Riley's Curse, A Moon's Glow Prequel (17 page)

“So where are
you going in the fall?” he asked, setting his beer on the bench
beside him.

“Actually I’m
taking a year off. I don’t know what I want to do with my life, and
I didn’t want to waste my parents’ money going to school with no
major. What about you, what are you taking?”

“Pre-law. I’m
going to be a lawyer, whether I like it or not. Just like my dad,
and his dad.” His father was a partner in my dad’s firm. My father
was his boss.

Watching
Brandon, I wondered why I couldn’t like him the way he wanted. He
was very cute, with his wavy chestnut hair and deep brown eyes, his
face filled with sharp lines and a strong jaw. He was always nice
to me, but I just felt like there was something missing in my life,
and I knew it wasn’t him.

“If you don’t
want to be a lawyer, don’t be. You shouldn’t let your father
dictate your life.”

He sighed,
leaning his elbows on the bench behind him. “Well, he says he won’t
pay for school if I don’t follow in the family business. But I
don’t know what else to take, so I’m okay with it.” He took a
frustrated drink from his beer, downed it, and then threw the empty
bottle on the grass. It rolled a few feet, stopping inches from
someone’s discarded backpack. Standing up, he turned to me. “You
sure you don’t want one?” When I only nodded he stepped down the
bleachers and pulled another beer from the cooler.

Mandy and Chris
headed towards us, hand in hand, giggling to one another.

“Hey, I’ll have
one,” Chris said to Brandon. Brandon took two more out and tossed
them one at a time to Chris. He caught one, handed it to Mandy, and
then caught the second one; the bottle clinked against his class
ring.

Salem, Massachusetts, 1692

Racing through the dense woodland, a heavy
cloud of smoke billowed upwards, cresting above the herbaceous
border and confirming his soundless fears. Still miles away, he
could already smell the pungent curdling of her blood as it began
to boil, and the vile stench of searing flesh. Undeniably, the
firestorm was spreading, and he struggled to drive out the image of
the flames reaching up her body.

He cursed his heightened senses, wishing he
could block out the ruthless chanting, “Burn the Witch!” The
unyielding voices only helped his psyche run wild, and the graphic
image of her tied to a post and set ablaze etched itself in his
vision.

Her fear consumed him, rupturing their
bond like a sudden cloudburst, and his body threatened to surrender
to the inevitable fate marked for his soul. Regardless, the chain
around his heart yanked him forwards.
You need to save her,
he told himself over and over,
battling his body’s attempts to give up and abandon the rescue. He
pushed on, raw adrenaline propelling him forward. But even with the
unparalleled velocity and power of a vampire, his limbs would not
move fast enough.

The smoke cloud rose mercilessly, thick and
black and punctuated by the sparks of glowing embers as he broke
into the clearing at Salem Commons. A mob of several hundred
onlookers cheered for her execution. He watched in horror as they
tossed books, chairs, and brush onto the fire that was licking up
her dress.

Their eyes met, and the look of pure hatred
that contorted her face was agonizing. His knees buckled, and he
plunged to the ground. He focused all of his energy on pulling her
spirit to him but it was futile: no matter what he tried, she would
not let him ease her pain.

The congregation’s savage chanting became
deafening. The flames licked at her cheeks, and her long, curly
locks were set ablaze, melting and sparking, but she did not howl
from the pain. Silently, her gray-blue eyes remained fixed on his,
and flared with accusation. At that moment, he knew without a doubt
that she blamed him, solely and entirely, for her cold-blooded
death sentence.

His tortured wails were scarcely heard over
the fevered roars of the mob. He watched, powerless, as one of the
very few things that could kill him—the blazing inferno—devoured
her body and his soul, turning her into nothing more than ash.

The Greyhound bus pulled into the Willowberg
station with a sucking pneumatic hiss. Amelia Caldwell shuddered as
the driver announced the arrival and wondered if she could just
stay on the bus. She hated moving. And she really hated change. It
seemed as if that was all she had ever done.

On the ten-hour ride, she had almost
convinced herself that this time would be different. This time she
would make friends. She would not be the sad girl who lost her
parents or the girl that no one wanted. No one would know her
story; she could just start over. A clean slate. But now that the
doors clicked open and she was actually here, her resolve was
fading fast.

Amelia wrapped her arms around herself and
looked down at her lap, hugging tightly and trying to stop the
trembles that vibrated through her. She could feel the other
passengers staring at her as they retrieved their belongings and
made their way off the bus. People always seemed to stare.

She never really understood why she couldn’t
just blend into the crowd. At five foot four, she wasn’t tall. With
a slim figure, curly brown hair and blue-gray eyes, she felt
average. Definitely not eye-catching. But there was just something
about her, something she did not understand that made people notice
her. It was like they just couldn’t help but stare.

Amelia kept her head down, waiting for the
other passengers to leave.
It’s not fair
, a voice in her head bellowed. It was supposed to be
different this time, better somehow. Her eyes burned, she was
shaking, and she knew she was going to cry.

Willowberg was supposed to be her new start
at life. Despite all her fears of moving, she had been so sure that
she was making the right decision. It had seemed like a dream come
true. A full scholarship, housing arranged and paid for, and the
University of Willowberg was even providing a basic living
allowance so that she wouldn’t have to work.

Amelia sighed, scrubbing furiously at her
puffy, pink eyes. Gulping down a few breaths, she wondered why she
had accepted the scholarship. Especially after she found out she
would be living off campus, in a house with roommates. If they
didn’t like her, just as she knew they wouldn’t, she would be
alone. Completely alone. There would not be dorm advisors that
would have to be nice to her or other nerdy girls to study with. It
would just be her and the roommates who thought she was a
freak.

You can do this,
Amelia told herself sternly,
swallowing the prickly lump in her throat and stretching her cheeks
into a forced—and she hoped—realistic smile. She picked up her
backpack and padded her way off the bus.

Amelia had just stepped onto the platform,
into the bright sun, when a clear, musical voice called her
name.

“Amelia? Amelia Caldwell?”

She looked up to see a stunningly beautiful
girl walking towards her. Nearly six feet tall, with silky auburn
hair and big brown eyes, highlighted with a touch of liner and
mascara. She looked a bit older, maybe twenty, Amelia guessed. And
she was all legs, eyes and pouty lips: the perfect supermodel
body.

Completely dumbfounded, Amelia just stood and
stared at this gorgeous girl, who was smiling at her, talking to
her. She looked friendly and, though Amelia could not be sure,
almost appeared as if she was genuinely happy to see her.

“I was getting worried you didn’t catch the
bus on time,” the girl said, her big childlike brown eyes wide with
concern. She rushed over, throwing her arms around Amelia, crushing
her in a big bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re finally here.”

Amelia dropped her bag, landing with a thud
on the ground and stood stiff and rigid, not returning the embrace.
Affection was foreign to her. People didn’t usually touch her, not
like this. It took her a moment, but once the initial shock passed,
she wiggled her way out of the girl’s arms and took a step
back.

“My, where are my manners. You must think I’m
crazy!” the musical voice sang out and the girl extended her hand
to Amelia. “I’m Angelle O’Connor, your new roommate.”

With a shaky, unsure hand, Amelia accepted
the shake, pumping it twice in a quick, fluid motion, cleared her
throat and said, “Um... Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh honey, you look as scared as a deer
caught in headlights. Are you okay?” Angelle asked, giving Amelia a
concerned look.

Amelia had not noticed how scared she truly
was until Angelle said it. She could feel her body shaking and the
all too familiar prickly feeling in her eyes warned her she was
about to cry again. She sucked in a deep breath, straightened her
shoulders and attempted to smile, trying to conceal how much she
wanted to run away and hide, and then she lied, “I’m okay. I’m just
tired. It was a really long trip.”

“Well then, let’s get you home,” Angelle
said. Her big brown eyes glanced around, settling on Amelia’s
backpack. Surprised, she asked, “Is this all you brought?”

Amelia bit her lip for a scared second and a
nervous knot emerged deep in her gut. She remembered the last time
she had moved and the reaction from the other kids. They had teased
her and called her names, treating her like a bum, an outcast. And
for some reason, which she just did not understand, Amelia knew she
would just die if Angelle treated her the same way. She dropped her
head, shuffling her feet, because she really could not stand it if
the girl looked at her the way others had. Kids could be just so…
mean. Hesitantly, she nodded.

Angelle let out a little squeal and Amelia
snapped her eyes up. “That’s wonderful,” she said, clapping her
hands and doing a little hop. “I need a shopping trip and I’ve
always wanted a little sister to dress up.” She scooped up Amelia’s
backpack, “Are you coming?”

Little sister?
Amelia wondered. She watched
Angelle for just a second before she returned the smile and nodded
shyly. Angelle seemed so excited. That was a good thing, right? But
even if it was good it seemed… odd… and it made her feel crazy with
a whole lot of uncertainty.

Angelle put a secure arm around Amelia’s
shoulders and steered her towards the parking lot.

Angelle had a black Hummer. In the car, all
Amelia could do was gawk at her new roommate. There was something
almost hypnotic about the girl. It was as if Amelia couldn’t help
but be drawn into her beauty. Her skin, pale and milky, seemed to
glow with perfection. Her shiny hair cascading down her shoulders
looked so soft, like silk.

Entranced, Amelia wanted to reach out and
touch it. She could see her hand reaching out but somehow, with
great restraint, she stopped herself. Instead, she forced her eyes
away, looking out the window and tried to listen to what Angelle
was saying.
She was saying something important, something about
books?

“You don’t mind, do you?” Angelle asked.

Amelia racked her brain, trying to piece
together the few words that popped out to her, but she was just
drawing a blank.
Something about books, that was it.
That was all she could figure
out.

She realized they were stopped at a red light
when Angelle snapped her fingers in front of Amelia’s eyes. “Earth
to Amelia! Gosh, have you been listening to anything I just
said?”

Amelia flushed, frustrated and embarrassed.
She really hoped that Angelle did not know she had missed the whole
conversation because she had been marveling at her hair. God, she
really hoped not. “Sorry.”

When the light turned green, Angelle made a
left onto a street filled with cute little cafes and overly
expensive looking boutiques. Everything looked clean, almost too
clean. There was no garbage floating around, the grassy areas
lining the sidewalk were manicured to perfection, even the small
trees were trimmed and pruned.

“No need to be sorry. How long were you on
that horrid bus anyways?”

“Ten hours,” Amelia groaned.

Angelle gave her a sideways look. “Wow,
that’s nuts. Anyways, I was saying that I picked up your textbooks
and computer so at least you won’t have to worry about that. It’s
all part of your scholarship. I know I should have waited for you
but I kinda have a teeny, tiny shopping problem.” She rambled on so
fast and with such a high, cheery energy, that Amelia struggled to
follow it all. “I just couldn’t resist the chance to spend some
money,” she giggled.

Angelle made a quick right, heading away from
the beautiful area. “Okay, I’m completely lost. Why did you buy my
books and computer? How do you even know what I need?”

“It’s my job to know,” Angelle replied,
waving a dismissive hand. “Didn’t the school tell you anything?
They should have mailed you all the information last month. Oh, and
speaking of the school, there it is.” She pointed off to the right,
but Amelia barely noticed the large buildings.

She was just so confused. “Um, I didn’t get
anything in the mail,” Amelia stammered. “Just a phone call telling
me that I’d won a scholarship. All they told me was that it
included tuition, housing and a basic living allowance. Then there
was an email a couple days ago with the bus details.”

Amelia felt a rush of pure adrenaline and
her heart rate picked up, pounding loudly in her ears.
Oh
God
, she
panicked.
Why am I telling her all this? And why does she already
know so much?
She had so
desperately wanted to keep everything quiet. No one needed to know
about her past or that she was poor. All she wanted was to just
move on, start a new life, be… happy.