She was staring down at the paper that had slipped from her fingers, back into the box. All she could see now were the words: Death Certificate. And she dreaded to see Raph’s name on such a document.
Jack kissed the finger with his ring on it. Then he held her hand up and pointed to the ring. “Look at it,” he said. “It’s just a symbol of the wonderful life I’m going to give you.” But she could hardly see it through her tears.
Suddenly, a cascade of beautiful fireworks lit up the Middleburg sky.
Aimee Banfield sat in the flickering candlelight that threw weird shadows against the wall of Orias Morrow’s dining room, gazing down at her plate. Orias had prepared the meal himself, and as usual it was exquisite: a delectable piece of bloody-rare filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet-potato medallions, and lemon-sautéed green beans. But as usual, Aimee wasn’t hungry. She took a sip of Orias’s delicious tea, the one he made from tea leaves that grew on his family’s plantation in India.
“You told me once there’s a secret ingredient in your tea,” she said.
He nodded, his eyes glinting with uncharacteristic emotion. “Yes,” he said softly.
“What is it again?”
“A drop of water from the River Lethe,” he replied.
“Oh yeah,” Aimee said. “It’s really good. Comforting.” She took another sip. “Where is it? The river?”
Orias smiled, and she loved how the candlelight made him even more handsome. “South. Way South.”
“We should go there sometime. Slip there, I mean.” By slip, of course, she meant teleport. Using Aimee’s newfound ability, they’d slipped all over the world the last few months, going everywhere from Bangladesh to Antarctica. By now, Aimee’s powers of teleportation had grown so strong it was as easy for her to slip to Paris as it was to hop on one foot.
But they hadn’t been traveling much lately. On all their journeys, Aimee had an unsettling feeling she was supposed to be looking for something she’d lost, and it haunted her. It wasn’t her mom—she remembered that she still had to look for her, as soon as her powers were strong enough. It was something else. She had a feeling it was incredibly important, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember what it was, and wherever she looked, she couldn’t find it. It was so frustrating that after a while she’d gotten sick of traveling. These days, she preferred to stay in Orias’s beautiful, old-fashioned, luxurious home with the shades drawn.
Her father and her brother seemed to have less time than ever for her now, and she was less and less able to tolerate their company. Anyway, Jack Banfield seemed delighted that she was spending so much time with Orias. Orias had even allowed Jack to partner with him in the renovation and reopening of Hot House Strip Club as Elixir, a tea and coffee shop that featured all kinds of natural herbal beverages, and Jack credited Aimee with helping him close the deal. She’d finally been able to do something that pleased her dad. Since then, she’d had a blank check to hang out with Orias as much as she wanted—which was basically all the time.
Tonight, Orias had styled her hair (at his urging, she had dyed it from the rebellious shade of raven black back to its original blond). She loved having him fuss over her and was fascinated by his stories about how his ancestors—his Nephilim brothers—had been the first to teach human women to adorn their faces with powders and rouge and their hair with flowers and jewels. He had also gotten her a lovely dress for Valentine’s Day—a crimson ball gown that looked like something a princess would wear. It was stunning, and once she’d put it on and Orias had helped her with her makeup, she had to admit she looked as amazing as he told her she did.
But it didn’t change her mood. She felt restless and apathetic. Lately, Orias even had to insist that she go to school. To her, it seemed much nicer to sit in his parlor in front of the fire, dozing, making out with him, and occasionally sipping his specially brewed tea.
“I have something for you,” he said, and from somewhere beneath the table he produced a long jewelry box. He popped it open to reveal a gorgeous necklace of white gold and diamonds set around a ruby the size of a baby’s fist.
“Wow. Thanks,” she said. “It’s really pretty.”
It was probably the most beautiful piece of jewelry she’d ever seen, and a year ago if someone had given her a gift like that she would probably have freaked out with sheer joy. Now, she accepted it as easily as she would a Target gift card. Looking at the dazzling jewels, she knew she should be thrilled, but she couldn’t get past the feeling that something was missing—something important—and she wouldn’t be able to get excited about anything until she figured out what it was.
“Here, let me put it on you,” Orias said eagerly, getting out of his chair to stand behind her and drape the gold and diamond band across her chest. His fingers tickled the back of her neck as he did the clasp, and it instilled in her the sweet, familiar longing she felt whenever he touched her. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” he whispered in her ear.
But her thoughts had already drifted away, like a slip of teleportation.
“I had the dream again,” she said.
“What dream?”
“About the man. The blind man in the tower. He’s been locked in a room up there, and he wants me to let him out. But he’s furious, you know? He’s so angry, and I’m afraid of him. But in my dream I let him out anyway . . .” Her voice trailed off briefly, as she remembered the feeling of terror the dream always gave her. “What do you think it means?”
Orias didn’t answer. Instead, he took her hand, helped her to her feet, and led her to a big gilded mirror that hung on one wall near the window. He stopped her in front of it.
“Don’t you look stunning?” he asked as they both gazed at her reflection.
She stared at herself in the mirror, looking like the princess her little-girl self had always imagined she would grow up to be. And Orias, standing behind her, was every inch the prince, with his perfectly sculpted face, his long dark hair, and those startling blue eyes. She should be the happiest girl in the world.
A flash caught her eye, and she went to the window.
“Oh, look! Fireworks. Aren’t they beautiful?” She tried to sound enthusiastic, but the words came out tonelessly. She watched as the sky lit up with spirals, stars, pinwheels, and spinners that fizzled, then crackled and sparked to life again and again above the treetops of Middleburg.
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” Orias said, gazing first at the fireworks and then at her.
“Where did you say it comes from?” she asked vaguely. “The water for the tea?”
“The River Lethe,” Orias said, and he levitated her gently off the floor and floated her toward him. She laughed softly, and when she was close enough he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
“I’ve never heard of it. Where is it?” Aimee asked.
“In my father’s homeland. The Dark Territory,” Orias answered. “Perhaps we’ll go there one day.”
“Oh,” Aimee said. Then another gorgeous multicolored pinwheel went crackling and reeling across the sky, like a scattering of diamonds. As its sparks faded, her uneasiness disappeared, too.
“Lovely,” Orias said, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke.
She nodded in agreement and took comfort in having his arms around her, the missing element that troubled her slipping away from her mind.
J. Gabriel Gates
Since receiving his bachelor’s degree in theater from Florida State University, J. Gabriel Gates has acted in a dozen national TV commercials. He is an alum of Spalding University’s MFA in writing program, a dad, and a city council representative in his small Michigan town. He also experiments with live storytelling and has appeared on stage at The Moth. His other novels include:
Dark Territory (The Tracks Book 1)
Shadow Train (The Tracks Book 3)
The Sleepwalkers • Blood Zero Sky
For more information: http://jgabrielgates.com
Charlene Keel
Charlene Keel has written over a dozen novels as well as multiple episodes of popular TV shows such as Fantasy Island and Days of our Lives. She has also written screen adaptations of novels by bestselling authors, and has worked as editor or managing editor for international magazines. In her spare time she ghostwrites books and screenplays for celebrities, doctors, corporate moguls, spies, strippers and anyone who has an interesting story to tell. Her other books include:
The Lodestone • Lost Treasures of the Heart
Dark Territory • Grinders Corner
The Congressman’s Wife • Seventh Dawn of Destiny
GHOST CROWN: THE TRACKS TRILOGY - Book Two Page 48