Mason - Archaic #4 (Sample of Published Book)

Chapter 1 - Part 2

My eyes flickered over the screen. I'd color-coded everyone's trackers so when I looked at the screen I could tell just by the color of the flashing light which tracker belonged to whom.

Between Jared and I, we'd selected a color for each of us.

I could tell by the flicker of the yellow circle at my house that Ava's was at our house. It meant she was joining us for dinner tonight. Jared had picked the color yellow for her. Maybe it reminded him of her blond hair. I did a quick check of the other trackers; everyone was where they were supposed to be.

We were all on alert after Tyler had discovered the Hue were in town. The usual protocols came into effect to keep the danger low. Everyone had been told to stay at home and if they did need to go out they needed to go out in groups so no one got ambushed on their own.

I made a point of checking everyone's trackers every couple of hours because of the increased danger.

If I didn't go downstairs soon, Catherine would come looking for me again. I closed my laptop. I'd do another check later before I went to bed. I followed the voices to the dining room and, when I entered, everyone was already seated.

"Just in time," Catherine said with a warm smile, sitting at the head of the dining room table. Ava sat next to her and Jared sat beside Ava.

The delicious smell of roasted beef and potatoes filled the room. My stomach growled in response to the smell of the food. I gave everyone a slight nod and took a seat next to Catherine, across from Ava.

"Hi," Ava greeted me with a smile. Her eyes were a warm blue.

"Hey," I replied. I couldn't help the slight smile that tugged at my lips. I couldn't keep Ava at a distance. She was different. She was the first person I'd ever felt anything for.

Jared began to dish up his food. The conversation flowed easily between the three of them, but I kept quiet and listened.

"So has your family come around to the idea?" Catherine asked.

I glanced at the ring on Ava's finger. Jared had asked Ava to marry him and she'd accepted so they were now officially engaged. When they'd first told her parents, who were still overseas, it hadn't gone down well.

"A little," Ava said with a non-committal shrug. "I think what made them feel better about it is when I told them we would only be getting married after we graduate." Her eyes flickered to Jared. He leaned forward and feathered a kiss to her cheek.

In his eyes I could see the love he felt for her. I'd never felt what I saw them share and I wanted to feel that for someone. After everything I'd done, how could I expect to find that with someone when I wasn't even sure I could stand myself?

Jared and Ava held hands and every few minutes their eyes would meet and they'd share a kiss. I'd managed to eat half my plate of food before the affection between Ava and Jared became too much to watch and I pushed my chair back from the table. The conversation stopped as everyone's eyes fell to me.

"I'm tired," I said before I turned and left the room.

Back upstairs in my room, I kicked off my boots and slumped on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

I couldn't help but think back to my cruel actions and the feelings of guilt and remorse tied to them. Eventually the emotion was so heavy my chest felt like it was being crushed.

I closed my eyes and tried to suppress the memories. After a few minutes my mind was clear and the pressure in my chest eased. I glanced at my laptop and decided to do one more check of the trackers. At my desk again, I ran a hand through my hair as I waited for my laptop to boot up.

My thoughts turned to the Hue. Why were they were back in town? I hoped it wasn't to finish what Michael had started with Ava. He had been the only Hue, other than me, who knew about True Descendants and their power. So when he'd died I'd hoped that information had died with him. If not, it meant Ava was in danger again.

I didn't want that for her. She'd been through so much and she'd survived. She still carried the emotional scars of what happened to her. There were nights when I'd heard her screams coming from my brother's room.

I didn't like the feelings that plagued me when I remembered seeing her after she'd been captured by my father. She'd been tortured and he'd drained most of her energy. She had been so weak, she'd nearly died.

It was times like this when I wished I still had a way of getting information about what the Hue were planning; but since I'd nearly died saving Ava, I hadn't seen or spoken to any Hue. That day I'd moved in with Catherine. The only thing I'd owned were the clothes on my back.

Going back to the Hue had never been an option for me. Once I'd started to feel emotions there was no way I could go back to the life I'd led before. There were some days I even wondered if I would be able to cope with my new life at all.

I took one day at a time.

Most of the Archaic had forgiven me and welcomed me into their group with open arms. The only one who seemed to struggle with letting me into the group was Jennifer.

After my first encounter with a very hostile Jennifer, Ava had revealed to me that Jennifer hadn't liked her when she'd first joined the group either. It had taken a while but eventually Jennifer had come around and Ava had earned her respect. She told me to hang in there and Jennifer would eventually forgive me. I think she was being a little too optimistic.

The map of the town appeared on the screen of my laptop. I glanced around and scrolled around. Everyone seemed to be where they should be, at home.

Well, all except one. My eyes narrowed. The pink light flickered a few blocks away from where she should be. Neve. I watched for a few more minutes and could see clearly from the screen that she was alone and getting farther away from her home.

I could call her but my gut feeling stopped me. There was no explaining it. I knew I could call and alert Tyler, but I needed an excuse anyway to get out of the house so I grabbed my black boots and shoved my feet into them. As I walked to my door I grabbed my leather jacket.

"Where are you going?" Jared asked when I walked past the living room where he and Ava were watching TV, cuddled up together on the sofa under a blanket. I shrugged my jacket on.

"Out. I'll be back later," I told him and grabbed the keys for my car.

"Are you sure you're okay?" His voice was closer. I turned to him, finding him standing in the hallway.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'll be back in a couple of hours," I assured him. He was nervous to let me out on my own but he couldn't spend his life babysitting me. Besides, I could look after myself. I was the one people should be scared of.

With my keys in my hand I opened the front door and left.