The Ruby (The Hidden Gems Book 1)

by R. Getsee

  The only thing I knew for sure was sooner rather than later, I would be faced with a battle I had no idea if I was going to be strong enough to win.

  We all jumped when the door burst open and Roman strode into the room, already speaking. “Alex, I just wanted to explain—”

  There was a beat of dead silence as he stood there, directly in the shaft of sunlight that was still pouring into the room. I clapped my hand over my mouth, trying to hold in the horrified cry that was trying to tear itself from my throat.

  Tears pricked my eyes and my chest felt as if it was being shredded into millions of tiny pieces as I realized that the guy I was in love with was about to die.

  I could barely even pause at my inner revelation. It was my fault—if I had just thought to close the curtains after the guys had found out about my ability, then I wouldn’t have to watch him light up in front of me.

  I memorized every inch of his beautiful face, my eyes roving over it until I got to his bright, sparkling blue eyes—they drew me in, drowning me in their pools of despair.

  During all of my hysterical inner rant, Roman just stood there, illuminated by the hazy glow. I blinked, realizing that all through my silent tangent, he was still standing there. Though he was standing, frozen in shock, he wasn’t burning!

  “I just wanted to apologize and explain about the other night,” he finished quickly before he turned and sprinted out of the room without any explanation as to how the hell he was still alive.

  20

  Alex

  Roman didn’t attend school over the next few days, nor did he answer the hundreds of calls and texts sent by Jared and me. As soon as we had shaken ourselves out of the shock, I had jumped up, yanked the curtains closed, and we all sprinted out of the room, chasing after him, but he was already long gone.

  I suppose that his ability to walk in the sunlight answered the question of how the hell he managed to get to my house in the middle of the day, but just left us with far more questions. Based on what we knew of the prophecy, it was three women who had the power, and we knew that Roman was neither a woman nor was he part of one of the other races.

  The three of us had spit-balled for as long as we could about how it was possible for not one, but two vamps to gain unheard-of day-walking abilities. We had all crashed on the floor in my room, leaving us all tired, sore, and cranky when we had to get up for school the next night.

  We all agreed not to speak of it until we were alone, not wanting the rest of the group to know about Roman or me. Not that we didn’t trust our friends, we just wanted as few people in the know as possible for safety’s sake.

  Despite Emi’s angry terrier fury at him for not telling me, or at least Jared, I couldn’t find it in myself to be angry with him about it. I, of all people, knew what it was like to have a secret that made you different, made you want to keep it from the people you cared about for fear of not being accepted.

  But now that I knew Roman could walk in the sun, I was burning with questions about how and if it was somehow connected to the prophecy in some way or if it was just a weird coincidence.

  I was also trying to distract myself from what I’d felt when I thought he was about to die. I was still super pissed at him for making out with my sister at the party, and the broken sensation that had flooded my chest as I’d waited for him to burn up still hurt when I thought about it. I was really trying not to dwell on that one little four-letter word that had been echoing in my mind for the last few days.

  A giggling whisper caught my attention, and I looked up from the textbook I had been pretending to read. My eyes found a pretty girl with peroxide-blond hair as the culprit of the noise, and the venomous glare she and her friend sent my way told me exactly who they were talking about.

  As I turned back to the book in front of me, I distinctly heard the word slut whispered to the other girl. Looking around once more, I frowned as the two of them glared at me again.

  What the hell was that about? I thought to myself, glad that this was the only class Emi wasn’t in so I wouldn’t have to restrain her from going all momma bear on their asses.

  The bell rang after a torturously long time and I groaned as I gathered my things, dreading the next two hours of getting my ass handed to me when sparring in PE.

  I dragged my feet as I walked slowly through the dreary gray stone halls toward the gym. I still hadn’t gotten the hang of not getting knocked on my ass, and I wasn’t happy about the idea of spending the class in the same room as Drake. Though the vamp had been pretty quiet recently and kept his distance, my fingers still twitched with energy whenever I thought of him.

  As I wandered through the hall, lost in my thoughts, a large group jostled me on their way to class. My eyes met Drake’s as I was knocked into the wall, and he paled a little.

  “Sorry, Ali,” he said quickly before picking up speed and leaving his friends to stare slack-jawed at his quick departure.

  I gritted my teeth at the annoying nickname as his friends finally picked their jaws up off the floor, chiming in with their own mocking apologies before racing off after him. I was left confused and pissed off, but that confusion was nullified as Emi ran toward me, the expression on her face making me feel sorry for whatever poor schmuck had incurred her wrath.

  “That fucking pig!” she spat as soon as she reached me.

  “Who?” I asked, holding my hands up in mock surrender.

  “Drake.” She scrunched up her face as if the name tasted like acid on her tongue.

  “What did he do?” Anger swelled up at the thought of that freak trying to do anything to hurt my best friend. If he so much as tried to touch her, I would find him and finish the job I had started at the party.

  Emi noticed the sparks shooting from my fingers and flapped her hands to try to calm me.

  “Don’t freak out…” she started, laying her hands on my shoulders. “A few of his friends saw you guys going into a room together and spread it around that you guys hooked up.”

  “Ha!” The unexpected laughter bubbled up in my chest and left me in hysterics as I tried to breathe through the pain in my side from my giggles.

  Emi, however, did not seem to find the humor in my situation, throwing dirty looks to anyone who passed by as we started back toward class, getting there just before the last bell rang.

  “Okay, everyone,” Mr. Aldridge, the PE teacher, clapped his hands. “Today we will be practicing the takedown moves we learned last week. Everyone line up to be assigned a sparring partner.”

  I really liked Mr. Aldridge. He was probably one of the most laid back teachers in the whole school, even when he was forcing people to run laps until they threw up.

  “Where’s Professor Carlisle?” a pretty redhead asked from the cluster of bodies that had formed in the middle of the room.

  Mr. C had always made a point of attending the physical education class to observe how well our bodies were adjusting to the use of our powers. However, in recent weeks, he had been missing more and more of his own classes, never mind the ones he chose to observe.

  “Professor Carlisle has taken a leave of absence for the next few weeks, so it’s just going to be me until he returns.”

  Most of the class cheered at the thought, though the girl seemed to be pretty nosey as her hand once again shot into the air. “Why?”

  “I don’t actually know, probably personal reasons. Now, everyone, line up.” The handsome teacher used his best commanding tone and the girl finally relented, though she looked disappointed at not getting a satisfactory answer.

  The class all moved to form a line in front of the teacher as he called out names, then we were split into pairs, facing off against each other on the mats.

  I closed my eyes, silently praying that I’d get Emi. We always went easier on each other, and I really didn’t want to spend the day getting thrown on my ass by sweaty, testosterone-fueled jocks. They always tried to subtly grope me as I went down.

  I opened my eyes and l
et out an audible groan as my name was called. Obviously, Mr. Aldridge had noticed that pairing me up with Emi wouldn’t make either of us improve, so he’d gone for the worst possible partner. I looked over to find a visibly pale Drake waiting for me on the mats.

  “Looks like she’ll get another reason to be under him,” the redheaded vampire whispered loudly to her group, causing a few hushed chuckles from around the class.

  I met her eyes with a silent glare, raising my chin high as I walked over to the mat, trying to exude confidence that I really didn’t have. Balling my hands into fists, I waited patiently for the rest of the class to be paired up and looked to the teacher for further instructions.

  “Now, face your partner,” Mr. Aldridge called from the side of the mats. “Use the maneuvers you’ve been learning to try to knock your partner down.”

  As I was staring at the class—who all sprang into action—a hand wrapped gently around my throat and my feet were swept out from under me before my back hit the mat, air hissing out of my lungs from the force. Blinking hard to clear the spots from my vision, Drake’s face came into focus, hovering over me, confusion and fear mixed on his face.

  “You okay, Morgan?” Mr. Aldridge called as I struggled to my feet.

  “Yep,” I said through gritted teeth, “I’m just getting started.”

  The thud of people’s bodies hitting the mats echoed around the hall as I once again struggled to my feet. I was really trying to get the advantage, but despite his size, Drake was surprisingly fast.

  After a few gentle takedowns, Drake realized that I wasn’t going to go all Wonder Woman on his ass with my sword in front of all these people, and his offensive skills were getting more and more aggressive.

  “Morgan,” Mr. Aldridge called, drawing my attention to him as I tried to block a blow to my face, “could you come over here?”

  Rubbing the bruise that was forming on my ribs, I broke away from the group of sparring vamps.

  “Alex,” he started, and I shuffled uncomfortably. It was just weird to be called by your first name by a teacher, no matter how nice or informal they were. “You seem to be having a difficult time keeping up.”

  I looked down at my feet. I hated that I still sucked at fighting, and once again, I was faced with the impossibility of the task ahead of me. If I couldn’t hold my own against the likes of Drake, then how the hell was I supposed to win against pretty much the freaking Devil?

  “I know,” I whispered. “I really am trying, I’m just finding it harder to keep up with some of the more experienced fighters.”

  “I don’t think that’s the problem.” My teacher frowned. “Alex, have you ever been taught to use your powers to help you?”

  My brow furrowed in confusion. “I thought you said using powers against your opponent wasn’t allowed in this class?”

  Mr. Aldridge shook his head. “Using your powers to set someone on fire isn’t allowed, no, but using your energy to speed up your reflexes is perfectly fine.”

  “Huh?”

  “Our powers run on our energy, like a current running through us,” he said. “While most people throw themselves into a fight using their physical strength, others, like me, use our energy to win.”

  “So I can channel my energy to stop getting my ass kicked?”

  “I suppose you could put it like that,” he said with a laugh. “You have so much power running through you… so much untapped potential. I’m a good fighter using the power of only one element, but you have the power of all of them.”

  “How can I use them?” I asked. Hope bloomed in my chest. Maybe I could use this if and when I had to face the Jet.

  “Just close your eyes, feel the power thrumming through your body, and move with it.”

  I did as he said, and after a few moments, I could feel it. My well of power was overflowing, spreading through my body like an electrical current, making me feel more aware and present like I’d just downed ten cups of strong coffee.

  Grasping that feeling, I finally opened my eyes and gasped. Everything was so much clearer, my eyesight had sharpened to pinpoint accuracy, and I could see the artificial lights in the gym dance off the dust motes that floated through the air. I heard the buzzing of electricity as it passed through the outlets and the quiet gasps of breath from the students around us.

  “Now you’ve got it.” Mr. Aldridge looked at me with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

  “This is amazing,” I breathed. “I can feel everything!”

  “You have great power in you, Alex.” He gestured to the mat where Drake was waiting, the mean glint back in his eyes as he thought that I was unable to defend myself. “Now, go kick that smug bastard’s ass.”

  I swallowed my laugh as I walked back to meet my sparring partner.

  “Teacher afraid I was going to give you a concussion?” Drake asked, finding his backbone.

  “Nope.” I grinned. “Just wanted me to stop holding back.”

  I bared my teeth a little as I smiled, reveling in the hint of fear that ebbed in Drake’s eyes before he rushed at me. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion. I quickly sidestepped his lunge, causing him to stumble and stagger as he righted himself.

  His arm came at me again and I ducked, easily avoiding it as I toyed with him a little, dancing around the punches and kicks he was throwing at me.

  Finally, in an expert move that I’d had memorized but never had the speed to execute before, I wrapped my hand around his throat as I swept my legs at his calves. He lost his balance, falling back onto the mat with a heavy thud that echoed around the silent gym as his eyes slid closed.

  As I looked up from his prone form, I grinned at the class who was staring, dumbstruck, at me before they burst into applause. I smiled at Emi, who was chuckling gleefully at Drake’s unconscious form, before I closed my eyes, the power thrumming through my body like a live wire.

  The Ruby had awoken.

  21

  Alex

  I stood by my closet in front of the full-length mirror hanging on the door, praising my good fortune that I’d found the perfect dress. It was a beautiful floor-length gown that clung to my form until it reached the top of my calf, then flared out in a gorgeous tulle mermaid tail.

  Black lace rosettes covered the emerald silk in delicate, beautiful flowers, which matched the color of my hair perfectly. The strapless sweetheart neckline curved low, complementing the delicate silver chain that was nestled in my cleavage, matching the long, delicate, silver earrings and hair comb that held one side of my short waves back behind my ears.

  Emi was fussing around me, fixing her hair—which now held similar electric-blue streaks to compliment her dress—into an elegant half up-do, bouncing with excitement as I slipped on my black heels.

  “Get that thing away from me.” I laughed, batting her hands away as she once again rounded on me with a can of hairspray. Emi just grinned as she pointed the nozzle at her head.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just looking forward to a night out with my bestie without any drama or freaky ju-ju going on,” she said.

  I hugged her. “Have I ever told you how freaking epic you are for dealing with all my crazy?”

  It was finally the night of the homecoming dance, and Emi and I spent the evening getting ready as everyone had to be home before sunrise. After the party, everyone in school had figured I had denied the claim, and since then, invites to the dance had been pouring in.

  I had decided not to find a date; instead, Aiden and I would keep each other company. His boyfriend had refused to make a public appearance with him in fear of the repercussions of being with a Void.

  Roman was still MIA, and we realized that none of us even knew where he lived to try to find him. I was decidedly pissed at him for putting us all through so much worry over the past week, and the three of us had promised to spend tonight focusing on being the teenagers we were, rather than thoughts of prophecies of the end of the world.

  My dreams were getting wors
e. I was waking up every night in a cold sweat, plagued by dreams of shadow monsters and the sounds of rattling chains. I often heard the voice of the Ancients whispered on the wind, and since Mr. Aldridge had helped me to tap into my powers, it had only gotten louder.

  I could always feel an undertone of energy now, thrumming through my body like a comforting blanket. When I concentrated, I felt it collect and build, letting me know it was there when I needed it.

  I shook myself from the thoughts that once again streamed through my head on repeat as Emi fluffed out her dress and walked toward the door.

  Taking a deep breath, I surveyed myself in the mirror. I slicked one more coat of dark purple lipstick on before throwing it into my black clutch and grabbed my wrap from the bed before I followed Emi out the door.

  The Ruby has awoken. The voice whispered across my mind like a familiar whisper on the wind.

  Figure it out tomorrow, I thought to myself. Emi was so excited about tonight, and I would not spoil it for her—she deserved a night where we focused on something other than me for a change.

  Anyway, it would be good for us to finally have a night away and act like a bunch of normal teenagers for once.

  Emi and I linked arms as we made our grand entrance, smirking at the awed expression that was on Jared’s face as he stared at my friend.

  He looked amazing in a traditional tux. His tie matched Emi’s dress, though he did look a little uncomfortable in it as he tugged on his collar, still staring slack-jawed at Emi.

  “Quit drooling.” I laughed. “You’ll mess up your suit.”

  “And you look so cute in it, it would be a real waste,” Emi teased, linking her free arm with his.

  Our cell phones all chimed, and I fished mine out of my purse, swiping my thumb over the screen to unlock it before I read the message from the group chat.