Dark Calling

by McIntyre, Cheryl

  “I know. I can’t take it back. I can just tell you how sorry I am. I will never doubt you again.”

  “And I am supposed to take that and get over it? That’s bull shit. You let me rot in that cell. In the dark. While you made your move on Keely.”

  “I didn’t know you were locked in a cell. And I didn’t make a move on Keely, it just happened. Why is that even an issue? Why do you care who she’s with?”

  Without warning, Bryon’s fist connects with Nick’s jaw. Well, he actually did warn him, didn’t he? Stunned, Nick rubs his chin. Works his jaw back and forth.

  “Come on,” Bryon goads.

  “I deserve that. I’m not going to hit you back,” Nick says slowly.

  Bryon strikes out and hits him again. This time on the other side.

  “I probably deserve that too, but if you hit me again, I will hit you back.”

  With a shrug, Bryon hits Nick in the eye. Nick tackles him to the floor. Bryon kicks up his leg and flips Nick over him. He lands on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Taking advantage, Bryon presses his knee into Nick’s chest.

  “I loved her long before you did.”

  This isn’t necessarily true. Nick can’t pin-point the exact moment he fell in love with Keely, but he knows it was before this week. He just hadn’t realized it. Finding his bearings quickly, Nick knocks Bryon back and crushes his forearm into his windpipe. He lifts his hand to punch him, but can’t bring himself to do it. Their eyes lock, and in them, they both see the other’s turmoil.

  “I didn’t know,” Nick says and pushes himself off of Bryon.

  They lie beside each other, their breathing heavy as they stare at the ceiling. After a moment, Bryon sits up and hits Nick in the stomach. Nick grunts and rubs his hand over his abdomen. And that’s it. The altercation is over. All is forgiven. What just happened, never happened.

  ***

  Her room is unbearable. Keely slams the Demon Grimoire shut. Shoves it away from her. Wet hair sticks to her face, clothes cling to her body adding to the claustrophobia she is currently experiencing. She needs out of this room. Away from this book. There is no way her mom is about to let her out of the house.

  Keely turns on the radio and adjusts the volume. Loud enough so her parents will assume she’s still here, but not so loud they come to complain about it. She flips on the light in her bathroom and shuts the door. It may offer her a little extra time if they come in and think she’s bathing.

  Automatically reaching for her cell phone that isn’t there, Keely swears under her breath. Instead, she slips her shoes on and goes to the window. Pulls back the curtain and tries to measure the distance. If she lets herself hang before she drops, it will be less of a distance. Why couldn’t she have a tree or a trellis outside her window like girls always do in the movies?

  With a self pitying sigh, Keely opens the window and begins lowering herself out. As she perches on the sill, she realizes all her preparation to hide that she is gone doesn’t matter if the window is left open. Oh, well, too late now. She flips to her belly, grips the frame and let’s her legs dangle before she drops. Lands it like a pro.

  Keely stares up at her window wondrously. It was so easy. She looks around her, making sure she hasn’t been caught. Satisfied, she walks away from the house, heading for the field at the end of the street. It will take less time to get anywhere she wants to go if she cuts through the old corn field. Of course, now she needs to decide where exactly it is she wants to go. Her first instinct is Nick’s. But she isn’t ready to discuss their relationship yet. Or possibly ending it. And she isn’t in the mood for him to yell at her for sneaking out either. Lila was most likely at the hospital with Dustin and she doesn’t really feel like dealing with him either. That leaves Bryon. He never judges her. Never yells at her. Never pushes her. She’s pretty sure she can show up at his door with wet hair and clothes and he won’t say a word about it.

  The field. It’s been awhile since she’s been out here. It once was her sanctuary. She would come here and draw. The way the sun looked over the dried, yellowed stalks as they lay flat across the dirt would captivate Keely’s attention for hours. It’s how she learned to draw shadow.

  She stops walking and looks up at the sky. Let’s the sun touch her face. She looks back out across the field and sadness fills her. This could all be gone. At her own hands.

  “Would you like some company?”

  Keely barley jumps at the sound of Asmoday’s voice because though she was distracted by her feelings of hopelessness and dread, she also felt a tug on the invisible cord that binds them. She doesn’t turn to face him. Doesn’t want him to see the tears. Doesn’t want him to witness the shame.

  “Why are you so sad?”

  Her body, so desperate to feel something else, she turns to anger. “Why do you know what I feel?” As her angers shifts, morphs into hurt confusion, Keely understands these are not her feelings. She twists now so she can see his face. “How do I know what you feel?”

  His coffee brown eyes meet hers steadily. He shakes his head slowly. “I truly do not know.” He closes the distance between them, his stride slower than usual. In the seconds it takes him to stand before her, Keely flies through more confusion, happiness, sadness, anger. Lands on contentment just as he settles his feet at hers. “It is very strange. To feel so strongly. To feel certain emotions. Why are you sad?”

  “I read the Prophecy, Asmoday. I know what I’m going to do. Why did you give Nick the Grimoire? You had to know I would find it.”

  “I had hoped you would, yes.”

  Keely tries to find deception in his face. Tries to feel it in his emotions. Tries so desperately because she doesn’t want to like him. “Why?” Her voice is shaky and barely above a whisper, but he understands her perfectly.

  “I was given tolerance growing up. And I am drastically stretching the definition to make it applicable. I learned to do as I was told. I learned that if I obeyed him, I would not be the recipient of his animosity. At times, I was even rewarded.” Keely feels something flutter in her stomach, but it leaves her quickly. “I never new kindness, or empathy, or happiness. Those are very new to me. It’s very overwhelming, but in a pleasant way.” He bends at the knees so he is eye level with her. Keely feels frozen in place as he continues.

  “I have always understood feelings of fear, and hatred, loneliness, and anger. I have experienced lust and want. But I did not know I was capable of these other feelings. I hardly recognized them. And they were not all yours, you see? Because you were scared, I was scared. But because you were scared, I also felt for your pain. I felt empathy and it was all mine. When you are sad, I feel sad, but I worry for you. When you feel happy, I am happy for you. When I get angered, I instantly feel regret because I do not want you to feel angry.

  “The fact that I am capable of feeling anything for anybody else outside of lust or hatred is a miracle. It brings me joy and peace. I have never known this.

  “Just from feeling what you feel I now know love. That one was hard. I felt it strongest when we found the human you refer to as your dad. It was so substantial. It filled me. I thought I may burst. I had never felt anything like it. I did not realize what it was at the time or why it was happening. Then, when I left the realm to return your parents…” He shakes his head. Puts his large cool hands on Keely’s arms. “I thought I was dying. I thought you were dying. I was never so scared in my life. The way you felt, it hurt me. It hurt me inside. I never want you to feel like that again.

  “I do not know why this is happening. I dislike it and welcome it at the same time.” He let’s go of her and straightens his legs. “You ask me why I gave you the Grimoire. It is because through you I learned to empathize. That is where you imagine yourself in another’s situation, correct?”

  Unable to speak, Keely nods stiffly.

  “Yes, all right. I asked myself how I w
ould feel if I were you. And then I had to ask myself how you would feel. You would not want this to happen. You would not want to be forced to do something that would hurt another. You would want to be warned. You would want a choice.”

  Keely clears her throat softly. “It’s a prophecy. Someone looked into the future and saw me do this. I don’t have a choice. If I did, they would have prophesized that I didn’t do it. Apophis was right to try and kill me.”

  Anger flows through Keely again. Nearly overtakes her. “Do not say that,” Asmoday says through his teeth. “You do have a choice. The future has not happened yet. You can change the prophecy. I have watched it change already. The girl has not always worn your face. She was many others before she was you. As Apophis killed them, they changed. But you do not have to die to change it again. Go to your Hierarchy. Explain why your father wants you. Obtain their allegiance and protection.”

  “You’re going against our father?” Keely asks, dismayed.

  “I am choosing correctly.” He dips his head at her. “My loyalty is to you, Princess. Whatever you choose.”

  “Please don’t call me that. And please stop bowing. You’re a Prince; you shouldn’t bow to your sister.”

  Very quickly, something tweaks at Keely’s heart. Discomfort. Deception. Guilt. She gives him a look that lets him know she feels it. “Asmoday, what are you lying to me about?”

  He brushes his hand over his honey colored hair. “I have not lied,” he says quietly. She tests his statement against her—his feelings. He’s being honest.

  “Why did you feel guilty a moment ago?”

  “I cannot reveal all to you at this time. That is all. I promise I am not telling you untruths.”

  Keely was not born yesterday. She has pretty good instincts, probably because of her heritage. “Are you lying by omission? Because by not telling me something I should know you are lying to me still. Or allowing me to believe something that isn’t true is just like lying. Are you doing either of those things right now?”

  After a moment’s thought, Asmoday simply says, “Yes.”

  “Are you going to elaborate?”

  “No.”

  “Then how can I trust you?”

  “Because you know you can.”

  The pitiful thing is he’s right. She knows without a doubt, she can trust Asmoday. So what is he keeping from her? And why?

  Aware of her reluctance, Asmoday takes her hand. Electricity runs between their fingers. The cord hums. Elation and comfort swell Keely’s heart. But it’s all wrong. She shouldn’t feel this. Not with him. Not with her brother.

  “It is all right.”

  “No it’s not. Why are you doing this to me?”

  “I am not. It is happening to me too.”

  “I don’t want it.” It’s so much easier when she’s with Nick. She knows her feelings are hers. She doesn’t question her safety with him. She doesn’t feel sick for caring about him.

  “I’m sorry, Keely.”

  And she knows he is.

  “I’m sorry too. This must be just as strange for you as it is for me. I keep forgetting that. But I want you to understand, I cannot ever act on these feelings. It will never happen. You’re my brother.”

  “Where I am from, things like that do not matter. Often, families mate within themselves to keep the lineage pure.”

  “It matters to me. I wasn’t raised where you’re from. Here we’re taught it’s wrong. I think it’s gross. Not you yourself. Just the thought of being with my brother.”

  Asmoday nods as if he understands, but Keely isn’t convinced he does. “I can care for you as a brother does. For now. Maybe you will come around,” he says.

  “I won’t. You understand that I have feelings for Nick, don’t you?”

  “Yes. But you love me as well.”

  “No. I feel something else for you. It’s this cord binding us. Witnessing your emotions and mine. Always feeling connected to you. And you’re my brother. We have the same blood, so there’s that connection as well.”

  “Now that I understand love, it is very easy to recognize. You have love for me. I think you also have lust, which I thought was love for a long time, but now know is very different, although often comes together.”

  Keely pulls her hand out of his. “I do not. You’re my brother.”

  “If you say it enough, you may just talk yourself out of your feelings,” Asmoday laughs. “We are connected. I know your convictions as well as I know my own. You cannot hide from me.”

  “Please just stop.”

  He sweeps his hand over her cheek, brushing back her hair tenderly. “I will take you home.”

  “I was going to Bryon’s.”

  “You are safer in your home,” he states firmly.

  “Why? Why am I all of a sudden safer there? Apophis got in there before. He can do it again.”

  “Apophis will not come for you there. He knows we are watching. You are being protected from multiple sides. He would be a fool to make an attempt on your life.”

  “He wants me too. Just like our father. He had the Grimoire. He must know the prophecy as well as you. I think he wants me to fulfill it now. I don’t know what changed his mind. I guess the power. But I think he’ll try to get to me before my father does. And if I don’t do this for him, he will kill me so I can’t do it for anyone else.”

  “Then you should not be out wandering around a corn field by yourself,” Asmoday says. He raises a brow.

  “I’m not. I’m with you. And you can take me to Bryon’s.” Keely smirks at him.

  “I would prefer for you to go home and call Bryon to come to you.” Before she can interject, Asmoday adds, “You cannot afford to take risks. Not if you want to change your destiny. Besides, you are very damp. You could use a change of clothing.” His eyes graze over her disheveled appearance.

  Keely knows he is right once again. It’s a little annoying. “When I get upset, I have panic attacks. I feel trapped in that house,” she admits.

  “Then I will come get you. No more jumping from your window.”

  “Were you watching me?”

  “You were upset. Scared. I came to check on you.”

  “And you watched me jump from the window? You could have helped me out.”

  Asmoday smiles at her causing her insides to jump. “I did not know you were going to do it until you were already committed. I didn’t want to startle you and cause you to injure yourself.”

  “Well, thanks. I guess.”

  “I have been staying close, so next time wait for me. I will come,” he assures her.

  “You’re staying close? Where? Is that why I haven’t felt the cord snap?”

  “Yes,” he says, only answering her last question. “I do not want to experience that again.”

  “Yeah, neither do I.”

  Twenty-Five:

  “Keely? Nick is here,” Kevin says from the other side of her bedroom door.

  Keely looks around trying to orient herself. In a panic she looks at Asmoday who apparently finds this very amusing. She doesn’t think she will ever get used to him—whatever it is he does. Teleporting? Anyway, she has only been back a few seconds and her body doesn’t quite know it. If her dad opens the door and finds Asmoday here, he will flip. And her mom… She can’t even finish the thought. “I’ll be right down,” Keely croaks.

  Asmoday wanders over to her desk. Starts poking through the piles of sketches. “Your artwork is really quite nice. Your father is a painter. You have a similar eye.”

  “Um, I don’t want to be rude, but I have to be. I need to go downstairs.” Keely throws a thumb over her shoulder at the door.

  “Yes, go. I will be fine.” He picks up a sketch of the field they were in minutes ago. He is mesmerized by it. “You captured it perfectly,” he says in a whisper.

&
nbsp; “You’re going to stay? In my room? Alone?”

  He gazes at her and smirks. “I promise not to raid your panty drawer.”

  “Oh, ew. You better not. And don’t leave my room.”

  He starts to bow his head, but stops himself. “Of course.”

  Keely stares at him for a second hoping this doesn’t blow up in her face. On her way to the door, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She’s a mess. Her clothes are wet and her hair is tangled and wind-blown. She does an about face and goes to her closet. Tugs a plain black v-neck tee and a pair of jeans off their hangers. Goes to her bathroom and changes as quickly as she can. She rips a brush through her hair causing it to frizz to twice its normal volume. It will have to do.

  She practically runs through her room with one last glance at Asmoday. One side of his mouth lifts slightly in a wicked smile that does very bad things for her nerves. She shuts her door and bounds down the stairs.

  Her first instinct when she sees Nick is to hug him, but she doesn’t. Not with her mom in the room. Not after the conversation they had. She smiles at him in place of the hug. He doesn’t smile back.

  “What’s wrong?” she asks quickly.

  “We’ve been summoned. Tomorrow at noon.”

  “Both of you?” Kimberly asks stunned.

  “Yes.”

  “What do you mean summoned? To what?”

  “The Hierarchy. They’ve decided to take council.”

  “Oh.” Keely has mixed feeling about this. After all, Asmoday just suggested she go to them for help, but Nick may get in trouble. “Wait, why do they want me to go?”

  “I don’t know for certain. My dad says they just want to speak to you. To meet you.”

  “They want to make sure you’re not a threat,” her mom says. “It’ll be fine. You just tell them what you told me. That you want to honor the Angel and attend Deus Lucem Academy to train for Guardianship.” Her expression doesn’t match her words. She doesn’t look like everything will be fine.