Aconite (The Elektita Series Book 1)

by Alvarez, Christine

  I wished I could say that I could just take him at his word but I couldn't. The only thing reinforcing the truth in his declaration was the other occupants of the room. Sebastian and Richland had been sickened by the knowledge that he had drugged me to gain information.

  I finally finished the platter of cheese and crackers. With one hand I took the platter and grabbed my wine with the other and took it into the living room where everyone else was gathered. I made sure to sit as far as I could from everyone in the room. I had to remember I was Switzerland and with the animosity so thick I could cut it with my cheese knife I would play it safe and stay away from them all.

  "I need to know one thing before you all plan what to do about whoever is trying to get in." I rounded on Sebastian who had sat himself away from all the others, even Richland, who seemed to be his friend.

  "Why are you here? I know why Jonathon is here. He loves me. Well, he loves Alexandria that is. I know why Richland is here. He was Alesiya's brother, and he swore to follow her any way he could. I know why Jo is here. She is bound to me no matter what life I may lead. She is my familiar. But what I don't know for sure is why you are here. You, yourself, made it perfectly clear; love is a weakness."

  Sebastian drew himself up to sit stiff and straight in his chair. I knew I had angered him with my question as I watched his jaw tick and his true blue eyes dart ever so slightly while he mulled over whatever he was about to say. He stretched and flexed his fingers. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes.

  "Love is a weakness. What drives me now is far more complicated than simple love. I am drawn to you like a moth to a flame. The moth knows that if he gets too close he will burn up but still the moth swoops in closer. It's just what they do." His eyes shot open and what I saw in them caused me to choke on the bit of cheese that I was trying to swallow. That was not the answer I had been expecting. Sebastian has so far seemed much more selfish.

  In that moment, in his eyes, I saw exactly what he described. It was something deep, and stupid, and raw. What kept him here wasn't of his heart or mind, it was of his soul. I turned to Jonathon who had shrunk down into his seat. He must be able to see the same thing I did, and it shattered him. I watched him stare at us and knew that his love was as pure as it came. It flowed through his heart and consumed his being. He suffered from the same problem but much different. I didn't think I deserved any of it. I fished around within myself trying to find the same within me but it wasn't there. I felt an unexplainable connection that spanned well beyond rationality but nothing quite as strong as they felt. But I was satisfied with the answer he gave and the knowledge I already had of Jonathon. They were here for me and that is all that mattered.

  "Okay, why do they want to kill me?" We needed to stay on track. I had asked this question before but I still didn't understand. If I was the chosen one, the one that they were waiting for, why did they want to kill me?

  "They are the reason the Elektita want to kill you." Jo waved her glass at the guys. I was beginning to like Jo's willingness to divulge answers that the men had been unwilling to share thus far.

  "My family had resented the decision that Ava made from the beginning. They accepted a place in the Elektita but soon began to plot against the very coven they swore to stand behind. When they were ousted as traders, a curse long forgotten was placed on us and we were banished from the village. The curse then made it impossible to find our way back into the valley that held our home. We were forced to lurk just on the outskirts." Sebastian didn't look pleased with his own truth and I could say the same. It didn't seem fair to be banished simply for disagreeing. I could only assume that he was talking about the same curse that had made him a werewolf as well.

  It made sense now why I could only hear the wolves and knew that they couldn't pass the wards that where in place while I was lashed in the center of town.

  "When you began to form your own opinion and rise against the Elektita you ran from them right to me."

  I watched Jonathon while Sebastian told his story. His face was void of all emotions as he was forced to listen to the story.

  "You had used your magic and slipped passed the protection that the village offered. You had only wanted to get away for a moment. I watched you strut around the woods, full of blind rage. I can admit it now. But I was afraid to approach you. I could see who you were and it scared me. You didn't stay long before you slipped back through, returning home. I didn't tell anyone of who I had happened upon. I kept you a secret. I went back each day spending longer and longer roaming along the edge of the village. ‘Till one day I saw you again. Something had upset you and once again you magiced your way beyond the boarder. You finally began to make slipping away a daily habit always at the same time, and at the same seam in the wards. I followed from afar as you walked the outskirts of the village. I soon realized that you did not carry the same ideals as those who had banished us. So I came to you as a wolf. It surprised me greatly that you did not scare from my large form. I knew that they had warned you of us. Passed along horror stories of what our kind would do, could do. They made us into the monsters that the Gods had charged them to destroy. You were hesitant but soon extended your hand to run your fingers through my coat."

  No matter what he said now, the story he told of when he and Alexandria had first met, was consumed by love. It may have changed over time but for him, there in the woods, he fell in love.

  "I didn't know," Jonathon whispered. My heart broke for Jonathon. You could hear it in his voice; his heart was breaking all over again.

  "Neither of us knew ‘till it was far too late." I knew it then—they didn't hate each other. The anger they latched on to was only a mask for the want that consumed them. They wanted what the other hand. They craved the connection that would win their battle and make me, Alexandria, forsake the other to be with them heart and soul. They could see what I did, each one of them held a connection that without the other would never be complete.

  "When you were Alesiya, the Elektita saw once again the soul of the child that would bring back their powers." Richland had picked up the explanation after both Sebastian and Jonathon grew quite from their own personal revelation. I closed my eyes and erased the image I had conjured from my mind. I needed to focus on the why and not get so caught up in the personal drama.

  "They brought you up in the Elektita, worked even harder to warp your mind. They couldn't afford your betrayal again. You had even agreed to offer yourself willingly to the Gods when you came into your powers. They were calm as the time came nearer. Your powers would reveal themselves and they believed without a doubt that they would soon have full access to the powers of the Gods. None of them even realized it had been years since they had heard anything from the Gods that they still worshiped. They were blinded to the abandonment in search of the power that they could no longer have." He hung his head, and I watched as his chest heaved from the deep breaths he was taking in. "Until one day we fought. It was over something so impossibly stupid. You were furious. Alesiya swore to me that day she would never return. I followed her as she headed for the northern border. She didn't dare go any further. I hid yards away, blurred myself in the tree line, and watched. She summoned magic much like the Elektita and slipped through the ward. She could have easily walked through but then they would know she had left." Richland took a deep shuddering breath before continuing with his tale.

  "I didn't tell on her that day. I waited, prayed that she would return. We had been told stories of the monsters that lurked just beyond our borders. Of the witch hunters that roamed the outskirts waiting to find someone they could burn at the stake. When she came back relief swelled inside of me, but I noticed over the following weeks her disappearances became more and more frequent. When the Elektita finally grew suspicious, they called her to the great hall. That was the last time I saw her alive."

  "When they emerged hours later, it took four of their guards to carry my sister out on a wide plank. They laid her out in the cen
ter of town. They had stabbed her through the heart, impaling her to the board. My aunt stood up on a small stage in front of the entire village and declared her a demon worshiper. They warned that if anyone else chose the same path their fate would be the same. They told my people the Gods had decreed the cursed wolves’ monsters. That they could not walk among us so whoever chose to take up with one of the cursed they too would be deemed a monster in the eyes of the Gods."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  I couldn't keep my distance any longer. I got up, tears blurring my vision, and sat down next to Richland. I hugged him with all I could. It wouldn't bring her back and I couldn't replace her. I may be a reincarnate of his sister but I wasn't her. He had wished to be reunited with her someday and that’s why he went against his people and accepted the curse into him. He chose the curse to be able to follow her no matter how many lives he had to watch die and fade away.

  I had wanted this hadn't I? To know everything that had brought me to this point in my life. I truly am selfish. I never thought of the pain that this would cause anyone. They had these memories to live with every day but to speak them out loud was like giving them form. It made them new all over again.

  "Each time you come into your powers you are drawn to them." Jo had picked up the spot that she felt needed to be shared. "Each life you went against your family and sought out the wolves for comfort and each time they would find you, take you again from this world without any of us being able to stop it." I watched as she sifted through her own memories, reliving my deaths as if they were her own. I couldn't imagine what they all had gone through trying to save me from a corrupt, godless bunch of witches.

  The stories they shared ignited a fury deep within my soul. It wasn't the same type of rage that caused my tattoo to flare. I wasn't the one in danger. If they could feel my magic then I would hope at this moment that they could feel the white hot rage that piped through my blood. I wasn't going to die by the hands of the Elektita again and nobody was going to lose someone they loved. It was that easy.

  "How long do you think we have before they truly make a move?" I was focused now; I got it.

  "I don't know, things are different this time." Jonathon's voice was gruff and he wouldn't look in my direction. I didn't think we had time to analyze his emotional state. We would deal with it later.

  "How are they different?" So many years and reincarnations, how could now possibly be any different. It sounded to me like I had taken the same path that ultimately led me to my death every other time.

  "You have never had the power of foresight. I don't know if it could help us or if it is just a foretelling of another death we cannot stop?" His voice was beginning to regain some of its sexy baritone that it normally carried.

  "You need to tell us what you saw in your last vision." I would have thought Jonathon had filled them in but it sounded like he had only given them the bare minimum. I had to tell them now. They had bared painful memories that sliced deeper than visions of something that hasn't even happened yet.

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I wanted to visualize and parrot back everything that I had seen; the visions where unlike dreams in a very large way. They wouldn’t fade or grow weak in time. My visions still held strong and I could recollect every detail like I was watching a movie in my own head.

  "It was Christmas. I had decorated the house, this house, just as my mother did when I was a child. The smells of traditional Christmas dinner had made it to every room of the house. I was preparing the table in anticipation for all of you to come. I was worried that Jonathon and Jo would get lost or not remember the incantation to bypass the wards that Sebastian had placed. Sebastian had placed the wards around the house to hide my home from even those we trusted. The odd thing was I knew Jonathon was not happy to be meeting here." While I gave them a play by play I also visually walked the same path I had in the dream. It wasn't a conscious thing. I definitely did not want to make it any more real.

  I skipped over the feeling of my daughter rolling around in my belly. I needed to get out the important parts before all hell broke loose. Jonathon had warned me to tread lightly tonight, and this revelation was equivalent to a full on sprint. I kept my eyes closed fearful that I would chicken out if I saw everyone watching me.

  "The doorbell rang just as I had set the last place setting. I thought it was Jonathon and Jo since Sebastian didn't need the doorbell. My excitement had me skipping to the front door. This was the first time in a long time that we had all been together. But when I opened the door a cloaked figure stood on the porch. I tried to shut the door before they could push pass me but my belly made me slow."

  The crash of glass jerked me from my replay. Even though I had anticipated such a reaction it still scared me. It was Sebastian that had thrown his glass at the adjacent wall even though everyone was standing I knew it was him.

  "What did you just say?"

  I wanted to take back that last part and keep it a secret but it was too late. All the men in the room were pissed and Jo stood staring at me in horror. I covered my belly almost protectively. My womb was empty, but I still felt the instinct to protect a child that wasn't even real yet.

  "I should have seen it earlier," Jo said. "Ever since she had that dream her hands find their way back to her belly. Things truly are different this time."

  None of them were happy in the least for the prospect of a child being born. Even if it proved that I wouldn't die for at least another year. I was far too pregnant in my vision for it to come to pass by this Christmas. I thought back to my dream, not just this last one but the one before. I refused to even bring up that one after the display of sheer rage that Sebastian just exhibited.

  I was happy, elated, and excited to finally be a mother. Yes, I still held a great fear in knowing that I could die. But at least I would have left behind a child I knew would be loved more than most.

  "How could you have left that out when you told us of your dream this morning?" Jonathon's question came out more as a growl than human speech. He was barely containing the wolf within him.

  "This is the reason!" I screamed at the room. "You all are acting like I just told you I crossed over to the dark side and slayed you all! None of you seem to remember that this is my first week on the job." My tattoo flared to life. I did not want to fly into a magical panic attack and be the reason they all shifted into wolves and ate me. I'm sure that is a little over dramatic but I needed to pull myself together.

  "Can I get to the end of my vision? Then, by all means go back to losing your shit."

  When none of them made a sound I sat back on the couch. No one else made a move to reclaim their seats. Whatever, I just wanted to get this over with.

  "When I couldn't get the door shut in time the figure rushed passed me and made it down the hall before I could stop her."

  "How do you know it was a her?" Richland interrupted.

  "Because just before everything faded away she told me that she wasn't here to hurt me in a clearly feminine voice." There was nothing else to say. That was everything to tell of my vision. Now it was up to them to make the next move.

  "Who was the father of the child that you carried?" Sebastian's cool dispassionate voice made it sound like he didn't care what my answer would be. I knew he would care if I told him the truth. They all would care.

  "The dream wasn't an explanation it only showed what was going on right then. I couldn't tell what had brought us to that point." I shrugged and looked away, trying to give them the most plausible lie I could come up with on the spot.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  "How could you not have told us you were with child, Alexis? That is important, more important than the food or place settings."

  At least they were being far calmer than Jonathon's initial reaction. All the boys had sequestered themselves in the room that was supposed to be mine after I answered their final question. They were screaming in that language I wasn't familiar with. Every now and then t
hings would go crashing into the walls and floor. If I did decide to keep this house someone was going to have to buy me a new bedroom set.

  "Do you not hear what is going on in there? I will have to sleep on the couch or back at the Inn tonight by the sounds that are coming from that room," I said to Jo. We both looked to the closed doors. There was no way she could argue with that.

  "You're right, but what on earth possessed you to divulge that bit now? You could have told us back at the cafe."

  I gave her my best you are full of shit look.

  "Of course, Jonathon probably would have reacted worse but he wouldn't have two of the men he despised above all others to fuel that rage. He could have dealt with it before arranging to meet here." When I thought of it from that direction she made sense. It wasn't the best plan I'd ever come up with.

  "Maybe it was better to tell him here. He had to keep his shit together for the good of the future, right?" It was her turn to give me her best you are full of shit look. I could see our connection now. It was strong, and I hoped to keep it that way.

  "After I sat through each one of you retell pivotal parts of your lives I couldn't keep that kind of secret. Besides it hasn't even come to pass so how do we even know it will?" I couldn't read the look that passed over Jo's face. Fate was real, obviously. How else could you explain that life after life I always found my way back to them? But decisions you make also affect the outcome just as easily.

  "Look, Alexis, the magic of foresight is just that, magic. The magic of the Gods doesn't waiver and change based on decisions we make. Foresight bestowed by the Gods cannot be wrong."

  If I was the chosen one then maybe I was the exception to the rule. I could freeze everything around me and create storms to coincide with my emotions. How hard could manipulating my future really be? I would just avoid Jonathon at all cost. I could not fathom the decisions made between now and this time next year that would put a child in my womb. I reached for my belly and stared at the door to my room. I desperately needed it to burst open and give me an out to this situation. I held on to an even greater secret that I would take with me until it became too heavy to bear. If it was true and I could not stop this fate, then I could at least slow any more damage done by it.