Clients came and left. My day was moving at a snail’s pace. I picked up the phone three times in the past ten minutes wondering if I should call Dad and ask him if he had any suspects, but I knew that it was too early.
It was after three o’clock when I finally had a chance to get the hell out of the office to grab something to eat. The absence of my magic was bringing me down and my internal agitation grew. The images of the knife and Jennifer’s dead body kept flashing through my mind. I came back to the office with a headache. There were a few people on the sofa in the waiting area. I noticed an older elf who looked at me when I walked back to the office.
Kate called me to her desk and whispered, ‘This elf is here for you. He didn’t say what he wanted. He insisted on waiting for you.’
I had no idea who he was. The paranormal dressed in a perfectly cut, possibly tailor-made suit. I could see he was an elf, a pure-blooded one. His aura was striking, strong, intense and the most powerful I’d ever felt. His hair had a slight silver glow, but in his younger years his hair was probably baby blond, like mine.
I placed my lunch on my desk and walked up to him.
‘My colleague mentioned that you’re here to see me?’ I asked with a polite smile.
The guy took his time. He folded the paper he’d been reading, and when he finally looked at me I was flexing my fingers with impatience, rudely sighing and puffing.
‘Miss Taylor, can we move to more private room?’
I stood in front of him, looking at his deep blue eyes and feeling like my magic was slowly waking up. The familiar tingle rolled over my back and the usual feeling settled once again in my stomach. Electricity filled the air, and I was sort of relieved that my energy had returned.
‘I’m sorry, but could you please tell me what is this about? I don’t think we met?’ I said, digging for any memories that would indicate why I should have known this odd paranormal. He didn’t respond straight away, but he continued to stare at me, his eyes beaming with curiosity.
‘We met a long time ago. I don’t think you would remember because you were a little girl back then. Miss Taylor, I insist—we need to have a one-to-one conversation, in private. I can’t do this in any other way.’
His voice was deep and enigmatic. My magic was surging through me, igniting my fingers that I was hiding behind me.
‘Fine, whatever. Let’s go then, but I don’t think that’s really necessary.’
Kate was trying to pin down the stranger with her eyes, but I doubted very much that this could get her anywhere. The older paranormals seemed powerful enough to turn any spell around.
I took the stranger to the interview room, trying to figure out what was happening to my body. All morning and half of afternoon I felt useless and now all of a sudden my energy returned, jetting through me fast, heating up my blood.
The older elf sat down on the chair and nodded for me to sit opposite. As I took a closer look at him, my wild power settled down and my fingers stopped sparkling. The elf was now smiling and looking around the office with even more curiosity. His eyes stopped on the hole in the ceiling. Last year Nathaniel had come here, hoping that I would sleep with him, and my magic had gone out of control, pulling part of the celling down.
‘Your magic is still strong in this room. Did something happen here?’ asked the stranger, narrowing his eyes on me. My anxiety flared up and hot and cold airwaves pulsed through me.
He is a stranger; he doesn’t know anything about me.
‘Can you tell me who you are, first of all?’ I asked in high-pitched tone, losing my patience. I didn’t like his ambience and the fact that he knew more about me than he would share.
‘My name is Tron Hendrixon, and I’m one of the eldest elves that still live amongst humans. I’m here to help you with your hmm… how to put it right … oh yes—incidents with magic. I want to help you to control it.’
I took a deep breath and looked away, thinking fast. He couldn’t be serious. No one knew about my ‘incidents,’ not even my father.
‘You’re losing me, Mr. Hendrixon. I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m half elf and I’m magical like you. I don’t have any incidents or problems with my magic,’ I insisted. I wasn’t prepared to talk about my lethal outburst with a stranger who was dressed like he was in the wrong century, although I was curious to ask him about visions where I’d seen my mother dying.
‘I didn’t have a chance to talk to your grandmother yet, but if she were here, she would agree with me. Have you been blacking out lately? Have you been experiencing any memory loss?’
‘No, no, and no,’ I lied, feeling more and more anxious about his true accusations. My grandmother would never send someone else to tell me that I needed to gain control of my magic. I didn’t trust him, although he was spot on about what had happened to me in the past few days.
‘You’re lying. I can always tell. You had at least two blackouts and you are afraid that you killed someone last night,’ Tron stated, finally losing that creepy smile. He had fine lines around his lips and a pointed chin. I got up, feeling dizzy, my hands shaking.
‘I think you already said enough. I don’t know how you know all these things about me, but frankly I don’t care. You’re a stranger and you must leave before I call the police.’ I folded my arms together. My breath came short and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
Tron didn’t move and he didn’t even blink. For about thirty seconds he continued to stare at me. Then I felt him and his power in my blood and my bones. Powerful and enigmatic waves of current lashed through me, pulling me back to my seat. I tried to fight it, but the tingle of heat was so strong that I broke out in a sweat and flopped back on the chair. Dread moved over my spine as I stared at those blue eyes.
‘Your grandmother is stubborn, but you, young lady, you’re even worse than her. We both know that you need help and it’s time to put the fear aside.’ Tron continued talking, stroking his chin at the same time. ‘We need to start the training.’
I laughed nervously, tossing my hair behind me.
‘Training?’ I repeated.
‘Well, we don’t have to, but I strongly suggest that we do. The visions that you’re experiencing, well, those are real. You could hurt people,’ he explained. ‘Do you really want to do that?’
I sat there on the chair, speechless and lost. Anxiety and fear were like my best buddies patting me on the back when I thought about the fire and my mother. Maybe I was cursed and the vision about my mother dying in the fire was real. If that theory made sense, then I had to do anything I could to prevent it from becoming real.
When I didn’t respond, he leaned over the table and added, ‘Julia, stop treating me like I’m your enemy. I know everything about you and I want to help you. Your magic needs to be controlled.’
I needed a minute to gather my thoughts.
‘I heard about the legend, a cursed elf overpowered by the darkness. I’ve seen a vision of my mother burning alive. If I’m the one that my grandmother was afraid to talk about, then help me. I’ll do anything to save my mother. She is a human and doesn’t know about our world,’ I said, determination in my voice. I needed to know if he was able to do anything for me. I was petrified thinking that I had a power that was so dangerous and so lethal that could hurt people. If he was right, then everyone I truly loved was in danger, especially my mother.
Magic had always been there to make my life difficult. My grandmother praised it and loved it, but I hated and despised it. My spells were faint, but when I managed to use my power it was much stronger than anyone else’s in the family, but it seldom obeyed me.
It took Tron a long while to respond.
‘It’s just a legend, but you’re right, these visions are worrying. I can sense that you used a very dark spell last night. You have blood on your hands, but until you reach your full power we wouldn’t be able to fight with your darkness,’ Tron said. ‘Let me train that drizzling power that you are holding within
you.’
‘I don’t understand. Why do you want to help me? What’s in it for you?’ I kept asking, looking at his blue eyes. He didn’t believe in the curse, but I had to think about the worst case scenario. I had to consider all the options.
‘I owe your grandmother a favour, and you are unique. I’ve foreseen danger. Many people will die if you leave your magic as it is. Dark wizards, paranormals that are starved for power may take the advantage of you. You’re vulnerable and your loved ones are in danger.’
I started chewing my bottom lip thinking about this more clearly. Memories from my dream during the meeting were fresh and vivid. I couldn’t take that risk, knowing that I could be responsible for my mother’s death.
‘What about the killer? In flashbacks I’ve seen myself killing and I woke up with blood on my hands this morning—in my living room!’ I said, raising my voice, remembering Jennifer’s empty eyes. ‘My father is in charge of this investigation. His career will be in pieces if he has to arrest me.’
‘You need to calm down and leave your father out of this. I can help you to understand what happened last night, but we need to start training straight away. You’ve done something wrong. Maybe you were near when that woman died.’
I pressed my fingertips to my forehead, my pulse racing fast. The knife, if I found the knife in my apartment, then I’d know.
‘So how do we do this? I mean how are you planning to train me?’ I asked anxiously. If I was going to do this, no one could know. Not even my friends.
‘Training will be intense and it will take up some of your time. It’s better if we can be discreet about this whole idea. I’ve known your grandmother for years and she can be difficult. It will be easier if you don’t share with her that we met.’
I exhaled with relief.
I’d rather do this without Grandma. She always makes me nervous.
The elf in front of me was a total stranger. But I had to take a risk. My grandmother’s case studies were clear. What if I was carrying a dark gene? I read too many papers about dark magic to ignore that possibility.
‘Okay, we have to do this. I love my mother too much, so I have to keep her alive no matter what, but I don’t know what to do. I feel lost.’
‘Delightful,’ he said, smiling. ‘I’ll teach you everything. You’re going to learn how to control it, and how to prevent the darkness taking over your power. Strong intense emotions trigger your energy, so you must stay away from any excitement.’
He shook my hand. His skin was soft and I could feel the wave of energy that passed through my fingers when he touched me.
‘I shall leave now. I’m late,’ he said, checking a small gold pocket watch.
‘Hold on. What if I black out again?’ I said, following him to the door, still thinking about that vision and the fire.
‘Keep away from excitement or strong emotions. We will meet very soon. You had enough blackouts in the past couple of days, so I don’t believe this will happen again before we meet,’ he said. Then he smiled at me and disappeared.
I started massaging my scull, wondering what the hell I was doing. I had to do anything to prevent that fire from happening. Anything in my power to protect my family.
Chapter five
I hate that I have to lie to my friends. Maybe I should tell them.
When I came back to my desk, I pretended that everything was all right and the most bizarre meeting in my entire life had never occurred.
‘So who was that old guy?’ asked my friend, typing something on the screen.
‘He was selling some personalised business cards, but I told him that we weren’t interested,’ I lied, feeling like a coward. Kate didn’t dwell on the stranger and I was glad that I didn’t have to keep making up stories about Tron. She was my best friend, but I couldn’t get her involved with what was going on with me lately. Besides, from what I understood it was safer to keep her away from my problems.
I left work just after six and went straight to the hospital. Quentin was ready to go when I entered his room. He looked better than two days ago, although the healers believed that his usual strength hadn’t returned yet.
He kissed me hard, whispering in my ear, ‘I’m glad that you’re here. I’ve missed you.’
‘Good, I missed you too. How are you feeling?’
‘Fine, no pain or anything. My strength should come back. Besides, I don’t think it’s that important at the moment,’
‘I’m sure it will,’ I agreed, feeling guilty that he was the one who was suffering because of me.
By the time we got to Quentin’s home it was dark and he had to check on Gomez. I agreed to stay for a night just because I was still worried about him. We spent a pleasant evening together, but thoughts about Jennifer’s body and the knife kept coming back, distracting me. Quentin had clear instructions from the doctors. He had to take it easy, so we watched a few films, while Gomez stayed in the kitchen downstairs. He wasn’t particularly happy about those arrangements, but hey, I needed some time alone with my boyfriend.
By the end of the week I settled back to my usual routine. Blackouts and visions about my mother’s death didn’t occur again, but I had to stay alerted, checking if I was in my own bed every morning after I woke up. My energy wasn’t as active as it used to be. Dad was very secretive about Jennifer’s murder. Somehow the press hadn’t sniffed out this story, but I was certain that the news about the murder had reached Nathaniel. After all, he owned the company and he had to be up to date with everything that was going on in London.
I kept checking on my mother every day, freaking out if she didn’t answer her phone. She obviously loved hearing from me, but every time I asked her if she was all right, she kept talking about Quentin, demanding to know why I hadn’t told her that I had a new boyfriend. Apparently Dad mentioned Quentin during their morning rush. Mum loved Nathaniel and she was disappointed when we broke up. She was ready to marry me off to anyone who might be suitable. That was why I kept quiet about Quentin. However, now the secret was out and I had to bring him for dinner sooner or later. Otherwise Mum wouldn’t stop nagging.
I’d been waiting for a phone call from Tron all week silently hoping that he was wrong about my visions. He offered to train me, but he never gave me any specific time. I tried not to get excited about anything, as he advised, but I was also angry that he didn’t contact me in any way.
Quentin had no idea about my blackouts, and he didn’t know about the visit from the old mysterious elf. At the end of the week Quentin invited me to an art exhibition in one of the galleries in town on Friday night. He was supposed to take it easy, but he ignored all the doctor’s orders and went back to work on Thursday. Kate’s boyfriend was showing a few paintings, so I couldn’t say no. Kelsie demanded to get an invite, as she wanted to drink for free. I tried to reach Ella, but her phone went to voicemail. And Nicky was away in Spain. I’d thought that I could gather all my friends in one place, but no luck.
On Saturday night I tried to forget about Jennifer. I put my best dress on and had a drink before Quentin arrived. Tron didn’t say anything about consumption of alcohol. And I was desperate to feel like normal human being.
The girls were already at the gallery when Quentin and I arrived. Kelsie looked amazing, wearing a short cream dress, exposing her gorgeous legs. She’d curled her black hair. Yesterday Kate and I found out that she broke up with her recent boyfriend, a shifter who was involved in transporting stolen cars abroad. Kelsie caught him cheating on her last night. She didn’t seem too upset. As I assumed, she didn’t take her romances too seriously.
The gallery that we’d been invited to had just opened. Kate had been dating Chris, a werewolf, for over a year now. Her parents weren’t thrilled with her choice, but I liked Chris. He was always polite and charming, but Kate's parents would have preferred she go out with a wizard.
Kelsie went straight away to the bar and came back holding two glasses of champagne. I wanted to go around to admire art, b
ut Kelsie insisted on staying close to the bar.
‘I swear to God if this is going to be boring, I’ll be wasted after an hour,’ she muttered, looking around the room.
Kate rolled her eyes. ‘It’s an art exhibition, darling. I don’t know what you expect here tonight.’
‘Kate is right. Art is dull if you aren’t into that sort of thing,’ I muttered. Kelsie frowned, taking a generous gulp of her champagne.
‘Well, last time I remembered, you managed to get yourself sorted with Quentin at a gallery. Guys like him are definitely up my street.’ Kelsie giggled, fluttering her eyelashes at my boyfriend. He smiled, putting his hand around my waist.
‘Don’t worry. I was planning to introduce you to one of my friends. I’m sure you two will get on,’ Quentin said.
‘My God, you are so depressing me,’ Kelsie fumed. ‘Where do you find these men, Julia? Handsome, rich, and offering to hook me up with someone else?’
Kate drank some of her drink and nearly spit it out, laughing so hard. Quentin winked at me. I had to agree with Kelsie. Quentin was the complete opposite of Nathaniel. He wanted to spend time with my friends, he wanted to get to know my family, and always made sure that I was happy.
‘Men? I truly hope she is joking. You aren’t dating anyone else?’ Quentin asked.
I shot Kelsie a stern look, but she was already looking around, probably for some other available men.
‘I’m only dating you. I’m that glad that you want to introduce her to Patrick, but he needs to be warned. Kelsie doesn’t date, she uses men and then throws them away like a used rug,’ I explained. Quentin laughed, bringing me closer.
I had to warn Kelsie to keep her mouth shut about my past. I wasn’t ready to talk to Quentin about my ex. Besides, I had more important things to worry about, like proving to everyone that I was still sane.
The gallery was getting busy. A few humans always slipped through the door, but these evenings were opened mostly for paranormals. Everyone looked incredibly stylish. I could smell magic in the air from the group of elves standing by one of the impressionist paintings. Quentin was scanning the space. I’d noticed that since we came in he had been glancing at the dark painting on the left that was gaining quite a lot of attention from the giants and wizards.
Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Page 54