Sons of the Dark: Book 1

Barbarian

    �Obie,� a deep voice called.  Startled, Obie turned.  Two guys in faded black concert T-shirts crouched beneath a dry, dusty oleander bush.

    �The Barbie-girl is looking for you.� The skinny one pointed, and his studded leather cuff slipped down his bone-thin arm.  Obie frowned and turned.  Kirsten Ashton stood near the row of discarded desks. She smiled and fanned her hand in a silly wave. Her shining curls and glossy, pink lips clashed with the stark black eyeliner, straight hair, and major attitudes of the girls hanging out in Smoker�s Alley.  She clutched her notebook against her chest and moved softly through the weeds, waving hi to everyone she passed, oblivious to their cold, silent stares. She had the regal confidence of all popular kids and assumed she�d be accepted anywhere.  She stopped in front of Obie.

   �I called your name three times. Didn�t you hear me?� she asked sweetly, and cocked her head.

   �No.�   Obie wondered what she wanted with him. She sat behind him in history class and usually acted as if he weren�t even there. Not that he cared.

   �I love your new song,� she said with a flirty smile. �I heard �Time Trap� on the radio this morning. It�s going to be a big hit.�

   �Thanks,� he replied, only half listening to her. The feeling of alarm that had enveloped him earlier was fading, but he was still on edge, distracted by even the slightest movement around him.

   �Your music makes me feel so much longing.� She brushed a hand through her platinum-blonde hair. Her silver nail polish matched the lines painted around her eyes. �Where do you get your inspiration?�

   He shrugged, and, before Kirsten could say more, the warning bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break. Kids stamped out their cigarettes and started back to class. Kirsten joined them.  But Obie didn�t want to push into the crush of kids sneaking back onto campus before the final bell. He charged off in the other direction and lunged between two overgrown Arizona cypresses. The scratchy branches snapped and cracked as he emerged from the other side and then sprinted across the basketball courts toward the front of the school.  Obie turned onto a breezeway and dodged around the kids hurrying to class. His boots pounded the concrete with a thumping noise louder than that of the rowdy yells and laughter. He took the next corner too quickly and slammed into Allison Taylor. She had been standing with her friends, and now they broke apart, startled by his sudden appearance.

    �Sorry.� He caught Allison around the waist before she fell. Her dark hair swept over his chest, and her flowery perfume spun around him. He breathed in her fragrance like a thief, and let his hands linger on her soft, warm skin. She reminded him of someone he had known before.

   �I didn�t mean to knock you over,� he said, apologizing.  Allison stepped back and looked down.

    �It�s only a foot. I�ll get a new one.�  Her friends laughed.

    She wore leather sandals, silver toe rings, and beaded strings of hemp around her thin ankles. A bruise was causing a swelling on the top of her foot. He felt like whisking her into his arms and carrying her to one of the picnic benches in the quad to make sure she was okay, but he controlled the impulse; such things weren�t done here.  Allison turned back to her friends as if Obie weren�t even standing there.

    �I just got a chill,� Allison said and rubbed the gooseflesh on her tanned arms. �Someone must have walked over my grave.�

   �That didn�t give you the chill,� Obie said, intruding again.

    Allison�s friends stared at him. Arielle adjusted her halter, as if Obie�s presence made her uncomfortable, and Caitlin tugged nervously at her earring, waiting to see what Allison would do.

   �Are you telling me it was the thrill of seeing you?� Allison asked, breaking the tension.  Arielle laughed too loudly, and Caitlin continued to stare.

   �As if.� Allison rolled her eyes and turned away from him again.

   Obie continued slowly down the outside corridor to the other side of the classroom door, kids shoving around him, and settled back against the wall, alone. He turned back to watch Allison. She was the most popular girl at Turney High, and kids gathered around her as if she were a movie star handing out autographs. What would she have done if he had told her the true reason for her gooseflesh? He smirked, imagining her reaction, but in the end she wouldn�t have believed him, and it would only have given her one more reason to make fun of him.

    �She�ll never go out with you,� a sulky voice whispered. Kirsten stood beside him, spreading brown gloss on her lips. He hadn�t heard her sidle up next to him.

    �Like I care,� he answered.

    �Don�t lie to me.� Kirsten seemed annoyed. �Your crush is so obvious.� 

    �Crush?�

    �Anyone can see you�re crazy in like with her.�

    �You�re wrong,� he said, finally understanding her choice of words.

    �I don�t like her.� No girl was worth the risk. He couldn�t change what fate had made him.