Heritage (28 page)

“Elle are you ok?” Logan whispered. I wasn’t aware he had appeared next to me, until his voice broke through the mass screaming in my head.

“I’m perfect,” I smiled. Wiping the tears from my eyes with the edge of my cloak, the hood fell down. 

“You don’t look it,” he sighed wiping away a tear from my eye.

“How did you find me?” I asked.  Trying not to look at him I looked down and twiddled my thumbs.

“I’ve placed a tracking device on you. I like to keep track of my arch enemies,” He mocked pulling my hands apart, stopping my thumb twiddling.

“Please tell me you are not serious!” I sniffed.

“Fine I’m not serious. Alex told me you were here,” He mumbled. I turned towards him and couldn’t help but stare into his dark blue eyes. I was transfixed by the way the moonlight made them sparkle. Elle get a grip of yourself. Tearing my eyes from his, I looked around where we were sitting.

“Wait how did Alex tell you I was here?” I exclaimed.

“She texted me,” He replied taking out his blackberry and showing me the message from Alex.

Go see Elle at the Bale’s, I can’t help, so I’m sending the big guns

I read chuckling to myself. Typical that Alex would tell Logan of all people to come find me and what did she mean by big guns.

“She seems like a fun kind of girl,” he laughed putting his phone back into his pocket. 

“She’s great,” I praised.

“So are you going to tell me why you are sitting alone. In a dark forest crying your pretty eyes out?” He asked tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.  Shuddering at his touch, I wrapped my cloak tightly around my body.

“I had an argument with Josh. Funnily enough about you,” I replied. He looked confused which made his forehead wrinkle.

“Don’t worry about it. It was nothing,” I continued.

“You don’t seem the type of girl to cry over nothing,” He sighed. The wind began to pick up around us, scattering leaves around my out stretched legs. I cry over most things, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Can I ask you something?” I asked shifting my body to turn towards him.

“Sure makes a change from me asking you all the questions,” He chuckled mirroring my move.

“What do you think is stronger Nature or Nurture?”

“In what sense?” He asked raising one of his eyebrows.

“In the sense of whether you are evil or good?”

Pursing his lips together, he sat and thought for a while before he answered.

“Personally I think that you choose your own course in Life. Even if, you’re born one way, doesn’t mean you’re forever going to be that way. Your heritage isn’t all of what you are. You choose whom you want to be.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who believes that,” I smiled.  He smiled back at me and let out a large sigh.

“It’s a pity our opinions don’t count in the world,” He sighed staring up at the clear sky. A couple of stars were doted around the moon that shone behind a large oak. Wind blew through the trees making them sway, scattering their leaves over the open path.

“I’m not even going to pretend to believe that things will change when we are in charge,” I groaned.

“We may want them to but there are too many rules and restrictions for us to follow. People don’t do well with change,” He sighed.

Being Queen of everything good in all worlds, was a scary fact that someday soon I was going to have to come to terms with. How I was going to rule over three billion mythical creatures. It’s going to be hard considering I can’t even take care of one crystal. The thought of Megan stealing the crystal reminded me of the reason I was mad with Logan in the first place.

“Wait I’m mad at you! You let Megan get away and then steals the crystals from us.” I exclaimed standing up in fury.

“Wait! Hold on she did what?” He replied standing up in front of me.

“Don’t act like you don’t know.”

“Trust me I’m not acting. She took the crystals? How many?” He asked holding my arm lightly, most likely to stop me from running away or orbing anywhere.

“I don’t trust you,” I exclaimed.  Letting go of my arm he stepped back as if I’d electrocuted him.  The hurt look on his face made my heart sink. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and I couldn’t bear to see the look on his face any longer.

“Sorry,” I whispered taking a step towards him.

“Elle I’m not involved in this devil gate situation. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you,” He whispered stepping closer to me and stroking my cheek.

“I want to believe that Logan,” I gulped as his hands cupped my face. He stared intently at me. His dark eyes seemed to search my soul as he continued to stare silently. The only sound down I could hear were the beating of hearts and our breath, as he stood looking at me.

“What are you afraid of Elle?” He breathed making my heart skip a beat.

“Honestly,” I paused. “You.”

Taking my head in his hands he pushed his lips against mine. I didn’t even hesitate as I kissed him back. All the emotion I felt towards him was coming out in this one embrace. Running my fingers through his hair, he dropped his hands from my face and wrapped them around my waist, pulling me in closer.

Pulling away I couldn’t help but be angry at myself. This was Logan, my born arch enemy. Why an earth was I kissing him and why do I want to continue. Brain scan needed.

“I can’t,” I breathed, “I have to go.”

Running back down the path I came from, I heard him call after me. It was taking all my strength not to turn back around and kiss him again. Why was I feeling this way about him? It’s only because he is forbidden to me. I wasn’t even allowed to talk to him out of meetings. So I’m guessing making out with him was frowned upon. Adabelle Gabriel you are out of your mind. I am forbidding myself to see him ever again. I don’t know what is  crazier, the fact that I have just kissed Logan or that I’m talking to myself about it. Yes,  I am definitely crazy.

                                                              ***

“You did WHAT!” Alex shouted. Realising where she was, she lowered her head

“You did what?” She whispered.  Letting out a deep sigh I closed the book I was reading. Yet again I was spending another Tuesday evening researching in the library.

“Ok please don’t make this a big deal,” I whispered.

“Oh no,  of course not. You make out with the prince of Evil and it’s just an everyday thing…”

“Alex,”

“Elle,” she mimicked my voice with a smile.

“Ok fine. So it’s a big deal, but I am trying my hardest not to beat myself over the head with a baseball bat. For being so naïve,” I groaned taking another book off the shelf.  One hundred ways to kill a demon. Really there are a hundred ways to kill a demon, well you learn something new every day.

“This is so exciting!” She squealed.

“Excuse me? How an earth is this exciting. This is the opposite of exciting, its catastrophic.” I replied putting the book back on the shelf.

“Oh stop being so dramatic! He’s hot,” she moaned handing me a book of spells and enchantments.

“I’m not being dramatic. I’m being realistic, and his hotness has nothing to do with anything. I didn’t kiss him because he is hot,” I mumbled flicking through the old book.

“So you’re admitting you enjoyed the kiss,” She grinned jumping up and down with excitement.

“Fine I enjoyed it, but that’s not the point!”

“So why did you kiss him then?” She asked, the grin on her face growing bigger by the second.

“I have no idea,”

“Liar! You like him and you are only unwilling to admit it because of whom he is. Just remember my friend, Romeo and Juliet’s  love was forbidden to.”

“What? One I do not, I repeat in no way love Logan and two Romeo and Juliet died. It’s not really anything to aspire to.” I chuckled passing her back the book of spells.

“Whatever. It is my duty as your best friend to tell you to live a little. You never know, you might even enjoy it,” She smirked placing the book on the shelf behind her. 

“Is it possible that we have searched this whole library and found nothing on the Devils gate?” I asked placing the one hundredth book back onto the bookshelf. Personally I would like to be out there hunting Megan down and taking back the crystals. Apparently, according to my dear father, that is not what we should do.

“Ok Elle this is killing me. I know Josh was completely out of order last night but can’t you to sort it out? He is miserable!” Alex blurted out taking a seat at the desk in front of the shelving area. With everything that had gone on with Logan. I hadn’t had time to think about how to sort out this mess with Josh. Why should I be the one to sort it out. He is the one in the wrong.

“When he apologies to me, I’ll think about forgiving him, but Alex you have to understand. He really hurt me.”

“I know,” She sighed.

Speak of the devil and the devil shall come. As soon as Alex had finished speaking, Josh turned around the corner and walked towards us.

“Elle Can I speak to you please,” He asked with his hand in his hair. He looked nervous as he bit his lip. He should be nervous, and he should also be apologising to me.

“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Alex whispered picking up a few books and disappearing into thin air. What is it with Alex and leaving me in awkward situations? I think she likes to see me squirm.

“Elle I’m really sorry about the things I said last night. I wasn’t thinking, and you know me, I’m an idiot,” He chattered his hand not leaving his hair. I chuckled at him as he called himself an idiot. I could have thought of a few more words that described what he was at the moment.

“Josh I don’t understand what you have against Logan. Yeah ok he’s a demon but so am I technically.” I took a seat on the desk next to Josh and twisted my loose hair around my finger.

“I don’t… Elle Look. He turned my date into a vampire…”

“No Ruby the rude vampire did that,” I corrected.

“Whatever, he let them get away didn’t he,” He pointed out. Removing his hand from his hair, he placed it in the pocket of his jeans.

“I’m not trying to stick up for the guy, but it’s his job to protect his people. Plus you heard Ruby, it was his dads order. Can you imagine me going against my Dad’s orders and don’t say it’s different, it’s not.”

“I didn’t think about it like that. I suppose I don’t see demons as real people. They are to me just Evil beings that need to be killed,” He sighed.

“They are, well most of them, but in order for the balance of good and evil to stay balanced. There has to be a few demons around. As much as that pains me to say, so in order for me to be alive, he has to be alive,” I said.

I pondered on that thought for a while, before standing up to learn against the book shelf in front of Josh.

“You really do have a level head on your shoulders,” He smiled.

“It helps when one of your best friends is seriously unbalanced,” I teased.

Laughing he stood up and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. His body was warm and hard, but it still comforted me.

“So am I forgiven?” He asked pulling away from me, so he could see my face.

“I suppose so. As long as you promise you will never hurt me like that again,” I replied pulling away from his hug completely.

“I promise I would never do anything to hurt you Elle.”

“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately,” I smirked. Hiding my smirk from Josh, I picked up a few books I had placed on the desk and put them back on the shelf where they belonged.

“Now that things are ok with us. I was wondering if you could take time out of your double life and come to my Basket ball game next Friday afternoon. Alex is coming and so is Leo. It’s at half two, and I know you are at college but..”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I smiled.

“Awesome.”

The library was cluttered with library elves, with their tight waist coats and braces as we walked through the shelves. Bustling around returning books to their right shelf and dusting down tables. Elves are known for their ability to organise and clean and their love for tidiness. Organising the library is definitely a perfect job for them. Most elves live for hundreds of years, so what better way to spend their time than doing something they love. Making our way down the stairs onto the ground floor of the library, I was greeted by Genevieve and Adam.

“Hello guys,” I greeted ruffling Adam’s hair.

“Good evening your majesty. We have something to show you,” Genevieve whispered. Last time they had something to show me. I ended up in the middle of the graveyard. I must give these twins something else to do, besides exploring the castle.

“What is it?” I whispered mimicking her. Genevieve took my hand as Adam took Josh’s. With a smile to each other,  I blinked, and we were out of the library. Looking around, a large double bed stood in the large floral decorated room. It too was covered in a cream floral bedspread.  A beautiful ivory wooden dressing table stood in front of a large bay window. It looked out on the castle gardens. Caressing the objects that were lined neatly on the dressing table, I looked back at the twins.