“Gabe definitely gets it from somewhere.”
“I guess I didn’t…”
“Paul can talk anyone into anything,” Crystal said, and took a bite of spaghetti. “That’s why his dealership’s so successful, and why Gabe’s so spoiled. Not just because Paul’s wealthy, but because he has so much influence over the town. He gets what he wants—just like Gabe.”
For some reason, that left Carly unsettled. She’d found Paul quite charming. And Gabriel, well, she couldn’t imagine her life without him. Was there something sinister behind all that allure?
“Jeez, Carly,” Crys sighed. “I was simply pointing out that it’s perhaps a bit supernatural to be able to influence people like that. And it’s not a bad thing, considering Paul is solely responsible for the addition they just finished on the hospital in Sterling. He understands how people respond to him and doesn’t seem to take advantage of it that often. But when it comes to Gabe, well, Paul gives him a new car every year, if that tells you anything.”
It told Carly a lot. Gabe was used to getting his way, and Paul was used to making that happen for him.
“There’s a reason for all of it,” Crystal said, taking another bite of spaghetti. She gulped down the rest of her water, and added, “Gabe’s mom.”
“But she disappeared,” Carly replied.
“Exactly. She disappeared before Gabe got a chance to know her, and Paul’s been trying to make up for it ever since.”
“Has Paul dated anyone since then? Anyone close to being a stepmom to Gabe?”
“Not that I know of,” Crys answered. “I mean, there have been women, briefly. But Paul’s really got a penchant for full blood shapeshifters, and there isn’t exactly a wealth of them around here. For as close as we all are, we’ve learned not to ask a lot of questions. It’s surprising how much you can hide even when someone’s listening in.”
“Yeah, I… I guess,” Carly managed in response.
“I know, it’s a different way of life, but we’re different. We’re not human, Carly, and neither are our problems. Considering the reason I’m here right now, you have to understand that.”
“I do, but you’re right—it’s a different way of life. I’m just… trying to figure it out.”
Crystal let out a laugh. “Aren’t we all?”
* * *
“Carly, it’s almost two in the morning,” Crystal noted from her cozy spot on the upholstered chair in Carly’s bedroom. “You should at least try to get some sleep. We have school in the morning.”
Carly paced over to the window overlooking the backyard and peered into the black of forest beyond. The ruskah was out there somewhere, but so were Gabe, her father, and all the others. And no matter how confusing all of this was, no matter how powerless she felt, she knew they wouldn’t stop until she was safe. It was just in their blood.
“It’s so dark outside,” Carly observed without turning from the window. “I don’t know how they can see anything out there.”
“You’ll be amazed by our night vision. And if you’re worried about Gabe, he hasn’t come across anything of significance. I’ll wake you if that changes.”
Carly managed to tear herself from the muddled view of the woods, but started pacing the floor again rather than crawling in bed. She stifled a yawn, and decided, “Maybe I should make another pot of coffee.”
Crystal looked up from her novel and shot Carly a stern look. “Until you shift for the first time, you need to sleep. Think of it this way—it’ll give Gabe one less thing to worry about if he knows you’re well-rested.”
Carly didn’t appreciate that, and hoped her expression conveyed as much. But the effect was lost when one of her feet caught on the other and sent her stumbling backwards into the wall by the bathroom. Her hip knocked into the wainscoting, and the wall popped open.
The secret passage across from the top of the staircase was no secret. This passage, however, was a complete surprise, and Carly ignored the throbbing in her hip as she opened the wall to its limit.
“You okay?” Crys asked from behind her. “Gabe told me about this. Cool.”
“Gabe didn’t tell you about this,” Carly informed her, “because I had no idea it was here.”
“Even better,” Crystal replied, a delicious grin at her lips as she slipped past Carly into the dark.
“Don’t you need a flashlight?”
Crystal looked back over her shoulder, her eyes glowing gold through the dark.
Carly jumped at the phenomenon she’d witnessed from Gabe the first day they’d met. She’d convinced herself it had been a trick of the eye. It was a trick, all right, just of a different sort.
“How does it work?” Carly marveled, taking a step closer to get a better look at the glow. “Are they reflecting light—like a cat?”
“Ah, the eye thing,” Crys said, the glow disappearing as she twisted around to wander further into the passage. “We can control it when we stop to think about it, but it’s not necessarily automatic for us, even in our human forms. I guess I just figured it wouldn’t freak you out.”
“It doesn’t,” Carly clarified. “I think it’s really great, in fact.”
“Cool. You might want to grab a flashlight. I think I’ve found something here.”
Carly hurried over to her desk, careful not to trip this time, and snatched the small flashlight from the top drawer. “What something?” she asked, clicking on the light as she stepped into the passage.
Crystal let out a cackle. “You’re really not going to believe this, Carly.”
“I’m not going to believe what?” Carly demanded, shining the pathetic flashlight beam at her friend. And that’s when Carly caught sight of the treasure in Crys’s hands—a solid carved skull marbled in shades of purple and white. Carly’s breath stilled as she studied the skull’s features, dead eyes staring back at her, reading the script on her soul.
Gabe’s mention of crystal skulls hadn’t done the actual thing any real justice. It wasn’t merely an object, but was somehow humming with life, as if an entire universe of possibilities existed within its confines of carved crystal. The hum morphed from potential to definite sound, crinkling in Carly’s ears. It sang to her, in a way, tones melding together into a hypnotizing drone.
“…Carly?” she heard the waning remnants of a voice call her name.
But the hum crackled louder, the eyes of the skull intent on her. It wanted something from her—needed something from her. Needed to be a part of her somehow. Needed her to fulfill its destiny…
Carly sensed hands pulling on her shoulders, pulling her out of the passage. She sensed but didn’t feel them—didn’t feel anything other than the lure of the skull.
“Don’t let her touch it,” distorted words spilled through the thrum. “Whatever you do, don’t let Carly touch the skull!”
twenty-three
Carly’s ears popped as something tugged her away from the skull. It took a moment for the crinkling to subside, and another moment to register that it was Howard pinning her arms back.
“Let me go!” she begged, writhing against him. She got herself turned around enough to notice that Gabe was in the passage with Crys, that he’d crumpled to a pile on the floor, and that he was clutching onto the amethyst skull. “Gabe? Gabe, are you okay?”
“Son,” Howard spoke firmly, holding tight to Carly’s arms. “That is a dangerous object you’re holding. Maybe it would be best if you left it on the floor and stepped away.”
Gabe flinched, but didn’t do as instructed.
“Gabe,” Crys whispered, tapping him on the shoulder. “Maybe you should—”
“All right!” he screamed, shoving her back into the wall as he popped up from the floor and left the skull to rest on the hardwood.
“How about you both step out here, and then we’ll talk?” Howard proposed, finally giving Carly her arms back.
Carly took the opportunity to lunge for Gabriel, dragging him all the way out of the passage as her ar
ms went up around his neck. She wasn’t sure what had just happened with the skull, but something about having Gabe this close brought her back to center. She clung to him for several moments before pulling back to search his eyes. But they remained locked on the talisman on the passage floor.
Howard jumped for the passage, leaving the skull where it was as he put the wall into place. “Gabriel, Crystal, you can touch it and still resist its lure. But Carly, sweetheart, you haven’t come into your power yet. You would fall under the skull’s spell and you wouldn’t come back. There’s a reason I hid it away—”
“You hid it?” Gabe growled, taking a step away from Carly, a step toward Howard.
“I’ve seen how easily it can manipulate an otherwise sane mind,” Howard explained. “I was naïve to assume you wouldn’t find it up here, Carly. It’s just been so long ago since I stashed it away that I didn’t think anyone would ever find it.”
“How long ago did you hide it up here?” Carly demanded.
“When I was in high school—when I was your age. I figured he wouldn’t suspect I’d hide it in his own house.”
“Who, Grandpa?”
“Carly, there was a reason your mother and I moved away from this place after you were born.”
“What did Grandpa do that was so bad?” she asked.
Howard’s gaze fell. “I’d really rather not discuss it—not yet. Besides, we have more pressing matters at hand. Like what we’re going to do with that skull.”
“Why don’t we just put it back where we found it?” Crystal suggested, her gaze fixed on the wall concealing the treasure. “We’ll seal up the passage and pretend it’s not there. If we’re the only ones who know where it is—”
“No, absolutely not,” Howard determined, shaking his head. “I can’t risk one of you falling under its spell. Crystal skulls are volatile objects, and they shouldn’t be taken lightly. This amethyst skull is certainly no exception.”
“Then what should we do with it?” Gabe questioned. “Because if that ruskah finds out we have it, it’s going to put out an alert and we’re going to have a war on our hands. Is that what you really want?”
“Of course not! Which is why we have to get it out of here. We’ll bury it in the ground, under the lake. No one will think to go looking for it there.”
“Under the lake?” Carly asked.
“Gabe and I will go after dawn, after we know there won’t be ruskah eyes watching. We’ll take the skull and hide it deep in the earth of the lake floor. All that water will serve as a nice cushion, don’t you think? Gabriel, for the time being, only you and I will know its location. Is that a secret you think you can keep?”
“It’s a secret I will keep,” Gabe informed him. “Believe it or not, Howard, I understand what’s at stake here.”
Howard narrowed his gaze, but his confidence wavered. “Good, then that’s our plan. Now, why don’t you kids head on downstairs and I’ll stay up here and guard the skull.”
“I’m not leaving Carly. I’m not letting her out of my sight until the sun comes up.”
Howard grabbed the chair from Carly’s desk and placed it in front of the wall concealing the skull. He crossed his arms over his chest as he sat. “I would hope not. Crystal, you’ll stay with Carly, too, won’t you?”
Carly was intrigued by Howard’s reaction to Gabriel, by the inequality between them. At school, Howard was Principal Morneau and Gabe was just some kid in the junior class. Here, in Carly’s new reality, Gabriel Hutchinson made the rules—and Principal Morneau wasn’t yet sure how he felt about that.
“We’ll go downstairs,” Crystal conceded, pushing on Gabe’s shoulder. “Won’t we?”
Gabe stared Howard down for a moment. “Sure, we’ll camp out downstairs. But only because it’s best for Carly.” He reached for Carly’s hand, glancing back at the hidden passage before leading the way downstairs.
Carly let out a deep breath as they spilled into the kitchen. The amethyst skull that had allegedly been hidden by shapeshifters for fifteen hundred years had been in her bedroom this entire time. How had she not noticed?
“How did it get by any of us?” Gabe seethed, his hand falling out of hers. He stepped over to the coffee maker and pulled out the carafe to fill with water.
“That skull’s got to be the real deal,” Crystal commented, reaching in the fridge for a can of Coke. “Right?”
“You touched it,” he reminded her. “What the hell do you think?”
“How long until dawn?” Carly asked, scanning the wall of windows as she fell into a stool at the island.
“Too long,” Gabe answered. “Which is why you should try to get some sleep.”
Carly let out a nervous laugh. “Like that’s going to happen.”
* * *
Grainy light poured in through family room curtains as Carly woke. She yawned as she sat up on the sectional, the events of last evening replaying in her mind. Crystal was positioned at the window, staring out at the Great Lake, but otherwise, they were alone.
“Good morning,” Crystal greeted her without turning around.
Carly jumped up to join her and gazed out at the churning waves. “When did they leave?”
“About twenty minutes ago. I have no clue when to expect them back.”
“How far up the coast do you think they went?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Crystal answered. “Gabe’s thoughts are totally closed off, but I suppose that’s the point.”
“He can really do that?” Carly wondered. “Keep such a big secret like that from you?”
Crys smirked. “Carly, you’d be surprised by how much we’re able to hide from one another when we put our minds to it.”
That didn’t leave Carly quite as settled as she would have liked. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
“Not a wink. You barely got any sleep yourself. You sure looked pretty cozy, though, snuggled up next to your boyfriend.”
Carly felt silly for blushing, but there it was all the same.
“You two are just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Crystal went on. “Gabe may have convinced himself he was content with relationships in the past, but he’s never been happy like this before.”
“He’s had a girlfriend before?” Carly questioned. After finding out about Lila, Carly had been careful not to pry.
“No.”
“Oh.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed how girls are with him,” Crystal said. “Hanging on his every word, falling all over themselves if he so much as looks their way.”
“Yeah, that I did notice,” Carly admitted, because she’d done the very same thing.
“That’s shifter blood for you. It adds a glossy layer that conveniently hides our flaws. Like Photoshop, but for real life.”
Carly managed a laugh. “Is it really like that for you?”
“It’s like that for you, too, you’re just better at tuning it out than I am.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Pay attention the next time we’re in school,” Crys advised. “You’ll see.”
Carly thought back to the Homecoming dance, how everyone had stared at them like they were from another world. “So, all shapeshifters have that effect? No matter how much human’s in them?”
“It seems that way, yeah. Jeremy, Esther, Abel and I are all three-quarters shapeshifter, and Kyle and Sharla are half each. For some people, like Paul, being full blood is a big deal. But our group’s a little more enlightened than that, and we choose not to divide ourselves that way.”
“That’s really cool,” Carly replied. “I haven’t met everyone’s parents yet.”
“Not surprising. We all kind of do our own thing and don’t ask questions.”
“I’m starting to understand that. Are all the parents shifters?”
“Everyone except Sharla’s mom—she’s regular old human,” Crystal answered. “Sharla’s father, however, is a full blood Romanian born shapeshifter, and she won’t
let you forget it. He left, though, several years back. Just packed up one day and moved back to Romania. He never really said why, and it broke Sharla’s heart. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a sweet girl, but he took some of that sweetness with him.”
“There must be shapeshifters in Romania then?” Carly guessed, catching Crystal’s eye. “More than just Sharla’s father?”
“‘In Romania’ is really as much as we know. It’s not like Damon left a forwarding address.”
Though faint, Carly made out the back door popping open, and hurried through the house to the kitchen. There she found Gabe and her father, both dripping wet and looking exhausted.
Legacy: Bloodline Book 1 Page 23