Secret Keeper (My Myth Trilogy - Book 2): Young Adult Fantasy Novel

by Jane Alvey Harris

  I weave to amplify my voice, sending it out in a breathy rush across the sand. “Welcome, Jacob and Gabe. How nice of you to visit.”

  “Emily?” Gabe’s questioning shout echoes off the cliff behind us. Within seconds, they emerge from behind the trees and make their way down the hillside.

  I gasp.

  Jacob holds Keen.

  He’s draped a loose shield like a ratty old blanket over himself and Gabe. Instinct commands me to block him, though the small amount of Keen he’s holding is defensive, and clearly too weak to hurt us.

  Could I really attack my own brother? Buried doubts resurface, weighing me down. An abuse victim can become an abuser…

  He obviously thinks I could hurt him, or he wouldn’t be shielding himself and Gabe. I wonder when his Mind’s Eye opened. Did Dad teach him how to make that shield?

  “What is it, Emma?” Teagan is tuned in to my concern.

  “Someone’s been teaching Jacob to Channel.”

  “We can stop them from coming any closer if you’d like, Emily,” Minali offers.

  “No,” I say. “He’s my little brother.”

  “He’s not so little anymore, Emily,” Minali points out.

  “You need to reset the ward, Ems.” Twist nudges me in the back.

  Returning to my body, I close my Third Eye, grabbing onto Teagan and Minali for a second until the vertigo recedes. “Right. I will. But first, let’s go greet our guests, shall we girls?”

  There’s an unplanned mellow rhythm to our step as we leave the shelter of the boulders and saunter across the golden sand to meet Jacob and Gabe. They gawk, taking in the mashed-berry war paint on our cheeks, the white and brown henna on our arms, chests, and shoulders, the tunics we’ve relieved of sleeves, the breeches cut short so as not to hinder our movements, and the coral and flowers we’ve woven into our wild hair.

  Teagan’s teeth flash brilliant in a grin echoing my own.

  Part of me wants to scoop Jacob up in my arms, examine him for bruises, check to make sure his ears are clean. But I’m not in charge of him anymore, as he’d be only too happy to remind me.

  In a lazy line we encircle them, chins high, shoulders back, hips swaying…our center of gravity low. Minali runs an appraising finger across the back of Jacob’s shirt. Teagan winks at Gabe and licks her lips.

  Lionesses on the prowl, toying with their prey.

  “What can we do for you gentleman today,” I ask.

  “Seriously, Emily?” Jacob asks. “We’ve all been worried sick about you.”

  “Why do you care where I go or what I do, Jacob? I seem to remember you leaving first.”

  “I didn’t leave anyone. I went to help get things ready for all of us so we can take Mom home and be a family again. You remember Mom, right? The one who nearly died a couple weeks ago because of your made-up stories?”

  WTF? Emotion erupts my interior in stinging acrid smoke and neon flames. I could strangle him. I nearly killed Mom?

  “I forgive you, Jacob,” I say, reining in my rage and adopting a composed, beneficent tone. “Because you’re young and have zero idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Do you really care so little about our family?” Jacob’s voice cracks. I can’t tell if he’s faking heartbreak to manipulate me, or if he really is close to tears.

  “Your dad understands the incredible strain you’ve been under, Emily, and he knows he’s partly responsible.” Gabe’s voice is reasonable and calm. “He sent us to ask you to come back so he can work to make amends.”

  “Make amends?” I spit. “You can tell my father I decline his invitation. And if I get even a whiff of a hint that he’s gone anywhere near Aidan or Claire I’ll destroy him and scatter his pieces so far and wide no one will ever find them.”

  “Why are you being like this?” Jacob hurls the words at me. “Haven’t you done enough damage? Can you even hear yourself? Do you really need attention so bad you’re willing to tear our family apart? It’s disgusting.”

  “Do you know what’s disgusting, Jacob?” I stop my slow walk, inches away from my brother’s face. “That Dad’s been incarcerated for years and years, for lying and cheating and stealing. But the second he gets out you treat me like crap and then abandon me to run off with him. I took care of us the entire time he was in prison! I might not be able to stop you from going with him, but I’ll fight to my last breath to protect Aidan and Claire.”

  “I think it’s time you leave now,” Twist says, pulling a katana from the sheath strapped to her back and poking it at Gabe. “You’ve overstayed your welcome.”

  Teagan, Minali, and Chloe take a step closer to Jacob and Gabe.

  Gabe holds up his hands to show he’s unarmed. “Can I please speak with you privately, Emily? Just for a few minutes?”

  After a moment of what feels like unbearably gracious consideration, I nod, trying to calm the scorching steam seething beneath my surface. It hurts, being burned by the fire of my brother’s judgment, but I can’t let him see. “Keep my sweet little brother company, won’t you, Ladies?” I quip. “Make sure he doesn’t overwhelm you with his shiny new medallion and nifty tricks.”

  Gabe follows me as I wend my way up the path and into the trees that he and Jacob emerged from only minutes ago. I might as well reset the ward of Blaze Jacob triggered while we have our private little chat.

  The ingenious wards are four cairn: simple towers of smooth stones. We stacked ours five stones high—one for each maiden—then tied them together with thick, vivid chords of Blaze chest-high, and Keen at ankle-level. Maidens would easily avoid the Blaze “booby trap” by ducking under it, inadvertently triggering the Keen tripwire. Elves would step over the weave of Keen visible to them, and run straight into the chords of Blaze.

  Gabe leans back against the trunk of an ancient cottonwood, arms crossed over his chest. He watches me while I restack the Blaze cairn and reattach the weaves. I ignore him as long as I can, but my wings start to smolder under the weight of his gaze.

  “Are you just going to stand there staring at me like I’m a freak, or are you going to say something?” I’m full bitch-mode. “I thought you wanted to get me alone so you could talk some sense into me. Go ahead, tell me how ridiculous I look, how selfish I am. Let’s hear it.”

  “You’re so gorgeous, Emily,” he says. “You take my breath away. I miss you.”

  Goddamn.

  My bitch-bristles drop to the ground and I’m just a girl who can’t stop herself from saying: “I miss you, too.”

  “I know this has been so hard for you.” He takes the last stone from my hand, positioning it on the cairn, though he can’t possibly know what it’s for. “You’ve had to be so strong. And now everyone’s following you around watching your every move, judging you, planning your life without giving you any choices. I can’t imagine how lonely and scared you’ve been.”

  I melt at the sympathy in his voice. “You… You mean… you don’t hate me for telling the truth about what my dad did?”

  “Oh, Emily.” His tone is distressed. “Of course I don’t hate you. Come here.”

  He pulls me into his arms and oh, it feels so good to hear those words and feel the strength of his chest against my cheek.

  “No matter what I do or say, everyone hates me,” I mumble, squeezing him tight around the middle, afraid he’ll disappear, or worse…take his words back.

  “No, they don’t hate you,” he says softly. “And it’s not fair how everyone’s trying to control you. I want you to listen to my idea. You don’t have to say yes right now, just say you’ll think about it, okay?”

  He leans back so he can see me nod, then tucks me back in where it’s safe and warm. His fingers play with the flowers and coral in my hair while he talks. “What if you came back home? Not to the Palace…not to the Vineyard…to Dallas.

  Shoulders stiff, I push back from his chest. “If you believed me you’d never ask me to go back with him,” I snap, my guard springing back up.
<
br />   “Wait. I’m not done yet,” Gabe says, soothing me with his reassuring touch, pressing his lips against my forehead until I relax against him. “Just listen, please.”

  It’s hard to resist his sun-vibrant smell and the way his chin rests on the top of my head like it was meant to be there. My guard quavers and recedes. “I’m listening.”

  “I’d be with you, Emily. We’d be together. And so would Jacob and Aidan and Claire. Your dad knows he’s made mistakes. I believe you when you say you think you remember some really horrible things, but I also believe your dad when he says he’ll do better. Your mom is still recovering, Emily. She’s fragile. She needs you. And Aidan and Claire do, too. Even Jacob. I know he won’t admit it, but he misses you a lot. You all need each other. Your dad has spoken with your counselor at CHS. They think if you work really hard you can make up the credits you’re missing and finish senior year on time. You won’t have to repeat junior year. You can graduate with your friends.”

  “I wouldn’t have to repeat junior year?”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  A brief fantasy romps through my mind: Sophie and me laughing, diplomas in hand, taking duck-face selfies. I love my maidens, but I still miss my bff so much. I’ve had to put all those thoughts on pause to get through this chaos and save my family. Gabe’s mention of graduation makes me feel like maybe reconnecting with Sophie isn’t so impossible after all. If I went back to Dallas, I wouldn’t have to fight a losing battle, I wouldn’t have to deal with the Queen or repair the barrier. Maybe his isn’t such a bad plan…

  But a bubbling potion of disquiet churns my stomach, stinging the back of my throat. Something he’s said isn’t right. Something doesn’t quite make sense.

  And then I realize.

  “You said you believe that I think I remember horrible things,” I whisper. “That isn’t the same as believing me.” Despite my best effort, rogue tears slip down my cheeks. “If you really believed me, you’d never ask me to go back. Not unless he admits to what he did. Not unless he wanted to prove he wants to change. But he hasn’t, Gabe. He’s manipulating you. He’s calling me a liar, and he wants to keep Mom sick—”

  “Shhh…” Gabe’s long fingers cradle my head while he wipes the tears with his thumbs. “Your war paint’s getting smeared.” He runs his finger across my cheek and takes a taste. “Mmmm …some kind of berry, right?”

  I smack his hand away. How dare he touch me like that?

  “God. You’re so sexy,” he says.

  And just like that, my indignation evaporates and I want to run away. With Gabe. Right NOW.

  And I hate myself for it. Not only because he’s basically accused me of inventing an entirely false memory about what Dad did to me, but because of Kaillen.

  Kaillen didn’t even question my Truth. But my physical attraction to Gabe is out of control, some kind of chemical attack. Still, I don’t like how he thinks of me as a fragile, tortured little girl who has scary nightmares and needs him for protection. It’s insulting that he thinks he can rescue me and make a happy ending, completely erasing a terrible past just like that.

  But this close to him, I melt.

  Oh God, I want him to take charge. I want him to save me from the stark burden of responsibility and the harsh violence of the aggression I’ve chosen. I long to slip into a make-believe life where the consequences I face are for not turning in my homework on time, instead of the consequences I face for accusing my father of molesting me.

  Flecks of gold glow at me from Gabe’s blue eyes but he’s bending down, looking at my mouth, and I’m entranced, addicted to the desire in his gaze. All the training I’ve done, the progress I’ve made in trusting myself, the strength I’ve hammered into my heart...it’s just gone. I close my eyes and lean against him, my fingers finding the soft, curling hair on his neck, pulling him closer still to taste the way it was when we first met…when he was my first kiss…before I was riven, before I ran away, before I was ever foolish enough to believe I was strong enough to be a Shield Maiden.

  “Emily!”

  Oh God.

  Kaillen stands on the hillside just inside the wards, his face a mask of fury and disbelief. Aidan stands next to him, holding the ribbon of Blaze I just reset in one hand, the ribbon of Keen in the other.

  Why in the name of all that is Good and Holy have I never asked my maidens to show me how to transform into an insect?

  I need to fly away.

  I push back from Gabe, tripping over the root of a tree. He grabs at me, but even his lightning-quick reflexes and expert coming-to-the-rescue skills aren’t enough to stop me from falling directly on my ass.

  “What the fuck, man? Why were you sneaking up on us?” Gabe turns his wrath on Kaillen.

  “Sneaking? You must have been pretty focused on feeling up my girlfriend not to hear a dozen First Rank tramping through the woods.”

  That’s when I notice the dozen First Rank in full armor ranged behind Aidan and Kaillen.

  “Your girlfriend?” Gabe’s voice is soft and dangerous.

  Shit on a stick.

  How did I not hear them coming? I just reset the wards and we’re literally right next to them! The alarm should have pierced our eardrums. But Aidan holds both ribbons in his hands, and no one is covering their ears.

  Scrambling to my feet to take a closer look at Aidan, I nearly fall back on my ass.

  He’s more than just holding the ribbons. He’s lit up with Keen and Blaze.

  Holy shit. Aidan is Ovate.

  That’s why the wards didn’t go off. The alarms didn’t sound because Aidan disabled them. Both.

  My brain won’t form words. I can only stare at my little brother in awe.

  He stares back. “A lot has happened while you’ve been gone.”

  That’s what Drake meant when he said Aidan was the one most like me…when he said that if I knew where to look I’d See he had the same delectable power…

  How could I not have known? He’s even Traveled…I’m such an idiot.

  My instinct is to block Aidan, to shield him from the burden of the dazzling power seeping from his aura like a tire punctured by a nail. He doesn’t know how to use these abilities. He’s fourteen. He doesn’t know how vulnerable they make him.

  “You were there. In my dream,” Aidan says quietly. “You promised you’d come back.” Shadows cling to the delicate pallor of his skin beneath his accusing blue-blue eyes. A battle between tears and composure rages in the rigid lines of his trembling lips.

  “Aidan.” Wide-armed I reach for him, but he moves away. My hands hang midair for a moment before falling useless to my sides. “We’re striking camp,” I plead. “We’re coming back right now.”

  “That’s not what it looked like you were doing.”

  “Seize him.” Kaillen steps behind me, covering my mouth with his hands in the same instant that two of the First Rank advance, binding and gagging Gabe with weaves of Keen. Instinctively I reach for both Blaze and Keen only to find myself completely blocked.

  Aidan has woven a mesh shield and molded it to my body, holding the flow with a spike of Isa.

  Just like he saw me do in the garage.

  “How many more are there?” Kaillen asks Aidan.

  “There are four maidens on the beach, along with Jacob,” Aidan replies. “And they’re strong. Stronger than any of the First Rank. You won’t be able to take them if they’re conscious.”

  Kaillen raises his eyebrows, but doesn’t question. “Bring the maidens to me,” he commands the Guard. “Incapacitate them first.”

  I wrestle and kick against Kaillen’s ironclad grip—I need to warn the maidens—but I’m a puny fly struggling in a spider’s web.

  “I’m sorry, Emily. This is for your own good,” Kaillen says.

  With my eyes I beg Aidan for help, but he stares at me hollow, unseeing, like he’s descended back to the bottom of that lightless abyss.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Scrabbling to my
feet I hurl myself at the heavy door shoulder-first.

  Ow.

  You can do better than that.

  I try again, harder this time, but it doesn’t budge. It doesn’t even echo. The solid wood absorbs the force of my impact completely. In lame defeat I slam my head back against the frame once. Twice.

  Oh yes. Give yourself brain damage. That will solve everything.

  “Fuck YOU, Obsidian!” I yell at the empty chamber.

  If you’d like. Though I think you’ll find it to be fairly unhelpful in this particular situation, which happens to be that your boyfriend has brought you to the Royal City and locked you in a tower, a nice neat gift for the High Queen.

  “What do you suggest I do?” I shout. “As you so kindly pointed out, I’m trapped in a tower, and Aidan is blocking my Blaze and Keen!”

  It’s almost as if you forget who you are, sometimes.

  “I. Know. Who. I. AM.” I scream in supreme frustration. “I’m Emily Ava Alvey, Goddamn Ovate and Shield Maiden Extraordinaire! And it doesn’t even matter, because I’m locked in a fucking tower.”

  You are wasting time. Do what needs to be done.

  “What are you talking about? Aren’t you listening to me? I can’t DO anything!”

  It’s time to lose control, Shield Maiden. Let. Me. OUT.

  DeepDeepDeep within me, her hand appears around a miniscule crack in the granite wall of her prison. Her fingers stretch out—reaching—groping the verge on either side of her dungeon. Searching sightless in every direction and finding only open air, her hand pauses…relaxes…curls around the lip that forms the edge of her cell, tapping her jagged fingernails in a luxurious triumphant staccato.

  Sudden doubt grips me. What if she’s too strong? What if I can’t contain her? The lustful violence in her voice kick-starts panic in my chest. I know she can help me, but I fear she can also destroy me.

  Release me, Shield Maiden. Together we will break all chains that bind us.

  I compress inward, but the rock won’t budge. I activate a tremor, triggering an avalanche of dirt and debris down the cliff side of her prison walls. I must mend the crack. I must keep her inside. She’s beyond dangerous.