by C. J. Cooke
Destiny Awakened
By
CJ Cooke
Version 1.0: February 2020
Published by CJ Cooke
Copyright © 2020 by CJ Cooke
Discover other titles by CJ Cooke at: https://cjcookeauthor.wixsite.com/home
All rights reserved, including the right of production in whole or in part in any form.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
For My Darling Husband
For all the cups of tea, the words of encouragement, and basically just putting up with my insanity.
You have always been my biggest supporter and you make me feel like I could achieve anything.
Thank you!
(But mostly, thank you for not laughing at me when I came to you one day with this crazy idea of writing a book.)
Chapter One
How did normal twenty year olds spend their Sunday nights? One thing I know is that they probably don’t spend it hanging to the outside of a third storey window of some douchebag’s McMansion at 2:00am. It may be time for me to reconsider some of my life choices, I thought as I pulled the dagger back out of the wall. The fingertips on one of my hands were holding onto a deeper join between the stones and I pulled myself up on the convenient handhold. Reaching up I slamming the dagger back into the stone wall above me. It slipped into the soft cement between the stones and I tugged down, testing it had anchored, before putting any weight on it. The window ledge was just one more reach above me and I didn’t want to ruin all the hard work of scoping out the house by falling now. Urgh! Why did they always install a safe on the top floor? Why not in the nice one storey pool house at the back of the house? The one with the easy access points and no alarm. It was just selfish really, making a thief work this hard for a payday was just rude! With one last swing up I finally had a hand hold on the window ledge and I let out a sigh of relief.
It was easy to take a moment to contemplate the craziness that was my life while I just let myself hang from the window ledge. You could find total calm in the weirdest places. My name is Aria Graves. Just an ordinary college student with a side job to pay my way through college and set myself up for the future. Yes, my side job entailed crime, but when it was for the greater good, can you really call it crime? I mean, yes you can, but it helps me to sleep at night. Most of my jobs are like this. Break in somewhere and steal something from someone who doesn’t deserve to have it. I try not to get bogged down in the details. My morals tend to be quite fluid but I have my rules and I strictly live by them. I won’t take a life and I won’t hurt women and children. Let’s face it there are enough people out there doing that without me contributing to the problem. My boss, Marnie is the best middle woman that a girl could have. She keeps me honest. Marnie runs a private security business and I technically work for her, sort of on the books. I do the shady jobs. I’m a “consultant”. It means that I can get a legitimate wage for doing less than legitimate work. I even pay taxes. Also, it makes me feel fancy when I say it. Her side business is to help women escape domestic violence situations. My not so honest job was to break in and steal a skeezy husband’s leverage or assets. I get the impression that it’s personal for her but I haven’t pried. She’s one of the people I have let close enough to me to consider her family, which is actually pretty sad when you think about it. I try not to. I grew up in the system moving from one shitty foster home to another. I had seen some shit and been through even worse. I hated it. I hated the marks it had left on my body and the marks it had left on my soul. I was broken and I hated that I had let them break me.
Tearing myself away from my inner monologue I rolled my eyes at my depressing ass self. I let go of the dagger and it held its shape for a heartbeat before I let go of the mental hold I had on it and it faded from sight. It was handy being able to access weapons in this way. It’s not like I make them with my magic, or at least I don’t think that I do. They feel like they’re always there and I just have to reach out and take them. So, I do. It’s kind of worrying that my life has devolved into something where that seems necessary. Normally I don’t concentrate on them so much, but when it’s the only thing holding you to the side of a building it’s hard not to give it your undivided attention. I hated calling it “magic”. It was better to think of it as a boost. Nowadays people around campus would brag about their magical heritage being one fifth of this or a quarter that. It’s been that way ever since the outing. Ever since the supernaturals had stepped into society and declared themselves more than just stories, the world had gone crazy. There was a section of society that just plain hated them, but then isn’t there always. There was also a section of society that idolised them and it seemed like most of my fellow students fell into that category. Me, I’d rather just keep quiet about it. I had learnt the hard way that it wasn’t smart to draw attention to yourself, and I was all about living a quiet life. Under the radar had always been the best place to be. When I was in the home, I tried not to draw attention to myself. The quieter I was, the easier life was. Don’t draw attention, good or otherwise, there was always someone who would hate you no matter what you had done and you did not, under any circumstances, want that person’s attention on you. It was a lesson that I had learnt the hard way, more than once. But it was a lesson that I would never forget and I had the scars to remind me every damn time I looked in the mirror. I was such a cliché.
Most of the world may have embraced the supernaturals, once they got used to them, but that had all gone to shit recently. Another reason not to advertise my magic. In the last five months nine people had, well basically, gone postal. Always in public places and the casualties were always high. The common factor? All of them were apparently part human, part supernatural. I had no idea what I was, I had no idea who my parents were. But becoming like one of those nine people was weighing heavily on my mind. No one was bragging about heritage at the moment. The government was even talking about some kind of registration.
I needed to get my mind back on the job. I couldn’t hang outside this window all night. Disabling the alarm on the window was easy. I didn’t really have to even try. Electricals always fried when I fed my magic into them. I had learnt the trick when I was a teenager. Hormones, uncontrollable magic, teenage drama and apparently cell phones did not mix. It was rare that I even managed to get a cell phone and the destruction of one was a disaster to my younger self. It did however give you a good solid foundation for a career as a cat burglar in later life. Ha, later life! I’m only twenty. I couldn’t help but laugh at my jaded ass self as I quietly slid the window up and stepped inside. The library was laid out just as my client had told me it would be. The fancy plush carpet quieted my footsteps as I crept across the room to the painting hanging next to the fireplace. Who hangs a painting next to a fireplace? It just screams concealed safe. Running my fingers along the edges of the frame I found the switch to release the magnetic closure and swung the painting open on its hinges, revealing the safe beneath. The electronic safe. It was almost too easy. One little zap and it even swung open on its own. This bad boy was like some super villain safe: stacks of money, folders of documents, there was even a gold bar in there. The job was just for the photos, even if my client had been told she could have anything she wanted. Flicking through the folders I found the envelope with the photos. Handily he had even left the SD card in there as well. This guy was organised for such a douche bag. Blackmailing your wife into staying with you was a dick move, beating her nearly every day of your marriage was the sort of stuff that should get
that dick cut off. Fortunately for Mr Douchebag I only stole for a living, it was tempting to make an exception for this stain on society though.
I stuffed as much cash into the envelope with the photos as I could fit before shoving it securely into my leather jacket. It’s not easy starting a new life and his wife needs all the help she can get. It wasn’t technically part of the job but why the hell not? It was easy to climb out of the window and it closed silently behind me before I jumped and landed in a silent crouch on the grass three storeys below. The only evidence that I had been there was the now disabled alarm and the broken safe. Even if he did notice in the morning, his wife would be long gone and there would be nothing that he could do to stop her. Hopefully starting over she would finally get the life that she wanted. Hell, she deserved it after everything he had put her through.
I stepped onto the pavement and strolled down the road, hands in my pockets as casual as could be. I knew that no one had seen me come in or out, but one of my many rules, never assume you’ve got away with it until you actually have, always echoes through my mind whenever I’m walking away from a job. There was no point in running. People would remember the young woman in a leather jacket running down the road in the middle of the night. You couldn’t even pull off being a jogger at this time. Best to just be someone walking home from a party. My auburn hair was pulled back into a pony tail and the leather jacket and skinny jeans were just enough for me to not stand out in a crowd. Not that you would be able to find a crowd anywhere at this time, but it also made me just normal enough to be forgettable. That was the key. Try to be normal. Try to be forgettable. In passing I could carry it off it was only if people got up close that they tended to notice me. I know that men find me beautiful and I hate it. I hate the way that they look at me, like I was something ready for the taking. It made my skin crawl. When I was in the home it had always started with looks, leering looks. I shook my head trying to clear the memories away. I hadn’t had an easy start to life but I had survived. I aged out of the system and now I was just another young college girl making her way through life. Or at least that was what most people thought. Yes, I did have a night job as a cat burglar, but a girl has to eat … and buy the necessities like shoes and lingerie. Really it was the shoes and lingerie that were the most important parts. What can I say, even a bad ass bitch like myself likes to feel a little sexy at times. I had discovered that the lingerie helped me feel better about the scars and hey, if it works why not?
I had parked my motorcycle a few streets away, and once I slid on to the saddle and pulled on my helmet, I let out a sigh of relief and, well, basically lust. I really love this bike. It was the most expensive thing that I owned and the first proper thing that I had bought for myself. I tried to stash away as much of the money that I earned as I could, college wasn’t going to last forever and I needed to actually afford a life after. Thankfully Marnie was making that more than possible. Turning the key my bike purred to life and I rode to the rendezvous point to drop the photos with the client. I loved riding the streets at this time. No one around, just me and the night air. I wished I could get away with riding without a helmet, but I didn’t need to give any cops an excuse to pull me over right now.
Pulling into the bus station car park it was easy to pick out my client. Huddled on the bench under the street light, clutching the sleeping toddler to her like she was expecting someone to rip her away at any moment. She probably was. The new ID that Marnie had arranged for them would keep them safe, but this last step, waiting for the photos before getting on the bus, must be killing her. I killed the bike engine before I got too close, trying not to wake the child. All of this must be hard enough on her as it was. If she could sleep through it hopefully it would make it easier for her mother. I pulled the bike into the parking spot a few spaces away and took off my helmet. Usually I would just keep it on and pass across the package, but this woman looked spooked enough. I strolled up to her and sat on the other end of the bench. “Marnie sends her regards.” I muttered, keeping my eyes on our surroundings. It always paid to stay alert.
The woman whipped her head around to me, her eyes big and fearful. “Did … did she ask you to bring me something?” she stuttered pulling the toddler tighter to her. I gave her a soft smile and slowly unzipped my leather jacket. I had the distinct impression that this was a ‘no sudden moves’ kind of situation. The poor woman was terrified. God only knew what she had been through to get to this point. Reaching inside my jacket I slowly pulled out the now fat envelope and sat it next to her on the bench. She cast her eyes to the ground and I could see the dim light shining from the streetlight catch the shimmer of tears in her eyes. “You didn’t look at them, did you?”
“Not really, just enough to make sure that they were photographs. They were the only ones in the safe so I figured they were the right ones. It’s not my business what they are.” I shrugged.
She picked up the envelope frowning before straightening her shoulders and taking a steadying breath. It was like watching her physically pull herself back together and strap on her armour. It was in that very moment that I knew she was going to be alright. She had the strength to get herself through this. I could see from the determination that flickered across her face every time she looked at the sleeping toddler snuggled in her lap. She glanced into the envelope, her eyes going wide and her mouth falling open into a small ‘o’ of surprise. “I figured you deserved some help in that new start you needed. It’s not much but hopefully it should help get you settled” Not much was probably about fifty grand. If the paper bands were to be believed these were $10,000 bundles and I had managed to shove five of them in there. Fifty grand isn’t that much to relocate and start a new life and it probably wouldn’t last her long but at least it would give her a fighting chance.
“Thank you” she whispered. She pulled a wedge of notes off one of the bundles and pushed it towards me. There must have been about a grand there.
“I’ve already been paid, you don’t need to tip me.” I smiled across at her.
She finally met my eyes and a stubbornness flashed across them. “You have to take it. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you and Marnie. If this means that you can keep on doing this for other women then I want you to take it.” Yeah, this chick was going to be fine.
“Like I said, I’ve already been paid. You need every penny you can get, starting over isn’t cheap and you’ve got that one to think about.” I said nodding my head towards the kid. I might have fluid morals but taking money from this woman was not something that I would feel good about.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered. “Living with him was the worst time of my life. I could have survived on my own. I got myself into that mess. I didn’t think I had a way out. But once Hayley was born, I knew that it was only a matter of time before he would turn on her too. So from the day that I knew I was pregnant, I started to hide money. He never really gave me much but every chance I got I hide as much as I could. It took me nearly three years to get enough to pay Marnie and a bit to start again. I found out about Marnie from one of my husband’s employees. He slipped me a card when Reggie wasn’t looking. I thought it was going to be some kind of sick joke but when I found out that she was real I cried for hours. Then I pulled myself together and I started to plan. I started to take control of my life again. No more cowering in the corner. From that moment on every time he hit me I knew it didn’t matter because I was getting closer to escaping. It was the only thing that got me through. Knowing that I had control of what was going to happen. I needed Hayley to give me the courage to fight but now that I’ve reached this point I need to make it mine. I need to be the person that Hayley needs me to be. I won’t ever be that weak cowering woman again. Please, I know that this doesn’t make any sense but I need to do this.”
I could understand the need to have control after someone had taken it away from you for so long. I picked up the bundle of cash and put it back in my pocket. She was determ
ined and she didn’t seem like she was going to leave until I agreed. “Come on. I’ll carry your bags for you so you can carry the little one”. I stood up and picked up her duffle bag and the small backpack which sat at her feet while she gathered the kid up in her arms. “You got your tickets already?” I asked as we walked over to the only bus boarding. The bags were depressingly light but at least she had the cash now to help get her set up.
“Yes, they’re in the front pocket of the backpack, would you mind grabbing them for me?” she asked hitching the kid up further so her little head laid on her shoulder. She was a cute little thing with curly blonde hair that kept drifting across her face. She definitely didn’t deserve to be raised by a monster. This was the best thing that her mother could ever have done for her.
I pulled the tickets from the front pocket and passed them to the driver for her. He took a quick glance and nodded casting a look over her. His eyebrows pinched when he saw the small bags. It was really blatantly obvious that she was a woman about to run and he no doubt saw this sort of thing all the time. I slipped one strap of the backpack over her free shoulder. “Are you going to be alright getting on carrying her or do you want some help?” The last thing we needed was for her to fall down the stairs.
“I can manage,” she whispered as the child nuzzled sleepily into her neck. “Can you just put the other bag in the hold for me?”