Silent Orchids (The Age of Alandria: Book One) (10 page)

Crap! I made him feel bad. I can’t believe he would leave without saying goodbye. What’s his deal? Twice now a guy has just walked away from me
. Kaeleigh made to move from the bed, not remembering what she went to bed wearing (or not wearing). She looked under the covers to make sure that she was decent in her tank top and pajama pants.
Good thing I left the bottoms on before I fell asleep this time, that could have been awkward.

“Finn, where did you go?” she shouted as she walked toward her bedroom door. “Are you leaving?... Oh, thanks,” she said a bit shyly after she practically bumped into Finn as he walked back into the room, handing her a glass of water he got from the kitchen. She took several drinks, hoping to wash down whatever awkwardness that was suddenly between them. Finn was one of her best friends; she wasn’t sure why suddenly things felt a bit different. She decided not to let it be weird any longer as she rolled her shoulders to shake it off. 

“You want to go back to sleep or do you want to play cards or something to distract you?” Finn asked, now sounding more like the good friend she knew.

“Sure, let’s play a card game, we haven’t done that in awhile. I’ll get the cards.” Kaeleigh ran into the living room and pulled a deck of cards out of the basket by the television.  

They played several exciting games of Speed, Gin, and Go Fish, even though the last didn’t really work with two people. There was lots of laughing and casual conversation that felt comfortable. Kaeleigh was happy to be back to normal with Finn. She gathered the cards to be put away and yawned as the need for sleep hit her once again. Getting up from the couch, Finn grabbed one of Kaeleigh’s several “unnecessary pillows” as he thought of them and grabbed an extra blanket out of the closet. She called them “decorative throw pillows,” but he didn’t get the point of them.

“What are you doing, Finn?”

“Go to bed, Kae, I’ll sleep on the couch to keep you company in case you have another bad dream or need anything,” Finn said and headed back to the couch.

Kaeleigh got into her bed, feeling slightly guilty that one of her best friends, who had been so great to her tonight when she needed a friend, was going to sleep on her springy and not-so-comfortable-for-sleeping couch. After all, things seemed back to normal and Finn had spent the night before and it was no big deal, although Chel was usually there too.
He’ll be fine out there on the couch.
The couch squeaked as Finn plopped himself down and made himself comfortable, or at least tried. Every time he turned over or adjusted his position on the couch, it squeaked. 
Ughh! I’ll never get any sleep with all that racket out there.

“Finn, you don’t have to stay out there.” Kaeleigh’s shout sounded muffled from under her comforter.

“I’m fine, I’m not leaving you tonight. You’re still a bit shaken up, I’ll stay the night... or what’s left of it,” Finn replied in a tired voice.

“No, I mean you don’t have to sleep out there on the couch, there’s plenty of room in here,” Kaeleigh said, looking at her king-sized bed.

“Oh... well, your bed is more comfortable, but only if you’re sure. Don’t tell Chel we had a slumber party without her, she’ll never forgive us for that,” he said with a playful grin as he walked in her room.

“Tell me about it! She hates to feel like she’s missed anything. The other day when we had lunch without her she went on and on about it that whole day. It’s our secret,” she said, scooting over to the far side of the bed to give Finn space. Her room wasn’t that big but she and Chel had decided to share so they made the king bed fit. It always made them laugh when they reminisced about their acrobatic maneuvers trying to get it in the door and turned properly in the room. Smiling, she thought,
See, totally normal, no big deal
. Then she heard his belt buckle as he was taking it off and she quickly flipped over so she was looking at the opposite wall, blushing like a little girl at the thought of a boy in her room taking his clothes off. Her heart sped up.
Why am I freaking out?
Realizing Finn was laughing, she rolled slightly back toward him.

“What’s so funny?”

“You.” He looked in her eyes and took in her face with a humorous twinkle in his eyes, but also something else—something resembling desire, she thought with a panicky feeling—but then it melted away. “Don’t worry, I’m just taking off my belt. It’s uncomfortable, but everything else is staying on... unless you want it to come off, Kaeleigh,” saying that last part with a mockingly seductive voice that she knew he was teasing her with. At least she thought he was teasing. 

“Shut up and go to sleep,” she said as she threw a pillow at him and rolled back over. She knew he’d be the perfect gentleman. “Good night, Finn, thanks for being here.”

“That’s what friends are for, right? Maybe my being here will keep the bad guy in your dreams away. Good night, Kae.” 

Hmmm, I don’t remember saying there was a bad guy in my dream slash image flash...
 

Chapter Nine

Exhile

The Realm of the Unforgiven Dead

While Daegan was scouting the mortal realm, evil was restless in another realm. Hidden away in the obscurity of a jagged mountain range of the desolate dark realm, also known as Exhile, was a labyrinth of caves. In the tallest, darkest mountain peak there was one particular cave hollowed out of the rock through time and death. This was of the oldest of all the realms. It was where the lost souls and the souls of the unforgiven dead—the ones that became the Droch-Shúil—were escorted by the Ferriers, a race of Elves who up until recently had remained neutral on all concerns other than their purpose—to ferry the souls. The ones who chose to side with darkness... with
her
... became dark themselves, thus creating the Ónarach. They chose when they went against nature, against their purpose, by enslaving stolen souls... specifically, the souls of the passing Orchids. 

A primitive, ancient evil dwelled there, carried through the centuries, attracted by the torment of this realm. It was cold. It was dark. It was lifeless. Except for the faint, struggling hidden heartbeat that for centuries had fought for its survival against its keeper—
her
—this was a place of death. 

Until now. 

The tides had turned. It was about to become more.
She
was about to become more. 

The Council of the Kings had been destroyed long ago. The Orchids had been silenced; their last had been marked. The Elders were almost extinct. It was all coming together. The time of the prophecy to be fulfilled was approaching, but it would not come to pass; of that
she
was confident.

The Droch-Shúil had been given free rein in Alandria, as long as they still made contact with her.
She
was their master, and it was almost time for her to reign.

Chapter Ten

Kaeleigh woke up on the far left side of the bed, facing her closet, which was pretty unusual considering she usually slept pretty much in the center of the bed. Like a strike of lightning she remembered that Finn had stayed over and suddenly felt very awkward. She licked her lips, trying to bring some moisture back to her mouth, checked to make sure all of her night apparel was in its proper place, then slowly rolled over to face the boy that had slept in her bed in order to protect her from her from her “dreams,” and possibly from herself. 

To her instant relief, he was not there. Kaeleigh felt all the muscles in her body relax and let out the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.
He must have gotten up early and gone home before breakfast. He’s such a good friend.
Then why all of a sudden did she feel awkward with him? 

Maybe because I’m afraid he wants more out of this friendship than I’m willing to give and I don’t want him hurt
, she rambled to herself.

After Kaeleigh got ready for the day, she headed to the kitchen for some breakfast and much-needed coffee, but froze in the entry. There was Finn sitting in the kitchen reading the paper like he owned the place. He turned, hearing her enter the room, smiled, and got up to get her a hot, steaming cup of coffee. Sweet, but... irritating.

“Morning, Kae, did you sleep good?” he said.

“Morning. Um, yeah. You?” she grumbled. 

“Fine, thanks. Your bed is a little softer than mine so it took me a little time to get used to it.”

Kaeleigh wanted to say,
Well, don’t get used to it. That was the last time you will ever be in it
. Of course she didn’t say that though.
Wow, somebody is IRRITATED this morning.
“I’m surprised you’re still here, Finn, I thought you might need to go home and get ready for work or something”.
Yeah, subtle Kaeleigh.

“Nope, I don’t have to work today,” he said, now leaning casually up against the counter, but she thought she saw a twitch of his lips indicating she wasn’t hiding her mood very well. “We made plans to have coffee with Chel at The Station this morning, remember? I thought we could just go together. So here’s a pre-coffee coffee for you. Drink it, relax, then let’s go.” He handed over her favorite purple mug with brown polka dots. 

Kaeleigh took the mug, eyeing him, but held it between both hands and began to drink the hot, smooth liquid life. She closed her eyes and took deep, soothing breaths, willing her irritation away, and awaited the fresh energy that would soon be buzzing through her veins. Although what she suddenly felt was not just caffeine but a subtle hum of light-blue energy she could see and feel flow through her. She opened her eyes with a smile.

“Better?” he asked, apparently not seeing what she just did.

“Better,” Kaeleigh said with a rush of guilt, realizing that he had sensed her irritation. “I’m sorry I was irritated. For some reason I felt a little awkward about last night and I don’t want that between us. How do you feel?” There. Always better to just talk about it.

“I feel fine. You need to lighten up a bit, Kae. I think that dream threw you for a loop last night.” Finn turned to stare at the paper that was in front of him once again. But the way he said it and the way he shifted the subject sounded like he didn’t want to talk about it. So she left it... for now.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. It
was
an intense dream or whatever it was,” she said absentmindedly, shaking her arms and body trying to shake it off.

“Wait. Why did you say ‘whatever it was’? Wasn’t it a dream, Kaeleigh?” Finn questioned her with what seemed to be a spark of panic in his eyes.

She looked away. “Of course it was just a dream. I don’t know why I said that. Still tweaked, I guess.”

“Kaeleigh?” Finn prodded. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

Kaeleigh thought for a moment and skirted his question with another one. “Why did you think there was a ‘bad guy’ in it? I don’t remember telling you there was someone else in it.” She stared intently at him, gauging his reaction. 

“Oh, um, I guess you didn’t. Aren’t there always bad guys in dreams like that though? I just assumed. So I was right then?” he asked while once again looking back down at his paper. 

Odd response. And he squirmed.
I can’t remember the last time I saw Finn off his game.
 

She would have just believed him had he not looked back at the paper that way, like he was avoiding looking her in the eye. That was unlike Finn.
But why?

“You’re acting kind of strange, ya know?” she threw out just to see if she could make him squirm again.
This would be kinda fun if it didn’t also freak me out.
Sighing, Kaeleigh added, “I do have something I want to talk about, but let’s wait until we’re at The Station so I can clue Chel in too. She’ll want to know. There’s something that I haven’t told you guys.”

Chapter Eleven

They waited for Chel in their usual booth in the corner between the wall and the front windows. The Station was a combination coffee, bakery, and fresh flower shop. Kaeleigh loved it. The colors consisted of comforting earth tones. It had a real natural vibe with leathers, sticks, and branches, in just the right proportions, juxtaposed with iron and things reminiscent of early steam engines. The flower “shop” took up the back section of the store even having its own entrance creating the illusion that it had its own space. The amazing floral fragrances permeated throughout the little café. It was hip, but relaxing and warm at the same time, especially on these crisp fall mornings when the sun was blanketing their booth with warmth through the window. It felt like a haven, safe from the threat of the winter that lurked around the next corner.

Kaeleigh closed her eyes trying to saturate her body with every last drop of sunshine. She could almost feel its energy penetrate her body as her skin began to tingle. Kaeleigh imagined her skin shimmering with the intense infusion of light: a myriad of colors seeping into her pores. Energizing. Relaxing. Home.

She heard Finn subtly clear his throat and realized that she must have drawn attention to herself. He knew she didn’t like to draw attention. When Kaeleigh opened her eyes she was suddenly self-conscious. Her cheeks heated up and she apologized for drifting off. Finn’s eyes were wider than normal and he opened his mouth to say something when he was suddenly interrupted by Chel fluttering her way through the front door like she was brought in on a whirlwind. 

Kaeleigh had to laugh out loud as her friend tried to unwrap one of three scarfs that got tangled not only around her neck but under and around her arms too. Chel had an olive-green stocking hat on, a brown peacoat over dirty-looking skinny jeans (that of course she paid to look dirty), and flats, which, although brown, were still cute. Chel had added a yellow scarf and a purple scarf entwined with olive green along with her plain brown one. She was quite the sight, but then again Kaeleigh guessed she was too with her green long-sleeved-T, short dark jean skirt over multicolored striped thick tights and purple dragon-printed Cons with pink laces. Not to mention, of course, her favorite purple scarf that Chel had knitted her a couple Christmases ago—it was a little uneven, but it was the thought that counted and Kaeleigh loved it. It was Chel’s first and last knitted project.