Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,56

who boast about being the descendants of the bearded lady or the sword eater?”

“Right. So the town still plays up that part. You’ve seen the shops downtown, with the crystals and the books and all that stuff?”

I nodded.

“If that was it, if it was just play—well, you understand that it brings people in and makes money for the town. Whatever. But there’ve always been undercurrents—rumors and talk—that there’s more to it than that. That maybe there’s still people who take it seriously.”

I felt a chill run down my spine. “What are we talking about here? Cults?”

“The occult, definitely. Witchcraft, I guess, for lack of a better word.”

“Do you know anyone involved in this?”

He hesitated. “Not really. Like I said, it’s mostly talk. You hear things, but you don’t always buy it.”

I blew out an exasperated breath. “I feel like you’re hedging. Like there’re things you’re not really saying.”

Michael had slowed his walk and now he stopped completely and turned to face me. He moved his hands to my shoulders and rubbed my arms.

“I’m not trying to keep anything from you. I just don’t want to say something that’s going to frighten you, because I’m not even sure it’s true.” He glanced around, seeming almost uneasy. “And call me crazy, but I don’t really want to talk about this out here.”

I glanced at my watch and sighed. “It’s time to head back for dinner anyway. But do you promise you’ll tell me more later?”

He smiled in that way he had, with his eyes and his mouth, and leaning into me, dropped the lightest of kisses on my lips. “I promise.”

My mother had been kind enough to invite Michael for dinner, but she hinted broadly after dessert that I needed an early bedtime after my rough afternoon. Michael took the hint, perhaps a tad too easily for my liking, and after offering to help with the dishes (and my mom turning him down), he made the excuse of homework and said good night.

I walked him to the door. “Homework?” I asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Actually, it’s true. I do have to finish up some Math problems.”

“But you promised to tell me more about—the town.”

He smiled and pulled me out the door with him onto the porch. “I will. But not tonight. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“I guess I can wait.”

Michael took my face in his hands gently and leaned down to gently touch my lips with his. I moved my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss, and his hands dropped to my neck. I opened my mind to him and felt the most heartbreaking tenderness I had ever experienced. The urgency and passion I usually detected were still there, but much farther below the surface, buried under the leftover worry.

Slowly he pulled back, his hands back on my face, stroking my hair away from my eyes. “Good night,” he whispered. “See you tomorrow.”

There was still residual worry hanging around the next morning, both at home with my mom and in the car when Michael picked me up. I was feeling fine, but the two of them looked at me as though I might drop any minute.

“Are you sure you’re okay to come back?” Michael asked me for the third time as we drove through town.

“I’m beginning to think you don’t want me to come back,” I complained.

He sighed impatiently. “You know that’s not true—or at least, I hope you know it’s not. I just worry. Not only about whether you’re recovered from yesterday, but also—you know, Nell. What if she tries to pull something?”

“I don’t think she has any reason to be suspicious,” I said slowly, trying not to think of her narrowed eyes watching me the day before. “So in her mind she wouldn’t have any more reason to hate me today than she did yesterday.”

“She seems to be able to hate you without any specific cause,” Michael observed archly.

“True enough, but that means I’m in no more danger from her today than I was before. I’ll steer clear as much as I can.” I was already dreading Chemistry, but I decided to keep that to myself. I bit the side of my lip, trying to think of a legitimate excuse to miss that class.

“I actually had a thought about the whole Nell situation,” Michael said, interrupting my scheming.

“What’s that? Does it involve humiliation and mortification on her part?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “You talk big, but you know you’d never let me really do anything fun to her. Problem is,