Candescent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1) Read online

  Candescent

  Candescent

  O P A L E S C E N T

  Book Two

  Isabelle Gallo

  Copyright © 2010 by Isabelle Gallo

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

  Summary: Chenille East’s journey continues on the mysterious planet Catastrophe by the powers of a silver dragon charm. She must figure out the charm’s powers and uncover its secrets in an unfinished adventure before it is too late.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Part 1 The Charm

  Chapter 1 - Tangible

  Chapter 2 - Brother

  Chapter 3 - Mask

  Chapter 4 - Masquerade Ball

  Chapter 5 - New World

  Chapter 6 - Sea Travel

  Chapter 7 - Sea Dragon

  Chapter 8 - Allies

  Chapter 9 - Meeting

  Chapter 10 - Trial

  Part 2 Silver Dust

  Chapter 11 - Return

  Chapter 12 - Medicine

  Chapter 13 - Masquerade

  Chapter 14 - Hideout

  Chapter 15 - Treasure

  Chapter 16 - Stray

  Chapter 17 – Chance

  Chapter 18 – Manhunt

  Chapter 19 –The Transfusion

  Chapter 20 - Captivated

  Chapter 21- Red Snow

  Chapter 22 - Deliverance

  Chapter 23 - The Captain’s Room

  Chapter 24 - The Arii Desert

  Chapter 25 - The Effect

  Chapter 26 - The Fool’s Paradise

  Chapter 27 - Take Me Home

  Part 3 Clandestine

  Chapter 28 - Awake

  Chapter 29 - Remorse

  Chapter 30 - Respondent and Incandescent

  Afterword

  Glossary

  Characters

  Places

  Important Terms

  About the Author

  Part 1

  The Charm

  Chapter 1 - Tangible

  When I woke up it was unbelievably muggy and hot. This was just the beginning of summer in Florida. To my surprise, no one was home. I forgot that my parents had left for a business trip the previous night. My brother was probably out getting himself into trouble or perhaps working his summer job. The doorbell rang and sluggishly I walked over to the door to find myself staring wide-eyed at my friend.

  “You called?” It was Louie, my black haired blue-eyed friend, who resembled Lucian in my dream. Unlike Lucian, his athleticism showed from his built arms and the almost visible lines on his black shirt that traced the muscles of his upper body.

  For a moment, I forgot why I called him and just continued to stare at him puzzled to think that I was actually friends with him.

  “Yeah, I need to tell you something. Come in.” I nearly stuttered my words.

  He casually stepped inside and took a seat on the couch. Slowly I walked over to him, indecisive whether to stand or sit next to him. No, I would stand so I would not stutter again.

  “It’s about Pete.”

  His mouth seemed to twist into something I would have liked to think of as a frown, but his expression seemed to display more of disgust.

  “Your boyfriend?”

  I looked at him shocked. That was disgust. He was jealous. I felt a ping of joy. Pete must have told him that we were officially a couple.

  “Did he tell you about the dream I had last night?”

  Louie shrugged. “He mentioned it to me. He only said you had a crazy, real feeling dream.”

  “He didn’t go into detail?”

  “He didn’t have much detail to give me.”

  “Do you think the dream could have been brought on by the necklace?”

  “I don’t know, maybe.”

  “You told me Pete probably dropped it when he saw me sleeping.”

  ”Yes, he did.”

  “What happened last night? What did I miss before dinner?”

  “Well everyone was preparing for dinner and you decided to go for a walk. You were gone for a while so Pete decided to go out and see if you were ok. He ran in a few minutes after he left and told me you weren’t moving. I came out, but you were awake by the time I met up with Pete by the willow. That’s it. You didn’t miss anything else.”

  I waited for him to say more and when he didn’t I sat down to think. Maybe Pete could tell me more. Louie’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he sighed, glancing at it.

  “It’s Monty. He’s been trying to reach me. I have to head back home.”

  As soon as Louie left, I took a seat on the couch and closed my eyes, too lazy to turn on the AC even though the heat was blistering. It was too hot to sleep so I stayed as still as possible.

  Later that evening Pete invited me over to his house. He wanted to talk to me, probably about the night before. A servant opened the door, Pete’s family always had great wealth, and I stepped inside. The servant led me inside and pointed me in the direction of what appeared to be the family room. Pete was sitting on a leather couch positioned in front of a large television. He rolled his eyes toward me and smiled to himself.

  “Come sit Chenille.”

  When I had done so, he turned in my direction. He reached out his hand, traced along the side of my face and then felt the silver dragons that hung from my neck. I noticed how he used his sense of touch frequently.

  “Why have you been doing that? You use your hands so much to trace along things as though you are unsure they exist.”

  He sighed. “That’s what I wanted to tell you about.” He sat back. “I have never told you…not even my own father.” He looked back as if to check to make sure no one was listening to us. “If my father knew, I would be a disgrace to him.”

  “Knew what?”

  “I am blind in my right eye. I can’t see perfectly in my left eye either.”

  He had used his sense of touch to judge what he could not see pertaining to the other eye.

  “What happened?”

  “When I was younger I was diagnosed with glaucoma. No one knew I had it until I complained that my vision was getting worse. By then my eye was so damaged because at the time, I was a child and I didn’t understand what was going on. I was afraid to tell anyone about my sight, but my sight became so bad it was hard to hide the fact that it was getting worse. If only they caught the disease earlier I would probably be able to see…and the vision in my left eye would probably be better than what it is now.”

  He focused his attention on me and I stared back, taking in what he had told me. It was not like saying he was legally blind without glasses. No, he could not see out of his right eye at all. It seemed so unrealistic because he had sight in his left eye and could focus well with it. With one eye focused, his other eye had the notion to follow as though it too had sight.

  There was the sound of movement going on in the kitchen and he was quiet which was good because I could not think of anything to say back to him. Though I stayed quiet too, I must have been looking at him differently because he turned his face from me at once.

  “I don’t want you to look at me like I am different from any other person.” He said now in a low tone. “I don’t want you to look at me and see me as disabled and that I can’t hold my own. I don’t want you to offer me help. I’m not completely blind. I just want you to know the truth, but I don’t want you to see me as anyone different than what you saw me as before
you walked through that door.”

  I nodded slowly seeing now that he had become tense and almost angry at the thought that I would think less of him. His father came into the room for once not dressed in a suit for business, even though he looked busy enough. He was talking on the phone engaged in a high-strung conversation about stocks, I could only assume by his tone and mentioning of the Great Depression. Though that had nothing to do with his profession of running multi-million dollar companies and keeping them where their high statuses should be, occasionally he got involved in talking about the stock market, or so Pete had once told me.

  Noticing me, he smiled to show his acknowledgement. I knew my family had liked them, the entire Silver family, so he had no problem if I showed up once in a while. I turned back to Pete and waited for his father to collect his keys on the coffee table beside the couch and leave the room.

  “I don’t see what you have against him.” I remarked when I was sure his father had gone.

  “It’s none of your business of what I feel about my father.”

  “Why can’t you tell him?”

  “He has looked for impurities in me from the moment I was born. I hold his business statuses as his son and I symbolize all of what he is when I stand in front of a crowd. To be called the blind boy of the rich man, I would be looked down on and pitied and so would he. What he thinks of me will be worse than anyone else.”

  “But he will understand that you’re different. You are his son. He has to respect that as your father.”

  Pete stood up angrily. “You don’t get it Chenille. You don’t have to get it, but don’t you tell me who my father is and isn’t.”

  I got up, frightened by his growing anger. I could tell there was a growing hate between him and his father for whatever reason and he did not want me to be involved.

  “Pete I didn’t know. I’m-,”

  “Shut up Chenille.” His fists remained at his sides, his anger slowly surfacing.

  He looked at me silently and relaxed when I hastily stepped back away from him. I did not want him to explode. His expression immediately softened, but before he could catch me, I backed myself to the door and watched as he panicked.

  He had caught a glimpse of my hair and reached out but found himself clutching the arm of the chair in front of him. He ran his hands over the plush material and at once shook his head, probably assuring himself that it wasn’t me he had. He thought I had left, for he stayed where he was, puzzled and still angry, whispering to himself that I had left him. Then I did.

  I found myself crying as I ran home, being that my house was not that far. I slowly dissected my dream. How could it have been that Pete was the total opposite in my dream? The Pete in my dream had been vicious and uncontrollable, willing to kill me for his power, but in reality, he was actually a little helpless. I could not grasp the idea that he was partially blind or if he was lying and the eyesight in his other eye was as bad as to be qualified as blindness too.

  However, what hurt me the most was the thought of his relationship with his father. He had been the way the character in my dream had been. He was like the Chenille in my dream. He feared to be different and rejected by his own family just like how there was fear of being a vampire in a family of wolves.

  Chapter 2 - Brother

  Perhaps Louie hated his cousin, I was not sure. I was afraid to ask, feeling that I would be shunned and looked upon with disgust, which I did not wish to provoke since I liked Louie. However, I felt myself growing to him in a way that I felt disloyal to Pete.

  I knew Louie liked me and wanted me away from Pete maybe because of jealousy or of the idea that he was partially blind, which Louie knew about. He had always been drawing me away from Pete, if not by talk then by physical means. He would sometimes come over to me when Pete and I were talking and tell me he wanted me to meet someone - usually someone I had already met.

  It seemed he always reminded me that he could see from both of his eyes and he would show off to me whenever he got the chance. Sometimes he would go too far.

  Dissecting my dream, I found there might be tension between them. I figured that maybe Louie wanted to protect me from Pete’s disability and quick temper, acquired, I assumed, from his household and father.

  I suspected this is why Louie had brought me to a fancy restaurant. He was probably hoping to have an elaborate meal and attempt to pull me closer to him and away from Pete. Of course, we both knew that if Pete came into the restaurant, he would be angry with me and betrayed by his cousin.

  I glanced up from pretending to read my menu, involved in thought, to see Louie looking right at me. Heat rushed to my face and I pretended to read some more, hoping he didn’t notice. The worst part of it all was that he knew I liked him and that it would not be hard to get me away from Pete.

  The waiter came over to us asking for our orders. All I wanted was a cheeseburger deluxe, what had been on my mind for ten minutes, as I ordered that whenever I usually ordered. I did not want this to be fancy and so expensive to see Louie pull out his wallet stuffed with enough big bills to rent a condominium on the spot. Even if he pulled out a credit card with his name engraved on it, I would feel uneasy. He always reminded me that he was just as rich, if not more, than Pete. Louie could still outsmart me though in making the night as expensive as he wanted. He must have known what I wanted to order. I figured Pete had told him about my cheap taste in food, but Louie would just have to outdo what Pete had done for me.

  When asked what he would order, Louie uttered out a list of food, probably the most expensive on the menu. He then completed his order, shifting his glance to me. I handed my menu to the waiter and once he left I sat forward in my seat.

  “We’ll be here all night eating!”

  He only smiled at my remark, but did not comment or interject. His expression changed and I could tell he was distinctly staring at my necklace with a look of pure hatred. He must have hated the idea that my necklace represented Pete and me as a couple. I nearly turned away from him by the time the food came.

  Dishes upon dishes of tropical fish, a variety of meats, and several salads piled onto the table. A few plates were nearly off the tabletop. Louie looked at the numerous plates of food, probably checking to see everything he ordered was there, and shifted his smug stare to me. I was not impressed. He picked up his fork, nodded the waiter off, and started on his feast.

  “You think you’re better than Pete.” I remarked, pulling a salad over to me.

  “He has nothing to offer you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When he becomes totally blind with no more than a penny to his name you will be caring for him.”

  “He has money, more than you.”

  “Once his father finds out he is blind he won’t have a cent under his name.”

  “You think I’ll end up marrying him?”

  “You shouldn’t even think about that.”

  He smiled, twirled his fork in his hand immaturely like a baton. He said my name, trying to catch my attention, but I ignored him. When he continued I stood up, almost without thinking, and left the restaurant. I could have walked home, but I noticed his brother Monty in the parking lot just outside the restaurant. His sleek black convertible shined against the parking lot lights. The window was down. His arm rested on the door of his car as he caught my glance.

  “What brings you here?”

  He smiled. “I should ask the same to you.”

  “I was leaving actually.”

  “Louie stole my wallet on the way out.”

  I put my hands up in alarm. “He’s a thief too?”

  Monty laughed. “You need a ride back home?”

  I nodded, wanting to get away from the restaurant. I sat next to him surprised he was related to Louie. He looked nothing like him. His hair was light brown, with a pair of dark, intriguing eyes.

  “So did Louie scare you out of the restaurant or did you leave?”

  “I left. He was being obnoxi
ous.”

  “He was dumping on Pete, wasn’t he?”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” He paused, waiting for the car to come to a stop at a stoplight and nodded toward my necklace. “He can’t stand that.”

  “What’s his problem?”

  “I don’t know. He’s just jealous, I think. I don’t see why he’s so tense though. He knows it’s not going to last.”

  “What! You think so too? How could you say that?”

  “Listen, I know he’s partially blind. I’ve seen what he’s gone through and I know that he cares for you but-,” his voice trailed off as though he tried to gather the right words to say and shot a glance to me. “You know deep down it’s not going to last.”

  I sat back trying to understand him. “It’s not because of his blindness, it’s because no one else but us knows about it. If his father found out, all of us would be accused and whether you like it or not he wouldn’t trust you. He might think you told him,” he continued.

  “I wouldn’t tell.”

  “He doesn’t know that.” He looked desperately over to a café hearing the irritation rise in my voice. “Are you hungry? Do you want a coffee or something? I know you were in such a rush to leave Louie.” He said quickly.

  “Fine.” I sank into the leather chair again and felt myself relax.

  He led the way into the small café. We were seated quickly. When asked for our orders I said I wanted nothing. I could not eat anything anyway, even if I tried.

  I stared awkwardly at my friend who was tracing the edge of the silver napkin holder. He was probably trying to gather his thoughts. He probably wanted only to refrain himself from bringing up the previous subject that had enraged me.

  “Did you hear about the ball?”

  “What ball would that be?”

  “The masquerade ball Louie and I are throwing in about a week.”

  “Oh really, am I invited?”

  “No.” He sat back crossing his arms.