Spiral: The Gregorian Chronicles Book One

23: Love is a Weakness

        "Hello, Dawn! Come on in." Phillip greeted her at the door, closing it behind her quicker than usual. She heard him doing something with the door, but Kabos appeared before she had the chance to turn around and see what it was. 

        "You look...amazing." Kabos whispered breathlessly, kissing her swiftly in greeting. 

        "Thank you." Dawn blushed. "You don't look so bad yourself."

        Kabos grinned boyishly, his light hair falling slightly into his bright green eyes and his lips parted ever so slightly, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

        "Are we ready for dinner?" Phillip asked, ruining the chance of Kabos saying anything to her. Dawn nodded sheepishly, her eyes betraying the disappointment she felt at Kabos's silence.

        Kabos lifted a finger slightly. 

        "Actually, I wanted to show Dawn something in my room." he said, taking Dawn's hand in his. "We won't be long."

        "I'll be right here." Phillip grinned knowingly, making Dawn blush as she followed Kabos into his bedroom next door.

        Kabos let Dawn go in before him, closing the door behind him. But just before he did, he shot Phillip a look---one filled with triumph, glee, and excitement...and just the tiniest hint of guilt, if you were looking for it.

***

        Knock knock

        Nothing happened. There was no sound from inside the house, no movement behind the curtains, nothing. Adriana couldn't tell if anyone had heard the knock, or if they were just ignoring her for the sake of ignoring her.

        Or maybe they knew why she was there.

        Knock knock

        Again, no answer.

        "Third time's a charm, right?" Adriana joked half-heartedly to Skylar and James. They smiled slightly at her, but their eyes betrayed their fear.

        Knock knock

        Nothing.

        "Try the knob." James offered.

        Adriana reached for the doorknob, tentatively trying it out. It wouldn't budge.

        "Something's not right here." she muttered, half to herself and half to her friends. She motioned for them to follow her and ran around to the other side of the house, searching for a window without curtains drawn.

        "A-ha!" she exclaimed, finding one directly opposite the front door. Peering through, she saw Kabos's father sitting at the kitchen table alone. 

        Where were Dawn and Kabos?

        Suddenly she remembered her vision. Kabos had taken Dawn to his room and given his dad that look...the one that said, I'm doing it. We're finishing this.

        "Guys...this is bad..." Adriana whispered, backing away from the window slowly. "Dawn's in Kabos's room with him. He's going to take her power..." she started pacing, nails digging into her skull as she ripped at her hair in agony. "What do we do? What can we do?"

        Skylar rested her hand on Adriana's arm, causing the frantic girl to stop in her tracks.

        "Ad, I'm not sure how to say this...but there's really nothing we can do. I think that, at this point, we need to trust Dawn to make her own decisions...she has to do this for herself."