Fate Foretold (Gifted Anomalies Book 1)

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  After turning the cold water on, I splash water over my face, enjoying the sharp freshness it brings to me. My thoughts sharpen as I wake up all the way. Of course, now that I’m alert, my thoughts flash through everything, including my father.

  Closing my eyes briefly, the only thing I can do is focus on my breathing. I need to keep them deep and even. It works as the rising panic slips back down into the dark depths of my inner being, to lie in wait for another time to pop out and send me into a tailspin.

  When I glance at the mirror, I gasp and blink. My eyes. They’re white. They only do that when I have a vision.

  But I’m not having one. My head whips around as I take in the scene. The bathroom melts away into a dark and dingy room. Chains rattle in the distance and something scrapes along the floor that should have been vinyl, but had turned into unforgiving concrete. The tiled walls are now dark brick.

  The lighting dims until there isn’t much left.

  My heart jumps in my throat, and I stumble back, expecting to hit the sink counter. Instead, my back hits a wall and something hanging from it. I turn around and jump back. The chains attached to the wall sway, and when I try to scramble away, I’m prevented by the tug on my legs and arms.

  With my heart in my throat and through haggard breaths, I look down and collapse as my gaze follows the chains. They’re attached to me, to my arms and my ankles.

  “No, no, no, no.” I whimper and yank on them. Pain bites into my skin, and I cry out.

  Footsteps echo through the room and my body freezes. All I can hear are the sounds of shoes coming closer and my heavy breathing. Sweat dots my pebbled skin and the noise get closer and closer.

  There’s a shuffling noise and the sound of keys at the door on the other side of the room. I hold my breath when there’s a loud click and then something sliding, metal against metal. The door creaks open, and I shudder.

  Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me. I don’t want to be here.

  “Hello, Adalyn.”

  No…

  “Lyn! Adalyn! Baby, wake up.”

  I gasp, my lungs refusing to draw in air. Hands are on my body, and I curl away from them as I cough. It’s like someone held me underwater for a long time, and my body feels like it should be dead. My limbs are heavy.

  “Adalyn, what happened?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “What happened?”

  Questions are thrown at me, but I don’t process what they’re saying.

  “Please don’t touch me,” I sob out, and the hands are instantly removed.

  With their touch gone, I relax against the cold floor.

  “Adalyn.” A different voice and now that my heart is no longer the only thing I can hear, I realize where I am and what is happening.

  I’m back in the bathroom and all four guys are in here with me. I roll over so I can see the door. Colton is in the doorway, probably just showing up. His expression is twisted with concern and pain.

  “Adalyn.” He steps farther into the room, and all I can do is watch him.

  I’m not sure I’m capable of moving right now. My limbs are jelly. My right hand makes its way to my left wrist as I feel the bite of the shackles around them.

  He comes closer and kneels before me. His hands hover over my body, respecting that I don’t want anyone touching me, even as a large part of me calls out to them, needing whatever comfort they’re willing to give.

  “What happened? Can you talk?”

  I nod and open my mouth. A weird croaking noise comes out of my throat and my mouth clanks shut.

  “Okay. Take your time.” He turns to the guys and gives them instructions. I’m not able to pay attention as my mind keeps trying to drag me into… whatever that was. They move around. Jackson stays with us while the others slip out of the bathroom.

  “Lyn, can I check your heart rate?” Jackson asks carefully, his hands hovering over me too.

  I manage a nod and his shoulders slump in relief as he checks it.

  “Do you hurt?” he asks.

  I shake my head.

  “Was someone in here with you?”

  I think about it for a moment before shaking my head. It was just me in here.

  “Do you know if someone used their gift on you?”

  I shake my head again.

  “Can we lift you up?”

  I nod. I want to get out of here. I don’t want to be here anymore.

  They seem to pick up on my thoughts because Jackson scoops me up and gently cradles me against him. His body buzzes with energy, and I have a feeling he’s using his gift for something, I’m just not sure how or why. Colton leads the way and we slip out.

  To my relieved surprise, no one stops us or questions us. A few seconds later and Jackson is lifting me into the SUV and crawling in after me while the others get inside too. DJ dives into the driver’s seat and takes off.

  “How are you feeling?” Jackson asks.

  “Okay,” I finally get out and the tension in the vehicles lessons at the sound of my voice.

  “What happened?” Colton asks from next to us, but he’s looking at Jackson when I glance at him.

  “I heard her,” Eli speaks up. “She was crying, and I ran to check on her. The others followed. She was on the floor. Her eyes were completely white.”

  “White?” I ask, eyebrows furrowing. That can’t be right, can it?

  “Were you Seeing?” Colton asks.

  I shake my head, but pause, thinking about it. I had sensed everything. Normally in a vision, I don’t pick up on how things feel or smell or even taste. Yet whatever that was, I could use all my senses. It’s why I feel so confused right now, like I should still be there and not here with DJ speeding down the highway, zooming past cars.

  “I don’t know,” I finally answer. “If that was a vision, I’ve never had one like that before.”

  “What was it?” Colton’s voice is gentle and knowing as he asks, as if he’s well aware of the horrors I just faced.

  I glance out the window, trying to not let myself drown in that vision—if that was what it was. “I was in a dark room, similar to a basement, with concrete flooring and brick walls, not much lighting. Chains hung on the walls. When I went to move, I realized my wrists and ankles were in shackles that were chained to the walls. They bit into my skin.” I rub at my wrist, remembering exactly how it felt. “Considering I’ve never had bindings on before, I shouldn’t have known that. Someone was coming. I could hear their footsteps. And then they opened the door. I came out of it after he said my name.”

  The silence is deafening as they absorb what I tell them.

  “When he talked, did you recognize his voice?” When Jackson speaks, I jump, still in his lap, and he grunted, his arms tightening around me. After a moment, he mumbles something and moves me so I sit between Colton and him.

  I think back to his question and the sound of the man’s voice when he said my name. Shaking my head, I reply, “He only said my name, and there wasn’t enough to match the voice to anyone. I didn’t get a clear look at him or recognized the figure.” My shoulders slump. “I pretty much know nothing about him.”

  “That’s fine,” DJ says. “Doesn’t matter because if that was a vision, it’s one that isn’t going to happen. You’re not going to end up in a dungeon.”

  “Fuck no,” Jackson agrees.

  I smile at them. If only speaking out loud what was and wasn’t going to happen would work. If that were the case, I’d no longer feel like Death is hovering over my shoulder, waiting until it’s my time. Or the guys’ time.

  “Is it possible for a gift to upgrade?” Eli asks and everyone exchanges looks.

  “Not at this age,” I say. “I stabilized by the time I was a teen.”

  “But that’s what this seems like. You leveled up somehow. Your eyes were white, Adalyn. That only happens when you’re Seeing,” DJ says.

  “That means something happened to you to increase your gift,” Colton says with wo
rry.

  I don’t respond because I don’t have an answer. Instead, I let them talk over me and zone out because I don’t want to admit to them how scary it all is.

  If I leveled up, I don’t want to be having visions that real. I’ll go insane.

  27

  The building DJ pulls up to is long with four floors. Half of the first floor is made completely of dark glass, reflecting the morning sunlight. The rest of the building is white with normal-size windows. DJ pulls into the visitor parking lot and turns off the engine. We sit there for a moment staring at the building.

  “Ready?” Colton asks.

  Not really.

  I nod and we pile out of the vehicle.

  Jackson takes lead as we go into the building. We hang back while he briefly talks to a receptionist on the other side. The reception area is roomy, with a nice visitor’s lounge, and even two vending machines, one for drinks, another for snacks. The color scheme is light with white and off-white colors, but the setup doesn’t make me feel like we’re walking into a hospital.

  When Jackson comes over, he motions over to the cream-colored chairs, and we sit down to wait.

  “She’s wrapping up a meeting and then she should be down,” Jackson says.

  I lean back, wrapping my arms around my stomach. My right leg grows a mind of its own as it starts shaking. After a few minutes of making a jackhammer sound, Eli rests his hand on my knee and I go still. His long, slim fingers wrap around my leg. His energy seeps into my body and I feel settled with such a simple touch.

  Not realizing how much I needed that comfort, and wanting more, I reach down slowly and rest my hand on top of his. His hand turns, and he weaves our fingers together.

  “You aren’t alone,” he whispers.

  I squeeze his hand as a reply and feel my muscles relax. Tilting my head back to stare at the ceiling, I wait.

  “Jackson, what a surprise,” a female voice says, breaking my concentration from counting how many tiles are on the ceiling.

  Everyone jumps to their feet as a tall, lean woman with long auburn hair approaches us. Her skin is tanned, her smile breathtaking, and her eyes knowing as they flicker from one person to another. When they land on me, she freezes, still a few feet away. Her blue eyes turn a shade darker as they scan me from head to toe.

  “Oh, this is unexpected,” she says and walks closer, still staring right at me as if I hold answers to some profound question she’s always had. Her eyes finally move away, but this time she isn’t looking at anything as they trail around my body and then back to each of the guys.

  “What’s wrong?” Jackson asked.

  She seems to remember why she’s there, because she clears her throat and gives us a warm smile. “Let’s chat in my office.”

  She cocks her head toward a door that needs a card to access and we follow her. We go through and then take a right to a stairwell. We only have to go up one flight of stairs until she leads us to a large office with a wide window and a view of the parking lot and highway lined with palm trees.

  “So, what’s going on? I haven’t heard from you in a while,” she says to Jackson. We make use of the couch and chairs to settle in.

  “I’m cashing in my favor,” he says and tilts his head toward me.

  “Oh, right, manners. My name Dr. Zahra Deas.”

  “Adalyn Kabos.” I watch for a reaction to see if she’s heard of my name, but she doesn’t react. It’s a nice relief after running for years, knowing that if I gave anyone my real name, then I’d be easier to track.

  “Pleasure meeting you.” She leans against her desk. She wears dress pants with a blouse buttoned all the way up. While the clothes are nothing special, they still highlight her attractive features. Men always explain women’s legs like hers as the kind that go on for miles, and she’s definitely shapely underneath the blouse.

  I blink a couple of times and glance away, my cheeks heating. Am I seriously checking out a woman? She’s attractive for sure, but it’s like the others don’t even notice. That relieves some of the tension knotting in my stomach.

  Dr. Deas turns to Jackson. “I have to say, I’m surprised. It’s been years. I almost thought you forgot about my debt.”

  “That’s because I don’t consider it a debt and never planned on using it.”

  “So what changed? What’s going on?” Her concern is sincere as she looks at me again briefly before looking at something around me, but not at me. She blinks and focuses back on Jackson.

  “Lyn’s father died a couple years ago, and she’s been on the run since.”

  “Is it a good idea to tell her everything?” I ask, jumping in.

  Jackson smiles. “You can trust her. I promise.”

  I bite my lip, wanting him to not fill her in, but I let him continue.

  “Holsen is after her. She’s The Seer.”

  Dr. Deas gasps as her eye turn back to me. I fight to not squirm underneath her scrutiny.

  “Fascinating,” she whispers, and again, my face feels like it’s on fire. “So what do you need me for?”

  “They have her dad.”

  Confusion washes over her face. “I thought you just said he died.”

  “He is dead,” I answer, curling my fingers and digging my nails into the palm of my hand.

  “It’s Ijnan. Holsen found him,” Colton speaks up.

  Her expression goes dark at the mention of the medium’s name, her lip curling as if she’s about to release a snarl.

  “I understand.” Her lips purse as she gets lost in her thoughts, mumbling softly to herself. Only Colson and Eli can hear what she’s saying and they nod as if agreeing with the direction of her thoughts. “Okay. Do you have a personal item of his? Something he really treasured. I’ll be able to use it as a connection to his soul.”

  I pull out the chain around my neck and let her see the ring. “Wedding ring.”

  Her smirk is almost predatory as she leans forward. The challenge we gave her seems to have sparked a fire inside of her. “Good. Very good.”

  She reaches her hand out, and I hesitantly hand over the one remaining item I have that’s linked to my dad. It’s hard. Even now, I can hear his patient soft voice as he tells me a story about Mom, all the while twirling the ring around his finger.

  Dr. Deas holds the ring up to the light, looking at it. It’s a simple gold band, but what can’t be seen by the naked eyes is a microscopic message that reads ‘Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’ as an inside joke between my parents. My mom was a seer, not a particularly strong one. Dad liked to tell me the story of when they met. Apparently, my mom had seen him in a vision, so she went up to him and said “I saw you yesterday and fell in love. Tomorrow, we’re going on a date to prove that you love me too.” Hence: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

  “All right, let’s go to my lab.”

  She leads the way to her lab, a spacious room with tables and a lot of things I can’t begin to understand.

  “What do you do here?” Colton asks, looking interested as he walks around slowly.

  “I can’t be with my patients constantly, so I develop drugs that do what I can do to a certain extent. Since nongifted mental health medications don’t do well with the gifted, our energy interfering with the effectiveness, I take those same drugs and change them so they do work.” Dr. Deas’s expression brightens as she talks, her hands moving around to stress her words. She loves every aspect of her job. “For example, I have a patient who is bipolar. So I take the drugs normally used, essentially infuse it with my gift, and give it to him. They’re able to get through his defenses and help balance his mood shifts. Now,” she rubs her hands together, “let’s see what I can do to help your dad, yeah?”

  I nod and she grabs my hand, pulling me up next to her.

  “With you by me, it’ll strengthen the connection even more since you’re his daughter.”

  “What do you need?’

  “Just stand here and look pretty.” She sends a wink my way before grabbing s
upplies. My cheeks turn red. Somehow she makes me nervous, but a nice nervous, with butterflies in my stomach.

  “You can’t have her,” Jackson growls out.

  Dr. Deas looks at him, back to me, and then to the other guys in the room. “I know and it’s a shame. She’s beautiful.”

  My mouth pops open as realization dawns on me. She’s flirting. This time, I’m pretty sure my face is completely red. A woman has never flirted with me before, and I don’t know how to respond. I need to at least gently let her down.

  “I-I’m flattered, but I’m not—”

  Dr. Deas laughs. “I know, honey.” She pats my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m just teasing the boys. They get so easily riled up.”

  “Zahra,” Jackson warns, his expression growing dark the more she teases.

  “Right. Work. I’m assuming you’re on a deadline?”

  “As soon as we’re done here, we need to head to New York City.”

  “This will only take a couple of minutes. Adalyn, please rest your hand on my shoulder so we have a connection. What is your dad’s full name? Including middle.”

  “Donovan Belash Coyne,” I say.

  The air stills, and I look at the others. They’re gaping at me. Dr. Deas notices too and raises an eyebrow.

  “Problem?” she asks.

  Jackson moves to respond but then stiffens. He glances at Colton who has an intense expression as he stares right at me, really taking in my features now.

  “How did we not know this?” Eli asks. “I should have known this.”

  “We saw the death certificate.” Colton shakes his head and looks at Eli. “This shouldn’t be.”

  “What’s going on?” I ask, my heart rate picking up slightly. My body goes stiff as they seem at a loss for words.

  “DJ?” I turn my focus on him, knowing he’ll give me an answer.

  “He used to work at the compound,” he answers and winces, glancing at the others.

  “My dad?”

  Colton nods and sighs. “This is unexpected.” Running a hand through his hair, frustration builds up in his eyes. “He worked there when we were just babies. We never knew him. What we do know is that he resigned one day and disappeared. He took a non-gifted newborn with him.”