He shook his head and poured himself another cup of coffee, while I discreetly dabbed at the corners of my eyes with a napkin when he wasn’t looking.
I wasn’t sure if I could trust myself to say anything, so I just stared out the living room’s enormous bay window to the crystal sea beyond.
But Dad wasn’t finished just yet. He set his mug down, his voice wistful. “Once you’ve known true love, real, true-to-the-soul, once-in-a lifetime love, there ain’t no movin’ on from that. It keeps you hostage ‘til the day you die. Because there’s nothin’ like it, nothin’ even close. It’s like…magic. Like bein’ under the best spell you can think of. Better even. And you don’t never wanna be out from under it. You just wanna stay there forever.”
He fixed his gaze on me, and if I hadn’t been sitting down at that moment, the sheer amount of love I felt radiating from him would’ve knocked me to the ground. “I hope one day you find that kinda magic, Calista. I truly do. There’s nothin’ I want more for ya. It’s what makes life worth livin’, even if it’s only for a short time.”
I don’t know how my heart managed to stay together in one piece as I listened to my dad’s completely unexpected speech. I’d always known he had a bit of a romantic side hidden underneath his gruff exterior, but what he’d just bared to me was the most gut-wrenchingly honest thing I’d ever heard. I didn’t have to be an Empath to know without a doubt that he truly believed my mother was dead. And in his heart, he truly believed I was his flesh and blood.
I’d never felt more like his daughter than I did at that very moment.
Chapter 7. Happy
It was unusually warm for an early January morning on the coast. By the time I was done with breakfast, the marine layer had burned off giving way to a clear, Caribbean-blue sky. The air was brisk, more like an autumn day than a mid-winter one.
As I made my way up the cobblestone path that led from my cottage to Ana’s grand mansion, I paused to take in the beautiful scene below. The turquoise waves crashed onto the piles of jagged gray rocks, and rhythmically slid back and forth on the sparkly beige sand.
I knew I shouldn’t… I knew Ana was waiting for me, and I was going to be late for school. But I did it anyway. I veered off the path and down the slope towards the beach, admiring the way the dew-covered grass glistened as if sprinkled with gold fairy dust.
When I reached the shore and made my way to the water’s edge, I was brought back to the first time I had come down here. It was the day after Dad and I had arrived at Ana’s, and before I knew the truth about what I really was.
If I could go back… if I could unlearn everything I now knew, from my mom really being alive, to my dad not being who I thought he was, to the fact that I was a witch, and that I caused a dear friend to suffer so much from his Hunter curse… if I could go back in time and undo it, would I? Would I sacrifice the good things to spare myself the pain of the bad?
I kicked at a shell embedded in the sand, and chastised myself for even entertaining such a ridiculous notion. That would be like trying to unscramble an egg. How could I possibly forget all that and live…? Live without Lily and Sophie?
Live without Nicholas?
As if on cue, I heard a dog bark. I looked up. Far ahead a lone figure, barely more than a speck, stood on the shore, while a black dog ran around in aimless circles.
Even from a thousand feet away, Nicholas could still make my skin tingle and my breath catch in my throat.
I knew he was looking at me, just as I knew he knew I was looking at him. Our connection spanned the vast distance as if it were mere inches. How badly I wanted him to shimmer over here, just for a moment. But of course he couldn’t. Not without breaking Ana’s protection spell and possibly alerting the sentries. Of course, he could just shimmer away to safety, but if we wanted my plan to work it was probably best not to start off the day by antagonizing her.
I glanced back up at her house. The mighty fortress stood looming and overbearing, beckoning me to it. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I needed to face Ana and clear this whole mess up.
Because I didn’t think I could take all of this much longer.
*****
Aromas rivaling the finest bakery greeted me before I’d even opened the kitchen door. Delilah was removing what appeared to be pans of bread from the side-by-side ovens. She turned around and gave me a quick disinterested glance as she flipped the hot loaves onto a wire rack.
“Mornin’, chile. Fresh pumpkin and banana-nut bread here for you once they gets done coolin’.”
I paused in my tracks. Even though I’d already eaten, my mouth watered. “Dee, I gotta know. All your food tastes so unbelievably amazing, better than I ever knew any food could taste. Is it all magic? Or do you just have really good recipes?”
She smiled and gave a laugh that sounded like a dying car horn. “A great chef never reveals her secrets. You want some cocoa?”
“Don’t know how I’d make it through the day without some,” I answered with a grin. If she was going to act like nothing crazy had happened here the past few days, then so was I.
A few minutes later, I was carrying two steaming mugs to the sunroom. Ana sat facing the ocean, her back erect.
“Good morning, Calista,” she said quietly, and without turning around as I entered.
I set one of the mugs down on the glass table. “Morning, Ana.” I took a seat and tried to insulate myself from the feelings coming from her side of the room. Within seconds my chest felt like it had a stack of bricks on it, and my stomach was churning and twisted. It was all I could do not to get up and find someplace to vomit.
Ana sat still as a statue, staring off at the horizon as if waiting for a long lost ship to appear. I slowly sipped some cocoa, and tried to deflect her intense emotions.
We stayed like this for some time – me quietly drinking and hoping to keep it down, her staring out the window in insufferable silence. Finally, it dawned on me that she was waiting for me to speak first.
I cleared my throat and gripped my mug tight. “Um, you wanted to see me? I don’t have a lot of time if I don’t want to be late for school–”
“You aren’t going to school today. Not this morning, at least,” she replied, her voice low and steady. Still, she did not turn around.
I stared at her back for a few moments more. “Do you want to talk, or should I come back another time?”
Slowly she turned and faced me.
Then, from out of nowhere, a force of a thousand swords suddenly came tearing through my chest, mercilessly ripped out my heart, and stabbed it to pieces. I gasped and dropped the glass mug, and didn’t even notice as it shattered on the ceramic tile.
The unspeakable agony stormed through me like a tornado. My body seized up and convulsed, as if I were being electrocuted. There was a scream coming from somewhere. Was it me? No… I was in too much pain to yell out for help. Finally I collapsed, my body slamming head-first though the glass coffee table.
I writhed on the floor, as the glass that had already shredded my flesh ground itself in deeper. But the external agony was nothing compared to the indescribable torture coursing through my soul. My blood was like wicked acid, burning a hole in my chest where my heart had once been. Where my everything had been.
I couldn’t breathe; the pain was too intense. I gasped for air. I couldn’t even think.
“P-please h-help me… h-elp… Oh, God!”
I was only vaguely aware of Ana kneeling next to me, chanting some words I couldn’t understand.
I knew I was dying. There was no way any human could survive this amount of suffering, magical or not. We weren’t built to endure this. It wasn’t possible. My insides had been hollowed out and replaced with a devastating ache that only grew larger and stronger with each breath I took. The torture consumed my every thought, as if my own body and mind had turned against me and was trying to destroy me.
“Help! Please stop!” It took all my strength to cry out, and my voice was s
hallow and weak. Blood mixed with the hot tears on my face, and pooled around me in a sticky puddle. A fresh wave of searing white-hot pain ripped through me and my body jerked in violent spasms, carving my skin with millions of tiny glass daggers. Death would be a welcome relief from my suffering, and soon I was begging for it.
“I want to die… Let me die… please just kill me!” I sobbed as Ana pressed her hand on my head and chanted some more. I didn’t care that she was murdering me. I only wanted it to be over.
“Just let me die… I want to die,” I whimpered.
My lungs closed up, and I could no longer draw breath. My heart stopped beating. As my life force drained away and the darkness surrounded me, I knew my excruciating agony would soon be over.
And I was happy.
Chapter 8. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
A dull buzzing sounded in the distance. Someone was speaking, but I couldn’t make out any words. Suddenly, I was whooshing through a tunnel, first cold, then hot, then cold again. I pressed up to the surface, trying to catch my breath.
“She’s coming around,” I heard a voice say.
Sophie?
“She’s opening her eyes. Calista, can you hear me? Wake up.”
Lily?
My body tingled and prickled, the way my foot feels when it falls asleep. But this sensation was everywhere.
“What happened… where am I?” My voice was hoarse, and my eyes were seeing three of everything. I struggled to focus. Was I on the burgundy couch in the magical third floor room? But how did I get up here? And where did Lily and Sophie come from?
“Callie, you’re going to be all right, ‘kay?” Sophie cooed. “But right now my mom needs to Heal you some more. Just lie there and relax. Everything is going to be okay.”
Why was she talking to me like I was a small child? And why were my hands covered in so much blood?
I closed my eyes as lightning daggers of pain shot through my broken skull. My face and hands stung like I’d been sliced with acid-covered razor blades.
“Nicholas,” I moaned. “I need Nicholas…”
I felt a soft hand on my arm, and I half-opened an eye to see a pleasant-faced woman kneeling down beside me. “Hello, dear,” Mrs. Daniels said with a bright smile. “I see we’ve had ourselves a bit of an accident. Let’s get you fixed up right quick now.” She closed her eyes and raised her plump hands to my face.
“Get Nicholas,” I moaned again.
But they were either ignoring my requests or didn’t care. But soon, the sensation of warm honey spread over my forehead and cheeks, and along the side of my skull. At one point the heat became almost unbearable, but then it faded.
“Now, dear, how do you feel?” Mrs. Daniels asked.
I sat up, lucid now. The pain was gone, but I was utterly bewildered.
What the HELL had just happened?!
My eyes darted around the room. Lily and Sophie stood off to the side, holding hands and staring at me with concern. Mrs. Daniels was scrutinizing me with curious apprehension.
Ana was nowhere in sight.
“How are you feeling?” Lily whispered, as she and Sophie cautiously walked over to me.
“Are you okay?” Sophie sat down and grasped my hand, but I pulled away. I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands, unable to believe the memories that came flooding back… the indescribable torture… hurting so bad I begged for death. And then feeling that I actually was dying.
“No, I am not okay,” I said, my voice flat and hollow. “Ana just tried to kill me! How do you think I feel?” I looked at the three of them in a numbed state of shock.
Mrs. Daniels frowned and made a quiet clucking noise, while Lily just stared, horrified. Sophie vehemently shook her head.
“Is that what you think happened?” she asked in disbelief. “You think Ana tried to kill you? On purpose?”
A slow fear crept through me as I spoke the words aloud. “Absolutely. You weren’t there… you don’t know what happened… what I went through.” Although I felt fine now, I shuddered at the memory. Being attacked by Justin was nothing compared to what Ana had done. She obviously wanted me dead. But why?
“Oh no, you mustn’t think that!” Sophie protested. “She saved you! You did have an episode… a really horrible one. But she helped you. If she hadn’t done a stunning spell on you and gotten my mother here in time…” She stopped talking, and her lip quivered. I’d never seen her look so distraught before.
I glanced around again, just to make sure Ana wasn’t hiding somewhere. The magical third floor room had always held a special place in my heart, but now I just wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Find my dad and leave this place forever.
“Where’s Ana?” I asked. “Lily, shimmer me back to my room. I’m not safe here.”
Lily shook her head. “We came here because this is the strongest magical spot around. It’s the only place that can… hold you. Until Ana and the others can find a way to help you…”
“Hold me? Help me? What is going on?” My temper began to flare. I felt like I’d been plopped down in the middle of a movie and had no idea what was happening.
Mrs. Daniels stepped forward and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Calista, dear, no one was trying to hurt you. Something did happen, but it was not malicious. It did catch Ana off guard, though, and for that she is quite distressed. She is staying away for now until she can find a way to help protect you. And in the meantime, she wanted you to stay here. It’s for your own safety. The forces in this room will help keep you balanced and safeguard against any potential episodes.”
I shook my head. “What do you mean ‘episodes’? I’m not a TV show! You guys are talking around me, not to me. If Ana didn’t try to kill me, or if someone didn’t poison my cocoa, then what happened to me?”
Sophie glanced from Lily, to me, to her mother. “Mom, I think we got this. Why don’t you go downstairs and tell everyone she’s okay? Lily and I will take care of her.”
Mrs. Daniels gave a hesitant nod, then placed a concerned hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure you’re feeling physically fine, sweetheart? No more bumps or aches anywhere?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I mumbled. “And thanks.” I noticed the copious amounts of fresh blood on my sweater, and couldn’t even begin to imagine what I looked like right now. The deep cuts from where I had ground my face and hands into the glass were all healed up, but the blood stains remained. How fitting.
As soon as Mrs. Daniels closed the door, I turned to Lily. “I don’t care what she said. I don’t want to be here. I want to go home…” My voice trailed off, and I let out a sad, sarcastic chuckle. Home. Where was that anymore?
Lily was firm. “We can’t. It’s for your own good right now. We don’t know what you might tune into, and you really did almost die earlier. Scared Ana to death!”
I shook my head, more confused than ever. “What happened then? If Ana didn’t try to kill me, who or what did?”
Lily and Sophie gave each other a long glance, then Sophie said quietly, “Actually, the only person who tried to kill you… was you.”
I rolled my eyes and flopped back on the couch. “Please. I’m not in the mood right now.”
“She’s serious,” Lily said.
I shook my head. “I don’t care what Ana told you. I am not suicidal, and I most certainly did not try to kill myself. Ana did something to me.”
“That’s partly true… she kind of did,” Sophie agreed. “But you actually did something quite remarkable. And really horrible at the same time. This morning, you ‘tuned in’ to Ana. All her pain, her suffering, the torment she’s felt all these years over losing her husband and her daughter, all of the internal agony she has stored away in her soul… you tapped into it, and it flooded your system.”
“It was your Empath powers,” Lily continued. “You felt everything that Ana has been feeling over the past sixteen or so years. But you felt it condensed, all at once.”
I looked b
ack and forth at them like they were insane. “But how is that possible? How do you know that’s what happened?”
“Ana could feel it happening, but it was too late and she couldn’t stop it. And then you were begging for your own death, and with your powers at such a peak, you started to actually make it happen. Ana was able to throw a blocking spell down at the last second and save you, but damn girl, you need to be careful what you wish for!”
“She said your heart had stopped, and you weren’t breathing for a few minutes,” Lily added.
I gasped. I really had almost died? Like, literally? As ludicrous as it was, I started to laugh.
“Okay, let me get this straight. You’re saying that what happened to me in the sunroom with Ana, the pain that ripped through me in a way I can’t even describe with words from the English language… that was just me feeling her emotional suffering?”
They both nodded.
“And then, when I was hurting so much I wanted to die, me wanting to die almost made me actually die?”
They nodded again.
“Your Empath powers go both ways. You can project just as much as you absorb. You ever heard of the term ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’? When an Empath is tuned in, she can make almost anything she wants to happen, happen,” Lily explained.
“So like I said, be careful what you wish for.” There was a hint of a smile on Sophie’s face, but her eyes were all serious.
I shook my head again. “You know that sounds completely insane,” I muttered, even though it was eerily similar to what Nicholas had told me yesterday.
Sophie shrugged. “Actually, it’s the opposite of insane. It’s normal… for an Empath. We just didn’t know how strong you were already. Usually, an Empathy witch wouldn’t have that type of power until after she’d received her Rings. So when you suddenly did, it caught everyone a bit off guard.”
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