Becoming: The Balance Bringer (The Balance Bringer Chronicles Book 1)

by Debra Kristi

  I hesitate, when a force shoves me off my seat. Stumbling off the stool, I practically fall into him.

  “Yes! She’d love to,” Crystia says far too enthusiastically from behind me.

  I flash her my disapproval.

  I’m prepared to tell Jaden I’m uncomfortable dancing when I make the mistake of gazing directly at him. He disarms me, works his magic. Without a word, he takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor. No longer do I feel the urge to pass out. I’m free of the buzzing. In its place, a pleasant tingling wraps around my hand at his touch. Gentle waves of silky delight edge along the places where our skin meets, gradually extending beyond. We glide onto the dance floor like we’ve done this countless times before. Magically in tune with one another. My strides matching his every beat of the way. I’m not prepared for the full effect of our bodies touching when he spins me to face him, drawing me in close, hand in hand.

  A smile garnishes his lips. “I promise not to bite.” He guides me into a slow, leisurely rhythm. A thin column of air exists between us.

  When the music ends, I turn to leave. Tugging me back by the wrist, he holds me captive. My body loves the contact between us, the familiarity that leaves me believing I’ve come home.

  His green eyes burn with intensity. “Leaving so soon?”

  “The song’s over.”

  “Then give me another?”

  “Probably not a good idea. It’s Skylar’s party, after all.” I scan the crowd, trying to locate her.

  He motions for another dance. “Skylar’s not my keeper.”

  I glance around the room, at the people near us, at him. His dark hair falling across his brow, the crease between his eyes, the soft, inviting torque of his lips—my shoulders relax, and I give in. Our bodies sway to the right and swing to the left, guided by his capable lead. The tempo changes to a livelier, more upbeat number, yet our movement continues in an easy, safe rhythm.

  Jaden tilts his head and studies the people around us. Their movements are far more active. Dancing a suggestive groove.

  He glides his palms across my side, around to the small of my back. I allow it, even as my heart yammers against my chest like a mad fighter taking to a punching bag. His hands travel a few inches lower and comfortably come to rest, his eyes alit with a swirling green glow. I inhale deeply and let my hands glide over his chiseled chest, enamored with every rise and fall. In my most uncivilized dreams, I’ve never allowed myself to think about or imagine a moment like this one. The endorphins surge. The yearning. His eyes, a glint of…what, exactly?

  Oh my Gaea and God! Who am I fooling? I can’t do this. Turning halfway, I ache for the table where Crystia and Ry both sit.

  Jaden’s grip is firm. He holds me on the dance floor with him.

  “Finish it, Ana.”

  The intensity of his gaze sears through me. I feel trapped in a battle of the minds.

  “Show me your fire,” he whispers in my ear. “I see it, burning just below the surface.”

  Heat rises off my skin in waves, and I can’t think. Can’t think of anything beyond Jaden. My heart races and, without conscious awareness, I mold myself to him. I want his warmth rolling over every inch of my body. I need to feel his pulse beating within my skin.

  We sway to the music in a way I’ve never moved before. I can’t stop myself. It’s like he’s the missing part of me. The part I’ve been searching for. I need him. Pleasure and pain coexist. And somehow I know he has the power to remove the pain, leaving only pleasure, if only…

  Our lips hover inches apart. I long for that perfect moment when they meet.

  “Excuse me.” Skylar yanks my shoulder, ripping me away from Jaden.

  For a brief moment Jaden appears heartbroken, before his perfect mask slips into place.

  Skylar shoves me in the chest, and I stumble back. “Jaden is with me, freak! Don’t be rubbing your skanky scent all over him.”

  I’m stunned frozen, like Oscar when he hears a loud sound. I want to be smart and witty with a sharp comeback, but I got nothing.

  “Actually, Skylar.” Jaden throws up his arms to hold Skylar a safe distance from me. “I asked Ana to dance, and she was kind enough to accept.”

  Skylar balks, then strikes with venom. “Well, you’ve done your charity work for the night, sweetie. Enough is enough.” She pats his arm like a puppy. “Dancing is one thing. What you were doing is a whole other.”

  “To be honest—”

  I need to stop this. Fast.

  “Jaden, it’s okay.” I speak quietly but firmly. “It’s her birthday, and we don’t want to cause a scene.” Maybe my authority over Ry will work with Jaden. Hell, I don’t know.

  Jaden gazes deep into my eyes. Then he finally breaks off and seizes Skylar’s hand.

  “Why isn’t everyone dancing?” Skylar tosses her hair over her shoulder. “That was nothing.” She tries to look casual, stumbling behind Jaden as he drags her away. “She’s nothing,” she adds loudly over her shoulder.

  My teeth clench. “On second thought,” my hands ball into tight fists, “I think I’ll be taking him back now. He belongs with me.”

  Jaden and Skylar halt instantly, and Skylar’s body goes rigid. Everyone at the party is staring, but I don’t care. This is about me and Jaden, and about me. I’m finally going to stand up for myself. Jaden stares at me in astonishment, but everything about Skylar screams fury. She storms toward me.

  But I’m ready. Bring it on.

  Ry jumps in front of her, stopping her approach. “Whoa. Now ladies, I don’t think you want to start something in the middle of this lovely party.”

  Crystia tugs on my arm. I resist, then glance around me at everyone staring, and rethink things.

  “Okay,” Skylar says, lifting onto her toes to see me over Ry’s shoulder. “Let’s take this outside. You and me. Come on, freak.”

  Jaden nudges Skylar back and whispers something in her ear I can’t hear. Reluctantly, she backs down. Together they walk away, Jaden casting me a smile over his shoulder.

  I’m the subject of many intense stares as I stride back to the table. Even Ry looks ready to go drill sergeant on me, while Crystia’s about to burst at the seams.

  “OMG! She totally went off the edge when she saw you dancing with him. And to think, he asked you! Was that hot or what?”

  I take a huge swig of the water sitting on the table. “Yeah…or what.”

  “Careful, Ana,” Ry warns.

  “Don’t be such a party pooper, Ry.” Crystia’s face scrunches with a frown even as she drags me to the dance floor.

  We dance the two-girl boogie, leaving Ry alone at the table. I close my eyes, sway my hips to the music, let my mind wander, envisioning what happened between Jaden and me. The words spoken, the emotions felt. What did he mean, Finish it?

  The song changes.

  Crystia giggles. I peek. Our duo is now a trio. A new girl is dancing with us. Someone I haven’t seen before. She and Crystia seem to know each other, though. The close dancing, body touching. They’ve definitely met.

  Another song change. One of my favorites.

  I ease to the beat and focus on the backs of my eyelids. Crystia’s laughter drifts away from me. Is she leaving? The waft from winter’s campfire wraps around my waist, the tingle zig-zagging up and down my spine. I shiver, open my eyes.

  Jaden stands a breath away. “She’ll try to keep us apart. Let’s finish this now.”

  “What are you talking about?” I push him back, fighting the desire to yank him closer. “What needs finishing?”

  Lightly grazing my cheek with his palm and thumb, he leans closer.

  I gaze into his eyes. “Who are you, really?” The words tumble out so faint I fear they are lost in the noise of the party.

  Heat builds, burning strong within, coursing through my entire system with unbridled fury. My heart radiates desire, but for what, I can’t say. Not for love, lust, or any man. There’s something else at work. Every cell of my skin
vibrates as I stretch onto my tiptoes, parting my lips, reaching for him. Every thread of my being is aware. It’s terrifying and invigorating. A power unlike anything I’ve ever felt comes alive within me, churning and rolling out in waves. Down my arms and legs it extends, then curls in again. Like my own personal Big Bang, something within my core bursts, sending a rush of heat from my body, from my soul.

  Finish it, he said.

  The music pulsates, a loud rhythm and rhyme. Shouts call out. A breath in, ready to meet his lips at last, his scent fresh cedar and saltwater.

  And then, it’s like home.

  Every worry is carried away. Jaden dances within every fiber of me, and I within him. This is where I’m supposed to be, here in his arms, his lips on mine. The sweet, salty taste of him sending my mind delightful thoughts of…Hiddenkel?

  My eyes flutter with the flash. Wind whips around my hair, wild and untamed. A loud scream pierces my ear. The ground beneath us rocks, and sparks fall from the rotating colored lights. Everyone in the room cowers, covering their heads.

  The vision I had of us that day in the school parking lot is here and now. His lips on mine, fireworks falling from the sky—or ceiling, in this case. The room is filled with electric fire. Magical, intense, terrifying. It’s everything amazing wrapped into one perfect moment. And then someone’s hand drops on my shoulder. My warmth fades and cold rains from within.

  I’m ripped away from him, yanked backward, harsh nails cutting into my skin. Someone, one of Skylar’s flunkies, takes my place with Jaden, detaining him. All sparks in the air wither and fade. The room spins, placing the double doors to the back patio and infinity pool before me. Skylar’s best friend throws open the exit.

  Skylar shoves into my back, leans forward, and whispers, her voice raspy. “We’re going to finish it, once and for all.”

  She shoves me through the door, and I fall to the patio floor. The desert air is sweltering with the slightest hint of chorine. The sky above dark and freckled with hundreds of shining stars. I glance back to spy Paige closing the doors and standing before them like a guard. Shifting my gaze to Skylar, I can smell the hatred rolling off her. A sour stench, like putrid sweat.

  Movement. Another girl slips through the double doors. Three against one. Hardly seems fair.

  I pick myself up off the concrete. “You don’t want to do this, Skylar.”

  She jams her finger in my direction. “You have no right,” she stammers. “This is my home…and he is mine.” Her face glows red.

  “You don’t own people. What makes you think you can lay claim to Jaden?”

  Her frustration snaps. She lunges for me, and I swiftly step to the side, only she manages to snag a lock of my hair, jerking me back and to the side by a pony pull. I scream, and we crash into the patio furniture, the arm of a chair smashing into my side. The ground is unforgiving when I roll back onto it, and Skylar is already at my throat.

  I yank her hands away from my trachea. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

  She’s managed to straddle me and is attempting strangulation. Her eyes are wild with determination, and she laughs. Yanking her arms away from my throat, I thrust my head forward, slamming my forehead into hers. She fumbles backward. I smack her to the side and get up.

  Her friends are instantly on me, gripping my arms and holding me. Skylar sits on the ground, rubbing her head. She stares at me, her hair a tangled mess.

  “There’s no way he could possibly like you over me.” She wrinkles her nose. “Look at you.”

  I half-struggle against Skylar’s two apprentices. “Not everyone is as superficial as you and your little group. Open your eyes.”

  She launches at me, claws out. I swing my arms forward, slamming her friends together in front of me and blocking her approach. Pain splinters through my vertebrae, and my head snaps straight back. Another person has joined the fight, throwing her knee into my backbone, yanking my hair. Kicking the others away, I spin rapidly around and knock Paige away with the back of my hand. Having recovered, she comes at me and slaps me across the face. I slap her back.

  “Ana!”

  I hesitate, then turn to see Jaden paused in the doorway, one of Skylar’s friends at his side. His face contorts, and I know something’s wrong, only it’s too late. Something thick and heavy slams into my stomach, knocking me off balance.

  Skylar’s face is now right against my ear. “He’s mine!”

  Losing my footing, I grab for her, wrap my arm around her upper arm. I hold her tight and dig my fingers through her hair as we tumble into the pool.

  We hit the water.

  Thump goes my shoulder blade on an underwater step. We twist, kicking and clawing, caught in a web of mesh and satin. Clouded with tiny bubbles, the water around us glows a brilliant blue. Skylar’s face appears in a swirl of dark hair, her features distorted in outrage. My hand bats at her, distracted by the drone carried through the pool. The sound reminds me of a washing machine.

  My back hits the bottom of the pool, and Skylar vanishes from sight. I see a dark night around me, blood on my hands. I hold them before me, palms spread, shaking. The flash of emergency lights colors the night. Someone watches me, then they’re gone. I’m crying. And I’m alone, pressed into the back corner of a church—dressed in black. So is everyone else. I swallow, and the lump lodges in my throat.

  Someone died. But who?

  Warmth wraps around my waist, and the water’s wintery embrace kisses my face as it rushes past. My vision clears. The nightmare is gone. Jaden has me in his arms, dragging me to the surface. I gasp for air, and Jaden helps me to the pool’s edge.

  Crystia dashes to us. “OMG, Ana! What happened?”

  She helps Jaden hoist me out of the pool. I’m shaking, the memory of what I saw at the bottom of the pool still so vivid. I glance up at Crystia, down at my hands, then across the pool at Skylar to clarify my thoughts. I see her shove at Ry, thrusting his offer of help aside.

  “Get away!” She shoves him in the chest, then spins around and points directly at me. “You! You’ve ruined everything. I want you gone, now.” Her eyes dart to Jaden. “And you! Consider us through.”

  Clutching Paige by the arm, Skylar storms toward the house and a wall of peeping teens staring directly at us. Her pack follows mindlessly.

  I can’t stop shaking, and now so many eyes are upon us, upon me. I want to curl into a ball and vanish. I tuck my knees into my chin, wrapping my arms around them and rocking to calm myself. My gaze falls to the ripples along the surface of the water, then to the bottom of the pool.

  “Ana.” Crystia tugs at my arm. “Ignore her. She’s a witch. You know that.”

  I meet her gaze. “It’s not that. It’s just…”

  My gaze wanders over to Ry. I watch him argue with Skylar at the door, and then shift my attention to Jaden. Now soaked, his white shirt clings to his every curve. He lifts his jacket from the ground, where he must’ve thrown it before jumping in the pool, and walks back toward Crystia and me. Whatever I saw could pertain to any one of them, or to none of them.

  I shiver and hug myself tighter. “I have a really bad feeling, Crystia. I don’t like it. Makes me sick to my stomach.” I watch Ry’s approach, feeling his disapproval seep through my skin.

  Jaden drapes his jacket over my shoulders. It lends me strength and a sense of tranquility.

  Ry kneels before me, tilting his head to better look me in the eyes. “How you doing?”

  “She doesn’t look good.” Crystia leans in. “This isn’t like her.”

  Ry glances back to the house. People are losing interest and returning to the party. Skylar has melted into the crowd. She has the luxury of dry clothes nearby. I do not.

  Ry rubs my arm. “This is going to be okay.” He shoots Jaden a die-now glare, then looks back at me. “We’ll make it okay. The best of the best, right?”

  “Right,” I grumble and look away.

  “Let’s get you home,” he says.

  Jaden helps me
up, and we walk toward the side gate.

  Ry’s hand clasps down on Jaden’s shoulder, his eyes burning tenaciously. “Not you. You’ve done enough for one night.”

  Jaden glances between Ryland and me. Ry shakes his head, ending the short discussion.

  I start to remove Jaden’s jacket, and he places his hand between my shoulder blades. “I’ll get it from you later.”

  I smile and nod, and Ry wraps his arm around me, leading me toward the exit. We walk to the car, leaving Jaden behind.

  “What was that?” Crystia asks as make our way down the driveway. “I don’t mean the thing with Skylar. That much is obvious. I’m talking about what happened in the house.”

  I shiver, recalling Skylar’s nails scratching across my back. “Are you talking about the earthquake?”

  “That was no earthquake. It was like a giant ball of energy burst out of you. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was totally wicked.”

  “Hmph.” Ry jerks his head. “Right there, in front of the whole school. You’re damn lucky, Ana. Had the wrong people been there tonight, you could have wound up dead.”

  Crystia skips at my side, her attention clearly somewhere else. She waves to the front of the house, to the girl she danced with earlier. The girl must’ve been her date! And crumbling Gaea, I ruined it. My shoulders slump.

  She spins around on me. “OMG! If I’m reading between the lines correctly, I totally pegged it right. Ana and Jaden are meant to be. Am I right?” She leans across me, looking at Ry. He barely spares her a glance. “Holy-poop-kicking hookup! This is a magical clandestine thing written in the stars.”

  Their voices are a distant hum in my head. All I can see is the blood on my hands.

  “You’re home early. I didn’t expect to see you until much later.” Mom enters the kitchen, a wide smile on her face. It falters when she sees me. “What happened?”

  “I’m fine, Mom. I just slipped and fell in the pool, is all.” I smile, grab her hand, and squeeze it as I pass, leaving Ry to deal with any explanation. Crystia has already beaten me down the hall.

  “Anala,” Mom calls after me, but I slip out of the room.