“Oh, the Brooks boy. Yes, I sensed power there. And it’s not diluted. Interesting... or it would be, if he weren’t male. As it is, I see it as only another tool with which he can dominate. I think I warned you to stay away from him, didn’t I?”
“Hmmm.” I was non-committal in my response, and she cut me a sharp glance before resuming her story.
“I was sufficiently intrigued by what I sensed in you to do some investigating. Meanwhile, though, Nell was becoming more and more of a problem. Some of the girls actually complained to me about her, expressed concern about her state of mind. I had begun to have my own worries, and this only intensified. Nell became more possessive and jealous of me.”
“As opposed to the open arms and love I was getting from her,” I observed sarcastically.
“Yes. Nell never hid her feelings about you. I assumed that it was because she didn’t want to share my attention with anyone else. By that time, of course, I had disclosed to Nell that I thought she was the one. My daughter’s mystical twin. She was... thrilled. In retrospect, I see that I was fulfilling her deep-seated mother needs; in her mind, I was the replacement for the woman who had proven too weak.”
I shifted in my chair, glancing surreptitiously at the clock. We were nearing the end of the class period, and I didn’t feel I had learned anything new today.
Ms. Lacusta noticed my clock-checking and sighed ruefully. “I know. And I’m stalling. But this is more difficult than I had anticipated.”
I was mystified. “You mean remembering everything with Nell?”
“Certainly that. But I’m avoiding sharing the crux of the matter with you, and that’s not like me.” She seemed almost nervous as she licked her lips.
“The unpleasantness truly began when I had to tell Nell that I had been wrong. Despite all the signs, she wasn’t the one.”
My mouth dropped. Knowing Nell’s history, and now hearing the inside details of everything that had happened last year, I couldn’t imagine what Nell’s response to that kind of betrayal might have been.
“How did you know? What did she do?”
Ms. Lacusta chose to answer my second question first. “You know what she did. She became obsessed with convincing me that I was wrong, that in fact she was the chosen one. And to that end, she decided to perform a blood ritual, to release her true power and her true self. I don’t know if she had always had that in mind for Amber, but I suspect that she did. Nell’s plans were usually quite... concrete.”
I shivered, and in my mind I was back in the clearing, hearing Amber’s desperate panic as Michael and I raced to save her.
That reminded me. “Did you give Nell the athame?” I demanded. “Knowing how unstable she was? How could you do that?”
An odd mix of guilt and annoyance flickered across the teacher’s face. “When I gave that to Nell, I was still under the impression that she was the one I had been seeking. It was an heirloom, something that had been in my family for generations. If I had known what she was capable of doing, of course I never would have given it to her. But by the time I knew, it was almost too late.”
“Was it her insanity that clued you in?”
Ms. Lacusta ignored my mocking tone and shook her head. “No, although her instability certainly worried me. Nell was very controlled and cunning, and as you know, she could be quite manipulative. But it was my own research that showed me the truth.”
“The truth being that Nell wasn’t the—I can’t remember the words in your language. The spiritual twin or whatever?”
“Sacru pereche a unui lucru. Yes. I knew that it wasn’t Nell after all, because I had overwhelming evidence that it was—someone else.”
A sense of dread began to rise within me, even as I could feel a budding eagerness coming from Ms. Lacusta. I should have seen this from the beginning. My head pounded, my breath caught, and I couldn’t speak at all.
“It’s you, Tasmyn. You are the one I’ve been waiting to find. You are my daughter’s sacru pereche a unui lucru.”
I don’t really remember leaving the chemistry classroom that day. I only know that when the final bell rang, I was standing in the walkway across from the cafeteria, clutching my books to my chest and still trying to catch my breath.
“Tas?” Amber waved a hand in front of my face, frowning. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
I stared at her without comprehension, unable to answer. My mind was still reeling. I felt Amber’s anxiety ratchet up another few notches, and it finally shook me into awareness.
“I can’t talk about it right now,” I whispered. “I’m okay, Amber. Really. Just—let’s go into lunch.”
Rafe and Cara were already at the table with their heads close together. I slid onto the bench and tried to remain inconspicuous. I wasn’t in the mood to make small talk. Amber seemed to sense this; she more than compensated for my silence, and I detected only a little bit of curiosity from Cara.
Lunch passed in a blur. Back outside the cafeteria, Rafe caught my arm.
“What’s with you?” he demanded. “You’re as a white as a—I don’t know, a ghost, and you didn’t say a word at lunch. Did you hear something?”
I gaped at him for a moment, wondering how he could have known, and then I realized that he was talking about me hearing some disturbing thought.
“No, I didn’t hear anything,” I replied. “Rafe, I can’t go into this here and now. Please. I’m all right. I just had a—surprising morning.”
He was still suspicious, but he released my arm and moved down the walkway.
I felt nauseated and fleetingly considered going to the nurse’s office. But the idea of being at home with my mother anxious and hovering was worse than the thought of staying here and putting on a game face. I pulled myself together and walked toward my locker.
English was usually my favorite class of the day. Mr. Robinson was too young to be completely jaded and cynical yet, and he was introducing us to some terrific twentieth century literature. For someone like me who was totally enamored with older books, it was an eye-opening experience.
But today I was tremendously relieved to see an unfamiliar substitute sitting at the teacher’s desk. A sub meant busy work, an hour for me to concentrate on blocking other thoughts and figure out how to handle the Ms. Lacusta problem.
I was absorbed in the short answer worksheet on Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged when a current of unease rippled down my spine. Confused, I glanced up at the substitute, who was looking toward the door.
Ms. Lacusta stood there, dark hair framing her small white face and an appealing smile curving her lips. At the desk, the sub’s mouth dropped open as he stared at her.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” she purred in a voice I had never heard. “But I wondered if I could borrow Tasmyn Vaughn from you for a moment. I need to clarify an assignment with her, if you don’t mind.”
I could hear a jumble of incoherent thoughts coming from the sub’s direction. He glanced uncertainly across the classroom at all of us as he nodded and mumbled.
“Thank you so much,” Ms. Lacusta smiled. She swiveled her gaze to me and met my eyes. “Tasmyn, if you would?”
Unwillingly I stood and forced my feet to move across the floor. I was almost tempted to refuse, but making a scene in the middle of the class didn’t seem to be worth it. She was going to catch me sooner or later. It might as well be now.
Once outside the classroom, I closed the door and leaned against the wall, meeting Ms. Lacusta’s eyes. I had recovered from the first shock and now realized I was just angry.
“Tasmyn... ” Her tone was still cajoling and smooth. “I was very concerned when you left my classroom so abruptly. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I spit out. “And you can cut the caring and worried act. I know you’re only afraid something might mess up your plans for your precious--” I stopped, unable to remember exactly how to say it in Romanian. “The sacred twin.” I ended with a hiss.
“You are being
unfair, Tasmyn,” she answered calmly. “I understand that what I shared with you this afternoon was a shock, but it is in fact the truth. I hope that once you have time to adjust, you’ll see that this is actually a great opportunity, not the calamity you perceive it to be.”
“An opportunity to do what?” I had pushed away from the wall and leaned closer to Ms. Lacusta, trying to keep my voice as low as possible. “For you to use me the way you did Nell? Thanks, but I’m not interested.”
Her concern disappeared, replaced by an intensity that took my breath away. “An opportunity to be everything that you were ever meant to be. To see your power grow beyond your wildest dreams.”
“I don’t dream of power,” I shot back. “Don’t confuse me with Nell or with yourself.”
She smiled then and rocked back slightly on her heels. “Perhaps today you don’t. But you’ll see... I know your destiny, and it cannot be denied.” She tilted her head and regarded me silently for a moment. “I’ll leave you for now, Tasmyn. Think about what I’ve said. I won’t bother you this week, but I will expect to see you next Monday.” She turned, and I listened to the sharp click of her heels as she moved with her typical grace down the walkway.
I fell back against the wall, dizzy and sick. Around me, the wind picked up and the clouds turned the sky almost black. I could feel the thrum of an approaching storm. A trickle of fear ran down my spine.
I dragged myself through the rest of the afternoon, paying scant attention to anything or anyone. I brooded about Ms. Lacusta and her insane certainty that I was her chosen one. I worried about what she planned to do with that conviction. And I wondered uneasily what I could do between now and next Monday to put an end to our so-called independent study.
The threatened storm had arrived in full force, and I struggled to keep my locker open while I put away and pulled out books. I scowled as a blast of rain hit me on the back. These outside hallways really had some drawbacks.
“Tas!” Still gripping the locker door, I peered around it as Cara skittered to a stop. “Hey! I’m glad you didn’t leave yet.”
I tried to plaster a friendly smile on my face, but it was hard to pretend. The relationship between Cara and me had been shaky at best for the last few weeks, and given the day I’d had, I wasn’t really inclined to make nice. But at the same time, I felt only sincerity and earnest need coming from her. Unexpectedly I heard what she wanted to ask me before she voiced it.
“Hi, Cara,” I answered her. “What’s up?”
She winced slightly, and with a twinge of guilt, I knew she’d picked up my guarded tone.
“I was wondering if I could get a ride home. It’s so nasty out, and I can’t get my mom or dad. Amber’s gone already, and... ” Her voice trailed off, and I tactfully avoided asking her where Rafe was. I wished I could find a good excuse to say no—I only wanted to get to work and hide in the storeroom—but I couldn’t think of anything.
“Sure.” I slammed my locker shut. “Let’s make a run for it. I’m parked pretty far out.”
We were soaked by the time we made it to the Mustang. Cara tossed her books in the backseat and closed the car door as I did the same thing on my side. We both shook water from our hair as I turned the key in the ignition.
I had been to Cara’s house a few times over the past year. She and her parents lived in a small rancher adjacent to the large and modern-looking church Reverend Pryce had built; it was only a few miles from Sawood, and I followed the familiar roads out of town and into the country.
Cara was quiet, almost apologetically so, until we were out of King. I studiously avoided hearing her, concentrating on the wet road through the rapid thwack of the wipers.
“I really appreciate this, Tasmyn,” Cara said softly. Her eyes too were focused on the road before us. “I told my mom not to worry about getting me today, but I guess my plans for a ride kind of fell through.”
“It’s no problem,” I assured her. “I’m heading out to Sawood anyway.”
“But still... ” she persisted. “I hope it doesn’t make you late.”
I laughed. “My bosses are pretty understanding.”
“It must be so cool to work for the Sawyers. Marly was one of the first people I met here, and I’ve always liked her. You’re really lucky to have her as. . well, you know, Michael’s mom.”
“Luke and Marly are both incredible people,” I agreed. I sensed that Cara was getting at something else, that she was making small talk to stall what she was trying to say. And I was right.
“Tas, I’m really sorry about my dad,” she blurted. “I know he hasn’t been very nice to you. I wish—he’s gotten so different. He didn’t used to be like this.”
“It’s okay.” Awkwardly I tried to reassure her. “There’s nothing you could do about it—like I told you before, your dad’s just trying to protect you.” I paused, carefully choosing my next words. “But I wish he’d get to know me and see that I’m not like Nell. I didn’t have anything to do with what happened that day in the woods.”
“But maybe if you’d just explain it all better--” Cara began, and then abruptly shut her mouth. “No, you’re right. It wouldn’t matter. He wouldn’t listen. He thinks he knows what’s right and who’s trouble. If you knew him before—when we lived in Pennsylvania—well, he wasn’t like this at all.”
I didn’t answer, and Cara plunged ahead into explanation. I could feel that it was taking all her nerve to talk to me about this.
“It was after Jonas. I know I’ve never mentioned him, but I had a little brother. His name was Jonas, and he died six years ago.”
Her pain was so raw and near that I flinched. “Cara, I’m so sorry,” I murmured.
She went on as though she hadn’t heard me. “He had a condition—it’s very rare, and they told us when he was born that he wouldn’t live long. But he was so sweet and so full of love. He was four years old when he. . when we lost him.”
An image of an adorable dark haired boy with full cheeks and a cherubic smile flashed through Cara’s mind so vividly that I couldn’t miss it. Tears filled my eyes, but Cara didn’t seem to notice.
“After that, my dad changed. He wasn’t a pastor back then. He worked for the state. But after Jonas, he told us God had called him to be a minister. He went to school for a while, and then a church near us had a vacant pulpit, and they asked him to fill it.”
“How did you end up down here?” I asked curiously. King hardly seemed like the place for an evangelizing preacher.
“Someone from our church in Pennsylvania was down here visiting and happened to stop in King. He came back and told my dad about it, and then my dad told us—my mom and me, and the church—that God was calling him to plant a church down here. The congregation in Pennsylvania agreed to help, and the next thing I knew, here we were.”
I felt sympathy for a fellow newcomer and remembered how kind Cara had been to me last year. “That must have been really hard, moving right after your freshman year.”
She laughed without much humor. “No one asked me what I thought about it. It was just expected that I’d fall in line and go with the flow. That was what my mom kept saying—just go with the flow.”
“You seemed to adjust pretty well,” I ventured.
“What was my choice?” she shot back. “My parents were still shattered from losing Jonas. My dad was so preoccupied with building the new church. I had to be upbeat and together. There wasn’t another option.” Cara crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her lips together. Seething hurt, long contained, bubbled just beneath the surface of her mind.
She sighed heavily and then added, “And my dad changed so much. He used to be fun, and we used to laugh all the time. I could tell him anything. Now he sees evil and temptation in everything. I have to be careful what I say to him. And he thinks you—he just won’t change his mind about what he thinks he knows about you.”
By this time we had pulled into the large parking lot of the church, and I had slipped into a
spot to let Cara finish what she was saying. Now I slowly drove around the building and down the short drive that led to the Pryces’ home.
As I came to a stop, I saw a tall figure emerge from the house, wrapped in some sort of green rain slicker. Even from this distance, I could feel the worried anger, which shifted to rage alone when he saw the car.
Cara’s own feelings surged immediately to panic. “Oh, no, that’s my dad,” she gasped. “He’s going to freak.” She glanced wildly around, as though looking for an escape hatch from the car.
Reverend Pryce strode toward the passenger side of the Mustang and yanked Cara’s door open. Immediately we were both hit with the persistent rain.
“Cara, what in the world do you think you’re doing?” he roared above the noise of the wind and the rain hitting the car. “Get out of there!”
“Daddy, Tasmyn just drove me home! I tried to call home, and no one answered. It’s fine, let’s just go--”
“It’s not fine. Didn’t I tell you to stay away from her? Didn’t I warn you that she’s dangerous?” He reached into the car and grabbed Cara’s arm. “I said, get out of there. I was just about to leave. I heard your message, and I called the school. No one could find you. I didn’t know where you were or what you had done—and then you come here with her. Haven’t I told you what she is?”
Cara stumbled out. I could see tears of mortification mixing with the rain on her face. She stifled a sob as she righted herself and looked at her father defiantly. “I need my books.” She leaned into the backseat and gathered her things. As soon as she straightened, he steered her away from the car.
“Inside!” he hissed, and with just one tremendously worried look thrown my way, Cara ran to the front door and disappeared through it.
Reverend Pryce leaned down into the car through the empty front seat. “You.” He shot a finger into my face. “Stay away from my daughter. I know what you are. I know what you do. We don’t want your kind near our family.”
“I just—Cara asked for a ride, and I gave her one. Would you have preferred that she walk home in this storm?” I had been raised to be respectful to all adults, and I had never spoken so forcefully to anyone outside my own family. But despite my best efforts, I could hear what was going on in his head, and it both frightened and angered me. How dare he continue to judge me?
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