Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,39
the door. “Lark – why did you decide to trust me, knowing what I was?” he asked. I wondered how long he’d asked himself this question and why he never asked me before now.
“Because there was no hatred in your eyes.” It was the truth. I knew hatred when I saw it. It couldn’t be hidden, could never be mistaken for anything but. And Kes didn’t hate me. He needed me. He wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to co-exist peacefully. Somehow, I felt his sincerity. Those things made me give him a chance.
He gave a half-smile and a single nod.
“I would have slit your throat otherwise,” I added sweetly.
He threw back his head and laughed. “I have no doubt. That’s why I think you’ll be fine, Larken.”
At least one of us had faith in my ability to cut throats. Back then, Kes didn’t intimidate me. Probably because he was in my brother’s body, and because I didn’t know then about some of the things he could do. But the Zodia… I’d seen what Aries was capable of, and the very thought of the others scared the mortal hell out of me, to be honest. And though I would’ve gritted my teeth and killed Kes if he tried to hurt my parents, I wasn’t sure I could hold a blade against one of these creatures and live to laugh about it.
Kes pulled the door closed and left me alone in my room, where darkness and shadow met orange firelight. The gold stars I’d painted on my walls at home were identical to the ones shimmering on these walls, even down to the paint drips. But this wasn’t home. This was an elaborate imitation, a mirage intended to keep me calm. Maybe even to make my heart hurt a little less. I wasn’t sure it accomplished its mission, though. When I looked around, my heart ached. For Mom and Dad. For Kes. For the lives we had just two nights ago.
I thought Brant breaking up with me before prom was the worst thing in the world. It had been the worst thing that ever happened to me up until that point, and now didn’t matter at all. It was so insignificant in the great scheme of things. Life had a way of putting things into perspective, didn’t it?
I’d been ready to finish high school. I’d been so eager to go to college and start a life of my own, but I was alone now. Alone, it turned out, wasn’t as fun as I imagined.
I was afraid to be alone now.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I ate the now-cool stew, tipping the bowl back and chewing potatoes, carrots, and chunks of meat. The spices warmed my stomach and I felt better when I was full.
I pulled my gold comforter off the bed and stripped the sheets, spreading them on the floor in front of the fire. The door was the only way in and out of here. I needed to stay awake and watch it. The Zodia could appear wherever they chose, but maybe they’d just send someone normal after me instead.
The fire heated my right side as I sat up against the wall. I yawned, stretching to get comfortable, shifting from right to left and back again. Finally, I closed my eyes. To keep from falling asleep, I replayed the events of the day behind my closed lids.
The harbinger. The distracted way Kes behaved as he drove me to school. The phone alerts that pinged across the Common. The girl who rushed around me on the sidewalk only to disappear before my eyes.
Aries asleep.
Aries awake.
His horns. His pink eyes. His otherworldliness.
The loincloth…
The way he fought Taurus. To protect me.
The respect he showed Kes and the reverent way he talked to me this evening before I made him mad. I sighed, watching the flames lap at the wood, somehow relating to that piece of split wood.
I felt like I’d been thrown into the fire and was being charred and burned, falling apart inch by inch. Being consumed, yet completely powerless to stop it.
11
I woke with a stiff back and a groan. The side of my head was hella hot. I fell asleep sitting up, and then slumped too close to the fire. I smelled the ends of my hair to be sure they weren’t singed. Padding across the floor, I stepped into the hall and nearly jumped out of my skin. Aries was standing there, waiting for me.