***
Lunar Creperie was packed, the aroma of fresh crepes, pastries, and coffee in the air. Located a block from my high school, the restaurant was a popular hangout for students. Kayville was home to three high schools—two public and one private Christian school. Ours was the largest and the only school located in the historic downtown Kayville, so we owned the Creperie as we often called it.
Well, not owned owned. We just acted like the place belonged to us. We had our corners, the jocks and the cheerleaders, the preppies, the Goths and other rebels, and the swimmers slash band geeks—that was us.
“Hey, Seville.” Tim Butler, a curly-haired guy, who played tenor saxophone in the band and was a backstroker on the swim team, waved us over. He was with his girlfriend and two other couples. We staked the table next to theirs and went to place our orders.
A prickly feeling told me we were being watched, so I turned around casual-like and gave the room a sweeping glance. My eyes met the topaz pair of Blaine Chapman, captain of the football team. Blaine was already being courted by scouts across the state. He forked his fingers through his wavy brown hair and gave me his famous I-know-I’m-hot smile before glancing down at his girlfriend, Casey Riverside. Casey was head cheerleader and the girl guys fantasized about and other girls would love to hate. Only no one could hate her because she was so nice and sweet. Blaine and Casey were Kayville High’s perfect couple.
With them were two blondes and a guy with silver hair, all of them strangers to me. They were staring at us. I checked behind me to confirm it. Yeah, Cora, Eirik, and I were the only ones at the counter placing orders.
Cora stayed behind to talk to a friend, and Eirik went to get our drinks. As I walked to our table, I glanced at the strangers again. Their gazes didn’t waver from me, their expressions hard to describe. Unease slithered up my spine.
Throughout lunch, I was aware of their eyes on me. I tried to ignore them, but it wasn’t easy. They left the Creperie before we did, but as soon as we stepped outside, the feeling of being watched returned. It continued while we were at the mall, yet every time I checked, I couldn’t see anyone.
“You okay?” Cora asked when we entered a jewelry store.
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
“You keep looking around as though you’re searching for someone.”
“I have this weird feeling that we’re being followed.”
Cora frowned. “By who?”
“By whom,” I corrected and winced when she glared at me. “I don’t know. Let’s just get done here and go home.”
But it was another hour before we left the mall. By then it was close to four, time for Ultimate Frisbee. Eirik was still at A2Z Games, and we had to practically drag him out of there. We headed toward Longmont Park in North Kayville.
In the last two years, we’d had about eighty swimmers vie for spots on the varsity team, and this year was no different. About fifty students were already waiting at the park when we got there and more continued to arrive. A third of them were new faces fresh from junior high. I recognized some from the Silver and Bronze teams at my club.
Longmont Park was one of the many parks in and around Kayville. It had a ballpark, a playground, fields used by Kayville Rec Center for recreational sports, and park pavilions for barbecues and parties. Today, like most Saturday afternoons, it was busy with families. We parked on the road and started for the pavilion where Coach Fletcher and the other students were already waiting.
“Raine Cooper.”
I spun around and frowned when Blaine waved.
“Wait up,” he said as he sauntered toward me. With him were the three strangers from the Creperie. Up close, the girls with their blonde hair and light-blue eyes looked like they could be sisters. The silver-haired guy had dark-brown eyes that almost looked black. Something about him gave me the creeps. I gave a tiny smile, happy that Cora and Eirik had waited with me.
“Raine is co-captain of the swim team and the fastest butterfly swimmer,” Blaine said, surprising me. I had no idea he knew anything about me. He turned and flashed his mega-watt smile at Cora. “It’s Cora, right?”
She blushed and nodded.
“Her best stroke is…?” He cocked his brow.
“Breast,” Cora said with a giggle.
Blaine snapped his fingers. “Right, breaststroke. And what do you do, Seville?” he asked, staring at Eirik’s camera.
“I’m the towel boy,” Eirik said even though the swim team didn’t have towel boys. “The most important person on the team.”
Cora threw him an annoyed look. I barely kept a straight face.
“Think you’re funny, Seville?” Blaine’s famous topaz eyes darkened. He made a face, ignored Eirik, and pointed at the guy with him. “Andris Riestad. Maliina and Ingrid Dahl. They’re exchange students from Norway and plan to join your swim tea—”
The loud purr of a Harley engine filled the air and cut him off. We all turned to stare at the biker. Dressed in all black—jacket, jeans, boots, and helmet, he turned onto the road that cut through the east and west fields and rode toward us. I frowned. Usually, you heard the sound of a motorcycle from afar; then it grew louder as it drew closer. This one had started suddenly as though it had appeared from thin air.
The guy parked at the curb and removed his helmet. Torin. I should have known. He ran a finger through his raven hair, our eyes meeting across the students staring at him. A spasm kicked my chest, and warmth rolled through me.
A low growl came from my left, and I turned to find the source. Andris Riestad was staring at Torin with hatred, mouth turned up, eyes narrowed. But what had me gasping were the weird tattoos on his hands. They spread to his arms and disappeared under his rolled up sleeves. They appeared on his neck, then on his cheeks and forehead, the ends of each tattoo disappearing under his hair. They’d started gray and darkened until they were black, the contrast between them and his skin striking.
I turned to see if the others had noticed, but everyone was staring at Torin. One of the Dahl sisters, Maliina or Ingrid, I couldn’t tell which, turned and gave me a quizzical glance. I gave her a stiff smile, my gaze shifting to Andris.
She realized what I was staring at and grabbed his arm, drawing his attention to the markings on his skin. She whispered something in his ear. He studied me curiously. The tattoos faded fast as though he’d pulled an eraser switch. He smiled and winked. The girl looked at him then me, her expression changing and becoming thunderous.
I stepped back and reached for Cora’s hand, something about the girl’s reaction sending panic through me. Other than the weird tats, something was off about these new students.
“What’s Torin doing here?” Cora whispered.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s go.”
“No,” Cora protested. “Let’s wait for them.”
I was sure she meant Eirik and Torin, who were talking, but I wanted space between me and the exchange students. Now.
“They’ll catch up,” I said and hurried away. Cora followed.
“All this new eye candy,” she said, barely containing her excitement. “This year’s going to be exciting.” She glanced behind us and added, “Andris can’t take his eyes off you.”
I glanced back and cringed when he winked again. My gaze shifted to Torin, who was staring at Andris as though he wanted to rip his head off. They knew and hated each other from the look of things.
“Let’s get started,” Coach Fletcher called out.
We moved closers, some people sitting on the benches and the ground, the rest standing.
“This year, we have about a hundred students who’ve shown interest in joining the swim team.” Applause and whistles followed. Coach Fletcher raised his hand and everyone went silent. “Trials will begin a week from Monday, which means you have one week to fill out swim forms. Returning swimmers know what I’m talking about. Newbies, you’ll find the forms at the school website under ‘sports’. Permission forms must be completed
and signed by your parents and the medical form filled and signed by your doctor after a physical exam. No one will be allowed in the pool without proper paperwork on file. Make sure you read the requirements, which includes maintaining a certain grade point average. If you’re failing a class, come and see me. We have tutors on the team who can help. All this information is available online. Tell your parents to expect an e-mail about a general meeting for Q&A with me.” He glanced around and grinned. “Right now, let’s have some fun. I’ll call out team captains, who’ll choose a team color and teammates.” He held a box with different pieces of colored fabric.
We formed eight teams, though some people chose not to play. Eirik, Cora, and I all ended up on different teams. Using sweatshirts and jackets, we split the field into two and marked the end zones. The students with longer pieces of fabric wrapped them around their heads like bandanas while others, like me, tied them around our arms. With eight teams playing for fifteen minutes each, we rotated, giving players a break every fifteen minutes.
Our coach loved Ultimate Frisbee, so this wasn’t the first time we’d played. Usually, we just had fun, but this time was different. The game became intense in no time. My team, Eirik’s, and Torin’s won the first round, placing us in the top four for the second round. Cora’s team lost, placing hers in the bottom four.
Standing beside Cora, I watched Torin intercept a throw and force a turnover. He was fast and aggressive, and he could jump. He could play basketball if he wanted.
“He’s good, isn’t he?” a voice said from behind me.
I recognized Andris’ voice, and my stomach clenched. “Who?”
“St. James.”
I shrugged. “He’s okay.”
“How do you know Torin, Andris?” Cora asked.
“He and I go way back,” he said mysteriously, giving her a brief dismissive smile before studying me. He didn’t even bother to try to hide his interest. I fidgeted even though there was nothing he could do to me in front of all these people and in broad daylight. Everything about him bothered me. He didn’t have a European accent even though Blaine claimed he came from Norway. In fact, I couldn’t detect an accent at all. He could be from anywhere.
“How well do you know St. James?” he asked, glancing at me.
I didn’t answer even though I knew he was talking to me. Cora prodded me sharply with her elbow. I glared at her.
“We just met him,” I mumbled.
“And Seville?”
This time, I studied Andris. I didn’t like his nosiness. “What about Eirik?”
“Are the two of you together?”
“Why do you want to know?” I asked rudely, and Cora sunk her elbow into my side again. I grabbed her arm, but Andris spoke.
“Just checking out the competition. So you and he…?”
“Are none of your business.” My team was on again. I practically dragged Cora away.
“What’s wrong with you? He likes you and you were so rude,” she wailed.
“I don’t like him.” I searched for Eirik. He was talking to a group of girls to our left. I recognized three of them. “Stay with Marj and Eirik and away from Andris.”
“Seriously, Raine.” She shook her head. “No wonder you never date. You have trust issues.”
“I don’t. I saw weird tats—”
Someone yelled my name.
“I’ve got to go. Please, stay away from Mr. Norway.” I took off.
This time, one of the Dahl sisters was on the opposing team. It was the same girl who’d shot me a mean look after the tattoo incident. I didn’t let her presence bother me. Andris was where I’d left him, although he was no longer alone. The other sister was with him. Cora had reached the girls with Eirik and was laughing. Relieved, I searched for Torin. He was at the other end of the field guzzling water, his eyes on me. Somehow having him around was reassuring even though I couldn’t explain why.
Halfway through the game, I jumped to catch the Frisbee and someone pulled an interception. One of the Dahl sisters. One second she was on my right, the next in front of me, catching the Frisbee. She passed it and smirked triumphantly.
Ignoring her, I started to run toward the other end of the field. She cut me off and whipped around so fast all I saw was a blur of red before something cracked my ribs and pain ricocheted across my chest.
The force of her kick propelled me backwards, but I didn’t try to stop my landing. I couldn’t. I was struggling to breathe. Every attempt to inhale sent sharp spears of pain across my chest and up my spine. All I could do was take short, shallow breaths. I tried to glanced down but couldn’t. It hurt too much. As for the girl, I saw her reappear at the other end of the field just before I hit the ground.
I didn’t exactly land on the ground. Someone broke my fall. I tried to turn my head to see who it was, but I couldn’t move. Every movement filled me with pure agony. My chest burned, and my vision blurred. I must have broken several ribs, or even worse, my sternum.
“Can’t… breathe…”
“Hang in there for me.”
Torin. I felt rather than saw him lower me to the ground.
“Easy, Freckles. You’ll be okay in a few seconds.”
Black dots appeared in my vision, and I knew I was blacking out from lack of air. A weird sensation started on my arm and raced toward my shoulder. It spread across my chest, up my neck and face, and then darkness swallowed me.
When I came to, Eirik and Cora were beside me, their faces wreathed with concern. But the best part was the lack of pain. I could breathe. How?
“Are you okay?” Eirik asked.
“What happened?” Cora asked at the same time.
I struggled to a sitting position. Where was Torin?
“Is she okay?” Coach Fletcher yelled, and I looked up to see him hurrying toward us.
“She’s fine,” Torin answered from somewhere behind me. “She lost her balance and fell.”
What a liar. I wanted to call him out, but first I needed to stop them from fussing over me. I hated the attention. I started to get up, but Cora and Eirik grabbed my arms and helped me up like I was helpless.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Really.”
Coach Fletcher stopped in front of me and studied my face. “Did you bang your head?”
“No.”
He glanced behind me and asked, “St. James?”
“No, she didn’t. She tripped and landed on her butt. She’s fine.” Torin’s voice was firm and confident. Or maybe it was a man thing because the coach believed him instead of me.
“Okay. You sit out the rest of the game, Raine. Drink plenty of water. Are you playing, Seville, or can another player take your spot?”
Eirik hesitated, his eyes shifting to Torin. Something passed between them. Then Eirik said, “I’m in.” He touched my cheek. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Really, I am.”
He smiled and took off. Cora gripped my arm as though afraid I’d keel over. I just wanted to shake her off, so I could grill Torin about his lies and demand to know how he’d healed me. I hadn’t imagined my cracked ribs or the pain. Then I wanted to find the Norwegian bitch that’d attacked me and slap her.
I pressed on my ribs. Not even a spasm of pain.
“You scared me, Raine,” she said. “You looked like you’d passed out or something. Come on, let’s sit under the pavilion, and I’ll get you some water.”
I didn’t want water or to sit. I needed answers from Torin. “Could you give me a moment with—?”
The sound of a motorcycle engine filled the air, and my eyes went to the tree where Torin had parked his Harley. He was taking off. Just like last night, he’d moved from one place to another in a matter of seconds. My eyes followed him, not sure whether I should be afraid or grateful that he’d healed me.
How had he done it? Or maybe I had imagined the pain. Even as the thought flashed through my head, I knew I hadn’t. Torin had healed me. How? Magic? No, that was ridiculous. There
was no such thing as magic. Or maybe there was. I swallowed, a new kind of fear rolling through me.
What was Torin? Was he good or evil? It was obvious the others were like him.
I searched the field for Andris and the two blondes. They were entering Blaine’s car. Why were they leaving? The games were still going on.
The one in red, who’d cracked my ribs, looked toward me and smirked. I shivered. There was so much venom in her smile. I had just acquired an enemy who moved like something from a superhero movie and had superhuman strength to boot, yet I didn’t know why.