Secrets in the Dark (6 page)

Inside, it was like the
aftermath of a disaster movie, where a rundown diner and a
McDonald’s got crushed together. You took a seat at one of the
small booths held together with brightly colored duct tape. Someone
would take your order and bring your food, but you got your own
drinks in a to-go cup from the soda machine near the
door.

The sound of buzzers and
bells going off in the kitchen penetrated throughout the dining
room. Johnny had partly automated the kitchen like a fast food
place, and the high school supplied plenty of cheap labor to man
the fryers and prepare some of the food. But only Johnny touched
the grill.

The decorations included
lots of plastic, and odd shades of purple, gold, and what Johnny
fondly called avocado green. Guys from school called it puke green
behind his back.

I pulled open the glass
door and the three of us hesitated in the entrance. I eyed the row
of booths visible on this side of the partition running down the
middle of the room. I wondered if we’d have to walk all the way
around to check the booths on the other side.

I felt my palms begin to
sweat.

Faith poked me in the ribs
and nodded toward a booth near the back where a small hand waved at
us. I gasped and took a small step backwards when I saw who was
seated at the table. Rowena just-call-me-Ronny Danann. The woman
who married my brother Chris a week ago.

Actually, I guess I have
to call her Ronny Taylor now. That sucks.

I’d never mentioned to
anybody how uncomfortable Ronny made me. Her formal, stiff way of
speaking was really strange, but that wasn’t the problem. Mostly,
when I looked at her, I was afraid I’d lost my mind. People in town
thought Chris had been seeing her for the last two
years.

But it had been much
longer.

I was
five and Chris was fifteen when I started trailing after him.
My babysitter, old Mrs. Johnson, fell asleep in the afternoons and
never knew I’d left.

Chris didn’t like me
following him, so I got very good at sneaking. He’d met someone who
looked exactly like Ronny for the past seven years. And it was
obvious, even to a five year old, that they’d already known each
other a long time.

For most of those years,
there had been nothing romantic between them. Ronny was definitely
a grown-up, while Chris was just a geeky teenager. But that changed
over the years. Or rather, Chris changed.

That’s what made me worry
I was losing my mind. Chris and I had both changed a lot in seven
years, but Ronny hadn’t changed at all. Not her hair, not her face,
not even her clothes. She didn’t look
one
day
older.

Two years ago they’d
started holding hands and kissing. I don’t know if other ten year
olds like to watch their brother making out, but
I
didn’t hang around
much after that.

I’d never told Ronny or
Chris that I’d seen them together for the past seven years. But it
creeped me out whenever I had to be near her. And now, it appeared
that Ronny, my new sister-in-law, the woman who never looked any
older, was the one who wanted to talk to us.

I do
not
want to do this!

I hung back, feeling my
stomach churn when Ronny stood up and motioned us over. Faith and
Olivia looked at me curiously, and I could only shrug. I trailed
after them uncertainly, wondering if I should just turn and
go.

I was still asking myself
that as we got to the table. Ronny said, “We now are all here.
Before starting, would you like to eat something? As my
treat.”

I’d been hungry when we
came in, but my stomach was
jumping too
much to eat anything now. In fact, the smell of my favorites, fried
potatoes and bacon, were making me feel queasy.

“
Nothing for me, thanks,”
I said weakly, while my mind began buzzing with
questions.

“
I could eat!” Olivia
grinned, looking slightly more awake, and Faith seconded the idea.
I waited impatiently for the waitress to finish taking their order
before I started to ask the questions that were now stinging my
brain like a swarm of angry mosquitoes.

“
How did you—“ I almost
burst with impatience when Ronny held up her hand and said, “Let us
wait until our food is served to us. We do not want to get
interrupted, and I do not want anyone to hear what I need to say to
you.”

The loud sounds of people
filling drinks at the soda machine and the buzzers going off in the
kitchen made it difficult to hear any of the conversations going on
around us. I guessed Ronny was counting on those sounds to cover
whatever we were about to discuss.

We sat in silence, Olivia
looking half-asleep, until the waitress put breakfast on the table.
Then Olivia’s head snapped up and she grabbed her fork.
“Yum.”

Once the waitress was back
out of earshot, Ronny cleared her throat and said, “You are
wondering what all the mystery is about? I am sorry for that. I
have much to explain, but first I need you to promise me you will
not talk about this. With anyone.” She paused and met each of our
eyes.

I hesitated, not sure I
wanted to give her any promises. Ronny looked at me intently for a
moment, then said, “Before that, I believe Kat has
a concern about me.”

Chapter 9

T M I

I glanced at Faith and
Olivia, then back at Ronny. “I…I don’t know what you mean.”
Although I was afraid I did.

My heartbeat accelerated
when Ronny frowned at me. I suddenly remembered the thought I had
before falling asleep.

What if there is a place
called Chimera, and there are magical beings? If so, maybe it
wasn’t so crazy for Ronny to still look exactly the same. But what
would that make Ronny? Ronny—who’d married my brother Chris just
last week.

I stared down at the table,
drawing circles with my fork, not willing to meet her eyes. Ronny
said, “I have seen you many times over the years, Kat. I know how
you used to follow Chris.” I glanced up, horrified.

She smiled at me. “Do not
concern yourself. Chris did not know, and I do not intend to tell
him. I hoped you would not recognize I was the same one with him
all that time. But whenever you let yourself look at me, I see the
doubt in your eyes.”

She glanced at Olivia and
Faith before continuing. “I will not tell you the whole story now,
but I will tell you this. I first met Chris when he was ten years
old. The same year you were all born. That year troubled him
greatly. A new baby in the house meant his life would be changed
forever.”

I looked at Ronny
curiously. Had Chris found change as hard as I did now?

Ronny shook her head. I was
afraid for a moment I’d said it out loud. Then she said, “You and
Chris have altered tremendously in the past twelve years, but I
have not. This, I believe, is what worries you. Am I
right?”

My mouth was so dry, I knew
I couldn’t get a sound out. I nodded reluctantly, unable to look at
Olivia and Faith. What could they be thinking?

“
There is no need for you
to be concerned. Chris knows every part of me. And I swear I
will
never
allow
anything to bring harm to him.” For a moment, a fierce gleam seemed
to shine from her eyes.

She took a deep breath, and
her eyes looked completely normal again. Did I imagine that strange
look? She continued, “Before we speak about how all of this is
possible, I must know if you read the pages I left for
you?”

When we all nodded, Ronny
clasped her hands on the table. It was a casual pose, but the skin
stretched so tight over her knuckles it looked white and waxy. Like
mine did on roller coasters.

She began to speak low and
quiet, while keeping her eyes on her hands. “So, now you know how
Chimera began. I was born there, a long, long time ago.” At the
inquisitive sound that escaped Olivia, she glanced up with a slight
smile. “No, I am not going to tell you how old I am. Not
now.”

“
You saw our rule, that
any who learn of our existence must be brought to Chimera. There
they must spend the remainder of their life. This rule was designed
to keep our secret safe. It is better to be safe than worry,
right?”

Something about that last
sentence didn’t sound right, but I dismissed it, wondering what
she’d tell us next.

She paused a moment, as if
collecting her thoughts. I heard Olivia’s toe begin to tap. I’d
have tried to kick her, but the table was too crowded. I’d probably
kick Ronny by mistake.

“
What about us?” Faith
looked both scared and outraged.

“
Do not worry, I have no
way to enforce that rule, even if I believed in it. Listen and you
will see.” She sighed deeply, and sounded unbearably sad. “Once
Chris and I knew we loved one another, I asked our Council to make
an exception for us. Chris would not be happy leaving your family
behind forever. He would never be able to tell you why he had to
leave or where he would be. We could not have a good life together
like that.”

The world wobbled around me
and I grabbed the edge of the table, afraid for a moment I’d fall
off my chair. Chris might have been forced to live in Chimera? I
couldn’t imagine my life if Chris just disappeared without a word.
And I didn’t believe he’d do that. He’d have told us.

And what if he did? Then
our whole family would know about Chimera. Would they have forced
us all to disappear into Chimera?

Ronny hadn’t noticed my
momentary distraction and continued softly, “The Council refused my
request. Even though my mother is one of the founding members and
occupies our highest rank.”

She stared at me intently.
“When I told them I would live in the Mundane world with Chris,
they threatened to ban me from Chimera forever. I do not think they
believed I would choose to stay in the Mundane world. In nearly
five hundred years of your time, no magickal being has chosen to
leave. The Council was sure this threat would make me obey
them.”

She fell silent a moment,
her eyes distant. “It took long months of searching my heart before
I could make the decision to leave Chimera. To move here and be
with Chris in your world. Knowing it would be forever. It
was
the most difficult decision of my
life. But one can’t cry over spoiled milk, right?”

Faith said, “I think you
mean spilt milk.”

The smile Ronny gave her
was just a weak imitation of her early smile. “Did I get it wrong?
I like using your sayings, but Chris is always needing to correct
me. I make him laugh when I mangle your sayings.”

She turned to me, her eyes
sad and intent. “I can see you are wondering why I requested for
you to come to listen to my story. The answer is simple. I need you
to help me.”

She sat straighter, her
shoulders growing stiff and her face turning hard. “I have tried to
enter Chimera but cannot get in. The Council has kept their threat.
The entrance is magicked against me and I am banished from my
home.”

Olivia was definitely
waking up now, her eyes shining with interest. “Why do you wanna go
back? I’d be totally mad at them if I were you.”

Ronny’s hands writhed
together for a moment before she answered, “Just after the wedding,
my mother told me she was needed in Chimera. She had to return home
immediately. She could not even stay for the reception. Something
had gone wrong.” Ronny looked up and the strain she was under
showed clearly on her face. For the first time, I thought she
actually did look years older.

“
Mother was afraid someone
was seeking to take over Chimera. She swore she would have word to
me by the time I returned from honey-mooning. But she has never
contacted me. That could never happen if all was well with
her.”

I was suddenly glad I
hadn’t eaten anything. My stomach twisted as
Ronny continued, “I need to find what has happened. And you
are the only ones who can help me.”

Chapter 10

No Way, No How

There were several moments
of silence as the three of us stared at Ronny. Finally I asked the
question I knew we were all thinking. “What do you mean, we’re the
only ones who can help?”

Ronny leaned her elbows on
the table and rubbed her eyes. She continued without looking up.
“As I said,
I
cannot go into Chimera. And Chimera has been blocked to
non-magickal beings. Or, I should say,
most
non-magickal beings. You three
are exceptions.”

“
What?” Faith’s voice shot
up at least one full octave.

“
As you could see inside
our history, the different creatures that exist in Chimera do not
get along. Twelve years ago, during the year you were born, several
groups in Chimera began to fight.”

She must have seen my
confusion. Or maybe it was Faith’s stare of appalled disbelief.
“You must understand, the magick world fights with spells and
curses. The fighting grew so intense, magick started to leak into
your world. People in Santa Ramona noticed many strange things that
year.”