Dark Muse: An Indie Paranormal Sampler Read online

Nelly was waiting for me outside the door, and I stepped out onto the porch with her. Letting out a big breath, I steeled myself for the run ahead of us. I glanced at her, and she gave me a sympathetic smile. I smiled back because I couldn’t help it. Nelly is just that way. Her moods tend to be contagious. Also, this was one thing our Mother insisted we both do, and it was hard on both of us.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  “As I’ll ever be,” she replied.

  I gave her another smile. It was the same response she gave every day, and I admired her for her optimism. Despite the unfair treatment from our Mother, I loved Nelly. She was all I had in this world and the only reason I hadn’t left long ago. Our Mother was right about one thing: we needed to stay together. I had to protect her. From what? I was still figuring that one out. I just knew she needed me.

  “Alright,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  Nelly jumped off the porch and set off at an impressive rate in the direction of our school. I let her get a few paces ahead before jumping off the porch myself and racing after her. She was fast, but I was faster.

  I caught up to her, and we kept up pace as we ran down the road that would take us to Levland High School. She grinned and shook her head as I fell into step just behind her. This was another thing our Mother insisted on: always keep Nelly in your line of sight.

  We didn’t talk much on this run. It was hard enough, with the three and a half mile trip, just to keep up a steady pace. Our heavy backpacks didn’t make it any easier.

  It could have been worse, though. Our last school had been six miles from the house and the terrain had been full of hills. This road was flat and hard-packed. Thank God for small favors.

  My thoughts churned as I ran, and I actually took time to enjoy the scenery around me. We lived in a small town in Missouri, and springtime was just starting to set in. Another thing I was grateful for. Running in snow sucks.

  Inevitably, my mind soared back to the blackbird. It was impossible not to think of, especially since the day seemed to match my good mood. I had done a good thing this morning, a humane thing, and this fact seemed to fuel me as my feet pounded the dirt road.

  Every blooming wildflower had its face lifted and was smiling at me, rewarding me by wrapping its sweet scent around my body. I felt like Mother Nature was thanking me, hoping I would do the same for her if she were ever suffering. And, promising me that kindness in return, should I ever need it.

  The sun shined brightly in my eyes, and I was pleased that I’d remembered my sunglasses this morning. Glancing over at Nelly told me she hadn’t.

  I jogged up beside her, took off the sunglasses, and held them out to her. She shook her head and forced out, “It’s okay, you keep them.” I shook my head and continued holding them out to her. Finally, she took them and put them on, nodding her thanks.

  Squinting my eyes the rest of the way, I fell back a few paces behind her. It was so ingrained in me to take care of her, even in the smallest of ways, that I hadn’t thought twice about handing over the sunglasses.

  Finally, I saw the school up ahead and Nelly and I picked up our pace. The sooner we reached it, the sooner we could stop. School buses were pulling in the lot as we reached the mouth of the school. Nelly and I met our destination and went to lean against the big oak tree near the school’s entrance. As I watched the students file out of their buses, I couldn’t help but feel a little envious. There was a bus that went right by our house, but our Mother insisted that running was essential.

  “Bullshit,” I said, still struggling to catch my breath. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my cigarettes and a lighter. I set fire to one as I glared at the students exiting the buses.

  “Don’t swear,” Nelly chastised me, “And the run would probably be easier on you if you quit that stupid smoking.”

  I smirked. “It would be easier on me if I could ride the damn bus like everyone else.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Come on, or we’ll be late for class.”

  I nodded and threw the cigarette to the ground, stomping it out. We entered the school and she gave me a quick hug before parting to go to her first period class. Nelly was a sophomore and I was junior, so we had no classed together. I wished she would have been able to jump ahead into some of my classes, like she had at our last school, she was certainly smart enough.

  I watched Nelly leave, mildly annoyed as a group of her friends surrounded her, eager to swap rumors, as they were every morning. Nelly was better at that than me, I guess. I was the only one she really cared about in this world, but she could pretend her ass off that she cared about other people as well. That’s not to say that she wouldn’t help them if she could, that just meant she only really cared about me.

  I’m sure I was just jealous, which is not something I like to admit. But, I didn’t really have any friends; I was never good at pretending. And, anyhow, people tended to avoid me. They didn’t talk to me. They usually wouldn’t even meet my eyes. Sometimes I felt like the plague personified. That’s how they behaved. As if looking into my eyes would cost them dearly; as if they would lose their soul, or be frozen solid like the onlookers of Medusa. People just tended to avoid me.

  Well, most people.

  “Hey, Alexa, wait up!” called a voice behind me.

  I knew who it was before I turned around. The options were limited. Like I said, I had no friends.

  Unless you counted Jackson Kane. Jackson was the only person who didn’t treat me like a deadly disease. For whatever reason, Jack got me. He understood me, possibly because people treated him the same way.

  Jackson swung his arm up and over my shoulder as he walked alongside me, and my lips pulled upward in an involuntary smile. Usually, I’m not one for physical contact. I’m a “personal bubble” person. But, with Jack, I didn’t mind it so much. It didn’t make me uncomfortable. And, part of me was just always amazed that he was willing to get close enough to me to touch me.

  It also didn’t hurt that Jack was rather attractive. All of the girls at school were in love with him, but most of them just seemed too intimidated by him to even begin a conversation. Like me, I suppose he just has that “back off” way about him.

  “What’s up, Jack?” I said.

  He spoke with his thick mid-western drawl. “Um, let’s see… the sky, the clouds, the sun…”

  I laughed at his weak attempt at comedy. “And, apparently, your supply of crappy jokes.”

  “Crappy? Hardly, the ladies love my jokes.”

  I made a show of glancing all around us. “You’re right. They’re swarming us as we speak. Better be careful with that arm around me, I wouldn’t want to start my day by beating up some jealous, potential girlfriends.”

  He laughed at that. “I have no doubt you could, and really, that would be pretty hot. Not that you need to get any hotter than you already are,” he said, flashing his teeth with a smile.

  I rolled my eyes and couldn’t help another laugh. Jack had a way of making me smile, which could be quite a task. He hadn’t even mentioned my black eye. Maybe today was going to be a good day.

  But, then again, maybe not.

  We walked into our first period class together and I was tempted to push his arm off of my shoulder. I knew what was coming, and I just didn’t feel like getting into it today. Still, my pride got the best of me. I’d be damned if I’d let these kids scare me away from the only person who treated me like I wasn’t some kind of freak.

  Sure enough, as soon as we walked through the door, the other students in class grew silent. Then, as I had anticipated, Riley Brockman spoke up. He was surrounded by his jock friends, and each one of them was dumber than the last.

  “Look, guys,” Riley said. “Two losers in love. Hey, Kane, did you give her that black eye?”

  The class erupted in snickers and giggles, and Riley sat back with a smug little smirk on his face. I felt Jackson stiffen beside me and had to keep a tight grip on his arm to keep him from going after Riley. />
  Riley hated Jackson because three days ago, Riley’s girlfriend asked Jack if he would escort her to the girl’s choice dance this weekend. I had been right there when she’d asked him. Jackson and I had taken our lunches outside to eat, so that we could sneak a cigarette afterward. Or, maybe just so I could sneak one. But, anyhow, Riley’s girlfriend, Jenna, walks over to where Jackson and I are eating in the shade of a large tree, and she says, shooting a rude glance at me, “Um, Hi, Jackson. I was just wondering if you would like to take me to the girl’s choice dance next weekend.”

  I’d raised an eyebrow at her audacity to look at me rudely. Jackson just looked at her like she was stupid. And, eventually, after what must have been many awkward seconds for her, she’d stalked away. We’d laughed about it afterward, and didn’t think much of it until we encountered Riley in class the next day. Up until this point, Jack had been letting it slide, but Riley needed to watch what he said. I knew Jack would only take it for so long. They were both big boys, and that would not be a pretty fight.

  Not only that, Riley was starting to gain ill thoughts from me. Very ill thoughts.

  “Not today,” I whispered to Jack. “You can’t get any more suspensions.”

  It seemed to take a minute for this to register with him, but finally, I felt him relax beside me. We took our seats on the other side of the room, with Jackson giving Riley a look of death the whole time. I could swear I saw Riley cringe a little, but he quickly recovered. I couldn’t blame him. I would have been scared too if Jackson had looked at me like that.

  Just then, the teacher walked in, and I was thankful that Riley wouldn’t be able to continue his ridicule. It’s not like I was scared to fight, quite the contrary actually, I enjoyed fighting. Good thing too, with all the “preparations” my Mother put me through. It’s just that I didn’t feel like it today. Things had been going pretty well.

  “Miss Montgomery, would you care to enlighten us with your thoughts on the book?” My teacher said, looking at me expectantly.

  Great. What book were we even talking about? I wracked my brain as the whole class waited for me to speak. What were we supposed to be reading this week? Oh, yeah, The Scarlett Letter. I had read this book before, as I had every other book she assigned us. I read a lot. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Still, it pissed me off that she always called on me first when we were discussing our readings. I don’t like being singled out.

  “Not really,” I replied.

  She shook her head, as though she expected no less, and marked something down in her grade book. Probably a zero. Whatever. Just add it to my list of problems.

  Eventually, that class ended and I headed to my second period class: gym. I received another zero for refusing to run the mile. I’m not terribly defiant, it’s just that I didn’t want to do anymore running than I already had to. I still had to run the three and a half miles back home. I wasn’t sure my body could take it.

  Thankfully, the rest of the day passed without incident. The final bell of the day rang, signaling it was time to go home. I was relieved, but at the same time, it’s not like I really wanted to go home. My Mother would be waiting for me. That was never something I looked forward to.

  Stepping outside of the school, I glanced around, looking for Nelly. Where the hell was she? I hated it when she made me wait for her, but I wouldn’t dare return home without her. Scanning the area, I caught sight of her over on the other side of the parking lot. Annoyed, I started off toward her.

  But, as I got closer, I realized she wasn’t alone. She was talking to someone. I could tell by her posture that she was uncomfortable. When she saw me, her unease grew visibly. I picked up my pace. Before I got too close, I picked up bits of the conversation they were having.

  “I really can’t. I’m sorry. I just have other things to do that evening,” Nelly was saying, “Maybe some other time.”

  As she started to walk away, the guy she was talking to grabbed her arm. Nelly’s unease grew once more, but she didn’t resist. I was moving faster now. The guy had his back to me, but once I heard his voice, I knew who it was.

  “Wait,” he said. “I wasn’t finished talking to you.”

  At last, I reached them. I grabbed him by the back of his jacket, jerking him away from Nelly.

  “Yes, you are,” I said, stepping in between them and shoving him hard in the chest. He stumbled back several feet.

  Riley’s face showed pure hatred. “No one was talking to you, freak,” he spat.

  I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Leave her alone. Unless you want everyone to see you get knocked out by a girl.”

  My tone was casual, but my blood was boiling. Nobody touched Nelly. Nobody. Disturbing thoughts raced through my head, every one of them intriguing. Riley definitely was bigger and stronger than me, but I was pretty confident I could hurt him. That thought alone erased any possibilities of fear. I guess my Mother’s trainings were good for something. I was no stranger to battle. I was conditioned for it. And mostly, I just wasn’t concerned with the consequences.

  “Watch it,” Riley said, through gritted teeth, “unless you want to end up with two black eyes.”

  Again, I shrugged. “You are most certainly welcome to try.”

  True to his word, Riley lunged for me. I had been expecting this. I’d learned long ago to anticipate the attacks of others, and he had nowhere near the amount of combat skill my Mother had. My respect for her grew a little.

  I managed to side-step his attack and push Nelly out of the way in the process. This was not something he had been expecting, and he stumbled a little before regaining his footing. As he spun around to face me, the anger that had been on his face before had turned into rage. I flashed him a toothy grin, egging him on.

  This time he stepped forward and swung his fist out toward my face. Again, I had been expecting this. And, in my mind, the fact that he would hit a girl justified my next actions. A hazy sort of anger came over me. It was so intense that I felt it thrum in my veins; like it was vibrating under my skin.

  Resolved, I made my decision. I wanted very much to end this circus show he was putting on. I moved so fast I don’t think he ever saw it coming. I slammed my fist so hard into his face that he literally lifted off of his feet and fell back on his butt. His head hit the pavement with a sickening thud, and I stood frozen to my spot. I had known I could fight, but the strength it must have taken to knock someone down twice my size impressed even me.

  I felt myself move forward, and then I was standing over Riley. My mind snapped back to the blackbird. His nose was sitting at a funny angle and deep crimson was flowing out of it. He was unconscious. My left eye twitched. I felt one side of my mouth pull up into a crooked smile and just barely managed to stop it before it turned full-fledged. And, my mind snapped back to the blackbird.

  Then, Nelly was tugging on my arm, her voice was panicked. “Alexa, we have to go. Now.”

  I looked up at her and finally began to take in the scene around me. Students were standing all around us, dumbstruck. No doubt they had just seen their all-star receiver get knocked out by a girl. A relatively small girl at that. I took one last look at Riley. My mind snapped back to the blackbird.

  I heard myself say, “Run, Nell. We have to run.”

  We did.

  Chapter Four: Blood Warrior