Wisteria (Wisteria Series) (31 page)

“After a few days we can journey home,” Lluc cheered.

The journey from Jarthan to the Family’s home took seven days. A Famila would need to fully regenerate before leaving for that trip. In Bach’s current state, he wouldn’t survive the trip.

“That would be wonderful. To finally have this forsaken place behind me,” Bach muttered on his way out. He retired to his quarters. He could rest for ten hours, he decided. He then sank into a very deep sleep in the early hours of the morning.

“Bach,” Wisteria whispered. Opening his eyes and through his lethargic haze, he saw her lying next to him, her fingers gently playing on his shoulder. As she did, he saw her arms were covered in black spots.

“Wisteria, what are you doing here?”

“Don’t you want me here?”

“Yes, but you need to hide. Now!” He sat up and instead of Wisteria, he saw Nular kneeling by his bed shaking him. What gave her the audacity to think she could touch him? “Leave me.” He dismissed her, but she didn’t leave. “I said go.” He growled as he lay back down.

“Sorry to disturb you, Eminent. Your brother says it is time to leave. He’s waiting for you at the threshold.”

“I am on my way.” He forced himself up.

Lluc, Enric, and a dozen of Lluc’s Thayns were waiting by the threshold when Bach arrived.

“Finally,” said Enric eagerly.

“Are you ready?” Lluc ran his hand over the control orb and the glass started to vibrate badly. It shattered, but the dark glass held in place.

Bach stepped forward to enter the window but Lluc stopped him. “You have been among the animals for too long,” Enric chided him. “A Thayn always goes first. Just in case it needs to be calibrated. This is still a new threshold.”

Nular moved toward the threshold, but Lluc scowled. “No, Nular wait. Nideer, you go.” Lluc pointed to another one. “Go now.”

Bach could have sworn Nular had black spots on her forearms, but looking again, there was none there.

“Yes sir.” Nideer put on an obsidian coral necklace. He approached the shattered glass of the threshold and touched the fractured surface. The glass started to creep over Nideer’s hand and the rest of his body. When he was completely covered, the Thayn was sucked into the window with no problem.

After several minutes, Bach stepped up to the threshold. He glanced down at his obsidian coral necklace for good measure. As the black glass started encasing him, Bach began feeling cold. In fact, he was freezing. Everything went dark until he stepped out on the other side. He walked from the side of a mountain and onto an enormous white stone bridge.

Beneath it, the Astolat River raged violently, crashing against the mountains. Though the bridge stood miles above the water, the waves moved so fiercely that the bridge itself rocked. In the distance was a white castle built into a mountain, Jarthan Castle. There were legends that once great kings ruled all realms from this castle. Now it was the last defense, should the evil try to enter the Family’s realm. Bach chuckled, remembering the tales his mother told him.

Taking in the sight of the orange sky, he smiled because he was no longer on Terra and almost home. He watched the waves while transfixed by the motion as he thought about the last few days and his mind settled on Wisteria.

“Is it not calming, Beloved?” Alba put her arms around him. “Just watching the water can make you forget all your troubles.” Alba was from the Third Pillar and was the daughter of the Lord of Jarthan and her father lived in Jarthan Castle.

Bach’s mother had been the Lady of Jarthan, up until she fell in love and married his father.

“I hear your trip was rough this time?”
Her
green eyes sparkled as she spoke into his ear, so he could hear her over the waves.

“Where is Lluc?” Bach looked around as the rest of the Thayns emerged from the other thresholds next to him. “He went ahead of me?”

“We thought it would be better if we spoke alone,” she said as her short, almost pure white, hair blew in the wind.

“Why?” Bach called, trying to be heard over the waves and wind.

“Felip has spoken to me about the Terran girl.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked as the water from the river blow sprayed them knocking down several Thayns. “Your father has not taught you how to control the waters?”

“My father has not taught me because he has not figured it out himself. Bach, you should not feel guilty about how you feel about the Terran girl,” Alba continued. “You never know, this might be what the Great Walk is about. Trying new things and discovering who you are. Do it now, and get it out of your system, or you will be useless to your brother when he becomes the Sen of your Pillar.”

“Really, Alba, I do not know what you are talking about.” Bach forced a smile.

The Lord of Jarthan was one of the Seven Elders. If Alba’s father heard what she was saying, the Sen of the Third Pillar would find out and there would be hell to pay.

“My Great Walk is over.” Bach backed away from her. “But I appreciate your concern.”

She placed one hand on his forehead and then shook her head as she turned back to face the waters below. “Interesting,” she muttered.

“What?” he inquired after some seconds of silence.

“I am not a mind reader,” she joked. “You just have very soft skin.”

Bach laughed. “Whoa!” He felt a sharp jolt shoot through his head.

She’d pulsed him with her blue light.

“Why?” he groaned.

“To speed up your regeneration. It is faster when someone helps you.” It was years since he needed another to help restore his health and the pulse hurt more than he remembered. No wonder Wisteria screamed when he was teasing her. “Ah…” he moaned, as it felt like his brain was hammering violently against his skull.

“Beloved.” She placed her arms around him. “Clearly, there is a lot more Terran poison inside of you. It will take us awhile to restore you.”

“Alba, wait.” He clutched her wrists. “We should at least go inside.”

“Just work through it.” She gently caressed his back. “You will feel much better if you let it pass.”

“Thank you…” Bach whispered before he passed out.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Wisteria didn’t go to school for three days. Instead she spent her days either at home or working in the library. She told her mother she wasn’t ready to face Hailey, but Wisteria felt lost. Her mother simply told Wisteria she’d get over it. Getting over Hailey’s humiliation yes, but getting over Bach? Wisteria didn’t know and that scared her.

Today, she sat on the floor, reading on the third floor of the library. Here, she was alone with her thoughts and Hailey and her friends never showed up in this place.

Suddenly, her book was snatched from her hands. Startled, she looked up to see who took it.

Coles was standing over her with his arms crossed. “So, are you going to tell me why you aren’t in school today?”

“No.” She reached for the book. “Please, may I have my book back?”

“Please? You’re incredibly polite for someone who’s in a lot of trouble.” He handed the book back to her.

“Because I wasn’t in school?”

“No, because I had to listen to Sir Charles go on and on about how no one gets special treatment and how everyone has to earn their keep.”

“My mother said she spoke to you.”

“She did and you had one day off, not three, Wisteria. Now you’ve got to get yourself back to school.” Coles crouched down in front of her. “Let’s go.”

“Do you make every student your personal responsibility? You’re the head of security, aren’t there biters you’re supposed to be curing?”

“I could drag you to school. Your choice.”

“I don’t need you to go with me. I know the way.” Slowly, she rose and headed down the stairs, out of the library. She reached the doors of her classroom after the long walk to get there. There was no noise inside because they were having mathematics and she knew that Mr. Cheung had zero tolerance on everything.

Wisteria closed her eyes for moment and opened the classroom door.

All eyes were on her.

“Nice scarf,” a girl called out and some students snickered.

“You shut up.” Cheung pointed at the girl. “Wisteria, sit down now.”

Wisteria walked in, passing Yvette’s desk.

The girl stuck her foot out, making it impossible for Wisteria to pass. “Where’s your flesh eater boyfriend?” Yvette sneered. “You couldn’t get a real boyfriend, so you picked a biter.”

“Just let me pass.” Wisteria tried to ignore the other children laughing.

“What are you going to do….bite her?” Karen taunted as more students laughed.

“Get out of my way.” Wisteria pushed Yvette’s leg back.

“Ah,” Yvette called out. “Mr. Cheung, Wisteria’s trying to break my leg off.”

“What?” She turned back to her teacher. “That isn’t true.”

Mr. Cheung stood still while watching her as though he was thinking about something. He appeared to be in a trance. “Okay, that’s enough.” He seemed to snap out of his daze. “Wisteria, sit down now. The next time someone says a word, everyone’s going to do a shift in pest control. And I am certain Garfield will tell you just how wonderful it is.” He scanned the room, as if daring someone to speak.

Yvette removed her leg from Wisteria’s path. As Wisteria moved, the class erupted into laughter.

“Wisteria.” Garfield pointed behind her.

She turned and saw Hailey with a huge smile on her face while holding Wisteria’s green scarf.

“Hailey, you bloody cow!” Garfield called out.

“Not a word,” Mr. Cheung reminded them. “Hailey, put the scarf down.”

Hailey smirked, crumpled up the scarf, and tossed it across the room.

“Get out of my class, Miss Davenport. Congratulations everyone, you get to spend four hours this week in pest control.”

Everyone groaned, but Hailey gave Wisteria a dirty look.

Wisteria nodded, walked up to Hailey, and punched her in the face, sending the girl flying back across her desk.

Yvette and Karen jumped up to Hailey’s defense.

Wisteria hit Karen across the face with a textbook, also sending the girl falling to the ground.

Yvette looked afraid and stepped aside while Amanda handed Wisteria her scarf.

 
Wisteria walked past Steven, who turned bright red. She then calmly took her seat next to Garfield.

“What the hell was that?” he asked her.

“I don’t know.” But her hands were shaking.

“Mackenzie said you had a dark rage,” Garfield reminded her.

“That is it!” Mr. Cheung shouted. “Wisteria, Hailey, Karen, Garfield, and just to remind you I can, Steven! Get the hell out of my class now.”

“Mr. Cheung, she attacked us,” Hailey screamed, while getting to her feet.

“Well done, Hailey.” Mr. Cheung’s face was bright red now. “You have earned everyone else, and I mean
everyone
, eight hours tonight at pest control treatment.”

Wisteria left the classroom while re-tying her scarf.

 
Garfield followed right after her. “Wisteria, what did they do to your hair?” He was grimacing in horror.

“What do you think they did? I don’t want to talk about it.”

He nodded then put his arm around her shoulder as if trying to comfort her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you these last few days. I’ve been trying to keep a low profile since the boys left.”

She tried to laugh. “I hope I didn’t ruin your chances with Amanda?”

“No, Amanda and I are on a break. We needed our space.”

“In your dreams,” she muttered.

While the two friends walked home from school, they saw the battered quarantine van drive past.

She caught herself hoping that Bach was inside, but that was foolishness. Only Nero could bring back the dead and Bach was immune to it. And if by some miracle he was alive, he would’ve easily come to see her by now.

The van parked at the end of the road and a tall man got out. It was Corporal Blair.

“Check it out, your best friend.” Garfield nudged her. “You should say hi.”

Blair stopped and grimaced at Wisteria before three people stepped out of the car.

“Ooh, some fresh meat,” Garfield joked.

“They look familiar,” Wisteria remarked as they neared the house.

“Why aren’t you in school?” Blair yelled at them as they approached. “Missing school will cut down your monthly rations.”

He was right. Her family already lost some of this month’s rations because Wisteria missed three days of school. It hadn’t been too bad. Coles shared some of his with her mother, but she needed to start attending regularly before town hall decided on something more drastic.

“Both of you get lost,” Blair commanded. “Or the next time you go down, Wisteria, you will stay down.” He glared at both children from head to toe with a look she could only describe as disgust. “This way,” he said to the new arrivals.