Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) Read online

  Chapter 10

  Bet’chya

  Rae’s stomach lurched into her throat as the air rushed by her face. A moment later, she stretched her arms out and shape-shifted into an eagle. She swooped down before flapping her wings to get some height and remain unseen. Eagle shape shifting was one of the best tatùs she had ever experienced. There weren’t many kinds of shifters, and to be able to change her body into something else was amazing. She had learned how to do it the previous year, and it had been a while since she had last changed. Spreading her wings wide, she took a moment to bask in the incredible feeling of freedom. The wind whipping by her eyes and lashing under her outstretched feathers allowed her to rise and swoop down and fly high into the sky again.

  Focusing on Julian’s car, she flew high above the treetops and watched it pull out onto the main road. She felt a moment of guilt for following them, but then curiosity, and niggle of worry and distrust got the better of her. If they went for pizza, she would leave it alone. If they went somewhere else, it was worth the risk. I’m tired of being excluded from the details, tired of only being told tiny bits of the story, tired of being ‘protected’ into ignorance. I can handle myself, but to prove that, I need to know what’s actually going on.

  The boys drove about five minutes up the road to a football pitch and play park. The fields were black, the park lights shut off hours ago. Rae found a perch on a cast-iron lamp post, and had time to settle her feathers before the boys got out of the car.. With eagle night vision, she watched them get something long out of the trunk and head to the grass field.

  “You know, Rae’s no dummy. She’s going to ask me tomorrow why you wanted to go for pizza so late.” Devon laughed and lightly shoved Julian.

  “Don’t blame me for the phrase. You’re the one who made it up last week as the code.” Julian pulled his hair into a low ponytail.

  “Yeah, and I was an idiot.”

  “Can’t be that stupid. You got the smartest and prettiest girl at Guilder.”

  “Let’s hope I don’t screw it all up. You should’ve seen the look on her face when Carter told her about Anna. She was so mad.”

  Julian lightheartedly thumped him on the back. “Told you I should’ve offered to do the job.”

  “And let the Privy Council raise their eyebrows at me and jot little notes in their binders? No thanks. I can handle Rae.” Devon’s voice sounded strained. “I’m just waiting for her to realize the mistake she’s making.”

  Rae’s heart thundered against her ears. Here it is. She held her breath.

  Devon sighed as he stretched his muscles. “She could do so much better than me.”

  Rae didn’t think she could fall more in love with him at that moment. She wished she could jump off the lamppost, shift back and hug him.

  “Dude, she’s not going to-- unless it’s with me, of course.” Julian snickered and tossed a weird metal bar at Devon. He headed onto the field. “Come on, let’s get jousting.”

  Wait. They’re practicing?

  “You’re so getting whooped now for that comment.” Devon twirled the bar expertly in his hands. “You want to tell me why you felt the urge to say the pizza-thing right in front of Rae? She wouldn’t have cared, you know.” He squatted into a ready position.

  “I know.” Julian paused. “I just didn’t want you to invite her. She’d kick my arse. Don’t laugh. I had a vision of her coming with us and being way above us. Guess it was just a dream, not a future-vision, ‘cause she’d be kicking both our arses.”

  The boys stopped talking and began fighting. Rae watched for a short while and then leapt off the post to fly back to Guilder. She felt a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping but was content that she had at least gained a little information. It’s not exactly what I was looking for, but at least now, I know they weren’t trying to hide a problem from me. Plus, I can’t believe what Devon said!

  She cawed. Now she couldn’t wait for the next time they allowed her to train with them! She would get to try out the battle sticks. Julian, you are so dead meat.

  Taking a longer route back to the school, she enjoyed the sounds of the night. When Guilder’s lights and buildings came into view, she glided straight into her opened window. Landing on the floor of her room with a soft thud, she shape-shifted back into human form. Naked, she stood just as a knock sounded on her door. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her, Rae opened the door and peered out.

  Madame Elpis nodded and headed down the hall. “Just doing room checks. Good night, Miss Kerrigan.”

  “Good night Madame Elpis. I just wanted to clean up real quick.” Rae’s heart beat double time for a moment as the sharp-eyed housemistress, looked her over.

  “Fine, just don’t make a ruckus.” Madame Elpis spun on her smartly heeled shoe and moved on to the next room, leaving Rae to practically wilt against her doorframe with relief.

  She headed to the bathroom to have a shower, grinning as she thought about the boys’ conversation. Julian’s vision had been correct--she had definitely been above them, and they had no clue.

  The week before the joint dance with Roe Hampton Girl’s Boarding School, a flushed Molly came running into Rae’s room.

  “Reece is definitely coming to the dance!” she squealed. “He said he’d come months ago, but I wasn’t entirely sure he really wanted to. I asked him once or twice but he kinda seemed to be avoiding the topic so I let things be for a few days. Then I asked him again today and he said sure!”

  Rae, sitting at her desk, watched as Molly dramatically dropped onto Rae’s bed, a huge smile brightening her face. “That’s awesome.” She closed the binder that held the Privy Council information. Their group hadn’t done their oral presentation yet. They were the last ones to go, almost two weeks after the first group had presented. It was scheduled for tomorrow.

  “Totally! It makes the feeling so much sweeter knowing he wants to come. I can tell Reece to find a buddy to bring along. We could double date!” Molly pushed up onto her elbows.

  Rae thought furiously for an excuse, any excuse. She shifted her weight in the chair and played with a loose page sticking out of her binder. “I kind of told Desiree, Alecia and Maria we’d all go together. Is Reece meeting you here, at the dorm?”

  “Probably. He isn’t going to know where to go when he gets in. I’ll just tell him a bunch of girls are coming with us. He won’t care. He’s really easygoing.” She sat up and dropped her legs over the edge of the bed. “I’ll have to let Haley know, as well.”

  “Sounds good.” Considering the fact that Haley had done her best to ruin Rae’s experience the previous year, Rae thought she did fairly well keeping the dislike out of her voice. Molly, however, didn’t miss the expression on her face.

  Molly, held up a hand, trying to smooth it over. “I know. Haley’s weird. She’s always complaining about her family or that her Dad’s still mad she got tatùed instead of her brother. She needs to grow up.”

  Rae said nothing, just raised her eyebrows at Molly.

  Molly threw her hands up in mock surrender. “I know, I know. It’s not for me to judge. I grew up from last year--a lot.” She grinned as she stood.

  “I didn’t say anything.” But you have grown up. Molly was still the same quirky, complaining, and thousand-questions girl. However, after Rae’s kidnapping and Lanford’s death, she had lost a lot of the self-centered attitude she had sported.

  It seemed all of them had changed after that.

  “Just be sure you make time to talk to Reece. I really like him and I want you to like him as well. Not in the same way, but you know, like him as a friend. Like him as your best friend’s boyfriend. Like –”

  “I get your point.” Rae laughed. “Does this mean you’ve already picked out what I’m wearing to the dance?”

  “Ohhh yeah! I’ll go get it right now.” Molly jumped up and ran down the hall. As her footsteps faded, Desiree popped her head through the open door.

  “Hi, Rae.”

&nbs
p; “Hiya, Des. How’re you doing?”

  “Good. Is that Molly scurrying down the hall?” Desiree glided into the room, looking very curvy in her tight jeans and white tee shirt. Rae didn’t mean to stare, but she couldn’t help it. Desiree’s Chanel perfume wafted sweetly from the other side of the room.

  “Ye-yes. Molly’s gone to get a dress she picked out for me for the dance.” She broke her stare, looking down to hide the burn starting on her cheeks. Thank goodness she wore her hair loose so it fell forward as she leaned down.

  “Hey, Rae?” Desiree’s throaty voice beckoned her.

  “Yes?” Rae didn’t want to look up but felt compelled. To make it worse, her eyes began drifting from Desiree’s slender ankles towards her knees and up. Rae swallowed several times, wishing she could disappear. This is weird. She blinked forcing her head to clear the fog. It’s as if—

  “Julian bet me ten quid I couldn’t get you flustered if I used my power on you. I’m sorry.” Desiree flipped her long, black hair over her shoulder.

  The sensations disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared. Desiree leaned against the doorframe, trying not to laugh.

  Alecia peered in behind her. “Desiree and Julian made me be their proof. I’m the one who has to say it actually happened.”

  “You buggers!” Rae stood, relieved to be back in control of her feelings. “I’ll give you both twenty quid if you keep your mouth shut. Don’t you dare tell Julian. Either way he wins—he’ll tease me if he knows it worked, or he gets your money.” She giggled. This is payback for spying on him and Devon the other night. He must have figured it out.

  “You’re not mad, right?” Alecia began chewing on her thumbnail.

  “I’d rather be friends with you than Julian…though he is cute,” Desiree said.

  “No, I’m not mad.” Rae smiled. “Julian’s cool. He’s like a brother to me. You don’t have to choose sides. There are none. Remember, though, payback’s a bitch. And I now have your tatù’s talent added to my collection. I’d be watching my back, if I were you.” Rae pointed a finger at Desiree in playful warning.

  “Fair enough. Just make sure if you use it on Julian, I’m around.”

  “Use what on Julian?” Molly pranced back into the room, carrying two grey vinyl dress bags.

  “Desiree’s tatù.”

  “Oh…that might be fun to watch. Is he going to the dance? Use it there on a bunch of girls--that’ll make Julian think he’s very popular with the ladies. Then tell him the next day you fixed it.”

  Rae laughed and shook her head. Julian seemed to have gained confidence over the summer. He will have no problem having the girls of Roe Hampton swooning over him. She might not think of him romantically, but she wasn’t blind.

  “Desiree, how did you do that?” Rae felt for it inside of her, searching for the hum and determining its tune. “I thought you could only make it work with people who have feelings for each other. How’d you get it to—uh—work on me.”

  “It’s hard to explain.” Desiree shrugged. “It’s like a drug flows into the veins. Then I feel the emotions start inside me and all of my senses go into overdrive. It’s like a dam bursts and everything carries over to the target. I’m not sure if it makes any sense.”

  “Is that why I started staring at your body? I mean, you’re very pretty but--”

  “Exactly! I could tell you were fighting it. Hormones tapped in but then ran dry. You might look but I can’t force what isn’t there, so it’s hard to do to a girl. It’s much easier to send the physical sensations over to a guy and have them react.” Desiree laughed her husky, throaty chuckle.

  “Sounds good enough to me.” Molly cut in, “Here’s your dress. What do you think?”

  She pulled the hanger out and let the vinyl cover fall to the floor. The gown was exotic. The dark grey-silver dress tied up behind the neck, giving the bodice a V-front, meeting an empire waist that lightly billowed out at the knees. Molly turned the dress around to show an open back. Rae’s jaw dropped.

  “That’s gorgeous, Molly!” Desiree ran her manicured hands over the material. “It’s so soft, like a feather.”

  Alecia let out a quiet ahhh from where she stood close by the door. “I wasn’t planning on going but now I want to go dress shopping.”

  “I’ll take you. I’d love to pick something out for you!” Molly flipped the dress around again. “Rae’s going to look like a proper girl in it. What d’you think?” Molly smiled confidently, knowing she had hit the mark and stunned them all with her shopping prowess.

  Rae felt otherwise. She loved the front of the dress, but the open back wasn’t her style. Everyone would see her tatù, and the glistening of the material would only enhance the sparkles on her back.

  “Um…” she coughed, unable to take her eyes away from the sizzling outfit.

  “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Molly walked over and held the dress up against Rae.

  “I can’t wear this. I’ll get into trouble.”

  “No, you won’t. You’re simply making a statement. Plus, everyone at Roe Hampton knows about your tatù already. Last year you made a memorable entrance. Remember how everyone stopped and stared? How crazy all the guys went? It was so awesome! This year, it has to be even bigger.” Molly pushed Rae in front of the mirror. “Come on. Let’s go to the bathrooms. You can try it on and get the full view with those wall to wall mirrors.”

  “I can’t. I’m supposed to meet Nic and Kraigan downstairs for our Tatù paper.”

  “Please try it on,” Desiree pleaded. “It’ll take like five minutes.”

  It was very pretty. It wouldn’t hurt to try it on--just to see. “Okay. Why not.” She followed Molly into the large dressing and make-up area of the bathrooms. She pulled off her shirt and slipped the dress over her head. She pulled her pants down and stood up. Molly adjusted the back of the dress so it rested just below her tatù. Rae turned sideways to glance at the back. Holy…that’s a lot of skin…but look how pretty the tatù is!

  “It’s perfect,” Alecia said.

  “Ahhh—it’s gorgeous! You come across as sophisticated and very sexy at the same time. It makes you look—older,” Desiree said.

  “My goal exactly.” Molly reached into the dress cover on the floor. “For your discomfort, I purchased this lovely see-through black shawl to wear around your shoulders. Once you get warm, you can drop it and show off.” Molly draped the shawl on Rae’s shoulders.

  “It’s perfect.” It’d take Devon’s breath away and maybe, after the dance, they’d finally do more than just make out.

  “Just make sure you don’t forget to take your bra off with the dress--that won’t be so perfect.” Molly grinned. She grabbed the other dress bag and pulled out her dress--a tight, black strapless number with a very short skirt that was designed to show a helluva lot more than it concealed.

  “I take it back, Molls. I won’t be the one getting into trouble!” Rae whistled.

  “You won’t need my tatù if you’re wearing that!” Desiree laughed.

  “No worries.” Molly snapped her fingers. “I can create my own electricity.” She created little sparks with her fingernails, flicking them at the girls as they laughed and squealed, jumping out of the way.

  “I hate to break this party up, but I need to head down to the library to meet Nicholas and Kraigan to go over our presentation for Carter’s class.” Rae pulled the dress off and bent down to pull her jeans back up. She carefully handed the dress back to Molly who zipped it back into the bag with the speed of a clothing expert.

  “I have homework to catch up on as well,” Alecia said to Rae while Desiree and Molly still stood chatting by the mirrors. She swung the bathroom door open and stepped through ahead of Rae.

  Rae turned to say good-bye to Molly. From the mirror’s reflection she watched in horror as the antique beam above the doorway came crashing down. Alecia’s cry echoed against the bathroom tiles and glass as the heavy wood and parts of the wall and ceiling colla
psed on top of her. The sickening, dull crack of bone breaking reverberated through Rae’s body as a mixture of fear, helplessness and adrenaline flooded her being.

  “Alecia!” the three girls cried out together.

  Chapter 11

  What the–?

  Rae rushed forward and began frantically digging through the rubble to get to her friend. Using Devon’s tatù she used speed and his hearing to concentrate on Alecia. The poor girl was breathing brokenly, a whimper with every exhalation, but at least she was alive.

  “What’s going on?” Madame Elpis called as she raced up the stairs. “Oh my goodness!” She pulled an emergency button in the hallway and shouted for the students standing in their doors to get back into their rooms.

  “Alecia! Are you okay?” Another student Rae didn’t know began helping her clear the rubble. They touched hands and Rae picked up on her strength tatù. She mimicked it immediately and cleared away the heavy stuff. Together the two lifted the large beam off Alecia’s lower body. She lay prone, her head turned to the side, and her back twisted awkwardly. Please don’t be paralyzed. Please be okay.

  Rae leaned forward to check Alecia’s heartbeat. Her face was ashen. She had passed out. Probably from the pain. Maybe that’s a good thing.

  Men in uniforms raced up the stairs with a stretcher in tow. At least Rae assumed they were medic attendants. They could have been Privy Council workers for all she knew.

  One of them, a guy in his forties, politely asked them to step away so they could take care of Alecia.

  Rae stood beside Madame Elpis.

  “What in the world happened?” Madame Elpis asked.

  “I don’t know. We were just about to leave and the door frame came crashing down.” Rae breathed hard, panic and concern churning in her gut. Madame Elpis stood staring at the ceiling.