Forgotten Visions (The Divinities Book 1)

by Lia Davis

  “A partner in crime?” Bethany made it a question.

  “Not so much. Lydia doesn’t seem as impulsive.”

  “That’s good. Maybe she’ll find a way to ground our Khloe.” Bethany took a sip of her latte before continuing. “Tell Lydia if she needs a midwife, I would be honored. Better yet, come to dinner tomorrow night. That way, we can all catch up.”

  “That sounds great,” Kalissa said.

  “Great!” Bethany said. She looked at her watch. “Oh, dear. We should be going. I’m sure Cassia is giving her grandmother a run for her money about now.”

  Kalissa laughed. Cassia was the most active toddler she’d ever seen. She was cute as a button, and smart beyond belief, and already thought she knew it all. “Are you sure she’s not a Divinity in disguise?”

  Bethany smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure. Papa says she has a great chance of having Divinity children. Something about the gene being stronger in her. I don’t understand the genetics of the whole thing, but Papa knows, and I trust his judgment.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “You know what?” Annemarie broke her silence. “Kalissa’s smiling.”

  Bethany looked at Kalissa, studying her with a wide grin. “I think you’re right, Anne. You know, Ayden was up and about awfully early this morning. I do believe it was before the sun rose. He also looked a little more chipper than usual.”

  Kalissa’s heart fluttered at the mention of Ayden’s name. She managed an eye roll at them. “I thought you two were leaving,” she teased.

  “Okay, we’re going.” Bethany laughed as she stood and collected her purse. “Talk to ya later.”

  “Bye.” Kalissa shook her head at Zach’s sisters as they walked out of the Café.

  Had it really been that long since she’d been happy? She frowned to herself and wondered if she really was as gloomy as Scrooge during tax season. Although she didn’t really socialize with many people, she admitted she was too serious at times, but she’d never thought of herself as depressed or unhappy in any way.

  Another habit she’d developed while dating Liam.

  She shook out of the depressing thoughts and looked at the clock on the wall. It was 11:15 a.m., and almost time for the lunch rush. The Café was located on Highway 301 and got a lot of lunch traffic. The time would vary from day to day when ‘lunch’ actually started, but since it was Thursday, Kalissa suspected the rush would start piling in just before noon as usual.

  As always, Kalissa was right with her prediction. The first lunch crowd arrived ten minutes before noon. She always enjoyed working at the Café. Today, she enjoyed the distraction from the recent demonic activity. The strong feeling of being watched still hung over her. Her senses had been on full alert since she’d left home.

  It was after 1:00 p.m. when Ayden came in for lunch. The sight of him walking through the doors made her pulse pick up, and she could feel her cheeks heat and turn pink.

  He strode to the bar with the power of the enforcer he was. Strong, confident…impressive. She knew all too well what kind of strength that large muscular frame possessed. He took a seat on a high-backed barstool and waited.

  She finished with the customers she was with and then went over to pour him a cup of coffee. “Hello, Sheriff,” she said with a smile.

  “Hi.” He returned the smile with a little more heat. “Zach says Bethany is planning some dinner party tomorrow night.” Kalissa nodded. “Are you going?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great.” He leaned over the bar countertop and gave her a quick kiss.

  Kalissa glanced out into the dining area of the Café. Feeling that eerie chill up her spine again, she scanned the people enjoying their lunch. In the far right corner at the front of the Café was the ‘gossip group’ of Maxville. They were watching her and Ayden, most likely getting ready to make them their next rumor mill victims. Kalissa smiled and waved at the group of four women. A mixed-age group, two of the ladies were in their late thirties—best friends from grade school—and the other two were their college-bound daughters. They returned Kalissa’s wave with wide smiles and a few giggles. Kalissa shook her head and moved on to scope out the rest of the diminishing lunch crowd.

  There. Sitting at a two-seater table in a dark corner, reading a paper and drinking coffee was the source of her uneasiness. She moved around the bar into the dining area and stalked toward the guy. He noticed her coming toward him and bolted out the side door next to the table where he had been sitting. Kalissa ran for the door with her heart beating so hard she thought it would jump right out of her chest. Exiting the Café onto the walkway, she looked around, but he was gone. It was like he hadn’t been there at all.

  It wasn’t until Ayden came up next to her that she realized she was having a difficult time catching her breath. A panic attack. Damn, what was wrong with her? She’d sworn that man sitting at the table looked like Liam, but…different.

  “You okay?” Ayden asked. He extended his hand to her but didn’t touch her.

  Kalissa took his hand and stepped into the warmth of his body, needing to feel the safety Ayden provided. It was something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Maybe it was the fact that he was a Divinity, or maybe it had something to do with their bond. He wrapped her in his arms, warmth and security enclosed her.

  “Please tell me you saw that man,” she whispered into his chest.

  “Yeah, I saw him.”

  Kalissa relaxed a little. “Good. I’m not completely losing my mind.”

  “Have you seen him before?”

  She looked up into Ayden’s baby blue eyes, her pulse still racing. “He looked like someone I once knew.” She stepped out of the security of his arms and looked inside the Café. Everyone turned their heads away quickly, trying not to look as if they’d been watching them. Everyone except the rumor patrol. By this time tomorrow, the good people of Maxville would be planning her and Ayden’s wedding. “You know we’re the next scandal of Maxville.”

  Ayden looked around and then laughed. “Yeah, it appears that way.” He turned back to Kalissa. “Are you all right?”

  Kalissa nodded. “Yes. I’m only going to be here a few more minutes, and then I’ll head home.”

  He kissed her on the forehead and said, “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Don’t be late,” she teased.

  “I won’t,” Ayden said before walking to his patrol car a few feet away.

  Kalissa shivered without the heat of his body, gave one last glance around, and pivoted to go back inside the Café.

  “You are such an idiot.”

  “Are you following me, Samoan?” Liam let out a growl as he transformed from raven to human but didn’t turn to look at her.

  “Only for the last thirty minutes.” She pushed away from the wall. She’d found him and the two Divinities inside the Café, so she’d decided to make herself comfortable and enjoy the show. When the female had noticed Liam and started walking toward him, Samoan had filled with excitement. Liam alone would be no match for two bonded Divinities, despite him being a Dark Divine. That meant she would have to rescue his ass. She itched for a good fight.

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” Liam spat out.

  She ignored him. “Was that her?”

  Liam didn’t answer and continued his long strides down the street to his Jag. She took that for a yes and followed him. “Your job is to spy, not stalk.”

  He whirled around to face her. Midnight blue eyes bored into her and flashed to red. “I know what my job is. If you must know, I was able to get some valuable information.”

  “Oh, yeah? Like what?” Samoan asked.

  “That is between me and your father.” Liam reached his Jag and pulled open the door.

  Samoan smiled at him as he climbed into his car, slammed the door shut, and drove off. “No, Liam. It is now my business. Dear old Daddy has given me a babysitting job.” She laughed. Demetrius was right. Liam was digging his own grave.

  Chapter
20

  “I know what I saw,” Kalissa blurted out for the third time since telling Khloe about the man at the Café.

  “It can’t be him. He’s dead! You were there when his heart stopped beating.” Khloe had real panic in her voice. She wanted to believe what she said, but Kalissa felt her sister’s doubt as well as heard it in her words.

  “I know,” Kalissa said quietly.

  “He could be a relative. A cousin or some family member of his father’s,” Khloe said.

  “Maybe,” Kalissa replied. She wanted to change the subject but didn’t know what to say.

  “Did you tell Ayden?”

  “About who I thought I saw?” Kalissa shook her head. “No. I’m still not sure if it was him.”

  There was a loud thump followed by rattling windows, and it caused them to stop talking. Khloe looked to Kalissa. “I didn’t do that,” she said defensively.

  Kalissa laughed. “It sounded like something fell outside. A very large something.”

  “Guys, you’ve got to come see this,” Lydia called from the back door.

  Kalissa and Khloe looked at each other and shrugged. They hurried downstairs and to the back door. Lydia and Melaina stood on the back porch, looking into the yard. Kalissa followed their line of sight to see something truly unexpected. Teddy-Bear lay flat on their back with all four legs in the air. Rolling back and forth, they laughed while they scratched their back on the ground. Their paws were waving wildly in the air as they played. By the looks of it, they seemed very happy with their new living arrangements.

  Their body froze when they noticed they had an audience. “Hey, Ted, the peeps are watching us,” Bear whispered loudly.

  “I noticed,” Teddy said. They flipped over and stood. “Is something wrong?”

  Kalissa shook her head, a wide smile on her face, her past worries temporarily pushed to the back of her mind. “No. We were just noticing how happy the two of you look.”

  “Who wouldn’t be happy?” Bear rolled his eyes.

  “We have more freedom here,” Teddy answered, and then they were back to one of them starting a sentence and the other finishing it.

  “No outside peeps to notice…”

  “…a two-headed, truck-sized hound romping around in the backyard.”

  “Well, romp all you want.” Kalissa swept her arm toward the property. “There’s plenty of room to do it. Just be careful about jumping too close to the house. It shakes the whole thing.”

  “We will, little mum,” they said in unison and trotted off to play in the wooded area of the grounds, their huge tail wagging happily behind them.

  Kalissa laughed at the two of them and could totally see why her mother loved them so. This was a diversion she needed. Togetherness and the feeling of family were seeping its way back into their lives, and it felt wonderful. She turned around to head back inside. There was a knock at the door that made her heart flip in the confines of her ribcage. Kalissa looked at the clock and smiled as butterflies fluttered in her belly. It was four in the evening, and time for Ayden to show up. Going to the front door, she felt like she was fifteen again as she reached out to the doorknob and opened it.

  She frowned at Zach, standing in the doorway, holding a couple of suitcases. Zach smiled at her. “Ayden said he changed his mind. I’m moving in, instead.”

  “Oh, hell no!” Khloe came up behind Kalissa.

  Kalissa sighed and turned to the others, now standing behind her. “I’m sorry. I forgot to mention it. Ayden is moving in.”

  Khloe waved her sister off. “We already knew that. I said ‘hell no’ to Zach moving in. Good gods, I see enough of him as it is.” Khloe laughed and dodged Zach’s foot when he swung it out at her.

  Kalissa laughed and stepped aside for Zach to come in. She looked out to the driveway and saw Ayden pulling two more suitcases out of his Jeep. “When did you get the Jeep?” she asked Zach.

  “I teleported to the cabin last night and drove it down. Good thing I have a great boss to give me the day off to pick up his Jeep,” Zach said loud enough for Ayden to hear him.

  Laughing again, she waited anxiously for Ayden to climb the stairs to the porch. When he did, Kalissa was overcome by his power. Melaina was right. Ayden’s gift was very powerful. Kalissa didn’t know how he dealt with all that power.

  “I learned to lock it down,” Ayden said when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his body. Kalissa frowned at him for reading her mind. “I’m sorry. I think it’s our bond.”

  “Oh,” she whispered and then nipped at his ear playfully. Another thing to get used to. Her bond with her twin was something she’d been born with, but the connection with Ayden was new.

  “Anyone hungry?” Lydia asked sheepishly.

  Kalissa laughed. “Yes, I am.”

  Lydia smiled. “Oh, good. I thought I was the only one.”

  “Don’t worry, I eat like a pregnant woman, too,” Zach replied.

  Khloe laughed and said, “That is so true.” She linked arms with Lydia and tugged her toward the kitchen. “Let’s go make a snack.”

  They disappeared into the kitchen with Zach right behind them.

  Liam’s mood had turned from bad to lethal by the time he pulled into the driveway of his Jacksonville home. He’d watched as Kalissa had gotten cozy with the sheriff of Maxville at the Café. It took every fiber of self-control he possessed to keep from revealing who he really was. If he did that, he would never be able to take her as his mate. Besides, he was not ready to reveal too much to her yet. She’d recognized him at the Café. The icy stare she’d cast him spoke volumes.

  On top of that, Samoan had shown up with a stick up her ass.

  Demetrius had something cooking, and the Divinities were in for a big surprise. Liam planned to be there when things went down, waiting for the right time to strike.

  He walked through the front door of his two-story, Victorian-style home into the foyer. Liam had moved into the eleven-thousand-square-foot house about five years ago. There were no neighbors for miles.

  His father had moved into one of the apartments above the warehouse about two years ago to be closer to Grayson Distributions and farther away from the memories of his wife. The regret had become too painful for Paul to stay in the home that he’d designed for his wife in hopes of keeping her happy.

  Now, Liam would give the mansion to his Kalissa as their wedding gift.

  His biker boots fell heavily on the white marble floor as he made his way to his office. It was one of two rooms he truly called his. The other room was his bedroom suite, directly above the office. The rest of the house held painful memories of his mother and her rejection when she’d found out that her husband and child were demons. The most undesirable room was the kitchen.

  Arriving home about fifteen minutes before his father, he entered through the front door to a well-lit house. It was just past midnight. His mother should have been in bed asleep. The eerie silence set him on edge, making his pulse race.

  “Mom?” he called out. Something was wrong. He felt it. His mother was supposed to be safe, protected by Khan’s Regals. Any demon who touched her signed his death warrant.

  Stalking farther into the house, he stopped even with the kitchen entrance. Death drifted in the air, making his blood boil. He would rip through the Underworld to get his hands on any creature that had touched her in any way.

  Taking a sharp turn, he rushed into the kitchen, only to stop cold. Emotions mounted in him, overflowing to become tears streaming down his face. He shook uncontrollably and let out a cry of agonizing pain.

  In the center of the large kitchen, dangling by a decorative support beam with a thick rope around her neck, was Barbra Loomis—or rather her lifeless body. An overturned chair lay beneath her feet.

  Liam had had to leave the house before his father got home, because he knew he would have killed him. After that night, their father-son relationship changed.

  Sitting down in front of the compu
ter, he fired it up, took out the digital camera from his shirt pocket, and plugged the USB into the computer. As he waited for the pictures to download, his phone rang. He pulled the phone out of his pants pocket and answered it.

  “Yeah?”

  “Any news?” Demetrius asked in his usual neutral tone. The demon never showed any emotion unless it concerned his daughter.

  “The Sinew has a keeper. Besides that, they are still waiting for your next move.” Liam sat back in his high-backed, black leather chair, his jaw clenched. The demon General never gave information, he just demanded it. But Liam knew the Echens would be released soon, and he was going to be there.

  “Yes. I know of Hecate’s hounds,” Demetrius replied in a flat tone. After a few moments of silence, he added, “Do you want to speak to your father?”

  Liam released a heavy sigh. “Nope.”

  “Very well. Keep me updated on the Divinity activity.”

  Liam didn’t have time to reply before the line went dead. That was Demetrius, though. He was never one for small talk. The only reason he’d asked if Liam wanted to talk to his father was that it was getting close to the anniversary of his mother’s death. Liam didn’t want to talk about it. He blamed his father for her death. If only he had manned up and made the woman his bonded mate, Liam would have his mother with him now.

  Instead, Paul had wanted to live a normal human life with his human wife and half-human son. Paul had kept Liam in his human state by feeding him a potion made specifically for slowing the demon DNA in human-demon halfbreeds. Only Paul ignored the warnings of the damaging effects the potion had on the mind. The one thing they’d never anticipated was the change in Liam’s DNA. Somehow, he was stronger and possessed powers normal demons did not.

  Liam also blamed his father for him losing Kalissa. She would be by his side now instead of the male he’d stolen her from fifteen years ago.

  I’ll just have to steal her all over again.

  A beep from the photography software indicated that the photos on the camera were downloaded. He unplugged the USB cable and began to choose his photos carefully. After a couple of changes through editing and cropping, he printed two photos to add to the collection in his bedroom.