Inner Demon: The Dark Bloods - Book I ✓

Chapter 11 - Secret Research

“I forgot,” Reyna mumbled to herself, finally remembering why she couldn’t find Dante. “He had to meet with his teacher to talk about his college essay.”

She held her breath as if waiting for something, then let it out as a heavy sigh. It had been a perfect opportunity to insult Dante and he didn’t say anything. Reyna had come to accept that there was something about Dante that Mundus did not like. His constant taunts and insults had no longer become bothersome since Reyna soon learned there was no way she could stop them. Lately, though, they had been decreasing to the point that even her baiting words refused to stir him.

Even though he was asleep she tried to entice him to speech. You know, I haven’t heard from you all day, she prodded.

Reyna sighed at the silence. Mundus hardly spoke anymore. She knew it was the book. Even though she read it when he was gone, once he woke up he had access to her thoughts. During those awakenings he could see what she had gained from her readings. On several occasions when Reyna tried to ask her teacher about the book’s origin or any other information about the author, a burning sensation in her chest would always halt her paces towards Miss Niwa and turn her towards the door. Reyna tried her best to keep her thoughts of the book concealed, but such a task was futile with one who could read her mind.

“Excuse me.”

Reyna turned to the words she assumed were aimed at her to a tall individual she did not recognize. He was several inches taller than Reyna, passing the six feet mark. The odd tone of his black hair made it look dark blue and seemed to naturally feather in all directions. His brown eyes were warm and friendly as if taken from the soil of Mother Earth herself. Casually dressed in jeans and a shirt, he smiled at Reyna.

“Um, yes?” she hesitantly said.

“Oh sorry!” he laughed. It was an amiable sound. “I must’ve scared you. You see, I’m new here and I need help finding the buses. Are they in the back of the school? I can’t see them from here.”

“Oh!” Reyna’s face was brightened with a smile. “Yeah. You have to get past the band practice marching pad that’s directly behind the school. I know it’s weird. You can’t see the buses till you pass that area. The little hills that surround the school hide the buses. But, aren’t you moving in a late too late in the school year? It’s already May.”

“Yeah. My parents moved here ‘cause of a job, and I had to come obviously. The school is basically gonna let me graduate if I pass the end of the year exams for all my classes.”

“Well good luck with that.”

His eyes lightened up with his grin. “Thanks.”

Reyna found herself laughing at his cheerful nature. He raided of warmth and seemed to naturally carry a friendly atmosphere around him. The type of person that places smiles on all who see him.

“By the way,” he asked, “do you know what bus I may be in? I lost my schedule.”

“Maybe. What’s the name of your neighborhood?”

“Cambridge I think.”

“Oh yeah. I know that one. It’s Julie’s neighborhood. Your bus is one-oh-eight,” Reyna said, her smile not dispersing.

His wouldn’t disappear either. “Really? Yeah? Well, now that I think about it, I think I do recall trying to remember that number.”

Reyna burst out laughing at his strange sentence. “That’s good to hear.”

“By the way, your name is...?”

“Reyna,” she said and shifting the book she cradled in her right arm to her left, offered her hand as a greeting. He took it but instead of shaking hands, he brought it to his lips and kissed it.