The Prophecy (20 page)

I threw my head back and groaned. What else could go wrong?

“Star, you have company.” Mom said, walking back into the kitchen with a devilish smirk on her face.

I paled.
“Mom, please tell me you didn’t—” my words cut off abruptly as I saw who walked in behind her.

With a predatory gleam in his dark eyes, Andrei walked in, arms crossed across his broad, muscular chest. I felt my breath catch as I locked gazes with him. His eyes slowly traveled over my body, causing me to flush as if he was physically touching every part that his eyes landed on. He paused as he reached my chest. His eyes narrowed, the gold flecks becoming more prominent. He winked as his gaze finally returned to my face.

I snapped my gaze away from him and looked at Rose helplessly. She smirked in return, gesturing for me to talk to Andrei. Lord kill me now.

“
Star, where’s your manners?” Mom smiled politely at him, an odd gleam in her eyes. She didn’t miss his perusal.

“
Oh, sorry Mom.” I cleared my throat and looked quickly at Andrei. “Mom, this is Andrei. Andrei, this is my mother, Eleanor.”

“
Very nice to meet you, Mrs. McKinley.” He said, reaching out to shake her hand with a beautiful smile on his face. My eyes widened as she blushed. Were no women safe around him?

“
Nice to meet you.” She got out. She shook her head and threw a look my way. Yeah Mom, I know how you feel. “Star hasn’t mentioned you, so I’m afraid I’m at a loss. Do you two go to school together?”

He chuckled.
“No, I go to Rosewood Academy. I met Star over the summer, though I’m surprised she’s never mentioned me.” He raised a brow at me. Please oh Lord, or whomever is up there, just do me a favor and smite me.

I felt both of their gazes on me. I panicked, not knowing who to look at.
“Mom, I did mention Andrei to you.”

She frowned and looked at me curiously.
“You did? I don’t remember that. All I remember is you saying something about running into a jer—” her eyes widened as she caught on. “Oh, this is who you were talking about.”

I felt my entire face flush. I looked quickly at Andrei. Seeing the amused look on his face, I quickly looked away.
“Yup. This is who I was talking about.” 

“
I see, well—” she looked pointedly to Brandon and Rose who were standing back, taking everything in with amused grins plastered to their faces. “We’ve got to go look for some jewelry to go with your costume.” She gestured for them to go ahead of her, effectively herding them out of the kitchen. “It was nice to meet you, Andrei.” She said on her way out.

“
You too, ma’am.”

I clasped my fingers in front of me.
“So—” I leaned against the wall. “What are you doing here?”

He walked toward me and ever so slowly looked me over again, taking in even more this time than before. I couldn
’t breathe with his hot gaze upon my body. My god, if the outfit doesn’t kill me, he will.

“
I haven’t seen you in a while, and I just wanted to see how you were doing.” He stopped when he was only an inch away from me.

I could feel his body heat like a wave moving against me. I wanted to lean into him, become consumed by him. I shook my head, making my body go rigid. I wouldn
’t give into the mad rush of desire sweeping through me. Couldn’t.

“
I’m okay.”

He tilted his head to the side, studying me.
“Somehow, I don’t believe that.”

I felt myself stiffen and returned his gaze evenly.
“Well, I am, so no worries. Thanks for stopping by.”

He straightened and traced my cheek lightly with his fingertips, causing a delicious shiver to race through me. I bit my lip and looked up into his eyes.

“Still feisty— Hmm, I like that.” With a wink he lightly tapped my nose, then turned around and headed for the door.

I let out a breath I didn
’t know I was holding as the door closed behind him. I shook my head and straightened, trying to keep steady on wobbly knees. “Jesus, I’m pathetic.” I was angry at myself for being so affected by him. Angry that even though he was gone, I still felt him with me.

C
hapter Twenty-Three

I walked out of the kitchen and went in search of Brandon, Rose and Mom. I couldn’t get out of the corset by myself. All I really wanted to do was just curl up in bed and go to sleep.

They were gathered in my parent’s room. Rose lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling while Mom and Brandon went through her massive jewelry case.

“Can someone help me get out of this damn contraption?” 

Mom glanced up and laid a piece of jewelry on her dresser.
“Did he leave so soon?”

“
Yeah, don’t sound so disappointed. Oh, and by the way, thanks for being a traitor.” I glared at her as she made her way behind me to untie the laces.

She sighed and met my gaze.
“I wasn’t being a traitor. I just think that you shouldn’t be so shy about how beautiful you are. I’d love it if you would start dating.”

I laughed bitterly and shook my head.
“Mom, as I’ve told these goobers,” I gestured to Brandon and Rose, “I’ve got enough going on in my life right now without having to worry about a guy.”

I took a deep breath of life giving oxygen as she pulled the last of the laces free.
“I just want you to be happy.”

“
I know, Mom.” I stepped out of the skirt, beyond happy to be out of that damn outfit. “Alright guys, I think it’s time for you hit the road. I’ve had enough fun for one day.”

“
Finally,” Rose sighed as she stood up. “I’m freaking exhausted.”

“
You going to be okay Star?” Brandon asked, concerned.

I waved him off and walked down the stairs with them.
“Yeah, I’ll be okay. All of this took my mind off of what happened today.”

“
Figured it would.” Rose replied, bumping into my shoulder. 

I opened the front door and leaned heavily against the handle.
“Rose.” I called softly as they were walking through. Brandon looked back at us and waved as he walked toward his car.

“
What’s up, buttercup?” She asked, eyebrow raised.

“
Look, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean to say it.”

She brushed it off and started to turn.
“No biggie. I’ve heard worse from smarter.”

I reached out and stopped her progress.
“No, it is a biggie. I shouldn’t have said it. You’ve been nothing but nice to me and have been dealing with all of this better than I have. You’re a good friend.”

“
Great, now if someone can just break out a guitar, we can all sing a rendition of
Kumbaya
. Are you done with all the gooey love- love stuff?”

“
Yup, all done. Wouldn’t want to horrify you with gooey love- love stuff.”

“
Good, glad we got that out of the way.” She said flippantly. She paused and looked over her shoulder at me. “Did you find anything while you were putting the things away in the attic?” she asked softly, looking quickly at Brandon.

I felt my heart rate speed up. I tried to keep my face and breathing calm.
“No,” I lied. “I didn’t find anything except for a massive dust bunny.” I swallowed my guilt and looked levelly at Rose, hoping that she’d buy it.

After a quiet
scrutinization, she nodded. “Well, that sucks. Maybe you’re right and there really isn’t anything up there.”

“
Yup,” I began to close the door. “I’ll see you later.” Rose waved a final time as I closed it. I let out a ragged sigh of relief. “Why did I lie to her?” I tried to shake off the guilt as I headed to my bedroom door, wanting to hurry and get back to the book.

“
Star?” Mom called out, rounding the corner.

I froze and looked longingly at the door.
“Yeah, Mom?”

“
Hey, I just wanted to catch up with you before you disappeared. Your dad called and said he’d be late coming home from work.”

“
Oh, well that sucks.”

“
Yeah, but it’ll mean more hours, so at least there’s something good.” She looked at me, worry evident in her gaze. “The kids told me about what happened at school today.” She said softly. “Are you okay?”

I shrugged. She didn
’t need any more to deal with. “Yeah, I’m totally fine.”

“
You sure? Because if you need to talk, you know I’m here for you.”

“
If I need to talk, I’ll be sure to call my shrink.” I snapped off.

“
Fine. I get it. You don’t want to talk.” She ran her hands through her hair and let out a weary sigh. The dejected look on her face pierced through me, but I had to deal with this alone. No one would believe me. “If you need anything, you know where I am.”

“
Yup, that I do.” I smiled softly at her, trying to replace some of the damage I inflected. When I saw her face brighten, I turned to my door, making my escape.

It took a lot of self-control not to run hell-bent down the stairs. I knew that if I did that Mom would likely follow me down to find out what was wrong. There were many things that were wrong at that moment, but the book held my attention. I was excited. This may be just what I needed.

I snagged it out of the bathroom and jumped onto my bed, laying the book onto my lap. I quickly flipped it open. The pages were coarse, made from some type of older parchment like material. I ran my hands lovingly over the texture, feeling somehow connected to it. I gently flipped through some of the pages, afraid that they would rip.

There were diagrams drawn on almost every page with precise handwritten notes throughout. I paused, reading a few sections.
“The Goddess so blessed her children that they could control one of each element. The strongest of which she bestowed upon the symbol of the Goddess, that they may be of the blood to control all five elements.” I frowned, skipping a couple more parts to read more. “When the full cycle of the moon commences, the Goddess shall reveal herself in her maidenly form. We may pray beneath her imperial light and become more enlightened—”

I scanned through more pages and became more confused. What was with all this talk about blessings and a Goddess? How in the hell was I supposed to find any answers in this crap? I kept reading, hoping that there would be something or anything that would tie into the darkness. There was nothing. Everything that was written sounded pure, light. My darkness had no place in this book. I threw it down and looked at the clock. I was up later than I realized. I shut off my light and curled up under my blanket. My thoughts leading to dreams of light, power, and the Goddess.

Chapter Twenty-Four

It felt like my eyeballs were being forced out of my head by a stampede of rhino’s. I squinted in the early morning light and rolled over, smothering myself in my pillow. My mother’s soft rapping on the door reverberated against my eardrums, adding a frantic motion to the rhino’s stampeding.

“
Star honey, it’s time to get up. You’re going to be late.” 

“
God Mom, would you quit shouting? My head’s going to explode.” I grumbled and sat up in my tousled bed, squinting at her beneath the shadows of my lashes. Concern crossed her face. She looked at me tentatively, then slowly walked toward me, unsure of herself. I groaned as she sank onto the bed beside me, the jostling causing my brain to squeeze in agony. Clutching it, I leaned forward, praying something would end it all. I didn’t understand why I had this bad of a headache. Yes, I stayed up rather late reading that damn journal, but I’ve spent practically all my life doing that and had never had that bad of a reaction.

I flinched as I felt my mother
’s rather cold fingers grasp my hands lightly, removing them from protectively covering my head.

“
Jesus Mom! Can’t you see that I’m—” I sucked in a breath as I felt her place her fingertips against my temple, applying a steady pressure. The shock slowly wore off as a warm wave seemed to radiate into my skull. My body started to relax as my pain dissipated slowly. I blinked open my eyes, testing to see if there would be any pain. My mother was smiling softly at me.

“
There. Do you feel better now?” I stared at her, shocked. How in the hell did she just take away my migraine? I nodded numbly, my mind whirling and discarding a million possibilities. She patted my knee affectionately then rose, rubbing her hands against each other. “Good. You better get ready for school, you don’t want to be late. Oh, and don’t forget that the dance is tonight. I’ll have your costume ready by the time you get home.” 

With one last smile, she was gone, leaving me to stare after her in stupefaction.

I ended up running late. Cursing my luck, I turned sharply into the schools parking lot, my tires squealing in protest. I slammed it into park and sprinted toward the schools doors right as the final bell started to ring. I skidded through the halls, racing past classrooms and lockers. The crimson and gold flying by in a horrific display, almost like a scene from a horror movie. I slid to a stop and threw the door open, startling Mr. Ridgewood and the entire class. I froze as they all locked their gazes on me like I had a target painted on my forehead. I sent an apologetic smile Mr. Ridgewood’s way and quickly made my way to my seat without making eye contact with anyone.

Luckily everyone
’s attention went back to the front. I sank down into my seat, staring at my desk top. I almost squeaked when a rolled up piece of paper hit me on the forehead. I glanced up and looked into Gabe’s very amused eyes.

“
What?” I mouthed to him, glaring at his smirk.

He quickly settled his face into a stoic mask. I almost rolled my eyes, he was such a goof.
“You okay?” he mouthed back.

This time I did roll my eyes.
“Yes, just late.” He looked me over, obviously checking to see that I was telling the truth. I leaned back and crossed my arms. “You done?” he nodded then turned back around. I let out a sigh, wishing that this day was over already. I didn’t feel right. The absence of darkness was making me feel edgy. I knew that after an episode it always quieted down, but this seemed
too
quiet. Like a calm before a storm. I was petrified of how big of a whiplash this would have on me.

The day seemed to go on forever. I felt myself slipping into a depression. This definitely wasn
’t the ideal mood for the night of the dance. I worked through the lunch lines and grabbed my tray and headed over to our table. Rose and Brandon were already seated. They froze when I approached, immediately stopping whatever they were talking about. I bet I could guess what it was.

I glanced over at the patio and could see caution tape blocking every entrance. Maintenance men in blue jumpsuits were standing around it, trying to find out the cause of the eruption. A shiver raced down my spine as I remembered the destruction of the previous day. No, definitely not in the mood for a dance.
 

I sat down and glanced at my friends. Rose was openly staring at me, trying to gauge my mood today and Brandon
’s face kept switching between sympathetic and unease. I didn’t think he knew exactly how to react to it all.

“
So, little Star, are you ready for the dance?” I looked into Rose’s steady emerald eyes, and knew she’d never let me get out of it. I slumped down and stirred the mystery meat around my plate with a fork.

“
Sure, what more could I want tonight then to go dance? My life will be complete.”

“
That’s the spirit! Besides, do you honestly think I’d go alone in the torture devices your mom and fancy boy over here created?” she shook her head while sending a glare Brandon’s way. “Think again, sweet cheeks. I’ll drag you by your hair if I have too.”

“
Awe, love you too.” I glared right back into her determined eyes. God I hated how weak my attempts were at trying to get out of situations. I just didn’t want any more to deal with, and I really couldn’t deal with a fight right now. Maybe I’d get lucky and end up getting sick before the dance started.

“
Alright you two, enough with the stare down. It’s going to be a blast! Just you wait, you’ll have guys lining up to dance with you all night. You’ll have to beat them off with sticks.” Brandon said with a happy smile. He should be an ambassador when he gets older, always the peacekeeper.

“
Not something I need right now.” I shot his way.

“
Yeah. And besides, I think my
boyfriend
wouldn’t want me to have to fend off guys.”

He shrugged and took a sip of his drink.
“It’ll be good for you Rose. You can’t hide behind me forever.”

“
Well if that’s the case then maybe you should come
out.
”

I never saw Brandon look so angry. He quickly looked around, making sure no one had overheard Rose. He leaned forward and glared. Brandon freaking
glared
. I was fascinated. He was always so happy that any change was shocking.

“
Keep your trap shut, Rosemary. You know damn well that it would be disastrous. Do you honestly think anyone on the football team would be okay with it? Without that scholarship I won’t be able to go to college.”

She sat back, looking petulant. She rubbed her forehead and sent an apologetic look his way. This was another first. Rose was
never
sorry. I think hell has officially frozen over. “I know, okay? I’m sorry. I’m just a little— well, I’m stressed.”

Brandon was silent for a minute, staring at her the whole time. I felt like I was in the middle of a soap opera. Yay for drama.
“Okay, just don’t bring it up again. This isn’t just for my benefit you know.”

“
Yeah, I know. I get it.” They continued to stare at each other. Anyone who passed by would think they were being all lovey-dovey, which is a good thing. Last thing any of us needed was for people to know that world war three was just averted.

“
Okay, now that we’ve gotten
that
out of the way, what are we going to do this weekend?” With Brandon returning back to his normal self, I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. He looked at me expectantly, but I was drawing a blank. I thought the dance was all the social interaction I had to do this week. The thought of anything else wasn’t appealing in the least.

“
Um, I don’t know. I was just going to stay home and read.” I thought about the journal and what it could hold. What secrets it could reveal. I hoped it had something revealing in it.

“
Wow, you are a total nerd.” Rose scoffed. “Seriously Star, you can’t just
stay
at home. This is Halloween weekend! We need to do something. Maybe go to the Merlo’s grave or something.”

My ears picked up at the name. I thought I heard it before but couldn
’t remember where. “Merlo’s grave? What’s that?”

She rolled her eyes and got comfortable in her seat.
“Jesus, I keep forgetting you’re not from here.”

“
Hasn’t anyone told you the legend of Shiloh?” I thought Brandon’s eyebrows would shoot off his forehead they were raised so high.

“
Obviously not. I would think that my friends would have filled me in, yet here we are.” I gestured to them, pointing out the obvious. They looked at each other, then quickly looked back at me.

“
Okay, so about three hundred years ago, the entire area of Shiloh was filled with witches.” Brandon enthusiastically began.

“
Witches.”

“
Yes, just shut up and leave the sarcastic comments for after happy boy over here finishes.” Rose snapped, gesturing for Brandon to continue. 
 ”So there was a head witch, like a witch queen or something, who lead the entire coven. She fell in love with a warlock, but the warlock, Merlo, was consumed by greed. He wanted more power, more control. So, he started turning evil. The Queen found out about it, and interrupted one of his spells that he was casting. She banished his power into an amulet, and locked his soul within some stone. His grave is up at Shiloh graveyard, and they say that a descendent of his will come and release him from his imprisonment.”

I was enchanted. I always loved legends, especially when I could see the source for myself.
“So what would happen if he was released?”

“
What do you think? His evil and insanity would be unleashed upon the world, causing the destruction of mankind. Muah ha ha.” Rose broke in, wiggling her fingers at me. I smirked. Rose was always so disbelieving about everything.

“
So why would you guys want to go up there? Obviously it’s not true, otherwise he’d be ‘released’ by now.”

“
Well it’s kind of a test of courage. If you can go up there and touch his headstone, then you will win the respect of your peers and crap like that. We normally all do it in middle school, but since you’re new, you missed out.”

“
True, it’s more for kids, but I think she should still have to do it, don’t you?” Brandon looked at Rose. I became nervous at the obvious delight on their faces.

“
Seriously? You guys want me to go to a graveyard and touch a headstone that holds the soul of some evil warlock?” I looked at them incredulously, but they just nodded excitedly. “You guys are freaking insane! Why would I do that? Besides, it’s just a story, so what would it prove?”

“
If it’s just a story, then you wouldn’t have a problem doing it, would you?” Damn. Rose had me beat there.

“
Fine. We’ll go tomorrow afternoon.”

“
Ha, no. It has to be at night.”

“
How late at night?” I was feeling increasingly uneasy. I wasn’t the bravest when it came to things, but for some reason this was freaking me out more than others. A red light kept flashing in the back of my mind, screaming in warning. I pushed it aside.

“
The witching hour, of course. Three am.” Rose looked like she was waiting for me to back out. Boy, did I want to, but I couldn’t let her hold it over my head for the rest of my life here. I straightened and looked her squarely in the eyes.

“
Sounds good. What are we going to do in the meantime?”

“
Oh, since it will be Halloween, there’s really only one thing to do, isn’t there Brandon?”

“
Oh yeah! Horror movie marathon!”

I felt my false bravado fly out of me like a rocket.
“Seriously?”

“
Yeah,” she rolled her eyes, “you’re the one that’s always talking about how Shiloh reminds you of a movie. What better way to celebrate your initiation then to watch some?”