Exaltation (3 page)

“I don’t like this Hoodoo business around the girls. It will confuse them, take us longer to teach them to have an open mind,” Duncan spouted.

Emery could only smirk. First of all it wasn’t Hoodoo, and as far as she was concerned her family and friends were beyond open minded. Even if they didn’t believe an outlined faith, they respected it, knew it was spoken or believed for a reason and it was not their place to question it.

“They’re my girls.”

Duncan raised his brow as he crossed his arms. He’d shed his business jacket and tie so any outward look of authority was gone. He looked liked a middle aged, soon to be balding professor.

“I have never judged your decisions. Even having a child as young as you are, but I will draw the line when it comes to this.”

Duncan had a plan for everything. A timescale set on his life. There was a point when he wanted to get married. There was a point when he wanted to have children. Neither of those points lined up with Emery’s outlook.

He tried to talk her out of becoming a mom before their work was done. For he knew it would cause her to lose focus. And he was right. He only met with the surrogate once and played his role. He was out of town when the girls were born. In fact, they had been home for three weeks before he finally returned.

Needless to say, his only comment was on how ridiculous the names they were given were. When he had time, he planned to change them legally.

“You have no line to draw. They’re not yours. They’re mine and mine alone.”
God it felt good to say that aloud
. Emery reached in her pocket and pulled out the tattered mother’s copy of the birth certificate she had been daring to show him for days.

He didn’t bother to take it from her. “I signed the release. I gave you what you needed.”

“And I chose not to use it.”

His face hardened. He had suspected as much but let it go because now those girls were attached to the woman he loved. The woman who had the perfect balance of beauty and brilliance. He assumed in a few years he could store the girls safely away in a boarding school and have Emery all to himself.

“Fair enough. I suppose you found a donor with a broader education. Maybe taller,” he darkly quipped, mocking his five foot six stance. Something he had insecurities about.

“Wasn’t worried about how tall they were going to be.”

“What was it then?”

Emery looked away as she pulled in a deep breath. She was furious at herself for letting her relationship with him go on this long. That was just how she was made though. It always took her time to acknowledge the good and bad in her life, more often than not, too long.

“I knew we were not going to spend our lives together. It was only fair to you and them.”

Anger encased his gaze. “Is that what your Hoodoo cards told you?”

“No. I don’t love you.”

Again he wasn’t surprised to hear so. She had never told him she did, but he assumed as soon as she overcame her fascinations,
obsessions
, with wanting to be a mother she would see how supportive he was to her.

“Not yet.”

“I would have already loved you if it were going to happen. We are compatible intellectually, nothing more.”

His harsh stare raked over her. “That’s enough for now.”

“No, it’s not, because I spend all my time disproving your theories or hiding my findings from you.”

He jutted his chin upward. “And what are you hiding from me now?”

“Nothing. I told you the girls are not yours and I’m not in love with you. Which means this grant is something I cannot accept. I won’t confuse the girls.”

“Who is Jamison BellaRose?”

So he was listening
. “A friend of my parents.” That was as far as she was going with his description. She knew Duncan lusted to disprove any and every supernatural aspect, especially the thin idea immortals existed outside of myth.

“What can he provide for you that I cannot?”

Emery shook her head. “This is what is wrong with us. A relationship does not begin with a resume.” Even though she knew Jamison’s would put Duncan’s to shame. “I haven’t even seen him in ten years. If you’re going to eavesdrop, do so
properly
. The last thing I need or want in my life right now is a man. I have my girls. And I can do my research from here.”

“Backwoods research.”

She lifted her hands. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re not a researcher. You’re a critic. All you care about is making a name for yourself.”

He was neither. He was a scientist charged with the responsibility of resurrecting and dissecting ancient beliefs all in the name of finding the next miracle cure. One which would bring him and all those who backed him, unspeakable wealth.

“Right now the only name I am concerned about is Jamison BellaRose. Why did you flush when she said his name?”

“I
didn’t
.”

“You did.”

Okay, maybe she did, but she wasn’t ready to admit that to herself much less him.

“Maybe I was thinking about the last time I saw him—the day I put my parents in the ground. I was thinking about what really mattered to me right now—
family
. I wanted a family and I was given one. I’m staying. We are over.” Her tone was unnervingly even.

“A broken family.”

“How is it broken?”

“No father, unless Jamison has already filled my slot.”

Really?
“And you call me backwoods? Do you know what decade it is? I don’t need a man to raise my girls.” She stood emotionless. Confirming she didn’t even care enough to be mad at him.

Behind him, through the screen, she saw that Thelma Ray had placed his barely unpacked bags by the back door. At the same time she heard the girls crying, surely wanting to be fed. “Your things are ready.”

“This is not over.” It couldn’t be, Emery was the key to all his research, she understood deeper than he could ever hope to do. Without her he was
ruined
.

“It is.”

He grabbed her arm as she passed him. “You’re going to get sick of playing house one day. And when you do, you’re going to see how immature you’re being now.”

She detached his hand with little effort and made her way to the nursery.

Thelma Ray stood over his bags with a cold stare.

“
You
did this. You put ideas in her head,” Duncan seethed.

“Ain’t nobody ever been able to get that girl to latch on to an idea she didn’t conjure up on her own. You best be leavin’ now.”

“Why? Planning on having Jamison over for coffee?”

“You best be forgettin’ his name ‘for someone helps you with dat.”

“Someone like you?”

She slowly grinned. Right then the den turned frigid. The screen door slammed opened and haunting whispers could be heard on the wind.

“No, but I have a notion you’re no longer welcome in the Quarter.”

“I have done nothing wrong in this neighborhood.”

“Probably not yet. But the spirits have seen something in you they care not for. Like I said, best be movin’ on.”

“Listen here you little wanna be priestess. This is
not
over. You will regret this night if it’s the last thing I do.”

The screen door slammed against the wall as if the wind was demanding he leave.

Duncan grabbed his bags, gave Thelma Ray a lasting glare then left without another word, vowing to himself revenge would be his. No mumbo jumbo wannabe Hoodoo would trash his five-year plan—steal his wealth and fame.

Chapter Four

Seventeen years later…

“I’m in trouble. I’m in SO much trouble,”
Raven BellaRose thought to herself.  She was seated between her best friends—who might as well be her sisters—the Sabien twins, River and Ashlyn (who everyone called Ash) on a bench outside of the principal’s office.

Raven’s thoughts were rushing through the list of things she could be in trouble for and hoped against all hope it was for skipping lunch. She and the girls were sneaking in a side hall door when they heard, “Raven BellaRose and the Sabiens, please report to the principal’s office,” over the loud speaker.

Even though they had never lived at any home beyond the ones they were born in, this was their third high school and tenth school all in all.

Oddly, they had a knack for getting suspended, over and over, and then expelled. It was always for stupid reasons—at least as far as they were concerned the reasons were
ridiculous
. Reasons like: not wearing their uniform, or arguing teaching styles, even objecting to the monocracy of cliques in general.

Then again, last year they did manage to burn down a science lab. The year before, they flooded an art room. “It was an honest mistake.” That’s what Raven told her father as sweetly as she could. “We really never meant any harm—swear.” And they never did.

The girls had yet to figure out how they were even blamed for it. But they were the last ones in both rooms, so it was hard to deny they could’ve been at fault.

Stranger things have happened…

River was the rebel of their group, the one who came up with wicked ideas, even though Ash was usually the one that came up with their grand schemes to live out said ideas. Raven, in most cases, was just along for the ride.

Raven was all about having a good time. Feeling the rush of life always eased her into a simple bliss. More times than not, she found a way to get all of the girls out of trouble when it arose. She had a way of reasoning with her father, and Miss Emery had a soft spot for her. Now, when it came to Miss Thelma Ray, none of them got
any
mercy.

They had made an honest to God pact to stay out of trouble that year. They wanted to make it through their junior year with a clean slate. And so far, they had made it through the first four weeks without any issues. A golden accomplishment as far as they were concerned.

“It will be just a few more minutes, girls. Principal LaDay wanted to speak to your—” The secretary stopped short to answer the phone ringing on her desk. 

Raven glanced at River, as Ash let out a shuddering breath. They were all thinking the same thing:
who is behind that door.

Raven’s father, Jamison, had investments in most of the French Quarter and he tended to watch his investments rather closely. On the weekends he usually worked late. For as long as Raven could remember Thursday through Sunday she stayed at the Sabien’s. Miss Emery was listed as her guardian. Her Aunt Saige was too, but she rarely dealt with the ‘public.’ Saige wasn’t mean or anything, she just didn’t see the reasoning of the rules girls their age were supposed follow. Saige often said, “There is more to worry about in this world than if a uniform is worn properly—uniform as if Raven will
ever
be uniform,” under her breath. The phrase, “blasted mortals,” would follow, but the girls disregarded the offhand expression as they overlooked every other oddity. Life in the Quarter had taught them anything was possible…and if you let it, your imagination would
run
you.

Raven couldn’t recall a single time her father had came to the school when they were reprimanded. Usually Miss Emery handled everything that had to do with this side of the girls’ life. Scratch that, he had come before…to write a check for the fire and flood.

Thinking of the punishment her and the girls received for the infractions still gave Raven chills. They had to spend their summer bar backing at one her father’s establishments. Brutal work that left your entire body aching.

It was Friday, Jamison was surely at work, and Emery had a ten AM class she taught at the university, which could only mean that Miss Thelma Ray was behind that door.

Yep, the thought of that sent a quake right down Raven’s spine. She knew they would be in more trouble for skipping lunch than they would be for burning down anything.

Thelma Ray made the girls’ lunches every night—she would see this as a sign of disrespect and surely a lecture on how hungry the world was would follow. Raven started to pull a defense together because she could hear the speech already. More than likely could recite it, word for word. “Running off with no concern for how the people who were ‘pose to be watching over them felt. Respect, child. You gots to have that, you of
all
people.”

“I wanted to skate so bad tonight,” Raven nearly groaned. Knowing that idea was a pipe dream if their fears were proven true. Miss Thelma Ray would be furious at them for ‘acting out.’

“We’re not grounded yet,” River said as she pulled at the one blonde streak in her hair. “Grounded or not, we have to color before we go out tonight.”

Two schools ago a girl that wanted to ‘save’ Raven had all but sent a lynch mob after her, saying she was born of evil. Apparently, the girl had the idea that Raven and her father were some kind of devil worshippers.

Ash did a little digging and found out the girl’s mother had a thing for Jamison and assumed because he wasn’t interested in her that he must be ‘some kind of evil.’ The girl was beyond cruel to Raven—she told Raven ‘let me take you down to the river that way you can grow up one day.’ Then taunted on that Raven must still be in diapers for the BellaRose bloodline didn’t age.

That was the first time the girls
really
noticed that parental figures, such as Jamison and Emery, hadn’t changed that much as they grew up.

“Good genes,” is what Thelma had told her when Raven cried on her shoulder.

The girls were new at the school, too, so when the gossip made its way around the kids would say it’s the dark haired one—with the blonde streak above her right ear. The night the rumors flew around the school, Ash and River both dyed their hair the exact same as Raven’s. They were both dark blonde so they had to keep up with the color.

Raven told them to stop when they made it to a new school but by then they had grown used to the image. At a distance, the girls looked like triplets. They didn’t have three wardrobes between them—they had one massive one that was mostly black. They weren’t Goth or anything; vibrant colors were just too loud for them, made them stand out in the sea of kids. They liked to go their own way, to be able to disappear when they wanted.  Which was often.

“You have to work tonight, skating is a part of it,” Ash said, displaying the constant logical reason she was known for.  

Raven was sure they had a chance of spinning that idea. They all did in fact work at the skate center. Then again, it’s not like any one of their guardians couldn’t call their boss and tell him they were unable to show for work tonight. They’d done it before.

Raven loved skating, or rather dancing on skates. She had been going to the rink since she was ten. Working there with the twins, along with her best friend and dance partner, Soren, was heaven to her.

The secretary’s phone buzzed. She picked it up and listened before shooing the girls to go in the office. None of them wanted to open that door.

“Go on now,” she said with another impatient wave of her hand.

River reached behind her and pulled Raven to lead them. “You’re the sweet one,” she whispered harshly when Raven glared.

Raven held her breath then opened the door. Principal LaDay was there along with Miss Emery.
Inward sigh.

They were sitting at the conference table on the left side of his office. A massive amount of papers were before them. Miss Emery looked defeated and confused.

The girls sat opposite her, Raven in the middle, one solid unit.

“Girls, do you have any idea why you’ve been called here?” Mr. LaDay asked.

Both Ash and River elbowed Raven, telling her to speak. “No sir, we don’t. We haven’t meant to cause any trouble.” She almost added that they only skipped to put gas in the car so they wouldn’t be pushed for time after school, but she figured it was best not to confess any sins just yet.

“One of your teachers brought something to my attention. Of course, I insisted we investigated this before I called your parents.”

The girls were known for giving the same expression at the same time, and right then they did just that. Each one of them furrowed their brow and slightly tilted their head to the side before adjusting the way they were sitting.

Emery let her gaze move across them nice and slow. Her girls, the family she always wanted was right before her. She always knew one day it would become even harder to rein them in, and that day seemed to be bearing down on Emery.

By no means was raising them side by side with Jamison an easy task. More than once, Jamison, with the coven at his side, had to defend their girls from both mortal and immortal foes.

The girls were oblivious to those dark memories; at the girls’ request, the coven had made sure of that. But still, it had been a hard road and was set to become even more challenging. They were plotting again, and each time they did tragedy wasn’t far off, a moment that would break the bliss they all carried right alongside their independence.

Investigated? What did he mean by that?
Raven thought to herself.

“You recall the exams you were given last week?”

Emery watched as each of the girls blushed slightly. She knew they were starting to piece together why they were in trouble. Emery was still lost on the notion of why they did something like this, but was sure their reasons would be justifiable—just not justifiable in the eyes of the modern, mortal world.

Raven was the one that nodded to answer for them.

“Well, it appears that your test scores do not match the class courses you are currently taking, or your transcripts.” The principal leaned forward. “You have to understand, before I accused you of fraud, I needed proof.”

“Fraud?” Raven said a bit too loudly, with wide eyes, clearly feeling the use of that word was beyond extreme.

“Grades are very important, girls,” LaDay said in a stern tone that had Emery tossing one of her innocent glares in his direction. She didn’t care for anyone to speak harshly to or about her girls and had faced that more times than any mother should be asked to.

Each of her girls had a 4.0 GPA that only rarely dipped, and when it did so it was because they were taking courses that were two grades beyond their age.

Emery came to their defense like always. “The girls are no angels. I will grant you that, but they have never once crossed someone without reason. I want to know the reason.”

LaDay glanced at the rather large files beside him, which clearly had every event that stated the girls were
not
angels documented.

“There’s no explaining this away, Miss Sabien. It has been proven.”

“Proven by one test. How do you know they were not having an off day? How can one testing cycle be all the proof you need? I dare any of your faculty to step in this room and tell them apart. You have no black and white proof they have committed any crime. If you did they would already be expelled.”

“A faculty member brought it to my attention, Miss Sabien,” LaDay said with deep sigh.

“Then bring them in,” Emery stated with a firmness that only came out when she was defending the girls.

“We’re straying from the point.”

“No. We’re on point. You haven’t even clearly told them what you feel they did.”

With a grunt LaDay rose from his seat and left the room to get his witness.

Emery looked across the table at each of the girls. River went to speak but Emery nodded toward the recorder on the table, which caused River to slide down in her seat with a scowl on her face.

A few long moments later the principal returned. As he took his seat the teacher, that triggered the master plan the girls were in trouble for, walked in. Duncan Newberry, known as Professor Newberry to the faculty and ‘Berries’ to the kids. They all made fun of him because it was clear he
hated
his job. The red berry flush of his cheeks and near bald head stated as much as he yelled his point across every lecture.

The girls didn’t notice how Emery went tense at first. They were all too busy trying to think of a way to explain their reasoning without outright insulting Mr. Berries, or Newberry, rather.

The man gave Raven the creeps. She had no idea why, but every gut feeling she had told her to keep a wide berth from the man, and she had. The issue was she was in his fifth period class.

The first few days of school the girls’ class schedules were changed three times. The staff kept getting their files mixed up. No matter how many times they rotated Raven’s she ended up in his fifth period class.

Raven pointed out Mr. Berries in the cafeteria on the third day of school. Ash and River glanced at each other, then Ash took Raven’s book from her bag and told Raven she would go to his class and sent Raven to her modern English class.