The Soulkeepers

  Chapter 29

  Fire and Ice

  The sand in front of the Guptas’ cottage was dark and coarse, littered with clamshells and stones. It wasn’t the type of beach Jacob was used to, not an ocean beach, but as he lit the pile of driftwood under the starry sky and saw the gold in Malini’s eyes spark in the glow of the fire, he could think of nowhere he would rather be. She spread a blanket a few feet from the blaze. Sparks floated into the night sky.

  Mr. and Mrs. Gupta sat on the balcony of the cottage having an after-dinner cup of coffee. The path from the beach to the cedar steps of the balcony was sufficiently wooded to give Jacob the privacy he wanted to tell Malini what he needed to tell her. He’d been thinking about it for a long time, rolling it around in his brain. If his plan had any chance of working, she had to understand what she meant to him.

  He took Malini’s hand and sat down with her on the blanket. His arm wrapped around her back in a way that was instinctual for him now. She was a puzzle piece, fitting into his side where there had always been an empty space.

  “You did really well today, Jake. I can’t believe this was your first time skiing,” she said.

  “You too. You’re amazing. Is there anything you can’t do?”

  “Lots of things. But none that I’ll admit.” She smiled at him and he couldn’t resist leaning in for a gentle kiss. He pulled back a fraction of an inch.

  “How long have we known each other, Malini?”

  “About six months.”

  “You’re my best friend.”

  “You’re mine, too. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “I feel the same way. I just … I want you to know.” Jacob reached his toe forward until it touched the edge of the water. “I feel like I can trust you. I want to show you something. Something you’ve been asking me about for a while now. But don’t freak out, okay?”

  “This is about that day at the grocery store with Dane, isn’t it? Something else has happened.”

  He nodded.

  “Anything. You can tell me anything,” she said.

  “You’ll keep it a secret.”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  Jacob asked the water to climb his leg to the hand that rested on his knee. Once it flowed into his palm, he willed it into a chain, freezing each link as it formed. Instead of the last link, he made a solid heart. The crystals formed facets within its center, flickering in the firelight like a gemstone. He wrapped the bracelet around her wrist. He didn’t need a clasp; the water melted and refroze in exactly the right size.

  Malini’s face was a mask of astonishment, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide.

  “What is this, Jake? This thing with you, is it getting stronger? You can control it now. When did that start?”

  “Malini, can’t you just relax and enjoy this?”

  “No, I want to know. I’m worried about you. Do you understand this at all? I want to help you.”

  “For tonight, just for tonight, can you just enjoy it? Can we decide to talk about it tomorrow? I have something I want to tell you.”

  Malini’s mouth twisted into a disappointed scowl but he could see how much she wanted the night to continue. She was in as deep as he was, and she didn’t want to get out. As much as she was dying to understand the how of it, he was sure she was more interested in knowing what he had to say.

  “It’s cold,” she finally said, smiling again. Her shoulders relaxed as she admired the ice in the firelight.

  “That’s one of the problems. The other is, if I let go, it will melt. But I’ll get you a real one someday.”

  “I love it,” she said.

  “There’s something I want to tell you.”

  “What?” she asked. He watched the fire dance inside the heart.

  “I think I love you, Malini. I feel like I’ve known you forever and I will know you forever. I love you. I know we’re young but I want us to stay together.”

  Malini looked up from the heart, into his eyes. “I love you, too.” And, then she was kissing him. She lifted her wrist from his hand, the bracelet melting down her arm, and placed her palm on his face.

  Jacob hardly noticed the cold water that dripped down his chest. His whole world was her mouth, her face. Even when the fireworks began, sending showers of twinkling light over Lake Stelton, they had nothing on her. In front of the water, stretched out on the blanket, something told him nothing ever would.