Five: A Maor Novel (Maor series) (14 page)

‘Well then I guess I know what I need to do,’ he says.
‘I’ll just have to make you fall in love with me.’

Chapter
21

Déjà vu

Tastes like: Apples…and
apples again

Smells like: Something
familiar

Sounds like: An alarm clock

Feels like: Spinning in a
circle

Looks like: Twins

I’m beginning to understand why my grandmother was so
sure I’d want to marry Tristan. Yesterday’s date was a pleasant surprise.
Tristan is kind, genuinely interested in what I have to say and incredibly
charming.

The only blight on an otherwise perfect day ended up
being the end, when Kael had appeared from nowhere to collect me. There had
been a brief moment, right when I’d said my goodbyes to Tristan, when I’d
stood, one hand on Kael’s arm and the other in Tristan’s hand. In that instant,
I’d felt a surge of energy, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, course
through my body. I’m sure Tristan and Kael had felt it too, because they’d
instantly dropped their hands from mine and I’d been left feeling oddly bereft.

Kael had been unapproachable the whole way home. I could
feel the anger coming off him in waves, although I still have no clue what I
did to deserve it. I’ve spent the entire day trying to pluck up the courage to
ask Kael to take me to the GC Green meeting this evening at Michelle’s. Now
it’s five thirty and I still haven’t asked him.

I pluck the little card with the address from my jeans
pocket and review the Google map on my phone-screen again. It’s only a few
blocks away. The sun is setting but it’s still light enough to walk the short
distance. I eye the huge oak outside my window, judge the distance to the
ground, and make a split decision.

What he doesn’t know won’t kill him and I’ll be back
before anyone realizes I’m gone anyway. I put my phone on silent, slip it into
my jeans pocket, quietly slide my window open and put one foot gingerly onto
the nearest branch of the oak tree. When it supports my weight, I step out onto
the branch and make my way carefully to the middle of the tree, where the
branches are sturdier. When I reach the trunk, I shimmy from branch to branch,
making my way as slowly and as quietly as possible down to the ground.

When I reach the last branch, I jump quickly to the
ground and crouch down behind the thick trunk, listening for any hue and cry.
When all remains silent, I peer around the tree, through the front window of
the Victorian lounge and breathe a sigh of relief. Nan and Kael must be in the
kitchen.

I skirt around the edge of the garden to the road and
only straighten fully when I’m out of sight of the front windows. My heart is
pounding as I cover the short distance to Michelle’s house and every noise
makes me jump, but I can’t turn back now.

The sun has all but slipped beneath the crimson blanket
of the horizon by the time I reach Michelle’s house. The windows are brightly
lit, the curtains not yet drawn against the encroaching evening and I can see a
handful of students, scattered around an elegant, white lounge.

Michelle spies me through the window and meets me at the
door. I exhale a breath I didn’t realize I was holding as I step inside.

‘Hi babe, so glad you could make it!’ Michelle says and peers
behind me, ‘Where’s Kael’s car?’
 

‘I decided to walk,’ I say.

‘Alone?’ she asks with a surprised look. ‘Kael let you?’

‘It’s just a few metres down the road.’ I say defensively,
stepping past her into the bright hallway.

She shrugs and leads the way into the lounge.

‘We’ll start in a sec,’ she says. ‘We’re just finalizing
plans for the spring festival fundraiser tonight, so it’ll be a short one. Take
a seat.’

I survey the room and am just about to perch on the edge
of a white sofa, when I notice Kelly, waving at me from a sliding door near the
other end of the room. Jarred stands beside her, along with another ash-blonde
boy, I don’t recognize.

‘Shaylee!’ Kelly exclaims as I weave past a group of laughing
students toward them. ‘I’m so glad you could make it! This is my brother, Peter.’
 
The boy beside her turns a set of bright
blue eyes on me and flashes a grin, the kind that has probably broken many a
heart.

‘Ah, the girl from South Africa!’ he exclaims. I can’t
help but notice how unlike Kelly he appears to be in every way. He is the light
to her dark.

‘Hope you’re the arty type?’ he says, standing a little
too close. ‘We’re a tad short on creativity in this committee.’ I take a step
back to rectify the distance between us.

‘Well, I’m not Rembrandt, if that’s what you’re hoping
for but I have a creative streak.’

‘Right, peeps!’ Michelle shouts from across the room. ‘Most
of the arrangements for the festival are complete. We just need to put the
finishing touches on tonight. Let’s run through the arrangements.’

She proceeds to call on various students in the room for
updates on an array of tasks, from budgets to crinkle paper. They’ve got this
down to a t, and I begin to wonder what help I could possibly be.

‘Give us a run down on marketing, Pete?’ Michelle says after
she’s run through most of the plans. We all turn to Peter, who grins, like he’s
used to being the centre of attention.
 

‘We’re going with a
spring
goddess
theme this year, golds and greens but we’re a little short on hands
and creative ideas. Thankfully, Shaylee here has volunteered to help in that
department.’

‘I did?’ I say faintly, but he just grins and pats me on
the shoulder.

‘Great,’ Michelle says, marking my name down on a
clipboard. ‘We’ll all pitch in to make the banners and we’ll also need to take
shifts at the gate.’

She spends a few minutes going over dates and times and
setting up a rotation schedule for manning the gate.

‘Same time next week peeps!’ Michelle says, dismissing
the gathering. Students immediately start dissolving into groups again,
chatting and making their way to the doorway, where Michelle stands to greet
them.
 

‘So, partner,’ Peter says, arresting me with a light
touch to my shoulder. ‘Do you have some time to run through a couple ideas?’

I glance nervously at my wrist-watch. The meeting has
only lasted half an hour, but I can’t risk staying out any longer. What if Nan
discovers that I’m not in my room?

‘Sorry, not tonight, I’m in a bit of a rush.’

‘How about tomorrow then? Over lunch?’

‘Sure,’ I say hastily, ‘but I’d better be going.’

‘You need a ride?’

I consider the offer for a second, feeling strangely uneasy
but then I glance at my watch again and nod.

‘That would be great, thanks,’ I say. I follow Peter to
the doorway.

‘It’s too dark for you to walk home, babes,’ Michelle
says when I reach her at the door. ‘If you wait a bit, I’ll give you a lift home.’

‘Don’t worry,’ I reply hastily. ‘Peter offered me a
lift.’

She frowns at me.

‘I don’t think -’

‘Cheers, Mish!’ Peter interrupts, putting an arm across
my shoulder and ushering me quickly outside. ‘You’re staying at Mrs. Greene’s?’

‘Um, yeah..’ I say, in a distracted voice as he
practically shoves me down the pathway. I look back at Michelle, who stares
after us with an unhappy expression, but I don’t turn back. I need to get to
Nan’s before I’m missed.

In less than a few minutes, Peter has us outside my
grandmother’s house. The lights are on in both the front rooms and I can make
out the faint silhouette of a person standing behind the drawn curtains. I’ll
have to climb the tree, I can’t risk going through either of the doors.

‘Thanks for the lift,’ I say and turn to open the
passenger door.

‘Wait a minute,’ Peter says, putting one hand on my arm.
‘What’s the big rush?’

I glance nervously toward the house.

‘I really have to…’

I flick my gaze from the window to Peter’s face and the
words die on my lips.

Holy crap, I recognize that look…

Get out now
, my mind screams. I reach for the door handle, only to have it wrenched
open from the outside, leaving me tumbling unceremoniously to the sidewalk. For
a second, I am grateful for the strong arms that catch me but then I recognize
the scent and turn to look into the most thunderous pair of grey-green eyes
I’ve ever seen.

Chapter
22

Indignation

Tastes like: Salt

Smells like: Lemon-juice

Sounds like: A mix between
a laugh and a snort

Feels like: A pole against
your spine

Looks like: A bulbous red
lamp

 
‘What the hell are
you doing?’

Kael pulls me to my feet and drags me toward the dimly
lit porch, leaving a dazed Peter staring after us. The front door opens and Nan
steps outside. I hear the squeal of car tires and I watch in envy as Peter
makes his escape.
 

‘Shaylee, we were worried sick!’ Nan says but she can
barely get a word in as Kael turns the full force of his rage on me.

‘Where the hell were you?’

‘I just went to Michelle -’

‘What part of this arrangement don’t you understand?’

‘- But, it was just -’

‘I don’t care where you went! You don’t go
anywhere
without me!’

‘Let me go,’ I say, trying to shake my arm free from
Kael’s vice-like grip. His anger scares me, it’s much worse that any of the
jaw-clenching, silent treatment he’s given me so far but I raise my chin and
retaliate with a vengeance I’m far from feeling.

‘I’m not a child!’

‘Then stop acting like one!’ he shouts back.

‘Calm down, Kael,’ Nan interrupts, but he doesn’t seem
to hear her.

‘Do you want to die?’ he demands, fingers digging
painfully into my upper arms, ‘because that is exactly what will happen if you continue
like this!’

‘I don’t have to answer to you!’ I shout back. His rage
is terrifying, more so because I sense that he’s holding back. It’s another
side to him I’ve never seen and all I can do to keep from running away is bite
my lip and stand my ground.

‘Enough!’ Nan’s quiet but firm voice is like a bucket of
ice.

She turns to Kael. ‘You need to calm down.’

He keeps his eyes on me, breathing rapidly in and out, like
he’s just run a marathon. His grip softens ever so slightly as he runs his gaze
down over me, searching for something. When he either does, or doesn’t find
what he’s looking for, he returns his gaze to my face and suddenly looks very
tired.

‘I promised to keep her safe, Tanya,’ he says, ‘but I
can’t protect her from herself and I draw the line when she starts putting the
entire Glen in danger.’ He steps closer to me, until our breaths are mingling
and my wrist is throbbing from his proximity.

‘I am sworn to protect you, Shaylee,’ he says, ‘and if
that means I have to lock you up until the day you are married, then that’s
exactly what I’ll do. So, if you want to keep your single status for any period
of time, we will do this on my terms, understand?’

‘But -’ Kael glares at me and I falter back a step.

‘Tanya,’ he says, still keeping his eyes on me, ‘I
suggest you explain to your granddaughter why she
will
be listening to my every instruction and exactly what will
happen if she chooses to repeat tonight’s little show of independence.’

He stalks off the porch and disappears into the darkness
of the surrounding trees.

‘He has no right to talk to me like that!’ I turn to
face Nan in the half light of the porch. My insides feel like milkshake and I
need my anger to ground me again.

‘He’s only trying to protect you,’ my grandmother
replies.

‘But he’s being unreasonable!’

Nan puts one hand on my shoulder and gives me a stern
look. ‘Do you realize what could have happened with that boy if Kael hadn’t
pulled you out of the car?’

I drop my eyes to the wooden porch. ‘He just gave me a
lift, Nan,’ I say, but in my heart, I know she is right.

‘I think we need to have a chat,’ she says. ‘Come, let’s
go inside.’

I sigh and follow her through the house into the
kitchen, perch myself on one of the bar stools and wait in silence as Nan puts
the kettle on to make tea. She brews a pot of mint tea, sets a steaming cup on
the counter, and takes a seat opposite me.

‘There was a once a
Maor
family,’ she says.

‘Don’t you think I’m a little old for fairytales, Nan?’

‘Just listen.’ She sets her own cup down on the counter
and continues. ‘This family was very strong and powerful. They were the
Maor
royal family, with blood-lines
almost as pure as the ancients.’

‘We have a royal family?’ I interrupt.

‘We have a few now – us included but then, there was
only the one.’

‘Was? What hap -’

‘Just listen,’ Nan says, holding one finger up to shush
me.

I take my steaming cup in both hands and keep quiet.

‘The o’Donegal royal family was the most powerful
Maor
family in existence up until
nineteen years ago. They were prosperous and well-respected. When Queen Tatiana
gave birth to her first son, there was great excitement throughout the
Maor
. Many predicted that the child,
being so pure blooded, would come into immense talents that would benefit our
kind.’

Nan takes a sip from her cup, grimaces and leans over
the counter to add another spoon of brown sugar to her tea. She stirs absently,
letting the spoon clink softly against the sides of her cup.

‘After the child was born, there were many rumors that
he might be the chosen one but many, including myself, did not believe that he
could be the one, I mean, he was a
boy
after-all.
For weeks after the birth, Charnwood was overwhelmed with
Maor
visitors who wanted a glimpse of the boy.’

Nan taps her spoon on the side of the porcelain cup.

‘All of that attention drew other visitors to Charnwood
too though – unwelcome ones.’

‘Vampires?’ I ask, feeling my pulse quicken as Nan’s
expert story-telling skills draw me into the story.

She shakes her head.

‘Much worse.’

She takes a sip from her cup and shifts to the edge of
the stool, like she’s preparing to tell me a secret.

‘We’ll never really know the full story of what happened
that night. We’ve pieced together what we can from the ruins and the death-bed
ravings of Tatiana’s servant girl, the only survivor left in Charnwood. She
died two days after the massacre and the stories she told were truly
devastating.

‘She spoke of armies of unnatural – vampires,
werewolves, witches and more. Even with three
seastnan
families to protect them, the o’Donegals never stood a
chance.’

Nan swallows and shakes her head sadly.

‘It wasn’t a quick death for the massacred either. From
what we can tell, there was plenty of in-fighting between the enemies. Every
member of the Glen, including the entire royal family was killed, every house burned
to the ground and the boy - the two month old prince – well, his body was never
found.’
 

I put one hand over my mouth and stare at Nan.

‘That’s tragic.’

Nan nods and lifts her cup to her lips, peering at me
over the rim. She takes a sip and sets the cup on the counter.

‘It isn’t a fairytale, Shaylee. That story is an
important part of our history, one we teach to all
Maor
children when they come of age. That one night changed our
entire existence, our politics, and our leadership. But that’s not why I shared
this story with you tonight. There is a message in this tale that you need to
heed, because the threat is very real and next time…it could be you.’
  

Chapter
23

                                                        
Vulnerable
                    

Tastes like: An open
sandwich

Smells like: A gutted fish

Sounds like: The parting of
lips

Feels like: An open wound

Looks like: Naked, white
flesh

Last night’s altercation is still fresh on my mind as I
wait for Kael to pull the truck into the driveway. I nibble at the soft flesh of
my lips, ignoring the soft drizzle that is slowly drifting down from the colorless
sky and leaving tiny rivulets running down my dark green Drymac.

 
It had never been
my intention to purposefully defy Kael. Although part of me – make that most of
me – balks at the idea of having to run every decision through a stranger,
barely a year or so my senior, I hadn’t gone to Michelle’s house with
insubordination in mind. I just hadn’t wanted to ask Kael for permission since
he’d been in one of his regular moods, and besides, it was just down the road
for Pete’s sake, what could possibly have happened?

The memory of Peter’s glazed expression niggles in my
mind but I push it away. Kael’s reaction had been over-the-top, and he hadn’t
even been willing to listen to my explanation. Not that it would have made any
difference. No, he’d been totally out of line.

‘Morning,’ I say, climbing into the truck as soon as
he’s pulled up in the drive.

‘Morning,’ he replies, although I can’t be entirely
sure, since it sounds more like a grunt than a greeting.
 

‘Sleep well?’ I ask sweetly, annoyed by his mumbled
response. ‘I got up twice to pee last night.’

Kael glances at me and frowns.

‘Well, you did say I wasn’t to go anywhere without your
knowledge.’

Suddenly, he yanks up the truck’s hand-brake and turns
to face me.

‘Look, I’m not interested in rehashing last night’s
argument, Shaylee and I’m sorry if I was a bit hard on you but I’m not doing
this for myself. I can’t protect you if you won’t co-operate.’

‘It was a couple of meters down the road, Kael -’

‘You just don’t get it, do you?’ he says with an
exasperated shake of his head. ‘Peter, last night - do you realize what would
have happened?’

‘Come on,’ I say, feigning a look of casual disregard,
‘he just gave me a lift. It’s not like he was going to kill me.’

‘No, he wasn’t going to kill you - he had other things
on his mind.’ He gives me a meaningful look and I feel color rush into my
cheeks. ‘Don’t pretend you didn’t notice the way he was looking at you. I
know
you were frightened.’

I drop my gaze to my hands, clasped tightly in my lap. Kael
continues, his voice softening slightly.

‘You don’t seem to understand how attractive your aura
is to men, of all kinds, including human. You drive us – them,’ he corrects, ‘insane.
They will do anything to have you, including taking you against your will.’

‘It’s not exactly something I can control,’ I say,
defensively.

‘No, you can’t,’ he agrees, ‘but you
can
stay out of risky situations. You
can’t be alone with
any
man, Shaylee.
Even one who you think is a friend.’

My thoughts fly to Luke and I know Kael is right, but I’m
not about to admit it.

‘I can’t avoid every member of the opposite sex,’ I
argue.

Kael sighs. ‘That’s why I got you this.’ He thrusts
something small and square into my lap.

‘Jewelry?’ I ask, frowning down at the unmistakable
black velvet box. ‘You’re buying me jewelry?’

‘Just open it.’

I obey, flipping the lid of the little box back on its miniature
hinges to reveal the treasure, hidden inside.

‘What is it?’ I ask, tracing the delicate chain and
simple sterling silver setting that holds a tiny oval of green stone.

‘It’s jade,’ he says, ‘it’s a protection talisman.’

I look at the tiny green stone and shake my head.

‘It’s really pretty, but how is that little piece of
stone supposed to protect me?’

Kael shakes his head and reaches over to take the box
from my lap. He holds up the chain and the stone dangles before me.

‘You have a lot to learn. Turn around.’

I scoot forward on my seat and flip my loose hair over
my left shoulder. Kael somehow manages to undo the tiny clasp with his huge
fingers. I feel his fingertips brush the sensitive skin at the back of my neck as
he fastens the necklace in place. A wave of energy courses from his fingers into
my skin and I almost gasp out loud as it shoots through my blood-stream,
sending delicious, tingling warmth to every part of my body. It’s getting
stronger, this bond between us. Every time he’s near I feel it growing, like a
living thing. He pauses a moment, letting his fingers linger against my neck,
then he twists me back around with one hand on each shoulder and lifts the
stone in his fingers.

‘Jade has both protective and healing qualities. It’s
not going to protect you from any physical threats but it will mask your aura a
bit, so you’re not like this glowing trophy for every member of the opposite
sex. I’ve also suggested to Tanya that she mix some Rowan berry juicy in with
your tea each morning. That should help a little too.’