Taurus: Book 3 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series)

by Rachel Medhurst

  Chapter Twenty

  ‘I’m going into battle,’ I said as I picked up my old bong.

  The glass was stained, which was disgusting. I hadn’t taken anything for two weeks. For the first time in years, I was clear headed and ready for the fight.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  Kerry smiled when I placed my old smoking paraphernalia in a plastic bag, ready to be thrown out. She hovered by the open bedroom door.

  ‘I can’t really explain but wish me luck.’

  She stomped her foot. I stopped what I was doing and turned to her. She had been a regular visitor as I recovered, but I wanted to distance myself. She was like my rehab nurse. Not that she’d officially been my carer, but I was seeing her in a new light. I didn’t want her to see me as a recovering addict.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ I stepped over to her; coming so close she had to bend her head back to look at me.

  Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. I reached out and stroked the soft skin covering her oesophagus. Her eyes widened when I looked into the blue of her iris. No words needed to be spoken. I couldn’t look away. Her hair fell away from her face. It tickled my arm as I laid my hand on her back.

  ‘Taurus…’ She breathed my name.

  ‘Taurus!’ Aries shouted from the kitchen. I smiled as I pulled away from Kerry. I had to sort Nick out before I spoke to her. I wasn’t sure if she wanted me, but it didn’t matter. I would let her know—

  ‘Come on!’ Aries was his usual patient self.

  I laughed when Kerry rolled her eyes and gestured with her head to go.

  ‘Can we talk later?’ I asked.

  She rubbed her lips together as a smile curved the corners of her mouth. ‘Yes,’ she said, stepping to one side, allowing me to pass.

  ‘Taurus?’ she called.

  I turned back to her. She held out the plastic bag that contained the drug stuff. I took it from her, nodding my thanks and winking as I left her to it.

  ‘What’s that?’ Aries asked as I joined him on the top step outside the front door.

  ‘My old life,’ I said, jogging down and throwing the bag in the bin.

  Aries’ eyebrows rose as he watched me. ‘I’m impressed.’

  ‘I’m ready,’ I announced.

  Aries slapped my back as I went to walk away from him.

  ‘I don’t like that you’re doing this alone,’ he said.

  I froze. I didn’t turn to look at him. I couldn’t. My throat tightened at his concern. He hadn’t shown this much interest in me, ever. The fact that he was concerned was…touching. Which was not a word I often used in my vocabulary.

  ‘I’ll be fine. Just be on standby and keep Kerry safe.’

  ‘Kerry? Taurus, is she—?’

  He fell quiet when I glanced over my shoulder at him. His eyes widened as he slowly nodded. I couldn’t help the goofy grin that came to my face.

  ‘Good luck,’ he called when I sprinted off.

  The house where I met Nick was a bus drive away. I didn’t want to walk across London, so I hopped on a bus as soon as I could find one. The doors whooshed shut behind me as I found a seat near the front.

  ‘It’s been awhile,’ a voice said into my ear.

  I turned my head to see one of Nick’s men sitting behind me. How had I not seen him?

  ‘I’ve not been well,’ I lied, ignoring the glare of the old man beside me. ‘It’s convenient that you’re on the bus when I got on.’

  The burly man smirked. ‘I’m afraid it is purely coincidence. Are you on your way to see Nick?’

  My body shuddered involuntary. The man was talking to me as if I was on good terms with him. He trusted that my drug habits would keep me in line with Nick and his men. How had Nick brainwashed them into being part of his group?

  ‘Yes,’ I replied, not wanting to get too comfortable talking to the man.

  ‘He is in residence today. He’s been waiting for you to return.’

  ‘What is he, the bloody queen?’ I replied, chuckling.

  The man barked a laugh, which made me laugh harder. He was only human after all. His persona gave me the impression that Nick had messed with their heads, but maybe they actually believed in his cause.

  ‘How did you start working for Nick?’ I asked him.

  The old man next to me grunted. He creaked to a stand as he got ready to get off the bus. My new friend swung from the seat behind and landed in the seat next to me.

  ‘My father was in the group. He met Nick a long time ago. He taught me that you were terrorists. We can’t have people like you around. Although, you seem all right.’

  I blinked rapidly. Terrorists? Nick brainwashed them into believing we were terrorists? How incredibly stupid could they be to believe him?

  ‘The Zodiacs are well known by the Dysfunctionals. You seem to think you’re all we care about, though. You’re not the only people in the world with a mission.’

  Interesting words. The man could tell me everything I needed to know about Nick. Our stop wasn’t far ahead, so I asked the one question that had been bugging me since I had last seen his leader.

  ‘What is so wrong with falling in love with a soulmate?’

  I wanted to know why he believed it was wrong. Not why Nick did.

  ‘How would souls expand if everything was love and light? We get stronger when we are faced with tough lessons.’

  I couldn’t tell whether his words were rehearsed.

  ‘But surely we wouldn’t expand if we didn’t fall in love?’

  He tutted and shook his head as the bus came to a stop. We climbed off and walked towards the street that held my enemy.

  ‘Falling in love is okay. As long as it’s not with your twin flame.’

  The man was taller than me, but he was roughly the same age. Most of Nick’s men were younger for some reason. Were they easier to persuade? Did he bribe them?

  ‘Why?’

  He chuckled as we entered the street we needed. ‘Because when twin flames unite, nothing can separate them. They live long happy lives together and have children that make a difference in the world.’ His face screwed up as he spoke.

  It would explain why Nick left Aries and Pisces alone and focused his efforts on those of us that hadn’t united with our soulmate. Negativity breeds negativity. It was like most wars in history. One person believed something so strongly that their conviction persuaded others to believe them. Religion had created many wars. Men wanted power. They craved it because they felt the need to control their environment. Even women were taking on that masculine role.

  ‘The world would be a much better place if people like Nick weren’t determined to bring everyone down. Just because he lost someone a long time ago, doesn’t mean that everyone shouldn’t experience love.’

  I stayed calm. Heat pulsed through my veins as I thought about the pain and suffering Nick and his men wanted to cause. All because some woman had hurt him.

  ‘If you think that’s the only reason he does what he does, you’re even more naive than I thought,’ he said, falling back and allowing me to go first as we reached the door.

  No matter how hard I tried to find the answers, more questions cropped up. Life was a school for learning. That’s what Kerry had said once over the last two weeks. I hadn’t listened at the time, but maybe she was right.

  ‘Taurus! It’s good to see you,’ Nick greeted as I was led into the kitchen.

  The table was laid ready for a trip down memory lane. My hands clenched into fists at the slight temptation. The pull was subtle, but it was there. I lowered myself into a seat, making sure to avoid looking at the open bag in front of me.

  ‘Where have you been?’

  Nick’s grey eyes were bright. He was happy that I was there. The man seemed lonely. As I sat and watched him take out a baggie and start to cut out a line with a credit card, I felt sorry for him. His life was consumed with hatred for people he didn’t even know.

  ‘I’ve been a little…occupied.’


  His hand froze in mid-air. His eyes flicked to me as I stared at him. His back went straight when I reached between us and pulled the whole bag of drugs to me.

  ‘I’ve missed this, though,’ I said, plastering a smile on my face.

  His shoulders relaxed as he bent to snort the white powder up his nose. He trusted me for some reason. Maybe he relied on my addiction to make me pliable.

  ‘I was getting over Sophie. It’s hard.’

  He narrowed his eyes, glancing down at my hands when I ripped open a baggie. I poured the powder onto the table, creating a dust cloud to rise. His Adam’s apple moved when I bent down to the table surface.

  ‘Well…she had to go. You know my mission is important to me. I respect you, but I can’t let you unite with your twin flame.’

  His eyelids started to droop. He gestured at the mess in front of me. I sat up straight, leaning away from the drug that wanted to crawl up my nose.

  ‘How do you know when someone is a twin flame?’

  He stretched his eyes open and tried to focus on me. ‘Take the drug. I’ll show you.’

  ‘Tell me!’ I said as he started to slump towards the table.

  His eyes grew wide. He had finally sussed that I wasn’t going to snort the powder. He struggled to push himself up by grabbing the table, but the drug had taken control of him.

  ‘I…don’t know anymore,’ he admitted as his eyes closed and he passed out on the table.

  Nick’s men waited in the hallway. I didn’t have long before they would figure out that something was wrong. Any movement I made had to be silent. I hadn’t expected my plan to work out quite so well.

  We couldn’t kill Nick, but we could send a message. We wouldn’t go down without a fight. Nick had chased us through many lifetimes. We didn’t remember them clearly, but we were sick of fighting. Our loved ones had been killed. Our lives had been ruined. Over and over. Nick had lost his love once, hundreds of years ago. We had lost ours hundreds of times. Because of him.

  ‘I’m sorry, Nick,’ I whispered, reaching into my pocket and taking out a funky looking syringe. ‘But we’re going to put up the biggest fight you’ve ever seen.’

  I popped off the lid, revealing the thick sharp silver needle. Father had pulled some sort of favour to come up with the device that would change the war forever. Nick’s head leant on the table surface. His mouth was open and dribble already formed at the corner of his lip. I stood, not having to worry about the scrape of my chair. I had made sure not to tuck it in.

  My footsteps were silent on the lino floor as I came around the table. I held the needle against his hand, pulling the skin up, like Father had shown me. Coughing, I pushed the needle in and clicked the plunger. Nick’s body jumped, but he didn’t wake from his drug induced slumber.

  I replaced the lid on the needle and put it back in my pocket. The tracking chip was live. The wound in his hand started to bleed, so I took out my penknife. My stomach clenched at the thought of what I was about to do, but it had to be done for two reasons.

  I picked up Nick’s hand and pulled the skin tight around the wound. I swallowed hard before lowering the knife to the puncture wound. When the blade sliced into his hand, I had to pause. Mutating someone made my stomach churn.

  Sophie popped into my head. Her face reminded me of why I was doing it. I drew the knife down his hand. Blood rose to the surface of the wound and formed a bright red mark on his skin. The puncture wound blended with the cut nicely. He wouldn’t be able to tell that there was a small chip embedded in his hand. Reason one. Tick. As the blood grew thicker, the mark on his hand became clear. S for Sophie. Reason Two. He would never forget who he took from me. Even if she wasn’t my twin flame.

  Nick’s men started to talk. I could make out words that were jokey. Their laughter was muffled. It was time to get out of the house. Putting my knife away, I pulled out the note I had written before I came and placed it under his now dripping hand. The wound was deep. His skin was starting to thin with age, so he would scar.

  ‘Until next time,’ I whispered, treading silently across the kitchen floor.

  The window was already open slightly. I waited until the men laughed again and inched it up. The smooth slide made me thank the window fitters for doing a good job. I glanced back as I heaved myself onto the kitchen worktop and swung my legs out of the window.

  My note moved gently in the breeze that came in, but it didn’t dislodge. I hadn’t been too harsh in my letter to our enemy.

  I lowered myself to the ground, going still when my feet hit the concrete. There was no sound from inside so I rushed up the steps quietly and sprinted away from the house that I would never see again.

  When Nick woke up and read the note, he wouldn’t be happy. The words would wrap around him and squeeze him until he couldn’t breathe.

  You killed Sophie in vain, yet you will never forget your failure. Three down, nine to go. You will not beat us.

  Chapter Twenty One

  ‘I told someone that I had met my soulmate,’ I announced.

  Kerry’s foot connected with the pad on my hand. She stopped bouncing when she saw I was being serious. I lowered my arms. We both sweated as we trained in the park. I wanted to make sure she could defend herself, just in case Nick tried to get revenge. It was still pretty precarious. We weren’t technically united.

  She bit her lip as she watched me. Her hair was high on her head. Sweat covered her face. It looked sexy. Her body was starting to tone where we had been working out. I had asked her to be my case study. Uni had wanted me to start again.

  ‘Did you tell them that she died?’

  I frowned. What was she talking about?

  ‘You might be a hairdresser, but you’re not a typical blonde.’

  Her mouth dropped open. She kicked high. I managed to block her with a swipe of my arm. I dropped the block, but she didn’t give up. She swiped me again. Whose stupid idea was it to teach her to kick box?

  I grabbed her calf. She had to hold onto my shoulder to stop herself from falling over.

  ‘Get off me!’ She laughed, trying to shove me away.

  I pulled and she lost her footing. Swiping my arms under her, I managed to grab her to me. She punched my chest as I cradled her.

  ‘Let me go!’

  Her anger was genuine so I dropped her. She fell to the floor, but I followed her down. She landed on her back. I lay over her, using my straight arms to keep distance between us. Her eyes widened as I lowered my face to hers.

  ‘I was talking about you,’ I whispered.

  She went completely still as she stared at me. Our eyes locked in place. My muscles strained as I held myself above her. She blinked as her tongue flicked out and licked her top lip. I kissed the tip of her nose, which made her laugh.

  ‘Say something,’ I whispered.

  She shook her head, chewing on her lip. What was wrong with her? She had been sending me all the right signals over the last couple of weeks. Sweat broke out on my forehead as the shaking in my arms got worse.

  ‘Taurus?’ she said. ‘Just bloody kiss me.’

  My body dropped onto her. She giggled as I buried my hands into her hair and meshed my mouth with hers. Her moans egged me on. Even in the middle of Clapham Common in the middle of the day.

  ‘Get a room!’

  The shout interrupted us enough to bring me back to my senses. I hopped up, pulling Kerry with me.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ I asked Cancer as she approached.

  Aries followed behind with Natalie and Leo. Kerry linked her arm through mine. I stayed still, even though I wanted to shrug her off. I didn’t want the others knowing my business.

  ‘We decided a game of football was called for,’ Aries shouted.

  Natalie punched his arm when he started to thrust his pelvis and point at me. He spun around to her, but she ran away. His metal legs held well as he gave chase.

  Cancer rolled her eyes as she shook out a blanket and laid it on the gras
s.

  ‘Are you sure you want to be a part of our family?’ she asked Kerry as she offered me a lager.

  Everyone froze, staring at the can that was held in front of me. Aries and Natalie slunk back over.

  ‘Have you got a soft drink in there?’

  The desire to down the beer wasn’t there. Since leaving a comatose Nick on the table in that house, I had gone off drugs and drink altogether. They brought you down. They made you doubt yourself. They took away who you were and replaced you with an empty shell.

  Cancer giggled as she threw the can to Leo and felt in her bag for a different drink. ‘Sorry!’

  Kerry stroked the hair on my arm. I looked down at her and smiled. Her lips were swollen from my kisses, which made me want to do it again.

  ‘Have you explained anything to her yet?’ Leo said, strumming his guitar.

  Aries kicked the ball at my tattooed brother. It rebounded off his leg. Leo jumped up and threw his guitar at Cancer, who only just caught it. He kicked the ball at Aries. It hit his shoulder. He growled in fun and went after the ball.

  ‘Explained what?’ Kerry asked me.

  I wanted to play football. For the first time in years, I wanted to kick the ball around with the boys. Cancer’s eyebrows rose when I screwed up my face.

  ‘There’s a lot to explain, Taurus. You’ve got to get it right.’

  ‘It’s me you’re talking to. I’m always right,’ I said, smacking Kerry on the arse before going to join the lads.

  I spun and ran backwards. Her mouth hung open. I spread my arms wide and winked. She shook her head and lowered herself next to Cancer.

  ‘Taurus!’ she shouted.

  The warning came too late. I crashed into something tall and solid.

  ‘You idiot!’ Aries shouted as we both crashed to the ground.

  The giggling reached me from across the park. The girls held their stomachs as I clambered to my feet. Aries grunted as I helped him up.

  ‘What’s wrong with you?’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen you so starry eyed.’

  I shrugged and tackled the ball from between his legs. He grabbed my sleeveless shirt and stuck his metal leg out. My shin grazed on the bare aluminium.