Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book One)

Dead by Morning

  Rituals of the Night Series

  Book One

  Kayla Krantz

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Dead by Morning

  Copyright © 2015-2017 Kayla Krantz

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews—without written permission by the publisher.

  Cover by Mike Finch and Crystal Burton

  Edited by Crystal Burton

  ISBN: 978-1537609317

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2015908368

  Fifth Edition January 2017

  https://authorkaylakrantz.wordpress.com/

  To anyone harboring a secret of their own.

  Acknowledgements

  For my friends and family, for standing by my side through my writing endeavors and tolerating the many, many horrible drafts they’ve had to wade through over the years.

  For Crystal Burton, for shaping my ramblings into the amazing final product contained in these pages.

  Finally, for anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast. Keep striving for your goals because anything is possible with the right mind frame.

  Chance salutes you!

  Rituals of the Night Series

  Book One: Dead by Morning

  Chapter One

  LUNA TOOK A heavy drag of her cigarette, coughing when the acrid smoke tore at her lungs. She wasn’t a smoker—in fact, she had never smoked before in her life—but it seemed there was a first time for everything.

  Fights with her parents, or more specifically her father, however, were not new to her.

  It would be odd for just one day to pass without a fight. Sitting in the quiet solitude of the shadows at the edge of the park brought her peace…if only for a little while. Birds in the nearby trees whistled and tweeted, and for the slightest of moments she imagined them to be singing only to her.

  The peace wouldn’t last; there was no possible way it could. Eventually, she’d have to go home again, and when she did, her father would most likely go for her throat. It couldn’t be helped. Luna spluttered again on her mouthful of smoke, and abandoning the idea of becoming a regular smoker, she tossed the cigarette to the ground to crush it beneath her boot.

  When she looked up, she spotted a group of teenagers entering the park and held a sleeved hand over her mouth in the hopes of both blocking her face as well as stifle the sound of her coughing. The last thing she wanted was to draw the attention of the head of the pack.

  But despite her hoping, he noticed.

  He always noticed.

  His excitement showed as he jogged away from his group, the last words spoken by the brunette beside him falling on deaf ears.

  “Hey there,” he said, smiling as he plopped down against the tree trunk beside her. “Was someone smoking?”

  Luna clenched her hands in frustration. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yeah, I was.”

  Chance smirked, exaggerating the scar on his left cheek as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. “Looks like we have something in common after all. Want one?”

  Luna scoffed and stood to her feet. “I’ll pass, thanks,” she said dryly as she began to cross the park.

  Chance tucked the pack away into his pocket and rushed to her side. “So what crawled up your ass today?”

  “Problems you wouldn’t understand.”

  “Is that right?”

  Luna nodded curtly. That was the most on her private life that she was willing to share with him. She would give anything to have him leave her alone but history said he wouldn’t. “Are you gonna follow me again?”

  The cocky smile made another appearance. “I prefer to think of it as walking you home. It’s too dangerous for a girl like you to walk around town alone.”

  “Chivalry? Really?” Luna rolled her eyes. He was anything but a gentleman. His string of girlfriends at school was proof of that.

  “It doesn’t hurt.”

  “Please leave me alone.”

  Chance yawned. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

  Luna gritted her teeth. Einstein’s definition of insanity ran through her mind—there was no reason today would be any different from previous ones.

  Chance didn’t seem to mind the fact her skin was crawling with aggravation or the silence that came with it. He strode beside her, stance tall and lithe as he pretended to be her guardian. Luna hated the feeling of intimacy the forced walks created between the two of them. They weren’t even friends, but Chance’s attitude could easily convince someone otherwise.

  Luna peered at him from the corner of her eye. “Can I ask you something?”

  Chance’s golden eyebrows shot upward. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Why do you make me walk with you?”

  “Why do you always walk the same route if you hate this so much?” he countered.

  “I should be able to walk wherever I want,” she said as they closed in on her block.

  “And you can,” he said. “I’m merely watching out for you.”

  Luna didn’t respond. Twenty more steps, and she would be free anyway. His dark clothes exaggerated her shadow all the way to her front door. She went inside without a parting word.

  “See you at school!” he called a moment before the door slammed shut behind her.

  Away from the lion but into the den, I go.

  “Where’ve you been, Luna?” her father, David, demanded almost as soon as the door closed.

  “Out, Dad,” Luna replied over her shoulder, making a beeline to the safety of her room when he suddenly appeared from the kitchen, cutting off her path.

  “Mind telling me where?”

  “To the park,” Luna said, shoulders sagging. “I needed some fresh air.”

  David shook his head. “That’s something I don’t understand about you. You say you want to study, to go to college and be this big important person yet you’re constantly out running the streets.”

  “Dad, I can’t have this argument again,” Luna said, moving—not so subtly—around her father.

  “Your cousin, Sadie, is doing so well. Auntie Marie says she’s thriving over in Egypt.”

  “That’s great for her, Dad, really,” Luna said and rushed to her room, slamming the door behind her before she’d have to listen to another word.

  She kept her back to the door and slid slowly down the wall, burying her face in her hands. How she envied her classmates—their freedom that they took for granted. With graduation less than a month away, the heat had been turned way up on the pressure cooker that was her life.

  Luna was split, caught between the intentions of both her parents.

  Her mother, Rose, who had left some time ago to work at the family business in Egypt encouraged Luna to have book smarts, to be educated, while her father had other intentions. When she graduated high school, he wished to marry her off to the first worthwhile offer he received, much the same way Sadie’s marriage had been planned since she turned fifteen.

  Luna shivered at the thought of the word…marriage…and to a stranger no less.

  If her father was allowed to have his way, he would’ve pulled her from school years ago to prepare her for a life of child-bearing and servitude. Now, high school was almost over, and she prayed every day that her future would be hers to decide.

  Chapter Two

  THE NEXT DAY, Luna walked u
p the steps of Shawnee High School and stopped by her locker before making her way to class. In the back of her mind, she wanted to make sure she didn’t run into Chance. Last night had been stressful enough. She had to scratch the craving for another cigarette.

  Her classmates stared at her as she moved through the hallways, and she tried to ignore the fact that she was an anomaly to them. Because of Chance, she was constantly on their radar though it was unknown if she was one of them or someone to be avoided. He never led them one way or the other, and Luna thought the control he had over their classmates was astounding. She thrust a lock of hair from her eyes, too preoccupied to watch where she was going, and crashed into someone with a heavy thud, stopping dead in her tracks.

  Rubbing her forehead to get rid of the pain, Luna blinked.

  “Hey, watch where—” the girl began, stopping when she noticed Luna.

  Luna let out a sigh of relief. At least she had crashed into her best friend, Violet. Maybe good things happen to unpopular people too, she thought.

  “Hey, Luna, what’s up?” Violet asked.

  “Last night was rough,” Luna admitted.

  Violet frowned. “Your dad’s still not letting up?”

  Luna shook her head. “Just the opposite, actually. He keeps throwing Sadie in my face as if I want to copy anything she does.”

  “Just be grateful that your mom is fighting for your freedom,” Violet said. “There are some families where both parents are in on the idea.”

  Luna shrugged. “You’re right, I know, but I also can’t help but remember that there are families that aren’t like this. My mom’s been there and back again. She gets how I feel more than anyone.”

  “Just enjoy the time you have left in high school. Speaking of which, are you going to the dance this weekend?” Violet blurted out.

  “Dance?”

  Something touched her shoulder, and Luna turned. Her gaze locked onto Chance’s blue eyes as he swiped at his shaggy blond hair and smiled at her. She cringed, instantly looking away.

  “It’s prom this weekend,” he said. “Maybe if you looked up more instead of at the ground, you’d see the posters all over school.”

  “It always seems like it’s time for something,” Luna grumbled to her sneakers.

  “That’s a no then?” Violet guessed.

  “You already know my answer.”

  “I take it you’ve never gone?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I haven’t. I don’t have the time.”

  “How do you know you wouldn’t like it?” Chance asked.

  “I’d rather study. You know, make productive use of my time.”

  “Work’s good, but it’s nothing without some fun,” Chance said with a wink. “Keep that in mind.”

  Luna frowned at him, and he smirked before he parted ways to disappear down the nearest hallway.

  “I think it’s cute,” Violet said.

  “Huh?” Luna turned to look at her.

  “It’s cute the way he teases you,” she replied, shrugging.

  “If you were me, then it wouldn’t be ‘cute’,” Luna said, feeling the blush line her cheeks.

  Violet sighed. “Luna, you’re being a drama queen, you know that?”

  Luna frowned. She didn’t think so, but convincing Violet otherwise would be a losing battle. Luna gave up. “If you say so.”

  “He’s just trying to talk to you, you know.”

  “Well, maybe I don’t want to talk to him.”

  “You could at least give him an opportunity to see what he wants,” Violet pointed out.

  “Why? So he can pull some mean prank in front of the entire school? I’ve seen what happens when people in my position try to blend in. No thanks.”

  “Suit yourself…don’t let him get to you or else he wins, okay?” Violet sympathized.

  “He doesn’t bother anyone the way he does me,” Luna said.

  “I’d trade places with you in a heartbeat.”

  Luna frowned. She was sure half the girls in their school would.

  Violet caught sight of her expression. “Even though it seems impossible, ignore him.”

  Luna clenched her teeth together and looked away. Violet was right, nothing Luna tried worked.

  “Well, I’m going to class.”

  “Bye,” Luna replied, glad for the break.

  Luna continued down the hallway with her head bowed to avoid the looks from the kids she passed. She sat down on the stairs, convinced she had found a place to study, and opened her textbook on her lap when she heard somebody clear their throat beside her.

  Luna jumped and looked up into the gaze of a girl with blonde hair and a face twisted in disgust. Kate Red. She was a cheerleader—captain of the squad, in fact—and a popular one at that. And because she was popular, she was a friend of Chance’s, and because she was a friend of Chance’s, Luna hated her.

  Automatic high school rules…to Luna at least.

  “Stop blocking the stairs, you freak,” Kate said in her shrill voice then laughed.

  Luna growled at the sound. “You can go around me.”

  Kate scoffed as Luna turned her attention back to the book but walked away without another word. The taunts didn’t bother her anymore, at least not like they used to. Kate only did what she did because of Chance—it was why half the people in school treated Luna as they did.

  It was a chain she couldn’t break.

  Luna heard the bell ring, and she closed her book, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she stared at the cover. Her first class was with Chance.

  ***

  VIOLET WALKED THROUGH the halls, leaving Luna behind. She was jealous. Chance was interested in her, yet all Luna could do was crawl further into her shell. The frown on Violet’s face deepened; she would do anything, anything, to talk to Chance. He had never said two words to her even though she and Luna had attended the same elementary school.

  Violet had been Luna’s shadow as long as she could remember.

  She wanted to finally be able to talk to Shawnee’s infamous king; she wanted him to notice her too. He had made it obvious he wanted Luna as a date, but would it be possible to set them up? It was incredibly selfish of her to use her best friend as a pawn, but a small part of her thought it might be good for Luna to actually go to a dance—to socialize. Maybe her dad had a point…to some degree at least.

  Luna was repressed.

  Violet was sure she’d be able to get Chance to ask her friend to the dance in a heartbeat—all it would take was a shove in the right direction. Luna had pride, and Violet knew that. Luna was vibrant when it came to defending what she believed in—the root of most of her arguments with Chance.

  Violet stopped walking and glanced over her shoulder, but there was no sign of her tiny best friend. Luna was well on her way to class. She wouldn’t notice Violet sneaking back through the halls. Violet took the hall Chance had disappeared down and saw him leaning against the lockers as casual as ever. A few girls from the cheerleading team surrounded him, but Violet wasn’t intimidated.

  He looked at her momentarily as she approached before returning his attention to his groupies.

  “I need to talk to you about Luna,” Violet said, breaking into their conversation.

  The girls turned to her through judging eyes. Violet was pleased to see, however, that Chance’s face didn’t mirror theirs; it shone with interest. He shooed the girls away almost at once, and they walked off with their shoulders slumped in defeat. Chance looked Violet full in the face—it was the first time he ever had—and she didn’t care how those girls felt as her knees went weak.

  “What about her?” he asked.

  “Well, she’ll be mad at me for telling you this”—that part was true, she knew— “but she has a crush on you and was hoping you’d ask her to Prom. She’s too shy to ask you.”

  Chance’s forehead crinkled in thought. “Are you sure? We are talking about the same Luna, r
ight?”

  “Yeah, my best friend, Luna Ketz,” she said. “And I’m positive she likes you. I mean, she gives you a hard time because she absolutely adores you. It’s difficult for her, showing emotion. Her mother’s a strict business woman, after all.” If Luna heard her say that, she would’ve murdered her on the spot.

  Chance smiled, and Violet felt as though she would pass out, but she had to focus and remember her mission.

  “I knew it,” he said, almost to himself, and Violet hated that she felt invisible to him again. “She’s just hard to get.” He laughed and turned his attention back to Violet. “Well, I will certainly handle the matter. Thanks for letting me know, Violet. It’s information I’ll put to good use, I promise.”

  The sound of him saying her name was almost as sweet as honey, and it took all of her effort to not tell him she liked him herself. This is for Luna, she told herself, but inside she wasn’t convinced.

  “No problem, and if she asks, I wasn’t here,” Violet said.

  He laughed again, and the sound was better than any music Violet had ever heard. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.” He winked at her, and with that he walked down the hall toward his next class.

  Violet watched him go, giddier than ever. In the back of her mind, she knew if Chance did act on what she had told him, Luna would be nothing but angry.

  Chapter Three

  LUNA SHIFTED HER heavy backpack on her shoulders and closed her locker door. It had been a long day, and she couldn’t wait to get home. She pushed through the halls of Shawnee High School, easily squeezing her small body through the gaps between students.

  She almost felt as if she were suffocating in the mass of her classmates. She closed her eyes as she tried to get through the crowd, and once again, she crashed into somebody. Luna looked up and went to apologize, but the words caught in her throat as she realized it was Chance.

  “Where are you off to in such a rush?” he asked, looking down at her through glowing sapphire eyes.