Secrets in the Dark by KD Blakely Page A

from it.
    I took the map with her
introduction on the back and folded it into the pocket of my jeans.
“We’ll try to find him the next time we go.”
    Doug spoke up, “If your
mom is right, the last Saturday in February will be the next time
we can get in there.” He glared at me as he said,
“ They said we
have to wait and go together, so we can only go that
Saturday.”
    Ronny nodded, “I hate to
wait that long, but I agree. Since you did not see anyone near the
tree, there is something strange happening in Chimera. You should
stick together.”
    I said, “So we need to find
Ghalynn. Anything else?”
    Ronny sat forward. “Not
now. But I am curious what is happening between you and this boy,
Ray,” Ronny told Doug.
    He said, “Ray’s dad is the
Mayor. My dad says the Tate’s are always Mayors or on the City
Council. They’re big dogs in this town.”
    Ronny interrupted him,
smiling. “I did not know they allow dogs on your Council. The
Mundane world keeps surprising me, even after all these
years.”
    Doug chose to ignore her,
while the rest of us just stared, not sure what to say. “Um, Tate
Road, next to Main Street, was named for
them. Ray seems to think it makes him better than the rest of
us.”
    Faith spoke up. “Ray’s best
friend is Andrew. Andrew thinks you shouldn’t live in Santa Ramona
unless you’re rich or important. Anyone else, like Mom and me,
should just get out.”
    “ It sounds like you must
avoid Ray and also this Andrew as well,” Ronny said, worried. “It
is clear,” her glance went to Doug and lingered on his torn lip
before she continued, “they are not afraid to hurt others, and they
are watching you now. Please, do not get hurt on my
account.”
    “ Don’t worry, we’ll be
careful,” Doug replied cheerfully. “They won’t hurt us.”

    I wondered if those would
count as ‘famous last words’.

Chapter 14
    Initials…Who
Knew?
    I couldn’t wait for the
end of February for both Chimera and Chris. I’d talked to Chris
briefly on the phone, but couldn’t wait to talk to him in person
when he got back from his current research trip. He said he was
glad I finally knew the truth. I said I was glad I wasn’t still waiting
for him to tell
me about it. Because he should have told me himself! After that, he
didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Go figure.
    I was relieved we were able
— mostly — to avoid Ray and his friends the first three weeks of
February.
    Faith spent a lot of energy
avoiding Andrew. But I couldn’t stand being around the real leader
of the gang. I found myself gritting my teeth every time I caught
sight of Ray’s short spiky black don’t-mess-with-me-I’m-tough hair
between classes.
    He bowled through the halls
with his friends as if he owned the place. He was tall and broad,
and everyone moved out of his way without him saying a word. He
didn’t even need to glare at anyone out of his
freeze-you-where-you-stand pale grey eyes to totally intimidate
them.
    He gave the three of us an
evil grin each time he saw us. His chipped front tooth made him
look like a wannabe pirate. I’d heard his mom wouldn’t let him fix
it until he was done playing sports.
Probably because his father loved to brag how Ray wasn’t afraid to
get ‘a little rough’ on the basketball court.
    Would he be proud that Ray
liked to get ‘a little rough’ in the hallways, too? This week, the
last week in February, we weren’t always able to avoid
him.
    Tuesday, I was late getting
out of gym. I threw on my clothes quickly, ignoring the sweaty hair
that stuck to my head and the shirt tails that flapped loosely when
I took off at a run. Mr. Gordon didn’t like his History class
interrupted by someone coming in late.
    Of course, that would be
when Ray caught me.
    I wasn’t even surprised
when I heard him bellow, “I’ve always known you were a stupid
troll, Taylor. You don’t even know how to dress
yourself.”
    While Andrew and Polly
laughed, a group of passing