by Kelly Oram
“A quality I discovered today that he and I have in common.”
He’d been teasing, but it racked me with guilt. I wandered over to the window and stared at the stars. “I’m sorry I kissed him.”
“Danielle, you did not kiss him.” Gabriel assured me. “You were not in control of yourself at the beach and just a moment ago he kissed you, but you did not return that kiss. I admit I was surprised by your resistance, but I was very grateful for it as well.”
Gabriel joined me by the window and forced me to look at him. “You have made me very happy tonight, but I worry that you have made yourself unhappy with your sacrifice.”
The guilt was never-ending. “Being with you isn’t a sacrifice, Gabriel,” I said. I felt so helpless. “I just hate that I have to hurt Russ to do it. If my relationship with him is unnatural like the Councilor believes, then he’s never going to be able to accept this. He’ll never stop hurting.”
Gabriel led me over to the edge of the bed. Once I was sitting he said, “Perhaps it would be easier for him if we left.”
“Cut him out of my life all together? I don’t know if—”
“I have seen many horrible things in my visions as you know, but nothing has ever been so agonizing as seeing his hands on you tonight and fearing I had lost you to him. I would not wish that feeling on anyone. Not even Russ.”
My heart felt like it was breaking, but I still managed a sincere smile. “How did you get to be so good?” I asked Gabriel.
He blushed as he answered me. “You make me strong.”
“You make things clear,” I replied. “Russ makes everything so confusing, but when I’m with you, the right answers always seem so easy.”
Gabriel squeezed my hand and then leaned toward me. “May I?”
I rolled my eyes. “I told you, you don’t need permission anymore.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel said and then kissed me.
When he sat back he broke into an excited grin. The only word to describe it was adorable. “What is it?” I asked curiously.
“I have only ever read of this feeling. Even Shakespeare could not do it justice.”
“What feeling?”
“Love, of course.”
“Love?” My stomach lurched. “Gabriel—”
Gabriel cut me off with another kiss. His sudden confidence was irresistible. What started as pleasant warmth washing over me promptly became fire. I was consumed with desire—his and mine—but it was over too quickly. When I wrapped my arms around Gabriel’s neck and fell backwards on the bed, pulling him down on top of me, he scrambled to a sit, panting for breath, with an overwhelmed look in his eyes.
Not that I’ve ever had a really good make-out session before either, but I’d grown up with cable TV. I went to public school. I had an idea what to expect. Watching Gabriel experience the feeling of lust for the first time, I wondered if he even knew about the birds and the bees beyond what he might have read in that textbook the Councilor gave him. I certainly couldn’t picture him sitting down with the Supreme High Councilor asking for sex advice when the Councilor told him he’d found him a mate. If I was nervous right now, Gabriel must have been terrified.
“Why don’t we go to sleep?” I suggested. “It’s getting late.”
I’d been sleeping with Gabriel for weeks already, but it was different this time as I slipped into bed. He was quiet and gave me as much space as he possibly could. He was afraid to touch me now.
We’d been lying there for an hour in silence, both nowhere near falling asleep. When I simply couldn’t take the awkwardness another minute I said, “You’re going to fall off the bed laying over there like that.”
“I am all right, Danielle.”
“You’re uncomfortable.”
“It is nothing.”
“Okay, fine. I’m uncomfortable.”
Gabriel rolled over to face me with worry in his eyes. “Your cravings are bothering you?”
“Yes,” I lied.
Gabriel looked relieved to have an excuse to pull me into his arms. As I nestled myself against him he asked, “Is that the only reason you cannot sleep?”
“I was just thinking.”
“About Russ?”
I was amazed that he could sound just as concerned for Russ as I felt. “About Russ,” I agreed. “And about home. I miss my parents. They must think the worst has happened to me. If they gave Russ my necklace back then they must already believe I’m never coming home. They probably think I was kidnapped and murdered or something. I’m not exactly the running away type. I can’t imagine how awful it is for them.”
“You may yet be able to go home one day Danielle. After the prophecy is fulfilled.”
“And tell them what? That I just got back from some kind of a supernatural vacation that I never asked to go on? That vampires and werewolves exist? That I’m some new kind of freak and that their best friend Alex is a powerful warlock? Oh, and also I’m sixteen and got married to a stranger because the Supreme High Councilor said I’m The Chosen One and you were my destiny? They’re probably better off believing I was murdered and am never coming back home.”
Gabriel sighed. “It is true that it would be easier not to go home right now,” he said. “However, if we were ever able to find peace with the humans… If we could come out of hiding, then I see no reason you could not be reunited with them.”
I resisted the urge to scoff. The task seemed too impossible.
We lapsed into silence for a moment until Gabriel said, “I think I would have liked your parents. They must be very good people to have raised such a daughter.”
“They are.”
“Well if I cannot take you home to your parents,” Gabriel forced a sense of cheer into his voice, “maybe I could take you somewhere else to help you forget your troubles temporarily. Another date perhaps?”
The thought of another date with Gabriel made my heart feel ten times lighter. “A real one this time,” I said. “No chaperones.”
Gabriel chuckled. “I did not plan on inviting Russ if that is what you mean.”
“If we can successfully ditch him and Alex—which I’m warning you now won’t be easy—did you have something particular in mind?”
“Actually I did have a thought. Tomorrow is the thirty-first of October.”
“That’s right! Tomorrow is Halloween. The Supernatural New Year. What did you call it again?”
“Samhain,” Gabriel said. “Like you, I have never been to a Samhain celebration. Though I have always wanted to see one, the Councilor insisted it was too dangerous. But with your cloaking spell being so powerful we would be fine for a short while. Long enough to at least experience it anyway.”
“We’ll bring something to sacrifice,” I teased.
Gabriel laughed but then frowned and said, “It is unfortunate that you will have to remain a warlock the entire evening.”
I lifted my head off Gabriel’s chest to look him in the eyes. “Yes, that is very unfortunate.” I laughed, but couldn’t hold my good mood. “Do you think we’ll ever be safe enough to live freely like other supernaturals? Will we ever get to go out together and not have to hide from everyone?”
“It is possible that once the prophecy has been fulfilled and balance has been restored to our people, not everyone we meet will want to use us or bring us harm.”
“One can only hope,” I said.
Gabriel laughed and we fell into a comfortable silence. Now that I was more relaxed I immediately began to feel the late hour. I started to drift off until Gabriel asked, “Would you mind if I attempted to see into your future again?”
“Oh! Um.…”
“You are the only person I have ever not been able to see and I was thinking, after watching you practice controlling your power this afternoon, that I would like to try again.”
I shivered, remembering the intensity of my last vision. “Maybe that’s not such a good idea. I mean, what if I accidentally see into your future again?”
> “I do not mind if you do,” Gabriel admitted. “Your reactions to my future are always very interesting.”
“Isn’t there a rule?” I said nervously. “Nobody should know too much about their own destiny, or something like that.”
“Please?”
There was no way I could say no to the face he was making.
Gabriel clasped my hand confidently, but it was me who got sucked into a vision. On the bright side we were not alone in this vision, but on the not-so-bright side we were back in the big conference room at the consulate. Which meant that someday I’d be back there.
Every seat at the conference table was filled. Some of the faces were familiar, some of the faces were new, and some faces I thought should be there were missing.
Standing at the head of the table was another version of Gabriel and me. Physically we weren’t really much older, but it looked as if we’d aged a decade. We were smiling and looked hopeful, but I could feel how tired and morose we were underneath. We clung to one another’s hands like we planned on never letting each other out of our sight ever again.
“I nominate the Chameleon,” a voice rang out from the table. It was Constance, and her face looked serene as ever as she stared up at the future me. “It is because of her that we still have a council at all.”
A chorus of approval rumbled through the council.
“I’ll second that,” said the lady vampire, who’s name I never learned. She had a lovely smile.
“I thank you for the honor you have bestowed upon me Councilor Vanderhousen,” the other me said to Constance with a formality the real me would be incapable of. “But I’m afraid I must respectfully decline. I am still new to the supernatural world. I am too unfamiliar with the laws and customs of our people yet to consider a position of leadership. Will you please allow me, though, to present another option? There is one among us who has grown up defending and protecting our people. One who was not only mentored, but also raised by the Supreme High Councilor, and one in whose veins runs the blood of the Creator. I believe the Seer would be a far superior leader than I could ever dream to be, what with my quick temper and rebellious nature.”
A few chuckles and laughs rang out in the room.
“I nominate the Seer to be our new Supreme High Councilor,” the other me said. “Will anyone second the motion?”
Five or six people volunteered a second to the motion at once and the future me smiled at the shocked future Gabriel. “Very well,” the future me said. “Shall we start the vote with the Ungifted One?”
The future me looked down at a girl who was sitting in the chair closest to her. The girl looked to be the same age as my future self and similar in appearance. We could almost be mistaken for identical twins except that I didn’t have a sister and she had shiny, stick-straight hair I would have killed for.
“Sure,” the girl said, smiling up at the future me as if they shared some sort of private joke. “I vote we change my name. Seriously, you couldn’t come up with anything better than Ungifted?”
“Not a chance, Gracie.” The future me laughed and then took on her formal stance again. “Grace St. Claire? What say you on the matter of the Seer being our new Supreme High Councilor?”
“Yes!” Grace said enthusiastically. “Yes, yes and of course, yes.”
I watched as the voting continued around the table. The decision was unanimous. The future me smiled proudly at her very humble partner. “Congratulations, Councilor,” she said and lifted herself onto her toes to kiss Gabriel on the cheek.
When I returned to the present, Gabriel was waving a hand in front of my face. “Danielle?”
I blinked a few times and shook myself from my daze. “Sorry. Did it work? Did you see anything?”
Gabriel frowned. “No. But you clearly did.”
“Clearly.”
“And?”
“Well, it looks like the name Chameleon is going to stick.” I thought of the girl in the conference room and smirked. “But it’s definitely not the worst nickname out there.”
Gabriel’s frown got even bigger. “Is that all?”
“What? Was my reaction not interesting enough for you this time? Were you hoping I’d see something that would make me want to jump your bones again like the last time?”
“Jump my bones?” Gabriel repeated. He was only confused by the expression though. He understood my meaning, and dropped his gaze.
“Oh my gosh, you were!” I shrieked.
“Danielle!” Gabriel gasped. “It is very late. You should really try to keep your voice down. I was only hoping you might share with me your vision. You have never actually explained to me what it is you see when you look into my future. I did not want you to… jump my bones.” He blushed again.
He was obviously telling the truth. He hadn’t meant it that way. But still, I couldn’t resist teasing him. “So, then, you don’t want me to make out with you right now?” I asked.
“Of course not!”
I raised an eyebrow at him and he realized what he just said. He looked horrified. “Not that I do not want to—of course I—I mean I did not—I—I was not—” He gave up trying to explain himself and said, “I do not even understand what you mean to make out!”
“Kiss you,” I offered. “A lot. For a long time. And probably without our shirts on so there would be lots of skin-to-skin contact.”
Gabriel was speechless. His mouth hung open in shock and his eyes bulged as he processed what I’d just suggested. Eventually he snapped his mouth shut and swallowed. Hard. He would never say it, but he definitely wanted to give it a try.
He wasn’t the only one.
In an instant the tension was thick enough to slice through. And then we were kissing. Then we were lying down and kissing. After five minutes Gabriel’s shirt was on the floor.
Then there was a loud clatter on the roof and the sound of something shattering, and Gabriel and I stopped kissing. “What was that?” I asked just as our bedroom door flew open.
“Dani! Are you okay?”
Russ saw me lying mostly beneath a shirtless Gabriel and shouted, “Oh, hell no!”
He yanked Gabriel to his feet and got in one good punch before my bedroom window exploded and someone pulled me from the bed.
Russ forgot about Gabriel, but as he lifted his hands a completely covered arm clamped around my chest and a gloved hand gripped my head. “Try it and I break her neck,” my captor warned.
Russ froze.
It took me a moment to catch up to the situation, but when I did I realized that five men, not including the one holding me hostage, all beautiful and pale like Duncan and barring razor sharp fangs, now stood between me and Russ, Gabriel and Alex.
And at the moment I had no magic.
I tried to free my hands so that I could at least match my captor’s vampire strength, but all of his skin was covered except for his face and I simply couldn’t reach that. The stranger recognized what I was trying to do and smiled. “I know your secret little girl. That’s why we made sure you were helpless before we attacked. You are most vulnerable as a seer.”
“What do you want?” Alex asked sharply.
One of the vampires pointed at Gabriel. “We are here for the Seer. We’d like the Chosen One too, but we are willing to kill her if you try to stop us.”
Russ grabbed Gabriel by the arm and thrust him forward. “He’s all yours. I’ll trade you for Dani right now, no tricks, no questions asked.”
“Shut up Russ!” I shouted. “You will not!”
“The hell I won’t Dani! I’m half tempted to kill him myself right now!”
“Russell,” Alex said calmly. He pulled Gabriel from Russ’s grip and stood protectively in front of him. “Who are you?” he asked the vampires. “How did you find us? And how the devil did you break through the wards on this house?”
“My dear Alexander,” sang a musical voice from the hallway. “Surely you don’t believe there is no magic as powerful as that of the Dev
ereaux family.”
Alex spun around and in walked the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Alex’s face went visibly white at the sight of her. “Simone!” he gasped. “It can’t be. You’re—”
“Dead?” Simone laughed. “Yes, that rumor has served my purpose well these last couple of years.”
“I went to your funeral. Your sister had to shut down your company.”
Simone’s smile vanished, but even holding a vicious scowl she was still a goddess. “My sister did not shut the company down. The council did that. My magic was too powerful. My potions worked too well. So many supernaturals were staying young beyond their years. The council was afraid the humans would learn the truth of my cosmetics so they stopped my life’s work.”
“So you faked your death?”
Simone smiled again. “I joined the resistance, darling.”
“The resistance!” I gasped.
Simone turned her devastating smile on me. “Yes dear one. And we simply can’t have the Seer warning the council of our every move when the war starts. Of course, we’re hoping he might be persuaded to join us and help stop the council’s tyranny.”
Alex had to hold Gabriel back from jumping in Simone’s face. “The council is not tyrannical! I have seen the horrors you bring upon your own people! I will never help the resistance!”
“Nevertheless, you must still come with us.” Simone sighed, but then smiled. “Your lovely mate is not so blinded by the council as you, I think.” She crossed the room and brushed my hair from my face. “Such nice features,” she said absently. “With a little of my help you could be truly stunning.” Coming back to the topic at hand she said, “Surely you can understand the council’s misuse of power. You can appreciate the need to stop them. Were you not taken from your home by the council? Were you not tortured and forced into a union you didn’t want? Did they not keep you prisoner in order to use you for your power?”
She was so confident. She expected me to say yes. Instead I narrowed my eyes. “Isn’t that exactly what you’re planning to do too? Maybe you both need to be stopped.”
