RUNES (A Runes Book 1)

Chapter 5

5.  THE BLACKOUT

Red sheath dress, thigh-high boots, furious expression, she was also the one who’d nearly killed me. Andris’ first mate.

“Maliina,” I said weakly.

“Where’s Andris?” she asked.

“He’s, uh, not here,” I stammered and took a step back. She’s not human… She’s strong… She has powers… Run… Scream…

Despite my thoughts, I couldn’t move. My knees knocked, and my throat seized up. She moved closer, and I took another step back, the back of my foot hitting the wall. I had nowhere to go, but face her. My stomach dipped when light bounced off something in her hand. She had a weapon. It looked like a letter opener except it was sharper with a thinner blade.

She was going to kill me this time. I just knew it. My breath hitched. “Maliina, I didn’t come out here to—”

“You think I wouldn’t notice you left after he disappeared.”

“I wasn’t meeting with him if that’s what you think.”

She closed her eyes, then snapped them open, her pale-blue eyes glowing eerily. “Don’t lie to me. His essence is here. Is he going to turn you?”

“Turn me into what?”

“One of us.”

“What are you?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Mortal,” she moved closer, her body starting to glow as though neon lights were imbedded under her skin. “I might have been human once, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. There’s something different about you. What are you?”

Too distracted by her glowing skin, I didn’t respond to her senseless question. As the light on her skin grew brighter, I realized it came from the runes on her body. Like Andris, she had one on each cheek and her forehead. A tear rolled down her cheek, and I almost felt sorry for her. Despite all her witchy powers, she was just a girl in love with a jerk.

“Maliina, Andris was meeting Torin, not me,” I tried to reassure her.

“Liar,” she yelled. “Torin and Andris can’t stand each other. They can’t be in the same room without trying to kill each. You will not take what’s mine.” She raised her weapon.

“No, don’t!” I screamed, lifting my arms and covering my head. Any second, I expected a jab or a cut, excruciating pain. Instead the light from her runes grew stronger. I peered at her and gasped. She was cutting herself.

“Don’t! He’s not worth it. No man is worth…” Then I realized what she was doing. The letter opener wasn’t a regular weapon. It was a sketching tool of some kind. She was tracing runes on her skin. The new ones glowed so bright I squinted to see her. Her face was distorted as though it hurt, but the look in her eyes was vengeful.

“You’ll be sorry you crossed me,” she vowed. Then she shimmered and became transparent, until I could see through her. The next second she was gone, the rustle of leaves the only sign she’d been there a moment ago.

I slumped against the wall trembling, my mind completely blank. Then everything rushed back—Maliina telling me I was different, the conversation between Torin and Andris, the runes on the wall. Something weird was going on in our town, and somehow I was part of it. Not just me, the swim team, too.

I hurried back into the building and went to the restroom. My reflection in the mirror shocked me. My pupils were dilated, and my forehead was shiny with sweat. I pulled a compact from the pocket of my coat, repaired my makeup, and headed back to the dance floor.