Dark Heart Surrender (5 page)

‘What is it?’ Jane pulled away from him, her eyes sweeping his face. ‘There’s something you’re not telling me, I know it.’

He returned her gaze, on the brink of denial, but something about her anxious expression told him that honesty was the best policy.

‘I found something,’ he said then. ‘In one of the huts, on the floor. Lying there like it had been wrenched from its owner.’

‘What?’ Jane drew her hands up to her neck, afraid.

‘A silver chain – a necklace.’ He let out a breath.

‘Is that all?’ She visibly slumped in relief. ‘I thought you were going to say you’d found a severed head or someone’s arm—’

‘It was lying in fresh blood,’ Luca continued, cutting through her. ‘The necklace was lying in blood.’

I
 upturned my backpack, knowing my bike lock was in there somewhere. Heat spread through my face, coming up from my neck, as I rifled through the various bits of rubbish lying on the corridor floor. At last I saw the lock, half trapped in my purse. I grabbed it and quickly gathered up my things and stuffed them back in my backpack.

‘Hey,’ said a gruff voice behind me as I got to my feet. ‘You got my brother a date yet?’

I turned, flushed, and forced myself to smile at Polly, even though I was irritated. It was nine a.m. and mornings were never my strong suit.

‘Hey.’ I slung my backpack over my shoulder. ‘Good to see you here.’

‘Well?’ she persisted.

‘Well, not yet,’ I said, flustered. ‘But today. Today I’m having lunch with a couple of people.’ I glanced anxiously out of the door, spotting my unlocked bike resting against the wall.

‘Huh,’ said Polly, watching me. ‘Not quite so interested in me today?’

I frowned. ‘Of course I am. It’s just I need to lock up my bike.’ I gestured outside. ‘Sorry, I’m a bit distracted.’

She nodded, smiling a little unpleasantly. She looked different today. She’d let her hair dry naturally and it hung in thick red curls down to her waist. Her dress was black and short and tight, and her legs were bare and startlingly white. On her feet she wore green Doc Marten boots. It was a difficult look to pull off for most people, but she looked stunning.

And she knew it. Several male students passed us, their eyes drawn appreciatively to Polly. The girls looked her up and down with suspicious, narrowed eyes.

If she realized they were looking at her, Polly didn’t show it. Instead she stepped a little closer to me, her pretty nose wrinkling at the tip, her pale-blue eyes holding me there.

‘What’s your story,’ she said in a breathy half-whisper, ‘Jane Jonas?’

I couldn’t remember telling her my surname. I guessed she must have asked Mrs Connelly, or another student. It didn’t matter, except for the way she was scrutinizing me now, which was making me uncomfortable.

‘What do you mean?’ I said, as lightly as I could.

She smiled again like a sleepy cat. ‘Oh, don’t mind me,’ she said. ‘I like to freak people out a little. It amuses me.’

‘I’m not freaked out.’ I widened my eyes, just to reinforce the message that she was failing in her mission. ‘Does that disappoint you?’

She shrugged. ‘I can see the panic in your eyes.’

I swallowed, a familiar feeling coming back to me. Intimidation. I hadn’t felt that since I was face to face with Sarah Forrest, the school bully who had tormented me three years earlier. She had made it her personal mission to give me a nervous breakdown – and very nearly succeeded. I’d been taken out of school and Mum had taught me at home. I took a deep breath, determined not to go back there.

‘OK, Polly,’ I told her breezily. ‘I have things to do today. If there is nothing I can help you with then I’ll see you later.’ I checked my watch. ‘I’ll come and find you at about three p.m. I might have a date for your brother by then.’

At once her face lit up. ‘Cool,’ she said. ‘But just one thing …’

I shrugged good-naturedly. ‘OK. What’s that?’

‘She’d better be beautiful. And no one fat or stupid. My brother doesn’t go out with fat ugly chicks with nothing in their heads. He might be shy but he’s got very specific tastes.’ She looked me up and down. ‘You understand me?’

I gaped at her, on the verge of saying I was not a dating service, and her brother could find his own perfect girlfriend; but something about her expression made any response freeze in my throat. Her eyes seemed to change shape in front of me, lifting either side to become more almond-shaped, narrower – and the pale-blue of her irises seemed almost opaque.

‘I …’ I began, trying to take control of the situation, but I got no further. It seemed futile to defy this girl.

‘So we’re clear,’ she said, enunciating each word as though I was hard of hearing. ‘You’ll find my brother the perfect match.’

Match?
An odd way to describe a girlfriend, at least coming from a teenager it was. It sounded so clinical, official.

‘I’ll do my best,’ I said at last, dragging my eyes away from hers. ‘But I’m busy today. It might not be possi—’

‘Great.’ Her lips twisted into a friendly smile. ‘I’ll be outside, where you have your bike, at four.’

It was an order. This girl felt she could order me around.

A surge of students entered through the door, pushing past where we stood, one of them knocking Polly’s bag off her shoulder roughly.

‘Watch it,’ she snarled, causing the offender – a boy I recognized from my History classes – to jerk away from her.

‘Fine, dude,’ he said, giving her the same interested look I’d noticed practically everyone else giving her. ‘It was an accident, OK?’

Polly simply stared at him imperiously as he shuffled off to catch up with his friends, throwing a final look back at her and muttering something under his breath.

‘Idiot,’ said Polly, taking a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. I refrained from telling her smoking wasn’t allowed inside. She already knew it. And she would have enjoyed letting me know she didn’t give a damn. Taking a cigarette out and putting it in her mouth. She started to turn back to the exit, giving me a last smirk before she did so.

‘Later, alligator,’ she said. ‘Have a great day.’

As I watched her disappear outside, I puffed out my cheeks. I was tired and the last thing I wanted to do was match-make. I hadn’t slept at all the night before after Luca’s news. He’d tried to backtrack a little, claiming there must be an innocent explanation to what he’d found in the training ground; it had been dragged in there from somewhere else, or someone had lost it and it had been found by a wild dog or a cat or something and brought, like an offering, into the hut. But that didn’t seem right to me. The training ground was miles from anywhere. And why was the chain covered in blood? Luca had been freaked out, I could see that. But I guessed he didn’t want me to worry, too. Not after everything …

I reached my locker and stuffed my backpack inside, taking out my phone and my purse and putting them in my hoodie pocket. My mind was whirring overtime. I had to focus. Leave all that creepy stuff behind. I’d just have to put the necklace out of my mind. For the next few hours at least.

Emma and Ashley were sipping their hot chocolate when I arrived in the canteen at twelve-thirty.

‘Well, hello, Mrs Luca,’ said Ashley, shuffling along the bench to make room for me. ‘We thought you’d dropped us. Now that you’ve got a live-in boyfriend and all.’

I’d told A&E as much as they needed to know about Luca. That he was my childhood sweetheart who’d moved away, but that first love never dies and we couldn’t stay apart, blah blah blah. Fortunately, being hopeless, unquestioning romantics, the twins bought the whole story. Which obviously saved me a whole lot of awkward explanations about parallel worlds and werewolves. Thinking about it now, I nearly laughed out loud. They’d freak if they knew.

I gave Ashley a half-hearted eye roll instead. ‘Hardly,’ I said. ‘What with my parents and my little sister watching our every move.’

‘Still, you must be happy, right?’ Emma leaned forward, desperate to hear my tales of cohabiting bliss. ‘You finally got your boy back.’

I allowed myself and them a small satisfied smile. ‘I did.’

‘And?’ Ashley raised an eyebrow. ‘Is it amazing?’ She cocked her head and lowered her voice. ‘Or disappointing?’

‘No!’ I tossed my hair, which irritated me as that’s something I swore I would never do. ‘It’s great.’

‘Ashley’s just jealous.’ Emma gestured at her sister. ‘She wants a boyfriend.’

I nodded slowly at Ashley, drawing in my breath. ‘Well, as it happens, I might just have a guy for you.’

‘Huh?’ Ashley coughed up some hot chocolate.

‘Eww, Ash.’ Emma made a face. ‘Gross.’

‘Who? Is he a friend of Luca’s? Is he smouldering and gorgeous? What’s his body like?’

‘Come on, Ashley,’ I said laughing. ‘Don’t you want to ask a few questions first?’

‘You!’ Ashley wasn’t doing a great job of hiding her delight. ‘Come on then, spill.’

‘Well.’ I took a breath. ‘You know Mrs C wants me to head up the student council this year?

‘Yeah—’ ‘No—’ said the twins in unison. ‘Whatever. That’s great.’

‘Right.’ I grinned. ‘Well, my first duty is to mentor a new student. This girl, Polly, she started here a few days ago— ’

‘Hey, is that the ginger girl?’ Ashley asked. ‘The ginger Goth?’

‘Well, I guess you could describe her as that. She’s really nice,’ I carried on, hoping I sounded like I meant it. ‘And she has a brother.’

Ashley’s smile faded, understanding. ‘OK.’ She glanced quickly at Emma.

‘Ash doesn’t do gingers,’ said Emma brightly. ‘He’s got to be a ginger. I mean, that runs in families, right?’

‘Yes, he has red hair,’ I said carefully. ‘More auburn than red really.’ I paused taking in the obvious disappointment on Ashley’s face. ‘You want to see a photo?’

The twins gave each other a meaningful telekinetic twin look before turning their attention back to me.

‘I suppose,’ Ashley shrugged.

I dug in my pocket for my phone, located Ade’s photo and passed it over to the girls.

I watched as their eyes widened and Ashley’s expression went from crestfallen to gobsmacked in the space of three seconds.

‘Wow,’ she breathed. ‘I never thought a ginger guy could be so hot.’

‘Yeah … I mean … He’s actually really … hot,’ echoed Emma, craning over Ashley’s shoulder to look more closely.

‘See?’ I summoned a smile, though inside I was wondering what I had got Ashley into. I didn’t know Ade. All I had to go on was Polly’s description. And that wasn’t exactly reassuring. That and the obvious intensity of her relationship with her brother. I felt a moment’s guilt. Ashley was a sweet, straightforward girl. She didn’t need some weirdo and his sister in her life.

‘So, he wants a date?’ Ashley prompted, finally handing back the phone. ‘With me?’

‘He wants a date with a beautiful, bright girl with the body of a supermodel,’ I told her. ‘Which would be you, Ashley, yes.’

‘He’s way out of my league,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘I need another look.’

Grinning, I gave her back my phone, and watched as the twins dissolved into quiet shrieks over Ade’s picture. I hadn’t quite thought through the reality of the situation, which could well be that Ade would eat someone like Ashley for breakfast. I didn’t believe Polly’s story for a minute. Any relation of hers had to have the arrogant gene. And there was no denying he was hot. But for now I was enjoying thinking about someone else’s romantic future for a change.

‘So,’ I said, once the giggling had died down, ‘I can tell Polly you’re up for a date?’

‘Only if Emma can come too,’ said Ashley seriously. ‘We go everywhere together.’

‘But this is a date, Ash.’ I smiled in a compensatory way at Emma. ‘I don’t think that would be his idea of a double date. I don’t think it’s anybody’s idea of a double date.’

‘She’s right, Ash.’ Emma nudged her sister. ‘You should go alone.’

Ashley looked stricken and, underneath the make-up, she looked very young all of a sudden.

I sighed, knowing what was coming. Might as well pre-empt the inevitable.

‘You want Luca and me to come with?’ I suggested reluctantly. ‘Like a proper double date?’

‘Would you?’ She reached her hand over the table. ‘It’s just, he’s a stranger and …’

‘Of course,’ I said firmly. It was a good idea. I didn’t trust Polly, why would I trust her brother?

‘Brilliant.’ Ashley slid the phone over to me and grabbed hold of Emma’s arm. ‘I’ve got a date, Em!’ she squealed. ‘A proper date!’

My heart was already sinking. Now I had to break the news to Luca. I just had to hope that Ade was normal. Because if he had even the faintest whiff of bad-ass about him, then Luca would sniff it out in a heartbeat.

Sometimes heightened sensory perception wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

P
ete’s tea took some getting used to. Luca blew on it, wrinkling his nose at the murky grey colour of the liquid inside the mug. He missed his mother’s tea. He’d never tell Jane that, and truly it wasn’t much of a sacrifice, but this synthetic perfumed concoction was not what he would define as a cup of tea.