Losing Battle

Ch. 6 Bitter

I woke well rested. I got up seeing James still awake on the couch. I walked toward him with a smile.

"If you want you can go rest after a long night," I said feeling guilty he stayed up all night.

"Okay but I want you to stay near your father while I do," James said as I nodded. I walked into the closet shutting the door. I grabbed a silver satin two piece dress with a slit up one side pulling it on. I pulled my hair down fixing it before I stepped out of the closet following James to where my father was.

"Chrystal are you feeling better?" My father asked upon seeing me.

"Yes much better," I said as James left to rest.

"Have you ever used magic like that before?" He asked as I shook my head. "Must have been lying dormant."

"Maybe. Dad, what does Freya want with me?" I asked as he walked toward me.

"She wants to punish me for sending her away," he said pain evident in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" I questioned as he took my hand.

"She was using her magic to sway me. She wanted me to love her and so she crossed the line that forced my hand. I sent her away but couldn't bring myself to kill her," my father said a distant look in his jade eyes. I thought about Freya for a moment then pulled away from him.

"Is she my mother?" I asked as he looked down. I knew she was even though he never answered. "If she got me would she kill me?"

"Yes, she would. That is why she came last night, for you," he said as I turned away to hide my tears. "She loved you at first but then she became angry when I rejected her. She wants you to die so I can't be happy."

"Did she try and hurt me as I child?" I asked touching the scar on the left of my abdomen. I have always had the mark but no one knew where I got it.

"Yes but the guards stopped her," he said as I faced him with tear stained cheeks.

"That's how I got my power," I said knowing it was true even though I couldn't know that. My father touched my cheek looking at me.

"Forever I will protect you, even if I have to give in to her desires," my father said firmly.

"Sir she's activated her army," a guard interrupted our conversation. I faced the guard as he looked at me.

"She's coming for me," I muttered as my father took my arm.

"You must leave," he said as James walked toward us. "Stay together and keep her safe."

"But I haven't gotten to know you yet," I said panic rushing through me. "Please let me stay with you. I can protect myself."

"Chrystal if she gets the army inside she will end your life without a single regret," my father snapped as James grabbed me.

"I will protect her always," James said before teleporting away with me held tightly against his body. Once we arrived at the safe house I pushed him away angrily.

"He was my father and you forced me to leave!" I screamed as he looked at me not saying a word. I glared at him seething with rage but also knowing he did this to save my life. I wasn't just angry with him but angry at myself.

"We will stay here for a few days but then we must move," James said as I turned from him. I touched my necklace thinking only of my father. I just started to learn the truth about myself when I was ripped away from my family.

"Can I see Lake or is that unsafe as well?" I asked harshly as James pulled out his phone tossing it to me.

"Call him," James said firmly. I dialed his number waiting for him to answer.

"Hello Love," Freya's voice mocked me.

"What have you done to him?" I whispered careful not to let James hear.

"Nothing your father wouldn't," she said as I stepped outside.

"What do you want?!" I demanded as the necklace filled me with never ending strength.

"A family reunion sweetie," she said as I fought against my emotions. I needed to be as logical about this as possible.

"Where?" I said as she laughed.

"The park I took you to as a child," she said as a memory hit me. This memory wasn't joyful but dark and painful.

"Chrissy come here," Freya spat grabbing my arm. She tossed me off the top of the monkey bars. I hit the ground whimpering as my ankle twisted.

"Mommy," I cried as she looked down smiling. My father walked toward us picking me up healing me.

"I tried to stop her but she jumped," Freya lied to him. That was the first time she tried to kill me...

"When?" I asked wiping the tear from my face.

"Now," she said as I hung up. I glanced at James before focusing on the park. I teleported there feeling a little woozy but I hid it well.

"Mom!" I called into the endless darkness. The darkness wasn't just darkness but seemed to foreshadow what was to come.

"Little Chrissy, so young, so naive," she laughed as I spun trying to locate her but all I could see was the darkness.

"Show yourself you coward!" I screamed enraged by her taunting. If she wanted me dead kill me quickly, this was my only wish. I hoped her fight would end with me.

"You are so much like him you know," she said in a wistful tone. I stood on the playground exposed and vulnerable to her, yet still, she hid from me. What was she so afraid of? Was it my power or was it that she still cared for me in a way she couldn't explain? Could she be afraid I would weaken her resolve to kill me? This moment could be my last and I would never know what she was scared of...