Beautiful Creatures(142)

“Larkin?” My heart sank. He was one of them, a Dark Caster. Things were worse than I thought.

“Larkin, what are you?” Lena looked confused, but only for a second. “Why?”

But the answer was staring right at us, in Larkin’s golden eyes. “Why not?”

“Why not? Oh, I don’t know, how about a little family loyalty?”

Larkin swiveled his head, as the thick gold chain around his neck writhed into a snake, tongue flickering against his cheek. “Loyalty’s not really my thing.”

“You betrayed everyone, your own mother. How can you live with yourself?”

He stuck out his tongue. The snake crawled into his mouth and disappeared. He swallowed. “It’s a whole lot more fun being Dark than Light, cousin. You’ll see. We are what we are. This is what I was destined to be. There’s no reason to fight it.” His tongue flickered, now forked, like the snake inside of him. “I don’t know why you’re so worked up about it. Look at Ridley. She’s havin’ a great time.”

“You’re a traitor!” Lena was losing control. Thunder rumbled over her head, and the rain intensified again.

“He’s not the only traitor, Lena.” Sarafine took a few steps toward Lena.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your beloved Uncle Macon.” Her voice was bitter and I could tell it wasn’t lost on Sarafine that Macon had all but stolen her daughter from her.

“You’re lying.”

“He’s the one who has been lying to you all this time. He let you believe your fate was predetermined —that you didn’t have a choice. That tonight, on your sixteenth birthday, you will be Claimed Light or Dark.”

Lena shook her head stubbornly. She raised her palms. Thunder rumbled, and the rain began to pour, in thick sheets and torrents. She shouted to be heard. “That’s what happens. It happened to Ridley and Reece and Larkin.”

“You’re right, but you’re different. Tonight, you will not be Claimed. You will have to Claim yourself.”

The words hung in the air. Claim yourself. Like the words themselves had the power to stop time.

Lena’s face was ashen. For a second, I thought she was going to pass out. “What did you say?” she whispered.

“You have a choice. I’m sure your uncle didn’t tell you that.”

“That’s impossible.” I could barely hear Lena’s voice in the shrieking wind.

“A choice afforded to you because you are my daughter, the second Natural born into the Duchannes family. I may be a Cataclyst now, but I was the first Natural born into our family.”

Sarafine paused, then repeated a verse:

“‘The First will be Black

But the Second may choose to turn back.’”

“I don’t understand.” Lena’s legs gave out from under her and she fell to her knees in the mud and tall grass, her long black hair dripping around her.

“You’ve always had a choice. Your uncle has always known that.”

“I don’t believe you!” Lena threw up her arms. Clumps of earth ripped up from the ground between them, swirling into the storm. I shielded my eyes as bits of dirt and rock flew at us from every direction.

I tried to shout over the storm, but Lena could barely hear me. “Lena, don’t listen to her. She’s Dark.

She doesn’t care about anyone. You told me that yourself.”

“Why would Uncle Macon hide the truth from me?” Lena looked directly at me, as if I was the only one who would know the answer. But I didn’t know. There was nothing I could say.

Lena slammed her foot against the ground in front of her. The ground began to tremble, then roll beneath my feet. For the first time ever, an earthquake had hit Gatlin County. Sarafine smiled. She knew Lena was losing control, and she was winning. The electrical storm in the sky flashed over our heads.

“That’s enough, Sarafine!” Macon’s voice echoed across the field. He appeared out of nowhere. “Leave my niece alone.”

Tonight, in the moonlight, he looked different. Less like a man and more like what he was. Something else. His face looked younger, leaner. Ready for a fight. “Are you referring to my daughter? The daughter you stole from me?” Sarafine straightened and began to twist her fingers, like a soldier checking his arsenal before a battle.

“As if she ever meant anything to you,” Macon said calmly. He smoothed his jacket, impeccable as usual. Boo burst out of the bushes behind him, as if he’d been running to catch up. Tonight, Boo looked exactly like what he was—an enormous wolf.

“Macon. I feel honored, except I hear I missed the party. My own daughter’s sixteenth birthday. But that’s all right. There’s always the Claiming tonight. We’ve a couple hours yet, and I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

“Then I suppose you will be disappointed, as you’re not invited.”

“Pity. Since I’ve invited someone myself, and he’s dying to see you.” She smiled and fluttered her fingers. As quickly as Macon had materialized, another man appeared, leaning against a willow trunk, where no one had been standing a moment before.

“Hunting? Where did she dig you up?”

He looked like Macon, but taller and a little younger, with slick jet-black hair and the same pallid skin.