Tale of Life (Essence Series #2) (6 page)

“Okay,” she said. It was quiet for a moment and Calloway wasn’t sure what to do to break the tension. It seemed like she was waiting for something.

When Calloway reached toward her, she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips lightly against his. After he recovered from the shock, he returned her embrace and allowed his fingers to graze her hair. The smell of her skin was intoxicating and it reminded him of wildflowers, bright and colorful on a summer day. He pulled his lips away before the moment became too intense. The size of her petite waistline made his arms circle around her entire body, protecting her in the sheath of his touch. She was small, smaller than Easton, and it made Calloway feel huge, like his arms were the size of ancient tree logs. His hands lingered on her waist for a moment before he pulled away, hesitant to leave the sanctuary of her embrace. He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.” She smiled. Beatrice left his presence and searched for her car.

The blonde hair swayed behind her back as she walked, and Calloway stared for a moment, mesmerized by the sight. When he finally found his bearings he entered the building and approached Mr. Avey’s classroom. When he walked inside, he was grinning like an idiot, captivated by the feel of her kiss. He’d been walking around with this smile plastered on his face all day. he wondered if anyone noticed.

“You look stupid when you do that.” Mr. Avey smiled. He was seated at his desk, grading papers, and he looked up when Calloway entered the room.

His smile widened. “As long as I’m happy, I don’t care how I look.”

“So you and Ms. Reese, huh?” he said.
“Hawk’s former squeeze?”

“I can’t believe it either,” Calloway said. “And Hawk hasn’t been pestering me. It’s a dream come true.”

“Just be careful,” Mr. Avey said. He placed the stack of graded papers off to the side and pulled out a handful of essays. “Young love is always the hardest.”

“She and I are taking it slow—we’re just friends for now.”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

Calloway smiled. “I did kiss her last night—it was cool.”

“Cool?” Mr. Avey shook his head. “Was that your first?”

Calloway’s smile stretched wider. “Yes.”

“And how did it go?”

“Awesome.”

Mr. Avey laughed. “I am very happy for you. And I hope you stay that way.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Hawk hasn’t given you any trouble?”

“No,” Calloway answered. “And I don’t care if he does. There’s nothing he can do to ruin this happiness.”

“That’s a good attitude.”

“I suppose.”

Mr. Avey turned off his computer and grabbed his bag from under his desk. It was a brown leather satchel that his teacher always wore. It was falling apart from excessive use over the years, and rips and tears were becoming more prominent every day. “I have to cut this session short,” he said. “I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” Mr. Avey smiled. “Just a routine check-up, making sure everything works right.” He opened the classroom door for Calloway, allowing his student to enter the hallway first, and then locked the door behind them. “How is your essay coming along?” he asked as they moved to the exit of the building, reaching the winter chill of the afternoon air. The clouds were obscuring the sun, making an overcast sky, and the wind was blowing slightly through Calloway’s hair.

“Good,” Calloway said. “It’s convenient having a computer at home. Breccan uses it, too.”

“That’s very nice of you to share,” he said.

Calloway shrugged. “When Breccan steals it, there’s nothing that I can do, really.”

Mr. Avey laughed. “So you aren’t as nice as I thought.”

When they came to the parking lot, Calloway’s friends were waiting for him, leaning against the car door while Breccan ate another bag of chips from a vending machine. Easton was staring at him, her face a mix between disgust and surprise.

Mr. Avey stared at her car. “That’s a sweet ride.”

Calloway laughed. “I’ve never heard you talk like that before.”

“Well, dawg, school hours are over.”

Calloway laughed uproariously at his words, shocked that this teacher could speak in such a way. “I’ll see you later.”

“Have a good evening, Calloway.” His teacher opened his car door and tossed his bag into the passenger seat. After he got inside, he drove away from the parking lot and down the road, toward his house on the other side of town. There was loud music playing from his stereo and Calloway recognized the sound—it was Led Zeppelin.

He chuckled to himself as he shook his head then approached his friends across the way. They piled into the car and left the school grounds, heading to their home away from home, the Headquarters.

“Why are you so chummy with him?” Breccan asked viciously. “He’s just an old teacher.”

“Why do you care?” Calloway asked. “He’s a good instructor. And he isn’t that old.”

“You just hang out with him to get free stuff,” Breccan snapped.

“That’s not true,” said Calloway, stung by his hateful words. “I like him. He’s helped me a lot.”

“You’re a teacher’s pet.”

Annoyed, Calloway didn’t retaliate to his comment and tried to forget about the conversation altogether. There were nothing his cousin could say to change his mind—he liked his teacher. Easton drove down the street to the Headquarters, ignoring their argument as she changed the stations on the radio and searched for something to listen to, anything to drown out their insistent bickering. It was difficult to anger Calloway or annoy him, but his cousin’s constant comments were irritating him. First it was Beatrice, and now this. The approval of his friends was impossible to come by.

When they arrived at the Grandiose Historian Library, they came inside the building and checked for any wandering Hara-Kirs, making sure they were truly alone. When they discovered none, they came further into the room and placed their backpacks and supplies on the dark-wooden surface of the table. The Christmas tree still remained by the window, its lights sparkling in the dim library.

“Christmas is over,” said Breccan, who stared at the tree reproachfully. “It’s time to throw the tree on the curb. Let the garbage trucks haul it to the chipper.

Easton glared at him, appalled at his violent suggestion. “It’s still winter time.”

“So?” he said. “By that reasoning, the tree would be here until March.”

“I like having it here,” said Calloway, who stared at the decorated branches and the star sitting on top. In truth, he was indifferent to the tree’s existence but he wanted to annoy Breccan as much as possible. He wanted retribution for his insistent comments, and he knew agreeing with Easton was the best way to get it.

Breccan stared at both of them, shocked they could think such a thing. “You guys are weird.”

“You’re just mad there are no candy canes on it,” Easton snapped. Being called weird was the most offensive thing you could say to her and her eyes brightened in anger, hating the label. “Nothing is edible.”

Breccan rolled his eyes. “I’m never going to get rid of this reputation, am I?”

“Nope,” Easton and Calloway said together.

They stepped away from the tree and looked around the room, studying the dimensions of the library and the old paintings of depicted gardens mounted on the end of bookshelves. The library was full of bookcases and various tables, but the walls had no ornamentation and looked extremely bare. There was dirt ingrained into the surface of the wood and the carpet was saturated with ancient grime, leaving the air scented with the smell of must. It tickled Calloway’s nose—he wanted to sneeze.

“The portal must be behind the bookcases,” Calloway said. He stepped away from the table and approached the end of the study area. “The Hara-Kirs seem to appear from back there. That’s the only explanation I can think of.”

Easton nodded. “That sounds right.”

Breccan pulled out his knife as they walked toward the rear of the library.

“That isn’t necessary,” Calloway said when he spotted it. “We’ll hear it before we see it.”

Breccan was hesitant, uncomfortable by the prospect of searching for the portal unarmed, but then reinserted his blade after a moment, realizing his friends weren’t afraid of the danger so he shouldn’t be either.

They walked down the aisle of bookcases and entered the back of the library. There were three identical walls, constructed of indecipherable engraved images in the dark wood, and they connected together. Calloway stared at the drawn images in confusion. He didn’t recognize the picture.

When Easton placed her hands against the wall, she pushed the solid barrier with all her strength but nothing happened. Calloway wasn’t sure what she was trying to do. When she applied force again, she fell backwards onto the floor, landing on her shoulder. Calloway grabbed her hand and helped her to her feet.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She rubbed her shoulder for a moment. “Yes,” she said. “I’m okay.”

Breccan slid his hand across the wall then looked at the dirt under his fingers. “Gross.”

Easton glared at him, annoyed the Breccan wasn’t concerned for her at all.

Calloway stared at the wall for a moment but didn’t touch anything. There was nothing indicative about the three surfaces—they looked identical. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

Easton walked to the other wall and pressed her hand against it, feeling it under her fingertips. “I don’t even understand what we’re looking for,” she said. “I would assume that a wall would be a portal. What else could it be?”

Calloway placed his hand next to hers, but he, too, felt nothing. The surface was hard and solid; it wouldn’t move. “There must be a chapter about portals in the Kirin Book,” he said. “We might locate one after we read it.”

Easton shook her head. “I doubt it.” She dropped her hand from the wall. “They wouldn’t detail the positions of the portals—that would be stupid.”

“Your father didn’t tell you?” Breccan asked irritably. “Perhaps it’s in the trunk but you missed it.”

Calloway shook his head. “I read everything inside—it didn’t mention a portal.”

“We could just wait,” Breccan said.

“Wait for what?” Easton asked.

“For a Hara-Kir to appear,” he said. “Then we’ll know where it came from.”

“That’s dangerous,” Calloway said. “What if there are several?”

“And we haven’t seen one in a while,” Easton said. “They may have abandoned this portal because of our existence.”

“But how would they know that?” Calloway asked. “We killed them all.”

“You didn’t kill the two that followed you the night you stole the Kirin Book,” Easton said. “They may have told the others about your presence in the library.”

“Maybe,” Calloway said. “But I think that would encourage them to use it. They are looking for me, after all.”

Suddenly, Breccan sprinted towards the third wall and collided against the surface with a heavy thud. His body was pushed back and he fell to the floor, lifeless for several seconds before he rose to his feet. Calloway stared at him for a moment, amused by the amateur attempt.

“What the hell are you doing?” Easton snapped. “You could hurt yourself.”

“Too late,” Breccan groaned. He rubbed his arm then examined his leg for bruises. The lines around his mouth were tight in a grimace. Calloway cringed at the sight. It looked painful.

“You are so stupid,” she said.

“For the first time I’m going to agree with you.” He moaned. He leaned against the wall and caught his breath. “I thought you needed a running start to pass through.”

“Why did you think that?” Calloway asked.

Breccan shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “It sounded like a good idea.”

Easton rolled her eyes. “You’re the definition of stupidity.”

“Hey,” he snapped. “I tried, okay?”

“Stop,” Calloway said. He knew an infamous argument was approaching. “You guys can fight later.”

Easton sighed. “Well, the portal must be located in plain sight,” she said. “It must be hidden so someone won’t accidently pass through, but it needs to be easily identifiable to the seekers.”

Calloway nodded. “I agree.” He looked around the room and didn’t see anything identifiable. Every wall looked dull and solid, nothing that resembled a portal at all. “But I still don’t see anything.”

Breccan rubbed his arm, still massaging the pain from his limbs. “Maybe you need the portal key.”

“It’s in my pocket,” he said.

“But maybe you need to put it in the wall or something,” Breccan said.

“There’s nowhere to put it,” Easton snapped. She banged her first against the wall and the sound echoed in the room. “The wall is solid.”

“Just try it,” Breccan snapped.

Calloway pulled out the orb and held it against the wall—nothing happened. The glass was dull and lightless, blending with the shadows that stretched across the surface. He felt odd holding the glass orb against the wood—it clearly didn’t go there.