Chapter 41
I shook violently while waiting to see Luna’s grandfather. He was on his way to the house, and Luna had taken me to his prayer room to wait. I was pleased to learn Joseph couldn’t read my mind. It would make it easier when I got ready to sneak away.
The door opened and I held my breath. I was shaking so badly when Chief Okpik walked in, even my teeth chattered.
He glared at me for a moment, crossed the room to his idol thingies, and lit what I thought might be incense. He chanted in hushed tones before taking his seat on the floor directly across from me.
“Do you have the crest?” He asked, and his face showed no emotion, which freaked me out a little…okay, so it freaked me out a lot.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the crest. It was small and round, made of silver, and had a filigree design encasing a sparkling deep red stone, sort of like a garnet, but not quite as dark. The whole thing was only half the size of a silver dollar. He held out his hand and I handed him the crest. He untied a pouch from his side and dumped out a ring. He said some sort of prayer while waving his hand over the top.
Afterward, he unsheathed his hunting knife, and I swallowed hard when I saw how big the blade was. I swallowed even harder when he motioned for my hand. My heart felt like any second it was going to burst from my chest, but still I laid my hand in his palm.
I almost passed out when he raised the knife over his head. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see what he was about to do to me, but I was pretty sure it had something to do with that knife and my blood. Feeling a prick a few seconds later, I reluctantly opened my eyes.
The chief had a sense of humor after all. He was only teasing when he’d raised the knife over his head, because when I looked there was just a small puddle of blood forming in the palm of my hand. He placed the crest in my blood, then took it away and used his knife to pry out the stone.
He stood and crossed the room back to his prayer table, or whatever it was, and called to me. When I got to the table he placed the ring on my right hand. “The powers this ring possess will only work for you. It will make you even more powerful than you ever imagined, but, the man you seek is just as powerful. You will have to learn to outsmart him.” He turned like he was finished.
I wasn’t about to let him leave until I had a chance to speak. “Chief Okpik, I think I know how to become more powerful than even him.”
He stopped abruptly, but didn’t turn to face me. “I cannot ask such a sacrifice from you. No one can.” He knew, which meant he could read my mind.
“You’re not asking me, either is anyone else. I want to do this. I’m going to do this. All I want to know from you is if I do will it help me to defeat him? Yes, but even then, you must wait until the time is right. If you try to rush it you will lose, and many will die.”
He turned to face me, and stared for the longest time. “It will make you even more powerful than you think, but you must not tell a soul of your decision beforehand. Many will try to stop you, even if it means killing you. Your only hope is the element of surprise.”
I had been so entranced by what the chief had said, I totally forgot to ask him about the sun’s effect on me. I just shrugged my shoulders and went to find Luna. I figured pretty soon it wouldn’t even matter anymore.
Next on my list was trying to come up with a way to see William without Aunt Bev finding out. She might not have had any children of her own, but she wasn’t dumb either.
I was sitting on the couch waiting on Aunt Bev when an idea came to me. I bolted from the couch to Luna’s room. I barely knocked before pushing through her door and found her wrapped in a towel.
“Oops, sorry.” I laughed. “I forgot you said you were going to jump in the shower.”
“It’s okay. I thought you’d be gone by now,” she added.
I sat down on the side of Luna’s bed. “Nah… waiting on my aunt and your mom. They’re somewhere checking on a pregnant woman. Aunt Bev said she’s do any time.”
“She is my grandfather’s mistress,” Luna said like she was embarrassed by it.
“Really? Exactly how old is your grandfather?” I asked bemused.
“He’s seventy-seven,” She said like it was obvious. My mom says having a companion has helped keep him young.
“What? You’re kidding! I swear he doesn’t look that old.” He really didn’t look nearly that old. His face wasn’t even all wrinkled.
“His mistress, Lulani, is only twenty-two.” Luna looked at me all serious at first, and my jaw dropped, then we both busted out in laughter.
After our laughter faded, I thought very carefully about what I was going to say. “Um…I need a tiny little favor.” I held my index finger and thumb close together.
Luna instantly look worried. “What?” She asked with a long face.
“I’m going to break up with William, but first I want to confront him.”
“I’m stoked that you are dumping him, but what does it have to do with me?” She asked, sitting at her dressing table, brushing her hair, and looking at me through her mirror.
“I’m getting to that part,” I uttered. “My aunt won’t let me see him, and I want to see the look on his face when I break up with him. So…do you think you could cover for me just this once? Please-please-please?” I begged.
“I don’t know, Gen,” she said, shaking her head at the same time. “If you get caught, my mom and Bev will kick our butts, and you know it.” Luna stopped brushing her hair while really thinking about it.
It was hard to keep the thought of breaking up with William in my head, but I had to just in case she caught a glimpse of the future. She did that sometimes, although thank God, she still hadn’t developed her power completely or I’d be busted for sure.
She dropped her shoulders and sighed. “Oh…all right. Tell me where and when. But, I swear, Gen, if you get caught you’re on your own. I mean it.”
Even though I was squealing on the inside, I didn’t dare show it. I lowered my eyes. “Thanks, Luna. You’re a great friend…really.” I crossed the room and gave her a quick one-armed hug. “I’ll text you after I figure out everything.”
All I could think about on the ride back home was William. The kisses we’d shared on the plane coming home—our first kiss—was more than I even dreamed it could be. The feel of his soft lips against mine. The tenderness of his caresses, then the passion that followed.
We had connected in a way that few people ever get to in life, but then I had found out the whole thing had been a big fat lie. A set up to somehow lead me away from taking the throne. What hurt even more was the fact that I had given him my heart, and through his betrayal he had ripped it from my chest and broke it into a million pieces.
I was glad the sun had set. Although it wasn’t dark, dark, it was twilight, which was the closest thing Haven got to darkness in the warmer months. The dim light would make it harder for Aunt Bev to see my tears.
“Um…I meant to tell you, the chief said I need to train with Luna and the boys before we go after Zane. So Luna said they would pick me up tomorrow, and we’d go to their river camp for a couple of days. I hope that’s all right.” I held my breath, waiting for an answer.
“All right. I guess it is for the best.” She gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and I saw her knuckles turn white. “Gen, are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“What? Train? Uh, yeah,” I answered sort of sarcastically, but didn’t mean to.
“No. I mean everything.” She seemed frightened by something, I got that. But what I didn’t get was the feeling it had anything to do with me.
“It’s not a matter of what I want. This is my destiny. It’s why I was born,” I answered, repeating her words from earlier.
She began to cry, so I scooted across my seat and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “I promise everything’s going to be fine. We’re going to find mom and bring her back.” I laid my head on her shoulder, and she leaned her head aga
inst mine. “I love you,” I whispered. It was the first time I had told her that since I was about nine.
“Aw… I love you too, sweetheart,” she uttered.
I squeezed her tightly one last time before I scooted back over into my seat, and turned on the stereo. My favorite Motion City Soundtrack song, “Everything Is Alright”, was playing but I reached to change it anyway, figuring it wasn’t Aunt Bev’s type of music.
“Don’t,” she shouted, and scared the crap out of me. “I love this song.”
“Since when do you listen to this kind of music?” I was in shock while watching her lips move to the words.
“Since always. I might not be a teenager, but that doesn’t mean I can’t like young music.” She glanced at me with a sly smile.
I relaxed, settling deeper into my seat, and closed my eyes. I hoped that as long as Aunt Bev and my mom had each other they would be all right…even if I didn’t make it back alive.