Elfin (21 page)

Cassie nodded her head slowly then remembered that Elora couldn’t see her so
she added, “Uh-yeah.”

She heard Elora
let out a sigh. “I swear Cassie, I can’t decide if you have a unique sense of adventure or are just looking for the most original way to get yourself killed.”

“So can you cover for me? If you will come pick me up I can tell my mom
that we are going to hang out and then you can drop me off somewhere Trik can meet us.”

“Fine, but if you get yourself killed I reserve the right to flush your ashes down the toilet while I sing the theme from Titanic.”

“Elora you don’t sing.”

“Not the point.”

“So, you in?”

“Fine.
What time is QB going to be ready?” Elora asked.

“He said in an hour
or so,” Cassie pulled the phone away and looked at the time then returned the phone to her ear. “We’ve got about thirty-five minutes until he’s back.”

“Okay
, I’ll be there in twenty.”

Cassie grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom. She shower
ed in record time and then blow-dried her hair until it was just a tad damp. She pulled it back into a messy bun, looked herself over and decided that that was as good as it was going to get.

Downstairs
, Cassie found her mom pouring a cup of coffee. Her dad was sitting at the dining room table, trying to make a spot for his plate amongst her mom’s mess of papers.

“Hey mom, dad,” Cassie headed for the fridge and pulled out the milk. She grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and placed it on the counter. She turned to get the Lucky Charms cereal from the pantry but her mom already had it in her hand. Cassie took it and smiled at her.

“Sleep alright?” Sylvia asked.

“Yep.
Hey Elora called and she wants to hang out. Is that alright?”

Sylvia
lifted the cup of coffee as she answered. “That’s fine.” She took a sip and then pinned Cassie with the stare. “So when are we going to get to meet Trik again?”

Cassie’s head whipped around to see if her dad was paying attention. He wasn’t.

“Have you told dad about him?” Cassie’s eyes were wide.

Sylvia
grinned mischievously. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Cassie groaned.
“Come on, you know how he is. He will drill Trik for an hour and want to know everything right down to his blood type.”

“Well that could be important information. What if you needed blood and he was the only donor and your dad was the only person who was there to tell the doctors his blood type?” Her m om gestured to her. “See, then you would be glad that your dad was so thorough.”

“Seriously
, mom?” Cassie threw her hands in the air and marched into the dining room.

“So da
d,” she fidgeted with her shirt. “I met this guy, and we’ve sort of been seeing each other and I really like him.”

Her dad smiled up at her and it was a smile that said the cat has caught the canary.

“By all means, invite him for dinner. I would love to meet him.”

“Dad, promise you won’t make him fill out a form with all his information like you did with Cory.”

“That information was important. I needed to know his parents’ names and numbers. What if you two had been in an accident and we found out first?”

“You asked him his sexual orientation and if he had ever been sexually active,” Cassie folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot.

Her dad frowned. “I still say he was lying.”

“Wha
t, like it’s impossible for a seventeen year old guy to be a virgin?”

“
I believed that part. I was talking about the sexual orientation,” he told her. “I didn’t think I had anything to worry about with him.”

“Promise me.” Cassie stomped her foot. Her dad started laughing and when her face continued to stay contorted in anger he held his hands up in surrender.

“Okay, okay, I won’t make him fill out a form.”

“Or give him any
what if scenarios .”

“Those are important, h
e needs to be prepared.”

“Dad,” Cassie groaned
. “You asked the last guy what he would do if he was intimate with me and realized he didn’t have a condom.”

“And he got it wrong. The correct answer was I wouldn’t be intimate with your daughter
, sir. The dummy said, uh, not go any further.
”

“Dad,” Cassie growled.

“Fine, no scenarios,” he finally relented.

Cassie stared at him for another m
inute. A knock at the door finally had her turning away.

She opened the door to Elora’s scowling face.

“Hi sunshine!” Cassie plastered a huge smile on her face.

Elora stomped past her.
“Stuff it.”

“Oookay then,” Cassie muttered as she closed the door.

“So where is lover boy?” Elora asked as Cassie closed her bedroom door.

Before Cassie could answer,
Trik stepped out of her bedroom mirror.

He walked straight over to Cassie not even bothering to look at Elora.

“Well hello to you too,” she smirked at him.

But Trik
’s eyes were on his Chosen.

“Everything okay?”
She asked him when he was standing inches from her.

He smiled, but Cassie noticed it didn’t meet his eyes.

“Everything’s fine.” He stood there staring at her. He didn’t try to kiss her or touch her and Cassie was suddenly unsure if she should touch him.

Elora clearing her thr
oat finally breaking through their senses.

Cassie turned to look at her
friend. She stepped away from Trik and for the first time he didn’t attempt to keep her close to him.

“Elora has agreed to be my reason for leaving today. I’m going to leave
with her and meet you somewhere,” Cassie explained.

Trik nodded, “I’ll meet yo
u at the park downtown.” He stepped up to her and kissed her on the forehead and then he was gone, moving quickly through her window and away from her.

“Did something seem off to you?” Elora asked her.

Cassie nodded. “Maybe Lorsan took it harder than he thought.” Cassie said as way of explanation but not believing a word of it.

C
hapter 10

“I’ve given you my heart
; I’ve given you my soul. What else can I give? I’m asking you to stay with me. I’m asking you to pick us. I see in you the man you don’t think you can be, but I know you can. The man who has held me in his arms like I was the most precious thing in his world, that man cares, that man is who I need, who we all need. I’ve given you everything, what are you willing to give me?” ~Diary of Cassie Tate

Trik watched from the shadows as Cassie climbed out of Elora’s car. She waved at her friend and made her way into the park. Elora’s car didn’t budge and he knew that she wouldn’t leave until she saw him with Cassie. He watched as she looked around for him.
The words for him ricocheted off his mind. She was here for him . He took a deep breath and let it out. He wanted this day with her. He wanted to show her what he could give her.

He stepped out of the darkness moving quietly towards her.
He could have made his entire approach silent, she would have never known he was there until he touched her, but he didn’t want to scare her so he purposely snapped a twig with his foot. She turned at the sound and her eyes locked with his. He saw the apprehension there, the insecurity because of the distance he had kept between them in her room. His heart ached because he had put that look in her eyes.

“Hey,” she said in a small voice.

He shook his head as he reached her. “Don’t.”

Cassie looked confused.
“Don’t what?”

“Don’t look at me like you are unsure of how I feel for you.”

Cassie looked down at the ground not wanting to meet his eyes.

He placed a finger under her chin and raised her head. He waited until her eyes finally met his.

“You are mine, my everything. Never doubt that or the fact that I want you, I will always want you.”

He wanted to tell her he loved her, it was on the tip of his tongue, but he held himself back.
He felt the struggle inside him. His soul demanded he give her everything, but the darkness demanded as well and he had been doing what the darkness commanded for a very long time. Regardless of his soul’s cry he didn’t feel he had the right to say those words to her; not until he had dealt with Lorsan.

He stared in
to her eyes a minute longer. When he was satisfied that she had heard him he took her hand and began leading her to the small building that housed the park bathrooms. They slipped into the door marked for families and Trik walked straight at the mirror pulling Cassie with him.

Cassie’s breath caught as they emerged thro
ugh another mirror, this one led into a small cabin.

“Is this your place?” She asked as she spun around looking at the small
but clean space. There was a small kitchen with a sink, refrigerator and stove. A small table with two chairs stood in the center of the kitchen. Just past it was a living area with a fire place against the back wall and just past the fireplace was a door that she assumed led to the bedroom.

“It’s one of the places I like to
come to when I need a break,” he told her.

“It’s cozy.”

Trik laughed “That’s your way of saying it’s small.”

Cassie smiled, relieved to see this side of Trik. This is the Trik she knew, the one no one else saw.

“Come on,” he tugged on her hand and pulled her to the front door.

They stepped out onto a small porch and then walked down the steps into the
most beautiful forest that Cassie had ever seen.

Trik smiled at the look on his Chosen’s face. Though he had been there recently without her, and though it was peaceful, it was nothing compared to the peace he found with her standing in his place with him, where she belonged.

“It’s beautiful, Trik,” her words were breathy as she took in the tall trees, deep green grass, and beautiful flowers.

“I’ve never brought anyone here.” He didn’t know why he told her that, but he felt it was important that she know.

“Never?” She asked without looking at him.

He stepped up behind her and brushed her hair from her neck. He leaned down and ki
ssed her neck before whispering. “Never.”

Cassie stopped breathing as she felt his lips on her skin. She closed her eyes and soaked up the sensation, the feeling of having him close. She felt him slip his hand into hers and she opened her eyes.

“I want to show you something,” he told her with a grin.

She loved that grin.

She let him tug her forward and enjoyed the carefree way he moved. Usually he was deliberate in his every move, co nstantly watching for an attack. But here, here he was relaxed and open. Suddenly the trees cleared and opened up to a river and a beautiful high water fall. Her mouth dropped open at the site. The light of the sun shined off the water cascading towards the river. A rainbow reached out from the spray of the water fall, dazzling the surrounding trees. It was picture perfect. She was sure she had never seen anything so breathtaking.

“What do you think?” Trik smiled at her.

“It’s amazing,” Cassie didn’t try to hide the awe she felt.

Trik walked over to a large rock that sat over the river. He sat down and stretched his legs out in front of him. Cassie followed suit. She looked up into the sky and saw a sun, bright and warm on her skin.

“You have a sun?” She asked.

Trik chuckled.
“Of course we have a sun. Our realm isn’t much different than yours.”

“Is it all like this?”

“For the most part. There are some dark forests that few will go into.”

“Why, what’s in them?” She asked as she pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.

“The Forest Lords,” he said with narrowed eyes.

“I thought they were good guys.”

“It’s not because they are bad that no one goes into the forest. It’s because being in their presence is,” Trik paused trying to find the right word, “unsettling. They can see inside you. They know what is to come and what has already been.”

Cassie shuddered at the thought of someone knowing her future, knowing her past
, and knowing what was deep inside her.

“Those are the Forest Lords that Tamsin and Syndra want you to see?”

“Yep,” Trik tells her, popping the P.

“Are you going to?” Cassie looked out over the water as she waited for his answer.

Trik didn’t know what to tell her. He didn’t want to go to the Forest Lords for fear of what they would tell him. But at the same time, he wanted to go because he needed to know what they would tell him.