The room wasn't as dark as before and the lady at the middle desk was searching through the destination book and pressing the codes for everyone. I just hoped she wouldn't do a double take when she got to us. I kept my head down, doing my best to fill my eyes with tears.
"Destination," the lady at the desk recited. Her blouse was a vibrant yellow, and combined with the black in her eyes she looked like a bumblebee.
"Norig," Zircon stated. The lady looked up at me. I forced myself to cry.
"Is she alright to travel?" the lady inquired. I hushed my sobs and started coughing.
"Yes," Zircon replied. "She's fine." The lady let out a sigh as she flipped a few pages.
"Block number eight," she said. Zircon pulled me to the eighth rectangle on the floor behind her. As soon as we were both standing on it, the rectangle moved to the appropriate tunnel.
"Almost there," he muttered, pulling me into the tunnel. We made a few strides before a light burst in front of us. I covered my eyes as Zircon led me through another forest floor of swirling fire. The light was even brighter during the day and my eyes weren't handling it very well.
"So the ring you gave Dotti," I said as I stepped cautiously through the painless fire. "It was your mom's?"
"Yes," he responded.
"How did she find the stones in the first place?" I asked.
"I'm not sure and I never thought to ask. The stones were fashioned into two rings before I was born."
"You think she knew what they were?" I questioned. He shook his head.
"No," he replied. "My father would have taken them from her a long time ago."
"So she could have known," I suggested. "She could have known and kept it secret."
"I guess," Z shrugged. He turned at a tall, skinny tree.
"Hmmm . . . but then you'd think she would have said something before you gave it away."
"She couldn't," Zircon said quietly. He stopped at another wooden gate that was painted green. My eyes went wide. Among a field of more fire were rows of rocks - all with engravings. It was a graveyard.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"What is there to tell?" he replied, pushing open the gate. "She died a long time ago."
"Then what are we doing here?"
"I told you," he said, looking at me. "She has the ring." I gulped. I'd only ever set foot in a graveyard twice in my whole life. I didn't want to make the third time a trip to dig up a body.
"Zircon," I gasped. "We can't -"
"Relax," he whispered as he breathed in the forest air. He slowly walked along a row of headstones, stopping when he reached one that glowed pink. "We don't have to dig very far." I cringed at the thought of staring at a rotting corpse that probably smelled like a thousand year old mold.
"How did she die?" I watched as Zircon's head hung low. He kicked at the swirling fire around the pink headstone and frowned.
"I guess that depends on who you ask," he replied. I took a step closer as he knelt down and gently rubbed the pink stone. My heart sank when I saw the glossy look in his eyes. "I was told that she was sick, but that's not what I think happened." A single wet tear ran down his cheek. It was painful for him to be here.
"Zircon," I whispered. I knelt down beside him, trying to imagine what it must feel like to lose your mom. "You don't have to -"
"I want to," he interrupted. He quickly wiped the tear from his eye and forced a slight grin. He clenched his jaw, making his face appear more masculine. "And I told you I would." He stared at the pale green around my pupils. "I wish you could stay."
"I wish your entire planet wasn't trying to kill me."
"You're pleasant to be around," he chuckled back. "You know that?" The last boy to say something similar was Brett. Then he'd ignored me the moment we'd set foot in Silver Hills High.
"Thanks," I mumbled. "I wish others felt same way."
"You have an other back home? Oh zite, you're not already married are you?"
"No no," I laughed. "I'm not." And I'd probably stay that way for a very long time. I looked down at the bright fire that surrounded my knees, remembering the first time Brett had looked at me like I was more than just his playmate from down the street. "There was someone but he doesn't feel the same way."
"Well," Zircon said, nodding. "I do know what it feels like to be ignored. Dotti isn't exactly the easiest girl to get along with."
"So your marriage -"
"Was arranged," he finished. "Yes. Though Dotti was way more against it than me." He shrugged as his black eyes met mine. I marveled for a second at the shiny bronze in his hair and the way his shirt stretched across his shoulders. For a tiny second, I wasn't sure I wanted to leave either.
As Zircon leaned closer, I could feel the warmth of his body radiating through his clothes. The wave of heat felt soothing but it also made my heart dash as fast as a race-horse at the Kentucky Derby. His smooth hand gently caressed the side of my cheek. I took in his comforting scent as he eyed every feature of my face like I was a painting he'd never lay eyes on again.
I could feel my blood pumping at ten times its normal rate. Zircon moved his face close to mine. I could hear his chest heaving and feel his racing pulse beneath his skin. My body tingled as I closed my eyes and imagined a world where things were different - a world where boys weren't idiots and I wasn't too shy to say what I wanted. And just as I thought what it might've been like to truly take Dotti's place and marry her husband-to-be, a pair of moist, soft lips lightly kissed me. I kissed him back and let his fingers feel every follicle of my blond locks. His hand slowly moved to my waist. He wrapped his solid arm around me and pulled me closer. For the first time in years, Brett was far from my mind.
Chapter Ten
The Slip
"Come on," Zircon whispered as he felt the edge of the pink headstone. The ground lightly shook as a narrow staircase dropped down underneath the swirly fire. He squeezed my hand and gestured towards the stairs. My jaw dropped. I was expecting an uncomfortable dig followed by the creepy unveiling of a rotting corpse.
"Are you sure?" I asked, partly hoping that Zircon might change his mind so I'd be forced to stay with him a little longer. He didn't. He carefully lowered himself onto each step until the two of us were underground - under the rows of occupied graves.
The hall was dark and the sound of falling pebbles echoed on both sides of us. I couldn't see what was around me. I held tight to Zircon's hand, keeping my head down as a wave of anxiety made my limbs feel numb. I did my best to control my heavy breathing as Zircon stopped at a short, rounded door. He gulped as he pushed it open.
"I've only been here once before," he whispered. "Right after she died." He opened the low, wooden door and ducked his head as he stepped inside.
The room was small and quiet with a large rectangular coffin at the center. The wood looked old and cracked, but the side had been carved with pictures of flowers. Zircon's hand shook a little as he touched the dusty wood. He ran his fingers over the top of the coffin and gently pressed the center of a curious flower with rectangular petals. My heart jumped when a thin flap of wood popped open on its own.
"It should be here," Zircon said quietly. He reached into hidden compartment and pulled out a velvet bag that was tied shut. "Here." He handed the bag to me.
"You want me to open it?" I asked. He nodded, staring down at the heavy coffin. His fingers ran over more of the carved wood. I opened the velvet bag and cautiously reached inside. My fingers touched the edges of a smooth circle - the transport stone. I pulled it out and marveled at the shiny dark stone with a hint of green around the edges. It had been made into a ring - not silver. The base of the ring wasn't shiny at all like Grandma Nettie's.
"That's an exact replica of the ring that Dotti has," Zircon mumbled. His bronzy hair didn't gleam as much as he hung his head. A stern look crossed his face.
"I do not need this to remember you by," he responded in a low voice. "The memory of your pure, white eyes will never leave my thoughts." My heart sank, but there wasn't much I could do. Rimar had been right. I didn't belong here and I couldn't stay here, even though I'd be returning to a world of chaos.
"I'll never forget you either," I solemnly replied. "And I'm sorry things with you and Dotti ended the way they did."
"She has a passion for stirring up trouble," Zircon said, shaking his head. "You will not be able to convince her to return home I'm afraid. She won't leave unless it is her decision."
"What?" I hadn't thought much about Dotti - a.k.a Miss Spoiled Peridot. I'd been too busy trying to save my own neck.
"Crystal," he firmly stated. "Where do you think Dotti has been all this time? She's in your world of course." My chest froze as the reality of it all hit me. It made sense, but I couldn't imagine the chaos she might have started as a near twin of me in Silver Hills. Crap!
"Are you being serious?" I asked. The anxiety that had followed me underground was slowly starting to return. My limbs felt numb and tingly as a shortness of breath pulsed through my chest.
"How do you think you got here?" he continued.
"Because Dotti and that Nuum freak were messing around with random spells?" I suggested.
"The spell they stole," he went on. "It caused the two of you to switch places." I cleared my throat, rubbing the smooth stone on my finger.
"What do I do when I find her?" I whispered.
"She is a difficult girl to bargain with," Zircon sighed. "You might have to trick her into coming back. Chances are she does not want to return."
"Great," I mumbled.
"And the spells," he added. "She likes to experiment so . . . she could be anybody or anywhere."
A pebble fell near my foot as the ceiling shook. Zircon jumped, grabbing my arm and pulling me behind him. He stared up the ceiling as it shook again - this time with more force. The subtle rumbles made my body tense. I pulled out the verse that would return me home, and clutched it in my hand.
"Visitors," Zircon whispered. "We've been here far too long."
"Maybe it's someone visiting another grave," I hopefully suggested. The ceiling shook again as stomping footsteps echoed into the underground tunnel.
"No," he mumbled. "I'd recognize that foot pattern anywhere. Soldiers."
"You father?" I gasped.
"Or Dotti's," he replied as the ceiling constantly rumbled with the sound of marching feet. "Either of them won't give me a warm welcome." He eyed every corner of the room. There was only one way in and one way out. My blood raced through my body as I bit the side of my lip. I tightly squeezed Zircon's hand, looking down at the verse from Sard.
"Don't be mad," I muttered. "But I can't let those lunatics punish you for something that isn't your fault." With my hand firmly latched on his, I whispered the verse. Zircon's head immediately turned towards me as a green smoke lifted from the floor and swirled around the two of us like a twister.
My head buzzed as Zircon began to mouth something. He suddenly stopped, frozen in place as my hand throbbed with a stabbing burn. My vision became cloudy and the sharp pains quickly crept across every part of my body. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. I was frozen again and hardly able to see Zircon. Our hands were locked together as the swirling smoke turned faster.
Zircon's fingers slowly started to slip as if another force were pulling him back. I held on as tight as I could as the sharp pains finally pulsed behind my eyes. I ground my teeth together, feeling the overwhelming urge to burst into tears as my heart pounded. I couldn't even do that.
My vision returned and my chest felt heavy as Zircon's terrified face came into view. I could see snow - lots of snow. And the green needles of evergreens along a rocky mountain ranges. I was almost home, but Zircon's hand slipped even further until we were hardly touching. I opened my mouth, finally able to force a few words as I felt my feet touch down on a snowy floor.
"Zircon," I forced myself to yell as his fingers slipped from my hand. A pain stabbed my chest as his face moved farther and farther away towards the snowy peaks surrounding Silver Hills. A tear burst out of my eye and ran down my fiery cheek.
As Zircon's gleaming hair fell out of view, his frozen face finally softened. He stared intently at the tear in my eye and mouthed his final words before I lost him completely, "I will find you."
The green smoke cleared and the throbbing pain faded. My skin shivered as the winter winds blew across my hot face. I studied the old school and my heart thudded as all eyes fell to me - eyes I didn't recognize. A pale girl with black and blond hair was standing next to me. She looked about my age.
"Crystal?" the girl muttered. "It's me." I looked around the room again, desperately hoping to see Zircon emerge from the shadows. I looked down at my hand and the ring on my finger. The burning had finally stopped. My hand was still intact.
"Alright. Alright." A man with shiny, blond hair and a pointy nose stepped forward. The metal end of his pistol pointed right at me. He smirked as his mischievous eyes danced down to the ring on my finger. "Give me that." I gulped, remembering the bloody ooze in Rimar's eyes. I'd made him a promise.
"The ring," I muttered to myself, I took a step back.
"At last," the man excitedly exclaimed. He looked to the girl next to me. She had a stone on her finger. "Give them to me." My eyes went wide as I searched again for Zircon. I needed his help. Whoever this man was, he knew. He knew about the transport stones. I glanced around the snowy school house. Dotti could be anywhere . . . or anyone.
The story continues in Amber, the second Silver Hills Novella. For updates and other works by the author visit www.jacquelinegardner.com
JADE (Silver Hills #1): Six years ago, Crystal snuck out to meet her long-time crush. She never came home.
Now her younger sister Jade has returned to Silver Hills, the place Crystal disappeared, only to find hostile townspeople, and a creepy admirer. Silver Hills isn’t what it seems, and Crystal’s ghostly image has made reappearance. Jade’s suspicions only lead to trouble as she slowly starts to realize that history is about to repeat itself.
CRYSTAL (Silver Hills #2): Six years ago a game was played and a curse was read. Crystal woke up only to find she had switched places with a teenage girl who looks much like her, apart from one thing - her black eyes. As Crystal tries to unravel the mystery behind the Keeper's curse, she discovers that she hasn't just replaced a young debutante on a neighboring planet. She's replaced a soon-to-be bride.
AMBER (Silver Hills #3): When Amber moved to Silver Hills, she never expected to get caught up in the frightening disappearance of her classmate. Rumors circulate that Crystal is dead but Amber still sees her face. And Crystal won't leave her alone.
PERIDOT (Silver Hills #4): To change her fate, Peridot makes a deal. But she soon learns that a deal with a madman is not a deal worth making.
Crystal (Silver Hills #2) Page 6