TIED (A Fire Born Novel) (2 page)

“Lock the Grim, Layla.”

“For what?” I shouted and turned around to find Benny with her arms on her hips. “No one’s going to steal it. Look at it.” I pointed to where my car, the Grim as Benny liked to call it, sat parked. It was the color of mud and looked like a semi-truck had smashed into the tail end of it at about ninety miles an hour. It had bug-eye headlights and a thick faded orange stripe running up each side toward the hatch-back where it flared out in three smaller stripes. The makeshift convertible top the previous owner had attempted to rig himself was so loose it barely kept the rain out. No one in their right mind would steal it.

I turned my back on both of them and resumed the climb across campus, sighing as they continued to whisper. I knew my behavior was upsetting them—my angry outbursts—my temper spikes, especially since I’d stopped trying to control them all the time.

No one, though, was aware of my visions, or whatever they were. The more I tried to understand them, the more confused I became. The angrier I became. I’d tried to block the thoughts, to push them away and ignore them all, but years had passed since my last cherished memory, or what I’d hoped with all my heart was a memory. For six years—since I was eleven—I’d seen strange, unexplainable things.

After bringing up Max’s name so many times that my mother threatened to send me to a psychologist, I’d stopped asking about him—stopped talking about him altogether.

Even worse, I could only remember pieces of my past. While other kids recalled skinned knees and sleepovers, I conjured up snippets of voices and muddled colors. Besides my mom, Benny was the only constant in my life, and even memories I knew I had to have had with her were sometimes impossible to call up. I didn’t understand it.
Who doesn’t remember the majority of their life?

“Layla, wait.” Devon jogged up to me and reached for my arm. His golden eyes implored concern. “Did I say something wrong?”

My shoulders relaxed. “I’m tired. Benny was telling the truth.”
It’s only a small lie.

He bowed his head, peering down at me. “Okay, well, as long as that’s all.”

I nodded, giving him a half-smile.

“Meet you at lunch.” He kissed me on the cheek and ran off as the second bell sounded. As sweet as Devon was, he would never understand me, and sometimes, knowing that, made everything worse.

• • •

All the other dancers sat in huddled groups on the scuffed wood floor of the studio as I walked in. The morning light reflected off the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, casting tiny rainbow prisms along the walls, as the stench of sweat hung in the still, thick air.

“
Shh!
She’s right there.” Dena, my understudy for the spring show of Sleeping Beauty, sat across the room. She dropped her stare when my gaze met hers. We’d been through the same dancing drill together for years. Same classes. Same performances. Her disdain for me was known. She twisted her hair into a knot at the back of her head, obviously pretending I hadn’t busted her running her mouth again. Between dancing as my understudy, and me dating Devon—the only boy she ever ‘truly’ liked—her hate was ingrained. Not that I cared.

“Places along the barre. Quiet down. First position please.” Ms. Trudy clapped her hands together. “And one, and two, and three. Chins up, heads high, shoulders down,” she said in time with the classical music. The steady repetitive rhythm, the music I’d known all my life, the same low droning chant of Ms. Trudy’s voice, all of it fell over me.

Sunlight shone through the high windows in cascading sheets, its warmth touching my face. I closed my eyes, raising my head to meet its heat, my grand plies repeating in perfect unison, and let the slow music take over.

“Nice, Layla. Very nice.” Ms. Trudy’s voice rang out right before it faded.

••

The sun blazes through the tree line, and Max paces in the underbrush, halfway hidden by thickets and shadows.

“Where have you been?” He rushes forward.

“Benny was on alert all morning. She’s been setting traps to catch me,” I say.

“What?” His eyes widen.

I shrug, picking beggars’ lice off my shirt. “She doesn’t like you.”

“Maybe you should go back.” He drags a hand through his hair.

“Go back?” My arm drops, leaving my shirt covered in little green specs. “What are you talking about?”

“I … I don’t want you to get in trouble.” He averts his gaze.

“Since when are you worried about me getting in trouble?” I ask.

“Never mind, it’s nothing.” His smile is fake.

I’m not buying the mock reassurance. “Max, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.” He bites his bottom lip, his gaze skirting the trees. “I’m trying to look out for you.”

“Uh-huh. What’s up?”

“I told you.
Nothing
.” He shoves his hands in his pockets.

“Max …”

Lifting an eyebrow, he grins. “Race you to the falls.” He crouches forward like a cat ready to pounce, hands resting on his knees.

“Distractions won’t work.”

“No?” He takes off running.

I catch his hand as he turns and catapult myself past him.

“Hey, no cheating!”

I laugh, as he runs up behind me, his breathing steady. Our pounding feet sink in the thick wet grass of the open field. Max is taller than me, with longer legs, but I’m faster, and he hates it. The rush of crashing water leads us to the ledge, each of us pushing harder to stay in the lead.

“Don’t jump, Layla!” He reaches out.

His hand in mine, I pull us both off the ledge in a blind leap.

We plummet into the depths of the waterfall, Max‘s hand gripping mine. As our heads break free of the churning froth, he lets go, splashing me in the face.

“Hey.” I push water back at him. “What was that for?”

“For getting here first.” As he shakes his sandy brown hair out of his face, droplets of water run down his golden skin, and the corner of his mouth lifts in a grin.

I splash him again and swim to the edge of the pool, climbing onto the bank in dripping wet clothes. He follows, and sits next to me, wiping the water from his grey eyes.

“Lay, we’ve been friends for a long time.”

“Yeah.” I lean back against a gardenia bush covered in pure white blooms, their rich sweetness intoxicating the air.

“You’re my best friend.”

“I know that. You’re acting so weird today.” I nudge his shoulder, and say, “Beat you to the ledge again,” and spring to my feet, leaving him sitting on the bank.

“Layla!” He races after me.”Wait!” Grabbing me around the waist, he sends us both over the ledge in a tangle.

“What are you doing?” I shove him as our heads rise above the surface of the water.

“Be quiet.” Putting his finger to his lips, he drags me behind the falls onto the rock shelf. “Someone’s coming.”

Distant footsteps approach, crunching through the crisp leaves on the forest floor. Voices reach us.

“Stay still. It’s Lorelei.”

My mother walks through the forest, her sister at her side.

“They are here. You must find them.” She paces through the trees. “This is not safe.”

“Sister, please. There is no need for your concern. They are in no danger here.”

“No danger? My daughter is to be nowhere near the boy. I warned him to stay away.”

I try to shift my position, but Max pushes me back. “Stop moving.”

“Warned him?” my aunt asks.

“Yes.” My mother’s gaze sweeps past our hiding place. “The bond grows stronger by the day. Their connection, their energy. Teine must be kept hidden. Away from this world, away from the boy. They must be separated.”

“That isn’t necessary No one knows they exist.”

“We know! Others might know as well.”

My aunt gathers her cloak around her body. “It wasn’t I who placed the curse. That untimely deed falls on your shoulders, sister.”

“Once the truth of the children’s existence is revealed, my simple curse will no longer matter. I will be hard pressed to keep our enemies at bay.” My mother wrings her hands.

“Your attempt to sway the children must end. As long as the light shines, we will remain safe.”

“You presume too much, and do not speak to me in that tone. I am still the eldest.”

“Tone? I speak with understanding, but my patience wears thin. You renounced your position here. You are a fool to think you can keep the children apart. Let them be, or I am afraid you will regret it.”

Max turns to me. “You have to go.”

“No.”

“Your mother is trying to separate us. You
have
to go.”

“We’re not doing anything wrong.” I start to rise, but he grabs me by the shoulder, eyes staring into mine.

“You heard your mother. She believes you’re not safe here. She thinks it’s dangerous for us to be together.”

I stare back into his face, confusion welling up. “Then I’ll explain it to her.”

“Layla, please. For me. Go back now. Stay safe.” He pulls me into a hug before standing.

“But … wait.” I reach for his hand.

He wrenches it free, his gaze roving over my face. “I’m sorry.”

“Max!”

I sit alone with only the sound of water splashing against the cliff.

“Max!”

• • •

“Layla.” Benny’s terrified voice rang out above me. Her fear-filled eyes came into focus as glaring fluorescent lights radiated down from the ceiling. “Can you see me?”

“Who else would I see? You’re in my face.” I shielded my eyes from the light’s glare, the vision reverberating through my mind. The same vision I’d seen a hundred times before. The one I thought had to be a memory but knew couldn’t be. The vision that made my heart ache as if it were being ripped out.

A crowd of dancers hovered around, all gazes fixed on me as I hastily wiped my damp eyes.

What did I do?

“I told you she was crazy,” Dena said.

“Shut your mouth, Dena, or I will.” Benny’s threat came out calm and controlled.

“Let me up,” I said.

“Back away. Back away now.” Ms. Trudy pushed her way through everyone and knelt down. “Layla, are you all right?”

My head throbbed, mind spinning as she rose to her feet, pulling me slowly to mine. As my knees buckled, Benny swooped in and draped my arm over her shoulder.

“Let’s get you some water.” Ms. Trudy steered me into the hallway. “I believe you’re overheated. It’s very warm today.” The chill from the air conditioner, and Ms. Trudy’s jasmine perfume, sent shivers up my spine and made me want to gag. “Benny, you may go back to rehearsal. I believe I have the situation under control.”

“No, ma’am, I’ll stay.” Benny’s tone was unthreatening but firm and Ms. Trudy didn’t argue.

“I’m okay, Ben, really.” My voice, on the other hand, must have given her the impression I wasn’t because she tightened her grip.

“Sit down for a few minutes until you compose yourself. I’ll get you some water.” Ms. Trudy headed down the hall, wringing her hands.

“What happened?” Benny hissed under her breath after Ms. Trudy rounded the corner.

“I don’t know.” I slid down the wall, to the floor, shaking. “I closed my eyes for a second and then I woke up with you crouching over me.”

Her scrutinizing, unbelieving eyes narrowed. “You just passed out?”

“I guess.”

Ms. Trudy rushed back, carrying a glass of water. “Drink this.” She thrust the warm, right-out-of-the-tap water into my hands.

Gross.
I handed it back.

“Perhaps you should see the nurse.”

“No. No nurses. I’m fine, really.”

“Well, if you say so, but no rehearsal for you today. Benny, please help Layla into the dressing room so she can get changed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Benny tugged on me as though I was five years old.

“I can walk on my own.” I pulled my arm out of her grasp.

“What the hell was that, Layla?” She shifted in front of me, blocking my way. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing’s
going on
.” I pushed passed her. “I … blacked out.”

“Blacked out?” She ran up beside me. “Blacked out? You think that’s normal? That’s not normal.”

“I didn’t say it was normal.”

“No, you didn’t. You don’t
say
anything lately.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”
What does she mean by that?

She stomped passed me. “You’re going to give me a heart attack, I swear.” She ranted along under her breath and disappeared inside the dressing room.

I tried my best to control my trembling limbs. If Benny thought I was in a panicked state, I’d end up at the E.R. with her hovering over me. Hallucinations at school weren’t something that had happened before, and I’d never passed out. Ever. Not that I should have been too surprised. What should I have expected after having become a semi-insomniac?

I pushed the vision into the depths of my brain, shook off the eerie chills that accompanied it, and made Benny promise not to tell Devon what happened.

• • •

He tracked me down in the
outside courtyard during study hall.

“I went to the nurse’s office.” He hugged his chest. “To the dance studio and the girls’ bathroom.” He gripped his side, leaning over the picnic table, trying to catch his breath. “Are you all right?”

Benny, unable to keep her mouth shut, had spilled the truth.

“I’m fine. Benny’s overreacting.” I glowered at her where she sat with me at a table.

“Scoot over.” He nudged my shoulder and slumped down. “Don’t scare me like that again.” He huffed, his breath still ragged.

“I told Benny not to tell you.”

He stopped breathing altogether and glared at me. I didn’t say anything else.

• • •

During lunch, Devon asked the cafeteria lady to create an ice pack out of zip-locks and paper towels, after I’d refused again to go to the nurse. He held it on my head himself. Between him and Benny, I was lucky not to have been admitted to the hospital.

I poked around at my pizza—usually my favorite, but my appetite seemed to be lying on the floor in the dance studio.

The cafeteria, my least favorite place in school, made my stomach turn. Not to mention the inescapable deafening high school drama prattle. I’d never been that girl who attended every football game, and cried on the last day of school because summer break meant three whole months away from the cheerleading squad. I wanted out of high school.