The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows) (37 page)

BOOK: The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows)
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

Ellie’s head was throbbing. Somewhere between watching Lucy and crew take the fifth and tenth shot, Ellie couldn’t remember which, she let Lucy talk her into taking a shot herself. Some jab about being a “goody two-shoes” got under her skin. As the liquid swirled down her throat, Ellie finally felt...normal. The alcohol gave her a bit of a warm feeling that settled her nerves and made her toes curl in delight. It didn’t require any arm twisting for her to have another. And another.

Ellie was a lightweight on the best of days, but for the first time in recent memory, she totally gave over to a reckless abandon. For all she knew, she was on a path to certain death at any point, as were the people around her. Who cared if for just one night, she wasn’t completely stodgy and proper? Ellie thought it might even be good for her.

The group soon found itself sitting in front of the fire with several half-empty bottles of liquor around them. Ellie and Lucy had pulled pillows off the couch and were lying sprawled with their heads sitting on their hands as they were perched over the pillows. Katie sat between Martin and Will, and Ellie almost felt bad for the blonde who didn’t seem to know what to do since both boys were clearly vying for her attention.

At some point along the way—Ellie thought after the seventh shot—Jeffrey left the room, saying he was too old for such hijinks and that he would see them off in the morning. It was obvious to Ellie that no one really missed him.

“Let’s play truth or dare!” Lucy said. She laughed and rolled on her side, clapping her hands into the air above her.

It was finally Ellie’s turn to roll her eyes. “What are we, twelve? Geez, Lucy.”

“Spoken by someone who has never played it,” Lucy countered.

It annoyed Ellie how much Lucy seemed to know about her and her past. She didn’t know if it was just that way in the Afterlife or if Mikel had told her. Lucy glanced at Katie. “What about you?”

Katie snorted. “On possibly the last night of my life, I’m getting wasted and playing truth or dare. Sure, why not?”

“Excellent,” Lucy said smugly.

Ellie noticed that Lucy didn’t ask either one of the boys’ opinions, but guessed correctly, as neither boy protested, that they would do whatever Katie wanted them to do. She watched closely as Will whispered something in Katie’s ear and the blonde smiled shyly. Martin also watched through narrowed eyes.

“Ellie,” Lucy said, twirling one of her short curls around her finger. “You’re first. Truth or dare.”

“Why me?” Ellie said.

“Because you are the Guardian,” Lucy said, mimicking Jeffrey’s serious tone. “Everyone round here is supposed to bow down and worship you or something. So you’re first.”

“Fine,” Ellie said, annoyed. She felt like Lucy was throwing something in her face, but the alcohol was causing all her memories of the last hour to blur together. “Truth.”

“Booooring.” Katie sighed.

Ellie felt the heat rise up in her cheeks, but she didn’t change her answer. She was too old for that. She looked over at Lucy. “Truth,” she said again firmly.

“How old were you when you had your first kiss?” Lucy said.

Now Ellie started to squirm. Somehow she knew that Lucy would know if she was lying. The other three looked at her expectantly. Such a simple answer, and yet one that was loaded. There were so many logical and valid reasons why it had taken her so long to let a man get close to her, but they all felt stupid now. She felt like a complete lug head.

“I was nineteen,” she finally said.

“Whoa,” Will said, pulling a face. “Lucy said you’ve been here a long time. Were you born in like the 1800s?”

“No!” Ellie said. “I was just waiting for the right guy.”

“No such thing,” Lucy said with a grin and a wink. “Anyway, seems like things worked out all right in that department. Must be nice to have a handsome doctor on your arm these days.”

For the first time since before dinner, Ellie realized that she hadn’t checked on David. It felt like it had been hours since she had last seen him, and since he hadn’t come downstairs yet she thought he must be exhausted. She was glad then that she hadn’t disturbed him. Thinking about David made her simultaneously happy and anxious. His strange behavior earlier was completely unlike him. She hoped with some rest that he would come to his senses and that the next time she saw him he would be his old self.

Then Ellie felt the presence of someone else, although she couldn’t see him. She couldn’t describe the sensation, other than feeling a flash of heat waft across her skin. Mikel was nearby. She looked at Lucy and saw a similar recognition in the woman’s eyes. Lucy nodded toward the kitchen. “Hey, Ellie. Maybe that coffee would be good for the rest of us. Sober us up a bit. Do you want to see if you can scare up a few more coffee cups?”

Ellie reluctantly took the hint; Mikel wanted to see her. Murmuring a quick “I’ll be right back,” she got up and made her way to the door at the back of the library that exited right outside the kitchen. Her steps were a little bit awkward; the alcohol was taking full effect.

As soon as she stepped outside the door into the hallway, he was there beside her. Ellie took a step back and then his arm closed around her waist and his hand was on top of her mouth as he pressed her back against the wall.

“Shhh, dear. You don’t want to scare your guests now, do you?” Mikel whispered in her ear. His body was warm and too close and she struggled against him but he held her fast. She felt instantly sober. His green eyes bored into hers as he looked down at her. “I am going to take my hand away from your mouth now. But you will behave, right?”

Ellie nodded slowly. Mikel kept his word and dropped his hand, but he still held on to her.

“Let me go,” Ellie said softly. The proximity to Mikel was overwhelming her senses and it scared her. She needed to keep him at arm’s length.

“I don’t know why you are fighting me, Ellie. I have done nothing but be kind to you. Taken care of you.” Mikel tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

The brush of his fingertips against the sensitive skin on her neck sent an electric bolt down her body. “Mikel, let me go,” she said more firmly. “If you want to talk, we can talk. But not like this.”

She saw a cloud cross his eyes and wondered if her unwillingness to bend to him had gone too far. He slowly unwound his arm from her waist and took a small step back. He was still in her space, but even the few inches of separation made Ellie feel better.

“It’s time,” he said.

“Time for what?”

“It’s time for you to fulfill your destiny, Ellie,” he said. “It’s time to become a Ripher.”

They were the same words that the Voice had said right before she was pitched into the waypoint. Ellie’s breath stopped. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Tsk, tsk, Ellie. Perhaps I have been too indulgent with you. I’ve given you a beautiful home, a wise teacher, and even a witch to do your dirty work. All’s you have to do is do what you were born to do. And you will.”

“I don’t even know how to do what you are asking me to do,” Ellie said. She found herself wishing for the mind-numbing effect of the alcohol again. She had no desire to explore this darker side of her gift any further, but she was certain that Mikel wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I haven’t had enough time. You have to give me more time,” she pleaded.

“I gave you a witch,” Mikel said. His gaze held hers. “Besides, you’ve done it before. It’s just like riding a bicycle. You’ll remember quickly enough. Lucy will help you. In fact, she’s already set this evening up for you beautifully. You can just swoop in and take it.”

“How can I tell what I’m supposed to be looking for? Do they all have it?” Ellie was desperately trying to make it obvious that she needed more time. She needed time for her head to clear so that she could think. It was all happening too fast. And there was something more that she knew that she was missing, but it wouldn’t come to her.

“You’re the Ripher. You figure it out,” he smirked.

In that moment, Ellie hated him. “What if I don’t?”

Mikel leaned closer and Ellie didn’t have anywhere to go since her back was still against the wall. His face was inches away from hers. “Then you will never see David ever again.”

The glee in his voice was obvious. He wasn’t bluffing. She knew that she was left with really no choice at all. Mikel knew it. At that moment, Jeffrey stepped out of the kitchen holding a tray with four cups on it. Ellie thought he looked like he felt sorry for her.

“I believe you were looking for these, Ellie?”

Mikel stepped away from her and Ellie looked down at the floor. Then she took the tray from Jeffrey and turned back to the library. She wanted nothing more to do with either one of them. Once back inside the room, she watched the group in front of the fire as she poured the coffee into the cups. They were talking in low voices so she couldn’t hear the thread of the conversation. She brought the tray over to them and set it inside their small circle.

“What’s up, Ellie? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Will said. The group cracked up at his joke. Ellie didn’t join in.

“Nothing, I’m just starting to feel a bit tired.”

A hand touched her arm. “Everything go okay?” Lucy asked. She was looking over Ellie’s shoulder.

“I forgot where the cups were in the cupboard,” Ellie said. Mikel said that Lucy would help her, but how could she ask without making it obvious? “I swear Jeffrey said that we should only use one kind of cup for everyday use, but there were three different kinds in the cupboard so it took me awhile to figure out which one to take.” Ellie knew she was babbling something stupid and inane but it was like her mouth needed to talk so her brain couldn’t think about what she was about to do.

Lucy’s eyebrows were raised but she simply nodded. Then she looked down at her watch. “Yeah, you don’t want to tick anybody off by taking the wrong cups. Well, kids, I guess there’s no sense in waiting any longer. It’s midnight.”

Immediately the other three quieted down.

“So, Ellie. Are you going to push us back or what? I don’t want to die. I know I have a lot of unresolved business that I need to take care of,” Will said.

“I’ll give you whatever you want,” Katie said. Incredibly, the girl had tears in her eyes. “My parents are rich, but I guess that doesn’t mean much here.”

Ellie wasn’t sure what was more amusing in that moment, that Katie could become her next victim, or that the poor little rich girl had finally run into a situation that she couldn’t buy her way out of.

“I don’t know,” Ellie said slowly, sitting down with the group. She was grasping for straws, wondering what to do next. She glanced sideways at Lucy, who was cocking her head toward Martin. “When I was on the Other Side, I had a special talent where I could read auras. That usually told me what I need to know. But here, I need to get a bit more tangible.” Ellie’s mind raced as she tried to think what she had done with Jake. One thing was certain, touch was involved.

An idea was forming in her mind. “I’m going to ask each of you to take my hands and then I need a few minutes to concentrate. In your mind, I want you to picture what you have to go back to if I can send you back. Then, if I can help you, I will.” The lie came out almost too easily. Ellie saw hope in their faces and it made her heart ache. For one or all of them, she was about to become their executioner even if she wasn’t the one doing it herself.

She turned to Martin. Poor sweet silent Martin. “You go first, Martin.” She pushed herself up onto her knees and held out her hands. He watched her for a moment and didn’t say anything.

“Go on, Martin!” Katie pushed. “If this is how we get out of here, we gotta do it. Ellie’s not going to do anything to hurt us. She’s our Guardian, remember?”

Jeffrey’s story along with Lucy’s lies and intrigue had tied everything up into a neat little package. Ellie wondered if it was going to be like this with every person who came into the waypoint. She suspected that it would be, and the idea that this was her life now revolted her. As Martin set his hands into hers it pulled her back to the present.

“Truth or dare, huh?” Martin said. “I guess I’ll go with dare.”

She tried to smile to reassure Martin, but she was afraid that it came off as nothing but a sickly grin. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Ellie wrapped her fingers around Martin’s hands and took a deep breath. At first she felt nothing, but then suddenly, it was like she was seeing an X-ray of Martin’s body in her head. And there, deep within the layers of his brain, she saw something glow.

Sucking in a low gasp, she tightened her grip on his hands. Something inside of her took over, and she knew that Mikel and Lucy were right: a Ripher knew what to do. It was like a sliver of her energy slithered from her body into Martin’s through the shared connection of their hands and then it shot into Martin’s mind and
pulled
. She felt his resistance, but she wasn’t going to let go now. She didn’t think she could even if she wanted too. It was like her energy wrapped itself entirely around that little bit of pulsating energy and gave it a yank, and then suddenly it was free. It was back inside of her before she knew it, and deep within her body she felt that little piece of Martin now existed.

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