King 02 - Breathless (23 page)

“Tasmyn, I’d like to show you something.”

Ms. Lacusta sat in her usual spot across the desk from me. Her dark eyes were as inscrutable as her thoughts, but she had seemed distracted from the moment I’d entered the room.

I had spent the morning slogging through weekend hangover, an unhappy mixture of grumpiness and sleepiness. As a result, I wasn’t nearly as anxious as usual when it was time to see Ms. Lacusta. I was too numb.

But now my curiosity was piqued. I had expected to hear more of her story, to learn what had happened in the days after the loss of her baby daughter. Instead, she had quizzed me absently about my weekend. Without quite meeting my eyes, she asked how I had celebrated my birthday.

“How did you know it was my birthday?” I demanded, startled.

“I think you’ll find that there are few coincidences in this world. I simply happened to be aware of the date.” It was an answer that made very little sense to me, and I was still frowning in consternation when she spoke again.

“Tasmyn, I’d like to show you something.” Without waiting for me to respond, she tugged at a thick silver chain that hung around her neck. When she pulled it from beneath her red blouse, I saw a thin silver disc was on the chain. There was some sort of script inscribed on the circle.

“I wear this always,” Ms. Lacusta said softly, gazing at the necklace as it lay in the palm of her hand. “It is very meaningful to me, and thus it holds power.” She moved her hand closer to me so that I could read the inscription. It read
Sacru Pereche A Unui Lucru.

“It’s very pretty,” I ventured. “Are those words in Romanian?”

“Yes.” She let the pendant drop so that it swung gently back to lie on the silk of her blouse. “Those words mean ‘sacred twin’.”

I furrowed my brow again. “Twin? Are you… did you have a twin sister? Or brother?”

“No. I was an only child. But this involves the rest of the story.”

I settled back in my chair and crossed my arms, prepared to listen. Ms. Lacusta laughed.

“Tasmyn, you delight me. The more relaxed you become around me, the more I am able to know the real you. It is truly a pleasure.”

I raised my eyebrows but said nothing. She sighed and shook her head.

“And so we begin. You’ll remember that when we left the story, the elders and I were in despair, mourning the loss of my daughter. I myself was at loose ends. My future was gone, all the plans I had made were dashed.

“And then one day, ghicitor, the seer, she came to me. She was agitated, excited, and she was talking around and around in circles. Finally I sent for my aunts, and between us, we worked out what she was saying.

“She told me that all was not lost. She said that although my daughter was beyond us, there was another… a child who was her
sacru pereche a unui lucru.
I was confused, because I knew that I had only given birth to one child, and my aunts confirmed that. And I knew that I would never have another baby. But ghicitor said that it was mystical twinship, not a biological or genetic link. She said that there was another girl baby who shared my daughter’s birthday. That child now possessed the power and destiny that should have belonged to my child. But this girl was alive and thriving.”

I was riveted. While most of this sounded like some kind of dubious fiction, Ms. Lacusta spoke it with such surety. From what I could feel, I had no doubt that she was telling me the truth—at least the truth as she knew it.

“I was flabbergasted,” she continued. “The elders were very pleased. It seemed that there was still hope. I wanted information, and I wanted it immediately. Ghicitor was vague, but over the weeks, it all became clearer. The child was in America.

“I wanted to leave immediately, but the elders advised caution. They reminded me that this was not my child, not a replacement for the baby who had died. There was nothing I could do but bide my time until the child would reach an age—an age of understanding.”

A myriad of thoughts were flying through my head as I listened. Suspicions were beginning to dawn, and I pushed them away in rising alarm.

“So it was that finally the elders sent me here. The time at last was right. Ghicitor had seen this town and knew it was where I needed to go. The elders knew of the mystical elements, and they were very pleased, for it seemed so right. I had prepared myself, and once I arrived in the States, I was able to secure my teaching certificate. Circumstances providentially were such that I was able to take a job right here at King High.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Circumstances? You mean the old science teacher. Did you… do something to him? So that you could take his job?”

Ms. Lacusta put her hand to her chest and gave me a wide-eyed gaze of innocence. “Do something to him? Of course not. Mr. Hennings had a very bad heart, and it was only a matter of time before there was an issue. But perhaps I helped him to make his decision to retire.”

“That’s horrible,” I declared, looking at her incredulously. “You used someone’s misfortune for your own gain.”

“I did not. The timing was merely beneficial—for both of us. I can assure you that Mr. Hennings is enjoying his retirement.”

I pursed my lips and raised my eyebrows but said nothing else. Ms. Lacusta rolled her eyes and continued.

“When I arrived at King High, I began scanning the girls immediately. I didn’t know quite for what—or rather, for whom—I was looking, but I was confident that when I met her, I’d somehow know. Those first few months, I met so many girls, and none of them seemed to stand out… until I met Nell.”

Smiling reminiscently, Ms. Lacusta spread her hands on her lap, looking down at her long fingers.

“When I saw her, I could sense the power and conflict. It didn’t take much effort to charm her into opening up to me. She told me about her family history and admitted that she had been playing with some spells. It seemed… almost pre-ordained, and I
knew
she was my daughter’s mystical twin. When I learned that she had been born the same day as my own baby, that sealed my surety. I began working with her, but subtly. As you probably have learned, I suggested that we form a chemistry club, and I tailored it specifically for girls. I invited Nell and her friends to be part of it, and I moved very slowly.”

I leaned forward slightly, curiously. “Did you know about Nell’s mother at this point? About her history?”

Ms. Lacusta shook her head. “Not then. Not right away. The more time I spent with Nell on her own, the more she confided in me. And finally one day she told me the whole story. Of course, a good deal of it was hearsay, things she had learned from other people. What she remembered was her mother’s gradual disappearance from her life. Later she put the pieces together and realized that must have been when the affair between her mother and that man took place. And then, one day she was simply gone.

“I was horrified, on more than one level. First, hearing Nell share this story in such a matter of fact way simply broke my heart. Secondly, I was very angry. All these years, the elders had assured me that the child was being raised in a loving home, being nurtured in such a way that she would be ready for me when I arrived. Obviously this was not the case. I could have come here so many years earlier, and I thought perhaps I could have mothered Nell in some way, made a difference.”

“They had lied to you?” I asked.

Ms. Laucusta gazed at me for a moment and then looked away. “We will talk about that another time. For today, I only want you to understand why I formed the relationship that I did with Nell. I want you to see why she was so important to me. I’m not the heartless person you imagine me to be.”

I wasn’t at all sure how to respond to that, and so I simply sat frowning at her. We both jumped when the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

“We’ll continue the story next week,” Ms. Lacusta said. She dropped the silver disc necklace back beneath her blouse and stood. “Time moves so quickly sometimes, doesn’t it? And other times it seems to creep. Now that would be a useful talent, I think. Being able to manipulate time.”

I had already turned toward the door, but I stopped abruptly. “Is that possible?”

She didn’t move, although an enigmatic smile spread across her face. “Tasmyn, haven’t you learned by now that anything is possible?”

The rest of the day, I was preoccupied. Although I tried to join in the lunch conversation, pay attention in class and generally be present in my life, my mind kept returning to the latest installment in Ms. Lacusta’s story.

The only thing that did catch my attention was Amber’s worry. I picked up on it at lunch and managed to send her a reassuring smile. When we walked to our lockers, I told her about my conversation with Michael over the weekend.

“Oh, I am
so
relieved,” she said. “I was afraid that something was going to happen, and it was going to be up to me to fill in Michael. I knew if you explained, he’d understand everything.”

I thought about that as I moved absently through my afternoon classes and then drove out to the nursery. Michael did seem to understand my rationale, even if he didn’t exactly agree with me. I’d also convinced him that we couldn’t say anything to his parents about my class periods with Ms. Lacusta. Although we hadn’t hidden anything from Marly and Luke in a long time, I knew that it wasn’t fair to put them in the position of keeping a secret from my own parents, especially now that they were truly friends.

Work was fairly mindless that afternoon. Belinda and I were still tweaking the fall merchandise, slowly changing shelves over from the brighter colors of summer to the more muted shades of autumn. We were just finishing up for the day, and I was in the back storeroom; mentally, I was still only semi-present.

“Tas! Hey, sweetie, are you okay?”

I jerked my mind back to awareness and looked at Marly. I frowned; she must have slipped in without me hearing her, which was very unusual. I almost always picked up Marly’s mind as soon as she was within range. This Ms. Lacusta stuff was really messing with my abilities.

“Sorry. I guess I’m in the zone here.”

She smiled and patted my shoulder. “Or maybe someone is still recovering from a big weekend?”

I returned her grin. “Could be. Did you need me for something?”

“Actually, yes. I have a favor to ask. Luke had a crew over at one of the older houses in King today, working on some landscaping for a big party they’re throwing tonight. There are supposed to be a few pots of peace lilies for the front porch, and somehow they didn’t make it onto the truck. If I load them in the back of the Mustang, could you drop them off for me?”

“Sure. Just give me the address and I’ll do it when I head for home,” I promised.

“Could you leave now? It’s kind of a rush job, and Luke sounded a little harried.”

I hesitated only briefly. “You don’t mind me leaving early?”

“Of course not. You’re really helping us out here.”

I hung up my apron and went to get the car. When I pulled it up into the main lot, Marly was waiting with the potted green plants. I helped her settle them into the backseat.

“Sorry you’re going to have to ride home with the top up,” Marly apologized. “But I’m afraid otherwise there wouldn’t be much of the plants left when you got there.”