My Heart be Damned

by Gray, Chanelle

  “How’re you feeling?” I asked, as soon as I climbed into the passenger seat.

  He shrugged. “Like I really, really need a coffee.”

  “I don’t like coffee,” I mused, trying exceptionally hard to keep things light between us. “Too bitter. I like things sweet in my mouth.”

  Mentally, I groaned. I’d just walked straight into receiving some kind of crude remark from Marshall, but he said nothing. Finally, we pulled away from my house. The radio was set at such a low level; I barely noticed it was on. At least Marshall looked a lot better.

  Not another word was said until we pulled up outside of a small Starbucks a little way away from my house. I was about ready to pull my hair out from the awkwardness between us. He got out without saying a word, and I followed him, feeling like a bumbling girl with a crush running after the guy who doesn’t know she exists.

  Being Saturday, there were quite a few kids inside, as well as adults. I scanned the room, making sure there was no one I knew. Only a couple of kids from my school, but they weren’t in my year.

  The line was long, and I used my time to pick out something from the menu. Finally, we were up, and Marshall dug around in his jean pocket for cash while he rattled off his order. I didn’t want to assume he was paying for me, so I stayed quiet.

  “You not ordering?” Marshall asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “That’s not like you.”

  I shrugged. “I, er, I didn’t know if...” I paused, knowing there was no sensible thing to say. “I’ll just have a hot chocolate. Extra whipped cream.”

  “What about a double chocolate chip muffin?” Marshall suggested, pointing to the display cabinet. “Looks good.”

  You look good, I wanted to say. I wanted to reach up, slip my hands around his neck, and kiss him frantically. Just as I had last night.

  “Sure,” I said instead.

  Marshall paid for our order, and we stepped to one side to wait. We didn’t say a word. I couldn’t breathe around him, and when our drinks finally came, I made too big of a deal about adding chocolate flakes onto my whipped cream. Just to give me something to do.

  “So,” Marshall began, leading us to an empty table at the back. “Let’s talk plans.”

  I cupped my hands around the hot mug and stared down at it. “Got any ideas? I mean, this is my first time stealing from an auction house. I don’t know what you get up to in your free time...”

  “If this had been about how to bed a girl, then I’d be your guy. But much like you, I’m pretty much a virgin at this.”

  I blushed and kept my gaze down. A virgin as in the traditional sense? Or a virgin in the sense of being new to theft? I didn’t want to ask him to explain.

  “I had a look online at the place it’s being held,” I offered, my voice steady enough to speak.

  “And?” He took a long gulp of his coffee. It stunk.

  “And, it’s a pretty huge place. I’m also guessing there’s gonna be tight security. Especially with things worth millions of pounds on offer. This will make it a little hard to sneak in and grab it without anyone realizing.”

  Marshall cocked an eyebrow. “If only we had someone who could get us inside. Whoever could that be,” he said slowly and sarcastically.

  “Oh, right.” Sam. Of course

  “Think you can get lover boy to bring you as his plus one?”

  Frustration flared up inside of me. If Marshall could avoid the elephant in the room, then so could I. “I don’t think. I know,” I said with as much sass as I could muster.

  “You’d better get ringing then.” He smiled and took another sip of coffee.

  Asking if I could be Sam’s plus one had been easier than I’d expected. After our mini argument last night, I expected him to be annoyed at me. If I were him, I’d be pissed off. But he sounded relieved when he answered the phone, which kinda made me feel guilty that I was only ringing to use him.

  “It’s a black tie event,” Sam said. “Means you need to be in a ball gown. I bet you’d look stunning all dressed up like that.” He sounded wistful and a little embarrassed.

  “Yeah, that’s fine.” I played along. Although, secretly I was panicking about where I’d find a dress from in such short notice.

  “You want me to pick you up at eight?”

  “No, I’ll meet you there,” I answered, as instructed by Marshall.

  “Okay. I’ll wait for you outside.” He paused. “Oh, and Amerie? I’m really glad you’re coming. Maybe this auction won’t be so boring now.”

  After I’d hung up, I turned to Marshall with an ‘I told you so’ smile on my face. He shrugged and sipped his coffee. Then we got talking about tactics. Should he try to sneak in? Should I steal it, myself, and try to sneak it out? Should he meet me outside and then I drop it out of a window to him? I mean the statue wasn’t terribly big, (the picture online had been life-size) but we had no idea how much the thing weighed. Just another point to add to the list of things we didn’t know. The day seemed to fly past us, and we were still utterly clueless as to how to get this done.

  “Not to mention I need a dress,” I suddenly remembered. “Oh, shit. Where am I gonna find a dress? I don’t have things like that anymore!”

  Marshall leaned back in his seat with a small smile. “You leave that to me. I’ll get you a dress.”

  “How?”

  “I’m just gonna call in a favor.”

  I didn’t get a chance to ask him what he’d meant by that. He changed the subject too quickly and we were back to talking tactics.

  When the clock on the wall told us that it was a little past six in the evening, we decided to head back to Marshall’s house, a concrete plan in finally set in motion. My heart pounded the whole journey back. This was going to go oh so wrong, I just knew it. It was bound to with my luck.

  Marshall’s house was pitch black when we got there, but with one flick of a light switch, every bulb blazed to life. He led the way into an open-plan kitchen and living room. One side of the room was exposed brick, but the other three walls were painted a lovely red color. He had two leather sofas creating an L shape around a widescreen TV on the wall. A large black cabinet was filled with DVDs rested next to the TV. Across the way, the kitchen had black counters with silver appliances, but the whole thing looked so...sparse, clean.

  No clothes were strewn about anywhere. No cups on the countertop or plates in the sink. I wanted to pull open his fridge and see whether there was anything inside. This looked more like a show home than a bachelor pad. The only thing that pinned Marshall to this house was one lone picture of him and his sick mum – the same woman I’d seen in the alley. That night seemed like a lifetime ago. Why he didn’t live with her if she was as sick as she’d seemed then?

  I only noticed Marshall was on the phone, talking in a hushed voice, when I turned to confront him about his too clean habits. He spotted me staring, and then rushed the person off the line before sliding it back into his jean pocket.

  “You want something to drink?” Marshall asked.

  I shook my head. “Nope.”

  “Okay, well, wait here and I’m gonna go upstairs and collect whatever I need for tonight.”

  “Wait – what about my dress?” I called after him, but he had already disappeared from the room. I sighed and flopped down on the hard, leather sofa.

  I’d begun to doze off when the sound of a shrill bell echoed through the house. I startled to a fully alert state, and began to stare around the room for the source of the noise. Footsteps pounded down the stairs, and then the front door opened and closed. Muffled voices floated in from the hallway, and my heart dropped when I realized one of them was female.

  And then in she stepped, the beautiful blonde from Thorpe Park. The one Chuck had his eye on. I wanted to scratch her eyes out. She had long legs that never seemed to end, and was dressed as if she’d just stepped out of a magazine. Slung over her arm was a black clothing bag. My dress, I gathered.

  “Hi,” she said, walking o
ver and extending her hand. I reluctantly shook is. “I’m Charlotte. I hear you need a dress.” She beamed, as though this was some kind of charity work.

  “Yup,” I answered, my tone dry.

  “Well, I have you one. It’s Versace too. One of the designers let me keep it from a photo shoot last week. I’m never going to wear it again, so feel free to keep it.”

  “Thanks.” I didn’t want to borrow this dress from her. I didn’t want anything from her.

  She handed me the bag and then Marshall gestured for me to go and get ready upstairs. Begrudgingly, I trudged out of the room, ignoring Charlotte’s shouts that she’d left shoes and a bag to match at the door. A huge part of me wanted to hang around in the hallway and eavesdrop into their conversation. But time certainly was running out, so I stormed into Marshall’s room and threw the dress bag on the bed.

  I yanked off my Ugg boots, none too gracefully either, and then shimmied out of my leggings and jumper. Standing in my underwear, I leaned over the bed, reaching out to unzip the dress bag. A beautiful cream colored gown spilled out from the middle, and I touched it, my fingers sliding over the silk. It was beautiful.

  “Hey, Amerie...” Marshall said, walking in through the door I’d forgotten to close.

  I turned around and we both froze, our eyes locked on one another in horror. Then his eyes roamed down my body, and a hot flush crept up into my cheeks. I snapped the dress up and held it in front of me protectively and he slowly turned to face the door.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered. “That was embarrassing.”

  He laughed nervously. “Yeah, sorry about that. Door was open so I didn’t think I had to knock....”

  “What do you want, Marshall?”

  “To tell you that Charlotte managed to get her hands on security blueprints for tonight. Wow, that girl can really come in handy.”

  I wasn’t in any position to be jealous. Didn’t mean I wasn’t.

  “Wow, that is handy,” I said cattily.

  “It shows where all the auction items are being held. Once you’re ready, we’ll go through it and finalize everything.” From the tone in his voice, I could tell how excited he was. I doubted I’d ever made him sound that excited.

  “Okay.” He hesitated for a moment and then walked out, closing the door softly behind him.

  I shoved the dress on, feeling resentful towards it, and how perfectly it fit. Stupid Charlotte. Why did she have to be the one Marshall called when he needed something? How did she even get her hands on the blueprints anyway? Marshall and I were the supernatural ones. She was just a model.

  Without checking my appearance in the mirror, I threw the door open and stormed down the stairs, holding my dress up, so that I wouldn’t trip. I found the shoes, slid them on, grabbed the bag, and headed to find Marshall. He was bent over the kitchen counter, surveying the blueprints when I walked in. He glanced up, hearing my heels clicking against the wooden floor, and his eyes widened.

  Suddenly, I was embarrassed. He’d just seen me in my underwear, but, for some reason, this was more personal somehow. The way his eyes fixed on me, the way he gulped, the way he looked as though he was seeing someone that I wasn’t. I blushed and stared down at the floor.

  “You look good,” he said, clearing his throat. “You ready to go over the final plan?”

  I nodded. “Sure.”

  The auction was obviously a big deal. Limos and expensive cars queued to let their passengers out at the gates to the mansion. Photographers were there. Reporters were there. I’d even spotted a few celebrities as Marshall, and I waited in the line of cars. I was excited. There were so many ways this could go wrong. So many terrible things that could happen. And yet, I didn’t care. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. We could do this. We could end ritual tonight.

  Marshall kept repeating the plan as we idled. Mainly, I think he was talking to himself. I pretended to listen, nodding my head at random points, but really, I stared out of the window. Hoping that by tomorrow everything would be over. That I could go back to my boring normality and not have to worry about the end of the world.

  We finally got to the end of the queue of cars, and I hopped out before Marshall could give me any more warnings. He didn’t drive off straight away, but once I started up the path towards the main doors, his car shot off, hopefully to park just around the corner.

  “Hey, you made it,” Sam called, meeting me halfway down the path. He grinned widely at me, which meant he obviously hadn’t seen Marshall. “Nice dress.”

  “Nice tux. You look all 007 in it. Suits you.”

  “I don’t look anywhere near as amazing as you do.”

  I didn’t want to raise his hopes of anything more between us, so I brushed the compliment aside. “Thanks for letting me come; it will really help out with my history project. So, is your mum excited about her big night?”

  He nodded. “Oh yeah. Very excited. Although, she knows she’ll sell at least one thing tonight, the other things she has up for auction, she’s kinda nervous about. In case, they don’t sell. You know?”

  I didn’t know, but I nodded anyway. He took my hand, and I let him, knowing I’d probably look less conspicuous if I others saw me with Sam. His palms were clammy and warm.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I introduce you to a few people,” Sam said, as we walked inside. The warmth of the room hit me straight away, calming the nerves floating around in my stomach.

  I looked at my watch. I had an hour before the auction started. Plenty of time to let Sam have his fun before I slipped away to steal the statue. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  “Cool. But I’m apologizing in advance if my mum comes over and starts talking about a hundred words a second.”

  I laughed and let him lead me into a nicely decorated room. People, dressed in tuxedos and gowns, mingled with each other, champagne flutes in hand. We had no sooner walked in the room, before people that Sam’s mum obviously knew swarmed us. Sam was the perfect gentleman, and the way he spoke, moved, acted – he clearly belonged in places like this. Once upon a time, I would have said the same about myself. I smiled politely and answered questions about myself, but the whole scene was so not me. Not anymore.

  “Sam,” I said, after about half an hour of chitchat with people I didn’t know.

  He turned away from an old man he’d been talking me up to. “Yes?”

  “I’m just going to the ladies room. Be back in a few.” I smiled politely at the old man, and before Sam could offer to walk me, or do something else equally chivalrous, I excused myself and swept out of the room and into the hallway.

  I gathered mostly everyone had arrived by now. The main doors were closed, and the hallway practically empty, save a few people having hushed conversations. My hand tightened around my clutch bag, where I’d hidden my dagger. Another one was strapped to my thigh. From out here, it was easy to tell the presence of Damned was strong. They swarmed the place. Not that we hadn’t been expecting this.

  I recalled the blueprints, and mentally traced through my route. Up the stairs, two doors to the left. There would be armed security, of course, if the other auction items were worth even half of the Coat of Tarham. I took hold of my dress and started up the stairs. There was no going back now.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The Sisterhood

  Disarming the two security guards outside of the auction room had been easy. Too easy. I’d wanted a little more of a challenge than that. The door was locked, which I’d also seen coming, and taking a step back, I kicked it open. Then I rushed in, dragging the unconscious guards in with me, and shut the door.

  The room was dark, save the moonlight streaming in through an uncovered window in the back. There was no furniture, except shelving units and tables that held all kinds of items. Huge paintings leaned against the walls. Jewelry boxes and ornaments cluttered the tables and shelves. And bigger objects, like medieval weapons and vases were scattered across the floor. I picked my way through, making sure I didn�
��t touch anything. And then I spotted it.

  The Coat of Tarham.

  It was the only thing sitting on the table beneath the large window. Outside, the full moon shone brightly. I paused, just staring at it. This one little statue meant everything.

  I hitched up my dress and ran the rest of the way. My hands reached out and firmly grasped the middle, lifting it from the table. But something pulled at my stomach, and the room faded from view, swirling away as paint washed down a sink.

  What the hell?

  My feet slammed against hard ground, and a bitter cold slapped across my skin. The statue was gone. And I wasn’t anywhere I recognized. Not by a long shot. This new place didn’t even look real.

  I spun around in circles, trying to work out where I was. The lush, green grass beneath me seemed to stretch with no possibility of ending. Directly in front of me was a patio surrounded by hedges shaped in all kinds of designs. A marble fountain spluttered in the middle of the patio, and I walked over to it, not knowing what else to do.

  “Hello?” I called out. I had to be dreaming, or worse...dead. How did I get outside?

  I sat on the edge of the fountain and dipped my finger into the water. It was freezing, and I drew my hand back. Wind whipped my hair around my face, and I stopped trying to fight it once I realized I wouldn’t win.

  Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and I jumped to my feet, reflexively. Once the light faded, it revealed three women standing in front of me wearing identical white, flowing gowns. They each had long white hair that blew back elegantly in the wind, unlike my own, that knotted and twisted all around my face. Though I could see their pale faces, a brilliant glow emanated from their skin making it impossible to see any of their features.

  I knew at once, who they were. The Sisterhood had come to pay me a visit.

  Instantly, I was on the defensive. Why did I warrant a visit from them? Why had they dragged me here into their otherworld? Most Hunters only earned a visit if the circumstances were extraordinarily bad.