Half an hour later, I was at home. My clutch bag was still in Loony’s car; he’d probably cursed me off by now. It was all Nathaniel’s fault—if it weren't for him, I wouldn’t have to worry about my magic; I could have practice sessions with my grandmother.
I stripped and had a bath, hoping to take my thoughts off the mind-blowing orgasm that Nathaniel gave me in his lift. I leaned down and closed my eyes; the intensive whizzing in my brain finally gone. Relaxed, it wasn't long before I dozed off, falling into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, I wasn't in the bath anymore, but in my own bed. The static that used to cover my arms wasn't there anymore. All the lights were off, and it was dark outside. I didn’t remember getting out of the bath. There was movement near me and I froze, startled. Someone was in my room.
"Shh, it’s only me," a familiar voice said on my right.
I brought my covers up to my chin. "How did you get in here?"
"Your neighbour let me in and your door was unlocked," he said. "You probably would’ve drowned if I hadn't brought you to bed."
"I told you to stay away from me," I whispered.
"Why are you so adamant to cut all the ties? I want you back and I promise that I’ll make more of an effort this time around."
"Nathaniel, I can’t do this right now. I have something more important to worry about other than you." Anger laced my tone.
"Which is?"
"Rufus has been kidnapped. He vanished a few weeks ago," I shouted.
He didn’t move. "I heard rumours," he admitted.
"Yes, his car was found in a ditch. He struggled, and there were traces of magic near the scene. Yesterday, I found out he was about to meet Fiorillo from StaffSpell, our rivals. I couldn't believe it; he would never do anything like that."
I had to pour out the frustration that had been growing within me over the past few days.
"Just calm down and tell me what you know."
"That’s all I know. Paranormal Personnel made a shit tonne more money signing up with you. Rufus holds all the information about the agency. The troll branch manager of StaffSpell told me he was willing to talk to him, but I don’t believe that Rufus would sell us out."
"You think you know people, but this is not always the case."
"Rufus is good person; he wouldn’t do that!" I insisted.
"Does your father have any suspects?"
"No, but we don’t have to look far. I’m sure McGregor is behind this," I fumed.
"Possibly. He was the one who owned the human club where he drained fairies and elves."
"What? That club belonged to him?"
"Yeah, he doesn’t like that I’m making money. We can’t be sure, but the fire in the agency wasn't just an accident. McGregor obviously thought once he cut the number of workers I was getting, production would stop, and I would start losing money."
"Rufus has nothing to do with this."
"He has information and you ruined McGregor’s business. He doesn’t like it when things don't go his way," Nathaniel said, sounding tense.
"I would never forgive myself if something happens to Rufus because of me."
"Now you understand why I left. People will use the fact that you’re close to me," he explained. "Now it doesn’t matter; I need to be close to you—I don’t want to lose you."
His eyes drifted away from my face and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. I partly understood that he wanted to protect me, but his decisions were inexcusable.
"Nathaniel, now isn’t a good time for this kind of conversation."
"Julia, we can’t be apart. We have a strong connection and I want to gain your trust again."
"This connection is just lust and sex; too many other things keep us apart."
“You're naked and I can’t fucking think straight." He growled, getting up. I shivered and swallowed hard. Memories from the elevator were rolling through my mind’s eye. “I'm leaving before I do something I’ll regret later."
"Wait, what happened to Loony? Was he upset?"
Nathaniel’s lips twitched. "I told him that you weren't feeling well, and you had to go home."
"Oh, my God…he probably thinks I’m a total freak."
"He isn’t for you, Julia. The quicker he realises this, the better off he will be."
"You can’t know who’s good for me and who isn’t. At least he doesn’t have commitment issues."
Using his vampire speed, he was beside me again; his face only inches away from mine.
"You can’t even imagine how much you’re turning me on." His voice was a husky whisper. My stomach lurched but I didn’t dare move; this had already gone too far. My nipples hardened, and desire whisked through me again, but this time I didn’t have to worry about my uncontrollable magic.
"We’re not going to have sex," I whispered. "Not anytime soon."
“I'll show you that you’re important to me," he said as he stood. “I'll look into Rufus’s disappearance."
Then he was gone before I could tell him to go to hell. I found my clutch bag at the end of the bed and picked up my phone. Loony called a few times, probably wanting to know if I was all right. Nausea hit me when I thought about the evening, the people in Nathaniel’s building probably thinking I was some call girl.
I dropped back on the pillow, thinking about the complicated situation with Nathaniel. It was hard to admit, but he was right; we had a strong connection and we couldn't stay away from each other. He wanted to fix his mistake and be with me again.
Could I really be stupid enough to consider his proposition?
My inner voice kept reminding me about the time he had left my apartment over a month ago, telling me that he couldn’t be with me. That had hurt tremendously. Now he was trying to put a bandage on it by saying he wanted to protect me, but he never asked me for my opinion.
It was late when I called Loony, but I needed to apologise to him. After what had happened with Nathaniel, I had to tell him I wasn't ready to commit to another relationship. He didn’t try to convince me otherwise. Things stirred when Nathaniel was around, and Loony noticed. Everyone else did, too.
Chapter 10
Lost friendship.
An annoying buzzing woke me in the morning. I tried to ignore it for several minutes, but whoever was calling didn’t plan to stop, so I cursed and pressed the phone to my ear.
"What?"
"Julia, oh, my God, I’m so glad that you picked up. I have to see you right now," Ella screamed in my ear. I pulled the phone away from my face and rolled to the other side.
"Ella," I began, "I was sleeping, it’s really early…"
“I'm freaking out, Julia. I need to see you," she continued. I muttered, saying that I had to be at work soon, but she didn’t listen and hung up. I doubted she would show up at my apartment that early. She wasn't a morning person either and, knowing Ella, I suspected that her crisis had something to do with work, her nails, or a new man that she just started dating. Instead of worrying about her, I went back to sleep.
It wasn't long before I heard a loud bang in my apartment. A few seconds later, Ella barged into my bedroom.
"Julia! I think I’m going crazy," she yelled, pacing around the room. I yawned and got up, wondering what was going on. It took me a moment to notice that Ella didn’t look right. She was pale, her hair was untidy, and she didn’t have any make up on.
"Ella, calm down and start from the beginning," I told her while I put on my dressing robe and sat back down on the bed. The clock in the bedroom was showing seven o’clock in the morning.
"Do you remember when I told you a few weeks ago that I remembered something from that night when I was supposed to be at home?"
"Yes," I said quickly, already having a bad feeling about this. Ella couldn’t possibly remember what had happened to her.
"In the past few weeks I keep having flashes of bright light."
"Ella, maybe you’re tired. You’ve been working so hard and—"
"No,
" she said, cutting me off. “I'm not tired. I ignored those flashes and odd memories until yesterday."
I shifted on my bed, afraid to ask her what happened yesterday.
"Mum asked me to take out the trash. I was just about to go back into the house when I saw an older guy talking to a cat," she hissed. "Then this cat turned into another human!"
My stomach turned, and I wondered if I could cast a spell that would calm her down, but I didn’t want to play with magic. Ella was my best friend and I couldn’t use her as my guinea pig.
"Are you sure that’s what you really saw?"
"I know this sounds crazy, Julia, but I’m not lying," she moaned. "Then yesterday at work, I swear to you I saw a vampire in the changing room."
"Ella, vampires don’t exist," I said, but my voice was uneasy.
"Well, this woman was pale, and I saw her fangs. After she left, I went to talk to Christina, and she had a bite mark on her neck. We finished late yesterday," Ella said, shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks. I was ready to throw up. She couldn’t possibly believe that this was all true.
"Ella, please—"
"No!" she screamed, getting up abruptly. “I'm not crazy, Julia. I know what I saw. There is something going on in London!"
I had to think fast because Ella’s imagination was getting out of control. She was pacing around the room, whispering about magic and vampires. Sweat soaked my back. The spells were real, but she shouldn’t have noticed anything supernatural. Humans normally chose to ignore anything like that; their brains weren't designed to understand our world.
“I'll be right back, Ella. I’ll make you a cup of tea and we’ll talk," I told her, taking her hand.
"Do you believe me? I’m telling you I’m not crazy," she whispered, looking around like she could feel the magic that was whisking throughout my room. Nathaniel might have gotten rid of my excess magic, but my father’s spells were still there, protecting me.
"I believe you. Just go to the living room and I’ll get changed in the bathroom." She nodded, and I picked up my phone, jeans, and T-shirt. I had to ask Nicky for help. She was an excellent caster and the best in memory spells. She agreed to come over as soon as she could, once she dropped the kids at her parents. Nicky had no idea that Ella had witnessed a murder. She arrived half an hour later and cast a suspension charm before Ella saw her. I didn’t know where to start.
"What’s wrong with her? She shouldn’t be sensitive to magic and that idiot who turned himself into a cat should’ve sensed that a human was looking at him," Nicky fumed, folding her arms together.
“That's not it," I said, scratching my head. Nicky looked at me, raising her eyebrow.
"So, what made her so hysterical?"
“I'll tell you, but please don’t freak out," I said. "A few weeks ago, I attended a networking event. A troll was murdered, and Ella saw everything; I had no idea that she was going to be there. The healers were called, and they patched her up. They used a memory spell and a few hours later, she was home."
Nicky’s jaw dropped; she looked like she was ready to hit me.
"She saw a murder, a wizard, and a troll?"
"Yes, that’s exactly what happened but the memory spell didn’t work. At first, I didn't pay much attention when she said that she remembered being out that night. She was all right when I left her—until today."
"This is impossible, the memory spell—"
"Yeah, works well, I know."
"But on the other hand, she might be sensitive if magic is around her," Nicky continued.
"What are you talking about?"
"She must have paranormal descendants in her family; there is no other explanation."
“C'mon, Nick, Ella is human. There is no way on this earth that someone in her family was magical."
"Start getting used to the thought of her having some magic in her family because I presume that’s why she knows. Otherwise, the memory spell would’ve worked perfectly."
"Nicky, think about it; wouldn’t we have known if there was a trace of magic in her family?"
"We don’t have time to dwell on this right now. We’ve got to decide what we need to do for her at the moment."
"What do you mean? Just use the memory spell."
Nicky narrowed her eyes. "You don’t get it, do you?" she asked. "A memory spell isn’t going to work; we have to tell her the truth."
My jaw dropped to the floor. "You didn’t see her here. She was breaking down! She wouldn’t be able to handle the truth," I insisted, sitting down.
Nicky tossed her blonde hair behind her and flexed her fingers like she was getting ready to deal with the problem. "We have no other choice," she said, then waved her hand, whispering the formula. Ella snapped back to reality, shaking her head upon seeing Nicky. My stomach turned.
"Julia, what’s she doing here?" Ella asked, blinking rapidly. “Don't try to convince me that I’m crazy!"
I sat beside her and took her hand; I didn’t even know where to start. Ella was the last person I ever wanted to tell who I really was. All these years I’d hated lying to her and now, I had an opportunity to tell her the whole truth.
"We need to explain something to you, sweetie, and it won’t be easy… you might not understand." Nicky took the words out of my mouth as she approached the sofa. She was a pure fairy and, even though I trusted her, I wasn't sure she knew what she was doing. Ella stared at her for a long moment, breathing hard, before she turned her gaze to me.
"Why wouldn’t I understand?" Ella asked in a pleading tone.
"Ella, you were right about what you saw last week and today at work," I began.
"You’re trying to tell me that I saw a vampire who drank Christina’s blood?"
"We can’t keep this from you anymore. The world you live in isn’t what it seems; other creatures live amongst humans."
I waited until my words sunk in. Ella’s eyes flickered with confusion and she glanced at Nicky’s stone-serious face, then to me.
“You're joking, right? I can’t believe you would do that after what I’ve told you," Ella cried, standing up.
"Ella, you know what you saw—we’re just trying to make this easier for you," I tried again, looking to Nicky for help.
“She's telling you the truth. There are vampires, witches, elves, fairies and many other creatures that are a part of this world. We’re very serious. Magic is real, but most people don’t know about it."
"So, you’re telling me that the man I saw who turned into a cat is real?"
We both nodded
"And the bright flashes of light and the evening I spent at the Hilton hotel?"
"You went to a networking event a couple of weeks ago. You witnessed a murder and I believe you lost consciousness. A witch patched you up and used a memory spell, so you wouldn’t remember what happened."
Her eyes widened, and her chest heaved but she didn’t move, so I continued. "I called Nicky because I knew it would be difficult for you to take all of this information in."
"Hold on," she stopped me. "How do the two of you even know about this craziness?"
Nicky sat next to me and I wanted to push back time, so we wouldn't have to go through this with Ella. The truth was painful, but I couldn’t lie to her any longer.
"We know because we aren’t exactly human, Ella," I said quietly.
"Come again?"
“I'm a fairy, and Julia is half elf. We’re both magical."
Ella blinked twice, then let out a hoarse laugh. My heart skipped a beat, then in the stress of the moment, I heard Ella’s thoughts.
"No," I said, quickly jumping to my feet.
"Julia, what’s going on?" Nicky asked.
"Ella, please, I can’t let you leave now. We aren’t monsters; we’re still your friends. Please," I begged, squeezing her hands tightly.
Her face went pale and she pushed me away.
“Don't touch me if you’re one of those freaks!" she shouted, stepping away. "How did you know what I was thi
nking?"
"Please, calm down. We aren’t going to hurt you. We just—"
“Don't you dare come near me!"
Tears swelled in my eyes and I wanted to scream.
"For fucks sake, Ella Jenkins, get yourself together and let us explain," Nicky shouted and her face went scarlet, but it was already too late; Ella had lost the plot. She ran to the door, shouting. Thankfully, I’d locked the door when Nicky came in. Nicky shook her head, then began whispering another spell. Slowly, Ella stopped and rolled down onto the floor, losing consciousness.
“What did you do to her?"
"Chill out, she’s only sleeping." Then Nicky used a levitating spell to move her to the sofa.
"She freaked out—maybe we shouldn’t use magic."
"Ella is just scared and the magic won’t do her any harm."
“She's never going to forgive us," I whispered, noticing how peaceful Ella looked right now. I couldn’t imagine losing her; we’d known each other for years. It was still early, but I had to call work and tell them that I needed to take the day off. Alexandra would have to cover for me. Nicky kept biting her lips, obviously thinking hard about what we could do next.
"Do you think she’s going to tell anyone else about this?" I asked, wringing my hands.
“She's too scared to say anything. Why don’t you call your dad? He’d know what to do."
"I don’t think that’s a good idea. He never understood why I was friends with her at all."
“I'm sorry, but I can’t stay. My parents are going away so I’ve got to pick up the kids."
“I'll try to handle her… somehow. Hopefully, she will be calmer when she wakes up."
“You've got at least two hours to prepare. I added some fairy dust to the spell," she explained, putting her jacket on.
"Thank you, anyway, for coming." I hugged her, swallowing my tears.
Normally, I wasn't that emotional, but the look of horror and confusion that had painted Ella’s face when I told her what I really was, hurt me. As if I didn’t have enough problems already, now I had to deal with the possibility of losing my best friend. Nicky kissed my cheek and rushed away. I sat down and covered my face with my hands. Ella looked so peaceful right now and I thought about what Nicky said. Was this possible? Could her decedents really be magical? I shook my head; this almost never happened. Magical genes normally faded when the magical marriages weren't sustained.
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