“Really?” I ask.
Tanner nods. “Well, he said you got a little nervous, but you made it through just fine.”
Hmm. My conversation with David tries to pop into my head, but I quickly tell myself that Bas most likely just didn’t want Tanner to know what a spaz I am. “I’m just glad we’re back. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” Tanner grins and pulls me down to the blanket with him. “How did things go with Bas, anyway? I know you weren’t too excited about having to put up with him for two hours all by yourself.”
Why are we still talking about Bas? “It was fine. We just talked about archery and our graphic design class mostly. I guess he knows how to behave when he really wants to, but I don’t want to talk about Bas anymore. I want you to kiss me.”
Tanner rolls up onto his elbow. His face hovers over mine. “You do, do you?”
“Yes, very much.”
His smile is playful, and just a bit seductive. “Well, I won’t keep you waiting then.”
And he doesn’t. The kiss from this morning in the parking lot is put to shame. As Tanner’s lips touch mine, I feel everything else slip away. No more dreams and Sibeal, no more Bas, no more anything but the feel of Tanner’s lips on mine. My whole crazy world condenses down to the heat of his body pressing against mine.
My body shivers as Tanner’s hand touches my hip, his fingers sliding under the hem of my t-shirt. His lips suddenly leave mine, touching down behind my ear and making their way down my neck. I can barely breathe. My whole mind is focused on Tanner’s lips trailing across my skin. I gasp when his hand slides up to my waist.
I don’t want him to stop, but when I turn my head and spot David walking toward us, I push Tanner back hurriedly. Confusion flashes in Tanner’s eyes until he also spots David. He backs off immediately and attempts to prop himself back up on his elbow casually. I seriously doubt it worked, but I roll with it and hope.
“Hey, you two,” David says. His eyes are definitely narrowed a bit, and fastened on Tanner. “Bas and a few others wanted to go walk down by the water. Why don’t you come with us?”
His tone says it’s not really a question. My own eyes narrow right back at him. I’m going to get him for this.
“Sounds great,” Tanner says. He jumps up and offers me his hand. I let him pull me up, but slip my arm through David’s once I’m standing. Tanner takes the hint and falls back with Bas and a few others who are moving away from the bonfire.
I keep my tone low, but my fingers are digging into David’s arm. “Playing Dad’s watchdog tonight?”
David pries my fingernails out of his skin. “I don’t need instructions from Dad to want to keep the boys from clobbering my little sister.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I roll my eyes, not caring whether or not he can see it in the dark.
“Look, sis, Tanner seems like a nice guy, but that doesn’t mean I want to see his hand under your shirt.”
I could die right now. “His hand was barely off my hip!” I hiss.
“It didn’t belong there,” David says.
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“No,” David says, “I’m being your big brother. Just tell Tanner to back off a little, okay? I don’t want to see that.”
“You …”
“I’m not saying I don’t like him,” David defends. “Maybe you two will live happily ever after. I have no idea. I hope it works out because I know you really care about him, but if he has any hope of getting Dad off his back, he better figure out how to keep his hands to himself in public.”
I want to scream. I seriously want to throw my head back and scream. I know better than to say anything about the fact that Tanner and I thought we were pretty much alone this time. I have no intention of roping myself into another argument like that. I try to focus on the fact that David said he likes Tanner and hopes we work out.
“Fine,” I say as nicely as I can. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
David grins at me. “Good.” Then he turns and flips me over his shoulder and starts running for the water. My shrieks carry out over the water as he splashes around in the surf. When I feel myself pitching backward toward the water, I am laughing as I drop into the waves. It doesn’t take much to get my feet back under me in the shallow water, but I come up splashing. David is drenched before I’m finished.
When we finally stop throwing water at each other, I notice quite a few people have joined us in the surf. Everyone sticks to the shallows, but the sun set a while ago and I have a hard time picking out who is who. It doesn’t help that most of the guys are either running around shirtless or in plain white tank tops.
It’s hard to tell the difference between one person and another in the moonlight, but I spot Evan and Jackson a few yards away. Tanner is standing with them, his back to me, and I creep up behind him. He jumps when I slip my wet arms around his waist. He spins around and my eyes go wide.
“Arra?” Bas says questioningly.
“Bas?” I jump away from him and laugh, a deep blush creeping onto my face unexpectedly. “Sorry, I thought you were Tanner. I was trying to scare him.”
Bas laughs, but it isn’t his usual laugh. “Well, you startled me pretty good if that’s what you were going for.”
“Sorry,” I say again. I take a step back as David’s words echo in my ears.
I start to turn away, but Bas grabs my arm. “Arra, wait.”
“Arra!” Tanner calls out from across the beach. He waves at me, and I wave back, but I turn back to Bas before leaving.
“Sorry, what were you going to say?” The sudden burst of desperation I experience to know his thoughts feels strange.
Bas shakes his head and lets go of my arm. “It was nothing. I was just going to say that your brother is a really nice guy.”
I don’t know why, but I touch Bas’s arm gently. His muscles tighten at the point of contact. “Thanks, Bas. He said the same thing about you, actually.” I smile an honest to goodness smile at Bas before turning away to meet up with Tanner.
I don’t have to go far. Tanner catches up to me quickly and slings an arm over my shoulder.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, sure. Why do you ask?”
“First David pulls you away for a talk, now you’re over with Bas. You don’t usually seek Bas out if you can help it,” Tanner says.
I snuggle against him a little more. “David just wanted to talk for a minute. He said he likes you, but he’s still my big brother and I think it grosses him out a little to see me with a guy. And Bas, that was nothing. I thought he was you.”
“Are we that interchangeable?” Tanner laughs.
“Well, if I’m just going off tank top-clad boys on the beach in the moonlight, pretty much,” I tease. “I can’t help if you two look the same from the back, with only moonlight to tell the difference no less.”
Tanner drops a kiss on my forehead. “I just wanted to make sure something wasn’t wrong.”
“Not at all,” I reassure him.
I miss Tanner’s warmth when his arm slips off my shoulder and takes my hand instead. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you alone since you got back but it hasn’t been easy to get you away from everyone. I wanted to tell you what I saw today.”
“What you saw? You mean, like with Sibeal?”
He nods, and I can see the corners of his mouth turn down.
“When? What happened?”
Even with my pushiness, it takes him a moment to start talking. “It’s not that I didn’t believe you before, but it’s different when you see it yourself.” He pauses and shakes his head. “I saw her reflection move. I was on my way out of the school and I saw her standing next to the big windows in the hallway staring at nothing, so I stopped and watched her. It was just like you said. When she moved, the reflection didn’t move with her right away. It was just a second, and if I hadn’t known what to look for, I probably would have missed it. But I did see it, and it really creeped me
out.”
No kidding! Even expecting it, something like that still throws you for a loop. “Did you hear her saying anything?” I ask. “Did she do anything strange?”
Tanner shakes his head and I sigh in frustration.
“I need to catch her using her power. The dreams don’t show me enough about the power to identify it, but I don’t know how else to expose her.”
“I don’t know,” Tanner says, “but she gives most of the class a weird vibe. If anyone sees anything strange, I’m sure we’ll hear about it.”
I pull against Tanner and he answers by wrapping his arm back around my shoulders. “I’ll try to get to Kivera again tonight.” Thoughts of Kivera only bring me more frustration. I have tried every night this week to talk to her again, but so far nothing has worked. As we walk along the moonlit beach, I run my first visit through my head over and over again, trying to figure out what I’m missing.
The answer hits me as we’re walking back to the parking lot hours later and I spot Bas waiting by my dad’s car.
Chapter Fourteen
Lying in bed when you’re exhausted but can’t fall asleep is torture. Not being able to fall asleep when you need to get to your weird spirit guide that once condemned you to death is even more frustrating! Sure, that’s probably not one many people can relate to, but I am ready to knock myself out in desperation to get to Kivera.
In the back of my mind, I have a sneaking suspicion that I know how to find my inner peace and call out for Kivera’s help. It’s my willingness to go there that is giving me trouble. Instead, I snatch my iPod and headphones off the nightstand and play the sleepiest music I can find. I’m not even sure how Claire de Lune and a few other similar songs even ended up on my iPod, but I’m willing to give it a try.
Five minutes in, I want to bang my head against the wall even more. I’m not a big fan of classical music. Obviously.
Next, breathing. I’ve yet to find anyone else in Grainer willing to try yoga with me, but I used to take it back in Manhattan and I put those skills to use now. In, two, three, four. Out, two three, four. I last a whole ten minutes. The amount of craziness rattling around in my head has toned down a bit, but sleep is still elusive.
Looking at the stars doesn’t help. Neither does reading. I can’t even imagine up the sheep to count them. A glance over at my clock makes me cringe. It’s one o’clock. I am already way too tired to be up this late. Showing up for archery practice tomorrow with bags under my eyes is hardly appealing. I sigh, knowing I have to do it.
It’s an effort to reach over to my nightstand and pick up my phone. Scrolling down to Bas’s name feels weird. I’ve never been the one to text him before, but if I’m right, this is the only way I’m going to get any peace tonight.
R U awake?
I hit send before I can think about it too much. My hand tightens around the phone, half hoping he doesn’t respond. I jump when it buzzes.
Yeah. Bad dreams? he asks.
Can’t sleep. U?
Can’t stay asleep, he texts back.
I can sympathize with that. One of the worst things about getting crazy dreams—aside from knowing they usually end in death—is that they wake me up and I can never get back to sleep.
Nightmares? I ask.
It takes a moment before he responds. Not tonight. Just a lot on my mind.
Like what?
His response is so slow in coming back that I begin to think he’s not going to answer. School, archery, family, friends, you, everything.
I nod silently at his response…until I get to the second to last one. Me? Why?
That’s all you care about? What about my other problems? I can almost hear his teasing voice poking at me.
I understand the others. Why am I keeping you up?
Again, he takes his time responding. The drive to Portland may have scared me more than I let on.
Really? You were so calm!
Calm? he responds. I just had to act calm so you wouldn’t panic even more.
Could he have really fooled me like that? R U just saying that 2 make me feel better?
No. It scared me. I thought we were going to wreck for a while there.
Sorry. And I really am. I was so focused on myself after the interstate mishap that I didn’t even stop to consider how much I might have scared Bas.
It wasn’t your fault, Bas answers back.
I laugh. It totally was.
Okay, maybe it was. I’m sure he’s laughing now, but he isn’t done yet. When I agreed to drive with U I didn’t expect 2 have 2 save our lives.
Before I can send back a snotty retort, my phone buzzes again with another message from Bas.
When is your brother going home? I want 2 make sure I’m busy that day.
I’m laughing, but I’m not going to tell him that. Jerk.
JK, he sends back. I’ll go with U again, but only if I get 2 drive. U R strictly a passenger from now on.
Whatever, I text. U should be more worried about my archery skills than my driving right now.
Arrogance drips off his next message. Worried? Yeah right. U been driving longer than shooting a bow. Look how that went!
I send back a smiley face sticking its tongue out at Bas. Tanner says I’ve picked archery up pretty fast. Bas is going to have to eat his words tomorrow. I’ll make sure of it.
Clearly, Bas is terribly confident. His response: LOL!
Better get UR apology ready. I’m going 2 sleep.
Bas won’t let up. I’ll bring some humble pie instead.
I’m better than U think. I’ll get the bull’s eye 2morrow.
Not a chance, he argues.
What do I get if I do?
A bet, huh? If you hit the bull’s eye, U get 2 name your prize.
Get ready 2 pay up. Night, Bas.
Ready and willing. Night, Arra
After tossing my phone back on the nightstand, I laugh to myself. Maybe Bas and I should keep our friendship—or whatever it is—strictly on a texting level. I can take his teasing and arrogance when it’s attached to a text message. It’s when I have to see his smug expression and feel the embarrassment that usually accompanies one of our interactions that gets me.
If only that were possible, I think as I settle under my blankets. Thoughts of Bas are quickly replaced with a plea for Kivera to meet me on the temple mesa. This time, instead of fighting against my whirring mind, everything dissolves away. Relaxation stills my body, and peace follows closely on its heels. Sleep is the immediate result.
My eyes close slowly, but open to the familiar temple mesa. A smile breaks across my lips. “It worked,” I exclaim happily.
“Yes, it did,” Kivera says from behind me. I spin around in surprise. Her pleased laugh still throws me a bit, but I’m glad to see her.
“I have been trying to get back here all week!”
Kivera’s eyes turn thoughtful. “Why did you have trouble? Was calling to me for help difficult?”
“No, not at all. It was the other part,” I tell her as I approach and plop down on the rough stone floor.
“The other part?”
I nod a bit sheepishly. “The find my peace part. Trying to shut my brain down and focus on calling you was nearly impossible.”
“How did you finally achieve it?” she asks.
Sighing, I admit the truth. “I needed to talk to Bas again, but it took me a while to actually do it.”
“Bas…that is the person you do not like very much, correct?” Kivera still seems confused by our strained relationship. She’s not the only one.
I nod and fold my legs beneath me. These stones are not terribly comfortable. “Well, Bas is a thorn in my side most days, but …” I pause, trying to understand my feelings toward Bas. I’ve definitely mellowed since the first day we met, but he can still be a pain sometimes. “But I guess he’s growing on me a little. He’s not all bad.”
I’m not sure why Kivera seems so pleased about this, but her smile is definitely more e
xtreme than the statement demands. Who knows? Kivera’s a little odd herself. I didn’t come here to talk about Bas, though. I need help.
“The reason I wanted to talk to you was because I’ve had another dream, but I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“What was this dream about?” Kivera asks, serious now.
As quickly as I can, I lay out the dreams and everything we’ve seen in real life and what we’ve learned—the little there is to tell. Kivera listens patiently. When I finish speaking, she doesn’t respond right away. I mentally cross my fingers that she’s working out something that will either tell me what’s going on, or at least point me in the right direction.
“You want to know what power Sibeal is using?” Kivera asks.
I nod eagerly. “Do you have any idea what it might be?”
Kivera frowns. “I do not know specifically, but I can tell you that there were people in my village that possessed similar power.”
“Like priests and stuff?”
Her answer surprises me. “No. Regular people who were blessed by the gods with special gifts.”
“What do you mean? Like magic? Real magic?”
Even after seeing Sibeal’s reflection do weird things and watching her use her power in the dreams, it’s not an easy thing to wrap my head around. Gods interfering in people’s lives, that I can handle. Witches and wizards or whatever, that is a whole other thing entirely.
Kivera laughs. “I would not call it magic. It is power. These people I am referring to could not make things disappear or turn people into trinkets. They were blessed with certain gifts. One I knew could foretell the weather, which was very important when you lived in a farming village. Another I met could make special medicines. She would mix the regular herbs as many healers did, but she knew special words to speak over the mixture to make it more potent. These were gifts given to them by the gods.”
Okay, that I can maybe handle. It sounds so much less ridiculous when she says it. I still have a million questions, though.
“So,” I begin, “Sibeal was given some kind of power from a god?”
Kivera shrugs, but her eyes hold more confidence. “I cannot speak for Sibeal when I have not met her, but her powers seem very much like those I witnessed during my life. I believe they can only be given through a god, but I do not know with absolute certainty.”
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