“Right. Let me see if I can get permission first and then we’ll go. This is the best birthday present ever,” I shrieked. I thought I had said something remotely like it once before.
I grabbed my cat suit out of the closet and inconspicuously walked into the bathroom with it. In there I put it on, just as they had told me. I breathed slowly and thought hard about what I wanted: To go to the alternate universe to see my parents just this once. The hood of the suit tightened around my head until it squeezed my temples. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right but a few seconds later I heard a scratching sound. I instinctively held my hand up to my ear and the voice came in loud and clear.
“Lexi Blane, your request to travel to the alternate universe for a brief pleasure excursion is hereby granted. You are to stay in the New York metropolitan area and you will return in six hours our time or two days in AU time. You are to remember the laws and your training at all times. This is not a mission and will not be treated as one. Enjoy yourself, Ms. Blane.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Chace and even the Commission said they didn’t really allow this sort of thing. I bet it’s because of Chace. He probably had something to do with their decision. He knows how hard it’s been on me to deal with the loss of my parents, along with everything else I’ve been doled out lately. I’d have to thank him immensely as soon as I could.
I ran out of the bathroom, knocking William off his feet. “I can’t believe it, I can go!” I screamed. “They’re letting me go but I have to be back here in six hours. That’s plenty of time! I can’t wait to see my mom and dad! I have to call Chace and thank him. I know he had something to do with this!”
“Lex, wait. You should probably just thank him in the morning. After all, it’s pretty late and I’m sure he’s not going to be so thrilled that you’re with me. Why not spare him the gory details? He’s going to worry about you riding off into the sunset with me. You don’t want the poor guy to be up worrying all night now, do you?” he laughed. I knew he wasn’t really concerned about Chace. He was just worried about how I would feel if Chace got hurt. William was more than understanding, now that all of our secrets were out in the open. My intuition told me that he was trying to win me over with kindness.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of it that way. But I feel like I’m sneaking around. I have to—”
“Sneaking around? Really? Why? You’ve been inducted into the gifted community. There is no ‘sneaking around.’ He knows you can travel and he probably even had something to do with the Commission letting you go. And besides, what if I’m right, which I know I am, that he wants to exercise total control over you. You’re going to give that to him?”
Ouch! That was the soft spot. No one controlled me. I was way too stubborn to let that happen. He had a pretty good point, though. It was a brief trip; I’d be back before morning and I could tell him all about it then. The decision was made.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I don’t really want to have a run-in with him now, especially since my time is limited. Let’s go.”
“I think we should move your car just as a precaution. If your aunt wakes up and sees it missing, she’ll be worried.”
“Good idea. Let’s drive it down to Butler’s Pantry. They’re open all night.”
“We can leave from there, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know.”
“You can travel from anywhere. Didn’t they tell you that?”
“Oh shit! It was probably in the manual! I didn’t read it!”
“No time now, Lex. I’ll fill you in on the way. Those laws are stamped in my brain and I can recite them at will. Let’s get moving. Time is ticking.”
William rolled the car away from the house just in case Aunt Fay would hear it start. We jumped in a few hundred feet away from the house and drove out the gate. I felt a little like a criminal, but it was actually kind of fun. In a matter of two minutes, we were in the parking lot of Butler’s Pantry. I shut off the car and looked worriedly at William.
“I’m a little afraid,” I said softly. “I don’t know why but I just have a very weird feeling right now.”
“Oh, you mean like an ability coming in?” he asked.
“No, not like that. It’s just a feeling that I shouldn’t go.”
“Why are you doing this to yourself? The Commission said it was okay and they may not allow it again anytime soon, if ever. Chace probably knows already and he might have even done this for you. After all you’ve been through, don’t you think you deserve this? The Commission does. But if you really feel that strongly, we don’t have to go. I can give your parents a message for you. Want to do that instead?”
I thought for a brief minute. “No! I’m just being ridiculous. Of course I wouldn’t let this opportunity pass me by! I’m ready. What do I do?”
William jerked his head as a signal for me to get out of the car. He reached for my hand and we stood there in the darkness of the night. As I looked up at my amazing dream man, he said, “Just remember, Lex. Regardless of what happens from this point on, I do love you with every shred of my soul.”
“What? That’s really trippy, William. What could happen? Now I’m getting nervous again.”
“No, no don’t. I didn’t mean anything about tonight, I just meant, you know, as far as Chace and that whole conversation we had a little while ago.”
“Oh, that,” I snickered lightly. “I know you love me. That was never a question.”
He drew me in and kissed me so deeply, it brought me back to that first kiss by the lake in London. In all of our visits, I never felt him quite so ‘in the flesh.’
“Wow! That was nice!” I said. I ran my fingers through his hair, always one of my favorite pastimes.
“Ready, love?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Okay then, hold my hand. Focus on being in your parents’ house with them right now. Gather your will as you do when using your gifts. Focus, breathe, relax.”
I peeked out of one eye in the hope of seeing exactly how we travel. I quickly opened both eyes and saw my reflection in my flower-framed mirror that stood in my bedroom in New York.
William was still holding my hand. He looked over at me and smiled bright. “You did it, love! We’re here! Now, let’s go see your parents!”
I jumped on him in a big bear hug, as if it were all his doing. I knew it wasn’t, but it just felt like the thing to do in that moment. He hugged me tightly and whispered, “Remember, Lexi, I always have and always will love you with all that I am.”
“Back at ya baby,” I said as we shared a quick peck and ran for the door.
Chapter 21
Even the Sweetest Things Can Sour
“Mom, Dad! I’m home!” I screamed and headed for the stairs. I felt the floor beneath me shake with my rapid thuds.
“Lexi!” My mother shrieked. We met at the end of the stairs and jumped into each other’s arms. “Oh my baby, you’re here! I can’t believe it! We missed you so much, honey,” Mom said as she held me tight in her grasp and kissed me over and over.
“Oh, Mom, I missed you so much! It’s so good to be back! It’s been awful without you,” I cried.
We stood there for a few minutes just hugging one another. It felt so good to be in my mother’s embrace again. We didn’t have to talk. We both felt the intense emotion being exuded by the other. No one ever gets a second chance like this. I was beyond lucky.
“Did you call me?” I heard my father yell from downstairs.
“James! Get up here quick! Hurry!” my mother shouted.
Dad flew up the stairs, probably thinking something was wrong and stopped dead in his tracks. “Lexi! Oh God, it’s you!” he cried as he extended his arms. I ran into them as I had done throughout my entire life. They were safe, secure and had a comforting quality like no one else’s arms. “Daddy! I miss you so much!” I sobbed.
“Oh, honey, you have no idea how much we have missed you! Not a day went by that we didn’t th
ink of you at least a hundred times! Oh, my sweetness! I can’t tell you how I...” Dad’s voice tapered off as he blinked his tears away. He held me and my mother for a few more minutes, before either one of them realized William was in the room.
“William!” my father shrieked. “My good man, come over here!” William sprinted over to our huddle and we all embraced for a very long time. Sobs, hugs and smiles were exchanged. “Happy birthday, honey,” Mom cried. “Yes, happy birthday to you, Lexi” Dad joined in. “What a wonderful gift that we could be together on your special day.”
We carried the celebration into the family room while my mother ordered a bunch of stuff for us to eat. “I didn’t want to miss a minute so I won’t be cooking, or even making coffee while you’re here!” She laughed at her attempt at a joke. “William, I owe you my life,” she said as she held my hands and looked over at William. My father nodded in agreement. “We are so thankful and it’s all because of you that she’s here. We should have listened to you sooner, son. Thank you for giving us our daughter back.”
“No thanks necessary. Lexi was able to do it by herself. She didn’t need me.”
“How can that be? Unless...” My father turned his eyes to me. “You’re a gifted one? How? You could only get that gene from a gifted parent. We’re not gifted.”
“Actually, Dad, you are. Or mom is. Not everyone who is gifted has their abilities come to the surface. I was just one of the lucky ones. I may not have ever found out if I hadn’t had Chace to help me figure it all out. You or Mom could have had them and didn’t know it. If you don’t acknowledge them, they go away and never come back.”
“Chace? He helped you? He’s gifted, too?” my mother asked.
“He’s one of the top bananas!” I giggled. “He’s been so helpful in teaching me how to use my gifts.”
“What are they, honey?” Mom asked as she poured some tea for us.
“Well, I can travel to this universe. All gifted ones can do that.”
“Wait a minute. Does this mean that you didn’t have to go to the defectors then, William?”
“No, no I didn’t. I wouldn’t have even suggested that if I had known she was gifted. You can sleep easy now, knowing you don’t have to look over your shoulder, James.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I can’t tell you what a struggle that was for us. We didn’t want to go to those extremes, Lexi. We didn’t really know what we were dealing with or what we could have been in for. We just didn’t want to be without you and we were ready to keep you with us at any cost.”
“I know, Dad. I’m glad it didn’t have to come to that, but I would have understood if it did.”
“It’s a good thing William is gifted, too!” Mom piped up. “If he hadn’t found out, we would have been all wrapped up with defectors and who knows what would have happened!”
“Hey, you know I never did ask you. When did you find out you were gifted?” I asked William.
“Right after you left, actually. When we were in the Bahamas I was trying to get information on defectors who would work with me to bring you back here. But right after fate sent you back to your world, my gifts surfaced,” he answered quickly.
“Oh, who cares? It’s just so wonderful to have you back here, sweetheart!” Dad remarked as he gave me a big squeeze.
“Wait. If your fate was to go back to that world, then why were you allowed to come here? Are you doing something illegal?” The seriousness in my mother’s voice was almost as worrisome as the look on her face.
“No, Mom, it’s okay. I’m allowed to be here, but it’s only a visit. I can’t stay,” I said. Her smile slowly faded when she realized I wasn’t back for good.
“You can’t stay?” Mom started to get a little teary and it felt like a knife in my chest. I blamed myself for all her anguish. “Will we ever see you again after this? How long will you be here?” she asked as she smudged her eyes with her hands.
I put my arm around her and rested my head on her shoulder. “I’m only here for a few days. I don’t know when I can come back. I’m with Aunt Fay and although we miss you an awful lot, we’re doing okay. I needed to let you know how much I loved and missed you both. Most people never get a chance like this. It’s a gift to have these few days.”
“It is a gift,” Mom agreed. “I can’t ask for anything more than to know you are well and living a good life. That’s all I ever wanted for you—to be happy. We’ll be together again, sometime, somewhere, I know. Let’s not waste the time we have by worrying about when we’ll see each other again. Let’s enjoy the here and now.”
It hurt so bad to tell my parents that I didn’t know if I would see them again. I didn’t want to keep secrets, but I couldn’t tell them of my plan with William since I wasn’t so sure if that’s what I was going to do anymore. Nothing would have made me happier than staying in this universe with them. But there was a reason fate sent me back. I just didn’t know what it was.
“So, tell us about it, honey,” Dad said excitedly. “What cool things are you able to do?” he laughed.
“Well, I’m not really sure of everything yet, but I do have some pretty awesome talents! Thanks to you! Or Mom! Or both of you!” I chuckled. “I can travel, you know that. But I can also throw fire and jump really high, I’m not sure how high yet, but the highest so far was about thirty feet. I can protect myself with a force field which can also fire barbed spikes, and a few other things.”
“What other things?” William interceded.
“Oh, just some other stuff that’s not quite perfect yet,” I said. The truth was I didn’t really feel like talking about it. It wasn’t nearly as important as catching up with my parents.
“Aw, c’mon, Lex. You know you can tell us now that we’re here. I know in your world it’s all hush-hush, but here you’re safe to say whatever you want. There’s no information that would be considered classified here,” he pushed.
That uneasy feeling I had when we were leaving my world suddenly crept back. I wished Chace were there to help me figure out what it was. It wasn’t the same feeling I got when accepting an ability. I was sure of it. But in all of my conversations with Chace and the Commission, no one ever mentioned any other weird sensations. I was tense, to say the least. William was pressing me hard to tell him what my gifts were and I didn’t like it. I didn’t belong there. Inasmuch as I was loving the reunion, I knew I didn’t belong there.
I ignored William’s interrogation and changed the subject. It was getting late and I didn’t want to waste the precious time I had been given. I wasn’t tired, but given the time difference, I could see that my parents were fighting to stay awake.
“You guys look exhausted. You should rest for a while.”
“No!” my mother quickly snapped. “We don’t want to miss a minute. We’ll stay up the whole time you’re here.”
“For two days? Mom, you can’t be serious.”
“We’ll alternate naps if we have to. We’re so excited to be with you, how can we possibly sleep?”
William hadn’t left my side since the minute we got there so it was very noticeable when he abruptly left the room without saying anything. When he returned a few minutes later, he reassured me all was well and that he was just getting some water. The blood drained from my face. Earlier, my mother had put pitchers of water and tea on the coffee table in plain view. He didn’t leave for water. That was nothing short of a lie. Something must have gone wrong with this little excursion and he knew it. Maybe the Commission found out I was with him and now we were both in trouble.
The doorbell rang and I jumped at the opportunity to get him alone. “William, let’s go make more tea while Mom and Dad get the door.”
“Sure,” he said.
My mother went to answer the door while my dad went to change the music. I practically dragged William into the kitchen.
“You didn’t go for water. It was right there in front of you. What were you doing?” I demanded.
He knew I was o
n to something. I could feel it. It could have been that plain old intuition again, but I was starting to become convinced that I had some sort of energy reading ability, too. I hesitated when we left because of the same feeling and now I was certain I shouldn’t have come. William was up to no good.
“I just didn’t see it, love. It’s not a big deal, so don’t get yourself in a tizzy over it,” he shot with the sting of a pissed off scorpion.
I was taken aback by his minimizing my concern. He never spoke to me in that way or in that tone. I would have sworn I was talking to someone else. William was never sarcastic or condescending. He never instigated an argument—in fact, he always defused one when he saw it coming. I started to wonder if something changed in the traveling process. I felt the same, but I was sure he wasn’t the same guy who’d left the parking lot with me.
“Tizzy? I’m not in a tizzy! I’m just fed up with the secrecy. I thought we were done with that. You don’t have to tell me what you were doing and, quite honestly, I don’t give a shit, but don’t treat me like an imbecile! You weren’t getting water; you’re full of it. Now, was this really worth breaking my trust for, because that’s exactly what you just did!” I exploded.
“Lexi, let’s just make the tea, shall we?”
“Shut up, William. The more you try to divert, the deeper you dig your hole,” I hissed.
He grabbed me by the elbows and spun me around in one quick motion. “Lex. Please. Don’t do this. I know you’re not stupid. I was only texting some friends to let them know we were back. That’s all.”
“Really?” I asked sarcastically. “So what the hell was the big secret with that?”
“A text came in while we were talking with your parents. It would have been rude to whip out the phone and start responding. So I did what any normal person would do and left the room. It’s just a misunderstanding. Please don’t be upset with me, Lex. I don’t ever want you to be upset with me.”
I looked him deep in the eyes without responding. It was a crock, no question about it. I didn’t know how to contact Chace, but I wished desperately that I could. He was the only one who would know how to navigate through this without mucking it up.
The Dragonfly Prophecy Page 19