The Broken Destiny (19 page)

“What do you think you’re doing here…” Troy said. There was a glimpse of challenge in his eyes. “…with him?” He gestured to Enoch with a slight movement of his head. His eyes fell on Enoch, sending fierce daggers of poison his way. He seemed furious.

When I just stared at him, he seemed a little hurt. I stepped back and he stepped forward. It took all I had to steady the quiver rippling though my core. Loud footsteps closed in on us. I hadn’t even heard them approach and turned to see Enoch stalking toward us.

“It’s none of your business,” he shouted. “Now push off, before I pound you into the ground.”

With one sweep of his hand, Troy managed to pull me in behind him. I didn’t resist. I was unsure of myself.

Troy sniffed. “I smell a rat,” he snarled.

Laughter erupted throughout the gang. With one hand resting on my hip, Troy squared his shoulders. I was now totally hidden behind them. Troy prepared himself for Enoch’s approach. Refusing to let me go, his hand lingered a while longer. I couldn’t bear the intensity for one more second. I kept my gaze on the sexy curve of his back.

He tugged softly at my jeans, pulling me out of my reverie.

“It has everything to do with me,” he said. I could hear the smug smile on his face as I stayed put behind him. “And…” he added, “I’d like to see you try.” He shrugged. “Even if you weren’t outnumbered, you know as well as I do that I was always the better fighter.”

“Maybe at one time you were, but it’s been a while since…” Enoch began.

Troy turned and gently pushed me toward Dave and Robert. Once I was safely between them, Troy openly mocked Enoch.

“Come on then, Enoch. Let’s see what you’ve got.” His voice matched the challenge in his glare.

“Let go of the girl, and I will forget this ever happened,” Enoch replied.

He tried to collect himself, gripping harder on to his bow. The gang closed in around them. Nervously, I watched the members of Troy’s gang place bets on the fight that was about to take place – a fight I started. They were all in favor of Troy, of course. Troy turned to face me. I felt apprehensive as the anger flared up the green specks in his eyes as he stared into mine – into my soul.

Placing his hands firmly on my shoulders and grasping them, he searched my face. “Did you not, for one second, stop to think that this might be a trap?” He kept his tone cool.

And, as if those words sobered my insanity, I realized he might have been right.

“She’s not yours for the taking,” Troy said with his back still turned to Enoch. He gave me one last soul staring glare. I was sure I was going to hurl. I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was too intense for me to handle. Two guys were fighting over me and I couldn’t figure out why; I hardly knew either of them. In fact, technically, I had just met them.

“She’s not yours either,” Enoch snarled.

I have to admit that it flared up my already boosted ego.

“We’ll see about that,” Troy said and turned swiftly.

He moved like a cat, precise and graceful – just as silent and just as deadly. Enoch crouched, pulling his bow to his chest.

“Get her out of here!” Troy shouted to Dave, but Dave had anticipated his order and was already pulling me away from the two boys who had begun circling each other.

Relief washed over me. I hadn’t wanted to see them fight. I hadn’t wanted to see blood, to see someone getting struck in the face. Sure, I thought it was fun in a movie, but not in real life. I didn’t like violence one bit. I hated it. I heard Troy laughing in the distance.
Well, at least I know what the outcome would be
, I thought. I turned to have a look, but a tall, lean and broad-shouldered boy with the lightest blue eyes moved to block my view.

“Shane,” he said, extending his hand to greet me.

I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said.

He bowed slightly before returning his gaze to the road ahead.

“Kill him!” Robert howled at Troy as the group retreated.

My eye caught a dark-haired boy staring at me, a glimmer of satisfaction in his glare. I looked away right after a smirk appeared on his face. When I looked back, he turned to me and winked. I quickly looked forward again, my eyes meeting Dave’s.

“Come here,” Dave said, pulling me toward him.

He placed an arm around my shoulders as he stuck his dagger back into his pocket.

“As long as we are around, everything will be just fine.” He smiled.

I kept my gaze on the shape of the dagger glinting in the dull light.

“He likes you,” he said softly, tucking me in under his arm. Heat rushed to every part of my body. I looked back at Dave, shocked. He nodded his head before returning his gaze back to the crooked path ahead. Around us, a soft murmur broke out.

“Oh, boy,” Robert said from somewhere behind me. “Now you have gone and done it, Ava,” he said loudly. “Now you’re in trouble and we’ll have no choice but to kill you. You know way too much,” he chuckled. The group of boys chuckled with him.

I laughed quietly to myself as Dave turned and playfully threw his dagger at Robert. His hand so fast, I hadn’t seen him draw it. I laughed out loud. I actually laughed. It had been a while since I had laughed. Perhaps it was a sign that I was breaking out from the invisible restraints that had been holding me back my entire life.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Wanting

Think of me when you’re out there.

S
taring into the distance through my bedroom window as morning broke, a warm cup of red bush tea in my hands, my longing slowly began to subside. I ached for Troy, even though I hadn’t known him for any amount of time that would justify the feeling gutting me inside; the feeling was real. I really wanted to know everything there was to know about him. I wanted him to want me back more than anything. I wondered what he was doing at that exact moment as I smiled into my cup and reflected on the previous night’s events. A ripple of excitement moved through me. Everything about him had been so devastatingly sexy. With a pleased sigh, I rested my head against the window. I gazed into the gray blanket of clouds. Fog was climbing the rolling hills and blending into the purple haze of the early morning sky, the sun barely peaking over the horizon.
Today was going to be a good day
. I drew in a deep breath to soothe the ache in my chest. Having to leave Troy behind the previous night knowing that there was a slight possibility that he was into me, left me hopeful and aching to see him again. Why would David lie about it – he wouldn’t. My gray eyes flashed on the reflection of the window before me, a smile appeared and my view from the window grew even more mystic with each passing moment. I had to see him! He had to explain to me why he had been following me, and why he had that pulling effect on me. There was so much mystery surrounding Troy.

Semi-rushing down the stairs, I made my way toward the front door. As it slid open, the dregs of my tea spilled over onto the sleeves of my thick gray sweater. A slap of cold air hit me as I stood in the doorway, shocking me, just like the absence of a guard outside the front door did. My teeth chattered. Hugging myself, I retreated back into the warmth of the apartment. The door slid closed slowly but loudly. Leaning back against the cold hard surface, I sighed in disappointment and sank to the floor.
I couldn’t have expected them to have stayed out there the entire night,
I supposed. I shut my eyes tight; an image of Troy’s full lips flickered and teased behind my eyelids.

“Oh, hi,” Sam casually said through a loud yawn.

Startled, I snapped from my trance with a gasp. Sam frowned. Hair a fiery mess, she stared at me. I stared at the dark stripes on her pants; even in those awful pants she still looked beautiful.

“What’s going on?” she asked, as she stretched her arms over her head.

I looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back at me, but then her face suddenly went blank.

“Spit it out! What’s going on?” she repeated, her hands waving at her sides.

“I’m in love,” I said.

Sam’s face dropped into a hard scowl. “After everything I said to you, you still went?”

I didn’t know if I should say anything further, so I bit down on my lower lip. She turned her back on me. I wanted to keep the secret of Troy in my heart so it could linger just a moment longer.

“What did I expect? You always do exactly what you want to do.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But, that’s why I love you,” she said through another big yawn.

I jumped up, sending what was left of my tea flying all over the floor and down the front of my sweater. “Crap!” I shouted, the pressure of wanting everything to be perfect crashing down on me. “I just washed this!” I grunted in disappointment.

As I placed the cup down on the warm wooden floor, I spilled some more tea. Sam went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, its white glow casting her tall shadow on the wall behind her.

“I need something to wear,” I shouted at her as I tore off my sweater.

She stood frozen behind the refrigerator door, her body visible through the frosted glass. She peeked around the door, glaring at me quizzically.

“For tonight, I mean.”

“Tonight?” She pretended to be ignorant about the situation.

I stared back. “The bonfire.” I all but growled.

“Oh, you’re serious?” she mocked, smiling knowingly.

Usually, I was hesitant to go; never being a social butterfly.

“Of course I’m serious,” I said.

“You said we weren’t going.” She grinned.

“That was then and this is now,” I said, grabbing her hand and dragging her up the stairs. “I need something to wear.” I repeated.

“For goodness sakes, Ava, it’s like six-thirty in the morning!” Sam whined.

When we hit the top landing, we heard a noise coming from behind the other dormitory door. We both stopped and exchanged a look of horror. I pushed her in front of me and as quietly as we could, we opened the door and peeked inside. A grim light slunk through the window. Sam pulled me across the room with her. It was deadly quiet; clearly no one was there, just three empty beds and a whole lot of laundry, and all that was doing was stinking up the place. The room seemed deserted and void of any life.
They must have taken off in quite a rush then,
I contemplated. The smell of damp and stale air hit my stomach with a wave of nausea. I should have realized then what the smell was. But it was the unnerving energy in the room that kept us trembling – so dense you could have almost smashed into it. We had passed the second bed when we heard an object smash to the floor in the bathroom. Screaming, we ran for the door, slamming it behind us and sprinted for my device. As we both grabbed the circular earpiece, we started to laugh hysterically.

“Like, who were we calling?” I asked, falling back on the bed and holding my stomach as it began to cramp from laughter.

Sam belted out loudly, “Ghostbusters!” Referring to one of our favorite Earth movies we’d watched as kids. Another round of laughter left us weak and out of breath. Sam sat up.

“I miss you.” She shook her head. “I miss those dimples smiling at me.”

I held a pillow over my face, covering it shyly. A second pillow hit me on my leg. I lunged at Sam, throwing my pillow at her face. She fell back onto her bed, yelling out in surprise.

“Oh, she has moves, does she?” Sam teased as she clasped two pillows at her sides.

I looked around quickly, searching for another one. There weren’t any. The two pillows hit me at once. I swayed a bit and dropped down onto my mattress.

Intoxicated and delirious from the possibility of Troy being
my
guy, I ran with my feet in the air and yelled, “He’s so gorgeous!”

Then noticing something odd, I turned my gaze to Sam.

“My pillow,” I said soberly.

I looked around again, lifted the blankets and franticly peered under the bed. I was looking for a specific pillow. Sam had given it to me when we were nine. Abruptly, my device rang, making us jump, vibrating against the hard surface of the windowsill where we must have dropped it earlier. I felt my heart skip a beat. I leaped forward, but Sam was there before me.

“Ava’s phone. Is this the Ghostbusters?” She teased. We both giggled. “Hello, Maya.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, she is. One moment, please.” She chuckled as she handed the device to me.

After attaching the earpiece, I chatted with Maya.

“Hey. It’s about time you called,” I said softly. “I have nothing to wear; can I come over to your place? I’m pretty sure you have something I could use for tonight’s bonfire.” I said in short breaths, already in panic mode.

“You’re coming!” I shouted excitedly.

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be going?” She paused. “Oh, wait. It’s the whole ‘I’m Minoan’ thing, isn’t it? It’s because I’m Minoan that I can’t just come on over,” she bantered dryly.

Professor Greenling was staring angrily at us from across the courtyard for being late to assembly once again.
Whatever, it’s the last day of the school cycle,
I thought to myself. Sam and I hurried to join our classmates. Dean Anderson came into view. Her broad shoulders were firmly set in a tight, padded, navy jacket from behind the shiny and silver, metal pew. Mechanical wings stretched from the neck of the podium, representing our military dominance. Her badges flapped in the wind. She patted them into place with her right hand, while her left hand rested on its metal frame.

“Children,” she said sternly, nervously fumbling with the microphone on her shirt.

The microphone screeched as she slapped it into place. She had always had a bit of stage fright, but no one dared to assist or correct her. She probably would have snapped their heads right off if they did.

“Congratulations on another successful cycle on Poseidon.” Her voice boomed over the assembly square.

Absently, I stared at the reflection on the glass tower behind her as dark clouds stained the early morning lilac sky. I imagined what it would have been like, had the Military not been our dominating division. The clouds pulled closer together.
The rains are coming soon
, I thought and felt the ripple of excitement course through me. It had been too long since this planet had signs of changing seasons – of life.

“As you all know…” Dean Anderson’s voice came crashing through my thoughts. “…every end of cycle we have a bonfire on Pearl Beach. Recent events however…”

Every single gaze seemed to land on me and my peers booed loudly. Dean Anderson stepped aside for Anaya, her chocolate brown hair blowing in the breeze as she lifted her hands for the crowd of restless students to quieten down. Her hair hung loose, contrary to most Minoan woman her age, a sign that she was unmarried. It was strange for a Minoan her age not to be married, but Anaya and her sister Arriana weren’t typical Minoan women. Anaya’s warm smile warmed my mood and the twinkle in her eye steadied the nervous beat of my heart.

She said something about having the bonfire at Silver Cove instead. Soft whispers made their way through the group.

“Children!” Anderson’s voice silenced the crowd. “Thank you, Anaya,” she said and bowed. “We thank the Minoans for their kind gesture and accept their offer with dignity. Let tonight be a symbol of new beginnings.” She looked up at the darkening sky before continuing. “With the return of the new cycle, we will open our school to the first Minoan students. I am confident…” She nodded affirmatively before continuing. “…every one of you will make sure that they are accepted and received with big smiles and warm hearts.”

Warm hearts, warm hearts? She is kidding right? The Council knows not what a heart is, even if it laid beating right before them
, I thought to myself. My mind whirled to the statements in my mother’s journals; experiments… blood… surgeries… dead babies… dead mothers… deformities… death! Our kind might have been created to survive the harshest of conditions, but it almost always lead to an early death. Talk about failure.

Somewhere behind me, a boy’s voice protested and I jerked as he spat on the floor. I shook my head in disgust. If anything, the Council only bred racist pigs. My shoulders tensed. I was about to turn around to see who the perpetrator was when Sam squeezed my hand as she waved at François, who eagerly and shyly waved back at her. He seemed almost smitten, but knowing Sam, it was part of her entrapment game, and once she had her way with him… But, there was something about his shyness that didn’t add up.
Is it all an act?

“I leave you with one more piece of advice…”

“Rock on!” Robert’s voice came crashing through from the other side of the courtyard, making my heart jump to life with excitement. I was now suddenly more aware of the military student’s presence than I had ever been before. This pleased me, as Troy was part of them; soon I would be too.

“Yeah!” Chris shouted from behind me.

Dean Anderson smiled. “Very well…” Her thin, wrinkled lips pulled together. “…rock on!” she yelled, and for the first time I noticed a playful side to her. This too, was an act.

“You are dismissed” Vice President Vermaak announced. I turned to find my new friends. The military students all saluted in unison. I smiled. Chaos erupted around me. I stumbled numbly past everyone, pushing people off me as they bumped and pushed back, some even glowered as I passed, and others just kept staring. I didn’t care anymore. I was looking for Robert. I knew Troy would be with him and my heart raced at the thought of seeing him again. What would I say to him once I saw him? The crowd dispersed into scattered groups ahead of me, and through a gap in the crowd, I saw Troy getting onto his bike – his dark, golden hair fluttering on the breeze as he pulled off. My heart threatened to drop with disappointment. He hadn’t even seen me! I so dearly hoped that he hadn’t ignored me. I hoped that he just hadn’t noticed me. The wheels of the bike screeched as he sped away. I stood there with a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.