Daeva: Black Diamond Chrysalis - Danielle Bolger (essential reading txt) 📗

Bethanie, hatred flaring in her chocolate eyes.

But when Lara approached her she did not attack again, just loomed over the top as she shouted. "If you have a death wish then I won't stop that from becoming a reality, but I will not allow that girl," here she pointed to me, "to be drawn into this path of destruction you seem so set on going down. I won't let you take anyone else with you, even if she is your best friend, no especially since she is. Do you know what would have happened there if we didn't intervene? Do you have any idea? You wouldn't have died then because she was on the edge of finding her erosreaver! And then, once the seed had sprouted, this diamond cascade would have started inside her! Do you really care so little about your friend that you'd be willing to let her disappear so easily!?"

Bethanie was mute, blue eyes wide.

Lara tsked. "You're disgusting." Then she turned, walked in the direction back to the road and stopped. She glanced at Pearl as if to say time to go.

Pearl patted me on the shoulder. "Don't take this all too harshly, Lara doesn't mean to be cruel. We just have... an unsettling past."

I glanced over at Bethanie who was frowning deeply as she stared at nothing.

"You two, you both knew her before she became a... daeva-nox, right? You were all in that band together!"

"What makes you think that?" Pearl asked softly.

"I don't know, not really, it all seems kind of hazy, but I just seem to have this strange recollection. And that song, especially that song, it seems so familiar and yet... different."

Pearl winced. "I did know Dorothy, once, but not any longer for she is no one now. Before though, we had nothing to do with one another, we were never friends and neither did we play in a band together. She is just a phantom, nothing more." Her tone was lost and sad but changed dramatically as it returned to her usual light-hearted and kind self. "But never mind her now, you two have been through enough for one night. How about we meet up tomorrow after school. I can tell you everything that's going on. Bethanie and Lara can come too, well..." She laughed. "That's if they cool down by then. You know, those two girls are a little bit similar, I just think Lara sees someone else in her."

"I'd like that. To talk with you tomorrow, I mean."

"Good," She smiled as she rose and started to walk away. "Then I'll see you then, Abigail."

-

As we made our way back home under the moonless night, the way was easily navigated by the light of the world's brilliant aura and through it we talked very little. I tried a couple of times to ask about what vision Dorothy had shown Bethanie or about how amazing the two daeva-lux girls were but that had just rendered her even more mute. But as we reached the crossroads between our two streets Bethanie finally spoke something of substance, remorse thick in her words.

"Hey, Abigail, about before, when the shades were attacking us, I'm really sorry. I knew you were there and I knew what would happen but I was just too caught up in myself to care. I'm so selfish, I can't believe I almost let you get hurt!"

I smiled. "That's okay, Bethanie, I know that it was your mother you saw and I think... that shade that was reaching out to you must have looked like her..." Her distressed expression confirmed my suspicion. "I understand, I really do, I can't imagine how painful that must have been for you. So no apology necessary! And besides, Pearl and Lara came to save the day so no harm done!"

"No harm done," She agreed melancholically. "But there could have been."

"Hey!" I called cheerily as I rubbed her shoulder but the texture under her school blouse was off, it was hard.

"Ouch!" Bethanie recoiled instantly at the touch and grasped her shoulder.

"Bethanie?" I didn't need to finish the rest for the question to be understood.

Sighing Bethanie pulled the sleeve of her shirt up. "It doesn't hurt really, not to touch and things, just when it grows. Only, it hurts when I think of the things that caused it to grow there and I guess when you touched it then it reminded me of how I failed you, so it stung a little." She explained lightly as if the black diamond flower on her shoulder was no big deal.

"No, Bethanie, but does that mean...?"

"Don't worry." Her grin was weak. "I think it takes a long time to grow and spread. And besides, I learnt that by killing shades I can get rid of them."

"But why? Why does it have to grow on you?"

"That just seems to be the pact we make with that Raziel guy, for this power we accept the darkness inside us and it grows until it consumes us." Still she was saying it as if it was no big deal.

"That's why you were so adamant about me not finding my erosreaver." I realised. "Because that causes the seed to sprout..." Even though I had just heard this information before I didn't really understand it with all the commotion, but now it all made sense.

"Hey, Abigail, don't cry." Bethanie soothed as she watched my tears fall down my cheeks. "Listen, those two girls are seniors, right? And besides Ariel and Dorothy we're the two youngest daevas so chances are I have at least a year before it starts to fully blossom. And who knows, it could be a hell of a lot longer, I could be an old woman before it does the full chrysalis!"

But that gave me no reassurance, it only reminded me of our promise to die as old ladies together. A promise that looked like Bethanie was not going to be able to pull through with on her end.

"Destroy them." I ordered. "Destroy all the shades. If you do, then the diamonds will go away right? So destroy them all and you'll be safe."

Bethanie gasped before nodding with a smirk. "Yeah, you're right! We eliminate those bastards, every last one then maybe that will stop these black diamonds from growing. Pretty clever, Abigail! But," she sighed. "I think that's gonna take a lot of effort, too much for me alone."

"Exactly!" I cheered. "We work together with the other luxes and we can defeat them all and everyone will be safe!"

"But to do that I think I'm going to have to apologise..."

"Huh? But why? You were the one that was slapped and punched!"

"I was, but I was also asking for it." Bethanie explained solemnly. "I said some pretty nasty things back there, things that I knew would push her buttons."

"You were fighting." I defended. "And Lara was the one that slapped you before you even started calling her any nasty names."

Bethanie smirked. "You're always on my side, aren't you, Abigail? Even when you know I'm in the wrong."

I smiled back. "Of course, what are best friends for?"

"Exactly, but something tells me that those three we were with today were all best friends too, at some point. Then, somehow they found themselves on the other side of a war."

"They were in a band." I stated, confident by the way it sounded despite Pearl's rejection of the notion and the more I thought on it the more I could almost recall. "I think... I can remember them playing when we were in year seven, but when I try to focus on the details it becomes all hazy, like it's been deleted from my memory."

"I see." She responded thoughtfully.

"Bethanie, do you remember them, it was an all-girl band, I'm sure!"

"There have been a few bands made up in our school and from time to time they have played concerts but..." She shook her head. "No, I simply can't remember a band with only female members."

"Oh..." I replied, despondent at the affirmation that my memories were proving false.

"Quit looking so stressed, Abigail, you'll get wrinkles and you know that Eric will never go out with a girl with wrinkles!"

"He will too!" I argued, then realising the first part I added. "And I don't have wrinkles yet!"

Bethanie laughed before it quickly sobered. "In any case, try to get some rest now, I have a feeling we're going to have another afternoon full of extra-circular activities tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess we can't shake things up too much now, can we?" I replied sarcastically before we waved our farewells and each walked the remainder block to our houses.

I arrived home just in time for dinner where upon my arrival my mother clobbered me on the head with a wooden spoon. It was only a gentle reprimand for my late arrival, but the next one wasn't as I received another wooden spoon wielded more like a cane straight into my shin.

"Ow! Cathy, don't be such a pest all the time!"

"Well, well!" My mother weighed. "Isn't someone little miss grumpy skirt today? Did things not go well with your boyfriend?"

I blushed. "No, not that..."

"Abby got dumped! Abby got dumped!" Cathy cried cheerfully.

I winced. "Cathy, please, just go away."

My mother gasped. "Oh dear, you've been crying. Cathy," She turned to her youngest daughter, "scram. It's grown up business now."

"But I wanna see what you're talking about, besides isn't dinner ready?"

"Not for another few minutes and as to what we're about to discuss is one, none of your bee's wax and secondly, you're not exactly the most sensitive girl so your presence would be inappropriate."

"Aw, but I can be sensitive! I'm sorry you got dumped, sis!"

Then I felt a hug around my waist and when I looked down saw Bradley giving me his warmth. When he released he simply grabbed Cathy's hand and led her away stating, "We need to give sissy her space now..."

My mother was left there shaking her head as she watched them leave. "Bradley is exactly like you were, you know. Cathy however, I have no idea where she gets her aloofness!"

"Hey, Mum, everything's okay with me, really. It's just some of my friends I'm worried about. I'm sorry if I was acting rude when I came in."

My mother smiled. "That's okay, darling, we can all act a little nasty when we're upset and your nasty is hardly anything to apologise for. But come," She ushered me into the kitchen where steam was erupting from boiling pots of vegetables. "Tell me, what is happening with your friends? Is it that boy Eric you're dating or something to do with Bethanie?"

"No, Eric is great! But Bethanie..."

"She's having a hard time with her mother's passing again?"

I was about to explain it all but suddenly it seemed all too much so I just responded with, "Yeah."

"Oh, darling! I know just how you feel. I had a little friend when I was in school that lost a father in a car accident. It was the saddest thing, the girl just seemed to disappear with it. She used to be so lively, energetic, sporty like Bethanie actually, but when it happened she stopped playing sport, stopped trying at school, eventually the family moved and I never saw her again. I felt terrible because my friend was going through all this pain but it seemed there was nothing I could do for her so in the end, that's what I did, nothing."

"That is a sad story." I agreed.

"And a selfish one. She kept saying that she wanted to be left alone so, even though I tried to be near her at first, eventually I did and then she was lost to me as a friend forever."

"Hold on." I interrupted. "I remember this story, you told me this right when Bethanie's mum died two years ago."

"I did and do you remember what I said then? That though my story was tragic it meant that others didn't have to be for I learnt one crucial lesson - when someone is in pain, no