by Diane Nortje
“You might just survive us yet.” He says to me with a smirk. Weyland and Dax then walk off in the direction of the stairs. Disappearing into the sea of people that crowd the dance floor and bar areas.
I scan the large room, its filled to its limit with bodies, dancing on top of one another. A person can smell the sex in the air, it smells like sin, it smells like fun, and I’m itching out of my own skin to drive right in, but I can’t. I know I must behave, that’s why I avoid these places, that’s why I avoid these situations, temptation is an ugly bitch, and I avoid her like she has the plague.
I can honestly say, I’ve been there, done that, and got the trophy. And then got completely out of control, so I abstain, I avoid, because if I don’t, if she gets out, I just can’t let that happen again. I can’t even think down that path right now knowing full well what I’m going to have to do later.
I can’t see faith from where I’m standing, mostly because I can barely see over people shoulders. I turn to see Tray standing by me.
“Hey, do you see Faith anywhere?” I ask him, hopefully he can see over the heads of the crowds in this place.
“She is by the bar, with a group of people.” He says back to me without even pretending to have looked for her. What kind of super sniffing power does this guy have?
I push my way through the crowed club, sweaty bodies rubbing up against me as I make my way to the bar. I turn back to see where Tray and the guys have gotten to, they are nowhere to be seen. That’s odd, I thought I had to stay with them.
I don’t let it consume my thoughts too much, I need to get out of the crowd of sweaty bodies. I push through some more, until I can’t go any more. I feel like I’m stuck, like I’m drowning in a sea of bodies. Unwelcomed hands graze my body, and I can’t tell if it is by accident or on purpose. This is why I hate coming to places like this, it’s too crowded, too noisy, it’s just too much for my senses and I’m hoping she doesn’t wake from it all.
Where she relishes in it all, I want to run and hide. Opposite sides of the coin, it all depends who is in control. At least I can somewhat hope she behaves when she is in control.
I start to panic a little, I can’t move and no matter what I do, no matter my struggle, I’m pressed into people I don’t even want to touch. I feel like I want to scream, I want to push a little magic into these people and get them to back off a little. But one moment I’m battling to breathe, the next thing people give me a wide berth, the one man that didn’t get the memo, who I now know was touching my ass on purpose gets tossed, like up and out my way, across the room.
I look back to see what the crowd is looking at to find Weyland and Tray clearing the way for me.
“I told you to stay close.” Weyland comes up to me and says.
“It’s not me who disappeared.” I argue back with him.
“Stay with Tray, and if another man touches you, I will kill him Natalie.” Weyland warns me.
“It’s not like I asked to be grabbed, I was stuck!”
Weyland doesn’t say anything back to me, he just looks at me in warning and once again walks off in the direction of the stairs. I look over to Tray, who has a grim expression on his face. He doesn’t like what he just saw, clearly, well I didn’t like experiencing it either.
I watch as he moves in closer to me, not giving me much personal space. He looks down at me and then he scans the room of people, some I noticed either didn’t see what happened, some are not bothered, but the few people who remain watching us, watch us carefully, with intent, they want to see what happens next.
“Be careful, they suspect who you are Natalie, they will push, they will test limits tonight. You don’t want to see Jacin tested Natalie, it will not end well for the people inside this club.” Tray says to me just above a whisper.
“What do you mean who I am? I’m not anyone, I’m just a damn girl that got caught up in all this shit.” I grind out to him. I’ve just about had enough for one night.
“You are who you have always meant to be. The day is coming, and take this advice, watch your fucking back if the men protecting you aren’t around to do it for you.”
“What are you going on about, what isn’t Jacin telling me?” I ask out angrily. I’m tired of being kept in the dark.
“In due time Natalie, you will know everything. Now let’s get you to your friend.” Tray says to me, clearly the conversation is over for him, as he starts to guide me in the direction of the bar.
I take note of who is around me. He is right, they are watching. They are watching me.
~ ~ ~
I finally make it to the bar, finding Faith off to the one side of the bar with a pink cocktail in hand. I want one, it looks delicious, but I need to keep a clear head for tonight, so I’ll just stick to water.
“Faith, Faith.” I shout out her name once I’m finally close enough to push through the last set of people.
“Natalie, thank god you made it! I honestly thought you weren’t going to come!” Faith shouts to me, making her way over to me.
“I could never leave you like that.” I say back to her while giving her a hug hello. I missed hugging her. Strange to be doing it again.
Faith moves to hug me back but goes stiff after a moment. I pull back to see why she has gone like so, I look to her face to see she is staring at something behind me. I look in the direction her eyes have focused on, to see Tray, standing not a few feet away from me. Watching us carefully.
“Oh, let me introduce you.” I shout out to Faith over the music
“Have you been holding out on me!” Faith whispers in my ear, which I barely hear over the loud music, as I lead her over to Tray.
I just give her a don’t be stupid look. Yes, Tray is one of the most appealing men in the club, most likely the town, but no. Just no.
“Faith, this is Tray, Tray this is Faith.” I say out to both of them. Tray just nods his head once in acknowledgement, while Faith looks like I’m going to need to get a mop soon to clean up her drool.
“How, how do you two know each other?” Faith asks us, not sure who the question was directed at, as she is still staring at Tray like he is her last supper.
“Um, well, it’s a long story. It’s quite complicated at the moment.” I reply for the both of us.
“Complicated as in relationship complicated?” Faith asks me hopefully. She thinks I’m having a dry patch. More like a few dry years.
“No, we are just-.” I reply to Faith, not sure what words to use to describe what the hell is going on.
“Friends.” Tray says, finishing my sentence that I was unable to.
“Friends with benefits?” Faith asks me, grinning from ear to ear.
“No, just friends.” I say her to, giving her a pleading look as to just drop it now.
Thankfully she takes the hint and drops all the questions, that I know she is dying to ask.
“You want anything to drink, the cocktails here are so good!” She shouts out to me; the music is blaring from the speakers and I can barely make out what she is saying.
“No thank you, I’ve actually got to do something later, need to keep a clear head for it.”
Faith just winks at me, and I just shake my head back in return. She clearly thinks I’m off to have sex with Tray later, just wait until see catches a glimpse of Jacin. Then the questions will never stop.
Chapter Seventeen
“My heart, it beats differently now.” - Jacin
~Jacin~
Weakness, I find myself utterly conflicted about it. In one hand I know I need to destroy any weakness, overcome it, and win, making myself stronger for it. In the other hand, I want to protect it, to comfort it, to love it. To love her. My soul fell in love with hers long before I even knew her, saw her, wanted her, touched her. It fell in love the moment she was born, I know, because I felt the divide begin. And I fucking lied to myself then. Lied to him. But I no longer can.
It matters not to me what her favorite colour is, the way she make
s her coffee, or her favorite kind of music, those are trivial things, that can be learned. I want to learn her. Being down here is not some place I can bring her to. Even though she dream walks here, her actual body would never be allowed entrance. And I wouldn’t grant it entrance. To protect her from what I really am, who I really am.
Instead of the real thing, I sit here, and think of her. I stay here, so I control my urges to touch her. I kill here, so the beast in me stays content. For now. But her time is running out, I’m either going to lose the little control I have on him at the moment, or she is going to come to me willingly. God, I hope its willingly. So, I stay here. The men wouldn’t be able to protect her from me, and I fear that I will end up hurting her.
“Mother.” I say out loud before her body appears in my office.
“Jacin. I thought I would find you here.”
I look at her, then look away. The motherly love she is supposed to carry to her grave died a long time ago for me. Yet she still denies it, why to spare my feelings? No point, I knew the moment I decided to kill one parent, I was killing two. Can I blame her? No. I did what I needed to do. I did it so these fuckers on earth could still have a fighting chance to stay alive for the next thousand years, but at the rate they are going, I should have just let the beast finish this world off. There are always more. But I’ve come to like this one.
“I need to speak with you. It’s important.”
“So, speak, you have five minutes then I must leave to meet Bishop.”
“Bishop! The Reader. God Jacin, what are you planning?”
“Nothing to concern you with, now what is it?”
“It’s about Natalie.”
I neither confirm nor deny her existence, how the fuck does she know about Natalie?
“Don’t say you don’t know who I’m talking about, I know you know. I want to know why she is now being held prisoner in your house?”
“You think I’m holding some woman prisoner in my house? If that’s the case, she better be chained to my bed when I get home.”
“I am still your mother Jacin, have some respect.”
“There is no woman that is prisoner in my house, there never was one, there never will be. Happy?”
“What are you doing with her? You’ve figured out the prophecy, what the small amount the coven knows. By the fates Jacin, if you are hurting her, I will take you down myself if I have to!”
“I’ll let that threat slide, since you’re my mother. Next time I won’t be so kind.”
“Are you hurting her?” She demands again.
“Hurting her? Hurting her?” I shout at my mother; my patience has grown thinner by the day. “I’m fucking hiding in my god damn hell, so I won’t fucking touch her. I’m hiding in here, so I won’t claim her. Is that what you want to know? So, you can run back tell the others and the three of you can have a fucking good laugh as to what you have made me become?”
“Claim her?” My mother’s says, her shocked voice echoing in the office.
“She is mine, anyone thinks to touch her will have to deal with me.”
My mother just smiles and starts to disappear into the light she came from. Like she didn’t know what Natalie was going to end up becoming. She was just waiting for me to figure it out. I understand her fear. But I would never subject my mate to what she endured with him. But the need to claim her, grows daily. Its consuming my every thought.
~Natalie~
“Come on, let me introduce you to everyone, Beth and George decided to skip tonight, they becoming real home bodies nowadays.”
“Let’s be honest, the way you describe them, if I had that, what they have, I also wouldn’t want to leave the house.” I say to Faith, and that’s the truth. It seems they have something together most people search for. It might not be perfect, but who the hell wants perfect?
“I’m still too much of a free spirit to want that. So, on that note, let me introduce you to my latest squeeze.”
“What the “just good” guy?” I ask her teasingly.
“Sssh just now he hears you!” Faiths turns around to shout at me. Trying her best to give me an angry glare.
“Over this music?” I laugh at her. “I very much doubt that.”
I follow Faith a few steps to where she was with her group of friends, I can only hope they are not people I was supposed to know personally.
I watch Faith call someone over, clearly this “new squeeze” as she puts it is worth introducing to the people she knows. Normally most don’t make the cut, well they never used too. I look in the direction she is calling for him, the lights from the dance floor flickering on and off, making the people in the crowds flicker in and out of view.
I wait patiently behind Faith, for him to make his way over to her, he slowly starts to come into view, whenever the flickering lights remain on him for more than a moment. Who I see makes me speechless. Sandy shaggy blonde hair is the first thing I see of the man, next I notice soft hazel brown eyes, sharp jaw line. Oh my god!
“Baby, let me introduce you to my bestie.” I hear Faith shout out. Blood pumps to my ears, my mind not processing who is now standing in front of me. He gives me a quick once over, not lingering to long on my barely covered body, like he used to do when I was fully clothed. Maybe the fog got to him too.
“Natalie, my bestie, this is-.” I hear Faith say, but I interrupt her introductions. My mind and mouth not working together, clearly.
“Eric!” I blurt out before Faith can finish her sentence.
The way she looks at me, the shocked expression on her face, I’m sure a feather could have blown her over. You and me both. What the hell is he doing here? Did he follow me and decide to shack up with Faith?
“Hello Natalie. Didn’t expect to find you here.” His familiar smooth voice runs over my skins. It wants to crawl. Something isn’t right.
“You two know each other?” Faiths surprised voice traveling through us.
“Yes.” I state. I have no idea how to explain these events. I mean, they should make sense. Ariana didn’t get effected by the fog, so why would Eric have been. But what the hell are the chances that he came to town for the covens ball. Since when does he even have magic?
Faith looks between us. I’m standing there like a fish out of water, and Eric is just standing there, like this isn’t an awkward situation. It’s not just awkward, its fucking awkward!
“Please don’t tell me you two were lovers or something?” The anxiety clear in Faiths voice. There’s a line, and you just don’t cross it. I know she would never intentionally hurt me, and I can assure you, I’m not hurt. I’m so fucking confused right now.
“Lovers? What! No, we are just friends, from the city.”
“City? Since when have you been to the city?”
“Faith, just trust me on this, it’s a really long story.” I plead with her, hoping she will trust me to explain it all to her one day. I will. Eventually. When I know what the hell is going on.
Eric just gives me a knowing smile, like he knows exactly what has happened.
“I tried calling you, wanted to let you know I was in town. The calls didn’t go through. Did you change your number?” Eric says to me, pulling my hopeful gaze away from Faith.
“No, it is all still the same. It’s funny, because when I let you know I was leaving, you never mentioned anything. Nothing ever about your coven either?” I eye him once again. After everything that has happened to me since returning home, I’m starting to trust less and less.
“Are you sure you guys weren’t together at one stage?” Faith asks us both.
“I’m very sure, just friends.” I assure her.
“It seemed you were running from something, it wasn’t like you were so forthcoming with information yourself.” Eric says to me again, completely ignoring Faiths question.
“Now how would you know that?”
“Call me observant.” He says to me flippantly.
“I’ve got a few other words I would li
ke to call you, and observant isn’t one of them!” I bite out to him. He most likely knew this whole fucking time I was in the city. I always found it odd, how he could take rejection after rejection from me and still want to be around me.
I stare at him, dare him to reveal more of what he was hiding all along. Ariana always did say there wasn’t something right with him. He tried too hard, never gave up. Hell, I’m all for fight for what you want, but after years of rejection, your will to fight has got to lesson. Hasn’t it?
I’m about to give him another piece of my mind when I feel it. The ripple of magic that zaps through the air. Its intoxicating, addicting and so alluring I almost sway on my feet. I have to steady myself with the bar, feeling like my own legs will give way at any moment.
I look about the room, and no one seems affected by it, like no one felt the power run through the room. The heat that comes from the magic that is still running wild around me, causing me to lose focus, but only for a few seconds, before the magic seems to empower me, like my own has absorbed it from the air, blending it with my own. God it feels good.
“Did you feel that?” I ask Faith. The magic now running through my veins, causing me to shiver.
“Feel what? Natalie are you okay?” Faiths worried voice sounding far away from me.
My gaze starts to blur, people around me start to blur. I can’t handle the amount of magic running through me. Its intoxicating. I feel high off it. I start to sway on my feet again, gripping the bar once more when the magic suddenly leaving my body, it found me, it knows where I am, and I feel it retreating from where it came.
“Natalie!” Faith shouts in my face, my vision coming back to me clearly now, that I can see only one of her eyes that’s how close she is.
“What? Yes, I’m fine!”
“What happened? What did you feel?”
At first, I’m not sure what did actually happen. But a smile starts to spread over my face, I can’t help it, I realize I know what that intoxicating feeling was. I’ve felt it before, only in small doses, but I’ve felt it before none the less. The way the magic kisses my skin, the way it slowly travels my body. The magic that learns another person, and only one person’s magic has done that to me before. Jacin’s magic. He is looking for me.