Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (15 page)

As he sat back into the sofa, I
noticed for the first time a silver chain around his neck, with a
pendant attached to it. Previously, it had been hidden beneath his
shirt. Now I could see it clearly.

“What's that round your neck,
Theo?” I asked.

He instinctively put his hand
to the chain and held it protectively.

“This? Oh, nothing, just a
chain I wear.” He was about to tuck it beneath the neck of his
shirt.

“Can I see it?” I asked, and
put my hand up to his.

“It’s probably not a good
idea,” said Theo, trying to take my hand away.

“Let me see, please…?” I
asked.

He relented and gently I took
the pendant in my hand. I saw immediately it wasn’t a pendant at
all. It was a delicate and unusual piece of jewellery; a white
cameo on a blue crystal background, showing a woman’s head in
three-quarter profile. It was almost feminine and certainly not
what I would have expected a 19-year old boy to be wearing.

“It’s beautiful,” I started to
say, then exclaimed in surprise, as I took a closer look. “Why
Theo, it looks a little like me. Where did you get it from?”

“I’ve had it for a long time,”
he said, pulling the chain out of my hands and tucking it firmly
beneath his shirt. “It’s very old, an antique. I guess it does look
a bit like you. What a coincidence, eh? Now, would you like some
more tea?”

“No, thank you, I’ve had
enough,” I said, watching him closely. He was suddenly defensive
and I wanted to know why. If it was an antique, the cameo couldn’t
possibly show my picture, it was far too old. But how odd it should
look like me and what a strange choice of jewellery for Theo to be
wearing.

Yet again, something didn’t add
up.

There were too many questions
surrounding Theo and his family. Nothing was as it seemed and I
didn’t know what I was getting into. This was not your average
teenage relationship. There were issues here that went way deeper
than hormones and physical attraction. As yet, I couldn’t work out
what was going on, but I would find out. My antennae were on high
alert, and I was determined to uncover the secrets of this strange,
beautiful family.

Had I known the truth I would
later discover, I would have stopped there and then.

But sometimes the truth is
beyond your wildest imagination, and so far removed from your own
sphere of existence, it is impossible to comprehend.

So I blundered on, setting in
motion a course of events from which there would be no return.

14. Face on a Necklace II

That evening, the de Lucis
family assembled in the old library, where Viyesha addressed them
in low, chilled tones. No one doubted the seriousness of the
situation, nor the fury of the woman who stood before them.

“The situation is getting out
of hand. We have only just arrived and already our safety is
compromised. We are only ever as good as our weakest link, and
Theo, you have introduced a weak link direct into the heart of the
family.”

She paused and walked over to
the window, looking out at the evening sun setting blood red over
Hartswell Hall grounds. On any other night the beauty and drama of
the twilight sky would have calmed and grounded her. But not
tonight.

She took a deep breath and
said, more to herself than the family behind her, “What was I
thinking to allow a stranger in? I was momentarily distracted by
innocence and love and the potential for something good to develop.
But it is ultimately down to me that the threat now exists, and for
that I must take full responsibility. I should have stopped things
while I had the opportunity. Now, I fear, it may be too late.”

“Mother…” Theo started to say,
but his father, standing behind him, put a warning hand onto his
shoulder, and indicated by a shake of his head that he should
remain silent.

“Let me think this through,”
said Viyesha, walking again towards the window. She found the
motion comforting, allowing the movement to give shape to her
words.

“Theo and Joseph, I’ll come to
you in a moment. Aquila, you are my primary concern.” She turned to
face the lounging chauffeur, who sat sprawled on one of the leather
Chesterfields, his legs angled towards her. His black eyes were
slits, seeping anger and insolence, his lips curled in a sneer.

“Let me finish what I started…”
he began to say in low, guttural tones, but Viyesha held up her
hand.

“Enough,” she hissed at him.
“You have done enough damage. You were behind the falling wall. You
were seen, you cannot deny it.”

“Why should I deny the truth?”
he spat his words out ferociously. “He…’ he pointed angrily at
Theo, “has put everything we hold precious in danger. Our very
existence is now threatened. And it is up to me to clean up.” He
faced Theo. “Have you learned nothing over the years, you imbecile?
I should deal with you also.”

“Aquila, you go too far,”
hissed Viyesha. “I forbid it. If and when the time comes, I will
deal with things in my way.”

“If and when?” said a low voice
to Viyesha’s left. It was Pantera and she now stood up, tall and
magnificent, angrily facing Viyesha. “Aquila is right. The threat
is here now and must be removed as quickly as possible. The girl
has seen too much, she has started to question. She will bring
others. We must eliminate her as soon as possible.”

“No,” shouted Theo, “Mother,
tell them, they cannot do this.”

“Pantera, sit, please,” said
Viyesha, in a slow calm voice, waiting until Pantera sat once
again, “Violence is simply not an option. You cannot use your usual
methods, not in a civilised country. That, more than anything,
would bring others here. Perhaps we were wrong to come to this
place, but we had to settle somewhere and after everything that has
happened to us, it seemed peaceful here. Safe. Just what we needed.
And the alignment was right. There was nowhere else we could
go.”

“It was safe until he started
bringing strangers in,” said Aquila in his low, rasping voice.

“Silence,” demanded Viyesha.
“This is not helping. It was I who gave permission for the girl to
visit. If you must put blame at anyone’s door, lay it at mine.
Although, Theo and Joseph,” she turned to look at the cousins, who
were sitting side by side on the other leather Chesterfield in the
room, “what were you doing showing Emily the tower?”

Theo hung his head. “Sorry
mother, she wanted to have a look. It’s so magnificent, you can’t
miss it. She was only asking the questions other people will
ask.”

“It’s true, Viyesha,” said
Joseph. “She didn’t come to spy. She was just showing a healthy
interest in the work I’ve done.”

“So healthy, you felt you had
to present her with a red rose,” pointed out Theo. “What was all
that about? I bring my girlfriend here and you come on to her?”

“I wasn’t coming on to her,”
countered Joseph. “It was a spur of the moment gesture…”

“And it was you who suggested
Emily go back for the key,” said Theo, angrily. “Were you working
with Aquila? Was it all part of the plot to get rid of her?”

“No,” shouted Joseph. “She
offered. I swear I knew nothing about it.”

“Stop it, both of you,” said
Viyesha, holding up her hands. “Violet, what do you make of this
girl? You know her as well as anybody here. Do you think she’s a
threat?”

Violet’s eyes sparkled blue and
a small triumphant smile appeared momentarily on her face at being
consulted. She sat apart from the others and had observed the
bickering with some amusement, waiting for her turn to speak. Now
she chose her words carefully.

“I don’t think Emily is so much
the threat, as Theo,” she smiled icily at her brother. “He seems
unable to contain his emotions and stay in control. I find that
more worrying than anything.”

“You’re only jealous, Violet,
because you thought you’d found a new friend and she prefers to be
with me, rather than you.” Theo turned on his sister.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she
started to say, but Theo interrupted her.

“All that time when you only
had me for company and longed for a female friend,” he said, “when
you’d gaze out of the window and curse being in Egypt, with the
fear and the curfews and the paranoia. When you met Emily, you
thought you’d found a soul mate, didn’t you? A girl you could
relate to, who was as pretty as you. It was only natural you’d be
jealous when Emily took up with me.”

“Mother, don’t listen to him,”
pleaded Violet. “He’s just trying to be hurtful.”

“She’s right, Theo,” said
Viyesha. “This doesn’t help at all.” She turned to her husband, who
had remained silent throughout, observing all that had gone on, his
face impassive. “Leon, help me. What do we do?”

Leon took a deep breath and
looked around the room before he started to speak.

“Okay, first things first. No
more violence.” He addressed this primarily to Aquila, who uttered
a snort of derision. “It goes against our principles to show
violence towards a creature of youth and innocence. We have never
overtly killed those who are weaker than ourselves. The girl
herself poses no threat. It is others who threaten us and my fear
is that they may use her to get to us. In which case, she is the
one in immediate danger, not us.”

“Wisely said, my love,” uttered
Viyesha. ‘I knew you would see clearly. So what is our best course
of action?”

“We have no choice,” answered
Leon. “We have to draw her in for her own protection. For the
immediate future, we must watch over her carefully. Her safety may
be paramount to our existence. So for now, we watch, we wait and we
protect. But never doubt it,” and now he addressed Aquila, “our
existence takes priority, and if necessary, we will do anything to
protect ourselves. Even disposing of an innocent, if the situation
arises.” Aquila’s eyes glinted at the prospect.

Leon continued. “This girl has
had an effect on every one. She has touched you all in one way or
another, and that is something I have never seen before. She has
unsettled and destabilised the family, which gives me cause for
concern. Remember, division breeds weakness and leaves us open to
attack. We must remain united at all costs.”

“I’m not so sure she is an
innocent.” Theo spoke slowly, looking at Viyesha.

“What do you mean?” she asked
anxiously.

“She saw my necklace,” he
answered. “She saw the face on the cameo and recognised it as
herself.”

“Could it be possible?”
murmured Viyesha, “She certainly has a look about her. ”

“I don’t know, mother,” he
answered, and looking round the room, he added, “If she is who I
think she is, it changes everything. You have to let me find
out.”

“What about you, Violet?”
Viyesha addressed her daughter. “What did you see that made you
befriend this girl? Tell me the truth.”

Violet paused before replying,
“She has a bright blue aura. I’ve never seen one so bright on a
mortal being, it’s as bright as ours.”

There was a silence as everyone
took in the implication of her words. The silence seemed to ripple
and move outwards, like rings in a pool when a pebble has been
thrown in, and the air itself seemed to quiver in anticipation.

Then Viyesha spoke, “Let us
pray that it is she. With all my heart I hope she has returned to
us, for all our sakes, but most of all for yours, Theo. You have
waited too long for this.”

15
. Unusual Powers

I saw Theo at college on Monday
morning. As I closed my locker, he was standing there.

“Theo!” I exclaimed. “Don't
creep up on me like that. You made me jump.”

“Sorry,” he grinned, “just
wanted to make sure there were no after effects. You know, after
your near miss yesterday.”

“I’m fine,” I said, putting my
locker key into my jacket pocket and picking up my backpack. “I may
look fragile, but I’m made of strong stuff. No after effects to
report.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re feeling
okay. I’ve told Joseph to get the wall sorted. I don’t want a
repeat of that happening. I’d never forgive myself if anything
happened to you.”

“But why should it, Theo?
You’re making it sound like my life is in danger. It does sound a
bit over dramatic.”

“Sorry, just being protective,
that’s all.”

He smiled at me and I felt my
insides melt, but before I could say anything a bell rang, followed
by the sound of feet running and people talking

“I’ve got to go,” I said to
Theo. “History seminar.
Thomas Cromwell: Able administrator or
agent provocateur?
” I grimaced, then reaching up, I pecked his
cheek, saying, “Thanks for looking after me, Superman!”

I grinned at him, luxuriating
in the energy flow that ran from his body to mine.

“All part of the service,
ma’am,” he said, mock saluting me. “Catch you later, probably
lunchtime, I have a tutorial this morning that will likely run
over.”

“Okay, see you in the café for
lunch.”

He called after me as I hurried
down the corridor. “Agent provocateur. He was always the spider in
the web.”

I glanced back. For a split
second, I had the impression he spoke from experience. I smiled to
myself and pushed the strange thought from my mind.

Now we were at college, I was
glad to get back to normality following my unnerving afternoon at
Hartswell Hall. To say I felt out of my depth was to put it mildly.
I fancied Theo like mad and there was no denying there was a very
strong connection between us, but it was all so strange and
intense, and so different to anything I’d encountered before. Why
couldn’t I just fall for someone like me? Someone who lived in an
ordinary house, with normal parents and no mystery surrounding
them. Why had I fallen for someone with a millionaire lifestyle,
who lived in a stately home, with servants at his beck and call,
and parents who looked like film stars? And why did I get the
impression that all was not as it seemed, that the house and the
money and the beautiful looks were all smoke and mirrors?