Endless, p.17
Endless, page 17
part #3 of Lost in a Fairy Tale Series
“I’m sorry. I can’t say anything.”
I woke up frustrated. I knew he had the answer—I could see it in his face. That meant it was something big, or maybe the punishment would be too harsh if he told me.
I rolled over and glanced at the clock to see that I’d slept in. Julie was going to be ticked if I didn’t get her breakfast. But then, since she hadn’t actually come to wake me up . . . I rolled over again, closing my eyes. I didn’t want to go back to the stairs, but I wasn’t ready to climb out of bed yet, either. It was just another couple of days until my party. I wanted it to happen now—being seventeen meant I was only a few months away from getting out of this house. Of course, that also meant leaving Dad in Julie’s clutches. I doubted Kaylee or Sarah would go off to college, since homework wasn’t something they cared much about.
My stomach growled, and I threw the covers off. Obviously Julie wasn’t going to come get me. I climbed out of bed and changed before going over to the door. It was locked. Great. What was the point of locking me in here if they wanted me to be their personal slave?
I pounded on the door. “Hey! Let me out.” I pounded again, but no one came. They must have left the house. Or they were outside destroying Dad’s yard.
I went over to the window and opened it. There were the same trucks in our driveway that had been there the day before. Yes, she was still up to something. I climbed out the window and went around to the front of the house. I slipped in when a contractor came outside. After grabbing a bowl of cereal, I hid in the bathroom to eat it.
Julie thought it was a punishment for me to be locked in my room. She had no idea that I was actually thrilled to have the day off. I went back out to the kitchen to put my bowl in the sink and looked out the window. The shrubs Dad loved so much were gone—Julie had ordered a stage to be constructed in their place.
My stomach dropped when I saw Sarah in the center of the yard with her arm through Luke’s. He turned just then and looked up at the house. The smile he’d had on his face fell when he caught me staring. He waved, but I just ran back to my room to unlock the door.
I sent a quick text to Dad letting him know what Julie was up to, and then slipped on some shoes and went out to grab my bike. I wasn’t about to stick around. My cell phone rang when I’d gone a few blocks from home.
“Hello?”
“Hey, princess. I’ll be home in about an hour. I need those people gone—they’re not supposed to be near our house.”
“What’s wrong with them? And I thought you had a business thing.” My heart lifted, knowing he would be home soon.
“We got done sooner than we’d thought. And it’s just not good for them to be there. They’re people I’m worried about.”
“Okay. I’ll do what I can.” Luke was out there. Was there something wrong with him too? I hoped not.
“Oh, and we think we know who the woman is.”
I jumped out of my thoughts when I remembered something I’d learned the night before. “It’s Nick’s grandma,” I blurted out. “I found that out last night. She’s the one.”
There was a pause on the other end. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. He told me himself. He’s in charge of making sure I stay there.”
“Did you ever get his last name?” Dad asked.
“No. I avoid him as much as possible.”
“Right. I want you to find out from Luke, if you can. I know things are weird between you two, but this is very important.”
I sighed. “Fine. If I can get him away from Sarah. They seem attached at the hip.”
“I still don’t think it’s what you imagine. Luke has a good head on his shoulders.”
“Yeah, I thought so too. See you in an hour.” I needed to get off the phone. A couple of neighbors were staring out their windows at me.
“Bye. Love you.” Dad ended the call, and I slipped my phone back in my pocket.
I don’t think he realized just what he was asking me to do. The trucks were still in the driveway, so I put my bike away and went inside to get a drink of water. Luke was standing in the backyard when I checked through the window, so I texted him a message saying I really needed to talk to him.
He pulled out his phone and then looked up at the window. I ducked down so he wouldn’t see me and then peeked back up to see him talking to Sarah, gesturing toward the house. I smiled at the fit she threw.
My heart pounded wildly at the sound of the doorbell. I hadn’t talked to him for a while, but my feelings hadn’t changed. I cursed my emotions for that reason. After bracing myself and telling my emotions to go away, I opened the door. And melted. I’d forgotten how good he looked this close.
“H—hey, Luke. How’s it going?” This needed to be quick. I didn’t know how long I had before Sarah would send Julie after me.
He smiled, making my knees weak. Apparently, my emotions hadn’t listened. “Hey, Syd. I’ve missed you. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, nothing. Planning a party, cleaning, riding bikes.” Never mind that I’d only gone a couple of blocks. He didn’t have to know that.
“Really? I haven’t seen you around when I’ve been here.” He blushed. “Look, about Sarah—”
“Just don’t. I don’t want to hear it.” I had to stop the thought before I bawled. “I was just talking to my dad. He’s going to be back in about an hour, but he needs to know Nick’s last name. Did you ever catch it?”
“Nick? Why?” He thought for a second. “Wait—did you find out more about him?”
“Yes, I’ve talked to him a few times in my dreams. His grandma has me trapped. Dad wants to find out who she is.” Why had I told him so much?
“I never heard his last name, but I’ll ask around to see if anyone else knows.”
“Thanks.” I stood there, not knowing what else to say.
“No problem. And about Sarah . . .” He stopped.
“Oh, there you are. I was beginning to worry.” Sarah slipped between us and put her hand on his arm. “What are you doing here?” Her flirtatious smile turned to disgust when she looked at me.
“I live here.” I turned around and went to my room. I should have just stayed on my bike ride. I hadn’t learned anything else, and I’d had my heart ripped open all over again.
I could hear Luke and Sarah talking out in the hall. I needed something to distract me, so I flopped on my bed and opened my journal to write down everything that had happened. Several minutes later, my door slammed open and Sarah stepped inside my room, eyes blazing.
“What were you doing?” she demanded.
“I have no idea what in the world you’re talking about. I was writing in my journal.” I pointed down at the book in my hand.
“You don’t talk to him. Ever. He’s mine.” She pointed at herself.
“Whatever. I think he’s a big boy and knows what he wants.” I wanted to slap her. I wanted to scream and rant and rave, but I just let it slide. When she didn’t leave my room, I rolled over and looked at her. “Is there something else?”
“I want you to apologize,” she demanded.
I stared at her, incredulous. “Are you kidding me? Sarah, I just talked to him. Get over yourself and find something else to freak out about.” Okay, so I didn’t quite let it slide like I’d hoped, but it was better than slapping her.
“What did you talk about?” She folded her arms, still fuming.
“It doesn’t matter. Please leave.” Dealing with her and everything else was exhausting. I just wanted to take a nap.
She stomped her foot. “I want to know what you talked about. He’s my boyfriend.”
I stood and walked over to the door. “Yes, well, we hung out at camp, and he was quite charming and wonderful to me while we were there. Don’t fall for him, or you may regret it. Now get out.”
“What do you mean? You think he liked you?” She laughed. “Like that would ever happen.” She turned and left, still laughing.
Okay, ouch. He could have liked me. Not that it mattered, but I thought we’d been really good friends. And those kisses . . . I shook my head, trying to wipe away the memories. Why did life have to be so hard?
I must have dozed off because the next things I heard were Dad’s yelling and Julie’s shrieking. I climbed out of bed, still groggy.
I wanted to stay out of it, but figured Dad could use the moral support. It wasn’t hard to find them, due to the screaming back and forth. I walked around the corner into the kitchen, and Julie zoomed in on me.
“You! This is your fault.”
I raised my eyebrows. “My fault? I was taking a nap.”
“The only way your dad could have known about any of this was if you told him.”
“You had me locked in my room, remember?” I snapped.
She jerked back and looked between Dad and me. “Of course I didn’t.”
“Don’t give me that, Julie. I know you’ve done it in the past.” He shook his head. “You tell your people to get our yard back the way it was. I have some work to do at the office.” He put his arm around Julie before heading out the door. One look at Julie, and I went straight for my room.
“Wait just a minute, Sydney.” Julie’s voice was like ice.
I turned slowly, knowing this was not going to be pretty. “Yeah?”
“How did you get out of your room?” Her voice was quiet, threatening. That’s not what scared me, though. It was the flash I caught in her eyes—a flash I’d never seen before. It made me not only have to tell her—it made me want to tell her.
“Through my window. That’s how I always get out.” I clamped my mouth shut before I could tell her that I had magic to unlock doors. How long had she been able to command an answer and get it? Was that why Dad hadn’t made her leave yet?
Her smile widened, and she looked almost . . . hungry. “Tell me where your father goes when he leaves town.” Again, the flash was there, but I was ready.
“I don’t know. Work or something.” That was easy enough, since I didn’t really know what he was actually doing.
“What does Luke mean to you?” she whispered again.
“He’s my protector.” I bit my tongue before “boyfriend” came out. That wasn’t true, anyway. I backed up, fighting her spell with everything I had.
“What did you do at that camp of yours?” she asked more forcefully.
By this time, I was able to release myself from her grasp enough to think for myself. “We learned pottery.” I turned, ran to my room, and slammed the door shut, breathing heavily. Who was this woman? And why had she suddenly shown me this side of herself? I just hoped she didn’t know Dad and I had magic or things could get very bad, very quickly.
I heard Julie’s door close, so I sat on my bed and texted both my dad and Luke about what had just happened. When that didn’t stop me from shaking, I decided to text Jade and the other girls as well and asked if any of them had heard Nick’s last name.
The girls didn’t know anything about Nick, but they did agree that something bad was going on. Jade offered to come over and get me out of harm’s way, and Heidi asked if we should go bowling. I told them both I was okay and didn’t want to put them in the middle of it.
I was replying to Katy’s suggestion of toilet papering the house when my phone rang. It was a number I recognized, but I wasn’t sure why.
“Hello?”
“This is Phil. Your father didn’t turn up at the office like he’d said, so I went after him. He’s been in an accident.” Phil’s voice sounded solemn, and my heart plummeted.
“Is he okay?” I could barely get my mouth to form the words.
“He’s unconscious. The doctors say he’ll pull through, but he’s in the hospital so they can keep an eye on him.”
Hot tears ran down my cheeks. “But my party is tomorrow.” I grimaced, realizing how that sounded, but my brain couldn’t concentrate on what was going on. Dad had just returned from his deep sleep, and now he was gone again.
“We know. We have our best healers working on him. Listen, though. You can’t let your stepmother know what’s going on. There’s a chance she was involved.”
“Wh—what do you mean?” I knew she was capable of it, but it still felt like a knife to my heart.
“From what we can tell, one of her gardeners ran him off the road. My driver saw one of their trucks fleeing the scene when we got there. Sydney, listen to me. You need to go along with everything she says. You can’t let her know anything is wrong. Do you understand?”
“But what about my dad?” I whispered. I could hear Julie outside my door, talking to Kaylee or Sarah.
“This is the only way to keep both of you safe. Also, keep trying to get Nick’s last name. Your father’s life may depend on it.” The phone went dead.
Just then, a few texts came through. Luke still hadn’t had any luck, but my stomach jumped when I saw the text from Liz.
Hey, I talked to Max. He said Nick’s last name is something like Naraka. Hope that helps.
I texted back a thank you and sent the name off to Luke. Then I paced the floor, trying to figure out what to do next. When Julie pounded on the door and demanded that I come and clean, I welcomed the distraction.
The list she’d given me was very long, and it would take until midnight or longer to get it done. The cleaning, laundry, dishes, and making beds were okay. Having to fix what Julie’s crew had done was ridiculous. She could have easily called them back to take apart the stage and replant the shrubs that had been ripped out.
After a call to our regular nursery, I started working on the stage. The sun was hot on my back, but I wasn’t about to go inside to get something to drink. The head gardener from the nursery showed up with the plants I’d ordered. I thanked him and waved before turning back to my task.
When my arms were sore from pulling out nails, I stopped to take a break. I heard someone approaching and turned to see who it was.
“I thought you could use a drink.” Luke handed me a glass of juice and pulled out some work gloves.
“Thank you.” I drank the juice without taking a breath.
“It’s got to be over a hundred degrees out here.” He glanced around. “So what are we working on?”
I blinked. “We?”
“Yes. I’m not letting you do this all on your own. Besides, I need to talk to you about Nick.”
Oh. Right. “Well, we’re planting the shrubs where the others used to be, and this stage needs to be taken down.”
“Got it. And we’re doing this why?” He took a hammer and started on the stage.
“Because Julie put it up without asking Dad first.” I grabbed a shovel and started on the first shrub. I pushed away thoughts of my dad lying in a hospital bed—I didn’t want to cry in front of Luke.
“Right, but why are you the one doing it?” He pulled off the board and threw it on the pile.
“Because that’s what I do.” I smiled and kept digging.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No. Now what did you want to say about Nick?” I bent down to pull out the roots from the old shrub.
“You don’t recognize that last name?”
“Should I?” I set the new plant inside to see if it would fit. The hole was still too shallow, so I took it out to keep digging.
“If you’d grown up taking the same history classes I did, you would. It’s a very old wizard family name. Some wizards do a lot of good for the magic world. Others, like Nick’s grandma, are evil to the core. Your mom must have been desperate to go to her.”
I wasn’t too surprised that Lady Naraka was evil. After all, she’d had me running those stairs for years. But if I stopped her, what would happen to Nick? “So, do we know how to defeat her?”
Luke turned from the stage. “No. We’re researching to find her weaknesses, but from what we’ve found, she has none. Only a few people know where she is and it sounds like you’re one of them, along with Nick.”
“Dad thinks she lives on the stairs.” I looked over at Luke.
“That’s what my dad thinks too. Otherwise, you and Nick wouldn’t be able to get in so easily. We just don’t know how to get there.”
I finished with the shrub and moved on to the next one. “So let me guess. I have to be the one to stop her.”
Luke nodded. “Yes. Sorry. I wish I could help you, but it’s your dream, so that’s where it has to stop.”
“Of course.” I pulled out the roots to the old shrub and dug out enough dirt to plant the next one.
“Okay, the stage is pretty much done. I want to stay and help you, but Dad doesn’t want Sarah or anyone else to catch me with you. It could cause big problems.”
“It’s fine. I’ll do the rest. Thanks for your help.” I picked up the next shrub. “Luke, can you do me a favor? Will you check on my dad? I want to go visit, and it’s killing me that I can’t.”
He put his arm around me and squeezed before letting go. “Of course. I’m sorry for what happened. We’ll stop whoever is doing this.”
I met his eyes. “You know Julie’s part of it, right?”
He glanced up at the house. “Yes. We’re just trying to figure out how she’s connected to everything. Be careful.” He waved and walked away.
That was easy for him to say—he wasn’t the one living with Julie. I finished up the shrubs and then continued pulling apart the frame of the stage. The sun had set by the time the boards were all in a pile and the nails were in the garbage. I’d call for one of my dad’s landscapers to come pick up the boards in the morning.
I headed up to the house and climbed the stairs to the back porch, but found Julie standing there with her arms folded. When I tried to get around her, she stepped in front of me again.
“Can you please move? I’m tired and I want to go to bed. I’ve been working outside all day.”
“Your job isn’t done.” She smiled widely, making me shiver.
“The sun is down. You really can’t expect me to keep working, can you?”
