The Girl and The Raven (15 page)

Ethan and Brandi watch us. I remind myself to keep my voice down. I can’t be too hard on Dylan. They’re crazy about their big brother. Instead, I cross my arms over my chest and fix Dylan with an icy stare.

“I was an arrogant jerk, okay? I’m sorry. I’m asking you to give me another chance. Please don’t rat me out to Alana.”

“Interesting word choice…rat.”

“Please. The best time for me to visit with these little pipsqueaks is when you’re here. ” His voice is gentle—pleading—and I catch his sideways glance at Ethan and Brandi. He doesn’t want to lose face in front of them. “Let me spend the afternoon with the three of you. I’ll show you that I’m a good guy.”

“Please Lucy!” Ethan tugs on my arm. “Please let him stay and play with us.”

“What’s a pipsqueak?” Brandi asks with a serious frown.

“We’ll Google it later,” I tell her.

“How about we go for a bike ride?” Dylan suggests. I can tell he isn’t used to working so hard to get his way. “It’ll give me a chance to show you around the area. Have you been to the lake yet?”

While I like the idea of getting out of the house, I don’t trust this sudden switch. I’ve seen what a slimy, arrogant creep he can be. Dylan the charming good guy is probably just an act. I’m not going to fall for it.

“Come on, Tennessee. What do you say?” He flashes me his trademark smile. I don’t respond. Instead, I glare at him and his smile falters.

On the other hand, he really does seem to care about Ethan and Brandi. Maybe he misses them so much that he’s willing to apologize to the hired help. If it makes the kids happy to spend time with their half-brother…

“At least give him a chance,” Brandi says. I look down and meet her doe-eyed expression.

“Okay,” I say, the words coming out as a sigh. “Go get your gym shoes.”

Once Ethan and Brandi run off, I point my finger at him. “If you act like a jerk, we’re coming back here and you’ll leave immediately.”

Dylan holds up his hands in surrender. “You have a deal.”

Arnold helps us get the bikes from the storage room. After he and Dylan pump up the tires, we grab helmets and head out.

“These are really nice bikes,” I say to no one in particular, once we’re a couple of blocks into our ride.

“Yeah, my dad and Alana bought them at the beginning of the summer. Only the very best.” He grins. “They’ll never ride them, though.”

“We love riding our bikes!” Brandi squeaks from behind us.

Dylan leads us to a bike path along Lake Michigan. The cloudless blue sky and the water seem to go on forever. It must be the sunshine and the extra oxygen. Or getting out of that museum-like house. The knots in my stomach are gone and I actually feel…happy. With Dylan leading our group, I take the back, putting Ethan and Brandi in the middle.

Dylan talks with Ethan as they ride, but he glances back every so often to make sure Brandi and I are keeping up. He keeps his speed in check, and as a result, a bunch of riders move around us. Given Dylan’s competitive nature, I expect this to upset him, but it doesn’t. Is it possible that this is the real Dylan? If so, why was I subjected to Dylan the Jerk over the past few weeks? Whatever. I’m not ready to let my guard down just yet.

Looking out at the water, I count seven sailboats. They look so peaceful and beautiful. I wish I was on one of them.

“Lucy, my dad has a boat,” Brandi calls over her shoulder.

“He does?”

“It’s a big one. It’s called a yacht. Maybe we can all go on it sometime.”

“That would be nice.” I’ll never be included in that kind of outing. Given what I know about Dylan’s relationship with Mrs. Douglas, I doubt he will, either.

I’m surprised at the number of bicyclists, roller bladers and joggers along the lakefront. I want to cover Brandi’s eyes when a blonde roller blader zips by wearing nothing more than a bikini top, a thong and kneepads. Dylan the Womanizing Jerk whips his head around to check her out and nearly crashes his bike. I laugh and hope he hears me.

We pull over to a less crowded part of the beach to take a break. Once we park our bikes in the sand, Ethan and Brandi race off down the beach, daring us to catch them.

Dylan holds his finger up, telling me to wait. After giving them a five second head start, he yells, “Now!” and we both tear off down the beach. My hair whips behind me and my heart pumps wildly. As we close the distance, Ethan and Brandi break out into a crazy fit of giggles. Dylan sweeps Ethan off his feet and spins him around. I reach Brandi and she collapses onto the sand, her laughter coming out in short gasps.

We stand at the waters edge and catch our breath. I’d seen a couple of lakes in Tennessee, but nothing this big, where it’s impossible to see the other side. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, listening to the gentle, lapping waves and the wail of the gulls. The smell of lake water tickles the back of my nose and throat.

Opening my eyes, I’m startled to find Dylan watching me. I expect him to look away, but he doesn’t. My cheeks flush and my pulse quickens, which confuses me. I don’t even like Dylan.

I hand Brandi some crackers from my bike pouch. She takes off to feed one of the many gulls soaring around us.

“Break up the crackers. Throw them!” I call out to her.

In seconds, a series of birds swarm around her, squawking.

“Noooo!” Brandi throws the rest of the crackers on the ground, tucks her chin and makes a run for it. I drop to my knees and she throws herself into my arms.

“They were going to eat me,” she says, her voice shaking.

“Probably just poke your eyes out!” Ethan teases.

Over Brandi’s shoulder, I notice Dylan is watching us. His expression goes soft and his lips part as a slow smile spreads across his face. Suddenly I understand how much he loves her.

On our way back to the house, we stop for ice cream, the four of us sharing a table, laughing as Dylan makes several attempts to steal the ice cream off of Brandi’s cone.

“So, Tennessee, what school are you going to next month?” he asks.

“I’ll be a sophomore at St. Aquinas Academy. What about you?”

“Seriously?” His eyebrows arch in surprise. “I’ll be a junior at St. Aquinas. If you want, I can give you a tour...show you around.”

I struggle to swallow around the nervous lump in my throat. “Really?”

“I can be helpful,” he says defensively.

I’m shocked by the strange warmth spreading through me. “Actually, I can’t believe your teachers feel you’re qualified to be a junior,” I tease.

“Ouch!” Dylan throws his hands over his heart. “That hurts, Tennessee.”

Ethan and Brandi giggle.

“Seriously, I can help you learn the ropes. Starting a new school is tough. What are your interests as far as extracurricular stuff? Cheerleading?”

I make a face. “Hardly.”

“Student counsel? The newspaper? Theater? Latin club?” he asks. “I don’t know what your high school was like in Tennessee, but you’re going to be blown away. St. Aquinas has a ton to offer. If you have an interest, they’ve got a club for it. You’re going to love it there. What about.—”

I hold up my hands, warding off his questions. “I have no idea. Can’t I just focus on adjusting to a new school?”

Dylan shrugs. “As long as you promise to attend the football games and cheer on my team.”

I roll my eyes. “Ethan tells me you have plenty of girls in your fan club. You don’t need another one.”

Dylan gives me a wide-eyed look. “Fan club? What are you saying, Tennessee? That I’m an attention monger?”

The kids laugh hard over this one.

“You
are
an attention monger!” Brandi giggles.

“You don’t even know what that means,” Ethan complains.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to watch one game. See if you’re any good.” An image of Dylan playing volleyball flashes through my thoughts. Muscular. Tan. Strong. I groan inwardly. I’m turning into Ella and Caroline. I’ll be fawning all over him if I don’t watch my step.

“Jeez. You’re killing me,” he laughs and shoots me a quizzical look that lingers a little too long.

I clean the kids up with wet wipes I’ve learned to take everywhere. After the smeared dirt and ice cream is removed from their faces, I wad up the used wipes and head to the garbage can. A foot away, I glance across the ice cream parlor and stop cold.

Sitting at one of the candy-striped tables is Jude. Across from him, with her back to me, is a woman with white-blonde hair streaked with purple. She’s leaning in and looks like she’s speaking quietly but urgently. Jude’s eyes narrow—he’s angry. What are they talking about? And why are they
here
? An ice cream parlor doesn’t strike me as Jude’s usual watering hole.

A major case of goose bumps erupt on my arms. My gut tells me to get out of there. Pronto.

I quickly toss the wet wipes and head back to the kids. Looking over my shoulder, I see Jude fix on me. He waves off his companion and starts to stand. Oh no, we’re out of here. I grab Brandi’s hand and pull her out of the booth. “Come on guys, let’s go.” I see Jude shaking off the blonde so I give up on waiting for the boys. I hustle Brandi out, leaving Dylan and Ethan behind.

Over my shoulder, I see Jude’s gaze lock on Brandi. I don’t believe Jude will hurt
me,
but I don’t want him anywhere near Brandi.

* * * *

I know it’s a dream. It has to be. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Marcus’ arms wrap around me. He’s twitching and jerking.

“No, Marcus. This is too hard on you.”

With trembling lips, he kisses the top of my head, my forehead. “I’ll never leave you. I promised.”

I look over my shoulder, searching for Jude. I want to confront him, tell him to leave us alone. I hated to see Marcus suffer.

Marcus groans, the pain becoming too much for him to bear. He jerks away from me, his back arched at a horrific angle. His teeth clench in torment. I actually hear his skin split, or maybe it’s the scratching of quills against bone.

Tears streak my face. “Marcus! I’ll go find him. I’ll make him leave.”

He looks at me sadly. His arms hang at his sides, while droplets of blood drip from his fingertips and splash to the ground. I gasp as the droplets plunk, plunk, plunk to the ground, faster and faster until blood streams down his arms and legs. It pools at his feet.

“Marcus!” I cry. “I’ll be back. I’m going to find Jude, make him stop.”

Marcus shakes his head sadly, the life pouring out of him. “Jude’s long gone Lucy. This is all you.”

My eyes snap open. I struggle against the panic. It was
me
. I was the demon torturing Marcus.
It was just a dream.
I slow my breathing until my throat unclenches. I was killing Marcus. I was as evil as Jude.
Just a dream.

I hear the sound of a heavy footstep across the room, near my closet. I stare into the darkness, holding my breath, impatient for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I hear the squeaky creak of my closet door and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. My skin turns to ice.

The moonlight casts everything in silhouette, but my closet is beyond the light. I hear the slow grind of metal on metal. I recognize the bone chilling sound as clothes hangers sliding along a metal bar. My lungs, heart and stomach constrict. My eyes finally adjust and I see the figure of a man just inside my closet. The demon. There’s ten feet between me and the door. Can I get there and flip on the light switch before he comes after me? I slide my knife from beneath my pillow where I’ve kept it since the last break in.

A loud, high-pitched noise pierces the air. I clamp my hands over my ears and kick my way out of the tangled sheet at the same time the man jumps out of the closet. I lunge toward the door. I flip on the light switch and click my knife, releasing the blade just in time to see the man rip through the screen and catapult out the window. My heart thunders in my chest as I stare after him, my muscles and nerves twitching. I sag against the door. My head pounds with the piercing noise.

Suddenly my door flies open and me with it.

“Lucy!” I land in the arms of Bernard. His eyes fall on the knife in my hand. “What the…?”

Sheldon appears behind him, gray hair standing on end. I discreetly click the knife shut and slip it into the pocket of my pajama shorts.

“What the hell is that noise?” Sheldon hollers, trying to be heard above the screechy wail.

The noise cuts off. We stand in the uneasy silence for a moment. The doorbell breaks the silence and all three of us jump.

Sheldon and Bernard exchange frazzled looks, then Bernard goes to answer the door. Sheldon sees the mangled screen and panic registers on his face. He pushes past me to inspect it. He turns to me, his face crumpled.

“Lucy…are you okay? What the hell happ—?”

He’s cut off by Marcus, Aiden and Persephone.

Aiden and Persephone cross the room to inspect the window and talk with Sheldon and Bernard. Marcus comes to me, his face twisted with worry. He grips my shoulders and looks me over from head to toe as if to make sure I’m not broken.