I waited for him to object, but he was cut off.
“Ohhhh, do tell, do tell!” Auntie Steph absolutely beamed as she questioned me. Placing her elbows up on the counter and leaning forward with her head in her hands, she waited for me to spill the details.
“Jayce, you know, the guy I met at the mall. I hung out with him and his friends yesterday. He’s pretty cool.” I tried leaving it at that.
“Is he cute?” Her head tilting sideways as she prodded.
I tried to act casual, but felt my face grow warm. I nodded, then took a bite of my toast.
“You like him! You like him, a lot!” she squealed, throwing her arms in the air.
‘I like your aunt!’ Jayce intruded. ‘Looking forward to meeting her, she’ll be easy to win over. Your uncle on the other hand… might be a bit more challenging.’
I looked over, my uncle sat with a concerned expression. Clearly not sharing the same enthusiasm as his wife.
“Jayce is really nice, polite, he’s a true gentleman.” I hoped this would help put his mind to rest.
“Well, keep your cell with you at all times. Remember,” he said, the worry lines noticeable on his forehead, “we’re only a phone call away.”
I got up and gave him a big hug. “Well, I guess I should start getting ready now. I told Jayce he could pick me up at eleven.” I never actually picked a time for Jayce to pick me up and wasn’t sure if he’d caught the clue I just dropped for him. I couldn’t tell if we were still connected. I’d have to verify with him when I had a little more privacy.
I loaded my dishes into the dishwasher and headed down the hallway toward the bathroom. I was in desperate need of a shower. I stopped by the hall closet and grabbed a towel. I closed the bathroom door and was about to strip down when I clued in to the fact that I wasn’t sure if I was alone. A shower with Jayce in my head, oh my… I thought about him as hard as I could.
‘Well now, hello there,’ he answered playfully.
I was about to vent, but he cut me off.
‘I know. Trust me. You don’t even need to ask. I’ll try to think of lots of other things. Even though, I’d really rather be thinking about you.’
‘If you prefer me to show up smelly, then continue to think about me, Jayce. I dare you.’ I wasn’t about to shower with him in my head.
‘All right! You win. You’ve got my word, okay? No thoughts,’ he promised. ‘How about you send me over a thought when you’re done. Or better yet, I’ll just see you at eleven.’
I was glad he picked up on my unsubtle hint. He was tricky and I had to lay down some ground rules with him. I needed to make sure I stuck to my guns. ‘Thank you… now out.’
It surprised me; I actually felt him leave. At least, I’d learned something. I now knew what it felt like when he was connected and when he wasn’t. I needed to remember this feeling for future reference.
I attempted a quick shower, just in case this whole ordeal was too tempting for him. He was a guy after all and this was clearly asking a lot. I toweled off and put fresh clothes on. I brushed my hair and teeth and put on a little bit of make-up.
‘I’m ready for you,’ I thought over to Jayce, hoping he’d hear me.
‘Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be there.’
‘Jayce, were you connected this entire time?’
‘No, I swear. It’s almost eleven and I knew you’d be ready.’
‘Really?’
‘Yup, I promise. See you soon.’
Not even fifteen minutes passed by and there was a knock at the front door. Uncle Dane opened it.
“Hello, I’m Jayce Fallon. I’m here to pick up Shanntal. I apologize for not introducing myself yesterday. I was running short on time.” I watched Jayce shoot his hand out, awaiting a return shake from my uncle.
“No worries, Jayce. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Danier, but you can call me Dane.” He reached his hand out to meet Jayce’s.
Auntie Steph had already left to go meet up with her girlfriend for the day. At least there wasn’t going to be any embarrassing drama. A handshake, I could handle. The squealing, well that would’ve been something else entirely.
I walked towards the door and grabbed my jacket and purse as I slipped my feet easily into my running shoes. I leaned over and kissed Uncle Dane on his cheek. “See you later.”
“See you,” Uncle Dane replied. He stood in the doorway watching as Jayce and I made our way to the shiny black car.
Jayce opened the door for me, then ran around to the driver’s side and climbed in. The butterflies in my stomach were almost unbearable. I was happy to see him, but extremely nervous at the same time.
“Me too, I know what you mean,” Jayce said aloud as he started the car. He shot me a wink followed by a flash of his perfect grin.
Uncle Dane remained positioned in the same protective stance in the front doorway. I waved to him as Jayce started pulling the car away. Uncle Dane waved back and I watched as he hesitantly closed the door.
I felt terrible that he worried so much about me. I felt safe around Jayce and I wanted more than anything for Uncle Dane to accept him.
Jayce and I spent the entire day driving around. I’d expected to meet up with the others, but Jayce said he wanted me all to himself for the day. He showed me around the island, taking me to the top of some various hills so we could admire the views. Then he proceeded to show me around a couple of other beaches. None of them compared to Mystic Beach, it was by far the most beautiful one.
We pulled into a tiny parking lot and entered a quaint restaurant for a late lunch. The seafood restaurant had colorful fish painted over most of the walls with paintings of mermaids and waterfalls taking over the rest of the wall space.
Jayce and I took a seat in a booth over by the window. A lone candle burned in the center of our table, which was accompanied by a single red rose. We admired the spectacular view overlooking the water. The dark-haired slender waiter came over to take down our drink order and we both ordered the fish and chips off the menu board.
As Jayce and I sat at our table conversing, the candle burning in the middle of our table kept grabbing my attention. It would’ve been so much more romantic if it were dark outside. Jayce leaned over and with a smooth motion picked the rose out of the vase, tucking it safely behind my ear. “Perfect!” he said. Then he took my hand and told me more about the island and all its secrets. I was completely mesmerized, hanging off his every word.
Our food was served promptly. We sat in our booth and enjoyed our delicious fish and chips. After we finished up our meal, Jayce went over to the front counter to settle up the bill. I took one more glance out the window at the magnificent view. Picture perfect.
We got back into his car to continue our touring adventure. We’d driven quite a way up-island. It took us almost four hours to get back to Blackwood. The next thing I knew Jayce had me safely back home. Another day had raced by quickly. It was already ten-thirty p.m. It wasn’t fair how fast time flew when I was with Jayce and how it stood almost still in situations where I wanted nothing more than for it to pass more quickly. Time was a funny thing.
Before I was able to get myself out of the car, Jayce leaned over and gave me a warm lingering kiss, this time upon my cheek and grazing my lips. Butterflies filled my stomach and the biggest smile spread across my face. I felt so incredibly happy; it was absolutely impossible for me to hide it. I didn’t want him to leave, but it was getting late. I fought against every urge pushing me to stay and got out of his car. I headed up to my house; before reaching the door, I turned and waved goodnight to him.
**********************
Over the next few months Jayce and I became inseparable. We saw each other every day and spent every waking minute together. He always held my hand while we were out and each night left me with a warm lingering kiss on my lips. Over this time, I became really good friends with the elements.
Layla usually kept her human form around me, trusting me completely with her
secret. Every now and then, she’d shift into a house cat, but it was mostly when we were down at the beach or around others she didn’t know very well.
Terran, Meriel and Layla weren’t like any of my other girlfriends. We got along very well, but on a totally different level. There wasn’t gossiping about cute boys we had crushes on, or how we spent too much on shopping sprees. We talked more about the environment and simply being alive. When I was around them, it felt like I was experiencing everything for the first time. Nothing seemed the same and I had a new-found appreciation for everything around me.
Aiden and Makan clearly enjoyed Jayce’s company. You could just tell they’d been friends for some time. It was amusing to watch them attempt to roughhouse like normal guys. They danced around with anticipation, trying to get a handle on each other’s moves before lunging forward. Most times, they’d go sailing past each other and land on the ground. They’d shake off their misses with laughs and get up to try again. Jayce always seemed to have the upper hand. Aiden and Makan would charge, but he could predict their moves, so one quick move to the side and down they’d go again.
Even though these were superior beings, they were first and foremost my friends. It didn’t feel odd to be hanging out with immortals because it finally felt like I belonged somewhere. They’d openly accepted me into their circle.
Friday afternoon Jayce picked me up and we drove around for a while. He turned the car around and headed in the direction of Mystic Beach.
“Back to the beach?”
“It’s my favorite place.” He grabbed my hand, holding it tightly. Once in a while, it still caught me off guard how natural this felt. It was as if my hand belonged there, the two of us specifically made for one another. We fit perfectly. He squeezed tightly in agreement.
I looked out the window slightly embarrassed. Here I was fantasizing about this beautiful man beside me and most likely freaking him right out. It would’ve been the same as walking up to someone and blurting out something along the lines of, ‘take me, I’m yours.’
Jayce laughed. “You aren’t the only one feeling this way, Shanntal. We are feeling twice the emotion of any normal person right now. You aren’t alone because I feel it too, just as much as you do.”
This put me at ease. He felt the same way about me. Now, I was utterly ecstatic. I turned around with a big smile and watched as the trees and rocks flashed by as we travelled along the curving road. We pulled into our parking spot and walked over the same path as we always did. Out of habit, I turned and looked down the beach to see our friends.
We were alone today. This scared, yet excited me all at the same time. This was my chance to find more things out about Jayce. In the few months we’d known each other we had really only discussed my past, the island, and his friends and their importance. Today, I was hoping to know more about him.
Mystery surrounded Jayce. He’d totally captivated me with his deep brown eyes and smile. With the romantic tension evident between us, he’d somehow managed to remain partially distant. I knew nothing about him other than the basics. It was time to get past all the small chat.
We walked a ways down the beach, my hand cradled in his. This was nice, just the two of us. I was enjoying our alone time so much that I forgot for a few moments that I wanted to interrogate him. Jayce led the way over to a flat rock shaped like a bench along the shore and we sat down.
“I’m the keeper of the elements,” he stated, looking at me cautiously. “Do you know what that really means?”
I thought for a minute and shook my head. “No, I’m not exactly sure.”
Letting go of my hand, he got up off the rock. I sat and watched as he paced back and forth, looking nervous. “Where do I start?”
“From the beginning,” I said, unsure if I wanted to hear what he was about to say.
He squared his body off in front of me. “Alright, I’m an immortal. There’s no other way to say it. I am the keeper of the elements and connected to certain minds. What you don’t know is…” He fidgeted around for a moment and then steadied himself. “I’m the reason that the elements function together as a whole and not against each other. I came to them a very long time ago. I was three years old the night my parents were killed by werewolves. I was tiny and managed to escape. Meriel found me alone, wandering down by the water. She took pity on me and brought me home to the others. They’ve taught me everything I know. With my gifts, I was able to keep peace between them. They were having some real power struggles and I figured it was the least I could do after they’d treated me so well. And it’s how I became their keeper.”
“Jayce,” I said. “It’s okay, that’s a wonderful thing, and you’re a survivor. As for being immortal, well, it means you can live forever.”
He kept his stance firm and spoke more hesitantly than before. “There’s more… it gets worse. There’s a fight brewing amongst the immortal world and for some unknown reason, I’ve got a feeling you’re right in the center of it. I don’t know which side’s going to prevail. Immortals are talking and some of them are saying the outcome will basically be up to you. They believe you’ll be our savior and think you’re the key to keeping peace in the immortal world.” He paused and looked at me, waiting.
I sat quietly for a minute. I’d been introduced to some odd things throughout my life. Especially within the past few months, the odd things just seemed to multiply and get more unimaginable.
I’d met people who resembled the four elements and apparently that was because they were in fact the elements. Not to mention, house cats shifting into large wild cats and then into people right before my eyes. So sure, this could be believable, why not? After all, I’d seen so many things that made “normal” jump right out of my head. What was normal anyway? Surely, I no longer knew.
“I believe you, and we’ll figure this out,” I said, walking towards Jayce. “I’ll figure this out.” A million questions raced through my mind, but were quickly dismissed when I saw Jayce standing there with his dark eyes penetrating me.
I was unable to deny him, I longed for him. I couldn’t bear to be away from him for even a second. This was nothing like I’d ever experienced. I needed him, in every way possible.
Jayce grabbed me suddenly with such a force that in a split instant, he pulled my body right up close to his. His breath on my neck sent tingles raging through me. He began kissing me slowly and gently at first, but then he went deeper, fiercer. It was the most passionate kiss I’d ever had in my life and for a few moments we were lost in our passion.
It was so powerful, I couldn’t imagine there would ever be another one able to top it, as far as I was concerned. All of our thoughts, dreams and fantasies were shared. He was in my mind and I was in his, experiencing all of our burning desire together.
I felt dizzy and my lips burned hot. The feeling lingered, almost the same way cinnamon hearts stung your lips and tongue. The sensation was absolutely irresistible.
Together, we sat back down on our rock. I was so comfortable around Jayce. I didn’t have to hide or act like someone I wasn’t. The best part, I was positively sure he felt the same way about me.
He took this opportunity to explain more about the existence of the different immortals. He told me stories about the elements and shape shifters. Soon he was describing beautiful fairies, glorious mermaids, fierce werewolves and dreadful doomahorns.
“Doomahorns?”
“You’ve probably never heard of them.”
“Never. What exactly is a doomahorn?”
“It’s a rare breed of nightwalker. I’m honestly not sure what or who created them. I just know to steer clear. Promise you’ll do the same.”
“How will I know if I see one?”
“Take my word for it, they’re pretty unmistakable.”
I hoped to never cross paths with one. “Nightwalker” was one word that made me want to stay away. I listened as Jayce continued filling me in on the details of various immortals.
“Nig
htwalkers use scouts, which are the doomahorns. I’m guessing you might want to know what they look like so you know what to stay away from.” He shot me a quirky smile.
“That might help.”
“They’re dark horse-like creatures with two devilish horns on their head, a large deformed bulge on their back and big jagged fangs. They’ve got unmistakable ferocious blood red eyes. Trust me, you won’t miss them. They’re used to track prey. Then, the werewolves get the dirty work out of the way and the vampires come in for the final kill. It’s the ultimate ambush.”
This was so much to process and sounded like a movie. I sat, unable to move or speak, just trying to take it all in. I couldn’t have imagined anything like this, not even in my wildest dreams and I have a pretty vivid imagination. A flood of emotion came over me. I began crying hysterically, tears streaming down my face.
Escaped the Night Page 6