Catching Temptation (In Darkness She Fades (Book 1) (19 page)

A side of this face twitches.

“I fell in love with Silus a long
time before you and I. He never did anything to threaten or hurt me. Your
brother did. You did. Silus will find me. You won’t because you’ll be dead.”

Jenkins expels a roar, creating
earthquake like vibrations on the ground. Another dark figure with wings lands
behind Jenkins.

It is Silus.

Jenkins’ face lights up. I
realize Jenkins used my own ability against me to lure Silus to our location.
Whipping a fist around, Jenkins slams it against Silus’ chest, knocking him to
the ground.

Instinctively, I move to aid
Silus, but he shouts, “Temptation run!”

Jenkins advances on Silus and
bares his fangs.

Silus rolls to his feet and jolts
forward. Jenkins attacks, but Silus jumps upon Jenkins shoulders. Pushing off,
he shoots up into the night sky. Jenkins roars again. Extending his black
wings, he ascends into the blackness of the night sky to hunt Silus, abandoning
me to the waving trees masked with shadows.

I take off on Jerald’s bike. The
tiny back road Aunt Sally took when we came to Rosewood appears on the left.
Leaning the bike, I swerve down South Branch Road. The further I travel from
Rosewood, the more I die inside.

Chapter Twelve

Reviving Memories

“Don’t let Mom bully you.”

“I’ve got nothing to hide.” I
love Karma for putting up with my depression for the past month and a half. “I
don’t know if I’ll be out of the office before it happens, but if I don’t see
you again, I wanted you to know, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

Karma wipes tears from her
cheeks. “See what you made me do. It’s going to suck without you around, again.
It sucked when you weren’t around this semester.” Over the past month and a
half, Karma helped me hide from my family. If Jenkins survives, I refuse to put
my family back in danger. The back roads around Urbanna, Virginia shelter many
abandoned houses. I took up residence in one of the houses in the woods. Ever
since my last encounter with Silus, I crave the safety of the forest, and the
beauty that comes with it.

A question I have been dying to
ask since my return from Rosewood, escapes my mouth before I can stop it.
“Karma, what are you?”

The rhythmic rise and fall of
Karma’s chest stops. “What?”

“I can see you. Your hair is like
gold.” I touch Karma’s dull hair. “Your skin glows like a light is shining
underneath it.”

Karma’s tears decrease.

“And your eyes.” I observe my
best friend’s frightened face. “They’re such a brilliant blue it almost scared
me the first time I saw you when I came back. I’ve never seen anyone else who
looks like you.”

“I didn’t know I look different.”

I grin. “Seems like our next
mystery, is you.”

****

I sit in the guidance counselor’s
office, listening to the news, and waiting for the eclipse to happen. While the
school surrounding me erupts into chaos, my only thoughts are on him. Eyes
shining like candles in the dark and needlepoint teeth, the shade of chrome,
accent his horrifying face. Despite his beastly features, I love him. Like
Beauty loves the Beast.

The office door hurls open behind
me with an annoying squeak. It bounces on its hinges and then shuts with a
bang.

“–ridiculous nonsense! We’re not
even close enough for the hurricane to affect us! Oh, Hun, I have to go. I have
an appointment with a young woman.” She pauses. “Yes, Karma’s in her last
class. She’ll come to my office when she’s done. Herb, just because every other
parent is taking their child out of school doesn’t mean we’re going too. I’ve
gotta go. Uh-huh – bye.”

I shift in my seat.

“Hello Temptation, I’m sorry I
kept you waiting.” The counselor stuffs her cherry-tinted cell phone into her
tote bag. It bulges. “It seems like my intelligent
husband is terrified
along with everyone else. Ridiculous.” She drops, or rather throws, her bag on
top of the file cabinet. “I’m Mrs. Linn.” Her gaudy necklaces clank together as
she sits down behind her desk. She places a pair of jeweled reading glasses on
the bridge of her pointy nose. It strangely resembles a stereotypical witch’s
nose. “Do you know why I’ve called you into my office today, Temptation?” Mrs.
Linn’s eyes flicker over area where my shoulder curves to my neck.

I tug the collar of my crochet
shirt up and twist my fingers around the ends of my lengthy hair. “No. I’ve
only been in school a month and a half. I haven’t misbehaved in any of my
classes.”

Mrs. Linn rises to her feet and
paces around the office. The thump of her stilettos matches my own heartbeats.
“I’ve received a few complaints from other students about–”

“I don’t talk to anyone,” I
interrupt, keeping my eyes on the desk with carvings of angels. “Anyone who
tries to talk to me, I ignore.” I cross my beige arms. “Is it my hair? I like
it black and white.” Ever since my departure from Rosewood, I re-dyed my hair
black. Only highlights of white remain.

Mrs. Linn halts and regards my
hair for a brief moment before smiling.

I notice her perfectly human
teeth. The tension between us is suffocating. Gods, I want to get out of the
office. I wish Mrs. Linn would crack a window; I need a breeze in here.

“A few students spied you washing
your clothes in the locker room showers. People have also seen you stealing
food from cafeteria and hiding it in your bag.” She glances down at my
backpack, which reeks of soy burgers.

My body sags. “I get hungry
easily.”

“What about your clothes?”

“What about them? I don’t like stains.”

“Yes, but you’re always wearing
scarves or turtle neck shirts.”

“It’s winter.”

“One of your teachers approached
me today. She swore she saw blood underneath your shirt collar. We both believe
you’re being or have been abused.”

“Well, I’m not. So you both can
keep those crazy assumptions to yourselves.” I fold my arms over my chest. My
unnatural eyes kill the calmness of the flowery room.

Mrs. Linn strides around her
desk. Bending down to my eye level, she says, “It’s absolutely imperative you
describe to me the circumstances you find yourself in. It’s unnecessary for you
to be afraid. I can help.” Her fingernails, the shade of ripe pomegranates,
reach out and peel back the crochet collar from my neck.

My eyes, swirling electric
lime-violet, twitch to my reflection in a mirror behind Mrs. Linn. The jagged
bite mark on my neck still looks fresh. As fresh as the day he gave it to me.
Halloween. He was right. It was sharp and unpleasant. I fight to keep the
emotions swirling within from reaching my voice. “I-I want to go home like
everyone else.”

Mrs. Linn drops her perfumed hand
and ascends to her feet. She strides over to the file cabinet, ignoring my
statement. “I called your uncle earlier.”

I press my ruby lips together.
Tilting my view away from my foreign reflection, I stare out of the window, and
watch panicky parents arrive early to pick up their teenagers. They embrace
their near-adult children like toddlers. Everyone rushes to their vehicles,
fearful of the minuscule amount of time they possess. But not me. Time is all I
have and, because of Silus, death is not an option.

“The people I called said they
didn’t have a niece. I checked your transcript papers.” Mrs. Linn tosses a file
down. It lands with a loud thud, despite the shouts from the students outside.
Mrs. Linn twists her stiff hair up and clips it. Platinum blonde spikes outline
her head like a demented halo. “I tried to contact your old school, Rosewood
High. It does not exist. In fact, every single document we have on you proves
you don’t exist. Our records show Temptation Falls died earlier this year.
Child Protective Services have been called. They’ll be her shortly, so if you
want to change your story, now would be the time to do it.”

I continue to ignore Mrs. Linn’s
penetrating line of questions. I am not surprised Mrs. Linn does not remember
me. Whatever Silus injected into me through the bite mark, is changing my
entire body. I often wonder if I am becoming part goblin myself. As for my
cousins, I found out Uncle Jack went through the court system to prove they
were not dead. I can only guess magic affected everything when we entered
Rosewood. After all, we should not be alive. I urged my cousins to keep away
from me until I discover the outcome of the battle of Rosewood. Though he was
reluctant, Uncle Jack agreed to move to a different area in Virginia.

“Temptation, I know my daughter
hangs around you sometimes. You need to tell me what happened to you.” Mrs.
Linn lays a soft hand on top of my henna-tattooed palm. “I promise, whoever did
this to you won’t hurt you ever a–”

“You can’t help me,” I snap and
withdraw my barbaric hand. “No one can. I went to Rosewood High. It’s where all
this crap started. Where he lied to me. Tricked me.” I glare at Mrs. Linn.
“He’s not human.”

Mrs. Linn’s confusion transforms
into pity. She stares at me as if I am a lost three-year-old. “Temptation,
there’s no such thing as nonhuman beings. The town of Rosewood doesn’t exist–”

Emotions overtake my actions. I
slam my fist down on the desk, startling Mrs. Linn. “Rosewood can’t be found on
maps! The only way to get into Rosewood is if someone who’s been there before
shows you. I would’ve died there if I wasn’t saved by–!” Halting, I grip the
sides of my head and shake my thoughts away. I cannot speak his name – not
without having a breakdown. A cold tear escapes my inhuman eye and rolls down
my cheeks. I hate being alone. It is still possible Jenkins survived and not
Silus.

Mrs. Linn plucks a few delicate
tissues off her desk and offers them to me. “You need to stay calm, Temptation.
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, I believe you.”

Liar. I grit my sharp teeth.

“But I need you to explain to me
the how you received those cuts on your neck.” She scoots her chair back and
reclaims her seat. Fingers lacing together, she waits patiently for me to
speak.

I rub my nose with the tissue and
sniff. “They’re not cuts. I was bitten,” I mumble.

The guidance counselor gaffs.
“It’s hardly a bite mark, Temptation. More like someone took a set of razor
blades to your neck. I’m surprised you survived. You’re going to have to see
the school nurse later, unless she’s an idiot like everyone else. In which
case, I’ll take you to the hospital myself.” She studies the wound from across
the desk. “You’ll probably need stitches since it hasn’t healed.”

Viewing the unclear sky through
the office window, I say, “The eclipse should be starting soon.”

Mrs. Linn leans forward. In a low
voice, almost a whisper, she asks, “What happened?”

A shaky laugh escapes my lungs.
“It would require a huge leap of faith for you to believe me.” Dreadful
memories flood my vision, cranking out buried emotions rusting with decay. “It
started the day I moved to Rosewood with my cousins. I knew something was wrong
as soon as we passed the sign.” I pick up the golden locket dangling against my
chest. “You know the weird feeling you get when you walk through a graveyard at
night?”

Mrs. Linn adjusts her glasses on
her powdery nose, apparently insulted by the mere idea of having a nighttime
stroll in a cemetery. “I’ve never walked through a graveyard at night, but I
can imagine how frightening it must feel.”

I shrug and unsnap the twinkling
locket. I gaze longingly at the two photos within its tiny metal heart. “I used
to walk through the graveyard where my parents are buried. You get this
feeling, as if you’re not welcome because you are part of the living world.
Only the dead are welcome.” My attention returns to the foggy window. Dark
clouds pass over the sun, causing a few people to scream outside in the
courtyard. I wish my worst fear is the hurricane. Not my life. Not what I am
becoming alone.

“How does this feeling pertain to
Rosewood?”

I see flashes of chrome teeth
that are jagged like a cluster of scalpel blades. Their soulless eyes would
even haunt a ghost. “It’s what Rosewood is. A graveyard. And the living, are
not welcome.”

I recount what happened in
Rosewood. Mrs. Linn listens intently the entire time. By the time I finish, the
color in Mrs. Linn’s cheeks drains away.

“My goodness that’s quite a tale.
I don’t suppose you have any physical proof?”

“Don’t you see my teeth – my
eyes?”

Mrs. Linn grimaces, but swats an
imaginary fly away. “You can buy those online or at special stores.”

“Fine.” I dig into the pocket of
my bag and pull out a tattered book. “This is the book Mrs. Peters gave me.”

Mrs. Linn plucks the book from me
and flips through it.

I glance around the office, while
Mrs. Linn reads the ancient book. My eyes land on a photograph of the
counselor’s daughter. Even in the photo, I can see the real Karma hidden so
well from the goblins.

“Do you know if Jenkins is dead?”

The new fear in Mrs. Linn’s voice
startles me. “I can’t feel him or Silus. I don’t know what happened after I
left. If they’re alive, I should see one of them today–”

“Did Jenkins ever mention any
other Nephilims?”

My brow creases. “No. Why?”

“Did he ever say what other world
would appear today?”

I stare at the counselor’s
bug-eyed expression. “What kind of being is your daughter?”

Mrs. Linn blinks. “What?”

I point to the photo on the desk.
“I can tell Karma’s not all human. What is she? A Nephilim?”

Mrs. Linn removes her glasses
with a shaking hand. “No. Something a bit more special.”

The television blinks a few times
before blacking out. Darkness creeps into the room.

“The eclipse is starting.”

The earth shakes beneath our feet
and a sharp wind howls. Mrs. Linn screams and grasps the desk. The room is
covered in darkness. The window makes a cracking noise. It breaks. Shards of
glass whip into the office and graze our skin. The window on the office door
pops like a bubble. Before Mrs. Linn or I can move, the contents of the office
swirl like a tornado. Cackling enters the room and glowing eyes narrow in on
me.