Bloodstone Read online

  Here from the dawn of time, so fine, love of mine. You are every colour of the rainbow, plus much more besides.

  Ilaria’s guitar belted out each chord almost like it would be its last. Joselyn seemed to come alive as she played her bass guitar, and for a moment all of her shyness and insecurities vanished. As a group, we had never sounded so great.

  When the song ended, Ryder stood up and clapped. ‘That was unbelievable!’

  We all looked at each other in amazement, and Jade’s face glowed with his praise. ‘That was brilliant, Amelina. How did you play so well? You haven’t had time to practice. I thought a horrible illness had stricken you?’

  I blanched at Jade’s words, and my face flushed. ‘M’fine. I have no idea how I did it, it just came to me,’ I replied, frowning.

  Jade whispered in Ilaria’s ear. ‘She must have enchanted the drumsticks, the song lyrics, and Ryder! I’m so jealous!’

  The whispers had failed. I had heard Jade’s words loud and clear, and in response, I blushed a fierce pink. Ilaria sniggered and whispered back, ‘Perhaps it’s Ryder who’s enchanted her and our music too. Y’know, we’ve never played like that before.’

  ‘What are you two whispering and sniggering about?’ I stood with my hands on my hips and flashed a defensive glance in their direction.

  ‘Nothing.’ They giggled conspiratorially.

  I spun around and detected that Ryder now stood next to me, yet I hadn’t seen him move. He must have crossed the room with lightning speed. I felt a buzz of nervous energy crackle between us. Feeling awkward, I pretended to tidy away the music equipment so I wouldn’t have to deal with how he made me feel.

  Ryder joined in folding chairs and lifting equipment, moving with lithe, panther-like grace as he continued to charm everyone with his disarming smile and smouldering eyes. ‘Have you ever thought of recording your music on YouTube? I bet you’d be a hit.’

  ‘No, haven’t thought of that.’ I smiled at his interest in our group.

  ‘I could help out. I have access to an excellent video recorder.’

  ‘That would be awesome, Ryder,’ I replied with a smile bright enough to light up the interior of the shed. Ryder’s mobile buzzed, interrupting our conversation. He paused for a moment while he stood reading his text message, and a faint smile registered on his lips.

  ‘Sorry, Amelina, but I’ll have to go. See you soon.’

  I wondered what his mysterious text message had said. Instead, I tried to appear cool and replied, ‘Oh, okay. We can hang out another time.’ I hated that he had to go, but I walked Ryder down the garden pathway and waved as he sauntered off down the road.

  When I returned to the shed, I peeked inside to witness my friends huddled together in gossip mode. Jade had centre stage, her eyes bright with mischief as she led the conversation. I crept to the side of the door and eavesdropped. I was a pro at eavesdropping at home, so I decided I might as well do it with my friends too.

  ‘Well, Amelina goes from hardly noticing that boys exist to finding the hottest, most incredible guy in the universe. Now, how’s that possible?’ asked Jade.

  ‘Yeah, I know. It’s so unfair. My jaw dropped like a broken elevator shaft when Ryder walked in the room!’ said Ilaria.

  ‘I’m glad Amelina’s luck changed, but, um ... I’m not sure about Ryder,’ remarked Joselyn.

  ‘What d’you mean, Joselyn?’ asked Jade with a puzzled expression on her face.

  ‘His voice is weird, and his eyes are beyond freaky,’ answered Joselyn, looking perturbed.

  I had to stifle a laugh at that remark. I placed my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. The conversation continued.

  ‘His voice and eyes are freaky, but sexy too!’ said Jade, winking.

  ‘I’m not sure about sexy. I just found those two different coloured eyes and his voice to be creepy-freaky!’ said Joselyn, frowning.

  ‘Joselyn, shut up! Can’t you see he’s fit?’ said Ilaria, shaking her head. ‘He’s perfect for Amelina.’

  ‘I don’t know. Ryder’s too perfect—sort of unreal. There’s something in his eyes, a touch of hardness that I just don’t like,’ said Joselyn.

  I imagined her biting her lip, chewing on it mercilessly. Typical Joselyn, she always saw things the rest of us sometimes ignored.

  ‘Stop being so boring Joselyn. You never trust anyone; you should get a job in the police force,’ remarked Ilaria. And that was so Ilaria, always the smart ass. I held back my laughter and rolled my eyes. This overheard conversation fascinated me more and more.

  ‘Maybe I should! But there’s something about him that freaks me out. That’s the last thing that Amelina needs. Her life’s trashed as it is,’ said Joselyn.

  I gasped at the truth of Joselyn’s words. Thanks for pointing that out, Joselyn. Trashed, yeah, that just about sums it up.

  ‘I disagree. I think Ryder’s appearance is a sign that Amelina’s luck is changing,’ said Jade.

  ‘Yeah, Jade’s right; I think you’re exaggerating Ryder’s freakishness, Joselyn. But it’s true that her life ‘til now’s been rubbish. Haven’t you heard the rumours about her family? A curse?’ whispered Ilaria. I swallowed hard. I wished they wouldn’t talk about this because the curse lay in the off-limits zone. But I remained hidden, wanting to know what my friends really thought about Ryder. I hovered closer to the door, listening intently.

  ‘Yeah, I have. Poor Amelina, she’s got it rough,’ remarked Joselyn.

  ‘There must be some truth in this curse theory. You only have to see her parents. That’s evidence enough. Like a pair of wax horror exhibits in Madame Tussaud’s who’ve undergone some weird time shift, aging them, wrinkles and all. As for Amelina, she’s strange too. Haven’t you heard that nutty story? You know? The one about her holding up her newborn head as soon as she arrived?’ asked Jade, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

  I couldn’t believe it. Jade had crossed the invisible line of friendship. I’ll give her Madame Tussaud’s! As for that head thing, what a load of rubbish…

  ‘Yeah, my mum told me she arrived exactly on her due date as if she knew when to join the rest of the human race,’ joined in Ilaria, bursting into laughter.

  I felt the rumbles of anger bubble to the surface. Hey, I can’t help it if I’m always on time, Ilaria!

  Then, in between bursts of giggles, Jade added to the conversation. ‘She took ages to talk because she was already cleverer than everyone else.’

  It stunned me to realise what Jade really thought of me. I brushed my hand over my eyes, willing my body to remain quiet so I could hear the rest of their harsh words.

  ‘No doubt about that!’ said Joselyn.

  ‘No wonder she’s landed a hot guy. She’s got brains, beauty, and a touch of magic on her side!’ said Jade, doubling with laughter.

  Enough, I had to stop this. I walked around the corner, slipping from my hiding place. ‘Okay, knock it off. Don’t you know you’re not meant to talk about friends behind their back?’

  ‘We’ve been talking about how amazing you are, Amelina!’ said Ilaria with a mischievous grin.

  ‘You witches! Gossiping more like,’ I said, pulling a face.

  I turned around and Jade’s mum, Alice, entered the shed to welcome us girls, saying, ‘Selamat Datang,’ in her quiet voice. She always greeted us in the same way, using this Malaysian expression. She’d prepared a lovely Chinese meal, which she carried in on a large tray. We all gobbled down the excellent fare in no time at all.

  Shortly after the meal, the girls gathered outside, waiting for their parents to arrive to take them home. All except me—I had no alternative but to rush to the end of the driveway, not stopping to say goodbye, because my mum exuded control punctuality freak like no other. She was also a cleaning freak and a tantrum monster. In my house, being late wasn’t an option. That kind of behaviour would set off the erupting volcano of Mum’s temper.

  I relished the snatched seconds of laid-back atmosphere, wis
hing I could stay longer. I felt different at Jade’s house happier and lighter, as if a weight had lifted from my shoulders. I despised the thought of going home. I tried not to dwell on it, but whenever I spent time at Jade’s house, my situation became clearer. The only way to describe my family life would be to define it with one word. Tragic.

  I hung my head in dejection. If only my mum and dad could be like they used to be. A heavy depression settled like an ominous black cloud, threatening to engulf me. I gulped for air.

  Puzzle Piece 18:

  The YouTube Recording

  I feel jealousy,

  Mounting reaching a high note,

  And I don’t like it,

  Boys—cause a string of problems,

  Beware boyfriend who plays lead.

  Even though Ryder had made promises at our last band session, I didn’t hear from him. In fact, he seemed to have disappeared without a trace. The depression I often suffered following a music session settled deeper, eating away at me. I lost all sense of time. The days rolled from one to another as time continued to pass me by. Living in the real world was a dream I longed for. Trying to cope, I ate, slept, and repeated each day like a hamster stuck on a treadmill.

  When I decided that I’d reached rock bottom, Ryder finally turned up. His long disappearance annoyed me, but I was desperate to have fun, so I gave him another chance. I couldn’t let the opportunity to record our songs get away from us. Also, there was no way that Ilaria, Jade, and Joselyn would let me, anyway. Those girls had been relentless with their calls and texts. They tried everything to lift my melancholy mood. Guess what? It worked.

  I cheered up, glad to be back amongst the living and excited about the new opportunities ahead of us. Later that same day, Ryder arrived at Jade’s house in perfect timing to the sound of us tuning up. I smiled, glad to see him and even happier that he had remembered his promise. He ambled into the shed carrying a professional-looking video recorder. I chuckled at the girls babbling at each other in excitement, reserving my opinion for later. If Ryder’s boasting suggestions were true, our band would soon be on YouTube. Now he would have to live up to his promises.

  ‘Hey, I can’t wait to hear your new song,’ said Ryder as he set up the video equipment. ‘What’s it called?’

  ‘Drifting Shadows.’ My heartbeat in my chest so loudly that I was sure Ryder could hear it.

  ‘I like the name. It conjures up an alleyway of wickedly evocative thoughts,’ said Ryder with a devilish smile. He turned and gave me a wink. My breath caught in my throat; his devilish smile captured there for a moment more.

  ‘Yeah, I agree,’ said Jade, returning his wicked smile. Ryder laughed.

  Joselyn winced and met Jade’s eyes as if she was taking this as evidence of his guilt in a court of law.

  ‘We’ll play it for you now. See what you think before we record it.’ My aim was to cut off Ryder’s laughter in one swift move. I didn’t want him paying too much attention to Jade.

  However, Ryder’s immunity to my tactics surprised me. Instead, he agreed with me, saying, ‘Oh cool. I’d like to set the video to self-timer so I can introduce the song for you as we record it if that’s all right?’

  He had said it as a statement more than a question, and I paused for a moment, reflecting on his words before I asked, ‘Are you planning to introduce Rock Crystal too?’

  ‘Let’s try Drifting Shadows, for now, just in case it goes wrong.’ Ryder fiddled with the equipment, adjusting the volume and other buttons.

  I turned away, searching for my music. ‘Okay.’

  ‘Amelina’s singing this one,’ said Jade. She glanced at the other girls with a smile on her face.

  Ryder glanced over his shoulder at me. ‘You sing, too, Amelina?’

  ‘Yeah, I do the haunting, edgy numbers because they fit my doom and gloom personality.’ I flashed a wry grin in Ryder’s direction.

  Ryder had stopped tinkering with the buttons on the recording equipment and had turned to face me. ‘I don’t see doom and gloom, Amelina. I see sunlight and talent.’

  I smiled. He knew how to charm a girl. My heart fluttered when I met his eyes. Those crazy eyes.

  ‘Hey, how do you drum and sing at the same time?’

  God, he was gorgeous. I cleared my throat and beamed him a smile. ‘C’mon, that’s easy. I’m a girl; we multi-task with ease!’

  I walked over to join the girls, and we finished tuning up our instruments. Ryder set the recording on a self-timer mode and joined us on stage to introduce the song. The recorder emitted an atmospheric sound, which filled the room with a haunting, reverberating echo.

  As we played, the lyrics of the song sounded distant as if they were flowing down a long, dark tunnel. Out of nowhere, my voice echoed and drifted back, filling the room with a hypnotic and haunting sound. It reminded me of several voices singing in unison like a choir, instead of my voice alone. My drums were at the back of the shed in the shadows, and without warning, a strange sensation engulfed me, and my spirit felt like it soared, wild and free. The beats of my drum dominated the musical piece, creating a powerful recurring pattern of sound. The melancholic quality of my voice matched the lyrics of the song:

  Your fragments of light cast drifting shadows,

  Cloaking my eyes so I can’t see,

  Dark demons hide in your beguiling eyes,

  Wading in the deep waters of my mind,

  Your darkness and light a glimmering candle,

  Too brilliant, too exquisite to ignore,

  Shadows of your soul linger in my eyes,

  Too mischievous and alluring not to adore,

  The music flared in pitch and volume, filling the darkening room. Shadows teased us with patches of flickering light and darkness. The vibe increased as the wavering shadows danced in time to the rhythm of the rave-like music. I felt amplified, flying on the ultimate adrenaline high. I sang with all my heart, sucking energy from the other band members as I watched their illuminated faces staring back at me.

  Your voice like milk and honey,

  Rich, flowing, and tender,

  Never forgotten,

  Whirling in my mind,

  Bewitched and intoxicated I am,

  Please hold me once more,

  Please hold me once more,

  Forget all the others you have held before,

  Forget everything you have ever known,

  Trust me,

  Trust me,

  My voice,

  Alone.

  At the end of the song, I wiped the sweat from my brow, exhausted but triumphant. I had sounded good. We milled around, sorting our music and stretching. Ryder left the stage and set up the video recorder to record Rock Crystal.

  By now, the rest of the girls seemed to be under the same spell that controlled me. A blinding, ethereal light worked its way into the room as we played. Crystalline images projected on the walls behind us as Jade’s voice found the words to the song. Colour and warmth permeated the room, calming us after the frenzied beat of the previous song, Drifting Shadows.

  When we finished recording, we huddled together in a tight knot. Our voices rose in excitement as we chatted about the miraculous recording session we’d just taken part in. Ryder stood off to the side and uploaded the two songs. I flashed an angry look at Jade when she walked over to his side. I knew she was vying with me for Ryder’s undivided attention. I shook my head in disgust as I observed her bubbling like a spring of teenage hormones on full alert.

  ‘That was awesome, Ryder, but did you see those strange shadows and crystalline images flashing on the walls? Wasn’t that surreal?’ Jade’s face flushed and her eyes glimmered.

  ‘Crystalline images, no. Shadows? Yeah, I always see them. I think the crystals must have been your imagination shuffling off into hyper musician drive.’ Ryder chuckled as if he had shared a joke.

  We all glanced at each other with shocked looks on our faces. I cocked my head and stared at Ryder’s back. ‘But I saw them too,�
� I said, butting in.

  ‘And me,’ agreed Ilaria.

  ‘It’s odd, but I did too!’ remarked Joselyn.

  Ryder turned around and stared back at us with a strange glint in his eyes. ‘Maybe I’m not as creative, or maybe my perception is lacking compared to you girls.’

  Our voices broke out in an angry chorus of disagreement as we said in unison, ‘You must have seen them, Ryder? We all did.’ Joselyn and Ilaria nodded their heads in agreement.

  ‘I didn’t see them, and I don’t lie, Amelina,’ said Ryder. A hurt edge crept into his voice. It was light, almost hidden, but it was there, like a knife edge waiting to take its first slice.

  My face paled at this declaration. I stepped back and steadied my voice, trying to calm my thoughts. ‘I didn’t mean that, Ryder… Thanks for helping; you did such a fantastic job.’ I accepted his words as if set in stone.

  ‘Thanks, girls, it’s my pleasure.’ Ryder, forgetting his hurt, appeared to bask in the glow of my praise. He brushed his ebony hair away from his forehead with a practised grace.

  ‘You look great in the recording, Ryder,’ said Jade, blushing. Her body language said more than I wanted her to say.

  Joselyn rolled her eyes. I said a silent, oh, my God, stop it, or you’re dead, Jade. But Ryder and Jade didn’t pick up on my pissed-off vibe. The heat of anger rolled off my skin in an invisible steam.

  ‘I pale into insignificance next to you,’ he said, his kiss-me eyes lingering on Jade’s flushed cheeks.

  I turned toward my friend, my usually gentle eyes sending a deliberate warning glare in her direction. An unpleasant feeling of jealousy came over me, threatening to burst from the top of my head. Maybe he prefers Jade. The more I thought about that possibility, the more jealous I became. That would be typical. Could things get any worse? Perhaps this was my secondary curse, to have hot guys always falling for my best friend. Great.