Upon the Stars (Love Lines Book 5) Read online

  But since I doubted I would be able to fall back asleep, I thought I would use the energy of the morning sun rays to practice my magic. I hadn’t done it for days.

  I got dressed and went to one of the classrooms. It was dark inside, but I didn’t turn the lights on. I closed my eyes and let my mind choose the spell I needed most at the moment. To my surprise, it was one of my silver magic spells. When I opened my eyes again, the room was full of a soft glimmer, coming from a silver piece I was holding in my hand. It was a dagger that I always brought with me as my protective amulet. Only today, its glow was so bright, almost blinding. I shut my eyes for a second and Christian’s words came into my head. Is that what he was asking about? Did my powers get stronger again? How was that even possible?

  Without thinking, I pronounced a spell that turned a part of my dagger into a small, round medallion. I turned it in my hand, thinking about how to use it. Then I thought I would give it to Amanda. But as it turned out later, she was not the one who needed it….

  Chapter 6

  Eileen

  Morning in Dever had always been the craziest time of the day. Students were getting ready for classes, and those who didn’t need to attend each and every one of them, like myself, were getting ready for another ‘adventure’, the outcome of which was unknown.

  But before diving into another reckless scheme, I thought I would call my mom and grandmother, who were staying in my hometown Norfield at the moment. Dad thought it would be better to send mom back home and to not involve her in Dever’s secret affairs. Somehow, he believed she was safer there than with us.

  My grandma, Stephanie, answered the call right after the first beep, “Eileen, darling, how are you? Is everything all right? Where are you now? Your mother and I have been so worried about you!”

  “Don’t worry, Grandma, I’m fine, and I’m with Dad. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us where you were going? We tried to call you several times, but your phone was out of the coverage area.”

  “I can’t tell you anything, Grandma. But trust me, I’m well protected and I’ll see you and mom very soon. How is she, by the way? Can I talk to her?” My eyes travelled to the clock on the wall and I added, “Oh, I hope I didn’t wake you. I forgot about the time difference.”

  “It’s okay, dear. I couldn’t fall asleep anyway. As for your mother… She went to visit your aunt, Patricia.”

  “What?” Patricia lived in Gloster, right where Tara’s wedding and the attack took place. “Why didn’t you stop her? It’s not safe to stay in Gloster now! Does my father know she went there?”

  “I don’t think so. Not even I knew she was going to leave Norfield. But last night, right before going to bed, I went to wish her good night. But her room was empty, which I thought was odd, considering it was almost eleven in the evening. And then, I saw an envelope, lying on her bed. It was addressed to me. I opened it and found a note from Catherine, saying she would stay with Patricia for a few days.”

  “It is so not like her…” I said thoughtfully. My mother hated writing notes, as well as text messages. If she needed to tell me something, she always called. “Did you call Patricia?”

  “I did, but it was right after I found the note, so Catherine was not there yet.”

  “Okay, I’ll call her later today. I hope Mom is okay.” Though something was telling me that it was not so. But I decided to keep my thoughts to myself. “Tell me about your travelling plans for this summer,” I said into the handset, hoping the change of subject would distract my grandmother from the thoughts about my mom. I could hear worry in her voice, and considering it was late night in Norfield and she was not asleep, something was bothering her. Most likely, it was my mother’s sudden trip to Gloster.

  “I was thinking about New Zealand,” Grandma said. “I have never been there before. But a friend of mine says it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world, so I think I will start from there. What about you, Darling? Are you planning on staying in Dever for the summer?”

  “I haven’t thought that yet. But I really want to come to Norfield, at least for a few days.”

  “Oh, that would be awesome! I haven’t seen you since Christmas.”

  “I know. I miss you so much!”

  “Me or my pancakes?”

  I laughed. “Both actually. No one knows how to make them better than you do.”

  “Is it just me, or do you really sound a little sad, Eileen? Is everything all right between you and Christian?”

  “Oh, yes. Nothing to worry about. It’s just…you know…the distance between you, Mom and me that is killing me.”

  “Wherever you are my girl, remember that we love you so much! No distance will ever change that.”

  I smiled, feeling predatory tears burning my eyes. “I know, Grandma. I love you too.”

  “Eileen, are you there?” I heard Evan calling from behind the closed door of my bedroom.

  “Sorry, I gotta go,” I said into the handset. “Will talk to you soon, Grandma!”

  “Take care, Sweetheart!”

  I ended the call and went to open the door.

  “Hey,” Evan said, entering the room. “Amanda is not here?”

  “No. She thought attending her father’s history class would help her switch her thoughts to something other than Tara, hermits and the rest.”

  “I see. Well, I was looking for you actually.”

  “That’s what I thought.” I gave my friend a careful look. He looked a little absent, as if his mind was not here at the moment. “Is everything all right? Did you sleep well?”

  “Kind of.” He sat on the edge of my bed and took one of the books from my bedside table. “The Properties of Metals.” He looked at me questioningly after reading the title of the book. “What do you need this for?”

  I sat down next to him, took the book from his hands and opened the chapter I had been reading before going to bed last night.

  “Did you know that Tahoe Basin has been known for its gold and silver deposits?”

  “No.”

  “Well, neither did I. Until Darcy told me about that. Then I started to notice something strange happening to me. Every time I touched something gold, I felt desperate need to practice magic. I thought it might have something to do with the fact that we are here now, where everything is covered with golden and silver dust. After all, my magic had passed to me through the golden medallion that my father gave me on my eighteenth birthday.”

  My friend’s expression suddenly changed, as if he had just found a key to the door he couldn’t open for a long time. “Oh, my God…”

  “What is it, Evan?”

  “So this is what Christian was talking about last night…”

  “What do you mean?”

  But it looked like Evan was not listening to me anymore.

  “Now it makes sense…” He said, taking his phone out of his jeans pocket. Then he dialed Christian’s number and said, “Come to Eileen’s room. Now!”

  “Evan, what is going on?” I asked, puzzled.

  Instead of answering, he took a small silver thing from out of his jacket and gave it to me, saying, “Put it on your chain and don’t take it off.” It turned out to be a medallion, it looked like a silver coin. And as always, I could feel Evan’s magic coming from it.

  Still trying to realize what was going on, I unlocked the chain I was wearing on my neck - it was the one with the orchid flower that Christian once gave me - and added Evan’s medallion to the golden orchid.

  The moment I put the chain back on, I felt the warmth coming from the small silver thing. But somehow, it felt different from anything I had ever felt from Evan’s gifts.

  “Why did you give me this?” I asked, looking at the medallion.

  “It will protect you from the hermits.”

  “But my father said…”

  “Evan, Eileen, is everything all right?” Christian asked, entering the room. His eyes stopped at
the medallion on my neck and he smiled, nodding. “I knew you would solve the puzzle,” he said to Evan.

  “They won’t see me giving it to Eileen, will they?”

  “Hopefully not,” Christian said.

  “Will someone explain what is going on here?” I asked, switching my gaze between the two of them.

  Christian took a chair and moved it closer to the bed, sitting in front of Evan and me. “Waroi’s gift to predict the future works only at night. They can’t foresee the events in the daylight. And since your father wouldn’t let any of us go to the forest with you, we needed to find another way to protect you.”

  I looked at Evan’s gift again. “So they won’t see Evan giving me the medallion, and it will be able to protect me if necessary, right?”

  Christian nodded.

  “Amanda will be reading your thoughts until you are back,” Evan said. “And don’t you dare block her, ‘cause I swear, you will pay for it.” He gave me a warning look, then added, “What time are you leaving?”

  “Dad said I should leave before noon. After all, no one knows how far away from Dever the tribe lives.”

  “Don’t let them scare you, Eileen,” Christian said. “Make sure your aura is hidden. And please don’t do anything reckless without talking to us first, deal?”

  “Deal.”

  “Okay, then let’s go have breakfast, then I will accompany you to the gates.”

  “Wait… Evan, can you leave us for a moment, please?”

  He gave us a knowing look. “Sure, love doves. Just make it quick.”

  As soon as he left the room, I came to Christian and wrapped my arms around his waist, saying, “Please say it’s gonna be all right. I need to hear this from you, now more than ever.”

  I was not being honest with myself. I did have doubts about my father’s plan working properly, and I was scared as hell about going to the forest alone. Even now, that I knew I had Evan’s protection with me, my knees still shook at the mere thought of leaving Dever’s territory.

  Christian put his arms around me and said in a whisper, “You will be fine. Nothing will happen to you, Eileen. You just need to believe me.”

  I looked up at him, trying to realize where his assurance came from. “Is there something I don’t know?” I knew Christian would never let me go to the forest alone if he wasn’t sure I would be fine there. And I doubted it was just about Evan giving me the medallion. There was more to it.

  “You know everything you need to know.”

  It was not the answer I expected to hear, but I didn’t feel any hesitation or uncertainty in his words, and considering how well we could feel each other, it spoke for itself. I felt much better now.

  “Okay, let’s pretend I believe you.”

  He laughed quietly, then bent down and placed a kiss on my lips. “I love you, Eileen.”

  “Love you more.”

  He touched my cheek with his palm, making a soft golden shimmer illuminate the place where his skin touched mine. The magic of love that filled the bond he and I shared always made me feel so good, no matter how much of a danger I was about to put myself into. I could feel the tattoo – the symbol of our bond – tingling on my shoulder. It happened every time Christian touched me, and no matter how much time had passed since the day we found the magical tattoos on our backs, it still felt a little surreal to watch them coming to life with us touching them.

  Christian’s emerald eyes found mine and once again did I realize that no hermits or anyone else would ever make me abandon the love that made my heart beat faster. It was too amazing to give up on it.

  “Are you ready to go?” He asked, still holding me in his embrace.

  I sighed. “Not really. But it doesn’t look like I have a choice, right?”

  “No one can make you go, if you don’t want to.”

  “That’s the thing – I want to talk to the tribe. After what happened to Tara, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of hermits’ stupid beliefs. And my fears won’t stop me.”

  “In any other situation, I would say that fear is the last thing that had ever stopped you from doing something reckless. But not this time.”

  “Because this time, it’s not just about your desire to protect me. The lives of so many people depend on the outcome of my meeting with the Waroi tribe.”

  “You can do this. I believe in you, Eileen.” He kissed me once more, and we left for the cafeteria to have breakfast.

  Will and Melanie were our only company today. Darcy, Kevin and Elena went to help the guards check the perimeter to make sure no unwelcome guests or spies were there. As for Evan…

  “Where’s Evan?” Will asked, as if reading my mind. “Isn’t he supposed to be here to lecture you one last time on how to not get lost in the forest?”

  “Apparently, he has other things to do,” I said in response. But Will had a point. Evan would never leave me right before I was about to leave Dever and go only God knew where and for how long.

  “Do you know if he has seen any more dreams about Tara?” Melanie asked.

  “Even if he has, we don’t know anything about that. By the way, Mel, do you know anything about your mother’s plan on spending this weekend with my mom?”

  My cousin frowned, shaking her head. “It’s the first time I have heard about that, why? Was my mom planning on going to Norfield?”

  “On the contrary… My mother went to visit yours.”

  She dropped the spoon she had been holding in her hands, and stared at me, shocked. “What? Catherine went to Gloster? Alone?”

  Christian gave me a curious look. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

  “Sorry, I forgot.”

  “Wait, does your father know?” Melanie asked.

  “Know about what?” My dad’s voice rang behind me.

  Slowly, I turned around and looked at him, saying, “That Mom went to visit Patricia…”

  “She did what?”

  “You didn’t know, did you?”

  “Oh, the woman must be out of her damn mind,” he muttered angrily. “Did you call Patricia? Are they all right?”

  “I tried to call Mom earlier today,” Mel said. “But she wouldn’t pick up the phone.”

  “Catherine’s phone is off too,” Dad said after he tried to call her.

  Christian spoke, “Can we ask someone to go check on them?”

  After a short pause, Melanie said, “We can call Peter.”

  Will stared at her, as if it was the most ridiculous thing she could have ever said. “What if he finds out where we are now?”

  “Melanie’s right,” my father said. “We should call Peter. It is not necessary to tell him about Dever’s new location. We just need to ask him for a small favor.”

  “In exchange for what?” Will asked. “Judging by what I have heard about the man, he would never do anything because of the so-called kindness of his heart.”

  “It’s the least we should worry about now.” Dad took his phone again and headed for the exit. Obviously, he didn’t want anyone to hear his conversation with Peter.

  “Eileen,” Christian said, touching my hand. “Are you okay?”

  I had a very bad feeling telling me that my mom was in trouble. I didn’t need anyone to tell me about that, I just knew it.

  “I’m fine. I just need to find Evan,” I lied, rising to my feet. “Meet me in ten, at the gates, okay?”

  “Eileen!” Christian called out, but I didn’t listen to him. I rushed out of the cafeteria and ran to the Administration building where I knew I would find my father.

  Right at the moment I was going to open the doors, Evan called me, “Eileen! Wait!” He ran up to me, breathing heavily. “Kevin and Elena checked the borders and found the traces of magic that don’t belong to anyone from Dever.”

  “Okay.” My mind was still focused on my mother’s disappearance. I couldn’t think straight.

  “Eileen, what happened to you? You look so pale.”

  “My m
other’s missing. But…never mind…what were you saying?”

  “Wait, Catherine is missing?”

  “Yeah. Grandma said she went to visit Patricia, but we don’t know if she made it there or not, and my aunt wouldn’t pick up the phone. So my father decided to call Peter and ask him to go check on them.”

  “Peter? Seriously?”

  Evan, just like Will, didn’t like the idea of calling the blacksmith. He used to work for Evan’s father; so naturally, my friend had reasons to not trust the man.

  “It was Mel’s idea actually.”

  Evan smirked. “Oh, really? I bet she’s dying to see him again and maybe kick his ass one more time. You know, just to be sure he got what he deserved after what he made her do for him.”

  “She’s over her revenge, you know that.”

  “Not that I will ever believe her hate for him has suddenly turned into love eternal.”

  “Peter is a good man.”

  “Who once called you a murderer, simply because you helped with destroying the Dragons Brotherhood that his beloved Valentina had been involved with.”

  “Okay, let’s just put aside the memories of our meeting with him and concentrate on finding Mom, okay?”

  “I will take care of that. And you need to go to the forest, remember?”

  I looked at the closed doors of the Administration. Evan had a point. I couldn’t postpone my leaving. After all, the day was not endless and I needed to find the tribe before they would dream about the real reason for my visit…

  “You are right. I need to go, but Evan…please make sure my mother is okay. Help my father find her.”

  “I will do my best.” He smiled slightly. “Be careful out there, okay? Kevin says the traces of magic that he and Elena found were left no more than an hour ago. Which means whoever left them can still be somewhere around.”

  “Could that be someone from the tribe?”

  “Anything’s possible. We have never met any of them before, so we can’t tell for sure.”

  “Okay, I’ll remember that.”