I rushed to my bedroom and closed the door.
A few sobs wracked my body as I opened the top drawer of my dresser, unclasped the necklace Phillip had given me, and hid it under my clothes.
Then I leaned forward, bracing my hands on the dresser, and cried.
It took more than a minute, but eventually, I dragged my feet from my bedroom.
My mother was in the kitchen, cleaning up after the untouched dinner, while Artan and Sloan were seated on the stools in front of the counter, keeping her company.
The warriors stood once they noticed my presence.
“I’m ready to talk now,” I said, my voice still low, still weak.
“I’ll make more tea,” my mother muttered to no one, and she made herself busy in the kitchen again.
Feeling like a zombie, I sat down on the couch and clasped my hands to stop the shaking that wanted to take over my entire body.
Artan and Sloan halted before me, two menacing walls looming over me.
I looked up at them. “I don’t know why … I really have no idea … but alchemists seem to have been following me all my life.” My mother knew that. That was why we moved so much. To make sure we were never in the same spot for long, making for an easier target. More things she never told me.
I told them everything. I told them about Layla, about Amy and Serena, about the first attack on me, which had been aimed at Ellie, but I was able to send her away before the alchemists got to her. The second attack on me, and the second attack on Ellie. And now Stefano. I told them that besides the one attack directly on me that night at the club, all the others happened to other people, when they had something that had belonged to me. Layla had my gift, Serena and Amy had my bracelets, Ellie had my sweatshirt then my book, and Stefano had my shawl.
“I don’t know why they keep going after my things instead of me.” Tears brimmed in my eyes. But I had known this. I had known the alchemists had been after my things. I had known. Yet, I chose to ignore it. I pushed it down, because, really? What could they want with my things? It didn’t make sense. So, I ignored it without meaning to. I brushed it off as a coincidence and never once considered telling anyone about it. Until now. I felt so stupid. So selfish. So immature. “I’m a danger to anyone who gets too close to me.”
A loud clang and splash came from the kitchen. We all looked back and my mother raised her palms. “Sorry. I just dropped the mug,” she said. But I noticed it. I noticed the way her eyes avoided looking at me, how her hands trembled, and how her face was blanched. “Stupid me,” she muttered, kneeling down to clean her mess.
With his lips pressed into a frown, Artan sat down on the coffee table right in front of me. “I can’t think of anything that could have the alchemists so eager to get you.”
“But if they really wanted to get her, why haven’t they done it so far?” Sloan asked, pacing behind the coffee table. “Why go after people with her things?”
Artan shook his head. “I don’t know …”
I gasped as something popped into my mind.
Sloan stopped in his tracks. “What is it?”
My hands trembled as I blurted, “There’s a guy … a guy who is always around the building, lurking in the corners. He’s always wearing black with a hood pulled low on his face. He actually tried talking to me, grabbed me twice.”
Artan stood and looked at Sloan, who nodded, before his returning his attention to me. “Does he live here in the building?”
“I don’t know …”
Artan fished his cell phone from his pocket. “All right, I’m gonna call other warriors and we will—”
My phone buzzed and we all stared at it as if it would explode at any moment.
It buzzed again and I reached for it.
Theron: Hey, what are you doing?
Theron: I’m still in town and I thought I could check on you.
It wasn’t uncommon for Theron to text me. He always did whenever he was coming to pick me up for a training session with Sheila or when he had arrived and was waiting for me in front of the building, but he never warned me before checking on me. And he never checked on me right after having dropped me off.
I looked up at Artan. “Does Bellville know about Stefano?”
He frowned. “Not yet. I don’t think so. Why?”
I said, “Because I think they should know everything,” at the same time I typed a message to Theron.
Me: Come on over. I need to tell you something.
Artan growled. “We don’t need to share anything with them.”
I stood and faced him. No matter that he was about a head taller than me, I wasn’t feeling intimidated right now. “I spent a lot of time with them. Only God knows if I left something behind without meaning to and someone took it. I will warn them.”
My phone buzzed again and I checked the text.
Theron: Be there in ten.
“Then you can call them and let them know,” Artan snapped.
I shook my head. “Theron is coming over right now.” Artan fumed. Not in the mood for any more crap from anyone, I gave him my back and walked to the kitchen. “Besides, weren’t you going to call other warriors to help out? If Theron is here, he can keep me company while the two of you go out to do whatever you want.”
Artan approached Sloan and the both of them talked in hushed tones on the other side of the room.
My mother stood behind the kitchen counter like a statue. She didn’t look at me when I entered the kitchen, nor did she offer to help me when I grabbed more tea. Something was up, and once more, she wasn’t talking.
I was adding honey to my tea when she finally moved and placed her hand on my arm. Her eyes shone with something that resembled sadness. “I’m sorry.”
I turned to her, wishing, begging with my mind, for her to tell me more. “For?”
“For everything,” she whispered. “For moving so much, for not letting you have friends, for the few friends you made and ended up losing, for the gadjo who you just had to dismiss to keep him safe.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I wondered if that was why I never knew my father. If, to keep him safe, my mother had left him. And to think of all the years I thought he had left us.
More hurt snaked through my chest. “I don’t want to talk about Phillip right now.”
She patted my arm. “I understand.”
I held my breath for a second, gathering my courage. Then I asked, “Mom, do you know anything about this? Why the alchemists keep going after my things instead of me?”
“No, of course not.” She smiled at me as if I were crazy.
I narrowed my eyes at her. I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe that for the first time in her life, she wasn’t lying to me. Because, God help me, if she was lying, if she knew anything and didn’t tell me, didn’t warn me … I would never forgive her.
Not a minute later, my phone buzzed again.
Theron: I’m here. Coming up now.
I said to the warriors planted in front of the door, “He’s here.”
With a groan, Artan opened the door and soon Theron appeared on the other side.
The cocky grin lasted for a second. Then he noticed Artan and Sloan and their weapons. Opening his legs wide and bringing his palms up, Theron readied himself for a fight. “What’s going on?”
22
After a show of testosterone, I shooed Artan and Sloan out of the apartment to go track the hooded guy, while I pulled Theron to the couch. My mother grimaced when he greeted her, but like a good host—even though this place was not her home—she offered him tea.
Then, I explained everything to him. I repeated all I had told Artan and Sloan. All about Layla, Serena and Amy, Ellie, and Stefano.
“That doesn’t make sense,” he said, a big frown between his brows.
I clasped my hands over my stomach. “I know, but unless I’m missing something here, that’s what’s happening.”
Theron rested his big hand over mine. “I’
m sorry. We’ll solve this mystery somehow. I promise. Even if I have to work with Lovell …” He made a face and a low chuckle escaped me. “I promise, okay?”
I nodded. “Thanks.” I reached for the steaming tea mug on the coffee table—I had barely sipped any, but my mom kept it full and hot for me. “What were you doing in town?”
He shrugged. “I like to drive, so sometimes I just take my Jeep and drive around. No destination in mind.”
“As long as it wasn’t a fake excuse to come check on me.”
“It wasn’t.” He paused, becoming serious again. “But, to be honest, I had stopped to put some gas in my Jeep and was about to drive back to the enclave, when I felt something …” He placed his fingertips to his temple. “Right here.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know how to explain … maybe I sensed you?”
A whimper came from the kitchen. I rose halfway from the couch. “Everything okay, Mom?”
She stretched over the counter and smiled at me, her grin too wide. “Yes. I just bumped my elbow on the counter. Everything is fine.” She disappeared behind the counter again.
Frowning, I returned my attention to Theron. “So … you think you sensed me?”
“I don’t know,” he confessed. “Maybe I sensed danger? Or distress? It’s odd. I’ve never felt anything like that.”
“Maybe it’s because of the training earlier and your mind is still open to mine.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I feel my walls in place. Anyway, I’m glad I texted you.”
“Me too.”
He glanced at the door. “Why are those punks taking so long?”
“Playing babysitter bothers you,” I said. Not a question.
One corner of his lips tugged up. “Depends on the company.” I rolled my eyes, and he went back to being serious. “Yes, being honest, I prefer being in the middle of the action than staying behind.”
I sighed. “Hopefully, they already caught the guy and are now squeezing all the information we need from him.”
Another lopsided grin. “Sounds fun.”
I shook my head.
Tense silence fell in the room while we waited for Artan and Sloan to come back. We played with our phones, drank more tea, and shifted positions on the couch. Finally, almost forty minutes after they left, Artan and Sloan rang the bell.
Theron opened the door for them.
“It’s not him,” Sloan said.
I leaned forward on the couch. “What do you mean?”
Artan glared at Theron before he looked at me. “The guy is a tenant’s son. He’s addicted to heroin, and apparently, he’s always high and sneaking out to buy more drugs. From what we learned, he’s always trying to talk to everyone in the building to ask for money.”
“Or drugs,” Sloan added, returning to his pacing.
With a sigh, Artan sat on the coffee table again. “While we were gone, I talked to the rom baro and some of the elders.” My insides tensed. “To make sure you and your loved ones are safe, they want you to move to Lovell. Right now.”
“Say what?” I probably hadn’t heard him right.
Artan continued, “You can argue all you want, but if you stop and consider this, you know it’s true. You’ll be safer at Lovell. No alchemist will come after you there, and if they do, we can protect you.”
“I agree,” Theron said.
I gaped at him. “Say what?”
“Yes,” Artan snarled. “What?”
“I know, I know.” Theron raised his hands, palms out. “It’s strange, right? Me agreeing with my nemesis, but unfortunately, Artan is right. You should move to Lovell. At least until we can solve this problem.”
Artan stood, chest puffed. “We?”
Theron took a large step toward him. “Yes, we. Don’t you think—”
“Nobody gave you permission to get near her, much less—”
“—I’ll won’t let you do this alone. She’s my friend too and I’ll—”
“—to be here. You already did your part. Now you should—”
“—protect her. I don’t care what you think. I’m here to stay and—”
“—leave and let the real warriors solve the matter. Didn’t you—”
I rose to my feet. “STOP!” Both Artan and Theron stopped bickering and turned to me, their gazes at my feet. “I don’t care what any of you think. This is my life and I won’t let others order me around, regardless of having the best intentions.” I sighed. “I won’t go to Lovell. Or Bellville. And that’s final.” But I had to do something about my life. I couldn’t go to work or school anymore. I would only put other people in danger.
“Then come live with me,” my mother spoke, startling us. With a small smile, she approached us. “I don’t have my powers anymore, but I have the golden horehound shrubs, and I can certainly keep an eye on you.” She turned to Artan. “And you’re always welcome to check in on her. I have Darcy’s and Oscar’s numbers, but I can get yours, too, and I’ll call you if I think there’s anything wrong.”
Artan shook his head. “It’s too risky.”
I didn’t like it either. Not because of safety, but because I couldn’t imagine living under the same roof as my mother again. Yet, it seemed like a better option than to hole up in an enclave and live under scrutiny and rules I didn’t understand.
I could simply stand my ground and say I wouldn’t move, but I knew better. There was too much at stake here. People had been killed. I couldn’t let my pride reign in this situation.
“Well,” I spoke up, “it doesn’t exactly please me, but I could do that. I can move to my mother’s house, to be safer.”
“I don’t think the elders will like this,” Artan said.
“They certainly won’t,” Sloan added.
I shrugged. “I don’t care what the elders think. This is it. I’m moving in with my mom. Take it or leave it.”
Artan didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded. “All right.”
My shoulders sagged. “Okay. Hmm … what now?”
Theron spoke next. “Now, we get you moved.”
I thought they were joking. It was late at night? Move into my mother’s house now? But they weren’t joking. Between the five of us, we packed my meager belongings in less than two hours, and fitted them all—except for the crappy yard sale furniture—into Artan’s SUV, Theron’s Jeep, and my mother’s old sedan.
It was past midnight when all my things were safely inside my mother’s house, my house. We didn’t organize anything though. My stuff stayed sprawled over the living room and foyer and the hallway beside the stairs, while my mother made us another round of tea and snacks.
After an argument, Artan convinced Theron that he and Sloan would stay the night, making sure my mother and I were safe. Theron would go home, warn the other tziganes at Bellville, and rest.
He left promising he would be here early morning to take Artan and Sloan’s place.
I felt like a caged animal. Or a criminal. Locked inside the house and with guards patrolling outside.
That night I barely slept. Or the next night. Or the next.
I had given up on everything. I called the dance studio and let Julie know I was sick and wouldn’t make it to classes for at least a week—I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I would never be back. I didn’t want to believe that was true.
Maybe if Artan, Theron, and the others caught the alchemists who were terrorizing my life …
I didn’t dare hope. No, instead, I emailed my professors with the same lie. I was sick and wouldn’t be in class for a week. Some emailed me back offering to send me the classwork through email so I didn’t fall behind. I almost cried.
Meanwhile, the men had fallen into a schedule, rotating every few hours through who would keep an eye on the house and on me—Artan, Sloan, Tomas, and Leander from Lovell, and Theron, Ramon, Jaime, Shay, Rye, and Cora from Bellville.
I hadn’t set foot outside since Sunday ni
ght.
My mother knocked on my door and pushed it open. “Hi, Mi sweetie.”
I was seated on my old bed, staring at the window. The curtains were pulled closed, but a few rays of sunlight peeked from under them.
My mother said beside me. “Do you want some tea? Maybe a snack too? What are you hungry for?”
“Nothing,” I muttered.
She rested her hand on my knee. “You have to eat, Mirella. It has been three days since you moved here and you’ve barely eaten anything. I can already see in your cheeks that you’ve already lost some weight.”
My life had practically ended—I couldn’t do the things I loved, I couldn’t be near the people who I had called friends and lover, I couldn’t step out of the house without having bodyguards all over me—and she was worried about food?
I didn’t even feel like dancing. And that showed just how well I was.
Her eyes darted around the room, smiling. “Did you miss it?”
“My bedroom?”
“Yes.”
I looked around. I wasn’t a big woman, but the bed looked so little for me. The decorations were childish, and the furniture outdated. No, I didn’t miss it. In fact, if I was going to stay here, I would redecorate. Paint the walls black, buy a black comforter, a black rug … all black to match my mood.
I shot up. “I need some air,” I muttered, turning to the door.
Standing, my mother wrapped her hand around my wrist. “Mirella, you shouldn’t go out.”
I pulled my arm from her hold. “I … I won’t go far. I just need to stretch my legs and breathe in some fresh air.” I needed to air my mind, to clear my thoughts. “I promise I’ll just walk around the block. Besides, we know whoever is guarding outside will follow me.”
With a sigh, she let go of my arm.
And I rushed out.
The moment I climbed down the two front steps, Cora appeared by my side.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.
I didn’t stop moving. “For a walk.”
She fell into step with me. “I’m not sure that’s wise.”
I sighed before repeating the words I said to my mother, “I won’t go far. And you’ll follow me, won’t you? I’ll be safe.”
Heart Seeker (The Fire Heart Chronicles Book 1) Page 18