Rua (Rua, book 1) (12 page)

“Yes, I can feel all of them, even now. It’s like a huge pressure on my head. I think I’m creating some sort of backlog or something.”

“Yikes,” he said. “Wish I could help.”

“Thanks.” She pulled some maximum strength pain reliever out of her purse and took two. She knew it wouldn’t help, because this wasn’t the kind of headache that came from the world she knew best, the world where she could drink a big glass of water and take a pill and her headache would disappear.

She made the mistake of glancing out one of the long narrow windows in the cafeteria. She saw the
Sidhe
moving in the shadows of the tree line, even in daylight. She lowered her voice. “Cripes. Outside, even now.”

He followed her eyes and stared at the trees. “I can’t see them. At all. Guess I should be glad.” He moved his eyes to her face. “I hope she can help you. You kind of look like crap.”

“Gee, thanks.” She knew she looked like crap. Overnight, dark circles had crept under her eyes, and she was encased in an oversized black hoodie with a white zigzag design down the sleeves. Not her usual style, but the long sleeves kept her arms and palms covered.

She scanned the expanse of the cafeteria. Since the school was so small, all the students had lunch at the same time, from the scared-looking freshman to the near-adult seniors. Maybe because it was pizza day, but it seemed everyone was there, eating in the school cafeteria. Except Rylan. She hadn’t seen him since he’d disappeared from her room. She’d replayed all of their interactions in her head, wondering what would happen if she had flirted more.

Instead, she was left with a huge, aching gap in her chest. Every touch left her flustered for hours, and every thought that crossed her brain bore his image.

It was troubling. She’d never pined for anyone like this before. Even now, sitting next to her awesome friend, trying to keep her fire under control, and dealing with the
Sidhe
screaming for their release in her head, all she could think about was him.

She tossed her fork back on the plastic tray.

“Bad spud?” Tink asked.

“Nope, just not hungry. By the way, where were you last hour?”

“I skipped,” he said then took a huge bite of his pizza.

“Oh? You skipped, then came back for lunch?”

“Duh, pizza day!” He tapped his hand on the table. “I’m glad you said something. I can’t believe I almost forgot.” He walked around the table and sat next to her. He pulled his tray across the table with one long pointy finger until it was in front of him again. “I ran an errand, my dear. I picked up a little something for you.” He wiped off his fingers with a napkin then leaned back to dig into his jeans pocket. He pulled out a little wad of paper tissue. He unwrapped it then pressed it into her hand.

Keeping her arms on her lap, she opened her hand to see what it was, quieting the flame so it wasn’t in her way.

It was a shiny, pea-sized, round pendant. A purple stone marked the middle. The surrounding metal was pressed with tiny symbols. It looked handmade. “It’s very pretty. What is it?”

“It’s for protection. I got it from my network. Put it on, it might make you feel better.”

She unclasped the chain of the necklace from her parents, added the pendant then put it back on. The two small charms felt right lying against her skin. “Thanks.”

She opened her mouth to ask more about his network, but shut it when two girls, Bryce and Jessica, slid in across from them. They were nice girls, friends with Tink before she started.

“What’s with the hoodie? I haven’t seen you in anything like that before,” Bryce asked. Her wide blue eyes were filled with curiosity, nothing more. “I think it’s pretty cool.”

“Oh, I’ve been feeling a little under the weather. This keeps me nice and warm,” she responded.

“Oh, I have a fuzzy sweater like that. I only wear it when I’m sick.”

The girls’ conversation with Tink flowed around her. She smiled and added a couple of words here and there, but most of the time, her attention was elsewhere, roaming the cafeteria, looking for Rylan.

He wasn’t there, she was sure of it.

She took another bite of food then gulped down the rest of her water. The food and water did nothing to help her relentlessly pounding headache, and she knew nothing would make the hollow feeling in her chest go away.

Finally, the warning bell rang.

Celeste stood with Tink, waved goodbye to the friendly girls, then ditched her tray.

She rushed to biology, leaving Tink in her wake. She found her chair, got out her textbook and notebook, then pulled her hood up and closed her eyes. She had a few minutes before the second bell rang.

She heard Tink walk in with Bryce and Jessica. He lightly patted her head as he walked by, but didn’t try to talk to her. Tink was cool in that way.

Other students filled the room, but she mostly tuned them out. There was so much noise inside her head when she stopped to listen. Voices, in all different languages, all different tones, pleading in hushed voices for her help. She concentrated on the whirl of noise in her head. She issued a non-verbal command.
STOP.

The voices quieted then died away. Her headache pounded less, but it was definitely still there. She opened her eyes. The classroom was full, the teacher up front.

As the last bell rang, Rylan slipped into class and sat in his usual spot in front of her. “Hi,” he whispered.

She bit back her many questions and smiled instead.

As he studied her face, a frown settled in over his. He covered her right hand with his left hand. “It’ll be okay.” He left it there long enough for the warm tinglies to run up her arm then returned his attention to the teacher.

She kept her eyes on her hands, but she felt the gaze of her classmates boring into her from all angles. She risked a glance at Jennifer. She’d lowered her chin was giving Celeste a death stare. Celeste quickly moved her eyes back to her hands, but couldn’t help the teeny tiny smile on her lips.
Eat it, bitch.

Celeste spent the rest of class trying to keep her eyes on her teacher, instead of examining Rylan’s thick black hair and imagining what it would be like to run her fingers through it. She tapped her feet impatiently through sixth and seventh hour. By the time the final bell rang, her head was in full-on migraine mode.

Out in the hallway, she dumped her books in her locker then leaned against it. She and Rylan hadn’t discussed where they’d meet, so she waited, and waited. Her classmates filed out of classrooms and clustered around lockers. Some laughed, most were talking. They were worried about prom, grades, tests, and clothes. She wished she had those kinds of worries instead of the scary-dark-things-that-follow-you type of worries.

She pushed away from her locker and started to the double doors. Maybe he was out in the parking lot.

An arm draped across her shoulders without warning, causing her to jump. She turned, ready to admonish Tink for sneaking up on her, but it was Rylan.

His face was close to hers since he was so much shorter than Tink. “There you are. Ready?” His breath reached her. It smelled nice, like mint and honey.

She leaned in to him without meaning to. “Yes.”

They walked to the double doors. He left his arm across her shoulders, which suited her just fine. She stared straight ahead as she walked, not wanting any distraction to take her out of his reach.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “You don’t look well.”

“How kind of you to mention that.”

“That’s not what I meant. You’re beautiful, as you always are, but you look pale and tired,” he said in a serious, matter-of-fact tone, like he was reading her a grocery list.

Her tummy did strange flip-flops with the compliment, but she managed to prevent the usual blush. “My head hurts.”

“I’m sorry.” He opened the door with his free hand then slid his arm off her shoulder, resting it in the small of her back. He dropped his hands off her completely when they left the building.

She felt exposed without his touch. She followed him to his car.

The Perk was only a few miles a way, which meant she only had a few minutes alone with him. “Do you even need to drive?”

He smiled. “Not always, I can walk or take a bus.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

He glanced at her. “I do, eh?”

“Yes.”

“No, I don’t need to drive.” He parked his car and got out, and that was the end of the conversation.

She got out and walked past him towards the door of the shop.

“Wait.” He rested his hand on her arm. A spark of something flew between them, something extra, something that made him drop his hand. “Please stay close to me.”

She avoided his eyes, but nodded in agreement.

She stepped into the coffee shop. Tink had told her about this place, but she’d never been before. It looked like what coffee shops looked like before the onslaught of massive chains. Mismatched couches, loveseats, and battered tables were scattered around the space. Tall windows let in bright squares of light. The menu was written in colored chalk on a giant chalkboard and housed behind a huge oak bar with an ancient cash register.

She scanned the small shop, half cast in shadows in the late afternoon light. She saw Dr. Ramone settling into a table.

“Let’s order.” Rylan her to the cash register. “What do you want?”

She tried to sort out the talls, mochas, and espresso drinks scrawled on the chalkboard, but the constant pounding of her head and her nerves from being with Rylan left everything in a blurry jumble. “I don’t care. You pick.”

He ordered two lattes, and pulled out his wallet to pay.

She fumbled for her purse, but he put his hand on her arm.

“I got it.”

“Thanks.” She wrapped her hands around the white mug then went to the table Dr. Ramone had selected. She wore jeans and a sweater, with a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. She had a huge, steaming coffee in front of her. She smiled at Celeste, but her smile faded when she saw Rylan.

She sat across from Dr. Ramone. Rylan sat on her right.

“Hi,” she said to Dr. Ramone.

“Hello, Celeste. I’m very glad to see you.” She glanced at Rylan then back at Celeste. “Don’t you want to have this conversation in private?”

“No, I want him here,” she said.

Dr. Ramone nodded. “These things we speak of are not meant for everyone.”

“He’s not everyone,” Celeste said. “He’s a, um…” She glanced around the shop to see if anyone was listening.

“
Sidhe
, or least some of him is. I know, but he’s not
Tuatha
,” Dr. Ramone said.

Celeste took a sip of her coffee. “Rylan stays or I go.” She glanced at Rylan, who rested one elbow on the back of her chair.

“I’ve told you, Celeste. It’s not me you need to fear. There are some—”

“Fayga already showed up,” Rylan said.

“What?” Dr. Ramone slammed her cup down on its saucer, sending splatters of coffee across the table. Several people turned to stare. She picked up her napkin and blotted at the coffee on the table. “Sorry.” She lowered her voice. “That’s what I was worried about. Not good, Celeste. What happened?”

“First things first,” Celeste said. “Are you
Tuatha
?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you helping me?” Celeste asked.

“Because you’re one of us.”

Rylan chimed in. “I’ve already told her.”

Dr. Ramone shot him a wary look. “And what exactly did you tell her?”

“I told her that there can only be five,” he said. “I warned her about what has happened in the past.”

She picked up her coffee again. “So, you don’t trust me? Is that why? Because if that’s so, he’s done you a big disservice, even though I’m sure his intentions are pure. Most of them anyway.” She set her cup down. “We haven’t had a new
Tuatha
in over fifty years, and no
Tuatha
,”—she glanced at Rylan—“has been murdered by another in hundreds of years. That’s very old-school. We’re much more cooperative now. We have a board and everything – very organized.”

“Are you next in line?” Celeste asked.

“No, I’m not. I’m the third in. Regina is the oldest. I can assure you she means no harm. She is very old and ready to go. She didn’t want to scare you, so we decided someone further down the line would make contact with you.”

Rylan leaned back in his chair. “I still don’t trust you. How did you find her?”

Dr. Ramone glowered at him over her mug. “And why should she trust you? I found her the same way you did, the same way Fayga did.”

Celeste looked back and forth between the two of them. “What is that supposed to mean? Do I have a honing beacon attached to my forehead?”

“Sort of.
Sidhe
can sense
Tuatha
, and
Tuatha
can sense
Sidhe
. You can tell when another
Tuatha
is in the world. It’s hard to describe, but we all knew you were getting ready to join us,” Dr. Ramone said.

“Then how come I didn’t sense you?”

“You did notice I was different, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Celeste said.

“And Rylan? I’m sure you had a reaction to him even before you turned.”

She glanced at Rylan, remembering the pounding headache that she’d gotten from him only a few short days ago. “Yes, I did.”

And how do you feel now?” she asked.

Celeste did an internal check. Her headache was gone, the voices were quieter. She still felt the pressure and heard some noises, but they were muted, like she had put on ear muffs or something. “Better.”

“Good, I’m trying to relieve some of the pressure. I can’t do it all. I’ll need to start teaching you to control the
Sidhe
immediately, or else the pain will only get worse.”

“Control.” Rylan’s voice was barely audible.

Dr. Ramone turned to Rylan, eyes flashing in the weird supernatural way. “Please, I insist that you let me speak freely. If you don’t like it, leave. I’m glad you’ve decided to undertake the role of guardian, but let me do what I need to do.”

Celeste rested a hand on Rylan’s arm. It was meant to be calming, but it just made her blush instead, so she picked it back up.