Conflicted: Keegan's Chronicles (22 page)

Anna put the photo on top of her stone
pentacle on the altar, face up. She lifted the ring, eyeing it once
more in the candlelight before sitting it on the picture.

She began folding the corners of the picture
in one by one, taking her time to make them meet in the center,
while she chanted,

“In the name of my lady and her consort,

And by the law of three times three,

Let this ring draw Keegan to wear it,

So from darkness she shall be free.”

She repeated the chant three times, securing
the picture-made envelope that held the ring with a black ribbon.
When it was ready, she placed it purposefully back on top of her
pentacle.

The candle holder was an antique Anna had
pulled from the attic. It was gold but had lost its shine a long
time before. Its greatest aspect was the hollow base, which allowed
her to position the holder over her pentacle and the talisman.

The pale pink pillar candle she had already
anointed with Cinnamon oil. The smell was divine and made her want
cookies. She fit it in the shallow dish of the holder and lit the
candle.

Lighting her sage bundle, she blew gently on
it to make it smolder and smoke, then wafted it around her altar in
the shape of a heart three times. She put it in the censor dish on
her altar to burn out. Clapping her hands once to signal the end of
the ritual, she declared, “Blessed be.”

She would burn the candle for 13 minutes
every night after sunset for 13 days to push the spell. Raising an
eyebrow at her handiwork, she smiled and felt pride. “Now, to see
if it works.”

***

Keegan’s mother wanted them to get to Alaska
a few days early so they could set up her new room. She had decided
to get an apartment right outside of the college instead of staying
in the dorms. For some reason, her father was very relived by this.
She might get a roommate just so she didn’t have to be alone. At
the very least she was getting a dog. She still couldn’t believe
she was going to be so far from home.

“Keegan, are you ready to go?” her mother
yelled up the stairs.

“No, I’m not ready.”

“Well, we have to leave in a few minutes or
we will miss the plane.”

Keegan glanced around her childhood room and
wanted to crawl back in the bed and stay there. She was actually
scared to be going to a strange place all by herself. She didn’t
want to tell her parents that, though. Taking a deep breath, she
picked up her bags and headed out the door.

“Hurry up!”

“I’m coming, stop rushing me!” Keegan ran
down the stairs.

Her father and Thaddeus, who were going to
drop them off at the airport, were waiting at the door. Thaddeus
grabbed her bags from her which surprised her.

Once they got to the airport, her father
hugged her for a long time. Keegan wiped tears from her eyes.

“Stop crying, Keegan, you will be back next
month for your birthday. After that, for Thanksgiving and
Christmas.” Thaddeus looked down at his feet.

“You know you are going to miss me, little
brother.”

“Maybe a little bit.” He gave her a slight
smile.

“Ok, let’s go Keegan,” her mother said. “I’m
excited to get there and get your apartment set up. We have a lot
of shopping to do.”

Keegan smiled—shopping was the magic word.
“I really want my place to be cool. I was thinking to go for the
retro look. I hope they have good stores there.”

“Well, I wouldn’t count on that but we’ll
make do.” Her mother put her arm around her as they walked towards
the gate.

“Thanks for coming with me mom.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

***

Keegan had settled into a routine.
Thankfully, her earliest class was at 9:00 am so she got to sleep
in. She had started volunteering at the fish and wildlife service
where she made a few friends, but nothing that came close to her
friends from Tennessee. Donald had already come to visit twice. She
loved showing him around. They had fun going hiking, fishing, and
whale watching. She couldn’t believe how cold it got so quickly
there.

She kept in constant contact with Anna and
Lauren by text and Skype. They seem to be adjusting well to their
new schools, but they were all looking forward to returning to
Tennessee for Keegan’s birthday party.

Rourk boarded the plane, nervous
anticipation racing through his body.

Soon, he would see Keegan again. It had been
almost a year since he had laid eyes on her. He had no idea what
her reaction would be when she saw him.

Leaning his head against the seat, he closed
his eyes and thought of her. Of course, all he could see was
darkness. He longed for the days when he could close his eyes and
see her face clearly. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

He was trying to mentally brace himself for
her rejection. He hoped he would be able to hold himself together.
Noticing that he was gripping the seat tightly, he released his
fingers. Thankfully, it was a short flight home.

When he got off the plane, his father was
there to meet him. It was nice to see a familiar face in the sea of
strangers.

“Rourk, you look great,” his father said,
shaking his hand.

“Thanks, Dad. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. Let’s get you home so you
can cook me something to eat. I’m surprised I haven’t wasted away
without your cooking skills.”

Rourk laughed. “That sounds good. I’m so
sick of the mess hall food.”

He tossed his bag in the back of his
father’s truck and settled into the passenger seat for the drive
home. The familiar highway felt good. To Rourk, Tennessee would
always be home no matter where he lived.

“So you still want to give Keegan the ring?”
his father asked, never taking his eyes off the road.

“Yes, I am going to give it to her.” Rourk
paused, then gave a wry grin. “Well, I’m going to try to give it to
her. She might turn me down.”

“I’ve been thinking about it and I’m glad
you are going to try. You are right. You are an elf and that is
what chosens do.”

Rourk was slightly surprised by his fathers
change in opinion, but he let it slide.

“I will know soon enough.” Rourk relaxed his
posture and leaned his head back on the seat.

“How is training going?”

“It’s going good. There are some good guys
there. I’ve noticed a few other creatures of the light. The
training is actually fun now that it’s mostly just weapons and less
of the mind games.”

“How’s Tommy?”

Rourk smiled. “He is doing good. He has
really taken to the engineer program. He’s actually a very
intelligent man. We’re both going to 1st Group.”

“That is great. Some of my best friends I
met as a team guy. I should probably look some of them up now that
I think of it,” his father mused, his eyes far away.

At home, Rourk cooked steaks and potatoes.
It was nice to navigate his kitchen again and he couldn’t wait to
sleep in his own bed.

It took all of his self control not to go
over to Keegan’s house. He knew he had to wait till tomorrow. His
pulse quickened at the thought.

Rourk went for a run in his woods and
enjoyed the crisp fall air against his skin. Once he got home, he
jumped in the shower let the hot water wash away the tension. He
wondered if he should call Thaddeus and find out what Keegan’s
plans were so he knew when the best time to visit would be.

Wrapping a towel around his waist Rourk
walked down the hall to the kitchen and pulled out a soda from the
fridge.

Greg had the newspaper open on the table in
front of him. “Thaddeus called while you were in the shower. He
wanted to let you know you were invited to Keegan’s party tomorrow
at three.”

Rourk grinned and shook his head. Why was he
not surprised? Thaddeus was something else.

***

Rourk woke up tense knowing that today, he
would find out, for good or worse. He walked into the kitchen,
where his father was sitting down with a cup of coffee.

“Dad, can I see the ring?”

“Of course, let me go grab it. It’s in my
room.”

“Your room? I thought you always kept it in
the safe.”

Greg paused, then smoothly said, “Oh, well I
got it out when I knew you were coming home.”

Rourk poured himself a glass of orange juice
while he waited, and sat down at the table, stealing his dad’s
newspaper. His father came back in, holding a small green velvet
box.

“Your mom would be happy to know you were
passing it on.”

“Hopefully passing it on. You are more
positive than I am, Father.”

Rourk took the box and slowly opened it. It
had been years since he had looked at the ring. It was beautiful;
it had been in their family for generations. He picked it up and
inspected it in the light. The ruby was large and oval set flush
within the antique etchings and diamonds. It almost seemed to be
glowing.

He wondered if Keegan would like it. “It is
beautiful.”

Greg nodded. “Yes, it is. Your mother loved
that ring. I don’t think she ever took it off.”

Rourk glanced over and noticed his father
was still wearing his simple gold wedding band. Rourk placed the
ruby ring back in the box and snapped it closed. “I’m going to go
for a long hike. I need to clear my mind.”

***

Rourk looked at his watch for the hundredth
time. It was now 2:30; he needed to head over to Keegan’s. Taking a
deep breath, he put the ring in his pocket and yelled out to his
father, “I’m leaving.”

“I hope it works, Rourk.” His dad came to
the door. “I’m proud of you, son. I know this is not easy.”

Rourk grimaced and walked out the door. He
climbed into his old truck and closed his eyes as he turned the
key.
Please, let
this work.

He entered the long driveway at Richard’s
house. There were several cars parked out in front of the house.
Great.
He
hadn’t thought about having an audience.
Pull yourself together.

One last deep breath and he opened the door.
Stepping out of the truck, he felt his pocket to make sure the ring
was still there. Head held high, he marched up to the door. He
didn’t even have to ring the doorbell. Thaddeus opened the door as
he approached.

“So good to see you, Rourk.” Thaddeus
grasped his hand and smacked him on the shoulder.

“Thanks.” Rourk stepped into the house and
glanced around looking for Keegan, but she was not there.

“Everyone is down in the den.”

Rourk’s stomach was in knots as Thad led him
to the den. There were a few of Keegan’s friend’s sitting around
watching TV. The shapeshifter had his arm around Keegan and she was
smiling.

Rourk wanted to rip his throat out.

“Keegan!” Thaddeus yelled.

She turned, startled, and jumped to her
feet, staring wide-eyed at Rourk. “Oh.”

The tiger had slithered to his feet beside
her, his body tense.

Everyone’s eyes were on Rourk. He was so
full of conflicting emotions about seeing Keegan that he was
letting their stares get to him. The faces in the room no longer
looked happy. Rourk must have crashed the party.

“Hello, Keegan. I told you I would be back
for you on your birthday. Here I am.”

Donald stood taller and moved closer to
Keegan, his arm around her shoulders. You could cut the tension in
the room with a knife. The movie was playing in the background but
it might as well have been complete silence.

“Rourk, I don’t know what to say.” Keegan
shifted uncomfortably. “I thought you were still in training.”

“I am. I took a weekend pass. I don’t break
my word.” He pulled the ring out of his pocket and opened the
box.

Keegan’s hand flew over her mouth. She
shrugged away Donald’s arm and walked towards Rourk as if she was
in a trance, her eyes on the ring. Once she reached him, she
reached out for it, quickly pulling her hand back as if it were on
fire. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

“It’s beautiful, just like I’ve always
imagined it would be,” she said wistfully.

Rourk’s heart was in his throat. “It’s
yours, Keegan.”

“It’s so pretty. The lights are dancing all
around it. Why are there sparkles coming off it?” Keegan reached up
above the ring and pinched at the air, giggling.

No one in the room said a word, watching the
exchange.

“Maybe I could just try it on?”

“Of course you can.” Rourk pulled it from
the box and Keegan started giggling like a little kid, bouncing on
her toes.

“It’s calling me. It’s telling me to just
put it on. How can a ring talk?” Keegan laughed. She sounded as if
she were drunk.

Rourk took her hand in his and slid the ring
on her finger.

Keegan gasped, jerking her hand away from
Rourk and staring wide-eyed at the ring.

“How could you? You tricked me!” Keegan
yelled at Rourk, glancing back at Donald before she wrinkled her
nose at the ring as if it were diseased.

Rourk stared at her confused. “Tricked you?
What do you mean?”

Keegan reached up and grabbed the back of
Rourk’s head, pulling him to her and kissing him greedily. Almost
as quickly, she shoved him away. “What did you do?”

Rourk started at her, and touched his
lips.

“How could you do this to me? You didn’t
even give me a choice?” Keegan was freezing, goose bumps racing
across her skin. She looked around the room and everyone was frozen
in place except her and Rourk.

Rourk looked around the room. “Keegan, are
you okay? I didn’t trick you. I am your chosen. I am supposed to
give you this ring on your birthday. It’s tradition, you know that.
I’m pretty confused myself. Why is everyone frozen?”

“A side effect of the black magic. When I
get angry, I freeze things. They will be okay once I calm down.”
She stared down at the ring and whispered, “It’s back.”