King 02 - Breathless (29 page)

That Nell encounter haunted me for days. I harbored a vague guilty fear that she might have been right about me and my weak justification for seeing Ms. Lacusta. I tried to ignore it.

Amber knew something was wrong, and she trailed worry in her wake, getting a little worse each day as I kept pushing off any explanations.

“Tas,” she whispered as we left the cafeteria on Thursday. “Is it Michael? Or did Rafe misbehave? I can tell something’s wrong.”

I kept the bland smile pasted on my face. “Really, Amber, I’m fine. As soon as I can tell you, I will. Please don’t worry.”

Michael pestered me the same way by phone. His concern grew from my absentminded preoccupation during our regular calls and from what his mother shared with him.

“I could come home this weekend,” he offered. “I could drive down Friday night. I’m supposed to have a meeting for a group project on Saturday, but I can blow it off.”

“Don’t be silly,” I replied. “You don’t blow off that kind of stuff. I’m fine. Just swamped with schoolwork, same as you. I’m sorry if I seem out of it.”

Even as I said it, a part of my mind was screaming at me. Why didn’t I tell him what Ms. Lacusta had said? I mentioned my Nell dream to him in passing, but when Michael tried to get me to talk about it, I brushed him off and changed the subject. That screaming part of my mind huffed that I was hiding something, from Michael and from myself.

When Monday finally came, I fought a rising panic as the morning progressed. Thinking about Ms. Lacusta and what she might tell me today made my stomach churn and my heart race. I tried to take deep breaths and maintain an illusion of calm.

She was sitting in her normal spot at the desk when I slowly entered the classroom. She didn’t move as I headed for my seat, but her eyes flickered as she tracked me. Anticipation crackled around her.

“Hello,” she said simply. I nodded in return. “How are you feeling, Tasmyn? After last week, I mean.”

I barked a humorless laugh. “Do you mean have I recovered from you telling me that you think I’m destined to be your daughter’s replacement? Or could it be, have I gotten over being verbally attacked by my friend’s dad, who incidentally thinks that I’m the spawn of evil and out to corrupt his little girl? Yeah, last Monday was a big day in my life.”

Ms. Lacusta frowned. “That minister attacked you?”

“
Verbally
attacked me,” I corrected. “Big difference. Not fun, but not life-threatening.”

“He’s been a problem since last year,” she sighed. “Did you know he petitioned the school board to have me removed? And he waited for me by my car one day last spring, tried to persuade me to come to his church, be saved. He told me it wasn’t too late, but that I had to stop preying on young girls.” She shook her head, then waved her hand as if to make him vanish. “A minor annoyance, but nothing for us to worry about.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Maybe not for you, but it’s kind of upsetting for me.”

“We have more important matters to discuss. We are embarking on a journey together, and it’s going to be amazing. Tasmyn, the things I can share with you—”

“What if I don’t want you to share them with me? Don’t I have a say in this?”

Her eyes widened. “Can you honestly tell me that it doesn’t intrigue you, the idea of this power? Can you tell me that you’re not the least bit curious about what it all means?”

I opened my mouth to say just that, but no words came. She was right. On some level, she was right about me.

I closed my mouth and dropped my head into my hands. The idea that I had been deluding myself so completely scared me witless. At the same time... I was curious. I wondered what she was going to do next, where she would lead me.

I lifted my head and met Ms. Lacusta’s eyes. “What do I have to do? I won’t hurt anyone. I will
not
become like Nell. You have to understand that.”

“I would never expect any less. Tasmyn, the power, the magiks—they’re not about harm. It’s about connecting with a force much larger and stronger than any individual. It’s about strengthening that force by becoming part of it. That’s what I wanted to pass onto my own daughter. That’s what I want to share with you.”

She fairly sparkled; her absolute confidence in what she was saying was almost visible.

“All right.” I couldn’t believe I was saying it, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I realized that this moment had been inevitable.

Ms. Lacusta blew out a sigh, and I was a little surprised to realize that she had been holding her breath, waiting on my answer.

“Good.” She pressed her hands against her face and then smiled at me. “Let’s not waste any time. We should go out to the lake this afternoon.”

“The lake?” All that assurance I’d been feeling fled. “Are you insane?”

“Of course not.” She was all business now, fastening me with that teacher-look I recognized from last year. “That’s the most logical place for you to have your first experience. King has very strong mystical energy; you must have realized that by now. It’s why Gravis King chose to settle here all those years ago, you know. And that particular spot, by Lake Rosu—it’s the most powerful place in town. Trust me in this, Tasmyn.”

Trusting Ms. Lacusta went against all of my instincts, but I sensed that she was not going to change her mind. I tried a different tactic.

“This afternoon I’m supposed to work. Marly and Luke are expecting me.”

“I’m sure that if you call and tell them that you’re unwell, they’ll understand. We cannot waste any time. It must be this afternoon.”

Her voice held a level of finality, and I realized that it was decided. I was heading back to the scene of the crime.

The only sound breaking the silence was the crunch of gravel beneath our feet. I squinted in the late afternoon sun, trying not to think about the last time I’d been in this place.

“I still don’t quite understand why we have to come back here,” I complained, as I dug in my bag for sunglasses. “It’s not exactly my happy place.”

Ms. Lacusta regarded me patiently. “I told you, there is a congruence of power here. King itself is an epicenter of mystical forces, and this particular spot happens to be where it all surges.”

I scowled. “Well, you’ll excuse me if I don’t enjoy coming back to a spot where I was almost murdered.”

She didn’t respond as I followed her into the trees, walking along the familiar path. With a pang, I thought of Michael, remembering last year when he’d hoisted me on his back as we scrambled to save Amber from Nell. Suddenly I missed him even more, and I felt a twinge of guilt for the lie I’d told his parents only a few moments ago. Marly had been all concern and compassion when I told her that I was feeling a little under the weather. I pushed away the guilt and tried to pay attention to the path.

“You know, I’ve never really walked in here on my own. That first night I was on Michael’s back—”

“In your gown from the dance,” Ms. Lacusta finished for me. “Nell told me.”

“Yes. I loved that dress.” My mind wandered back to that evening; it had begun with such promise and ended in terror. Preoccupied, I jumped and gave a little screech when something skittered across the pine needles at my feet.

“It’s only a lizard.” Ms. Lacusta’s voice floated back to me.

“Hmmm.” I stepped carefully, paying more attention to the ground before me as I resumed my reminiscing. “And the second time I was here, Nell dragged me from the parking lot into the clearing. I had the bumps, bruises and cuts to prove it.”

Ms. Lacusta was several yards ahead of me, but I could hear her heavy sigh. “Tasmyn, if you’re trying to make me feel guilt about the part I played in both those incidents, you’re not succeeding. As I’ve told you, I had no idea that Nell would react that way. I didn’t know how unbalanced she was.”

I thought uneasily of the Nell I had met in these same woods last week. I wondered if somehow she knew I was here right now. Pushing the idea from my mind, I hurried to catch up with Ms. Lacusta.

The walk to the clearing was much easier in the daylight, and I was surprised when we quickly reached the boulder that marked the turn-off from the path.

“Here we are.” Ms. Lacusta strode confidently to the center of the clearing as I stood rooted at its edge. My eyes darted to the left, and I half-expected to see the ropes that had bound me during my last visit here.

“Tasmyn.” The patience was back in Ms. Lacusta’s voice. “Don’t be frightened. I came here and cleansed this spot of the residual energy from that day, and I made sure there was nothing here that would bring painful memories for you. Fear will only inhibit power at this stage. Try to relax.”

I almost snorted. If she wanted me to relax, this was the wrong place to be. But I took a tentative step inward.

Instantly a dizzying wave of—something enveloped me. My feet buzzed as though I’d stepped onto live electric wire. My heart began to race and my breath came in short puffs. The energy that surrounded me was palpable. If I lifted my hand, I could almost grip it.

And I could hear it, too—not with my ears but through my head. A steady humming rose and fell, and I winced, trying to concentrate in the midst of the noise and confusion.

Tasmyn, do you feel it? The power… it flows between us. This place facilitates it, allows us to be better conduits. Embrace it. Fall into it…

Startled, I gasped. I had never been able to clearly hear Ms. Lacusta’s mind, although I had picked up bits and pieces of her native language now and then, and I could consistently sense her moods. But just now I had heard her with amazing clarity. Was it truly the power of this spot, or was it merely that she was allowing me to hear her?

Stop fighting it. Tasmyn… close your eyes. Feel the energy. Allow it be part of you… become part of it.

Almost unwillingly, I shut my eyes and forced myself to lean into the grid of power around me. My breathing calmed, and my heart returned to its normal rate. Everything dimmed to an even thrum of vibration, and yet my senses were slowly expanding, unfurling quiet tentacles all around. It was as though I could feel the grass growing underneath me, count the individual molecules on the breeze that skimmed my cheek. I could hear the insects crawling in the nearby trees, and as I sank even further into the energy, my mind flooded with voices and images. I could hear Ms. Lacusta, yes, but above her I heard so many other voices that it was impossible to distinguish any of them.

Yet it wasn’t a cacophony of noise the way it usually was when I opened myself so completely. For the moment I concentrated on any one, it became all I could hear. I smiled involuntarily; this was what I had always wished I could do.