Bound In Blue: Book One Of The Sword Of Elements (4 page)

CHAPTER SIX

I spent the next few days avoiding Peter, but since he had football practice and student council meetings to attend, he didn’t seem to notice. It was a relief. I’d never kept a secret from him before, but I didn’t know how to make any of what happened up at the lake sound real. He would tell his parents and I’d be back at the hospital with doctors dipping into my head again.

Viviane is not my mother.

Each morning I would wake up and think I could march into her room and demand some answers. On the third day, I made it all the way in before the sight of the empty bed reminded me she was gone.

Mom wasn’t like other mothers. She wasn’t like Peter’s mom. Mom never hugged me or yelled at me. She never asked me how my day was. She didn’t like it when I went to the movies with Peter or stayed after school to work on a project, but she never said why. We were usually quiet when we were together.  Sometimes she would smile, but I had no memory of seeing her laugh. I couldn’t remember her ever saying she loved me.

I had a recurring nightmare when I was little. When she heard me crying, Mom would come and I would tell her about it. She would put her cool hand on my forehead until I calmed down and went back to sleep. Standing there staring at the empty bed, it occurred to me Mom never once told me the nightmare wasn’t real.

Red anger flared across my vision and I went back to my own room. Grabbing some clothes off the floor, I dressed and began searching the house.

Viviane is not my mother.

Why should I believe Thomas Redcap? I had no reason to trust him, except that he’d saved my life.

And fixed my car.

Maybe he meant I was adopted. It would explain how different Mom and I were. I pulled the house apart but couldn’t find my birth certificate or anything else that might prove my theory. I even checked under her bed, but only found a family of lonely dust bunnies.

Discouraged, I fingered through the jewelry in the small ceramic dish on the nightstand. Static electricity bit the tips of my fingers as they brushed against a delicate silver charm bracelet and I lifted it up to the light. A single charm dangled from it—a stylized daisy, or maybe a wheel—and the chain threaded through one of the spaces between the spokes. It was simple but beautiful and I wanted to put it on, but Mom’s things didn’t feel like they belonged to me. As I put the bracelet back, I noticed the corner of something peeking out from under the dish.

It was a business card with R. Goodfellow & Associates printed on one side and a phone number written on the back. It sounded like a law firm. If I was adopted, her lawyer would know, but wasn’t there attorney/client privilege or something? I went into the living room and popped the card in my purse just in case.

I sat down on the couch. It was quiet. Mom liked things to be quiet. When I would turn on the TV, the noise would drive her out into the garden. Peter and I would go to the movies instead or watch up at his house so we wouldn’t bother her.

In a surge of defiance, I hit the button on the remote and jacked up the sound till it filled the house. Then I went back to her room and began rifling through her armoire. I was almost tall and pretty slim, but Mom was skeletal and all legs—most of her skirts would be too long. Instead I hauled out a bunch of filmy tops I thought would fit. Claiming ownership of everything Mom had left behind, I also took the silver charm bracelet. The wheel shape was simple, almost childish, but I wanted it. As I draped the chain over my wrist and fastened the clasp, another spark of electricity ran across my skin, but this time it didn’t hurt.

It felt exciting.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The light was strange—grey and dim. The trees around me were cruelly twisted and their bare branches appeared to be claws reaching out to snatch me from the arms of the woman who carried me. I pressed my face against the soft, wheat-colored hair spilling over her shoulders and down her chest, but the rapid beating of the heart beneath was no comfort. We came to an abrupt stop and I was put down on unsteady legs onto the smooth path cutting through the trees. Another woman stepped out of a dazzling light to meet us. Her hair was black and her eyes were pale and cold—it was Mom. She took my hand and tried to lead me towards the light, but I began to cry and pull away. I reached for the beautiful woman who had abandoned me, but she was already leaving. As a dark shape slinked after her and the trees closed behind them like a gate, I tried to scream, but there was no sound.

I woke with my heart pounding and couldn’t see through icy blue streaks until it slowed down. I hadn’t had the nightmare in years; thinking about it must have resurrected it. The dull thud of my constant headache began again.

I never told Mom she was in my dream. I didn’t even realize it was her at first. The woman in my dream was larger, brighter somehow. Now I knew it was undeniably her face, her thin hand that held mine, and her pale eyes that seemed to see nothing and everything at once.

I dressed for school in jeans and a peasant blouse I’d pilfered from Mom’s wardrobe. I was still wearing the charm bracelet. The little wheel looked like some kind of good luck charm and I tucked it under my sleeve and decided to keep it on; I could use a little luck.

Peter wasn’t the only one I’d been avoiding. After the novelty of the new kids’ attention wore off, I felt strangely uncomfortable with it. Perversely, I was also afraid of the disappointment when they began ignoring me like everyone else did. When the lunch bell rang and Miko stepped out of a classroom into the hallway in front of me, I stopped and hoped she hadn’t seen me.

As she walked away, I felt relieved, but also unkind; from what I’d observed during the week, no one was going out of their way to make friends with the girl. Gathering my courage, I ran after her, but instead of heading to the cafeteria, she went through the door that led to the dressing rooms on the side of the stage. It seemed kind of stalkerish to follow her, but so did lurking in the hall waiting for her to come out. I was just about to leave when I heard singing and what sounded like a harp. Curious, I opened the door and went down the corridor to the girls’ dressing room. The door was open. Miko sat on the long counter running under the wall to wall mirror with a small harp in her hands. Looking up, she blinked in surprise.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” I joked.

Raising an eyebrow, she didn’t respond as she stuffed the instrument back into her bag.

My heart sank as I realized she was now ignoring me like everyone else did. “That was pretty. You have a beautiful voice.”

Miko went very still. “You heard that?”

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Is that a harp?” When she didn’t answer, I plowed on with nervous chatter. “I thought they were bigger. I’ve never known anyone who could play the harp. You’re really good.”

The girl stared at me as if I’d grown another head. “You could hear the music?”

“Um, yeah, of course.”

“I knew it!” Miko’s smile was triumphant. Grabbing me by the arm, she propelled me out of the dressing room and through the door into the hall.

“What are you doing?” I protested.

“Proving a point.”

For such a tiny person, her grip was iron as she dragged me into the cafeteria and over to the table Peter, Tynan, and Daley were sitting at. Depositing me into a chair, she plopped herself down on Peter’s knee and her pink miniskirt hiked up to show even more leg than usual. Peter didn’t seem to know where to put his hands and his neck was so red I was afraid something was going to pop.

“It’s Friday,” Miko announced. “Let’s do something.”

“Count me in,” Peter said and was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek. The blush spread from his neck up into his face.

Tynan brushed the hair out of his eyes and flashed me a quick smile. “I’m in.”

“Like what?” Daley looked up from the massive book he was reading just as I yelped from the prickle of static running through the metal chair into my thighs.

So much for making a good second impression.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Miko twirled a strand of hair around one finger and her eyes glittered. “Rhi likes music. Don’t you Rhi?” She turned back to Daley before I could reply. “She likes my harp. She thought my singing was really pretty.”

Daley closed his book with a thump and Tynan pushed his tray away and sat up straight. Everyone was staring at me.

Anxiety drifted like tangerine fog along the edges of my vision. “I don’t know where any bands might be playing. Sometimes in the summer there are underage dances, but . . .”

Peter wasn’t going to let me ruin what he’d probably been angling for all week. “But we could go to that restaurant I was telling you about and then catch a movie.” I felt a twinge of jealousy; movies were our thing.

“Great!” Miko said, hopping off his knee and flashing more leg at the student body. “It's a plan. You can pick us all up at 6:00.”

I sat there as Miko arranged my very first date for me. It wasn’t until I was walking to my next class that I realized I wasn’t sure which one of the brothers was supposed to be mine. Touching the wheel charm tucked inside the sleeve of my blouse for luck, I made a wish.

Let it be Daley, please.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The teacher droned on as if he somehow knew how desperate I was for the class to be over and wanted to torture me for it. I was excited at first, but the more I thought about going on a date—about socializing with anyone other than Peter and the Larsens—the more I felt like I was breaking apart. My head throbbed as colors streaked across my interior vision and my skin was tight and hot where the charm rested against it. When I lifted my sleeve and looked at my wrist, I was shocked to see a round mark, almost like a burn. I’d felt the charm’s electricity a number of times, but hadn’t realize it had actually raised a raw, red welt. The spot was painful, but I’d continued to wear the bracelet even though I must have known it was hurting me.

What’s wrong with me?

It was suddenly all too much. No matter what I’d wished for before, I no longer wanted to be seen. I tried to remember Mom’s voice, but it was thin and far away. Closing my eyes, I focused on the watery blue that usually calmed me, but I couldn’t grasp it and it dissipated like mist on the surface of a lake.

Anger surged through me and a flash of light beneath my eyelids followed it. Startled, I opened my eyes and jumped to my feet, but the sparkles of pink I would have expected didn’t appear. Everything was too bright and the glare made the world look like it was painted in black and white.

When Mr. Porter turned and crossed his arms, it took me a moment to realize he was waiting for me to apologize. Someone in the back laughed. My cheeks flamed and I wished everyone would stop staring at me.

Everyone is staring at me.

“Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Miss Lynne?” After three years, five days, four hours, and twenty-two minutes, one of Eastdale’s teachers had decided to acknowledge my existence.

“No . . . uh, sorry,” I stammered, “it’s just . . . I thought I saw . . .” I searched for a plausible excuse for jumping out of my skin and standing there like a moron. “I saw a spider.” More laughter. “I don’t like spiders,” I added unnecessarily.

Mr. Porter had small eyes made even smaller by thick, black-rimmed glasses. They seemed to contract now into dark dots. “And is it too much to ask for you to take your seat, Miss Lynne? Or would you like us to all drop everything and go searching for spiders so you’ll feel more comfortable?”

“No. Thank you. I’m fine now.”

“Well that’s wonderful,” he drawled before turning and continuing to scrawl on the board in his illegible handwriting.

Lacey McInnis leaned over from the seat behind and whispered, “Don’t mind old man Porter. I bet everyone here wishes they could stand up and walk out. He’s just mad you’re the first one to try it.”

It took me a moment to process that she was speaking to me. Civilly. “Wish I tried it years ago,” I murmured and she laughed.

After class, Lacey hesitated by my desk and then seemed to decide something.

“Hey Rhi, I just wanted you to know, I understand. I bet it’s hard watching Peter drool all over the new girl.”

So that’s it—the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

“I guess.” There was no point telling Lacey I didn’t care if Peter drooled all over every girl in town—she wouldn’t believe me.

“If you ever want to talk . . .”

“OK. Thanks.”

I was the recipient of my first ever Lacey McInnis smile before she waved and joined a couple of Bumblebees on their way to cheerleading practice.

The school day ended on such a weirdly pleasant note that I took courage and began to look forward to going out that night.

After a quick snack and a long shower, I rummaged through the contents of a laundry hamper that now contained the majority of my wardrobe and came up with a slightly wrinkled jean skirt and one of Mom’s chiffon tops. Neither were dirty—I’d just thrown them at the hamper because I was too lazy to hang them back up. As I took the charm bracelet off and placed it on my night table, I was glad the long sleeves of the top covered the burn on my wrist.

I was slipping on a pair of sandals when Peter started honking outside. Stuffing my phone and some money in the back pocket of my skirt, I rushed out.

“Hurry up!” he yelled through the open window of his mom’s mini-van. It wouldn’t be stylish, but at least we would all fit. The automatic side door slid open. “In the back,” he ordered.

“Why?”

“I want Miko to with me. Besides, don’t you want to sit with Ty?” He pulled away so fast I was almost thrown out of my seat before I could get my belt on.

“I don’t know, do I?”

“You should. He’s been asking about you all week.”

“Really?” I wasn’t sure I believed Peter. If Tynan had wanted to talk to me, he could have found me any time.

“Really. He’s like, obsessed with you. I hope Daley found a date or it’ll be weird. He wanted to know about you too, but Ty was all over it.” My heart dropped as I realized my wish had gone unanswered.

We went north on Simcoe Street, the same road Winfield was on, until we passed Port Perry. Following the directions on my phone, we turned off and headed towards Lake Simcoe. When we arrived at the address we’d been given, neither of us spoke for a moment. Mansion might sound like somewhere one of the villains in Peter’s comic books would live, but it was the only word that fit the sprawling stone building at the end of a dirt lane, backed by forest. The other two and three acre lots around it were still bare and waiting to be bought and built on.

Peter pointed at the red sports car parked in front. “Do you know what that is? It’s a Jag F-Type V8 S! They start at a hundred grand and go up.”

The others were waiting for us on the massive stone porch and were in the van before Peter could get out and open the doors. “Nice ride,” Tynan laughed as he buckled himself into the seat beside me.

Peter flushed. “Well at least we’re not sitting on top of one another.”

Miko ignored her seatbelt and slid across the front passenger seat to nestle into Peter. “Now
that
sounds like fun.” His blush went nuclear.

Daley climbed into the back. “We need to stop somewhere first.”

When Daley gave him the address, Peter caught my eye in the rearview mirror; we both knew it very well. Twenty minutes later, we were at Lacey McInnis’ house. Tynan and I got a bright hello as she climbed into the van. Peter and Miko were ignored.

“Hey, Day,” she said as she sat beside him.

I would have bet big money that Daley would hate the nickname, but all he said was, “You look nice.” She did too. Lacey carried her extra ten pounds better in a t-shirt, sleek jacket, and ruffled skirt.

“Wow, that’s beautiful.”

“Don’t touch it!” I turned in surprise to see Daley tucking the chain and its pendant under his collar. Lacey looked like she might cry.

“Sorry,” he apologized after a moment. “It caught in my hair and you pulled it.” I could hear the lie, but Lacey smiled in relief.

Miko snorted and made a face as she snuggled in closer to Peter. “We need to make another stop.”

“Sure. Where?”

“Somewhere quiet.”

He grinned. “I know just the place.”

Uncomfortable, I shifted in my seat and gazed out the window.

We drove across town to Parkwood, a historic estate and one of the few tourist attractions in town worth checking out. The grounds were almost always open, but I’d heard it was easy sneaking in even after hours.

It’s amazing what people will say around you when they don’t notice you’re there.

We parked and walked past the house and down a path to a sunken clearing with a stone pavilion at one end. During the day, the area was used for weddings. During the night, it was occasionally used for the type of activity that resulted in some of those weddings.

Peter draped his arm over Miko’s shoulders and wandered away from the rest of us. Not to be outdone, Lacey glared at him and then put her arm through Daley’s. Tynan and I stared at one another awkwardly. I wanted to say something witty or cute, but feared I’d probably end up making out with him just to avoid speaking to him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“What?” The horrible thought occurred to me that he was sorry he didn’t want to make out with me.

Tynan looked at his brother. Daley and Miko had both detached themselves from their partners and Daley nodded back at him. Tynan straightened into full and impressive height and pointed at the trees on the one side of the clearing. “
Ae veyll ooæk ee - ærree bee ægh
!” he yelled.

Dandelion yellow flashed across my eyes. As Tynan continued to shout gibberish into the shrubbery, I had the terrible feeling I was about to get punked the same way that poor girl Carrie did on the night of her prom.

Before I could move, the air became wet and I closed my eyes against a blast of icy wind. Colors swirled in my mind’s eye and shaped themselves into something monstrous.

A white form licked by corpse blue flame. Silky hair slicked in dew. Glistening fangs. Dog shaped and yet as far from a dog as a nightmare is from a dream.

Three short howls echoed through the clearing. The vision in my mind wavered and I opened my eyes.

Peter had put himself between the direction of the sound and the rest of us. “Better stay back. It might be a coyote or a wild dog. Try not to make any sudden moves.”

I shook my head. “That’s not what it is.”

“You can see it somehow, can’t you,” Miko whispered as she sidled up behind me, “even though it's not yet fully present in our world.”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

I shook my head again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Another howl and the bushes shook and swayed. Peter looked around wildly as he tried to locate the source of the sound. Lacey whimpered.

“What is it?”

“A member of the Wild Hunt, a hound of Avalon. Most supernatural beings have many names, but the Welsh would call it a Cŵn Annwn. The Hunt guards the Wall between our world and the world of magic. Tynan called this one from its pack.”

I stared at her in shock. “Why?”

Miko’s lopsided smile was full of mischief. “To win a bet.”

I might have slapped it right off her pretty little face if hell hadn’t suddenly erupted. A white creature burst into the clearing. It landed facing Peter, snarling and huffing. The beast matched what I’d seen in my mind except for the glowing red of the inside of its ears. It was beautiful.

And completely pee your pants terrifying.

Peter held his ground out of range of its claws. “Get back to the van! I’ll hold it off somehow!”

“Protector,” Miko murmured. “Check.”

Lacey didn’t need to be told twice. When the beast’s gaze remained fixed on Peter, she raced up the stone steps and out of sight down the path.

“Useless,” Miko sneered. “Check two.”

I looked at Tynan, but he was staring at the ground and wouldn’t meet my eyes. Daley stood with his arms crossed, watching us. “Do something!” I screamed. Neither of them moved.

Rhiannon, listen to me. We cannot be seen. Hide in the shadows and be still and silent.

Mom’s voice rang through my mind like a bell in my skull. I had to obey and disappear. I waited for the color that always followed her words to pass over me, but could only find wisps that I could barely focus on. I blinked my eyes and then even they were gone.

The beast turned its head to look at me with eyes like moonstones.

“He sees you,” Miko said. “I don’t know how you’ve been hiding yourself from everyone, but you’re all here now. What are you going to do?”

Even if I’d had an answer, there was no time. The creature moved so fast it seemed to fly. The air was knocked out of my lungs and when I could think again, I realized I was flat on my back with the Cŵn Annwn’s cold paws on my chest. Claws like curved, bleached bones dug into my ribs, but the creature was strangely light. I gasped as its claws pierced the fabric of my top and it lowered its head to look at me intently. It wasn’t attacking. Yet.

I should have been blank and white with terror, but its touch seemed to have changed something. Or maybe I’d hit my head when I went down and couldn’t comprehend the reality of my danger. I tried to focus on the Cŵn Annwn, but it shifted between a dog-like beast with white hair and a creature made from the glowing blue-green of marsh gases and the silvery grey of windblown skies.

I couldn’t help myself—I put my hand out to touch it. Peter hissed at me to stop. The Cŵn Annwn growled as my fingers sank into the slick, wet fur at its neck and I froze, expecting razor teeth to sink into my skin, but the creature shook its head as if confused.

Some instinct told me to close my eyes. The Cŵn Annwn was still there in my mind as an aura of pale flame. I felt it flicker up my arms and across my body. It called to me.

I let go of the beast’s fur and reached for the tongues of flame flickering blue, then green, then silver and grey. In my mind, they leapt up in response. As they seeped into my skin, a pleasure spread through my gut that I’d never experienced before. I felt the beginnings of ecstasy, but it wasn’t fast enough.  Impatient to have it all—to feel it all—I imagined myself reaching out to grasp the Cŵn Annwn’s colors and my palms burned with cold fire.