Ever have a moment when you're laughing but you don't know why you're laughing because the situation was actually very serious and tense- yeah- that was me. I looked into Jaxon's big emerald and eyes and started chuckling. Kill myself? Was he crazy? Never once, had I ever entertained that thought. There had definitely been times in the past when I wished I could have traded places with a person in a dire situation, like Cam or Dmitri or even Alix but not because I was suicidal. I just wanted to save my loved ones.
"Caddie!" Jaxon yelled. He snapped out of his retrieve and glowered at me. Now, that was a completely warranted response.
"H-how," I clutched my stomach as a slew of cackles slipped through my lips. Taking a deep breath, I put my hands on my knees and gave him a level stare. "I'm sorry guys, that was inappropriate but honestly can you just think about what you said! Kill myself! I would never!"
"How do we know that?" Aleksander snapped.
I took in his disheveled appearance. His tanned skin had turned a sickly green color, he kept clenching and I clenching his fist as his bottom lip trembled. I took a step towards him, my hand subconsciously reached for his but he recoiled away from me at the last second.
"Aleksander?" I tested the waters, putting one foot in at a time.
He spun away from me. The anger and hurt, I felt boiling within him caused a strange pain to erupt in my chest. Reaching out once again, I grabbed his hand and turned him back around. He looked absolutely livid. A fire was blazing behind his sparkling blue eyes, his jaw tense and lips were set in a firm line. I wanted to calm him down, as easily as he was able to calm me but all I was able to do was stare hopelessly and pray he relaxed. Before I could blink, Aleksander had my face in between his hands. His lips descended upon mine- I tried to resist but I couldn't help but succumb to my inner most desires as he dominated my mouth. My brain was left a scattered mess as his lips disappeared from mine and left a scorching trail of kisses down my neck.
"You are not dying!" His tone left no room for argument.
"I didn't plan on," I protested.
His eyes flickered to mine, there was something dangerous about his stare that made me lose my breath. Placing a pale hand on the side of his face, I lifted his head and placed a chaste kiss on the tip of his nose. He grabbed me by the skirt of my dress, pulling me as close to him as the petticoats would allow. Thank god for lace, I thought airily. At least in the black lace gown, no wrinkles would show when he was done manhandling me. There would be no proof of our little spat.
"Alek chill," Jaxon warned. He stepped up to us, and put a hand on Aleksander's shoulder. After a moment of staring, Aleksander released me slowly, finger by finger until I was free.
"I-I'm gonna- uh," I cleared my throat, looking away from the two boys. "I'm gonna go for a walk. Clear my head."
Alelsander made a move as to follow me but I shook my head. "I'm gonna go for a walk, alone."
I left without another word. The nurses were standing on the other side of the curtain, pretending as if they had no idea what had just transpired between the three of us but I knew better. In the summers, when I would visit Aunt Heidi at Castle Böse the maids would always scurry along, keeping their eyes glued to the ground but their ears were always listening for information. Eavesdropping seemed to a special talent for the help. So, when the nurses offered me a polite smile I scoffed and stomped out the door.
"There you are," An extremely familiar voice purred as I stepped away from the infirmary.
I froze- it was my first instinct. I was silently praying that he was like a snake, and couldn't see me if I didn't move. But from the sound of his heavy footsteps against the marble floor, it was clear that he knew I was still there. My other instinct was to run. It would be so easy, to just slip away in the crowd of students but what would that achieve? Roberto would only become suspicious of my intentions, more than he already was. So, I forced myself to stand tall with my head high in the air as he circled around me like a predator stalking its prey.
"Roberto," I greeted with faux smile, "It's been too long."
"My Amiga," he matched my tone, "Have you been avoiding me?"
Yes. "Of course not," I didn't even bother to hide the distaste in my voice, "Who would want to avoid you?"
His body moved in one languid motion as he slunk toward me. Resisting the urge to flinch, I stayed in place as he stood directly in front of me. Once again he was sporting an all black attire, his waist-coat was made from velvet and his lapels were leather- the collar of his coat was popped, making him look a lot like a Dracula wannabe. Underneath his coat was a black silk shirt, the top buttons were left undone revealing his broad chest and gold cross necklace, I couldn't help but find his outfit rather ironic. I tried to play his game of intimidation but it was impossible. I couldn't look him in the eye, he was so tall the top of my head barely reached his shoulder.
"Hmmm, perhaps a petite blond girl who promised to show me the full extent of her unique gift," Roberto drawled. He seemed to content play my game, at least for the moment.
"Oh I'm sure she's not avoiding you. Perhaps she just found herself busy with other things."
Roberto cocked a brow, "Like a friend who recently fell victim to the plague."
"Perhaps."
He stayed silent for a fraction of a second, his coal black eyes scrutinized my every movement. I tried to remain still but under his intense gaze I felt my hands trembling. A large, Cheshire grin broke out on his face when he saw the effect he had on me- that was not good. I needed to get away from him and fast. Taking a step back, I tried to walk around him but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to his side. Anger boiled within me as magic simmered in my veins. My cheeks burned as I glared at my demon ancestor. He had some nerve to put his hands on me! Roberto might have been a prince but he was no mortal God, his powers were limited like every other supernatural being.
"Release me!" I ordered.
He had the audacity to laugh. It was a hollow, humorless laugh that promised I would be facing a real danger if I didn't shut up soon. "I wouldn't test me, mi amiga," Roberto held me against his chest. I hissed at the feeling of his cold, golden cross against my heated skin. "You don't want to see me when I'm angry."
He lifted his free hand in front my face and manifested a raging ball of black fire. The ebony flames swayed from side to side as if they were trying to get closer and burn my face. Where anyone else would have been screaming their head off and begging for forgiveness, I could only smirk. The black fire could take me, a 5'0" sixteen year old girl and turn me into a pile of ashes on the floor. I knew it's dangers because I was usually the person using it on someone else. Just like Roberto, I danced with the devil's flame and used it against others when it was to my advantage. It was a frightening thing to be confronted with but even more frightening to handle.
And you don't want to see me when I'm angry," I bit back. Using my free hand, I wiggled my fingers, and beckoned the ball of fire into my palm.
"Don't you remember the last time we played this game?" I asked. Shocked by my ability to handle his fire, Roberto's hold on me slackened just enough for me to step away.
"H-how?" Roberto stuttered, losing his composure for the first time since I met him.
The halls were completely empty. It was just me and him, everyone else had went to class. I let the fire burn out before placing my hand on my hip. "I told you I was a power replicator."
"Yes but not even Dark Ones can do that!" He explained.
I shrugged my shoulders, and hoped he would buy my blàse facade. "It's not like I made it on my own."
Roberto's face had turned grave, I could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he thought of all the different ways he could use me to his advantage. His body seemed to move on his own accord when he grabbed me the second time. His mind was still heavily entranced by his thoughts. I didn't even try to fight when I felt a chilling wind wrapped around our bodies. He was too strong to push away so I let him hold me. If he had planned on hurting me, he would have done so already. Roberto was done with his intimidation methods, that much I could see, now it just looked like he wanted answers.
The trip was unexpectedly short. I had expected him to whisk me away to some strange place like Venezuela again but instead, we were in the Magicry. Not that the Magicry wasn't strange, it had a certain complex beauty. The room was filled with hundreds of thousands of decaying books that smelt faintly of dust and mildew but they were stowed away in the gold bookcases like priceless treasures. The bookcases curved around the room, molding to the circular walls. In the center of the room was an assortment of persian carpets scattered on the floor with plush armchairs and sofas situated on top of them. All of the chairs were empty except for the one closest to the largest candelabra. Sitting there, was beautiful young lady in a satin, rose gown. Her brunette curls were twisted back in a elegant bun, revealing her sweet and docile features. I recognized her as Adeline Volkov- Aleksander's ancestor.
"Roberto!" Adeline threw her book to the side when she noticed we had arrived. A genuine smile lit up her face as she gazed at him adoringly. I felt a little awkward standing there, beside him when she was looking at him in such an intimate way. She was treating him like a long lost lover whereas Roberto only offered the poor girl a cold smirk.
"Adeline, mi amorè." He took one of her white gloved hands and placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles.
"To what do I owe this extreme pleasure?" She blushed, as he returned her hand safely to her side.
"I was wondering you'd be willing to help me with an experiment," His Spanish accent got thicker as he spoke to her. I had a feeling he was doing that on purpose as means to charm into doing whatever he'd like.
"What kind?" She asked.
Roberto gestured to me and Adeline's eyes fluttered with excitement. "Oh Caddie! I hadn't seen you there, you're just so small." Then, turning to Roberto she asked, "Did you bring her here to learn more about her powers as power replicator?"
"Yes, she is already able to teleport and handle black fire. I don't want to expose to any of my other talents though, I thought yours would be more appropriate."
Adeline didn't seem the least bit phased by Roberto's admittance. "Alek did tell me you were a powerful little thing. Let's just start out easy, ok? I'll read your emotions and then you read mine."
I let out a sigh of relief. Reading emotions was a piece of cake, but controlling them that was another ordeal entirely.
"You're relieved and nervous at the same time," Adeline said flippantly, "You're also sad and a little bit angry. I'm guessing this is because of the situation with your friend- the one that got the plague."
"Does everyone know about this?" I cocked my head to the side.
"News travels fast around here," Roberto said. He was sitting on the couch Adeline was formally on, flipping through her book.
"I see." After a moment of silence I realized that Adeline was waiting for me to read her emotions.
"I feel a lot of excitement," Caddie said dryly, knowing that excitement was definitely not hers, "But you're equally curious."
Adeline clapped her gloved hands and smiled brightly. She spun around to face Roberto, seeking his approval. He gave her the tiniest of nods before saying, "Now let's see how she can control emotions."
I could feel my stomach sink before he even finished the statement. There was no way I could toy with Adeline's emotions like she could with mine, my powers were just limited to basic emotion reading. But I had to try nonetheless, the other option was unthinkable. Adeline went first again, she sent me a powerful dose of happiness. For a brief moment all of my worries disappeared as a bright smile lit up my features but the smile left as soon as it came, along with all of the warm feelings that came with. Then, it was my turn.
"I can do anything?" I asked uneasily.
"Yes, anything your little heart desires now get on with it," Roberto snapped.
Shooting him a scathing look, I carefully inclined my head until it looked like I was bowing to Adeline. She never did that but I needed to distract them, so they didn't notice my hand as it touched the back of her wrist.
"Uh, Caddie?" Adeline said, "You don't need to-" her words were replaced by an ear splitting scream. She callopased to the ground, as a searing pain made its way through her body. Roberto made no move to help the girl, he simply was watched from the sidelines as she shrieked.
What did you do that for," Adeline sniffled as I helped her back onto her feet.
"You told me to make you feel something," I shrugged, "So I did."
"Yes you did," Roberto was clapping beside us. I gave him an over dramatic now and rolled my eyes at his childish antics.
Adeline huffed. "You didn't need to do that. Anything else would have been better."
Oh but I did need to do that, I thought as I half-heartedly apologized. Pain was the only thing I could ever make someone feel. Nobody was going to get the luxury of feeling peaceful or happy when I was around that was just the curse I was forced to live with. And the pain was worth it in the end, I thought, Roberto seemed pleased with my display of magic. In fact, he was so pleased, he looked like he was ready to jump for joy. I had the strange urge to once again laugh in the most inappropriate situation. Perhaps all of this craziness was making me lose my mind, I thought.
"Thank you mi amorè," Roberto took Adeline's hands in his again and placed another kiss on her knuckles. She blushed, forgetting all about the misery I had just put her through.
"Let me give you something to show my admiration," Roberto said, pulling a ruby pendant from his coat pocket.
My eyes widened. It was the amulet! The same one that sent us to 1816 in the first place but unlike the amulet I had, the gem was still intact and blazing with magic.
"Oh Roberto, I can't accept something as beautiful as this. What I did barely took five minutes," Adeline protested but in actuality she was prepared to rip the ruby from his hands if he didn't hand it over fast enough.
"Nonsense," Roberto slipped the amulet around her neck and did the tiny clasp. "I didn't have to pay a penny for it, it was my sister's."
"But I'd hate to steal from Elizabeth, you know how she gets."
"She won't even notice it's missing she has plenty of these trinkets."
"Wait," I said, capturing the couple's attention. "Your sister? You got that from your sister?"
"Yes my sister, Elizabeth Moyer. She's staying at Nox Haven for Celestial day. I'll have to introduce you two."
"Can't wait," I murmured absently as a plan began to evolve in my head.
Maybe getting back to the future wouldn't be such a hassle...
**So this was a longer chapter, I hope it makes up a little for the taking so long with my last update. Things get so hectic during the holiday season but I'm glad things are finally back on track. I know a lot of you get discouraged with having to wait a whole week for a chapter, so I just want to thank everyone who has bared with me. Trust me, if I could find the time to write more I would. So, in the next chapter it will be Celestial Day and it will also be the chapter in which we meet the girl everyone keeps talking about, Miss Elizabeth Moyer. I understand if some of you guys are sitting there with massive headaches and thinking: where is she going with this story but trust me everything will come full circle. Let's all just hope Caddie sticks to her word and remains uninterested in suicide because if that happened I'd be out a story.
Please tell me what you guys think of this whole situation with blind Alix and her strange vision. Also does anyone remember this vision book 1? Because it was in there... There are some mysteries in the story that will be coming full story, like I said before. Such as where did Ebony go, she just like disappeared? And why can't Caddie touch the Magicry books? Also, what's up with Heidi? All of that will be answered in upcoming chapters so please keep reading!
Thank you guys so much for all of the support, it means the world to me!
XOXO,
Ro.