Read Online Crystal (Silver Hills #2) by Jacqueline Gardner - Free Book Online Page A

behind her.  As soon as we were both standing on it, the rectangle moved to the appropriate tunnel.
    "Almost there," he muttered, pulling me into the tunnel.  We made a few strides before a light burst in front of us.   I covered my eyes as Zircon led me through another forest floor of swirling fire.  The light was even brighter during the day and my eyes weren't handling it very well.
    "So the ring you gave Dotti," I said as I stepped cautiously through the painless fire.  "It was your mom's?"
    "Yes," he responded.
    "How did she find the stones in the first place?" I asked.
    "I'm not sure and I never thought to ask.  The stones were fashioned into two rings before I was born."
    "You think she knew what they were?" I questioned.  He shook his head.
    "No," he replied.  "My father would have taken them from her a long time ago."
    "So she could have known," I suggested.  "She could have known and kept it secret."
    "I guess," Z shrugged.  He turned at a tall, skinny tree.
    "Hmmm . . . but then you'd think she would have said something before you gave it away."
    "She couldn't," Zircon said quietly.  He stopped at another wooden gate that was painted green.  My eyes went wide.  Among a field of more fire were rows of rocks - all with engravings.  It was a graveyard.
    "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
    "What is there to tell?" he replied, pushing open the gate.  "She died a long time ago."
    "Then what are we doing here?"
    "I told you," he said, looking at me.  "She has the ring."   I gulped.  I'd only ever set foot in a graveyard twice in my whole life.  I didn't want to make the third time a trip to dig up a body.
    "Zir con," I gasped.  "We can't - "
    "Relax," he whispered as he breathed in the forest air.  He slowly walked along a row of head stones, stopping when he reached one that glowed pink. "We don't have to dig very far."  I cringed at the thought of staring at a rotting corpse that probably smelled like a thousand year old mold.
    "How did she die?"   I watched as Zircon's head hung low.  He kicked at the swirling fire around the pink headstone and frowned.
    "I guess that depends on who you ask," he replied.  I took a step closer as he knelt down and gently rubbed the pink stone.  My heart sank when I saw the glossy look in his eyes.  "I was told that she was sick, but that's not what I think happened."  A single wet tear ran down his cheek.  It was painful for him to be here.
    "Zircon," I whispered.  I knelt down beside him, trying to imagine what it must feel like to lose your mom.  "You don't have to - "
    "I want to," he interrupted.  He quickly wiped the tear from his eye and forced a slight grin.  He clenched his jaw, making his face appear more masculine.  "And I told you I would."  He stared at the pale green around my pupils.  "I wish you could stay."
    " I wish your entire planet wa sn't trying to kill me . "
    "You're pleasant to be around," he chuckled back.  "You know that?"  The last boy to say something similar was Brett.  Then he'd ignored me the moment we'd set foot in Silver Hills High.
    "Thanks," I mumbled.  "I wish others felt same way."
    "You have an other back home?  Oh zite, you're not already married are you?"
    "No no," I laughed.  "I'm not."  And I'd probably stay that way for a very long time.  I looked down at the bright fire that surrounded my knees, remembering the first time Brett had looked at me like I was more than just his playmate from down the street.  "There was someone but he doesn't feel the same way."
    "Well," Zircon said, nodding.  "I do know what it feels like to be ignored.  Dotti isn't exactly the easiest girl to get along with."
    "So your marriage - "
    "Was arranged," he finished.  "Yes.  Though Dotti was way more against it than me."  He shrugged as his black eyes met mine.  I marveled for a second at the shiny bronze in his hair and the way his shirt stretched across his shoulders.   For a tiny second, I wasn't sure I wanted to