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CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Sophia?”
I nearly leaped out of my skin when I heard my name, clutching at my chest, wide-eyed. Michael, the orator, gave me a cursory glance and chuckled. “What’s gotten into you?”
I shook my head but the crazy thoughts kept circling. A Soren? No… he couldn’t be! And yet, all the signs were there.
But how?
“Oy! Sophia! Let’s get back to reality, shall we?”
My body gave a violent shudder and I met his gaze. “Sorry, I’m just kind of distracted today.”
“You’re telling me.” He paused, then, “Do you wanna talk about it?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. If I told Michael, it would send the whole coven into an uproar. I couldn’t afford to do that. Not now after Jasmine’s mysterious arrival and Ben returning. The things concerning Isaac would have to wait.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t investigate it on my own.
“Michael, would you mind coming into town with me later today. I wanna finish up some last minute shopping.”
He shrugged. “Sure. Just holler and I’ll be ready.”
I forced a smile. “Great. See you then.” I left him to his own dealings and headed inside. I avoided the masses, keeping to myself and forcing smiles when needed. Finally, I was able to escape to my room.
But low and behold, Elena had yet to leave. Curled up in the center of her mattress, legs crossed Indian-style, hands laying comfortably in her lap, she looked like a statue of a goddess, hair flowing around her head as if she was underwater. Though still in sweats and a ratty tee shirt, she never looked more stunning.
I couldn’t move, unable to tear my eyes away from her. Her own were closed and that’s when I noticed her that her lips were moving ever so softly, as if she was speaking to herself.
“Elena?” I spoke cautiously, taking a step towards her.
Her eyes flew open, sending me flying into the nearest wall, my head smacking hard against the wood beam hidden behind the plaster. Stars danced before my eyes as I slid to the floor with a thump.
“Oh god, Sophia!” Elena shrieked, still looking gracefully as she landed with one willowy movement to my side. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it was you. I was too caught up in—“
“Stop!” I snapped. Her babbling was making my head hurt.
She promptly clamped her jaws together, sitting back on the heels of her feet, hands on her knees. I saw that her knuckles were white with tension, her eyes wary. After a moment of silence, I shifted and groaned when my head throbbed, the main nerve in my temples feeling as though it would burst at any moment.
“Here, let me help you.” She lifted me by my underarms and gingerly placed me on my bed. When her body was close to mine, I could smell the faint scent of pine cones and freshly-cut grass. This puzzled me, making the pain fade as I asked her what she had been doing.
She smiled wanly, as if the effort tired her. “I was meditating.”
I frowned, the action causing a fresh bout of pulsating shock waves to crash against my cranium. “Ugh,” I said out loud, resting my head against the bed’s backboard. When the pain once again faded, I spoke. “And what exactly does that mean?”
“I clear my head of all thoughts and center myself on the powers within me. As you already know, all the people in this coven is Gifted in one way or another. Mine is of the natural state, as I’ve told you before. When I meditate, I picture myself in a place of nature, like the beach at a briny sea or in the middle of a meadow with fresh wildflowers.”
“You were in a forest this time, weren’t you?” I blurted. She nodded, perplexed. I hurried to explain. “I smelled pine cones on you, and grass.”
She nodded knowingly. “When I let my mind be at peace, the effects can be more physical than mental.”
“So, why do you do this meditating thing?” My head was starting to pound again but I ignored it, wanting to know more.
“It helps me tone my energy. If I don’t do it daily, I loose that little bit of self-control I have over my powers. If I don’t meditate, I could brew a deadly storm just because I stained my new shirt. Generally, emotions play a big role in a Gifted person’s powers.”
“But I’ve never seen you do it before now.”
“That’s because I usually prefer privacy.” She winked. “I hadn’t expected anyone to come barging in on me without notice. Normally, I can sense when someone’s near and slowly come out of my meditative state. When you came in, I was shocked out of it.”
“Is that why I slammed into the wall?”
She smiled apologetically. “I hadn’t meant to do that to you. Sometimes the mind can be even more powerful than anyone realizes. I was concentrating so hard that when you came, I wanted to get you out of there as fast as I could. I guess, unconsciously, the only way to get rid of you was to push you out the door. And I did it a little harder than I should have. Sorry.”
I shrugged, wincing afterwards as it disturbed my head. “Don’t worry. I’ll live.” I heaved a sigh and then an idea came to mind. “You say your power is over nature, but if that’s true, how is it you could shove me against the wall. I thought only vampires with the telepathy skill were able to do that.”
“Like I said, the mind is a complicated thing. I still don’t know all of its workings, but Anita’s helping me. For what I know, you can sometimes channel raw energy or power and use it for your own will. My guess is that’s what happened. I used the energy that’s always around us to fuel my needs. Instinctively, of course.”
“Anita’s helping you?”
“Yes. She’s my mentor.”
“What is her Gift?”
I never found out, though, because a mass of bodies wormed their way into our room, all talking at once.
“What the hell was that sound?”
“Yeah, what’s going on?”
“Elena, what’s wrong with Sophia?”
The noise was making my head hurt and I squeezed my eyes shut against the blather. Elena must of took notice for I felt her body weight leave the bed and then her voice shouting for everyone to shut their traps.
Carmen’s voice was the next one I heard. “What happened?” he asked more calmly.
I could hear the embarrassment in Elena’s words. “I was meditating and Sophia came in and I panicked.” It was a shortened version but it served its purpose as I felt the group huddle around my bed. Cool fingers pricked at my forehead and my lids fluttered open to see Carmen’s half-smile as he met my gaze, white teeth flashing.
“You got quite a bump here,” he murmured as his fingers met their mark, air hissing between my teeth at his touch. “Sorry.” He took a step back and eyed me curiously. “Wait a minute. You just got back?”
I shifted uneasily, the Isaac issue slamming into me like a ton of bricks. But I couldn’t let the others know. Not yet. “Yeah, I went for a long run.” I wouldn’t meet his gaze and I knew Carmen saw my lie as clear as day.
“Really.” He crossed his arms over his chest, piercing the top of my head with his gaze.
“Really,” I said firmly, rolling off the bed with a groan. “I think I need to feed.”
“I’ll go with you. Besides, you said you wanted to go in town anyway,” Michael offered, presenting me his hand. I took it gratefully and he hauled me to my feet.
“Great. I’ll catch you all later then.” I left quickly, not allowing the others to question me further. My head still pounded but I hoped that with a little blood, it would disappear by morning.
“So, what was that all about?” Michael asked me later on our walk into town. We used a very slow human pace, pausing frequently to admire nature’s winter majesty.
I shrugged nonchalantly. “What was what?”
Michael frowned. “You know what I mean. All that deception. You have to know by know that Carmen thinks something’s up. You’re just making matters worse by not telling him.”
“Nothing’s going on, Mike.” My voice was set and he knew it was no use arguing with me.
“Fine, whatever. If you don’t wanna tell me, that’s your choice. Just know that Carmen’s going to go crazy wondering.”
“Let him go crazy. He needs to loosen up anyway.”
Michael laughed. “True t’at.” I raised my eyebrows at his words. “What? I’ve been watching a lot of MTV lately.” I let loose a genuine, pealing laugh that made Michael smile. It felt good to feel so at ease with someone and the rest of the walk consisted of Michael trying to imitate the rappers on the music videos, my loud laughter breaking the silent spell of the forest.
When we reached town, the reality of what I needed to do came crashing down on me, erasing the happiness from my face in one clean sweep. Michael didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were immediately drawn to a female form only a block away. She was dressed in a slinky black dress, stilettos, her hair pulled back in a messy up-do. Curvaceous with blood red lips, she caught Michael’s eye and threw him a wink.
I watched the transformation come over him from vampire to predator. His pupils widened until they appeared catlike, the color almost entirely disappearing. His body stiffened, shoulders hunched, with nails half a food long scratching his pant legs. I detected the aroma around him strengthen, feeling as though I was suddenly drenched in tree sap. The woman didn’t even notice. She was already under his spell, striding up to us in one smooth movement that dragged his eyes down her body in an intimate way.
Michael was always the one to pick his prey by sex appeal. By the way his eyes smoldered, even with their dilated pupils, I knew he was interested. Michael smiled an avaricious grin that sent shivers down my spin as the woman threw her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear things that made his smile widen.
“Come with me then, my lady,” he commanded, his voice like melted butter. The woman had no choice but to obey, draping herself over him as he led her away into an abandoned warehouse.
I rolled my eyes. It had been easier than I thought, getting rid of him. Now I was free to investigate Isaac more, though I had no idea how. Navigating the streets, I stumbled upon the same small antique shop I had been in before. I couldn’t stop myself from taking a quick peek inside and, inevitably, whom did I see but the form of a lanky, chestnut brown-haired, blue-eyed fellow leaning up against the counter as the cashier wrapped his purchase.
It was too easy to find this guy. It was like I didn’t even have to try. Hiding discreetly among a stand of novelty sweaters, I watched him talk. He was smiling, something I was beginning to be familiar with. The indentations in his cheeks were pronounced as he laughed at something the woman said. I was too busy watching him to hear anything else.
His hair was jaggedly cut across his forehead and light stubble etched along his jaw line. Half-moons lined his colorful eyes and his figure seemed to sag. He was exhausted, that was apparent. But why?
“Well, thank you, Lucy. I’ll see you later.”
“You take care, Isaac,” the woman called as the boy tromped from the store, his gait easy and loping as his long legs took one stride while mine took two.
I followed him at a distance, able to be nearly three blocks behind without losing him, my eyesight faultless in the fading light. His destination was instantly evident—the small house on the corner of First and Rosemary Alley. It was an older Colonial home with its own holly wreath and mistletoe hanging from the eaves. Michael would gag with disgust if he saw the lights strewn across the front porch and a blown up Santa Clause on the front lawn. He had never been one to understand human holidays with their false cheer and annoying lights that blinked to the tune ‘O Christmas Tree. I thought it hypocritical, however, because our house was just as decorated with our own tree with ornaments in the living room with presents at its base.
Shrugging, I quickened my pace, watching as Isaac reached the house and let him in with a key hidden beneath the corner of a rug that stated “Home is where the Heart is” in big red letters, kittens chasing each other around the edges. Must be his mother’s, I thought, remembering the robust woman I had met in the hospital. She seemed like the kind of woman who would like cats and home rugs on the front steps.
When I knew he was safely inside, I paused, leaning against the nearest building. Now what do I do? It was clear I couldn’t just barge right in, demanding answers. But I also couldn’t stand here, doing nothing. I needed to do something.
Before I could change my mind, I waltzed up to the front door and rang the doorbell. I just prayed this was the right decision.
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