by Diana Nixon
“I would suggest doing something I’m sure Christian would never approve, but something tells me that you are going to see another vision soon.”
“What?”
“You’d better sit. The cloud is forming around you.”
“Are you controlling it?”
“No. So be ready for anything.”
I didn’t know how Evan managed to see the cloud, because I didn’t see anything. The only thing that felt different, was a headache that I knew meant Evan’s memories were consuming my mind.
I was in his house in Paris, but this time, he wasn’t there with me. I was standing near the fireplace in the living room, watching the flames, when I heard someone’s footsteps in the hall. I turned around and saw Marion Blanche entering the room. She was so much younger than I remembered her. And she was pregnant.
“I’m glad you’ve made it here tonight,” I said, the sound of my voice surprising me. It wasn’t my voice actually, but Dominic’s. Was I seeing the memory through his eyes now?
“You know I didn’t have a choice,” Marion said uneasily.
“I told you, I would never hurt you. And I will keep my promise and save your child.”
“In exchange for what?”
“You know how risky everything I do is.”
“Everything you do is illegal and dangerous. People die because of you!”
“They always have a choice. Those who die are simply not strong enough to be a part of the brotherhood.”
“Anyway, what is your point? What do you want from me?”
“I need you to become my personal talisman, my guardian angel, the guarantee of my life.”
“What?”
“I will bind us and give you a part of my powers that will also save your daughter from death that she is predestined to face soon.”
Marion’s face paled. She hesitated only for a moment, before she said, “Fine. Do it. I need my daughter alive.”
The vision disappeared as abruptly as it formed, and I found myself sitting in the middle of the damn field again. Evan was right, I couldn’t go back to reality.
He was sitting in front of me, watching me silently.
“Did you see it?” I asked him about the vision.
“Yes.”
“Did you know that Elena was the reason for your father and Marion’s bond?”
“No, I didn’t. But I always thought that there must be something making Marion follow my father’s orders. Even though he would never make her do anything that she didn’t want to, she wouldn’t give up her freedom just like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
“You seem to be missing a very important point to all of this,” I said.
“Which point?”
“Dominic was one of the strongest Wizardy’s ever. Combining his powers with Marion, the strongest magician of her clan, he created something very dangerous; the something that can destroy the entire world of supernatural.”
Evan froze, shocked. “You are not talking about Elena, are you?”
“Of course, not. I’m talking about something that has been asleep for years. And I think all these visions I see are the keys to understanding that mystery.”
“But they are all about me, right? Do you think it means I will be able to feel new powers or-?
“Anything is possible. After all, your father had always been after something that none of us could understand. Maybe we will finally figure out what it was?”
“I only hope it won’t screw up my life even more. Because I’m seriously sick and tired of all the shit that he left for me to clean up.”
Something was different about Evan today. I couldn’t tell for sure what it was, but I could swear that some new powers had already started forming inside of him. Now that we were so close to each other, well, at least mentally, I could see those changes happening in his aura. And the silver light that I could see so clearly while I was away from him, was now all over him.
“How do you feel?” I asked, still watching him closely.
“Good. At least I don’t feel pain anymore. Which is a good sign I guess. Why?”
So he didn’t see any changes in his aura, and that was kind of strange, considering how well Evan could read auras.
“Have you tried to pierce into someone else’s mind? I mean Darcy’s or Amanda’s?” I asked.
“No. I haven’t. Whatever Darcy and I share is not strong enough for me to be able to do that. As for Amanda, I’m afraid of trying to contact her. I don’t want anyone else to feel whatever I will have to feel before I wake up.”
“How very thoughtful of you,” I said, smiling. “I feel kind of special to share your torture with you.”
“You are welcome. You know I can’t live without you.” He laughed. “Thank God, Christian can’t hear me now.”
“I only hope we will be able to get out of this illusion alive. Because I’m not ready to say good-bye to my life, even if it means spending the rest of my existence wandering around the endless roads of hell with you.”
“Who knows, maybe they will let us into heaven?” Evan winked at me.
“I doubt that. After so many asses you’ve kicked.”
“Shut up, Miss Congeniality. We are cut from the same cloth. So wherever I go, you will go with me.”
“I’m not sure I’m thrilled about that idea,” I said, grimacing.
“You seem to forget how much fun we used to have together,” Evan said, moving closer to me. Unlike our previous visit to the field, I wasn’t afraid of staying there now. If felt safe.
“Yeah, well, if by fun you mean all those times of saving each other’s butts, then I’d prefer to stay here and spend the rest of my life enjoying the beauty of the surroundings.”
“This place exists only in our heads, you know that, don’t you?”
I nodded wordlessly. “Being here is still better than dying in agony.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think that it is the end of our suffering.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at him, worried.
“This,” Evan said, taking my hand in his.
The moment our palms touched, the familiar silver pattern started binding them, which meant we were closer to reality than we expected. No bonds could be seen through dreams or memories. The only thing that was wrong with the whole thing, was the color of the pattern. It was getting darker, and darker, until eventually it formed a thick black chain that neither Evan nor I could break.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, horrified.
“We are dying,” Evan said calmly, as if we were talking about the weather.
I swallowed hard. The words seemed to freeze in my throat.
“See you on the other side,” Evan said, smiling slightly.
And then, the pain was back…
My heart took off, beating so fast, as if it was about to jump out of my chest. Sharp blades were slicing every inch of my body. This is what they call a pain shock, I thought to myself. I could no longer understand anything about what was happening to me. Endless rows of people and places rushed through my head. Some of them I didn’t know, others were familiar. The waterfalls of emotions filled my racing heart. Love, hate, sorrow, fear — all mixed in one.
Is this what people feel when they’re dying?
A new wave of pain flared up in my chest, burning everything on the way to what I thought was the beginning of something new. I only hoped I wasn’t on my way to hell. For a moment, the pain was all I could focus on. It was so strong, I don’t think I’d ever felt anything like that before. Behind my closed eyes was nothing but the flames of fire, leaving bleeding scars on every small part of my body.
The battle was about to end, I could feel it. My heartbeat was slowing down. There was a moment I thought I would never feel its beating again. Then, something unexpected happened. I felt a familiar tingling on my palms. It was so soft, barely tangible, as if someone was touching me with a feather. But I could feel how very powerful whatever was
hidden behind its softness was.
The magic was back. For the first time ever, I felt Evan’s powers so clearly. I used to think that they were very strong, but now, no words seemed to be good enough to describe how far I was from the truth; his magic was beyond understanding. It was like a river, running through his veins and healing every small scar he had. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he was becoming immortal, because for me, it felt like something too unreal to believe in.
Did he feel the same way now? I hoped he did, because whatever all those changes meant, it was worth fighting for. Now I knew for sure that Evan wasn’t going to die. Death couldn’t feel so wonderfully alive and complete. A new life was about to begin, and I knew it would be larger than anything he had ever experienced…
Chapter 3
Evan
The bright light burned my eyes. The pain that had been torturing me for days was gone without a trace. Everything felt so new, so unreal.
Am I dead? I asked myself. No freaking way… Hell would never meet me with so much joy rushing through my body and soul.
I tried to move, and to my surprise, my body obeyed. What a relief. I looked down at myself and grimaced at the outfit I was wearing. It was probably the only thing that hell would be happy to see me in. Couldn’t anyone find me better clothing than a dress? Well, it wasn’t actually a dress, but I guess it was what they always give to the patients in hospitals. And it did look so much like a freaking dress. Crap.
I rose to my feet and took a few steps. My head wasn’t spinning anymore, my lungs could breathe freely and the only thing that I was still worried about, were my powers. I saw a pitcher of water on my bedside table, and I thought I could use it to make sure that I was still a wizard and not just a living vegetable. I raised my hand and waved for the pitcher to move closer. But to my surprise, it didn’t just move… It flew to the wall behind me and smashed into a dozen small pieces.
“Holy shit!” Did someone turn me into Batman?
I walked over to the broken pieces of glass and tried to put them back together. No such luck. I was only able to gather and smash them again. It reminded me of the night when Eileen first felt the power of her magic. The only difference was that it wasn’t the first time I used my powers. Something was seriously wrong with me. Or maybe I just needed more time to make my powers work after so many days of constant sleep?
It was the first time I had seen the room I was staying in. I sighed and went to the window, pulling the curtains open to see if I was still in Dever. As soon as the curtains flew open, I flinched, covering my eyes with both of my hands. The sunlight was blinding-bright. Carefully, I put my hands down and looked at them. No sparkling… Thank God! I was so not ready to become a freaking vampire.
I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection. Fortunately, it was still the same, with tousled hair and bright-blue eyes. And I was more than happy to realize that I still looked like a grown-up man and not like the newborn baby from Eileen’s memories. That was a huge relief too. I kind of liked wearing boxers instead of diapers.
Okay, now it was time to see what was going on outside the closed door. I hesitated for a moment, holding my hand on the doorknob. What if something was different now? What if I was a new person now? What if…
“You are still the same Evan. Trust me, diaper hater,” Amanda said, entering the room. She smiled at me and hugged me tightly.
“Easier there, little devil,” I said, laughing. “Now I know for sure that I’m back to the hell I used to live in before I died. You can still read my mind?”
“Yep. I kind of hoped I wouldn’t be able to do that anymore, but my fate is a bitch.” She paused for a moment and then added, “Don’t you dare die, Evan! Even I would cry if I had to watch you heading for the other side of the grave.”
I laughed again. “No, really? So you love me after all?”
She grimaced, crossing her arms. “Don’t push it. For now, I’m the only person who knows about you being a pain in the ass again, so if you want to live and see your friends, you’d better leave your jokes aside.”
“Please, Amanda, give me a break. I’ve just returned from one hell of a vacation, and you don’t even want to give me a chance to feel alive again!”
“Fine, if driving me up the wall makes you feel alive.” She rolled her eyes. “I can let you have some fun. But tomorrow, we are back to the good-behavior rules, deal?”
“Have I missed the part about agreeing to follow the rules? I can’t remember even one single time I behaved.”
Amanda shook her head, saying, “One day, I only need to live through one more day of your jokes. Then I will show you what tricks I’ve managed to learn while you were enjoying your sleep.”
“My, my… Who would have thought that I would miss you learning how to kick ass? I can give you a few private lessons, if you want. You know, I’m a real specialist in it.”
“I’ll remember that. Though I think you will need to get changed first, because I doubt your magic will obey if you keep wearing this.” She looked at me from head to toe and giggled.
“I know. Thanks for the reminder.”
“I’m glad you are back,” she said, not a trace of a smile on her face. “Eileen wasn’t the only person who had to suffer while you were asleep.”
“What did you feel?”
“A suffocating sorrow. That was the only thing I managed to get from you. You wouldn’t let me into your mind, and I’m kind of grateful to you, for blocking me, that is. I’ve been watching Eileen and you, and I know that those twelve days you two spent in a coma were anything but a vacation.”
“True. Do you know if she’s awake now?”
“I think she is, though I’m sure Christian and her father won’t let her out of their sight, any time soon.”
“Can I see her?”
“For that, you will have to wait for her to come back to Dever. Everyone thought that keeping you two as far away from each other as possible would be better. Frederick, Christian and William took her to Norfield.”
“How long ago did that happen?”
“Four days ago. Will said she needed to stay away from Dever for some time. Before then, she had been staying in Medellin’s hut.”
“I see. Well, I truly hope we will never have to go through anything like this again, because I can’t imagine wasting two more weeks of my life burning alive.”
Amanda smiled. “Let’s hope for the best.”
“Now, I would like to take a shower and get changed, if you don’t mind. Is my old room still mine?”
“Of course! No one believed you would die.”
“Good to know that.”
Amanda accompanied me to the dormitory and said she would go and tell everyone that I was alive again. I swear, I’d never been so happy to be alive. For the first time ever, the only thing I could think about was the steady beat of my heart that somehow now felt like it was beating faster than usual. After all, I realized that no matter what trials your life consist of, it is still worth living. Even if you have to fight for every breath you take…
After I was done with the shower, I got dressed and sat on the balcony, enjoying the chilly February night. I could already smell spring coming. There was something in the air that screamed with the beginning of a new life. Spring was always associated with something new, and I hoped this time, it would also bring something new and good into my life. I was seriously tired of all the surprises my days were filled with. Somehow, they rarely were good.
There was one more thing that worried me a lot — my powers. Something had changed since the day of our fight with the Dragons. Now everything I used to feel before that, felt so much stronger. I remembered the incident with the water pitcher, and once again, I thought that it was not accidental after all. I could swear my palms were full of magic that I didn’t know how to control.
I had always been good at controlling magic. But now, it felt too strong and unknown. I took a deep breath and went b
ack to the room. The clock on the wall showed midnight, but I didn’t want to sleep. I think I had had enough sleep for the rest of my life. I walked to the mirror and stared at my reflection. Suddenly, my bright-blue eyes darkened, I blinked hard and the darkness disappeared. What the hell was that? My heart skipped a beat. Did the spell that was supposed to kill the Dragons bring me closer to the dark side? I remembered the moment I saw changes happening in Eileen’s eyes while Vanessa was manipulating her powers. But unlike mine, hers were becoming brighter, meaning that her powers were getting stronger. God, everything outside and inside of me felt so new. And I didn’t know if it was good or bad news.
There was one place I wanted to see. The Great Hall. Somehow, I thought it could help me explain things. So I locked my room and headed outside.
Dever had always been like a home for me, a place where I was happy, and now it was also a place that changed me forever. I opened the doors to The Great Hall and instantly received a feeling of nausea. The memories of the fight were still too vivid in my head.
I walked over to the portrait of the Fairey family, reached out my hand and touched the painting. The colors of the picture immediately became brighter. I put my hand down, scared. Never in my life had I been afraid of using my powers, not even when I was too young to use them. Then I took a deep breath and raised my hand to the portrait again. Closing my eyes, I tried to create an imaginary fiery line that connected the portrait with the rest of the pictures that formed a map to the old spell that used to protect Dever and its dwellers from the outside intrusion. The spell was destroyed, but I still wanted to make sure that the map didn’t work anymore and that no one would ever be able to find the place where it was hidden.
I felt the rush of energy that always went along with my powers breaking out of my hands. On the one hand, it was so good to feel them again, if not for one thing — the powers now living inside of me were not entirely mine. I opened my eyes and my worst fears were confirmed… I was capable of so much more than I expected. The fiery line that was supposed to be thin, was now so bright, I could barely look at its blinding shining. My eyes traveled to the pictures of the moon and the sun drawn on the opposite walls, and now I also saw something that I had never noticed before…