Chapter Seven

The Christmas season was in full swing, and there was Christmas music playing at the store and pretty much everywhere they went. Raven, Deborah and the brothers had been given the job of decorating the store for Christmas, and even though they�d had a �snow ball� fight they�d had a great time and done a great job. Everyone seemed to be in good Christmas spirit and there were lots of gifts being bought secretly.
The apartment was looking like home. All of the bedrooms were furnished. Each room had a bed and a bureau. If there were three people there was a mattress hidden under the bed that could be pulled out for use. The den had a couch, a small TV set with a built-in VCR. They�d pooled their money and bought a boom box and Raven had her CD�s and there were a few from Adam�s car. Life was a normal as it could be after all that had happened, but for Raven things weren�t all great.
She had nightmares every night and would wake up sweating and terrified. Neither Suzan nor Deborah noticed, and if they did they didn�t say anything. Raven was all right with the life they had now, but she had the feeling that it wouldn�t last for long. They were runaways. None of them seemed to think of that, unless the subject of parents was brought up. But they seemed to have forgotten that people were after their lives. Raven knew that it would only be a matter of time before they were discovered. She�d hoped that at work they would make it seem that they were only acquaintances, but they were established as a group, a Club even. Some nights, Raven would lie on the carpeted floor in the den with the boom box down beside her so she could listen to the news. So far the police had no lead on where the group could be, and there were no signs of any mismatching stories from the Outsiders on the island. Raven knew that the police or the FBI would find them eventually because they had murdered so many people. Lucky for them, there were no photographs of the members of the Club. Artists had failed to capture the images of the members, probably from exaggerated descriptions from the Witch Hunters. But Raven knew it was coming � she could feel it in her bones...

The twentieth dawned gray and cold, but somehow cheery. Raven was standing on the back porch watching the sunrise. She felt a sharp sting in her eyes but blinked back the tears that threatened to overflow. She told herself, Today is a big day, but you don�t need anyone taking pity on you.She shook her hair out of her face and held her head high. She not only masked her feelings but she acted over them. Nick revealed no emotion but played no emotion. People like that were easy for Raven to read. He was going to be especially moody that day because Cassie and Adam were going on a date. Laurel, Melanie, Diana and Suzan had it all planned out and had volunteered to take care of everything while �mom and dad� had their date. Everyone joked that they were the mom and dad because they acted like a married couple. Nick�s eyes always flickered at those words.
�Up so soon?� Doug asked. Somehow, he�d known that she was still having nightmares but had agreed to tell no one unless Raven said he could. Not even Chris knew.
�It�s a nice day,� Raven replied without turning to look at him.
�Sleep well?�
�Justm fine,� Raven lied. She turned and headed back into the kitchen to fix herself something to drink. When she got in there she found the four conspirators plotting over the kitchen table, grinning and whispering. Chris stumbled into the kitchen and begged for something to eat. Suzan told him to �make his own food, lazy boy!� and then got back into their conversation. Deborah and Nick entered the kitchen together, both silent, even though Deborah went over to talk to Raven.
�He�s not going to be happy tonight,� she said in a low voice.
�We could have a cave meeting or something,� Raven offered, referring to the nights when they�d meet in the caves in the cliffs back in New Salem and hang out and play cards and do a few charms for fun.
�We could get him drunk and he�d be out easy,� Deborah offered.
Raven shook her head. �We don�t have any beer. Anyway, it would ruin Adam and Cassie�s evening if they came back and found out that we�d been getting drunk. Besides, Nick will cover his feelings anyway.�
Deborah scowled, thinking. �You�re right. Cave meeting it is.�

At work, they had a staff party in the back. All of them had been crowded around the door, trying to get in. There had been no sign of Dave and the door was locked, so they just stood there and peered through the glass.
Marie was annoyed. She was the assistant manager and Dave should have called her if he was sick. But suddenly Christmas music flooded over the speakers and the door swung open. The whole group went into the back and found Dave there surrounded by presents beneath a miniature Christmas tree.
�Merry Christmas!� he cried and everyone stared. Then everyone was hugging everybody else. They drank cider and sang Christmas carols and Cassie and Adam kissed under the mistletoe. Dave had bought everyone a gift and they all presented him � and each other � with their gifts. It was all so happy and Raven was swept into all of the merriness of the whole thing. Dave was like another father to them all. And Big George boomed out in his deep bass voice a raucous and comical imitation of Santa Claus.
Work that day was light and cheerful and Chris and Doug got to kiss quite a few of the girls under mistletoe. They were shouting �Merry Christmas!� and other season�s greetings across the store and in general everyone was happy.

When they got home, Diana and Laurel announced their plans for the evening for Adam and Cassie. Raven groaned and put down her book as Melanie called for everyone to gather in the den.
�Since this has been such a happy day, the girls have planned out a really nice romantic evening for our soulmate pair,� Laurel announced.
�So we want you two to go get all dressed up for each other and then we�ll tell you the plans,� Diana finished. Cassie began crying and hugging all the girls. Adam just stood there, staring at Diana, overjoyed. He hadn�t gone out with Cassie on a date because they�d only been together for a few weeks.
Only Raven noticed Nick�s eyes flicker at the mention of the date.
�Will you be all right while we�re gone?� Cassie asked worriedly.
�Don�t worry, mom,� Diana told her jokingly. �We�ve got all of the little ones under control.� In the background, Chris and Doug were fighting over TV remote.
�We�re going out for the caves,� Raven called for the brothers to hear. They immediately forgot their fight and scrambled to get food so they could eat on the beach. Raven, Nick and Deborah headed out to the beach to a grill pit to start a bonfire.
�Are you sure no one�s looking?� Deborah asked.
Raven nodded. Deborah�s face was fierce with concentration.
�Cassie taught me how to do this...�
Raven felt the flare of power and then the sticks burst into flame. Deborah whooped victoriously. Nick sat by the fire, staring into the flames and drawing in the sand with a spare stick.
�All right, deal,� Raven said as Chris and Doug sat down. Chris popped open a bag of chips and Doug dealt. The game went well. Of course, Doug pulled his little card-shark games.
�Henderson, quit dealing from the bottom of the deck,� Raven growled.
Doug cast her one of his strange looks.
�Yeah Doug, stop cheating,� Chris added indignantly. Then he looked surprised. �You were cheating?�
Deborah shot him a warning look. Doug rolled his eyes and dealt again. Raven reach out and grabbed his wrist.
�He�s dealing from the bottom!� she cried.
Doug wriggled in her grip. �You can�t prove it!�
Nick looked in their direction. �Look at the bottom of the deck.�
Raven forced his wrist to turn. It was the ace of spades. Chris gave a cry and dove at him. The two of them wrestled in the sand. The other three rolled their eyes. Doug escaped and ran towards the house. Chris staggered to his feet and gave chase.
�That crystal you wear, is it your working crystal?� Deborah asked.
Raven glanced down at her pendant. �I guess so.� She was lying. It was her charm.
�Do you think Cassie and Adam will get married?� she asked, changing the subject.
�Duh. They�re soulmates,� she answered.�Of course they will.�
�I hate all that soulmates true love crap,� Raven muttered.
�It�s all real, the silver cord and all,� Deborah replied.
The silver cord was what joined soulmates at the heart, and if it was between two people, they were soulmates.
�I promise you, if my soulmate shows up I�ll never know,� she said.
�Impossible,� Deborah objected. �It just happens. You can�t deny it.�
�Why don�t you want to fall in love?� Nick asked.
�Because it sucks,� Raven answered bluntly.
�If you fall in love, it�s beautiful,� Nick said softly.
�Spoken by the Ice King himself,� Raven sneered. �And look where it got you.�
During the debate, Deborah had been looking back and forth between her cousin and her friend, but now she threw her hands up in a gesture of surrender.
�I�m backing out of this now,� she said, and stood up to leave. The other two didn�t notice.
�You can�t hide the silver cord from yourself,� Nick said.
�My charm has worked till now, it has yet to fail,� she said.
�Charm? What charm?�
Raven lifted the crystal at her throat. �This. It grows warm when the silver cord is near. And then I run.�
Nick stared at her.�Why would you want to deny yourself that?�
�I don�t need anyone,� Raven answered coldly. �I won�t depend on anyone.�
Nick shook his head in disbelief.
�I think love is the dumbest thing in the world. It�s such a weak spot in anyone,� Raven sneered. Nick reached out and toyed with the crystal at her throat. She lifted her head defiantly. Nick�s eyes widened slightly, which by his standards translated into astonishment. He dropped the crystal and drew back. It was burning.
Raven reached up and touched the crystal. Her eyes flew wide. She jumped to her feet and turned, breaking into a sprint. Nick took off after her. He caught up with her and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her to a stop. Raven wheeled around in surprise. He�d followed her.
She was about to yell, �Let me go!� but he put a finger to her lips, quieting her. Raven gazed into his eyes as he withdrew his hand, terrified at what she saw there. They were wide in awe and wonder, and she knew that all of his thoughts of Cassie were gone. She made no move to defend herself as Nick reached up and unclasped her necklace.
The silver cord blazed above the glow of the fire like the sun over the moon. It shimmered between them, humming with energy. And suddenly it tightened, pulling.
Raven was fighting it every inch.
�I don�t believe in love, and I especially don�t believe in soulmates!� she seethed through clenched teeth, and yet she was moving closer and closer to him. Nick wrapped his arms around her, and her words faded. He placed cool fingers beneath her chin and lifted her head. She stared up at him, her eyes terrified, his eyes dark with passion, and surrendered to his kiss. It was sweet and tender, Nick�s lips on hers warm and tasting faintly of chocolate. Raven trembled against him, trying to push him back yet clinging to his kiss.
Raven shoved Nick away with surprising force and they stood there, staring at each other, breathing hard. Raven turned to go.
Nick put a hand on her arm. �Raven, wait - !� he began. She shook his hand off violently.
�Don�t touch me!� she yelled, scrubbing her mouth with the back of her hand. She whirled away and stormed up the beach. Nick stared down at the little crystal that lay nestled in the curve of his palm, the little translucent �blue thing, so small and yet shielding the greatest power of all time from his eyes. It lay there, burning up at him as if scorning him with its single fiery eye. Raven turned � she didn�t know why. But she saw Nick gazing at her; raw anguish shone out of his eyes. Raven held out her hand for the crystal. Nick just looked at her. Then he turned and threw the crystal as hard as he could. Raven stared, dumbfounded,as the crystal sailed through the air with the silver chain streaming out behind it like a comet tail of moonlight.
Raven turned and ran up the beach, leaving Nick to watch the crystal being swallowed beneath the waves.
She ran and ran, not caring where she went. She was furious at Nick for destroying her charm, hated herself for giving in to him, but most of all she was terrified at what she�d felt when he�d kissed her. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she realized she was at the party house. The light in the living room was on. It was probably Trey � he frequently �house-sat� for AJ.
Raven went up the steps and knocked on the door. It slid open, the screen faintly blurring the face of the person on the other side.
�Hey, Trey? Can I come in? I don�t want to go back to the others,� she said in a dull, dead voice.
�Trey�s not here,� the person on the other side replied, �but you can come in anyway.�
The screen slid open and Raven found herself face-to-face with a wiry guy a little taller than she was with black hair and warm brown eyes. Brown eyes that seemed so familiar...
�I�m AJ,� he said. �I�ve relieved Trey of his tiresome duty of baby-sitting the pigsty I call home.� He stepped aside. �Come in.�
Raven stepped into the living room warily. She�d never been inside before; Trey would come out walking with her on the beach and they�d find shells for his pictures. The house looked like a guy�s place, food left around haphazardly, clothes scattered here and there and an electric bass in the corner. AJ swept some clothes off the couch and invited her to sit.
�You must be Raven,� he said. �Trey�s told me a lot about you.� He frowned as if he was trying to remember something about her.
�Yeah, he�s told me some about you too,� Raven answered warily.
�So why did you decide to come here if you don�t want to go back to �the others�?� AJ asked. He was staring at her again, like he knew her but he didn�t know where he knew her from. Raven was feeling the same thing...
She groaned and rubbed her temples where they were throbbing. �It�s too complicated. I just don�t want to be bothered by their questions if I go back.�
AJ nodded. �I see,� he said, and he really seemed to understand. �I don�t want to be around my friends now either or they�ll probably give me the third degree on why I broke up with my girlfriend.�
Raven looked at him. �Did you love her?�
�I did, in the beginning, I guess, but after all the passion and love was gone, there was nothing left,� AJ said, sipping a beer.
Raven looked around and noted the smell of beer in the air. She realized that AJ was extremely drunk.
�We weren�t even friends,� he said, and gave a very drunken laugh. Raven knew that although he didn�t seem that drunk he was really intoxicated and it was probably over this girlfriend he was telling her about.
�I�d never date one of my friends,� Raven said.
�Yeah, well, some girl I knew told me that when I fell in love, this girl wouldn�t only be the object of my passion, she�d be my best friend,� AJ replied. He looked at Raven. �You have a boyfriend?�
She snorted. �In your dreams.�
�That�s a real pity,� AJ told her. �You�re a pretty girl.�
�What are you watching?� Raven asked, changing the subject.
AJ glanced at the television. �Some stupid romance movie. You can change it if you want. Love sucks, anyway.�
�Amen to that,� Raven agreed and they gave each other high fives. She got off the couch and pawed through the mess on the floor until she found the remote control. She surfed channels until she found something worth watching.
�This all right?� she asked AJ, and received no reply. She turned to him and saw that he was fast asleep. She turned off the TV and put down the remote. She picked up AJ and dragged him to a chair. She propped him up on it and covered him with a blanket. She had no idea what his alcohol tolerance was, but she didn't want him choking on his own puke in the middle of the night. She went through the house and turned of all the lights, then slipped out the door onto the porch. She headed across the now empty beach. The bonfire from the cave meeting was out, and as she neared the house she saw that all the lights were out as well. She slunk into the house and fell asleep on the couch.

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