Gravitational Pull (Vis Vires, book 2) (Vis Vires trilogy)

by Marissa Carmel

  Jocelyn sighs, resigned. “I know you can,” then she pulls me into a hug. Change gears. This is a Seraph’s nature. They call it caring, I call it mercurial. One minute they are mad as hell at you, the next they are empathic and consoling. Makes your head spin.

  She glares down at me. “You’re getting stronger.”

  I shrug. I don’t know if she’s pissed or proud. I’ll go with the latter.

  “This isn’t done. But I’ll let you be for tonight. No more using your powers,” she orders, her sapphire-blue glare blazing through me.

  “Cross my heart,” I promise.

  Jocelyn and Melenia let me continue on with my shooting spree.

  Channel, I test the word in my head. Another new ability to add to the list. I’m up to three now; empathy, explosion and now channeling. I wonder what the hell else is inside me?

  After a few more shots I have finally had enough, the alcohol is brimming and it’s time to break the seal.

  I walk towards the ladies room; the disco ball sparkles and the music pounds as I wait in line, unbalanced, swaying to the melody. I notice a couple canoodling in the corner, I can feel their energy. It’s all happy and giddy and in love. I ache. I hate those emotions. I want to blow them up. But I know that’s an impossible feat. I try to block out the couples’ energy, but that’s an impractical feat: I’m an Empath, feeling emotions is what I do. I stare at them in spite, painfully reminded that I was once happy, just like them. All rainbows and butterflies and shit like

  that.

  An urge takes over and I pull out my phone. I stare at the screen. I still have a picture of me and Justice as my wallpaper. It’s one of those cheesy pictures that are taken with one hand at a

  weird upward angle. It was an overly warm April day, the week

  after we got back from Vermont. I wanted to go to out, so we spent the day on The Cliff’s private beach. I packed a picnic for one, and enough drinks for two. It was perfect. One of the few truly perfect times in my life. Thinking back on it suddenly makes me feel enraged.

  Mad, hurt and alone.

  I rashly hammer out a text:

  I hope your happy I’m having a blast I never think of you and I hope you always think of me have a nice everlasting life.

  Send.

  Huh, put that in your halo and smoke it.

  I look down the line towards the bathroom; it seems to go on forever. I lean against the wall for support and close my eyes. My full bladder is now thumping along with the music. Suddenly, I’m shaking. I open my eyes, surprised and utterly irritated, and there he is, standing right in front of me.

  I must be dreaming. I have to be. I’m in line for the bathroom.

  Wait? I look around frantically. Where’s the line?

  “Is this Jocelyn and Melenia’s idea of taking care of you? Propping you up against a wall to sleep off your load?” His words are hostile.

  I’m totally confused.

  Then I giggle. There are three of him. “What’s so funny?” Justice insists.

  “I’m not sure which one of you to answer.”

  His gaze is chilling.

  “Is this what you’ve let yourself become? A pathetic alcoholic?”

  I blink my eyes and all three of him become one. “What do you care?” I snap. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have some demon to hunt, or some unsuspecting damsel to trick into falling in love with you?”

  His eyes smolder and I suddenly find myself moving. We’re in the bathroom before I can blink, and he has me pinned me up against the wall.

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” He demands.

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” I demand right back.

  Damn, this conversation is really going nowhere.

  “Liv, you’ve worked so hard to build a life, don’t ruin it like this,” he says, disgusted.

  It’s no kind of life without you.

  The secret thought only aggravates me more. I squash it immediately, channeling my pain.

  I reiterate, “What do you care what becomes of my life? It’s mine.”

  His face is stone cold and he is careful not to touch any of my exposed skin. Which is difficult, because I think I’m wearing the smallest, tightest shirt I own. His hands are clutched around my waist, over the fabric of my jeans. They are strong and

  controlling, and I would give anything if he would just run them

  all over my body. I miss his touch. I miss him. God, please, just touch me.

  “I’m taking you home,” he orders. “And then I’m going to have a talk with Jocelyn.” He grabs at my shirt, but I smack him away. He moves before I can make contact. I think he’s trying to hide something from me. I catch a glimpse of the two of us in the mirror directly opposite where we are standing. Justice is slanting over me, the ripples of his back muscles pushing through his light green t-shirt.

  “I’ll decide when I leave,” I hiss. He stares back at me, dumbfounded.

  “I don’t think you’re in any condition to be making decisions,” he reaches for me again and I wave my hands around erratically to stop him.

  Suddenly there’s a boom.

  Then I find Justice pressing his body against mine, shielding me from the shards of glass exploding all around us.

  “Jesus Liv!” Justice shouts as he throws me over his shoulder.

  I giggle insanely. Did I really just blow up the girl’s bathroom?

  Yup, I did.

  We’re out the window an instant later, then scaling the rooftops of Red River, the moon reflecting brightly off the river’s surface. Justice is so pissed. Like really, really pissed. I’m going to get such a lecture. But I don’t care. He’s not part of my life

  anymore. His decision, not mine. So I don’t have to listen.

  I do, however, have to listen to my stomach, because being rattled around like this is making me want to hurl!

  “The headline says, ‘Bombing at Legacy Nightclub,’” Derrin reads aloud as I exit my bedroom to find my kitchen stuffed with Seraphs. He’s leaning against the counter with my iPad; next to him Aayden is cooking away, something scrumptious I’m sure, but thanks to my hangover and sour stomach, the smell of his food is making me sick.

  Derrin’s eyes follow me as I shuffle towards them then plop onto a bar stool.

  “How come there’s a party going on in my apartment and I’m the last one to get an invite?” I ask as I look around the room. Jayden has his head stuck in my refrigerator, Melenia is sitting on the counter next to Derrin drinking coffee, and Jocelyn is across the room bouncing baby Danika near the window. They have no problem making themselves at home. The biggest surprise is AJ. He’s sitting next to me on the other bar stool. He usually never makes an appearance, and if I wasn’t feeling so ill I would ask why he’s here. But right now, I couldn’t care less.

  “Scott needed a time out,” Jayden says amused, as he pulls his head out of the refrigerator and pops a strawberry into his mouth. “Danika was making all the forks and knives march in a single

  line while she watched the Jungle Book. Her magical playtime was overwhelming him.”

  “More like freaking him out,” Derrin says as he glances up at me from the iPad and then immediately back down.

  Poor Scott. Danika’s father, a human, who’s raising a magical child all on his own; he never knew his wife was a witch until she was brutally attacked and killed by a demon right in front of him. That’s when his whole world drastically changed.

  Jayden was the first to find them. He was scouting for evil when he came upon the commotion. Turns out Jayden is a lot like me. Not that he can feel emotions, but when he uses a reflective surface, he can sense energy. Good and evil. It’s how Justice knew where to find the Spirit Stalker that morning at the coffee shop. And when the demon attacked Danika’s family, Jayden felt it. Jocelyn and AJ were the first ones to respond, saving Scott and Danika. But they were too late to save Emma, Danika’s mother. So now Scott is alone, struggling to cope w
ith not only taking care of an eighteen month old child, but a child with telekinesis. It has to freak him out that she can move things with her mind let alone coordinate all the cutlery in the house to walk in an organized fashion.

  Jayden places four large plates of food in front of me, pancakes, waffles, French toast and one beautifully arranged fruit platter that looks like a circling rainbow. I turn green.

  “I’ll just have coffee,” I tell him as I cover my mouth and swivel my chair towards AJ.

  “Look, if you’re going to puke, do it in that direction,” AJ thumbs away from himself then grabs a pancake. He shuffles his stool a little to the left, takes a bite of the pancake and eyes me warily.

  “I promise, if I’m going to throw up I’ll do it in Derrin’s direction,” I smile contently.

  Derrin shoots me a callous look. Melenia smirks.

  Jayden digs into the food first, piling a small mountain on his plate. I just watch.

  “You’re really not going to eat anything, Liv?” Aayden asks with deep green disenchanted eyes. He knows how much I love food. I look at the overabundance of breakfast in front of me, and I’m sure if it were any other morning, my plate would mirror Jayden’s, but today? No, thank you.

  “Just coffee,” I repeat, my stomach gurgling.

  Aayden pours me a cup and places it in front of me. I grimace. “Milk and sugar, please.”

  “Black is best for a hangover,” he tells me.

  This morning just gets better and better. I have to choke down the first few sips of the muddy liquid before it becomes bearable.

  “So, why exactly are you all here?” I ask.

  “We wanted to check on you,” Jocelyn answers first.

  “We want to see your new power,” Jayden answers second.

  “We wanted to get the hell away from Justice,” Derrin answers third.

  Oh, that’s a lot of wants.

  “So will you show us?” AJ asks, and I’m a little stunned. Not because they want to see my new power. That’s weird too, it’s just AJ usually keeps his distance. From everyone. Ever since his mortal love died, a witch named Persephone; he’s been withdrawn, cocooned in his sorrow and unable to cope with his broken heart.

  He’s the only one who doesn’t repel his emotions from me, and it scares the hell out of me. Why? Because it gives me insight, a glimpse at the way Seraphs deal with a deep seated emotion; the denial and anger AJ can process, it’s the depression he can’t seem to hash out. Like the sadness is irrevocable. Except today, AJ feels different. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Is he hiding something? Scared of something? I can’t tell. My spidey senses are all messed up. I just know things are off.

  Jocelyn glides over to where AJ and I are sitting; Danika has fallen asleep in her arms. She brushes a hand over AJ’s back as she passes by and now I’m totally thrown for a loop. The gesture looked almost loving.

  What’s going on here?

  Before I can question it Derrin interrupts me.

  “So are you going show us or what?” He pushes, the dark blue in his plaid shirt bringing out his eyes.

  “Why is it such a big deal? You guys see things like this every day,” I question.

  “No Liv, we don’t see anything like you,” Aayden says. “Not only are you an Empath, you have the power of explosion. Those are two rare powers in themselves, and now you can channel as well? It’s unheard of. You have way too much power in that little body.”

  I look around the room at all the jeweled eyes staring back at me. I don’t know how to respond. Is it because I’m a Vis Vires? It must be. I don’t understand who they are, so in turn I don’t really understand who I am. Trying to get my life in order was my first priority, but maybe now, I should try concentrating on finding out about me. “I don’t even know how I did it,” I confess. “It just happened.”

  “It was forced out of you,” Jocelyn responds. “That seems to be the trigger for your power. Stress.”

  Well, I’m definitely stressed. And thinking back to last night, that creepy guy did not make matters any better.

  “Someone needs to piss me off then,” I crack. “Call Justice,” Derrin says.

  I narrow my eyes at him.

  Clutching tightly at my coffee cup, tendrils of steam curl from the rim while the entire room looks on.

  Derrin stares at me frigidly, and I know he feels it. I know he feels me channeling his power. His body shivers slightly, and I can see the intensity grow in his eyes.

  Seraphs can repel my empath power, which means I can’t feel their emotions unless I touch them. Touching breaks through their repellent, which royally pisses them off. Especially Derrin. And when I do touch them, we’re connected and I can interpret their energy, but I can’t read their minds. Their emotions aren’t that clear, but they are translatable. And apparently, they can’t repel my new channeling ability, because I could feel Derrin trying.

  Payback’s a bitch.

  “Why is it you always target me?” He asks with a husky voice. “You piss me off the most,” I answer honestly.

  “I’ll ask that question again when Justice is in the room,” Derrin retorts snidely.

  I want to blow off his arm.

  “Was that enough of a show?” I ask, feeling like the freak among freaks the way they’re all staring at me.

  “Totally,” Jayden comments in awe. “Wait till Daniel hears about this.”

  “Daniel doesn’t know? Why not?” I ask. He’s the first one to know anything.

  “He’s skipped out. I think he went to see Cross,” Aayden tells

  me as he cleans up the kitchen. Derrin, Melenia and AJ scowl at

  just the mere mention of Cross’ name. He has made some reputation for himself. And having met him, I can understand their disdain. He’s the one who uncovered I’m a Vis Vires, and not so nicely, either. The Seraph’s call him a snitch, but I don’t think that word is strong enough. Dick works much better.

  “That’s Daniel, Mr. Elusive. We never know when he’s going to pop in or out,” Aayden shakes his head as he throws the sponge into the sink.

  Good to know.

  I think my little magic trick provoked my headache because now my head is throbbing. “Ugghh.” I groan, rubbing my temples.

  “I think someone needs to lie down,” Melenia’s chime-like voice announces. And I couldn’t agree more.

  “Can you take Danika back to Scott?” Jocelyn asks AJ. “I think I should stay with Liv.”

  AJ gets this stupid grin on his face as he lifts off the stool and strides the four steps to where Jocelyn is standing. I think I am in an alternate reality, because not only is AJ standing my apartment, but now he is smiling as well.

  Who are you?

  Jocelyn hesitates for a moment before she allows AJ to slide Danika out of her arms. The golden-haired child barely stirs.

  “Take care of my baby,” she says softly, but there is ferocity

  laced in her words.

  “She’ll be fine,” AJ assures her as he coddles the child. “She better be,” Jocelyn threatens.

  “Joz, come on, who better to watch her then us?” Aayden asks, as if it’s a stupid question.

  Jocelyn shoots him a pessimistic look. “AJ and Justice, I trust. You three? Questionable,” she pins Derrin, Aayden and Jayden with her eyes.

  The Seraphs shuffle out of my apartment in single file-the bronze and beautiful-ach one just as angelic as the last, and of course, as Derrin passes by me he just can’t help but throw a dig. “Nice sweatshirt,” he says, and then disappears out the door. My heart sinks like a brick into my stomach. I look down at the worn, light grey pullover I’m wearing, the one with faded cream writing on the front; it’s Justice’s. I’ve never even washed it because it smells so fresh and clean, like a box of fabric softener, just like him.

  I look miserably at Jocelyn and Melenia after the boys leave, and not just because of Derrin’s comment “I can’t believe I blew up the women’s bathroom!” I erupt, covering my f
ace with my hands. I’m a walking disaster.

  “You sure know how to make a scene,” Jocelyn says as she walks to the opposite side of my kitchen counter, leans over and stares at me. Her sapphire eyes twinkling.

  “What fun would I be if I didn’t?” I take a sip of coffee and

  wish for death. “Is he really pissed off?” I ask timidly, putting my

  head down between my arms on the linoleum counter. I am such a fool.

  “Beyond words,” Jocelyn confides. “But it’s directed more at us than you, if that makes you feel better,” she nods her head back and forth between her and Melenia.

  “Nothing makes me feel better,” I mutter.

  “You’re just lucky the Darklings didn’t attack,” Melenia discloses.

  “Shit,” I stare at her direly. “I didn’t even think of that.” “Justice did,” Jocelyn says unpleasantly.

  “Why was he there exactly?” I ask, trying to make sense out of last night.

  Jocelyn and Melenia exchange knowing glances. Then Jocelyn shuffles around my Marc Jacobs sitting on the counter until she pulls out my phone and holds it up to my face.

  I glance at the screen and go pale. “You sent a tipsy text,” she says.

  Fuck. And there it is, the one, long run-on sentence I have no recollection typing. I swallow the lump in my throat.

  “I’m a mess,” I proclaim. “Have a nice everlasting life? I really wrote that?” I phrase it as a question, but in reality, it’s me calling myself out as pathetic.

  “Yes. And you’re not a mess,” Jocelyn retorts. “You just need to pull yourself back together.”

  “Joz, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put me back together again,” I say pointedly. “I’m a freak, damaged goods. I can’t even stand to be touched, not by anyone.”