The Broken Crystal

Chapter Fourteen

The crowd surrounded him. Just a moment ago there had only been a few. But now they all gathered around, eager heads popping out from the back of the human circle, trying to hear the accusing voices of Luke's attackers.

"You almost killed them!"

Luke raised his eyebrows and smiled, his back as straight as always, his shoulders never sinking, not under the burning heat of the judgemental sun or the heavy, heavy stares.

"Will you be gracious enough to explain what exactly you mean by that?" he said. "Because right now, I'm slightly confused."

Narrowingly raised eyebrows and whispery shouts and his own clock tick, tick, ticking in the fingers of a vein-covered hand as all the widely narrowed eyes were blending together in a stain of blues, greens, grays, browns...

Brown. Luke tilted his head, his smile growing larger, ripping the newly-healed wound on his lower lip wide open.

Golden brown eyes.

He called Evanna to him with a gesture of his hand, a bit needlessly as the girl was already elbowing her way through the crowd.

"Hey, people!" she shouted, her voice dark and strong. Most campers fell silent, while those who didn't, crumbled under the girl's lethal glare until they finally surrendered.

"Okay." Evanna's hands went to her hips. "So, what's this all about?"

By the time she'd said the last letter of the last word, Crystal, Dean and Haven were standing beside her, their bodies shielding Luke, his figure now consumed by their protective shadows.

Who would have thought, the black-haired boy looked up, that our dear, dear sun could be less forgiving and more of a villain than the shadows themselves?

"Luke's the one who attacked you," Ivaron said.

Haven frowned.

Evanna burst out laughing.

Luke's expression remained unchanged.

Crystal's jaw fell down, hanging by her neck like nothing but a broken toy.

"We found this at the cliff." An elderly man, who's muscles could easily overshine the ones of a bodybuilder, handed Crystal a watch. One that was gold. And scarlet. The bloodstains its only decoration.

Evanna frowned.

Luke burst out laughing.

Crystal's expression remained unchanged.

Haven's jaw fell down, hanging by her neck like nothing but a broken toy.

The dejavu, so crookedly reflected in the mirror of time, lasted for a small eternity. Until:

"Luke?" Evanna laughed. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She pointed at the black-haired boy. "Have you, like, seen him? He's a human for god's sake!"

"That doesn't mean he wasn't the one to arrange it." Everyone's eyes turned to Nate, immediately giving him their full attention, their heads bobbing up and down in agreement. "Luke probably just stood there to see if everything went as planned. He began throwing punches only after Crystal was drugged and helpless. Probably paid the actual attackers with the institution's money."

Luke took a step forward, his eyes smiling directly at Nate, and said:

"I'm afraid there's a major loophole in your theory: I was with Evanna, right until she went to the cave."

"True," the girl said, at the same time as:

"Not true." Nate, too, took a step forward.

This time, even the grass nodded, with only a little help of the sudden wind.