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After Jonas walked out on our conversation, I couldn't bring myself to go outside and make small talk. My uncle had not helped the slightest bit, which was very unlike him. In my youth, he had always been willing to answer any question my brothers and I asked. We would explore the woods for hours on end, and Jonas would identify each living creature we chanced upon. He was a naturalist and a science professor in every sense of the word, and he taught us at every opportunity.
Yet now he was holding something back.
I felt so let down that I was desperate to speak with someone who would listen. Allen was so easy to talk to, and he seemed so interested in me. But where was he?
I glanced out the front door, but no one was coming up the walk. So now he wasn't going to show up? He seemed willing when I had invited him! Was he was ashamed of being too forward with me? I cursed under my breath. Maybe I should have gone into his house, after all. He was so old-fashioned, it was probably innocent...
To get my mind off of Allen, I figured I’d go inform Bella that she wasn't related. Was she lying to me, or did she also think she was related further back than Jonas could go? I fingered the emerald pendant, suddenly remembering it was there, and I thought about what she had said:
“I inherited it from my mother. Your father helped her so much that emeralds held deep meaning for her.”
Her mother loved emeralds because Dad helped her? Still weird.
I'd let George and Hannah know that I couldn't find them on our tree either. Hannah had to know something about the family. Maybe George did too.
When I went back outside, Bella and Uncle Jonas were speaking with my mother, so it was not the best time to talk to them. Jonas' eye was on me as I walked through the door, but I pretended not to notice. Instead I strode over to Dad and my brothers. They were having fun, which, despite the festivities around me in my honor, I was not. Listening in, I could tell that Daniel, who almost never drank, was partaking in a glass of wine, and it had greatly loosened his tongue.
“I hear you scared the crap out of my father once with that, Julian!” he burst out merrily.
Dad smiled impishly, and Jack, beer bottle in hand, frowned.
“Well, we had our fun back then,” my father admitted with a sheepish shrug.
“Hmm. Right,” Jack mumbled. “Some of us have an unfair advantage when it comes to freaking people out.”
Daniel raised his glass. “Amen to that!” he cried, finishing the rest of his wine in a single large gulp.
“And you better not drink too much or you might just scare people too, Daniel,” Matthew said, taking the glass from him. “Daniel showed me, Dad. Several times. Wonder if I have it.”
“What you have saves lives,” Jack stated proudly, touching Matthew's arm.
“I can save lives too. Like Julian did.” Daniel pointed to Andrew, who was ambling past. “Well, my mom helped you two also, right, Andrew?”
Andrew nodded, and then indicated to the others that I stood nearby.
“Corinne, come!” Daniel called. “Join us! You too, Prince Andrew!”
I approached, but Andrew's expression of irritation at Daniel kept me silent. Andrew sat down in the chair next to Jack and uttered, “Cut it out, Daniel.”
“Cut it out? Come on, you could have been king! But you fell in love with a commoner, the daughter of the most powerful wizard in the land! And the wizard forbade her to see you, but you both ignored him, and he changed her into a peahen to join the queen's flock!”
“You kids always did get a kick out of the coincidence that Andrew married Cousin Hannah,” Dad said, his voice trailing off. He pushed Daniel's glass farther away as Daniel tried to retrieve it. “Now when are your board exams coming up, Daniel?”
Daniel continued on his rant, ignoring Dad completely. “When you tried to stop her father, he changed you into a horse, and you ended up drawing your family's carriage!” Daniel started laughing, and I couldn't keep silent any longer.
“Why are you being such a jerk to him, Daniel? How much did you drink?” I demanded. My brother paid no heed to me, but I could see the gears turning in my father's brain. He rose up, keeping his face straight.
“Daniel, go take a dip in the pool, okay?”
“That kid's been around you too long, Julian,” Jack muttered.
“Sorry, Andrew. Daniel's more than slightly tipsy,” Dad apologized. “Want me to grab up some ice cream for you?”
Andrew merely sat there, glowering at my brother. “Daniel, grow up already! It's a god-damned fairy tale!” he growled, standing up. “With a tragic ending.”
“It is tragic,” Matthew inserted. “Not something they'd write for kids nowadays.”
“The ending always made me sad,” I contributed. Again, no one even looked my way.
“The ending is wrong,” Andrew grumbled, and stalked off.
***
HANNAH APPROACHED ME, her face extremely pale. “There was a man looking for you, Corinne.”
Yes, everyone was looking for me. It was my party. “Who?”
She gulped. “He was on the side of the house by the gate.” Gazing at me, she whispered, “Please be careful. Please.” She appeared as if she wanted to say something else, but she shrugged it off and hurried away, calling to her husband.
I walked around to the side yard but discovered no new guests. So, I continued on my quest for knowledge. I was about to approach the elusive George when I heard a whisper from the edge of the woods.
If I scrunched my eyes up enough, I could just make out Allen, partially hidden behind an old oak. As my vision adjusted, I saw that he was snappily dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks, and he looked very flushed.
“Allen! You came!” I cried in delight.
He shushed me, beckoning me to come near.
“I've been pretty antisocial tonight,” I said half-seriously, but nothing could keep me away from him. I trudged through the leaves and met him beside the tree. “I'm so glad you came! I need someone to talk to so badly... So much weird stuff...”
“That woman I told to find you? Who was she?” he hissed. He drew me farther into the woods so we were not easily seen.
“Hannah? She's my cousin...I think.”
“Amazing family resemblance.”
Really? I didn't think she looked anything like me.
I stared deeper into the woods. “My mother said to be careful in here at night. There's mountain lions.”
His face lit up. “I'll keep the mountain lions at bay. Don't worry.”
His confidence heartened me considerably, and I calmed down a bit. “What are you doing in the woods? Can we talk now?”
“Talk all you want. That's what I'm here for. It’s why I didn’t come to the front door – I wanted to get you alone.” He picked up the emerald necklace around my neck, and examined it closely. Once again I had forgotten it was even there. “Nice,” he commented offhandedly.
“It's an emerald because I'm a Greene,” I grinned.
“Yes, you definitely are.” He studied me for a moment. “Yes, I really think you are.”
His comment struck me as bizarre. For a moment, it seemed as if he were peering through me, not at me, but the sensation passed, and he put his arm on my shoulder almost lovingly. I feigned indifference to his touch, but I didn't shrug him off.
“So what do you have to tell me, Corinne?”
“Well, we'll talk here, but then I hope you come out and have some food. We have tons of it. As usual, my mom way over-prepared. Did you bring a bathing suit for the pool?”
“No, I'm sorry. But I can fetch one pretty quickly if you wish it.”
I smiled. “If I wish it. Well, we'll see.”
“Now, what's happening?”
He settled down on a stump and motioned me to join him, but I began to pace, letting bits and pieces out to him about the eccentricities of my family. Even though I hardly knew him, it felt safe talking to him, perhaps because he was far removed from my concerns. When I finished, he didn't seem too worried.
“Well, I always say there's far more out there than we know, but at the same time, I think a lot of that is explainable.”
“Explainable? My mother's great-uncle is one-hundred twenty-three, if I go by those documents. He's also dead.”
“He's living, you're saying.”
“Very much so. He's right out there eating brownies as we speak.”
He sighed, knocking his fingers against the stump. “Ah, Corinne, what should I say?”
“Say? Tell me there's nothing weird going on! Make me feel better! I swear, I feel like there's some great conspiracy and I'm the only one who doesn't know about it!”
Allen drew near me, tracing his finger down my cheek. He obviously wanted to speak, but it seemed like something was holding him back. “All things are revealed in time. They have a saying here, which is very apt: 'ignorance is bliss'.”
“But–”
“Be patient. If there's anything to be divulged, it will be at the proper time.”
Now I was confused. Did he know something more than he was letting on? He sounded as if he were deliberately speaking in riddles.
“What? Allen, do you know what's going on here?”
He shook his head. “I might, I might not.” With a longing gaze, he continued, “I have things I want to share with you too, but I'm not sure if it's the right time yet. I don't want to scare you.”
I snorted. “You couldn't scare me!”
His face took on a dark expression. “I wouldn't bet on that.”
Then we heard a yell. “Allen? Is that you?”
Someone was crashing through the underbrush, and the leaves parted to reveal Daniel. He raised his eyebrows. “Hey! What are you doing here? You met my sister?”
Allen moved several inches away from me. “Yes. I'm doing observations at her school.”
Daniel's mouth fell open, but I saw Allen shake his head very slightly, and my brother relaxed. He put his arm on Allen's back. “So, how's it going? We should talk.”
“Well, I'm spending time with Corinne right now. It's her party,” Allen said, noticeably peeved.
“I'll bring you back to her,” Daniel winked at me.
“Wait. Just one thing.” Allen pulled out a box similar to the one Bella’s gift had been in. “It's for Corinne.” He handed it to me. “Open it,” he demanded.
I did. It was a ring bearing the largest, most exquisite emerald I’d ever seen. It must have been insanely expensive if it was real, and it certainly seemed to be. Could it be a coincidence, given that I'd just received an emerald necklace as well? “I... I... Wow, that must have cost a fortune, Allen,” I stuttered. “I can't possibly accept that.”
Daniel smirked at Allen. “Oh, he can afford to be very generous, trust me.”
“It goes with your necklace. I shouldn't insult the woman who gave it to you, but mine is of the highest quality you can get.”
“And it's made by a master craftsman,” contributed Daniel, tapping Allen on the shoulder.
Allen reddened.
“Take it, Corinne. Celebrate your eighteenth year of being a Greene. Make the family proud.”
Slowly, I slid the ring onto my finger. It glittered in the moonlight, but it was so heavy I felt awkward wearing it. “Thank you,” I stammered again.
“We'll be right back,” Daniel assured me while yanking Allen away.
Allen looked back once, the word “sorry” on his lips, and then followed my brother deep into the trees.
Incensed, I was left to gawk at my newly-acquired riches. My brother had just ruined everything! How did he know Allen? Why hadn't Allen told me he knew Daniel? And how could Daniel steal a guest away from my party? I was furious with both of them.
“Corinne, where are they going?” I heard Matthew call from the edge of the woods.
“I have no idea,” I replied, walking back to my younger brother. “No clue.” What was so important that they needed to discuss it out of everyone's view?
***
AFTER GORGING MYSELF on dinner, dessert just made things worse, and I thought that, for the first time, I was experiencing heartburn. As everyone sang to me around Mom's cake, it was all I could do not to vomit.
The night continued to speed by. I joined a circle of my friends, trying to pay attention to the idle gossip, but my mind was in a whirl. I had no interest in Mary's new boyfriend or Abby's marriage proposal. I couldn't even figure out what was going on in my own life right now, under my very nose. I kept glancing toward the woods, but Daniel and Allen were nowhere in sight. What were they up to?
Before I knew it, my guests were departing. As they swept me up in a wave of farewells and congratulations, I had the sinking feeling that I’d missed out on all the fun.
I didn't see Jonas leave, and I knew he was avoiding me. Well, that was too bad. I'd have to corner him at his house one of these days and question him mercilessly. Maybe I'd get my mother to come too – or Grandpa Brian. Grandpa Brian could get anything out of anyone.
Unless he already knew...
Yes, he was logically the next person to ask, and I decided I might as well do it right now.
When I finally located Grandpa Brian, he was walking out with my other grandparents, so it wasn't the optimal time to talk. Instead, I said my good-byes, and, leaving everyone conversing near the door, I went off in search of Matthew.
I found my brother standing outside, staring into the woods. He possessed the same yearning look I had seen in Allen's eyes, and I approached him, attempting to understand why.
When he didn't bother to speak, I burst out, “What's going on, Matthew? Something's going on and no one's telling me!”
He didn't make eye contact with me. “I'm not really sure.” He cleared his throat, gesturing toward the trees. “Who’s that guy with Daniel?”
“His name’s Allen. He's...observing us at school.”
He chuckled cynically. “So what are you doing with him in the woods? Getting extra credit?”
I swatted at him. “Matthew! We didn't do anything! The question is, what's Daniel doing? What's going on with him in general?”
Something flew over our heads then, and we both ducked instinctively. When we looked around above us, there was nothing to be seen. “There was an owl here the other night,” I pointed out in an unsteady tone. I was beginning to wonder if the Wicked Witch of the West had sent her flying monkeys after us too.
“That was probably what just flew by. An owl.” Thank God for Matthew, the voice of reason.
Then we heard screeching. Growls and strangely human-sounding yells emanated from deep in the woods. “What is that?” I yelped.
“Uh?”
I really didn't want him to know how anxious I was, so I reported almost conversationally, “There was a mountain lion here the other day too.”
“Are you serious? In our own backyard? There aren’t any mountain lions out here!”
My worry got the better of me anyway. “What if it got Daniel and Allen?” I exclaimed.
“They can take care of themselves. Let's get inside.”
“Do mountain lions eat people?”
Something swept at us from above. Like my dream, there was shrieking and the sound of fluttering feathers. Claws were ripping at our skin as we ran, but as I glanced over my shoulder, I stopped cold.
There was nothing there.
Matthew slowed his steps, pausing behind me. “I don't see anything,” he merely whispered.
We peered into and above the woods. Nothing so much as a cricket made a sound or stirred. The flying monkey idea was sounding more and more plausible to me.
“I dreamed this,” I uttered in horror.
Matthew took my arm protectively. “Get inside,” he said, and without looking back, we did.
***
MY GRANDPARENTS HADN’T left yet. We could see them watching us through the kitchen window as we trudged through the yard to the back door. Why did they look so calm? Why weren't they helping us?
Matthew held my hand as if we were still children. He opened the door and pushed me inside, shutting it firmly behind us. I finally let out the breath I'd been holding.
“Oh my God! Oh, my God!” I gasped.
“It's okay. We're fine,” Matthew comforted me. He wasn't doing a great job of appearing unconcerned, however. “You're shredded on your back there,” he noted in an uneven voice. Touching his finger near the wound, he murmured, “But you'll be fine.”
He didn't look as hurt as I did, but there was blood on his shirt. And the material was torn from his chest to his sleeve.
Grandma Robin approached from the kitchen. “Julian and Patricia are out there searching for you. They heard yelling.” Her words were delivered almost too fast to understand as she ushered us over to the dining room.
My other three grandparents came to join us, but none of them were acting as I would expect them to. They obviously had no idea what had happened in the woods.
“We were attacked!” I cried, throwing my arms up in the air. “It was just like a dream I had! I feel like it ripped off my back! It hurts!” Oddly, the pain was subsiding fairly quickly.
Grandma Felicia shook her head as Matthew attempted to further describe our experience. “Grandma Felicia,” he breathed, “what do you think that was? Something was clawing at us from overhead, but there wasn't anything there.”
She sighed, and Grandpa Brian stepped up. “Birds, sounds like.”
“Birds do this?” I indicated Matthew's tattered garment.
“Maybe invisible killer birds do,” he muttered.
“We'll have to check out the woods and see what's going on here,” Grandpa Ron advised from the corner. “Don't worry about it now. We'll take care of it.” Okay, fine. Grandpa Ron would handle it. How, I don't know. But this was one of those times I was happy to “leave it to the adults” as Mom used to say.
Pushing past her husband, Grandma Felicia surveyed each of us. “The main thing is, are you okay? Matthew, your shirt’s bloody–” She lifted up his top, then appeared puzzled. “You're...Oh.” Tittering nervously, she arranged his clothing back into place. “You'll be fine.”
“Fine? There's blood–” I tugged at his shirt and he nudged me away.
“I'm okay, Corinne. Really. Take care of yourself.”
Confused, I glanced at my shoulder. There was some blood on my top, and some angry gashes on my skin, but they weren't bleeding. They just felt...itchy.
I guess I hadn't been injured as badly as I thought.
***
I STOOD IN MY ROOM, staring into the mirror over my dresser. Bella's emerald pendant shined back at me as I studied my shoulder yet again. What had just happened to us? How weird was it that I'd dreamed something similar? Matthew hadn't been in the dream, but the invisible things assaulting me had been.
What could possibly have attacked us in the night? Owls? I knew bats didn't hurt people, but neither did anything else in the woods behind our house. And even mountain lions...well, they couldn't fly...
While idly touching my new ring, I reminisced about the rest of the night. I was miffed that Allen had gone off with Daniel and not returned. That was rude enough. I just hoped they hadn't been mauled by wild animals – or unseen murderous birds.
Maybe Daniel...no, Daniel was so girl-crazy I couldn't imagine him being interested in a man. And Allen...
Well, Allen was basically courting me!
After taking off Bella's necklace, I removed the ring and placed it in my jewelry box. The emerald appeared to be flawless. Judging from the comments Daniel had made when Allen had delivered it to me, I suspected that my new friend was rich. So why was he living in a shack?
The viridescent stone sparkled in the overhead light, and I admired it another second before hiding the ring under a mound of costume jewelry. No one including my parents needed to know it was here. They'd probably make me give it back or put it in a safe deposit box. There was no way I could ever wear a ring that large without drawing a lot of attention to myself.
But it was really cool to own it.
***
BEFORE I WENT TO SLEEP, I checked out the window just on the off-chance that Allen might have returned. All I saw was Daniel trudging out of the woods with my parents. Allen was long gone.