Redemption

Chapter 4

He is one of the Cursed, a bloodline with no true link to Hell and no link at all with Heaven. The Earth is their domain. Mortals should fear them. They have no love for humankind.
~Bezaliel~

"What's up, Red?" Waving, Conor limped to me from across the hall.

I was headed for fourth period philosophy, a new elective class my aunt insisted I take and the only one Conor and I shared. It was cloudy outside and his leg always bothered him when there was a chance of rain.

He pulled up alongside me, his six-foot broad frame completely overshadowing my five-foot-nothing thin one. Taking my backpack off of my shoulder, he threw it onto his back with his. I didn't try and make him give it back. Even with a limp, his chivalry wasn't lost.

"You seem distracted today. You okay?" he asked.

Moving into the classroom, we took a seat at the back of the room. Neither of us had any desire to sit near the front. Conor was only in the class because he needed one more elective and everything except Home Ec and Philosophy had been filled by the time he managed to finish his schedule.

Leaning my chair back on two legs, I watched him drop my backpack onto the floor. "I'm fine."

He threw me a look. "Roe told me about her vision."

My chair dropped so hard, it jarred me from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. "What?"

Conor shrugged. "She was disturbed by it."

I scowled. It wasn't like Monroe and I to skirt around an issue, but we'd done that. She'd gone to Conor, and I still hadn't mentioned the weird conversation with Mr. Grayson, or the confrontation with Aunt Kyra. The window incident had been disturbing enough.

"Look, she had a right to be worried." Conor leaned close. "What if it wasn't a vision?"
I shivered, fear coiling in my gut. "It had to be a vision."

Wrapping one of my curls around his finger, he tugged it gently and grinned. "I could always camp outside your window?"

My hand slapped his. "My aunt would have you drawn and quartered. Trust me, you don't want anywhere near my window."

"I don't?" His eyes caught mine. The emotions I saw there bothered me, and I gave him my best be serious look.

He shrugged. "I'm the quintessential knight."

A loud tap,tap sounded on the board. "Mr. Reinhardt, Ms. Blainey, if you two would please refrain from conversing in my class, I would appreciate it," Mr. James announced. Somehow, I'd missed the bell.

Conor laced his fingers and cupped the back of his head. "She's a lot prettier than you, Mr. James. I got a little distracted."

Laughter filtered through the room, and my cheeks burned. Conor winked.

Mr. James' jaw tensed. "Let's get back to the topic at hand, shall we?"

A discussion about the philosophy of Camus ensued, and my mind wandered. Monroe approaching Conor meant the vision had been more disturbing than she'd admitted to me. What had she really seen?

Anxiety sent chills through my body, and I rubbed my arms, my gaze darting from the board to the window. The grey clouds beyond were ominous and full of searching eyes. I was completely lost in them.

Class was nearly over when Conor tapped me on the back and pointed at the front of the room. My eyes met Mr. James' expectant stare, and I straightened. "I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" Faint snickers surrounded me.

Mr. James stepped down the aisle. "Each philosopher had a theory about the afterlife. I wondered what your opinion about life after death was, Ms. Blainey."