The Spirit Keeper

by Luznicky Garrett, Melissa

  The dark-haired person behind the counter turned at our approach, and I stopped dead in my tracks. The shape of her face, the thickly-lashed eyes, her bronze complexion, even the dimples when she smiled out of polite reflex . . . I had seen them all on a different, though very familiar, face before.

  Her eyes went wide at the sight of us, but she managed to get her face under control almost immediately. She pushed a lock of hair behind a small, delicate ear. “You’re Sarah Redbird,” she said. Her voice was soft and higher-pitched than what I had imagined it might sound like.

  I swallowed hard, my blood going cold. “Uh-huh. Shyla, right?”

  Priscilla’s head snapped up from the label she was reading. “Did I miss something? Do you two know each other?”

  Shyla tore her eyes away from me. “And you’re Priscilla.”

  Priscilla’s forehead wrinkled. “Yeah. Why do you look so familiar?”

  “My brother was just here. He said you were in the mall today.” She smiled slightly at the both of us. “You’re not exactly an inconspicuous pair.”

  Pricilla’s brows shot up as she looked from Shyla to me, then back to Shyla. “Your brother. Well now I know why you look familiar.” She turned to me then. “How is it that I’ve known Adrian for three weeks now and he’s never once mentioned a sister?”

  “Twin sister, actually,” Shyla said.

  Priscilla pursed her lips at me. “Did you know about her?”

  I shrugged my shoulders and gave her what I knew was a feeble smile. The only reason why I knew Adrian had a sister was because Meg had told me. Adrian, himself, had never breathed a word about Shyla.

  A million thoughts were pinging around in my head at that moment. Adrian had been here to see his sister, but why? And they’d obviously been talking about Priscilla and me. What did that mean? I closed my eyes, becoming even more confused as I tried to work it out in my head.

  “My brother and I have a complicated relationship, so I’m not surprised he never mentioned me,” Shyla said by way of an explanation. “We don’t always agree. Still, I do care about him, and I hate seeing him make mistakes.” Her eyes cut to me then. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to see that he stays out of trouble.”

  I shuddered. Was she actually threatening me?

  “Wait a minute,” Priscilla said, pointing her finger at Shyla. “Are you implying that Adrian is too good for Sarah?”

  To her credit, Shyla looked genuinely taken aback. “I’m not implying anything.”

  Priscilla and I looked at each other in confusion. “All right. So if you and Adrian are twins,” she said, “how come we’ve never seen you at Hilltop?”

  “Because I don’t go to Hilltop. I live with my grandmother on the other side of the lake and go to Lakeview.”

  “Lakeview,” Priscilla said, turning up her nose. Hilltop and Lakeview were bitter rivals.

  “Okay,” I said during an awkward and prolonged pause in the conversation, during which we all stood around staring at each other. “This has been fun, but I think it’s time we got going. Right, Priscilla?”

  She glanced at her watch, and her eyebrows shot into her hairline. “Oh crap! We were supposed to meet Laura Beth out front ten minutes ago.”

  Priscilla took off ahead of me, but Shyla called out my name. When I turned around, she was standing with her slender arms crossed in front of her and her brows pulled together.

  “If I were you,” she said, “I’d watch my back.”

  Chapter 10

  I woke Saturday morning with a nasty brew of anxiety and anticipation festering in the pit of my stomach, twisting my insides so that I felt very close to throwing up.

  It was like the time Priscilla forced me on my first-ever roller coaster, a ride called The Viper. There’d been no doubt in my mind that the seventy-five-foot drop and five loops would be an experience to remember, but I’d been deathly afraid of puking from the feeling of having my world turned upside-down at fifty miles an hour. I imagined being alone—truly alone—with Adrian for the first time would feel a lot like riding that coaster: exhilarating, yet extremely terrifying.

  Priscilla’s dad was back in town again after having been away, and he’d scheduled vacation time for them. They were going to Niagara Falls, and we wouldn’t see each other again until Tuesday. An eternity, as far as I was concerned. Worse, I wouldn’t get to tell her how my date with Adrian went until she got back, considering her dad was making her leave her cell behind.

  Mr. O’Malley dropped Priscilla off at our house with plans to pick her up right after our three-hour shift. All morning long she taunted me with vague, and often inappropriate, references about my impending date with Adrian. By the time her dad picked her up, I was actually glad to see her go. As much as I loved my best friend, she was seriously getting on my nerves.

  I stood at the end of the driveway waving them off. Mr. O’Malley honked the horn twice before rounding the corner, and then I hurried inside to yank a brush through my hair and run a wand of tinted gloss over my lips. I breathed into my hand, testing my breath, and then brushed my teeth for good measure before reapplying the gloss. Finally, I pulled on my sneakers and rushed out the back door, ducking out while Meg and David were too busy with customers to stop me. It was half-past noon already, and I was late. Getting to the creek to see Adrian was the only thing on my mind.

  But when I arrived, Adrian wasn’t there. I shielded my eyes from the sun streaming down through the trees and looked back the way I’d come, thinking I’d either see or hear him approaching in the distance. But there was no sign of him, at least not that I could see through the dense brush. To bide my time, I kicked off my sneakers, waded into the creek, and took a seat on the fallen tree to wait.

  The forest was alive with the sound of birds’ high-pitched trilling and the lapping of water as it dipped and swirled around my legs. I closed my eyes and did a series of meditative breathing exercises Meg had taught me to release pent-up tension, but I couldn’t relax. What if Adrian didn’t show up, I kept thinking? But even more than that, I couldn’t get Shyla’s parting words out of my head.

  If I were you, I’d watch my back.

  Did Shyla mean I’d better watch my back because she had plans to hurt me? Or maybe Victor had something up his sleeve and was going to use her as a weapon against me like he had supposedly done years ago when he set the fire. Other than the occasional dirty look from him when our paths happened to cross, he’d done nothing to make me think he was dangerous. Maybe he really was here on personal business. Maybe their being here had nothing to do with us at all.

  Maybe we were all just being paranoid.

  And yet, the implied threat of Shyla’s words was staring me right in the face, and I couldn’t ignore it any longer. We’d been waffling in this nebulous state of indecision for the past few weeks, all of us tip-toeing around each other to see who would make the first move. Either Victor and Shyla were going to do something, or they weren’t. But I couldn’t stand not knowing, and I couldn’t stand the waiting. I had to find out today. I was going to get some answers. No matter what.

  “Sorry it took me so long.”

  I bolted to my feet and spun to face Adrian. He’d sneaked up on me, startling me out of my thoughts. I offered him what I hoped was a reassuring smile, even though my heart was thumping as quickly as a rabbit’s foot. Thinking about his dad and sister had gotten me all wound up.

  “My dad needed some help with his car, and I couldn’t get away,” he said. “I skipped out when he wasn’t looking. He’ll probably be pissed when I get back, but I don’t care. I’d rather be here.”

  “Did anyone see you?”

  “If you mean your aunt and uncle, you can relax. I used one of the trails a few houses down from yours. No one saw me. We’re alone.”

  I sat down again while Adrian stood at the edge of the water looking back at me, and I wondered if being alone with him was such a good idea, after all. We lapsed into silence, our conversation having
gotten off to an awkward start. I was beyond feeling any normal degree of self-consciousness, and I nervously twisted a strand of hair around my finger.

  “I really like it,” Adrian said. “Your hair, I mean. I really like it.”

  I untangled my finger from my hair and placed my hands under my thighs, looking down to hide my face. Meg had made a spectacular production over my new haircut, but Adrian’s one simple compliment had me grinning from ear to ear.

  “Thanks,” I said to my feet hiding underwater, only daring to look at him through the cover of my lashes.

  Adrian sat down on the bank to unlace his shoes, giving me the perfect opportunity to stare at him. His gray tee hugged his chest and accentuated his dark, muscular arms. A lock of thick hair fell across his forehead as he bent forward, and he ran his hand through it to push it out of his eyes. He craned his neck to look at me then, and I glanced away in a hurry, biting the inside of my bottom lip to keep from smiling.

  “So, how do you think you did on your finals?” he said.

  I thought about my Spanish final and hoped I hadn’t totally blown the oral part of the exam. Katie had sat in the front row, mouthing nasty insults to me the entire time and totally throwing me off my game. “There’s only one I’m worried about, but I’m pretty sure I got at least a B.”

  Adrian got up and waded into the shallow end of the creek, sighing as the water licked his toes and ankles. “If it’s your Spanish final, I’m sure you did fine. You had that thing memorized forward and back. Heck, I probably could have taken it for you, with all that studying I helped you do during lunch.” He laughed and then pointed at me. “You didn’t wear your suit?”

  I shrugged, looking down at my shorts. “I didn’t feel like getting wet today.”

  The truth was I couldn’t find my one-piece, and I wasn’t exactly ready to stand half-naked in front of Adrian in my bikini. A public pool was one thing, but there was something a little more intimate about the creek, secluded as it was.

  Adrian didn’t seem to share my inhibitions. He pulled his shirt over his head, then balled it up and flung it to the bank behind him. He’d come prepared wearing his swim trunks, and they hung so low and loose on his hips he kept having to hike them up. He waded deeper into the water, inching closer to me.

  “Do you mind if I come over there? I promise I won’t splash this time.” By the smirk on his face, I knew he was going to come to me whether or not I wanted him to. And I very much wanted him to.

  I nodded, unable to find my words. I hadn’t been born yesterday, obviously, and I was incredibly aware of the water rippling off his bare skin.

  He sat down on the tree beside me, letting his feet tangle with mine under the water. He tickled the bottom of my foot with his big toe, making me giggle despite my nervousness.

  “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he said suddenly. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

  I laughed and made a sort of unattractive choking noise to cover my embarrassment. “Yeah, right.”

  Adrian traced the line of my jaw with his finger. “You don’t believe me?”

  I rolled my eyes, clenching my teeth together to stop their nervous chattering. “You’re the only guy who’s ever said that.”

  Adrian trailed his finger down my arm, making my skin break out in goosebumps. “Well it’s true,” he said. His eyes met mine and lingered. He licked his bottom lip. “Sarah, I really want to kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a very long time.”

  I swallowed hard, struggling to catch my breath. My voice was barely a whisper when it came out. “Really?”

  My heart was thumping in my chest. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening!

  All of a sudden I was hyperaware of everything around me: the smooth texture of the worn log beneath me, the coldness of the water rushing against our feet and the reflection of the sun dancing off the surface, the jackhammer noises of a woodpecker close by and the caws of scavenging crows, the earthy smells of mud and decay and the slightly fishy odor of the creekwater.

  And then there was Adrian: the scruff of his unshaven face, the cowlick that made his hair stick up slightly in front, the pressure of his thigh against mine, the incredible heat radiating off his entire body, the pounding pulse under the delicate skin of his neck telling me his heart was beating just as quickly as mine.

  All of this I became aware of in the span of one breath, and yet it felt like time had stopped so that I could memorize every little detail about this moment and preserve it in my mind forever.

  Adrian had closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, so I immediately closed my eyes and angled my head in the opposite direction. Less than two heartbeats later I felt his lips on mine, warm and incredibly soft. I shuddered reflexively, a thrill of delight traveling up my spine.

  Adrian scooted closer, closing the gap between us. He put his hand on my back, and the only thing I could think to do with my awkward arms was to wrap them around him. His tongue touched the inside of my top lip and I nearly fainted. I felt lighter than air, like I could float away from being so happy.

  But faster than I would have liked, Adrian pulled away.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked, my breath ragged. I didn’t dare look at his face. I just couldn’t.

  He tilted my chin up with his fingers, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Everything is great.”

  He let go of my face, and I looked down at my lap again. “It’s just that, I don’t know, I haven’t had much practice.”

  Adrian leaned in to kiss me for the second time, and it was just as good as the first. It felt like the most natural thing in the world, and I didn’t want it to end.

  “I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said. “You’re like a song stuck in my head, but in a good way.” We both laughed, our breath mingling in the small space between us.

  We sat quietly kissing for a few minutes, getting to know each other in this very different way, before I pulled back and took his hands in mine. The time to get answers was now, before I let myself get more involved with him than I already had.

  “Adrian, we need to talk.”

  His forehead creased, but he squeezed my hands. “I know,” he said, resignation in his voice.

  I lowered my head and shook it back and forth, at a loss for words. “I don’t even know where to begin.” I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. I was scared I might lose him, but I had to do this.

  “Remember that day in the greenhouse when you said you were on my side? What did you mean by that?”

  Adrian let go of my hands and rose to his feet. He walked away a few paces and stood with his back to me, head bowed. When he finally spoke, he didn’t look at me.

  “A long time ago, when I was just a baby, a wolf entered our land and attacked my father. When my mother tried to help, the wolf turned on her. She died later that night.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  Adrian turned and offered me a small, sad smile. “I don’t remember her at all.”

  I was almost afraid to ask, but I had no choice. “Do you blame me for your mother’s death?”

  Adrian came back to where I was still sitting on the fallen tree, and he knelt in the water in front of me, looking me in the eyes. “Why in the world would I blame you?”

  I twisted my fingers in my lap, my eyes stinging with tears. “I grew up not knowing where I came from, Adrian. I always wondered, but it was never spoken of in my home. No matter how many questions I asked, they always went unanswered.”

  “And now?” Adrian said when I couldn’t go on.

  I gazed into his dark eyes, so deep I was sure I would drown in them. “And now I know the truth. Meg explained everything to me—the story of Ka-mut and Kai, the history of the Katori people, how my mother went missing one day and . . .”

  My voice trailed off, and I took a deep breath before going on. “The white wolf was my father. He is a descendent of Ka-mut, which means so am I. It was my f
ather that killed your mother.”

  Adrian rose and sat down again on the tree next to me. He put his arm around me to draw me close. “I know, Sarah. I’ve known it for as long as I can remember.”

  I looked up at him in surprise. “Then how can you not hate me?”

  “How could I? You are one of the sweetest, most beautiful people—inside and out—that I know.”

  I shook my head. “If you think that, why did you come here?”

  Adrian laughed under his breath and brought my hand to his mouth. His lips grazed my knuckles, sending shivers up my spine and making the fine hairs at the nape of my neck stand on end. “Because I wanted to,” he said.

  I pulled my hand from his—gently, so as not to give him the wrong idea. “I’m glad of that, but what I meant was, why did you come here? To this town?”

  Adrian didn’t respond, and all I heard was the distant cry of a blue jay in the silence. I took a deep breath, trying not to get discouraged, and opted for a different approach.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you have a twin sister?”

  He gave me a sharp look before his face relaxed into a mask of resignation. “You know about Shyla.”

  “Of course I know. I told you that Meg told me everything. When Priscilla and I were at the mall yesterday, we saw her.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, but I held up a hand. “This isn’t exactly a big town, Adrian. We were bound to run into each other sooner or later.”

  “Did you talk to her?”

  “Not really,” I said. Adrian raised a brow, and I cleared my throat. “I mean, she um . . . she told me to watch my back.”

  Adrian’s eyes went wide, and his nostrils flared. “She what?”

  His hands curled into fists, but then they relaxed again on his thighs after a moment. “I don’t know what her problem is. We used to be so close when we were little. But then . . .” He didn’t say anything more.

  “She said you two have a complicated relationship.”

  Adrian huffed. “Complicated doesn’t even begin to describe how things have been between us lately.”