Everlasting Bond (29 page)

Outside, Katrina felt the cool night air hit her face and it felt refreshing. Until that moment she hadn’t realized ju
st how stuffy the gym had been.

“Wow, it’s cold out here,” Stacy said.

“Want my jacket?” Katrina offered.

“Thanks.” Stacy shoved her hands into the sleeves and shivered. Then she jumped. “I’m vibrating!”

“My phone.” Katrina rummaged through the pockets.

“I’m going to go warm up the car,” Donovan said.

“Wait up. I’ll come with you.” Stacy ran after him.

Katrina took her phone out of the pocket and smiled as she read his text:
Outfit's a keeper! Meow!

“Feeling better?” Stacy asked.

“Yup.” Katrina put her phone back in her jacket pocket and followed Stacy into Donovan’s car. Katrina waited for him to shut the door before she asked any details. “You guys were gone a while. Where did you go?”

“To get some fresh air,” Stacy winked.

“Oh. Nice,” Katrina giggled.

Donovan got in and hesitated a second before starting the car. To Katrina he still seemed a bit off.

“Where to?” Stacy asked.

“How about Dead Man’s Point?” Donovan asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Stacy smiled. “Kat?”

“Sure, but can we stop by the house first. It’s freezing and I want to change out of this.” She motioned down at her dress.

“Yeah, would that be okay? I need a jacket too.”

“Of course,” Donovan agreed.

The drive to the house didn’t take too long. Katrina was grateful because she couldn’t wait to get out of her costume. Donovan silently followed both girls into the house.

“We’ll be right back. You can watch some TV if you want?” Katrina offered.

Donovan smiled. “Sure thing.”

Katrina let Donovan find his way into the living room. She took off her heels and ran upstairs after Stacy. Inside her room, Stac
y was already half way changed.

“In a hurry?” Katrina joked.

“The quicker we leave the faster I can get to the fun part of the night.”

“Y
ou’re so bad,” Katrina laughed.

She walked over to her closet and swore she heard her feet sing. They were happy to be on flat ground once again. She was in a hurry and grabbed the first thing her hand touched. Jeans in hand, she went to head in the bathroom, but stopped.

“Wow. You’re already done?” She'd never seen Stacy change so fast.

“Yup. I’m going to go keep Donovan company while we wait for you,” Stacy teased and headed out the doo
r. “Take your time.”

Katrina slid her straps down and let the dress fall to the floor. It took her a few minutes of fighting before she finally had her jeans up and buttoned. She tossed her black sweater over her head and pulled her arms through. Halfway through, her cast got stuck. She had to force
it through the rest of the way.

When her cast finally did poke through, it got caught on her amulet. She didn’t realize how hard she had been pushing her arm out until it caused the chain holding the amulet to snap. It went flying across the room and crash landed in a far
corner.

“Good riddance,” Katrina said, as she turned and headed downstairs.

Walking into the living room, she found Stacy cuddled up next to Donovan. “Ready?”

“Definitely,” Stacy grinned. Both she and Donovan stood up.

“Did you lose something?” Donovan asked, gesturing towards her neck.

“No,” she quickly replied. “I just feel like leaving that part of me at home.”

“You look better without it anyways,” he grinned and at the same time Katrina thought she saw his eyes glisten with a hint of yellow.

Out in the car, Katrina let Stacy keep Donovan busy. She tilted her head back and let the sound of Donovan’s car sing her to sleep. She didn’t wake up until she felt the familiar winding path. The road was unusually desolate for a Friday night. Then again the whole town was celebrating the other festivities and that was fine by her. The less people she had to enco
unter at the moment the better.

She felt Donovan’s car veer off into the dirt and park. It was strange to see everything so empty, but to the contrary, it was just what she needed.

Donovan shut off the engine and made his way around to hold the door for both girls. Katrina watched him grab a blanket from his trunk, before the three of them set off towards the creek. Katrina purposely lagged behind, giving Stacy ample time with Donovan. She glanced back and Stacy must have picked up on it because she gave Katrina an appreciative wink. Katrina laughed, and flashed her a quick smile.

Crossing the dirt path, Katrina stopped at a grassy meadow. Donovan placed a burgundy blanket on top and the three of them sat down. Katrina opted to sit as far away from Donovan and Stacy as possible to give them some alone time. Unfortunately for her, that didn’t work. Donovan placed himself right next to her. Then Stacy nestled herself up beside D
onovan, eyeing his every move.

Katrina tried to ignore how close they were and just enjoy the scenery. The crescent-shaped moon glowed vibrantly against the black sky. It was truly breathtaking. It gave her a sense of being whole. She laid her head back and absorbed herself comp
letely into the surreal moment.

As her mind wandered, her body started to feel a sudden chill in the air. Katrina shivered and tried to hide it.

“You cold?” Donovan asked.

“Yeah.”

“I have another blanket in my trunk. I’ll go get it. Be right back.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. It’s no trouble, my lady,” he smiled and bowed in her direction.

“Wait up! I’ll come with you,” Stacy shouted, seizing the moment.

“Come on,” Donovan laughed, taking her hand. Soon they disappeared into the shadows, leaving Katrina alone to soak in the silence. It had been far too long since she had ventured out to enjoy the beauty of nature and she wasn’t going to waste a minute of it.

The only problem was she couldn’t shake that anxious feeling in the pit of her s
tomach. It felt like butterflies were practicing a gymnastics routine around in her insides. She tried to push the feelings aside and blame it on her lack of food, but she knew it wasn’t the case. There was something different about these feelings. They were becoming more intense and refusing to give. She had never experienced any like it before.

In the silence
, Katrina’s mind wandered. She kept thinking back to her conversation with Andrew. Guilt washed over her. He was right. Everything that happened was because of her. It was painful to realize the truth. Still, she knew what choice she was going to have to make.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low shuffling sound. A twig snapped behind her and she looked up to find Don
ovan making his way back alone.

“Here you go.” Donovan handed her a thick plaid blanket.

“Thanks.” Sitting up, she threw the blanket on top of herself. The warmth it gave was like heaven to her cold skin. “Where’s Stacy?”

“Oh, she’s back at the car. Her mom called. I think to check on things. So, I gave her some privacy,” Donovan said, as he flashed Katrina a devilish grin.

“That was probably a good thing.” Katrina laughed at the thought of Stacy having to explain to her mom about her date, in front of him no less.

Figuring she still had a few more decent minutes of quiet time left, she laid her head back down and fixated on the brightest gem twinkling in the sky she could find. It didn’t take long for Donovan to join her. Katrina felt him lay his head down next to hers and gaze up at the freckled black sky. The two of them lay in the quiet of
the night blissfully content.

“So, this is what you like to do?”

“Yup, and if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were enjoying yourself,” she teased.

“Maybe a little,” Donovan admitted. “You definitely never see anything like this in
L.A. On a good day you’re lucky to even see the sky, let alone the stars that are hiding in it.”

“Do you miss the big city at all?”

“No, not really. I like the mystery small towns have to offer.”

“I don’t know about that. I find it kind of boring. I think it’d be a nice change to be in a big city and meet all kinds of interesting people.”

“Trust me, they’re not all that interesting. In fact, some of them are quite boring and fake. After a while, seeing the same thing over and over gets to be a bit repetitious.”

Katrina let out a giggle as his words sunk in. “I guess it’s the same for everyone. I couldn’t wait to leave here and have a new adventure.”

“And now?”

“Now, I feel like I belong here.” Katrina felt the blood rush to her face. “So
rry, that sounded really lame.”

“No it didn’t. Makes perfect sense.”

“It does?”

“Sure. Most people crave an escape. They forget home is the best place to be—where it all started,” Donovan exp
lained with a sense of empathy.

Katrina turned her attention back to the sky above, but she kept thinking about Donovan and her heart fluttered.
He really was easy to talk to.

After a few moments of silence, Donovan spoke. “What are you thinking
about?”

“Honestly, nothing. Absolutely nothing at all and it feels good. What are you thinking about?” she asked, turning her face to meet his.

“You.” His seductive coffee colored irises stared back at her. Her heart raced in surprise. His face was just inches from hers.

Katrina was about to turn the other away, but she was caught in his trance. Donovan’s warm fingers delicately caressed her cheek. He edged in closer, hindering any possible gaps between them and pressed his lips to hers.

His soft hands fondled lightly up and down her entire body, as he leaned her back and placed himself on top of her. The feel of his velvety warm hands tracing the contours of her body was blazing hot against her cool skin. Katrina tried to stop them before they went any further, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her body began to respond to his touch, but the way it responded was unfamiliar and foreign to her. The way he touched her left something amiss.

“Stop, we can’t do this.” Katrina attempted to push him away.

“We are now,” his panting breath whispered back.

“No, Donovan. It’s not right. What about Stacy?”

“What about her?” he uttered almost completely out of breath, as he planted another kiss on Katrina’s soft pink lips.

“Donovan—STOP!” Katrina demanded.

He pulled back, exhaling his irritation with her. Katrina sat up and tried to get herself together before Stacy came and found them. “This isn’t right. We’re friends. That’s it.”

“You know, Katrina, I’m growing a little tired of this
facade
.”

“Facade? What are you talking about? I told you from the beginning I just wanted to be friends.” Katrina grew angry.

Donovan stared at her for a moment and shot her a wicked grin. “Yes, yes you did. But I’m tired of pretending,
Caroline
.”

Katrina’s heart came to a sudden stop, as she realized his choice of words. “What did you say?”

“I said I’m tired of playing games, Katrina,” he repeated, anger welling behind his eyes.

“No. You called me—Caroline.”

Looking back at Donovan, Katrina noticed something peculiar. Donovan’s once innocent and child like chocolate eyes were blending into a rich yellow color. Then his voice changed, it lost all humanity behind it and went icy cold. “You’re right. I did,” he devilishly grinned.

In shock, Katrina sat paralyzed. She didn’t know what to say. Panic struck her. Her fists clenched tightly around the blanket. She could feel her knuckles turning white, as her grip became death-like. Finally, she gathered enough strength to ask him a question. “Who are you?”

Donovan stared back at her angrily. “Now see, that hurts Caroline. I’ve been searching for you too, damn it. It seems Nikolas and Andreas always managed to be one step ahead of me, but not this time. No, I was much smarter. I played all of you perfe
ctly. I knew once Cole saw one of us, he would leave to summon the others. Leaving you alone and vulnerable, thus perfect for the taking. So, you see, this time I won.”

“Won?” Katrina was both frightened and confused with this conversation. Suddenly, she realized just how alone she was. She glanced towards the direction of the car anxiously awaiting Stacy’s now overdue return.

“Don’t worry. I already took care of that distraction. It’s just you and me now. I’ve got you all to myself,” he laughed. The way his voice bellowed over the field, he sounded like a sadistic hyena having successfully cornered his prey.

“What did you do?” Katrina tried to figure out the best way for her to escape. She was surrounded in pitch-blackness leavi
ng her very few—if any—options.

“We won’t have her around bothering us anymore,” he coldly promised.

“If you—” Katrina swallowed the lump building in her throat and she shuddered. But it was too late, images of the terrible beast ripping Stacy to pieces with its claws flashed through her mind.

“If I what? Anyway, I did you a favor. She was getting on my last nerve. The friends you seem to make get more annoying each time.”

“What do you want from me?” Katrina asked, fighting back the tears of mourning for Stacy.

“Oh, I think you know. Deep down inside somewhere, you know.” His golden butter eyes flared as he threw the covers aside like trash.

“You can’t,” her sobbing voice whispered, almost inaudible beneath her heavy tears.

“Don’t worry.” He lightly stroked he
r cheek. “It won’t hurt, much.”

He let out a shrill vindictive laugh, as he pushed her back onto the ground and threw himself on top of her. Katrina fought back the surge of panic that began to trickle through her and pulled herself together. The thought of this bastard, monster or not, touching her made Katrina nauseous. She knew she had to do something, anything to create an opportunity for her escape.

In an attempt to get out from underneath Donovan’s anchor of a body, she took her right hand and tried to swing her cast at him, but his reflexes were as fast as Cole’s. He was able to catch her arm in mid air.

“Don’t think so.”

Disgusted, Katrina spat in his face.

Donovan didn’t even flinch. “You know, that didn’t do you any good the last time.” He calmly wiped his face.

“GET OFF ME!” she screamed in a frenzied panic, so loud her throat became raw.

“Caroline, cooperate please!”

Donovan seemed to enjoy what he was doing even more when she tried to fight back. Katrina had never felt so helpless. She was pinned between the cold hard ground and the inhumanly strong beast on top of her.

Katrina felt the intrusion of his warm lips caressing over her, while his nose deeply inhaled the scent of her strawberry blonde hair. “You smell much more delectable this lifetime. Like honeysuckle and roses,” his venomous lips whispered. Katrina squeezed her eyes closed, as she felt Donovan’s hot breath against her skin and his large animal like paws w
rap themselves around her neck.

“Please don’t,” she pleaded, forcing back tears.

“You know, it will hurt less if you don’t fight it. Just give in, you know you want to. You belong to me now,” he devilishly chuckled, ignoring her pleas to stop.

Overpowered, Katrina tried to keep calm. It wasn’t easy with Donovan pinning her tightly against the ground, but she needed to focus on getting free. She waited for an opportunity to escape and tried to think of a plan, fast. All she needed was one brief moment, when his attention was directed elsewhere. Glancing around for any type of exit that would get her the hell out of there, Katrina fought back an urge to vomit. The warmth of his hands made their way down her chest, tracing
over every contour of her body.

As the tears fell down her face, she wasn’t sure she could stand it anymore. She was almost ready to give up and let him win, when she felt a surge of electricity pulse through her. The vibration was unlike anything she encountered before. Icy hot flames circulated through every vein in her body. It was a current of pure power. She could feel it building up inside her, like a wild animal ready to break free from the cage that imprisoned it. She wasn’t sure what happened next, but she saw Donovan’s surprised body being thrown back a few feet from her.

She wasted no time trying to figure out what happened. It was just the opportunity she needed. Katrina pulled herself up and ran as far away as possible into the unknown darkness. She never looked back. Ahead, she could make out two blurry figures of trees as she flew by them. Her eyes darted from figure to figure searching for an escape, no matter the form.

“CAROLINE!” Donovan’s taunting voice bounced off the trees, “It seems you do remember a bit more than you let on. I knew you would start to figure out your powers sooner or later.” Katrina heard his heavy footsteps shuffling against the hard soil, as he spoke. “Oh
come on, don’t be so stubborn.”

Ignoring him, she kept running. Through the trees, Katrina could make out the outline of an old building. It was just what she’d been hoping for. Her body started to ache from fatigue, but there was no time to stop. She forced herself closer and that’s when her heart sank.

It wasn’t just an abandoned building. It was the cottage. Katrina’s body froze. Her emotions were starting to spiral out of control. She didn’t have time for the meltdown her body was attempting.

Taking a deep breath, she forced her way up the rotted porch. The door was completely boarded up. Entry that way was impossible. She quickly glanced around and found two small openings next to it. The only possibility she saw were two empty rectangular spaces half covered up with boards. They looked like they had been put up years ago. The nails were covered in rust and the wood was rotted. She pulled on them and to her surpris
e, prying them loose was easy.

Through one of the larger openings, Katrina carefully slipped herself inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but once they did she could see vague outlines of objects. Still frantic, her eyes quickly roamed for any type of hiding place.

Her heart sank. The first floor held no promises. Only a weathered rotting rocker covered in layers of dust and years worth of cobwebs remained.

Faint scratching sounds against the wooden floor caught her attention, as two tiny shadows made their way back inside the walls. Katrina wrinkled her nose in disgust and decided to try her luck upstairs.

The antique timber railing was brittle against her hands. Under her feet, the weathered flooring creaked. She was scared at any moment it could give way sending her crashing down to the first floor.

She made it to the top of the stairs in one piece and her tired eyes made out a large doorway.  Without hesitation, she made a left in the hallway and dashed inside. There was nothing except for a few pieces of furniture inside. Rotting away, they looked as sad as the chair on the floor below. Katrina found a small opening in part of a crumbling wall off in the far corner of the room and slowly crept inside. She wedged herself into the farthest corner she could find. Nestled back as far as she could go, all that was left to do was wait it out. She only hoped Donovan wouldn’t find her.

She tried to steady her erratic breathing and wait in silence, but it was useless. The frantic beating of her heart pounding against her chest was making it difficult to hear any noises around her. With the throbbing of her pulse thumping loudly in her ear, Katrina had to force all her concentration on being as still as a she could.

Only a few moments went by before Katrina heard a crashing sound, as Donovan broke down the fro
nt door. “CAROLINE!” he shouted, his voice ricocheting off the vacant walls. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Fright consumed her. His low steady footsteps crept against the aged flooring and sounded closer with each step. Knowing any moment he could find her, her body was convulsing in panic. Katrina pressed herself further into the tiny crevice, when she felt something soft and furry tickling its way up one of her arms. The rat was bigger than an average size pest. Pressing one of her hands against her mouth, Katrina swallowed and forced back down the thunderous scream knotting in her throat. In one swift jerking motion, she swung her arm back and forth sending the rodent face first against the floor and kicked it like a football out of her path.

Hearing Donovan’s steps make their way up the stairs, she quickly regained herself and took slow long breaths. “It doesn’t have to be like this. I could show you things. Things Nikolas has only dreamt of. The world can be ours.”

Ignoring his psychotic babbling, Katrina focused on the closeness of his voice. She could hear his steps echo through the barren hall, as he went from room to room eliminating them. Finally
, Katrina heard his footing enter the room she was in. As her body trembled in fright, she lay snugly against the cold dirty floor and curled up into a tight ball. With every part of her being, she tried to shut out everything from the outside world and become an invisible lump on the ground.

Katrina could hear Donovan’s heavy breathing. Then his footsteps stopped a short distance from her frail body. He was so close she could smell the familiar scent of pine needles wafting through the air. Katrina held her breath as long as she could. She tried to make absolutely certain he couldn’t hear her. Every step he took was one step closer to finding her and Katrina’s heart mimicked his tantalizing footwork. The beating inside her frail chest became a thunder
ous roar she couldn’t suppress.

In an attempt to calm herself, Katrina began to utter a silent chant inside her head. She’d heard it somewhere before. The strange words seemed so familiar to her and yet she had no recollection of where they came from. It wasn’t any ordinary scripture Katrina had ever heard in her occasional attem
pts to attend the local church.

The words she continuously uttered seemed more than just that to her. It was more like a spell. The words took on a meaning all their own, as Katrina felt the same current of energy from before. It sent a sense of peace and c
alm coursing through her body.

Heavenly mother, I humbly surrender myself unconditionally to thee,
please watch over and guide me.

Katrina felt a fiery warmth pulsate from within, as her body tingled from head to toe. It was both very comforting, but also excruciatingly painful at the same time. Lying on the ground writhing in agony, Katrina couldn’t control her anguish. She was so close to letting out a scream and giving Donovan all he needed to find her. Her body was s
tarting to sweat from the pain.

Katrina felt the life force being sucked right out of her, as everything became a cloud. Then nothing. Everything went still. She no longer felt anything nor could she hear Donovan’s footsteps next to her. Her body became a hollow shell of emptiness. Just as fast as it happened, she felt a swift breeze and was slammed back down, aware of her hell once again.

While her body took a brief second to readjust itself, her ears alerted her to heavy thumping sounds. Donovan’s weighted footsteps were creeping back down to the first floor.

“Maybe you went this way?” Donovan’s voice taunted.

Katrina strained trying to hear his whereabouts, but the distance increased, making it difficult. Then her ears perked up, as the next thing she heard was a door opening and the sound of his steps disappearing. As his footsteps dissolved into the far distance, Katrina relaxed and let out a silent sigh of relief.

She waited for a brief second to make sure he had reached the basement. Listening, her ears were relieved. The only sounds left were the soft scrapings of the rats clawing at the walls.

Calling forth her last reserve of strength, Katrina climbed out of hiding. She slowly crept her way down the hall and was careful not to make a sound. Each step she took made her heart throb. Any sound she made would send him right to her.

Finally making it to the staircase, she took in a deep breath. She crept down the unsteady stairs and hoped they would still support her weight. After all, they were very old. Wasting little time, she shut her eyes and went for it. Katrina slinked her body all the way down and made little impact on the bending floorboards beneath her feet.