Of Fate & Forbidden Desire (The Gatekeeper Duet #1)

8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Why does crazy seem to follow me around?- Charleene

D ina’s sudden switch from demanding back to gentle took me by surprise as she led me over to the tub and helped ease me beneath the warm water. Once it lapped against my collar bone she retreated to the bedroom, giving me privacy so I could organise my own thoughts. Running my hand absently through the water, above my stomach, I let my eyes close for a second. Red eyes stared at me, as his voice repeated over and over, ‘you’re the one.’ Bolting upright and sloshing water all over the floor, I barely kept my scream lodged in my throat as my dreams over the years rushed forwards and similar words joined his from tonight; ‘ you’re not the one,’ the voice in my dreams, his voice, had said seconds before he would sink his teeth into my throat.

“Charleene? Babe? I’m here, you’re safe.” Dina’s voice penetrated my thoughts, and like she was my own personal beacon, I followed it back to the here and now. Her cool hands gripped my cheeks and her gaze bore into me.

“He’s been in my dreams.” I told her, no longer able to deny the truth I’d wanted to.

“What?” Dina asked, a frown appearing between her eyebrows.

“Him. The…” I gulped, noisily swallowing my fear that they even existed, “the vampire from tonight, I’ve heard his voice in my dreams for years.”

Dina fell backwards onto her arse, which at any other time would have been hilarious, especially combined with the shocked look on her face, but right now her reaction only heightened my own sense of peril .

“How have I been dreaming of someone I’ve never met?” I asked, needing someone to make all of this make sense in some way, because I was at a loss and nearing the edge of my sanity.

“I don’t know,” she answered, “what does he do in your dreams?” Dina’s voice was calm but her eyes wrinkled at the edges in concern.

“It’s always dark and I never see him, he talks a lot before…before he rips out my throat.” My voice climbed higher and higher; becoming less like my normal tone and more like a distressed pigeon by the time I finished explaining what happened in my dreams. “I recognised his slimy voice, but couldn’t place it at first and then just before we ran it hit me like a ton of bricks; he’s the man I’ve feared for so long.”

“And you’re sure it’s the same person you met tonight?” Dina asked.

“His voice has haunted me since I was twelve.” I snapped back at her.

“Ok, ok,” Dina raised her hands up in surrender and scooted closer to the bath. “Keep breathing, slow and steady,” she went on, placing one of her hands on the rim and raising her shoulders up and down for me to copy. “That’s it,” she praised, making me all warm and fuzzy as a small smile teased my lips and I eased back into the bath.

I liked her praise, it took the edge off of the raging emotions swirling inside me and helped me focus. Sinking beneath the water I laid my head on the plastic bath bottom. Allowing the water to muffle the world, I gave myself a little more time to calm down. I lay there, my feet sticking out the bottom of the bath, just staring up at the spotlights in the ceiling as they rippled and wavered with the water. I kept my head under, until my lungs burned for oxygen and my mind calmed to the point where I could think without the need to scream.

Closing my eyes I let my face breach the water and drip from my face, as hushed voices drew my attention. I was alone in the bathroom, with the door closed, its wood blocking whoever was talking in the other room. Quickly washing, I was grateful to find a thick white bathrobe hanging on the closed door. Wrapping my long hair in a smaller towel, I used the longer towel to dry my body, taking my time until I felt ready to face what would happen next. Drawing in a long breath I held it for a count of five, before releasing it and grabbing the bathrobe. Once I was certain I looked presentable, well as presentable as you could be in a dressing gown, I stepped forward and pulled open the bathroom door.

“She’s not our problem to fix.” A woman’s voice that I’d never heard before filled the room as I stepped into it. Even without being privy to the rest of their conversation, I couldn't help but feel that the words were about myself. Running my eyes around the room I took in the petite woman with dark hair and stunning green eyes, who was currently facing off with Dina. An older woman with greying hair sat at the small desk, watching their interaction with cold calculating eyes.

“I’m not leaving her to face this alone, Tilly.” Dina shouted back, not noticing that I’d entered the room yet.

“You don’t have a choice—” The woman,Tilly, told her sternly before Dina cut her off.

“We’ve been doing nothing, but chase this damn rogue for months, Tilly. Getting no closer to finding out who he was until tonight. If he’s going to be after Charleene, then you can take whatever orders you’re about to utter and shove them up your—”

“Ok, let’s all just calm down,” I interrupted, not fully understanding what was going on but not wanting to witness another fight tonight. My words drew the older woman’s gaze my way and an uncomfortable weight began pressing down on my mind. What now? I thought, my eyes narrowing as they stared at the strange woman’s grey eyes, while part of my mind concentrated on making the sudden pressure stop.

Let me in! A voice demanded inside my head.

No! I screamed silently, imagining myself shoving the other voice from my head, as my mouth moved, “What the hell was that?” I gasped as, with a pop, the pressure disappeared .

“A test child.” The woman’s voice was neither kind nor angry, but a monotone, like she cared little about the effect her words would have. It was the same as the one that had just been in my head.

“How the heck…” I trailed off. Speaking inside people’s heads wasn’t possible . Instead I focused on her spoken words. “A test for what?” I asked, my gaze not leaving hers. Her head tilted to one side, gazing at me for a few minutes before she spoke again.

“To see if what, this one ,” she gestured with a lazy wave at Tilly before continuing, “says is true.” Her cryptic words gave nothing away, and confused me even further.

“And what was that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman’s lack of interest or sense. She was evasive and frustrating, but I managed to keep my voice calm.

“That you are a Witch, with no training.” I scoffed at her words. Me, a witch? I laughed at the absurd notion as blue lightning dancing around my fingers flashed through my mind.

“I’m no Witch,” I denied, not wanting to believe I was anything other than the human I’d been up until tonight.

“You are, but you have been trained by someone. Now tell me who.” She demanded, and the pressure on my mind returned, harder this time, more like a spike being drilled into my brain.

“Leave me alone!” I screamed at the grandmotherly looking woman, while imagining a strong wind sweeping through my mind, tossing anything that shouldn’t be there away.

“See, trained.” She taunted, her head tilting again as her shrewd gaze analysed me from head to foot and back again. “If you had no training you wouldn’t be able to keep me from your thoughts, now who has trained you!”

Her demands for information kindled my anger. “No. One!” I told her, enunciating each word slowly and carefully, in case she was hard of hearing or something, because she obviously wasn’t listening to me .

“What Coven do you belong to?” she continued as though going down a list of questions.

“What’s a coven?” I stated firmly, keeping my imaginary wind swirling, if it kept that pressure from returning I’d keep it going until she left.

“Why are you here?” her questions went on, and with each one my anger was rising.

“For university.” I snapped.

“Who taught you to shield your mind?”

“No. One!” My voice was clipped and my eyes narrowed on the woman before me. Who was this crazy lady and what was with the twenty questions? The tingles began in my finger tips, tickling them at first.

“Where are you from?” the tingling grew, moving up my arm slowly as she asked another question.

“Scarborough.” I managed to answer, as the tingles grew further, distracting me and feeling more like pins and needles.

“Who is your Coven?” This question fried what remained of my patiences and before I could comprehend what was happening I let out an angry breath, my hands rose from my sides, coated in dancing blue tendrils and then a snapping blue ball flew across the room. Leaving a black scorch mark in the cream wall beside the old lady’s head. The woman stared at my arms and finally her blasé facade faded; leaving disbelief and a smidgen of fear in its wake. “Who are you?” she asked, staring at my arms as much as I was.

“I’m…I’m…” I couldn’t answer, because in all honesty, in this moment I didn’t know who I was.

“Child, who is your Coven?” the woman asked again.

“I’ve never had a Coven, whatever that is. I was adopted as a baby, then returned to social services when I was thirteen.”

She drew in a shocked breath and her face softened slightly, “What happened to your Coven? ”

I didn’t think her question was aimed at myself, so I gave no response, instead trying to figure out what the heck was happening to me. The blue ribbons still danced around my fingers, no longer buzzing but lazily arcing as I stretched my fingers apart. “Dina, what’s happening to me?” I whispered, not trusting anyone else in the room but her.

“You need to calm down, your magic,” she nodded at my fingertips, “is reacting to your emotions.”

“Right, because that makes so much sense,” I deadpanned at her, “tie magic to emotions. Because emotions are such a stable thing.” I was trying to lighten the mood and put myself at ease but when Grandma lady tutted, my temper flared and the electric danced wildly.

“Unlike human children, we teach ours to regulate their emotions from a young age. It stops outbursts such as this from happening.” She tittered, raising her head like she was superior to me in some way.

“Ok, so let’s say I believe that this is actually happening and not just some very strange dream, who the heck are you?” I asked the woman.

“Is that not real enough for you to believe?” the woman asked instead of giving me a straight answer, as she gestured at my still power infused hands.

“She’s the Crone of the York Coven of Witches,” Dina explained quickly, coming to my side, “and she is very respected in our world.”

Focusing on Dina and her alone, I let each word sink in. “Ok, so let’s say I believe in all of this…nonsense. You all believe that I’m a witch,”

“There is no doubt you are a witch, child,” the Crone said, waving her hands at my own, “and a powerful one at that. Now tell me what you are doing unannounced in my City?”

“Well Grandma, that one’s easy,” I snarked at her, but got no further as a sudden wind flung me backwards, slamming my back into the wall beside the bathroom door. My head snapped back and forth like a rag doll.

“You will show me the respect I deserve. I may be a Grandma, as you put it, but I do not appreciate being scoffed at, young lady. ”

“And I don't appreciate being called a child.” I retaliated, letting her know just how little respect I had for her. To me respect was earned, not given freely or demanded, and this woman had given me no reason to respect her since she’d opened her mouth.

“If you are to be taken under my Coven’s protection, you will respect your elders. You are a child in the eyes of our Coven. If what you say is true and you’ve never been taught, then your powers are undisciplined and therefore like a child.”

“I’m twenty-one years old and have been on my own since I turned thirteen, when no one wanted a troubled teen. So do not lecture me on being a child. I do not belong to your Coven, I never will, and I am not a bloody witch.” I denied again. My mind was having trouble believing any of this was actually real and kept expecting someone to jump out shouting ‘got ya,’ as they played the greatest joke on me. No one did and three pairs of eyes looked at me in concern, disbelief and anger.

“Denying the truth will not make it go away.” The Crone muttered, shaking her head at me before turning to face Tilly, “She is too old to learn our ways. There is a Coven out there, somewhere, missing a child. Find them, they will have no choice but to take charge of her insolence and learning.”

“Will you stop discussing my future as though I’m not even here,” I snapped at them both as Tilly opened her mouth to answer, “I am no Coven’s ‘lost child’” I told them both, almost snorting at the thought of someone missing me, “up until I was thirteen, I had a nice family, not a Coven. That was until my night terrors became too much and forced them to return me.” I said, feeling the stab of their abandonment all over again and the magic in my fingertips finally faded.

“What night terrors?” The Crone asked, raising an eyebrow at the sadness I couldn’t hide from my voice.

“She’s dreamt of the rogue,” Dina explained for me when I didn’t answer.

“And when did your dreams begin?” She asked, glaring at me.

“Shortly after I turned twelve.” I answered,

“And what did you dream of? ”

“It was always the same darkness and his voice, before my throat was ripped out.”

“And you’d never met this rogue until this evening, correct?”

“No, I’d always thought they were just messed up night terrors.” My eyes widened as I realised she knew more about my damn dreams than I did.

“Foresight? No, it can’t be.” The Crone muttered to herself, her eyes narrowing on me again as she once again assessed me.

“Foresight hasn’t been gifted to the witches since the Scottish witch trials.” Tilly said, looking shocked as her eyes ran over me.

“No, it has not. It was a gift we’d thought had died out,” The Crone said, her tone clipped.

“Why are you talking as if any of this is normal?” I asked.

“Because to us, it is normal,” Tilly said gently, addressing me for the first time, “and in time it will become normal to you.”

“Take her to the High Council in London, they may have some insight into who she belongs to.” The Crone said dismissively, before striding to the hotel door and leaving.

“Urrrggg,” I groaned in frustration and flopped down on my back on the bed, “will someone please explain what universe I’ve fallen into and how I get back to my regular life?” I asked no one in particular and the resounding silence that answered terrified me. “I will get back to normal, won’t I?” I asked, my voice wobbling a little.

The bed dipped beside me and when I turned my head I met Dina’s dark eyes as she said, “this has always been your normal, you just didn’t know it.” Her voice was gentle and each word was spoken slowly, yet my head still shook and tears gathered in my eyes.

“No, no, no,” I muttered.

“I know we’re ripping your world from beneath your feet but you really are a witch. I don’t know how you came to be in the human care system, but you’ve always been and always will be a Witch, Charleene. ”

“I’ve always known I was different, I mean why else would no one want me, when they took the other children around me. I’d always blamed it on my terrors.” I hiccupped and let my tears fall as I wondered if all this time, no one had wanted me because on some level they’d known what I was. “Would they, humans I mean, have been able to tell what I was?” I asked, dreading to have my fears confirmed.

“All humans suspect that creatures exist and their guts tell them when we are near.” Tilly confirmed. “It is highly likely that when your powers awakened at twelve and your terrors began, then the humans around you will have instinctively known something was different about you.”

“Fan-bloody-tastic, everyone always said I was a freak and they were right.” I grumbled, allowing myself to wallow in my own self-despair for a few moments.

“You’re not a freak.” Dina snapped at me, taking me by surprise. “Just because you are different, does not make you a freak.”

“I know you’re right, but at this moment I feel like a pretty big freak.”

“Dina has already filled me in on what she overheard, but what did the rogue say to you this evening?” Tilly asked, “Charleene, what did he say?” she repeated when I didn’t answer.

“He kept going on about how I was the one he’d been searching for and that he'd been looking for a long time.” I summarised, wracking my brain for what he’d said to me.

“Take her to London. Tonight. Get her out of this city.” Tilly ordered, dragging me from my tumbling thoughts.

“What? I’m not going anywhere.” I informed her, propping myself up on my elbows to show her just how serious I was. “I have a life here, a job, my studies, and friends.”

“I’m not giving you a choice. If you stay here, she’ll be distracted,” she explained pointing at Dina, who nodded in agreement, “and you are now a target.”

“But—” I began.

“No buts about it. Dina is taking you to London, while I hunt this bastard down and put an end to his witch hunt.”