The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 16

Alex's POV:

I closed the door of my room behind me and turned out the lights with a sigh.

Tonight was the first time I had seen Troy since I overheard his conversation with the woman he called Beth. In all honesty, I'd forgotten about it, given how so many things had been on my mind, from Xander's arrival to the gemstone and the bullets.

Now that the conversation had returned to my mind, it constantly bugged my instincts. I couldn't relax, no matter how hard I tried. It was like there was a hidden message in the conversation that I couldn't decode but my mind wouldn't be at ease until I did so.

I tried to forget it as I lay down on my bed, still dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, but I couldn't. I knew that whatever Troy was talking about, didn't just include him; Dad was also involved in whatever he needed. I couldn't help but think that maybe this was why the two of them hadn't been around recently.

Subconsciously, my hand went up to my throat, feeling for the lightning bolt I was wearing. My fingers found it and slowly traced along its edges. I played the conversation in my head repeatedly, trying to find something but my mind would only stop to focus on one word.

Subject.

I didn't know what it meant or how it was linked to me but the word didn't leave my mind. The woman was referring to her test subject which was what, I didn't exactly know.

Neither the word left my mind, nor did the unease but despite that, darkness soon enveloped me. Only this time, when I woke up, the conversation was still on my mind.

*

"So," Zoe asked as she sat down next to Cody in the booth. "What did you two do after I left last night?" her eyes sparkled with interest and a smug grin graced her face. I rolled my eyes and let Cody answer.

"Nothing," he said with a hint of puzzlement, but Zoe didn't seem entirely convinced.

"I don't buy that," she said, narrowing her eyes at him before turning to me. "Care to answer the question?"

"No," I responded innocently, wiping the grin off her face. She looked at me with a deadpan expression. I only smiled slightly.

She opened her mouth to question me further but stopped at the sound of a pair of footsteps. I turned and saw Elijah approaching us. He was dressed in a white shirt and plaid with a pair of jeans. I realized his tousled black hair had grown over the years, resulting from limited haircuts. Zoe's mood went sour when she saw him and she vividly rolled her eyes. As I scooted over next to the wall to make space for Elijah, I made a mental note to myself to not leave the two of them alone.

Cody's face remained expressionless as Elijah sat down next to me but that was how he had been since I saw him today. I knew something was wrong, given the fact that he hadn't smiled or called me sunshine even once. His face constantly hung in a frown and the dark circles under his eyes showed that he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep.

I lightly kicked his foot under the table and he looked at me. I raised my eyebrows in silent inquiry and he shook his head, waving it off. Neither I nor my instincts were convinced that everything was fine but I decided to let it drop for now as Zoe started explaining what she had found.

"There wasn't much on the internet even under his real name but I did find a few leads," she said as she took her laptop out of her bag and put it on the table before beginning to type away. A minute later, she spoke, "According to a source, there was a huge war in 1569 between all kinds of supernaturals. It ended in the almost complete extinction of a lot of supernatural species but two races faced the worst: the Ceens and an unnamed race of supernaturals. The latter are you two," she added, looking up at me and Cody. "The Charger was one of the main causes of this loss so, they trusted Eamon Barre, the wisest of Guardians, and his descendants to protect the stone."