Not while I’m around, though.
I retrace my steps and hide inside a bathroom in the hallway just in time to avoid being caught my father. I hear the door to my mother’s office open, then his loud footsteps on the marble floor.
Straining my ears, I catch the sound of him leaving the house. I open the door to my hiding place a sliver and peer outside. My mother’s office door is ajar, and from my viewpoint, I can see the chaos.
She’s pacing back and forth with her cell phone glued to her ear, ignoring the pieces of furniture scattered across the floor.
“Xavier? It’s me,” she says. “I have to see you.”
There’s a pause, and then she continues. “I know it’s dangerous, but this is important.”
Who the hell is Xavier? My mother’s lover? I wouldn’t be surprised if she was cheating on my father. He said it himself, their marriage is a sham, a business deal.
“I’ll meet you there. I’m leaving now.” She ends the call and turns toward the door.
I hide again and don’t move from my spot until I know she’s gone. Then I run to my car. Finding the book I came for will have to wait. I have to know what secrets my mother is keeping, especially when I know they’re related to Daisy.
It’s hard to follow Mom without giving away that I’m doing so. She would recognize my car in an instant, so I keep several vehicles between us, which results in me almost losing her a few times. But when she veers into a familiar neighborhood, I have a hunch about where she’s going.
She parks around the back of Unearthly Desires, and the pieces of the puzzle begin to make sense. The guy on the phone was called Xavier—Mr. X, the owner of the infamous strip club.
It can’t be a coincidence that Daisy worked here one evening and then suddenly showed up at Gifted Academy.
But what’s the connection between the three of them?
Unfortunately, I can’t bust in and demand answers. My mother won’t reveal anything until she wants to, so I wait outside. My best bet is to get Mr. X alone. He’s an Idol, but he’s not as strong as me. I can get him to talk.
My mother doesn’t stay inside long. Half an hour later, she leaves with hurried steps. Whatever she discussed with Mr. X, it clearly didn’t comfort her; her expression is hard and her brow is furrowed as she slips inside her car.
Mr. X doesn’t leave the club until hours later. Looking at the time on my dashboard, I see it’s already past one in the morning. My ass is numb from sitting without moving for too long. The bouncer who was manning the door during opening hours is already gone. The parking lot behind the club is deserted.
Time to make my move.
I get out of my car and cross the street fast. Mr. X seems distracted and doesn’t sense my approach until I’m almost right on top of him.
He whirls on the spot, ready to fight with his arms raised in front of him and his hands curled into fists. When he sees me, he relaxes his stance, but only a little.
“Bryce Kent? What are you doing here, boy?”
“I need to have a word with you.”
“About what?” He arches his eyebrows.
“What was my mother doing here? She came to talk to you.”
“Your mother? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Cut the crap, Xavier. You and my mother are mixed up in something that involves Daisy, and I want to know what that is.”
Mr. X glares and his lips become nothing but a thin flat line.
“Why? So you can run and tell your daddy?”
“I have no allegiance to my father. I’m here on my own. What do you want with Daisy?” I take a step forward, not hiding my aggressive posture anymore.
“Why do you care? She’s just a Norm, after all.” He raises an eyebrow.
His sarcastic remark makes me even angrier. I shouldn’t care about her, but I do. And I bet he can see my conflict as clear as day.
“It’s not your damn business why I care!” My angry outburst is loaded with a dose of my gift as well. The lights above the back door of the building flicker in response.
Mr. X boldly takes a step forward, invading my personal space. “I don’t know you, Bryce. You haven’t earned my trust, and I also hear you haven’t done anything to help Daisy in that shark-infested sea you call school. So no, you won’t get an answer from me.”
“I could make you talk,” I reply through clenched teeth.
Mr. X takes a step back, but not out fear. “I bet you could. But you won’t. The only thing you’ll get from me is this: keep Daisy safe.”
“Why?”
The man smirks. “I know my reason why I want her safe. Do you know yours?”
My confrontation with Mr. X sends my mind spiraling out of control. Not in the mood to return to campus, I drive around without a destination in mind, replaying the events of the day. I don’t know what to think anymore. Does my mother want Daisy safe, or does she have other plans for her? More than ever, I feel like we’re all just pawns in a wicked game.
One thing is certain: my loyalty is no longer blind. Seven years ago, I made a vow to a powerful god that I would use my gifts to purify the Earth from Norms and Fringes. Today, I know that promise was a mistake. More and more I believe the gods and demigods don’t care about the fates of anyone, be them Idols, Fringes, or Norms. All they care about is their whims, and we’re nothing but entertainment.
Too lost in my head, I don’t notice I’m being followed until an SUV speeds ahead and swerves sharply to the right, pushing my car off the road. With a curse, I try to regain control of the vehicle, but I can’t avoid the collision with the tree ahead. My body is jolted forward, the seat belt digging into my chest as my face collides with the airbag. If I were a Norm or even a low-level Fringe, I probably would’ve broken my nose, but all the impact does is give me a nasty headache and make me dizzy for a moment.
The window next to me shatters, and a split second later, I’m yanked from the car. The force is so great that it rips the seat belt in two as if it were made of paper.
My attacker had the surprise advantage, but that’s all the leverage he’s getting over me. My power surges up from the pit of my stomach, violent and unbound. I send the man holding my arm flying across the highway. He vanishes out of sight.
“Bind him already, damn it! He’s a seventeen!” someone yells in the darkness.
A sphere of energy forms in my hand. I pull my arm back to hurl it in the direction the shout came from, but electric vines wrap around my torso and left arm, zapping my body with a high-voltage blast. I lose grip on my power for only a second, but that’s enough time for my assailants to regroup.
My free arm gets yanked behind my back, and more vines wrap around me.
“You fools. Do you think you can trap me?” I shout.
I focus on my power, the swirling of energy that resides in my core. It’s there, but somehow my access to it has been blocked. What the hell?
“You can quit struggling now. You’re not going anywhere.”
A man approaches me, though I can only see his shape at first thanks to the glare from the headlights of a second SUV that parked behind my busted car.
When he stops in front of me, I’m able to make out some of his appearance. His hair is long and wavy, blond. His square jaw is dusted with scruff, and he’s wearing a black muscle shirt and leather harness with the butt of a gun peeking out from a holster.
“Let me go, or you’ll pay with your lives.”
He drops to my eye level and clutches my chin with a gloved hand. “In due time. But first, we ought to have a little chat.”
40
Daisy
Another week has gone by, and while I’m still alive, I’m not whole. There are no visible bruises on my body, but my spirit is shattered. Despite Principal Fallon’s assurance that whoever released that video would be severely punished, her words are vapor. She’s not going to do anything about it—not anything meaningful, anyway.
She said it was best i
f I took the rest of the week off. She gave me a free pass, and I was weak and took it. It shouldn’t matter what a bunch of Idols think about me. I was almost a stripper. Big fucking deal. I did what I had to do. But it seems I bounce back easier from physical fights than the psychological ones. I can’t shake off the sting of this blow, of the humiliation, that fast.
My phone vibrates on my nightstand, but I ignore it. It’s most likely Toby or Rosie, wanting to know how I am. I didn’t tell Rosie about what happened, so my conclusion is that Toby opened his big mouth. Whatever.
I turn off the phone, then bury my head under the pillow. I just want to sleep the whole day away.
Not much later, there’s a loud knock on my door, followed by Toby’s voice calling my name.
“Leave me alone!” I yell from my bed.
“Come on, Daisy. Open up. Don’t make me ask one of your neighbors to knock your door down for me.”
Pest. He had to go and bring up those motherfuckers.
With a huff, I get out of bed and stride across the room to throw open the door and glare at Toby.
“What do you want?” I bark.
Toby gives me a once-over. “Shit, Daisy. You look like crap.”
“Thanks, jackass. If you just came by to insult me, goodbye.” I start to close the door in his face, but he holds it open.
“No, I came by to invite you to a surfing lesson.”
“What?”
“A little bird told me you’ve been dying to learn but never got around to it.” Toby smiles cheekily.
By little bird, he means my sister. Shit, they have been talking, then.
“I’m not in the mood.”
“Come on, Daisy. There are actually good waves today. It’s going to be fun.”
“The beaches known for their good waves are all mixed. The last thing I want is to bump into an asshole from school.”
“Don’t worry. Echo Cove is only known to local surfers, and none of them go here.”
My wish was to stay in my room the entire weekend, but Toby’s offering me the opportunity to tick one item off my bucket list. If I stay, Phoenix and his hateful friends win.
“Fine. I’ll meet you outside in five minutes.”
RUFIO
I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on Daisy’s conversation. It just happened. It’s like I’m tuned in to the Norm girl or some shit like that, and telepathy isn’t even one of my gifts. I was in the kitchen getting a bowl of cereal when I heard her voice. It worked like a punch to my chest, kickstarting my heart.
And now I’m getting ready to knock on her door like a lovesick fool. I haven’t been able to sleep for shit since Wednesday, when Phoenix’s master plan worked perfectly. No one’s seen Daisy since her humiliating video surfaced.
I should be in a better mood. I got what I wanted, after all. But the truth is, the foulness in everyone’s disposition is off the charts. Even Phoenix, the brains behind the whole thing, is more irritable than I’ve ever seen him. And Bryce and Morpheus have completely shut Phoenix and me off. As matter of fact, I haven’t seen Bryce since yesterday. He must’ve gone on one of his mysterious solo trips.
As for me, I feel rotten. And that’s why I’m going after her. Toby must be completely out of the loop, because there’s a huge barbeque at Echo Cove today and the place will be crawling with students from Gifted Academy. She needs to know.
I’m almost out the door when a loud, pain-filled moan comes from Morpheus’s room. I stop in my tracks and head in his direction.
After a knock, I ask, “Morpheus, are you all right?”
“No.”
I push the door open and enter his room, which currently feels like a sauna.
“Why is it so hot in here?”
Morpheus is completely hidden under the blankets. “Because I’m turning into a human popsicle.”
“Are you sick or something?” I move closer and pull the covers off his head.
His hair is matted and sticking to his forehead. His skin is clammy and washed out.
“Fuck, you are sick.”
“I’m not sick. It’s my gift. The shadows are more restless than ever, and not even the bracelets are helping today.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t know, but it’s nothing good. I haven’t felt anything remotely similar since that day on the island.”
A sliver of dread runs down my spine. We were ten when our boat capsized thanks to a mysterious storm that hit us out of nowhere. We managed to swim to a small island nearby, and it changed our lives forever—and not for the better.
I rub my face, torn about what to do. I need to warn Daisy, but I’m afraid to leave Morpheus alone. I’m losing my mind. I shouldn’t care about Daisy’s well-being, yet here I am. Fuck me.
“You’re worried about something,” Morpheus points out.
“Yes. Hold on, I gotta get Phoenix.”
“He spent the night at his folks’, I think.”
Morpheus hisses and closes his eyes. “Fuck.” He presses two fingers between his eyebrows. “I’m getting a vision.”
“What is it?” I ask, both apprehension and eagerness in my tone. Morpheus hasn’t had a vision in over six months.
“A beach. Waves. Daisy.” He opens his eyes suddenly. “We have to get to Echo Cove.”
“What’s going to happen at Echo Cove?”
“I don’t know, but Daisy is involved and it’s bad, Rufio. Really bad.”
“I was on my way to stop her from going,” I confess.
Morpheus sits up and throw his legs over the side of the bed. “Too late. She’s already gone.”
41
Daisy
In the two years I’ve been living in Saturn’s Bay, this is my first time at Echo Cove. There are busses that come to the idyllic surf spot, but I kept putting it off. The truth is, I didn’t want to come watch all those people in the water when I couldn’t join. I didn’t have any money to even rent a surfboard, much less pay for lessons.
Today, the sun is out, but the weather isn’t scorching hot. There’s definitely a nice swell, and the ocean is already peppered with surfers waiting for the perfect wave.
“Wow, it seems everyone was craving the water after so long without decent waves.” Toby sinks his surfboard in the sand.
Doubt sneaks in. “I’m not sure if today is a good day to learn. There are so many people.”
“Do you see that rock formation over there?” Toby points in the distance where the beach disappears around a corner.
“Yeah? What about it?”
“There’s a quieter spot on the other side. Come on.”
Toby was right, there aren’t as many people in the water in this little cove. Farther from the shoreline, I see the entrance to a small cave. Toby follows my gaze and says, “We can check the cave later. It’s pretty cool.”
“There aren’t any animals living there, right?”
“No. A little of bit trivia for you. This little nook in the beach and that cave are what inspired the name Echo Cove.”
“Really? I feel like a tourist, and I’ve lived in Saturn’s Bay for two years already.”
“Trust me, I bet there are people who were born and raised here who haven’t seen half the city.”
I look down at my clothes. I’m wearing an old bathing suit and a T-shirt. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah, you’re fine. Shall we?”
I glance at the ocean once more. It’s calling me. “Sure. Let’s go before I chicken out.”
RUFIO
I immediately spot the crowd from Gifted Academy when Morpheus and I step out of my car. I’m too slow to avoid being seen. Drusilla turns and waves enthusiastically.
“Rufio, over here!”
“Fuck, I’m not in the mood for this.”
“My, my, Rufio. You don’t want to interact with the president of your fan club?” Morpheus replies sarcastically from behind the thick woolen scarf he has wrapped around his neck, which also covers half of
his face.
An angry retort followed by “mummy-boy” is on the tip of my tongue, but I remember the last time I used that nickname. I definitely don’t want a repeat of that.
I have every intention of ignoring Drusilla when I catch a glimpse of Phoenix surrounded by girls. He’s laughing like he’s back to his normal self.
“I guess we don’t have to deal with his jackass attitude anymore,” I say.
Morpheus snorts. “Pot, meet kettle.”
We stayed idle for too long and now Drusilla is running to meet us.
“Oh, fuck,” I mumble. “I’ll get rid of her so we can find Daisy.”
“Something isn’t right with Phoenix.”
Squinting, I pay closer attention to Phoenix. He seems normal, which means, Morpheus can sense something beyond the naked eye. Great. Before I can ask, Morpheus is already heading to the beach. He ignores Drusilla when he passes her. She gives him a judgmental glance before she continues on her way to me.
“Hi, Rufio. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up.”
“I’m not staying long.” I purposely don’t make eye contact with her. Instead, I look over her shoulder, trying to find Daisy or the ginger.
She steps closer to me and touches my chest. “That’s too bad. I was looking forward to spending some time alone with you.”
I knew hooking up with her last year would be a mistake. Drusilla thinks that because she’s the queen bee, she has to date one of us. I was the fool who slept with her first, and now she won’t fucking leave me alone.
I grab her wrist and pull her hand away. “Sorry, Drusilla. I never go for seconds.”
She gasps and her eyes go as round as saucers. I walk around her, not wanting to hear the onslaught of angry words that’s sure to come. I had fun stringing her along for a while, but now she just irritates me.
I finally reach Morpheus and Phoenix in time to hear the tail end of their argument.
“For fuck’s sake, Morpheus. I already said I’m fine. Now piss off.”
Wicked Gods: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 1) Page 24