Wicked Destiny

Chapter 13





On the way home, I realized I hadn’t seen Declan or Viktor all night and it didn’t bother me one bit. Why was that, I wondered. Oh, well, I’d just enjoy the silence. Just as I was rounding the block, I got curious. I knew I could control the elements, but I wondered just how far I could push my power.

I stood there and squared my shoulders as if to brace myself for something bad. At first nothing happened, but I felt the static building in the air. It made my hairs stand on end. This was cool, and so I concentrated harder. The wind picked up like always, but I was in the mood for something more. I shut my eyes, filling myself with my power from within. I let it take over just to see what it would do. One by one, the street lights combusted and the traffic lights exploded. For the grand finale, all the shop windows within a block’s radius shattered.

I opened my eyes to look around and I couldn’t believe it. Had I really done all of this? I began to get nervous and thought it was a good time to get the hell out of there. In my mind, I was telling myself to get to my loft, but as I turned in the direction of my building, there I stood in front of the double doors. Only about a mile from where I was standing. I turned to see if that had just happened. Did I just teleport myself to my building by simply thinking about it?

So, I decided to test the theory again. I thought about the club and as I turned its direction I stood outside the doors of the Xchange. This was absolutely cool and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I thought about the barn and took one step, and there I was in front of the barn at the farm. This was absolutely amazing! It was like time travel. It started to drizzle a little, and like a little girl, I twirled uncaringly in the rain and refused to think about anything else. I worried for so long and for the first time in a while, I just didn’t care.

With my arms stretched out, I tipped my head back with my mouth open and tried to catch raindrops in my mouth. It was kid-like, but again, I didn’t care. I accepted what I was, and what was the harm in having a little fun? Thunder sounded off in the far distance. I thought about the pasture on the other side of the far and I within a split second, I was there. I stared into the woods where the darkness always chased me in my dream. With a flick of my wrist, I heard trees snapping and their roots being pulled out of the ground.

I threw my hands in the air and immediately I felt the static. I wanted the darkness to know I wasn’t afraid anymore; whatever lurked for me out there would know I wasn’t afraid. When I flung my hands down, bolts of lightning rained down on the pile of trees, setting them a blaze. I stood there and watched as they burned everything to ash and left no place for the darkness to hide. And I felt better. Perhaps this would conclude the nightmares. At the wave of my hand, the lightning went away and the flames died out as well.

I knew I was alone, but I suddenly heard someone clearing their throat. I turned around and found Simon standing there in a black sleet suit, a white dress shirt and sunglasses.

“Bravo,” he said, clapping his hands. “That was very, um, how do you say it? Untrained of you. It was still impressive, though, don’t get me wrong.”

“What are you doing here?” I could feel power surging, but I wasn’t sure if it was mine or his.

“I just followed the spotlight.” Simon smiled at me as if this was all amusing.

“Spotlight?” I asked.

“Yes, or beacon. You may call it that instead. Just think, if I hadn’t shown up, something much worse would’ve.”

“I’m confused,” I murmured.

“Anytime you tap into the power from within you, you give off a signal. I’m sure someone has told you this already.”

Shit, he was right. “What do you want, Simon?” He was pacing, but stopped as I said his name.

“Ah, so you know who I am?” I swallowed as he continued. “Don’t be afraid, Sloane. I know you, too.” He smiled back, but something about his smile scared me. “I’ve actually been looking for someone like you with your talents.”

“No, thank you. I’m sure you are here because of the prophecy.” This really got his attention.

“There are many prophecies. Which one are you referring to?” He tilted his head, looking confused.

“The prophecy about a child who will be born and lead an unholy army against the heavens. She will not only carry the blood of witchcraft but of light and dark. She will lead and be the Dark’s companion. So, are you the Dark?” I was being sarcastic.

“Oh, you have no idea how dark I am.” He flashed a devilish smile at me. “Sloane, have fun with your power. Try not to conceal it too much, because when you’ll really need it, it won’t come.”

“I was told not to,” I said.

“I’m sure you were, but ask yourself why. Maybe they hope you will become out of control.” His eyebrows rose above his glasses. “Why don’t you show me something other than a little storm?”

“I don’t know how.” I was scared now. Scared to actually do something and scared not to.

“Here, let me see your hand.” Simon held his hand out and I reluctantly placed mine in his as he covered mine with his own. “Now close your eyes.” I did as I was told and everything swiftly went blank. Everything froze in time. “You have all abilities known. You can do whatever you want or dream of. If you think it, you can do it. Now, without my help, unfreeze time.” I stood there and felt the pull. Suddenly, I felt the wind blow and heard the sound of insects singing in the background.

I did it. “How did I do that?”

“It’s all in your mind. There are no fancy spells or chants that need to be said. No incense or mineral crushing of any kind. Just your mind.” He tapped on his temple.

“So whatever I want I can make happen?” I was trying desperately to comprehend.

“That is correct,” he agreed, nodded at me.

“What do you get out of this…training?” I asked, because I knew he wasn’t here for me.

“If I ever need you for something, you’ll be there.” It wasn’t a plea or a request. He demanded, and then he was gone.

I stood there assessing what all just happened. There were obviously no limitations to what I could do. Maybe it would be a good idea to start getting used to using my gifts. After all, they were mine. I wouldn’t lose control. I flashed back to my building, and as I stood in front of the double doors digging my keys out of my purse, Declan appeared.

“Where were you?” His tone was like a pissed off father, which I didn’t like.

“None of your damn business, Declan. Go find your girlfriend. I’m sure she has been missing you, or has she grown accustomed to your disappearing acts?” I turned to walk into the building.

“Stop!” he yelled at me, and I turned to look at him. He looked as if he aged in the past week or so. “Why are you acting this way? I don’t know this person you’ve become.”

“That’s because the person you knew all those years ago died the day you walked out.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this, Sloane. You can step away from it all.”

“I refuse to run, Declan. That’s not me.” I pushed the door open to walk through, and as I turned around to say something else to him, he was gone. Like usual, he would always be gone. Each time I had to walk away from Declan it got easier and easier.

There was still a stab of guilt and confusion in the pit of my heart. A thought popped into my head and I willed myself to make it go away, and it did. I was able to turn my feelings off just so I could get through the rest of the night and go to sleep. That didn’t last long when I heard Viktor coming out of his loft. Here we go again. But instead, just to see if my powers worked on him, I willed him not to see me. It seemed like I didn’t move or breathe, and when I opened my eyes, Viktor was out the door. He casually passed me by as if I wasn’t there. I smiled to myself and went straight to bed.

I’m standing in my floor-length silk nightgown in the middle of the clearing. My back is to the broken down woods that I took care of earlier. That won’t stop whatever the darkness has in store for me, though. I can feel the power surge in the air; I know it was here, watching me. And I can feel it coming. I turn around to find nothing there, and so I walk to the edge of the broken woods. “Hello,” I call out. Nothing responds.

Turning away, I feel the gentle caress of a hand running down my arms as if to warm me. I whip around to find Simon standing there. What is he doing in my dream? More less, what is he doing touching me?

“What are you doing here? I thought we finished our discussion earlier? I know you aren’t here to collect on the debit already?” I take a step back.

I have to say, for someone to be in what looks like his mid-thirties, Simon isn’t half bad looking. Here he stands in a pair of dress pants, his dress shirt un-tucked, and he’s barefoot. He still has the sunglasses on. What is the deal with those?

“One day you are going to have to explain why you wear those glasses all the time,” I say.

“I’m here because you brought me here. I was actually just drifting off when I felt myself being dragged back here. You didn’t even give me time to put my shoes back on.” He looks down at his feet.

“I don’t see how I did that. I was bracing myself for the darkness that always seems to follow me here.”

“Well, maybe you see me as darkness and it sucked me in.”

“I don’t know about darkness, but you are kind of creepy.”

“Is that right? Tell me, what about me is creepy?” He tucks his arms around his back.

“Well, those glasses, for one, and you look like a Guido off the Jersey Shore. You could pass for a mafia boss.”

“Now that’s hilarious. A Guido.” He laughs uncontrollably. “Me looking like a Guido makes me creepy?”

“Well, if you saw the show you would know why.” I can’t help laughing.

“Why am I here, Sloane? Are you having trouble with something?” His question throws me off guard.

“No, no trouble, I don’t think.” Then I think I should make use of our time again. “How well do you know Viktor?”

“Ah, yes, young Viktor. Well, his reputation precedes him. Is there something specific you need to know?”

“I guess what I need to know is why he is really here,” I question.

“That should be simple. It’s because of you.”

“No, I need more. I need to know if it’s because he wants me or if his boss wants me.”

“Sloane, what does it matter? Are you happy with him?” I nod my head. “Then what’s the problem?”

“The prophecy says I am destined to be with someone, or rather something else.”

“Yes, the prophecy. One thing I will say is that boss of his is a nasty character himself. You are scared he will claim you?”

“Well, yes. I am, I guess, but I don’t know if Viktor’s feelings for me are true or a lie,” I mumble.

“Well, Miss Townsend, one thing you can count on from our kind is that we lie to tell the truth and to lie we tell the truth. It’s a game of manipulation, you see.”

“So, you say it’s a gamble either way?”

“Exactly, my dear.”

“How do I know you are telling me the truth now?” I ask.

“You don’t know. What do I have to gain in lying to you? You already owe me one, anyway.” He moved closer to me, but I didn’t move. “Time to wake up, Sloane.”

I could hear my cell phone going off on my night stand and someone beating on my door. I was tempted to tap into that reserve power and knock someone’s head the way they were knocking on my door. Instead, I got up and found Shay standing there. This was a real surprise considering she didn’t get up before me on any given day.

“I have been calling you for two days now and you haven’t picked up. You are giving me a key to your loft. You had me scared shitless.”

Did she just say two days?

“Two days? Shay, it’s Sunday. What are you talking about?” I shut the door as she walked passed me.

“Sloane, it’s Monday. What are you smoking?” She eyed me suspiciously.

“There’s no way.” I ran to my nightstand to look at my phone and, sure enough, on the face calendar it said Monday. I slept for two days? Someone else was banging on the door.

“What?” I snatched the door open and realized it was Viktor.

“Don’t what me like that! You weren’t answering your phone. You weren’t in your loft or your house at the farm. So where the hell were you?”

“I’ve been here. Two days?” I glanced at Shay, who looked puzzled herself. “You’ve been in my place looking for me?” I turned to look at Viktor, who just looked pissed.

“I don’t think she really knows,” Shay said as she examined me. The room began to spin and she helped me to the couch.

“The last thing I remember is talking to Declan. I saw you coming down the hall and I willed you not to see me.” When I looked up, I saw an even more pissed off Viktor.

“You did what?” He moved in front of me. “Just how did you do that?”

“I don’t know. One minute I was in the clearing back at the farm, trashing the woods, and Simon was trying to help…” I didn’t get to finish before Viktor exploded.

“Simon! You were with Simon?” The vein on the side of his neck was about to give.

“If you calm down, I will explain.” I looked away, because for some reason he made me feel like I did something wrong. And I’d done nothing. So I eyed him right back and rounded my shoulders. “I don’t know what your deal is, but I did nothing wrong. I realized I could…teleport and I wanted to stretch the distance to see how far I could go. I ended up at the farm, in the clearing. I got carried away with trashing the woods and he appeared. He said I gave off a spotlight using my powers.” I held my hand up to him so he could stop whatever was coming out next. “I know, you already told me that. I wasn’t thinking, but when I got home, Declan was outside waiting. We had an argument and that’s when I saw you afterwards. I was tired of fighting and didn’t want to anymore, so that’s when I willed you to not see me. It was just to see if I could even do it, but I guess subconsciously I still held onto it.” I looked up at him. Viktor was still mad, but he would just have to get over it.

I kept the dream to myself. Viktor was mad enough as it was, but I really wondered if what he told me was the truth. I remembered what Simon said as well and wondered if he said those things just so I would doubt Viktor. Then again, who’s to say there wasn’t a hidden agenda for both of them?

“Well, get dressed. You haven’t eaten in day and it’s showing. So, come on.” Shay stood up and took me by the arm, pulling me up. I complied.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I don’t know. We can figure it out later after you have showered.” She pushed me into the direction of the bathroom and I didn’t argue.

I stood there washing myself as I heard the two of them out there talking and cleaning up. I became antsy because I hadn’t shown my studio to Shay and I didn’t want Viktor to. I jumped out of the shower, trying to hurry. I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I manifested my hair and makeup done. I adjusted my towel around my body and walked out into my bedroom. Viktor caught sight of me first.

“What did you do?” He watched as I was grabbing clothes out of my drawer and closet.

“I’m getting ready, Viktor. What does it look like?”

“No, you did something. You used your powers. Sloane, there are consequences and you aren’t thinking clearly.”

“All I did was use a little to cut time in half.” Now he pissed me off, again. “You know what?” I snapped my fingers and the towel disappeared. Within seconds, I was fully clothed. “I’m ready. Let’s go.” Shay was in awe and shock, but she was holding up better than I thought. She grabbed her purse and I locked my arms in between the two of them as we headed out. “How about I drive?”

We went from standing in my living room to standing in front TGIFridays across town. Shay looked nauseous and I knew it was coming. She ducked in between two cars so that she was shielded from the people inside the restaurant. I went to chase after her, but Viktor grabbed my arm.

“You can’t keep doing this,” he stated through gritted teeth.

“You’re not my father. In fact, if everything goes in your favor, won’t you be answering to me?” I shot back.

“You’re just showing off right now, but you’re going to send up a red flag.” His voice was getting louder.

“I thought that’s what your kind wanted? Why don’t you go back to Hell and while you are there, ask your boss what you are supposed to do next with me? I dance to my own tune, not someone else’s.” I rounded on him to go check on Shay, who was on the phone with someone asking for them to pick her up.

“What are you doing? We just go here.” Now I was confused.

“Sloane, I don’t feel all that great, so I’m having Mindy come get me. She’s right down the road.” She was digging in her purse for some gum, or something in general, just so she wouldn’t have to look at me.

“Shay, I’m—” Mindy pulled into the parking lot and Shay turned to walk off, but she suddenly turned back around.

“This isn’t you and this isn’t what I meant by owning your talents.” She turned to walk away and all I could do was watch.

I turned around to see if Viktor was there, but he was gone too. Oh, well, I was here and I wasn’t going to let the day go to waste. I walked in and headed straight to the bar area. I asked for a corner booth and a berry mojito. As I sat there sipping on my drink, I was thinking about everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks. I finished the first round and ordered another. I was feeling on edge and scared. I never liked being in a situation where I didn’t know what to do. It was always so easy to talk to Shay about it, but she was ill with me at the moment.

I ordered an appetizer of cheese sticks. Just as they came out, I caught a glimpse of the people walking in. Declan was all decked out with a woman. My stomach began to twist because she was beautiful. She was tall and thin with just the right amount of curves, and her skin looked just like a Greek goddess’. Why was I so shocked? Declan was beyond handsome and now I knew why. This was surely the person he was to end up with—someone who looked like a super model and not a witch that worked in a nightclub.

Suddenly, I wasn’t so hungry and I waved down my waiter to get my check. Funny thing was, I didn’t have to worry about a designated driver because all I had to do was think where I was going and there I’d be. I took one last look at Declan as I signed the check. He wore low-rise jeans with a white buttoned up shirt that he wore open at the top. I noticed his hand resting in his pocket and the trinket that hung loosely from his wrist. It was the eternity bracelet I gave him. I couldn’t get up fast enough from the booth and I must have created a ruckus, because they caught sight of me. I couldn’t even smile to be polite. I looked back at Declan and walked out the side door, right into my loft.