SilverMoonLight (SilverMoonSaga Book 1) (25 page)

He
looked at Ethan apologetically. »I’m sorry, Ethan, I should have explained all
of this sooner. I should have stopped Emma even coming here.«

I
looked at him angrily.

»Don’t
you think I had a right to know?«

»We
thought it would be better and safer for you this way. It was primarily your
mother’s decision, and I had to accept that. I really regret not having stopped
you and Calum spending time together from the start. But...I would never have
expected something like this to happen again.«

»What
role do you play in all of this?« asked Peter.

»There
are families like mine all over the world. We’re known as ‘The Initiates’,« Dr.
Erickson explained. »Centuries ago, when the beings from our ‘myths and
legends’ decided to retreat from our world, they came to an agreement with the
Initiates at the time which was designed to allow them to be part of our world
at regular intervals. They wanted to stay in contact with humans, in the hope
that they could come back someday. Unfortunately, this hope hasn’t yet been
fulfilled.«

His
sadness was clear to see.

»Unfortunately,
I have to admit that a large number of the shellycoats have been hostile to
people since then. That’s why relationships between humans and shellycoats are
still rejected, and children produced by such unions aren’t recognized by the
clan. I don’t even know when there was last a halfling.«

Calum
and he looked at each other.

»There
was a time,« said Calum, continuing the story, »when partnerships with humans
weren’t uncommon. But they were forbidden at the time of the Great Wars and
made into punishable crimes. A woman who gets into a relationship with a
shellycoat, or even a man for that matter, is condemned to death. Those are the
rules. The secret has to be protected at all costs.«

Peter
had been leaning forward, hanging on to every word that Dr. Erickson or Calum
uttered. Now that neither of them was speaking, he leant back and let out a
loud sigh.

For
hours, we considered and debated every argument for and against.

»This
knowledge is very dangerous, let’s be clear about that,« Dr. Erickson warned us
for the umpteenth time. »And I can’t predict how the Great Council will react
if it finds out that so many humans know about their existence. To be honest, I
fear the worst. The mood isn’t good.«

»Maybe
we should wait and see,« I suggested timidly.

»Your
return to the States is a done deal, Emma. I thought that was clear,« Ethan
interrupted.

Then
Bree spoke up. Looking Ethan in the eyes, she said: »No, Ethan, it’s not clear.
Not now that I know about this. Your sister was destroyed by the breakup, and I
won’t let the same thing happen to Emma. She will stay here as long as
possible, and she will be allowed to meet up with Calum.« Her tone made it
clear that she was unwilling to back down. »We’ll just have to find another
solution.«

Ethan
looked at her, incensed, but Bree held his gaze. After a short while, he gave
in and sighed.

»Maybe
you’re right; maybe it’s safer for her to be here. Okay, Emma, you can stay.«

Filled
with relief, I flung my arms around Calum and snuggled up against him. A stone
as large as Mount Everest fell away from my heart.

»Under
one condition,« Dr. Erickson interjected.

»And
that is?« I asked mistrustfully.

»That
you have to promise to be careful. Avoid going near water; you never know who
might see you. It has to stay a secret. And Calum, I hope you know where the
line is for you and Emma.« He looked at Calum insistently until he nodded.

For
me, the only thing that mattered at that moment was that we were allowed to
stay together; for that, I would have promised anything.

After
that evening, something resembling normality returned to our lives. But the
cold temperatures taking possession of the land outside no longer bothered me.

Calum
and I were now spending every afternoon together. I didn't have to sneak out of
the house secretly any longer. Either he came to us, or I went to the parsonage
with him after school. Twice a week, we went to see Sophie in the shop. Most of
those afternoons were spent helping her to sort through and catalogue the new
books that were constantly arriving. The shop never lost its fascination for
me, no matter how often I went there. Once we were done with the work, Sophie
would prepare tea for the three of us in the little kitchen, and often she
would put aside books she thought we should read. The afternoons we spent at
the parsonage were spent snuggled together under the warm quilt, reading out
loud to each other from our favorite sections of these books. Calum loved
The
Catcher in the Rye
,
Moby Dick
,
The Great Gatsby
and
Macbeth
.

Sophie
had chosen a few classics for me, and the well-thumbed copies of
The Scarlet
Letter
,
Wuthering Heights
and
Jane Eyre
regularly moved me to
tears, much to Calum’s amusement. That would usually be the moment when he
would take the book from my hands and pull me close to kiss me.

As
Christmas approached, Ethan and Bree decided we would celebrate it with the
Ericksons. Fate had cemented our families together. They arrived with Calum in
the evening. Sophie and Bree had begun the preparations days before, and none
of the rest of us had been allowed into the kitchen. The two of them were
incredibly secretive. Never before had I experienced such a festive atmosphere
around the holiday season. My mother and I had always spent it alone, just the
two of us. Looking back now, that seemed kind of depressing.

After
we’d all had some tea, Calum pulled me aside.

»Emma,«
he said ceremoniously, his voice trembling with anticipation. »I didn’t know
what to get you. After all, you already have my heart.«

He
smiled at me and I reached for the little aquamarine stone around my neck, knowing
full well that he didn’t mean that heart.

»I
found something in an antique shop in London during the summer holidays and
bought it in the hope I would be able to give it to you someday.«

I
felt my cheeks reddening. He pulled a small black box from his trouser pocket.
I opened the lid carefully. Encased in red velvet lay a pair of earrings in the
shape of little silver mermaids. They had tiny blue eyes and matched my
necklace perfectly.

»They’re
beautiful,« I whispered.

He
beamed at me. »You like them?«

Instead
of answering, I rose onto my tiptoes to hug and kiss him. After a few moments,
Ethan’s cough interrupted us and I let Calum go, embarrassed.

January
consisted mainly of school exams. Calum would be doing his finals in the summer
and the preparations for it were very demanding. I managed to suppress any
thoughts as to what would happen after that; the teachers seemed to think we
all had to refresh everything we had learnt so far, so there was plenty of
distraction.

We
studied together almost every day. In spite of the fact that he had more to do,
Calum usually finished before me. Whenever I complained, he would tease me,
commenting on his superior age and experience.

As
the weeks passed, I wished things could stay like this forever. The nights of the
full moon still made me uneasy, though. Every time he went, I would get scared,
worried that he wouldn’t come back, that someone had found out and betrayed us.
Even though Calum tried to reassure me, I could feel that he shared my fears.

I
spent those nights standing by the window for hours on end, waiting for him to
come back. It was only once he returned and I could feel the warmth of his body
against mine that I relaxed.

»I
doubt we have Ethan’s permission for this. What do you think?« he had asked me
in December, the first time he came to me at night.

»Not
a chance. But it’s only for these nights, if you didn’t come I might die of
fear,« I had replied pleadingly. If the decision were mine, I would have wanted
him to spend every night with me, but we didn’t want to push our luck.

At
the end of March, when the days began to get longer and warmer, we started to
go back into the woods again. I asked him whether going to the little pond
could be dangerous for us; after all, we had promised not to go near the water.

»No,
no shellycoat would go there. The pond is too shallow, so it’s safe for us. And
besides, we’re not going in, although I’d really love to know…« He looked at
me, lost in thought.

»What?«
I asked.

But
he shook his head and changed the subject.

Another
month passed, and once again I stood by the open window waiting for him to come
back. It was unusually warm for an April night. The wind brushed softly across
the grass, and the bright, full moon shimmered in the sky. As beautiful as
these nights were, I feared them. Realizing that he was normally back by this
time, I became increasingly agitated. I kept thinking I could see him in the
distance, but it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. Each time it
turned out to be an illusion. By two in the morning, I had left my vigil by the
window and was typing furiously on my laptop. All of a sudden, I heard the
familiar creak of the window. But instead of looking up, I stared fixedly at
the screen.

»I’m
sorry,« he laughed softly. »I didn’t think you’d wait up this long.«

He
sat down next to me on the bed.

»Aren’t
you cold?«

He
looked at me sitting there in my T-shirt and shorts. I didn’t answer. He slowly
and tenderly covered my throat and the nape of my neck with kisses.

»You’re
mad at me,« he established.

I
shook my head.

»I
can tell, you know, you can’t hide it from me.«

My
fear seemed to amuse him.

»Stop
it,« I said, pulling away. »I’m not mad, I’m furious. You were gone for far too
long. Each time you go I almost die with fear that you won’t come back, and
then you just make fun of me.«

He
ignored my words, instead pulling me closer to him and stroking my neck with
his lips. Shudders coursed through my body.

»Stop
it,« I tried to protest. »it’s impossible to be mad at you when you’re doing
that.«

»Exactly,
that’s the plan.«

He
pulled me onto his lap and covered my lips with his. My resistance melted away.

He
seemed euphoric, just like every time when he came back, as if these nights
reinvigorated him somehow. I couldn’t even begin to understand what they meant
to him.

»I’ve
been thinking,« he said after a while. »I’d like to try something…but I’m
warning you, it’s pretty crazy. Okay, it’s completely insane.«

I
looked at him, confused. When he spoke to me in that tone, I couldn’t refuse
him anything.

»Come
on, put some clothes on.«

He
swiftly gathered up the things I had left scattered over my bedroom floor,
shaking his head in mock despair at my untidiness. Then he helped me to climb
out of the window. Hand in hand, we ran over the meadow.

»Where
are you taking me?« I asked as we got into the car.

»It’s
a surprise.«

He
drove off.

»How
was it tonight?« I tried to make my question sound casual.

»Same
as always.«

He
sounded calm and composed, but his eyes were gleaming with excitement. He
reached for my hand and pulled it to his lips.

I
leaned back in my seat and fell silent. He clearly wasn’t going to tell me what
he had planned.

It
was a while before we arrived at our destination. I got out and looked around.
If there hadn’t been a full moon, it would have been pitch dark, and we were
surrounded by mountains.

»Calum,
what’s going on?« I asked, nervous.

»There’s
no need to be afraid. I just want to at least try.«

He
grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him. I had to struggle to keep up
with him and not lose my footing in the darkness. He strode quickly, taking
huge paces up the mountain path. I was concentrating so much on the uneven
ground beneath my feet that I wasn’t paying any attention to where we were
going. It was only when he stopped abruptly, causing me to crash into him, that
I looked up. We were standing on a hilltop, and beneath our feet was a lake,
embedded in the green slope. The water looked pitch-black.

Calum
grinned broadly at me, but I just shook my head in confusion.

»Why
are you dragging me out here in the middle of the night?« I asked suspiciously.

»I’d
like you to come swimming with me.«

His
eyes glittered expectantly.

»You
can’t be serious.«

I
shook my head and took a step back, but he gripped onto my hand tightly.

»Apart
from the fact that I never go swimming in lakes, especially not in the middle
of the night, there’s also the small matter of a promise we made.«