Fate Foretold

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  I gasp.

  “Tell her the full story,” Dr. Deas says, voice hard.

  “We don’t even know the full story,” Colton argues.

  “But you know enough. Don’t leave her with questions. Just tell her everything.”

  Colton’s jaw tightens. “Fine.” He pulls out a stool and slumps onto it.

  “If you’re that child, then your mother was part of the experiments and had you while in the compound. It happens. Part of the experiments had to do with breeding after all. According to the file, when I had to be about three, she had a baby and died. She was a seer, so they hoped the baby was too, but after testing the newborn baby, it was determined she would be non-gifted. At that time, they didn’t care about the non-gifted, so the protocol was to send you into foster care or adoption. But this woman’s situation was different. The father of the child was someone who worked there. He resigned and took the baby away.”

  Colton stops for a moment, thinking something through before continuing.

  “When we uncovered this tidbit, we found him and watched him for a couple of days. Nothing special. Eli uncovered a death certificate for the child when she was four and had been hit by a car. We moved on.”

  “The first time my gift revealed itself was when I was four,” I whisper. “He had my name changed and we’ve been running ever since.”

  “Your dad must have realized the importance of your gift. If the people running the compound had known you really were gifted, especially as The Seer, they would have taken you back.”

  My heart aches at this revelation. My dad used to work at the same place that haunted the guys? I tried to imagine him in that kind of place. It didn’t fit. And it didn’t explain my mother. How were they able to marry if she was a captive?

  “My mom,” I asked. “How?”

  “She escaped,” Eli said. “There was a report written on it. She had escaped and stayed away for a couple of years.” He tries to smile. “Probably her gift helped, just like yours. Your dad’s team was the one who brought her back in.”

  “What?” I shake my head. “That doesn’t make any sense. He loved her.”

  “Maybe. Maybe they were forced into a difficult situation. Either way, his team brought her back in. The report was written by him. Said he had to form a relationship with her to lure her back.”

  “No.” That’s wrong. That’s all wrong.

  “Adalyn.” Colton comes over and pulls me into a hug. “We don’t know the full story. Maybe he has an explanation. Maybe that report is covering something else. We don’t know. If you say he was a good guy, then he was. I believe you. We can only report what we uncovered and unfortunately, if it’s full of lies, then we have no way of finding the truth. The people who would have known are dead now.”

  I wince at the words and sniff, holding back tears. I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. Who was my father really if he worked for the compound? Did he really use himself to capture my mom? Did they really love each other? My grip on Colton tightens. Yes. He loved her. The way his expression changed any time he talked about my mother was proof of that. The pain he carried. The guilt. My dad was a complicated man. Now I knew why.

  Sniffing again, I pull away and wipe away the tears before they have a chance to fall.

  “Ready?” Dr. Deas asks in a soft tone.

  I glance at her and remember what we’re supposed to be doing. Nodding, I move next to her.

  “Hand on my shoulder,” she reminds me.

  The guys move away to give us space as I do as she says. Dr. Deas closes her eyes, her hands hovering over a tray with the bottom filled with black liquid. My father’s ring sits in the middle of the liquid. The air around us intensifies, Dr. Deas’s energy crackling along my skin. All the small hairs on my body stand up in attention. The pressure grows heavier, my chest tightens, and then there’s a pop and my shoulders sag in relief. I almost fall to the ground, but Eli is there to hold me up.

  “Right. Done.” The black liquid is gone now, leaving behind the ring. Dr. Deas grabs the ring and slips it back on the chain before putting it over my head to rest against my chest.

  “What do I do with it?”

  She winces at my question and her smile slips into a frown. “You need to put that ring back on his finger. And only you because of your connection to him.”

  I gasp. “I’ll need to get that close?”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t do much else. Once the ring is back on his finger, he’ll be able to escape his body.”

  I moan and rub at my face. A hand rubs at my back, and when I glance over my shoulder, Colton is there with a serious expression.

  “We’ll have to find a way to get close enough to do this if we’re to release him,” he says, his expression tight.

  Glancing around the room, I realize one thing. While they hate the idea of me getting that close, they aren’t going to try to stop me. They know it’s the only option.

  Holsen did something right, dangling my dad’s soul over me as bait, because I’m biting, no matter what.

  “Now, before you run off into the sunset, do you mind telling me what the hell is going on with the five of you?” Dr. Deas looks between us all, again her gaze seeming to focus on something we can’t see.

  “What do you mean?” Colton asks.

  She waves her hand between us. “How did this happen? How are you bonded like that?”

  “Bonded?”

  She rolls her eyes as if it should be evident. “Your energies are all blending together, with Adalyn at the epicenter. Like you’re feeding into her and she feeds into you. It’s captivating.” Dr. Deas moves so she stands between Jackson and me. Her hands smoothly flow through the air, fluttering around, as if playing with something.

  I shiver, and Jackson has the same response.

  “Fascinating. I’ve never seen this. How did you do it?”

  “I’m not sure we understand what’s going on,” Colton says.

  “Let me put it this way. Jackson, the last time I saw you, comparable to now, you were just a hum. A vibration in the air. Now? You’re an earthquake. With Adalyn and the other three feeding into you, you practically vibrate. You’re stronger now.” She spins so she can look at everyone. “All of you are. I never believed in mates or fate or anything like that, but looking at the lot of you, I can get on board.”

  Glances are shared as she verifies what we have all theorized about.

  “We knew there was a connection between Adalyn and us,” Colton speaks up. “We just don’t understand what it means fully.”

  “It means that you guys are fucking powerful now. Really fucking powerful. You know, that whole philosophy about together you’re strong, alone you’re weak? It fits your connection completely.”

  DJ turns to me with a massive grin, showing off his teeth. “Now will you believe us when we say we won’t die?”

  28

  With not much time to reach the deadline Holsen gave me, we end up flying to New York City. Colton uses his connections to use a private plane and then sneaks me on so that the manifest only records four men.

  Most of the journey passes in silence, all of us lost in our own heads. I can’t stop thinking about my dad.

  “You’re quiet,” DJ says, coming to sit by my side. The plane is big enough for all of us to move around and still have lots of space. There’s even a spare bedroom at the back of the plane. “You haven’t even talked about trying to avoid us in a while.” He gives me a side glance with a smirk.

  I roll my eyes. “Would you let me leave?”

  “No,” he says without hesitation and that sends warmth through me.

  I hold back a small smile. “I’ll waste energy and resources trying to avoid you guys and having to heal, and knowing you’re there was nice. I relaxed. I hadn’t had a chance to do that in years.” I glance at the passing clouds outside the window. “Besides, this connection, whatever it is, it’s making me believe maybe that a one percent chance is possible.”
I grip the armrest, and DJ places his hand on mine, making me jump slightly. “I want to believe that we’ll be okay.”

  “Have you tried to See?”

  I shake my head. “Not since the bathroom. That was… I haven’t freaked out like that in a long time. The last time was when I was a kid. I used to have trouble separating my visions from reality and my dad was always there to ground me.” My mouth clanks shut when I realize I mentioned him.

  “You don’t have to hold back. You can talk about him. I may not seem like it, but I’m a good listener.” He sends a wink my way, and I try to smile back, but it comes out more like a grimace.

  “I just don’t know what to believe,” I admit.

  “Believe in the man you remember. You spent a long time with him. Don’t let a report that’s most likely full of lies change your perception of him.”

  “He loved my mom,” I whisper. “He would tell me all these stories about them and every time he told one, he was the happiest.” I grip the ring around my neck. “This ring is proof of that.”

  “Good. Hold onto that belief.”

  “My first vision was of a cat being ran over by a car,” I say and glance at DJ. His hand still rests on mine, head tilted back, eyes closed. It makes it easier to talk to him. “I went to my dad, crying and screaming about saving the kitty. He had no idea what I was talking about. The next day we were out walking, and it happened. I cried and yelled at him. Told him I told him to save it. He realized I had a vision.” I chuckle. “He tried to find another seer to help train me. That’s when we realized I was The Seer. The one we met up with only saw a handful of possibilities. I Saw so much more. Dad grew paranoid after that.”

  “He sounds like a good man. He could have taken you back to the compound. He didn’t. He tried to find you help and when he fully realized what you were, he kept you hidden and safe. Those are the actions of a father protecting his daughter. And you never mentioned him abusing your gift.”

  I smile at that simple compliment. “Thank you.”

  “Will you try? Once we get to the city, you won’t be able to because Noah will sense you, but right now, you can. Will you? See what is going to happen?”

  That seems to have caught the attention of everyone else.

  I don’t answer right away, my heart picking up. What if the results are the same? I don’t want to witness their deaths again.

  “If you don’t want to, we won’t force you,” Eli says.

  I shake my head. “I just… It’s nerve-wracking. Especially since I don’t know how my gift will be now. Dr. Deas said our connection makes our gifts more powerful. I think that’s why when I Saw in the bathroom, it was so bad. I don’t think I can keep going through that.”

  “Now that you know what’s going on, you won’t be as lost in your visions as the first time. You’ll be able to prepare yourself,” Jackson says, throwing logic into the debate.

  I warily look at them all. Despite Eli saying I don’t have to, I feel the pressure. I know how important it is to See so we can prepare, especially since there are already so many unknowns.

  “I’ll do it.” I hit the button that reclines the seat and rest my head back so I stare at the ceiling.

  DJ squeezes my hand, reminding me he’s still holding it. I send him a smile and close my eyes. Each slow breath I take in and out forces my muscles to relax, and as they relax, my gift surges, ready to be used.

  It doesn’t take long before I’m seeing images, feeling them. My body jerks, and I cry out.

  Jackson fights off someone, throwing out his energy and forcing them into a wall. Colton by his side, keeps them off his back with his quick reflexes.

  Pain flares up along my side, and I look down, my side covered in blood.

  DJ is next to me, my arm wrapped around his.

  Eli is behind us, keeping them away.

  We are fighting our way through a dark tunnel full of men determined to take us.

  No one is dead.

  No one.

  We’re all alive.

  I take in a deep breath.

  “You’re okay. You’re okay,” Colton says.

  I reach for my side, still expecting to see it bleeding, but nothing’s there. I slump into my seat, relieved.

  “I don’t think I can keep doing that,” I whisper.

  Eli kneels in front of me and cups my face. “You did good.” His green eyes are completely focused on me and I do my best not to squirm under his watchful eyes. He leans back, giving me space to draw in a breath.

  “What did you See?” DJ asks. “Are we still dying?”

  I shake my head and manage a smile. “No, no deaths. I think you guys were helping me escape. We’re in dark tunnels. Reminds me of the vision in at the rest stop. The walls are brick. People are chasing us and we’re fighting our way through. I’m hurt, but everyone is okay.” I stare down at my hands now in my lap. “No one is hurt. How can that be? It’s all new. I never Saw that. It was never a possibility.”

  “Maybe we changed it when we found you when we did.” Colton looks thoughtful as he mulls over the idea. “Maybe it was something that never hit your radar because the chance of it happening was too small. But now that the odds are more with us than against, you’re able to See.”

  “You’re changing Fate,” I said.

  “Not Fate,” Jackson jumps in. “Fate has nothing to do with this. We’re fighters, Adalyn. We do the impossible and win, even when the odds are against us. In fact, we do better when death hangs over our heads. You’re ours. And we’ll do everything in our power to make sure it stays that way.”

  “Damn,” DJ mutters. “You’re good with that shit.”

  Unable to hold back, I laugh while Jackson glares at DJ.

  “Thank you,” I say with a light heart and smile. This time, the smile feels truly real, like we do have a chance. “Thank you.”

  Their eyes widen, and then they’re grinning back at me. I laugh and all the stress and worry I’d been feeling flies away with them. Maybe there is something to this bond. We haven’t really talked about it yet, but as soon as it’s all over, and we’re all okay, we’ll talk.

  Because I’m not letting them go either. I’ll fight for them.

  29

  New York City is always busy. I’ve been here once when I was six years old and never came back. There’s a lot that happens here and the air is suppressed with negative energy of the lonely, the angry, the drunks, the addicts, and the hopeless. All that energy pushes against my defenses, trying to slip in. As a kid, I didn’t have any way to protect myself, and it bombarded me with visions all over the city. Even now, as we head toward the hotel, I’m wary.

  A lot more happens here than people realize, than even the police realize, and they’re tasked with uncovering it all. There is no hiding from darkness in this city because it’s a well-seasoned hunter. It stalks the streets every day, tempting anyone who brushes up against it with ultimate bliss and happiness.

  Bullshit. It’s all bullshit. I Saw as a child how bullshit it really is.

  “We’re here,” DJ says, and I blink out of my thoughts.

  DJ tilts his head to the side as he seeks something out in my expression. His lips curve down into a frown.

  “Lyn, where did you go?” he asks. We’re in the parking garage, and the others are already out, unloading.

  “Nowhere,” I lie.

  His no-nonsense gaze tells me to stop bullshitting a bullshitter.

  My shoulders slump, and I sigh. “I don’t like this city. I came here once, as a child. We lasted a week before we moved again.”

  “What happened?”

  I press my lips together, not wanting to talk about it. A hurt look passes over DJ before he’s able to school his emotions and moves to get out. Without thinking, I reach out to him, grabbing his arm to stop him. It feels wrong for him to leave looking like he’d been rejected.

  “Please,” I beg, and he freezes. His eyes meet mine and he turns back around, our knee
s touching with how close he moves.

  “What happened?” His question is softer this time.

  “No six year old should see what this city does to people. When we came here, I didn’t have any defenses. I hadn’t learned yet. I was introduced to real depravity.”

  DJ winces before pulling me into his chest. His hand rubs my back. “Damn. Damn. Damn,” he whispers. “That’s fucked up.”

  “It is what it is.” My voice is muffled by his chest, but he still hears me.

  “Even so, that’s still fucked up. Are you okay? Do we need to go for a walk? Leave the city.”

  I chuckle and squeeze him. “You know we can’t do that.”

  My expression must belie what I say, because DJ’s expression turns dark, and he squeezes me tight. His lips meet my forehead. “If you need it, we can do it. I’ll make it happen.” The surety in his voice does me in. DJ has a way of making promises sound like the truth. He puts so much meaning into his promises that it’s hard not to trust him. I tilt my head and brush my lips against his, wondering if I can steal some of that confidence. He believes no one is going to die and I want some of that confidence. I want the conviction he has for anything he perceives to be the truth.

  DJ’s body freezes, and I go to pull away, but his grip on me tightens the same moment he presses harder against my lips, deepening the kiss. Our lips are two puzzles fitting perfectly together, and I’m more than happy to open my mouth to let him in. He presses against me, almost knocking me over as he pushes his body against mine and I can feel him. Without any prompting from me, my hands lift up his shirt to touch his stomach and the energy thrums between us, sparking wherever we touch.

  With a sigh, DJ pulls back, his eyes dark with lust and promises. “We’ll continue this when all this shit is over. I promise.”

  Again with that conviction. All I can do is nod in response, my face feeling hot.

  “Come on, love birds,” Eli says, opening my door. “Colton got our keys so we’re all set to smuggle the princess inside.”