KIngdom of Embers (Kingdom Journals Book 1) Page 5

  “Alena.” Sophie smiled at me as I approached. Feeling I’d spent a whole day among enemies, I fought the urge to hug her. I hoped Mother would let me sleep over at Sophie’s place after the game. I needed some good friend time. “How are you? How was your day?”

  “Not too bad, considering.”

  “I know. I can’t stop thinking about that girl.”

  “What are these?” She tapped her fingers on the stack of books I’d set on the bench.

  “Research for my history paper.”

  She picked up the top novel and the others in succession. “Macbeth, The Odyssey, The Crystal Cave.” She spun to face the other girls. “Hey, what about that bookstore we found a couple of blocks from here?”

  “What? The one we went into looking for costumes with the creepy guy who told us kids to take a hike?” Katie said.

  “He was a little creepy.” Sophie turned to face me. “But, they had all kinds of cool paranormal stuff. I bet you could find something interesting. I’ll text you the address, but I would take mace.”

  “And maybe a bodyguard,” Katie and Micaela said in unison as they passed us on their way outside.

  “It’s the perfect place,” Sophie insisted, picking up her phone and typing the address into a text screen.

  “Thanks. Maybe I can check it out tomorrow in my free period.”

  “It’s a couple of blocks. You totally could.”

  My concentration was split in practice, but it didn’t matter. I could do the routines in my sleep, almost literally. We went through our pep rally sequences and then all the game day cheers three times before Hannah decided we had it down. Running over our regular practice time put me behind, but I switched shoes and met my running trainer on the track. Not only did all the exercise help keep me in top physical condition, but it also dispelled the extra energy pent up under my calm facade.

  After the hour workout, I showered and found Elizabeth and Orm waiting in the car.

  “Long practice?” Elizabeth asked as I plopped onto the back bench.

  “Hannah wanted to make sure we were perfect for the first pep rally and game.”

  “I can’t wait to see you cheer. I’m glad you’ll be on the front row.”

  “So, you guys are coming?” I poked my head between Elizabeth and Orm.

  “Of course we are. We have to embarrass our granddaughter as much as possible her last year in high school.” Orm chuckled.

  “Wonderful.” I leaned back in my seat. “Any news on the killer?”

  “No. They lost his scent after a couple of blocks.” Elizabeth turned to face me. “What of Hannah and the boy who is your friend?”

  “Boy’s name is Nick, and things were fine today.” I blew out a breath and leaned back onto the seat.

  “Anyone you felt like killing?”

  “No. I went to the library on my open period.”

  “What do you mean?” Elizabeth spun to face me.

  “The library down the str—”

  “We told you not to stray from the campus!” Orm yelled at me.

  “It was in the opposite direction, and I was careful. And obviously, I’m alive.”

  “A rogue vampire is on the loose. That was not okay. Your mother—”

  “Please don’t tell her,” I pleaded with them.

  “I don’t think we’ll worry her with this piece of information seeing as you are fine.” Elizabeth folded her arms over her chest. “But dear, please stay where you are told.”

  “I will.” Closing my eyes as Orm weaved through traffic, I practiced deep breathing. As we stopped, I pulled out the vial of energizing oils from my bag and took a whiff.

  We were early for dinner in LA, and the wait was short. Reaching the table, I sat between Orm and Elizabeth. “Can we get the question out of the way?”

  “As you wish.” Elizabeth nodded.

  “Anyone interesting at school today?” I asked, copying Mother’s voice. I continued in my natural tone. “No, no one, and copy that three more times.” I rolled my eyes for effect.

  “Your mother is trying to keep you safe.” Elizabeth squeezed my hand.

  “By keeping me in the dark. Do you guys even know what we’re looking for?”

  “Not with the outings again.” Orm pleaded.

  “Well, don’t I have a right to know?” I looked between them.

  “Your mother has her reasons. Let’s focus on enjoying dinner,” Orm stated.

  “Are you going to make me?”

  “I could.”

  “Both of you, stop.” Elizabeth cut in. “This is supposed to be fun.”

  “You’re right.” I smiled at her. “So, I got invited to a sleepover and party tomorrow after the game. It sounds really fun.” I detailed my desire to hang out with Sophie the next afternoon and evening.

  The waitress came and took our order, and Elizabeth took my hand again. “I think you deserve a little fun after your week. I will try and persuade your mother.”

  “Yay.” I clapped.

  The rest of the dinner we spent discussing their day and my project on witches. We rode home in silence, me napping in the back seat. In our condo, I changed, stowed my backpack in my room, and met Orm in his study.

  “What are we learning tonight?”

  “I think you could use a night off.”

  My eyes grew huge. “Really? This is awesome because I have tons of homework. Thank you.” I hugged Orm.

  Zipping to Elizabeth’s room, I rapped on her door. “I’m retiring to my room for homework. Good night.”

  “Good night, dear. I hope you sleep well.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tight. “You will see, all will be well.”

  In my room, I flicked my finger to turn on my twinkle lights, changed to pajamas, and dove into my bed. Setting my alarm for twenty minutes, I napped and then started on my homework. Finishing history, calculus, physics, and my language assignments, I started reading The Crystal Cave.

  Halfway through the first chapter, I heard Mother enter the foyer. I threw a sweatshirt over my head and zipped to meet her before Elizabeth did. As it was, we nearly collided.

  “Greetings, family.” Mother set her keys on the table. “I’m assuming there is some news.”

  “Is there any news about the suspect?” I asked.

  “They found a bar that seems to be a hangout for drifters. I have some people going undercover tonight. It’s not far from your school either. I don’t want you going anywhere alone, do you understand?” She looked at me over her no-prescription, strictly-for-human-benefit, reading glasses.

  “Yes.” I cut my eyes to Elizabeth, hoping she’d keep her word about not telling Mother about the library.

  “Okay, well, I’m exhausted.” She shed her coat. “I’m turning in.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Good night.”

  When my alarm sounded the next morning, I jumped out of bed. Pushing energy at the blinds, I commanded them to rise. In the east, the horizon shone pink with the promise of sunrise. To the south, the city lights still sparkled from the buildings. In the west, the ominous ocean stretched out like a dark abyss. I didn’t care that my mind fought alertness. I had one goal: getting to the bookstore Sophie sent me the address for.

  I’d been told not to venture out alone. I would be in trouble if I got caught, but the itch in my brain wouldn’t leave. A vision of a coven initiation ceremony had co-mingled with Chase’s and Ivy’s images in my dreams. Sophie said they had many paranormal titles, maybe I’d find something about a summer solstice baby in addition to books for my paper. Thinking of my friend, I realized the more pressing challenge might be getting Mother to agree to let me go to the party and sleepover.

  I showered and dried my hair out straight with the blower. Finding my uniform, I put it on and fitted the bow on a high ponytail. There wasn’t any room for self-expression. The goal was to look like clones. Checking my look in the mirror, I saw Elizabeth approach.

  “I still don’t see why those skirts need to be
so short, or why the tops barely come to your waistband.”

  “We’ve been through this before. It makes it easier to do stunts. Is Mother up?”

  “No, she had a late night. Give her a half hour.”

  Elizabeth squeezed my cheeks. “Don’t pout. You’ll get wrinkles like me.”

  “You don’t look a day over forty.”

  “Wait till I’m nine hundred. I will then.”

  Pulling on my socks, I followed her to the kitchen. She had rosemary bread and quail eggs for me again.

  “I figured you needed to fuel up for your big day,” Elizabeth said as she laid a plate in front of me.

  “Thank you.” I dipped the bread in the eggs.

  As I finished, Mother entered, heels clicking across the marble floor.

  “Good morning.” She smiled and kissed my cheeks. “How are you? How was yesterday?”

  Glancing in Elizabeth’s direction, I guessed Mother hadn’t been briefed on my outing to the library. “School was weird. Everyone’s on edge. But I got invited to sleep over at Sophie’s and a party at Hannah’s house.”

  “The cheerleading captain Hannah?”

  “Yes, can I please? This is my senior year, and I’ll stand out more if I don’t go to things like this.”

  “Will the boy Nick be there?”

  “Yes, but Melody likes him. He and I are just friends.”

  “That should be fine.”

  “Really?” I jumped to my toes.

  “Yes.” She smiled at me over her coffee.

  “Thank you.” I kissed her cheek. “Can Sophie and I go shopping after school?”

  “If you come home and change first. And I need to approve the outfit.” She rose from her seat. “I’ll take breakfast in my study, Elizabeth.”

  “Hey, did they find the guy last night?”

  “No, no sign of him. He seems to have disappeared. But you be careful today, okay?”

  “I will.”

  “Good. I will see you after school then.” She lifted her coffee and marched to the door. “Oh.” She spun to face me. “But I need you here by noon tomorrow ready for some mother-daughter time.”

  “Got it.” I held a thumb up in the air. Mother-daughter time was code for one of our scouting trips. I hoped I could find more answers at the bookstore before she dragged me all over town hunting for some huge unknown. I liked the time with her, but my looming eighteenth birthday was starting to form a permanent pit in my stomach. Vampires shouldn’t stress as much as I did.

  Grabbing my bag, I met Orm in the foyer.

  “You seem chipper this morning.”

  “Big day.” I smiled at him as we exited to the hall.

  On the drive we discussed the afternoon schedule, and before I knew it, we were in front of the school.

  “See you here at three fifteen,” he said as I exited the vehicle.

  “And Sophie will be with me.”

  “Got it. No weird witchy anything in the car.”

  I laughed at him and closed the door. From the steps, I could feel the pulse of extra energy in the air. At my old school, Fridays and especially game days were always chaotic. What probably excited most teenagers put me on edge, and I pulled my calming oil from my pack and rubbed some on my inner wrists.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Sophie appeared, lifting my arm to her nose.

  I held the bottle up to her. “Calming oils. It’s aromatherapy. Here.” I produced the vial for the focus promoting oils from my bag. “Use this. It’ll help you concentrate.”

  She sniffed it. “It smells good. What is it?”

  “Ginger, mandarin, and peppermint.”

  “I can use all the concentrating power I can get.” She swabbed the mixture on her wrist. “I can’t believe we’re flyers today.” Her voice rose an octave.

  “Are you kidding? We worked dang hard. We deserve it.”

  “It helps to be little too.”

  “Definitely don’t want the little guy on the bottom.”

  “Hannah doesn’t care about that. If you crossed her, you’d be on the bottom all year, no matter how good you were at stunts.”

  The bell rang, cutting off our conversation. “I’ll see you in the gym.” I headed in the direction of my class.

  The cheerleaders and football players were excused from class after roll call, and I followed Nick out of the room.

  “So, are you going to the party tonight?” he asked in the hall.

  “Yeah, Sophie and I are going.”

  “Cool, hey, are we okay after yesterday? My brain was off.” He pointed to his head.

  “Course.” I smiled at him as we entered the gym. Seeing Hannah setting up, I joined her.

  Our squad warmed up as students started pouring into the bleachers. At Cal High our pep rallies had been outside, so the noise didn’t reach such a deafening level. With the concrete walls and hardwood floor, my head pounded from the echoes of multiple conversations.

  “You okay?” Sophie asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

  I slipped through the crowd to the locker room. Finding a set of ear plugs in my bag, I hurried back to the gym.

  “Where were you? We’re about to start,” Hannah said as I took my place beside her.

  “I forgot something.” I waved at Sophie across from me.

  “What are you wearing?” She grabbed my shoulders and looked in each ear.

  Heart rate rising, I forced cool breaths in and out of my lungs. “They’re ear plugs. They’re white. You can barely notice them.”

  “Can you get any weirder?” She released me.

  I put my wrist to my nose, sucking in the calming oil’s scent. A whistle blew, and the football players started running between our lines.

  “Ready?” Hannah called and laced her fingers together at about my knee level.

  “Ready,” I called and heard in unison from the flyers. Fitting a foot in Hannah’s and Melody’s cupped hands, I balanced my rigid body as they lifted me to their shoulders. The smell of fear reached my nose two seconds later, and I scanned the area, searching for the source. Seeing Sophie falling, I tugged my feet from Hannah’s and Melody’s fingers and flipped up over the incoming players. Squatting on the floor, I caught Sophie seconds before she hit.

  I lifted Sophie to her feet, praying a video camera hadn’t been recording us.

  “Are you okay?” I asked as she steadied herself.

  “Yeah. How did you get here?” Her eyes darted to me, then to Katie and Micaela, and finally across to Hannah and Melody. The football player who bumped into them stood wide-eyed, staring at me.

  “I don’t know. I saw you going down, and I reacted.”

  Hannah and Melody surrounded me. “What the heck was that?” Hannah demanded.

  “Sophie was going to get really hurt if she fell on this floor.”

  “But you flipped up over those guys.” Melody’s eyes traced up and back to me.

  “Yeah, I guess. You guys had a rigid stance, so I was able to get a good jump.”

  One of the coaches approached us. “Everything okay, girls?”

  “Sure, it was a close one. But you’re good, right Sophie?” I pulled her to her feet.

  “Yeah.” Blinking, she focused on me.

  I spun to Hannah and Melody. “Come on guys. We’ve got a show.” I retrieved my pom poms and jogged after the players, jumping and performing an aerial. Having been frozen in their spots for a second, the squad followed me to the center of the gym.

  Sophie’s face had taken on an ashen hue, and I squeezed her hand. “You’re okay, right? Here, take a whiff of the oils on your wrist.”

  She nodded and took a few deep breaths. I rubbed my palms up and down her arms, and her color returned.

  “I still don’t—”

  I whispered in her ear. “We’ve got to nail this cheer.”

  She faced the crowd and raised her chin. After the opening cheer, the squad huddled beside the wall, listening to the coach introduce the
football players.

  “Hey, we’re doing the dance instead of the stunt,” Hannah whispered in my ear. “Pass it down.”

  I gave Sophie the instructions and we ran to the middle of the gym. With a clear space for our routines, the rest of our performance proceeded without any more glitches. When the students were excused to return to class, I walked as fast as I could to retrieve my bag before the others caught up with me. I couldn’t be sure how high I’d jumped to get to Sophie, or how the others perceived it, but the longer amount of time that passed, the hazier their memory would be. By lunch I might be able to use my vampire suggestion powers to re-create what they recalled. Perhaps I could make them think I’d jumped from my position and run to catch Sophie.

  Mother wouldn’t have wanted me to catch Sophie if it meant risking being exposed as super human. I thought this as I jumped. But the smell of Sophie’s fear overpowered me, and I couldn’t stand by and watch her hit the floor.

  “Oh my goodness, Alena.” Sophie jogged up to me as I approached the exit. “You saved me from hitting the floor.”

  “You’re okay, right? I saw that guy stumble into Katie and knew you were going down.” At least Sophie hadn’t seen me scramble to catch her.

  “Yeah, I’m totally fine. I have no clue how you caught me so fast.”

  Hannah, Melody, Katie, and Micaela came through the door and stopped behind Sophie.

  “What did you do out there?” Hannah insisted.

  “I don’t know. It happened so fast. I didn’t think. You guys are okay, right? I didn’t hurt you, did I?

  “No, it was like one second you were there, and the next you were in the air.”

  “You were like a super acrobat,” Melody said.

  I tugged my ponytail tight. “I’ve taken gymnastics since I was three. It was instinct.”

  “No, you were so fast. One second I saw you above the guys, and then you were under Sophie.”