Le Coeur Island Boxed Set

The Le Coeur Island Series

by Heidi Lowe

Published by Heidi Lowe Books, 2016.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

THE LE COEUR ISLAND SERIES

First edition. March 25, 2016

Copyright © 2016 Heidi Lowe

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CONTENTS

TITLE

SKYLAR

ASTRAL

JORDANA

OTHER BOOKS BY HEIDI LOWE

BLURB

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SKYLAR

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The captain's voice boomed over the loudspeaker, getting everyone on the ferry's attention. In a couple of minutes we'll set off for the island. The crossing will take approximately thirty minutes. Restrooms are located on the lower deck. So sit tight, relax, enjoy the view, and think about all the fun things you'll get up to over the next week.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. I seemed to be the only person doing so, however, as everyone around me looked excited to be heading to the mysterious Le Coeur Island.

Across the table from me, my parents stared eagerly at me, waiting for my reaction.

What? I said after a moment. I felt the boat jerk and the engine buzzing as we cruised away from the port.

Why aren't you smiling, Hope? It'll be fun, my mom said, her own smile rather freakish and big.

I'm smiling on the inside.

There'll be lots for youths like yourself to do, you know. Here, have a look at the pamphlet. My father – or should I say stepfather – shoved the thin booklet at me, his smile mirroring my mother's. They both looked like something out of the Brady Bunch.

Youths? Graham, I'm almost twenty-one... That's how he always talked. The guy was just so out of touch with the rest of the world, like he lived in the fifties. Looking at his attire – the high-waisted, checkered golf shorts, and crisp white polo shirt – he dressed like it too. Can you believe he bought me a pink journal with a lock on it for my twentieth birthday? I'm a college student, for God's sake!

You can take up kayaking again. You still like that, don't you, love? my mother said.

I liked it when I was in middle school.

I stepped away quickly before they could try and sell the trip to me any more than they already had. Did these people know me at all?

As I peered over the edge of the ferry at the fresh blue-green water, I thought about throwing myself overboard, ending the misery before it had truly begun. I knew it wouldn't be the last time the thought crossed my mind on the short journey.

This whole trip was a bad idea that my parents had guilted me into. Oh, we never have family vacations anymore. Why spend Spring Break drinking illegally when you can spend it on a private island with your parents? We hardly ever see you now that you're away at college. And on and on. I found myself giving in just to shut them up.

All around me rang the lively chatter of families who actually wanted to spend time with each other. I kind of wished I shared in their enthusiasm, only because the stupid trip had cost a small fortune, and it was the only one my parents would have together this year.

Le Coeur Island was situated somewhere off the Gulf of Mexico. Shaped like a heart – hence its name – it was a 200-acre paradise, with a beautiful beach, great fishing spots, and offered just about every activity – from water sports to horse-riding. Fun for all the family, or so they said. The accommodation? The Le Coeur Manor, a massive thirty-plus roomed mansion. The place had been made famous by an old myth which had been circulating for more than a hundred years. When Graham first pitched the idea, I had to stifle a laugh.

Legend has it that the island is the home of succubi. The myth is that beautiful women roam the island in search of partners to spend the night with. He'd said it in that over-the-top, spooky, campfire voice, as though talking to a bunch of ten-year-olds on a camping trip.

Succubi? Like a succubus? A demon who seduces men? I chuckled. There are a lot of girls like that on my campus, but we have a different name for them...

It's legend, Hope. Don't be so quick to dismiss it, he said, defensively. Ed from accounting was here two summers ago, said he definitely saw a spectral entity drifting through the manor.

"A spectral entity? Riiight."

Did he ever listen to himself? He'd gotten frustrated at that point with my refusal to take him or his legend seriously, and stormed off to his study. I didn't have the heart to tell him that, even in some warped reality where succubi actually existed, and even if he were the last man on Earth, they would take a vow of celibacy! Looks aside, he's got to be the most boring person on the planet, and he talks so damn much. How can someone so boring have so much to say?

About ten minutes into the journey the island came into view in the distance. I stayed where I was, not wanting to return to my folks, who'd made friends with another couple and their two teenage daughters. I turned away quickly in order to avoid making eye contact, just in case they tried to usher me over for introductions. I just wanted to be off this boat, on to dry land and somewhere with Wi-Fi connection.

*****

We're going to freshen up before dinner, my mother called through to me from their room. I'd already closed the door on them, slightly disappointed that there was no lock. My room adjoined theirs. I'd chosen it specifically, thankful for the option of not having to sleep in a twin-room with my parents. I deserved some privacy. It had cost more, but was totally worth it in my opinion. Only the bathroom had to be shared between us.

I threw myself on the bed, phone in hand, and signed in to my Facebook account. It was time to spy on my friends, see all the fun they were having on their break. I mean, I had the chance to go to Venice Beach with the rest of them, but came here instead. Who in their right mind does that?

The internet connection was slow, and after multiple tries, it disappeared completely, to my dismay. I let out a frustrated growl and almost hurled my phone across the room. The only way I would get through this week was by being online the whole time. If I couldn't do that? Well, I needed to find a body of water in which to hurl myself, or be forced to spend time with...the family. The thought made me shudder.

While they were cleaning up for dinner, I decided to explore the manor. The corridors of this grand house seemed to stretch on forever, with winding staircases, chandeliers, paintings of noble-looking people hanging on the walls. There was an endless supply of rooms, it seemed. A place I could easily get lost in. I tried to access the internet once more, just in case it was a location thing, that our room was cursed or something, but no luck.

I found a seemingly deserted corridor leading off the main one on our floor. And then a couple of teenagers ran past me, chasing each other. I was thankful for the age-limit on the holiday. Only suitable for sixteen and over. Younger kids gave me hives!

There's nothing down there but a couple of rooms full of bed linen.

I spun around, startled by the voice behind me, having thought I was alone. A boy, roughly my age, stood before me, a lopsided little grin on his face.

How do you know?

Because I already checked. It's what I do in new surroundings: try to find where all the dead bodies are buried. He combed a hand through his dark blond hair, and flashed me a smile. If he had any idea how much of an internal eye-roll I was doing at his pathetic attempts to melt my heart, he would have walked off and never spoken to me again. No doubt it worked on every other girl he came into contact with, but he was barking up the wrong tree entirely with me. Still, I decided to humor him. Hell, there was nothing else to do around here until dinner.

I'm Jeremy.

Hope.

First time on one of these activity holiday things?

How'd you guess that I'm an activity holiday virgin?

You look as miserable as I did on my first. He laughed, and did that ridiculous thing with his hair again. He was all sleaze; a true jock with big abs and great teeth. One of those guys you creamed yourself over in high school, but later realized was an egotistical prick with a brain the size of a marble. Or, at least that had been my realization, and it had come only after I discovered I wasn't actually attracted to men.

You do this sort of thing often? I wouldn't have guessed.

Well my parents are pretty cool. I don't get to see them all that often – I study in Europe. It's nice to hang out with them sometimes, you know. Don't tell anyone I said that, though.

Oh, brother! The sensitive act. He loves his parents – he's definitely marriage material. Not! I almost burst out laughing at his attempt to play bashful.

My parents are as old-fashioned as they come. I should be in Venice Beach with my friends right now instead of snooping around old mansions in search of something fun to do.

That's why I'm here. To ensure you have lots of fun. I'm like the god of fun.

I was just about to fake laugh, when I looked behind him and saw, through the glass window of the door, a woman in a white gown. Her long, red hair fell in waves around her shoulders and down her back as she glided along the corridor. There seemed to be a very faint glow around her, like she was a hologram or something. For the briefest second she looked up at me, smiled, then headed for the stairs.

Would you excuse me, John, was it?

It's Jeremy, he said. But I had already started off past him, walking as though mesmerized, on the trail of the mysterious, stunningly attractive redhead I'd just seen.

When I got to the staircase and peered around, she was nowhere to be seen. Likewise once I'd raced down the stairs, scanned the halls and barged into some of the communal rooms, no joy. She'd completely vanished, as though she had never really been there.

Huh, I said to myself. I wasn't imaginative enough to have thought up someone so beautiful, I knew that. She was obviously one of the guests who'd arrived ahead of us, on the earlier crossing. I couldn't wait to see her at dinner.

*****

I'd planned to skip dinner in the main dining hall, where they'd laid on a buffet, and had organized an official meet and greet for all the guests. But with this new determination to see the woman again, I went along with my parents.

She's probably some rich, old guy's wife, I thought to myself, always the one to inject a dose of bleak reality into my fantasies. And that smile probably wasn't anything but a friendly gesture – one woman to another – as opposed to her flirting with me. I'd recently been sporting a new hairdo, a short pixie-style cut that suited my face perfectly, and still allowed me to look feminine. I wanted to believe that all gay women could spot me coming a mile off, but the truth was it never worked that way. And Jeremy the Jock was proof of that. Guys still hit on me, perhaps even more than before.

I kept my eyes peeled for her all evening, paying little attention to the food on my plate, or to the speeches for the opening night. No one who looked remotely like her showed. My heart sank. And when Jeremy came over, introduced himself to my parents, and started making smalltalk with me, I felt like slitting my wrists. I went to bed early because I couldn't take my mother and Graham's encouraging smiles behind Jeremy's back when he was speaking to me. Yeah, you can probably guess they weren't aware of my lesbian proclivities, and thus saw Jeremy as the perfect future son-in-law.

*****

We've had such a busy day. My mother invited herself into my room the following day, having just returned from the late afternoon programs, looking worn out. Water polo, followed by scuba-diving, and I watched Graham compete in a chess match. For the after dinner activity, I have to decide between the wine tasting at seven or the pottery class.

Great. Sounds like fun, I said from behind my book, not really listening.

Of course, I could do a bit of both, but trying to mold clay while drunk might not be wise. She laughed to herself.

I peered up at her, not wanting to ask out loud what she wanted, and how long she planned on disturbing my reading. I hoped that my expression said it all. Where was boring Graham when you needed him to escort her away?

What did you do today, honey? Anything interesting?

I shrugged. Just hung out up here most of the day, then went down to the beach for a couple of hours to catch up on some reading.

She made a face like I'd told her I'd spent all day eating my boogers! You're on holiday, Hope. You can read any time.

It's a good book. Okay, so it wasn't particularly good, but anything was better than joining the folks on their weird activities. I also wanted to avoid seeing that Jeremy guy again. I'd managed to all day, even when I went down to the beach for a swim, but knew my luck would run out sooner or later.

Well, have you looked at the program? Surely you can find something more...worthwhile to do while you're here.

I'm reading. What could be more worthwhile than that? I returned my eyes to the book, signaling the end of the discussion. She would go on indefinitely if she could, until she'd finally worn me down and I'd signed up to every possible activity.

"All right, but I want it on record that I don't find any of this healthy. Girls your age should be out enjoying the sun, not sitting alone in their room...reading."

Because I wasn't listening to her, she snatched the book from me.

Hey, what are you doing? I tried to snatch it back, but she stormed over to the window and dangled it out. Mom, if you drop that, I swear to God I won't talk to you for the rest of this trip.

She smiled wickedly at me. I didn't even recognize her. You need to live a little, Hope. Was my mother, a woman in her mid-forties, really acting like a teenager?

Mom! I scolded, and leaped from the bed. I grabbed the book from her before she let go of it, before it was lost forever in the hedges below the window, a long way down. Not cool.

Lighten up, Hope. It's just a bit of fun. You do remember how to have that, don't you?

I rolled my eyes at her, and was just about to tell her to get out of my room and go find her boring husband and torment him instead, when I saw something through the corner of my eye. In the distance, drifting across the grass, heading toward the lake was the woman in the white gown. She was exactly as she had been the day before, in the same attire.

After all that trouble, the book almost slipped from my hand, as I stared, totally hypnotized. So she wasn't a figment of my imagination. I knew I wasn't going crazy.

I handed the book blindly to my mother. Erm, gotta go.

Where?

I was already halfway out the door. Down to the lake. You wanted me to get out more, didn't you?

Yes, but...

I'd never run so fast in my life, nearly tripping down the stairs, and bumping into one of the cleaning ladies. I couldn't really see anyone, or anything else, just the path I had to take. It was as if I didn't have control over my own body, like some external, mystic force was guiding me. At no time during my pursuit of the lady in white did I stop to think about what I would do if I managed to catch up to her – what I'd say.

None of that stopped me.

I slowed down the closer I got to the lake, which was a few minutes away from the main complex, hidden somewhat behind a small parcel of woodland. Surprisingly, it was quiet and secluded at this time of day. I hung back a little, unable to see her, but hoping to hear some movement up ahead.

Then I saw her. Through the gaps in the trees, I glimpsed the