Orion (18 page)

I woke up a little more on the down side of things.  I wanted desperately to make everyone happy, find my brother, and return home.  Or did I?

Knowing how much father had hidden from me over the years is alarming if not devastating.  I
’m not sure now I want to return to there, without Calum, but honestly, will he still want me when he finds out the truth.  I hope Lee is very wrong.

A day went by.  Another.  Nothing.  Pretty soon a week passed and I had to face some things, solve others.

I made a breakthrough at lunch one day, or so I thought.  Lee stopped by my table and slipped a note in my hand.  Unfortunately, Maze saw, so I had to give an explanation.  She bought the, “it’s a note from Calum” excuse.  It said to meet him, Lee, behind the gym after school. 

Duty to my court and my brother told me all the wrong reasons why I should.  First and foremost, my mission.

Calum and I still continued to study most days in the library together just to see each other, but today we were meeting outside to hang out.  The boys were planning a soccer game and the girls were watching them.  I laughed at that continuation of teenage normal behavior.  When I asked why we were just watching, every one of them seemed to giggle and say things like “why not”?

After school, Lee was already there when I arrived.  I told him quickly that Calum would be there in five and he
’d better hurry.  He took offense at my nervousness being alone with him and offered to leave.  I told him I was fine and to get on with it and that I was just nervous meeting in public about secrets, but I knew it was more than that.  Lee was Calum’s best friend and that made me nervous as heck to go behind his back. 

As if reading my mind, “You know you could try telling him.  He likes you a lot, you know.”

I rolled my eyes and bounced a little on my heels in an attempt to expedite matters.

Once again, reading me well he added, “Yes, he may have said something like that.  He can
’t get enough of you.  He even talks in his sleep.”

“It
’s just the prophecy talking.  He’s just enthralled with the whole matching birth defects and everything else we share.  He’s just never met me before.”

“Well, we are finally acknowledging the prophecy then.  And yes, he talks about you nonstop.  But no, he didn't know about your defining qualities before you revealed
them in a dark field."

"You were watching me?"

His face blanched at his mistake.  I wasn’t sure where the expression in his voice came from his last two statements, but I worried he wasn’t speaking for just Calum.  Dismissing it, I focused on what was at hand.

“What did you need
?  Uh....”  Did
he just say Calum talks in his sleep?  What does Calum say in his sleep?
 
“What does he say?”
 
I had to know.

“Just prophetic stuff like ‘she
’s the one’ and ‘I will fulfill’ and stuff like that.”

Stuff like that?  No one just says
stuff like that
.  I let it go for the sake of not arguing.  It will get me nowhere fast and I’m on a time crunch.

“Just joking, he says your name mostly.”  He paused, a false smile on his face, “Quinn is leaving tomorrow.  I think he
’s going to where your brother is.  He told Green about “making sure the investment is secure”.  I only assume he meant Szar.  Since I think this whole act is a set up to see what you prove to be… ”

I smiled hugely and hugged him furiously.  Too late, I stepped back when he went stiff. 

“I’m sorry.  I was just excited.  That’s not like me.”

“No, it
’s okay Anastacia,” he proclaimed like it would change something.  "It just...surprised me." He darted his eyes to my lips.

Uh, oh!  I knew that look.

He was right.  The name reminded me--I was a girl from the past.  “I’m not that girl anymore.  Not when you left.”

“I know,” was all he said.

Standing in awkward silence, a low whistle interrupted us.

“Hanging out with my girl again.  Do I need to know something?”

“No,” I smiled.  “He is a super great best friend though.  You are lucky.”

Calum slapped his arm around Lee and tugged at his hair not completely in earners
t, “Lucky for him.”

Lee grinned anyway and jested me with a woeful smile, “Let
’s play some ball.”

And then they were gone without a word of what to do about Quinn, the uncle.  I promise myself to resolve this Lee thing soon or it would destroy us all possibly.  Something
’s going to go very wrong if I don’t, I can feel it.  I just hope Liz and her “feelings” don’t first claim it before I know.

I joined Maze and Liz on a blanket and found I was quickly joined by Christin, Shell, and Jodi flanking both sides of me.  We sat and watched the guys sweat and roll around and accidentally kick the ball in our direction, A LOT!  It was great.  How could I go back home?

I decided right then and there.  A school could very well be established with all the species if I’m here and all is fine.  No one’s died yet.  And there are two of us.  Lee!  Who else might be here?

I eyed Lee when the game was ending.  He nodded my direction at the dorms.  Was he signaling to come there again tonight?    I ventured up to him when he was standing away with Calum and Derrick.  I couldn
’t afford to be seen alone with him again. 

“What?”  I whispered.

“Come to the dorm tonight.  Same time.  We’ll follow Quinn.”

What?  With him?  Tonight?  “I work alone.”

He glared at me, “And I know where they’re going?”

“What?  You knew all this time and didn
’t tell me,” I jested.

He didn
’t answer immediately.  “Sort of.  General direction at least.  I wanted to know your intentions.”

Calum was turning back to me know from his horseplay.  He saw my look at Lee.  He was analyzing it, I could tell.

“You going or not?” he was asking me in front of Calum.  He
DID
have other secrets it seemed.

Deer in headlights, mouth open moment, right here, right now.

“Our room.  Calum will sneak you in.  We’ll watch a movie.”

“Um, that is kind of, well…”

“Maze already said yes.”  He was letting me squirm
.  Yeah!  All kinds of amazing.

“Oh, ok.  What time?”

Calum was already in on it, his answer coming out in the flow of the conversation, “6:00.” 

I calculated.  That ends right at the time I snuck over before
. 
How was Lee going to get us out?

I stood there seconds longer trying to figure out who is plotting against who.  It explained Calum's happy state of unknowing bliss. Lee only invited Maze for show.

“What are you playing at girl?”  Liz dropped her voice to a whisper, but still surprised me.

I slapped around bumping her hip
but offered a sour answer.  “I don’t know what you mean?”  My ice queen attitude come back.  Liz always brought out a little of my defensive side.

“You mess with my boys here and I will take you down girl.  You whiz in here and act like you own them.  They are not for sell.”

“Ask them that.  I beg to differ.”  I was mad, but this would cause a ripple I couldn’t recover from is she has any idea about seeing the future like they say.  Who knows, she may be right.  “But, I don’t intend to hurt anyone.  They are both great, and my intentions are only to be the pleasant new girl that I am.  No worries.”  I walked away from her not looking back.  I could guess her dirty ass looks she was giving me from the emotional overdrive she vibed.

                            ℓ ℓ ℓ ℓ ℓ

“So, Lee, huh?”

Maze blushed with her Amazon bronzed skin shining brightly standing in my dorm room putting make-up on. 

“Yeah!  Since you came, he’s gotten kind of friendly.  Mostly we talk about you still.  Weird, huh?”

“Yeah, weird.  What do ya
’ll talk about…me that is?”

“
I don’t know.  Like your funny sayings and words sometimes, if we hang out together, how you and Calum are glued together, things like that.”

“Is that what you two were so close to each other talking about in gym lately?”  I
’d noticed Lee giving her extra attention.  He hadn’t spoken to Christin since the theatre except about Lit class stuff.

“Yeah.  He
’s cute.  I like him.”

I was feeling really “weirded out” by the fact that their sole topic of conversation between them was
me
! 

“You ready yet?” she asked. 

“Yes, let’s go.”  I grabbed my pouch purse and left after her, locking my door.

We climbed into the room, both boys lying suspiciously still on their beds. 

The window was slanted open, so I just pushed it up and climbed in assuming the boys had it covered for us to be in there.   But the way they were on the bed, I had my doubts.

“Calum,” I whispered, “What are you doing?”

He didn’t move initially.  He sat a second longer and when Maze was through the window and standing next to me, they both popped out of the bed and tackled us both to their own beds, pinning us down.

In complete surprise, I did what any ordinary Valkyrie girl would do, ATTACK!

Before I knew it, I had Calum on the bed, under me, pinned as he’d wanted me to be, crouched and ready for a fight.  His face was priceless after my initial shock value settled and my “I won’t be suppressed” value punch kicked in.

He was gripping me too tight the first second and limp a second later.  He looked over to Lee for either his own needed ego boost or to see if he
’d found the same fate. No dice.  Maze was no Valkyrie, but I knew that Lee was half, like me.

Lee was grinning.  I had a strange feeling he set this up.  And he knew very well what I could really do.  There was a small satisfaction in that bit of information, as well as his dangerous smile.

Calum rolled me over and I let him.

“Where did that come from?  You
’re way stronger than you make yourself out to be?”  His face was very serious, but trying at best, to sound playful.  "You were right about her not taking the rough entrance. I should have listened to you man," he ran a hand over his now messy hair.

I couldn
’t stop the reflex now that I knew for sure, I looked at Lee.  His eyes boring into mine expecting an answer like the boy beside me.  “I…I…don’t know.  Instinct just kicked in.”  I was so going to get Lee for this.  His face showing all kinds of guilty. 

Guilty of menace.  Guilty of secrecy.  Guilty of jealousy.  Guilty of…am I talking about him…or myself?  Reality hit me hard.

Calum wasn’t convinced.  Lee had won his little test.  He gave Calum a clue. 

He did give up the quest for answers and settled the two of us across his bed.  Maze and Lee took the other.  The small DVD player was blasting an old Terminator movie.  All was good. 

We watched the movie with nervous tension surfacing in a room that any four teenagers would own.  The movie was nearly done with Calum and me hardly saying a word to each other.  Maze and Lee had taken turns whispering and giggling the whole time.  I knew Calum was still figuring my hidden strength. I tried not to notice all the times the other bed squeaked, but knowing it was Lee and sitting here listening to it was just...well, he was doing it on purpose.

I felt his breath on my ear.   “Where did that strength come from?” His
curiosity
had
to know.  Yee
Gods!

“I inherited it from my dad.  He has the same strength.”  This was true enough.

“That is more than Hunter strength.” 

Did he feel my body tense up at his words?  I didn
’t answer.  I did, however, squeeze his hand tighter, and tug his shirt collar down from behind me to move closer, invading my personal space.

A chance distraction, but needed.  When his ear was close enough, “
I don’t know why I was given the strength, but I do know that I would never do anything to hurt or embarrass you.  I’m sorry.  I can’t explain some of the other things about us that brought us together, but please don’t wonder about this just yet.  We’ll know soon enough.”  And that left him with just enough to know, I still had secrets.  I’m going to lose him.

He stiffened, didn
’t say anything back, and I couldn’t read his face because I sat in front of him to watch the movie.  I dared a look at Lee.  Dark and ominous eyes watched me.   He’d heard the whole thing.  Valkyrie hearing.  How many other times had he listened?  Hunters may hear well, but not like us. 

Calum didn
’t ask again.

“Anything you need?” he whispered when John Conner was in his final scene of the movie.  I whispered a no back.  He rested a hand on my thigh making the other side of the room jump three notches on the anger meter. I threw him a look to let him know I knew.