The Inner Circle (Return of the Ancients Book 3) (15 page)

How had I forgotten he was there? He was just a few feet away.

Abruptly, I stepped back.

He raised a brow at that, and then he slowly walked around me in a circle before moving off to lean against the doorway and fold his arms across his muscular chest.

I stood there silent, watching his pulse beat in the hollow of his throat. How was I going to make him mad enough to walk away?

“Do you have something to say to me?” he asked suddenly.

His eyes churned with emotion. He was even more dramatically handsome than usual. I glanced away. He certainly wasn’t making it easy, but now was my chance. And I took it.

With a stubborn lift of my chin, I said, “I meant it. Leave me alone.”

He didn’t turn away or run off mad like I’d expected him to.

He didn’t even look insulted.

He merely lifted a brow and asked, “Really?”

“Absolutely,” I replied with what I hoped was conviction.

Spinning on my heel, I walked back towards the kitchen, but I didn’t go in. I didn’t really want to see the man in the black hat again.

“Where are you, Jareth?” I muttered under my breath as I punched his numbers into my cellphone and hit ‘send’.

It didn’t work. It wasn’t a valid phone number.

Rafael’s hand fell on my shoulder. His touch was like a jolt of energy and a flood of emotion ran through me.

I had to hurt him, and quickly before I lost my resolve.

Clearing my throat, I faced him and said, “Leave me alone. Ajax was right, you know. Jareth’s more my type.” To seal the deal, I added, “I love him.”

Rafael’s clear gray eyes were steady and cool as he studied my face. And then he said the last words I expected to hear, “I feel like kissing you.”

I gaped up at him, furious with myself that in spite of everything, I felt the same way. But I forced my lips to say the opposite, “Don’t you dare. I love Jareth.”

He leaned closer, bringing his face within inches of mine.

I swallowed. Why was he making this so hard? He should at least participate by getting insulted. Frowning, I ordered, “Take me back to Seattle.”

“I can’t,” he said, looking somewhat amused. “You were there when the Queens took my light. I can no longer shift.”

I took an involuntary step back. He followed and took the opportunity to move even closer. I scowled. He was too confident. Did he know the effect he had on me? One look into his enigmatic eyes made me pretty sure that he did.

“Why are you trying to run, Sydney?” The corner of his lip twisted as if in amusement as he focused his gaze above my head.

Suddenly, I figured out what he was doing. “Are you reading my fate lines?” I asked. That was close enough to mind-reading in my opinion. “Stop it. You don’t have my permission.”

He lifted a querying brow. “Why, what are you trying to hide?”

“I don’t owe you any answers,” I said, shooting him a mutinous look.

He moved a step closer.

I tried to look away. I really did. But it was hard. I was inexplicably drawn to him.

Summoning one last effort to resist, I put my hands on his chest to push him back.

That was a big mistake.

I immediately became distracted by the hard muscles under my fingers, and he knew it because he smiled with a suggestive lift of his brow. He moved his hand to lightly cup my jaw.

All it took was that one touch, and I forgot everything else but the warmth of his skin.

“There isn’t a choice anymore,” he whispered, forcing my chin up with his thumb to look me straight in the eye. “For either of us. Fate can’t be fooled.”

Leaning down, he lightly kissed my cheek, and it wasn't until then that I realized I had been holding my breath. Any protest I would have uttered dissolved in my throat. I closed my eyes knowing that I wasn’t strong enough to walk away from him.

At first, it was just a brief brush of the lips. I didn’t move. I just thought about how soft and gentle his lips were. He swept me against his hard chest. I could feel every inch of him.

And then, the kiss that had started out so tender and feather-light deepened into a bold statement of passion. My hands slid up his chest to lock behind his neck as his fingers tangled through my hair.

But as his lips moved to the side of my neck, I shivered and abruptly pulled back.

I couldn’t let him continue, no matter how much I wanted him to. I
had
to be stronger.

Spinning a lock of my hair between his fingers, he looked down at me as I gathered my scattered wits. And swallowing against the sudden dryness in my throat, I managed to croak, “I don’t know why I did that. It won’t happen again. It can’t.”

He didn’t reply. He just studied my face, a little sadly. After a moment, he pulled back, letting his hand trail down my neck and shoulder.

We stared at each other in a strange, dreamlike way, and I probably would have kissed him myself if Jareth hadn’t chosen that moment to suddenly reappear.

Jareth took one look at us and then asked in a voice thick with sarcasm, “Missed me terribly while I was gone, did you?”

I darted out from under Rafael’s arm and ran up to Jareth.

Now was my chance to convince Rafael that I didn’t care for him. All I had to do was kiss Jareth. I stared up at him.

He apparently caught enough of my thoughts because his eyes widened in surprise.

I stood there, fully intending to kiss him. But I couldn’t.

Instead, I settled for hanging onto his arm and saying, “Come on, Jareth. Let’s go. I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to be with you.” But it didn’t come off nearly like I’d wanted it to.

Boldly, I forced myself to look at Rafael, but I could tell with one glance that he wasn’t falling for it.

All he said was, “Take good care of her, Jareth.”

And then Jareth was grumbling and we shifted, and a split second later we were standing in the greenbelt outside of Al and Betty’s house.

Jareth instantly released his grip on my wrist and stepped away as I took a deep breath of the cold, biting air.

“You can’t fool either of us, Sydney,” he said tightly. “We’re Fate Trackers. It’s obvious that your fate line is entwined with Rafael’s. And even if he can’t read his own lines, he can most assuredly read mine. He sees that you and I are walking different paths. He’s never going to believe that you’ve fallen in love with me.”

I clenched my jaw. “But I’m a human,” I said stubbornly. “I can dream. I can change things.”

Jareth just snorted and rolling his eyes, looked away. It was a gesture that I’d seen so many times before. But there was a sadness about him this time that tugged at my heartstrings.

Reaching out, I touched his arm. “I’m sorry about everything,” I said.

He jerked away. “I don’t need your pity,” he replied. His tone was barely civil as he looked at me with unblinking dark eyes.

“You’re brothers,” I said, shaking my head at the thought. “It’s hard to believe.”

“Not really.” Jareth’s lip curled in outright disdain. “I’m an experiment. Nothing more.” His jaw was taut and his hands were clenched tight. “But I’m curious. How did you know the box was there?”

Rafael had asked me the same thing. I hesitated, not really wanting to talk much if the Mesmers were eavesdropping, but then, they’d already seen the man in the black top hat several times anyway.

“I keep seeing him,” I admitted. “The man in the top hat. The same man we saw in the Hall of Mirrors. He pointed at the cupboard and told me to look.”

Jareth whistled through his teeth. “There are many tales of the Shadow People,” he said. “They’re not necessarily benefactors.”

I shivered a little, and when he fell silent, prompted, “And?”

He looked at me, startled, and shook his head as if to clear it. “We only know that they banished the lizard people from Earth. Some say because they wished to protect humanity. Others believe they wanted the humans for themselves.”

I wasn’t sure what his momentary distraction meant, but I took no chances. Linking my arm through his, I pulled him down the path towards the backyard. I wasn’t going to say anything important until I was in the chicken coop.

“Maybe the Shadow People are just like everyone else,” I said. “Some good, some bad. I just know that the guy with the top hat has only tried to help me.”

He shrugged. “Who’s to say?” And then he added bitterly, “Just ask yourself why someone helps, that’s all.”

“I could ask the same about you,” I replied sarcastically. “Why do you help me, Jareth?”

“I’m obviously a fool,” he answered with a glare. “You’re only trouble. I should have never given you my number to begin with.”

I glared back and guided him towards the chicken coop. He didn’t resist. Well, not until I tried to get him inside, and then he balked at the door.

“Are you insane?” he asked testily. “Why are we coming back here?”

I just shoved him in and slammed the door shut.

“We can’t have the Mesmers listening in,” I said, indicating the chicken coop wire tacked to the walls.

Jareth frowned, but he apparently followed my thoughts. “Interesting idea … if it works,” was all he said.

“Works better than your bubble!” I replied.

Jareth snorted, but didn’t reply.

Tapping my fingers against the wall, I let myself freely wonder what to do next.

I’d found out information today, that was certain. But I still didn’t know what Melody was up to with Jareth or how she or the Brotherhood were controlling him.

And I hadn’t made any real progress discovering what kind of emotion would stop, much less destroy the mutant tulpa. It was going to be hard to do all my thinking and planning in the chicken coop. I was going to have to get Al to move faster on a better Faraday solution.

Jareth wandered to the window and was staring out, lost in thought. His shoulders were tilted down, and his expression was sad.

Walking up to him, I grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll figure out what’s going on,” I promised.

Jareth eyed me in irritation. “You’re just a human. How could you possibly help me?”

I scowled back at him. “As your friend, it’s my job to ignore your attitude right now. If I’d just discovered what you did today, I’d probably be lashing out, too.”

He didn’t reply. He just stood there before he buried his face in his hands and asked me in a tortured voice, “What kind of experiment am I, Sydney? Everyone is playing some kind of game here. The Mesmers. Marquis. Melody. Rafael.” He seemed drained of all hope and energy.

“Should I tell you what I think, or what you want to hear?” I asked honestly.

His lips curled slightly as he tilted his head back, and his black hair fell over his face. “What do you think I want to hear?” he asked in a snide tone.

“That you’re in control of it all,” I replied bluntly.

He blinked, and I knew that I was right on target.

“But what you should hear is this,” I continued, grabbing his arm in case he wanted to shift away before I could finish. “We’ve all got to start working together, and we should trust each other. We can’t keep on trying to do this alone. That means you, me, and …” I paused and twisted my lip before adding, “And Rafael.”

I could feel Jareth’s muscles tense under my arm.

Wiping the smirk from his face, he growled, “You’re a nuisance, Sydney.”

But he didn’t say anything else, and I knew that was some form of tacit agreement.

“You’re right,” he said after a while. “Rafael may be part of the Inner Circle, but his fate line runs a far different path than Marquis and Melody’s. He’s clearly not on their side. I’ve … always seen that.”

I knew Rafael was good, but I still felt relieved to have Jareth confirm it. But my relief was replaced by concern. “But Melody, what will she do to him—” I began.

“Melody can’t tell that their paths are not aligned,” Jareth supplied. “Not any longer, anyway. There are only three Fate Trackers left. Rafael, Melody, and myself. And you already know that she can’t read her own fate.”

The chicken coop door opened, and Grace poked her head inside. “What are you guys doing in here?” she asked curiously.

“Nothing,” I answered lamely, unable to think of a plausible excuse.

As Jareth pushed past me to slouch away, Grace ran after him.

At the garage, she paused to yell over her shoulder, “Samantha called. She wants to know if you can cover an evening shift tonight. A barista’s sick.”

I stayed in the chicken coop for a few minutes, finalizing my plans. And I was just preparing to leave when I spied a small roll of loose chicken wire in the corner. Grabbing it, I tucked it under my arm.

With my hand on the latch, I began to visualize my first tulpa. I still didn’t officially know how to create them, but I knew that they had to be based on emotion. An emotion opposite of fear.

I decided to start with happiness, and that made me think of watching Saturday morning Pokémon cartoons as a kid. Thinking of Pikachu, I imagined the little yellow creature floating around me with a happy little smile on his chubby face.

Holding onto that image, I tore out of the chicken coop and ran to my room.

I only had the courage to enter the place because Jerry was in there. After kissing his fuzzy head and feeding him, I kicked the chicken wire under the bed and grabbed my clothes.

I kept Pikachu firmly in my mind the entire time that I showered and changed into a clean
Bean There, Baked That
T-shirt and jeans. And as Betty gave me a ride to work, I whistled the Pokémon theme song under my breath and visualized Pikachu dancing alongside us.

If nothing else, it put me in a better mood, and when we arrived at the coffee shop, I gave Betty a cheerful wave and disappeared inside.

Once inside, I felt comfortable enough with Samantha’s presence that I temporarily set my Pikachu experiment aside. It was exhausting to concentrate that hard on something for so long.

Donning my apron, I trudged to the front room to clean tables.

The place was relatively empty, except for Reese squealing and giggling with several of her friends around a table near the Christmas tree. She kept looking over her shoulder and continually flipping her long black hair in a way that I knew meant she must be trying to catch some guy’s attention.