Forsaken (Book #1)
Chapter Eighteen

The date that Lucian and I had went on was by far the best date that I had ever been on. That wasn’t saying much though, considering that it was the only date I had ever been on. Still, it raised my expectations for future dates. After we had finished making small talk, we had eaten these chocolate cake things that Lucian called celrie and after that, had laid down on the blanket exchanging small kisses in-between breaks of conversation.

Overall it had been very relaxing, and something that I had absolutely enjoyed. The date had taken my mind off of everything that was going on around me but as soon as it had ended everything came rushing back to the forefront of my mind. If anything the date had made me more sure than ever that Lucian was the one for me. Sometimes the conversation had been awkward with him, but I chalked it up to the fact that we were still unfamiliar with each other and after getting to know the basics of each other everything became much easier.

Grayson and I had talked, but we had never talked about anything meaningful. Most of our conversations revolved around my responsibilities – something that he was constantly reminding me of – and how to stop the Afterdark from summoning Darya. He had told me a little bit about his family, that much was true but not much else was said.

We never talked about his childhood or mine, what we wanted to do with our lives if we weren’t involved in this supernatural crap or things that we would do together after all of this was over. That was exactly what Lucian and I had done. We had talked over every possible subject that we could think of at the time from his childhood to our hopes and aspirations.

I cared for Grayson, I really did and I still do. But after getting to know Lucian, I feel that my feelings for Grayson are definitely more platonic than they used to be. Undoubtedly Grayson is still very attractive, but thinking about him now my heart doesn’t flutter in my ribcage like it used to. Not like it does when I think of Lucian. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Of course, I was a little saddened by the fact that I no longer liked Grayson romantically. It wasn’t like I wanted two guys fighting over me – that was the absolute last thing that I wanted – but building a life would be safer and easier with Grayson than it would be with Lucian. Today was – thankfully – Saturday. Saturday’s meant that training sessions were longer but I also had more free time, and that meant that today I would finally have an opportunity to look at the books that Liyana had given me.

One of the books was bound in leather, bold letters etched onto the cover. The pages inside were crinkled and yellowed with age, and the book itself smelled a little musty. I carefully picked up the book, and sat at the counter, being extra cautious as I opened the book.

New Haven: A Complete and Concise History

The Beginnings

New Haven first started as a little gathering of various supernatural creatures at a farm a long time ago, when persecution o supernatural creatures was much more common. Hundreds of years flew by and New Haven had become a community of supernatural creatures, with very few humans living within the borders of the town.

All was peaceful in New Haven for the longest time, until a Demon rebelled against the strict rules and regulations that had been enforced such as not harming humans, and treating everyone equal. This Demon thought that he was above everyone else and through intense campaigning managed to draw a number of supernatural creatures away from New Haven, forming what we now know as the Afterdark.

Even with the formation of the Afterdark things remained peaceful between the two factions for some time. New Haven conducted business as usual, and began negotiating to get other supernaturals to join them. So far the only members of New Haven were the Vampires and a few Demons. But in time the Witches and eventually the Werewolves – however reluctant – joined New Haven as well. Likewise, a few covens of Witches also joined the Afterdark. Still, all was peaceful for a time.

The Feud

While all had remained peaceful between the two factions for some time, the peace came to a screeching and explosive end when the Demon who had formed the Afterdark claimed some land that belonged to New Haven. Of course, the people protested against the Afterdark’s wrongful claiming of the land and thus, the feud was born when no judge ruled in favor of either faction.

First Outbreak of War

This resulted in a series of small conflicts between New Haven and the Afterdark. New Haven was trying to reclaim the land that rightfully belonged to them, and the Afterdark was being a thorn in the side of New Haven by taking the land back and trying to prevent New Haven from ever getting it again.

The first signs of war erupting was in one of the skirmishes. In the first few, there had been no casualties. But soon enough there were casualties and many of them. New Haven had been trying to reclaim the land and in an act of brutality, the Afterdark had slaughtered a coven of Witches who had been healing and trying to protect the citizens of New Haven from the impending conflict.

New Haven was enraged and went after the Afterdark full force – three packs of Werewolves, one coven of Vampires, and one coven of Witches – succeeding in killing a good number of Demons, and a few Vampires that had sided with the Afterdark. That retaliation stirred the flames for an explosive battle that would take place for hundreds to thousands of years.

The Valkyrie Join New Haven

I turned the page and was stunned to find it completely and utterly blank. I flipped through a few more pages and was stunned to see the same thing. The rest of the pages in the book were blank.

What?

What had happened to the rest of the pages? I stared at the book completely and utterly puzzled, but decided eventually decided that there was nothing that I could do. I didn’t even know what had happened to the pages. I’d just ask Grayson about them when I saw him for training later today.

I hopped off of the stool, and slowly closed the book. Footsteps from upstairs made me paused and then subsequently panic. I grabbed the book, dashing to the couch and hiding it under one of the pillows just as a sleepy looking Andrea and an uncharacteristically happy Parker came walking downstairs.

Andrea glanced at me, “Where have you been for the last couple of nights Calla? You’re supposed to come home straight from school. We talked about this.”

“We did?” I said because I didn’t remember having that conversation before.

She narrowed her eyes at me, “Yes Calla we did. Until further notice I have-” She glanced at Parker, “we have, decided that you are grounded for an undetermined amount of time.”

“Seriously?” I gasped.

“You did disobey what we had said,” Parker murmured, wrapping an arm around Andrea’s waist.

I stared at them a little angry and mostly confused. They had never acted this way before – teaming up against me and trying to be good parents – and the last time I knew, Andrea and Parker were on rocky terms. When had they mended things? And how was I supposed to save the world when I was grounded?

“I’m sorry Calla, but there are consequences for your actions.” Andrea said not sounding the least bit apologetic.

I glared at her. “Really? I was supposed to be helping out a friend today, tomorrow and the following week. How am I supposed to do that when I’m grounded?”

“You’ll just have to reschedule,” She said with a shrug.

I groaned, and in a manner befitting an angst ridden teenage girl stomped up the stairs. Great, now what was I supposed to do?

The answer to that question arrived a few hours later when Andrea and Parker left the house. Since they had left they wouldn’t be able to catch me if I left too, as long as I got back before they did. So I just walked out of the house and towards the gym, intent on finding Grayson and getting answers to the questions that I had.

* * * * *

When I arrived at the gym Grayson was nowhere in sight and frustration coiled in my stomach. What was I supposed to do now? I didn’t know where I could possibly find him, and I couldn’t go to Lucian for help. As much as I did like him – I couldn’t say loved, not yet – he was technically still my enemy. He wouldn’t be able to help me even if there was a possibility that he could.

So now what was I to do?

“You looking for someone?” A familiar voice asked and I whirled around a little surprised to see Elysia. “Like maybe Grayson?” There was a teasing lilt to her voice as she approached me. She sobered quickly upon seeing my face, “What’s wrong Calla?”

“I need to ask you a question. The book that you gave me, it has pages missing and I am also grounded. As in, I can’t leave the house so then how am I supposed to save the freaking world?” I exploded waving my hands around frantically.

Elysia laughed. “Calm down Calla. The book isn’t missing any pages; all of the pages are there. But it has been charmed so that only a select few people can see what the pages contain.”

“Okay, and what do we do about the whole me being grounded thing?” I asked beginning to relax just a little.

Elysia hesitated. “I’m not sure what we can do about that. We might just have to wait and see.”

I groaned. Great. I was grounded even though I had a responsibility to stop Darya from being summoned. What else could possibly go wrong?

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