Tale of Life (Essence Series #2) (23 page)

“It looks good,” Breccan said, dropping his hands to his sides.

Easton ran her fingers through a strand of hair. “Are you sure?” she asked hesitantly.

Breccan nodded. “You look amazing,” he said. Easton’s cheeks blushed at his words. “Now let’s head back before we miss our own graduation!”

When Calloway turned back to the school, he felt his heart stop at the sight before him. Two Hara-Kirs stepped out of the shadows of the gymnasium then returned to the darkness a second later. His body froze from the fear coursing through his veins.

“Did you see that?” he asked.

Easton nodded. “Everyone has their weapons, right?” She lifted up her dress and pulled the knife from the sheath around her thigh. Breccan’s eye widened at the sight of her bare flesh.

It took a moment for Breccan to collect himself. “But we can’t do this now,” he said harshly. “The graduation is about to begin. There is no way we’ll make it in time.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Easton said.

“And what will we tell our parents?” Breccan asked incredulously. “
That we just forgot where to go
?”

“Who knows what their plan is,” Calloway said as he tightened his hold on his blade. “Perhaps they intend to attack the students.”

“I doubt it,” Breccan said. “It seems like they are always looking for you.”

“We can’t assume anything,” Easton said. “Let’s go!”

They were about to step away from the car when they saw Hawk emerge from the parking lot, donned in his cap and gown. He looked at them for a moment, not noticing the blades tucked behind their backs, and then glared at Calloway before he continued forward. Instead of meeting with the other students, he walked the opposite way of the line, directly toward the two lurking Hara-Kirs.

“This is too perfect.” Breccan smiled. “I’m so happy right now.”

“
You better be joking
,” Easton snapped. “Those Hara-Kirs are going to kill him!”

Calloway stepped forward. “We have to save him.”

Breccan stared at them both, his eyes narrowed with an incredulous gaze. “You know that’s Hawk, right? He’s the guy that tortured us all year, the one who broke the camera, which
my
parents had to pay for.” He shifted his gaze to Calloway. “He’s the same guy that pushed
Weston
. Face it; the world would be a better place if he wasn’t in it. We aren’t killing him by not intervening—we are just letting him be killed.”

“We aren’t wise enough to make that decision,” Calloway said simply. “I can’t determine who should live and who should die—it isn’t my place.”

Easton walked to the sidewalk, almost running in her tall heels. “We don’t have time to discuss this—we need to move before it’s too late.”

Breccan followed her with an annoyed expression. “This is so stupid.”

“We are committed to protecting the Life,” Calloway said to his cousin, running to the building. “It isn’t our purpose to determine who should be saved.”

“I can’t believe we are doing this,” Breccan spat when they rounded the corner. “If I even get a scratch from the Hara-
Kira, I’m going to kill you! I can’t believe that I’m risking my life for this jerk.”

When they reached the back of the building, they saw Hawk walking toward the football field with the Hara-Kirs following right behind him, almost upon him.

“Run!” Calloway yelled.

They sprinted along the wall until the Hara-Kirs sensed their approach, hearing their loud footsteps hammer against the hard surface of the concrete. They faced Calloway and his friends with defensive stances. Hawk continued to walk forward, oblivious to the impending battle behind him.

Calloway reached the Hara-Kirs first and pierced his blade into the heart of the closest one. The creature hissed as the knife was impaled deep into his flesh, releasing a river of blood from the open wound. Calloway ripped out the knife and took another swing.

Easton ran behind the Hara-Kir and stabbed it in the back while Calloway slid his knife into another section of the heart, killing the Hara-Kir instantly. When he pulled out his blade, he turned to the second Hara-Kir, who was slashing at Breccan with a knife. Breccan kept his distance and ducked out of the way of the weapon as it swirled by his head.

Easton ran to the creature and forced her knife into his back, while Calloway grabbed the arm that was swinging for Breccan’s throat and pinned it to the creature’s side. Then he stabbed his blade inside the chest of the Hara-Kir, making it scream. Now that the knife wasn’t aimed at his throat, Breccan approached the Hara-Kir and added his blade to the trio, severing the last section of the heart.

The creature fell to the floor alongside his comrade. When Calloway pulled back their hoods, he saw that they both looked identical to humans. They were both male.

“Can only men be Hara-Kirs?” Breccan asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “It would be nice to have a woman for once—a lot easier to kill.”

Easton glared at him. “Women can be just as powerful as men.”

“No, they can’t!” Breccan said. “It’s a known fact that men are physically superior to women.”

“
Most of the time
,” Easton snapped. “But not all the time.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Calloway interrupted them. “We need to drag these to the car and dump the bodies later.”

“I don’t want those in my car!” Easton yelled.

“It’s only for a few hours,” Calloway said. “We can’t leave them here.”

“Fine,” Easton spat as she grabbed the wrist of one Hara-Kir. “I better not get blood on my gown.”

“I’ll grab this one,” Calloway said as he tightened his grip on the ankle of the Hara-Kir. “You two get that one.”

They pulled the bodies back to the car and deposited them into the trunk. Fortunately, there was no one around because everyone was attending the graduation, so there were no witnesses to their suspicious activities.

“We need to hurry,” Calloway said. “We may have already missed it.”

They ran to the staging area of the students and barely reached the end of the line before it disappeared onto the football field. Easton fixed her hat and Calloway tried to wipe away a drop of blood on his robe, hoping that someone wouldn’t notice the dark stain.

They followed the line until they were led to their chairs on the football field, which were organized into rows all the way down the grass from one goal post to the next. The three of them sat in the very last row, away from the stage where the commencement was held. Calloway wondered where his aunt and uncle were seating. He felt someone staring at him, and when he looked toward the source his gaze locked with Weston. She stared at him for a moment before she looked away. Her indifference broke his heart. Calloway forced his gaze to the stage and he listened to the principal make his speech, along with the superintendents and a few of the teachers, but he wasn’t really listening.

“What do you think they wanted?” Easton asked, not interested in the speeches that were being made. She kept her voice low so the other students couldn’t hear her words.

Calloway shook his head. “I really don’t know,” he said. He raised his hand over his brow, blocking out the setting sun that was beaming onto his face, making him sweat. “But I would prefer it if you didn’t mention this to Weston.”

“Why?” she asked. “She would be happy knowing that you defended Hawk out of duty, not letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment.”

“No,” he said. “She’ll assume that they were following me, which they probably were. Let’s just forget about it. They were killed so there is nothing to tell anyway.”

Easton sighed. “Okay,” she said. “But I wonder why they are all men. Why wouldn’t women be a part of their calling?”

Calloway shrugged. “Since we don’t know enough about them, I can’t say. But if I had to guess, I would assume that they only send men into combat because they tend to be stronger than women.”

“Possibly,” she said.

“So, when I say the exact same thing, I get yelled at?” Breccan snapped from his seat on the other side of Weston. His eyes were wide with anger and he clenched his fists at his sides. “Do you have a thing for Calloway or something?”

She glared at him. “
You said men were superior to women
—nothing like what Calloway said. And no, I don’t have feelings for Calloway!” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him. Her lips were tight, forming a thin line. “I thought that was obvious.”

“Not from where I’m sitting,” Breccan spat.

Easton rolled her eyes. “You are unbelievable.”

“So are you!” he hissed.

The boy sitting next to Calloway glared at him, silently commanding him and his friends to remain quiet. Calloway turned to Breccan. “Have this conversation later,” he whispered.

“There is nothing to discuss,” Easton said. “I’m done!”

“That makes two of us,” Breccan snapped.

Calloway rolled his eyes, knowing every effort he made was a lost cause.

The principal returned to the microphone and Calloway was relieved that they would begin dispersing the diplomas, ending the long ceremony. His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him how hungry he was. This was a rare occasion where his aunt and uncle would take them out to eat, something that only happened for birthdays or special occasions.

The principal gripped the sides of the wooden podium and leaned into the microphone on the stand. “Every student sitting on his field should be proud of their academic achievement this far in their careers. I, along with the rest of staff, know how hard these students have worked to reach this special day. But there is one student here that showed exemplary work through her studies and assignments, and who achieved the highest grade point average of the class. We welcome Easton Rivers to the stage.

Everyone in the audience clapped loudly at the announcement of the valedictorian, including the graduating students sitting in the rows of chairs. Even Beatrice was clapping, despite her previous hatred for her rival. The only person who showed indifference was Hawk, who was sitting quietly in his seat with his hands in his lap.

Calloway and Breccan looked at each other, both shocked by the announcement of the name. Yes, they knew Easton was smart, but they had no idea that she was the smartest student in the class. She never mentioned it.

Easton rose from her chair and fixed her dress, smiling at her two friends. “Wish me luck,” she whispered.

Calloway smiled. “You won’t need any.” When she turned around, he saw that the back of her hat was decorated.
I IS SMART.
Calloway laughed in spite of himself.

She walked down the row and moved through the middle aisle, ascending the steps at the end of the row. Her shoulders were back and her posture was perfect, making her seem taller than she really was. The stands of brown hair swayed in the slight breeze and the sun highlighted the natural color of her hair. Calloway heard Weston screaming from the stands.

“That’s my little sister!”

The sound of her voice made Calloway smile.

Easton shook hands with the principal, who had a fake smile plastered on his face, and then she approached the podium with a straight back and perfect smile. There were a lot of common features between Easton and her sister, but Calloway had never been attracted to his friend in the same way, not how he was with Weston. The color of their hair was identical and their skin complexions were the same. The lines of their lips had the same curves but Easton didn’t have the beloved freckle in the corner of her mouth. Easton was much shorter than Weston, reaching only to Calloway’s shoulder. He loved Weston’s height. She was easy to hold. Calloway glanced at his cousin and saw him stare at Easton so intently that it seemed like he was afraid to blink, concerned that he would miss even a second of her speech.

The sound of applause continued, and Easton patiently waited for the sounds of the crowd to die down before she spoke. Calloway clapped loudly, trying to keep the sound of applause going as long as possible. He pressed his lips together and whistled loudly. Breccan yelled Easton’s name a few times after he recovered from the shock of the moment, that Easton was their valedictorian.

“I know you are all expecting an exemplary speech from me, especially since I’ve been honored with the title of valedictorian, and while I’m honored with the appointment, I didn’t prepare a speech for this evening.” Easton kept her eyes glued to the sea of people in the crowd.  She locked her gaze with Calloway’s, or so he thought, but it was possible that she was looking at Breccan instead. It was difficult to tell from this distance. She pulled a strand of hair from her face and continued forward. Calloway thought her speech was gutsy. No one ever admitted that they failed to prepare for a major event, but then again, Easton wasn’t like other people, which he didn’t mind. Calloway loved her exactly the way she was. “The whole purpose of any speech is to reflect the moment that you are experiencing, sharing that feeling with those around you, but in truth, I didn’t know how I was going to feel tonight, so any essay that I composed wouldn’t do this moment justice. So this is what I have to say:” Easton took a deep breath then her smile returned to her face. Calloway nodded along to her words, already entranced by her speech. A smile stretched across his lips while he listened to his best friend address the entire student body. He had never been more proud of his friend. Everyone in the bleachers sat completely still while they listened to her. There were no conversations or hushed whispers circulating around the field. Easton had the attention of everyone. “While I feel incredibly accomplished and gifted, I know this success wouldn’t be possible without the educators at this school, particularly Mr. Avey, who I hadn’t had the honor of having him as my teacher. But I know that he is an exceptional instructor that cares a great deal about his students. Without teachers such as he, there would be no students sitting on the football field before you. Secondly, I would like to say that I was wrong about high school. All I wanted was for it to be over—to move on with my life—but now I find myself soaking in every moment of this evening, sad that I’ll never be a student at this high school again. I’ve always been different, and because of my uniqueness, I was bullied and teased relentlessly, choosing to lose myself in my studies. So, I also owe my success to all the students here who hated me because I was different. So, I thank you as well.” Calloway laughed at her message. What a better way to ridicule those who were rude to her than to do it while she was standing above everyone else, being honored for being such an amazing student. “But the part that I will miss the most is finding my closest friends—those that I will keep in my life for the rest of my days. While I wish we had met sooner, I am grateful for the time we’ve had together as well as our adventures. You are my family.” She paused for a moment and smiled at Breccan and Calloway. They both nodded to her, moved by her affectionate words. “Now I’m expected to enter the real world and make a contribution to the economy, making a difference in our society. With the education that I received, I am more than certain I’m prepared for this journey. And the last thing I want to say is this: Just because every student here isn’t the valedictorian doesn’t mean they are not noticeably intelligent and capable. Everyone here is successful tonight and I have no doubt that we were will continue to succeed in the future. So, thank you to everyone who made this experience possible, our loved ones, our friends, and our teachers.” Easton raised both hands and jumped into the air. “Now let’s have some fun!”