I stretched out before getting up. I wanted, no, needed the confirmation that I hadn’t dreamt everything and wasn’t going crazy.
I jumped up stripped and washed quicker than I ever had before, throwing on some comfortable clothes pulling my hair into a bun I pulled my shoes on and ran to find my Dad.
Had I dreamt last night? I wondered.
I ran into Jasper just as I entered the common area, almost knocking him and myself over.
“Oh my gosh I am so sorry,” I said embarrassed.
“No problem, I love it when beautiful women run into me especially you,” I laughed nervously, at his playful nature.
“So--what’s the word of the day? Have you seen my Mom and Dad anywhere?” I asked brushing off the dirt and dust from my jeans.
“Your Dad is outside with Ben and Garrett.” He watched me as he said Garrett’s name.
“My Mom?” I asked trying to avoid the inevitable. I knew was coming. Jasper and I had spent a lot of time together, and I cared for him deeply, but the feelings I had for Garrett confused everything.
“With my Mom and Bethany.” He looked hurt and angry.
“Straight to the point today aren’t you,” I said as I began walking by him toward the kitchen.
I spun around to face him; I couldn’t just leave it like that.
“Jasper, I want you to know that I care about you…a lot, but I do like him too.” I looked from my shoes into his beautiful grey eyes, trying to gage his reaction.
He sighed; closing the gap between us, taking my hand in his bringing it to his lips as he gently brushed his lips across the top sending shivering pleasure shooting throughout my entire body.
How could one man...no, two men affect me so differently, yet the same?
“Reighlyn, I’m ‘supposed’ to ‘come around you’ any longer unless it is in a group or training.”
“Who on Earth told you that?” I asked after I had cut him off.
Jasper leaned forward kissing my cheek. I savored the feeling of his lips on my skin, breathing in his scent.
He was everything outdoors, he smelled of elements, and it was intoxicating. I leaned into him, rubbing my face on his shirt in almost a feline manner, wrapping my arms around him. I tried to tell him without words how much he meant to me, how lost I would be without him.
He broke our embrace so much sooner than I wanted smiling down at me, he turned and walked away.
I felt stunned stupid.
Who the hell told him that, and why would they want to keep him away from me?
I turned back around trying not to look at some of the others who had obviously heard and seen our PDA.
I walked toward the kitchen as quickly as I could without breaking into a full out run.
I needed my mom; I needed a girl talk after that I was defiantly going up top for some much needed training.
Hopefully I’ll be able to work myself into gaining some answers or maybe just exhaust myself beyond thinking about everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.
I came around the corner to the kitchen hearing the women talking before I could see them.
I walked up to my mom who was helping kneed bread dough at the counter with Bethany, Lilly and a few other women.
“Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked.
I must have startled them; they all jumped at the sound of my voice.
My mom had her hand on her chest, leaving a flour print over her heart where her hand had rested.
“Dear lord girl, I thought I taught you better than to sneak up on old women,” Mom said as she laughed.
“I’m sorry; I just really need to talk to you,” I said.
“Well love, we already know what you need, or want to talk about...” she said giggling. I hadn’t seen her giddy like this…ever. She had always been witty and fun, but she was on a whole other level which was most likely due to my Dads reinsertion into our lives.
“So do you think I’m doing the right thing?”
“Reighlyn, between the three of us you have years of experience at your disposal,” my mom said matter of factly.
I sighed seeing that insisting she go somewhere private to talk to me would be out of the question.
“So what do I do?” I asked.
She smiled at me, so did Lily and even Bethany, this was beyond awkward talking to my mother about to men who I cared for, while their mothers listened in.
Mom just looked at me waiting for me to continue.
“As you know these past weeks I’ve spent a lot of time with Jasper and I sure that everyone here knows that I really like him. He is amazing.” I sighed and shook my head at the craziness of this whole situation.
The worlds on the line yet here I am wondering which guy I like more.
“But, ever since we ran into Garrett at the Gas station in Texarkana…I don’t know I feel drawn to him. I don’t know what to do. I care about Jasper too. I don’t know what’s going to happen, with anything, and with us fighting now really fighting I kind of feel like I’m a fool for pushing them both away. I don’t know this is all so confusing and with everything else that has happened in the last twenty four hours I just really feel dumb and petty for even worrying about this when we have so much else to do and worry about,” I said, more to my hands than to the women before me.
“Girl, Love chooses you, you don’t choose love, well…you choose to keep love alive in the face of great adversity but when it happens it happens, it’s not something you should fight. I understand you’re scared because of the path you are on right now but I will say this, you submit to God and your Husband just like you submit to your parents and you’re of the age now where you have and can make your own decisions, so unless someone asks you to marry them and you do, do not allow them to make any choices for you,” Lilly said.
I was shocked by this piece of advice coming from her. I couldn’t believe I’d just spilt my guts to Garrett and Jaspers mothers as well as my own.
I sighed looking at them, laughing carefree; having fun despite the heartaches they’ve each experienced in life.
I knew that their advice was good, but ultimately I would have to make a decision.
“Well…I’m going up top; I’m going to work through some of this.” I hugged all three of them lingering just a little longer wrapped in my Mom’s embrace before I turned to head out in to the open air, feeling the elements calling to me like a friend opening their arms, comforting, loving, hoping for the best.
I thought of the rugged handsome man with bluish purple eyes who could melt me like butter in a hot pan with a simple glance.
Then there was Jasper, he was caring, compassionate and sweet. He lit fires that burned hot and slow, promising to consume you atom by atom until you were no longer you.
I sighed, walking down the long twisting hallway toward the open sky, needing to feel the sun on my skin the wind in my hair.
I needed to feel like me.
CHAPTER 24
Ben sat at his desk, knowing full well he should be up top with the others training and helping others learn and hone their newly found skills.
He rubbed his hands over his face in exhaustion. Bethany walked over to her husband placing her hands on his shoulders slowly attempting to knead away the tension that had been building for the last two days.
Before he had hope, hope in the prophesy, hope in the others of his gifted community coming together in this new world to overcome the Militia.
Now with the recent events he felt lost for the first time in his life.
“Ben, we need to bring everyone together, unite them as a whole instead of seven individuals. They serve a greater cause. I spoke with Lilly, Ben she has been working closely with Ulric. They locked onto Avril Ben.”
Bethany stopped rubbing his shoulders and walked away trying to hide her tears.
“They found her?” Ben asked quietly getting up to go to his wife, wrapping his arms around her slender frame from behind, pul
ling her to him.
“Yes Ben, but what they found isn’t good at all…this Cora woman has brain washed her, she’s taught her to use her gift in ways I’ve never seen some one use the shielding before. She can manipulate her shield almost like a psiconic. I’m not sure how, but the fact remains that she can do this.”
“Have they seen anything that would give us a clue why she went to her instead of us?” Ben asked.
Bethany broke down, she sank to her knees or would have had Ben not held her up.
“She likes them Ben! She likes what they do. She enjoys torturing people and hearing them scream, she believes in their cause. This…Genesis Project thing. She believes that by choosing them that she won’t ever have to hide who she is like she had to do with us. We’ve lost her Ben… I’ve lost my baby.”
Ben had nothing to say, appalled at what Bethany had revealed to him he knew he needed to see Ulric and Lilly soon.
Ben picked up his hysterical wife cradling her to his chest as he carried her to their bedroom off the side of their personal common rooms.
He gently placed his wife on the bed, covering her. He went around to his side of the bed and crawled up next to his wife pulling her to him, hugging her as she cried until exhaustion overtook her and sleep came.
Ben wiped his tears from his face, gently and quietly sliding out from their bed to find Ulric and Lilly.
He’d never seen Bethany so utterly devastated. Even after the Militia rose to power and gifted everywhere began disappearing.
They still held out hope when people were found in their homes or on the streets dead, especially when Garrett and Avril disappeared and they were forced to flee without them.
They trusted in their children and their knowledge of their gifts and skills, they had always believed that they would survive and find them, but he never imagined this would be the end result.
CHAPTER 25
I loved dusk, almost as much as I loved staring at the stars. I had always wondered how God had created everything.
How he knew the names of each and every one of these brilliant lights that sparkled in the sky, winking as if they had a secret and knew the answers to it all, and if you were patient, they would tell you.
I sat cradling my legs to my chest.
How could she have done this? Been a part of this? I rested my head on my knees and sighed, turning my head toward the building that Cora used as a prison.
I never wanted to be a part of this, what kind of person enjoyed that?
Apparently Cora and her cronies were those type of people.
McKenna stood staring at the prison knowing that if she didn’t prove herself to her sister and her cause soon the prison building would be her home, or she would be the next inside of Cora’s room of horrors.
Soon I would probably own a new piece of jewelry and not the good kind either. Cora used some technology imbued with magic of some kind to suppress gifts, all gifts, essentially turning the person wearing it into a normal human.
McKenna stood, steeling herself as she walked toward her sister’s house. Cora had commandeered it after the takeover of this town, hoping she could see her alone, which was near impossible these days.
Ever since Avril had turned against her family and their rebellion her and Cora were virtually inseparable, pushing McKenna further away from the spot light but also taking her away from her only family.
McKenna sneered, even if Cora was a horrible person, she was still her sister her only person.
Just because she wasn’t like her sister she was being shut out. It wasn’t fair, but then again when had life ever been fair? Maybe it was better that her sister had stopped paying attention to her completely.
I walked up the steps of the massive mansion and started to knock on the door, which opened before I could even begin rapping.
“McKenna, you’ve come to take me up on my offer haven’t you,” Buck said.
McKenna looked at him disgusted, for that’s exactly what he was, disgusting.
Buck was around 5ft 7 only a few inches taller than her, he was scrawny basically a bone bag. He had long brown hair that was always greasy and he smelt as if he’d never taken a bath ever in his life.
His eyes were wild and screamed of evil and demented deeds which ran ramped through his mind. He smiled at my look of horror and disgust at being close to him in any way, showing off his yellow brown broken teeth.
I shivered feeling like bugs were crawling over my skin. “Where is Cora?” I asked in a demanding voice trying to play the part of sister to the all-important General.
“Oh, you know she’s around,” he said gyrating his hips toward me.
“I need to speak with her, now,” I demanded ignoring his sexual gestures.
“Come on, lovie, we both know you want me,” he said as he attempted to reach out and touch me.
I reached inside myself with drawing my baton like weapons made from my psiconic energy, pulling up into a fighting stance, tired of his leers and lewd gestures, tired of Cora and her people, tired of all of them.
I came here to surrender to Cora’s will, or so I had thought, but now I see. I see more clearly now than I ever had.
I was leaving and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I slapped low and to the left buckling Buck’s right knee bringing my right baton up cracking him across his thick repulsive face laying him out cold.
I let my batons dissipate and kicked him in the face, shoving him back into Cora’s house.
She never kept guards, only Buck and now Avril. Shutting the door and sliding into the shadows moving quickly to the prison. They were all leaving she decided. She wouldn’t flee and leave them here to die the type of death that Cora and Avril had in store for them.
CHAPTER 26
Everyone watched in awe as Reighlyn spared with her Dad. The only weapon she’d ever tried out had been the bow and that wasn’t long ago.
While she excelled at that during training everyday mastering it perfectly, watching her with the staff was nothing short of amazing.
Jasper stood by with Blaine, who both stood gaping, mouths wide open as Reighlyn planted her six foot staff into the ground, vaulting herself over her father, twisting her body perfectly in midair to bring herself up behind her dad.
Breaking her staff into twin three foot batons, she struck out it was hard to follow their fight, but everyone tried.
Dillon held his sword and dagger; he anticipated her moves perfectly, turning to intercept the batons.
Cracking sounds of metal striking metal rang out loud and repeatedly as they stuck, ducked, and spun into intricate defensive and offensive maneuvers.
Their mock battle seemed to go on forever until Dillon stuck hard sending one of Reighlyn’s batons flying away leaving her open and thusly ending the mock battle.
Reighlyn laughed falling to the ground thoroughly soaked in sweat and exhausted.
She had only just begun training with the staff/batons earlier that day and she seemed to have gotten the hang of it for the most part.
She hadn’t won against her dad, but this was her first try, so she’d cut herself a little slack especially considering her dad had like, massive amounts of military training and experience.
“I am astonished at how well you’ve picked up on this.” Her dad smiled down at her.
“D’Crey blood runs deep in those veins,” Dillon said proudly.
Reighlyn laughed as her dad pulled her to her feet. “I’m just excited I’m going to be able to defend myself…now if I could do all that and use my gifts I’d be happy,” Reighlyn said.
Dillion hugged her, it felt good to hug him to know that he was really there in the flesh and it wasn’t just a dream.
She sighed letting her dad hold onto her for another minute before going to pick up her batons when she realized no one else was practicing.
There were no sounds of gifts being used, or arrows zipping through the air, no grunts and clangs of swords.
Because ev
eryone had stopped to watch their mock fight, self-consciousness flooded through Reighlyn at the sight of everyone standing around them.
“Dad? Why is everyone staring?” I asked as I walked back with my weapons.
“Because you are amazing,” Dillon laughed shaking Reighlyn’s shoulder as he did.
“They knew you were the one, the leader of the seven by the prophecy and your gifts, but now they know that they know that they know. You know.” He laughed again, boisterously at his quirk, knowing his daughter was still clueless and possibly more confused.
“They’re enamored and impressed by your prowess, Reighlyn, even though they’d witnessed your gifts at the battle; they hadn’t thought you were physically up to par. Now they all see you in a completely different light,” Dillion said proudly.
“Oh,” was all I could say, finally getting it.
I looked around at the faces surrounding us spotting a more than a few people I still hadn’t met, and more than a few I had only just met, and then there was Jasper.
Our eyes locked, we stared at each other for a few moments before I turned away from him. I still hadn’t figured out what to do with my feelings for him or Garrett and it upset me.
Dillon seeing a change come over her followed her line of sight and made a mental not to speak with Blaine and Jasper.
Wondering what was going on with his daughter. “Go grab yourself a snack and a bath, maybe we can take a walk before dinner,” Dillon said. “You did so well today, sweetheart.”
I smiled. “I’d love that Daddy,” I said.
I started heading back toward the caves, I turned back to my dad squeezing him in a hug that not only caught him off guard but brought tears to his eyes, and never had he imagined she would welcome him back with open arms, but neither had he imagined Rowan would either.
He squeezed her just as hard kissing her on the forehead smiling at their unspoken words as she turned to go back inside the cave dwelling they called home.
The Genesis Project Prophecy of the Seven Page 10
