Scornful Sadie

by Felicia Tatum

  Chapter Fourteen-A History Lesson

  The morning sun peeked through the curtains, streaking across the bed and warming my exposed skin. Stretching my legs as far as I could, I shifted until I could see Aiden. Sprawled out beside me, with one arm covering his forehead, he snored slightly and had small drops of drool dried to his cheek.

  He was magnificent.

  Propping on one elbow, I reached over and gently shook his chest. “Aiden, wake up.” He stirred, but didn’t wake. I tried again, a little harder this time, and said it again.

  When he still didn’t budge, I sighed in frustration and lay back on the pillow. Moving fast as lightning, he was on top of me in seconds, grinning from ear to ear as I screamed. “Morning.”

  Once the terror subsided in my heart, I smacked him off me playfully. “Oh my gosh, you scared the crap out of me!”

  He laughed, deep and hearty, and wiggled his brows at me. “I like hearing you scream.”

  Well, I walked right into that one, so I ignored it. “We have to get ready to go.” I started to swing my legs over the bed and get up, but he stopped me. I looked at him curiously.

  His eyes lingered on my lips. He traced the bottom one with his thumb and sent a flash of excitement through me, heating me from within. Lazily bringing his gaze to my eyes, he licked his lips and huskily said, “I want a good morning kiss.”

  I shook my head once in agreement, forgetting my awful morning breath and anxiously waiting for his lips to find mine. Moving slower than a snail, he built the anticipation to the point I was ready to knock him over and do it myself. When he finally touched our mouths together, the explosion of need was raging inside me. He kissed me tenderly, apparently not feeling the same desire I did, and pulled back shyly.

  “I could do that all day,” he smiled.

  Good Lord, I couldn’t! I wanted to scream at him. Didn’t he see the way my chest was heaving and hear my heart pounding? Could he really not see what he was doing to me? “Me too,” I lied. Escaping before he could torture me further, I lifted my arms over my head and stretched my body. My bag was still packed from when I got here, so I stuffed in the rest of my belongings and laid out what I would wear for the day.

  “Get out,” I demanded.

  He lay propped on his elbow watching me. “I’m enjoying the view, though, Sade.”

  “Now.” I pointed toward the door.

  He groaned as he stood and laid his hand over his heart. “You hurt me.”

  Rolling my eyes, I rushed to him and pushed him the rest of the way out the door. If he didn’t go now, I probably wouldn’t have the guts to make him. “Go pack your stuff,” I instructed.

  He scrunched his nose and winked. “I like it when you’re bossy.”

  “I’m always bossy,” I reminded him.

  He leaned in, close enough to kiss me, and hissed, “I know. And I like it.”

  Giggling, I pushed him again. “Go! We have to leave soon.”

  He started to his room, waving his hand behind him. “Yeah, yeah.”

  I watched him walk, too worked up to not, and didn’t hear when Mel snuck up behind me.

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  The way I snapped around, I knew I looked guilty. “We just slept. Nothing else.”

  Her eyes widened and she shook my shoulders. “Why not? He’s so hot!” She practically screamed it.

  Dragging her loud mouth into my room, I shut the door. “Quiet down.”

  “Why? You two have something going on.”

  Obviously, Mel. “Maybe.”

  “You know him. He’s why you never dated or anything.”

  I shrugged.

  She squealed. Mel was lovable and a great friend, but if she didn’t quiet down soon, I was going to put a silencing spell on her for the duration of this trip. She watched me with those pale green eyes as I flicked my hand to make the bed and grabbed my bag. Swinging her hair over her shoulder, she played with the ends. “So, you gonna tell me about him or not?”

  She had no patience, this one. “What do you want to know?”

  “Why didn’t you sex him up?” she squeaked at the highest pitch known to mankind.

  “Oh my god, shut up,” I growled. “He’s going to hear you.”

  “Good,” she nodded, twisting her hair tighter. “He’s probably wondering the same thing.”

  With clenched teeth, I stepped past her and held my hand on the doorknob. “Listen, I’ll tell you when I’m ready, but not now. Please don’t embarrass me.”

  She gasped behind me, and I turned. “You’re a virgin,” she hissed. “I get it now.”

  Closing my eyes, I silently counted to twenty before I killed her. “Does it matter?”

  “You totally are!” she squeaked. “It’s ok. Boys like that.”

  “How would you know?” I countered. As far as I knew, she’d never been out with a guy.

  “I hear things.” She winked.

  “Let’s go,” I sighed. “We have to get going. Grandma is expected back soon.”

  “I still can’t believe she’s your grandma,” she said, shaking her head. Distracting Mel was key to get her to shut up about things you didn’t want to talk about.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t connect the last names,” I laughed.

  Her face fell. I opened the door, still laughing, and could practically hear her pouting. “I should have figured it out,” she whined.

  In the kitchen, I found Grandma and Tessi deep in conversation. Aiden was nowhere in sight, and Santos was outside watering flowers. “Hey,” I said.

  “Sadie!” Grandma said. She glided toward me, hugging me tightly. “We’re almost ready to go. Are you?”

  Lifting my bag, I nodded. “Yeah. Is Santos not coming?”

  She shook her head sadly. “He’s going to stay here with Jackson. He’s signed up for summer classes, so I told him to not worry about it.”

  “Oh,” I said. Disappointment was heavy in my voice, but I prayed no one heard it.

  “He’ll come if we need him,” she assured me. Yeah, she heard it.

  As nonchalantly as I could, I shrugged. “It’s better this way,” I argued. “I don’t want anyone else in danger.”

  She took my hand, giving me a Grandma look, and squeezed. “No one will be in danger. We’ve fought evil before and won. This time will be no different.”

  “Except that it is,” I replied. “I’m part of a prophecy. There’s no way to get out of that. These sorcerers are going to roast me.”

  She laughed loudly, earning a shocked look from all of us in the room. “No one is roasting you, Sadie Mae. You need to calm down.”

  Was my grandma really telling me to calm down right now?

  Aiden chose that moment to stroll in with his bags. “What did I miss?”

  Shoot! “Hey, Grandma,” I grinned. “Guess what? Aiden remembered everything last night.”

  Her blue eyes widened in delight as she assessed him. “What? You remember us, Aiden?”

  He nodded, giving her his most charming grin. “I do, Ms. Anna.”

  She hurried to him, engulfing him in her arms. “I was hoping it would work quickly. I’m so happy to have you back with us.”

  He patted her back, winking at me from over her shoulder. “I’m happy to be back,” he said.

  She released him, leaving an arm around his shoulders, and asked us, “When did this happen?”

  I blushed, again, much to my dismay. What was with that? Gazing away, I let Aiden answer.

  “Well, we were walking down the hall talking about going to the council last night, and Sadie was mad, and I don’t know, it all just came back to me. I remembered everything.”

  “You remembered last night and you’re just now telling me?” she asked, looking at me accusingly.

  Mel snickered, making us look even worse in Grandma’s eyes. Tessi shifted her eyes from one person to another as she quietly listened and let everything soak in.

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nbsp; “We needed sleep,” I said curtly. We’d done nothing wrong in waiting to tell her, and spending the night together wasn’t wrong, either. We were both adults now and could do as we wished.

  “Aren’t those council people waiting for you, Ms. Anna?” Aiden asked.

  She nodded, looking peeved, but kept silent. “Is everyone ready?”

  “Let me tell Santos goodbye,” I called as I rushed out the back door.

  Time stood still when I stepped outside. Everything looked the same, but it wasn’t. Santos was frozen in place, hunched over, tending to the roses. I spun around, realizing the doors were quickly fading from my sight. “What’s happening?” I screamed.

  The backyard was next, everything fading from view before my eyes. The garden, Sebastian’s tree, and even Santos were gone within seconds. I stood in a dark, cold room when it ended. The walls were black, and there seemed to be no doors. A billowing smoke snaked around my feet, which wouldn’t move. “Help!” I cried.

  A deep chuckle came from behind me, but try as I might, I couldn’t turn to see who it was.

  “Who are you?” I questioned. Forcing myself to calm, I reached deep within and tried to break the magic that bound me to this spot.

  “Why, I am you. You are me. We are the same,” he said.

  “Oh, great, a riddler,” I said under my breath. “Oh?” I asked louder. “And who am I?”

  “You are the dark sorceress,” he said pointedly.

  My heart sped up then and I forgot all about trying to unbind myself. Was this Bram?”

  “Yes,” he responded. Each time he spoke, his voice came from a different area of the room.

  “Yes, what?”

  “I am Bram. You asked the question in your mind.”

  “You can read my mind?” I hissed. “Not cool, dude.”

  “I don’t know what a dude is, but the temperature has nothing to do with this,” he said seriously.

  “What?” I asked. “I don’t speak in riddles. Can you talk like a normal person?”

  “But I’m so much more than a normal person, Sadie Tabors,” he answered. “I am one of the original sorcerers, one of the most powerful to ever exist. And I have returned thanks to my followers. Why would I speak your so called normal language when it’s obvious I am extraordinary?”

  Rolling my eyes, I groaned. “Great, I have a resurrected, cocky ass sorcerer on my hands.”

  “You are the one speaking in riddles, Sadie Tabors,” he responded. “Quit fighting me. I have much to tell you.”

  “Yeah?” I asked. “Why are you holding me hostage? And why can’t I see you? If you’re so big and powerful, what are you afraid of?”

  He chuckled, his voice rumbling and shaking the floor I was stuck to. “Sadie Tabors, don’t you know the prophecy? It is you I’m afraid of. You have the power to destroy me.”

  “Supposedly,” I said sarcastically. “How do you know it’s about me?”

  “I just know,” he said harshly. His voice moved to the front of me, calling loudly, “There are two things that can be done.”

  “And they are?”

  “You die,” he said bluntly.

  “I don’t like that option,” I replied. “Next!”

  “You join me.”

  Fighting the thoughts in my head, I struggled to keep my mind clear. He could hear my thoughts and that wasn’t something I was expecting. “Join you?” I asked. Mustering my strength, I used my power to press and surge against his. Nothing happened at first, but I kept on.

  “Yes, join me. Become one of the dark followers. Help me to rid this world of the weaklings. Become a coordinator of the Sorcerer Wars.”

  “What does a coordinator do, exactly?” I asked, hoping for more time. Magically pressing harder, I felt a crack in the bind and was able to lift my heel.

  “You would do as I say. Create the wars, the mazes, and pick the players to throw in. We’d start with your family, of course, and the last one standing would move on to the next war. We only need the best sorcerers, Sadie Tabors. If they can’t do what I wish, they don’t deserve their powers. They don’t deserve to live.”

  His voice moved again, right beside my ear this time. “Of course, our maze is set up to pull the powers from their dying bodies and transfer them to you. You’ll only become more powerful, Sadie Tabors.”

  His presence sent icy chills through me. “In my day, the Sorcerer Wars were the way of life. Only the best were allowed to live, and we thrived. Our communities never fought, never argued. We all worked together, using the most powerful magic to create anything we needed. I want that again, Sadie Tabors. This world needs that. No more hiding from mortals. They should be our slaves! They are inferior. Don’t you want to use your powers as you wish? Not compete with anyone, especially your own siblings?”

  I felt another crack and the tightness around my arms lifted. “You want me to kill my entire family and then absorb their powers?”

  “Yes,” he said. If this guy had a face, he would be smiling, I think.

  “I don’t want them to die.”

  “You will, once you accept who you are and what is to be done.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked. Shifting my eyes, I surveyed the room and saw nothing that resembled a person. Who was this crazy ass and how was I going to defeat him?

  “You’ll accept who you are and see this is the only way. These things will come to pass whether you join me or not, Sadie Tabors. Will you join me in Clorva?”

  Clorva? “Uhh is that code for something dirty?” I asked.

  “Clorva, the sorcery realm,” he answered exasperated.

  There’s a sorcery realm? There are other realms in this world? Why didn’t I know about them?

  “Yes, yes, I don’t know,” he responded.

  Dammit. I forgot he could hear me. “I don’t know, Bram. Do I have time to think on it?”

  “Not much,” he revealed. “The other five will be woken soon. And then, we will begin.”

  “How do I find you?” I asked.

  “Only you can unlock Clorva. Don’t run to your council or anyone for help; you are the key. Once you accept yourself, and accept your deepest secret, you will find your way.”

  I fell forward as the air around me began to shift and change back to Grandma’s yard. The tree came into view, followed by the grass and flowers, then Santos still in the same position. The house appeared as a fog seemed to lift, and everyone was in the same spot as before. The air around me grew thick and I couldn’t breathe as it all swirled and took shape.

  Clutching my throat, I gasped for air and finally heard Santos call my name in a panic. My face fell into the soft grass and I finally felt the fresh air rush to my lungs. Santos hovered above me, shaking me and screaming my name.

  I couldn’t talk, couldn’t move. Bram was after me, after my family, and only I could save them. He wanted me, or he’d kill me. I had no choice in this situation. Finding this Clorva place was a must, and only I could go. I would fight Bram, and whomever he brought with him, and save those I loved dearly.

  There was no other way. He wanted them dead. He wanted me dead. The best thing I took from this visit was his power wasn’t too strong for me. The binds he used to hold me were strong, but I was stronger.

  Bram could be defeated.