Darkness of Light (26 page)

I should have been terrified, but instead I just felt exhausted and really, really annoyed. I took a deep breath, anger wrapping around my muscles. I was done—so done—with this bullshit. I strode towards her.

“Little?” I said. “If you’re going to insult me, at least make me a big, slutty whore. Little makes me sound so incompetent.” 

“Shut up,” she snarled. “Did you not think I was serious about my threat?”

“I think you were completely serious,” I said evenly.

She sputtered at my response. “I warned you not to mess with me. But you just couldn’t stay away from him, could you?”

“Our friendship is really none of your business.” 

She blinked. My calmness unsettled her. I wasn’t someone who usually got into fights, but I did inherit my mother’s passionate temper. When I was little, kids used to tease me ruthlessly. One time I lost it, getting so mad I broke the nose of one of the boys who had taunted me. Mom had been upset and alarmed upon hearing of this, but I could also see the secret pride she had also felt because I had defended myself. I was usually too clumsy to be a fighter. I could walk into a room and fall on my face, but that didn’t stop me from trying. 

Sam looked too pretty and prim to get down and dirty; she didn’t seem as if she could get scrappy. At the same time, there was something about her that told me I shouldn’t be challenging her.

When did that ever stop me?

“Do you know how easy it will be for me? Your kind is disgusting. You are scum. You shouldn’t even be here.” 

“
Your kind
?” She had said that a few times now. “What are you talking about?” Heat rose in me. My temper was getting close to its breaking point. “What do you mean ‘my kind’?”

She laughed, making her look wild and not just a little bit nuts. “What you are is a disgrace. Trash.”

“Funny, because it looks like you were the one who got dumped.” 

Her eyes flashed red, and her irises seem to stretch vertically. I stepped back blinking in disbelief—did I really just see that? In the same instant, she came flying at me. 

“You stupid bitch!” she screamed. “You’re the fool. He is only using you.”

Still startled from what I thought I saw, I was blindsided by her attack. Her hand whipped across my face with a thunderous crack. Burning pain seared through my cheek. It was the same side McNamm had bruised, and this hit brought new pain. 

Blood instantly pumped through the side of my face, making my eye pulsate as if it was going pop out of its socket. I reached up to touch my face, but stopped when I saw her hand heading back towards me again. This time I wasn’t caught off guard. I ducked, her hand grazing the top of my head as it swung over me. 

The momentum threw her off balance when she didn’t hit her target, allowing me to step away as she stumbled. It would have been a good opportunity to hit back, but I was still trying to avoid that. She was an instructor at the facility and I didn’t need any more community service hours. When her nails scraped the other side of my face, ripping at the tender scabs where shards of glass had been shoved into my cheek, any notion of taking the high road went out the window. 

I swung up hitting her in the gut. My hand crunched with pain as she doubled over. A low growl escaped from her throat, which seemed at odds with her angelic face. 

I could hear a crowd behind me as Silverwood students gathered to see what was happening. Their voices and gasps rumbled together in my ears.

“Holy shit! Is that Samantha and Ember fighting?”

“FIGHT!” a girl yelled gleefully.

“Someone go get Mrs. Sanchez.” 

I had to tune them out as Sam’s reflexes were too fast for me not to be completely focused on her. The darkness, which had come over me earlier, seemed to bubble happily to the surface, sharpening my focus. I felt calm, cool, and oddly giddy. A happy giggle ripped out of me as she took another swing. I barely had time to get out of the way. She was amazingly fast, but the fact she hadn’t hit her target pissed her off even more and triggered another level of fury from her. 

When she came at me again, my previous giddiness evaporated as her fingernails morphed into daggers headed for my throat. Her sharp nails sliced my skin as I fell back, kicking out my leg and getting her right in the stomach. Adrenaline put power into my legs that I never knew I had. They slammed into her, sending her flying back onto the gravel several yards away. 

Drops of blood splattered onto my shirt from where she caught me on my neck. I didn’t feel any pain, although there was no doubt I would later. She jumped up and hurled back at me, her fist ready for their target. I rolled to my left, missing the force of the blow, but her foot and her fist caught my right side, clipping my hip and shoulder. 

I twisted, getting my feet under me as I hopped up. She grabbed my leg, ripping through my jeans as she dug her nails into my leg. The pain made me crumple to the ground. Rage hit me like a brick as I felt her fist come down on me again. 

The darkness in me, which had been so patient, was done waiting. Playtime was over. I let myself go. I felt no pain, no fear. All other emotions were gone from my body, and I was left with incredible power. Instinct took over. I got up, plucking her off me as if she was a mere bug and flung her to the ground. 

She quickly recovered and leapt to her feet. Blood dripped from her mouth. Her face twisted into a hideous canvas of rage. She sprung at me, but I didn’t move. She was dropping down on me when I held out my hand. Her body stopped in mid-air, changed direction, and flew across the parking lot, landing on Eli’s windshield with a crunch. 

The impact made the windshield shatter into a million pieces. Void of emotion, I watched as she stirred and twitched. I headed for her, wanting to finish this fight—to finish her.

“Ember.” A voice broke through my resolve. I turned my head slightly, realizing I hadn’t heard any sound for a long time, except for the sounds of the fight. My focus had blocked everything else out.

“Ember, stop.” The voice came to me again, but it still sounded faint and distant. I swung around to see someone standing not too far away from me. The man’s green eyes went wide as they looked into my face, but his mouth was set in a strong line. The tall, muscular man took a step towards me. I recognized this person as a possible threat, but not my biggest one at the moment. I turned back to look at the girl. The need to end her was still raging inside me. I headed towards her again.

“Brycin . . . stop, now,” the voice commanded me. 

I didn’t want to listen; I wanted to destroy her. Yet as much as I fought to ignore the deep voice, there was a part of me that wanted to oblige it. Just as if a switch had been hit, the darkness left me and I was overcome with emotion.

I turned around again, blinking. A heavy fog was lifting from my brain. “Eli?” 

Eli let out a sigh of relief. “Come back to me, jailbait.” His cocky smile filled me with welcoming warmth.

“Ember!” Mrs. Sanchez’s voice ripped through my protective shield as she ran towards me.

Reality, logic, fear, and emotion crashed down breaking my shield. The last tentacles of the darkness released me, throwing me back into reality. My legs gave out and the world spun around me as I collapsed to the ground. Eli’s hand was there cradling my head before it hit the pavement. His touch was the only sensation I comprehended before everything went black.

Twenty-five

I heard voices before I was fully awake. Sharp jabs of pain ruthlessly worked their way through every inch of my body. My lids lifted just enough to see I was lying on a cot in the nurse’s office. Mrs. Sanchez paced the room frantically, while Eli sat calmly in a chair not far from me. 

“My God, Eli, what the hell happened?” Mrs. Sanchez exclaimed. “I have a student who’s been beaten to a pulp and a missing advisor who should be in intensive care. How did this happen?” She moved back and forth behind the nurse’s desk. “I expect fights to happen because of the kids who attend here. From their backgrounds, you know it might get dangerous and volatile. In all my years, though, I have NEVER seen anything like this. I could have sworn Ember’s eyes were completely black—obviously my imagination getting the better of me.” She rubbed her eyes. “But your windshield? I don’t understand. There is no way Ember could have thrown Samantha with that much force. It’s impossible. Tell me again what you saw?”

“Marisol, I only got out there just before you did. I don’t know what happened or how it started,” Eli replied. I could sense the lie.

“Did you notice when Samantha disappeared? I looked up and she was gone.”

“No, sorry. I had my hands full at the time.”

“Yes. Thank you, Eli, for your help bringing Ember in,” she said, pressing her lips together. “I just can’t get over this. Samantha seemed so sweet, and she was an instructor here, for goodness sakes. From what I heard, she was the one who attacked Ember first. Ember was just acting in self-defense. It all seems so odd to me. Why in the world would she want to attack Ember?”

“I don’t know.” Another lie.

“But you and Samantha are . . . close. I just can’t believe you don’t know where she could have gone or what this was about?” The snappish tone in her voice showed Mrs. Sanchez didn’t fully believe Eli. She knew this kind of fight usually was over a guy. “You are clear about the rules set in place here, right? We do not permit fraternizing with students.”

“Yes, Marisol.” Eli’s tone was sharp and clear.

She nodded, looking relieved. “Well, I still think we should call the hospital. I’m worried about Ember’s injuries.”

“No!” Eli shot out of his chair. “I mean, the nurse checked her out and said she only had cuts and bruises. She’ll be fine and will heal before you know it.”

“Okay. . .” Mrs. Sanchez sounded unsure, but something about Eli’s manner made her agree and forgo protocol. “Well, I’m going to go speak with the rest of the students who were out there. If she wakes up, come and get me, please.” She glanced over at me, and I shut my eyes before she saw I was awake. “Okay, I’ll be back as soon as I can get statements from the other students. Keep me updated on how she’s doing.” Mrs. Sanchez sighed and headed out the door.

Eli leaned over the desk as the door shut, taking in a deep breath. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. 

“People usually use bathrooms for that,” I croaked. 

He was at my side before I could blink. “Hey,” he said softly, his hand brushing back some tangled hair from my face.

“Hey,” I responded, soaking in the only pleasure my body felt. I was afraid to move. I knew as soon as I did, I would find pain in areas I never knew I had. “You lied to her.”

He smiled, knowing what I was talking about. “No I didn’t. She asked me if I was aware of the rules, and I said I was.”

I gave a small snort, which caused pain to spike in my chest. I closed my eyes, not wanting to throw up.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve had the crap beaten out of me.” I looked up at him again.

A slight smile curved his lips. “I’m thinking about signing you up for the WWF.”

“The World Wildlife Fund?” 

Eli scoffed. “Yeah, jailbait, the World Wildlife Fund. You can wrestle those scary panda bears to the ground.” It took me a while to realize he meant the World Wrestling Federation. Okay, so I was a little slow. I tried to sit up and groaned with pain.

“Take it easy. I think you have some bruised ribs, but I’m pretty sure nothing is broken.” Eli moved over to the desk and grabbed a cotton swab and some ointment. Everything in my body felt liked it was cracked, broken, bruised, or cut. I touched my cheek and flinched. The swelling caused my left eye to only partially open. Dammit, I had almost gotten rid of my last set of cuts and bruises. 

“You think you’re hurt, you should see my car’s windshield.” 

Everything that happened between Sam and me started flooding back—things that shouldn’t be possible. But I knew they had happened; they were too real to ignore. Without touching her, somehow I had thrown Sam into Eli’s windshield across the parking lot, as if she were a mere rag doll. I knew I was capable of moving small stuff like leaves or a cue stick, but a whole person? There was no way I should have been able to do that—no possible way.

My mind flipped through the memories—Sam’s eyes flaming like fireballs, her nails turning into talons, her face twisting into some beast-looking thing. I began to riffle through all the other incidents that had happened since I arrived in Olympia. Things I had tried to push aside and ignore began to pour into my consciousness in an unrelenting stream. 

“What is going on, Eli?” I whispered hoarsely, even though talking made my jaw hurt like hell. The coldness that gripped my stomach needed answers. 

“Well, I’m going to finish patching up your wounds and get you home,” he replied. “Not sure how, since I can’t drive my car in its present condition.”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” My eyes cut into his. He looked away from me. “Eli?” I pleaded.

“This might sting a bit,” he said, ignoring my plea. He knelt down in front of me and patted my cheek with the damp swab, cleaning the deep nail scratches on my cheek. I jerked back and hissed through my clenched teeth. “Sorry, told you it might hurt.”

I frowned, which made his eyes glitter with amusement. He moved on to my neck and paused. The look in his eyes grew dark as he inspected the cuts there. Old, faded scratch marks and bruises lay beneath the new ones. A reminder of another moment we pretended didn’t happen.

“What am I?” I asked quietly. “You know, don’t you?”

A faraway look settled into his eyes as he absently ran his fingers along both the new and old lines on my neck. He looked up, our eyes connected, and even through the pain, I felt electricity pulsing through my body. My breath grew short and clipped as he continued to touch me. The truth was trying to break through, wanting to be free, to be heard. His soft, moist lips parted, as if he was going to speak.

A hard slam of a door from somewhere inside the school snapped us both back to the present. “All done.” He moved quickly away from me. I looked away in disappointment. Whatever he was going to say, whatever he was going to tell me, was now gone. He headed for the door. “Marisol wanted me to get her when you woke up.”