Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (42 page)

Oh no, no, no!
She couldn’t let him continue with the accusation, and decided to set the record straight.
“The journal
’s gone.
Devon
thought it’d been stolen.
I
’d
just got
ten
it and only read a few pages before someone took it.
When I went to tell
Devon
about it at his dorm, someone must have broken into my room
.
He…” Rae didn’t know why she babbled
;
she simply couldn’t focus her thoughts.
Devon
kidnapped?
“Do you think he’s been hurt?” Rae bit a
hangnail
, wincing when she pulled too much skin and ripped it off.
The burn distracted her momentarily.
She sucked her finger and then used the healing tatù to mend it.

“I don’t know.
I hope he
’
s
alright
.”
Dean Wardell
blinked rapidly, his eyes bright.
“I’d like to ask you to
work with
the Council
to
find my son.
You’ve a very powerful tatù and I believe you can help them and keep him alive.”

“I don’t know what I can do to find him.”
M
ight
Devon
be dead?
She felt numb with the thought.

“You’ll
come up with
something.
After all, you’re responsible for his disappearance.”

Rae’s breath caught.
She blinked in disbelief.
“Pardon?”

The dean sigh
ed
in frustration
and
angrily
crossed his arms.
“Come on
,
Kerrigan
.
This either has something to do with you
,
or your father.
Don’t tell me you don’t feel partially
, if not fully,
responsible for putting
Devon
in danger?
Just get him back here,
preferably alive.
T
hat’s all I ask.”

The man had changed from loving father to
an e
motionless
crazy
nut
in a millisecond.
She was totally shocked and blindsided by the change
, but first and foremost, she wanted out of the room.
“I’ll do what I can.” Rae stormed past him, no longer caring what he thought of her.
She needed fresh air and time to think.
She strode for the staircase, jumping the last six steps in her rush to get outside.
As much as he was a jerk, the dean spoke the truth.
Somehow, someway,
I’m
responsible for
Devon
’s disappearance.

Chapter 2
2

Demi-Frére

R
ae
sprinted
across the school grounds
,
back
towards
her dorm.
Whatever happened to
Devon
w
ould be
her fault, through her own doing or her
family’s
, and she
w
ouldn’t stand for it.
S
he vowed to fix
this
, whatever the cost.
Too angry with the dean to think straight
,
she barged past someone on the sidewalk and then realized
after
she had
passed him,
who it was.
She stopped and called out
.
“Julian
!
”

“You okay?”
The concern on his face appeared genuine.

“The dean told me
Devon
’s missing.
Does the Privy Council really think he’s been kidnapped?”

Julian nodded.
“
I was on my way to find you. At the moment,
it looks that way.
Or he’s gone AWOL
with the journal.
”
The last part came out mumbled but Rae didn’t miss it.
He paused and dug his hand into the pocket of his jeans.
“
I’ve been with the Privy Council all day. I came back to shower and grab a few things and got
summoned
back
.
I’m
going
to head over to the Privy Council’s main office.
” He looked around to see if anyone was watching. “I can’t take you, but I know
we’ll
be looking for
Devon
.
Why don’t I leave you my keys?
I’ll text you if we find anything and…maybe, just by chance, you’re in the same area
.”
He winked, pressing the metal into her hand.

Rae took the key
s
.
“Won’t you need the car to get there?”
She glanced down at the weight in her hand, realizing
Devon
’s keys were also attached to Julian’s.
The Swiss Army Knife she
had
bought him for Christmas lay in her palm.
A lump formed in her throat and her eyes
turned
glossy.
She held her breath,
terrified the tears would fall
. Rae
quickly shoved the key
chain in her pocket.

“I’m…uh…getting a lift.”
Julian rubb
ed
his neck.

Rae
glanced around the empty sidewalk
. She
understood
his
urge to do what was required of him
,
and
appreciated
his need to help her.
She loved him for that.
He
also
knew more than the Privy Council how much help
she would
actually be to them
. She
checked
the empty fields
around them
and noticed the quiet of the early evening.
“The grounds
are
deserted.”

“It’s Friday.
I think everyone’s headed into town to catch
a
movie or
go
out for dinner.”
Julian checked his watch.
“Will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine.
I’ll wait for your text…maybe go for a drive
.”
She shrugged and turned to go.

“
We’ll find him.
Hey,
Rae?” The worry in Julian’s voice stopped her.
He tugged his
hair
into a
ponytail. “
This isn’t your fault.”

She stared at the worn rubber on the front of her sneaker.
“It sure feels like it.
The dean seems to think so, too.
It’s either because of me or my father.”

“Don’t blame yourself.” Julian shifted his weight.
“I’m gonna pass on some information the president of the Privy Council t
aught
me.
We were talking
about the future and the past
with my drawings
.
He
explained how
t
he past can be a tricky thing.
” He paused and rubbed his chin. “
I
n your case, your dad
left quite a
destructive
wave
. You may always have to deal with it in your life
, b
ut that doesn’t make it your fault.”
He
came over and
pulled her into a tight hug.
“Dev’s strong and very smart.
He can look after himself.”

Silent, Rae squeezed
Julian
firmly
, wishing she could believe him
, trying to take comfort from his stalwart support and presence. With startling clarity, she realized Julian was the one person she had trusted without reservation, ever since her arrival at Guilder
.
The realization made her feel guilty that she couldn’t really say that about
Devon
, even if it wasn’t important now.

“Uh
—
Ra-Rae
—
That’s too tight
—
” Julian huffed.

“Oh, sorry.”
She dropped her arms to her sides.
“I kinda forget about my tatù when my emotions run high.”

Julian rubbed his
side
.
“No worries.
I like bruise
d
ribcages.” A small smile touched his lips
,
but
then he turned serious. “
I really need to get going. You sure you’re okay walking to your dorm
?”

“I’ll be fine
.
I
t’s not like anybody’s going to magically appear and grab me.
I’ll just hug and crush
’
em.” She smiled, not even attempting to laugh at her
own
bad joke. “Get going and
let me know
the minute
you hear anything
.”

Julian nodded and jogged
away
. Rae slowly walked
towards
Aumbry
House.
The
early
night seemed
even more
quiet now.
The dark clouds hanging heavy with rain made
it seem darker than normal
.
H
er hands deep in her pockets and
her
head down,
she
made her way up the path.
She concentrated on taking two steps between the cement squares on the sidewalk avoiding the crack
s, anything to avoid reality.
The more she tried not to think, the harder she thought, the faster her
heartbeat
and
the
more her soul tugged her in the direction she really wanted to go.
“Screw this,” she
finally
mumbled, breaking into a run.
She would
figure
out
a way to find
Devon
herself, no waiting
.

Using the levitation tatù, she flew up the stairs to her room, glad no one was aro
und
to talk to her or slow her down
.

She froze when she got to her bedroom door. Unlocked and slightly ajar, she hear
d
rustling and
a
desk door slamming shut
.
Her first
reaction
was to scream, but she held back when
she
thought
Devon
might be
inside.
She shoved the door open and ran in, wildly glancing around.
Her heart almost stopped when
Nic
, sitting in her chair, leaned back and dropped his feet onto her desk.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” He smiled
;
a menacing
shadow crossed
his face.

“
You can’t break into my room,
”
Rae
shook her head.
She never expected this
. “
Nic
, I
don’t know what’s up with you but you need to get out. I’m kinda busy.”

He interlaced his fingers behind his head. “I’ve got time. Tell me about it.”

“No!” she
shouted, the rage inside of her boiling over.
“Get out of my
freakin’
room
, asshole
!
”

His jaw dropped.
“
Wow.
Guilder’s most
sacred
daughter
has a potty-mouth
.”

“
Just get out of my room before I
make
you leave.”
The
n a thought struck her. The idea
of him
possibly
going through her personal belongings sparked more anger.
Has he been here before? Did HE take the journal? He couldn’t have, how would he know about it?
Her hand still on the
doorknob
, she didn’t realize
she had
broken it off until she
glanced
down and saw it in her palm.
“So help me, Nic, if you’re pulling a Lanford.”

His eyebrows went up. “Pulling a Lanford?”

“You know, pretending to be the good guy, pretending to be my friend.”

“
I came here to see if you needed my help. My skills. What’s with the b
ad
mood?” He put a hand to his face in mock horror.
“Whatever could be the problem?
A fight with your boyfriend?”

This was totally not Nicholas. Something about the way he moved, and his facial expressions didn’t seem like his own. He looked like Nic but
—
Oh no! It can’t be. Could it?
Camouflage could be done in many different forms. “What’s with you?”

“I’m
pissed off
. And I’m tired off all the bull-shit
,
”
He punched the top of the desk.

You’re tired of the bull-shit? Get in line
buddy
.
“
Why don’t you go and find your
new girlfriend? Lay your problems on her.”

“Nah.” He laughed,
leaning
the chair back so it rested on
its
rear
legs.
“So you know it’s me?” Nic
h
olas’ body seemed to shiver and shake so fast he looked blurry. Mere second
s
later, Kraigan sat in the exact same spot.
He grabbed an apple Rae had left on the desk.
He tossed
it into the air
.
“S
he’s probably with your boyfriend.”

“Screw off.”
I can’t freakin’ believe this. My life is one bloody nightmare.

“How’d you know it was me?” He didn’t even wait for her reply. “I just picked that up the other day. It’s wacked.”
Kraigan
grinned and bit into the apple.
“You know what they say
—
”