by Alex Hayes
Without Idris here to send my sex hormones into overdrive, I’m content traveling in my natural state. The early darkness keeps me safe from prying eyes. I pause to look back at the cabin. A light shines from the Jacobsens’ bedroom window. Papa’s an early riser. I just got out in time. Not that Papa would give me any trouble, but he might wonder what the heck I’m doing at this hour.
I really need to tell them about the crystal tree, but I’m afraid the conversation might spiral out of control, and then I’d have to tell them about my ability to shape shift. Would they freak out if they saw me in lizard form? What if Papa had a heart attack from the shock?
The deep darkness of the forest closes in around me. I shift, and my night vision brings the trees and bushes into sharp definition. Increased lung capacity and stronger legs allow me to pick up the pace. My jog turns into an invigorating run.
It’s been a week since I last looked inside the crystal cave. With the phone app Mr. Scrim provided, I’ve been able to check the temperature, moisture and pH levels remotely. Today, I’ll check the crystal cutting is doing what it’s supposed to be doing. Growing. According to Mr. Scrim, its vines can extend as much as a foot in one day.
Dawn’s light slips through the tall pines, laying bright patches across the cliffside and making the fern, sprouting from crevices in the rock, glow. I sprint up the trail to the head of the narrow path leading to the cave. There, I stop, focus on the hefty rock cover and push it clear of the entrance. Pebbles and loose dirt clatter down the hillside. As the boulder settles against the stone wall, I trot along the path and slip inside the cave.
The musty dampness fills my nostrils and the memory of Idris standing there, in his sexy Livran form, brings a smile to my face, followed by a flash of embarrassment over Mr. Scrim picking up my hormonal reaction.
I chuckle to myself and wander further into the cave. A pinkish glow catches my attention. Holy moly, the crystal tree has spread over a third of the cave ceiling, its bubblegum vines clinging to the rocky walls. The vines closest to its center have widened in diameter to the thickness of my arm, and their tips wave like sea anemone tendrils caught by a sea current. There’s no breeze inside the cave, so they must be moving under their own volition. Searching, maybe, for a new surface on which to grow.
A soft scraping noise catches my attention, over the ever-present drip of water. I listen hard. My Livran ears are more sensitive than my human ones. The sound seems to come from the interior of the cave. A squirrel or a mouse? The scratching stops for a space, then starts up again, followed by a scrabbling and what sounds like a chirp.
Worse case, it’s a rat, I reassure myself. Would rodents harm the crystal tree? I study its fleshy vines. They’re smooth and appear soft, like human flesh. Guess I’d better investigate the possibility of an infestation.
I venture further into the cave, wishing Idris were here. Brushing my breastbone, I focus on the crystal buried in my chest and reach through it to touch his. He’s sleeping. I sense his feelings—peacefulness, happiness, excitement—but they’re soft-edged and nebulous like clouds.
The damp and cold of the cave makes me shiver, breaking my connection with my slumbering boyfriend. I twist my lips and head for the rear of the cave, wishing our situations were reversed. Idris wouldn’t be nervous in here. He’d be enjoying the adventure, when all I want is for this exploration to be over.
What I expect to be the rear wall of the cave isn’t. When I reach it, I discover a bend that twists into a switchback. After a pause to listen, I pick up the scrabbling noise again, and continue.
The cave ceiling declines at a sharp angle, and I have to stoop to keep going.
The scratching seems much closer.
After checking the solidity of the rock overhead, I drop to my knees and crawl forward, fingers clearing stones from my path and heart pumping harder with my growing anxiety.
What if the roof caves in? What if I’m buried? What if no one ever finds me?
A few yards further, I notice natural light sneaking through a gap up ahead. Relief slips through me, even though finding another opening to the crystal tree cave is terrible news. Another point of entry means another avenue for impending danger.
Maybe it’s a rabbit hole or a crack between immovable granite walls. Or better still, the opening is high in a cliff face and impossible to reach.
A squeak makes me freeze. Moving slowly on my hands and knees, I creep forward. A thump, crackle and series of squawks stop me again. I stretch forward to peer beyond a stubby rock and see movement.
My heart leaps into my throat, then falls back into my stomach. Two black bear cubs tussle through a bed of leaves and twigs.
Oh my god. They are the cutest things.
Another cub joins the fray and gnaws on its sibling’s hind leg until the victim squeaks in protest and scampers away. They’re like fuzzy balls on legs.
I want to scoop one of the little guys up and snuggle him or her close.
Not a good idea, Cadi, unless you want to become this bear family’s lizard lunch.
I scan the area, assessing the situation. The cave’s oval opening is less than a yard in diameter. Big enough for a person to climb through, assuming that person is dumb enough to enter a black bear’s den.
What am I saying? I’m apparently dumb enough.
On the upside, the space is guarded by a mother bear who won’t take kindly to a home invasion. On the downside, if that furry black mama bear catches so much as a whiff of me in here, she’ll be licking her lips in anticipation.
Do lizards taste like chicken?
A shadow blocks the light at the entrance.
Too bad I’ll be dead before I can ask her.
I back-shuffle as silently as I can, which isn’t very. As soon as the passage widens, I turn tail and crawl with surprising speed and grace back the way I came. Livran are pretty fast on all fours.
The cave ceiling rises and I scramble to my feet, then pause and listen.
Nothing.
I take another step, heart pumping hard, and my phone dings.
Crapola! How’d it even get cell coverage down here.
A grumble from down the passage answers my text notification.
I take off, not waiting around to find out how close that mama bear is.
Please don’t follow me! Please don’t follow me!
Gasping, I stumble into the crystal tree cave.
What should I do now? Is the ar’n bala in danger?
Bears eat berries, leaves, insects. Probably lots of fish. Roots… vines?
I stare up at the magenta tendrils and shake my head. They’re from another planet. They’re made up of minerals. They’ve got to be poisonous to black bear, anyway.
My phone dings again. Damn it. Who keeps texting me?
I grab the phone to silence it and peer across the cave, uncertain whether to take off, or stand my ground and prepare to protect my crystal-bearing charge.
I keep my eyes on the far side of the cave, tension spiraling into my throat.
The phone in my palm vibrates with an incoming call. There should be a one-touch do-not-disturb button on this stupid thing.
Maybe there is. Idris would know. Idris!
Of course, he must’ve picked up on the fact I’m freaking out.
I answer the damn phone with a whispered, “Hello?”
“Cadi!” Idris’s voice assaults my eardrum. “What’s going on? Why are you scared?”
“I’m not,” I whisper-lie.
“Bullshit, you are too. What’s wrong?” comes his tinny response.
“I’m in the crystal cave.”
No sign of any bears. So far. The drumming rhythm of my heart starts to slow as I backstep closer to the cave entrance.
For god’s sake, think, Cadi. You’re telekinetic. You can push that bear away if you have to. You don’t need to panic.
“Cadi?”
As my stress level drops, I pick up on Idris’s emotions. Worry. Fear. Helplessn
ess.
“I’m fine,” I say in a normal voice.
“Yeah, okay. I can tell you’ve calmed down. What happened?”
I explain about the passage leading to the bear den.
Idris lets out a long breath. “Holy crap, no wonder you were freaked out. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“She didn’t follow. If I’d been using my head, I would’ve remembered I could push her away with telekinesis, anyway.” I rub my arms, feeling the cold.
“You should get out of there.”
I gaze out the cave entrance where sunlight streams across the path, calling me out into the warmth and freshness of early morning. “You don’t think I need to protect the crystal tree from that bear?”
“What’s she gonna do?” Idris asks.
“Eat it?”
He laughs. “Seriously, Cadi. I wouldn’t go near that neon pink plant if I was about to die from starvation. Besides, bears aren’t aggressive creatures, unless their territory or cubs are threatened.”
Territory? As in the cave we apparently share?
I harrumph. “Okay, fine. I’m leaving.” I can’t get out of here fast enough.
The sunlight bathes my scaly skin, then I panic over the fact I’m still Livran and transform back to human. All I need is for someone to stumble upon me looking like an upright lizard girl.
It’s after eight when I slip through the back door. The journey home was slow in human form, and my close call with that black bear drained the life out of me.
Shri sits alone at the kitchen table, studying her phone. She looks so different with short hair and no makeup.
“Morning.” I offer her a big smile and hope she’ll accept it as an apology for last night’s distance.
She smiles back as she puts down her phone and picks up her empty cereal bowl. “You’re up early.”
“I love the peace and solitude first thing.” Not that I had much of that this morning. “Kind of meditative, I guess.”
“That’s why I practice yoga. Exercise and meditation in one package. And a great way to put all of life’s crap into perspective.”
I never considered that Shri might have a lot of crap going on in her life. But then she can be pretty darn stoic. Who knows what unhappiness or pain lurks behind that ever-sarcastic demeanor of hers.
Mama steps out of the walk-in pantry. “Oh, Cadi, there you are. Be a dear and get me some beets from the root cellar, would you? A couple of pounds. And maybe two yellow onions. You can use the wicker basket by the side door.”
“Sure,” I say, though I’m thinking about breakfast.
Shri washes her bowl and sets it on the drying rack. “If you’re heading out for those veggies, I’ll go with you. A root cellar sounds pretty cool.”
I cock an eyebrow at her. “In more ways than one.”
She smirks back at my joke.
“Sure, come on. Where’s everyone else?” Meaning, what are the chances we’ll run into Dean?
“Ty’s still asleep and Dean went out with Tom to get started taking measurements.” Shri follows me past the stairs and down the hall to a side door. “He’s going to give us the rundown of his plans in about an hour.”
I grab the wicker basket off a low bench by the door. We head to the log barn tucked in among tall pines that edge the driveway.
The barn door stands open. Papa has a workshop inside and must have stopped by already, for tape measures and the like.
The barn smells of dry earth edged with pine resin and a hint of cedar. “Access to the root cellar is in here.” I point to a bulkhead door across the barn floor. “The cellar itself is out back, but someone had the sense to provide access from here. Otherwise, it would be buried in snow all winter.”
The bulkhead lock resists. I tug and finally release it with the help of a kick. I toss Shri a quick grin. “The latch is pretty old. Probably needs oiling again.”
I lead the way down a set of stone steps, flipping a light switch as I go. A short passage takes us beyond the barn’s outer wall to a stout wood door with an old-fashioned key. A quick turn of that key, and the door swings open. Cool air brushes across my cheeks as I reach for another switch and step inside.
The walls of the root cellar are lined with broad shelves holding slatted wood boxes, and loose-weave baskets. Some are empty, but others hold stores of apples, squash and root vegetables.
Shri pulls a red potato from a crate. “I’ve got to tell my dad about this place. I bet he’d want one.”
“It’s great for seasonal veggies, which we buy by the crate at the farmers’ market.” I grab a few red beets and place them on a hanging produce scale, then transfer them to my basket and add two onions.
Shri pops the red potato back into its box and glances at me. “So what’s this project of Tom’s?”
“He wants to build a bunch of vacation cabins.” I pull open the cellar door.
“So, like a resort?”
“Uh-huh.”
Shri nods. “Cool. And how are you doing?”
“Good.” I indicate for her to go ahead and close the door behind us.
“As in?”
“I’m glad Mama and Papa moved out here. I love it even more than the farm.” Which I wouldn’t have thought possible, but then Idris is out here too. My life contains a perfect combination of loving foster parents and the coolest boyfriend on the planet—hmm, make that two planets.
But I can’t tell Shri that, because if I tell her, she might tell Dean. The risk is too great.
“So you’ve made new friends out here?”
“A few.” I include Marek and his girlfriend, Brianna, though they’re Idris’s friends first.
“Mmm-hmm,” Shri says as we head up the stone steps. “So what about Dean?”
I pause. “What about him?” I take a deep breath and jog after her.
She reaches for the bulkhead door as I step out. “Well, it was kind of obvious seeing him last night didn’t go down so well with you.”
I groan. “Was it really that obvious?”
“Uh, yeah. Well, to me, at least. And him.”
“I thought he wasn’t coming. To stay, I mean.”
Shri closes the door and the latch clicks. “So are you still mad at him or is there something else going on?”
My throat goes dry. “Something else?”
She tilts her head, a not-so-happy smirk hovering. “Yeah. I mean, there was something going on between you guys before you left.”
The question is, what? And I wish I knew the answer. From Dean’s perspective, at least. “Why? Did he say something?”
“Only that he wasn’t sure you’d want to see him.”
Ever again. Yep, that’s accurate. “We didn’t part ways on the best foot.” As in, he screwed me over by telling Jake about my powers. And then, said he loved me.
Thinking about that moment in the old barn with Roly-Poly’s kittens makes me shudder. Dean’s apology. His shock when I said I was leaving. His proclamation.
I rub at my belly, trying to ease the tangle inside it. Six months have passed since we last saw each other. He can’t still feel that way about me.
Can he?
Shri crosses her arms. “He was pretty upset after you left.”
If she knew what he’d said, she might understand why. I roll my eyes up to the ceiling, then drop my head back down to look at her. “I think because he hoped things weren’t over between us.”
Not that anything really started, aside from some kissing practice. True, I’d felt something for Dean, though I’m not sure what. Affection? Tenderness? Desire?
Ugh. Back then, maybe. But not now.
Shri’s eyebrow picks up a Beyoncé arch. “Weren’t over, as in…?”
I take a few steps backward. “You remind me of the Spanish Inquisition.”
Shri laughs, but it’s only half humorous. “Just wait till I pull out my thumb screws.”
“Like he wanted to start over. Straighten things out with Jake. Defend me.
Take on the entire school if he had to. Then he said…” I swallow.
Her laser beam gaze pokes me. “Said what?”
I growl and walk away, then turn back to face her, lips pinched in a hard line. “That he loved me.”
Her chin jolts and she looks pained.
“Argh! Why did you ask? I feel like I’ve tattled on him now.”
Shri glances away. “Well, he kept his end of the bargain.”
I blink. “What do you mean?”
“That he defended you. He ended his friendship with Jake and took on the whole school… for you.”
I stare down at my toes. “God, Shri. I wish he hadn’t done that.”
“He’s a good guy, Cadi. Please talk to him. He deserves that much, even if you don’t share his feelings.” Her voice cracks at the end.
I study her for a long moment. “So, did you figure him out?”
She frowns. “What d’you mean?”
“You said you were going to make it your mission to figure him out.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah, I guess I did. And sticking up for you did make him a better person.” She shakes her head. “No, that didn’t come out right. What he did proved that he already was a better person.”
“You like him, don’t you?”
“He’s my best friend, Cadi. Of course I like him.” She harrumphs. “After you took off, I had nobody to bitch to about life, and after the shit went down with Jake, neither did he. We were two disassociated molecules that just kinda stuck together.”
I can’t resist a smile. “That’s so sweet.”
Shri rolls her eyes. “No, Cadi. It was survival.”
16
Dean
“Wanna come into town with us?” I ask Ty, as we clear the table after lunch. Tom gave Shri and me the afternoon off, telling us to head into Hopper and get to know the place.
Ty hands a stack of dirty dishes to Shri, who stands at the sink full of sudsy water. “Nah. Mama Jacobsen wants help stacking logs out front, and she’s giving me a lesson on the piano afterward.”
I elbow him. “Mama Jacobsen, huh?”