For once Noah was glad to hear her cal him 'dude'.

"Wel if you wouldn't turn tail and run every time you see me I wouldn't have to resort to such measures."

"Whatever."

Drawing on his skil s of manipulation, Noah pushed anxiety and hurt into his words.

"No, no whatever. OK.

Eden, come on, what did I do?"

He saw her head drop, her eyes trained on the floor. "You didn't do anything," she replied quietly. "It's me. I'm just...

going through a rough time. And Ryan doesn't real y want us hanging out anymore."

Noah wasn't sure he believed that or not. He was kind of under the impression Ryan would like Noah to push Eden over the edge with her need, with her hunger for him.

Then again if Ryan had grown suspicious of him he would ban Eden from seeing him.

Noah didn't like that possibility one iota. If Ryan knew who he was, they'd have to move fast.

He took a moment, his arms crossing over his chest, brushing Eden's skin. A frisson of tingles and heady heat was quickly ignored.

Nah, if Ryan knew there was an Ankh in town he'd have the whole Winslow family on the move.

"I thought you didn't give a c.r.a.p what your dad thinks?" She shrugged. "I don't know anymore."

Oh no. oh no no no no no. Noah shook his head. No way was he losing her. He grabbed a hold of her arms, jerking her closer so her head shot up. In the dim light he could make out those pale eyes, staring straight up into his.

"Eden, we're friends. OK. We survive whatever c.r.a.p is thrown at us here because we have each other. Whatever you're going through, don't shut me out. Life would kind of suck without..." He shrugged, trying to appear like a b.u.mbling embarra.s.sed teenage boy.

"Wel without you.

So... I dunno... if you don't want to hang out, you gotta tel me," he snorted, like he knew he was making an a.s.s of himself.

It worked.

He felt Eden's hand wrap around his wrist; felt the tension in her body. "It's not that.

You're my friend, Noah. You and Stel an. You're my only friends." Noah winced at the mention of Stel an, the other huge complication in this. If he had it his way, Eden would hate al her family and would happily choose Noah and Cyrus.

But the situation was not that straightforward. There was Stel an, Eden's big brother. Eden loved him completely.

And from what Eden had told Noah, Stel an adored Eden.

That was a problem. That was a huge problem.

He shrugged it off. He could only deal with one thing at a time.

"So, can we start hanging out again, or am I going to have to drum up weird and wonderful ways to make you stop avoiding me?"

Eden took measured breaths like Celine had shown her last night. After nearly taking out Lucy in the library, Ryan had ordered Eden to sit with Celine an hour or two every night to learn some mental and breathing exercises that would help her fight the hunger until the Awakening Ceremony. Stuck in such close proximity to Noah was torture but the exercises helped a little. As did his charmingly awkward attempt to tel her, her friendship meant a lot to him. Eden had felt this awful pang in her chest at the words, mental y berating herself for being so cal ous with his feelings. Noah always came off so cool, like nothing could touch him. She'd thought he might be bothered by her avoiding him but that he would eventual y just give up. Even though she knew that it would have been so much easier on them al if he had just given up, Eden couldn't help but feel a little psyched that he'd gone to so much effort just to get her to talk to him.

She bit her lip, thinking it over. Her heart fluttered as his scent flooded her insides, making the hunger yawn and bat at it, like a kitten at a mouse. She closed her eyes, pushing at it, like a kitten at a mouse. She closed her eyes, pushing his scent back out of her. After a moment the trembling in her hands ceased.

Stil , she felt the familiar heat of his presence, could make out his expectant wicked smile. G.o.d, she missed him. She missed how easy it was to be with him; how sitting in total silence with Noah was the only time she didn't feel alone.

Maybe I can keep seeing him. I just have to be strong for the next few weeks. After the ceremony I'll be able to be around him no problem. And it's not like he knows what I am. It's not like he can condemn me for my nature.

No. She would do enough of that for the both of them.

"OK," she breathed, feeling the sadness drain out of her with the words. "But for now, we can only hang out at school."

Eden saw the outline of his smile. "Sounds good to me."

Chapter Eight.

Unquiet Misdeeds Despite everything, Eden couldn't help but feel relieved over her decision to remain friends with Noah. They'd hung out in the cafeteria again and he'd given her a playlist of al the new bands he'd been listening to. Like old times they joked and kidded around, and Eden felt that weirdness again... other people cal ed it contentment.

It was a good idea to keep it secret for now.

Eden had headed home after cla.s.s, singing along to the radio and her secret music crush Lady Antebellum. Eden had been OK with hanging out alone in her room but Stel an had cornered her and pul ed her back downstairs to play the Wii. Feeling nostalgic, they were playing tennis.

"You real y suck at this, Eden," Stel an laughed.

She huffed, shaking her wrist out. "You chose tennis because you know you can beat me. This would be a different story if we were boxing."

"We can switch." He puffed up his chest at the accusation. "I'm wil ing to prove you wrong. I'm just vastly superior at this game."

Sighing, Eden flopped down on the sofa. "Change it. I forgot how much it blows." Stel an chuckled and put in a disc. Mario Kart flashed on the screen. A wide grin replaced Eden's scowl. Her brother winked at her and Eden nodded grateful y. She rocked at Mario Kart.

For a while, as she always did when she and Stel an hang out like this, Eden forgot about her troubles. They were just a brother and sister, hanging out, teasing one another, having fun. Their parents hadn't bothered them al evening which only made it even better.

Eden glanced at the clock. She frowned.

"Stel, it's a Friday night. Why aren't you out with your friends?" He shrugged. "Sometimes it's more fun kicking back here with you." She glared at him. "Is this a pity hang?"

Stel an grunted, not taking his eyes off the screen. "No.

Although I gotta say I am glad you're not hanging out with that Noah kid anymore.

Guy was a freak."

Noah was a freak? Eden snorted. They were the ones sucking souls out of people but oh no... Noah was the freak. She shook her head and returned to the game.

"Hey kiddies, what's happening?"

She immediately tensed at her cousin's voice behind her. Stel an had gone al stiff too but he shrugged it off and overtook her on the track. Eden bit her lip, trying to ignore Teagan as he moved further into the room.

"How sweet, Stel an, hanging out with little sis."

She shivered. He somehow managed to make everything sound perverted.

"Of course." He drew to a stop between them, and she felt his eyes bore into her.

She refused to look at him.

"That's not exactly a hardship." His hand slid down her back and Eden jerked away from him before it could slide any further downwards.

Stel an's hand whipped out and he slapped Teagan across the back of the head pretty hard. Teagan winced and glared at his cousin, while Eden smirked.

"I told you to back off," Stel an warned.

Teagan held his hands up a surrender gesture. "Hey, I wasn't doing anything. I-"

"NOOO! STOP! NOOO!!" A man's terrified scream rent the air, cutting off Teagan. The blood drained from Eden's face as her eyes automatical y sought the exit.

"Oops." Teagan grinned wickedly, sidling back to the doorway. "Did I forget to shut the bas.e.m.e.nt door again?"

They both knew he had done it on purpose. Eden's heart was pounding in her chest as she tried desperately to forget the scream. Stop thinking about it, she demanded inwardly, fighting back a swel of nausea. She looked up at Stel an for comfort... and wished she'd never done so. Her brother was frozen solid, glaring at Teagan. But there was something there. Something sick. Something envious of Teagan. Did Stel an want to be down in the bas.e.m.e.nt? Did he want to inflict pain and shame on someone? He must have felt her staring, his eyes flicking to her. Her expression gave her away, and Stel an cast his gaze down to the floor, colour flooding his cheeks.

Teagan began to chuckle at the interplay between them, but before he could mock them Celine came hurrying past the door to the parlour. "Teagan, shut that door right now!"

She screeched at him. "I'l be speaking to Ryan about this." Her cousin licked his lips. "Uncle Ryan might not be up Her cousin licked his lips.

"Uncle Ryan might not be up for a while. He had a twin brother and sister brought in from Ohio. Delicious. Blonde." He winked and set off across the foyer towards the bas.e.m.e.nt.

Eden was shaking from head to foot. She felt so much.

So much anger, frustration, disgust, shame. Too much. Too much to handle. And Stel an... Eden felt his eyes on her, pleading with her. But she couldn't look at him. She dropped the game control er and walked out of the room, her arms wrapped around herself as if she could somehow contain al her feelings.

Once inside her room, she shut the door quietly and leaned back on it, staring around at the large bedroom with its canopied bed and en-suite bathroom. It looked like a normal teen bedroom. Posters of bands on the wal . Hot guys. Art work by Michael Parkes she found beautiful and twisted and ethereal al at the same time.

But her bedroom wasn't normal.

It existed in a house with a bas.e.m.e.nt where unquiet misdeeds occurred.

And that was putting it politely.

It was a house of horrors. And she was part of it.

Her eyes blurred with tears. Every time she'd thought she'd come to terms with it...

a scream would rent the air and kil her determination.

She wondered what it would be like to be normal.

The pocket of her jeans buzzed and Eden wiped at her tears, as she dug in for her phone.

You were right. Twinkies. I don't get them either. N.

Eden burst out into tearful laughter, thanking whatever fate had uprooted Noah Valois and landed him at South Salton.

Chapter Nine.

I Am Ankh "So, we're just... sitting?" Noah asked her, a teasing smile in his eyes.

Eden smirked back at him, hoping the sadness she felt wasn't written al over her face. School had been better this week, now that she had decided to stop avoiding Noah.

She was supposed to be worrying about the SATs coming up in a couple of weeks, but since she somehow got through the PSATs last October, and considering the Awakening Ceremony was around the same time... she just wasn't in the mood to care. So she was cutting cla.s.s.

And had enlisted Noah in her truancy. They sat together in his car, having managed to sneak out of the school unseen by her dad's goons. Noah was fantastic at this spy c.r.a.p.

She wondered where he got that from.

They were parked down by the lake in a near empty parking lot and the rain was lashing against the windscreen. There was a hush in the air that soothed her and slowed her frantic heartbeat. "We're just sitting."

He nodded slowly and relaxed back into his seat. As if sensing her mood he didn't even turn on the radio.

After a while, she sensed the slightest change in his posture, and knew he was going to say something. Eden felt as if she knew him down to his pinky finger, she felt so close to him. "You know when I was a little kid my dad used to do this." He turned his head on the headrest and smiled softly at her.

"Do what?"

"Come and get me when it was raining. It didn't matter if I was supposed to be with a tutor or with the nanny, he'd stop whatever he was doing, come get me, stuff my feet into rain boots and a mac and take me by the hand and lead me out into the backyard. We'd just stand there, the rain lashing against us, my hand tight in his." An ache, a wave of pure loneliness shuddered through her. "Why'd he do that?" Noah shrugged, smiling at the memory. "He said that no matter how old he was getting, the rain always made him feel renewed; it woke him up and reminded him of why he was here. I don't think he knew how to explain it. I don't. But I got it. And even as a little kid he knew I got it, and that it was something for us. Just us. It used to drive my mom mad."

Eden snorted. "She would be worried you'd catch pneumonia." Noah threw her this secret smile and gave a little half nod, like he wasn't tel ing her something. "I guess."

The hush wrapped around them again and Eden thought about Noah and his dad, and his mom al worried about him. It was such a smal thing. She bet his life with his parents was made up of al these smal things.

"Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you hurt someone to survive?"

She felt him tense beside her, the lines of his body taut, and she held her breath wondering at his reaction.