The Nexis Awakening: YA Fantasy Romance (The Nexis Angel Series Book 0)

by Barbara Hartzler

  “I can’t believe we didn’t get caught,” he slumped lower on the bench across from me, “and you ripped the pages out of a hundred-year-old book. Must be something good, right?”

  “I hope so,” I said, stuffing the crumpled pages deeper into my hoodie.

  When I saw Lucy tomorrow, I’d warn her. Tell her everything. Until then, I had twelve hours to come up with a plan. Before I turned eighteen and her cover was officially blown.

  Chapter 2

  LUCY

  Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The rhythm pounded into my brain until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to look. My eyes popped open and I glanced at the clock. Midnight. It was only midnight.

  Huff. Burrowing under the covers, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. For the umpteenth time tonight. A nervous energy coursed through my body at the thought of tomorrow.

  Tomorrow I’d fly to New York City and see James graduate from Montrose Academy. The same high school I’d be attending next fall.

  I could almost picture it now. Against the backs of my eyelids, the scenario played out like a movie. James smiling at me with his big goofy grin as he showed me around campus, all around New York City.

  The scene disappeared, cut to black, and morphed into something else. An inky fog that moved and breathed with a life of its own.

  Hazy shapes emerged from the shadows. I tried to pry my eyes open. But I couldn’t.

  Two figures came into focus, in some sort of library. One of them was James. I stood across from him, on the other side of a giant mahogany table, and noticed a wall of bookshelves behind him.

  “Since when do you like to read?” I asked. James didn’t look at me, didn’t respond. Neither did his friend. “Hey, guys. Can’t you see me? Am I invisible or something?”

  Quick as lightning, they split up, scrambling to the opposite ends of the dark library. They yanked books from the shelves, piling them on the table. The stack grew higher and higher. I reached for the top book, but my fingers swiped through thin air. Like a ghost.

  “Okay, this is getting weird now,” I said to their backs. “Isn’t this my dream? I’ll admit, I do have a strange love of books and libraries. But c’mon, if it were up to me I’d be swinging around the stacks on a rolling ladder with enough daylight to at least read the books.”

  James sat down and pulled out a flashlight. Maybe he could hear me after all. He opened an ancient text, scanning each page with one finger. Finally, he stopped and read a passage.

  Words sprang off the page, like an invisible sparkler drawing in the air.

  Sacred stones. Guardians. The Seer.

  What could that mean? The words swirled around James as he read. Flickers of flame reflected off the mahogany, lighting up the darkness with tendrils of fire.

  And suddenly I could see.

  A strange purple light emerged from the center as the flaming words swirled around. The light took shape, budding into a gemstone. Like a raw, uncut amethyst nestled in a bed of rock.

  The stone glowed with a light of its own. Growing bigger and brighter as its smooth planes glittered.

  The other guy said something, and James looked his way.

  The glowing stone disappeared, leaving only blackness in its wake.

  “Where’d it go?” I asked.

  James walked over to his friend and read over his shoulder. Still ignoring me, of course.

  Cold crept in, wrapping icy tendrils around my limbs. I shivered as if those fiery words and that glowing amethyst were the only way I’d ever be warm again.

  Letters danced from the pages, tracing fire in the sky. Another chrysalis formed, birthing the gleaming amethyst once again. My body tingled—alive and warm. Welcoming back an old friend. Except this time the words were different.

  Gratiam Coram Domino.

  The burning words reflected in my brother’s eyes. Then James looked directly at me.

  “Gratiam coram domino,” he whispered. “Maybe that will keep her safe.”

  Was he talking about me? Why did he need to keep me safe?

  Whoosh. The blazing amethyst rocketed straight toward me. Oh, that’s why. I pedaled my feet, dodged, ducked, and tried to run away. But the stone zinged behind me. Tracked my every movement. Hurtling toward me.

  “Someone’s coming,” James said to his friend.

  Riiiip. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it. Did James just rip the pages out of a hundred-year-old book?

  With a blinding flash of light, the gemstone barreled straight into my chest.

  Bam! The impact knocked me flat on my back. A great ball of purple sparkles exploded around me.

  Patting my chest, I glanced down. Nothing. The stone was gone.

  Phew, I breathed, dropping my hand. And my t-shirt lit up. With the imprint of an amethyst glowing through the white cotton. Okay, now things were getting weird.

  Slowly, with no sudden movements, I touched the spotlight on my chest. The light dimmed. When I peeled back my hand, the light shone purple again. As if the stone was now lodged in my chest. Forever.

  James and his friend started running. So I ran, too.

  Voices hissed in the darkness. I couldn’t see James anymore and my heart sank. Shadows blew in like storm clouds, chasing me with their fury. My legs churned, running and running and running. But I couldn’t outrun the darkness. I was all alone.

  Suddenly, a light bloomed in the darkness, tinged with purple. A spotlight directed right at me. I wiggled my fingers in the beam. They were lavender, too.

  The light surrounded me now, warm and comforting. So I stopped running. That’s when the real picture came into focus.

  Around me, the light had its own shape, with crystalline planes on every side. Like a multi-faceted piece of quartz encasing me in its epicenter.

  Eeooww. Eeooww. Eeooww. The darkness screeched and shrieked, stabbing my eardrums. Pain throbbed through my head.

  I dropped to my knees, slapping my hands over my ears.

  But the ground beneath me was translucent—an amethyst hexagon glistening below me. Wraiths of fire and shadow flung themselves at the hexagon, only to bounce off the outer rim. Exploding into a thousand orange sparks. Gone like a puff of smoke.

  My heart slammed against my ribcage. I stood up, my legs shaking.

  More shadows pounded against the sides of my laser-light crystal, only to burst into fireworks. Shooting straight back to the hell they came from. Never touching me.

  I blinked and blinked, not sure what to make of it. Then the truth sank in. Whatever James was doing in that library, it was all for this stone. To protect me. To keep me safe. A lump lodged in my throat. Relief and wonderment and confusion choked me up inside, mixed with utter gratitude to the great power that stood between me and the hounds of hell.

  “Thank you, James,” I whispered into the darkness as tears trickled down my face. “I don’t know what just happened or what you did. But thank you.” It was truly awe-inspiring.

  With a start, I woke up. Hands shaking, clutching my pillow. Tears damp on my cheeks.

  I yanked the covers back and clawed at my t-shirt. My breath hung from a trapeze in my throat. No glowing purple symbol emblazoned on my chest. I sank back onto my pillow. Disappointment tasted bitter in my mouth.

  It was only a dream. One I’d remember for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 3

  LUCY

  The day had finally come. My big brother’s high school graduation. Pomp and Circumstance played in my head as we drove through to Riverdale, New York. Pride, joy, and excitement duked it out for first place.

  James was one step closer to having it all—freedom, independence, ear-marked for success. Such a bright future ahead.

  Our chauffeur parked in the circle drive and opened my door. Montrose Academy greeted me draped in blue and gold banners for the occasion. My little black dress paled in comparison.

  Planting both feet on the cobblestone sidewalk, I flung my arms wide to embrace my new school. Next semester, of cou
rse.

  James and I had one last summer together before everything changed and he ditched us for Yale in the fall. The thought of next semester choked me up a little. Things were changing too fast. The world spun around me . . . literally.

  “Lucy, are you okay?” My little sister, Paige, slung her arm around my waist. “You’re all wobbly.”

  Quaking in my black flats, I put a hand on my sister’s shoulder to steady myself. “Got up too fast, I guess.” But I knew it was more than that. A strange energy buzzed through my whole body.

  “C’mon girls,” Dad said as the town car pulled away. “Let’s get a move on.”

  “Stop dawdling, you two. We’ve got a schedule to keep.” Mom rushed right by us and caught up with Dad in two strides, heels click-clacking all the way.

  The afternoon sun and it’s bright buttercream rays highlighted the school skyline looming on the horizon. All a part of the grand design, right? A path veered off toward the left and up the hill to the main campus.

  Stately brick and stone-columned buildings were lined up in a U-shape, decked to the nines in school colors. The ornate spires of a Gothic chapel peeked up from the far side of the campus.

  “C’mon, Lucy, stop gawking. I’m sure James will give you the tour later.” Mom tugged on my arm like she, not Paige, was my little sister. Apparently, she had a schedule to keep. And I wasn’t playing along.

  I glared at her. “I thought we were supposed to meet him at his dorm.”

  “Not anymore,” she said with a huff. “Your brother texted me on the way over. I guess he had too much to do before the ceremony. We’ll rendezvous with him afterward.”

  “She just wanted to say rendezvous,” Paige whispered to me.

  I laughed under her breath.

  Luckily Mom didn’t hear me. She was talking to Dad. “Are they still holding the ceremony in the chapel? I thought the graduating class was too large for that by now.”

  We followed them down the cobblestone path. Yep, I was gawking at the huge brick building coming up on our left. Blue and gold banners ruffled against white columns as a soft spring breeze blew across my face. I inhaled the scent of hawthorn blooms and freshly cut grass. The smell of Riverdale in the spring. This place would be my new home in August. Might as well check it out now.

  “There are only a few hundred students enrolled here. I think James’ class is about sixty or seventy.” Dad tugged on my hand.

  Mom tsked her tongue. “They need to do something about enrollment.”

  Paige and I glanced at each other. We knew exactly what that tsk meant. Mom wasn’t happy and someone was going to hear about it.

  “Now Natalie,” Dad said, “don’t go making this into a big deal at the council meeting later. It’s just a quarterly meeting.”

  “We’ll see about that,” she said, tucking her dark bob behind her ears.

  I followed Dad’s lead and kept walking. Mom could champion all the crusades she wanted. I’d be on my own in a few short months, out from under her thumb. The corners of my mouth curled into a smile.

  As we approached the chapel, more families filed in from all directions. A jumbled line formed at the entrance. We stopped and waited with everyone else. Fine by me. I had a great view of the chapel. Its hand-chiseled curlicues gave the stone façade an impression of another era. Like a Gothic church that got zapped here from the seventeen hundreds. All that was missing was a bell tower and maybe a few gargoyles.

  Marching up the flagstone steps two-by-two, we walked through ancient wooden doors and into a marble-tiled foyer. Prayer candles in gold votive holders lined the walls of the vestibule. Two students in blue Montrose blazers handed out programs at the entrance. We were almost there.

  With only a few more steps across the marbled floors, we got our first glimpse of the sanctuary. Soaring twenty-foot ceilings. Giant carved-limestone archways. Stained glass windows. In a word…breathtaking.

  Mom and Dad led the way down the aisle of wooden pews. We found a seat in the middle, five rows back. I leaned back to take everything in. Yep, still gawking over here.

  Eeek. The ancient pew squeaked, giving me away. Traitor.

  “Sit up straight.” Mom tsked at me.

  I cringed and buried my face in the program. Skimming the list of names, I found his; James McAllen, Summa Cum Laude. He definitely set the bar high.

  The lights dimmed. Everyone hushed their murmurs.

  Two doors opened at once, on either side of the stage area. Clad in blue and yellow robes, the students streamed out. Waving to their families. Posing for pictures. With a cacophony of hoots and cheers, they trickled into a section of reserved pews.

  Then two dozen grown-ups in black gowns marched up to center stage, taking their seats in the choir section. Probably the school board or something. An older black man stood at the podium, tapping the mic.

  “Hello and welcome to Montrose Academy’s one hundred and fifty-first commencement ceremony. My name is Dr. Alton Garrett, president of Montrose Academy.” The good doctor droned on about all the amazing Montrose alumni over the years. But I tuned him out.

  Instead, I scanned the crowd of blue robes, searching for my scruffy, dark-haired brother. At last, I spotted him checking out the crowd. I gave him a small wave. He paused, then looked away in an instant. How weird.

  The president called the first row of graduating students to stand, and I lost sight of James.

  A chill slithered across my arm and crept up my neck. I shuddered.

  I closed my eyes and in an instant—Poof—I was transported back to the strange dream from last night.

  My dream replayed all over again, except different this time. The dark room wasn’t the same. Still a library, only bigger, with a dozen stacks of books. And a turret.

  Eeooww. Darkness twisted all around me. Light blended into shadow. Wind shrieking. Howling.

  A tiny glow winked at me from the turret tower. Warmth surged through me, drawing me in like a tractor beam. I headed to the dark corner.

  The shadows closed in on me. A black swamp, thick and soupy, wrapped around my ankles. Making each step harder than the last.

  The light flamed brighter, beckoning me closer. My heart beat faster. My fingers itched to touch it.

  At last, I reached the depths of the turret. Where the blackness was the blackest.

  Yet the light shone brightest and took shape, transfiguring into a stone. A glowing amethyst, nestled in the corner on a shelf.

  My heart cracked a little. My poor little amethyst, stuck in the corner. So not right.

  I reached for it, but my hands bounced off the shelf without touching the stone. Maybe the amethyst was hidden behind the bookcase somehow. This time I lunged for it.

  “Lucy, wake up.” Paige elbowed me in the ribs. “They just called the M’s.”

  Shaking my head, I sat up straighter. The daydream faded away as I waited to hear my brother’s name. But my heart still hurt a little, as if I needed that purple stone.

  “James Stanley McAllen, Summa Cum Laude.”

  We all stood up, whooping and cheering. He smiled that great big happy smile. Mom snapped a zillion photos. Then they announced the next graduate.

  I blinked, clearing out the strange images still floating around in my head. My daydream had felt so real. Who daydreams about libraries and glowing stones anyway? Like I was Lora Croft or something. Yeah, right. It was only a memory from my dream last night. I shrugged it off.

  The late afternoon sun slanted across the campus as people streamed out of the chapel onto the quad.

  We huddled in the shade of a huge brick building. With one hand I shielded my face from the sun’s rays, searching the crowd for my big brother. Trying to discard the images that lingered in the corners of my mind—and the nagging voice in my head, telling me, “You’re crazy.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not crazy,” I mumbled under my breath.

  “What’d you say, Luce?” Paige asked.

  “Nothing.
Just looking for James,” I said. If anyone would understand the strange nightmares and daydreams, my big bro would.

  Apparently, every other family had the same idea. They glommed up in clusters on the lawn, waiting for their graduate to find them.

  “Rosalyn,” Mom said—more like yelled—into the crowd. “Over here.”

  “Mom,” I hissed. “What are you doing? You’re embarrassing us.”

  “Pipe down, Lucy. My old friends the Stantons are here. They have a son about your age. I want you to meet them.” She waved her hands in the air like a crazed fangirl.

  “Save me, Dad.” I huddled behind him. Lucky for me, my dad was a big, broad-shouldered teddy bear. The perfect shield.

  A tall blond couple made their way toward us through the crowd. The women hugged. The men shook hands. I stood still, waiting for the inane chitchat.

  “Rosalyn, William, these are my daughters, Lucy and Paige.” Mom patted each of our heads respectively. Goody. Now I wanted my treat.

  “Nice to meet you, girls.” Rosalyn Stanton’s voice was as smooth as her golden hair. “My boy’s around here somewhere. He’s finishing up his first year at Montrose.”

  “That’s right,” Mom said as if she didn’t already know. “Lucy, here, is starting this fall. Maybe he could give her some advice.”

  I curled up into myself and shrank behind Dad again.

  “I’m sure he could, if we could find him,” William Stanton said. He was a tall man like my dad, except with sandy hair graying at the temples. He had kind eyes. “Son, over here.”

  I risked a peek over Dad’s shoulder. The golden couple’s son strode confidently through the crowd.

  Air clogged in my throat. I gulped. Did he have to be super hot? All sandy-haired with piercing gray eyes and a chiseled jaw. Not to mention a chin cleft. I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t stop. He looked familiar, somehow.

  “Will, meet the McAllens,” his dad said.

  A smile curled across his gorgeous face. “You’re James’ family, right? Can’t believe he graduated today. We’re gonna miss him around here.”