“My dream look…wet and in my clothes,” he said from the doorway. He held a brown leather-bound sketchbook under his arm, in the corner of the room. “Come this way.” He slung a shotgun over his shoulder and ventured outside. The yard had prepared sections with an assortment of weapons similar to the bunker under The Blazin’ Bakery; archery, knife throwing against trees, and straight ahead on a raised log was a line of vodka bottles.
“We either drink or shoot, either way we’ll contribute to this lay out,” he said with a small tilt of his lips. “We didn’t get around to your confession of what happened last night, and I won’t push you, just know I’m here."
“Thank you.” Luxor stroked the strands of her hair.
"You're making me jittery, why do you keep playing with your hair? Didn’t you dry it properly?"
"It's long, no longer short, I have long hair."
"Just how I love it. But why wouldn't you?
Luxor palmed her chest, the burden of keeping what happened weighing heavily on her mind. “Verity and Aiden killed me,” she blurted.
Hunter paused and furrowed his brow. “You mean in a nightmare. Verity and Aiden are in Hampton Cove, they don't know where you are."
Luxor shook her head. "Evie set up a Facebook account, a-and last night, they we-re in my room, and Aiden…” Her chin wobbled and she gripped her hair. “His hands…and there was vodka…I couldn’t get angry, I couldn’t move.” She heaved and dropped to her knees, and covered her head. “My heart. My heart. God, the knife.” She sobbed, the tears blinding her. “The-they twisted. I was screaming but no sound came out. It was like my head was telling my heart to not give up.”
Hunter dropped to his knees and she sought comfort in his arms. “Shhhh, I’m here.” He rubbed circles on her back.
“Please believe me. Please,” she pleaded, lifting her head up.
“I believe you.” He cradled her in his arms. “I’m sorry Angel, I’m sorry,” his voice cracked. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
A flashback flickered.
A land of grey filled with torment. Purgatory. She had died. She had met her mother. And she made the grim experience bearable, the yearning so deep she wanted to stay. But like a daughter would, she obeyed and tried to remember the hazy message she told her.
An otherworldly pink glow blinded her. Ayla. She saved her from Verity and Aiden, a golden-haired vision, sky blue eyes, humming an ethereal lullaby. In her last moments, she recognised it. In one of her night terrors where she was in her mother's body, the same tune was hummed whilst she was dying. Now the vision saved Luxor in her dying time.
Hunter abandoned all plans to train despite Luxor’s insistence she was okay. Of course, she wasn’t but she needed a distraction to keep stimulated, and off the fact she felt weak again. It highlighted the point when the true danger was in front of her, she was unable to protect herself.
The day was spent sprawled out on the couch with bottles and bottles of Gatorade, playing Red Dead on the PlayStation four. Instead of working on survival techniques with the bow and arrows, their characters had to survive while having a large bounty on their heads. When it came down to having to the graphic imagery of skinning a deer, she switched it off.
“It’s a kill or be killed world, sound familiar?”
A flashback flickered. A haze of grey and visions of suffering.
Luxor shivered. “What if there’s a neither? Like the land between.”
“Purgatory? Who knows what’s there for sure? You could be in a waiting room with a number like a doctor’s office.”
“It’s not.” She shifted uncomfortable. “When I, ummm.” She scratched her head. “I was sent there. It’s such a horrible place with a river like flowing tar, and two boats. You can guess where they go.”
“What else did you see?”
“A guy with a rope around his neck, I’m thinking it’s the way he died as when I arrived, I had the knife still lodged in my chest, and I couldn’t pull it out.”
“How did you get back? Ayla?”
Luxor nodded. “But I wanted to stay.”
Hunter paled. “Why the hell would you want that?”
“I saw my mother. Hunter, she’s beautiful. I wanted to stay with her. But she wouldn’t let me. She pushed me away, rambling away nonsense. I didn’t even get to tell her I love her.”
“It must have been important if she used that opportunity.”
Luxor widened her eyes. “She said your father’s name. Multiple times. Telling me to grab and ask about the meeting. What can that mean?”
Hunter shrugged. “Grab what? Ask who? And how does she know my father?” He slumped back, and a moment later smirked. “I’ll volunteer to be grabbed.”
Luxor nudged his ribs. Her phone vibrated by her side, reaching over she unzipped her bag and pulled it out. Six missed calls. All from Meredith.
Oh damn. I'm in trouble.
"It'll be fine," Hunter said glancing in her direction, taking a sip from another bottle of Gatorade.
Luxor slid the screen across and waited for Meredith to pick up. There was no use scalding Hunter for something that was out of his control, she'd just have to learn to not think.
Channel my inner blonde
Hunter laughed. "Such a stereotype."
On the third ring the other line picked up, Luxor braced herself for the ear lashing she was about to receive. "Hello," she said meekly.
"Luxor. Where are you?" Meredith said, blunt and straight to the point.
She swallowed hard and plastered the phone to her ear, pressing a finger down on it to drown out the gun shots from the television.
Before she could answer Hunter swiped the phone from her grasp, and leaned back.
"What are you doing?" she hissed, not able to reach for it.
He pressed the phone onto speaker. "Afternoon Mrs. Lockhart, it's Hunter here."
"Hunter?"
"How's the car running?"
Luxor mouthed, "What are you doing?"
"Smoothly. Umm, I was just wondering if you’ve seen Luxor.”
"Yes, she’s with me. It's a follow up to our highly graded assignment and she's meeting my parents since I met you, although briefly, which I'm disappointed about. It's about how families differ." Hunter lied convincingly through his teeth.
What the hell are you doing?
Winging it Angel, he said to her mind.
"Well just as long as she's with you that's fine. You're welcome to come for dinner if you want," Meredith said, her voice in a high lilt.
"That's a kind offer, I'll keep that in mind." He gagged, and she stifled a giggle. "I'll put Luxor back on, pleasure speaking to you."
A few minutes later after Luxor had to continue to hear about “what a lovely friend you have” and to make sure she returned home, she hung up exhausted. "More of Theo and Castor’s tricks?"
"Nope. Believe it or not, I am likeable."
Luxor headed upstairs to gather Elphie and to borrow a pair of thongs for her feet. She had found one pair and searched for the other in the messy room. Across the room she found a grey pair peeking from underneath a book. She pulled them out and the sketchbook tumbled open. Her inquisitive nature piqued and not giving another thought, she flipped through the pages.
Unlike the daunting nature of The Complete Bible of the Grigori, the sketchbook was leather bound and faded, something that could be found in a department store. The sketches began with landscape of nature; large snow-capped mountains with stormy clouds in the background, of verdant lush green valleys with a wide expanse of flowers and a bubbling river. But the most beautiful of all was a small hut with a rugged landscape, animals drawn to depict the simple and serene farm life.
“You have a habit of snooping around.”
Luxor jumped, the sketchbook almost falling from her fingers. She had been immersed in the drawings that she didn’t hear Hunter.
“Busted,” she said sheepishly, and spun around. “Your books are a cause of
fascination.
“Hand it over.”
"Can I see more?" She smiled sweetly, her eyes brightening up.
"Nope." He held her at arm's length.
"But why?" She lowered her eyelashes and pouted.
"Because."
"Because, why?" Luxor giggled. She moved in closer, and taunted him with the sketchbook before swiftly moving before he could grab the book. Hunter chased her around her room, and she climbed on the mattress, holding her arms up. “Please.” She jutted out her bottom lip and gave him puppy eyes.
Hunter sighed heavily. “Fine.”
Luxor smiled rubbing her hands together. She opened the page, her forehead creased, and her lip dropped. Exquisitely sketched in fine detail was Luxor when she had been asleep, her face partially covered by her hair.
Hunter swallowed hard. "You hate it, don't you Angel?"
She vehemently shook her head. "No, no, no." She moved closer and extended her hand. "I love it, oh my Hunter I lo—"
Downstairs, the front door slammed and Theo called Hunter’s name cutting off any further conversation.
Luxor quickly passed back the book and left the room.
The drive back took double the amount of time as it usually would have. Hunter dawdled around the house, and then drove below the speed limit, much to Luxor’s delight.
“Is there anything else of fascination you’re hiding?”
“If you didn’t flee, I would have showed you an arrow.”
“I’ve seen them in the bunker.”
“No, this is different. Every Grigori is bestowed a sole arrow, and it’s the only thing that can kill them.”
Her eyes widened. “And Cane?”
Hunter shook his head solemnly. “I wish,” he said. “Next time don’t be so hasty.”
Luxor was quick to leave in case Castor was with Theo and Melita. They were a package deal and she avoided them at all costs.
Once at The Chalet, Hunter blew out a long breath, before getting out of the car. His shoulders were tense, as he slipped his arms through his leather jacket and zipped it up.
"It's good to have this back." He inhaled.
It smells like her.
Luxor smiled, his thoughts creating a flutter. She flung into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”
“Always,” he said, ducking his head into the nook of her neck, and nuzzled. She became speechless, plunged into his heady forestry scent; fresh with and a hint of pine. She experienced a mild grazing against her flesh, and he let out a deep growl.
She giggled. “What are you doing?”
A few more grazes, followed by a long stroke of his tongue, and he stepped back. “Stay out of trouble, beautiful.” He smirked, and leisurely walked away with a withering glance.
The signal of Hunter’s departure had Evie immediately bouncing out of The Chalet, a wide smile adorning her face. “Well, well, well, she finally arrives.” She pulled her into a hug.
Luxor wriggled out of her touch. “What are you doing here?”
“Is that anyway to greet your bestie? You’ve had a productive couple of days. Date with Xavier, overnight stay with Hunter.”
So called friend.
“It wasn’t a date, and remember Ayla was responsible for the get-together.” She headed inside and directly up to her room. She had all intentions of slamming the door, but what would be the use. Ayla was already inside waiting for her and the only way Evie would leave was in a body bag.
“Why are you all mopey?” Evie furrowed her brow, and sniffed around the room. "And why do I smell pheromones in the air, a distinct aroma?"
"What are you on about?"
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Ayla said.
"There's a smell." Evie continued to sniff like a hound dog. "A guy has been in this room."
"You cannot possibly know that," she uttered not convincingly. She had just noticed Evie was seated on Xavier's jacket, and the intoxicating aroma would be a dead giveaway.
"Aha, so there was." Evie pointed the finger at her. "Has Xavier been here?"
Luxor cursed him again for not taking it. "I didn't say that."
"Xavier wouldn't do that," Ayla stated confidently.
"How would you know?" Evie snapped at her.
"Because in our family we are not like that. Besides he doesn't look like the type, unlike somebody else," Ayla sniped.
"And what type is that?" she hissed, and recline back on her bed, and propped a pillow onto her thighs. "Don't talk about him like that." An indescribable urge was there to protect Hunter.
He had shown her the real side, and she refused to let Ayla desecrate his character. She wouldn't be one of those girls who chose a guy over her friends but there had to be a line. Apart from their verbal insults, Hunter hadn't given Ayla a reason to stereotype him.
"There's only one way to sort this out...Luxor did Xavier enter your sacred place?" Evie asked bluntly dragging the chair closer to her.
Xavier’s smell from the jacket, mixed with Hunter's lingering aroma assaulted her senses and made her heady. "How can you suggest that? My sacred place has been untouched." She crossed her legs, and pressed her hands lower on the pillow.
Evie furrowed her eyebrows, her attention directed to the pillow. "Wait, what? I'm talking about your room, you filthy assed girl." She laughed.
Her face flushed beet red and relaxed. "Like duh, of course, that's what I'm was talking about."
"Yeah right." Evie laughed not believing her. "So, Xavier just dropped you off, that's it?"
"Yes," she replied firmly, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Evie raised an eyebrow and tsked. "Then explain the hickey on your neck."
Luxor refused to take the bait, it was a fact nothing was there she'd made sure of it. "I can't explain something that's not there."
Evie whipped out her phone from her pocket. She leaned in and angled Luxor's head to the side, flicking her hair away. A bright flash went off. "No hickey huh?"
Luxor faced the screen and yelped. "That son of a bitch." She ran to the bathroom and all but pressed her face to the mirror, and lifted her ear. It was unique, a small, vibrant blue mark, barely noticeable, but definitely there. She squeezed a minuscule amount of foundation onto the sponge and rubbed.
Her head was bowed when she re-entered the room, her mind constructing a logical explanation. There was no way she could tell the entire truth, not that they'd believe her anyway.
"Need to confess your sins?" Evie patted the place beside her on the bed. "My father's a pastor so I'm the closest thing to God you're going to get."
Ayla scoffed behind them. "Do you realise how sacrilegious that is?"
"Do you realise I don't give a flying fudge pie what you think? Don't talk to me for the rest of the day." Evie's eyes blazed and held up her hand to halt Ayla from responding.
"Okay time out both of you." Luxor made an x motion with her hands playing referee. An all-out war of words would start and things would be said in the heat of the moment that couldn't be taken back. Evie was fidgety waiting for an explanation. "Hunter came t—" she squealed when Evie slapped her thigh.
Evie's eyes widened. "Did you use protection? What positions? Did it hurt? Was he humongous?"
The cringe-worthy questions continued until Luxor had to slap a hand over Evie’s mouth. "Do you want the story or not?" She removed her hand, and pinched her arm in retaliation. "That's for hitting me."
"Okay, I'll shut up." Evie made a zipper motion across her mouth. She wriggled around bursting at the seams for the gossip.
"There's nothing to tell. He arrived to see if I was okay. I had a nightmare, and he took me to his house where we stayed up and talked, then he kissed me. It's out of our systems. It wasn't anything special, very average actually, and yeah, now I don't need to wonder." She downplayed their special moment.
Nope, I need to have a repeat to make sure if it's really good.
Evie
unzipped her mouth and beamed. "I was right with my nursery rhyme! Here's the update...Hunter and Luxor fudging in bed, pop goes the cherry, my oh my it's bloody red."
Luxor laughed. "You have a disgusting, mind." She paused in to absorb the words of the catchy rhyme. "Just wondering what other colour would it be?"
"Blue," Ayla murmured in the background.
"In what world?" Evie shot back at her then forgot she was ignoring her. She turned her attention to Luxor. "You didn't deny it." She flicked the blanket off the bed and smiled. "Do I need to check the sheets? Cherry juice splatters are a distinct colour."
"Luxor wouldn't dare compromise her virtue, especially to him, it’s a sin," Ayla said angrily.
"Who the fuck are you, and where is Ayla?" Evie flipped letting a rare curse word fly.
Luxor tried to contain her shock, to rear it in and not unleash her anger. Ayla had gone too far but now wasn't the place and time. "Can you keep your voice down, don't need Meredith to come up here," she hissed at Evie and turned to face Ayla. "I want you to leave."
Ayla raised her eyebrows. "Because I stated my opinion?"
"No, because you are being, I don't know exactly, but somebody I can't be around at the moment." Luxor turned her shoulder and blocked off any contact. Ayla moved slowly to the door and closed the door with a click. "Thank god she's gone she was getting on my nerves."
“Me too,” Evie said. "I need some fun from Ayla, what my father put me through, and since you’re mentally free any further dates, let’s go to a place where there’s a lot of oooh la la’s. Let's take a trip to Rocky Valley Lake, lots of swimming, and hot naked-ish guys." She scrolled through her mobile on the Bureau of Meteorology website. "It'll have to be tomorrow there's a major storm for the next few days after."
"No,” she said. Her mind set was fractured and being around crowds wouldn’t help.
Evie swiped Luxor’s phone. “I truly believe in promises.” Her eyes glinted as she tapped away at the screen. “Done.”
“What did you do?”
“Once upon a time you told Hunter you’d go to the beach, so I’ve made it happen.”
“Evie, I can’t.” Luxor was unable to explain all the incidents lately which had transpired between Hunter, and especially how she had gone to the beach with Xavier.
Betrayed: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone Book Two Page 28