Gray (Awakening Book 1) (11 page)

“Loki would be proud.”

It made me feel almost entirely normal to share that little joke with him. “Of course he is. Who wouldn’t be proud of me?” I asked and turned toward the bathroom. “Let me clean up, then I’ll turn you into the beast of legend.”

“More than I already am?”

I looked back over my shoulder, ignoring London as easily as he did. “Ben, your peacemaking ancestor will roll over in his grave when I’m done with you.”

“He did that years ago,” he said and walked over to pick up Kassia’s things. “I’ll put these in my truck for you.”

“Careful. My sister might kiss you,” I said stupidly, then walked into the bathroom to wash off the smell of horse.

I leaned back against the door when it was locked behind me and closed my eyes. Ben. I felt peace around him. I needed peace, but he was human. I . . . was not.

That settled that. I had to find some other source of peace, no matter how much my body and mind wanted it to be Ben. There was a war coming. I had to be ready.

Turned out, parties were NOT my thing. Too many people. Too many loud voices. Too much . . . everything.

I stepped out of the house and breathed in the cool, leaf scented air around me. It was so nice, even though the music was still far too loud. I wanted to go home more than anything, but with Kassia and her date there, home likely wouldn’t be such a peaceful place.

Something caught my eye and I turned, surprised to find JJ on the steps, his eyes fixed on the crescent moon above us. He truly looked amazing, in a long sleeved white shirt which he had painted beautiful, intricate wings on. His skill was undeniable. The boy was an artist through and through.

I walked over and sat down next to him, entirely pleased to have found him. It was the perfect costume for the sweet, quiet guy, but the party seemed to be of even less interest to him than it was for me.

A car swerved to a stop a little too close to the house and Paul practically fell out of it, a bottle in his hand. “Look at that! A black angel and some pasty freak with a snake. Guess that makes you a demon, doesn’t it, Lindbergh?” he asked in a slurred voice as he stumbled up onto the deck.

I looked up at him, a little amused to see he wore a tight Superman t-shirt. “Wow. Great costume, Paul. Is that shirt from when you were six?” I asked, suddenly nervous since me and JJ were alone with the drunken tool.

He stepped forward, though a gust of air knocked him back, his eyes still fixed on me. He said something disgusting, something which made anger rise inside me.

I stood up. The air asked if I wanted its help. And I did. Oh, I wanted to pull the air from that stupid boy’s lungs, to let him suffer.

I couldn’t. He was nothing but a stupid, pathetic drunk boy. If I hurt him, that made me the villain.

Paul let out a loud bark of laughter and stepped closer to me. “What? You going to tell the Chief I was mean to you, little girl?” he asked in a mimic of a baby voice.

I shrugged. “Why would I? I don’t think about you at all. You’re not worth my time.” I saw the door of the house open, the music way too loud as several people stepped onto the deck as well.

I had a feeling it was Ben, but didn’t take my eyes off Paul. It was not Ben’s fight. It was mine.

An image of Dorian came into my mind and a small smile came to my lips. A Queen’s guard had trained me to fight. I remembered.

Paul roared with rage and took hold of the neck of his bottle, apparently with a plan to bash me over the head with it. I sidestepped his swing and took hold of his wrist, twisting it behind his back.

I kicked his legs out from under him so he landed on his knees, his arm pinned. “I have a feeling you’re not going to remember much about tonight, but I’ll tell you now, I am no one you want to mess with. Remember that, Paul.” I twisted the bottle out of his hand, pleased to hear a bunch of guys laugh at him when he toppled over and began to puke off the side of the deck.

I did my best not to react to any of them, but turned back to JJ with a small smile. “You are the calmest person I know,” I said cheerfully, like nothing had happened at all.

He flicked his eyes back to the people who had come out onto the deck, but slowly, he met my eyes. “He’s not going to let that go,” he said quietly.

“Neither am I,” Ben said in an angry tone. “He could have killed you if he’d connected with that bottle.”

“He didn’t,” I said and handed it to him. “He didn’t come up with the idea on his own. He’s too drunk,” I said, unsure if he would be willing to acknowledge that London had probably put Paul up to it.

“I figured,” he said, his eyes narrowed in what looked like fury. “You doing anything about it?”

I smiled and nodded. “Yep. I’m going to take a little walk so I can show JJ my favorite tree.” I turned to look at him, my hands clasped together in a prayerful way.

He nodded and rose. With what looked like a monumental effort, he met Ben’s eyes. “You should probably have someone drive Paul home.”

Ben nodded. “Will you two hang on, let me walk with you after I get some of these losers out of here?”

I grinned widely at him. “Only if you bring me a candy bar. I’m starving.”

Ben smirked at me and nodded, going off to clear out the majority of the crowd.

I looked over at JJ and shrugged. “You know that’s the greatest amount of words I’ve ever heard you speak at once?”

He cocked a single brow at me. “You ever heard the phrase ‘speak softly and carry a big stick’?”

“Yeah.”

He patted the top of my head. “I’ll just carry you.”

I beamed at him. “I’m pretty sure you just became my favorite person in this town.”

“Francis and Ben are probably going to be deeply offended to hear that.”

“They’ll live,” I said, delighted by the butterfly which had emerged from the quiet caterpillar.

“Maybe,” he said, his eyes fixed on the tableau behind me.

I didn’t pay any attention as we walked out into the yard. It didn’t matter. The mystery of JJ and his hidden personality could be contemplated for hours.

“Shayla!” Francis shouted and ran over, his Robin Hood costume a little rumpled, but just as adorable as I’d thought it would be.

“I have a feeling you’re about to put on your chicken suit and refuse to climb my favorite tree,” I said and walked over to lean back against it.

Francis huffed out an exasperated breath. “So Paul Marston attacks you, you kick his butt and I’m supposed to pretend like we’re little kids again?”

“Precisely,” I said with a nod. “And I didn’t go anywhere near that idiot’s butt.”

Francis huffed again, but his lips quirked up in a grin. “Him and London are—” he broke off, his mouth open as he gazed at something.

I looked over, startled to see Ayanna walking toward us. Her ethereal beauty was so staggering, every guy around us was in some kind of stupor. Then it hit me. She wasn’t human.

Ayanna walked over, her hand held out between us. “Come on, Shayla. An attack is coming. I need to get you out of here,” she said and all of a sudden, I could see the mark on the back of her hand in the same place mine was.

The bold, black spear of Odin was a comfort, like the word ‘family’ had been tattooed to her skin. More enchanting still, were her ears which were pointed . . . like mine had been before Dorian had put the glamour on me. Ayanna was an elf of the house o
f
Gungnir.

How had I missed it before? Dorian must have sent her to keep an eye on me, to protect me if the Black King found out where I was.

“I guess this means Dorian can still give orders, even from the traitor’s cells,” I said, unsure if the Black King would truly have let him live after he had helped me escape.

“Dorian is in the human world, not the cells,” she extended her hand further toward me. “We need to get you out of here.”

“Let me call Kassia.” I reached for my phone, my heart having risen into my throat.

She shook her head. “I need to take you to the White. Your sister cannot pass our gates.”

“Why?”

Ayanna sighed and shook her head. “I cannot tell you that, Shayla. My only responsibility is to get you away quickly.”

I shook my head. “I’m not leaving. This is my home. The only family I have left is right here and I will not let you take me away from my sister again.”

“Your mother and I had the same conversation eight years ago. She refused to leave and she paid with both her life and her mate’s.”

A lump rose in my throat. “Why did she stay?” I asked in a weak voice, suddenly sure of the answer.

“The same reason she left. Because her other daughter is not permitted in our world.”

Kassia. She must be a half-blood like me, but looked like her father wasn’t either White or Black elf. Huh. What could she be?

No. That didn’t matter. All that mattered was to make sure my sister was safe. She was all I had left. If there was an attack coming my sister had to be protected too.

I took a step back and shook my head. “Mom and I agree on that. I will not leave Kassia. She is my sister.”

Ayanna closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them. “Dorian told me it was a waste of time to try and get you to listen, but I hoped he was wrong,” she took a step closer to me. “I am not permitted to help you with this fight. You are powerful, but far too young to wield the kind of magic you’ll need to protect anyone.”

I scowled at her, relieved to see Ben walking toward us. He was the only guy near us who didn’t appear ready to throw himself at Ayanna’s feet. “Will you please drive me home?” I asked with a prayer Kassia would be okay.

He nodded and held his hand out between us, like it was his way to show solidarity.

I laid my hand in his and began to walk away, but stopped and looked back at Ayanna. “Tell Dorian he trained me well,” and we walked toward whatever attack was coming.

I pulled out my phone to call my sister. There was no answer. I texted. No answer. I called her again . . . she wasn’t there.

Please, let her be okay. Please protect her.

It was a strange feeling as we pulled away from the house which had been mine eight years before, to go into a situation which my parents had faced as well. I was determined that for me, for us, things would turn out differently.

“You mind telling me what’s going on?” Ben asked, his eyes fixed on the road determinedly.

I rubbed my fist over my heart. It pounded with a mix of fear and rage. “They took me to protect me,” I said quietly and tears rose in my eyes.

“Who took you, Shayla?”

“My grandmother took me, but her son hated me, hated my dad for marrying my mom. My grandmother was trying to protect me, but she didn’t care about Kassia. Nobody cares about Kassia. The Chief treated her like—”

“Like he treats me, but the Chief is afraid of you.”

I turned my head to look at him. “Afraid?” I asked, unsure if he truly had seen that, or if it was just an exaggeration because of what he’d seen the other day.

“The second you sat on the stone bench on your porch, the Chief saw you as a threat. His hands were shaking when he walked away.”

“Was it always that way and I was just too stupid and selfish to notice?” I asked aloud, though it was a question for me alone.

Ben glanced over at me. “Every little kid is selfish, but you—” he gave me a hard look and shook his head. “You’re not though, Shayla. If you were, you wouldn’t be staying here to try and protect your sister, when you were told it would be safer for you to leave.”

“You heard that?” I asked, unsure how any human could possibly have heard what Ayanna had said through the haze she had put on them. Wait . . . human. Could Ben be something other than human?

I gaped at him. There was nothing which looked unusual, but he had specifically told me people couldn’t hide things from him. Could he have the sight? I had heard of a few humans with that gift, but never imagined meeting one. They were even less common than Gray elves, according to what Dorian had taught me.

Slowly, I lifted my left hand to show him its back. “Can you see anything on my hand?” I asked, my heart lodged in my throat.

His mouth tightened for a moment as he looked at my hand. “Other than the spear of Odin tattoo, no.”

I slumped back in my seat. He had the sight. If any of my people, either White or Black found out about it, they would kill him, all to protect their anonymity.

“I’m guessing that’s something I’m not supposed to see.”

I shook my head, a little disconcerted to realize there were two half elves, a White elf and a guy with the sight in one small town. I wondered what other supernatural being would pop up before the end.

Ben shot me a look and swallowed hard. “I . . . did tell you that hiding things from me is kind of . . . impossible.”

Indeed he had. Looked like I needed to pay more attention to what he said. “So me trying to hide the fact I’m scared out of my mind that something’s happened to my sister, you know that already?” I asked, my voice a little weak.

He laid his hand on my knee. “I know the feeling, Shayla. I was too late once. Not going to let that happen again.”

I stared at his hand for half a second, then laid mine over his. “Thanks,” I said, my eyes fixed on that spear of Odin as well.

How had I forgotten so much? I had spent eight years in some other place, but only remembered a few small things. How . . . but then Dorian’s words came back to me.

You will forget the time you spent in this land. You will forget what was done to you. You will forget that Black elves exist. You will no longer believe in magic. You have no magic. You will be nothing but an ordinary human girl.

Dorian had said those words to me and his magic had worked, but only for a little while. I must be far closer to my awakening than we had originally thought.

Ben squeezed my knee. “You okay?” he asked as he pulled onto my street.

Was I? I had no idea. My entire world had crashed down on me. “I think Kassia’s father is the key. I don’t know who he is, but I have a feeling he’ll be able to protect her far better than I can, if I can find him.”