Aconite (The Elektita Series Book 1)

by Alvarez, Christine

  "They warped and molded your mind to believe that they were created to fulfill a prophecy laid out by the Gods." Richland had me nestled in his arm but remained silent as Sebastian spoke. I remembered this was not his story to tell, but it was safe to assume that he had heard this all before.

  "When you grew to a young lady you were promised to another in hopes of producing a child of the same gifts." The room froze as my dream came back to me in full force. Thankfully I didn't fall into it, detaching myself from the present. A child, they wanted me to birth a child with the same gifts. Could my dream be some sort of glimpse into the future? In the dream Jonathon had been the father of my child. I couldn't wrap my brain around any scenario that would produce that outcome. I couldn't listen to this. Even without the Vero my mind bee-lined towards memories that I didn't want to experience. If my dreams fulfilled my past there was no way my dreams didn't fulfill my future. I had to get out of here. I shut my eyes and used my newly acquired will and forced them both still. I had to get out of here and the only way I could do that would be to render them unconscious. Both Sebastian and Richland remained conscious but unmoving. I felt Richland's hold freeze around me. That would be a problem.

  I wiggled out of Richland's arm ignoring his words of protest. Sebastian remained silent, watching me between slitted eyelids. This was what he meant–I was special. He couldn't control things around him like I could. He could only cast enchantments and spells. I could now see the jealousy play in his eyes. He wanted to control what I could do. He was no different than the family that he told me about. I grabbed my things and headed for the door. The enchantment still bound us in but now that I knew that my will controlled me I was more confident than ever that I would be walking out of here.

  "Please Alexis, don't go. Let him finish then you will understand. It is not safe for you out there." Richland was pleading with me, struggling against my hold on him. But my will was stronger than my sympathy with his plight.

  "I'm sorry, Richland. I told you earlier I needed to get out of here. I don't think I am ready to hear this." I didn't want to tell him it hit to close to home. A phantom movement deep within my abdomen helped reassure my decision. I didn't know who I could trust. Richland only had me in his heart but he was still loyal to Sebastian, I couldn't risk it.

  I stood in front of the barrier that held me back from freedom. I took a deep breath and let out my fear and worry. I needed to let go of all the reasons that I should stay. I reached forward and the enchantment pushed me back. Just releasing the reasons wouldn't do it. Sebastian had said the thing that made me special was my will. My will was my power. All I had to do was will it and it would be. Richland had gone silent, letting my mind focus completely on the task at hand. Sebastian still hadn't made a peep. I didn't dare turn and look in his direction. I wasn't sure what I would see there.

  I reached deep inside of me; searching for that pulse that I had felt within me ever since my arrival. I let it take hold of me and expand outward. It hurt and I worked to suppress the pain that it caused. My mind blanked of anything but my need to leave. I stepped out with my eyes closed visualizing myself standing on the other side. With a loud audible pop I kept my forward motion. The air around me felt like a thick rubber film had just exploded. When I opened my eyes I was standing on the step outside.

  I turned now looking back through the door. They both stood motionless in the doorway, stunned into silence.

  "You told me I was special."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Now what was I going to do? I stood on the rock pathway completely surrounded by woods. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. What little grass I saw was cut close to the earth letting the large pine trees have access to their full glory. The evening air was moist and saturated with the scent of pine and salt. We couldn't be that far from the ocean. A driveway ran up the side of the large Victorian home. It was beautiful, but I didn't have time to take it all in. I needed to get out of there. My heart pounded against my ribcage as I followed the drive, hoping it would lead me to a garage. They both owned very expensive cars, so I doubted they left them out in the elements. Sure enough the drive ended right in front of a large four car garage. All four doors were shut, I grabbed the handles and tried to jerk each one up with no luck. I needed to figure out something. I didn't know how long they would stay like that. My head spun from it all.

  On the left side there was a door that sat unlocked. Of course, who would be out here other than those invited by Sebastian? I flipped on the lights in the massive garage. The space was filled wall to wall with vehicles. Besides the BMW and red Jaguar, there was a multitude of motorcycles and crotch rockets that lined the back wall. Someone had a thing for cars. I only had eyes for the dark blue Maserati that stood out against the rest. It was beautiful and it sparkled. Sparkles were a must if I was going to borrow it. I felt unbridled excitement at sitting in the driver’s seat. The convertible top was down in invitation. God, how the black leather interior hugged by backside. I never thought of myself as a car enthusiast but being surrounded by all these nice rides I could see myself turning into one. Sebastian's arrogance had left the keys in the passenger’s seat. I hesitated for just a moment before sliding the key in place. I had never taken anyone else's car in my life. The engine purred to life. The slight vibration that it produced hummed through my body. I didn't think I could give this back. Maybe I would keep it as payment for emotional distress. I tapped the garage door opener and impatiently waited as it rose to full capacity, gunning the engine just to hear it roar. Nobody was waiting to block my exit as I slid the car into gear. I had an immediate urge to stop at a car wash when I heard the crunch of gravel tarnish the perfect tires.

  I jumped when the car spoke to me. The GPS needed to know my destination, how convenient. I told the car, which sounded more like a late night phone sex operator than a computer, to take me to Ocean View Inn. I was damn sure steering clear of the cafe until I figured out what my next move was. I didn't want to chance running into anyone right now. The navigation said I was about an hour and a half from the Inn. I still couldn't figure out how I made it here. I left the top down even in the growing darkness. The cool air slapped against my cheeks. The harsh contact felt more real than anything else that had happened. I watched the little blip that represented the car move along the navigation screen. I was driving up the shore side. If I just turned off at one of the many side roads that I passed I would be mere miles from the beach front. The thought of freedom was enticing, but I still needed to get as far from Sebastian's as possible. I had just magically frozen two werewolves and stole one of their cars. When the magic broke they were going to be pissed. I didn't want to be close enough that they could track me. Neither of them spoke much about the whole werewolf thing but they had to retain some things that marked them as a wolf, right?

  So I drove on in silence, the moon just days from being full, rose silently into the sky. It was pure white and still just as beautiful. The winds picked up as I kept on with my destination in mind. I had to fight my hair as it whipped across my face. I left the radio silent not wanting to hear anything but the sounds that nature made. The car felt like it was gliding instead of rolling on its wheels. It was the perfect choice for a night like this. I made it back to town in no time with the Inn squarely in my sight. Occasionally the GPS reminded me of how long until we made it. I had never missed a place so much in my life. I came to a screeching halt right next to my poor Bug. It felt like a betrayal as I took in her sad state. If only she knew why I had been driving this car instead of her she would understand. I gave her a pat as I passed. Linda was at the front desk when I burst through the doors. She jumped, clearly startled by my entry.

  "Good to see you, Alexis. How was your vacation?" She gave me a shy smile. That must be what Richland had told her when he came to retrieve my things.

  "It was… eye opening." Nothing about what I had gone through felt like a vacation. I didn’t think it would go over too we
ll if I told her that a man had kept me hostage in his home for three days while I had a magical awakening.. I didn't think the next card she gave me would be for another women’s shelter. I didn't want to stay and chat so I ignored whatever she just said and headed straight for my room. The little light on my door flashed green just before I opened it up into my pitch dark room. Even though his eyes melted into the darkness I knew I wasn't alone. Jonathon was sitting at the end of my bed with his head in his hands.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  "What the fuck are you doing here?" I flipped on the light. Jonathon looked deep in thought and I assumed as much when he didn't even acknowledge my outburst.

  "Get out!" I was directly in front of him before I even let myself realize I had moved forward. I came here to be alone. I didn't want to have to deal with this right now. I needed time to decide how to handle Jonathon drugging me into a powerless loon.

  "Please." His voice was weak, but I had no sympathy for his feelings. How come they would only give me information on their terms? This was getting old and fast. “Don’t do this, I need to explain." The mist that I had brought about the last time we were together now swam slowly across the floor, encircling my feet before it began climbing its way up my legs.

  "How come my reaction to you is different than others?" It didn't get past me that the entire time I was with Sebastian or Richland not once did I have this type of reaction while the Vero wasn't in my system. He slowly lifted his head from his hands to look up at me.

  "Our connection defines it." Well isn't that interesting. When Sebastian and Richland were near I was able to freeze things around me and Jonathon and Jo ignited storms within me that I unleashed on my surroundings. Wouldn't it be interesting to see what I could do when all four where within my presence? I pocketed that thought for later because who knows, I might just get the opportunity to find out.;

  "So what would you need to explain exactly? Let me take a guess. Why you gave me something so strong that for three days I couldn't function at normal capacity or how it made me wide open for anyone to trigger loads of shit that could ultimately break me? Wait, that’s not it, is it? Maybe it’s how you are Lupo, werewolf, from the seventeen hundreds. Is that it or shall I go on?" I was curious as to which topic he would hit on first.

  "I didn't mean for you to drink so much." His sad onyx eyes narrowed in on my face. The way he was staring at me didn't help in lessening the storm that I felt increasing by the second. I needed to control it. I wanted answers to these questions even if the time wasn't necessarily convenient. I tried to reign in the soothing smells of outside that still lingered in my hair. I needed to control it. I willed myself to take back the rage that Jonathon's presence released. The mist began to fade but the same energy that had released it vibrated in irritation just under my skin. I was holding it all in by a thread.

  "What did you mean to do?" My question came out calm but shaky as I tried to push the magic farther down. He hadn't denied that he was intending to drug me or that he was a werewolf, so maybe whatever he had to say would contain a sliver of the truth.

  "I just needed you to drink a little. I only needed a very small window to access the right memory."

  "So you wanted to drug me in order to sift through and find a certain memory?" My anger was swift and felt wonderful as it unleashed itself through my words.

  "You don't understand." I heard the truth in his words. But he was wrong. I did understand. I had been accessing memories and filing information away for days now. I had learned far too much for him to say I didn't understand.

  "You don't think I understand? I have spent the last three days figuring out exactly what you meant to do to me." He flinched back like I had hit him.

  "Where have you been? We have searched everywhere for you." Of course they had been looking for me, they needed something from me. He handed me my forgotten cell phone. I had dozens of missed calls all from Jonathon, plus numbers that I didn't recognize. There was even a few from the cafe's line. His dark eyes searched my face for any reaction. I figured they were looking for me and by the dates they had attempted to call multiple times each day that I had been away.

  "We came by the Inn many times hoping you had returned but Linda told us that you had gone on an open ended vacation. I even went as far as asking Sebastian. Since the last time Jo saw you, you were getting in Richland's car. I figured he would have some kind of clue. But he said he didn't know where either you or Richland had disappeared to. I thought he had finally gotten what he has always wanted."

  I knew Sebastian's dislike of Jonathon ran deep but he didn't even mention that Jonathon had been looking for me. Plus he lied to Jonathon about knowing where I was since I was exactly where he had put me. I didn't know what to tell him. There must be a reason for his secrecy. Damn it, I was so confused. I had myself believing that Jonathon was the bad guy and here I was finding out that he was actually searching for me the entire time. But I couldn't be certain that his intentions once he found me were for the best. Then there was Sebastian, who had kept me hostage. He said he had only did it for precautionary reasons but who was I to know if that was the truth. On the other hand he had given me more information in a shorter period than anyone else had ever attempted. I couldn't let any of those things cover up the fact that he had killed me in a previous life. Even Richland and Jo, as pure as their intentions appeared to be, held their allegiances first and foremost for the men they worked for.

  "It doesn't matter where I was." I chose to avoid the answer I didn't feel he deserved. His brows furrowed, he knew that wherever I was, it had been rather significant but he was willing to let me have my answer.

  "What matters is that I am here now. You said that you wanted to find a specific memory, which one?" I sat down in the office chair waiting for him to explain away why he had slipped a powerful drug into my drink. Sebastian had made the suggestion that I may not want to hear Jonathon's side, but he was wrong. I needed to know what had made him become so desperate that he had to take it instead of simply asking for it first.

  "You've changed." His observations were not what I needed, but they felt right. I had changed from the time I walked into this town to the present. Who wouldn't if they had to endure the amount of shit I had?

  "That is irrelevant. What is relevant is what you want from me." I eyed him speculatively. Carefully watching his face for any signs that what he was about to tell me was false in any form.

  "I needed you to remember your very first death." He had succeeded in that, but not in the way he thought he would. He was able to pull those memories to the forefront while I was lying in bed with the very man that murdered me.

  "What are you talking about?" I didn't want him to know that he had in fact pulled that memory to the present.

  "Don't play dumb. At the very least you have spent this time with Richland so you know some of what is happening to you. You already know that I am Lupo so your knowledge far exceeds ignorance." All elements of sadness or pity dropped completely from his tone. Further explaining why I didn't want to drop my guard around any of them.

  "Okay you got me. Yes, Richland explained how I am a reincarnate; each time being born different but yet the same." I purposely quoted him to remind myself that I was different. I didn't have to make the same mistakes as them. I could choose another path. I would just carry the memories of those before me to my death bed. I also purposely skirted the fact that I did know exactly what he was talking about.

  "Exactly, Alexandria was the first that we know of anyway." He could have done without that last part. That was all I needed, to know that there were possibly many more lifetimes that would crop up in my mind at the most inopportune times.

  "I needed you to remember the specifics of her death, but I didn't want to wait for it to arrive via dream. It would have taken far too long." Out of all the memories that may help him, he wanted to pull the one that would hurt me and him the most. Has his motive been, all along, revenge for a stolen love?<
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  "What does my death so long ago have to do with anything?" He looked as though I had sprouted two heads.

  "It has everything to do with the past, present, and future. It isn't the death that is important it is the manner in which it happened." He was starting to sound like a crazy person and crazy just didn't work in a body like his. He also sounded like he didn't give a damn about who had actually wielded the death blow.

  "What are you talking about?" This time I didn't have to feign ignorance because I really had no clue what the hell this man was blabbering about.

  "I need you to remember that moment. The blade is a key factor in everything that has happened thus far." His constant reminder of the dream that I wanted to be rid of was pulling it closer to the forefront of my thoughts. I didn't want to see that awful moment ever again and now this man was asking me to do just that.

  "I don't want to." I knew the minute the words came out that I had said too much. Jonathon burst from my bed, standing before me, eyes wild and seemingly on the brink of madness.

  "What have you seen?" The words sounded far closer to a demand then a question. He may think I have changed, but he was different as well. Nothing of the Jonathon I met was standing before me. It made me wonder if the Jonathon I met was nothing but an act to draw me in. I could hand it to Sebastian the way he seemed at first meeting was the person that he was today. I couldn't say the same for Jonathon.

  "I might be able to give you something if you tell me what is so important about the blade."

  He stood mulling over my request. It seemed like a no-brainer to me. By all accounts it was the blade that killed me in another lifetime; I think I deserve to know what was so important about it.

  "Fine, if you must know I will tell you, but you will be in far greater danger than you are at this point." How much more dangerous could any of this really get?