I didn't know whether to be relieved or worried
*When we got to school, I separated myself and Rachel from the rest of the group. I noticed that the metal detectors and cameras were gone. That was definitely a good sign. "So," I said once Sarah and Steve had gone, "We know that they're okay, and apparently none the worse for the wear, but it can't be that easy. It never is with the rock. We need to be on the lookout for the others today: Derrick, Michelle, and Biff "
"And Karyn," Rachel added. She was still wearing a big grin. I knew how she felt, but I wasn't going to be overtaken by glee until we'd seen this through, till we knew that everything was okay.
"And Karyn," I confirmed. "Hopefully we'll have seen them by lunch, or learned something, so we'll meet up again then, all right?"
Rachel nodded, and I watched her walk into the building. Class was going to start soon. I took a long breath, and walked into the building, hoping that for once, things could just go the way that I wanted them to *
Betrayal
I tried not to waste too much time once I got inside. I ran over to my locker, glad that I'd memorized both my combination and my class school before I'd met Jon. The lockers around here were relatively safe so I didn't have a problem leaving my purse inside, but I still wasn't comfortable with the idea of the rock sitting there alone all day. Probably nothing would happen, and probably I was being extremely paranoid, but I pulled the rock out and slipped it into my pocket. I told myself that I was doing it to protect the incredible power of the rock and not, I repeat NOT! just keeping it closer for easier use.
I almost believed it. Almost.
I pulled my English Lit book out, along with a notebook and a folder. What a downer of a first period, I thought as I shut my locker, and made my way down the hall. I'd never really cared for English class on the whole. Neither reading nor writing rated very high on my list of personal interests and hobbies, and I usually managed to just skim by with a D or an extremely low C. Come to think of it, there aren't really that many classes I did enjoy. For the most part I did my best to weave my way through the hurrying students and avoid any kind of eye contact. A moment later my ass was planted firmly in my seat. Within the same second, I heard the bell chime.
"Just in time," I whispered as my eyes scanned the crowd of students. A moment or two later, I breathed another sigh of relief as I spied Derrick Thomas sitting down. Now we just had to try and find Biff and Karyn. Of course he's sitting next to that whore Kristy. She was the one that Biff seemed so intent on lately. Look at her over there, I thought, *Sitting over there, showing off as much skin as she can get away with * I decided right then and there that tomorrow I was gonna wear something just a little trashy. Two can play that game sister.
Get a grip Nat. Now's not the time.
I found myself thinking about what I could do to her with the rock, what humiliations I could level upon her. Not that I was actually going to anything about it. It didn't stop the shit-eating grin I was trying to suppress though. I could make sure Biff never looked at her again...
Hey Nat? If you're not gonna do anything about it, then why's your hand sliding into your pocket? I pulled my hand out quickly when I realized what was happening.
"Shit," I mumbled under my breath, "Gotta stop doing that." Mrs. Williams was droning on about some nineteenth century poet, I really didn't give a shit who, so nobody seemed to have heard me. I set both hands on my desk so I could keep a better eye on them. That's just freaky, I thought. I hadn't realized exactly how much the rock's hold over me had grown, and how much harder it was becoming to resist.
"Pleasant dreams last night?" I turned around to see Malcolm standing behind me.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I demanded. Why do I have to be so damned demanding? Why can't I sometimes just ask things in a pleasant whisper? I wondered as I noticed that everybody was looking at me. A few of my classmates, including that red-headed skank Kristy were snickering, and a few just looked confused. When I glanced toward the front of the room, I saw that our instructor looked anything but amused. Of all the people in the room though, I'd have to say that William Russell looked the most put out.
"Um," he hesitated, "I, um have this class right now " He sounded flustered, and he stretched each word out as though he needed the extra time to pick out the next word in line. I shook my head. William was a geek, part of the crowd that would probably spend the rest of their Saturday nights in a friend's basement hunting Elves, and he looked it. No, popularity and a girlfriend, I thought cruelly, were probably not going to factor very much in his future. So, I simply rolled my eyes at him and turned back around.
"Bastard," I whispered. Of course nobody else in the room could see Malcolm. All they saw was Natalie Gibson flipping out on a nerd. Mrs. Williams, who was not an unkind person by nature, was looking me over appraisingly, as if the answers to all of lives annoying little questions were printed in bold, twenty-four point Arial Font on my forehead.
"I'm sorry if Mr. Russell's presence offends you Ms. Gibson, But I assure you that he has every right to be here, just as I'll assure you that your language has no place in this classroom." She paused for a moment, her eyes once again studying me like I was some long lost work of Shakespeare's or something. "Now, do you think you can suffer though his presence long enough for me to finish the lecture?" She never raised her voice or lost her temper. I'd had her last year too and I'd noticed that when she was angry, her voice shifted into this odd sort of monotone. "And I don't think an apology would be out of order either."
I nodded solemnly, and turned back toward Russell. He wasn't a bad guy. It wasn't as thought I hated him or anything. I just really didn't feel anything toward him one way or another. He was just background noise, somebody who really didn't matter. Even so, I swallowed my pride. It had been kinda rude. I glared up at Malcolm, who was trying very hard not to laugh, but as my eyes turned back toward the startled classmate, he must have thought the glare was meant for him, because he recoiled in his seat a little.
"Sorry," I told him. I hadn't meant for it to come out sounding quite so snobby. I swear!
Glancing back up at Mrs. Williams, I asked very politely, "May I be excused for a moment?"
She rolled her eyes ever so slightly, rubbed her temples and simply nodded her head, gesturing toward the door. "Thank you," I said. As I stood up, knowing that Malcolm was following closely behind, I could hear whispers and muffled laughter. Keeping my head down, I made an effort not to rush toward the door. I didn't need to lose any more face than I already had. Even Derrick and Kristy were staring at me. Even though I didn't look at them, I could feel their eyes digging into my back.
When I got out into the hallway, I turned toward the man who was rapidly turning into a thorn in my side. "Follow me," I whispered. There weren't very many people in the halls right now, but I wasn't going to risk it, "and not a word until I say." He nodded and did that little annoying gesture wherein a person slides two closed fingers together over their lips to show that they are in fact being zipped up tight. I'm not sure I'd ever hated Malcolm more than in that moment.
When we arrived at our destination, I opened the door and stepped inside the ladies room. Good, there's nobody in here. I pulled the rock out quickly. "I wish that until I leave this room, nobody else will come in." I'd used the same wish a day or two when I'd When Jon and I had been adjusting my body to better suit his our? taste. It seemed safe enough.
I looked back at him, and I could see the look of pure contempt in my eyes thanks to the mirror, as I spoke. "So, just what the hell are you doing here? I'm getting really sick and tired of this: Here now, gone the next minute bullshit. And " I added, stretching the word, "Do you just wait for the most awkward moments imaginable to appear, or is that just dumb luck?" I turned, and leaned back against the sink, eagerly awaiting his reply.
"It's good to see you back on form Natalie," he said, his smile diminishing a little but not quite faltering. "Jon was definitely holding you back and you're much better rid of him." He paused for a moment. "Now," he said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together, "We can get to work finding that second stone. The sooner we can be rid of it, the better "
"No," I told him sternly, "Now we make sure that Karyn and everybody else is okay, then," I paused, glaring at him. "Then," I started again, "If I feel like it, we start searching for this second stone." It was a bluff. I knew it and I was pretty sure that Malcolm knew it too. It was simply my meager attempt to regain a foothold in this conversation. My fingers began to fidget. If I was gonna sit here and deal with this ass, I really, really wanted a cigarette. Unfortunately they were in my purse. I knew I could wish them up with the rock but
Well, that way laid madness. I resolutely decided to forebear.
He actually snickered and walked up to me. Now he was standing right in front of me, his face inches from mine, and I felt all kinds of desires and urges beginning to float to the surface. I knew this wasn't related to Jon's wish anymore and it wasn't a facet of my, admittedly amorous nature either. He really did have some kind of pull on me. As much as I wanted to pull away, shove him back, I knew I wouldn't.
I'd let him have me right here right now, I realized longing for those lips.
"I'm glad to see that some of the more stubborn aspects of your personality have reemerged," he whispered, his warm breath caressing my cheek. I was already breathing a little slower, and I could feel little prickles of sensation in my lower half. "It's reassuring, especially given the scope of what's to come." He was stroking my hair now, his fingers lightly brushing against my neck. I didn't have a response for him well, not a verbal one at any rate.
He leaned in and just as our lips were finally about to meet, he pulled back and everything was back to the way it had been. I took a moment to catch my waning breath and stand up without the support of the sink. It wasn't easy. After a moment the haze of lust evaporated and I was back in control again.
"What the hell does that mean?" I asked softly. "What exactly is coming?" Almost you a minute ago, I thought, trying to bury the shame away for a more appropriate time.
"I told you Natalie, you have a destiny."
"You told Jon he had a destiny and look where he is now," I said, regaining my natural defiance. "Why on Earth would I believe anything you have to say?" I put crossed my arms over my chest and I wasn't sure whether it was an outburst of said defiance, or whether it was meant to be a defense against him.
"Jon did have a destiny," he told me. "And he fulfilled it. He was a lynchpin in the grand scheme and nothing more. He was needed to set things into motion and he did just that. You however," and his voice and expression turned dead serious, "Are the one who's going to affect the fate of the very world. When push comes to shove, you're going to decide whether the world continues or whether it faces the same fate as your lamented other half."
Starting at my temples, I ran both hands back through my hair, all the way down to my shoulders as I sighed the sigh of the truly exasperated. "You know my grandpa warned me about you right? He told me not to trust you."
He shook his head, and ran his hands down his sides to smooth out the black designer suit he was wearing. "I believe your grandfather, correct me if I'm wrong, told you to take everything I say with a grain of salt, and that's a far cry from telling you to completely deny me your trust. Besides," he continued, "Given what he's trying to do, your grandfather is hardly the best individual to take advice from."
Trying to, I latched onto the word like I was an infant craving mother's milk. So he really is still alive in some form!
"What does that even mean!" I shouted. "I'm getting so fucking sick and tired of your cryptic non-answer bullshit Malcolm! You show up at inopportune times, feed me a line of what, once I sit down and think about it, turns out to be as full of shit as you are! And the absolute worst part of the whole thing, the part that really pisses me off, is that we've had this same conversation. I keep yelling at you for not telling me anything, and you keep right on not telling me anything!" I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. "Give me something to go on! Just give me one honest kernel of truth here," I'd managed to quiet my voice a little. "Just tell me who the hell you are, because there are times when I think you're fucking Satan or something, and that really creeps me out."
Malcolm arched an eyebrow, "I assure that my relationship with him is purely platonic Natalie." When this completely failed to pass the levity test in my book, he plowed right on through, "Would it make you feel better if I told you that I was Satan? What exactly would you do if I told you that I was the enemy of all that was good and right in the world? Would you breathe a sigh of relief because you'd finally discerned my identity, or would you feel worse about it?"
"Was that a yes?" I asked quickly.
"It was," He paused, "another one of the non-answers that I'm apparently so famous for. So, now, if we can get back to the business at hand, we need to find the second rock and even I don't know its location. There was, however, somebody who was very close to tracking down its location "
"Grandpa," I supplied.
Malcolm nodded. "He kept a diary, the very same one that he charged you with finding and on this he and I are in agreement. You must find it."
I shrugged.."I tried wishing for it earlier," I told him. "Nothing happened. How the hell am I supposed to track this diary thing down? It's obviously been shielded from the stone's power."
He simply nodded. "You're grandfather knew he was being followed long before they actually caught up with him and he knew that they would be looking for the stone as well. For entirely different motives than my own, he did the sensible thing and made sure that they wouldn't be able to trace it either."
"What was he after, grandpa I mean? What did he do that was so terrible?" I'd been bothered by the question ever since Malcolm had brought it up. My heart fell a little when I saw the look on his face. "Look," I pleaded, "I know you're not supposed to tell me for whatever the hell reason you have, but I really need to know."
For a moment, he seemed to be fighting a battle of wills and when he looked at me this time, there was something else in his eyes. I couldn't quite place it, but I supposed the closest thing I could equate it to would have been concern. "Look," he told me seriously, "I'm going to tell you, and then I'm going to have to go and explain myself. You may not see me for a little while afterward "
"And the downside would be?" I quipped. "Sorry," I immediately apologized. "Force of habit."
He smiled a thin smile and continued. "When Zeus and his minions sealed themselves within the stones, they knew that one day they would wish to return. They also knew that they couldn't break free from their self imposed imprisonment on their own. There's a lot of legend here and ancient texts that would probably bore you so I'll make this short. Zeus called upon his two most trusted human followers and charged their lines with watching over the rocks, and bringing about the return of the Gods when it was time. The stones were kept separate because they were simply two powerful to store together over the long term. When the stones are brought together again, and a certain ancient incantation is read, Zeus and his minions will return. The rocks were eventually lost over time, I won't go into how right now, but now the descendants of those family lines, the ones trusted with the rocks in the first place have been made aware of their ancestry. They're hunting for the rocks so that they can bring about Zeus's endgame."
When he paused I jumped in, "So grandpa was trying to keep the stones away from them " I had to admit that I was a little confused. "What's so bad about "
"You're grandfather was trying to keep the rocks away from them because he wanted to be the one to bring them together. He wanted the wealth and power that Zeus would surely offer upon his return."
I couldn't talk for a moment. Mostly because I didn't believe him, and mostly because I desperately wanted to hit him. I wanted to hit him so hard he wouldn't get back up. "You're lying," I said firmly. I could almost feel the daggers I was firing at him from the depths of my eyes. "Grandpa would never do something like that."
He shook his head, a look of sadness coming over him. "I knew you wouldn't believe me, but I also knew you'd never stop asking until I told you." He glanced almost imperceptibly upward before fixing his stare on me again. "Now, if you'll excuse me I'm in a lot of trouble, and I need to go and see if I can sort it out."
Before I could say or do anything, he was gone again. He was lying, my mind stated firmly. Malcolm's a God Damned liar!
*Except, what if he was telling the truth *
My entire train of thought derailed when I heard a toilet flush inside one of the stalls. My heart almost stopped beating for a moment. Should have checked under the doors, I thought bitterly. Slowly I turned as I heard the stall door open. I saw Michelle Walters there and she was giving me the oddest, most creeped-out look I'd ever seen.
"Um?" she started, and that about summed it up.
"Shit," I whispered. "Shit, shit, shit."
"Natalie?" she asked, "What's "
I didn't even realize I was doing it, but as she started to speak, I slipped my hand into my pocket, felt my flesh contact the cold surface of the ancient stone. I barely whispered, hoping she wouldn't hear me, "I wish "
