Shadow Fate 2: Sacrifice Page 2

  My voice was weak, and I doubted Devon and the others heard me. The boy and I stared at each other, like we were weighing the other. Conflicted, I couldn’t decide what the verdict was. On the one hand, I was unusually drawn to him. Not romantically attracted, but more like I was physically drawn to him. Even though we were practically touching, I wanted to be closer. No, I needed to be closer to him.

  As soon as I leaned toward him, fear made me draw back. Something about him put me on edge. Given that I’d nearly drowned and he’d been the one to save me, it made no sense.

  “How do you feel?” he asked, breaking the awkward silence.

  “I’ve been better, but I’ll live,” I mumbled.

  “Yes, you will.”

  The words were innocuous. It was the exact response that I’d have expected if I’d given it much thought. Nevertheless, they gave me chills. It was like there was a hidden meaning behind the response, one that he thought I should infer.

  In the distance, Devon and my other friends still called my name, their urgency escalating.

  “Endora Lee Andrews!” Devon’s voice was louder and more insistent than the others.

  I thought again about how this boy knew my name. Had we met? I studied his face, searching my memory for a previous encounter. There was nothing. Not even the slightest spark of recognition.

  “I’m over here,” I repeated, louder this time. Since I’d given only vague instructions, I searched my surroundings for a landmark. Water and trees were the only things I saw, nothing more distinctive than that.

  “By the water, Dev,” I shouted unhelpfully.

  Returning my attention to the guy, I found him staring at me with such intensity that I recoiled. Fighting the urge, I returned his gaze and lost myself in the depths of his dilated pupils. My fight or flight instinct was a nagging voice in the back of my mind, demanding that I choose flight. A different, stronger instinct won out: the desire to be close to him.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  Our faces were so close, if either one of us moved, we’d bump noses. My breathing was shallow while his was ragged. The guy’s chest rose and fell in rapid succession.

  The footsteps drew closer until the crackling of branches was just behind us. “I’ve got her!” Devon shouted.

  The crunching leaves and low voices were right behind us, but I didn’t acknowledge my friends.

  “I should go.” Even as he said it, the guy made no move to leave.

  “Wait,” I reached for his fingers. “You didn’t tell me your name.”

  The guy drew his hand back, like the thought of my touch repulsed him. Though his mouth formed no response, he continued to stare into my eyes as if trying to see my soul. We stayed like that, gazes locked and ignoring my friends. It felt like an eternity passed. Despite the growing unease in the pit of my stomach, I didn’t want him to leave. Intrigued and mesmerized, I didn’t want the moment to end.

  “Eel?” Devon asked tentatively.

  The sound of my name broke the trance. He quickly stood and backed away from me. Devon rushed forward, followed by Mandy and Elizabeth.

  “Are you okay?” Devon demanded. “I was so fucking scared. You didn’t come up from the water quickly. It was way too long! We couldn’t see well, so Rick thought maybe you’d surfaced and we just missed it.”

  Devon wrapped her arms around my shoulders and drew me into a fierce hug. Soaking wet, I protested. Still, the comfort of a familiar person was too nice to struggle against for long. Returning her hug, I clung to my best friend.

  Over her shoulder, I watched my rescuer disappear into the woods. With the sight of his retreat, I wondered if I’d ever see him again.

  “Guess I overreacted, huh?” Devon muttered.

  “What?” I asked, only half-listening to Devon.

  “We thought you’d drowned,” Mandy said. Even in the darkness, I could make out the relief in her hazel eyes.

  “No, I didn’t. That kid…did you see the one who was sitting here with me when you showed up? He saved me.”

  Devon pulled back and stared at me with confused blue eyes.

  “Really?” she asked skeptically. “Who is he?” Turning, my best friend peered into the dark woods.

  I followed her gaze, but he was gone. “I’m not sure,” I mumbled.

  “Have you ever seen him before?” Devon asked.

  Even as I shook my head no, I wondered if I had. He’d known who I was, did I know him too?

  “Was he alone?” Mandy interjected. “What’s he doing out here?”

  Shrugging, I realized I hadn’t even considered those questions before. An articulate answer was beyond me.

  Rick frowned at us, like we were being overly dramatic. “Probably the same thing we were doing before Eel—” Cooper silenced him with an elbow to the ribs.

  “It doesn’t matter right now,” Devon said. Returning her attention to me, my best friend inspecting my face for signs of damage. “Are you hurt?”

  “I hit my head, but I’m okay.”

  Devon looked unconvinced.

  “Really, Dev,” I insisted. “Let’s just get out of here. Where are my clothes?”

  “I’ve got them,” Elizabeth supplied. When she stretched her arm towards me, a pair of jeans, tee shirt, and sneakers were thrust in my direction. The thought of me drowning must’ve been sobering; Elizabeth was steadier on her feet than when I’d last seen her.

  Devon helped me stand. Rick and Cooper rushed over and grabbed my arms when I stumbled. Mandy hung off to the side, nervously twisting a lock of short brown hair around one finger.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, embarrassed by the way everyone was fawning over me.

  Taking my clothes from Elizabeth, I handed her the blanket in return. Between my headache from hell and the audience, I simply pulled the clothes on over the wet bathing suit.

  “What do you guys say we take this party back to my house?” Cooper suggested.

  After nearly drowning and being rescued by a mysterious stranger, I had no desire to continue the birthday celebration. Thankfully, Elizabeth spoke up before I could make a lame excuse for going home.

  “Actually, we need to get back to my house,” she said. “Eel, your mom called my phone.” Elizabeth produced my cell from her jeans pocket and waved it in the air. “I think yours is on the fritz again.”

  Great, I thought, taking the phone back. My overprotective mother to the rescue.

  Normally I begrudged her incessant phone calls and text messages. Tonight, I was thankful for them. My mother was the Westwood County State’s Attorney. Since she generally frowned upon trespassing, underage drinking, and cheap thrills, I’d told her we were heading to Elizabeth’s for a quiet girls’ night of movies and junk food. She’d still been at the office when my friends picked me up, preparing for a big trial that started the following Monday, and my mother hadn’t questioned the lie.

  “She said if you don’t call her from my house phone within the next hour, she will call the cops,” Elizabeth continued helpfully as I jammed the power button on my phone. As expected, it didn’t turn on; I had a real problem with electronics.

  To my dismay, Liz turned to the others and added, “Anyone interested in late night hot-tubbing is welcome to come over.”

  I hadn’t even noticed that the rest of the partiers were behind us until a whoop echoed in the trees. Most of our group had heard Elizabeth’s invitation.

  “Party at the Bowers’!” Cynthia Zeleski exclaimed. Her high-pitched voice was an assault to the ears on a normal day but particularly grating with my headache.

  Cynthia started into the woods, the others following behind. Finally, it was just me, Devon, Rick, Elizabeth, Cooper, and Mandy again.

  Shoving my hand into the back pocket of my jeans, I felt for the jewelry I’d put there for safekeeping. The new watch that Devon’s parents have given me for my birthday was still there. But my necklace—the one my father gave me five years earlier—was missing.

&nb
sp; “Liz? Where’s my necklace?” I asked, trying to keep my tone even.

  “Huh?” With the knowledge I hadn’t met a watery death, Elizabeth was back to her bubbly self and laughing loudly at something Cooper said.

  “My necklace,” I insisted. “Where is my necklace?”

  “Is it not there? I didn’t feel it drop, but….” Elizabeth trailed off and all the laughter faded from her expression. “Eel, I’m so sorry.”

  Without answering, I checked all four of my pockets again. Nothing. I took a deep, calming breath. The necklace was probably on the cliff or somewhere along the trail to it. With my phone’s flashlight, I’d be able to find it.

  “I’m gonna check up there.” I pointed across the lake at the dark mound rising from the water on the far bank.

  “Eel, you’re soaked and shivering,” Devon protested. “You really need to get some dry clothes.”

  She cut off my objection with a wave of her hand.

  “Rick and I will go look for your necklace. You go to Elizabeth’s and call your mom.”

  The necklace was important to me. It was all I had from my father, and Devon knew that. She was right though; I was freezing and needed to call my mother before she sent a search party.

  “Go,” Devon insisted. Turning to Mandy, my bestie tossed her a set of keys. “Take my car. Don’t wreck it.”

  Chapter Two

  Ten minutes later, I sat shotgun in Devon’s car with Mandy behind the wheel. Cooper and Elizabeth were in the backseat giggling like school children.

  “Do you really think your mom will call the cops?” Mandy asked nervously.

  We all knew my mother would; she’d done it before.

  “Probably,” Liz spoke up, echoing my thoughts. “Mrs. Andrews is sort of neurotic.”

  Neurotic was an understatement. Mom went through my cell phone while I was in the shower, or at least she did when I had one that was working. On nights she stayed late at the office, a police cruiser drove past the house every couple of hours. I’d actually confronted her about the drive-by patrols once. Instead of denying it, Mom had insisted it was for my safety and not because she didn’t trust me. I believed that like I believed the Tooth Fairy, Santa, and the Easter Bunny had brunch together every Sunday.

  “How much time do we have to get to Liz’s?” Mandy asked, pressing the accelerator to the floor. The Chevy’s engine groaned before reluctantly gaining speed.

  Angling my wrist, I tried to catch enough moonlight to read the time. The new watch’s hour hand was on the eight, the minute hand between the fifth and sixth hash marks, and the second hand was frozen. A new record—I’d worn the watch for only an hour before it stopped working.

  Groaning, I flicked the mother-of-pearl face like it would make the hands start moving again.

  “What’s wrong?” Mandy asked.

  “The watch is broken,” I muttered.

  Elizabeth laughed. “The electric Eel strikes again.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Cooper asked, confused.

  While most everyone called me Eel, few knew the nickname’s origins. Mandy had been part of my inner circle since moving to Westwood the previous fall and picked it up from Devon and Elizabeth’s teasing. To the others, my casual friends, I didn’t advertise the bizarre talent for short-circuiting electronics.

  “Nothing,” I told Cooper, shooting Elizabeth a warning glance over my shoulder. “Liz is just being silly.”

  The overplayed song of the spring was on the radio, and Mandy hummed softly along. The rural landscape passed in a blur of trees interspersed with random houses. Staring out the window, I pondered the irony of nearly drowning to death on the same day I’d been born. Even more ironic, it had been exactly eighteen years since I’d died the first time. I shuddered at the memory. Not that it was really a memory; I didn’t actually remember dying.

  “Wasn’t your party awesome?” Elizabeth asked, dragging me from my thoughts.

  I blinked and furrowed my brow. Was Liz seriously asking me that? Sure, the party had been fun at first. Nearly drowning kind of put a damper on the night, though.

  “Yeah, it was great, Liz,” I replied with a sarcasm that was lost on her. “Best birthday ever.”

  All the lights in Elizabeth’s house were off when Mandy pulled into the circular driveway. We had several minutes to spare before my mother’s deadline.

  “Mom! We’re home!” Elizabeth shouted once the four of us were standing in the foyer. When Mrs. Bowers didn’t answer, Liz took off up the staircase and headed for her mother’s bedroom.

  Hurrying to the phone on a small table, I dialed the number from memory.

  My mother answered on the first ring. “Endora,” she said crisply.

  “Hey, Mom. We’re back at Elizabeth’s now. We decided to go to the theater instead of renting movies,” I told her.

  “Is that so?” she asked. Her tone was the one typically reserved for cross-examining hostile witnesses.

  Crap. I’d already violated the first rule of testifying: don’t offer more information than was requested.

  “What movie did you see?” Mom asked. I envisioned her ears perking up like a bloodhound that caught a scent.

  “Night of Horrors,” I replied automatically. The movie was playing at the local theater, and I’d seen it the weekend before.

  “How was it?”

  “Bad. You know, typical horror movie.” I forced a laugh. “We’re heading to bed now, we all have lacrosse practice in the morning.”

  “I expect you home afterwards,” Mom said after a long pause.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Goodnight, Endora. Happy birthday.”

  “Thanks. Night, Mom,” I whispered as the dial tone filled my ear.

  When I replaced the receiver, Mandy and Cooper were staring at me. Mandy’s hazel eyes softened.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, it’s fine.” Everything was fine. At least Mom had remembered my birthday, that was something. My mother didn’t believe in birthdays.

  “Celebrating your own birth is narcissistic,” she’d always said. “You weren’t the one in labor for thirty-three hours. You had nothing to do with bringing yourself into this world. If anyone should get gifts and a cake, I should.”

  Admittedly, she had a point. Nevertheless, her logic was little comfort when I was five and the only girl in kindergarten without a sugary cake bearing my name. Or when I turned eight, and Tia Ross accused me of not inviting her to a birthday party that I never had.

  The front door opened. Cynthia walked in, followed by a handful of junior girls from the lacrosse team and their boyfriends.

  “Eel, you look awful!” she exclaimed.

  “I did almost drown, Cynthia,” I snapped, only to immediately feel badly about biting her head off.

  “Rowr.” Cynthia clawed the air in my direction. With her obsidian eyes and ginger hair, Cynthia sort of resembled a cat, too.

  Despite myself, I glanced at a mirror hanging on the wall above the phone. My brown-green eyes were bloodshot, dirt streaked both of my cheeks, and a dime-sized patch blazed red against the unusually pale skin over my right cheekbone. Tangled clumps of half-dry auburn hair framed my face, highlighting the blotchiness. I really did look awful. Sadly, I felt worse than I looked. My entire body ached, my head throbbed, and the places where I’d imagined the lake creature touching me burned. The rest of me was numb, still cold from the water.

  “Hey, guys,” Elizabeth called, appearing at the top of the staircase. “The hot tub is on the back deck. You know the way.”

  “What about your mom?” Cooper whispered loudly.

  Mandy and I exchanged a knowing look.

  After Mr. Bowers married his second wife, Elizabeth’s mother had turned to sleeping pills to soothe her bruised ego. While the affair and subsequent divorce were still town gossip, Mrs. Bowers’ coping mechanisms were not.

  “She’s a heavy sleeper,” I mumbled. Technically, that w
as true.

  Elizabeth bounded down the staircase. “Let’s take this party outside.”

  Cynthia, Cooper, and the others followed Elizabeth through the house, leaving Mandy and me alone in the foyer. Headlights pierced the windows on either side of the front door, signaling the arrival of more partiers.

  “I don’t feel like swimming,” I said. Really, I only wanted to crawl into bed and pretend like the entire night was nothing more than a bad dream. “I’m just going to go lie down.”

  “Want me to come with you?” Mandy offered.

  I shook my head. “Nah. I’m exhausted. You go have fun with the others.”

  Mandy chewed her thumbnail, hesitating.

  I made a shooing motion, indicating that she should go.

  “If you’re sure,” she said finally. Mandy opened the front door and stepped outside, calling to Kevin Mathis.

  Glad I have an excuse to miss spending time with Kevin, I thought. He was Rick’s best friend, and I’d been the unwilling object of his lecherous affections for a while now. He always made excuses to put his arm around me or touch my hair. No matter how many times I shot him down, Kevin never gave up. I headed for the stairs, hurrying up them before he made it inside.

  Elizabeth’s bedroom was on the second floor at the far end of a long hallway. With the flip of a switch, a soft glow illuminated the room. Immediately, I felt my shoulders untense. Elizabeth’s bedroom was comforting to me, and her canopy bed with its burgundy drapes was as familiar as my own. I spent a lot of time at my friends’ houses. As always, the room smelled like Elizabeth: a mixture of perfume and fruity lip gloss.

  Weariness had settled into my bones. My foot and head throbbed in perfect unison. I sat on the edge of Elizabeth’s bed and removed my tennis shoes. The inside of my left sneaker was stained red. The sight of my own blood caught me off guard, and I gasped.

  A shiny sliver, as long as my pinkie and half as wide as its nail, was lodged in the arch. The memory of kicking the lake creature came back to me.

  Just a hallucination, I reminded myself. She isn’t real; lack of oxygen plays tricks on the brain.

  Fingers trembling slightly, I tried to grab the sliver with the nails of my thumb and index fingers.