“Just what I said." He stirred his tea. "I woke up about four nights ago and he was sitting at the foot of my bed.”
Dalia breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, so you dreamed about him.” She picked up her beer to resume drinking. The silence in the room was heavy.
“I said I woke up and he was there Dalia.” Xavier stared at her.
Dalia looked at her niece and nephew searching for signs of a joke. When they both met her eyes she got nervous. Traces of power from her niece raised the hair on her arm. Answering power from both Xavier and Julian confused her. What was going on?
“So what did he say?”
“He said that our family’s powers had been unlocked and that I would begin to see more spirits. He seemed relieved that I was finally able to see him.” Xavier stood and leaned against the sink. “He told me that he'd been waiting on my powers to manifest since the oracle was found. Do you know what that means?”
Dalia shrugged. “How the hell should I know?” But she did. She rubbed her hand across her face. “Have you talked to mom?”
“Si, she was not as surprised as I thought she would be. She explained a bit of our family history to me.” Xavier frowned. “It doesn't explain what's been happening to the kids.”
“What has been happening with you guys?” she asked the twins.
"I've started seeing strange things.” Julian rubbed his neck.
“Like what?”
“I see threads, different color ones, connecting people. It's as though I can tell who's related, or who's connected and how close they are connected." He shrugged. "I should also add that some of those people are already dead."
“And you?” Dalia looked at her niece. She'd been quiet through the other explanations, but by her expression none of it was news to her. They must have all talked about it before.
“My senses are sharper, I can see better, hear, and smell, the whole nine yards. It’s kind of cool, and very useful on the job, let me tell you.” Frankie frowned a little. “Strange for me is the feeling of something moving through my body, almost like a separate entity. Oh, and lets not forget the voices.”
Dalia’s stomach pitched. She knew the voices. She wanted nothing to do with those voices. “What kind of voices?”
“Well, there is a woman, she asks me to meet them, and she says that I'm one of them blah, blah, blah. Sounds crazy, I know.” Frankie's eyes narrowed. “You know something.” It wasn't a question, more an accusation.
Dalia shook her head.
“Spill it, Dalia,” her brother ordered.
“I have to check something out first.”
“So you do know something?” Xavier squinted at her.
“Give me a day.” Dalia hoped the oracle would talk to her. “Hopefully I can explain it all tomorrow.”
Francesca nodded, satisfied. Julian looked skeptical and Xavier eyed her suspiciously.
“One day.” Xavier pointed his finger at her.
“Well, I'm going to crash; I got duty in a few hours.” Frankie cleaned up her mess of orange peels.
“This will make a week straight you've been on a night duty, I don't like you working late,” Xavier said sternly.
“You worry too much, dad.” She kissed his cheek and left.
Dalia shuffled her brother and nephew from her apartment minutes later and breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed. She had no idea what was happening with her family and unfortunately the only person that would know may not be allowed to talk to her. Dalia went in search for her cell phone, dreading the call she knew had to be made. Zahra answered her call on the first ring.
“I need to meet with you,” Dalia said without preamble.
“Fine, I can transport you here.”
“Yeah right, you know your entourage won’t allow me in your precious safe house.” Dalia winced at the bitterness in her voice.
Zahra silence on the other end prodded her guiltily.
“Sorry, that was bitchy.”
“I’m sorry about what happened with Bron. I had no idea he thought your powers were corrupt.” She explained.
“You knew they weren't?”
“Yes, I talk with the goddess regularly. I thought once they met you, then they would see that you wouldn't hurt me. I should've been a little more prepared and I’m sorry for that. This oracle gig is new to me and I'm still learning.” Zahra’s tone was sincere.
She thought about her words. “That still doesn't excuse Bron’s betrayal.” Nothing did.
“Surely, you can understand a little, Dalia.”
“So when can we meet?” Dalia cleared her throat. She didn’t want to talk about this with the oracle.
“I'll transport you here.”
“I don’t want to see Bron.” The silence on the other end made her nervous.
“He didn’t mean–”
“No, Zahra. We meet without Bron or I'll find another way to get the information I need.” Zahra sighed. “Fine.”
“Let me clean up a bit and I'll call you when I'm ready.” She would take a shower and clean up, the last thing she wanted to do was go to their turf looking desperate.
“Alright.” Zahra agreed.
Dalia tossed the cell phone on the bed and jumped in the shower. The hot water felt good, washing away her melancholy. Her heart still hurt, but she could function through it. She was glad her family had stopped by. They had helped shake her out of the funk she'd been in. She rinsed the shampoo from her hair and froze as a fissure of power disturbed the air.
Shutting off the water, she listened for hints of who had entered her home. Wrapping the towel around her chest, she unscrewed the towel rack. There were knives embedded in either side of the towel rack, making it a lethal weapon. A girl could never be too sure these days, at least that’s what the tagline read on the website Dalia had ordered it from.
She moved quietly through her room and peeked her head around the door into the living room. Her grip tightened on the towel rack when she saw Nala lounging negligently on her sofa. Forcing her hands to stop shaking, Dalia walked into the room as though she was not concerned. She dropped her weapon on the table and lounged in the armchair opposite of Nala.
“What do you want?” she asked the other vampire.
Nala’s eyebrow lifted at her dismissive tone. “I know that you have contacted the oracle. Twice.”
“And?” Dalia crossed her arms over her chest, hoping her face was blank.
“And I know you're supposed to meet with her. I want the amulet she wears, and I want the one named Bakari.”
Dalia snorted. “That sounds like a YP not a MP.”
Nala frowned, staring at Dalia as though she was offended. “What does that mean?”
“It means that it’s your problem not my problem.”
“You will help me.” It was not a question.
"Are you daft, lady?”
Nala frowned again and reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Dalia watched, tense, as she searched through it. Nala tossed the phone to Dalia, and leaned back, waiting on her reaction. Hands shaking, Dalia caught the phone and stared at the screen. It was a video file. Dalia pressed play and watched with mounting dread as the video showed her mother sitting on her front porch. Standing at the corner of her mother’s house was a vicious looking Ajo with madness in his eyes. Dalia swallowed her panic and forced her eyes up to meet Nala’s.
“I have someone watching your brother and his kids also, they caught up with them as they left your apartment.” Smug pleasure suffused her face. “I think you'll do what I tell you.”
“You can’t watch them twenty four seven.” Her worse nightmare was starting all over again. Someone was using her family to get to her.
“Neither can you, dear.” Nala stood and grabbed her purse. “Keep the phone. You'll use it to call me once you are inside the oracle’s house. My men will do the rest.” Nala slammed the door as she left.
Dalia dropped her head to her knees as panic filled her.
She had no choice. She knew what would happen to her family if Nala made good on her threat. She couldn't risk it.
Chapter 21
ZAHRA SAT AT THE KITCHEN TABLE, staring at her father-in-law pacing the room.
“Ajo are dangerous, Zahra, you can't let your guard down for even a second,” he lectured.
She nodded impatiently. She'd been getting this lecture for the past hour and frankly she was tired of it. Still pissed about the way Bakari handled Bron, his added lecture did nothing towards appeasing her. Her husband stood at her side, his hand on her shoulder, with Aren sitting next to her, preparing for the meeting with Dalia.
"Do not, mi ôkàn." Fynn warned, blocking their conversation from the Ijoye.
Zahra sighed. "I wasn’t going to say anything."
"Please", Aren scoffed, "you’re practically chomping at the bit. Allow him his lecture, Zahry. What can it hurt?"
Zahra sighed again and tuned out her father in law. This meeting was too important to get distracted. The tribe needed Dalia. Her cell phone rang at her side and she jumped. “Dalia?”
“Yeah, princess, I’m ready.”
“She's ready,” Zahra told the room. “Remember she's not like other Ajo, Bakari, so don't treat her like crazy person.” When he nodded she used her power to link with Dalia and teleport her into the room. Zahra sat up straight as Dalia popped into the room. She was beautiful in her simple jeans and tank top. Dalia’s eyes were defiant as she took a seat across from Zahra.
“You can tell your merry men to relax, princessa. I'm only here to ask you a couple of questions.”
God that woman's mouth.
Aren coughed to cover his laugh. "She’s worse than you, Zahry."
Zahra shook her head and smiled. “I'm glad you came to see me. You've seen the goddess, and I wondered when you would call.” With everything that happened she wondered if Dalia would call at all. “You still have questions?”
“Have you been trying to contact my family?” Dalia's eyes were hard.
Zahra looked surprised. “How do you mean contact?”
“There have been some strange things happening to my family. I want to know if you're behind them.”
Zahra studied her a moment trying to figure out how to answer the question. “If your family descended from the original Aje tribe, then when I gained my powers, anything passed down through your family may have been unlocked, that could be the source of the strange happenings.” She searched through the threads connecting her with the tribe and tried to think of who Dalia's family could be.
A spark of interest lit Dalia’s eyes. “Is that true for all the descendants?”
At Zahra’s nod, she seemed to relax slightly. “Are you trying to contact all the descendants?”
Zahra’s eyes darted to Bakari and she wondered how much he would let her say.
“Only those we need." Those needed for the upcoming struggles. “Warriors, shaman, and anyone helpful to the basíkùlú.”
“Warriors?” Dalia inquired, perking up.
Zahra used the barest trace of her power to find out what Dalia was searching for. She caught faint traces before Dalia slammed down a barrier, but it was enough.
“That’s not nice, princess.” Suspicion narrowed her eyes.
"Are you feeling the same thing?" Aren asked her.
Zahra nodded. “Fynn, can you and Bakari leave so I can speak with Dalia alone? Aren will be here with me.” From the images and fears she pulled from Dalia, she didn’t want the other two in the room.
“Like hell,” Bakari growled.
Fynn simply scoffed.
The urgency mixed with fear from Dalia, scared her and sped up her heart. She'd caught glimpses of some kind of evil stalking Dalia’s family but the barrier came up before she could get anything other than that.
“I'm only asking as courtesy, guys.” Zahra used her eyes to plead with her husband. “I’m not leaving you in here alone with an Ajo,” Bakari snarled.
Dalia flinched at his tone.
Fed up, Zahra teleported the two of them from the kitchen and into the training room before they could say another word. The banging on the walls started a moment later and Aren stared at her wide-eyed.
“They’re locked in.” She looked at Dalia. “I don’t think it'll last long, so hurry and explain.”
“Explain?” Dalia started to stand.
“Why didn’t you tell me your family was in trouble?” Zahra snapped. Her head pounded at the amount of power she used to lock her husband in the other room.
“Why would you care about my family?” Dalia raised her chin.
“Damn it, Dalia, they're a part of this tribe also. Do you think I would let something happen to them?” Zahra grit her teeth as Bakari's power slammed against hers.
“How was I supposed to know? You guys haven’t exactly rolled out the red carpet for me.” Dalia crossed her arms over her chest.
“That doesn't mean we'd allow something to happen to innocent people.” Aren's gaze darted between Dalia and the door. “What're you still hiding?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“Little girl, you’re still young in your powers. No amount of blocking will keep me from finding out what’s inside your head. If you want me to stay out then just answer the questions.” Aren pointed at Dalia.
“Maybe I should just leave,” Dalia said.
“Dalia, I take the oracle’s safety very seriously.” Aren growled. “I feel a threat from you and I want to know why. We can do this the easy way or the hard way–”
His words were cut off as Bron rushed into the room. His roar was loud as he grabbed Aren from the chair and pinned him against the cabinets.
“You will not lay a hand on my mate.” Menace threaded his words.
“Stand down, Bron,” Zahra ordered. She rubbed a hand across her head. The whole situation was getting out of hand.
Ignoring her, Bron roared inches from Aren’s face. The warriors stared each other down, each refusing to submit.
“I will threaten whomever I have to, to keep the oracle safe.” Aren shoved Bron away from him.
“I said stand down,” Zahra ordered again. She shoved power at the two men.
Dalia gasped. The two men dropped their heads and Bron released Aren.
“We don't have time for this.” Sweat beaded along her forehead as she fought to maintain the power she expended.
Bron was breathing hard, struggling to control himself.
“I should go.” Dalia tried to stand.
Zahra whirled around to face her. “Sit.” She ordered Dalia.
Dalia sat back in the chair.
“You,” she pointed to Bron, “over there now, and do not move.”
Bron moved to Dalia’s side of the table and they all breathed a sigh of relieve when Zahra pulled back her power. Zahra braced her hands on the table to catch her breath. The sounds of pounding grew louder.
“Talk now, Dalia. I can't hold them in there for much longer.”
“A vampire named Nala is having my family followed. She threatened to hurt them if I didn’t tell her where you were.” Dalia rushed out.
“Why?” Aren gathered his dreadlocks back into some semblance of order.
A tight black t-shirt replaced his torn shirt right before her eyes; Dalia was awed by how easy they wielded magic. “I’m supposed to tell her where the oracle and the one named Bakari are.”
Zahra looked at Aren and Dalia could tell they were talking to each other. She jumped when she felt another rise in power. Bakari and Fynn came into the room both wearing identical expressions. Their brows were bunched in anger, their mouths set in a straight line. Dalia was impressed with the oracle as she watched the woman stay calm in the face of their anger.
“If you ever do that-” Bakari started. The growl from his son cut off the rest of his words.
“You will watch your tone with my mate.” Fynn bared his teeth.
Dalia squirmed at the icy look Bak
ari gave Zahra.
“I don't care whose mate she is, if she can't mind her own safety then I will return her favor and lock her up,” he snarled.
Zahra scoffed. “I’m a grown ass woman.”
“Then act like it.” Bakari snapped. “You know your importance to this tribe. Stop putting yourself in needless danger.”
“I'm not flippant with my safety Bakari. I've been taking care of myself long before you knew who I was. I don’t need you cosseting me.” Zahra put her hands on her hip. “Aren was still in the room, I was in no immediate danger.”
“You didn't have to force us out.” The anger left Fynn's face.
“You wouldn't leave when I asked you, Fynn. How was I supposed to get any answers from her with your father staring daggers, and you hovering?” Zahra threw her hands up.
“Anything she has to say, I should hear,” Bakari said.
Zahra balled her fists. “I would've told you.”
“I shouldn’t have been sent from the room,” Bakari growled.
“Well, you pissed me off, and I'm the oracle. I shouldn't have to argue with you over every damn thing.”
“Enough.” Fynn slashed a hand in the air between the two of them. “It’s obvious you two will disagree on this. She's an important part of this tribe, Ijoye, and should be given a lot more respect than we've shown her. Zahra, baby, we'll try not to smother you, but you must also talk to us. We can't know your intentions if you don't tell us.”
He turned to Dalia and she noticed how handsome he was. His brown skin was flawless. His eyes so dark they looked black, all accented by his strong high cheekbones, and proud chin. His hair was braided down in neat cornrows, which only added to strength of his face. He wore power like a comfortable shirt. It hung on his shoulders with a confidence that somehow comforted Dalia. It would be easy to follow this man wherever he led.
“Dalia, I apologize for our behavior. Everyone sit and we'll discuss this like adults.”
Dalia moved her chair slightly as Bron sat next to her. His closeness was playing havoc with her already shattered nerves. She took a deep breath and his scent surrounded her, calling her to his arms. She caught herself swaying towards him and straightened in her chair. Zahra quickly explained to her husband and the Ijoye what Dalia had told her.
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