Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) Page 14

  “I can’t.”

  “You won’t. Do you see her, over there, in the green capris?” There was a gorgeous brunette who was sitting at a table, reading a book and sipping on an Icee, off by herself, oblivious to the action all around her. “Go talk to her. She won’t bite you. You might even find that she’s fun to hang out with.”

  “Have you heard anything I’ve said?”

  “Yeah, and I think it’s a crock of crap. Love can’t be dictated or treated like a business deal. It’s in your heart. If you don’t follow your heart, how are you ever going to be happy?”

  “I’d be so happy to know that I was responsible for our blood line coming to an end.”

  “Bruce already took one for the team. You four are free to do whatever you want.”

  “You’re right, and I want to do things the traditional way.”

  “Okay, but don’t look down your nose at me for not buying into the whole blood line thing.”

  Brent wasn’t as angry as he had been, but I guessed he knew he wasn’t going to win this argument, so he stopped trying. As we were walking toward the gate, the girl in the green capris looked up from her book and smiled at Brent; he lost his stride and nearly tripped. I jabbed him in the rib with my elbow and offered to get her number for him.

  His only response to me was a glare. Had it come from anyone else, it would have shrunk me two inches on the spot.

  Brent didn’t want to go anywhere else. We got into the car; he turned up the stereo and headed straight back to the house. I tried to read his mind, not certain that I wanted to know what he was thinking, but I kept coming up empty. I got the feeling that he was going to say something important, but we were in the driveway, and he still hadn’t said a word. I wondered if I touched him, like I did Drake, maybe I could read his mind, too. I lost my nerve – I wasn’t sure what he’d think of me purposely trying to read his mind. Tomorrow I’d have to ask Gretchen about etiquette when it came to listening to other’s thoughts.

  As he shut off the car, I broke the silence, “I asked Gretchen about the Lost Herd today.”

  “You what?!”

  “You didn’t tell me I wasn’t supposed to.”

  Brent let out a heavy sigh, “What’d she say?”

  “She told me I wasn’t supposed to ask and some stuff about a Centaur named Rupert that killed his own kids.”

  “Rupert? She said his name was Rupert?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I need to show you something.”

  Chapter 20

  We were standing in Brent’s room. His was masculine, no flowers or vases on any of the surfaces, but one thing caught my attention. He, too, had a fireplace in his room, and above the mantle hung an identical print to the one in my room: the same white mare set on rolling hills. It felt like it was significant, but this wasn’t what he’d brought me in to see. A large tapestry hung on the wall with a family tree embroidered on it. The trunk of the tree showed two names, Rupert and Genève, with hundreds of branches. I noticed one near the top left bore William and Gretchen Strayer’s names and each of their sons branched out from them.

  “That could just be a coincidence.”

  “Oh yeah? Mom hides it every time we have guests at the house. It’s like she doesn’t want anyone to see it or something. Here look at this.” Brent rolled the tapestry up. When it was rolled to the top, little ties hung down to secure it in place. It looked like an enormous scroll, and a print of a dog asleep hung on the wall underneath the tapestry.

  “That doesn’t prove anything.”

  “The Lost Herd didn’t become human the way all the other Centaurs did.”

  “Are you nuts?”

  “What’s so nuts about it? It explains a lot.”

  “Gretchen told me Centaurs were never really part horse. They were just super fast, so people drew our ancestors as part horse.”

  “You believed her?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I already told you.”

  “Because I was born? Did it ever occur to you that maybe most Centaur men don’t have affairs? The ones that do are probably smart enough to wear condoms.”

  We both heard footsteps outside his door and froze. It didn’t seem like we were doing anything covert, but Brent got nervous and motioned for us to stay silent. We heard the footsteps walking further down the hall, and Brent pointed to the door, covertly trying to sneak out of his own room. He, more so than any other person I’d ever met, needed to find a girl – he was a borderline freak.

  Monday night was a night with the whole family, even Bruce and Hannah. I was surprised to see Brent pull out board games, and everyone decided on Cranium. I’d never played, but it was fun, and we played three rounds before I started to see yawns around the table.

  I’d left my phone out in Brent’s car and went out to retrieve it. As I locked the door to the car, Hannah surprised me by clearing her throat; she’d been just a few feet away. “Oh, geeze, I didn’t realize you were right there. How’s married life treating you?”

  “Good so far, two days down, another fifty or so years to go.” When she smiled she had this way about her, like she carried a few rays of sunshine with her just in case she needed them.

  “So where are you and Bruce living?”

  “A house just a few miles down the road. You should stop by and visit tomorrow.”

  “Uh, okay. Sounds good.”

  “Camille, it’s none of my business, but – I . . . you know. . . never mind.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I’m not sure. I keep getting strange visions about you. Be careful, okay?”

  “Strange visions, like what?”

  “They’re different every time I try to see your future.”

  “Ha, that’s the same thing Gretchen told me. I’ve always been a free spirit. Gretchen says it’s like the heavens forgot to write my destiny.”

  Hannah gave me a nervous smile, “Yeah, I can’t describe it. Maybe it’s because this life is so new to you or something. I woke up this morning and had a vision of you in a garden crying. I’d never seen the garden before. It looked a little like the one at Middleton Plantation, but it wasn’t one I’d ever been to before.”

  “Why was I crying?”

  She chewed her lower lip as if deciding whether she could tell me. “I’m not sure. It seemed like someone important had died or something. Like I said, it was just a quick flash. Once I see a vision, I can usually recall it and try to make it more vivid, but . . . when I did that with this one, it changed. I can’t describe it, but I feel like something bad might happen to you. Just be careful, okay?”

  “Thanks, Hannah. Do you know who died?”

  “That’s the thing, I don’t know. There was this big guy standing there watching you. It was just weird.”

  Goosebumps formed on my arm. I felt tingles all over and wanted to press her for more information. Some of the Centaur nonsense seemed like a bunch of old traditions just for the sake of having traditions, but Hannah’s warning gave me pause. I wondered who it could have been who died. If it had been someone in my family, she’d be warning them, not me, right?

  As I reached for the front door, my phone rang. It was Daniel. Hannah waved and went back to the house without me as I answered the phone, “Hi, Daniel.”

  “Hey, Hot Lips. You didn’t call me for a ride from the airport. Everything must have turned out okay.”

  Brent stepped out on the porch where I was talking to Daniel. “I didn’t talk to her today.”

  “Uh huh. Bad news doesn’t get better with age. Stop avoiding her.”

  “I’m not avoiding her.” Brent gave me a strange look. I wished there was an international hand signal for GO BACK INTO THE HOUSE!

  “Lying to both of us isn’t the best choice either.”

  “I’m
not lying to her. I haven’t talked to her!”

  “Did you try calling her?”

  “I haven’t had a minute to myself all day. I will.”

  “Call her now, Cami.”

  “This isn’t something I can say over the phone.”

  “Why not? You told me over the phone.”

  I lowered my voice, “It wasn’t your fiancé.” I saw Brent listening to my half of the conversation. It wouldn’t take long for him to piece it together. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Don’t chicken out, Cami.” I hung up before he could get anything else out. Great, if Brent puts this together, I’ll never hear the end of it. I put my head down and walked straight through the door, up the stairs, and to my room, so I could avoid Brent. As I lay there looking at the ceiling, I thought about what Hannah had said. The more I thought about it, the less plausible it became. I didn’t know anyone with a big garden. Even if I did, the only person I ever thought I couldn’t live without was already dead. Maybe that was it. Maybe it would be like Brent told me and someone would send my mother’s spirit away. Losing her for good after I was so close to having her again would destroy me.

  My phone rang again. I looked at the screen and saw it was Bianca calling. I took a deep breath, ready to answer, but chickened out at the last second. I pushed ignore, then plugged it in to the charger and turned the ringer off.

  “Mom, if you can hear me, I need to know what I’m doing wrong. Gretchen said you were right there the whole time today. Why can’t I see you? Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me for finding Will? I need to know if this Centaur stuff is for real.” I didn’t move. I tried using all my senses just like Gretchen told me to, but nothing. “I need some answers. My whole life I never asked you for anything. I’m asking you for this now.” My voice broke; I could barely hear my own words when I whispered, “Please just let me see you.” I looked in every corner of the room and saw nothing. “Dammit, Mom. Hannah said I’m going to lose someone,” I felt tears threatening to erupt. I choked them back, “If it’s you, before I find you . . . then . . . it’s game over. I can’t lose you twice. Help me.”

  Absolute silence was all I heard. The scent of the fresh flowers from the dresser was all I could smell. I saw nothing. I cried myself to sleep as my mind replayed Hannah’s warning. Somehow, someway, I would find a way – no matter how long it took.

  I woke up Tuesday morning to sunshine peeking through my window. I took a deep breath and smelled warm cinnamon rolls: they coaxed me out of bed and to another full day of wasted trying. I may not have been able to communicate with my mom, but I found that I totally liked Gretchen. She had the patience of a saint, and every time she’d see me start to get frustrated, she’d find a way to lighten the mood.

  When my brothers arrived home Tuesday night, I steered clear of Brent. I just didn’t want a repeat of last night. Beau offered to take me for a walk. We were outside and several hundred feet away from the house before he said anything.

  “So, I get the feeling you aren’t very happy here.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You know, I’d believe you if you had any acting ability at all. Didn’t you grow up in California? Don’t they teach acting classes there in school?”

  I couldn’t help but smile at his attempt at humor. “I’m just frustrated with myself.”

  “Anything I can do?”

  “Yeah, tell me what I’m doing wrong. Gretchen’s tried everything under the sun, and I still can’t talk to my mom’s spirit.”

  “Maybe you’re trying too hard.”

  “Maybe I’m not really a Centauride.”

  Beau looked me straight in the eye. “Camille, it takes some time. You can’t snap your fingers and expect twenty-two years of repressing your gifts to suddenly disappear. They won’t materialize out of thin air.”

  “That’s the thing, Beau. I don’t know that I ever repressed anything. I’ve never had any special powers. I wouldn’t care that I didn’t have them if every woman around me couldn’t easily do the one thing I can’t.”

  “Awww, that’s not true. There’s lots of Centauride things you can’t do.” Beau mock punched me in the shoulder, “Even if you stay broken forever, we’ll always claim you.”

  “If you’re trying to cheer me up, newsflash: You suck at it!”

  “I’m not used to these little sister pep talks. Maybe I need more practice, too.” Beau took me in a tight bear hug and whispered, “Things’ll work out for ya. Hang in there. It’s only been a couple days.”

  My left eye leaked at his encouraging words. I wiped it away hard. “Yeah, you’re right. I think I’m going to turn in early, see if maybe I have better luck tomorrow.”

  Beau nodded, “If you ever need someone to vent to, I’m always here for you, Cami.” It struck me tenderly; Beau was the first person in my family to call me “Cami.” Camille always felt so formal. I’d used it more and more as I’d gotten older, but still preferred “Cami.”

  I found myself staring at my ceiling for the third night in a row. Both Daniel and Bianca had called today, but I didn’t call either of them back. I couldn’t call Bianca because I still didn’t have a clue about how to tell her or even if I should tell her about what happened on the boat. I couldn’t call Daniel because he would be furious with me for not calling Bianca. Tomorrow would be better. It had to be.

  Chapter 21

  Bianca - Wednesday

  My plan had worked, better than I could have ever hoped. Although I had chosen Drake, I knew fate had chosen another for him. Grace told me of their intertwined futures. She cautioned me not to interfere, to let them find each other. I just needed to make sure Camille and Drake were given enough opportunities alone together to realize the same destiny. I genuinely liked Camille, and my words to her the night of Bruce and Hannah’s wedding were absolutely true. No matter what choices she or I made in life, we would remain best friends. If I could just get her to meet with me, I could do a little more nudging in Drake’s direction. I looked at my phone. I was getting close to being a stalker. I’d left her seven voice messages and not one was returned.

  I made up my mind that if she wouldn’t pick up the phone today, I’d go see her. I hated pretending that I didn’t know they were destined for one another. When I was forced to make my decision and I couldn’t have the man I loved, I did the next best thing. I chose his closest friend, knowing if anyone were to back out on a wedding, Drake would be the most likely. Truthfully, I was a little surprised that he accepted my parents’ offer to begin with. It was sheer luck that Camille appeared out of thin air, and more fortunate still when Grace called me in a panic Saturday morning to tell me not to let Camille and Drake meet at the wedding. In Grace’s words, “If the two touch, their fates will be sealed. The two are destined for each other.” Little did Grace know that I had no desire to settle down with Drake and only too happily would arrange for the two of them to meet.

  Drake was handsome and everything, but I really only chose him because of his friendship with the love of my life. I didn’t know Camille that well, but Grace was adamant that the two of us would become the closest of friends. Saturday night, I’d shared with Camille that Drake hadn’t been my first choice. After I’d told her, I began to wonder if I may have shared too much – she was the only person in the world that I had shared the truth with.

  Even without Camille in the picture, I knew I could string Drake along for years if I had to, to come up with a way to make the destiny that I wanted work. Drake would never pressure me, nor would he feel it necessary to begin our relationship before our marriage.

  The ache I felt for Gage was too much. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I needed to hear his voice. I hadn’t heard it in a month. He answered my call in a gruff voice, “You shouldn’t be calling me, Bianca.”

  “Hello, Sweetheart, do you miss me?” />
  “Don’t call me Sweetheart. You’re engaged, Bianca, remember? Why are you calling me, anyway?”

  “It’s just one old friend calling another.”

  “It’s cheating, that’s what it is. I’m not having any part of it.”

  “I just wanted to hear your voice. It seems like forever.”

  There was a really long pause, then he finally whispered, “Why?” I could hear it in his voice, his feelings for me were as strong as ever.

  “Why, what?”

  “Don’t play dumb. Why Drake? He was my best friend. You couldn’t have picked some schmuck? You had to choose Drake?”

  “I had to choose, and I’d been forbidden from you. I didn’t want someone who I could ever have feelings for. We’re going to work this out, I promise. It’s still you.”

  “I can’t do that to him, Bianca.” His words stung. The month since news spread of my engagement to Drake had to have been hard on him, but no harder than it had been on me.

  I tried to reassure him, “It’ll work out, I promise.”

  His words were clear, concise, and full of pain, “You can’t call me anymore, Bianca. It’s over. We’re over.”

  “It’s not over. I won’t let it be over.”

  “You’ve already chosen. If you reject him now, his blood line’s finished. No one will ever have him and you’ll owe him a blood debt. You can’t do that to him, Bianca. This thing between you and me - we’re done.”

  “Let me worry about that. Just don’t go strutting around where another Centauride can see you. If another chose you, my heart would break.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. It’s always been you, Bianca. My whole life, all I ever wanted was you.” He hung up. It felt like he had reached into my chest, pulled out my heart and squeezed it like Play Doh. He was right. I should never have chosen Drake. I should have stood my ground against my mother’s wishes, but it was too late to undo what I’d already done.

  I wanted to buy time, figure out a way to be with Gage. I had refused to consider what would happen to Drake once I announced I’d changed my mind. I knew Drake well enough to know that if I backed out, he wouldn’t demand a blood debt because of his friendship with my real first choice. But if I could just get Camille to convince Drake to break our engagement, everything would work out perfectly. My mother would give me her blessing no matter whom I chose, to avoid the embarrassment of a jilted daughter.