Dark Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy) (19 page)

“
Is that a trick question?
”
I answered.

She inhaled deeply
,
and said
,
“
I sense another girl in this picture.
”
Crap. I knew it was going to be something like that.
I kept silent and stared out across the black void over the ocean.
“
Can you
at least give me a little hint?
Am I right?
”

I did look at her this time.
“
I don
’
t want to hurt you.
”

“
Exactly as I thought
,”
she said
,
exhaling.

She brought her knees up to her chest.
“
You don
’
t have to tell me who it is.
”

I had the feeling she already knew. What she didn
’
t understand was this inner pull that
held
me under Gia
’
s spell. A prisoner was the
word that
best
described
me. Gia held the key. By now she
’
d probably either lost it or threw it away
,
holding me inside
her
cell forever.

Staring at the fire blazing in the pit we brought
,
I felt Erica
’
s hand caress the hair along the base of my neck.
“
If I told you a secret would that help to bring down this wall between us?
”

“
Honestly
,
I don
’
t know.
”

“
Whatever
,
right? I might as well go for it. I think there
’
s something happening that our parents aren
’
t telling us about
,”
she announced
,
her face serious. That got my attention. Erica
’
s uncle worked with
my dad in
Triton Laboratories. The research they did was
confidential
and time consuming.
Her
words bothered me. Something told me I didn
’
t really want to know
this
secret
. But I asked anyway.

“
What makes you think that?
”

“
My uncle keeps bringing water samples home. I was really curious about what he was doing
,
right?
One
night I snuck into his lab.
”
She lowered her head and took a deep breath. This was going to be important.
“
There was
a
really weird looking folder on his desk. It was made out of
some kind of
funny
brown leather
.
It even had a lock on it. But it wasn
’
t hooked. So
,
I opened it.
”
She stopped
,
licked her lips
,
and glanced out at the sea.

“
What was in the folder?
”
I urged.

“
Stuff about—this is going to sound very
odd
. Tidbits
and articles about
some really strange things
were inside
of
it
. I don
’
t know. The notes described this special kind of water creature that has the power of a
angel
.
”
She looked me straight in the face.

I cleared my throat
,
feeling the blood slowly drain out of my cheeks.
The words
water angel
echoed in my head.

“
What I just said bothers you
,”
she said.

“
No
,”
I squeaked. The ocean responded to my lie with a clap of waves
crashing o
ver the
shores
.
“
I
’
m just wondering why two engineers would be studying water angels.
”

“
I know
,
right. It
’
s weird. Maybe it
’
s a hobby
,”
she suggested.

“
Are you kidding me? I see my
dad
twice a year
,
it seems. He doesn
’
t have time
to do anything fun
.
”
Could it be possible that
Dad
knew about this too? Maybe that was the reason he kept me at a distance; because I
’
m the freak son with the ability to see spirits that walk between so-called veils created by water angels.

“
Caleb
?
”
Erica said. I turned my head toward her
,
and then she planted a hard kiss on my lips. Right
, so, even though I was pretty sure Gia was the girl for me, I couldn’t help but to admit
I responded a tad. Loneliness weakened me.
She
triggered my body heat thing
,
but not my heart. Deep down I knew this was all wrong.
E
rica
deserved better. Maybe Gia
did too
.
“
Stop
,
Erica.
”
I pulled away
,
all kinds of crazy feelings and sensations running through my body and head.

“
You
’
re thinking about her again
,
aren
’
t you?
”
Erica asked
,
her face falling.

“
It
’
s not right to lead you on.
”

My gaze drifted to the area behind her head and down the beach. Three men stood under the lights in the far distance. Dressed in long black trench coats with the tails flapping in the wind
,
the men didn
’
t look friendly in any way at all.

“
I think it
’
s time to leave
,”
I said
,
a cold feeling easing through my veins.

“
Ee-ew. Erica jumped up and kicked at something that washed up on shore. About twenty or thirty dead fish lay scattered across the sands around us. Kyle
,
Shani
,
and the others played on in bliss
,
completely unaware that some crazy crap was happening.

Between what Erica just told me
,
the dead
animals
washing up on the shore
,
and the dark
dudes
standing beside the water and on the pier
,
I didn
’
t know what to think. One thing was for certain though: life on the Isle of New Bern was about to change.

Chapter Eleven

“
I take it you enjoyed your beach trip?
”
Gia asked
,
her tone empty and cold.

“
I did
,”
I said
,
and tossed my jacket
on
the couch. That was probably mean of me
,
telling her that I enjoyed my outing with Erica.
O
ver
the past week
,
a rebellious demon had worked its way into me. It was kind of like I died and came back as the ghost of Caleb Wood.

I picked up the remote and turned on the blu-ray player. The Naruto episode that we
’
d watched together so long ago filled the screen. I couldn
’
t deny it
,
though. I was glad to see her. After watching the
men I nicknamed the
Dark Agent
s standing along the shores not too long ago
,
I figured that Paige wasn
’
t too far behind them.
She
never entered my house the way Gia always
does.
I really didn
’
t want to find out what would happen if she
did
,
either.

“
In spite of your super arrogant and meat-headed attitude
,
I still wanted to make sure you were okay
,”
she said and hugged her shoulders.

I thought about what Erica told me about her uncle
’
s research on the water
creatures with the angelic powers
. But Gia made it
pretty
clear that she wasn
’
t
an angel
. If not
,
then what exactly could she be? Why the heck do I still care? I made a promise to myself that I was over Gia
,
the skateboarder-
Walker
and gorgeous-beyond-words
Jones. I even convinced myself that the connection we both thought we had was
nothing more than raging hormones
.

I mean if she could walk away so
easily
with some square head like Thorne
,
then that meant all
the
soul mate crap we discussed was fake
,
right?
Wrong!
I still wanted to know more. Who was she? Where did she come from? Why did she choose me to torture and then
drop me like a bad egg
? Can she honestly not see how this is tearing me up inside? The lead in my chest
,
the ache in my…well
,
some things don
’
t need to be said.

“
Yes
,
I can feel all of that. Please don
’
t hate me
,”
she said softly
.
Oh snap!
She just read my mind.

It was too much. I used the only defense tactic I knew how. A thing I
’
d perfected. I shut her out and kept my eyes glued to the television screen.

There
was something satisfying about knowing that a certain cheerleader was waiting for me with open arms on Monday morning. The knowledge gave me the
strength
to swallow
through
the knot lodged in my throat and the lump of coal sitting in my chest.
I focused
my attention on Naruto and Sasuke fighting each other on the screen.

She
released a
long sigh and sat down on the edge of the love seat across from me.
“
May I read something for you
, s
ince
you
’
re obviously not going to talk to me
?
”

Hell yeah. You can read anything you want. Why
?—
because
I
’
m a fool
,
a guy falling for you in every possible way. I think that I both hate and love you right now.

“
Knock yourself out
,”
I said without looking at her.

Another
long sigh
escaped her perfect lips
,
and then she started. She didn
’
t pull out a paper the way I thought she would do.
The
volume on the television turned itself down. I didn
’
t touch a thing.

“
Whoa! Did you…
”
I began.
They
’
re
water creatures
with the power of
angels.
Erica
’
s words echoed in my head.
I stole a quick glance at Gia. She had her eyes closed
,
now. Sitting there in her usual outfit
,
she looked more gorgeous than ever.
The aquamarine stone necklace she loved to wear everyday seemed less vibrant for some reason.

‘
In a strange city lying alone

Far down within the dim West
,

Where the good
,
the bad
,
and the worst and the best
,

Have gone to their eternal rest.

There
are
shrines and palaces and tower
s

T
ime
-eaten towers that tremble not!

Resemble nothing that is ours.

      Around
,
by lifting
the
winds
we
forgot
,

Resignedly beneath the sky

The melancholy waters lie.

No rays from the holy heaven come down

On the long night-time of that town
,

But light from out the lurid sea

Shines up the turrets silently
,

Gleams up the pinnacles fa
r
and free.
’

Opening her eyes
,
she stared at me.
“
There
’
s no need to say anything.
”
She stood and sighed. Something had upset her. I wondered if Thorne played a part in that at all.
“
I
’
m sure you
’
ll be safe
tonight. There
’
s no reason for me to stick around and keep making us both miserable.
”

Caleb Wood
,
you are a fool if you let her walk out of that door.
This time I inhaled and stopped breathing. The knot sitting in my throat hurt like crazy. Squeezing my eyes shut
,
I could no longer deal with this misery
,
this agony.
“
Gia I think I
’
m falling in—
”
I blabbed out loud to an empty room. She was gone. My
confession
came too late. The Edgar Allan Poe poem she
wanted
me to
hear
answered
a few of
my gazillion questions.

It was called
The City in the Sea
.

* * *

On Monday Gia
returned
to class and pretended I didn
’
t exist
,
while Thorne ate up the situation. She was like the other
Walker
s now
,
a memory fading in a ghostly wind.

After third period
,
the giraffe approached me while I stood at my locker. I ignored him for about thirty seconds before I decided to say anything.
“
Hey
,
if you think I
’
m gonna join your fan club now
,
then think again
,”
I said and turned back to my locker.

Raze scoffed a laugh
,
moved real close to me
,
and said
,
“
She
’
s not for you
,
Wood. I like you. I really do. I wouldn
’
t have saved your girlie ass at that game if I didn
’
t.
Keep
your distance.
”

“
Yeah? Well
,
Papa R
aze
,
I have a dad
.
I don
’
t need one here at school.
”
I met his black-eyed gaze
,
staring him down a short moment.

“
Far be it from me to keep an idiot from getting dissed
,”
he shrugged and took a step back.

“
What do you think? That I owe you something
,
now?
”

“
This isn’
t about a debt to me.
It concerns
what I
’
ll do to keep my quee
—
Gia from getting hurt
,”
he said in measured words. More than ready to head toward the comfort of my physics class
,
I shoved around him.

* * *

“
Come on
,
bro. You need to get out.
You’ve been moping around all week.
I
’
m
seriously
worried about you
,”
Kyle pleaded.
He flipped through my mom
’
s exercise magazine collection and smiled at one of the swimsuit model girls on the front.
“
Plus I need a distraction for Shani. She
’
s got the love bug thing
,
man. I don
’
t know if I can
hang
.
I need your help.
”
He
grinned wide, a mischievous one
.

I smirked.
“
Right. Somehow I think you
’
ll survive.
But a
skateboard competition
,
Kyle? Surfing
maybe
,
but that sounds so not cool
,”
I lied. Deep down I didn
’
t want him to know the real reason I avoided tonight
’
s competition. It had been the talk
around
the
school ever since the botched l
acrosse fight last week. Gia Jones and the Razors
(
her skateboard group
)
were competing in a charity competition to benefit research on ways to stop water pollution. After
hearing
what Erica told me at the beach this past weekend
,
I wasn
’
t surprised to hear about a charity function geared toward preserving our water
.

“
Come on
,
Caleb. You
’ll
get to see the new skate park
. Plus you can show off your little
girlfriend
,”
he teased in a sing-song voice.

“
That sounds great. I
’
ll give Thorne even more reason to rearrange my face. I
’
m already on his shit list.
”
 

“
Who cares
about him? Things are great between
you and Erica.
I gotta hand it
to
you
,
bro. You did something the rest of us can only dream about
,”
Kyle said.

“
It
’
s not all that. Trust me.
”