“Well, what a coincidence!” he says, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “And did she tell you where she found it?” Natalie looks at Rupert with wide-eyed innocence.
“Not in detail, she only said it was her mother’s.” Suddenly Rupert grabs her by the shoulders and starts shaking her. “Ouch, stop it!”
“What the hell are you doing?” Will, having no idea what’s going on, tries to stop Rupert but the tall boy is far too strong. Finally Rupert releases Natalie, pushing her away from him.
“You brute!” she hisses angrily but Rupert just bares his teeth.
“You can’t know about it, Will,” he explains to his friend. “But Augustus gave this same ring to the candidate who finally died, the one before Natalie. We had all voted for her, even Randolph had already agreed, but she decided to stay human and gave the ring back to Augustus.”
“The girl Augustus was so in love with? She gave it back?” Will asks, surprised.
“That’s right,” Rupert nods. “Only Augustus didn’t tell Randolph that she’d returned the ring, so everybody thought it got lost in the sea when she died. But Augustus kept it all these years as a memento.”
“And how come you know about it?” Natalie asks truculently. Rupert glares at her.
“Because Augustus confided in me on New Year’s Eve. He was desperate because the ring had vanished. And guess for how long?” He stares at Natalie accusingly. “Only a few days, since we all met at his house before Christmas. He was sick with worry that Ruth could have taken it to give to Greg so he could use it to his advantage. Randolph would have been furious to learn that Augustus had hidden the ring all the time but he would have to come clean anyway. Luckily he was wrong.” Rupert is breathing heavily now. “Augustus suspected Ruth but it was you who stole it!” Natalie stumbles back. She doesn’t recognise her gentle brother any more. One moment she considers denying everything but it’s just no use. Had she suspected that Rupert knew about the ring she’d never have dared to take it. Awkwardly she stares at her hands, afraid of meeting his furious gaze.
“Yes, it was me,” she whispers and hears Will exhaling slowly. “I knew about it too. Augustus showed it to me once, shortly after I became part of the family. The pain was destroying him and he had to talk about it to somebody, so he chose me. Maybe because I wasn't there when everything happened. It was just the once, I reckon he’s forgotten that he showed it to me.” Natalie’s voice is very small. Rupert snorts.
“I doubt that but he probably thinks you’re too good and innocent to have taken it.” Natalie cringes at the tone of his voice. Finally she looks up, shaking her head.
“Don’t you think Augustus wants Livia to have the ring?” Rupert gasps at his sister who’s clearly gone mad. What is she talking about?
“What were you thinking of? Why on earth would Augustus want some new candidate to have the ring?” he shouts angrily. Good thing that humans can’t see or hear an Arash when they don’t want to be seen or heard, Will thinks. Rupert’s voice could be heard for miles. Exasperated, Natalie stamps her foot.
“Because Livia is Rebecca’s daughter, you idiot!” she screams. Why doesn’t he understand? Rupert freezes and Will’s mouth drops open. Natalie takes a deep breath. Maybe she should have mentioned this fact before.
“The daughter of our Rebecca? The dead candidate?” Rupert asks haltingly. “How do you know?” Natalie rolls her eyes.
“I’ve been watching Livia since last September, remember? I shadowed her and got to know her. Then I saw a photo of Rebecca one evening, similar to the one Augustus had shown me. So I recognised her. Then I realised that Livia had to be our new candidate. It was just fate. What’s more, in November Livia found a letter in her father’s house that Rebecca had hidden in a book there.”
“Did you read it?” Will interrupts urgently. Natalie nods.
“Of course, I was standing right behind her when she found it. Rebecca even mentioned the ring.”
“Did Livia see you?” Rupert too is quite excited now.
“No way!” Natalie assures him. She really doesn’t want to confess that Livia had noticed something, Natalie’s shadow, the form of her astral body. She wasn’t very accomplished in these things yet. “Rebecca wrote that Livia should join us,” she continues hurriedly. Well, not exactly in these words but it was the gist, wasn’t it? “That’s why I was so sure that she was the right one without having checked her birth date and the comets.” There, that should shut them up. Rupert looks at his sister for a long time, then nods.
“You could indeed be right. But why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Natalie shrugs.
“I wanted to meet her first, alone.” She wouldn’t have shared her knowledge for anything in the world because she wanted to be the one to find the new family member. The others, who’d been successful in a shadow hunt, were already centuries old but with her eighteen years, she was a brand new Arash. And a successful one at that, a sensation! Suddenly Natalie is aware of Will’s look, a smile tugging at his lips. Oh hell, he can see right through her. She averts her blushing face.
“All the same, you must tell Augustus right away, he has to know what happened to the ring,” Rupert urges. “Besides that, you have to tell Randolph, Cassius and Ruth about Livia and that she is Rebecca’s daughter.” Natalie nods reluctantly. That definitely won't be fun.
“First Augustus, then the others.” She closes her eyes and concentrates in order to ubilocate. Better to get it over with quickly.
Chapter 11
Will she call? She certainly took my number. Or should I call her? No, I can’t, I don’t have her number. Maybe she deliberately didn’t give it to me. No, we got along so well. I could look into the little shop, just casually, as if I did my shopping there every day. No, I’m not the pushy type and New Year’s Eve was just three days ago. But now her brother and her friends are back and she’s probably forgotten all about me. When I go to the library to study I can’t concentrate. How pathetic is that? The word needy comes to my mind and I cringe. One week, I’ll wait one whole week before returning to that shop. Who knows if she’ll be there anyway. I keep chewing at my thumbnail. I just don’t understand why she’s so important to me but I can’t stop thinking about her. Just when I’m about to pack up my books my phone bleeps. “Hey Livia, Japanese food tonight? Nobu at 8. x Natalie.” My face splits into a huge grin, the bleakness suddenly gone. How stupid of me to have been so gloomy.
“Perfect! xx Livia,” I text back and quickly save her number. I love Japanese food and with sushi I’m on safe ground although I don’t know the Nobu. I hurry home and fire up my laptop. Holy cow, it’s in the Metropolitan Hotel on Park Lane. How posh can you get? What on earth shall I wear? Suddenly I’m frantic and begin to go through my wardrobe where I predictably don’t find anything suitable to wear. Finally I settle for a black shift dress which is really a bit boring but the most elegant item I own. It’ll have to do. Under the shower all sorts of alarming thoughts cross my mind: Will Natalie bring her friends or will it be just the two of us? Or her brother? I gnaw at my lower lip, disconcerted. I was at ease with Natalie, but I’m not really good with new people. Ralph always complained back then that I was nearly invisible, never contributing anything to the conversation. But no, she’ll certainly be alone. She surely hasn’t even told the others about me, I’m really not that important. Why do I have to worry all the time? Now should I take the car or try to go by bus?
At five past eight I’m standing in front of the Metropolitan Hotel. Quite impressive, but thanks to Google I know what to expect. And I also know that the Nobu is on the first floor and don’t have to ask stupidly. But when I enter the restaurant I’m still awed. It’s huge, all light wood, glass and stone. Definitely not your usual sushi place around the corner. I scan the tables but don’t see Natalie anywhere. Suddenly I shiver and my gaze is drawn to a table at the large window front. Somebody is watching me, I can feel it. There he is, a young man, dressed completely in black, scrutinising me carefully. He has black hair, a bit tousled, and piercing eyes but he’s too far away to see the colour. Livia, get a grip! Why should it matter to you, the colour of this guy’s eyes? But I can’t avert my gaze, I feel trapped.