Vala Heritage Page 9

  Jewl let out a deep sigh and stirred her lukewarm hot chocolate. “The end of the story is I sold my family out to save whomever I could. In the end, it didn’t matter a whole lot. Sonnet was the only one spared execution. All of the guards, Zach, who I should add was a close friend of mine, were all hanged in the courtyard. Yes, I did have to watch because she constantly told me over and over again if I ever saw my father again, she was going to do the same to my sister.”

  “Do you regret that decision?”

  “No,” she said quietly. “Because even though I had to declare on paper I was no longer my father’s daughter, I never did it in my heart. He knows. I’m pretty sure they both do. What I regret is Sonnet has been warped into believing he is the bad guy. My Aunt sent me here because she didn’t like how I kept trying to teach her otherwise. Being gone for so long, I’m pretty sure it’s finally taken its full effects.”

  “I see. So I suppose now it would make little difference if she knew you were still in contact with him because she has already brainwashed the one who would have been hurt most over the meeting.”

  “Something like that. But if she knows we met, then she knows where he is, and he’s not safe.”

  “Why doesn’t he go to be with your mother then? Couldn’t she protect him?”

  Jewl swallowed hard, staring down at her cup. Would this be the night she told him she was Divine? It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if Anj didn’t despise them so much. That kind of hatred being directed toward her would completely break her heart.

  “In theory she could, but I don’t think she wants to. He left her because he’s madly in love with my step-mother. Their whole triangle is complicated.” She waved a hand in an effort to dismiss the conversation. “Even if she wanted to protect him and could, he wouldn’t take her up on it because of his love for my step-mother. It would upset her too much. My step-mother knows nothing would ever happen between the two of them again, but still…”

  “Some day, I would like to understand this part more. But I think tonight is not a good night because it’s late and I’m pretty sure it would take you over an hour to tell also,” he said with a small smile. She had forgotten how much Anj liked stories, both telling and hearing. It was going to come back and bite her.

  “An hour?” she asked, glancing at the clock. “Probably a good idea.” She’d have some more time to think about what to say.

  “And if you want to share more of those details, I will hear them, too.”

  “They’re not important, Anj. I know you're into epic adventures, but my telling you all about those fights wouldn’t give you much of an experience of being there. It would only be disappointing.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of you telling them for my entertainment. I was thinking it must have been scary. I’m sure you haven’t spoken about it with anyone. I wanted to hear them for your sake.” He leaned in toward her and carefully ran his hand over her hair. He didn’t touch her. She wanted him to, but he kept his distance.

  “I told you before, I’m—”

  “Fine, and over it. I know. But I also know through experience that sometimes it’s nice to have someone to talk to.” Anj laughed, then leaned back in his seat. “It’s late and I’m tired. It’s been a long day. I did my hour of detention during my break time where I usually get a nap in and I hadn’t slept the night before. It’s just been a crazy day.”

  “Have a good night's sleep then.”

  “Yes,” he mumbled. Instead of getting up to leave, he stayed in his seat, staring blankly in her direction as if he were expecting something.

  “What?”

  “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “So you have nothing to say to me about any of that? No thoughts?”

  “It’s some ungodly hour of the morning and you want me to tell you my thoughts on what exactly? Your crazy day? The fact that you had to serve detention? I’m not understanding you at all.” She stood up, stretched, and stared down at him. “Are you looking for an apology? I’m not thrilled you got detention anymore than you are, but I’m not apologizing for anything I did or said. You needed it beaten into your thick skull.”

  Anj sighed, standing up. “Good enough for me.”

  “Good, because it’s going to have to be.”

  “Don’t think this is going to get you off the hook. I’ll remember to get the rest of this later. I still have questions. Good night.”

  “I’m sure you do,” she muttered under her breath, and then louder, “Good night, Anj.” She made her way back to her room where she would once more be alone. Aunt Eyde knew little about her relationship with the twins, and she intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

  Chapter Ten

  Homework became Jewl’s life over the next few days. She used it as an excuse to hole herself up away from everyone and everything. The best part was it worked. Hardly a soul bothered her all weekend and well into the following week. By the time Wednesday rolled around, she was actually missing the company of others. She did, however, have a lot of homework. She was almost done catching up from all the days off while the twins were in the hospital.

  Wednesday tended to be a lighter day for everyone. If there was ever a time to treat herself in the middle of the week for a job well done, that was it. Maybe there’d be the possibility to talk everyone into going out. The group hadn’t been to the Old Union, the local dance club, in quite some time. This was the perfect time to go. Hardly anyone was there. The floors would be quiet and easy to move on without anyone getting in their way. She was about to pick up her phone to call the boys when it rang.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Is this…” a young man’s voice said on the other end. She recognized Teague's voice right away. She was impressed he even knew how to use the telephone. “Is this shiny things? I’m sorry, I can’t place the word to your name, but I remember it.”

  “This is Jewl, if that’s what you mean.” He didn’t forget her name, but he couldn’t place the word for it?

  “Yes, Jewl, the shiny things,” he repeated. “That’s exactly what I mean. I have something exciting to tell you.”

  “Why me?” she groaned.

  “Because it involves you. It’s important. The pretty hair is all the same. You just have to come and see it.”

  “Now?”

  “If you have time, I’d like for you to.”

  “Fine, but only if you’ll come out with me when we’re done. I'm going out with my friends, and you might as well come along.” And it would be rude for her to completely ditch him afterward. He needed to meet others his age anyway if he was ever going to grow up into a normal teenage boy.

  “I like friends. Are they the ones I got to play with yesterday? They were nice, kind of. They confused me. I could never figure out who was talking to me, but we played Nintendo.”

  Jewl suppressed a giggle. She could only imagine the kind of games Anj would have played on Teague once he figured out what kind of a simple mind the boy had.

  “Yes, that would be them. And you’ll meet some other people too. I’ll make sure they don’t confuse you again.”

  “The devil boy was nice. The other one not so much.”

  She winced. “I don’t think Zes would like to be called ‘the devil boy’ much. You should probably call him by his name.” The twins were identical outside of managing different hair styles and two horns Zes had on his head showing their satyr genetic roots. They did look an awful lot like small devil’s horns though. All the same, it was a sensitive subject as it tied back to their dark conception and all of their family drama. Jewl only knew the bare bones details behind it, but whatever happened, Zes took the brunt of it.

  “Z is for horns,” Teague said quietly. “I’ll remember that. Are you going to come over then and see?”

  “Yes, I’ll come over and take a look. I need a minute to get ready.” If she was going to go out, she was going to look her best while doing it. And make Anj regre
t he was ever a jerk to her.

  After an in-depth search of her closet, she found her cutest pair of jeans, her favorite blue halter-top and the best pair of dancing heels she owned. Quickly, she pulled her hair up and then walked over to Teague’s room. She wouldn’t need to call the twins ahead of time. They were coming with her whether they liked it or not.

  She knocked on the door and when he opened it, she got a peek into his room. She noticed he had been busy for the past twenty-four hours with his obscure wall art. The back wall with the storm was even more detailed than the day before. The tornado and the clouds looked as though they had been photographs transferred onto the wall.

  There were more people in the background. Most of them were still faceless, though one of the figures had sharp gray eyes while another looked as though it had a cowlick in its hair. For the most part, it was only an outline of the head. The actual details of the hair weren't quite drawn into place yet, but she could still see the cowlick curving up like a horn while the other side of the head was flat.

  “I’m here. What do you want to show me?” She stepped in and took a good look around.

  Teague directed her toward the wall of sunshine and pointed to the group of three figures she had seen before. But the details were slowly starting to fall into place and two things about it stuck out to her. The first was the figure in the middle looked a lot like Teague. No perfect details were present, but she could see the resemblance beginning to show. It would only be a matter of time until he filled it out.

  The most intriguing part about the new additions to the picture, however, was the tight, spring-like coils of blonde hair appearing on the female figure holding his hand. Was he drawing her onto his mural? Or her mother?

  “I figured it out,” he said with a bright smile. “She has pretty hair like you. I didn’t realize it until now, but it’s amazing. I knew you had to see it because not everyone has pretty hair. Just you and the other woman.”

  “Yeah,” she dead-panned. She didn’t quite see or understand the amazing factor of it. She didn’t want to be on his wall. It made her feel uncomfortable. “And what is it helping you remember?”

  He ran his fingers over the curls of the female gently, almost as if it was real. “I’m not sure, but she’s important to me. I love her. That’s why we’re holding hands. I think once I remember who these ones are, then I’ll be better and I can go home,” he whispered.

  She nodded and bit her lower lip. “I’m sure you’ll get it figured out.” How awkward. She didn’t want to be involved in whatever happened to him in the past.

  “Do you like it? I thought you might because it’s like yours, but you look sad.”

  “I’m not sad. I’m confused. Do we know each other? Have we met before? Because if we have, you’re not the only person who’s having memory problems right now. I don’t recall seeing you before the other day at the hospital.”

  “I don’t know,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  Jewl smirked. So he does have some attitude. “When you figure it out, be sure to let me know. Add that to your list of things you need to tell me. All I’ve got is that someone hired the Dark to come after us. I don’t know if that sparks any memories for you at all.”

  He scratched his chin and paced around the room, then in figure eights. “The bad ones, but I can’t remember who they are or why they want to hurt me.” He pointed to the darker wall of the underworld. “They’re the bad ones.” He pointed to a female figure. She had one arm draped around the male figure with gray eyes and another arm pushed down on the one with the cowlick, almost as if she were trying to control him. “She’s bad. She did it.”

  “But you don’t know who she is? We’ll keep working on it. You ready to go out and have some fun?”

  “Yes.”

  She waved for him to follow her down the hall to the twins’ room, and then knocked gently on their door. Zes answered with a smile.

  “Yeah? What’s up?”

  “We’re going out,” Teague said enthusiastically before Jewl could even open her mouth.

  Zes stared at the two of them, obviously taking what Teague had said completely out of context. “E-excuse me?”

  “What he means is we’re all going out tonight. I’m not taking no for an answer. We’ve all been cooped up here for too long. There are two and a half hours until curfew, which is more than enough time to go out for food or dancing or something.”

  “Oh, I like dancing,” Teague added quickly. “Let’s do that.”

  “I don’t know. How do you guys feel about doing something tonight?” Zes asked as he opened the door wider to let them both in. Cheyenne was lying on the couch. Anj was in a nearby chair and far too involved in his homework to bother looking up. There was a movie on in the background, but the volume was low.

  “We certainly have the time to go somewhere for a little while,” Anj said, running his hand over his book as he read. “I’m open to the idea. My mind is about to melt from reading ‘The Art of Prophecy’.”

  Jewl raised an eyebrow. “Is this a pleasure book or a school one?”

  “School.”

  “I thought you decided to wait on your college level courses.” She didn’t want to think about him going away. There had always been talk of him staying at Vala and enrolling in the college provided there, but that was when they had talked about long term plans. What was his reason to stay? He wanted to be an archeologist. He could study that anywhere.

  “My adviser and I decided at our last meeting that it would be good to get a jump start on it this year. I have one required credit to take next semester in order to graduate and instead of filling my time with brainless electives or having nothing to do, I opted for something more practical. So I enrolled in ‘Intro to Prophecy’ and ‘Ancient History I’. I have pre-reading for both.”

  “Cool,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment. “You guys get your shoes then. I was thinking our usual spot at the Old Union.”

  “Let me go grab my purse and see if Halyn wants to come,” Cheyenne said. She got up from the couch and gave Zes’s hand a squeeze before leaving the room.

  He watched her leave like a lovesick puppy. His eyes were glittering and he let out the smallest of blissful sighs. “I need to find something to wear.” It took him a minute to get to his room, still too caught up in the moment to even walk straight.

  “What’s wrong with what you have on? You look fine. It’s not like she hasn’t been seeing you in that outfit all day,” Anj mumbled.

  “I’ll remember that the next time you groan about how you have nothing that makes you look nice enough for the floor,” Zes said, before closing the door to his room.

  His brother shook his head. “I have to look stylish. I have a reputation to live up to.”

  “Sure, twinkle toes,” Jewl said, rolling her eyes. “It’s sweet he wants to impress his woman. It’s part of the fun. You change into something nice and hip before going out. It’s a city thing.”

  “And you know so much about that,” Anj said, giving her a jab she didn’t appreciate. “Point taken. I suppose you’ve already changed. I should anyway. These pants aren’t the easiest to move in. The hem on the ankles is too tight. We’ll meet you down in the main lobby.”

  “That’s the last time I ever tell you something personal,” she said on her way out the door. She grabbed Teague's arm and the two walked away. Anj was calling for her to come back, but she needed to stand her ground. His dorm door closed before she was tempted to go back and fight with him.

  “Now you look sad,” Teague observed.

  “I am, but I’ll get over it.” She always did.

  Cheyenne and Halyn emerged into the entryway first. It had taken them ten minutes. Cheyenne had kept things simple, only changing into a nicer shirt and pulling her hair back out of her face. Halyn, on the other hand, dressed to kill. She wore massive pumps, a cute short skirt and a silver top. Her hair was pulled back with silver butterfly clips and her almond
shaped eyes were accented with matching eyeliner. Teague’s eyes were glued on her.

  “Sparkles,” he whispered.

  “Hi, T,” Halyn greeted cheerfully. He waved back shyly. “Where are the rest of the boys?”

  Jewl shrugged. “Getting ready still. You know Teague?”

  “We have two classes together. I can’t believe they’re taking so long. This is gross. I mean the girls are the ones who are supposed to take forever, right?”

  “No comment.”

  “No comment about what, dear?” Anj asked from the boys’ dorm entrance. He sauntered up, looking absolutely gorgeous in a pair of black slacks and an untucked blue shirt, which coincidentally matched the blue on Jewl’s top. He did the thing with his hair that always made her heart flutter. He kept it slightly over his eyes, but at just the right angle anyone could peer into them and see how deep they ran. Eye contact often made him uncomfortable. Only the privileged were allowed to see inside of him.

  Zes stumbled out behind his brother wearing Anj’s treasured green button down. It was his favorite shirt of all time, and the one piece of clothing he had sworn to never share. There must have been some big trade for Zes to earn the right to do so. The two together were making her melt. She was pretty sure she wasn’t the only one.

  “That would defeat the purpose of ‘no comment’,” Jewl said once she had her breath again. “And don’t call me dear.”

  “Why? You call me that.”

  “To make you mad.”

  “Let’s go,” Zes interjected before there were any more comebacks. “Any ideas on how we’re all going to squeeze into my car?”

  ****

  The Old Union was one of Jewl’s favorite places to be off campus, always classic, fun and full of life. If there was never anything to do, a trip out to the old renovated club was always a solution. As long as the teens provided some actual business, they were allowed to stay as late as the building was open. What made this night particularly perfect was they were evenly paired, so she would not have to fight for a chance to dance. In some ways it felt like an unofficial triple date because Zes and Cheyenne would cling to one another and Halyn would sequester Teague, leaving Jewl with Anj.