Dark Light (The Dark Light Series) (36 page)

The only logical explanation would be that there is more than one Warlock after me. One trying to intimidate me into ascending into the Dark, the other trying to silence me altogether.

Honk! Honk!

“Come on, Bitch, let’s go!”

There should be a rule against calling someone a bitch so early in the day. But try telling Morgan that. The only thing worse than Whiney Morgan is Excited Morgan and right now, Excited Morgan is in full swing. I shake my head at her sitting in the passenger seat of our rented van, clad in a fur vest and dark oversized shades. Miguel is in the driver’s seat and he jumps out to help stow my suitcase in the trunk as I approach. Usually it would have been Jared helping me but I discover that he’s a bit occupied in the backseat when I climb into the 9-passenger van.

“Oh hey, Gabs,” he says pensively as I take my seat next to James.

I look back and flash a lukewarm smile. “Hey Jared. Aurora.”
Ugh
. This is so not how I pictured our ride up to Breckenridge. Thank God it’s only a few hours.

“Hello, Gabriella. Oh, I just love your sweater. It’s so cute!” Aurora says with artificial kindness. I just want to punch her in her perfect little pink pout. 

I look down at my V-neck black sweater and shrug. “Thanks,” I mutter, sliding on my own sunglasses and sitting back in my seat. This is going to be a long ride.

“Ok, ladies and gents! Our badass weekend getaway has officially begun!” Miguel announces, pulling away from the curb. The car erupts into cheers and applause.

About an hour into our trip, I get a nudge from James sitting a seat over. I’ve had my headphones in listening to my iPod to drown out Aurora’s singsong soprano as she giggles and flirts with Jared. Ugh, gag me. I remove one of my earbuds and look over at him. 

“So I heard you’ve been holding out on us. A boyfriend, young lady?” James jokes.

I smile shyly at James and shrug. “Oh, it’s not what you think. But yes, I am seeing someone.” 

I feel bad for not telling James the whole truth about Dorian. He’s a couple years older and I’ve always seen him as a big brother. Next month, he’ll graduate from UCCS along with Miguel and is planning on heading out to Denver to spread his wings in a bigger city. It’s hard to believe that our little group will get smaller. But then again, most of us are paired up now. Everything is changing, and though I love having Dorian in my life, I miss the old days.

“Well, I hear we’ll get a chance to finally meet this mystery man. Don’t worry, we won’t embarrass you
too
much,” James laughs.

“Oh, yes, James, since Gabriella here has been hiding Dorian from you all. I wonder why,” Aurora chimes in from behind us. I roll my eyes from behind my shades and purse my lips, refusing to even acknowledge her comment. 

“Yeah, Gabs, are you ashamed of us or something?” Miguel calls out from the driver’s seat. I see Morgan jab a knuckle into his side, hinting for him to shut up.

“No one is ashamed of you guys. You know that. I’m just a private person. And you know how it is…when people feel the need to flaunt it, it’s usually because things are really not as great as they pretend they are,” I say sweetly, though from James’s sly grin and slight head nod towards the back, I know my comment is not lost on him. My statement closes the conversation and we all go back to our individual activities.

After another 20 minutes, we stop for a bathroom break at a rest stop when Jared approaches me. I try to smile warmly at my friend but after witnessing him and Aurora canoodling in the backseat for the last hour and a half, I can barely look at him without gagging. 

“So Dorian is supposed to come up tomorrow?” he asks nervously, obviously trying to feel me out. When did things get so weird?

“Yeah. He’s coming in from Greece then meeting us there. Where’d your date go?”
Hopefully back to where ever the hell she came from.

“Oh, she’s in the bathroom with Morgan. Freshening up, doing girl stuff, getting pretty, I guess.” He smiles then cringes, clearly worried about offending me. I wave it off.

“Seems like you two are pretty hot and heavy,” I remark.

Jared shrugs. “Well, you know how it is.”

I can’t argue with that. I know what it’s like to be totally consumed with someone. To want to feel them all over you. To feel physically sick and weakened when they’re not around. I’ve felt like that with Dorian. I still do, though this time is different. This time, I can breathe. I can actually function when he’s not around though I miss him terribly. This time I am anchored only by my love for him.

“There you are!” Aurora squeals, wrapping her arms around Jared’s waist. She stands on her tiptoes to give Jared a peck on the lips before turning to acknowledge my presence.

“Do you ski, Gabriella?” she asks in her sickly sweet voice.

“No,” I reply curtly.

“Well, that’s too bad. I would have loved to get you out there on those slopes.”
Sure you would…so you can kill me and bury my body beneath the snow.

“Maybe next time,” I respond.
Or just wait 11 more months then give me your best shot, sweetie.

Aurora smiles, showing her dazzling white teeth, and turns around with Jared to head back to the van.

“Just breathe, Gabs. It’s only the weekend,” Morgan mutters, standing behind me. Both of us are gazing at the lovebirds, strolling hand in hand.

“Let’s just hope she lives that long,” I say under my breath. Morgan chuckles and ushers me towards the parking lot.

An hour later, we pull up to the grand cabin-style property and scramble out of the van anxiously. Morgan’s parents have been generous enough to let us stay here at their time-share property, saving us starving college kids a ton. The décor is rustic but the amenities are modern and up to date. We set off through the vast house, claiming our bedrooms. The place is huge, boasting 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. Morgan and I claim the only rooms with conjoining bathrooms while Miguel and James agree to sleep in the room with two twin beds. Leaving Jared and Aurora in the room with a queen size bed. I’m no fool; I know they’ve been intimate. Even a blind man could see that. But it just sickens me that they’re so open about it. As if it wouldn’t hurt me.

“So I was thinking us girls would head to the market, maybe do a little shopping if you guys wanted to hit the slopes for a few hours,” Morgan says as we all gather around the charming breakfast nook. Everyone nods in approval, while I internally cringe. 

“Sounds like a great idea,” Jared remarks. “Give you girls a chance to gab about us.”

“Well, we sure wouldn’t have much to say then,” I retort coolly.

“Burn!” James laughs. “Guess she told you!” The rest of the gang chuckles along.

“Alright, alright, throw in your share for groceries and booze so we can get going,” Morgan says with an open palm. The guys fish out their wallets and pull out twenty dollar bills.

“Oh, it’s ok, honey. I’ve got it,” Aurora says to Jared. They engage in a whispered conversation, Jared ensuring her that he can pay. Finally he gives in with a shrug and stuffs the bills back into his pocket. 

We drop the guys off with their snowboards and gear and head into town. It feels odd being able to wear our winter coats and snow boots in April but I don’t mind. The air is crisp and fresh and the sun is bright and warm. Being this high up on the mountain makes it feel like July in wintertime.

“Those boots are hot, Aurora!” Morgan gushes. We’re strolling along the supermarket aisles, grabbing all the essentials.

Aurora extends her leg, giving us a better view of her burgundy and leopard print fur ankle-length heeled boot. I have to admit, they are pretty cute.
The slore does have good taste.

“Oh these old things? Just my friend Alexander McQueen,” she winks. “But you are workin’ those Michael Kors boots, Morgan. Very nice on you.” Aurora then turns to me. “So who are you wearing, Gabriella?”

I shrug and give Aurora an easy smile. “Timberland,” I say flatly, extending my own leg to show off the tall tan lace up wedge boot. 

“Humph, well…they’re cute on you,” Aurora says, struggling to recover. Her hope was to embarrass me. Little does she know, I’m fluent in Asshole.

After grabbing enough food and alcohol to sustain us for the weekend, we decide to check out some of the high end boutiques. The price tags are outrageous, and I scan the sales racks in hopes of something in my modest price range.

“Oooh, Gabs, this would look hot on you!” Morgan squeals holding up a white long sleeve mini dress. Black piping creates a keyhole design in the front and the sleeves are see-through mesh. I check the price tag. It’s nearly $500. I give Morgan an alarmed look, not wanting to disclose my money woes with Aurora lurking nearby. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she whispers. “I’ll charge it and then you can just pay me back whenever you start making those big bucks at your new job.” She gives me a wink and I respond with a grateful smile.

“Oh wow, Morgan! Where did you find that beauty?” Aurora says approaching us, pointing at the dress.

“It’s for Gabs, actually. She’s getting it.” Morgan looks to me and beams. “Girl, Dorian is going to eat you alive once he sees you in this!” 

The look on Aurora’s face is priceless, and I have half as mind to point and laugh. But that would be too much like something she would do. I follow Morgan to the shoe section where she finds the perfect pair of pumps to go with the dress, insisting that I can’t live without them. Once she’s found a few items for herself, we head to the register. Aurora is sure to grab just about every sexy dress in the store, and isn’t shy about whipping out her platinum credit card. I refuse to give her the response she seeks for her pretentiousness. I guess it’s true that money can’t buy class.

“So we have an hour before we have to leave for Cecilia’s. We have reservations so don’t be late!” 

We’ve gathered the guys, all in one piece to our surprise, and are back at the house. Morgan has again coordinated our events for the evening. We all quickly disperse to shower and dress for dinner and dancing. I’m excited to get out though my heart is heavy that Dorian isn’t here. 

In honor of him, I opt to wear the blue dress I bought at the mall before all hell broke loose. He said that my friends would be safe. He told me not to worry about the killer. What happened was too close for comfort. The Warlock was right there in that store with us. If it weren’t for my uncanny sense to detect the threat, Morgan and I would have been slaughtered.

A tap on the door breaks me from my deliberations, and Jared enters cautiously. It’s odd, feeling so disconnected from him. We’ve hardly spoken the entire trip and just weeks ago we were planning to spend just about every waking moment together. It’s hard to believe I used to consider him my closest, most intimate friend. Now it’s like I’m looking at stranger, standing before me in designer jeans, a crisp white shirt, dark blazer, and Italian leather shoes.
What happened to my Jared?

“You look nice,” Jared comments, gesturing towards me in my tight blue bandage dress and embellished nude platform pumps. I guess my wardrobe got a bit of a makeover too.

“You too. Wow, did you hit the lottery and not tell me? Those shoes are sick!” I remark. He actually does look great. The update makes him look older and more mature.

“Yeah, uh. Gifts from Aurora. She likes me to dress this way.” Jared shrugs.

“Yeah, but do
you
like it?” 

“I guess it’s not bad. The jeans will take some getting used to though. A bit tighter than I like,” he says scrunching up his nose, making him look boyish and cute. It’s the first glimpse of the old Jared I’ve seen all day. “Hey, I just wanted to say thanks. For trying with Aurora. I know she can be a bit much. And you don’t really like girls like that.”

“I don’t have any problem with girls like Aurora. I just don’t like silly, slutty girls. Aurora is…fine. Maybe I’m a bit biased but if she’s what you choose, then all I can do is be happy for you,” I smile. I mean it; Jared’s happiness means the world to me. “Now let’s go before Morgan loses her shit with us for being late.”

Jared extends a crooked arm towards me so I can link mine with is. I do and smile up at him brightly as we exit the room and join our friends in the living room. Everyone is dressed and ready, including Aurora who looks like she is about to have an aneurism. As much as I enjoy her discomfort, I try to make good on my promise to play nice and casually untangle my arm from Jared’s. He acts as if he doesn’t even notice her brooding stare. After we’ve all taken a shot of tequila, toasting to our first night in Breckenridge, we pile into the taxi van that has just arrived. Nothing like alcohol mixed with contempt to fuel the fire.

The taxi drops us off in the heart of the historic district and the partygoers are already in full swing. We step into Cecilia’s, supposedly one of the hottest places to be on Friday nights. A hostess leads us to our section which is a bit smaller than we anticipate. It’s just a couple of round tables with some bar stools, not at all what I’d expect from one of Morgan’s hook ups.

“Excuse me, Miss, but I think you may have mixed up our reservation with someone else’s,” Morgan says to our hostess as we observe the cramped space.

“Nope, I don’t think I did. This is what was set aside for you and your party,” she replies snippily. This chick is obviously not happy with her job.

“Look at the reservation again,” Aurora commands. The hostess fixes her lips to say something indignant when she looks up to meet Aurora’s icy glare. A visible shiver runs down her spine and she quickly looks back down at her tablet.

“Oh, yes, I apologize. Right this way please,” the hostess mutters, clearly shaken. She leads us to spacious private section with modern white couches and low tables with a view of the dance floor and DJ. Now this is more like it! However, the hostess’s reaction to Aurora does not go unnoticed by me. 

“Wow, thanks, Aurora! How did you do that?” Morgan gushes after the hostess has left us with our menus. Trembling bass lines vibrate us in our plush seats. 

“Oh, I’ve been here a few times. She must’ve recognized who I am.” Aurora turns to meet my gaze. It seems like her iciness was not only reserved for the hostess.