The Ruby (The Hidden Gems Book 1)

by R. Getsee

  23

  Alex

  I shot to my feet as I looked at our teacher, embarrassment trying to flush my face a bright red at being caught in such a private moment. It took a few seconds for the humiliation to burn away, leaving me confused as I processed his words.

  “W-What did you just say?” I asked.

  Athena sniggered, drawing my attention to her. What is she even doing here? I wondered, before turning my attention back to Mr. C.

  “I said, little girl, the Watcher is revealed, and the Ruby has awoken,” he spoke slowly, annunciating every word as if talking to a pre-schooler.

  “How do you know about that?” I asked, my confusion growing. “What’s going on?”

  Professor Carlisle let out a manic laugh. It was unnerving to hear the noise coming from the man standing in front of us, and it chilled my blood.

  “You still haven’t figured it out?” he asked. “I would have thought you would have made the connection by now… You seemed like a relatively intelligent girl.”

  The bad feeling that I had been having all day was now curdling in my stomach, like whatever apprehension I was feeling before we arrived at the dance was now coming to fruition, making me seriously wish that I hadn’t ignored it earlier.

  “You’re a little slow to catch on, aren’t you?” Athena was smug, as if she knew something I didn’t, and she was taking great pleasure in it.

  Roman shifted, angling his body between me and the new arrivals in a protective stance as Professor Carlisle started taking once again.

  “All these weeks of trying to figure out about your powers, your visions, why the Elementals wanted you… Hell, you even came to me in your search, but you never asked yourself why they knew about you. How I came about knowledge that only the Elementals held.” Mr. C seemed all too pleased that I had no idea what the hell was going on.

  “So why don’t you tell me, seeing as you seem to hold all the answers,” I bit out.

  He laughed cruelly. Is it just my imagination, or was he literally getting creepier by the minute? The closer I looked, the more I noticed was out of place with my teacher. He looked almost feverish, and the veins under the pallor of his skin looked unnaturally dark, as if black blood pumped through them.

  “Yes, I do,” he said. His voice was even deeper than it was a few moments ago. “Do you remember what we discussed in my office that day? We talked about the myth of an immortal creature that was supposedly the father of all vampires. Do you remember?”

  “Yes,” I breathed, afraid of what would happen once he finished his little story.

  “Well, it wasn’t a myth. The creature was real—he was one of the first five supernatural beings that roamed the Earth, one of the Ancients.”

  Athena grinned, the gesture grotesque on her unnaturally beautiful face. “You’re going to love this next bit,” she said smugly. “This is my favorite part.”

  “What do you even have to do with this?” I snapped. She growled at me, baring her teeth before Professor Carlisle held out a hand to stop her, chuckling, almost as if she was endearing to him.

  “My young apprentice seems a little eager,” he said. “But first, the rest of the story. You see, when the Elementals grew tired of trying to unlock the power of the Original—the power of the Ruby—they realized that they were looking to a false god. Our father would not come back and help us. That’s when they came upon the discovery that the Ruby was, in fact, not the strongest. They found solace, and the power they craved, in a new master.”

  Dread churned inside me as I felt the end of the story coming. He paused for a moment, as if to make sure everyone was listening before he continued, “The master was imprisoned, locked away where no one could reach him, and he could reach no one in turn. He waited as they tried every ritual they could find, until one day finally, they opened a crack in his prison. It was not large enough for him to escape, but enough for some of his essence to bleed into the world and merge only with those who were worthy of his power. I was one of those people.”

  My knees went weak as he finished, stating exactly what I had feared. I gripped the railing tight, trying to process all the new information that had been thrown at me this evening.

  “So why?” I asked. “If you have so much power, then why become a high school teacher? Why pretend to help when I came to you?”

  “Because,” he studied me with a psychotic gaze, “I needed to see how powerful you had become. The attack at the mall was a test. You didn’t have enough power at the time, which was why I called off any more attempts until I was sure you had come into your powers. Because, in order to free my master, you had to be strong enough to kick-start his release. My master, the Jet, whispers to me. Through his essence, he told me of the way to release him sooner—a key of sorts.”

  “And what is that key?”

  “You,” Roman spat through gritted teeth as he stepped closer to me. “A power surge, like the one that would happen if the power of one of the stones was released just as it had fully connected with its vessel. That’s what it would take to weaken the prison dimension that thing is trapped in.”

  “And that means…” I trailed off, not liking where this was heading.

  “As one of the vessels for the stones’ powers, they want to kill you in order to release the Jet,” Roman finished, his face dark, shadowed in a knowledge he clearly didn’t want.

  “Yeah, I’m going to have to take a hard pass on that plan,” I said, looking around for an escape.

  My powers felt like they were being weighed down by information overload. It felt like I fought my way through pools of molasses to find the parts of my brain that allowed me to function the way I needed to.

  These pools quickly dried up when Athena, who had been standing diligently in the background, came forward. She produced a long, wickedly sharp-looking knife from behind her back, and my mind involuntarily flicked back to all the history classes we had on Elementals and how they used knives like that for sacrificial rituals that humans often blamed on witchcraft.

  The thought that I was about to be the sacrificial ritual jolted me back to reality.

  Athena looked back to Professor Carlisle with big, pleading eyes. “Now?” she asked.

  “I suppose it is time,” he said. “It really is a shame, dear Alex. If your death was not essential to the freedom of my master, I could have offered you a place by my side. You would have been quite the asset if you were to join us, and what a mate you would have been. Such a shame… such a shame. You had so much potential.”

  My skin crawled. Was this creepy old man actually trying to hit on me right now? Roman growled, obviously sharing the dislike of the dirty implications of his words.

  Athena didn’t seem too fond of the suggestion, either. Her scowl deepened with jealousy at her creepy mentor giving me attention, even when they were planning to kill me. She advanced on us, brandishing the knife in front of her, making it glint softly in the moonlight.

  I looked around again, desperate for an exit strategy. Roman grabbed my hand, forcing my attention to him. “Alex,” he said, not taking his eyes off the advancing party, “do you trust me?”

  “Of course,” I said without hesitation.

  “Then jump.” He bolted over the railing, pulling me down with him.

  I let out a small scream as I was pulled down, the air whistling around my ears until I let out a burst of power, creating a strong wind that enveloped us, cushioning our landing. I breathed a sigh of relief when our feet touched the ground safely, over fifteen-feet below the balcony.

  My sense of calm was cut short as Roman pulled me along, through the bushes we walked past during our previous entrance, running in the direction of the stairwell that led back inside the building.

  I allowed him to almost drag me through the underbrush, not caring about the stinging on my face and arms as thorns scraped me, tearing at my dress to gain more access and slice into my flesh, nor the pain in my scalp as twigs caught my hair, pulli
ng chunks out.

  We finally managed to detangle ourselves from the overgrown path and were out in the open on the rooftop. The sight of the door almost brought tears to my eyes as we increased our speed, escape in sight.

  We were feet from freedom when Professor Carlisle appeared in front of us, Athena close behind as she swung the door shut, my heart dropping as I heard the unmistakable snick of the lock clicking into place.

  “Did you really think it would be that easy?” She almost fell over from laughing.

  “I have been planning this since that first day your powers appeared.” Mr. C’s voice was different again.

  I realized with icy shock that it was changing, growing deeper and more gravelly, like a growl. His features were also changing; Athena’s, too. Their skin rippled and their hair undulated softly as if they floated under water.

  Their presence had become far more menacing, thunder and lightning crackling from above as they channeled their powers.

  Energy radiated off them, and fear slid an icy path down my spine as I realized it felt familiar. I looked down, my suspicions confirmed as I saw that parts of their shadows had begun to detach, climbing up their legs until they enveloped them.

  “The shadows,” I breathed in a horrified gasp. “That’s the essence that escaped through the cracks?”

  “Yes,” Athena and Mr. C spoke in unison, but this time there was no trace of their voices left. The shadows had completely taken them over, and I had realized too late to help them. There was nothing I could do now. Athena and Professor Carlisle were no longer present in their own bodies, and even if I gave it everything I had, I couldn’t help them.

  24

  Alex

  “Don’t look so sad,” they said together. Their eyes were black, the pupils dilating until they swallowed everything, leaving two blank obsidian orbs in their place. “They gave themselves willingly, they craved power, and we rewarded them.”

  “And did they know what they had to sacrifice in return?” I spat in disgust.

  “They knew there was a price for power; there always is,” the whole twin-talk thing they were doing was really starting to give me the creeps.

  Roman stared at them, horror etched on his perfect face. “What are you?”

  “Ah, the Watcher.” They shifted their black gaze to him before throwing their heads back in laughter. “The protector and prophet of the gems. He who was meant to be born human, yet your sire fell for the very secret he was supposed to protect. That is why it still takes time for your gifts to come, why you won’t succeed in your destiny.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he gritted out through clenched teeth.

  “We are power, pieces of the Jet he cut from his own flesh, his children. But unlike the Ancients’ descendants, we are still pure, untainted by the mortal scum that roam this plane. We escaped through the cracks, the rifts in the veil between the prison dimension to bind ourselves to vessels, guiding them to help our master.”

  “Why do you need vessels?” I asked, desperate to keep them talking so I could try to formulate a plan.

  “We have no solid form, we are manifestations of the Jet’s power.”

  “So, you’re just shadows? Nothing but ghosts of the real thing?”

  There was a moment of silence and I cursed myself for trying to poke an angry bear. I clenched my fists at my sides as Roman shifted to stand in front of me again, resuming his protective stance. To my surprise and complete irritation, the shadow demons just threw back their heads and laughed again. The noise grated on my ears, and I fought the urge to clamp my hands over them to block it out.

  “He could have saved you, you know,” they said, nodding their heads toward Roman. “He knew who you were the first day you met, but he lied to himself and you.”

  “He was trying to protect me,” I said. I was still kind of pissed at him for it, but they didn’t need to know that.

  “He did it because he was selfish. He didn’t want you to know because that would have made it real. He was running from his destiny, keeping you from yours. He made a claim to be your mate to keep you from finding love, living until you were forced to stop… when all the while he let your sister stroke his ego as she tried to bed him.

  “He could have saved you all this time when uncertainty and fear brought you to tears, when visions and nightmares plagued your sleep, and almost your sanity. He could have saved you from involving your family and friends, of having to watch as they get slaughtered, all for knowing too much.”

  I stared at them in shock. How could they know about my nightmares? I hadn’t even told Emi. I barely wanted to admit it to myself half the time. And surely Roman wouldn’t have made the claim and still gone after Torah. The scene of the party flashed in my mind as Torah clung to him, their lips molded together. He didn’t pull away.

  I turned my gaze to meet his guilty eyes. “They’re lying, right?” I asked him as my eyes prickled.

  “Alex, I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  I turned away, unable to look at him as I pushed all my hurt down as far as it would go, locking it in a box as I looked back to the other two.

  The door squealed loudly as it was flung open and I saw Jared, Emi, Aiden, Torah, Rhea, and Sean tumble through the doorway. The hope that built in my chest was quickly extinguished as they were followed by six hooded figures marching out, shutting the exit once again.

  “What the hell is going on?” Emi shouted, her gaze finding me. There was panic in my bestie’s eyes and a bruise forming on her jaw.

  The shadow demons let out a small chuckle. “Hell… That’s actually a pretty good term for it.”

  “Okay, I’m guessing you are with the bad guys since your all creepy and evil-looking right now,” she said, her eyes darting between the two of them. “Plus, you don’t seem too worried about the group of Elementals that are holding us hostage.”

  The figures under the hoods laughed in a creepy, familiar tone as well.

  I was not surprised when four of them threw back their hoods and revealed black eyes that mirrored the same demonic black as in the other two, obviously having already taken complete control over their hosts.

  “Wow, you take the creepy to a whole new level, don’t you?” Emi tried to sound tough, but she visibly paled and stepped into Jared for support when they looked at her.

  “You’re just in time,” the demon wearing Athena’s face spoke on her own as she stepped forward. “You’re about to see history. The death of the Ruby.”

  I took a breath, trying to concentrate on the current running through me, just like Mr. Aldridge had shown me. I was really hoping he wasn’t one of the shadow creatures, too. I felt a bunch of energy threads inside my body, singing with electricity, all connected to what felt like a molten core of power. I grabbed onto one in my mind, hanging on for dear life as the knife slashed out.

  I ducked with a millisecond to spare, feeling the knife slice through a small chunk of hair that had been flung up with the motion of my body, a casualty of the wickedly sharp blade. The knife slashed again, barely giving me time to recover, even with my heightened reflexes.

  At the third attempt, I jumped back and tried to kick out my leg like I had when I fought Drake, but my long dress was too tight. Instead of sweeping the Athena-demon’s legs out from under her, I ended up losing my balance as I wobbled and fell back against the hard concrete ground.

  The roof was a lot less forgiving than the soft mats in the gym, and I saw stars as my head struck concrete. I lay there for a moment, stunned. The knife glinted in the moonlight as it came down once more and I barely twisted away. I punched upward into her solar plexus as hard as I could, and I was rewarded with a hiss of pain and a loud crack, my hand throbbing in pain.

  The aim of the next plunge was thankfully off and only just grazed my thigh as I twisted away, barley feeling the sharp sting of the knife. As I moved away, I heard a sickening rip as my dress tore from mid-thigh all the way down to the end. Anger surged
through me as my leg started to throb painfully, but at least I had more mobility now that the fabric had torn. I jumped up from where I was laying and threw my fist out wildly as I kicked out, throwing her back.

  Sounds around me came into focus, and I looked around to see all of my friends and family engaged in their own opponent. Roman was fighting Professor Carlisle expertly, and my breath caught painfully as the older man sliced out with something silver, catching him on the chin before the knife flew out of his hands.

  That small distraction was enough. Athena did what I had failed to do the first time and dropped, her leg out as she spun in a fast circle, sweeping my legs out from under me. I groaned as my head hit the hard wall beside the door and I slumped to the ground, dazed as I felt a sickening pop from my shoulder and pain raced down my arm.

  I saw the flash of the dagger and heard a blood-curdling scream, my throat burning in pain before I realized that the scream came from me as the knife was plunged into my stomach, and my eyes rolled back in my skull.

  25

  Alex

  I stood once again in the empty field where I first witnessed the Ancients’ final meeting, where they had given the human their memories. The human I now knew to be Roman’s ancestor. The sun beat down on my face as I leaned my head back, soaking up the serenity of the place.

  “It’s peaceful here, isn’t it?” a voice spoke from behind me.

  I whirled around to see the leader of the Ancients, Lucian, was standing behind me, looking out and admiring the view before him.

  “Okay, another vision,” I said to myself as I looked around.

  “What are you looking for, child?” Lucian asked in confusion.

  “I’m looking for the others so I can learn something from seeing the past. I would ask you but…” I looked at him and finished slowly, “but you can’t see me.”