Exaltation (27 page)

She fell to her knees on the sidewalk. Emotions, which had no foundation, were ripping her apart slowly as hot, angry tears raced down her face.

She felt sick and couldn’t make it go away. Before she knew it, she
was
sick. Now on top of everything else she was mortified.

The walkway was not deserted. Some souls were sleeping out there; others were strolling hand in hand. Raven stood up and walked farther down the bank. The river was letting off a cool breeze, one she was clinging to, that she needed to calm herself down.

Raven was sure she had read that entire time in the Veil wrong. She had no doubt one of those girls in that room had her name, that must be why he said it. He was saying he was sorry to her because he was a player—AKA the biggest
regrettable
she had
ever
met. Right when Raven found her balance Jamison appeared. He pulled her to him and rocked her side to side as he caressed the back of her head. The same way he did when she was a little girl and had a bad dream, or fell and scraped her knee.

All at once he tensed.

“Who let you out?” Raven heard him say.

Now Raven was scared.
Did he follow us out? The dead boy?

Raven slowly looked up from Jamison’s chest. It wasn’t the Cashton boy. It was a man, about Jamison’s age. Dark eyes and hair, well built. And he most definitely did not look dead.

He extended his hand to my father.

“Charlie Myers, it’s nice to meet you,” he said with a pained stare. Jamison shook his hand.

“Jamison BellaRose.”

One nod came from the man, like he already knew. “She’s yours?”

“Is he yours?” Jamison asked.

Pain filled the man’s eyes. “I just found him.”

“You’re The Selected.” The man nodded once. “And that boy? Is he who I think he is?” Jamison asked with a nod to Raven. The Charlie man nodded once. “And here I thought The Selected had
honor
.” That statement might as well have punched the Charlie guy in the gut. His eyes filled with agony.

“I lost both my children, and we have barely found them again. He’s surviving. Trying to stay lucid. I doubt he’s aware of the path he’s on. First and foremost, he’s trapped. I have to find a way to get him out.”

“Then he needs to find a different way to stay lucid while you figure it out,” Jamison bit out. Knowing Raven would never believe him if he told her the boy was made of her soul and was worth waiting on.

“She’s young,” Charlie said, with a glance to Raven “They both are. I don’t know why Cashton was pulled in so soon.”

“It’s not my concern. I’m disappointed,” Jamison said again, looking like the stern southern businessman he was.

“When their time is truly meant to cross he will not be the same. The Creator must want them to grow,” Charlie asserted.

“That or your boy just royally jacked up a divine plan. She was led there yesterday.
By
the Creator.”

Charlie fisted his hand through his hair as he stared out at the river.

“It’s too early,” Charlie finally said.

“Best of luck getting your son in line. And all I can say is that I hope we do not move from too early to too late.”

Charlie reached to shake Jamison’s hand, then glanced at Raven. “It was an honor to meet you, Hartley Raven BellaRose.”

Raven’s eyes grew wide right as he vanished.

“Dad, what is The Selected and how did a ghost just follow us out—and what was that coded talk you just had? And more importantly, how do dead people know my name!”

He stared out at the river then finally down at her. “It’s a story I don’t think you want to know, not now, after tonight. It will sway your heart.”

“I’m not naïve. I went from thinking he was gone, that death had him, to knowing that to be true—that ghost is seduced by the world he’s in.”

Jamison knew it to be true, knew that at best Raven was nothing but an illusion to him now, a thought he couldn’t grasp in the position he was in. That didn’t make him less pissed at Cashton, though. The last thing Raven’s young heart needed to see was his actions.

“You should never strive to understand the unknown when your emotions are out of control. At the very least I’ve taught you that.”

Raven glanced away as she felt sick again.

“Listen,” he said to get her attention. “You are a half to a whole and that half is going to protect you far better than I can when it comes to the likes of your fate. This business with Rydell, it’s not real and you know it. Don’t let this night cast you in the wrong direction—every move you make impacts others on a scale I can’t even begin to explain clearly.”

Raven glared into thin air finding it impossible to believe Rydell’s coven had wronged hers so badly, so harshly her father wanted her to wait until ghost boy had managed to hook up with every hot little haunt he could find.

She liked her life better when acing school and mastering skating was all she had to worry about. When boys simply lingered in the background of her life.

She wanted to hate that ghost. Wanted to forget him and how he made her feel in one transitory moment but knew she was too weak to do so. None of it seemed fair to her.

“I just want to be me, Dad. I really like Rydell. He’s the only highlight to the past few weeks. Every time you or someone else bursts my bliss bubble he brings it back, even if it’s only the distraction of him.” She met his stare. “Just let me be right now, let me figure this out in my own way.”

Jamison clenched his jaw before he spoke. “Forget what we saw tonight. I’m not defending what you saw, but I understand what Charlie said. It’s very difficult to stay lucid in the Veil. Just do not hold that memory of Cashton in your mind. Promise me.”

Not an issue there. Raven was going to stomp out the memory of this night with everything she had—it was the only way she’d be able to stay sane.

When they walked in the kitchen door Emery tried to catch Raven, to help her through what she saw on her face but Raven rushed by her and crawled into her bed.

Every time the Cashton ghost came to mind Raven thought of Rydell. She told herself she had no reason to feel guilty for being his friend, or more. He was here—he was her happiness.

The war of emotions followed her into her haunting dreams.

Chapter Twenty-Four

It had been a long time since Rydell smiled for the hell of it. That smile was still on his face when he walked into his house and found Dagen and a few others from their faction. Dagen waved them off as soon as they saw Rydell. After a nod to Rydell they all vanished.

“That’s a big smile, King. And why are you covered in mud?”

“Just had a good night.”

“Glad you did,” Dagen said with a shake of his head.

“What happened?” Rydell asked as his mood fell.

“A whole lot of nothing. I can’t find Benjamin. Not on this plane.”

“Which means he’s with Revelin,” Rydell said as he felt fury wash over him.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Rydell swallowed a curse.

“The good news—no one can break the field Jamison has up. We tried all night just so I would know where we needed to have our people, so we could find the weak spots. There are none. Apparently adding us to the dome of energy he has made it invincible. Smart one, that Jamison. I made sure everyone was well fed, too.”

“We have to stop that.”

Dagen clenched his jaw. “I don’t know what Revelin said to you up there, but do you really want to heed his guilt trip? How do you know he was not riding your conscience? That he knew that if he told you that we had to avoid the curse it would starve us out.”

He had a point there. “We’re smarter than him. There has to be a way to find natural exaltation without evoking it.”

“Not as much as we need to fight our own fucking
sovereign
.”

Rydell knew that was true, but he still didn’t know how to solve his issue. “Send everyone out to have fun. Concerts, sporting events…send them to those masses.”

“That is not sustaining. Not personal enough.”

“Use that method and the reserves. I’m not going to order that we stop, but I am.”

“You lead us,” Dagen argued.

“Right. But I don’t know what this deal is between Raven and me. I gotta be careful.”

“It’s a headache,” Dagen spouted.

When Rydell threw him a glower Dagen refused to back down.

“I’m stating the obvious and you know it. I’m all for good karma but I didn’t hear Jamison promise this girl was
not
going to kill you all the same when she found her boy. And quite frankly that’s all that fucking matters. Too many people count on you, King. Don’t forget that.”

Rydell glanced over him, seeing a real fear in him.

He nodded once.

“Get some rest. We have been invited to dinner tomorrow,” Rydell said to Dagen. At that Dagen quirked his brow. “Yes you, too.” Rydell pulled off his muddy shirt. “Have you blocked Kade’s curse yet?”

“You know I can’t tell that, not until it happens. My plan now is to break the car, but I think that’s making it worse and him a better mechanic.”

“Any insight on Jamison?”

“All we know is what we dug up for Berries, which states he’s a witch you don’t fuck with, not an Escort. Maybe your girl can help you figure that one out.”

“Maybe,” Rydell said under his breath.

***

Raven still felt like hell the next day. Couldn’t get those images of Cashton out of her head or the confusion of her emotions to go away.

For the first time ever, she had to ‘act’ happy as she got ready for the cookout. Knowing Rydell was going to be there had her on edge, too. She was sure he would be the perfect distraction but at the same time she’d have to protect him from Miss Thelma Ray and the others. She had never brought a boy around before. He was sure to get the third degree.

As she got dressed she looked outside and saw a host of cars that didn’t normally come to these things. They belonged to people who were in the coven, the ones Emery called originals. They usually kept to their own for the most part, only showed up for big occasions.

“All of them are coming today?” Raven had asked Emery when she came up to check on her.

“All but two,” she said and then left without another word.

Great. Now Raven had to
really
be on guard if her theory about Rydell and Dagen being from another coven had any truth to it.

Raven woke the girls up before she went downstairs. She’d seen her father pull up out front. Rydell’s car was just behind him.

She found Rydell in the back with Soren and Kade. His back was to her so she acted like she was setting up chairs as she listened to them. She was curious about who he was when he wasn’t around her.

“You have stop being so tense about this race,” Rydell said.

“I got a lot riding on it,” Kade answered.

Raven was sure he felt that way. Kade’s entire family raced. He had always struggled with it. Raven wasn’t sure how difficult it was to just press a gas petal down, but if you were to hear racers talk it was an art form. Kade’s self confidence had always held him back.

“Then you will never really win. You have to do it for you,” Rydell urged.

“I can’t even fix the car. Every day something breaks. The next big race is for pinks. I need to win so I can get a ride that will always win.”

“Then build a car from the ground up. Put your blood and sweat in it. If you go into this the wrong way you will lose in the long run—I swear it,” Rydell asserted.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, man,” Kade said with a desperate sigh. He spotted Raven first. “Hey, River coming down?”

“She was up late last night. I just woke her up. It won’t be long.” She met Rydell’s stare shyly. “Hi.”

“Let me introduce you,” Raven said to him. “Little help.” She said to Soren nodding at Dagen. It would take her forever to get through everybody if she had to take them both. Soren nodded for Dagen to follow him.

Rydell slowly walked to Raven as his eyes moved over not only her, but the space around her. “Something happen?” he asked when he was just before her.

“Hard to sleep last night.”

“In a bad way?” he asked as the concern continued to fill his eyes.

Raven put her hand on his chest. “You kept the bad thoughts away.” And that was the truth.

As Raven introduced Rydell to all those who were there he felt an odd sense of déjà vu, especially when he met Saige and Evanthe. They didn’t say much but the way they looked at him had him a bit unnerved.

He’d crossed a lot of souls in his long existence, never witches though—every being knew that was a
bad
idea. So their scrutiny made no sense to him, he could only assume it was because they didn’t agree with the alliance Jamison had made with the Helco faction.

“That everyone?” Rydell asked as he glanced at the hard stare Saige was giving him from across the patio.

“Pretty much. Miss Thelma Ray is around, too. There usually aren’t this many people here. I guess you’re something to see,” Raven teased, still not sure why her Aunt and her friend were looking at Rydell the way they were. Why they glanced at her dad every now and again and shook their head slightly.

Approval or not I’m keeping him…
Raven thought with wry smile as she met her aunt’s gaze, then her fathers.

“River hasn’t come down,” Rydell said to her quietly as he nodded to Dagen who was trying to get Kade to crack a smile.

“I’ll go check on them. You’ll be all right?” He nodded once. Raven moved double time, not wanting to leave him alone for too long. The twins were not even dressed yet. They’d woke up and pulled the book out.

“Are you guys nuts? Food is seconds from the table.”

“Check it,” Ash said, raising her hand. “I think you have a sister or a cousin, maybe a few.”

“Do what?”

“It means cousin,” River said, pushing her notes to Ash. “This says seven sisters.”

“Seven!” Raven said with a gawk.

“I don’t think it’s blood,” Ash said.

“It’s not,” River agreed. “I don’t get the reference though.”

“Whoa, just stop. Kade is downstairs looking like he lost his best friend. We can’t do this tonight.”

“No, you have to ask your Aunt Saige about her daughter.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s her daughter.”

“Here is a news flash. She’s not my blood aunt. Dad told me so.”

“But this is the coven’s book. The one that reads like your dad is the old leader’s son, so that means in this book she is,” Ash argued.

“What?”

“There is even a name. Sky,” River said.

“No, lyn,” Ash protested.

“Maybe it’s one name. Skylynn,” River said as if she had an epiphany. Raven just shook her head.
You are both now insane—certifiable.

“We’re serious,” Ash said, shaking her notes. “I think she’s one of the seven, too. It says she’s shadowed. You have to find an evasive way to ask Saige about it.”

“Seriously,” River said. “I bet that Skylynn girl knows where the other sisters are—it’d be best to find them before all this hits. And they’re here in this dimension or so its says…The Queens resided in Infante.”

“Do what?”

“That’s our planes name to those who travel the other dimensions and realms—means young, and massive. A good place to hide from wicked monarchs who’d rather not be slain by young blood.”

Raven’s gaze darted between the pair of them.
Yep. Certifiable.
“Here’s an idea. Why don’t we take the books downstairs and have a powwow—instead of pouring through this we go to the source? And maybe find a way for you not to go to juvy?”

You would have thought Raven spoke a different language. Which meant the twins knew they would be in BIG trouble if anyone found out where those books came from.

“Get dressed or I’m telling on you.” And with that said, Raven ran out of the room.

They finally came down.

River’s stare didn’t go to Kade. Instead, she turned scarlet when she saw Dagen and then her flirtatious grin surfaced.

Rydell was the one who noticed it as he elbowed Dagen. “You trying be inventive in breaking that curse?” he asked in a low tone.

Dagen glanced over River. He had done so a thousand times before. The girl was hot, but he had too much on his plate to play games. “If that was an option I’d be all over it.”

“She’s seventeen,” Rydell said with a slant of his head, knowing Dagen didn’t have the control he did, not when it came to women.

“Almost eighteen,” Dagen countered. “Just drop it for now. I’m ready get out of here. We got stuff to do.”

“Any lead on Benjamin?”

“No, that’s why I got work to do.”

Rydell and Raven ate their dinner on one of the back tables with the twins, Soren, and Dagen. Safe from parental figures, but as soon as it was over the twins took off and Soren followed. Kade not so much. He said he had to work on his car and left. Rydell nodded to Dagen and without out a word he followed Kade.

Right about then two bowls were set in front of Rydell and Raven. Well, Raven’s was set, Rydell’s was nearly slammed. Raven had her favorite in front of her—carrot cake with extra cream cheese icing. She wasn’t sure what Rydell had. It looked like it was supposed to be peach pie. Yuck”

Miss Thelma Ray sat down right beside him and leaned forward with a furrowed brow.

Raven’s stomach flipped. This was going to be bad.

“Good luck,” she said under her breath as she nudged Rydell under the table. He glanced at her but his focus was on Thelma Ray. Where it should be.

“This is Miss Thelma Ray. I told you about her, remember?” Raven said a sweetly as she could.

Before he could utter a word Miss Thelma Ray spoke. “You have an old soul, son,” she said, glancing to Saige who had to decided to linger a bit close to Rydell.

Rydell nodded once.

“I see a warrior in your eyes.”

Rydell’s polite smile fell somewhat. “I fight for what’s right.”

“All the time?” Thelma Ray asked with a lifted brow.

“When I can,” he admitted.

“You fancy the swamp?”

Rydell moved his head ever so slightly back. Just then he was assaulted with emotion—good and bad—and it was daring him to open up closed parts of his soul he didn’t have time to fight.

“I take that as a yes,” Thelma Ray said as she glanced at Saige. “Ever get flashbacks of old wars?” Thelma Ray asked.

Rydell narrowed his stare. “I put wars behind me where they belong.”

“Thelma Ray, what’s this about?” Raven asked, not getting where she was going and clearly seeing that Rydell didn’t either. In Raven’s mind whatever tiff was between the covens was not Rydell’s or her fault, they were just kids.

“Just curious. You remind me of someone I know, respect.”

“Who?” Raven asked.

Right as Thelma Ray went to answer, Saige stepped up. “Rydell, come with me. I’ll get you a fresh piece of pie.”

Thelma Ray shook her head as Rydell went with Saige.

“What?” Raven said to her.