Rua Page 9

  “Fine. I made them forget,” he said.

  “That, I know. Can you be more specific, please,” She focused on him.

  “I can change people’s memories.” He paced over to her window. “I’m descended from Mares.”

  “Mares? Like Horses?” she said.

  “No. Mares are a type of Sidhe. Like the mare in nightmare? I can make people sleep, then get into their heads through their dreams.”

  “So, you made my parents sleep, then got into their heads, and …?”

  “Helped them forget. It didn’t hurt them, I promise you,” he said.

  “That’s good.” She moved until she stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder in front of the window. “Did you ever send me bad dreams?”

  He faced her. “No, I would never do that, nor would I ever interfere with you in that way. I only do it when it’s absolutely necessary, and I would never be so cruel as to give anyone nightmares.”

  He moved closer to her, causing her heart rate to rise perceptively. He took a strand of her curly, red hair escaping from the pack, and tucked it back into place.

  The doorbell rang. “That’s got to be Tink,” she said.

  He scooted away from her. “Good. I’d like to talk to him too.”

  “Fine, go hide in my bathroom please.” He obeyed, silently gliding away.

  Her mom’s voice greeted Tink in the living room. As soon as the bathroom door closed behind Rylan, she dropped her robe, took off her pajamas, and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. She slapped on some deodorant and pulled her beyond manageable hair into a loose bun.

  She went to the living room to rescue Tink from her mom.

  “Hey, Tink.” She breezed into the living room. She grabbed his arm and steered him away from her mom. “Girl talk!” she called over her shoulder. She pulled him into her room and shut the door behind them.

  “Oh, my God, tell me everything. You look tired. Are you okay?” he said.

  “Um, first off, Rylan is here,” she said. She pointed at the closed bathroom door. “But my parents don’t know so we need to keep it down.”

  Tink’s eyebrows rolled up so high they almost disappeared into his hairline as Rylan came out of the bathroom. “Um, good morning. I hope you weren’t here all night.”

  Rylan managed a small smile. “Not quite.”

  “So, what happened?” Tink said.

  “You’d better sit down,” she said.

  He sat on her desk then listened quietly while she filled him in on the events of the night before. He was poised on the edge, legs crossed, hands folded under his chin. His eyes had a faraway look, and for once he was silent.

  “Well?” she asked. “Are you freakin’ out on me?”

  He blinked, and his eyes refocused on her face. “Nope, just thinking. That’s actually kinda cool, I mean bad and cool.” He toyed with the brightly colored rings on his fingers. “Sorry I have verbal diarrhea. I’m trying to take this all in.”

  “Okay. Let me just put this out there.” She sat next to him. “If you don’t want anything further to do with me, I understand. All I ask is that you not tell anyone what you’ve learned.”

  “Girl, please!” He draped an arm around her. “I’m not going anywhere. I know the Sidhe. Or rather, I know of them. I know some witches that do Sidhe or Fae magic, so no big shock there.”

  “Really?” Rylan said.

  “I tell no lie.”

  “Do you think you could help her? Maybe some protection spells or something?” Rylan asked.

  “Let me tap into my network and see what I can find out. Quietly, of course. I’ll do what I can,” he said.

  Celeste hugged him extra tight. “Thanks. You so rock.”

  “Of course, this is way too interesting.” He swirled his finger in Rylan’s direction. “So, what exactly, are you? Your eyes glint all weird. You’re not human, are you?”

  “You can see that?” Rylan said.

  “Hmm mmm. I’m not blind, you know,” Tink said. “Her eyes do it too.” Tink pointed at Celeste.

  “Jesus Christ, why didn’t you tell me?” she said.

  He shrugged his bony shoulders. “It just started doing that and I didn’t want to freak you out anymore than you already were. I think it’s enough that you’re basically descended from a Celtic goddess.”

  “What are you talking about?” She turned to Rylan. “Why didn’t you tell me about the eye thing?”

  Rylan made a downward motion with his hand to remind her to keep her voice down. “There’s a lot to tell you. I can’t cover everything on one night. A glint or a flash usually means a supernatural of some sort. Humans,”—he glanced at Tink—“well, most humans anyways, cannot or do not see it.”

  Tink pointed at himself. “I am a stellar human.”

  Rylan surprised Celeste by busting into quiet laughter, using his hand to cover his face.

  Celeste rolled her eyes. “Focus, boys. What about the goddess thing?”

  Rylan stopped laughing. “Yeah, sorry. Tuatha de Dannan and the Sidhe are supposedly descended from the goddess Dana,” he said. “Seriously, Tink. How do you know all this stuff?”

  “Wicca is based on Celtic pagan religions. Duh! I know all of the associated folklore. But you didn’t answer my question. What are you?”

  After a long pause, he finally answered. “Part Sidhe.”

  “Cool,” Tink said. “I’ve never met a Sidhe before, or a freakin’ Tuatha de Dannan for that matter, either.” He grabbed Celeste’s hands, opened her fingers, and held her hands up, palms facing the ceiling. “Lemme see the fire.”

  “Okay.” She closed her eyes, pictured the small violet flames, and when she opened them, they rolled around in her palm.

  “Oh, that is so freakin’ awesome.” Tink ran his finger across her palms, through the flickering flame. “I can’t feel anything.” He dropped her hand. “Do you have any shirts with long sleeves that you can pull over your hands? You know, like all the emos do with their hoodies?”

  “Yes, I think so,” she said.

  “So you can see the fire?” Rylan interrupted. “What else can he see?”

  Celeste walked heel to toe around her room, making a small circle around Rylan. As she moved, the flames shot down her legs and into the soft carpet of her room, making a glowing circle. When she was done, she let the light wrap around her arms and neck and glow in her scalp.

  “Oh, pretty.” Tink’s eyes roved from her feet to the top of her head. “Thank goodness violet looks good on you.”

  “What, exactly do you see, Tink?” Rylan said.

  “I see the purple light all over her.”

  “That’s it?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Tink frowned. “What am I missing?”

  Rylan traced the path of the circle around him with his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

  “A circle of light on the ground, in the path where I walked around him,” Celeste answered him.

  “And a sphere too. See?” Rylan stared above his head.

  When she squinted, she saw an occasional glint of soft purple light. He was right. A sphere extended from the circle on the floor, creating an almost invisible bubble around Rylan.

  Tink squinted at the ceiling. “Can’t see it. Dang, I’m missing the cool stuff.”

  They froze at two light taps on the door. “You two doing okay in there? Can I get you something, Tink?”

  The door swung open. Celeste eyes widened in horror, but she managed to shut the purple off before her mother’s head peeked around the open door. She waited for her reaction to Rylan’s presence, but it never came.

  Tink recovered first, smiling sweetly at her mom. “No, ma’am. I’m doing just fine. We’re just chatting up a storm in here.”

  Celeste dared a glance at the space at the foot of her bed where Rylan had been standing a second before, but there was no trace of him now. The circle glowed bright in her eyes, the edge of the sphere almost touching the door her mother leaned on. She bunched her ha
nds into fists. “Thanks, Mom. We’re doing okay.”

  Her mom glanced in the direction of her bed then made a face. “Babe, you need to make your bed, clean up a bit before you have company over. I’m sorry, Tink. I’ve tried with this one, but she’s not much of a cleaner.”

  Tink snickered. “It’s okay, Mrs. Shreeve. My room is a hot mess, and it irritates my mom because she thinks gay boys are supposed to be extra clean.”

  Celeste’s mom burst into laughter. “You can call me Abby.” With one more smile, she pulled the door closed. They both listened to her footsteps recede down the hall.

  “Phew.” Celeste sank onto her bed then collapsed backwards. “That was close.”

  “Yes, it was. I probably shouldn’t be here.” Rylan answered as he came out of the bathroom. “But you hid your light very quickly. You should be proud.” He sat on the bed right next to her. He was so close their legs were almost touching.

  “So what’s the plan, man?” Tink asked.

  “We need to call that school shrink, see what she is,” Rylan said.

  “Right.” Celeste sat up, the outside of her legs pressing his as she did. He stood then offered her his hand to help her off the bed. She took it, but hoped he thought her flushed skin was from sitting up too quickly. She remembered she was still holding his hand, so she dropped it.

  She rifled through all the crap on her desk, gently pushing Tink out of the way to access the stack of papers he sat on. “Where is that card she gave me?” Her mind was still dizzy from Rylan’s touch, and she couldn’t seem to focus on actually seeing the things on her desk.

  “Is this it?” Tink plunked a card from the top of the stack she’d been digging through. “Dr. Kara Ramone?”

  She took it and turned it over in her hands. “Yes.” The cell phone number was still written on the back. “She said to call her when I need her.”

  “Do it.” Rylan said. “Meet her in public. Not alone, not at school.”

  She picked up the phone, took a deep breath, and punched in the numbers.

  “Hello?” a feminine, crisp voice answered.

  “Dr. Ramone? This is Celeste.”

  “Oh, Celeste. I’m glad you called. Is everything okay?”

  “Um, actually, I need to talk to you.”

  “I can be there in five minutes. Are you injured or harmed in any way?” Dr. Ramone asked.

  “No, I’m fine. How about we meet tomorrow?” She moved her eyes to Rylan’s face.

  He nodded.

  Dr. Ramone was silent for a few seconds. “Okay. How about you come to my office first thing in the morning? I’ll write you a note.”

  “No,” Celeste said. “I’d like to meet at a coffee shop or something. It will make me feel more comfortable that way.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said. “How about the Perk, after school, say four o’clock?”

  “Great. See you then.”

  Celeste hung up before she could respond. “Perk, four o’clock tomorrow.”

  “I’m going with you,” Rylan said.

  “Me too!” Tink chimed in.

  “No, you’re human,” Rylan said. “I don’t want to put you in harm’s way, and I don’t want anyone knowing you’re around. We need to keep you our secret, for now.”

  “You don’t get to decide what I do,” Tink said. “I can take care of myself. I’m a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.”

  “Please, Tink. I could tell you’d put a protection spell on her when I crossed the salt line last night. Believe me, you need to stay off the radar of the supernaturals. Trust me on this,” Rylan said.

  “Oh, jees. Just because you’re all supe or whatever, you think you’re special. Fine.” His words were rough, but it was obvious he was trying to cover a pleased smile at the compliment.

  “Okay, so that’s sorted out,” Celeste said. “I’ll meet you after school?” She turned to Rylan, but he was already gone leaving nothing but empty space behind him.

  “Whoa,” Tink said.

  “Whoa,” Celeste echoed.

  CHAPTER 11

  Celeste slid her tray next to Tink’s. They sat on the far end of one of the long tables, away from everyone else.

  He eyed her lunch: steamed veggies and a baked potato. “Carb loading, are we?”

  She strained to smile back at him. Her head pounded with so much pain, even the effort to speak hurt. “Easy on the stomach.”

  “Interesting.” He took a bite of his school café pizza. “Wow, that’s almost too greasy, even for me.”

  She took a bite of her potato, determined to eat, drink, and medicate her headache away.

  “So, how’s your head?” he asked.

  “Still hurting,” she said. “All night, all day. Bad.”

  He put his pizza down with a disgusted look on his face, then picked up a napkin and blotted the grease off the top. “You think it’s got something to do with them?”

  “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 f
or 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.