Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity Trilogy) (8 page)

The breeze outside fluttered through the window, moving the curtains I’d pushed back. I looked up toward the garage. In the fleeting second I glanced out the window, I saw a dark figure dart through the yard. I started to shrug it off thinking it was probably just a college kid playing a prank, but the figure didn’t move like a normal person, in fact, it seemed to glide. I leaned forward, closer to the screen to try and get a better look and figure out if something was really there, or if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

My face was inches from the screen, but I couldn’t see the figure. The shadow had run from the north side of the yard by the garage, to the south side by the backdoor. I felt prickles tingling up my arms. Considering Alex’s earlier reaction, I knew I should call for him, but he was anxious enough for the both of us and I didn’t want to alert him if I didn’t have to. My eyes refocused, scanning the backyard, but I saw nothing.

I took a deep breath, deciding my overactive imagination was terrorizing me, and started to back away from the window. As I did, inches from me, separated only by a flimsy window screen, two eyes appeared. They were almost silver, but whiter, shimmering and sinister. I didn’t want to look away. The eyes were terrifyingly bright and drew me in while I stood in horror. I couldn’t differentiate between the shining platinum irises and the whites of the eyes. Surrounding the eyes, I could see the dark shape of a head: a person.

The figure and I watched each other until finally, the scream that had been building in my throat released, shattering the silence of the house. The platinum eyes flickered and instantly grew dim, like the figure was backing away. But as it did, my scream still piercing the air, there was enough light radiating from the eyes for me to see a cunning, horrific smile flash across the figure’s face before it vanished.

The whole incident happened so fast. In the time it took for my scream to escape my mouth, and the eyes to vanish, not more than ten seconds had passed. Alex was immediately by my side, arms around me, his eyes searching my face trying to discern what had happened.

The breeze flirted through the window again and Alex bristled at the feel of the air, the realization streaming across his face. Alex dropped me from his embrace, reaching furiously for the window, slamming it shut, and locking it. He grabbed the curtains and jerked them closed. “Why was the window open?” he asked accusingly, his eyes darting around the room and back to the window.

It took me several seconds to compose myself enough to speak. “I was doing dishes and it was hot. I opened the window to get a breeze through the house,” I stammered, unable to get the memory of those shining eyes out of my mind.

Alex blew out a heavy breath in an effort to stay calm. “Tell me what happened?”

I wasn’t sure where to start and was beginning to question my own sanity. “I . . . I saw . . . something.”

“What did you see?” he was more apprehensive than I had ever seen him.

“I was washing dishes and saw a black figure run across the yard. I thought maybe all the stranger talk was making me see things, so I got closer to the screen to try and get a better look.” I took a deep breath, trying to shake the image of the eyes from my mind.

Alex coaxed me on. “What happened after that?”

“Two bright eyes appeared in front of the window screen. The figure kept watching me and when I screamed, the figure backed away. I saw it smile, then it was gone.”

The calmness was out of Alex’s voice now and rage returned. “Dammit, Evie! Why did you have to open the window? They must have connected me with you at the park and now they’ve seen you and know where you live.”

My body kept rippling with shivers, even as I felt the sweat running down my forehead. I stood motionless next to the stove. I knew I had made a mistake. I should have taken Alex more seriously when he told me about the danger we were in, but I never would have thought opening a window could be so perilous.

Alex saw me trembling, saw the horror in my face and pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me like a vice. “I’m sorry, I am
so
sorry. It’s my fault they’re here.”

“Who are they, Alex?” I asked, comforted by his embrace. “What are they?”

He was holding me so tight I could barely breathe and I felt his warm breath skating across my hair. He didn’t say anything at first, but eventually answered, “Remember when I told you about volunteering for an organization?” I nodded against his shoulder. “And that I help people get out of bad situations?” I nodded again. “These are the men and women I help people escape from.”

I moved back from his embrace and searched his eyes. Someone was looking for him and because of him, they were now looking for me. “What do they want?” I asked.

He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my cheek. “They don’t like my job,” he said. “I’ve compromised you. Now I need to figure out what to do about it.”

I wanted a better explanation than that. “Shouldn’t I know what’s going on so I can protect myself?”

“You don’t have to protect yourself,” he soothed, “that’s what I’m here for.”

I was still shaken up and Alex insisted on putting me to bed. I didn’t have high hopes of being able to sleep—the threat of nightmares was enough to keep me awake for days—but Alex sat next to me, stroking my hair, helping me relax. Even as I resisted it, I fell asleep.

I don’t remember what I dreamed, or if I dreamed at all. When I woke up, Alex was in the same position he had been in when I fell asleep. I could smell something wafting up from the kitchen. For a moment, I forgot about the events of the previous night and asked, “What’s that smell?”

“Bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Your favorites.”

I sat up and rubbed my eyes as I stretched my arms in the air. I got out of bed and Alex followed me downstairs. He gave me a plate of food and sat across from me, not getting a plate of his own. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. There was something in his expression that made my stomach tense.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked.

“I already did.”

Strange, I hadn’t noticed a plate in the sink as I walked through the kitchen. “How was your night? Did you get any sleep?”

“No,” he answered evenly.

I watched him, unable to read his expression. His face was hard and he seemed troubled by his thoughts. I started eating my eggs until Alex spoke abruptly.

“Evie, we can’t see each other anymore.”

My heart felt like it stopped beating and my face fell. “What are you talking about?” I demanded.

He remained stoic, but underneath his hard mask, I could see he was hurting. “Last night made me realize I’ve put you at risk. I need to find out how to fix this and to do that, I have to leave for a while.”

I rolled my eyes. Yes, the shadowy figure had been a shock and I’d been so scared I’d almost peed my pants, but Alex was overreacting. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that it was some college kid pulling a prank.

He narrowed his eyes. “There are things about me you don’t know.”

I shrugged and picked up a piece of bacon. “We haven’t been dating that long. I’m sure there’s a lot we don’t know about each other.”

Alex shook his head like I didn’t understand. “These are things of consequence. Things that could change your life.”

I took a bite of the pancakes Alex had made and they were fantastic. “These pancakes could change my life. Does that mean they’re going to break up with me too?” I asked, trying to joke and lighten the mood.

Alex smiled faintly and glanced at me. “This is critical, Evie. They know where you are.”

I threw my hands in the air. “Who knows, Alex? You haven’t answered any of my questions!” I decided I was done being nice and was plain mad. Alex actually seemed serious about breaking up with me over a stupid open window and some joker with glowing contacts.

“And it’s better you don’t know, safer,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding to himself. “They must have tracked us. I never should have put you in that situation, but I didn’t think the bond between us would be established so fast—or that they would be looking for it,” he mumbled rapidly, talking more to himself than me. He collected his thoughts and turned back to me. “I have to talk to some people about this. I won’t be gone, but you won’t see me.”

I stared at him trying to figure out what he meant, but my thoughts were interrupted by the realization that Alex had already made this decision without me and wasn’t changing his mind. “If the things that happened last night were as scary as you say, isn’t that more incentive for you to stay?” I asked. “To help keep the bad guys away from me?”

“Usually, yes,” he answered. “But right now, my being here is the reason you’re
not
safe,” he said, his mouth set in a hard line.

My anger was the only thing holding back my tears. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone, Alex. You’re egotistical, frustrating, and I wish you’d tell me what’s going on, but I still care about you. A lot.” I dropped my eyes and listened for Alex’s response, but the hum of the refrigerator was the only sound in the room. When I got the courage to look up, Alex’s expression reflected sadness, but the resolve that had been there at the beginning of the conversation was still present. “Why are you doing this?” I asked as numbness started to spread over me.

Alex walked up and put his hand on my neck caressing it, his fingers rubbing methodically, as if he were trying to rub away his memory. He started to open his mouth to deflect my question, but I grabbed his hand and locked eyes with him. “No. Give me one honest answer, you owe me that. Why are you really leaving?”

He searched my expression and as he did, the hard planes of his face seemed to soften slightly with relief. I wondered if he’d decided to actually tell me the truth. He brushed his hand across my brow, pushing my hair back, and kissed me lightly on the forehead as he said, “Because you’re beautiful.” Slowly, he trailed his fingers down my face and as his lips followed, he brushed a kiss over both of my cheeks. “Because you make me stop caring about consequences.” He moved back enough to look into my eyes as he leaned in. “Because the way I feel makes me more dangerous to you than anything in the universe right now.” He wrapped me in his arms and pressed his lips to mine in a passionate kiss, his mouth moving expertly with my own. As the kiss became lighter, I recognized it for what it was—a kiss goodbye. He broke from our embrace and held my gaze. “There are people who don’t want us to be together.”

I searched his eyes and managed to breathe out a ragged, “Why?”

He moved his lips to my ear, his breath hot on my neck as he whispered, “Because, Evie, I’m your soul mate.”

He turned and walked through the kitchen entryway. The front door clicked shut and he was gone.

At first, I was hurt and confused. I sat on the floor of my bedroom going over the conversation in my mind again and again. Dangerous. Someone tracking him. Things between us moved too fast. The one time I asked for an honest answer, he told me a plethora of things that seemed more like reasons he shouldn’t leave, and ended it with the kicker that he was leaving because he was my soul mate. Who uses that as a break up line? It made no sense. I needed clarification, some sort of closure, but I wouldn’t get that now. I picked at the specks of carpet on the floor and wondered if I’d lost the person I was supposed to spend my life with. And with that, the anger started to build, because I still didn’t know the exact reason he was gone.