Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(55)

"What is it you want to know?" Holiday asked.

Kylie fought back her frustration with Holiday, knowing her anger with Lucas was affecting her attitude. "What's with Burnett? He seems extra alert. Has he ... learned something that concerns me? Does he have news about my grandfather? Today was supposed to be the day he showed and yet ... I don't think there's a chance in hell that he's coming. And no one is even saying anything about it, as if it never happened."

Holiday frowned. "Because we didn't think it would happen, we decided to downplay it. But Burnett and I talked earlier about it and he hasn't heard anything about your grandfather. But ... I agree about him being ... let's call it on the defensive. I asked about it. He says he's feeling jittery." Her tone seemed to say that Holiday didn't buy it.

And neither did Kylie. Something was up. But what?

As they continued over the rocky path, an unnatural cold seemed to sweep in with every other breeze. Someone, someone dead, was close by. She gave Burnett another glance over her shoulder and remembered their talk about ghosts.

Was that the issue bothering him?

Holiday slowed down and peered back with concern. A slight huff of air leaked from her lips and her expression shifted from concern to annoyance. Not just any kind of annoyance, but the kind that stemmed from the opposite sex.

The mood must have been contagious because Kylie's own thoughts ventured to her opposite-sex issues and she wondered if men weren't just created to drive women crazy.

A few more minutes down the path, Holiday spoke up. "Now it's your turn. What's up with you? And don't tell me nothing, because you have anger dripping from you like a leaky faucet."

Kylie frowned, too angry to deny her feelings. "Lucas is what's up."

"Boy trouble, huh?"

"Boy catastrophe is more like it. I'm not sure I can do this."

"Do what?" Concern sounded in Holiday's voice.

"Do Lucas," Kylie said.

Holiday made a funny face and raised one eyebrow.

"Not do him as in ... get naked," Kylie blurted out, realizing what she'd said and thinking this was the cause of Holiday's odd expression.

"I mean, dealing with being the last thing on his to-do list. I mean him treating me as if I'm an afterthought in his life. I mean me feeling as if everyone he knows and cares about thinks I'm not good enough for him because I'm not a were."

Sympathy filled Holiday's eyes. "If it helps, I don't think Lucas shares the old beliefs of the weres. Most of the young weres don't agree with them, but there's pressure from the elders in their society to follow them anyway."

"I know," Kylie said. "And I also know that the only reason he's abiding by the stupid rules is because he needs his father's approval to make the Council so he can change things. But when he won't even smile at me for longer than a second, it hurts!" she seethed. "I guess that makes me a selfish twit for feeling this way." Her words resonated deep inside her and the guilt, like flies on a bad banana, started buzzing around her chest.

"No." Holiday cut her green eyes toward Kylie as they took the bend in the trail. "It doesn't make you selfish. It makes you normal. No one wants to be made to feel as if they aren't good enough."

"But I still feel like a selfish twit," Kylie said. The sound of the falls started playing in her ears, and even from this distance she felt the calming in her mood. "Or I feel selfish when I'm not feeling furious."

Holiday leaned in and brushed shoulders with her. "Your feelings are valid. Don't feel guilty. Sure, Lucas is making these choices for a reason. It's part of his quest, and we all must pay a price for following our own paths. But..." She paused in thought. "It's not always fair to ask others to pay that price." She glanced back at Burnett again.

Kylie sensed Holiday's words held a personal significance. In the last few days, Kylie suspected the relationship between Burnett and Holiday had gone backward. And she didn't think it was Burnett doing the backtracking.

"I think he'd be willing to pay it," Kylie said.

Holiday frowned. "I was talking about you and Lucas."

"Right," Kylie said. But you were thinking about you and Burnett.

They moved off the path and into the alcove of thick trees as they completed the journey to the falls. The moist smell of wet earth perfumed the air, the sound of rushing water played in the symphony of the woodsy sounds, and the serene ambience grew stronger.

Kylie's anger, her frustrations, all seemed lighter with each step. And when they arrived, it was ... surreal. Each time, she seemed to forget how good it felt. They stood on the bank of the creek and stared through the misty air at the spray of water cascading downward.

Kylie heard Holiday draw in a deep, calm breath that matched her own.

"What is it about this place?" Kylie asked.

"Magic. Power." Holiday reached down to remove her shoes and Kylie did the same. "Back in the 1960s, there was actually a supernatural doctor in botany science who came here to prove that all this could be explained by some chemical compounds in some plant life. A natural drug of sorts."

"But how could that be when not everyone experiences it?" Kylie unlaced her shoes.

"Ahh, but those not welcome here generally feel the opposite, an uncomfortable sensation that urges them to flee. Which is why this scientist believed it was a chemical reaction. Meaning, the few supernaturals who experience positive emotions were just genetically inclined to react differently to the plant's compounds. Like how some groups of people react differently to drugs."