Feathermore (6 page)

I had grown tired of it, and to my relief so had Avan. From then on, we spent our weekends at the bowling alley or the coffee shop in town. As soon as Amy realized he was unattainable, she turned the heat on me. I was used to her ridiculously mean comments, but I still felt embarrassed when Avan heard them. I certainly didn’t want him to think any less of me.

As the relationship between Avan and me kept growing stronger, so did my feelings for him. Two months had gone by, and I could not really explain how, but I felt my whole being becoming defined by his, as if my mind and body were finding a new purpose for existing. Was this how first love felt? I wasn’t sure, but I knew for certain I was growing up, and fast.

The greatest confirmation of this change came during one of our few private outings to the movies without Claire and Nate chaperoning us. We were watching
The Last Exorcism,
which was totally scary and wonderfully romantic, too. I am the only one unaffected by scary movies, but this one’s special effects had me continually burying my face in his shoulder. He didn’t seem to mind—he even moved the armrest back and pulled me in closer. Feeling his body pressed so close to mine sent that strange energy cascading through me. The sensation was absolutely glorious.

I could feel his heart hammering as hard as mine. He seemed as nervous as I was. At this point, I was so aware of our bodies pressing together that the movie was merely background noise. It had been two months of flirting and holding hands. It was time for something more. I wanted something more. Just as I thought that, his shakily free hand pulled my chin up to face those eyes shining down at me. Something in that gaze never failed to take my breath away. He leaned down toward me, and I instinctively closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure what to do, and so I momentarily held my place, but then my face rose to meet his.

The first kiss was short and tender, but the contact between our lips unleashed me. There had been no blinding light, but the same sense of shock rippled through me. He registered his awareness of my yearning, and I felt his body tense slightly. He paused, wanting to look into my eyes, and when he did, the invitation for more unleashed his passion, too. His warm lips moved again toward me. As if buried beneath the layers of each touch, each soft lick, each movement, speaking of what words couldn’t, each new sensation brought new unspoken responses. We moved in unison. His mouth pulled in my lower lip, and as my jaw relaxed, I tasted the sweetness of his tongue.

Our lips parted, but we remained locked in the awareness of each other’s breathing. Frozen time seemed to melt and flow once again. He faced me with a smile that began slowly on one side of his mouth and remained there. The kiss could have lasted forever. Hell, I wanted it to last forever, but I pretended to get interested in the movie again, howevermy mind was in a different dimension. The pervading warmth radiating from where our bodies touched was only getting stronger. The electric current between us was palpable. This couldn’t be ignored any longer. There was literally a physical process happening between us. I had to talk to him, but for now I just wanted to enjoy his nearness—and, hopefully, a few more of those kisses.

5 MIDNIGHT STALKER

The weekend went fast, and Monday rolled around. I woke up, excited that I would finally be seeing Avan again. My flirtatious mood had incited me to add purple highlights to my hair.

Since I seemed to be the only senior without a car, Avan had offered to take over the task of chauffeuring me to school whenever Claire didn’t sleep over. When I heard him pull up in the driveway my heart missed a few beats. I hadn’t seen him after our movie date and was nervous about how he would be today.

His engine idled a moment; then I heard the sound of the car door closing. I walked briskly over to the front door and held it open for him. As I took in the vision of him walking toward me, I was amazed to realize that
he
was interested in
me
. His crooked smile showed up the second he saw me standing there. He was wearing washed-out black jeans, a white long-sleeved T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. So . . .
dangerous
!

He was also wearing a loose beanie cap that let a few strands of dark hair peek out. When he reached me, he put his arm around my waist and pulled me in for a short but tender kiss. Just as on Friday night, I felt myself get lost in the sensation it brought. As corny as it sounds, whenever we were together, especially if we touched physically in any kind of way, sparks began to fly.

We walked toward the kitchen, where Mom was having her morning coffee, and I picked up my backpack.

“
Good morning, Avan,” she said politely.

“
Good morning, Mrs. Lovecraft. How was your weekend?” He took the bar stool next to her.

Mom knew what he meant to me—after all, I had spent all weekend talking about pretty much nothing else. Luckily, since my parents had met him before, I had gotten their approval. Avan and Mom made small talk while I grabbed two orange juice bottles from the refrigerator, and a bagel from the breadbox. I gave Mom a kiss and led Avan outside.

He drove a sweet 1969 Mustang convertible. He said his mother had bought it off an old man in their neighborhood for pennies. I truly doubted that. The car was in mint condition. The paint was still shiny, and the white top was in perfect condition. The seats were white leather with red seams. And he kept a couple of Black Ice air fresheners under the seats, which made the car smell wonderful. As we were pulling out of the driveway I asked him about his weekend.

“
It may not seem very manly to admit, but I was thinking about
you
all weekend.”

Manly or not, I loved hearing that. “And what were you thinking about?” I asked as I cocked my head to the side.

He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it, and I felt myself start to blush. He stopped the car and pulled me closer to him. He leaned in, stopping just short of my lips.

“
This . . .”

His warm breath merged with mine. He closed the space between us, and the whole world became the sweet taste of his kiss. It felt like the Fourth of July in my head. He sat back and focused on the road again.

“
I’ve missed you, Jade.”

My heart was doing back flips at this point. We drove in silence for a moment, my hand still in his. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to talk to him about what I felt every time we touched. I decided to tackle the issue right here and now. Cold sweat found its way to the palms of my hands and I let go of his.

“
I have a question for you.”

“
Shoot,” he said.

There was that crooked grin. I tried to sound calm. Though my insides were twisting, I had no idea how I would feel if he didn’t understand what I was about to say.

He made a stop at the intersection and then turned left. One more block before we were at school.

“
It’s going to sound totally weird, but I just have to ask . . . Ever since the first time we met and our hands touched, well, it’s as if, every time we touch, there’s this current of energy that flows from you to me and back to you again. I was just wondering . . .”

I felt stupid hearing myself say this. He would think I was insane and never talk to me again, but the squeeze on my hand felt like an act of reassurance. I looked at him.

“
You know, Jade, that’s something I’ve been trying to figure out how to ask you, too,” he said. “I think I know what you mean.” He stole a quick look my way and gave me a look of understanding.

“
I will admit that at first it was weird. I’ve never felt that before, but then it got more natural and started to feel like every time we touch, we become one. Somehow, we’re connected. It
feels
right now.”

That was all it took to reassure myself of just how deeply in love I was with him. I stared at him for a moment, wanting to capture this feeling forever—just bottle it up and keep it with me always.

I spent the rest of the short drive to school telling him about my weekend and how we were going to decorate the house for Halloween, not making mention that it was also my birthday. He offered to come over and help, but I told him it was Mom’s job. She never let anyone help with the decorations—not even me.

We parked in a space far from the school’s main entrance, and hearing the first bell go off, we started running.

* * *

It was past seven on Thursday night when I remembered our biology exam the next day. Once everyone had gone home with their costumes in hand, I decided it was time to review. If there was one subject I didn’t care much for, this was it. But for as long as I could remember, I already knew everything I was taught—things I had never heard about yet knew all the details to. I didn’t need to study, but it was something I had grown accustomed to anyway. It has always worried me a little, the way things come to me with ease.

I sat at the desk with my blank index cards, a pen, and the thick, oppressively heavy biology textbook. When my eyes began to close I looked over at the clock on the nightstand near my bed. Time had flown by. It was almost midnight. I had studied enough for one session. I got ready for bed and went to close the curtains. As I was closing them, I noticed two strange green dots hovering in the darkness, out near the driveway. It took me a minute to realize what I had seen. Slowly opening the curtains again, I stared a little longer until my eyes adjusted to the dark, and then I saw it clearly. Sitting perfectly still and looking straight toward my window—and, seemingly, into my eyes—was a black panther.

Panthers come and go. We had seen them before, but never a black one, and never behaving this way. A strange fear crept into me, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. The creature
wouldn’
t move. I wasn’t afraid of it hurting me, since I was inside and there was no way it could get to me. The true fright came from how unnatural it looked, sitting there on a suburban front lawn.

An unpleasant surge, fanned by my fear, suddenly broke into my mind, and the familiar voice in my head warned me once again: “The
ki-sikil-lil-la-ke
knows about you.”

“
Who?” I whispered.

“
K
i-sikil-lil-la-ke.
”

The voice made me tremble. “I don’t know what that is.”

“
You must prepare. She will come for you
.”

The warnings were beginning to scare me. Especially since there had been many instances lately when I thought I felt a presence nearby, following me. The strangest feeling knotted in the pit of my stomach, as if something were terribly wrong. I kept expecting the warnings to come true, to see something horrible or hear very bad news. This was the first time I actually saw something strange, but a panther could not be what the warning was about . . . could it?

What could all this mean? Was someone after me? Or was I simply going crazy—losing my hold on reality? The voices started coming shortly before I met Avan. Were they about him? I didn’t allow my thoughts to go any further with that bizarre idea. For once, I had something that meant something to me. Besides, the voice always spoke of a “
she
.”

No, it had nothing to do with Avan. If that were the case, the voices would start yelling at me every time I was with him, but instead I had only felt a sense of tranquility and calm when I was around him. I kept my eyes away from the curtains and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling for some time until sleep won the battle.

6 THE HUNT

A hint of a new presence had been in the air lately. I have always been able to sense the slightest disturbance—any indication of another being like myself. I was suspicious of another power being unleashed. This could only bode ill. I assumed that the beacon came from an enemy.

The hunt had begun, and as with all my schemes, I would use the utmost secrecy and care. I had to know the nature and intent of this unknown creature. Following the scent, I came nearer and nearer until I found the source.

I had planned to send a spy ahead. The panther was pure happenstance—it happened to be nearby when I needed something to control. A bear or red wolf would have suited just as well. I ordered it to prowl around the house for a few days, and eventually it brought back mental images of the family. A dark-haired girl lived there. Something more lay within than appeared on the surface. Her eyes were a clear giveaway. Maybe not to an unthinking mortal, but for us it was unquestionable. Time was all I needed.

In fact, the mysteries deepened, and the peril I found myself in was worse than I could have imagined. There, in the unreasoning animal mind of the panther, I also found a memory of two faces I
knew
well: one set of gray eyes, of the doubled and mirrored, of a pair always together, golden haired and divine—an enemy to be feared. These were not the sources of the unbridled beacon, though. These two knew how to control their true nature.

While the panther gathered the information needed, I plotted. All possible means of having a direct encounter with the girl were too risky. The gray-eyed menace seemed to be always present, and even when not visibly around, it was still too dangerous for me to gamble on its staying away and not returning at an inopportune moment.