Casted (Casted series)

by Sonya Loveday

  I wasn’t prepared for the homecoming welcome. In fact, I wasn’t prepared for the blow that Julie landed on my cheek when she met me at the door.

  “How dare you leave like that!” she yelled in my face. I staggered back into Micah and nearly sent the both of us over. Stars bursted behind my eyes. The hot sting of her attack bloomed as blood rushed to my cheek.

  What the hell?

  “What did you expect? Tears of joy that you returned. That was a stupid stunt you pulled!” Julie said, getting in my face. Edge nudged her back a few steps.

  “I saved Jude’s life! Doesn’t that count for anything?” I fired back.

  I was on whirlwind of emotions. Happy to be back home, aggravated at all the shouting and hurt that I was attacked and not welcomed. Chaos erupted around us as everyone began shouting at each other. Edge’s arms wrapped around me and the book vibrated with a happy kind of purr. He was here and he was holding on tight. His embrace only lasted for a couple seconds before his arms grabbed my shoulders, demanding answers as to what the hell I’d been thinking and who the hell was the man with me?

  I grabbed Edge’s fingers and pried them off of my arms. “Shut up…all of you!” I hollered.

  Jude stepped up to Micah. “And you’re here, because why?” He eyed him menacingly.

  Micah pulled his heavy robe off and draped it on his arm. Without the creepy robe he looked a lot less scary. In fact he could pass for a retired college professor. All he was missing was a tweed jacket and a pipe.

  Jude took a step closer to him pushing for an answer. “Well?”

  I wasn’t going to let Micah be bullied after he just risked it all to help me.

  “Because my mother trusted him. I trust him,” I said, stepping in between Micah and Jude.

  “Oh, well, that just explains everything,” Julie hissed.

  Rainy placed a hand on Julie’s shoulder. Julie shrugged her off and glared at me. Why was I being met with such hostility? Even Dagger looked like he was ready to knock me out.

  “Look, I did what I thought was the right thing. None of you can say that you wouldn’t have done it either. I knew that if Jude went back there, they would have killed him. They want the book and now they know they can’t have it,” I said, pushing my way past them.

  “And I guess you didn’t stop to think about the consequences of taking one of their Council members?” Jessa asked.

  I must have really put her through hell for her to talk to me like that. How was I supposed to tell them that they just needed to trust me? The book wasn’t going to let anything happen so long as the woman trapped in it was inside me.

  Jude wove his way around everyone to step up in front of me. He spoke low enough so only I could hear him. “If you ever put yourself in harms way for me again, I will kick your ass. Got it?” he threatened.

  What was there to say? Even the one I put myself in danger’s way for was mad at me.

  I tossed my hands in the air. “Like it or not, I did what I felt I had to do. Be mad at me all you want, it’s not going to change the fact that I did it. And I didn’t take Micah, he came with me.”

  I walked away from further humiliation and made my way to my room. I needed some downtime and a hot shower. They acted like I was some sort of fragile piece of glass that had to be guarded, so that it wouldn’t accidentally break. I had news for them. This piece of glass had just gone a couple rounds with the Nomad Council without even cracking, so they better get used to me being a part of whatever all of this was. In fact, they better be ready for a whole new me.

  I knew what the book was capable of, not them. When they finally figured it out, it will be a whole other ball game in this little war Lorenzo had planned out. Until then, they needed to start trusting me and my judgment.

  The pages of the book began to flutter as I dried my hair. The pages were restless - determined to make me listen to what the woman was gearing up to say. She was even angry with me. I was an island unto myself until the dust settled.

  My body once again moved without my guidance as I sat on the bed. My mind opened up and there she was, billowing out of the book. Anger pinched across her brow as she fought to control her words.

  “I left you alone, per your request, to fulfill the spell and what did you do? You got yourself snapped up by the Nomads–by the same people who have kept me imprisoned in this BOOK!” she bellowed, loud enough that my ears started to ring.

  “I was trying to save an innocent life. A life they would have ended because he brought me to you!” I shouted back. I was tired of being treated like a child. I was a grown woman. I could make my own choices, even if they were reckless ones.

  “You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?” she sneered.

  “No, I don’t! I don’t have anything figured out. I don’t understand anything that is going on and I don’t appreciate the fact that my body is being used for some sadistic plot being played out by two separate people for one purpose!” I raised my voice to match hers.

  “You accepted me. There is little to nothing you can do about it now. In fact, I’m tired of waiting for you to fulfill your duty to me and from here on out, until the spell is complete, you can just sit back and wait while I do what needs to be done.”

  Her words sealed off something inside of me. It made my thoughts heavy, smothering words I so desperately wanted to say. She forced herself to the front of my thoughts, her words overlapping mine, adjusting herself to take over. There was nothing I could do until she released me. What would she do to get what she wanted?

  Edge…his name echoed in my locked-up thoughts. She wanted Edge to complete the spell on my arms.

  My laughter bubbled up and out past my lips as she sat me up and finished dressing my body in a slinky outfit I would never have dreamed of wearing. She pursed my lips in the mirror and fluffed my hair. My reflection winked and she sauntered my body away, carrying me on quick footsteps back to Edge. This was not good.

  I had officially been book-jacked and she was in control. My thoughts were there, but her words came out. With any luck, Edge would notice the difference and figure out how to help me get back in control.

  Everyone was still standing in the living room. The argument had died down and Micah was explaining everything about my little visit with the Nomads. He was wrapping up what had happened right before the book had taken over when I interrupted the conversation.

  My body sought out Julie and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned, my fist connected with her face. “If you ever lay another hand on me again, I’ll black both your eyes,” I said.

  The room fell silent. They were shocked at my actions. I wished I could’ve told them that it wasn’t me. Julie actually looked stunned. She never expected me to lash out like that. It wasn’t something I would do.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Jessa said, grabbing my arm and spinning me to face her. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t me. She knew me better that that. She knew that I never resorted to violence.

  I felt my lip curl in response. Oh man, this wasn’t going to be good. “Get your hands off of me,” I said, pushing her away. She stepped back and took in my stance. Her brow shot up in question.

  “I will not answer to any of you. I make my own decisions and to hell with all of you if you don’t agree,” I spat the words at them.

  “Who are you and what did you do with mousy little Jade?” Jessa said, continuing to watch me in suspicion.

  “Maybe mousy little Jade is gone,” I sneered, turning away from her.

  Edge watched me closely. His eyes were squinted like he was trying to figure out just what had gotten in to me. I silently cheered him on. It wouldn’t be long before my actions and words would make him question why I had turned into a crazy psycho.

  My stance changed instantly. My shoulders dropped and moisture pooled into my eyes. No, no, no…she had realized her mistake and now everyone would just think that I was having a temper tantrum from all the stress I’d
been under.

  “I’m sorry.” My voice broke as I fell to my knees. Murmurs of understanding rippled around me. They were falling for it. I had to hand it to her, she was good. And I was screwed.

  Rainy pulled me up off the floor as she did her normal mothering thing. She brushed off everyone’s offer of assistance to get me back to bed. Edge refused to let her carry me, so she handed me off to him and he carried me. My body clung tightly to his as he held me against his chest.

  “I think you need a little rest and then we can get to the bottom of what happened,” he said, sliding me on to the bed and pulling the covers over me. His fingers traced my face as he looked deep into my eyes.

  I grabbed his fingers and pulled him closer to me. My lips devoured his as his body leaned in closer to mine. I wasn’t letting him go. Rainy graciously backed out of the room to give us some privacy. I screamed inside my head for her to come back and get Edge out of there. But she didn’t stay. The door closed quietly behind her as I pulled Edge down to lay beside me.

  He broke away and pulled in a deep breath as if he was trying to put out the flames of lust licking at him. I hoped he would wonder what had gotten into me.

  “If you ever disappear like that again…” he said, pulling me close to him.

  The pages fluttered around me, creating a burst of air that swept me up and tossed me. A warm vibration started in my chest and spread outward. I could feel myself gaining control- but it felt wrong.

  The woman chuckled as the vibration subsided. “That should do the trick.”

  I struggled to keep the connection between us open. It was hard to concentrate when Edge’s lips were slowly trailing down my neck.

  What did you do? I cried out at her.

  A little spell to help you connect with your preordained, she said, smugly. Don’t worry little girl, you’ll hardly remember a thing in the morning.

  Edge‘s body hovered over mine, he leaned in and kissed me. Nothing else mattered in that moment. I reached up and wove my fingers through his hair, pulling him down against me.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  My eyes fluttered open. I must have been so exhausted that I’d curled up after my shower. I shifted and winced. My body felt heavy and my muscles were stiff as if I’d pushed myself too hard on the weights in Edge’s gym. My arms and legs trembled at the slightest movement. That wasn’t the only thing hurting either. My head was killing me, like a full on migraine was creeping up to attack me and leave me in its painful clutches.

  As each of my senses started to wake up, I realized that Edge was wrapped around me, tucked perfectly against my body as if even in sleep, he was afraid I’d leave again. I twisted to get a little room. The sheet slipped revealing my naked body.

  What the hell?

  Edge’s arms moved as he pulled my hair away from my neck and began nibbling his way along my shoulder to my neck, and then tracing my ribs with his fingers.

  I stiffened as his lips began their descent down my back. “Good morning,” he murmured. Goose bumps raced up and down my naked flesh. I grabbed the sheet, pulling it against me as I scooted out of his reach.

  The sight that greeted me made me flush. Edge was completely naked. My cheeks instantly heated as I slammed my eyes shut and gripped the sheet tighter to my body. What had I done last night?

  I could feel the mattress dip as Edge came closer and pulled me into him. His sleep-warmed chest ignited something deep inside of me. Something I was not ready to face right now, so I locked it away and shifted from his embrace.

  “I wondered how you’d handle this morning,” he softly chuckled as he pulled my stiff body back into his and settled my head against his chest. “For what it’s worth, Jade, last night was the best night of my life,” he said, squeezing me for emphasis.

  What was I supposed to say to that? It was obvious what had happened with the missing clothes and the way he was acting. How was I supposed to say, oh and by the way I don’t remember it? How the hell would that even sound? He’d think I’d completely lost my mind. And hadn’t I?

  I shot up off of Edge’s chest, forgetting about the sheet and my nakedness as I inspected my arms. Words I could understand stared back at me, but only some. It was like the spell had started to translate itself, but hadn’t finished.

  Edge pulled my arm in front of him and slid his finger along the words we could read. “Only part of it translated.” He sounded a little confused.

  I didn’t understand it myself. My mother had written in her journal that the spell translated itself after her and my father had been intimate. Yet, here I sat with a partially translated spell and no memories of the actions that made it happen. Tears pooled in my eyes and landed on Edge’s chest.

  “Jade, what is it?” he said, tucking me closely to his body and covering us with the sheet as if to make a cocoon of safeness around us. I couldn’t answer him as huge sobs racked my body.

  He held me close as the sobs receded and my body shuddered with the residual effects from crying so hard. My breath caught on each inhale. Edge rubbed small circles on my back, waiting for the storm to end.

  I was a sorry sight, I was sure. My eyes were swollen. I could feel the heaviness of them each time I blinked. My nose was running and my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. All I wanted to do was wake up from this nightmare. But it wasn’t a nightmare, it was my reality, and sooner or later, I needed to face it.

  Edge’s heartbeat lulled my overwrought senses and I tumbled back into a dreamless sleep while he held me.

  I came back from a deep slumber alone. I fumbled with the sheet and got out of bed in search of clothes. Edge was on the balcony, a book clasped in his hands. But he was watching the ocean waves instead of reading. I slipped on a t-shirt and shorts and willed my brain to come up with the apology slash explanation I needed to give him.

  The slight breeze pulled at my hair as I braced myself to face him.

  “I won’t bite…well, unless you want me to,” he said, trying to break the tension.

  I tried pulling my lips into something that resembled a smile, but failed miserably.

  “I’m sorry, Edge,” I said, wincing at my gravely voice.

  “For what?” he asked. He latched onto my hand, pulling me down into his lap. He stroked my hair as I let out a small sigh. “Are you sorry for last night?” he asked.

  “Edge…I don’t remember last night,” I admitted.

  “You don’t remember?” He sounded a little hurt.

  “I can try to explain, I just don’t know how much of it I can get out,” I said, not looking at him, but more over his shoulder. I was having a very hard time meeting his eyes. How much was the book going to let me say? And how angry was Edge going to be when he found out? I took a deep breath, hoping with everything in me that I could tell him, hoping that he’d still trust me when I finished.

  “It’s the book, Edge. It wasn’t me last night,” I started.

  “Believe me, sweetheart…it was all you.” He smirked.

  “No, seriously, I had no control whatsoever!” I met his eyes. He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  “I will agree to that. No. Control. Whatsoever.” Each word was spaced with a kiss.

  I pushed away and stood up. I needed distance to clear my head. Edge eyed me in question, but kept quiet as he waited for me to explain.

  I tapped my lips as my mind tried to come up with the right words, words that wouldn’t confuse him or anger him. “Last night, I wasn’t myself.” He went to interrupt, but I held my hand out, asking for silence while I continued. “Something happened after I got out of the shower, something that made me forget everything from that moment until I woke up earlier.”

  “I don’t understand, because you were there with me, you spoke, you moved, you…” he sputtered to a stop and I watched as he tried piecing it all together. “You were so unlike yourself.” He popped up from his chair and started pacing, tossing words like jerk and stupid in between pulling his hands through his hair r
oughly.

  “Edge…I don’t blame you. The woman in the book wanted that more than anything, enough to trap me in my own head and take control. It’s not like everything we’ve been through hadn’t been leading up to it anyway.” I tried to make him understand that it was no one’s fault, well, no one except the woman in the book. But how could you act against a shadow? It was impossible. It was what it was. We just had to move on from this.

  Edge wouldn’t look at me. He hung on to the balcony railing like it was his lifeline. It hurt to know he was just as played as I was. I burrowed under his locked arms and shoved myself between him and the railing. His body immovable, I wrapped my arms around him and just held on while he had his own version of breaking apart. There were no tears, only muscles so tense that he could have been mistaken for steel instead of flesh.

  Minutes ticked by slowly and Edge’s body curled more and more into mine until he was holding me. My head tucked under his chin as he began swaying us like a mother would an injured child. It was soothing and comforting.

  “I’m sorry, Edge,” I whispered into his neck.

  He stopped moving, pulled back, and slipped his hand under my chin, making me look at him. “None of this is your fault. We’re both victims in this, you more than me. I should have known. I should have put a stop to it.” He stopped talking and shook his head.

  “I just wish I could remember it,” I said, squeezing him. He stiffened again and pulled my arms away. He took a couple of steps back and just stared at me.

  I reached for him, but he backed away. “No, just…no. I…damn it, I know this isn’t my fault, but I can’t help but feel like a monster. So, please just…I need some time.” He turned away. The bedroom door slammed shut. He pounded down the stairs carrying him away on waves of anger.

  He needed time. I needed time. But I would not let him distance himself from me. Not when he meant more to me than any other person. This would be a slight hitch in the road, but it wouldn’t define where we were going unless it meant onward. We just had to figure out how to get there.