Fated, A Timeless Series Novella (A Timeless Series Companion Novel) (22 page)

I groaned.
Before my head would burst,
I shut the book. No, I was thinking too hard about this.
Besides, it wasn’t as if I could do anything about it.
Perhaps it was better if I stopped poking my nose around. I didn’t want to jump to any hasty conclusions.
I’d let Callon sort it out.

Sighing, I scooped up the journal and headed to the desk to pick up the other books.
However,
as I studied them, I noticed
one of them looked a little different. While it had the same black leather cover and golden script, the pages didn’t feel right. As I ran my finger along it, I realized why. They weren’t real pages at all, but a wooden slab painted to
look
like pages.

Well, wasn’t tod
ay turning into an exciting day.

I
returned
to the
couch and sat down.
I shook the fake book, and it rattled. It was a box made to look like a book.
Carefully I felt around it, and found a small catch.
Slipping it open, I pulled the lid off and stared. Inside the box was a set of
folded
papers. I took them out, holding them in the light. The ink had bled through the pages, making it difficult to read
, but there was no mistaking the handwriting
.

These papers had been written by Dad!

My hands shook as I began reading.
I couldn’t make out a lot of it, but I did catch the words ‘renew’ and ‘enchantment’ and ‘Consilador’.
No way!
Was this how the generations of my family had managed to keep the O’Shea estate safe from attack?

Tucking the papers under my arm, I decided to take them to my room. I
had better light there, and a
magnifying glass.
Back when I was locked away
in the manor
, I
beca
me very good at deciphering codes. This shouldn’t be much different.

A quick
jump through the corridor and up the stairs, and I was back at my room. I
search
ed
through my desk
, finding
the magnifying glass, and I
flicked on
the lamp.
Slowly, I began to tease out the words. It was a series of instructions relating to how the enchantment worked.
A smile broke onto my lips.
Though there were a couple of sentences I couldn’t figure out, I understood the gist.
The enchantment could be renewed easily, and I wouldn’t need to wait for Callon.
This was perfect! He had enough on his plate to worry about. If I could fix the enchantment for him, he wouldn’t have to hurry home, and could focus on helping Cheyenne.

I stuffed the papers back into the fake book. It wasn’t surprising Dad didn’t want this information lying around, because as easy as it was to renew the barrier, it was just as easy to break it. We couldn’t afford this knowledge to
get
into the wrong hands.
Still, I was glad I’d come across it.
Night was about to fall, too. I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone watching if I tried this now.

Decision made, I stood up
and grabbed my coat
.
This chance was too good to pass up.
I
headed back to the landing
, dialing Ryan’s number on my phone
.
For this to work, I needed to be close to the edge of the enchantment
, so
I’d have to take the car.

Ryan answered after several rings, and agreed to drop the keys off.
As I paced the hall, I ran through what I had to do.
I’d never tried anything like this before.
My pulse raced, and I had to take a few breaths to calm myself.
I couldn’t afford to get over-excited. I had to concentrate.

A jingle from the front door told me Ryan had arrived, so I went to meet him.
He smiled, and didn’t ask what I was planning as he handed me the keys.
I nodded in thanks, then hurried out. The air was freezing, but fresh, rich with the scent of wet earth that only comes after a heavy rain.
The smell that reminded me I was home…

It was only a short drive down the road before I felt the tingling sensation in my spine.
I parked, then jumped outside.
There wasn’t anything obvious to see, so I had to rely on my other senses to guide me.
I walked around, stopping in an area where I felt the tingling the strongest.
This was it.

Flexing my fingers, I took a deep breath, then spread my arms.
My fingertips touched the edges of the barrier, and a light hum buzzed through them.
I closed my eyes,
trying to picture the barrier in my mind.
The image had to be crystal clear, otherwise it would fail.

Slowly, I lowered my arms, bringing my hands together. I felt the enchantment pull, starting to fill the empty gaps.
The tingling grew less intense, and I had to stop myself shouting in triumph.
Yes
, it was really fixing itself
!
Heart thundering, I licked my lips, and brought my palms closer.
Just a little more, and then…

Suddenly a ripple shuddered across my neck, and I hissed. My arm jerked, and then lightning-like pain shot into my back.
I screamed, and fell to the ground.
My
awareness of the enchantment vanished, and I curled into a ball, desperate to escape the pain.
My legs froze up, and I gasped. I couldn’t move!

Then everything went still.
A cold breeze wafted over, and I shivered. The pain had subsided, but I was too afraid to move in case it started again.
I couldn’t sense the enchantment at all now, and it left a horrible tension in the pit of my stomach.
This wasn’t supposed to have happened.

What had I done?

M
y teeth began to chatter
from the cold
,
so
I forced myself upright.
I didn’t seem hurt in any way, which was a relief.
I carefully returned to my feet,
then
wandered around, holding out my hand to feel for the enchantment.
Twenty steps later, and still nothing.
I swallowed.
It must have meant I’d fixed it, right? Deep down, though, I knew I was wrong.

At last, after walking almost a mile from the spot I’d started, I felt the tingling again. It was much, much weaker, like a feather brushing over my skin.
Sometimes it would vanish for a while, and then re-appear a few minutes later.

Oh no…

Instead of fixing the magic, I’d made it weaker.
Now the gaps were enormous, there might as well have been nothing there.
Panic filled me. I should never have tamp
ered with something so powerful.
And Callon wasn’t going to return for another month or so.

I shook my head. No, I couldn’t afford to wait that long. If the manor was breached in any way before Cheyenne arrived, all our preparations would
be
for nothing.
This was supposed to be our stronghold, our safe haven of protection.

Sighing, I jumped back to the car.

I’d have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow over the phone.

Chapter 6

“Some chances only come once a lifetime. I’m never letting go of this one.” ~Colt

T
he sun above the Wilson’s house
was just starting to set, and I shielded my eyes
. What luck we were having with the weather. It seemed like the forecasters were rig
ht for once;
we we
re going to have an early spring.
I glanced to Cheyenne, who was
winding up
the garden hose.
We’d just finished washing her Jeep, though it had taken a little longer than expected.
Some
excess moisture
still
prickled on her skin,
jeans, and her
blouse
.
I couldn’t help but smile.
Well, she had asked me to clean her wash
mitt. It wasn’t my fault there’d been a bit of backsplash.

Slightly guilty, I trudged towards her
with the soap buckets
and held out my hand.

“Here, trade me,” I said
.

“Thanks,” Cheyenne replied
, dumping the hose into my arms
and taking the buckets
.
“Come on.”

I paused to give a brief stretch, then followed her to the porch
.
Today was the promised day,
and it was all I could do to contain myself. Gene and Alexis were going to tell Cheyenne the truth about her heritage
as a Timeless
.
As far as she knew,
they were
going on a
camping
trip
, but I knew better. Camping was
much
too dangerous right now,
given all the Tresez that had flocked to the area.

I
nstead they were going to su
rprise her with a vacation;
o
ne filled with
warm sun and
white sandy
beaches.
Cheyenne had absolutely no idea.
I’d even gone as far as pulling out the camping equipment to go along with the ruse.
It couldn’t have come a moment too soon, either.
Getting Cheyenne out of the state would take a lot of pressure off us,
and she deserved a good break after working so hard all semester.

But more than that, she needed to be in a calm state of mind when
Gene and Alexis
told her the secret
. Neither Callon nor I
knew
how
much
they’d reveal
, but they
’d
let her know about us
, and what we’d been doing
for
the past two years
.
She’d find it hard to accept
at first, but eventually she’d
come round
and things would
really get rolling
.
It would only be a short few months until graduation, and then she’d be coming home with me…

“You have to get going, don’t you?”
Cheyen
ne’s eyes met mine, a cloudy gra
y today. She was disappointed our time together was growing short.
I didn’t hold her gaze, afraid I’d cave. The past few weeks had been the hardest
,
know
ing exactly what lay in store for her, yet
not being able to share any of it
.
I wanted to be there when the news was finally broken, to comfort and reassure her, but I knew I had to
give
her space. She was strong, she’d get through it. I just had to
be patient.

“Yeah, I have a flight to catch.”
I secured the hose on the holder
, taking that little bit longer than I needed. I’d not see Cheyenne for
a whole week
, and the realization was starting to sink in.
A dull ache flicke
re
d in my chest, and I frowned. This had never happened before.

Was I going to miss her?

I already knew the answer as I headed to the porch to grab my stuff.

Cheyenne
frown
ed, looking out
across
the drive. T
he breeze caught her long blonde hair and tangled
it
in her lashes.
A
s she tucked the lo
o
se strands behind her ears
, I clenched my hands in my pockets
. If I didn’t
,
I’d
reach out
,
brush them
back
myself
and…I shook my head
.
I had to
get a grip.

“Your
parents are due home around six, right?” I glanced at my watch
, hoping a change of subject would calm me down
.
Then again, I wasn’t that keen to leave Cheyenne alone, even if it was only for forty minutes. But if I stalled, I’d miss the flight home.

“Yeah, my dad’s plane landed about an hour ago
,” Cheyenne answered
, oblivious to my thoughts
.
“
They were supposed to stop and get my mom a new cell phone and talk to them about the service up here. It’s been hit or miss lately. The error code comes up as network problems.” She paused and stared out in the forest
again
.
Her eyes had become a darker
gray
.

Quickly I followed her gaze. She must have seen something. Eventually I spotted a
shadow
disappearing into the trees
.
I had to stop myself
from
rolling my eyes
.
Typical of the Laundess clan; they were much too laid back for a job like this.
I’d have to remind the
m
not
to
let Cheyenne
get any hint they were around
. At least I knew they were already here.

I touched her arm reassuringly.

“Cheyenne?”

Her eyes
brightened a little, though they didn’t return to their usual blue.
She was
still thinking
.

“After that they’ll be home,
”
she went on, as if she’d never paused.
Hmm; when she continued a conversation like that, it usually meant she had something serious
on her mind.
“
Thanks to your help, I already have the camping gear lined up in the hallway.” She smiled. “They wanted to leave tonight.”

I
chuckled softly
.
Yeah, f
or a trip you won’t be taking.
Even so
, I worried for her.
Despite all the time we’d spent together and how much she’d opened up to me, there were
still
things she
kept
in her heart. I wish she’d share her fears
with me
.

“Come on.
”
Cheyenne took
a hold of my arm and pull
ed
me off the porch.
The warmth of her palm tickled my skin.
“You need to go. I’ll be fine.”

As she let go, the dull ache in my chest returned
.
Swallowing,
I mounted
my
motorcycle.
Why was I feeling like this?

Colt
, what are you doing?
Callon’s thoughts echoed in my head.
Ah, he must have parked nearby.
Finish up, we need to get on the road or we’ll
miss our flight.

I sighed. Playtime was over.

Coming, Dad.

I could feel Callon’s frown.

This isn’t the time to be joking around. Daniel
said we had to get back right away
. We don’t have much time left.

Alright, alright.

I made to
slam down the kick-starter, when Cheyenne spoke.

“You know,”
she
said
,
“
f
or someone who’s had s
o many concussions, you really should be wearing a helmet.”

Her eyes had returned to their vibrant blue, and I grinned
. That was my Cheyenne, always concerned about everyone else.
If only she knew how much stronger I was
.

Sh
e looked up and stepped forward.
For a moment I wondered why, when
she
brushed the
leaves from my hair
, still stuck from our tickling fight
earlier
.
She was so close h
er scent
caught me, like fresh cut wildflowers
.
That proved too much, and
I leaned in, slowly drawing her
into a hug.

I’d be a whole week without her. A wh
ole week without her smiles, her voice, her
laughter…
it was going to hurt being apart f
or so long
.

I scoffed.
What was I saying
? It was just a week!
I’d been with other girls
before
and hadn’t had any problems
leaving them for my travels
.
But something was different here.
Cheyenne wasn’t just ‘some girl’. She was
my friend, someone I’d shared
as many
things with
as
my own brothers. And I wanted more.

Cheyenne gasped; she hadn’t expected this.
Her heart raced
against my chest.
In that moment, my resolve weakened.
My cheek brushed hers
, so soft and warm,
and I p
laced a
sweet
kiss near her ear.

“Miss you already, Cheyenne,” I breathed.

She stepped back,
her cheeks tinged pink
.

“Same here,” she choked
.
I
had to
chuckle
at her reaction
.
Not just because it was cute to see her so embarrassed, but also because
it meant
she’d felt the same thing.
I was going to have to explore this when I returned.

“I’ll see you next Sunday.”
Winking, I
revved the engine
and headed
down the long gravel drive. My eyes
didn’t leave
my rearview mirror unti
l I turned and hit the highway.

I hoped I hadn’t been too overbearing.
This
would
give her something to think about
, at least
.
It
had
give
n
me something to think about
, too
.
I’d never thought about
any
one as strongly as this.
Even when I was away from her, she
constantly
overtook my thoughts.
And being with her always made me feel so
alive
.
For so long I’d
drift
ed
around
,
st
r
ay
ing far
from home
and exploring the world
.
I’d thought it was what I wanted.
But Cheyenne had made me realize I’
d been
nothing but a
lost
boy
.
Now
she’d given me a purpose,
and I wasn’t going to fail her.

I tightened my grip on the
handle-bars
.
The plan was set.
We’d go to Ireland, fix up
the manor, and bring her home.
I just had to hold on for another week.
Then I could prove
to her
what she really meant to me.