I sighed, pouting and Caleb smirked at me.

"Later," he a.s.sured quietly, where only I could hear.

Caleb lifted me gently to my feet and went to grab us some towels from the hall closet.

"Could you put something on?" Bish asked me, but not looking right at me.

"This is something, my bathing suit. We're going to the beach. Generally, people wear these at the beach, unless times have changed," I said sarcastically.

"Smart a-"

"Hey! Are you going to be like this the whole time?" I asked.

"Probably. Are you going to be strutting around in practically nothing and hanging all over your boyfriend the whole time?"

"Probably," I replied cheerfully and heard Caleb snicker behind me which earned him a glower from Bish.

"Whatever. I'm going to put on my suit," Bish grumbled.

"You don't have to come," I volunteered.

"Oh, I think I do."

Once he was gone I turned into Caleb, feeling the strain and irritation leave me with the touch of his skin. I couldn't help but sigh.

"c.r.a.p, Caleb. I was really looking forward to this."

"I still am. It'll be ok."

Ah, jeez. You have got to be frigging kidding me. She can't be this s.e.xy all the time. No flaws! None? Really? h.e.l.l, she's hot...

It wasn't Caleb's thoughts blaring through my mind. It was Kyle's. We both turned to see him looking hotly at me, unabashedly, and Caleb having heard all Kyle's thoughts through me was beyond peeved.

"Let me grab a shirt," he said loudly, glaring at Kyle. "And you one too apparently, Maggie."

Kyle smiled in contest as Caleb went to our luggage. Kyle walked over to me and licked his lips as I tried to shrink myself, crossing my arms over my chest. He wasn't even trying to hide his thoughts from me.

Man, look at those legs. Jeez, Chad's an idiot.

"Kyle, stop." I looked at him with a look of amazement at his boldness. "You know if I can hear you them Caleb can too. Through me. Stop it."

"I don't care if he hears."

"I care."

"Why? Afraid he'll get jealous?"

"Kyle," I protested.

"I figure you probably like Caleb's tattoos," he mused. "I have one too, ya know. Two in fact but the other one's in a much more interesting spot. Wanna see?"

"No. I'm good. Are we ready? Bish!"

"I'm coming!" he yelled from the bathroom door.

"Why ya so skittish, Mags?" Kyle said with a mysterious grin.

"I'm not skittish, I'm irritated."

"Why? We interrupt your little interlude earlier?" he said snidely.

"Yes! You did, actually," I said and put my hands on my hips to emphasize.

He grimaced and turned away, heading for the door. He put his hand on the k.n.o.b and looked back at us.

"Ready? Let's go."

Bish came back and I had to smile at him. He bashfully had a towel thrown over his shoulders and was thinking about how he didn't want to get burned so he stopped mid stride and turned towards his bag for the sun block. Then he went to stand by Kyle. He made an impatient motion with his hand, like he was waiting for us and not the other way around.

I rolled my eyes and looked up to see Caleb standing beside me, towels in between his knees as he pulled one of his t-shirts over my head. I looked down and saw it was his 'Spill Canvas' tour shirt. Then he took the towels in one hand and the other, his warm long fingers grasped mine.

This is not going to be as fun as we thought.

He smiled sadly at my comment.

Ah, yeah it will.

I gave him a questioning quirked brow and he relented.

Ok. Yeah. This isn't going to be as fun. But. He smiled wider and pulled me close. We're together and you're safe. The prison won't last forever and then, you'll be all mine.

Mmmm. Yeah. Can we fast forward to that part?

He laughed out loud and kissed my forehead.

"What's so funny?" Bish asked tersely.

Kyle coughed uncomfortably, glancing at us and rolling his eyes. His thoughts said we were being reckless with our significant abilities and had better watch it. He opened the door, walking out swiftly.

"Nothing. Inside joke. Let's go," I said.

"Whatever," Bish grumbled and held the door open for me.

Caleb pushed me through it with a hand on my lower hip and I heard Bish cussing up a storm in his mind.

"Can we keep the PDA to a minimum? I just ate," he said snidely.

Caleb and I looked at each other, a disgruntled Bish behind us and a begrudged Kyle in front, leading the way, our chaperones. No. This was definitely not going to be fun.

The end...for now.

Be on the lookout for the sequel Accordance to be released September 20th, 2011.

Thank you to my G.o.d first of all and my family for supporting me through my endeavors of writing. It was a whim one day that has turned into this thing that I love. Thank you all who have helped me and to the ones who purchase my books, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you.

www.facebook.com/sh.e.l.lycranefanpage www.twitter.com/authsh.e.l.lycrane www.sh.e.l.lycrane.blogspot.com Readers who enjoyed Significance will also enjoy A Job From h.e.l.l, a breakthrough YA Paranormal Romance by Jayden Scott. Read an exclusive excerpt preview here! Enjoy!

Prologue.

It's said people can sense their imminent death. Maybe they hear death's song in the wind. Or the earth stops turning for a second, mourning those who are yet to pa.s.s. I spotted none of the signs when I dragged my tired body through the Otherworld, waiting for the winged demon guardians to pick me up and drop me back on the threshold to the world of the living.

It was a shiny object, beckoning to me from under a bush, that lured me into the killer's trap. As I bent down and pushed my arm into the thicket, a sharp pain pierced my skin and teeth cut into my bone. I choked on my breath, my scream barely finding its way out of my throat. Panic rose inside me, followed by a sense of dread. I was trapped. Even if the immortals heard me, they couldn't help me.

Blinded by fear, I pulled and kicked at the snarling creature peering out of the ground, all skin and bones and red, tangled hair. She was female, no doubt, but the way she tore through skin and muscles, slurping my blood, resembled no human being.

Somewhere behind me, wings fluttered.

"Get the fire demons, Octavius. Turn that thing into burned toast," someone yelled. In spite of my panic, I smiled as I recognized Ca.s.s's voice inside my head.

Fire engulfed us, bathing the semi-darkness in a fiery glow. The creature screeched, but didn't let go of my aching arm. If not even Ca.s.s's angels and demons could scare it, nothing would.

My vision blurred, my strength waning. I could feel my blood pouring out of me in a long, constant flow until I thought I was floating. From the edge of my consciousness, I realized a black, winged demon had appeared by my side. A thick flame scorched my skin. I cried out in pain, the scream hurting my ears. My eyes rolled back in their sockets. The creature hissed, the slurping continued.

Something caressed my cheeks, its touch light as a feather. My breath came shallow, and my heart slowed down in my chest. I hung onto consciousness until I realized the stabbing pain was subsiding, so I let myself fall into oblivion, eager to escape.

But I gather I'm not making much sense, so I shall start from the beginning. This is how I entered Aidan's deadly, paranormal world.

Chapter 1.

The cab came to a screeching halt. I lurched forward in the backseat and dropped the phone I'd been fumbling with in the hope to get through to my brother.

"I thought only London had a reputation for bad drivers," I muttered.

"Ye'll have to get out now," the driver said.

"I'm sorry, what?" I glanced out the window at the dense trees to both sides of the forsaken road, then back at the driver. Surely, this wasn't where I had asked him to take me?

"I said, ye need to get out now, la.s.sie."

I stuffed my cell phone back into my over-spilling handbag and glared at the man's hooded eyes in the rear-view mirror. "I'm paying you to take me all the way up there." I pointed up the winding country lane.

The driver shrugged. "I'm 'fraid I can't, la.s.s. 'Tis too dark now and I don't want to be here at this time of day."

I cringed at his Scottish accent. I didn't understand half of what he said. "It's only seven."

He shrugged. "'Tis all dark."

"What's the deal? Do cab drivers turn into pumpkins once it's dusk? You should've told me at the airport."

The driver averted his gaze. "Ye're paying me for driving, not answering questions."

Grabbing my handbag I opened the door. No point in arguing with him because it seemed like a lost cause already. A chilly wind ruffled my hair and turned my skin into goose b.u.mps. This was freezing Scotland. Why hadn't I thought of wearing a coat instead of locking it up with all the other stuff? "Oh, for crying out loud." I knocked on the driver's window and waited for him to roll it down. "Are you helping with the luggage or what?" He just stared back at me and shrugged. "What is it then, yes or no?" He turned away, his eyes scanning the forest around us as if he expected someone with an axe to jump out any minute.

"I don't believe this," I mumbled, opening the car boot and pulling out my suitcase, a big, ugly thing my brother Dallas gave me as a graduation gift. The thick plastic carca.s.s was already heavy as h.e.l.l. With my clothes and books in there, I could barely lift it. I hurled it up and let it fall to the ground with a loud thud, almost hitting my booted feet. This wasn't my day.

Slamming the door shut, I grabbed the suitcase when the driver rolled down his window. "Ye paying now?"

"I don't know what kind of taxi rip off you're pulling, but your company sucks." I opened my handbag and pulled out my wallet.

"That'd be thirty," he said, unfazed.

"You said it'd cost me twenty."

He shook his head. "It's thirty."

Frowning, I retrieved three banknotes. No point in arguing. The sooner I got going, the better. I was already late, and what sort of first impression is that? "You won't be getting any tip from me," I said, handing him the money.

"Good luck, la.s.s. Ye'll need it."

"How far from here is it?"

"Ten minutes tops," he said with a sympathetic smile. Unfortunately, his concern didn't stretch out as far as not dumping me in the middle of nowhere with no map, GPS system, compa.s.s, or working phone.