Dark Angel (Anak Trilogy) (14 page)

“I’ve just missed you?” I guessed scrambling for an excuse.

“Excuse me if I don’t quite swallow that. Who is this new guy who claims to be your boyfriend?” Jon demanded.

“His name is Zell Starr.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that. He introduced himself in class remember?”

“Oh yeah,” I said sheepishly.

“Who is
he
?” Jon demanded louder this time emphasizing the
he
.

“Just a friend,” I answered innocently.

“Who claims to be your boyfriend,” Jon returned jealously.

“He is just exaggerating. We are only friends, and I have told him that,” I said turning red with embarrassment as I thought about last night and how I had kissed him when he woke me from my
nightmare, or was it the nightmare? My life and my nightmares were becoming so entangled that I could not tell the difference.

“He looks like he believes you two are a couple.”

“We are definitely not a couple.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Jon ground out smugly. “If he shows up tonight, I’m going to tell him to stay away from you. If that doesn’t give him the message, these will,” he boasted holding up both fists.

“You will not, Jonathan Howard. He is my friend too.” I panicked at the thought of Jon even trying to ‘take care of’ Zell.  Zell would kill him. I didn’t even think it would be much of a fight. “Please Jonny, promise me you won’t say anything to him.”

“No, I won’t promise,” Jon insisted.

“Jon, if you say anything to Zell, I promise that I will never, and I mean never, speak to you or see you again,” I threatened.

“You like this guy, don’t you,” Jon asked turning to look at me.

“Watch the road, Jon,” I demanded. “It’s just that Zell is my friend too. I don’t want to lose either of you.”

“You can’t have us both, Annie. You have to choose,” Jon gave me an ultimatum.

“That’s not fair!”

“Maybe not, but that’s how it is. Decide Annie. It’s the overgrown immigrant or me.”

“O.K.,“ I said gritting my teeth. “I choose . . .  I choose neither of you.” Jon stopped in front of Lauren’s lake house, and I jumped from the truck and slammed the door. The house was lit up welcoming and inviting, but I ducked around the side of the house heading for the sound of laughter coming from the back. I stopped suddenly. I felt like I did the night of . . . the night of . . . The night of what? This was getting infuriating. Why couldn’t I remember? Some memory was there just out of my reach. Maybe it was so terrifying that my mind would not let me remember. Nevertheless, something was in the woods to my right. I could feel it watching me. I picked up speed and ran toward the spotlights in the backyard. As I turned the corner of the house, I turned and watched the woods for the unknown predator that I was sure lurked there.

Thud. I felt like I hit a brick wall. Looking up, I saw Zell staring down at me.

“Watch where you are going! You stay away from me too!” I yelled at him and instantly felt bad for speaking to him that way. I was too rattled to be with him right now though, and I stepped around him to find Lauren and Kate. I saw Kate in the gazebo on the other side of the pool and hurried to her.

“Annie, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Kate worriedly.

“Nah, just an Anak,” I replied.

“A what?” asked
Kate.

I laughed, “Nothing Kate. Jon and I just had a fight that’s all.”

“What about?”

“What else? My new boyfriend, Zell, which traveled here from Europe to be with me.”

“Yeah, I’m mad about that, Annie. You never told me that you met someone in Europe.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t meet him in Europe,” I said my voice low and quivering.

“I’m lost,” Kate replied.

“I never met Zell until Wednes
day morning in the school office. I don’t know what’s going on,” I grabbed the water Kate was drinking and drank from the bottle.

“I’m still confused. Why would anyone as gorgeous as Zell lie about knowing you?”

“He says he is here to protect me,” I whispered furtively looking about.

“Protect you from what?”

“The Dark Ones, can you believe that?”

“What’s a
Dark One?” Kate asked puzzled.

“Vampires, we
rewolves, demons, Fallen Angels, some incognito, of course, et cetera,” I whispered shaking my head and lowering my voice even further searching every shadow for a monster.

Kate howled with laughter then suddenly stopped as the events of the evening at the gym a few days ago came vividly back into focus.

“You’re scaring me, Annie,” Kate whispered back.

“Huh, you’re scared. I’m beginning to believe him. Weird things have been happening in the last few days. I think something may be after me.”

“Annie, you’re being ridiculous,” Kate scolded.

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m not sure of anything right now. All I know is that something strange is going on
.”

“Are you sure Zell is who he says he is?
Do you think he might be behind all this?” Kate asked.

“I’m pretty sure he is different,
really different,” I replied drinking the last of the water.

“Different? You’re right about that. He is the most handsome person I’ve ever seen. If you don’t want him, can I have him?” Kate gushed.

“Yeah, he’s a real angel alright.” I growled pacing back and forth.

Someone
brought out a guitar, and Rylee asked Zell to play. A crowd gathered around him. Savanna, Maddison, Whitney, the lovely LeeAnn, Rylee, Lauren, Natalie, Kenzley, Holly, in fact, most of the girls at the party sat at his feet. Zell leaned against a low stone wall and began strumming the guitar. Most guys stood at the fringes of the crowd scowling. All their girlfriends were at Zell’s feet totally focused on him. Zell began to play beautifully. Someone yelled out a song and instantly Zell changed the tune to the requested song. Time and again, he did this. It was amazing. He never left out a note or broke the rhythm of the song. Even the guys began to be mesmerized by his ability.

Zell stopped for a moment and looked at me. Then he began to sing a beautiful love song, never once taking his eyes from my face. I could feel the strong emotions from last night wash over me. I
’ve never lost a struggle once I set my mind to something, but this was one battle that I was losing fast. The beautiful song he sang, “My Destiny” seemed as though it had been written for us.

“
From now until eternity,
        You were always meant to be,
        My destiny”

Zell sang through the song a couple of times never taking his eyes off me. He finished and handed the guitar back to Lauren. His female audience stood to their feet applauding and squealing like little school girls. Zell still focused on me, stood up, and started in my direction. Savanna grabbed his arm and tried to get him to stay with her. Ever the gentleman, Zell leaned over and whispered something in her ear removing her hand from his arm as he did so. He headed for me again. Just as he rounded the pool, Jon popped up as if from thin air.

“Annie, I’m sorry,” Jon
began. It was all I could do to tear my eyes from Zell and attempt to focus on Jon.

“Oh, the drama,” Kate said giggling.
“Annie, your love life is actually getting interesting. Way to go girl.”

Jon
threw a deadly look in Kate’s direction and grabbed my hand dragging me from the gazebo.

“Let’s go somewhere
, so we can speak in private,” Jon huffed still glaring at Kate.

“No, Jon
, I can’t.” I resisted, but Jonny pulled me along anyway. Behind him, I could see the crowd catch up to Zell, and he paused staring at us grimacing when he saw Jon grab my hand. Jon dragged me down toward the shore of the lake.

Lauren’s dad had made a beach out of their property that ran along the lake. He had
truckloads of sand brought in and dredged out the bottom of the lake near the shoreline to create a smooth and safe beach. Her dad, Chuck, was one of the big wigs at Turner Broadcasting. He was very wealthy, and Lauren had him wrapped around her finger. What Lauren wanted; Lauren got.  There was a dock with a diving board, a speedboat, a half-dozen Sea Doos, little paddlewheel boats, and canoes all housed under a covered dock that ran a couple of hundred feet in an L shape into the lake. Even so, I didn’t think even Chuck’s wealth could equal Zell’s.

Torches were lit all along the shore and gas lamps lit the docks. Big comfortable chairs for lounging or sunbathing were scat
tered over the beach, and Jon pulled me toward a couple of them.  I sat down on one of the overstuffed chairs, and Jon sat opposite me.

“Annie, I’m sorry. I don’t wa
nt to break up with you,” he began.

“W
e don’t go together. We’re just friends,” I huffed as I interrupted him.

“I want to change that Annie
. I want you to be my girl,” Jon begged pulling off his senior ring and holding it out for me to take. I suddenly shivered uncontrollably. Goose bumps stood at full attention on my arms and neck. Jon noticed me shivering.

“I’ll run to the tr
uck and get your jacket,” Jon said and jumped up running toward the house before I could tell him not to bother.

Back at
the pool, Zell watched as Jon pulled me toward the beach. Anger burned within him, but before he could react, a hand once again grabbed his arm and locked around it. It was LeeAnn. Lee Ann was beautiful. The moonlight and the soft lights of the backyard area softened her features making her even more attractive.

“Stay with me,” Lee
Ann cooed.

“Lee
Ann, you are incredibly lovely, but my heart is somewhere else,” Zell stated flatly. “Please release me. I have to go.”

“I can make you happy, Zell,” Lee Ann suggestively offered as Zell placed his hand over hers.

“You will make someone very happy, but I’m not the one. Annie makes me happy,” Zell replied as he once again lifted her fingers from his arm.

“But Annie’s taken,” Lee
Ann sulked.

The pain of her words showed on his face.
Zell felt as if the breath was knocked out of him. He turned without a reply and walked toward the beach unbuttoning his shirt as he walked.

I shivered again
, and this time every hair on my body stood up on end. I looked to where the dark forms of trees met the sand and saw a figure separate from the trees. Immobilized with fear, I couldn’t scream or cry out. The figure seemed to glide quickly toward me. I tried to run toward the house, but I could not move. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I tried again to move, but it was as though I was frozen in time. My voice would not work. My legs and feet felt as though they weighed a ton. As the dark figure neared, I could see that its body was shaped like a man’s, but its eyes were the eyes of a creature, red as blood. The figure was within striking distance of me when it slowed. 

“Where is your savior, now?” the thing hissed at me. As he did, I could see a gleaming set of teeth reflecting in the light of the torches, two, three-inch fangs, hung menacingly from an otherwise impeccable set of teeth. The creature reached for me with a hand who’s blue, dead looking nails were like sharpened knives.

I shrank from him. Instantly, he was within inches of my face. He was incredible looking.
Handsome, in a hellish kind of way, his features were every bit as attractive as Zell’s except his eyes were that of the dead, cold and unseeing. Instead of Zell’s beautiful silver-colored eyes, this creature’s eyes were red and dilated.

Everything in me said to run. Run for my life. I honestly tried, but I could not move. The creature bared his lips and opened his mouth. He grabbed the neck of my sweater and ripped it back exposing the flesh of my neck. Jumping backward, I fell over one of the beach chairs.

“Now,” he growled, “I’m going to rip your throat out.” Grabbing me by the sweater, he jerked me up, and bent his head. He was centimeters from sinking his razor-sharp teeth and fangs into my neck when suddenly his head snapped back with a grinding crunch.

“Get off her, bloodsucker.”

His body was thrown backwards a hundred feet across the beach hitting the side of the dock. I could hear the sound of breaking bones as he hit.  I forgot everything when I looked into the face of my hero. Standing tall and magnificent in the moonlight, stood Zell. He was still impeccably dressed in his off-white jeans and sandals. Though bare-chested, his silver sheaths that held his swords laid against his massive chest as if they were a part of him. He reached to take my hand.

Crying out his name, I jumped into his arms
instead.

“Have you been bitten?” Zell asked pushing my hair back to inspect my neck.

“I don’t think so.”

At that second, we both heard the sound of breaking bones again and turned to look. The vampire’s body snapped back into place from it
s broken form.  Waist-deep in lake water, it stood upright. The sound of bones pop, pop, popping back into place filled the silence and drifted toward us as the vampire’s head and neck jerked back upright to sit once again upon his shoulders.  An arm that was hanging at a grotesque angle snapped around 180 degrees.