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

matter they say, or what they do, never let them be alone. Just stay there, by their side, like an annoying fly!" She added cheerily. "But never let them cry alone."

"But Bethanie never cries." I reflected. "Sometimes she looks as if she's about to but she always stops herself."

"She will, eventually she will and when those dams break she'll need someone more than ever, but until then your tears are enough to siphon out some of that water. You showing how much you care may hurt her at first, so she may want to push you away, but if you stay you'll heal her."

I smiled. "Yeah, that's my plan, only I just wish I could heal her now."

"Like I said, Abigail, just stay by her side and I promise you the time will arise when you can save her soul."

A tinging from the oven cut through our conversation.

"Well," My mother sighed as she moved back into the thick of the kitchen. "I guess that means this talk's time is up, but darling if you ever wanna talk some more you know where I live."

"Yes, Mum, I know where you live." I smirked.

As we dug into our meals, Dad and Cathy grabbing the chicken drumsticks with their hands and tearing into it like cavemen; Bradley, Mum and I electing to use our knives and forks, my mind lingered over my mother's words as they gave me hope. So long as I was there, feeling every blow with Bethanie, crying her unshed tears a time would come where I could save her. And not just her but all the daeva-lux girls. I had to be there, fighting, giving them my heart and someway, somehow I would save their souls.

Chapter 17

 

Bethanie

I watched them giggle and whisper into each other's ear at lunchtime. Though all seven of us were all seated in a circle under the shade of a tree it was only us five who entered the common conversation as Abigail and Eric were having a much more in depth one of their own. One that Amy kept leaning in to hear and repeating embarrassing comments like I think your art is the best in the world... you're so sweet... wow, that's so smart... and then there was one that Amy did not need to repeat for we all heard this clearly.

"We're going for a walk so we can get some privacy." Eric stated.

This was responded with a chorused, aah.

"It's just a walk so we don't have you lot making fun of us the whole time!"

"We have to make fun of you, dating is a whole new ball park for the rest of us so we need to get our kicks from you!" Louise explained, eyes blazing.

I stole a quick glance at Kieran who was looking away and appeared very bored.

"Well, whatever," Eric grumbled. "Then we're going somewhere where we can't hear you then."

"Aw..." Amy complained as the couple rose to their feet and began to walk away. "But I wanna hear Eric propose!"

"I wanna hear them making babies!" Bart exclaimed.

"Gross, Bart!" Louise complained. "Besides, I don't think that'll be happening for a long time yet, those two haven't even kissed yet!"

"What!?" Amy shouted, jaw dropping so low I thought surely it was about to fall off its hinges. "But they've been practically dating for years! Now that its official I was sure they'd have kissed by now!"

"Just give it some time, Amy." I interred. "Those two really care about each other so they don't want to rush anything."

"Hm..." Amy analysed thoughtfully. "Why are you so blasé about it, Bethanie? I mean Abigail is your bestie, right? You should be frothing with this gossip! Maybe it's because... you've got a secret boyfriend yourself!"

"Um... no." I corrected.

"It's true, isn't it? That's why you've been so distant lately, because you've been day-dreaming about him!"

"Hey, she has a point." Louise added.

"No shit!" Bart yelled. "Bethanie's getting some action? Man, I want a girlfriend! Amy, how 'bout..."

"Not a chance." She quickly interrupted before resuming the thread. "So, Bethanie who is it? Does he go to this school, oh wait, no! I know! He's not even in school, is he! He's probably graduated already - you're going out with a proper adult!"

"No, Amy, stop jumping to conclusions!" I emplored.

"You can't fool me! But don't worry, all you have to do is give me all the gossip and I promise not to tell a soul!" There she clapped me on my shoulder, skin contacting the hard stone beneath my blouse.

"Oh... I bet Amy's right!" Louise inputted. "Bethanie's always seemed to go for the mysterious type!"

Amy had pulled her hand away and continued on giddily. "I know, I reckon he's a foreigner, European definitely!"

"Or maybe American, blond hair and a square jaw!"

"Or a movie star, that's why she's so secretive!"

"So, Bethanie." Bart prodded. "Which is it?"

I unfroze then as I realised that Amy had not picked up on my oddly firm shoulder and remembered to breath. "Well, none of the above because I'm not dating anyone! Hey, where's Kieran gone?" I asked as I noticed his place vacant.

Bart shrugged. "He's been dickheadedy since yesterday and you try to ask him about it and just tells you to piss off. What an arse."

Right, I thought as I remembered my nasty outcry yesterday after tennis, someone else I need to apologise to.

"You know," I said, rising to my feet, "I might just see if I can go find him."

Then as I walked away I heard Amy say, "Maybe those two are going out..."

"No way." Bart explained, his voice fading behind me. "He hates her. Thinks she's a bitch..."

Well what did I expect? I asked myself. I have been acting like a bitch towards him.

I walked to a couple of places, the basketball courts, the soccer oval before thinking of the tennis court. Sporting grounds was where I expected to find him because I knew that Kieran was a lot like me, when we were upset we wanted to take out our pain physically. Whether it be the burn in our legs as we sprinted or the heat from a fresh punch to the face, it was the physical pain we longed for to dull out the emotional sort. So when I arrived to the courts to find it empty I became instantly dismayed. However, just on the other side of the fence, I saw a student sitting at the edge of the school grounds that was marked by a slender stream and tall trees.

I ventured over there but it was not until I was five metres away that I could make out who it was. I stopped instantly and began to turn back around.

"Why do you walk away?" Ariel asked, her silver hair swaying in the wind as she faced  the gentle trickling water. "Are you afraid of me?"

I turned my head back in her direction. "Of course I'm not afraid of you, I'm not afraid of anything."

"Not even... death?"

"No, not even that."

"What about the deaths of your family members? What about the deaths of your friends? What if death claimed Abigail?"

I remained silent.

"I thought so, but you are still partly human, after all. Life and death is not yet under your control."

"But I thought!" I stated remembering the promise Raziel had made me. "That daevas had the power to stop someone who was sure to die?"

"That is true, but that is not the same as total control of life and death. A daeva, nox or lux, has the power to save someone from grievous injury in the last moments of their life. This is possible even after the heart has ceased beating so long as there is still some brain function. The harm may be reversed and full health may be restored, for a price of course and this is a large one. However, this is very different to total control of life death, where someone may be killed at will, or someone else brought back from the dead regardless of the years since they had died, and here the toll is nought."

"It's possible to bring someone back years later?" I asked, heart thrumming with hope.

"It's possible, for noxes, but we aren't there yet. We still need more of Gaia's power."

"I see." I responded bitterly. "And to get that power the world must fall into darkness, am I right?"

This time it was Ariel's turn not to say anything as she stared ahead.

I lowered my gaze likewise to the stream where blue and white danced over the top of rocks and back down, tried to force their way under but easily set a new course for over the top again, unfazed by the new path the water had to take. The emerald blades glistened either side of the stream, swaying their soft knives and though they overlapped took care never to cut one another.

"I always liked this place." Ariel stated after a few moments. "It was always so peaceful, I felt like I could always connect with the world and it would give me strength. It was a great place for calming my nerves."

I frowned. "Geez you nox girls say the weirdest things, you've only just been here a week and you're acting so attached to the school."

"Yes," She agreed, her voice strangely sad. "Ariel Serador has been here for almost a whole week."

"Yeah and I'm sick of you already." I made to leave again but then her voice stopped me.

"I really do hope that Amy gets the lead role in the musical this year, she really is very talented."

"Yeah, I hope so too, but everyone is banking on you getting it. That is if you and your friends haven't destroyed the world yet." With the last word claimed I hurried away from there and continued my search for Kieran but dismally, a scant five minutes later,  the class bell rang and my search was put at a cease.

When I made it back to my bag Abigail and Eric were there holding hands. Everyone else and their bags were gone including Kieran's.

"Hey, Abigail?" I asked. "Did you see Kieran come get his stuff?"

Abigail shone me a knowing smile. "I did and he left already, but if there's something you wanted to talk to him about you share PE in last period today, don't you?"

"Yeah," I responded. "I'll just catch him there, I guess."

And I did. In basketball we were pitted against each other in opposing teams. He purposefully tried to block every one of my shots and knocked me every chance he had when I wasn't in possession of the ball. One time however I held it and just after catching the ball Kieran pummelled me to the ground.

No whistle was blown but a team mate called out, "Foul! Miss Montgomery, Kieran totally slammed into Bethanie, that's a penalty shot!"

"Matthew!" Miss Montgomery grumbled. "I'm the umpire here and I didn't..."

"It's true! Bethanie had the ball in her hands when he knocked her over!" Jessica added to the chorus of agreeing students.

To overwhelming pressure our teacher turned to us with uncertainty. "Ah, kids, what do you think happened?"

Kieran looked down on me lying on the ground before spinning the ball he knocked from my grasp on his finger. "I intercepted the ball. She just tripped after."

"Bethanie?" My teacher