The Palisades
SPOILER ALERT!!!
If you haven’t read
Forsaken
Dark Choices
Book One
You need to go back and read it!!!
This is book two, silly!!!
Chapter 1
Did the Devil really make you do it?
Maybe.
Or maybe it was the Dark Kai.
THE PALISADES
AIDAN
Nula and I are crouched down, behind my Durango, while the Hammer, Bonnie, Conor, and Fiona have cover a few cars over. We all watch as Jake’s Charger pulls into the parking lot, right on time. Jake’s about to propose to Trixie in the very spot where they met four months ago. This is going to be so freaking sappy!
Personally, I like to get my sappy on in private, with my poems and lyrics. I call them “Lyric Doodles”, and after I write them, I pair them with music that I personally compose. It’s just a hobby, but it keeps my sappier side privately in check.
Evidently, Jake’s grown soft, so soft he’s asked everyone to witness his sappy proposal. I guess he’s pretty certain she’s going to say yes. Actually, we all are. Those two were made for each other. They’re the only two lycans I know.
We’re all snickering like giddy school kids, watching what seems like a fairy tale play out. Balancing on the balls of our feet, we duck our heads further, as Jake backs the Charger into the space right in front of us. Nula and I have the perfect spot to watch and even listen to my cousin make a giant fool out of himself. He’ll pour his heart out to the love of his life, before asking her to become his wife.
Ha! Rhymed again! That’s so going in my next Lyric Doodle.
You wouldn’t expect sappy from Jake, but hook, line, and sinker, he fell hard for the little tinker, I mean Trixie. I’m happy for him. Really, I am. Personally though, I don’t see the point in taking “the plunge”. Marriage and commitment aren’t for everyone. Not me anyway. I like to keep my options open. Keeping it casual works best for me. End the week with a bang, two if I’m lucky. Maybe revisit a particularly good one, but third time is rarely a charm for me.
As Jake sneaks around Trixie and takes a knee, Nula looks back at me with a silly grin on her face. Her eyes seem misty, like she’s going to cry. God, I can’t take it when she does that, even if it’s the good kind of cry. I’ve told her that more times than I can count, but she never listens. I think she just read my mind though, because her silly smile just turned into a scowl. My heart squeezes and I instantly regret being responsible for that. She reaches back and punches my chest, instantly stirring my half wood. She’s got a way of doing that to me. I fumble in my pocket to reposition myself, and then I feel it. Hard as a rock, ’cause it is. A rock that is. Jake’s engagement ring to be specific.
Shit, shit shit!
When I went to adjust mini-me, who’s got a mind of his freaking own, I realize I still have Jake’s engagement ring in my pocket. I was supposed to hide it in his glove compartment this morning, in advance of his sappy proposal. “I’ll be right back,” I tell Nula. I sprint behind Jake, and hand the small box off to him, before ducking back behind the Durango.
Nula glares at me when I return. Again, I’ve pissed her off. Usually, I work toward making her laugh, yet I always seem to have the opposite effect on her. Whenever I turn on the charm, she accuses me of being a nitwit or a joker. I don’t see the problem with being a joker. Everyone else is way too serious most of the time. I like to laugh and make others laugh too, even if they’re laughing at me. Whatever it takes. As for the “nitwit” remarks, they don’t bother me. I know I’m smart, so sticks and stones, right?
Trixie is crying with her hands by her face. Happy crying, I suppose. She just jumped on Jake, so I guess she said “yes”. Of course, she did. I yell out, “you didn’t even look at the tiny ring! Maybe you want to reconsider!”
Now everyone leaps out of their hiding places and begins cheering for the happy couple. We all run over to congratulate and cry and hug and cry some more. Not me, the crying part, that is. I’m down for the whole hug-fest thing, but you won’t catch me crying.
The girls are getting their Sybil on, jumping up and down, simultaneously laughing and crying. They really need to pick an emotion, ’cause they’re confusing the crap out of me.
Yup, things just keep getting sappier and sappier.
Out of nowhere the winds pick up, and the sky grows dark. Looking around, it’s clear that only a small portion of the parking lot is shrouded in darkness, the part we’re in.
Shi--it!
By now, we all know what this means. Up by the main pavilion, however, families walk leisurely to and from the bathrooms and coffee shop. Just another afternoon at the Palisades Parkway rest stop. Commuters and day trippers are completely oblivious to the storm raging over us at the rear of the lot.
One minute we’re celebrating Jake and Trixie’s engagement. The next we’re scrambling for cover, while a beast of a paranormal storm bears down on us. I quickly look for Nula among us. She’s tucking Bonnie into the backseat of the Durango. I can see she’s worried for Bonnie, who’s not only full human, but very pregnant. She isn’t supposed to be actively participating in our quest for mystical amulets, especially not in her condition. She shouldn’t be anywhere near this shit show.
“Nula!” I holler over the roar of the wicked maelstrom. She hastily nods in acknowledgment before fastening Bonnie’s seatbelt. The Hammer jumps into the backseat next to his baby mama. He shields her face and body with his own. He’s full human too. But what he lacks in magical lineage, he makes up for in size and battle readiness. Right now, however, he’s at a disadvantage, having to protect his woman and unborn child, instead of going on offense.
“Nula!” I repeat, before pulling her away from the backseat, slamming Bonnie’s door, and practically shoving Nula into the front seat. I make sure she’s belted in, before slamming her door and running around to get in the driver’s side. “Dammit!” the Hammer curses. “Ronan said Bonnie wouldn’t be exposed to any of this!” I’m worried about her too. We’re all family now. Whether by blood or by bond, that’s what families do, look out for one another.
I look outside for everyone else. Jake and Trixie made it to his Charger, and Conor and Fiona are safely in her Land Rover. There’s no sign of Ronan or Sam, but they’re full Kai. They come and go as they please, probably disappeared into the ether or wherever it is their kind disappear to. “I know, Hammer, but I don’t see Ronan or Sam anywhere.”
“Can’t you mind link with them? Do some of that telepathy shit and remind them that Bonnie’s here and shouldn’t be in the middle of this!” he yells out, his voice laced with concern. “I’m trying to link with them right now,” Nula says. No sooner does she say so when the noise of the storm is silenced. Looking outside, I can see it’s still raging outside, but somehow, we’re sheltered from it. Whereas before, violent wind and rain shook my large SUV. Now, not only is it quiet inside, but a sense of calm has washed over all of us.
It feels like we’ve all been sipping one of Sam’s special brews. I know it’s not just me feeling this way. I can see the Hammer has visibly calmed in the backseat. And Bonnie is smiling, nuzzled into his chest. Plus, Nula, who usually wears her emotions on her sleeves, is curiously watching the storm, like its more fascinating than terrifying. “Thanks Ronan!” she says into the air, cheerfully acknowledging that Ronan, has interceded on our behalf.
Out of respect for the Hammer and Bonnie’s lack of telepathic gifts, I initiate a three-way call on speaker, so we can all communicate what to do next. It seems Sam or Ronan placed each of our cars inside some sort of protective cocoons. We all agree to head back to the abbey and sort things out there.
Our quest for the second Amulet of Volition has apparently begun, yet none of us know anything about it, or who will take the lead to recover it. I look over at Nula. I’ve got a funny feeling though.
