Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (199 page)

Her hand
was obviously not burned. I pointed at her in the mirror. She was
dressed as Fashion Fairy Tale Barbie. “I don’t think Barbie and Ken
have a tragic ending.”

“
Touché. But if Damon see’s the outfits, he might change that.”
She giggled at my shocked looked in the mirror. “I’m just kidding.
He’s the one who gave me the idea.” She pinned the last bobby pin
in my hair. “Stand.”

We
stared at my reflection. The faded grey-blue slave’s dress had
tattered sleeves and hem but I was willing to bet, no slave ever
wore a dress this formfitting. Grace had tied a black scarf around
my waist for a belt. She’d bought the gorgeous pair of strappy
sandals from a second-hand shop.

She
traced her fingers along her collar bone. “Something’s missing.”
Snapping her fingers, she disappeared out of the room.

I stared down at my red polished toe nails
and leaned against the doorframe. Grace had found a gladiator
costume on eBay in Michael’s size. The thought of his body in a
fighter’s outfit created a tingling in my lower abdomen. I was
willing to bet Spartacus had nothing on Michael. Hopefully I didn’t
embarrass myself with staring, or even worse if I’d start
salivating
.

“
Wear this.” Grace held something shiny in her hand. “It’s not
a choker, but we can link the clasp on a shorter part of the chain
and make it look like one.

The
necklace, beautiful and obviously antique, was made of sterling and
shone like Grace had just polished it. “I can’t wear
that.”

“
I know Roman slaves wore copper, but this is so perfect.
It’s--”

“
Too expensive.” My fingers had a will of
their own and reached for the silver. The chain was cool, but the
aged Celtic pendant had a unique feel. Heavy but…different. I
couldn’t tell if it was hot or cold. I held it up to the light. The
pendant turned out to actually be some sort of vial with a ruby
inside. “Is this some kind of family heirloom?”
I’m not wearing this -- my luck
it belonged to Caleb’s mother.

“
Just try it on.” Grace took it from my
hand and clipped the chilly metal around my neck. Against my skin,
the pendant gave me goose bumps but warmed instantly.
How in the world did
it do that?

“
Don’t you look adorable, little sis,” Michael said
sarcastically from the hall doorway. “Apparently your idea of
tragedy is quite different than the rest of the worlds.”

Grace’s
bouffant hairdo blocked my view of Michael’s face. A round shield
covered his body, except for his bare legs and sandaled
feet.

“
Hardy-har-har.” Grace faked a girly laugh. “My shopping helped
you though. You’re quite dashing.”

“
Half naked in October? Don’t you th—” He froze as I stepped
beside Grace.

Grace
grinned, a wacky, I-got-you-good smile totally meant for her
brother. “Come on, don’t look so serious. It’s Halloween! Let her
be your slave for a night.”

Hot. Very hot.
Muscles and flesh and metal
everywhere. No wonder the Romans loved their gladiators. He could
have been a god. However, the scowl on his face stopped me from
sharing my thoughts.

He
glanced back and forth between the two of us. His face then broke
into a half-smile. “You do make a sexy slave.” He walked over and
reached for the necklace’s pendant. It seemed to burn with his
touch. His fingers cooled the skin against my collar and
neck.

My
breath caught. “This isn’t Caleb’s, is it?”

He
chuckled. Leaning forward, he gave me a tender kiss on the
forehead. “It’s definitely not Caleb’s.” He tucked a stray curl
behind my ear.

My head
spun. I wasn’t sure if it was from the moment as it seemed like
something deeper than just words were being said, or if it was
Michael’s close proximity, or the fact I’d forgotten to
breathe.

Grace
sighed quietly. I guess we should get going.”

We
headed down the stairs. I stared at Michael’s almost bare back.
Nice tight muscles, smooth skin with slightly protruding boney
shoulders. The guy probably had zero body fat.

Sarah waited at the bottom with a digital
camera. She snapped a photo and looked at the screen. “There’s a
back flash from Rouge.” Sarah glanced up and stared at my neck, her
eyes grew big. “Michael, did you put the
Siorghra
on her?” She sounded…almost
hopeful.

I stopped on the second to last
step.
What
the heck’s going on?
These people seemed to be leaving half their sentences
inside their heads.
What’s a Senora, or whatever they called it?
There was obviously
some hidden meaning. More strange secrets. I intended to find out,
after I knocked the necklace against the back of the head of
Grace.

“
Grace put it on.” Michael winked.

At me or
Sarah? I couldn’t tell.

“
It suits the outfit, doesn’t it?” Grace, grinning like a
madman, finally spoke up.

“
It looks gorgeous. Rouge looks gorgeous.” Sarah opened a
closet door. “Sweety, take this scarf wrap, in case you get cold.”
She held a sapphire blue scarf out to me.

“
Thanks.” I wrapped the pretty scarf around
my wrist not sure if I’d need it.
Better to have it and not need
it.

We drove
to the school in Michael’s car. My gladiator would never ride in a
tiny Smartcar. The music could be heard from the parking lot. I
climbed out of the car, setting the scarf on top as I flipped the
seat forward so Grace could crawl out.

We
walked around the side of the school and found Simon leaning
against the wall outside the gymnasium, dressed as Tuxedo
Ken.

He
grinned when he saw Grace. “It’s about time. I was beginning to
think you were going to stand me up! Damon said—”

“
He here?” Michael glanced around.

“
Damon?” Simon’s eyebrow’s mashed together. “No, he had some
family function or something.”

“
Probably couldn’t find a date.” Grace whispered.

We
headed inside. The gymnasium had been transformed. There were
flickering lights set against the walls to look like fireplaces,
roughly hand made tables and benches lined one side and students
sat drinking, snacking and laughing. Painted brick patterns covered
the walls and floors. A pair of thrones sat on the stage with
stage. An ancient castle made to look present day. A big cauldron
filled with fruit punch stood to the left of the stage.

“
I’ll get us some drinks.” Michael gave my hand a light squeeze
before disappearing into the crowd.

I
shivered. The janitor had probably put the fans or air-conditioning
on in the gym. Realizing I’d left the scarf on the hood of the car.
I leaned toward Grace. “I’ll be right back.”

Jogging
to the car, I hoped it hadn’t disappeared. It wasn’t on the top
where I’d left it. Bending down, I looked under the car and
frowned. Not there. I straightened and checked the top of the trunk
and hood. The wind had blown it against the wiper and luckily it
had caught on the end. I wrapped it over my shoulders.

I turned
around to head back to the gym and nearly jumped out of my skin.
Damon stood before me, his arms crossed tight over his
chest.

“
Sheesh. You scared me.” I swallowed. “I didn’t hear you come
up.”

“
Did you come with
her
? Simon said he was going as her
flippin’—Ken.” He spat on the ground and then leaned forward, his
pitch black eyes and hot breath smacked against my face like a
slap. “I’m obviously concerned for his safety.”

This guy’s freaking
nuts
. “I’ve
no clue what you’re talking about.”
Was he drunk
? As I looked into his eyes to see the
tell-tale red on white, Damon stepped back, like
I
terrified
him
.

“
You are so going to burn in hell for this one. You think you
can squirm your way into that family?”

He was crazy
.
“You’re the stupidest person I’ve ever met, and
believe me I’ve met some real idiots.”

“
Listen, bi--” he stopped mid-sentence and reached for my
neck.

Jammed
between him and the Mustang, I had nowhere to go. My hands curled
into fists and rose by my neck, trying to protect it. Was he going
to strangle me right in the school parking lot?

Instead,
he stepped back again, pulling one hand back like I’d burned him.
He swiped at my throat with the hand still in the air.

He’s trying to grab my necklace.
I clutched the
pendant, worried he’d lean in and rip it off.

Instead, he kept his distance, but the
venom in his voice couldn’t be missed. “So help me, Rouge. If
you
ever
come near me again, I’ll destroy you. I know exactly what
their
kind
are. And I’m not alone. More know. Lots more.” He snorted,
pointing at me. “Yeah, you tell your precious Michael that. Let him
know we’re going to annihilate him.” He turned and ran off into the
darkness.

He’s definitely crazy.
I couldn’t move. I’d forgotten
how to breathe. My brain told my body to walk back to the gym, to
get there as fast as I could, but I stood frozen, clasping the
pendant protectively in my hand.

“
You okay? What’s taking so long?” Michael walked around the
front of the car.

I
jumped. Dazed, I stared at him. What had Damon meant about
Michael’s kind. “I, um, left Sarah’s shawl on top of the car and
came out to get it. D-Damon stopped by…” my voice trailed
off.

“
What?” Michael swung around, doing a three sixty. “Where’d he
go?”

“
I dunno.” I raised my hand and twirled my fingers and then
snapped. “One moment he was here and the next, gone.” I stared into
the darkness where Damon had disappeared.

“
Let’s get outta here.” He unlocked the car doors.

I
blinked, trying to focus. “We can’t just leave Grace.” Damon could
go after her.

“
I’ll let her know.”

“
No. You wait here and I’ll ask Simon to drive Grace home.” I
needed a moment to catch my breath and my nerves.

“
I can – never mind.” He shook his head. “Go. I’ll make sure
Damon’s sorry ass isn’t poking around.”

“
I’ll be right back.” I sprinted off to the gym. My wobbly legs
needed to run out the adrenalin stuck inside them.

Grace
wasn’t hard to spot on the dance floor. She looked like she’d been
expecting me. Simon seemed to be dancing on his own.

“
Do you mind driving Grace home?” I asked him.

He
replied before Grace had a chance. “Love to! What kind of Ken would
I be?”

Grace
shook her head, looking directly at me. “What’d he
want?”

Did she mean Damon?
I hadn’t mentioned a
thing.
I
swallowed. Damon had taken off in the other direction. He wouldn’t
come back tonight.
“Michael and I just want to hang out.”

Simon
put his hand up for a high five, which I slapped, not understanding
why.

“
You go, girl!”

“
You’re still sleeping over, right?” Grace asked.

“
Yeah, I’ll see you back at the house.” I gave her a hug and
went to meet Michael waiting in the car.

We sat
in silence as Michael drove. Staring absently out the window, I
tried to figure out Damon’s weird behavior. Maybe he was on drugs.
Maybe he had something wrong with the processes in his brain. The
lack of cars and streetlights stopped my train of thought. A bluish
hue covered everything from the bright night sky. “Where’re we
going?”

“
We have a cabin by the lake. I figured we could hang out there
for a bit.” He let his foot off the gas. “That doesn’t sound right
at all. We hit a Tim Horton’s.”

“
Should I be scared?” I teased. “You’re taking me to a hidden
cabin in the woods and next week will I be the front headlines in
all the national papers?”

“
Ha-ha.” He laughed sarcastically. “The place is like fifteen
minutes away. I just thought it’d be easy to talk there. I go when
I want some peace and quiet.”

“
Then let’s go. We’re almost there now.” I trusted Michael and
I had a few questions myself.

He
flipped the blinker on and headed onto the exit. “It’s just a
couple miles down the road from here.”

Ten
minutes later he pulled onto a gravel lane. He drove the car easily
through the dark forest. A cabin stood in the distance with a glass
lake stretching behind it. The cabin was the kind you saw in those
country magazines. Modern, with a vintage look but absolutely
gorgeous. Michael, still in his Spartacus outfit and oblivious to
the cool air, opened the door and switched lights on as I followed
him in.