Fifth Vision of Destiny - Brett

by Kallysten

  Brett shook his head. His eyes seemed a little unfocused, as though he had been contemplating something that wasn’t really there. “No, I mean… In my future. My vision. Whatever this was. You were there. When I bought the rings, you—”

  “Brett?” Woods cut in warningly. “Remember, the more you talk about it, the faster you’ll forget.”

  Looking at him, Brett raked his fingers through his hair in a furious gesture. “Maybe I do want to forget,” he said almost mutinously. “Maybe it’d be better if I did, so I don’t freak the hell out.”

  His burst of laughter took Daisy by surprise, and she stared at him, at the same time curious and a little worried. She had never heard Brett sound so maniacal. So lost, too.

  “Damn,” he stopped laughing as abruptly as he had started. “Damn. Vampires. Two of them.” Shaking his head, he turned an incredulous look toward Daisy. “Can you believe that?”

  She didn’t quite know how to answer. She gave him a hesitant smile, and a just-as-tentative, “You never do things halfway.”

  Brett blinked very fast and lunged forward, catching Daisy’s shoulders in both his hands and holding just a little too tightly. “You… you said that!” he said very fast. “In the vision, I mean. You said…” Letting go of her, he pressed his fingers to his temples and shut his eyes tightly as though to concentrate. “It’s fading. But you were there.” He opened his eyes again and looked at her—at her stomach. “You were pregnant and—”

  A jolt of fear and excitement coursed through Daisy. It was her turn to clutch at Brett’s shoulders. “Don’t tell me!” she asked, practically begging. “Please. I don’t want to know.”

  Looking vaguely apologetic, Brett touched her hand gently, comfortingly, until she let go. “I’m sorry. I just…” He chuckled, but it sounded forced. “This is just so… strange. It’s like I’ve been shown this person, and I know he’s me, but at the same time I have no clue who he is.” He turned towards Woods at that, as though seeking confirmation.

  Woods stood, and nodded gravely. “He is you,” he said. His eyes flickered toward Daisy, and he seemed to pick his next words very carefully. “He is the person that your experiences and encounters will shape you to be.”

  Brett lowered his eyes to the floor, and for a moment he looked lost in his thoughts—in his memories, maybe. When he looked up again, he seemed a little calmer. “I think… I think I kind of like future me. He looked like he knew what he wanted.” He grinned as he finished, but his gaze, when it found Woods’, was hesitant again. “And he had it, too. Didn’t he?”

  “It certainly looked like it,” Woods said cautiously.

  Suddenly, Brett’s eyes widened, and he snapped his fingers. “On the edge!” he exclaimed. He started patting his shirt and pants pockets frantically, pulling a slim spiral-bound notepad from his back pants pocket, and a pen from the front of his shirt. “I have to remember that,” he muttered, as though to himself, as he clicked the back end of the pen with his thumb and set the tip to the paper. His hands were trembling. “I should write it down, and their names so when I meet them I’ll…”

  Woods took a step or two backwards when Brett’s voice trailed off, and Daisy glanced at him, wondering why he seemed so wary all of a sudden. She understood when Brett’s voice rose again, filled with panic.

  “I can’t remember their names! How could I have forgotten already? I loved them! I mean, I will love them. Or do I love them already? It’s so damn confusing!” He started raising a hand to his hair, but stopped when he noticed the notepad still in it. “What was I even writing?”

  “On the edge,” Daisy said quietly, hoping to calm him down. “You said you wanted to write ‘on the edge.’”

  If anything, her words appeared to confuse Brett even further. “But on the edge of what? What does it mean?”

  Daisy glanced at Woods, but if he knew, he didn’t look like he wanted to tell Brett. “I don’t know,” she said gently. “You just said you wanted to remember it.”

  “On the edge,” Brett repeated. He licked his lips as though tasting the words, then frowned. “It sounds… familiar. But I’m not sure if I heard it before or if it’s left from the vision.” Turning to Woods, he made a pleading gesture toward him. “Sam, do you know—”

  Woods shook his head, hands raised palms out in front of him in a defensive gesture. “Don’t ask me.”

  Brett practically glared at him. “But I forgot their names! Don’t you remember them?”

  If Brett’s agitation troubled Woods, he didn’t show it. “I do. But I’m not going to tell you.” His tone remained perfectly level, to the point that Daisy herself felt some indignation on Brett’s behalf.

  “Don’t be rude,” she admonished Woods, crossing her arms and stepping forward to glare at him. “He’s asking a simple question.”

  Woods continued to appear unperturbed. “Suppose I tell him,” he said calmly. “He’s so agitated, he’ll talk about them and forget again. And ask me again. We could spend all night playing that game and still get nowhere. Been there, done that, believe me.” Turning to Brett, he clasped his shoulder. “Didn’t you say just a minute ago that you’d rather forget?”

  Brett appeared to deflate. “I did,” he conceded. “But… It really will happen? I… I was happy, wasn’t I?” He pushed his fingers through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles. “I remember that. I remember they loved me. Really loved me. They will, won’t they?”

  His voice and eyes held the same pleading, the same hint of desperation that Daisy had seen in him earlier, when he had admitted he had never truly been in love, and she felt bad for him all over again.

  “They will,” Woods said more kindly now. “Whether you remember names or not.”

  “Names?” Brett’s eyebrows shot up, right along with the pitch of his voice. “Plural? I will love more than one person?”

  Woods cast a slightly frustrated glance toward Daisy as though to take her to witness, and now she could understand why he didn’t want to answer Brett’s questions. Brett seemed to be forgetting faster and faster.

  “Brett?” Daisy cut in softly, drawing his wild gaze to her. “You look parched. Maybe a drink would help your thoughts calm down?”

  He blinked several times before nodding, the tip of his tongue running between his lips. “Yeah,” he breathed and repeated the word again a little louder. “Yeah. I think it’d help. Thanks, Daisy. For…” Once again, he looked like he was reaching for words, for a memory just out of his grasp. He soon gave up and shrugged, offering her an apologetic grin. “I’m not sure what. But it feels important. So, thanks.”

  Smiling softly, Daisy shook her head. “You’re welcome.”

  She opened the window for him, and tapped his shoulder affectionately when he passed by her. He gave her a vague smile and went inside; his steps wavered slightly, as though he were a little drunk.

  When Daisy looked back at Woods, he stood at his now customary spot against the railing. He glanced toward her, and it was as good as an invitation to join him as he had ever given her.

  Tightening the shawl over her shoulders, she went to stand next to him. Her elbow brushed against his on the banister, and she shivered, although it had nothing to do with the cool night air. Woods was looking out at the ocean again, but she kept her eyes on him when she asked, “Does it happen often that they forget it all just moments after they see it?”

  Woods shrugged and glanced at her. “Not often, but it does happen, yes. Sometimes what they see is just too far removed from their current lives and their minds can’t wrap around it. I think that was the case with Brett.”

  “But he’ll be happy?” Daisy asked softly, afraid that she was pushing Woods’ limits again, yet unable to resist asking.

  For a moment, Woods was silent, and Daisy wasn’t sure he would reply, then a small smile broke upon his lips, and he ducked his head a little, looking at Daisy from beneath his eyelashes. “He looked pretty damn happy to me,” he said with a quiet
chuckle. “Lucky bastard, if you ask me.”

  The little knot of dread that had formed at the bottom of Daisy’s stomach when she had heard Brett mention vampires loosened a little, and she breathed a small sigh of relief. “He’s a good man,” she said, the words as much for herself as they were for Woods. She had known Brett since her first year in college, and she had always liked him, his humor, how hard he worked for what he wanted. He was an inspiration to those who knew him, her included. “He deserves to be happy.”

  A long moment passed before Woods answered, and when he did, quiet words drifting toward the ocean, she didn’t know what she could possibly have answered.

  “Don’t we all?” Woods murmured, and he had never sounded so sad.

  To be continued in: Sixth Vision of Destiny – Cathleen

  About the Author:

  Kallysten’s most exciting accomplishment to date was to cross a few thousand miles and an ocean to pursue (and catch!) the love of her life. She has been writing for fifteen years, and always enjoyed sharing her stories and listening to the readers' reactions. After playing with science fiction, short stories and poetry, she is now trying her hand, heart and words at paranormal romance novels.

  To see her other stories, including free short stories and sample chapters, visit http://original.kallysten.net

  Also available from Kallysten:

  On The Edge

  Brett Andrews thought he had it all. His new club, On The Edge, catering to vampires and humans, is a success, and the beautiful vampire Lisa is everything he could have dreamed of. When an old lover of hers, Leo, shows up at the club, Brett's immediate fear is that he will lose Lisa. But if he just stops thinking long enough to follow Lisa's lead, he might gain a lover instead of losing one.

  First Vision of Destiny – Alicia

  Daisy’s first mistake was to tell her friends that the famous seer Sam Woods is a family friend; her second one, to let them convince her to organize a soiree so that they may meet him. They are excited and can’t wait to be given a vision of their romantic future. Daisy, on the other hand, still doesn’t see the point in being told what Cupid is preparing for her. One by one, Daisy’s nine friends will get a glimpse of the crucial choice, the passionate night, or the unexpected encounter that will shape the rest of their love lives. Will Daisy join them and ask Sam to reveal her future to her before the night is over?

  Alicia is the first to volunteer to be shown what her future holds, maybe because she hasn’t had much luck with men so far in her life. Craving a relationship in which she would be needed, she has been visiting blood bars and allowing vampires to bite her. Those same vampires, Sam Woods shows her, could cause her to lose the man she loves more than anything…

  Fourth Vision of Destiny – Mike

  Having finally accepted that the visions Woods offers her friends are real, Daisy begins to wonder what the seer himself gets out of the experience. It can’t be all that pleasant, she figures, especially when he has to kiss both women and men – and doesn’t like men in that way.

  Mike, on the other hand, does like men, but he has had little luck in finding Mr. Right, despite his friends’ attempts at introducing him to potential relationship interests. On the eve of Valentine’s Day, his loneliness and one drink too many cause him to flirt with a handsome stranger and ask for a one-night stand. In the morning, though, that questionable decision might turn out to be the one that will change Mike’s life for the better.