“Unless I naturally went back to an important day in my life. Levi met Allie today, which changed all of our futures.” I got chills thinking about how much would change if those two didn’t meet.
Vera seemed to be thinking over my words. Her face tensed, and I knew she was thinking about Casey. She only looked that way when she was thinking about her sister.
“That’s a very valid point.” Georgina nodded. “But there were many important days in your life.”
“I’m trying to remember what else happened around this time.” Generally I had a good memory, but sometimes days blurred together.
“What were you doing while Levi seduced Allie?” Vera crossed her legs again.
“A future king does not seduce. He courts.” Georgina frowned.
“Same difference.”
“Sleeping with her best friend.” I looked away. It wasn’t something I was proud of.
“Surely that couldn’t have been all you did.”
“Oh.” I looked away again, remembering something else that had happened.
“What?” Vera didn’t let my look slide. She always seemed to know when I was hiding something.
“I bailed Hailey out of a mess.”
“Hailey Kaye?” Georgina sat forward. “She is a nice girl. What kind of trouble could she get into?”
“Plenty.” I let out a slow deep breath. Hailey was a magnet for trouble sometimes.
“What did this trouble involve?” Georgina folded her hands in her lap. She could keep cool far better than I could.
“She’s always hanging out with people she shouldn’t, or she did. All that changed when she became Allie’s advisor, but—”
Georgina raised an eyebrow. “Advisor?”
“Yes. Allie changed things as queen. She took an advisor.”
“How do I react to that?” Georgina seemed legitimately curious.
“You love Allie, so you are fine with it.”
“Ok. What happens with Hailey?” Vera asked.
“She made a mess she couldn’t easily clean up. We had to get help from a witch.”
“What witch?”
“Her name’s Nadia. She’s had a thing for me for a while, so I convinced her to help off the record.”
“Nadia? Is that Elana’s daughter?” Georgina asked.
“Elana?” The name meant nothing to me.
“Forget it, you’re useless.” Georgina huffed.
“I don’t know much about her, but she helps us with Hailey’s problem.”
“And did you thank her?” Vera’s face was expressionless.
“Why would that matter?”
“Did you or didn’t you, Jared?” Georgina leaned forward. “The answer is important.”
“You called me Jared.”
“That is your name.” Georgina sat up even straighter than she already was.
“But you never get it right.”
“What I do is always for a reason.”
“Of course I didn’t sleep with her, since that’s what you’re both implying. I only slept with humans.” That was before I met Vera and Casey.
“As I said before, you came back here for a reason. Part of it may be knowledge. Part of it might be something altogether different.”
“What does my sex life have to do with any of this?”
“I don’t know, but I do know a spurned woman will do many things… what were you just telling me about Robert?” Georgina gave me a knowing look.
“I didn’t sleep with Nadia.” I did not enjoy discussing my supposed sexual escapades with Levi’s grandmother, or Vera. “End of story.”
“Are you sure it’s the end of the story? Did you refuse her?” Vera looked at me. “And was this before or after you slept with Allie’s friend?”
“I did turn down her advances and before.”
“And did she take the refusal well?” Georgina watched me like a hawk.
“She got over it. I know I’m good, but I’m not one of a kind.”
Georgina’s face reddened. “That’s enough of that talk.”
“I apologize.” I averted my eyes.
“Save your apology. Your answer to why may lie with Nadia.” Georgina seemed to be lost in thought. Her brain always seemed to be a step ahead.
“But how do I erase the veil?” I grasped for advice. “If you’re satisfied you know the why, how do I fix this?”
“Knowing isn’t the same as seeing. Maybe she’s got more answers than you think.”
“But I don’t have time for maybes. I need answers.” I wasn’t used to feeling out of control. “I’ll go when Hailey calls, but can’t you tell me how to erase the changes now, while we wait?”
“You’re going to have to conjure it yourself, but this book should explain some of the details.” She held out the thick black book.
“Some of the details? I need all of them.” Conjuring wasn’t in my skill set.
“Oh.” Georgina froze.
“What?”
“You said your shifted form here isn’t your larger one.” Georgina clasped her hands together on her lap.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“So the changes from the crystals aren’t apparent in this veil.” She sighed.
“Right.” I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved about that or not. I liked being super strong, but I also felt more like myself this way.
“So your magic may not be awakened in this form.”
“Meaning?” A horrible reality started to dawn on me, but I needed to hear it to know for sure.
“Meaning you can’t erase this or get us out of here.” Vera’s face fell.
I shook my head. Hearing it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. “No. There has to be a way.”
“Maybe once you find out what you came to learn.” Vera shrugged. “It’s a possibility, isn’t it?”
“Technically, yes.” Georgina seemed to be deep in thought. “Anything is possible.”
“But what if it’s not? I have to fix things.”
“If it’s not possible, and you’re stuck in this veil, you won’t be able to leave until you catch up with your present time… and go through any new changes you caused.”
“But what happens in the present day? What’s happening now?” We had no time to waste with this.
“That I don’t know. What was happening when Jared first fell asleep? Do you remember, Vera?” Georgina asked.
“You were sleeping… everything else continued.”
“Which means we have no time.” I opened the book. “What part is about creating and breaking veils?”
“All of it.”
“All of it?” My eyes widened.
“Yes. It’s a complicated business.”
“But you said this book could help with the details.”
“It can. These books are usually predicated on the presumption that you have a basic knowledge of magic and how it works.”
“Fantastic.” I flipped through the densely worded pages. “This isn’t going to help.”
“You need to make sure Levi meets Allie.” Georgina stood and walked over to Jared. “If there’s any chance you can’t fix this, you must make sure he finds his mate.”
“I will. Vera already helped with a backup plan.”
“What’s that?”
“We knew Allie would be at a certain bar tonight, so I told him to meet me there.” Vera explained
“Why would he want to meet you?” Georgina pursed her lips.
“Because he wants her. This is Levi we’re talking about.”
“But he does grow out of these antics? Right?”
“Once he meets Allie.”
“Good. Make sure he does then.” Georgina walked toward the door.
“Wait.” I took a step toward the door.
She turned back.
“If we get stuck here, I’m going to have to do something about Tiffany and my dad.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Find Hailey, see Nadia, and
try to get back. Also, fix things with Levi and his mate, then come back to see me.”
“Gotcha.”
“And Jared?” Georgina hesitated in the doorway.
“Yes.”
“Don’t run from yourself. It’s only going to make things worse.”
“What does that mean?”
“I am sure you can figure it out.” She left the room, tightly closing the door behind her.
Vera walked over to where I waited. “What time does Hailey call you?”
“I don’t remember, but it has to be soon. I was back at my apartment decently early.”
“Ok. That helps.” She pulled the book from me and settled back down on the same love seat we’d been sharing.
“You think you’ll understand any of it?”
“No, but we might as well try to read it.”
“Good point.”
“Do you think there’s a glossary in here?” She flipped to the back of the book.
“A glossary in a witch’s magic book?”
“You never know.” She flipped through some pages. “And nope. There’s none.”
“No index either, huh?” I leaned over her to read along with her.
She shook her head. “That would be too easy.”
“Then maybe we should start at the beginning.” I sat down beside her.
“It’s as good a place as any.” She opened the book to the first page and started to read. “Conjuring a veil is not for the untrained.”
I shook my head. “Would have been nice for my unconscious mind to have read this first.”
“Wait.” She glanced up from the book.
“Yes?”
“You have no memories of any of this happening, right?”
“None.”
“But shouldn’t we if this happened? Does that mean we erased it? Or is it because this isn’t normal time travel? It’s a parallel thing?”
“I still don’t get what that means.” I usually didn’t like to admit when I didn’t understand something, but I was comfortable doing it with Vera. I wasn’t worried about her passing judgement.
“You and me both.” She laughed dryly. “Ok, let’s start again.” She cleared her throat and looked back down at the faded page. “A veil may be irrevocable if not erased completely. A single remnant left behind could change destiny.”
“This is getting better and better.” I started to read more to myself. Conjuring a veil should be done in pairs, with one anchor staying back. Already screwed that part up.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to find the text from Hailey I was waiting for. 911. Please don’t be an ass. I’m at the 1313 house.
I tried to respond in the way I would have back then. This wasn’t the first text of this sort I’d gotten from Hailey. What did you do this time?
I have no time. Please get here ten minutes ago with a witch.
You are going to have to learn to clean up your own messes.
Get here. Now.
I set aside the book. “We’ll have to leave this for later.”
“Are we heading back to the city?”
“Yes. To a frat house to be exact.”
Vera groaned. “And I thought I’d avoided all that crap by skipping college.”
“It’s not that kind of frat. Well, not really. It’s a Were frat she shouldn’t even know about. She’s not even in college yet.”
“My guess is she’s known about it for a while.”
“She has… and she gets messed up with the Weres again in a few days. She takes Allie to a Were party and gets in hot water with Levi. Owen almost loses it on her. I have to force myself to keep my mouth shut about this.”
“Do you need to call that witch?”
“I do…” I wasn’t looking forward to it.
“Just so you know, you’re not thanking her.”
“Did you really have to say that?” I met her glare.
“Just making sure you don’t take what Georgina said to mean you should make the witch happy.”
“I can assure you the only one I’m having sex with, in this veil or out, is you.” She’s the only one I had any desire to have sex with anymore. I was a goner, and I didn’t mind at all.
“You make it sound like that’s an actual possibility.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.” She grinned.
I pulled out my phone and texted a friend to get Nadia’s number. It took a few minutes, but it would have taken me a few minutes the first time around as well. Once I had her number I called.
“Jared?” Nadia answered excitedly. “Hey!”
I resisted the urge to ask why she had my number. I was supposed to be buttering her up. “I was wondering if you could help me out with something?”
“What kind of help do you need?” She was flirting, and that was awkward since I was standing next to Vera.
“It’s to help a friend. Could you meet me at the 1313 house?”
“Sure. How long?”
“Twenty minutes?” I’d have to push myself flying, but after seeing how one slip up meant that Allie and Levi didn’t meet, I was afraid of messing up the timeline too much.
“I’ll see you then.” She hung up, and I pocketed my phone.
“She agreed that easily?” Vera put a hand on her hip.
“What can I say? I’m persuasive.”
“Girls throw themselves at your feet.” She wrinkled her noise. “And I’m technically one of them.”
“You didn’t throw yourself at my feet. You teased me mercilessly.”
“Me?” She gave me a coy smile. “Tease you?”
“You’re entirely too good at it.” I took her hand. “Let’s go. We’re going to have to fly fast. I hope you’re up for it.”
“Of course I am.” She pushed opened the door, and I followed.
Neither Georgina nor the servant were around, so we showed ourselves out. I pulled off my shirt and released my wings. I welcomed the familiar rush of power and adrenaline that came from my Pteron form.
“I like the new diesel you, but this is hot too.” Her eyes raked over me.
“Glad you still approve.” I wrapped my arms around her waist.
“Take me for a ride, baby.”
I shook my head and laughed before taking off and starting the flight back toward the city. I’d worry about my car if we didn’t erase the veil quickly enough.
* * *
* * *
We were running behind my timeline from the first time, but I knew exactly what we were in for, so that would save us time. I landed behind the frat house, glad that it was almost dark. We walked around to the front of the house that was in better shape than most of the non-paranormal frat houses that lined Broadway.
Nadia was waiting on the sidewalk out front wearing a low cut black dress and a pair of heels. I’m not sure what kind of help she thought I needed.
“Who’s this?” Nadia strutted over.
“Vera, his friend.” Vera held out her hand. Her face was tight, and I knew she was having a hard time pretending.
“Jared isn’t friends with girls.” Nadia stuck out a hip.
“Aren’t you his friend?” Vera was laying it on thick. At least she was playing along.
“Yeah. I guess so.” She smiled. “Yes, I am.” Then she turned to me. “Is this the friend who needed help?”
“No, she’s inside.”
“Another she?” She flipped her light brown hair off her shoulder.
“See, I am friends with girls.” I smiled. Nadia wasn’t wrong. I’d never been friends with girls before, but that all changed with Allie. So much changed with Allie.
Vera and I followed behind her up the steep porch steps. Nadia stood back while I tried the door. The knob easily turned under my hand.
“What the hell took you so long?” Hailey turned as soon as we walked inside.
“I got here as fast as I could.”
“Which one of you is the witch?”
> “I am.” Nadia smiled. “You’re Owen’s baby sister, right?”
“I’m not a baby.”
“Are you sure? What kind of trouble are you in?”
“I need to erase his mind.” She pointed to a guy tied up in the corner.
“Do I want to know why he’s tied up?”
“He was treating a girl disrespectfully.”
“It must have been very disrespectful to end up tied up like that.” I nodded toward the guy.
“Very.”
“Do you think you are some vigilante tasked with protecting all women of the city?” I wasn’t trying to be demeaning, but this wasn’t the first time I’d gotten a text from her like this.
“It’s called being a good person. Ever hear of it?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I softened my voice. Hailey had a good heart. It was a better one than nearly any Pteron I knew. We were bred to be strong and powerful—not do-gooders, but she seemed to have gotten all of those traits.
“I assume you want me to wipe his mind?” Nadia sighed dramatically. She was letting us, and especially Vera, know that she did this all the time.
“Yes, everything from the last few hours.” Hailey clasped her hands in front of her. “Also wipe any thoughts of women as sexual objects. You are good enough to do that, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am.” Nadia straightened her shoulders.
“But it’s dangerous. Just get rid of the short term.” We didn’t need to cause any more damage than necessary.
“So he can go out and harass more women?” Hailey put a hand on her hip. “Is that really what you want?”
“Of course I don’t want that, but we have to be logical.”
“Jared, can I have a word?” Vera asked in a light voice.
“Sure.” I followed her back out onto the porch.
“What did you do last time?”
“I said no, and Nadia listened to Hailey.”
“So what do we do? Do we let the same thing play out?” She picked at her nails nervously. That wasn’t one of her usual habits, and it worried me.
“Why are you so concerned with this?” There had to be a reason.
“We know witches are dangerous. Messing with someone’s mind against your instructions, even if it was at Hailey’s request sounds dangerous.”
“I wish I could record you. I didn’t know ‘dangerous’ was in your vocabulary. Or at least that you ever thought it was a bad thing.”
Storm: The Empire Chronicles Page 5