Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1)

by Allison Sipe

  “It’s complicated,” I sighed.

  “What’s holding you back?”

  “Honestly, nothing on my part. He’s the one who’s hesitant.” I let out another sigh. I did want something to happen between us and knew it would eventually. I flushed, thinking about the kiss from my vision. It was filled with so much passion, so much need. My skin tingled at the thought of his touch. I really did hope this was a vision and not just a fantasy.

  “Bullshit, I’ve had my eyes on him since I got home. He watches you when you’re not looking, and he dotes on you like you’re royalty,” Becky challenged.

  “He’s just worried about me,” I mumbled. Of course he looked at me like I was royalty. The Magical world had been waiting for me for generations.

  Robert and Aaron came back in the room and Becky let the topic drop. Robert handed me my glass and sat back down beside me. We finished watching the movie and I had to turn my head from the screen for the last half. I couldn’t stomach watching people be brutally murdered, even if the blood was just red-dyed corn syrup and the victims were just actors. Robert put his arm around me and I rested my head against his chest. As I listened to the even beating of his heart, exhaustion took hold of me and I fell asleep in his arms.

  Chapter 16

  I awoke the next morning still feeling a little worn out. A low hum resonated deep within my bones. My magic wasn’t the monster of anxiety it had been before, but it had definitely grown in strength while I slept. I stretched my arms and legs and rolled over to look at the clock on the nightstand. Seven thirty-two. I had a good half hour before I actually needed to start getting ready for the day so I grabbed the journal Robert had given me from off the nightstand.

  Propping myself up with a couple pillows, I got comfortable. The journal felt like a ton of bricks in my hand as I ran my fingers over the soft leather cover and gently flipped it open. The binding crackled like kindling as I slowly turned each page. I stopped a couple of entries in and began to read.

  14 December, 1789

  Belinda’s words fill my thoughts. My bones will be dust in the earth by the time her prophecy comes to pass, but I cannot help wondering about the future. It must be such a curse to know all that has passed and what is to come, to not be able to live in the present moment. I admit to seeing the benefit of getting a glimpse of the future now and again, but what would I do with that sort of information? Would I stop trying in the now and simply wait for the future to come? Would my inaction lead to an alternative future? It is silly of me to ponder such things, I know. Soothsayers aren’t like the rest of us. The blood in their veins gives them the strength to harness their ability. Still, I can’t help but wonder if it must be hard for them to always know.

  “Aren't like the rest of us?” I said, re-reading the line. What could the writer possibly mean by that? I rose from bed and walked to the living room in search of Robert. As I turned the corner, I re-read the paragraph again.

  I looked up from the journal as I reached the back of the couch to see Robert still fast asleep. One arm lay across his chest while the other lay on the pillow above his head. He wore a grey t-shirt and a quilt over the bottom half of his body. His hair was messy and his face wore the stubble of a long night. My heart tugged at the sight of him and I smiled at how peaceful he looked. I wanted to go to his side and run my fingers through his unkempt hair, but instead I settled for the loveseat adjacent to him. Turning my attention back to the journal I flipped forward a couple pages while I waited for Robert to wake up.

  9 April, 1790

  My love’s betrothed has been sent on an errand that will take him away for a week at the very least. We’ve made plans today to meet behind her father’s barn, where we can steal away for the afternoon. My heart swells with the thought of our meeting, and the reality of the present situation is suspended momentarily. If only I could get a glimpse of our future, to be certain that we will find a way to be together for all of time.

  I smiled and traced the words on the page with my index finger. I could feel the magic growing at my core, so I closed my eyes and let it take me.

  When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in front of a modest two story house. The stones making up the exterior looked smooth and worn by countless storms. Several steps led up to a large front door. Curtains hung closed in all the windows, and if not for the smoke rising from the chimney I would have thought the house was empty.

  A crisp, cool breeze wafted through the grey sky. Dust rose around me as someone rode past on horseback. I looked around, but there wasn’t much to see, nothing but tree-lined, open fields besides the house. I could just barely make out another house down the block and through the trees.

  A young man came out of the house just then, taking the stone steps two at a time. He wore a white linen shirt, a dark-colored jacket and matching pants. He was very handsome and walked with a regal posture. His brass-buttoned clothing indicated I was definitely somewhere in the past, but I still wasn’t sure what I was seeing. He looked up and down the path, as if to make sure the coast was clear. Satisfied no one was in sight, he tore off down the street. I followed him, curious where this vision would take me.

  A long, wooden fence held up by stone columns stretched as far as I could see in each direction. Once the house the gentleman had come from was out of sight, he jumped over the fence. I followed close behind him. He looked over his shoulder as I landed in the tall grass and my heart leapt into my throat. He couldn’t see me, could he? I looked over my shoulder, but saw nothing behind me. Cautiously I turned back toward the gentleman and to my relief found him already walking away from me.

  His frantic, urgent demeanor seemed to transform into something more peaceful the longer we walked up the low, grassy hill. I followed him through the tall grass at an easy pace until we reached the top of a hill where he paused. I stopped beside him. At that moment, I knew exactly where I was and where we were going. A small barn sat at the bottom of the hill. Further out, I could see a few more houses and a small town off to the left. The barn just below us must have been where the lovers were meeting. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched William run down the hill toward the barn. When he was about fifty yards away, Constance appeared out of the shadows to meet him. She flung herself into his arms and they kissed with a longing that pulled at my heart.

  I could feel reality pulling me back, but I watched the lovers for as long as I could. Robert had told me they would end up together and I wished I could tell William he would get to be with the woman he loved so much.

  The vision gave way to my living room, and I smiled at the love I had just witnessed. “Welcome back,” Robert smiled up at me from his makeshift bed on the couch.

  “How’d you-“

  “I could see in your eyes that you were somewhere else.”

  “I saw William and Constance.” I let out a small chuckle of delight and looked at the journal in my hand. Something about putting a face to the man whose journal I read was kind of thrilling.

  “Really?” Robert asked as he sat up.

  I nodded. “They were meeting each other behind her father’s barn.”

  “I’m glad you’re reading through the journal.” Robert tossed the quilt off of him and sat up.

  “Yeah, I haven’t really looked at it much since you gave it to me, but I was curious what else was in here besides the prophecy.”

  “It’s a diary just as much as it’s a way of passing information on to the next generation.”

  “I gathered that.” I smiled again, thinking about William and Constance.

  “So, is there a reason you’re reading in my bedroom instead of yours?” Robert gestured around the living room.

  “Actually, yes. I came across something I wanted to ask you about but you were still sleeping.”

  “Alright, but coffee first. Some of us aren’t morning people,” Robert noted as he pushed to his feet and stretched his arms above his head.

  I followed him to the kitchen and
flipped the journal open to the entry I had read first that morning.

  “Soothsayers aren’t like the rest of us. The blood in their veins gives them the strength to harness their ability,” I read out loud. “What does he mean, Soothsayers aren’t like the rest of us?"

  “Bethany didn’t tell you?” Robert asked, pouring grounds and water into the coffee machine.

  “Tell me what?”

  “The only way a person can be a Soothsayer is if they’re a direct descendant of Merlin. That’s what William means by the blood in your veins.”

  “Okay, but what does that have to do with Soothsayers being different?” I asked with only a little difficulty. The fact that I was a descendant of Merlin was a hard pill to swallow, but I had decided to accept all of this and stamped out the screaming doubt in my mind.

  “Your Magic is directly connected to the most powerful person the Magical world has ever known,” Robert continued.

  “I still don’t know what that has to do with anything.”

  “Magic comes from your soul. Where does your soul come from?" He asked as his eyebrows rose on his forehead.

  “I don’t know,” I replied, a little shocked at the turn of the conversation.

  “Ever heard someone say that a trait in a person must have skipped a generation?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s because each generation before you is a part of your soul. Your soul happens to be connected to Merlin and that’s what gives you the ability to be a Soothsayer.”

  “What do you mean each generation is a part of my soul?" I shook my head trying to decipher what he meant.

  Robert took a breath and explained, “When you were born, your ancestors were already a part of you. Their essence, their souls played a part in creating you. It takes more than just DNA to create a person, Magical or not. Your families’ Magic has had an influence on you since the day you were born.” The coffeemaker groaned and spat the last remnants of the dark liquid into the pot below. Robert reached for it enthusiastically to pour himself a cup.

  I set the journal on the counter as he handed me the mug of steaming hot coffee and proceeded to pour himself one.

  “Then why wasn’t I born with a Magical soul? It doesn’t make sense.” I said, emptying a sugar packet into the steaming drink and stirring in a splash of French vanilla creamer.

  “Your soul is still unique to you, they just influence you a little. It’s the same way genes work. No other combination could have made you exactly as you are. You were born the way you were meant to be born, without Magic,” Robert said.

  “So anyone in my family has the potential to be a Soothsayer?”

  “No. I can assume since your Aunt is a Soothsayer and she is your mother’s sister that the bloodline is on your mother’s side. No one on your father’s side of the family could ever be a Soothsayer. But if you or your Aunt were to have children, they would have the possibility of being a Soothsayer.” He poured a little creamer into his own coffee and took a sip.

  “I wasn’t expecting a lesson in genetics this morning,” I noted as I rubbed my forehead, mildly dazed.

  “I know it can be a little convoluted, but that’s why you’re different from the rest of the Magical world.”

  “What does he mean though, that Soothsayers have the strength to harness their ability?” I asked, reading from the journal again.

  “You’ve seen things already in the past and future, correct?”

  “Yeah, and?”

  “And what did you do with what you saw?"

  “Nothing.” I shrugged. What was I supposed to do with what I saw?

  “Exactly,” he said, taking a sip of coffee and leaning against the counter. “Your gift comes with the ability to know but not let that knowledge rule you. Any other person, Magical or not, would either try to prevent it or drive themselves crazy waiting for the vision to come to pass.”

  I thought about all of the things I’d seen so far, including the electric kiss between Robert and myself. I started to blush. Robert, consumed by his coffee, didn’t notice and I quickly pushed my thoughts in a different direction. Would William have been able to handle knowing his future? Could he have been able to know he would end up with Constance but still be able to wait? I yearned for that kiss, but knowing it was somewhere in my future comforted me instead of making me anxious.

  “What are you thinking?” Robert asked, letting his fingers trace the cover of the journal.

  “Nothing,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee and propping myself against the counter next to him.

  “Still feel the need to keep secrets from me?” There was a playfulness to Robert’s voice that made me smile.

  “No, it’s just… I was thinking about some of the things I’ve seen,” I said, staring down at the toffee colored liquid in my cup.

  “What about them?” Robert asked, sipping his coffee.

  “I was just thinking about how it makes me feel, knowing the future.”

  “And how does it make you feel?"

  “Calm,” I said with certainty.

  “Really?" His eyes opened wide and he pursed his lips together.

  “Yeah, it’s weird. It’s like I don’t have to worry about that particular event because it’s out there somewhere in time, waiting to happen.”

  “That doesn’t drive you crazy though, waiting for something you know is going to happen?”

  I blushed again and this time I couldn’t hide it from him.

  “What is it?” Robert asked.

  “I do get a little anxious sometimes,” I said and took a sip of coffee in an attempt to hide my embarrassment.

  “About anything in particular?”

  “No,” I blurted out too quickly.

  I saw Robert smile out of the corner of my eye and hoped he wouldn’t push to learn more.

  “What’s it feel like for you, when you see something?” he asked, thankfully changing the subject as he cradled his steaming cup.

  “Depends on what I’m seeing. Like when I saw William and Constance just now I felt comforted. It was warm and loving there,” I explained. I looked up and smiled, remembering the feel of the tall grass and the smell of the crisp, cool air in my vision.

  “And other times?”

  I grimaced. “Well, when I go back to the night I was stabbed, there is some comfort because I know how it all turns out, but I can also feel everything I was feeling that night. It's suffocating.” I set my coffee down and wrapped my arms around my shoulders.

  “Do you see that night often?”

  “Not so much anymore. I used to dream about it. Well, I thought they were dreams. And then that day when we were on the pier, your touch took me back to that night, but nothing since then.”

  “I'm sorry you were hurt.”

  “Robert, don’t. It all turned out fine,” I said, waving off his concern.

  He looked up at me and our eyes caught for just a second. Warmth spread through me like wildfire and I let my hair fall across my face to hide my uncontrollable emotions. It frustrated me that just one look from him made me feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. I wished I could get my feelings in check but somehow he always managed to get my guard down.

  “I should probably get ready,” I said, taking one last sip of my coffee before placing the cup in the sink.

  “Do you mind if I tag along with you again today?” Robert asked.

  “Do I have a choice?” I gave him a playful grin.

  “Not really.” Robert smiled with all his charm and pushed himself off the counter. “But it’s polite to ask,” he whispered into my ear as he leaned around me to put his cup in the sink.

  My hand started reaching up to cradle his cheek but I made myself take a step around him and head out of the kitchen.

  “Be ready to go in an hour,” I said without looking back. I took a deep breath as I closed my bedroom door behind me and proceeded to get ready for the day.

  >>>><<<<

  An hour later we were out t
he door and I had pushed any lingering attraction between us to the back of my mind. On the way to the studio, I stopped by the framing shop I frequented to pick up what I needed for the Caltome project.

  “Your phone went off while you were inside,” Robert said as I got back in the car.

  I dug through my purse and pulled out my cell. Becky had sent me a text. 6pm call time. See you tonight!

  “Everything okay?” Robert asked as I threw my phone back in my purse.

  “Yeah, it was just Becky letting me know they’re going to pick me up around six tonight.”

  “Do you think you can get everything done in time?” Something sounded off about Robert’s voice just then. I looked over at him and he seemed to be perfectly fine so I shrugged off the odd feeling.

  “Of course. Plus I have someone to help me just in case it comes down to the wire,” I said nudging him with my elbow.

  “I'm better at supervising.” He grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Of course you are.”

  Pulling up to the studio, I parked right in front. Robert grabbed the box of frames from the backseat while I unlocked the front door, flipping on the lights and holding the door open for him.

  “Where would you like me to put this?” he asked.

  “Umm… there’s a table in the back you can set it on,” I pointed toward the backdoor as I walked over to my desk.

  Turning on my computer I followed Robert into the back room to warm up the printing equipment. I still needed to print all of the larger portraits and each one took a good amount of time. As I flipped each machine on, they groaned to life and cycled through their components to prepare for printing. It always reminded me of someone getting out of bed, yawning, stretching and cracking in various places. I pulled the smaller-sized pictures I’d printed yesterday from the filing cabinet and put them on the table next to the box of frames. Turning to walk back into the main office I saw Robert leaning against the wall, watching me.

  “You don’t have to watch over me like I’m a prisoner,” I said and walked back to my desk.