by Ivy Rose
“You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m just admiring the view.” I still felt like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
That afternoon, between the towering apple trees in the neglected orchard, I knew that I had lost my heart to the boy who had found me between the shelves at the library. I watched him as he gathered the apples, but he was too preoccupied to notice my frequent glances his way. I think it was the candidness of this whole afternoon that made me feel like this, unsettled in a way. It was the simple gestures and the small talk that we shared that rattled me and left me completely star struck. I diverted my gaze towards the misty sky. The afternoon breeze absorbed his scent, and I knew he was behind me before I felt a hand sneak around my waist.
“Not like that. Like this,” he whispered close to my ear, while using his other hand to guide mine around the apple. “You need to twist carefully. Don’t pull so fast and hard. Remember, patience.”
A simple touch like that made my heart feel a thousand different things, all at once. In a quick move I turned around and faced him. His lips twitched upwards, and his eyes were glistening. He knew that his touch had provoked me. My breathing was coming out hard and fast.
“Something wrong, angel?”
I shook my head, my cheeks warming. “You know.”
“Know what?” he asked softly but gave me a devious grin.
“You are such a tease.” I put my hands on his chest in an attempt to push him away. He caught them and pulled me into him instead.
“Am I really? Because…” His gaze roamed across my face. “I would like to think that you are the tease here. Tell me, what are you thinking about right now?”
He knew every single thought that I had about him, and that I was powerless to stop it as it burned through my mind. I couldn’t articulate my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if they were rational or irrational when I was around him. Instead of answering, I found myself launching at him. He moved, taking me with him, but I hardly registered until I was on top of him on the ground. His mouth found mine with ease, and as he weaved his fingers through my hair, I felt myself exploding at his seductive touch. Who would have thought that picking apples could be so romantic?
When Adrian dropped me back to my car later that afternoon, I was immediately thrown back into the reality of things. I jumped in my car and called the Peters to apologise for not being there sooner and asked if they could meet me up at the manor instead. I figured that would give us some time to talk before it got too late. When I got back home, Mr and Mrs Peters were already there waiting for me.
“Sorry I’m late. I just had to do a few things this afternoon,” I said as I walked into our kitchen. Mrs Peters was stirring a pot and Mr Peters was setting the table. They both looked up at me and smiled.
“That’s perfectly fine, love,” Mr Peters said.
“It smells so good. What are you making?” I asked as my stomach grumbled. I was starving. Picking apples had made me extremely hungry.
“A chicken casserole. Are you hungry?” Mrs Peters asked.
I nodded. “Starving, actually.”
“Good. Let’s have some dinner together before we start. Have a seat, love,” Mrs Peters said.
What I loved about Mr and Mrs Peters was that we could have a normal conversation around the dinner table, without diving into anything supernatural. It made me feel more comfortable about myself and who I was. It all felt normal, and I really craved normality around people. And they were my people. They were my family.
After dinner I helped clear the table and then made us some tea. We all sat down again with our teacups and Mrs Peters put some homemade cookies on the table that she had brought with her. I had deliberated all the way home if I should start telling them more about my experiences since I moved here. I still didn’t want to bring Lucinda or Phoebe into the conversation, but now that I knew I wasn’t officially losing my mind, there were still some unexplainable events that I had no answer for, and maybe they did.
Mrs Peters offered me a cookie. “Aurora, do you have any questions for us? I feel like we have given you so much information lately.”
I cleared my throat. This was my chance to see if the odd things that had happened to me when I first arrived were truly random or not. “Well, I do have a question for you, actually. Do you know anything about a book called Fallen Angels and Demons?”
“We certainly do, love,” Mr Peters said surprised. “How do you know about the book? Did Helena give it to you?”
I shook my head. “No, no one gave it to me. More like the book kept showing itself to me.”
Mrs Peters put her teacup down and looked at me. “What do you mean?”
I told them how I first came across the book in the town library and then again in my grandmother’s library.”
“And where is it now?” Mr Peters asked.
“I put it in my drawer, but it’s missing. I didn’t even have a chance to properly look through it. It just disappeared.”
I saw Mr and Mrs Peters exchange looks with each other, which led me to my next question. “What kind of book is it? It looked really old.”
“Well, you’re right. The book is very old, indeed. It’s from the very beginning of the battle between light and dark. It’s been in the hands of a guardian of light since the first one was ever selected. Your grandmother was the last owner of it.”
“But if there’s only one and it belongs to a guardian of light, how did it end up at the public library?”
“Good question, Aurora. But it was clearly your grandmother who wanted you to have it.”
“What are you saying? That she came back from the dead to give me the book?”
“No, she hasn’t come back. She just wants you to have this book, and she made sure it appeared in front of you.”
“But, how?”
“Who knows? But I’m very interested in what powers may lie under that protection spell. I have a feeling that those powers are connected to why you can receive messages from the other side.” Mrs Peters smiled. “Anyway, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“No, please. I need to focus on one thing at a time. Tell me more about the book.”
“I’ve actually never read it myself. Only a guardian of light can open the book and read it. They can tell others about it, but no one can actually read the book for themselves.”
“How come?”
“The book is warded by a magical spell that only allows a guardian of light to open the book.”
“Oh.” I didn’t bother to hide my disappointment. I wanted to know more about this book.
“But I know a lot about its contents, even if I haven’t read it for myself. Not word for word obviously.” She winked.
“Really? Tell me what you know.” I was losing patience here. I had finally found another piece of this puzzle that had been trying to put together since I arrived here.
“Well, the book introduces you to the world of light bearers, spells and magic, and all different kinds of supernatural beings, even the dark bearers. It shows you what powers they have, what to look for and so on.”
“Well, I guess that would be handy to have,” I said.
“But the main part of the book is the prophecy,” she continued.
“A prophecy? What kind of prophecy are we talking about?”
“Well, from my understanding, there will come a time when a guardian of light will fall for a very powerful dark bearer. You know how I told you about your grandmother falling in love with your grandfather, despite being destined for another light bearer?”
I nodded.
“Because of this prophecy, your grandfather was heavily scrutinised by all the light bearers when they announced their relationship. No one would accept him or trust him. They all thought he was from the dark side and he was tested in awful ways to prove his love and loyalty to your grandmother. Everyone believed that they were the couple from the prophecy. They obviously weren’t.”
“Th
is prophecy that you’re talking about…it predicts something awful then?”
“It certainly does,” Mr Peters agreed.
“I don’t know the details obviously,” Mrs Peters said gently. “But the story goes that a guardian of light will one day fall in love with a very powerful dark bearer. It is said that they are soulmates from another lifetime, and no one will be able to break them apart. However, their love will come with the ultimate price. The dark side will find their ground and win the battle once and for all.”
“And why is that?”
“The dark bearer will betray her.”
“How does he betray her?”
“I don’t know the details precisely, but I think it says he will steal the amulet and weaken her powers,” Mrs Peters replied softly.
I turned to Mr Peters. I needed to know more. “What about you, Mr Peters? Do you know more about this story?”
He shook his head. “No. I never put any effort in to learning about this prophecy, once it was clear that the story didn’t involve your grandparents. And I am assuming it has nothing to do with you either. Perhaps it’s just a story.”
“How would you know? Maybe that’s why the book keeps reappearing in front of me. To warn me. Maybe I am doomed to bring eternal darkness to Earth.” I felt a sense of panic settle within me. This whole story really rattled me.
“It’s not you, Aurora. The prophecy says that these two soulmates will meet at a very young age, before she becomes a guardian of light. Our harvest ritual is next week, love. So, unless you have some dark bearer hidden in your closet, I’d say that you are safe,” Mrs Peters said kindly.
“Oh, okay,” I said and blushed. I certainly wasn’t hiding a dark bearer anywhere. The only person of interest to me was Adrian, and he was a part of my normal world. “Then, I guess we’re all safe for now.” I smiled.
“And don’t worry if you can’t find the book. I have a feeling it will appear in front of you again before you know it,” Mr Peters said.
“I have no doubt about that.” I smiled again.
“Anything else you would like to ask tonight?” he asked.
“Well no… Or, wait.” I told them about this afternoon, well sort of, how I had been with a friend for an afternoon walk and found myself panicking when I’d felt the urge to let the light out.
“I don’t know why it was triggered,” I said.
“You said you were outdoors in nature?” Mrs Peters asked.
I nodded. “Yes, we were… It was so beautiful.”
“Well, it’s really not surprising. The light within you is strongly connected to the elements of the natural world. How did you stop it?”
“I had to focus really hard, but I managed to calm it down. It scared me. I mean, will this be triggered all the time, whenever I’m outside? How is that going to work?”
Mrs Peters shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about that. It won’t happen. Usually you will feel comfortable and more connected to your abilities around other supernatural beings, because your instincts will tell you it’s safe to be what you are. Who was your friend, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Uh, just a new friend from school. Sophia is her name.” I felt awful for lying, but I really didn’t want them to find out about Adrian just yet. I’d never had a boyfriend before and I needed to break the news to Mum first, or she would be devastated. Even more so after everything that had happened between us lately. I really didn’t want to hurt her. I was ready to move on and I knew she was too.
“Well, we don’t know any light bearers with a daughter named Sophia, so that was probably not the case then. Perhaps it happened because you are still under a protection spell and that makes it a little more difficult to control your powers and adjust to the environment. But don’t worry, as soon as we’ve lifted the protection spell, everything will fall into place. You will feel more comfortable and be able to work with the powers within you.”
That had to be the case, because I knew Adrian, and he definitely wasn’t a light bearer. I giggled to myself.
“What so funny?” Mr Peters asked with a smile.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
Chapter 21
The next day, Friday, the whole school looked amazing, with autumn decorations everywhere. I was actually starting to feel quite excited about this evening.
“I’ll see you tonight?” a voice whispered in my ear as two arms gently wrapped around my waist from behind.
I could only nod in reply, as I was too busy inhaling Adrian’s toxic scent, making me wish we were anywhere but here right now. His bed, my bed, or even back in the orchard.
“Looking forward to it,” he said softly and placed a feather-light kiss on my cheek.
I couldn’t just let him walk away without a glance at him, so I spun around to admire the view.
Adrian grinned. “Catch you later.”
“Sure.”
Without thinking I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in close for another kiss. I noticed his surprise, before his arms sneaked around my waist again, pulling me towards him. He was normally the one who took the initiative, but lately I found myself feeling braver.
“Get a room,” a voice said with a laugh beside us, interfering in our private moment.
Embarrassed I broke away from Adrian, and desperately tried to catch my breath.
“Seriously, you two…” Lexi giggled.
Adrian winked at me. “Later, girls.”
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I turned to Lexi.
“At least Luca will be there tonight, so I don’t have to be too jealous of you two, thank God.”
When school finally finished, I drove back home to get ready for the evening. I was excited for tonight, mostly because I would be able to spend the evening with Adrian. I had found the perfect dress and believe it or not, I’d found it in my own closet. It was the same colours as the orange and red earthy tones of the autumn leaves outside, very fitting for tonight’s theme. It was a floor-length evening dress made of stretchy silk material. It was sleeveless and had a deep V-neck. It was elegant and didn’t show too much skin. I had bought it in Paris for a function we never attended, so I’d never had a chance to wear it until tonight.
After spending a few hours getting ready, I looked at myself in the mirror, feeling quite proud of what I’d accomplished all by myself. It was the first time I had ever tried to make myself beautiful for someone special, and tonight I actually cared about my appearance.
“That will have to do,” I mumbled to myself in the mirror and left my room.
“Aurora, honey, you look beautiful,” Mum said as I came down the stairs.
“Thanks, Mum.”
“Spin around. Let me have a look at you.”
“Mum.” I blushed, but did what I was told.
“You look absolutely amazing, sweetheart.”
“Thanks. Are you ready?”
Mum grabbed her handbag. “Whenever you are. My suitcase is already in the car. Would you like to have a little clutch with you for your belongings? I think I have one that will look just right with your dress.”
“Yes, that would be great actually. I didn’t really think about that.”
“Give me one second,” Mum said and hurried up the stairs.
A few minutes later she came down with a glittery, ivory pouch. “Perfect.”
“So, are you ready for your London trip?” I asked as I took a final look at myself in the mirror.
“Yes, I want it to be over and done with, to be honest.” Mum sighed. “You look so beautiful tonight, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Mum.”
As we drove into Angel Falls, we chatted about non-important things. We were both still treading lightly around each other.
“Don’t forget, if there is anything you need, Mr and Mrs Peters are only a phone call away. I wrote down their numbers; they’re on the kitchen table.”
“Great, thanks. I’ll
be fine for a few days though, don’t you worry.”
Mum nodded. “I know, I just want you to feel safe.”
“I do feel safe.”
I decided then, while I had her confined to the car, that this was the time to open the conversation.
“As you know, I’ve spent quite some time with Mr and Mrs Peters…”
Mum nodded. “I know.”
“So, how do you feel about that? I haven’t really asked you.”
“Aurora, I only want you to be happy. If this is what you want, then I’ll support you all the way. Please, don’t ever forget that.”
“I miss you, Mum.”
“I’m here, sweetheart. You asked for space, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not here.”
“I want you to tell me about my dad, and my life. No secrets. I want the whole story.”
“Yes, I know. And I’m ready. I’m back from London on Tuesday night. Why don’t I have Wednesday off to just talk, okay? You’ll be on holidays, and we can take our time with no interruptions.”
I nodded and smiled. “I would like that.”
“Me too. I know I haven’t been around much since we got here, but that will change once I’m back from London,” she said and squeezed my hand. “I love you, Aurora.”
“I love you too, Mum.”
Mum dropped me off just after seven by the school.
“Have fun tonight. And Lexi is taking you home?”
“I will. And yes, Lexi will take me home afterwards.”
“Good. Now, I’ve actually borrowed a car for you while I’m away since mine will be at the airport in the city. Mr Peters will get it for you tomorrow.”
“Great.”
“And one more thing before I go.” Mum jumped out of the car. “Let me take a picture. I’ve never seen you in a dress like this before. You look so beautiful.”