Whisper (17 page)

THIRTY-NINE

Let Go

“What do you want with me?”

Jefferson sneers. “What is it you believe I want with you?”

The tears brim the inside of my eyes. “You want me to never be able to have a chance at being with Luken.”

He is pleased with my answer. “Precisely, where is your lover boy anyway? Should he not be here, trying to protect you?”

“I don’t need him, this is my fight. I can protect myself.” Jefferson laughed heartily.

“Oh you stupid, stupid child, no young lady can protect herself.” It was my turn to laugh in his face. It surprised him to see my amusement.

He grabbed me tossing me across the floor. Shards of glass pricked at my skin, niching me in the cheek. I have small glass shards stuck in my legs and arms. The only sleeve on my dress ripped. Half of it fell forward, the other half backward, a clean split.

This strange gleam passed across those crimson eyes, it churned my stomach. MY eyes practically pop out of my head. I wasn’t expecting a transformation. Jefferson…the shadows underneath his eyes appear. His skin turns porcelain and his dark shadowed suit, became a light fog allowing his true form to shine through the black.

It didn’t bring any comfort. Somehow Jefferson had the ability to strike a fear within me, I couldn’t control. The moment my chance came, I ran toward the forest. Tripping over a branch, I became disoriented and realize too late I had run in the wrong direction. My beautiful dress tattered here and there.

Water rose on all sides until I felt the sensation of drowning. I had fallen into the ice cold pond water. Hitting the surface to breath, I noticed the shadows in the water and above me. They prevented me from getting my head completely above the water.

For a second I stopped moving. Suspended in the water, my body starts to sink. The shadows seep out of the water, the surface cleared. I come up vying for breath and coughing up water. Swimming to the nearby surface I crawled out lying on my back briefly.

“Did you have an enjoyable swim?”

Jefferson crowds over me, his imposing height intimidated me. I crouched to my feet, carefully standing. I back away from him. Jefferson cracks a smile showing glistening teeth. “Why don’t I give you a head start?” I furrowed my brow, “for what?”

The glint in his, I stepped back further. The menacing red eyes glow mildly, an electric charge flows through his hands. Unsure of what he plans to do I don’t want to wait and find out. I take off trying to figure out what to do to make him retreat.

No, that is not good enough. A ball of fire his the ground next to me, only it didn’t char the ground it vaporized disappearing inside the ground. I missed another blow of flame. Jefferson forcefully grabs my injured arm, squeezing. “AHHH,” my breath grew shallow. The scream startled me it took a minute to realize the curdling shrill came from my own lips.

A frosty chill rushed passed us. I saw bits of frost on the dirt surrounding me. Jefferson was suspended in the air ahead of where I sat. I couldn’t see anyone. Whoever was out there, had felt a need to protect me.

The tree next to Jefferson started to show signs of being chilled.

FORTY

Frost Bite

A shadow slams into the air knocking Jefferson to the ground. I tried to run, but he grabs my injured arm again. The pain is searing. I can feel it like a rug burn as Jefferson twists my arm the pain unbearable. “Luken want your girlfriend to live, come and get her. I can break her arm, it is already impaired.” He calls out to nothing.

He is trying to use me to bait Luken here and it didn’t work. “That wasn’t Luken.” I say to him. Jefferson glances in various directions, “quiet.” He orders me. The silence remains. The wind rustled lightly between the leaves. Jefferson is knocked to the ground by blue so quick I barely saw it, like a flash.

Backing me against the base of a tree, my eyes wildly scan the woods for signs of the new intruder. Each of puff of breath I take it puffs out of my mouth. Frost crept slowly stopping at the tips of my feet, a frozen chill blanketed me. I grabbed the tree as an anchor.

“Do not fear me.” A voice echoes in the chilled air.

Jefferson spun me around holding me by the throat. “Show yourself or I kill her now.”

A person materializes directly in front of me. He has faded blue eyes, a dull gray. I take in his angular jaw shaped similar to Luken. His skin is a pale frozen blue. I can’t make out much of what he must have looked like when he was alive. His lips swirled with light blue and purple. It is like he froze to death, or was in a cold climate, went to sleep and didn’t wake up. His hair is covered with frost and icicles I couldn’t tell what color it once would have been.

“Are you Avaya?” He asks in an eerily familiar voice. I couldn’t quite figure out though who it would be.

Caught off guard, I fall back into Jefferson. His hand clenched my throat tighter. “Yes,” I say. My voice is strained and raspy from the strong grip.

“We have been waiting for you to arrive for some time now.” The new stranger says to me. I didn’t know what he was talking about. Confused I asked him, “we?”

“Enough of this,” Jefferson spat. This does not concern you any longer, you’re too late. Leave before you face my wrath again.”

The stranger laughs. It is striking, he inches toward us slightly, “one problem with that, I am already dead.” The stranger says. He has a slight mixed British and New England accent. “I will kill her.”

“He will,” I struggle to talk.

Jefferson is elated to have the upper hand. The new stranger holds his hands up. “Do not hurt her.” He says pleading. I felt my life slipping away. My grip on consciousness started to fade.

“Do not give up,” A woman who resembled Abigail appears behind my closed eyelids. Strength rose within me, I stomped on his ghostly foot. Jefferson released his grip on my throat. He turned around slapped me across the face, shoving me to the ground. My injured arm slammed into the uprooted tree trunk. I heard a crunch and couldn’t tell if my arm took snapped or if it was my back hitting twigs and rocks scattered on the ground.

“You have no power here. I bind and cast you away.” Jefferson let out a strong boastful laugh. “What did you say?”

I smile realizing the best way to defeat him is to command him to be gone. “You heard me,” I say fed up and annoyed. I wouldn’t let Jefferson conquer me any further.

“Don’t let the earth plane door hit on your wall to hell.” I toss out finding renewed strength.

Jefferson tried to attack me. His shadows darkened, I couldn’t see his human features mixed with his dark nature. Intense red eyes glowed. Jefferson swarmed me. The red flaming glow took over his entire body.

“I command you to leave here. You are not welcome on this land.” He started to attack me. Before Jefferson reached me, a black cloud of thick fog consumed him. I didn’t have time to react, the thick black cloud disappeared and Jefferson was gone.

Frosted face guy approached me. I wondered where he materialized from, what happened to him.

“What is your name?” I asked him.

His jeans cling to his hips. The button down collared shirt he is wearing fits loosely. Each step he takes toward me, he leaves crystalized ice in his wake. “My name is…” he stops suddenly turning away from me. “Sorry, I must go, forgive me. I have said more than I should have.” He disappeared right before my eyes, taking his frost with him.

I go back to the mansion remembering the party guests. The doors open easily. Shattered glass is still scattered all over the ground outside the double doors. Rushing into the room, my hand flies to my mouth. Shattered glass covers the floor. Everyone is unconscious lying on the floor. Xavier is close to Becca, who remained unmoving. The other guests start to awaken, remembering bits and pieces of a nightmare. The door hallway finally opens, I ran to the hallway searching for Luken in the west wing.

“Luken are you here?”

Knocking on his bedroom I wait for a response. The door creeps open creaking as it slowly pops ajar and I am not sure about entering alone. “Luken, may I enter?”

He appeared at the door. I stepped back startled. His straight expression caused me to swallow. I felt butterflies flap around in my stomach. “I thought you could handle it on your own?” The way he spoke, something is off about him. It lights me on fire filling me with warmth. “I did handle it on my own. Jefferson is gone. Actually, Becca needs help.”

“Tell me what happened to Becca?” I didn’t get the chance.

Luken raced ahead of me, stopping inches from light that poured into the ballroom. He grabbed my hand. “What happened in here?” He asks.

His frozen hands chilled my skin. I felt Luken looking over my shoulder. His cool breath hit against my neck. I wondered if he noticed my tattered dress and my arm being held in an awkward position.

* * *

The guests all left. I convinced my friends to leave as well. I would check on Becca. She was still unconscious. Luken helped me take Becca to her bed. My Uncle James could not find out about this. I prayed she would wake up in the morning.

I check on Becca before I headed to bed. Peeking, I saw her stir a tiny bit. She didn’t wake up though. Seeing her move at all, I breathed a sigh of relief. A girl stood in the shadows in the hallway, facing away from me. She appeared to be talking with a boy, I thought it was Celia. Only it didn’t look like Celia. I didn’t want to find out I had enough haunts for one night.

In the morning I stood in front of Becca’s door. I went inside to find her waking up. Becca sat up in bed, “how did I get to my room?”

My wane smile doesn’t hold to my lips. “Luken carried you after everyone left.”

She doesn’t remember much about what happened. That is probably for the best I wanted to tell her. The right words wouldn’t come to keep her from freaking out. I am glad she woke up. I didn’t want to be the one responsible for Becca being in a coma again. Though technically it would have been Jefferson, but the guilt would have been there on my part. Even though it really wasn’t my fault she got injured.

“Avaya what happened? I remember the darkness and a strange silhouette with glowing red eyes, tossing me against the wall.” Becca grabs her head, the memory causing pain and confusion. “Please Avaya, was it true?”

I gave in, “it was real, but your guests remember as little as you, maybe less. Do not let it bother you. What matters is, you’re okay and Uncle James does not know anything happened to you.”

Becca hugs her knees to her. “Avaya it will be hard to hide the bruises and the injury.”

“Try to rest.”

I retreated back to my room. It would still take a few hours before the sun came up. Luken sat on my bed. Crawling onto the bed, Luken is sitting on my bed waiting. I still wore my tattered dress too exhausted to do anything. I snuggled up close to him until the pain in my arm became too intense. Luken saw me cringe.

“Avaya, darling what is wrong?” He asks like he already knows the answer.

“My arm…Jefferson threw me.” I remembered the shards of glass stuck in my skin here in there. Little tiny pieces, I picked them out. “Let me see your arm.” Luken insisted.

He lifted my arm. Luken turns it this way and that the pain excruciating. After a long moment of examining my arm, Luken said, “darling it is not broken.”

I balked. “Are you insane, how is it not broken?”

Luken pulls me close. “Here. Allow me.” He left me for a minute returning with a bandage, he wraps my arm. The white cloth bends against my arm holding it close to my stomach. The sling is comfortably snug.

I thought about how I will hide this from my Uncle James. There is no lie that would explain this away.

FORTY-ONE

Caught

Becca and I stood together in my Uncle’s study. “So you two got in a fight over a boy, are I to assume this correctly?” He had learned about our injuries when he hadn’t seen or heard from Becca in a couple days and she refused to see the tutor. We forgot about her studying schedule.

We glanced at each other, “yes that is correct.”

“Becca I have raised you better than this.” She sinks her head, “sorry father, I did not mean to disappoint you.”

My Uncle James is writing on a piece paper as he talks to us. I stare at his long coat, strange. It looks so old-fashioned. He sets down the pen, glancing in my direction. “Avaya, you say Becca shoved you backwards and you fell, in a manner which caused your arm to become severely sprained?”

I could tell he saw right through us, he didn’t believe a word. A kind smile lifted at the corner of his lips. “Since you two do not want to explain the real reason for your unfortunate injuries, I will not press the matter. Since you went through the trouble of agreeing on the reason, there is no time for me to deal with more headaches.

Whatever this reason, Avaya I am not pleased to see you have a sling on your arm. Your parents entrusted you into my care. And, Becca let us hope you try to remain conscious. I am aware you were unconscious for a period of time.

Girls, please do not continue with this useless lie. You two are much too mature to fight in such a manner. I have noticed tension which I believe a boy is involved. Though fighting, I doubt that. It was a commendable try. I know my Becca too well to believe such a story. Avaya I am beginning to know you just as well.”

He dismisses us. We went our separate ways. She left to her bedroom and I went to the library.