The House of Bells: The Essences Saga - Book #1

House: Chapter 14

Fourteen

"There you are," Cat simpered, phasing next to Him. "Checking up on your girl?"

He ignored Her question and said, "The girl, Jennie, knows."

"And how do you know that, exactly?"

He evened his gaze on Her. She took a step back, but flicked Him a mischievous grin. "So you were spying on the woman." Cat tsked, the tip of Her tongue catching Her upper lip. "I hear Our sister was unable to mend Our little problem. I'm sure there is something I can do about that."

Cat swayed Her hips as she approached Him. He wasn't in the mood for Her schemes. "Go play with someone else," He sneered.

She pouted prettily - or so it was meant to look - and brushed a lock of golden hair off His brow. "I like playing with you. We have a good time together."

"You have a good time," He pointed out, grasping Her wrist and throwing it away from Him. "I enjoy your absence."

Her turquoise eyes flashed with fire. She gave Him a rough shove in the chest and phased. His thoughts of Her evaporated as She did.

Claire, he breathed in the sound of her name. Come back to me, Claire.



The week at the lake did us all some good. Tia had started talking a little more, mostly 'thank you' or 'yes' or 'no.' Melissa was less sour. Ashley and Amber were more cordial with each other, though still sisterly in their playful bickering. And Silas maintained some appropriate judgment most of the time, with a few exceptions by discreetly brushing my hand as he would walk by me.

And Jennie and I both had new outlooks on life: mine, with a revelation of my new-found humanity, and hers, with my shared ideas on the true way humans live and die.

Our first night back, Mrs. Baker cooked a massive meal for all of us as her way of saying that she did miss us, although "harrumphed" if we so much as suggested it. Everyone ate as though I had starved them over spring break. Granted, I didn't have Mrs. Baker's talent in the kitchen, and Amber helped me a lot with the meals. But the way even Silas was shoveling his pot roast and potatoes in his mouth was a bit insulting.

Unfortunately, the feast was spoiled due to bad news. Silas told the girls that he was transferring to another department in a few weeks. He said that it was "a promotion." They didn't take it well. Amber ran upstairs, crying. Melissa scowled at him and left as well. Ashley followed, and Mrs. Baker escaped to the front porch. The rest of us sat there at the dining room table not speaking. Tia's face was frighteningly blank, so Jennie hustled her upstairs also.

I sighed and gathered the half-eaten dinner. In the kitchen, I was storing the leftovers in the refrigerator when Silas entered slowly.

"I told you so," I muttered to him. I started a load of dishes in the sink, not realizing that I was banging everything together until he grabbed my hands. The contact paralyzed me for a second, but I snatched them away from him.

"No one wants you to leave, Silas." It was the only thing I could say, without saying too much. I still had to deal with my own problem, but I hoped he didn't hear the unspoken words: I didn't want him to leave. He looked deeply into my eyes, but I turned away, pointedly. It took an army of Essences to keep the balance of the universe. What I wouldn't give to have that kind of balance in my own life.

I finished the dishes in silence. Any help on his part rewarded him with a scornful stare, and he would back away with his hands raised in defense. The gleam in his eyes and the boyish grin continually irritated me as I cleaned. When I finished and was wiping my hands on a towel, he spoke to me, "Feel better?"