Four and a Half Shades of Fantasy Read online

  Chapter 2

  Proverb of Truth

  Just as she was about to throw her hands over her head for what little protection she could offer herself, Rae’s neck was jerked sideways, she went flying through the air and landed on dry dirt with a thump. Before she could react, warm arms wrapped around her body, forcing her head against a hard chest. They rolled together a bit and, and just as they stopped moving, Rae felt and heard the impact of the paneling hit the ground exactly where she’d been standing a moment before. Dropping her head back against the ground, trying to remember how to breathe after having the air squished out of her lungs, she opened her eyes and waited for them to focus. The cute guy lay on top of her, and the wooden beam had crashed down in the spot where she’d just been standing. The cute boy rolled off, but not before she got a thrill from the smell of his musky scent with a hint of delicious aftershave. Wow…

  She stayed on the grass, unable to tell if being winded came from the fall or the boy. Rae spat some dirt out of her mouth and did a mental check. Nothing felt broken or even hurt too bad. Still dazed, she stared up at the building, trying to figure out if what had just happened was real. The shoulders and heads of two men in hard hats popped through the window.

  “Everyone all right down there?” the one wearing a white hat shouted.

  The boy glanced at Rae then called back up. “I think we’re fine, but you guys are nuts!”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. We’re done for the day now, anyway.” The men laughed and disappeared inside the window. Rae thought it seemed a bit rude of them, but had other more important things to focus on at the moment.

  The boy dusted dirt and grass off his knees, then held his hands out to help her up. “I’m Devon Wardell.”

  Rae wiped her forehead, feeling dirt and grime mix into her skin. Great first impression Rae. She forced her attention back to the boy and nodded, her gaze drifting from his handsome face down his lean torso and along his bare arms. There, below the elbow of his right arm, lay a tattoo of a cute little fox with big ears. She blinked and sat straight up, silently pointing. Suddenly afraid all of Molly’s crazy talk might be true, Rae didn’t have the courage to ask.

  “It’s a Fennec fox. They’re originally from the Sahara Desert.” Devon’s expression remained serious.

  “You don’t have long ears.” Molly stated as she stepped over Rae to stand next to him. Rae could hardly believe the lack of concern for her well-being. Gee, thanks roomie.

  Devon laughed. “No, I don’t. Most of us don’t actually take on the look of our ink.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he winked at Rae. He swallowed and then opened his mouth to speak, but Molly started before he had a chance.

  “That’s so cool! So, what’s your gift? I mean, besides the speed thing we just saw. Did you figure it out right away?” She moved in front of Rae, blocking her view.

  Devon sighed and sat down on the grass and Molly followed suit, settling next to Rae and actually leaning into her, making Rae wonder what she’d done to deserve having her personal boundaries invaded. However, it wasn’t of the utmost importance at the moment, since Devon was again talking, flashing that dimple her way. “No, I didn’t. The morning I turned sixteen, I had no idea of the tatù’s power. My father’s got almost the same one, but we never talked about it.” He stared up at the sky and snorted, then he smiled at the girls.

  “That night I figured it out quick.” He gave a wry chuckle. “I got me some pretty cool nocturnal gifts.”

  “Awesome night vision?” Molly asked.

  “Yeah, and incredible hearing. Plus, Fennec foxes can jump, and are super fast.”

  Understatement, Rae thought. Speeding-bullet fast…

  “Fantastic!” Molly dropped to the ground and sat close to Devon. “I can’t wait! Only three more days for me. My father’s got some zigzag line, which he uses at his jewelry shop and a few other places he owns. It’s like he’s got a pair of jumper cables instead of hands! Hopefully, I’ll have something more girly for my power.”

  Rae finally found her voice around the same time her brain caught up to the conversation. “Wait. Your dad’s got a tattoo?”

  Molly gave her a funny look. “Of course. Your parents bo–”

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” Devon cut Molly off.

  Rae didn’t miss the move, wondering what it was about, but was unwilling to re-direct his attention back to the conversion. “I’m fine, I think.” She stretched her back. “Just shocked, that’s all.” Which was putting it mildly. I just narrowly avoided death, and am now surrounded by people obsessed with tattoos who also have superpowers. Fantastic…Sure…I’m great…

  “Rae!” Molly turned, as if suddenly remembering the recent traumatic event. “Wow! You could’ve been killed! Glad Devon saved you, or I’d get stuck with some dolt of a roommate.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “What about you? Do you have any idea what yours is going to be? Any help from your dad? Or mom?”

  Devon elbowed Molly in the ribs, but kept his concerned eyes on Rae.

  “I…uh…my folks…” Rae didn’t know what to say or think. Why would her parents have anything to do with this? Could what she was hearing even be remotely possible? Strange as it might seem, she knew it was true. It just seemed to make sense deep down inside, even though she couldn’t pinpoint why. Or…I could be going crazy… Her stomach clenched and rolled. She suddenly felt woozy. “I…um…I think I need to walk around a bit and get some fresh air.” She started to stand.

  “Wait. I’ll come with you. In case you pass out or something.” Devon reached for her hand and helped her to her feet. Once she was up, he didn’t let go, and Rae didn’t want him to. “Molly, think you could grab Rae a bottle of water or something?” He smiled, and the cute dimple appeared again.

  “Sure. I’ll meet you guys on the front steps of Aumbry House.”

  Rae enjoyed the thrill from Devon’s warm, strong hand in hers. She followed him down the sidewalk, concentrating on slowly breathing in and out. The dizziness began to disappear, but the dull pain of a headache beat at the back of her skull.

  They passed a building marked Joist Hall. “I’m sorry Molly threw all of this on you. For the record, we aren’t crazy. Headmaster Lanford told me you probably didn’t know anything about our ink-art.” He stared straight ahead. “The school isn’t sure how much your uncle or father might’ve told you.” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Did you know they both attended Guilder?”

  What? She planned to kill her uncle next time she saw him. She had obviously been owed a long conversation, stuffed with pertinent information, before he put her on the plane. But all I got was a stupid proverb. She shook her head. “Why do you know so much about me?”

  Devon laughed and patted her shoulder. “You’re quite the talk of Guilder at the moment—the English-American who convinced the headmaster, and dean, to open the college to girls.” He coughed, as if trying to cover his words. “Or, uh…you know, open another college for females only…technically speaking that is....”

  Wait a sec…Rae stopped in her tracks. “I didn’t convince anyone! I haven’t even spoken to the headmaster or the dean. One day I got a letter telling me I’d been accepted. I just assumed my uncle applied without asking me. He’s originally from Scotland, so I thought maybe he knew about this place.”

  Devon waited a few paces ahead. “Weird.” The puzzled look on his face turned to teasing. “Well, the faculty’s pretty excited you came. You might not know them, but, trust me, they know all about you.”

  “What’re you talking about?” She crossed her arms and felt the beginnings of annoyance emerge from her inner turmoil.

  “You’re special.”

  Rae’s face burned. Giddy from his comment, she couldn’t help but laugh. “No, I’m not. I’m just one of the average, quiet, sorta -smart girls. Though, at this moment, I feel pretty dumb.” She tapped the toe of one sandal against the heel of the other. “Why in the world wou
ld the dean, headmaster, or anyone else think I’m special?”

  “Because of who you are.”

  That didn’t make sense. “‘Cause I’m Rae Kerrigan?”

  “Yes, silly, and because of your parents.”

  “What about my parents?” Rae could hardly remember anything about them. She’d been so little when they died in that terrible fire almost ten years before.

  “I don’t think it’s my place to explain.” Devon nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Maybe you should talk to Headmaster Lanford.”

  “I plan to.” She chewed on her nail, imagining some scary, crazy principal dressed in long, dirty robes who spoke in proverbs of truth like her uncle. “What’s he…uh, like?”

  “He’s good. Big guy. Bad hair. You’ll like him, and he’ll answer all your questions.” Devon absent-mindedly traced his tattoo with his fingers. “Don’t pack your bags and jump on the first plane back to New York. Give Guilder a chance. It’s even better than the brochures say.” He grinned, showing his adorable dimple. “We’ll grow on you. And trust me, when you get inked, you’ll be glad you’re here.”

  “On my sixteenth birthday, like Molly said? I’ll get a tattoo on my arm?”

  “Nah, yours is on your lower back.” Devon’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “It’s way cooler on girls than guys.”

  Sexier was the word he didn’t say, but Rae could read it on his face. She’d seen tattoos on girl’s backs but never thought of them as anything more than ink. A tramp stamp. She needed to start taking notes if she planned to fit in at this school. “I guess I’ll just have to wait three days and see Molly’s.” She had so many questions bubbling inside her. She wanted to ask if they got to choose their tattoo or if they were pre-selected for them. Maybe they had some kind of list. If there was, when did she get on it? She pressed her lips together, not wanting to appear denser than she was sure she already looked.

  “Sure, or some of the older girls will show you.” He pointed toward Aumbry House. “Molly’s talking to Haley and Maria. They’re both sixteen. Want to go meet them?”

  Butterflies bashed around inside Rae’s gut. What if everyone knew about her like Devon did? What did that mean anyway? She let out a slow breath. “Sure.” No sense in being shy in front of the hot, and probably senior, boy. For some reason, she wanted to impress him and being a recluse wouldn’t accomplish that.

  As they walked back to Aumbry House, Molly ran over to greet them. The other two girls followed at a slower pace.

  “Rae, meet Haley and Maria!” Molly gushed the introduction in what Rae was beginning to see was her typical fashion.

  “Hi,” said the blonde-haired, brown-eyed girl. “I’m Haley.”

  A tiny, dark-haired girl peeked around Haley’s shoulder. “Hello.”

  Rae blinked. She could’ve sworn Maria had just said “hi” but she hadn’t seen the girl’s lips move. She glanced at the others to see if they’d heard it as well, but she couldn’t quite tell. Maybe it’s the jetlag in my brain playing tricks on me.

  Devon checked his watch. “Ladies, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve a football match. My housemates will be ticked if I don’t show. I’m already late.” He patted Rae on her shoulder.

  As he jogged away, Rae noticed the others staring at his retreating figure. No surprise there. He’s part superhero.

  “He’s so hot,” Molly murmured.

  “And sexy. Definitely worth watching,” Haley said. “And chasing.”

  “No dating, remember?” Molly half-heartedly chided.

  “Guilder highly discourages that. It’s taboo – not that I plan on paying attention to the that rule.” Molly walked behind Haley and reached for the back of her shirt. Haley deftly stepped just out of reach.

  Molly didn’t even acknowledge the dodge. She just powered straight on into conversion. “Can we see your ink?

  “Have you figured out how to use it?” Molly, definitely not the shy type.

  Haley laughed. “I, by no means, have mastered my gift. But I’m sure I’ve figured out what I can do. Coming here is only going to make me stronger and better.” She pulled her shirt up and turned around to show her back to both of them. Above her jeans was a stunning tattoo of a whirlwind or tornado.

  “So, what all can you do?” Molly asked as she impatiently tapped her foot.

  “I can make wind.”

  Molly snorted.

  Haley shot her an annoyed look. “No, silly, not that kind of wind. I create wind. Big wind, or even just little gusts.” Haley twittered a high-pitched laugh which Rae found annoying. “At my old school, I used to send small gusts to mess up my teacher’s piles of papers, other stuff like that. Right now, though, if I try anything stronger, I end up flying backward.”

  Molly skipped ahead to the next subject, seemingly unimpressed with Haley’s power. “What about yours, Maria? What’s your ink?”

  Rae felt sorry for the tiny girl. She looked like she wanted to disappear. Rae decided to come to the rescue and end Molly’s little impromptu inquisition. “Hey, why don’t we head over to where Devon’s playing?”

  “And meet more cute boys?” Molly gave a little kid-like bounce. “Let’s go.”

  The girls headed off to the sports fields.

  “Thanks.” A soft voice spoke inside Rae’s head, causing her to misstep, but she quickly caught herself. She glanced at Maria from the corner of her eye and nodded. When Maria smiled, Rae grinned. Holy Cow! That really happened! She talked in my head! This school is going to be so amazing.

  Molly suggested they head to the middle of the sidelines, so they could see both teams. They sat down on the bleachers to watch. It didn’t take long for Rae to figure out Devon was easily the quickest and most talented on his team. The boys seemed oblivious to the girls sitting in the bleachers, which Rae didn’t mind. It gave her time to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

  A boy on the opposite team dribbled the ball near his goalkeeper. In the blink of an eye, he’d passed midfield and streaked around a defense player. He took a shot on the net, scoring easily. Rae blinked and rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.

  “No goal! No goal!” Devon waved his arms in the air. “Riley, you know the rules. Only natural play—no gifts!”

  “Give me a break! I can’t help if my slow running is faster than everyone else’s,” Riley shouted. His teammates cheered and slapped him on the shoulder.

  “You’re not faster than the speed of light without your gift! No way can you argue with the laws of physics.” Devon tapped his head and the other boys laughed. “Trying to impress the girls?” The guys started walking over to where the girls sat.

  “Whatever.” Riley scowled at him.

  Devon bowed dramatically to the girls.

  “Hey, I’m Riley.” He stepped in front of Devon.

  Rae noticed a tattoo of a cheetah on his wrist. That explained his speed.

  “Gals, this is my team. Our keeper is Nicholas, our two defensemen are …” Riley’s eyes and mouth stopped moving when they came to Rae. He simply froze, staring at her like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Is it my hair? Is there something on my face? She suddenly wished she could hide behind Haley. But no matter how hard she wished, she could see by the look on his face, the something which had stunned him to silence, was her. “You’re Rae Kerrigan, aren’t you?”

  All laughter and jostling from the guys walking toward them stopped instantly. Rae swore all their jaws dropped open at the same time. Her temper flared from embarrassment and the stress of the day combined with the fact that she had no idea why everyone was acting so strange. Words rushed out of her mouth before she had a chance to think them through. “Yes, I’m Rae. I’ve no idea what you’ve been told about me, but let me assure you, I feel ten times more uncomfortable around you than you do around me.” You strange bunch of gifted people have no idea how terrifying you are.

  Devon came to her rescue. “Don’t mind Riley. He may be fas
t as a cheetah, but he has the tact of a rat.” Riley scowled at Devon’s comment, but it broke the ice, and the boys laughed and relaxed. They obviously trusted him. Hmm…cute, superhero, tactful and now, trustworthy…nice package.

  Molly piped up, “I’m not inked yet. My birthday’s in three days. Rae doesn’t turn until November fifteenth.”

  Rae stared at her roommate in shock. How did Molly know that? She hadn’t told her. Molly had the date wrong. Due to a clerical error when she was born, her birth certificate showed the wrong date, but at this point Rae didn’t really feel like correcting the mistake, since Molly shouldn’t have known it in the first place. It suddenly seemed like a very good idea to make sure her true birth date remained a secret.

  “So you’re just normal ‘til November?” one of the younger boys asked. “Poor you for the next few months.”

  Rae just stared mutely at him. Poor me?

  “That’s Brady. He turned sixteen four months ago, but he’s been here since he was thirteen,” Devon said.

  “Didn’t help him learn any skills on how to control his gift,” a different boy teased. Brady just smiled and pushed his fingers at the commenter, who went sprawling backward.

  “Brady can control wind, like Haley.” Devon ruffled Brady’s hair. A tall boy with his dark, almost black, hair tied in a ponytail, rested his arm on Devon’s shoulder. Rae noted the confident, comfortable gesture. This was obviously one of Devon’s friends and Rae decided she wanted to know all of his friends. She’d need to start gathering information since everyone seemed to have the details on her already.

  “Hiya. I’m Julian. My talent is by far the most interesting. I can draw the future.” He tapped his long, artistic fingers on his wrist. “I’ve just had a vision telling me it’s half past four and Lanford’s getting hungry. If we want to eat, we’d better start heading back.”

  The guys collected their belongings. Rae stayed close to the girls as they headed back to the school buildings. She felt uncomfortable about the impact her name caused but she didn’t know what to do about it, or even the reason behind it. She was glad that Devon walked beside them, along with Julian, who seemed unfazed about her identity. Anyone behaving like a normal person ranked high on her good list at the moment.

  About half-way back, Devon interrupted what had become a comfortable silence. “We’ll see you shortly, at the table.” He let his shoulder rub against Rae’s. “We’ll save you a seat.” The guys headed into Joist Hall, and the girls continued to Aumbry House.

  “Don’t you think they’re all super -hot?” Molly whispered as they headed up the steps.

  “Dunno.” She shrugged, caring more about information than boys at the moment. The headmaster had better be at dinner tonight. She wanted to get some answers to the millions of questions flying around in her head.