Autumn Secrets (Numinous Book 1)

by Ivy Rose

  “Why, what did you want from me?”

  “What we all want: the amulet and your powers of course. But it turned out, you didn’t have any of it. You were quite a disappointment, I must say.” Luca chuckled.

  “Because of my protection spell,” I mumbled.

  “We needed to see if it was true, and yes, you were indeed shielded from your powers.”

  “How do you control people’s minds, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  It surprised me how willing he was to provide me with answers, but as long as he kept talking, I had more time to think about how to get out of this mess.

  “Well, like Evangeline, I need to have something that connects me to the person. I, however, don’t need physical contact; I just need a belonging of value.”

  “What do you have that belongs to me?”

  Luca chuckled. “Well, I’ll leave that to you to figure out. You might want to have a look through your room though, just to see if anything is missing.”

  That’s when another piece of this crazy puzzle fell into place. “The night when Lexi and her family came over, ages ago. I thought I’d left the window open. You were in my room…”

  “Not me personally, but yes, someone was definitely in your room. Only a quick visit though, since you and Lexi interrupted.”

  “You let someone else do the dirty work, how nice of you.”

  I hated the idea that someone had been in my room, going through my personal belongings.

  “Well, I really didn’t have a choice,” he said more to himself than me.

  That’s when I remembered Mum’s words: Aurora, this house is our safe haven. Darkness can’t come in here unless it is invited. The whole manor has a ward around it.

  I stared at him. “You couldn’t get in, so you had to let someone else do it for you, and I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you had to manipulate some innocent’s mind to get it done.”

  Luca gave me a quick look. “I’m done answering questions.”

  I turned my gaze out the window again, just to get an idea of where we were going. I needed to stay focused on what direction we were heading, but most of all, I needed to get out of this car right now. Just as the thought crossed my mind, I heard Luca curse under his breath.

  “Shit. Looks like we have company.”

  I turned around and saw headlights closing in behind us. Had someone seen me get into Luca’s car? But why would they follow us? No one really knew who Luca was. He was simply a hot guy from school. If people had seen us leave, there was no way anyone would think I was in any danger. All of a sudden, Luca put his foot on the brake, and we came to an abrupt stop on the side of the road. Luckily, I was wearing my seatbelt, or I was pretty sure I would have flown out the front windshield. Suddenly the passenger door opened.

  “Aurora, what’s going on?”

  Adrian. I quickly pulled my seatbelt off, jumped out of the car and wrapped my arms around his neck. In that moment, I didn’t care what Luca had said about him and Evangeline. Considering what was happening right now, I didn’t exactly have much faith in Luca’s words.

  “Adrian, thank you. We need to leave. I can’t explain everything to you right now, but we need to go. Now,” I whispered urgently in his ear.

  He shut the passenger door behind me with his foot, then looked down at me.

  “Are you all right?”

  I shook my head. “There’s no—”

  Luca’s car engine roared back to life. He took off, leaving a trail of fumes behind him as he drove further and further away. Adrian looked at me.

  “Why were you with Luca?”

  I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to gain some warmth. I had left my jacket behind at the party. “It’s not what you think. I’ll explain later. Can we please just go?”

  He nodded and we walked in silence to his car. I jumped into the passenger seat and Adrian started the engine to take us back towards Angel Falls again. I pulled my phone out from my bag to call Mum, but my battery had gone flat during the evening.

  “Sorry, could I borrow your phone? I really need to get in touch with my mum.”

  “I didn’t bring my phone tonight. I left it at home. Do you want to go to my place? It’s closer, and you can call your mum from there?”

  He was right: his house wasn’t far from here from what I could remember. “Okay, thanks.”

  “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “I…I can’t explain right now, maybe later?” I tried. How did I explain something like this to him? Did he know anything about the world I was involved in? Was he one of them? Or was Adrian oblivious to it all? I stole a quick glance at him. He just looked…like Adrian.

  “Okay, whenever you’re ready. I’m here for you.” He smiled reassuringly and squeezed my hand.

  I decided I could trust him. He hadn’t given me any reasons not to, and I was running out of time. When we finally made it to his house, I noticed Adrian’s parents weren’t home, just like the last time I’d been there. The house was dark.

  “Where are your parents?”

  “Dinner with some friends. Elijah is probably still at the party or in some poor girl’s bed.” He grinned and stepped out of the car. I followed him. He gestured towards the house. “After you.”

  I was once again alone with Adrian in his house. He turned the light on and ticked his head towards the table. “My phone is over there.”

  “Thanks.” Luckily, I had learned my lesson from our weekend away, and memorised Mum’s number. I walked over to the table Adrian had pointed to and grabbed his phone. I needed to get in touch with her as soon as possible.

  “The battery must be flat on yours too,” I said and tried any of the buttons to lighten the screen.

  “Oh, okay. I have a charger upstairs in my room, just give me a sec,” he said and turned some more lights on.

  “Do you have a landline? Sorry, I really need to call my mum.”

  “We don’t have a landline.” He came up to me and I handed him the phone. “Come on, let’s go upstairs so you can call her.”

  He held out his hand and I placed mine in his and followed him upstairs, my mind racing. Who the hell was Luca referring to when he said we? How many were there? Were we all in danger? Was Angel Falls surrounded by Lilith’s dark bearers?

  “Okay, after you.” Adrian grinned and opened the door for me. We stepped into his bedroom. Adrian walked over to his desk and pulled a charger out and plugged it into the wall. After a few seconds, his phone lit up. “Here you go; it should work now.”

  I quickly dialled Mum’s number, but she didn’t pick up. Her number was the only one I knew, so I tried again. Still, nothing. She was probably still driving or sleeping.

  “She isn’t answering,” I mumbled and turned to Adrian.

  He was still standing by the door, leaning causally against it with his arms crossed over his well-defined chest. His pale, turquoise-blue eyes were watching me intently. “No luck, huh?”

  I shook my head and pressed my lips together as I walked up to him. “Would you mind taking me home? I really need to get hold of someone. Sorry…” I wasn’t sure how to explain Mr and Mrs Peters right now. I forced myself to meet his gaze and he grinned and caressed my cheek. I let my eyes close for a brief second, just to feel the warmth of his touch pierce through to the very core of my being. He planted a soft kiss on my lips, slowly pulling me into his world again.

  A world I didn’t have time to be in right now, no matter how much I wanted to hide in there. “I’m sorry, Adrian. I can’t do this right now. I really need to go home,” I whispered against his lips with my eyes closed.

  He pulled his face away and I felt him stare down at me. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Aurora. Because, I can’t let you go home yet.”

  My eyes instinctively looked up at the sound of his voice, and I immediately detected the shift in his eyes.

  “Adrian?” I whispered in confusion and started to walk backwards, away f
rom him. I wasn’t sure what was going on.

  “Don’t take it personally, angel. It’s just that you have something that I want, and you’ll have to give it to me before I can let you go,” he said, still with a soft tone to his voice, and took a few steps closer to erase the distance I’d created between us.

  I shook my head and swallowed hard, in an attempt to take away the growing ache in my throat. “What is it that you want?” I whispered.

  “Aurora, let’s not make this more difficult than it needs to be. I think you know what I am talking about. Just give me the amulet.”

  He knew. He was a part of this. He was working with Luca. Was I the only one who had been left in the dark? As if my heart hadn’t already been crushed enough this evening, I could feel it shatter into a million pieces. I closed my eyes in a desperate attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to break free. I shook my head and wished that this was just a bad dream.

  “I don’t have the amulet.” I let my eyes sweep across the room, looking for a way out. The only way out was through the door we came in. I wouldn’t have time to open any windows to try and escape.

  “Angel, don’t lie to me. I can see it. You can’t hide it from me.”

  “You’ve seen the amulet?”

  “No, I can see it in you. You are connected to the amulet; I can sense it. Now, be a good girl and hand it over.”

  I shook my head. “Like I said, I don’t have it.”

  “Angel, this is my last warning. Don’t lie to me. Give me the amulet. I know you have it.”

  “I’m telling you the truth, Adrian. I don’t have it. I managed to break my protection spell by myself. I’m connected, but not bonded yet,” I cried desperately.

  We stared at each other in silence. The lump in my throat was ready to explode. I felt like I had swallowed a golf ball, and I struggled to keep the tears at bay.

  “Why, Adrian?” I whispered and swiped away a tear that had managed to escape. His betrayal stung, demolishing my soul into nothingness, and I knew I would never be able to recover from this.

  “It’s nothing personal, Aurora. But I need that amulet, and you will give it to me.” He reached out and caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. I pushed it away. I couldn’t stand to feel his touch; it was going to break me.

  “I trusted you,” I admitted in defeat, my voice laced with pure pain.

  “Maybe that’s your problem, huh? You’re a little bit too trusting with that innocent and pure heart of yours. Look around you. I’m not the only one who has lied to you, and I’m quite certain I won’t be the last.”

  “No, you and Luca seem to have that in common.”

  Who was this guy? He was so cold and distant. I was painfully aware that I wasn’t going to be able to hold the tears in for much longer. The floodgates were about to open any second now.

  “I’m not talking about Luca, angel. Take your mother as a prime example—”

  “I told you not to call me angel. And when it comes to my mother, she just kept me in the dark to protect me. She has told me everything I need to know, so don’t you dare compare her with you or Luca!” At least I was angry now, which was easier to deal with than the awful pain of being utterly betrayed.

  He gave me a menacing grin and shook his head. “I doubt that she has.”

  “Don’t you dare talk about her like that. You don’t know anything about her—”

  “Did you ask her why you can’t remember your friend Lexi? Or why you’re the one taking over after your grandmother, not her? Have you ever asked yourself why this amulet is suddenly skipping a generation?” Adrian interrupted.

  I stared at him. Of course I had asked myself that question. Why wasn’t Mum next in line? Mrs and Mr Peters had made it clear that Mum had to be the one to share the rest of our family story. We hadn’t exactly had a chance to sit down and talk, because I’d been avoiding her, blaming her for keeping me in the dark and forcing her to give me space. This was the result of that space. Adrian was right: there was still so much I didn’t know.

  “I thought so.” He smirked.

  “Did you know who I was? The night we met?” I asked with a shaky voice.

  He nodded. “Yes, I was looking for you. I needed to get to know you.”

  We stared at each other in silence, before I finally asked the question that was slowly suffocating me.

  “That’s it? That’s the only reason you took an interest in me?”

  He gave me a scornful grin. “What other reason would I have, angel? I mean, I guess I could pretend there was another reason, if that would make it easier?”

  I shook my head. His words were so toxic, I cringed in pain. I never knew that words could hurt as much as they did in this very moment. My eyes still stung with an overflow of unshed tears. I tried to look anywhere, except directly at him. I didn’t want him to see that he had broken me. Because he had; there was no question about it.

  “Who are you?” I whispered harshly.

  He sighed. “It doesn’t matter who I am—”

  “It matters to me, Adrian,” I said as my tears finally broke the barrier and started to fall. I wiped them off with the back of my hand. I didn’t want him to see me cry like this, but there was no way I would be able to stop them from falling now. I tried to push back a sob that uncontrollably left my broken soul.

  “Aurora…” He stepped closer and let his fingers gently wipe the tears from my face. His tender touch confused me, but only for a second. I looked up and met his gaze, and that’s when I saw something flicker in his eyes. Regret? It was something that reflected my own pain. I couldn’t tell, and I definitely couldn’t trust what was going to happen next. I knew this was the only chance I would ever have to escape. Fuelled by a sudden burst of rage, I kneed him in the groin, where I knew it would hurt the most. I might have been clueless in many ways, but I did know how to defend myself against a guy.

  “Go to hell, Adrian.”

  I yanked open the door and started to run. I felt like I was flying down the stairs. I reached for the doorhandle and ran out into the cold autumn night. I knew I probably didn’t have much time to get away, and every second counted. The harvest moon gave me enough light so that I knew I wouldn’t get completely lost. I didn’t know my way around here that well, but I knew I was safer in the forest than in the hands of Adrian Hunter.

  I ran across the big lawn in front of the house, straight into the nearby forest, and as far away from the house as I possibly could. My tears blinded me as I stumbled, almost falling over an old tree stump. I regained my balance and stopped for a second to figure out which direction to run. I wiped more tears away and tried to catch my breath. I didn’t have time to feel this overwhelming pain, I needed to get back to Angel Falls somehow.

  Determined, I pushed the hair off my face and was just about to start running again, when a pair of strong arms caught me around my waist. Before I could defend myself, a hand came down and pressed something over my mouth, and the next think I knew, I was falling into the darkness…

  To be continued in…

  For upcoming book release and additional information on the author, please visit her website:

  www.ivyrosebooks.com

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank Charlie Spalding and Helena Newton, my editor and proof reader. Thank you both for taking my story under your wing, brushing it up and catching all those little hiccups along the way!

  Many thanks to Jay R Villalobos for this beautiful book cover. I’m a big fan of your work.

  To my husband Anthony, who has encouraged me to chase my dream and supported me every step of the way. I love you!

  To our three beautiful children: Tristan, Jakob and Arlo. My most precious treasure in life and the brightest stars in my sky. I love you all sooo sooo much/Mama Bear.

  About the Author

  Ivy Rose is a paranormal fiction writer who lives on the Northern beaches of Sydney with her family. Ivy grew up in a small town in the N
orthern hemisphere, surrounded by deep forests, red-coloured houses and glimmering lakes. It was during a trip home to visit friends and family in autumn when the inspiration to write this novel came to her. Ivy also loves travelling and is always looking for new places to visit. When she’s not writing, she spends her free time with her children, enjoying the outdoors, or curled up on the couch with a good book and a hot chocolate.