“What do you mean by that?” A surge of fear traveled through me, causing adrenaline to surge through my body as my heart began to throb.
“It is not what I mean, it is what I know.”
“Then what do you know?” I snapped in agitation.
The sound of a car approaching caused Sarah and I to tense beside each other. Our eyes met before we peered apprehensively at the door. The old woman seemed oblivious. She sat back in her chair and started rocking back and forth. A door slammed and steady stomps indicated the visitor was climbing the stairs and crossing the porch. The door creaked open and a dark head peered inside.
“Mamaw?”
I released the breath I’d been holding, and Sarah relaxed beside me. It had to be John. His skin was naturally tan, his Indian heritage evident by his features. His long face was friendly, his chocolate colored eyes warm. The hair drifting across his shoulders was as dark and straight as his grandmother’s.
“Emma and Sarah, right? I’m sorry I’m late. You must have gotten an early start.” He smiled, walked to his grandmother, and kissed the top of her head.
“Hey, Mamaw.”
She said something to him in Cherokee and he waited until she finished before answering her in the same language. Then he turned to us and grinned.
“She wants me to translate for her. She doesn’t like English.”
The smile on his face waned as she started speaking again and he translated. “She says your path has already been chosen, but do not fear. Fear of fate will not change or delay it. It will only make your enemies stronger.”
His grandmother prattled on and he stopped translating. She rose from the chair and pointed at me, then him. Lifting the bag off her chest, she thrust it outward and shook it as she continued speaking. John shook his head, said something back, and she started yelling. She walked across the cabin toward the kitchen. Her screaming became louder with each step she took.
“What do you think that’s all about?” Sarah whispered.
“I don’t know, but it’s freaking me out.”
“I think we should go. It’s obvious she’s a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. Haven was wrong to send you here. That old bat doesn’t know anything about your ability. Look at her.”
I watched the old woman throw a tantrum of epic proportions while her poor grandson attempted to calm her down. Each time he attempted to pacify her, her anger increased exponentially. She started raising her arms, pointed in all directions, and wailed like a banshee.
Then my jaw hit the floor.
Lifting her arms while jabbering like a monkey, she began rotating her hands above her head. The cabinets started to rattle on the hinges as the doors opened and closed in violent bursts, as if the house had suddenly become possessed.
“Oh sweet Jesus,” Sarah gasped, reaching for my arm. She tugged my wrist roughly, forcing me to my feet. “We have to go now. Now, Emma!”
I staggered behind Sarah as she pulled me across the room and hauled ass for the door. She reached the handle, yanked on the knob, and managed to open it enough to see outside before the wood slammed firmly into the frame and trapped us inside.
The old woman advanced, saying something I couldn’t understand. A deep growl came from Sarah and energy extended from her, oozed into my skin, and coated me in a glorious hum of power.
“Stop, Mamaw!” John yelled and rushed in his grandmother’s direction.
A huge pot tumbled out of the cabinet and barreled toward his head. He couldn’t see it coming in time to move. He was facing his insane shrieking grandmother.
“Watch out!” I cried out, lifted my hand, and called on my own power. I focused on the pot and manipulated the energy around it, forcing the object to go still in midair.
John turned, eyes wide, and gawked at the metal kettle spinning mere inches from his face.
His grandmother seemed pleased; she stopped shrieking and a smile appeared on her face. She dropped her hands to her sides and the objects in the room slowed, floated to their proper places on the counter and inside the cabinets, and the doors and drawers slid closed behind them.
The pot I held aloft was the only thing that remained. I stood still, clouded with uncertainty. John already saw what I could do and letting the damned thing fall to the floor would be rude. I focused, guided the pot to the table, and placed it next to an arrangement of dead wildflowers.
John’s wide eyes met mine. “She was telling the truth. You have it, too.”
I cleared my throat, stepped back, and bumped into Sarah. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and pulled me against her.
“We didn’t come here to watch a deranged old woman lose her shit.” Sarah growled, losing her renowned composure. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but you tell Linda Blair there”—she pointed at his grandmother—“if she keeps this shit up, we’re leaving. If she tries to stop me again, she won’t like the result, I promise you.”
“No, please.” John lifted his hand. “What she wanted to tell her is important.”
“What does she want to tell me?” I watched his grandmother shuffle across the floor and return to her rocker.
“Please, sit down.” He led by example and walked to an empty chair to take a seat.
“No more crazy shit,” Sarah snapped. Her wolf was still angry. I knew without looking her irises would be a shimmering vortex of caramel, topaz, and gold.
After walking over, Sarah made sure to sit between me and John, blocking my body with her own. She didn’t relax this time, remaining in a tight crouch over the edge of the cushion.
“What I’m going to tell you isn’t to scare you. My grandmother has seen visions, and she wants to prepare you.” He looked at Sarah. “All of you.”
Puzzled, I asked, “Prepare me for what?”
“Mamaw has the gift of sight. She can see things that will happen, but not necessarily how they happen or why.” He paused. “She said she wants you to remember, no matter what, that destiny does exist. We all have our individual roles to play.”
I laughed. “You two got into a pissing contest over that? I'd hate to see what you do when one of you drinks the last of the milk.”
His expression brought anxiety back with reinforcements. He turned his gaze in Sarah’s direction and glanced away. “No, she said something else.”
“Is your family telepathic too?” Sarah narrowed her eyes. “Because we can’t hear you over there.”
“She wanted me to tell you a battle is coming.”
Sarah didn’t hesitate. “What kind of battle.”
“She doesn’t know the how or the where.” His eyes shifted over to Sarah again before they flickered to my face. “But she knows the why.”
The old woman pointed at me, said something I didn’t understand, and hiked her chin. John nodded and took a deep breath.
“It’s you,” he told me quietly.
“Me?” My mind raced. Vampires and werewolves might get into a scuffle, but I certainly wouldn’t.
“I wouldn’t cause a battle."
“You don’t cause it,” he stated evenly and stared me straight in the eye. “Your death does.”
Chapter 7—What Might Have Been
“We are leaving,” Sarah snarled, grabbed my arm, and lifted me unwillingly to my feet. “We are leaving, right now!”
“Sarah, wait—”
“We are leaving, Emma,” she growled through her teeth, continuing to tug on my arm, and refused to relinquish her hold. She pulled me forward and started dragging me toward the door.
Bracing myself, I leaned in the opposite direction and attempted to slow her down. It didn’t do any good. She was much stronger than I was. I slid along behind her, my sneakers making pitiful squeaks against the hardwood floor.
“We can’t just leave, not after what he just told us.”
Sarah faced me, eyes level with the black pupils in the center flaring wide. The iris took on different variations of gold, sufficing the amber I recognized.
Her dark hair flew over her shoulders, surrounding a furious face that remained unfailingly beautiful even in rage. I had never seen Sarah so distraught before. It was unnerving and terrifying.
“Either we walk out the door, right now, or I’m calling Caleb,” she threatened coolly.
“Let’s just calm down a minute.” John tried to intervene, carefully stepping over. “We can talk about this if everyone will just calm down.”
“You stay out of this,” Sarah snapped, growling loudly. She returned her glowing gaze to me. “It’s your decision. If you want to stay here, I’m going outside to call Caleb. I want to take you home. Right now.”
“He has to stay in Miami. He has to be there for Sammie,” I argued, touching her arm and looking her in the eye. “Just calm down, please.”
“I know I’m being a bitch, but I mean it.” She refused to listen to anything I had to say. “I will go call him, and he will come home. But either way, we are leaving. So help me, we are getting the hell out of here.”
I wanted to stay and find out what John meant. It was terrifying enough without Sarah adding to the chaos. But when I looked into her face, she was unappeasable, completely resolved to her decision.
“Then we’ll go.” I relented and allowed her to yank on my arm as she strode to the door, threw the thing wide open, and pulled me behind her on the porch. I nearly stumbled, barely managing to keep up with her relentless pace.
“Wait!” John yelled and followed us out of the cabin and down the stairs. He ran behind us, reached for my arm, and Sarah spun around, snarling.
“Listen to me, you little shit.” Sarah stepped into his personal space, her face almost nose to nose with his. “Do you know how to save her? If she’s going to die, can you tell me how it’s going to happen or how we can avoid it?”
“No. It doesn’t work like that.”
“Then piss off!” Shoving past him, she walked to the passenger side of the Camaro. She opened the door and released my arm. “Get in, Emma.”
I sighed but did as she requested. After I was seated safely inside, she slammed the door closed. She darted around the back of the car and came to her side to climb in.
“Wait.” John stopped trying to talk to Sarah and peered through the cracked window, imploring me to listen to him with his eyes. “You don’t have to be afraid. That wasn’t her intention. But you have to tie up your loose ends. Death isn’t something we fear, it’s a natural progression.”
“If you say something like that to her again,” Sarah screamed. “I’ll rip out your goddamned throat!”
John’s grandmother tottered out to the porch, appearing as unfazed as ever. She lifted her shoulders, started yelling something out, and hiked her chin in my direction. She stared at me through the window, pointed her finger, and patted her chest repeatedly.
“She says to come back and see her when you are ready. She says she will be here. She will always be here.”
“When I’m ready for what?”
He didn’t break eye contact as he asked her the question and listened as she answered back.
“She says you will know.”
“Get off my car or I’ll run you over,” Sarah warned. The keys rattled as she slid them into the ignition and turned them over.
The engine roared to life and Sarah put the car in reverse. Billowing dust and dirt flew all around the car as it skittered backward and veered to the left. She shifted the gears, punched the stick into first and popped the clutch. The wheels caught on a solid piece of ground and the tires squealed as the car took off.
“Calm down,” I said quietly, pulled on my safety belt, and buckled in.
“I’m sorry,” she said in a shaky voice, shifting the gears hard and fast, uncaring of the potholes on the return trip out of hell. “Right now is not the time to hear something like that. Not with everything that’s happened with Sammie. I want to get you back to Tennessee where you’ll be safe.”
“You don’t honestly believe her, do you? She’s a crazy old lady.”
“It doesn’t matter if I believe her. Hearing it is bad enough.” Her normally beautiful face was torn as she turned to look at me. “We all love you, Emma. I love you. You’re one of us now, and that means a tie has formed between us. I won’t stand for hearing that nonsense.”
“It’s going to be okay.” I tried to smile even though I felt almost empty inside. “And I love you too.”
“You can’t hide your fear from me, so don’t even try,” she warned. “The smell of it burns the inside of my nose like wet paint, and I can taste it in my throat.”
“Someone just told me I was going to trigger a battle of some kind by dying. What do you expect? Unicorns and rainbows?”
Easing off the gas, she cracked her neck. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to feel that you have to console me. I know you’re as anxious as I am.”
“The difference is I would have stuck around to see what she had to say.” I took a huge breath to compose myself.
“What good would have come from that? You heard what I asked John. She wants you to make sure you tie up loose ends? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She shook her head, the thick inky strands of her hair flowing around her face. “Leaving was the right thing to do. We’ll make it home before dark.”
I rubbed my hand over my face, stopped at the bridge of my nose, and pinched the space between my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. All I wanted was to have a normal life. I didn’t want all of this added turmoil thanks to my unique blood—my fairy blood—that I didn’t even know flowed inside of me until just a few months ago.
“I think we should have Caleb come home.” Sarah spoke matter-of-factly. “There are plenty of people in Miami to cover everything, and Sam is there.”
“No.” I shook my head, rejecting the idea immediately.
“Emma,” she pleaded. “You two need to be together, even if it weren’t for what happened today. You just recently mated. It’s not good to be separated so soon. He needs to come home. You need each other right now.”
“Caleb is exactly where he needs to be right now, and I’m not changing my mind. Sammie is his sister, his blood, and he should be there if they find her.”
“If they find her,” Sarah repeated. “We don’t know where Sammie went, but you have to consider the possibility that—”
“What?” I snapped, knowing full well what she meant and finding myself furious at the implication.
“That she might not be coming home.” Sarah’s reply was blunt and harsh, directly to the point. “No one wants to say it, but everyone has thought it, including you. No one had any reason to harm Sammie, which means nothing is happening for a particular reason. People get kidnapped or hurt all the time. It doesn’t mean there is some large scheme. It just means they got incredibly unlucky and came across something dangerous.”
“But Sammie isn’t a normal girl. She could take down a normal human, even a man three times her size. She’s strong and fast enough.”
“She’s not stronger or faster than another of our kind,” Sarah corrected. “Parker showed you what some of us are capable of.”
That shut me up. I remembered Parker all too well. He was the direct reason I was in the mess with Decimus in the first place. I never would have went to the ascension or found out about my ability if Parker hadn’t attacked me and sent Caleb into a self imposed exile that had cut me cleanly from his life.
The pain of Parker’s attack didn’t come from the physical wounds. Those healed quickly enough. It came from knowing he terrified Caleb into believing something bad could, and would, happen to me as long as he was responsible for my care.
I sucked in a ragged gasp of air, struggling to remain calm. We couldn’t call Caleb. He could never know about what happened at John’s grandmother’s. The thought of losing him again seared a raging hole inside my chest. I would rather spend one day in his arms and greet whatever awaited me than to live a hundred years and never see him again.
“I think I should call him. Give me the phone.”
Sarah’s voice pulled me out of my trance. “We can’t call Caleb.”
“Of course we can.” She narrowed her eyes and extended her hand, ordering, “Hand me the phone.”
“You don’t understand.” My voice was full of hurt and fear. After lifting her gaze to my face, Sarah frowned in concern.
“What’s the matter?”
“After Parker, do you honestly think we need to tell Caleb any of this? How do you think he’ll react? I won’t go through losing him again. I can’t.”
Her face smoothed in understanding. “Oh, Emma.”
“We can’t tell him, you have to promise me.” I fought back the harsh sting of tears, feeling the burning in my eyes while tasting lemony bitterness at the back of my throat.
She shook her head in indecision. “You’re officially mated now, and it wouldn’t be the same. Caleb can’t leave you, even if he wanted to. He’s proclaimed you as his mate before the pack.”
“None of you thought he’d leave me the last time either, but you saw what he did. I’m asking you, no, I’m begging you. Please don’t tell him, Sarah.” I felt wet tears trail down the sides of my cheeks, and I lowered my face, swiping them away with the back of my hands.
“All right,” she agreed slowly. “But I still want to call Caleb home. You can tell him you’re missing him terribly. He wouldn’t question that. As you’ve probably noticed, telling you no isn’t his strong suit.”
I took a deep breath and braced myself for her reaction. “He needs to find Sammie. He’s where he needs to be. If something has happened to her, nothing will comfort her more than her brother. Even if they have all their bases covered, he should be in Miami right now.”
“I’m not budging on this. We need someone here who can take out anything thrown in our path. I can only do so much. I’m not trained to fight, even though I know how to hold my own.”
“Chris and Beverly are more than enough protection for me. With the three of you, no one would be stupid enough to do something. Think about it.”
“Chris and Beverly”—she emphasized their names—“have enough on their minds right now without adding to their stress level.”