AN/ Hi , I'm back with a new chapter. Got that last review today and I'm on time for once. YAY:)
You guys are so awesome. It was so interesting to see what you noticed and what you didn't notice...hehe
Hope this chapter will bring you some knowledge about what's going on, or it will just confuse you...;P
Enjoy:)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own kickin it.
Chapter 6
Who to Trust?
"Coming!" I shouted through the house as I shut down the computer. Taking one last glance at the desk I made sure that I hadn't left any traces behind me before I ran to get the door. My heart was pounding, fearing for a moment that mum and Claire had returned. But as I went through the house I realized that that couldn't be since they wouldn't knock…
I reached the door and after a slight hesitation I opened it. To my relief it was only Jerry.
"Hey Chicka," he greeted with a smile, holding up his bag containing his GI. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah…" I nodded, still a bit shaken after having feared that I would get caught searching through stuff I'd clearly been instructed to leave alone. Luckily for me Jerry was too confused to notice anything and he didn't ask me any questions about why my hands were slightly shaking when I grabbed my bag, or why I went inside again just to be positive there were no evidences that could tell what I'd been up to. He didn't even ask me why I was so unfocused that I almost headed the wrong direction, my mind being elsewhere as we started to make our way down to the mall.
~~~Wings of Love~~~
I punched the dummy in front of me. The hit was half-hearted and sloppy.
"A little higher, Kim." Rudy instructed. "And don't forget to extend your arm all the way out." I nodded and gave it another try. Swinging my fist through the air I hit the dummy again. This time it went better but it still wasn't nearly as good as I could.
"Are you okay?" Rudy wondered, slightly wrinkling his eyebrows in concern. "You seem a bit..off…"
"I'm fine." I quickly reassured. 'Just found out that my aunt is a witch, but otherwise it's fine,' I added inside my head. A part of me still didn't believe that Claire really had magical powers though. I mean it's impossible, right?
Sill, the words I'd read in her notebook, the list of victims, the letter, Robert, The Brotherhood of the Fireguard, the moon, everything… was flooding my brain. I couldn't concentrate on the karate more than a few seconds before my mind was back weighing possibilities of Claire being a witch. How weird it may seem to be I couldn't deny the fact that everything was pointing in that direction.
"Ok, Kim. Lets try again." Rudy's voice pulled me back from my thoughts. I shook my head to clear my mind, forcing myself to focus on the punch I was going to deliver. Taking a deep breath I pulled back my fist, ready to strike. Suddenly the door to the dojo swung opened and I immediately lost my focus again, my full attention being on the boy who'd just entered. Rudy being slightly irritated by the interruption turned to look at him as well.
"A little late, Jack." He pointed out, annoyance in his voice. I could tell Rudy wasn't happy with him being late again. Sometimes I wondered if Jack was taking his karate training seriously…frankly I wondered if he did ever take anything seriously.
The black belt didn't answer our sensei. He didn't even look up at us. Obviously he wasn't in a very good mood and an uncomfortable tension filled the room. Keeping his head down and his gaze to the floor he walked straight passed us towards his locker. The chocolate coloured hair bounced in the air as he moved, keeping most of his face hidden from our view. I noticed him still limping slightly. It wasn't as obvious as it'd been last time I'd seen him and I doubted that the rest of the warriors noticed it as we watched him in silence.
I knew Milton, Eddie and Jerry were too afraid of him to ever dare to say anything in his presents, but I was surprised that Rudy kept quiet about Jack's kind of rude behaviour. Jack ignored our stares and opened his locker. Reaching inside he grabbed a small plastic bag containing something that was hidden from me. With a swift fluid movement he closed the locker and turned around. He started heading back towards the door. We looked at him confused. Just when he'd passed the mats where I and Rudy stood, Rudy seemed to regain his ability to speak.
"Hey, where are you going?" he wondered. Jack stopped for a moment in his tracks, his eyes fixed on the floor in front of him.
"Home…" he muttered, not bothering to turn around and look at us.
"Why?" Rudy asked, walking over to him. "You're not quitting, are you?" I rolled my eyes at the worry that came from Rudy's voice. I knew Rudy wasn't exactly fond of Jack and just like the rest of us he wouldn't really mind if he'd never see him again. The only reason why he wanted Jack to stay was because he was so good at karate and it made the dojo look better at tournaments…
"No," came Jack's short reply.
"Oh…good," Rudy let out a small breath of release. "For a moment there I thought you were…" he rambled, but stopped himself when he noticed the boy refusing to show his face, turning his head away when he was searching his eyes. Realizing that something wasn't right Rudy straitened his back and folded his arms over his chest. "Jack, what's going on?" He demanded.
"Nothing…" Jack made an attempt to leave, but Rudy quickly laid a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from doing so.
"Jack…" he warned.
"I just can't train today." Jack answered, slightly annoyed and jerked his shoulder free from the sensei's grip.
"Why not?" Rudy asked. At the moment the question was out, the answer popped up in my head.
"Because of what he did two days ago…" I answered for him. Even though Jack stood with his back against me I could see him tensing up.
"What?" Rudy looked from Jack to me then back at Jack again.
"He was caught stealing from a teacher." Milton said from where he was sitting on the bench, having -just as I- put two and two together. "He's probably grounded." Jack didn't say anything. He didn't really need to. We already knew we were right by the way his grip of the plastic bag tightened so much his knuckles turned white. Rudy raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Is that true?" Again Jack kept quiet, standing absolutely still with his head down. Was he feeling sorry for himself? That's so pathetic. Rudy opened his mouth to say something, but a tune, coming from his own pocket interrupted him. "One moment…" He mumbled, pulling out his phone and taking a look at the screen. "I gotta take this…" He excused and walked over to his office, putting the phone to his ear. "Hello sir…" We could hear him start the conversation before the door shut behind him, isolating the sound from us.
Milton, Eddie and Jerry anxiously looked over at Jack again. I was actually kind of annoyed that they always cowered in Jack's presents. They shouldn't have to feel intimidated by him like that and I felt as if I needed to prove that to them. I also felt that I needed to show Jack that we weren't afraid of him and he couldn't push us around like he'd always thought he could. And now was the perfect time to make a point. I was going to show everyone that I wasn't afraid of him. Jack's body position showed weakness as he still refused to look at us, keeping his back against us. This made me braver than I normally would have been.
"I'm surprised that they let you loose like this." I mocked, "I honestly thought that they wouldn't let a thief like you out of sight." Jack's shoulders sank even lower at the word 'thief'. Shaking my head slightly, I continued. "I can't believe how stupid you were to try and steal from a teacher. Did you honestly think you were going to get away with it?" The boys looked at me, their eyes wide. I gave them a cocky smile, reassuring them that I knew what I was doing.
"Hold on to your stuff guys." I said loud enough for Jack to hear me. "We don't know when Jack feels like taking things that aren't his again." Jack brought up his left hand to grab his right elbow, looking as if he was hugging himself. His right hand was still clutching the bag. From behind he looked a bit fragile and sad to be honest, and if I hadn't known better I would almost have felt sorry for him. But now, all I felt was satisfaction. Finally he seemed to feel some kind of remorse. Or at least I thought he did.
I don't know why he didn't say something or why he didn't just leave. It was as if he was frozen in time unable to do anything. Of course the more he held back and the lower his head sank the bolder I got.
"I can't believe you dare to show your face in public…" I said, taking the opportunity to say what I really thought about him. "…let alone come here." I continued. "You broke the Wasabi code. Congratulations, you finally blew the last piece of trust that Rudy had for you." Maybe if I'd been more perceptive to Jack I would've noticed how my words made it straight under his skin. Then maybe I would've stopped, knowing better than to push it any further, but I was on a roll... "I wouldn't be surprised if he kicks you out…" Right then and there something snapped inside of him. Suddenly regaining his ability to move he practically exploded. He turned and ran towards me so fast that I hardly could comprehend what was happening before he'd closed the gap between us. Just before he'd reached me, he leaped into the air, literally jumping me. I could faintly hear Milton, Jerry and Eddie gasp in shock as I felt Jack's heavy body collided with mine, sending me towards the floor. My shoulder hit the mat first as I fell sideways; causing it to go numb for a moment before pain slowly began to spread through it. I didn't feel it though. All I could feel was my heart beating tremendously fast against my chest and the suffocating feeling of fear as Jack forced me down onto my back and took a seat on top of me, his legs straddling my waist and pinning me to the ground. Panicking I started to hit him with my fists. I don't think I'd ever been so afraid before, knowing that Jack was strong enough and probably crazy enough to beat me to death, and I prayed to God that Rudy would come out from his office and save me.
Tears started to prick my eyes as my punches didn't seem to affect the boy much. It felt just as hopeless as trying to hit a rock to cause it pain.
So many thoughts went through my head at that point making it feel as if the moment lasted an eternity when in reality I'd only been on the ground for a few seconds.
Jack grabbed my fists roughly, stopping them from continuing to beat him. I let out a small whimper, feeling him tightening his grip in anger as I desperately tried to free myself from him. He clenched his jaw in frustration and suddenly let go of me with his right hand only to draw it back, rolling it up into a fist. Knowing that I wouldn't be fast enough to block the punch he was about to throw I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself, waiting for the impact.
Nothing...
My curiosity became bigger than my fear and I slowly opened my eyes again, meeting Jack's gaze as I did. Just the sight of him scared me enough for my chest to hurt. He was leaning over me, his hair falling down around his face created a wall, throwing shadows over his face. Breathing heavily he watched me intensely. Somehow his eyes were enchanting and I couldn't bring myself to look away. Studying him more closely he didn't feel so threatening anymore. His eyes were glossy from anger and frustration, and his face was slightly red. The dark eyebrows weren't furrowed as you would've expected but slightly turned upwards as if he was begging me for help. On his right cheekbone was a pretty bad bruise. It had started to change from purple to yellow, telling me that it must be at least a few days old.
Just like earlier time seemed to have stopped as we gazed at each other, neither of us able to look away. In my puerperal vision I could see his fist he'd intended to beat me with slowly start to lower.
Somewhere in the distance I could hear the sound of the small bell that chimes every time someone opens the door to the dojo.
"Jackson, hurry up. I don't have all day…" The sound of Mr Brewer's voice died out for just a brief moment before it growled so low I swear I could feel it in my chest. "Jackson! What the heck are you doing?!" Jack finally broke the eye contact and looked at his fist, slowly unfolding it before looking back at me. He seemed shocked and he suddenly jumped, quickly scrambling off of me. Mr Brewer rushed over to us, giving Jack a deadly glare while bending down to help me up.
"Are you okay?" He asked concerned. Milton, Eddie and Jerry came over too, finally daring to do something. I gave them a glare, thinking 'Nice friends to wait and come to my rescue until after I'd been saved…'
"Yeah I'm fine…" I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking as I let Mr Brewer lift me up onto my feet. His strong and steady grip around my arms made me feel safe. I don't think I'd ever been so happy to see him.
"Are you sure you are okay?" He asked again, searching my eyes after he swiftly had looked me over for injuries.
"Yes…" I nodded and looked over at Jack who had stepped aside and was now watching us. He quickly turned his gaze away when I laid my eyes on him though. Mr Brewer noticed that I was looking at his son and spoke up, still keeping his eyes on me.
"Jackson" he said a little louder than necessary, making Jack jump slightly. Reaching out his hand towards the boy he gestured for him to come closer. "Come here son." Jack was back at looking at the floor again, careful not to show too much of his face. I was studying him closely though and I noticed him swallowing as he hesitatingly walked towards us. He seemed nervous. When he was within reach his father placed his rather big hand on his shoulder, gripping it as if he was expecting him to lash out at me again. I kind of feared that he would actually and I was happy that Mr Brewer was there. "Don't you have something to say to this young lady, son?" Jack gave me a quick glance, before looking away again.
"I'm sorry," he said, feeling uncomfortable with the situation. "It won't happen again." The last sentence caused Mr Brewer to chuckle. We all looked at him in surprise. Jack's face stayed unreadable though.
"Didn't you use exactly those words the last time I caught you trying to hurt Kim?" Mr Brewer said. Jack didn't answer, although his father was right. Jack had promised that he would never shove or yell at me again and yet here he was attacking me. "Do you know what that means, Jackson?" Mr Brewer asked, his voice almost having a threatening calmness to it as his face got serious again. It looked as if Jack was trying to answer but just couldn't get the words to leave his mouth as he opened it slightly. "It means that you broke your word. You lied to me. And worse yet you lied to this girl." Jack tried hard to maintain a straight face, but he still looked a bit ashamed when he stood there, slouching his shoulders. Silence filled the room for a moment and the tension grew thicker as we all looked at Jack, waiting for his respond. When the boy didn't seem to intend to say anything soon, Mr Brewer started to talk again. "You just earned yourself another week of being grounded, son." The statement caused Jack to look up at his father. He seemed a little upset.
"Dad…" he said so quietly I barely could hear it. "Please…I didn't mean…"
"You didn't mean to hit her?" Mr Brewer continued for him, slightly amused by the pathetic way Jack was trying to defend himself. "Don't worry son. We all saw how nicely you treated her. Of course you didn't intend to do any harm." He said with sarcasm, causing the rest of us to smile in amusement. I liked the way Mr Brewer handled situations like this. He never really seemed to get angry still he did exactly what it took to get the mighty Jack to regret what he'd done. Jack realizing he wouldn't be able to talk himself out of this just hung his head. Mr Brewer got all serious again before continuing. "You're grounded." He said again. "Meaning; no karate, no skateboarding, and no hanging out with friends. You go strait to school and come straight back home again. Understood?" He tightened his grip of Jack's shoulder slightly until he got a nod from him. "Good, now go wait in the car. I'll be right there. We'll talk more about this when we get home…" Jack threw him a worried glance before turning and heading towards the door, picking up the small bag he'd dropped to the floor earlier when he'd jumped me on his way out. Mr Brewer turned to me.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" he wondered. Meeting his eyes I suddenly remembered Claries notebook, the card with the Brotherhood of the Fireguard and all the other information I'd came upon this morning. And just like that all the trust I had for him was beginning to waver. Before me stood a grown man who believed that magic existed. He must either be enlightened, knowing something that we didn't or he was a crazy fool. Somehow it was easier for me to believe the last alternative. But none the less I gave him a nod.
"Sure" I said before turning the guys. "I'll be right back." They gave me confused looks but didn't question as I walked over towards the door accompanied by Mr Brewer. As soon as we were outside and the boys wouldn't be able to hear us he started to speak.
"Hey Kim, I was wondering if you have contacted Mr Kingsley yet?"
"No…sorry." I shook my head, all of a sudden curious. Mr Brewer obviously knew something about the things in Claire's notebook that I didn't and I hoped that he might share some of his knowledge. "I haven't got the time…"
"I see…" He nodded understandingly, although he seemed disappointed. Looking as if he was about to leave I quickly tried to stop him by continuing talking. Not really thinking through what I was about to say, the words left my mouth before I could stop them.
"I know about the Brotherhood." At the same moment the words were out I regretted them. Maybe it was foolish of me to bring that up. Maybe I wasn't supposed to know. Mr Brewer stopped in his tracks and looked at me surprised.
"You do?"
"Yeah. My grandfather was a member too. I recognised the crest." I nodded towards the small pin attached to Mr Brewer's jacket.
"Really? What was his name?"
"Henry Crawford" Mr Brewer seemed to be thinking for a while before a smile made it to his lips.
"I remember him."
"You do?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I thought you moved to Seaford last year."
"We did," he said. "I was born and raised here though. I joined the brotherhood when I was eighteen but I had to move to Washington because of studies when I was twenty-four. There I met my wife and we had a son, obviously… Anyway, living in a big city wasn't something for us. My wife Danielle needed to get away from all the stress." He explained. "And Seaford became the natural choice for us since I have my roots here…" He was silent for a moment before he asked me a question that made me feel uncomfortable, mainly because I didn't know what to answer. "What do you know about the brotherhood?"
"Oh the Brotherhood? It's…it's…it's a…" I stuttered, trying to come up with something better to say than 'it's a club for crazy men who still believe in witchcraft' which was the first sentence that popped up in my head. After a moment of awkward stuttering I finally gave up and just said, "Not much really." Mr Brewer gave me a smile.
"Well," he started as I listened with interest. Maybe he was about to tell me about the things that was going on inside the fraternity. It sure seemed like it. "…the 'club' was founded for over two hundred years ago…"
"1788" I said to myself, almost in a whisper. Mr Brewer heard it though and looked at me.
"Yes, that is correct." He nodded. "It all began with a tragedy. I don't know if you've heard about it, but nine teenagers were killed after a terrible…series of events. The families to the victims formed an organisation to protect themselves and the ones they cared for. The group of people were men, mostly fathers, brothers or uncles to the victims, frankly everyone that could hold a fight. They named themselves 'The Brotherhood of the Fireguard'. The members today are all somehow related to those people back then."
"So what do they do?" I wondered, crossing my fingers that he would give me the answer. "I mean the fraternity. What's it purpose today?" Mr Brewer took a deep breath as if he was trying to decide what to say.
"I'm not sure I'm the one to tell you that," he said. Seeing the disappointment in my eyes he quickly added. "You still have Gregory Kingsley's card I gave you?" I nodded in response. "Give him a call. He'll explain everything."
"Explain what?" I wondered.
"Again, I can't really tell you," he said. "Just trust me."
"Wait a minute…" I mumbled as the name Kingsley flashed before my eyes. I'd seen it in the notebook. Mr Brewer watched me with interest, seeming to be waiting for me to do the connection. "Has Gregory Kingsley something to do with a man called 'R. Kingsley'?"
"You mean Robert Kingsley, the hero?" He said. "Of course he has." I nodded. Of course Robert and R. Kingsley was the same person and of course he was related to Gregory Kingsley… I wondered why I hadn't made that connection before.
"There is one thing that I don't understand though" I said. "Why are you telling me this? What has all of this to do with me?"
"Again, I don't know how much I should tell you…" He made a short break. "Do you know what really happened that night back in 1788?" The question made me shiver. Did I really know? I knew something terrible happened, but not exactly what. Before I had a chance to answer his question a flower plant having been ripped out of its pot came flying through the air, hitting me right on my chest. Dirt stained my white GI as the plant fell to the ground. Both I and Mr Brewer were completely taken by surprise. The man in front of me quickly regained his ability to react and he turned instantly towards the direction the plant had come from. His eyes fell just like mine on the boy with the chocolate brown hair, standing next to a giant pot decorated with all sorts of flowers, right outside Reptile World. In the middle of the flowers was now a big dark hole where the soil showed through.
"Jackson!" Mr Brewer seemed furious and was about to head after his son. He turned to me before he did though. "Are you ok?" I nodded, brushing off my clothes. "I am so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into him today. I'll make it up to you." He looked at my GI. "If the stains won't go away I'll pay for a new one…"
"It's ok." I said, although I was so mad I wanted to run up to Jack and shove his face down into the dirt of that pot. That would probably be a bad idea though and I held myself back…
Jack obviously thinking he wasn't getting enough attention took a handful of soil and threw it in our direction. Most of it didn't make it all the way to us, however Jack's actions made Mr Brewer even madder.
"Stop that Jackson!" He roared, giving the boy an ice-cold stare. Jack just looked at him defiantly, although I could see flashes of fear in his eyes as he locked gaze with his father. The ugly bruise on his cheekbone was even more visible out in the daylight and it caused him to look a bit frightening. Mr Brewer kept his eyes on Jack, afraid of what the boy might do if he'd turn his back on him again.
"I gotta go, Kim." Mr Brewer excused. "I'll see you around… and don't forget to call Mr Kingsley…" He'd started walking away from me before he'd finished talking, his full attention on Jack. As he approached him, Jack started to back away, keeping the distance. "Don't you dare walk away from me." Mr Brewer warned, but to no avail. Jack looked over at me, meeting my eyes for a brief moment. His face held a blank expression and it was impossible for me to read him. The man had almost reached him when he quickly averted his gaze and turned on his heel, making a run for it. "Jackson!" Mr Brewer set off after him and the last thing I could hear as they made it out of the mall was him yelling "Wait till I get my hands on you!"
~~~Wings of Love~~~
My steps were short and my movements were slow as I walked along the road occasionally kicking a rock that was in my way. It must've taken me longer than usual to reach home even though I spotted my house way too soon. I stooped in my tracks. Claire would be home. My previously so weird and slightly annoying aunt all of a sudden seemed frightening and I don't think I was ready to come face to face with her yet. What if she had figured out I'd been going through her stuff and found out her secret? What would she do?
When I'd started searching through her notes this morning I had known that she would be mad at me if she'd ever found out, but I had thought that the worst that could happen was her yelling at me, mum could potentially ground me and I would have to apologize of course. But now… now things were a bit different. I swallowed. If Claire really was a witch and possessed magical powers she could put a curse on me or something…
I shook my head. Magic is against the laws of nature. Everyone knew that and there for it was impossible for it to exist. Slowly I started walking again and immediately my mind wandered off. I wondered if there were certain things that people with magical powers did that could tell you if they were witches and such. Like in the movie 'The Witches' were all the witches wear gloves to hide their hideous hands and nails and wear wigs and masks to hide their ugly faces. Did witches eat children? That ripped out page from that diary belonging to Colleen clearly said that the witch back then had intentions on 'feasting upon their flesh'.
I shuddered before continuing to think of more stuff that seemed to be connected with witches. Did they have pets like cats and toads? Claire didn't, although she had a huge interest for birds…
Did they make potions and did they have wands? I hadn't noticed any such stuff around Claire. Of course that didn't give me much to go on. I'd known Claire for all my life and she'd kept the secret all this time. It was very possible and most likely that she'd kept all her stuff that could prove that she was a witch hidden from the rest of us.
Reaching our house I scolded myself for even reflecting over these questions. Witches aren't real and that's the end of it. Feeling much more confident again I sprinted up to the front door and opened it. A smell of newly cooked dinner hit me immediately as I got inside and I quickly kicked off my shoes. Making it to the kitchen I found my mum taking the chicken breasts out of the oven.
"Hi mum," I said. She looked up at the sound of my voice.
"Oh, hi Kim. Perfect timing," she said, putting the hot baking sheet down on the counter. She then took three plates from the cupboard and handed them to me. "Could you help me with these? We'll be eating in the dining room."
"Sure," I said as I took the plates and went off to set the table. I figured Claire was around here somewhere, since mum had given me three plates… I'd already known she would be but I'd kind of hoped that she would've decided not to have dinner with us. The thought of her sitting next to us at our table made me nervous. I kept telling myself though that she has had dinner with us numerous times before and this time wouldn't be any different. Placing out the plates on the table I left to get some cutlery and glasses. Shaking my head I came to the conclusion that this dinner would be different after all. I probably knew too much about Claire and her secrets for my own good, and all I could do now was to hope that she would never find out that I knew.
Halfway to the kitchen I met my mum wearing her oven mitts while carrying the baking sheet with chicken beasts towards the table. I hurried off to the kitchen to get the last supplies, before joining her in the dining room. We swiftly set the table for three. I could tell mum was trying extra hard to make the table look nice. She even lit some candles, all because we had a guest here.
"Mmmm…smells delicious." The sound of Claire's voice made me tense and I quickly turned around to face her when she entered the room. All the trust I'd had in her was gone and I kept a watchful eye on her as we started to eat.
I was trying to find a clue or a sign that would let me know for sure if she truly was a witch. The minutes passed by slowly. Mum and Claire were having a conversation about their high school friends or something. I didn't really pay attention to what they were saying being too busy observing Claire. As usual she wore a colourful dress that ended about halfway down her shins. It was bright blue this time. Around her waist was a pretty wide yellow belt and in her ears hung yellow feathers. Her red hair was as usual tied up in a loose and sloppy bun on the top of her head and her nails were painted yellow, matching the rest of her outfit. She didn't look like a witch. In my mind witches should be dark, wearing black. And they should be ugly…I think.
Somewhere in the middle of our dinner I started to relax. Claire was just like she'd always been, only difference was she was so involved in her and mums conversation that she totally forgot about asking me about boys, which I highly appreciated. The more realistic and logical part of my brain started to become more dominant again, telling me that the reason why I couldn't find any evidence on Claire being a witch was because she wasn't one.
It wasn't until we'd finished our meal that things started to get a little intense…
"Here, let me take that," mum offered, reaching out to get our dishes and piling it up before taking it all out to the kitchen. As soon as she'd left Claire turned to me.
"Kimberly," she said. "We need to talk." A nauseas feeling started to spread through my stomach.
"About what?" I asked trying to sound as if I didn't have a clue of what she was talking about.
"I don't know how to tell you…" She mumbled, talking more to herself than to me. "It's very important Kimberly and I've been trying to find an opportunity to talk to you… But I'm not gonna lie to you and say that I didn't try to postpone it." I gave her a confused look as she continued. "In fact I wished that I would never have to bring you into…" She went silent for a moment. The seriousness in her voice made me feel uneasy and I broke the eye contact. She kept staring intensely at me though. The tension grew stronger and I was trying to come up with a plan to get me out of this situation. In the distance I could hear mum preparing the dishwasher. My throat felt dry as I anxiously waited for Claire to continue.
"I know you've been going through my stuff, Kimberly." She said, breaking the silence. I stiffened in my chair. The way she'd said the words felt threatening and I couldn't bring myself to say anything. It would be useless anyway. She already knew… I kept my eyes on the table, not daring to look at her. In fact I was so worried I barely dared to breath. "I don't know how much you've found out, but we can't afford to take any risks…" She mumbled. "…not any longer… I'm afraid that this leaves me no choice but to…"
"Who wants desert?" Mum asked as she entered the room, carrying a chocolate cake in her hands. Both Claire and I looked up at her. I finally let go of the breath I'd been holding relieved the mum had come and interrupted. Claire acted all normal again as if nothing happened. Now that she didn't seem so creepy anymore I took a quick glance at her, not helping but wonder what she was about to say.
"Oh Anne, you shouldn't have," Claire said although you could clearly see that she was glad that mum had baked a cake and she was now eager to have a taste of it.
"I'll pass," I said, receiving a confused look from mum as she placed the cake on the table.
"But this is your favourite," she said. I looked at the cake. She did have a point.
"Maybe just a small piece," I said. Mum looked pleased with that and started to cut out pieces of the cake and handing them out to us.
I finished mine quickly, wanting to leave the table before risking getting alone with Claire again.
"I gotta go…Have some homework to do," I excused and got up from my chair. Mum just gave me a nod; too busy talking about that Kevin Felton from her high school years to pay any attention to me. Claire on the other hand was watching me, as if she was trying to stop me from leaving with her gaze. I pretended that I didn't notice her though and hurried up to my room. With used movements I pushed the door closed behind me and started pacing back and forth. Oh my god, I thought. She'd found out.
But how? I'd been extremely careful to put everything back the way it was. She couldn't have noticed it, unless she had a sixth sense or something. Realizing that that was fully possible if she was a witch I brought my hands to my head.
Oh my god! We have a witch in our family and she was sitting downstairs, eating desert. Worse yet she wanted to have a 'talk' with me. I didn't trust her any longer and I wasn't so sure that talking was the only thing she wanted to do with me… What was I supposed to do? Maybe I should give Gregory Kingsley a call. Maybe I should tell Mr Brewer… He obviously held the knowledge that I was searching for and down at the mall he'd seemed to be willing to share it. I felt that I could trust him, but at the same time I was a bit worried about the fact that he worked against magic. Did that make Claire and him enemies? Probably… In that case which side should I take? Should I stay with family and try to protect Claire's secret or would that be my fall? Maybe I was in real trouble here and Mr Brewer could provide me safety…
Passing my desk for the seventh time I spotted the corner of that wooden box I'd found last night poking out from the jacket I'd wrapt around it. The jacket lay carelessly thrown on top of a pile of clothes on the chair in front of my desk. I stopped in my tracks. Last nights events quickly came back to me. I remembered the screams and how abruptly they had stopped. I remembered my fall and the carvings on the box, the strange clearing in the woods and the moon…
I'd been too tired yesterday to investigate the box any further and today I'd been…busy. I reached out to untangle the box from the garment. In daylight it was much easier to see what the carvings really looked like. On the top of it was an 'E' surrounded by leaves forming a circle. Outside the leaves were smaller circle shaped figures. They too were placed in a circle, centring the 'E'. At a closer look I realized that the smaller circle shaped figures were moons. All of them were full. I counted them to nine...
How come everything is nine? Come to think of it, there were nine teenagers. The prophecy/poem was talking about the ninth generation. There were nine moons on the box… Was it all a coincident or did the small wooden box in my hands have something to do with it all? I looked at the 'E' again. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to figure out what it might stands for I turned the box around in my hands. The sides of it were decorated too. At first I just thought that the carvings were just there to make it look nice or something, but as I studied it closer I saw that the markings were actually letters forming words. Starting on the left side of the box the text then continued across the front and the right side of it, until it ended at the back. The text was so long it needed two lines to fit on the small object.
As I started to read it became clear to me that this box had something to do with the story about the teenagers' deaths… and to my fear; it had something to do with me. The hair on the back of neck rose as the words sank in.
This is where I rest
Three times within this chest
I'll wait for a hundred more
Until it's time for me to soar
By the ninth moon
I'll cut through like a sword
And all because of you
Silly Miss Crawford
I stared at my name. My heart was pounding as I tried to just straiten everything out. The thing that had started as an interesting mystery to solve had now turned into a creepy dark mess that had become so severe that I worried about my own safety. I'd dug too deep…
There wasn't really any turning around now and even though I dreaded what I might find I still needed to know the truth. What connection did I have to the victims, to the witch, to the brotherhood, to the moon, to the box…?
The box… maybe it held all the answers I'd been searching. If the outside held so many clues, what wouldn't be hidden inside…?
With slightly trembling fingers I fiddled with the old locking device on the front. The small pieces of metal was rusty and worn down by years and years lying out on the ground. It almost fell to pieces as I touched it. After some meddling and with a certain amount of force it eventually broke, letting me open the box.
As I lifted the lid up an ear piercing scream filled the room instantly. It was so loud I dropped the box to the floor to use my hands to cover my ears. My head started spinning as the screams got louder and more intense. Falling to my knees I desperately tried to shield myself from the horrifying cries that seemed to come from everywhere around me. The screams came from a woman. I recognized the voice. It was the same I'd heard out in the forest last night only this time it was so much louder. The intensity of it tore my very soul and I felt myself drifting off.
"Kimberly! Kim!" Somewhere through all the noise I could hear my name being called over and over. The voices were familiar and I knew they belonged to mum and Claire. I couldn't answer them though. Seeming to lose control over my body I collapsed on the floor. My limbs felt heavy the world around me got all blurry.
"Quick Anne, get some water!" The red mess of hair yelled from above me. "Kimberly!" I felt a hand rhythmically clapping my cheek and I made one last effort to look up only to see the worried face of Claire, her blue eyes seeking contact. I tried to reach out to her, but my hands wouldn't obey me. It was as if I they weren't a part of my body anymore. I drifted away, hearing Claire mumbling rhymes that didn't make any sense as my soul separated from my body and falling into darkness…
Sorry about the cliffy...I just love to do those...hehe
I'll try to be quick at updating. You can certainly motivate me to write faster by reviewing...And if you do I'll give you a sneak peek of the next chapter:)
/MJ
