I glanced up at him once and nodded, tears stinging my eyes at the realisation that he would never be mine. He shook his head, “I’m yours, baby. I chose you and I will choose you, even when you think I haven’t. You make my world sparkle and shimmer, and I adore you. We do need to go back though, but never, ever doubt that I love you more than my own life.” He kissed me gently and then moved to my side, taking my hand and squeezing my fingers with his own, before he sighed and said, “Open a portal, Jas.”
“No, I don’t want to. Can’t we just stay here and hide out?”
He smiled at me and kissed me softly on my head, “no, baby, I’m sorry, we can’t. We have to go back and face reality.” I shook my head sullenly and wouldn’t look at him, “you aren’t gonna touch me at all when we get back are you?”
“Jas, I can’t. If they catch us they’ll kill us. They’d make me watch them cut your throat. Don’t ask me to watch that, we aren’t worth that. You are worth so much more than that.”
“But I can’t lose you Nate, you mean everything to me.” I knew I sounded like a whiny brat, but I couldn’t help it. Nate kissed me once more on the lips, drawing my bottom lip into his mouth and sucking on it, before murmuring against my mouth “Jas, come on. I can’t lose you. Please, let’s just go back.” He glanced about as I opened my mouth to protest and gasped.
“Jas, we need to leave now. Turn around and look about.”
He watched me as I turned slowly around, taking in the dense dark grey fog that rolled towards us on the right side and the tsunami of grey waves approaching from the left The tension between us rose as I reached out, felt about for a fissure, letting my fingers roam through the air, until heat or a cold breeze hit me. Finally finding one, I gripped it, ripping it apart. It tried to push back together, but I stretched my arms out and forced the fissure further apart until my arms were stretched as far as they could go. Once it was far enough apart, it stopped and just sat there, vibrating with a slight humming noise. A sweet smell floated through and there was a light shimmering through it, as though the sun was hitting the mirror and we were looking at our reflections.
Nathan took one final look at me, kissed me on the lips with so much passion my knees buckled slightly. He kissed me on the forehead and stepped backwards through the gap, eyes on me as he left me standing there. I looked around once more and followed after, seeing dark grey hands trying to get through the gap to us as the fog closed in and the wave lapped an inch to my left. By the looks of things we’d just made it.
“Can you hurry and close that up, Jasmine? We can’t let any more of that to come through here. It’s dangerous. We need the portal shut so we can work on the enchantment.”
Opening up my mind and stretching my arms until I found the edges, I closed the space up until only a small fissure remained.
“Close your eyes,” he whispered and I obeyed, but didn’t expect to feel my skin burning as he turned on the lantern. After a few minutes, the burning reduced to a dull ache. I opened my eyes and took in our surroundings. I’d brought us to the little rock crevice. Looking down at Nathan, I could see things weren’t good. Where my burning had only lasted a few moments, he looked as though he was on fire. His face was red and blistered, sweat poured his face, and he grimaced in pain. I reached over to touch him and felt him shudder before he hissed out, “Don’t touch me. This is your fault. Just don’t fucking touch me. Okay?”
My hand snapped back and I crawled away from him, moving closer to the mouth of the crevice and looking out at the ocean. Tears dripped softly down my face, but I stayed looking out, feeling more betrayed and hurt than ever. I couldn’t believe that he’d been so nasty to me when I’d just brought him back. I watched the water lapping against the rocks, the waves rolling about and smelling the salt of the sea with the wind blowing my hair gently around my face. After a while, I turned back to check on Nathan and he was curled into a ball, sleeping. Thinking about him sleeping made me tired, but I knew we had to work on that through the night. I stayed awake, sitting at the edge of the crevice, thinking.
I must have nodded off because I was dreaming about my parents, something I hadn’t done in the longest time. My dad had me in his arms, running around our backyard. I was laughing, as was my mum watched with an amazing look on her face. She was larger than I remember, but the love I felt from them was unlike anything I had experienced since, until I met Nathan.
Rough hands shook me awake, “Jasmine, wake up. We have to cast this enchantment. Come on.” His voice sounded off to me, high and cold and I shivered. I glared up at him sleepily as I forced my eyes to open and muttered under my breath. I closed my eyes over and tried to find a comfy position to fall asleep in but he leaned down in front of me, shook me until I looked at him.
“Come on. If we don’t fix this, they will kill you and possibly me. We can’t live with that threat hanging over us…” He broke off, grabbing my hands roughly and pulling me to my feet. I slipped a little and he caught me in his arms, backing away quickly after he had steadied me. We began the slow walk up the cliff face and through the woods. Stopping just beside his house, he whispered, “Give me the flask and hold my hand. Don’t let go for any reason.”
I watched as he placed the ingredients, along with some others he must have collected at home, into the flask and shook them together. He handed the flask to me and I again felt fire spreading down my arms, into my fingers, leaving them tingling, as he whispered in my ear, “you must use the words omit and tell the concoction what you want remembered otherwise it will leave the memories that you are trying to erase. Also, Jasmine, make sure you say omit three times otherwise the enchantment won’t take.” His eyes moved up my face, lingering on my lips before he reached my eyes, “Got it?” I nodded slowly at him and watched as his face transformed from the boy I loved, to the demon I hated. I turned away from him, whispering the words, as a single tear rolled down my cheek.
“Omit, omit, omit… You will omit these past two days from memory. You will only remember Nathan catching the flu and coming back early because of it. You will remember asking Geordan to come to help prepare you for the feasts, and that is all!”
Feeling my fingers itch, I watched as the top of the flask opened and the contents swirled up, changing the scenery. I saw Nathan disappear and felt myself shunted into the barn. Geordan, Jack, Mr Stevenson, and Nick all moved from the barn into the house. Everything went eerily quiet and I knew the spell had worked, but what I didn’t count on was Geordan changing everything.
The next morning, I lay in my barn, under the sleeping bags trying to get back to sleep, ignoring the sounds of the pounding wind and rain. I felt a pair of hands grab me and drag me out of the sleeping bag. Looking up through bloodshot eyes, since I hadn’t had any sleep, I saw Geordan standing there. He looked at me in awe, but wasn’t speaking. I shook my head and looked around for my hair tie, so I could tie my hair up, since it annoyed me if it was hanging loose and it needed washed. Eventually, I found it amongst my clothes from the day before. Noticing that they were singed around the edges, I grabbed them and stuffed them into the tent.
“Come with me, Jasmine,” Geordan’s rough voice commanded.
Shaking my head, I looked around for my clothes. He grabbed my arm, hissing in my ear, “It’s not a request. Move now.”
I had no choice but to comply with his wishes, since he was much bigger and stronger than me and I didn’t want Nathan’s family to remember what had happened the previous day. I was curious to see where this was going. I grabbed my done-in Nike trainers and my favourite jumper from a local coffee house. They were giving them out when I lived with the Greene family. The jumper said, Coffeelattetea and was an incredible café that I used to visit with my friends. Reminiscing as I moved around slowly, Geordan tugged on my arm impatiently.
“Hurry up, Jasmine.”
We walked in complete silence into the woods, in the cold predawn darkness, heading for one of the protected circles that I had been in r
ecently. I knew this for some unknown reason, and I kept pace with him, wondering why he wanted to get me alone and so far from their home. The beginnings of nerves started to play on my mind when we reached the circle. He stepped in before me. I watched in awe, completely frozen as he transformed into one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen Gone was the shaggy brown hair and beard. Gone were the bloodshot eyes. Gone were the saggy, frayed clothes. He now stood before me, bathed in the glow of the sun, looking like an angel, with clear blue eyes, chubby cheeks, and a smile that would melt hearts.
He stood a few moments smiling at me, waiting for me to find my voice, but the difference in him was incredible. He wore a crisp blue suit, with a creamy-coloured shirt and a blue and cream tie. His hair was brown and his face was breathtakingly beautiful. I opened and closed my mouth several times before the words finally came out, “Wh- what… erm, what are you?” I stuttered, cursing myself for failing to get the full sentence out without looking like a complete idiot.
“I am a Nephilim and my name is Joaquin. My father was the archangel Gabriel and my mother was a human woman named Madelena. Nephilim are half-angels and one of our powers is that of illusion. I have been Geordan for a time out of mind, but I can see the power in you. Even when you tried to hide it, I could tell that you were important. I will not be back here so I must now part some valuable information onto you. When you are running, head for the coast, and cross the water. Use your common sense in choosing where to go and trust only Nathan, and those you travel with.”
Nodding in agreement, his voice was buttery soft, sliding into my mind, working its way into my subconscious, which was what he wished. I was sure of it.
“I have something for you, but you must never, ever take it off, as it will protect you from evil. Any enchantments they try to place on you will not work as they should while you wear this. It will enhance your powers when you are ready, but will also help you control them in the meantime.”
He handed me a beautiful charms for bracelet, three silver charms. The charms felt warm to the touch as I examined the charms. One was a feather, one was an angel, kneeling and praying with its eyes closed, and the other was a horseshoe.
“Each of the charms has a special significance. The feather will keep you safe from the enchantments. The horseshoe will aid you in your escape. The angel will keep your mind focused, help to develop your powers, and strengthen your mind. Wear them well and they will keep you safe, but you must not ever take it off. It is invisible to demons, but will be visible to mortals. Keep it hidden at all times; you do not want questions asked about these charms on your bracelet.”
We stood in silence for a few minutes as I clasped the charms onto my bracelet on my wrist, feeling my arm shiver as the bracelet touched it with its new charms.
“We better head back. I’m leaving this morning and I won’t see you again for quite some time. Be careful and remember that Nathan is going to do everything he can to keep you safe. Promise me that you will not judge him for what he has to do.”
“Why would I judge him?” I asked, just as we reached the edge of the circle.
Joaquin touched my arm and said, “Just promise me.” I nodded and we walked back through the woods, coming out right next to the barn. “Good luck, Jasmine. Until we meet again.”
“Thank you,” I said in a whisper before walking back into the barn and climbing under my covers. I was asleep within seconds, finally feeling secure enough to sleep.
The next few days passed without incident and without Nathan. He would avoid me in the house when I showered, and never brought me food to the barn. He never visited me at night and I missed him so much, but I let him be, since I knew that he was trying to protect me. Finally, Sunday night came and I lay on the floor of the tent on my mats, trying to do some schoolwork. I hated math, but this was a new level of torture. I looked up to see Nathan standing there watching me with the pained look he used to wear on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him in his head, but he just shook his head and placed the food down on the floor before turning to walk away. “Nathan, speak to me please.”
“NO!!!” he answered forcefully in my mind, making my head ring like a bell, before walking to the door of the barn. As he reached the door, I heard a noise, a voice that I knew and hated; it was Lisa, his ex-girlfriend. “Current girlfriend,” his voice corrected in my head.
“Come on, Nathan,” she called in her babyish voice, turning my stomach. “Are we going out or what?”
I could feel my face burning and tears forming in my eyes. Looking down, I felt the tears running down my face and could feel my breath coming in short sharp gasps. This hurt on a whole new level.
“Wait, I forgot to give her this.”
“Oh, but Nathan, she doesn’t need it. Come on,” she said, whining at him like a petulant child.
“I’ll just be a second,” he answered and I heard his footsteps coming towards the barn again.
Keeping my head down, I tried to focus on what I was doing, but I felt him pause as he looked at me. “Sorry,” he murmured almost under his breath and I made the mistake of looking up. Catching his eye, all I could see in his green depths was pain and a tear running down his cheek, which he swiped away angrily.
“Nathan, come on. What are you doing?” Her voice rose again breaking the moment between Nathan and myself. He shook his head, not looking at me, and my heart shattered as he turned away from me. A gasp escaped me, having never felt a pain like that before in my life.
The rest of the night was spent lying in the tent with it zipped up, trying and failing to get a hold of my emotions. Eventually, at around three a.m., my eyes were puffy and red from crying, my chest hurt, and I had a sore throat. I finally managed to drift off to sleep, stirring as a hand stroked my hair. Turning away, I shook my head and burrowed deeper into my sleeping bag.
The next day at school passed in a blur and walking to and from school, I walked a little behind Nathan and Jenny. Nothing stood out, but that night, I felt again like someone was there. I lay in my sleeping bag, trying to will myself to sleep, but my mind ran constantly over the past few months. I couldn’t switch off. I felt a hand stroking my hair again, but when I opened my eyes and glanced around, no one was there and eventually I was tired enough to drift off to sleep.
The following day I awoke feeling groggy and out of sorts. It was Wednesday, the day of all my favourite classes. Going into the house for a shower was awkward as I walked with my head down and Nathan walked right into me, bumping me down three steps. He didn’t apologise as he stepped over me, but he caught my eye, giving me butterflies even though I tried to quell them. The butterflies turned to wasps though, as Lisa walked down the stairs and stepped onto my hand.
Marching upstairs, I went into the shower and scrubbed myself red raw, trying to focus on anything other than the dead feeling building in my chest. Looking in the mirror after my shower, I gave myself a stern talk. He’s not worth it. He’s hurt me time and again. Perhaps it’s time for me to leave. Nathan’s voice again sounded in my head, making me jump, “NO!!!!” he screamed. After a few seconds, the bathroom door opened with a bang. I glanced at him in the mirror and could see the fury on his face, though he tried hard to hide it. He watched my eyes appraise him and scowled at me for a moment before speaking.
“Are you ready?” he snapped at me, sounding furious.
I shrugged and walked towards him, ignoring him. As I went past him, he pushed me into the bathroom and shut the door behind us both, locking us in. He moved towards me and I backed up onto the wall as his glorious face, leaned closer to me, “Do not even think about leaving. You can’t, okay? I forbid it!”
Glaring at him, I slapped him hard across the face, spitting out, “Don’t you fucking dare. You have hurt me over and over. Why should I stay here, to be killed or hurt? I’d rather die than feel like this. I’m leaving today.” Snatching my arm back, I reached for the handle, turning away from him again for wha
t I hoped was the last time.
“Please don’t leave me,” he whispered, his voice crackling and shaking.
“I’m not leaving you. You’ve already left me.”
Storming out of the bathroom, I ran downstairs and over to the barn. I grabbed my out of charge mobile phone, laptop, purse, and threw some clothes into my school bag. Nathan stood at the barn, waiting for me with his sister and Lisa. We all left for school together. He kept glancing back at me as I walked behind them. I decided to go to school and figure out what I would do from there. All the way to school, I could feel him fizzing, but I didn’t give him the opportunity to speak to me. I walked in with Danni and Katie, both of whom had apologised profusely for what happened, claiming that they didn’t know what was going on until it was too late.
Going to classes, I just got on with my work but also worked on blocking Nathan’s access to my thoughts. Realising at lunchtime I had succeeded, he walked into the dining hall, apprehensively sweeping around and a smile lighting up his face as his eyes landed on my face. The relief was palpable. He got his lunch and walked back to his table. He didn’t look up as I walked out of the dining hall, but caught up with me as I walked out of the school doors.
“Come with me please.” he asked solemnly.
Shaking my head as I headed in the other direction, I looked back and he had tears running down his face. “Jas, I’m sorry… but please… I… I need you… I can’t do this without you…” he broke off as I turned away and walked into the shaded trees, by the side of the school. He followed me, catching my arm as I walked away from him and I spun towards him, “No, Nathan. You do not get to do this to me again. You can’t keep swinging backwards and forwards from me to her, have her stay, and expect me to say everything is fine. I can’t do it and I won’t. If you really love me, let me go.”
Ignition (Escaping Demons Saga Book 2) Page 5