Dark Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy) (28 page)

“
Don
’
t hold it inside
,
Caleb
,”
Uncle Mashu said just before he eased over to where I stood and embraced me.

How did this feel for me?—my uncle showing me some warmth. How many times did I lay in my bed crying myself to sleep
,
aching for just
one bit of affection from a father
who wanted nothing to do with me? Sure
,
the man who raised me
loved my mom. He gave me everything most of the other kids at school only dreamed about. In the end
,
he
never gave
me his heart because I didn
’
t belong to him.

I was the son of someone else.

Uncle Mashu
moved back and gave me an encouraging slap on the back
. His Native American features were much stronger than mine. The dark eyes of a warrior
’
s stare glanced deep into my soul.

“
It
’
s quite alright for
the
warrior to admit when he
’
s torn. For good to conquer evil
,
you
need to
admit that they both exist inside of you. Two forces are fighting a war to steal your soul
,
Caleb. You must realize that you
’
re unique
,
and special. Take the spirit of the earth with you and fight for what you believe. Only then will you be able to find and hold
on to
your true self. The world
kneels before
the man who can see himself clearly.
”

Wow.
Uncle Mashu was pretty deep. But his advice wasn
’
t just a bunch of words; it
was a hint,
a prophecy
,
or something. It had to be.
His
guidance
always helped me out in the past, and
I really needed to hear
his opinion this time
.

“
Let
’
s head
back inside
.
Tonight we allow
our minds
to rest
. Tomorrow we explore the
C
a
ve of the
White
C
obia
,”
he said and tied
my unfinished knot
.

“
What
’
s a cobia?
”
I asked.

“
Do you want the legendary definition or the blowing smoke version?
”
he said.

“
The blowing smoke version?
”

“
Yes
, t
he
blowing smoke up
your ass edition.
Makes
the doubters happy when we change mythical stories up a bit.
”

“
Uncle M.!
”
I blurted and actually
grinned
for the first time in weeks.
There was something about hearing
my uncle curse
. He didn’
t even crack a smile after he said the word
. And for me, the guy about to lose his freaking mind,
it was
just
kinda funny.
“I can handle the real version, I think.”

“
That
’
s what I wanted to hear. My happy nephew coming back out of that hard case shell he has created
,”
he said.
“
A cobia is a fish with a gray body and white markings along its back
.
But there is an albino specimen the legends speak of. White gills
cover its body. At night, he
glows in the water. This particular cobia resembles an eel that is almost the same length as a whale.
I personally
have
never seen one, but my father’s people
claimed that they did.
T
he legend of the
white
c
obia
says that once you spot one of these
special
creatures
then they
’
ll lead you into a cavern. Inside that area is a doorway to a world that lies parallel to ours.
”

Right. I held back another laugh. Uncle Mashu
’
s face was dead serious. He fully believed what he just told me. The funny thing was I
kinda
did too.
“
Can we go
there
?
”
I asked
,
my heart thumping inside my chest. Maybe the smoke demon took Gia to this place.

“
No
,
Caleb.
The world beyond the caves is
forbidden territory. Since our people first ran with the buffalo in
the days before this land was called America
,
we
’
ve always respected what we couldn
’
t see
,
or understand.
”
He paused and studied my face.
“
Do not get any crazy ideas inside that pain wracked mind of yours. We he
ad out tomorrow
. Get some rest.
”
He paused for a short moment and then headed back toward his house.

“
Uncle Mashu!
”
I called out.

“
Yes
,
Caleb.
”

“
Thanks for listening.
”

“
I
’
m always here for you.
”

It was funny how five words suddenly made the world feel like a better place.

* * *

Later that night I dreamed
of
Gia.

She wore a short
emerald green dress that exposed her shoulders. It was slit up both sides
,
showing her bare thighs. Gia
’
s
dark
hair blew loose in the wind as she danced around a fire in the woods. Her hips swayed to the tribal beat
,
a combination of both drums and heavy bass.
Wow! S
he
’
s
incredibly
sexy.
I didn
’
t dare move. I probably couldn
’
t even if I wanted to.

Sitting in the shadows
,
a group of girls dressed in
all
black clothing similar to the smoke demon
’
s outfit played strange instruments that sounded
like maracas
. Their faces blurred. Good. I didn
’
t want anything to ruin this vision of Gia.

The dance was some kind of ritual
,
and Gia was hooked in a trance. I could tell by the way she moved her head from side to side.
Oh crap.
Her gaze found me hiding in the bushes. She
shuffled
closer to where I stood
,
waving for me to come to her.

I almost ran. But something told me to be careful.

Her dance was sexy
,
and my love for her was too strong to resist the pull of the one person I wanted more than anything in the world. I moved toward her
,
my hands reaching out to take hers.

That
music thumped inside my head and my body. I was pretty heated up. But it wasn
’
t anger warming up my limbs this time. Our fingers laced together
,
and she pulled my body against hers. We both
rocked t
o that crazy sexy beat. I never wanted it to end. Gia
’
s body molded perfectly to mine. Our steps moved in unison
,
one swinging beat at a time. I lost myself in the moment
,
only to find
my soul
again in her eyes as we gazed at one another.

She moved her hands up under my shirt
,
exploring my body. Pleasure tingled through every single part of me. I threw my head back and moaned
,
losing myself
,
hating myself. I knew it wasn
’
t real. There was no freedom for the love-possessed. She owned me
,
consumed me.

Yeah
,
I know
,
I
a
m completely obsessed.

I wanted to kiss her. No
,
I was dying to feel her lips on mine
,
to share
the deepest feelings I had inside of me with someone I cared about
.

Moving my head down to her lips
,
she grazed her own across my left ear
,
and said:
“
No kiss this time. I have something else for you
,
instead.
”
Oh snap!
I honestly
couldn’t
handle anything more. My chest was already about to burst.

That was until I felt little pinches on my ankles.

I pulled away from Gia and glanced at my feet.
The crazy
-girl
’s
laughter erupted in my head
,
piercing into my brain like a razor. Crying out
,
I doubled over
,
cradling myself against the ground. The pinches
pierced through the skin on
my hands. I opened my eyes and glanced at the area around me. Little crabs no bigger than a girl
’
s fist surrounded me. They had brown bodies
,
red claws
,
and...what the freak?
Is that little
human
feet they
’
re using to move around?
My first insane notion was to laugh.
And then
I got real.
If I didn
’
t move or do something
,
I was about to
take part in a
meal
. But the
main course
was going to be me.

I glanced at Gia. She returned to
her
freaky sexy dancing. From out of the shadows
,
one of the drummer girls st
alked toward me. I
’
d recognize that Bride of Frankenstein hair anywhere. The smoke demon. At once
,
I was paralyzed. Gia stopped suddenly and stared at me without blinking or speaking. A blank look shrouded her beautiful face.

“
Gia
,
come back to me
,”
I pleaded
,
wincing as the pain from the crab
’
s pincers pierced my skin.
What a nightmare.
Uncle Mashu taught me about demonic dreams.
Remember the earth warrior thing
,
my man. Wake up. Make it stop.
To awaken meant leaving Gia. That crazy-obsessed person in me just couldn
’
t do it. Even if it meant I had to die in this place.

“
I am terribly jealous of what she has with you,
”
the demon said
,
coming to a squat in front of paralyzed me.
“
S
uch a powerful love
.
Never has one of the
mighty
Seraphine been so completely
smitten with
a human before. Her race is weak. That is why my kind will destroy them all
in time
.
”

“
Why don
’
t you just kill us both
?
”
I
said
through gasps and mind numbing pain. The little
crabs with their freaky human feet
nipped at my hand
s
,
legs
,
and
ankles
,
and I couldn
’
t do a thing to stop them.