Orion (21 page)

“I need a minute,” Calum crawled out the window leaving the two of us alone. 

I sat on Calum’s bed.   Lee still on his.

Facing each other, Lee put his head in his hands.  I copied, letting the tears go even though I knew I should have the strength to hide it.  I never really cared about anyone before.

“
Undskyld.
  Sorry!” Lee spoke to his hands.  Lee walked over and put his arm around my shoulder.  I mewled it out of my system for over fifteen minutes with my face hidden.  I noticed the clock’s time at the same time I saw Calum standing back in the doorway of his room. 

“I need to know something,” Calum started.  His eyes closed for one sharp second, and swallowed. 

I leaned up more to see his perfect face.

“Is there something going on between the two of you?” His jaw was set like stone.

I jumped away from Lee.  He moved over the other way, but slower.

“
Nej!
  No!” we both looked astonished at him saying in unison, one in Danish, one not. 

“No,” Lee said again sadly, “I knew Anastacia a long time ago.  We
’re just friends.  Long time friends with a lot in common.”  He looked at me.  I needed to hear this.

I looked at Calum, “He has been a good friend then and now.  He could have ratted me out all the way back to the first day I came.  But he didn
’t.”

Lee seemed to need the same sentiment. 

Calum seemed to be deciding.  “Lee, don’t leave.  I’ll be back later.  Cover for me.  Stace, come with me?”

I hesitated and my face all but showed it. 

“I’M NOT…” his voice lowered again after he heard himself, “here too hurt you, Stace.  You know that by now.”

I looked at Lee who nodded for me to go.  I crawled through the window into the darkness and forever unknown.

He walked me to the edge of the woods away from our bench where we stood looking up for a really long time at the sky, both knowing what the other was seeking.  He had his hands in his pockets.  Mine were folded and drawn in, though not cold.  My stomach began to flutter that same distinct screaming amount of flip flops that’s happened every time I’ve stood near the wood line.

“I knew you had to be different.”  He looked at my hair as I looked at his face.  “I
’m not sure how to go forward, Stace.  I think you’re here for a reason, but this is all too much!”  He was looking up again. “I don’t know what else to think.  It’s not normal by any means.  Hunter!  Valkyrie! My best friend too!  All lies. What am I supposed to do?”

I couldn
’t answer. 

“I walked out of there thinking the right thing to do is walk away from you, your secrets.” 

I saw the fainted line of a vein appearing on his forehead, his fingers running through his hair like I’d seen him do when stressed.

“I—

His hand shot up in the air to shut me up.  He looked at my arms trembling.

  “But that means “
ratting” you out, they take you away, and I…I just can’t do it.   I can’t let you walk away from me.  Not yet.  Hell!” His face apologized for the colorful language that I could care less about.  He cracked his head up to me,  “I’m not sure why we found each other, this prophecy or whatever the heck it is, but it all kind of makes sense and it all kind of doesn’t.  Crazy junk!”

I didn
’t want to say the wrong thing, but I didn’t know what the right thing was either.

He put his hands on my shoulders so I just watched daring to look up.

“Whatever you are, I am, it doesn’t matter.”

I don’
t matter?  The bad doesn’t matter?  What?  He
was
still talking to me.  He didn’t leave.               

“Say there will be no more secrets.  No matter what.”

I can't promise that.

“Say it already!” he demanded.

“Calum, I didn’t know I’d meet you when I came here.  I arrived with secrets.  If I’d known I would know you, I’d have never…”

He put a finger to my lips.  “Say it!”

I jumped internally at his tone.  It was a rare event for me.  “I will try to never hide another secret.  You’re only the second Hunter I’ve ever met.”

His expression changed to mischief, “And I assure you anything after will be a solid disappointment.”
  He inched up a smile and then hid it.  “And that had better be a long time on the secrets.”  He slowly traced the length of my arms and bent his face down to mine and let it hang there, hovering above me.  I watched his arms move up and stop on either side of my face forcing me to look in his eyes.  All the while, the pain and ache spreading.

His lips pressed against mine.  Again.  And his eyes closed with mine when his lips stayed this time and the kiss turned deeper.  I was lost in him for the moment.  Really lost!  His kisses made me forget the pain.

Sometime later, his lips parted, raw and swollen like mine.  Holding each other closer than we ever had before, I had to ask one question and hear him say it.  “Are you sure?”

“Surer than I
’ve ever been surer before.”

I offered a soft laugh. 

“ Calum Green.  Right now, I have to focus on my brother. You are a great friend, but I--

"Friend?"

I stared at him holding the oddest expression, "You don't want to be?"

His head shook without an answer, “We need information.  We
’re walking in the dark on this and I’ve just been enlightened.  You should’ve told me about Lee.  And going to get your brother.  But beyond all that now, we will decide together.”

He played with my hair a while and moved his hand around to my stomach, moving my shirt up and putting his huge hand across my belly.  Afraid to move for fear of him feeling rejection, I stiffened in all the appropriate places.  Hey, and there wasn't any fear rolling off him?

He pulled my hand down and rolled my index finger over his, finding Rigel. 

“The rest makes no sense to me still.  We
’ve always been told the factions should be enemies.  Confession, I climbed out the window tonight wanting to turn you in.  And then I remembered it was you.    This,” he pressed my stomach in, “is very real.  And I can’t live with you being my enemy."

"So don't make me one."

He frowned, but conceded without a response.  Normally I would have told him it was my turn for the rolling “tell me” statements.  But I couldn’t give that to him now, and he knew that.

When he moved away, I shivered.

“Are you cold?”

Speaking about something less heavy, “I wasn
’t a second ago.”

He smiled and looped his fingers in mine. 

“I think you have a lot to tell me still.  And I want to know everything before tomorrow comes.”

“Okay!  I think we should include Lee.”  I wasn
’t sure about his place with him yet, but hoped as I held my breath.

“I want to know that he
’s just a friend.”

He
’s not blind.  “I liked him when we were fourteen, Calum.  He’s not the same guy at all.  He’s the only boy I’ve ever really known well other than you and my brother.  He…wants more…but I can’t give him that.”  My finger dotted his chest.

“He wants more?”

“I imagine he just drummed up old feelings when I showed up here one day, on his turf.  He was taken away rather fast at our court.  He knows how I feel and respects it.  I trust him.”

“
But do I?” he said under his breath.

Not answering, we headed back to the dorms. 

We both climbed in, him after me.  Lee was lying on his bed, hands behind his head, waiting.

I sat on the edge of Calum
’s bed, still not past the idea that I was sitting on the bed of a person I’d kissed every time I’d come in here.

Calum sat beside me.  Lee reeled up his gaze to watch us, holding his breath.  Calum took my hand in his and said the last thing I
’d have ever guessed would come from his mouth.

“She
’s mine.  We clear on that?”

Lee
’s face flinched only slightly, “Yeah, got that from her already.  Done deal.”

I knew this was hard for him.  I tried to look sympathetic.  In a den of wolves, there was only one alpha.

“What now?” Lee asked.

“You two tell me everything you know and suspect.  Then,
WE
figure out what to do next.”  He paused.  As if reaffirming it, “I won’t lose her.”  He squeezed my hand.

“
I understand.”  Lee’s eyes looked haunted.

Calum walked to the desk, bent down and threw the soccer ball at Lee.  He caught it.  “Game tomorrow!  You gonna be there?”

Lee nodded accepting the inevitable.

  We spent three hours telling Calum everything we knew up until now.  He wasn
’t happy that the two of us snuck out last night and went driving around in dark places. 

The Were involvement scared both boys.  I
’d only ever interacted with them involving my knife in their chest and that was only one.  I’d heard of their leader, but he was young.  My age.  And an egotistical playboy who doesn't want to give any of the factions the time of day.

All said, Lee excused himself to the bathroom.  At two o
’clock in the morning and a warm comfortable kiss goodbye, I crawled through the window.  

Calum called to my back,
“Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I
’ve had everyone fooled until now.”  I was just being honest.

“Yes,” his face pouted.  I
’d never seen him pout.  Ha!  “But our time will run out now that we are on to them, and we don’t know what comes next.”

The next day was like the first day.  Forgetting the real danger I was in, I felt free.  Calum, my eye within the hurricane of chaos and all in between, knew the real me and he was here, standing right outside the dorm door, waiting for me.  The crooked smile was there, a bit reserved waiting for my reaction.

Honestly, my nerves aside, my burden of holding secrets lifted, I was a new person.  The one person who really new me, had no secrets between us.

“Good morning you,” he leaned and raised the eyebrow.  I watched it rise.

“Good morning to you.”

“How do you feel?” 

“I feel free.”
I smiled, lips twisting.

“
Free?” He blinked at me, agony displayed across his face.

“I see you, your face, your smile, the eyebrow, the way you lean just how I like, and here, waiting for me, and I have no secrets.  I feel free.”  I laughed.  I counted in my head rather quickly how many times I
’d told the truth since coming here.

“Free.  I like it.”

“I’m glad.” I rocked on my heels hearing my boots heels click on the sidewalk.

“Enough of the past.  This is today
.  I want my girl to shine.  She is tougher than any girl or guy, except one whose been holding out on me.  She has powers I plan to quiz her about tonight, alone.” 

I gulped.  Not just at the quiz, or the alone time, but the tougher than most.  He knew I
’d held back.  And he was openly being humorous about me being not a Hunter.  Almost as if he’d changed his mind full circle and was enamored by it.

“And she
’s still behind in her chemistry homework which means she has to spend extra time with me after school and give me her night in addition.”

I gave a lamented grin, “That is an awful lot of time spent together. With pleasure.”

He imparted a sneaky grin indicating.  “But?”

I gave him my best
but what
look. 

“She has to go on a date with me.  A starry night.  Since I
’m seeing all of her for the first time.”

I got it.  “
She
says yes.”

ℓ ℓ ℓ ℓ ℓ

In lit cla
ss, things heated up for my new found wings of freedom.  Dracula was ending now and we were debating the issue of choice.  Did Dracula have a choice in his role in life?  Did Mina?

And I just had to give my undying opinion.

“Dracula has no choice.  He can’t change it no matter what he does, except death.  And maybe he should choose it, but there isn’t a choice.  You are who you are.”

A drop of a pin could be heard.

The red headed boy Barry spoke, “Of course you are right.  None of us chooses who we are.  Our paths were chosen for us for a reason, and sometimes I think we don’t know the reason till precisely the right moment.”             

How right he is
!

He watched me with intensity I didn
’t know he was capable of being right on target like he was reading me.

One of the hotheaded girls that sit in front of me in my chemistry class laughed.  I didn't know her.  “
Dracula didn’t choose his path, just chose others, their future for them.  Sometimes we can’t avoid the future.  It just slams us in the face and BAM, it’s there.”

Yet another prissy one let us be privy to her wisdom, “Dracula wasn
’t anything but a two-timing pig of a man with sharper teeth.  Nothing different than the norm.”

Yeah, no animosity there!

The teacher spoke, “Enough class.  We are all very aware of Count Dracula’s forthcomings.  Now we will move on to A Midsummer’s Nights Dream on Monday.  Please have it read by then.  We will cover Frost and Poe poetry until then in class.  Three poems in all.”

The class stood and started exiting.  I glanced back at Barry who gave me a superstitious look. I nodded my appreciation for his backup comments and left.

Classes were fine.  I laughed a little more than usual.  The study date was better than it ever was, and the night out under the stars eating cookies was the best ever.  It was all just good fun, but I knew it had to end.  Knowing my brother was hurt didn't help, but I couldn't blow my cover.  We’d decided at weapons class to meet in the boys’ dorm to plan what next.