’s been targeted.  Who else do we know who asked specifically for her?  Who else, aside from us, knows about the crystals?”

“Chris,” I said uneasily.

“Right,” Liz answered.  “Call it a hunch, but I’m almost positive this attack has something to do with Chris.”

“He’s not even here,” Ashley said.  “Besides, how would he get someone to do something like that?”

“I don’t know,” Liz said.  “But who else could it have been?  He’s the only one who knows about the crystals!  And he had some fascination with Tracy, as we all know.”

“I don’t know,” Madison said, and for a moment looked shocked that she had spoken aloud.  But then, she continued on undeterred.  “Chris wanted her specifically in the caves. 
That
had something to do with the crystals.  But this man wanted her dead, didn’t he?  He waited in her room and tried to strangle her.  Right, Tracy?”

“He didn’t try to kill me,” I corrected.  “He tried to knock me out.  He wanted me unconscious.”

“How do you know?” Ashley asked.

“If he wanted to kill me he could have easily done so.  I was in my room for a good ten minutes before he attacked.”  I suppressed a shiver from the memory.  “He tried to smother me with a rag soaked in chloroform.”

“So… he didn’t try to kill you,” Liz ruminated.  “What did he want, then?  To kidnap you?  Why?”

“Tracy, you had your crystal with you when it happened, right?” Eve asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “But it was locked away.  I couldn’t reach it when the man attacked.”  Unconsciously I felt at the crystal around my neck.  I knew it was there, but it felt good to have my hand around it.  “You guys have yours now, right?”

The girls all nodded in reply.  “I got all of them after I left your room last night,” Liz explained. “Just like I said I would.”

“Good,” I answered.  “I think it’s becoming pretty clear we can’t take our safety for granted anymore.”

“No,” Liz replied.  “But I still don’t know if it’s a good idea to be so close to the crystals all the time.”

“Tracy’s managed it just fine for weeks!” Eve said defensively.  “Why not the rest of us?”

“Tracy’s
different
,” Liz stressed.  “She went through the debacle in the caves.  She’s
stronger
than any of us.”

“That doesn’t mean she can handle the pull any better!” Eve exclaimed.  “All of us feel it just the same.”

“Not true,” Liz answered.  “Maybe you haven’t talked to her as much recently.  After what happened in the caves, she stopped feeling the pull completely.  Right, Tracy?”

“Um, yeah,” I lied.  That’s what I had told Liz when I first convinced her to let me have my crystal.  It wasn’t a
complete
lie, because the pull had lessened in the aftermath, but I knew that resisting it was more a question of willpower than anything else.  Except just now, when it
had
disappeared after I put it on my neck.  I decided to hold out mentioning that to the girls until at least a few more hours had passed.