Embrace (The Gryphon Series) (13 page)

“I’m sorry.
”  I apologized.  “I don’t know where that came from.  I’m not some clingy co-dependant chick.  Promise.  It was just kind of a heavy moment and it got to me, ya know?”

“
Ya have nothin’ to apologize for.”   Caleb’s jaw tensed and his nostrils flared.  He sprang up and put a few feet between us.  “This is on me.  I just…I can’t do this.  Do ya’rself a favor, Celeste.  Stay far, far away from me.” 

“What are you talking about?”  I asked with a nervous laugh.  I wanted to think he was kidding, but his change in demeanor argued otherwise. 

He snatched his backpack off the ground and flung it over his shoulder.  All the while he kept his head down and wouldn’t look at me.  “Ya’r a good girl.  The last thing I want is tah bring more pain in tah ya’r life.”

“So, don’t.” I shrugged.  “It’s just that simple.”

His turned his back to me but paused as if contemplating that statement.  “
Nothin’
is that simple.”   

Without even a backward glance, he strode
in the direction of the path. 

That brought me to my feet in a hurry.  “
Whoa, hey!  Where are you going?  Look, I have no idea what just happened here.  But maybe we could talk about it, and you could clue me in?”

“
Thar’s nothin’ tah talk about.” He tossed back, but didn’t break gait.  “ Bad weather’s movin’ in.  I gotta get my bike home.”   With that he picked up his pace.  He trotted down the path, and quickly vanished from sight. 

I s
tood there, staring up at the grey clouds that were moving in fast.  Maybe they could offer an explanation.  He had to get his motorcycle home?  But it was okay to abandon me in the mountains?
Seriously?!

My confusion
rapidly transformed into white hot anger.  “
CAN I AT LEAST HAVE ARIDE HOME, YOUBIG JERK?!
”

Mother Nature
answered, but Caleb stayed silent.  The clouds brought with them a violent wind storm.  Towering trees snapped and creaked in protest as torrential winds kicked up and forced them to bow in half.  My feet were blown out from under me.  I pinwheeled through the air.  Leaves, sticks, and the remnants of our lunch cycloned around me and lashed at my skin. My hair whipped my face raw.  With frantic hands I reached out for something I could latch onto to anchor myself.  My nails scrapped across the bark of a sapling.  But just as I closed my hand around it, the wind claimed it.  It was ripped from the ground, roots and all.  I flew backward through the heavy branches of a pine tree.  The needles sliced at my skin until I slammed into the tree’s trunk.  I wrapped my bloodied and battered arms around it and clung tight.  Tears and snot streamed down my face.  I tried to reassure myself that it was from the crushing wind and not the crappy turn the evening had taken.  But that was a line even I wasn’t buying.

CHAPTER 1
6

“I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re back to dragging us out to patrol in the middle of the night.”  Keni yawned and scratched her shoulder through her  tropical fruit pjs.  I’d barely given her time to put on shoes before I forced her into the truck.  It was a two-piece cotton set with a button-up shirt and long pants, so at least she wouldn’t freeze.    “Really, sleep is highly overrated.”

“Did you two defeat the entire Dark Army while I was out tonight?”  I snapped.  With as hard as my hands gripped the steering wheel it’s surprising I didn’t snap it in half.

“Uh, no.”  Keni’s sleepy eyes widened at my harsh tone.

“Then we need to patrol.  Plus, it’s not the middle of the night.  It’s only eleven-thirty.”  I knew exactly what time it was because staring at my watch was really all I
could
do for the two hours I spent cowered under the shelter of a huge pine tree waiting for the downpour that had hit to let up.  When it finally eased up I walked all the way home soaking wet and chilled to the bone.  I couldn’t even use my souped up speed because too many people were still outside milling about.  Three hours of being soaked and frozen.  That didn’t improve my foul mood
at all
.  As soon as I got home I stood under the shower until the water turned cold, layered on as much flannel and denim as I could find, and roused my brother and sister.  I needed the release of kicking a little demon butt.    

“Ya know some of us actually have lives.” Keni grumbled and ran her fingers through her wicked case of bed-head.  “Gabe’s team is prepping for the play offs.”  Gabe grunted a confirmation.  He’s the assistant coach for the Gainesboro High football team.  “And the rehearsals for the school production of
South Pacific
started today.  I’m trying out for Nellie Forbush and sang
Honey Bun
enough times to make my throat raw.  All I wanted tonight was to get a good night sleep so I could be rested and prepared for the dance portion tomorrow.”    

“I’ll talk to the forces of darkness and ask them to work any evil plans they may have around your busy schedules.”  I glowered.

“Can you do that?” She asked with genuine interest.  My sarcasm escaped her. 

Gabe’s buzzed head appeared between us.  His meaty arms draped over the seat. “Date sucked, huh?”  

“No!”  I lied.  “ I just take upholding my sacred duty very seriously.  You should, too.” 

He raised one eyebrow and snorted.  “Yeah.  Sacred duty.  Sure.” 

I tilted my rearview mirror so I could see him, and—more importantly—so he could see the glare meant just for him.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Down girl.  Breathe.”  He said, with his palms raised.  “It’s pretty obvious what happened.  You went out with a dude
. Then a few hours later you stormed into the house dripping wet with chattering teeth.  Sucky date is the only answer to that equation.  Now you’re looking to take your nastiness out on the Dark Army, but until then we get to bear the brunt of it.”

I turned onto Dole, the main road that led through the heart of Gainesboro.  All the businesses were closed.  Old fashion black streets lights provided the only light for the sleeping town.  I sighed.  Gabe had hit close enough to the mark to deflate my anger a bit.  “You’re right.  I’m sorry.  It’s not your fault things with Caleb went beyond terrible.”

“What happened?” Keni asked.  Her head tilted like an inquisitive little puppy. 

“I have no idea!” I erupted.  “Things seemed to be going great!  Great conversation, great setting, great connection.  Everything seemed great, great, GREAT!”

“Seems like a whole lot of great.” 

“See, that’s just it!”  I jabbed a finger at Keni.  I couldn’t blame her when she winced. “It
was
great.  Which is why I have no idea what happened!  One second we’re about to kiss, the next he’s running out of the mountains like someone lit him on fire.”

Worry creased Kendall’s forehead and her hand fluttered up to her mouth.  “Oh-no!  Is that why we’re going up there?  Do you think he got lost?”

I let go of the steering long enough to throw my hands in the air.  “No, he didn’t get lost!  He said bad weather was coming and he had to get his stupid motorcycle home.  Then he left me in the clearing—
alone
—in the middle of a friggin’ storm!”

Gabe laid a “comforting” hand on my shoulder.  “I saw that bike, Cee.  I would’ve left you for it, too.”

I shot him a look over my shoulder.  “You’d abandon me for a Vespa.”

“Probably.”  

Kendall could always be counted on to give people the benefit of the doubt.  Even if they didn’t deserve it.  “Maybe he got sick and had to get home quick.”

“If you get sick, you drop your date off at home with an explanation!  You don’t hightail it out of the woods and leave her to fend for herself.  I could’ve been eaten by a bear!” 

My sister folded her arms and gave me a look of disbelief.  “No, you couldn’t.  You could, like, totally take a bear.”

“You know that, and I know that, but Caleb didn’t know that!  For all he knows I was dinner to a whole family of bears.”

“I still think he must’ve had a good reason.”  She shrugged.

“There
is
no good reason to turn your date into bear food!”

I was looking at Keni, not the road
, so it came as a complete surprise to me when Gabe screamed,  “Celeste!  Look out!”

I w
hipped my head toward the road and slammed on the brakes.  A shadowy figure was standing in the middle of the street.  I swerved to miss it, the wheel cranked hard to the right.  The truck thumped over the curb and narrowly missed taking out a light pole by mere inches.

Gabe’s hands gripped the front seat to steady himself.  “What’s that dude’s problem?  Does he
want
to get hit by a car.”

I
zeroed in on the form in the road.  Hunched over.  Elongated arms.  And there seemed to be something wrong with its head.  “That’s no ordinary dude.”

As if to prove me right, the figure leapt off the ground.  With one jump
it crossed the near fifteen feet between us and landed on the hood of my truck.  It shuttered under the impact.  Suction-cupped fingers adhered to my windshield. 

“Demon!”  Keni shrieked.  Fabric tore as her wings jotted out behind her.  She kept them pulled in close, but curled the ends around her.

“What was your first clue?”  Gabe’s voice dropped octaves.  His features became more feline than human.  “The bright blue skin with festive yellow spots?  Or the creepy frog face?” 

With his wide, down turned mouth, bug eyes and slimy looking skin this guy didn’t just
resemble
a frog, he was one.  A man-sized frog walking on two legs and wearing clothes from Old Navy’s new fall line.  There was a time in my life when I would’ve found this sight shocking. Now it was just another day on the job.        

Keni cast an annoyed look over her wing.  “I really don’t think that tone is helping matters, do you?”

Before Gabe could answer, Frog Boy used his suction cup fingers to jerk my windshield right off my truck.  It broke free with a loud pop. 

“Hey!”  In a fit of anger I fumbled to unhook my seatbelt.  “You better be able to fix that or I’m taking it out of your slime covered hide!”  He tossed the glass over his shoulder
.  It crashed to the ground in a million piece.  “Bad move, Kermie.  Now I’m kickin’ your…
gaahh
!” 

He cut of my threat by
flicking his insanely long tongue in my direction.  I brought my arm up to shield my face.  The wriggly pink appendage wrapped around my forearm and yanked me out of the truck.  With the twist of his head, he flung me through the air.  I slammed into the front of Angel Cakes Bakery and took out their plastic winged-cake sign with my foot.  The red brick face of the building scraped a layer of skin off my back as I slide to the sidewalk below.  Before I could gather my footing, Frog Boy sprung through the air.  He suctioned his hands and feet on either side of me to pin me in.  His wide mouth, absent of teeth, hung open.  Spittle dripped from his tongue—that was
still
around my arm—and landed on my jeans.  As if that wasn’t cringe-worthy enough I could see a thick layer of mucus that covered his electric blue skin.  I pulled my arms and legs as far out of “potential frog goo” range as I possibly could.  He stared down at me with vacant, black eyes.  I didn’t see threatening intentions.  I saw—well—
nothing
. 

Keni climbed out of the truck with her ivory wings arched up behind her.  Gabe
dove through the vacant windshield and morphed in mid-air.  He landed as the majestic tawny lion.  His russet mane danced in the night breeze as he threw his head back to unleash an impressive roar.  Frog legs were on the menu tonight. 

He made it two strides before
a voice behind interjected, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Gabe came to an abrupt halt.  His head whipped around.  I could’ve sworn he rolled his eyes.  I sat up a little straighter trying to see around Frog Boy without touching him and his grossness.  Striding across the deserted street like they were doing a slow-mo dramatic entrance in an action movie came the Glee Club.  They all
wore black jeans, black T-shirts and black trench coats that hung off their scrawny frames.  They halted out of striking distance from our giant cat and struck what looked like pre-rehearsed poses.  Boil Face went with hands on the hips.  Red kept his down at his sides.  Eddie folded his across his chest.  The lone twin faltered, glanced sideways at his friends, and raised his pinkie to his lips.  

“So, Conduit, we meet at last.”  Eddie declared in a forced deep voice whilst doing some odd eyebrow movements.

“Meet at last?”  I leaned forward and got a sickening dose of Frog Boy’s fly breath as he hissed at me.   “Oh, hush.”  I said to the frog, then went back to Eddie.  “What are you talking about?  I just saw you…”

“Spare me your lies vix
en!”  Eddie snapped.  Was that panic that flashed in his eyes?  “And there’s no use for you or your comrades to fight against our friend, Dendro, here.  His DNA has been meshed with that of a Dart Frog.  The toxic secretions oozing off his skin are the same that are used to coat the tips of blowdarts.  Direct contact will result in a
very
painful death.”