Crimson Echo (12 page)

“Yes.” I answered too quickly.
I couldn’t tell if he noticed.

           
We followed a gravel path that led around the back of the campus, it wound around trees and a small pond and continued for miles. I stumbled several times and he had to catch me just as many. Our hands swung inches apart, I fought the urge to reach out and touch him. I could feel the electric heat radiating from his direction and it had the hairs on my arm standing at attention.

“So, do I get to hear about you today?”
I asked hopeful.

“You can’
t wait until after lunch?” He laughed, veering from the gravel path.

“Do I have too?”

“You find me that interesting?” He looked amused.

“
Why do you answer every question with a question? It’s frustrating.” I admitted taking a seat next to him on a large decorative rock.

“I apologize.
I certainly don’t mean to frustrate you.” His lips turned up slightly into a half smile, which made me think he enjoyed frustrating me more than he let on.

“Well
, you do.”

“What would you like to know?” He shifted so that he was looking me in the eyes.

“Your necklace,” I blurted out. “It’s similar to mine, what does it mean?”

His body tensed and he took a deep breath, waiting a moment before he answered. “It’s a family heirloom, we all have them.”

“Does it mean something?” I asked again.

“It’s a symbol my ancestors chose thousands of years ago. The sun is something bright and warm, it’s pure.”

“
We all have them
?” I repeated him.

“My family is the last of our bloodline. I have two older twin brothers: Kole and Kaleb and an older sister named Sabrina.”

“Do they go here too?”

“Yes, my brothers are students and my sister teaches here.”

“And your mom, I heard she was the Dean.”

“She prefers
‘Head Mistress.’ It makes her feel more important.” He laughed quietly.

“And your eyes
that day in the cafeteria, they were red.” I bit my lip, knowing how absurd I sounded.

“Allergies?”
It almost sounded like a question. He fidgeted uncomfortably beside me as he waited for the response he knew was coming.

I cocked an eyebrow to let him know I didn’t believe a word he said.

“Your
eyes
were playing tricks on you Tristan, my eyes are clearly blue.” His face went blank.

“They are now.”
I stuttered.

“I see you have a… healthy… imagination.” He winced.

“I know what I saw! When you touched my hand your eyes changed.” I fought back tears as the frustration overwhelmed me and then I reached for his hand to test my hypothesis.

“Tristan, please,” he pulled his hand away before I could touch it. “Please don’t do this.”

I placed my hand back in my lap and that’s where I left it. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself focused on the objective at hand.

          
Sensing my irritation, he reached over and clasped my hand in between his. They were warmer than before and he trembled. I stared at our hands for a second and then back up at his face. His eyes were closed and his teeth clenched. I sucked in a breath and caught myself. He was even more beautiful in the light of the sun, almost too beautiful. I was intimidated by his perfect olive complexion and I wanted to be close to him, even though he was still hiding something from me.

“Don’t look at me.” He gasped through his teeth as he turned his head away, never letting go of me.

“It’s okay.” I held on tighter and with my free hand I turned his face toward me. My lips were inches from his and his smell invaded my nostrils. “I’m not afraid.”

“You should be!
I’m not who you think I am.”

“Is this what you meant when you said you were flawed?”
I remembered our conversation from that first day in the empty library.

“Something
like that.” He nodded and slowly opened his eyes.

“I don’t care. Kane, I like you and I don’t feel that way often. I don’t feel that way ever.” I breathed evenly.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for.” His face looked pained.

“For the first time in my life I know exactly what I’m asking for, I know exactly what I want.”  My heart raced with each word I spoke. I felt alive for once. Everything was so much brighter with Kane around and I didn’t want to go back
into the darkness.

“This is hard enough without getting feelings involved.” He frowned.

“But there are feelings involved,
my
feelings!”

“I can’t bring you into this, there is too much at risk and I don’t want to put your life in danger too.”

“I don’t care about the risks, I care about you! Aren’t you listening to me?”

“Her famous last words,” he mumbled. “Look, when everything is settled and the dust clears I’ll be the first to let you know, but until then I think we should keep our distance. Like I’ve said before, if these people that are after my family and I
, find out you have anything to do with us then you’re as good as dead and without a means of protecting yourself, I just can’t risk it. Do you understand?”

I nodded.
“Who are these people and why are they after you?” I prodded a little further since he seemed to be in a sharing mood.

“I guess I might as well tell you.” He gave in too
easily. “I have some estranged family members who have gotten themself into some trouble over the years. But nothing like this, they messed with the wrong people and took something from them and as payback they want them dead. Unfortunately, they also want the rest of us dead and anyone else close to us. Do you see why I’m so adamant about you keeping a healthy distance now?”

“Can’t you just go to the police?
”

“This isn’t a matter for the police. They’d stand no chance.”

“Oh, I see.” Those were the only words I could muster up to convey that I understood.

“Good.” He sighed. “You’re very stubborn, let’s not dwell on this anymore.”

“But what about the lady with the black eyes, she was obviously sending a message which means they know about me. Wouldn’t I be safer if you were around, just in case anything was to happen?” I felt a thrill run through me as I realized I had
him cornered.

“I suppose you’re right. You’re doomed no matter what, so we
might as well do it right.”

“I’m glad you see it my way.” I let out an elated giggle, but he shot me a look that stopped me
dead in my tracks.

“I want you to be serious about this, it’s not a game. It’s our lives on the line here.”

“Sorry.” I said meekly.

He s
queezed my shoulder and laughed as he leaned into me.

“You’re alright Tristan Young.”

            Not long after, he reminded me that we still had classes and we made our way back through the maze of trees.
Once inside the building we separated and went in different directions. I turned to watch him walk away until I could no longer see him and then slipped into my first period class. My conversation with Kane went nothing like I had planned it to and now that I could focus clearly again I realized that. It was starting to become very apparent that his presence was throwing off any coherent thought I could form.

            That day at lunch everything seemed like it was moving in warp speed and I was at a standstill.
The cafeteria was buzzing with chatter as everyone found their way to their tables and caught up on idle gossip. Talk of a Halloween dance was starting to become the main focus of everyone’s attention. No one knew if we would have one or not since Echo High was barely standing, but the sound of hope was evident on a multitude of tongues. I couldn’t care less about a stupid dance, mainly because I wasn’t any good at it, nor did I have a date.

            In the midst of all the chaos and clamoring something caught my attention. It was one of those feeling you get like someone’s eyes are burning a hole through you and you instinctively turn around. 
When I turned around I was surprised to see Kane leaning against the cafeteria’s door frame with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes on me. He smiled and nodded his head. I wasn’t sure what that meant so I stayed where I was. The rest of the week went on in about the same fashion— I would look up to find him standing in a different corner each day, keeping an eye on me as promised.

           By the second week Kane was still keeping his distance, but he moved to a table now. We never spoke in or out of school, but his attention was unwavering toward me.
It didn’t keep me from worrying any less though. After a while I started making excuses to talk to him, I couldn’t help myself. After the conversation we had behind the school, I thought it was going to go somewhere, but it didn’t. He was able to stick to his side of the bargain far better than I ever could and he reminded me to keep my distance when I confronted him about it.

            After getting over the embarrassment of pursuing a guy that obviously didn’t want anything to do with me
, I let it go— the expectations and fantasy that I’d meticulously created in my head could never coincide with reality in any way, shape or form. When I got home I locked myself in my room and allowed myself one final sulk away from the public eye. As I plopped down on my bed I heard a thud, instead of the bouncing of springs. Looking under the bed I spotted the culprit: a red, leather bound book.

            With my stolen merchandise in hand I opened the glass door to the veranda and took a seat on one of the old wo
oden benches outside my door. It was the perfect day for sitting outside, there was a slight breeze and the sun was mostly drowned out by the light pink clouds in the sky. The wind would occasionally blow the soft scent of freshly cut grass my way and it reminded of the days when I spent every waking hour playing in the summer sun.

            As I thumbed through the worn pages of the book
, a picture of a sun peeking out from behind a half moon caught my attention. I remembered Kane’s necklace connecting to mine and wondered if there was any significance to it. I continued to turn the pages until I reached the first paragraph. In bold, italicized words it read:
Crimson Echo, a book for those who search for truth, but in the end relies on proof. Release the mysteries inside, don’t be afraid to take the ride. Once you’ve learned what’s left to know, release it not to any foe.

          
Flipping to the first page of the first chapter I noticed it was blank. The rest of the book was just as empty. I stopped somewhere in the middle and sighed in frustration. Just as I was about to close the old, red book words began to appear as if by magic. I blinked my eyes furiously, trying to make sense of it all, but the words stayed exactly where they were on the paper as I started to read it aloud.

Eons ago a prophecy was foreseen that an ethereal beauty would be sent to deliver many from evil.
She will be recognized as the first born descendant of the Devotos de Luna. The beauty will take command of her kingdom and rule over all of her people. In this great time of need she will face many trials, trials that will prepare her for what is to come.  Many will try to seize her power and her throne. When she beckons to you take heed.

            I failed to understand the
significance of the passage and quickly slammed the book shut. It seemed to speak in riddles and code, but I wasn’t in the mood to decipher it. As I sat on the second story balcony outside of my room I tried to imagine the ‘ethereal beauty’ that would one day come. I thought it over for a quick second and tried to remember whether or not I had heard a fable like the one the book had mentioned, but nothing came to mind.

            With my book in tow, I got up from the bench and headed back toward the house, when suddenly something caught my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Quickly, startled, I turned around and was met by a streak of black and then Kane was standing in front of me.

“Kane, what are you doing here?”

“I… I was just coming to check on you.” He hung his head.

“Check on me, why? Is everything okay?” I stepped closer to him, reaching out for his hand and then pulled away remembering the deal we had made about keeping our distance.

“
I felt I should come by and see how you were. I know it hasn’t been easy on you being left in the dark like this, but it really— I cut him off.

“I know
, ‘it’s for the best.’ I can’t keep playing this game with you Kane. One minute you’re hot and then the next minute you’re cold. I can’t keep up and frankly I’m tired of trying. You want to protect me from God knows what, but you don’t want to be around me. Does this make any sense to you, because if it does, please explain it to me.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing her
e.” He admitted, with a tortured expression. “I’m just trying to do what I feel is right.”