He gave me one last kiss and was gone. I saw the deer again as everything faded from my mind. She was watching me from the edge of the woods.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I slid out of bed and turned the clock off. Stumbling back, I rested on the foot of the mattress. I rubbed my eyes and recollected the dream from last night. The painting. Running around to the side of my bed, I fell on my knees to look under it. There was a 9 by 11 canvas with my face painted on it. It looked so much like me. The strokes weren’t even visible. It looked like a photo from a camera. At the bottom, it was signed, “To my Livvie, Love, Mr. Sexy.” I rested back on my heels, staring at the painting. My fingers touched the canvas, thinking of how he had painted this with his strong hands. I heard chirping and looked up to see three birds perched outside my window. Their eyes stared into mine like they were trying to tell me something, to warn me of something. Sliding the canvas back under the bed, I went to the window, stopping as the animals fluttered off. At the tree line in the backyard, there stood a deer much like the one from my dream.
Was it possible it was watching me? What was happening?
SCOTT
No one in my immediate family had dealt with the Crimson Calamitous. It worried me, because I hated to put them into any danger. We were very close. My mother and father met when they were in their early twenties, my father a sorcerer and my mother not. I had three siblings, twin brothers who were sixteen and a sister who was fifteen. Santos, Sebastian, and Sadie. I couldn’t stand the thought of bringing harm to any of them, but I was going to have to ask for help. If the CC was truly after Olivia, a battle would surely ensue, and Grandma and I couldn’t fight alone.
Sadie was talented with charms, so I planned to ask her for protection charms for Livvie. I thought if Sadie put enough around the Whitehead house, Aiden wouldn’t be able to go there. Santos was going to be my backup on research. He and Sebastian were awesome students, both of them, surprisingly, though Sebastian didn’t try nearly as hard as Santos did. Perhaps Santos would find something I hadn’t. Sebastian wasn’t as close to the rest of us. He liked to exclude himself from everything. Asking him would probably be a bad idea.
I just wanted to find a way to protect Livvie or save her before the CC did whatever he was planning. That reminded me, I was going to espy him today to see if I could find out anything about his plans.
I sat in my chair and began the techniques. I closed my eyes, relaxed my body, and concentrated on Aiden. It was after school hours, so I was hoping he was in his natural state. I tingled and began to see red. I felt my spirit leaving my body and realized I was in a cave that was lit with an unnatural intensity. There was no doubt that the CC had been here. I smelled something stale, like a moldy piece of furniture sitting around for years. I heard water in the distance. I glanced to my right and noticed him standing over a table made of rock. He was deep in thought reading something. I stepped closer, and his head jerked up. He looked right at me, like he could see me.
“Is someone there?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.
I was undetectable to humans in my spirit state, but I recalled he’d acted strange when I’d espied Livvie, signifying he might sense my presence. There was a strong possibility he knew. I decided I’d better work fast and stepped closer to the table.
He was reading a book that looked older than my grandma. On the left there was a picture of a young girl with red hair just like Livvie’s. On the right was text about Delana. It said she was murdered, and since the death was unjust, she could be resurrected if a sacrifice were made. A virgin child, no younger than thirteen but no older than eighteen. My heart began pounding, and my spirit was sucked back.
I jerked home, still tingling and breathing hard. My body landed on the rug beside my door with a hard thump. Was he was going to kill Livvie to resurrect his dead lover? This had to be his plan. Livvie was only seventeen, and I was pretty sure she was a virgin. I thought I was having a panic attack. My chest tightened and it was difficult to breathe.
Santos walked in the room. “Bro…are you ok?”
He got on his knees in front of me, shaking my arms. I couldn’t talk. I was too stunned. His dark eyes drove into my soul, like he was trying to get a reading. His main power was empathy, and if he tried hard enough, he could practically read minds. His fingers tightened on my arms, and his nails dug into my flesh. He yelled for our mother and father. I just shook my head. He stared at me for what seemed like hours.
“She’s…he’s…a virgin sacrifice….”
I couldn’t talk in complete sentences. It was obvious he has no idea what in the world I was talking about, but he continued to try to read me. Perhaps it was because I was overwhelmed and my emotions were all over the place, but he seemed to be having a hard time.
“Grandma…call her,” I screamed at my parents as they walked in the room.
Sadie came in as well, gifted with a touch of Grandma’s healing powers. I began to calm. “Tell me what’s wrong, Scottie.” Her voice was gentle and concerned.
“Sadie…my Livvie…she’s in grave danger. The Crimson Calamitous is after her. He’s going to sacrifice her to bring back his dead lover, Delana.”
I hadn’t told the other members of my family anything about this yet. Only Grandma knew. I could tell by the stunned faces staring at me, they were all shocked. Then everyone seemed to speak at once.
“Did you say the Crimson Calamitous?”
“Who is Livvie?”
“A virgin sacrifice? Have we gone back in time?”
“Are you having an attack?”
“Have you hit your head?”
Questions bombarded me from all directions. Yep, my family members were definitely in shock. Attempting to answer them was fruitless, so I allowed Sadie to continue calming me with her healing effects, the sensation washing over my body in waves, but only working a small amount at a time. Grandma arrived shortly after my family questioned me, and I allowed her to answer them.
I lay back in my seat, resting my eyes from the light. Jerking back so quickly exhausted my body, and I only wanted to sleep so I could connect with Livvie and heal myself.
OLIVIA
Since kindergarten, I had enjoyed going to school. Learning was an integral part of me, my brain soaking as much knowledge as possible to grow and expand what I knew. Living in a small town didn’t give me much life experience, and I longed to see all the places I learned about. My classes were small, with me usually ending up in classes with Juniper, and later on with Mark once he moved here. They made the days pass faster. Once we got in high school, I became interested in running track. Running was a fun way to get out of the house, let out steam, and just be free. With everything happening lately, I needed an out. Running was it.
My parents and I weren’t as close as other kids and their parents, so getting out as much as possible was a top priority. For as long as I could remember, they worked long hours and weren’t home much. If I had a school activity during the day, they were never available to come; but if it was at night, they were there. I knew deep down they cared, but I always wondered why they worked so much. Our home was nice and they didn’t seem to be struggling with money. I wasn’t sure why I was always put on the back burner.
In fact, I wasn’t even sure what they did all day. My mom simply said she was a consultant. When I asked her any questions, the subject always magically changed. My father…well, he was even more secretive about his job. All I knew was he was an important person in an important company…or so they told me.
They had been acting strange lately, even for them. They were gone on the weekends more often, and they were asking me more questions than normal. Mom inquired about my health every day, and they both were watching me, as if waiting for something to happen. Honestly, it made me a little crazy for feeling that way, but I couldn’t help it.
So far, it was a boring Friday night. I was sitting home alone, again, waiting for Juniper to come get me. She had asked me to go to a movie with her,
but she was picking up Mark first. I hadn’t gotten ready, just threw on a long sleeve shirt and jeans. It wasn’t quite summer yet, so at night it was still chilly, and movie theaters were known for being cold. Especially the one in Arrow Rock, considering it was a million years old and hadn’t been updated since before cars were invented.
As I sat on the couch, I grabbed the home and living magazine my mother left on the coffee table to flip through. Under it was a notebook with elaborate drawings, circles and triangles intertwined underneath the wording. “Binding” was all it said. I tentatively opened it, landing on a random page within.
“Olivia: 11 months to eighteen. No signs of change. No questioning.”
Confused, I read it again. My birthday would be in eleven months, but what change was she talking about? And what wasn’t I questioning? Before I could ponder anymore, I heard a honk from outside. I slipped the notebook back under the magazine exactly where it was, making a mental note to look again later. It was probably best that mother not know I found her information.
I hurried out into the nippy air. Mark was standing outside the car with the seat already pulled up for me to climb in. Juniper had the heat turned up on high, because she apparently was freezing while the rest of us were simply cool, and I got a face full of hot air when I started in the car.
“Hey, guys,” I exclaimed while warming my hands.
“Heeeey, Liv! Are you excited? I’m excited.” J’s excitement was once again on overdrive and uncontainable.
“Yes, J. I am. I love hanging out with you two,” I said with a chuckle. Snapping my seatbelt, I leaned back for the short drive to the theater.
Mark turned to look at me and said, “Well, of course you do. You know why? Because I’m awesome and it makes you two awesome by association.”
Juniper playfully punched his arm and swerved the car a little bit.
“J, pay attention,” we both yelled in unison.
“Sorry.”
I grabbed my phone when I felt it buzz in my pocket. It was a text from Aiden. He said he was bored, so I took a big chance and invited him to the movies with us. “Going to movies with J and Mark. Come if you want.” Omg why did I do that? Making stupid, spontaneous decisions was my forte lately.
“Sounds good. Meet you there in ten.”
I bit my lip as I read his reply. I didn’t think he would come, and now I wasn’t sure how Juniper would react. Mark had always been friendly, so I didn’t think it would be an issue for him. But Juniper was still protective and indecisive about the whole thing.
“Uh…guys?”
“Yeah, Liv?”
Sticking my head between their seats, I blurted out, “I invited Aiden to come with us. Hope that’s ok.”
The car went silent. Mark glanced at Juniper like he wasn’t sure if she was going to explode like a bomb or not. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel making her knuckles pale. I saw her eyes darting around in the mirror. Anxiety crossed her face, but then it all seemed to disappear.
“Ok.”
“Ok?”
“Ok.”
Mark glanced back at me and gave a little shrug like he had no clue what was going on. I didn’t really know either, so I just leaned back for the last few minutes of the car ride.
SCOTT
The Tabors always had “family night” on Fridays. We would watch a movie, go bowling, or find some other activity we could all do together. Tonight, we were all settled at Grandma’s house. She, Sadie, and my father were in the kitchen cooking a three-course meal that would be delicious. I could smell some veggies, maybe green beans and carrots. Also, my nose detected some kind of pasta sauce my father was more than likely making from scratch. My mother and I played cards while Santos observed. Sebastian sat in the far chair looking bored. He never really liked to participate in family night. We all tried our hardest to include him in the things we did, but he never seemed interested. No matter how hard we tried, how much we did for him, or how caring we were, Sebastian always seemed to be an outsider.
“Scott,” my father yelled from the kitchen, “come here, please.”
“Hey, Santos, keep an eye on Mom. Don’t let her look at my cards.”
“Got it, Captain,” he said with a salute.
I jogged into the kitchen and witnessed the worst mess of my life. My sister stood off to the side, trying to hide her giggles, while my grandma stood fuming, staring at my father.
“Uh, Dad?”
“Listen, son, there was a little problem. The sauce was on too high and went everywhere. I need you to run to the store to get a few more ingredients.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The white stove top was now covered in red sauce. My father was splattered. My grandma…well she wasn’t doused in sauce, but she was red from anger. She hated to let anyone else cook in her kitchen. When something like this happened, she got furious. Which wasn’t good, because when sorcerers got upset, their powers could get out of control.
“Grandma? It’s ok. We’ll clean it up,” I said when I regained my composure. Waving my hand, I expelled heat from my palm, wiping everything clean. “See?”
“I told him to turn it down, but did he? Ooooh, no. He said he knew what he was doing, and I needed to leave him alone. He said he had everything under control. He said…” She was cut off by my father putting his hand up to stop her.
“Mom, I said I was sorry. It’s cleaned up. Now please calm down before you make the house explode or something.”
He turned to take care of the dishes, and stirred the remaining pots on the stove. He nodded at the kitchen table and said the list I needed was there.
“Sadie, you wanna come with?”
“Sure.”
I grabbed the list and keys, and we headed toward the front door.
“Hey, Santos, take my place, ok? We have to run to the store.”
He nodded and glanced over my cards, checking each one to see what kind of hand he was getting. Just as Sadie and I got to the door, Sebastian called out to us. “I want to go with you.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Sebastian never wanted to go anywhere with me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, so I turned slowly. “Say that again?”
“I said I want to go with you. Is that ok?”
He had a look on his face that was a mixture of boredom and cockiness.
“Yeah, sure it is, Sebas. Come on,” Sadie said as she gave me a look that said “let’s see what he’s up to.” We all walked to my truck in silence and climbed in. I drove us to the store in a cab filled with eerie quiet.
OLIVIA
Aiden was waiting for us when we arrived at the theater. He and Mark exchanged pleasant but short hellos. Mark hadn’t voiced it, but he obviously wasn’t a fan of Aiden. They had a tension whenever around one another I couldn’t explain. It made me uncomfortable. Like now, Aiden stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting for me to speak, while Mark eyed him carefully. Juniper hadn’t said anything to anyone since “Ok.” The theater was crowded, and we had to stand in line for what seemed like forever. Aiden paid for my ticket, and we walked to the concessions. Juniper was waiting to order popcorn when I finally decided we had to discuss this before the night was ruined.
“J, will you go to the restroom with me?”
She didn’t say anything, only nodded.
We walked away, leaving the boys in line with our orders.
“Are you mad?”
“Kind of. I thought you didn’t like him. Now you’re inviting him out with us.”
“I’m sorry, J,” I said as I pushed the door open.
“Do you like him or not? That’s all I want to know. I just don’t want him to hurt you or him to turn out weird or something.”
“I don’t think I want to date him, no. But I don’t see why we can’t be friends. He’s been really nice here lately. Besides, I need to talk to him, find out what he thinks is going on and everything.”
“Ok, ok. I’ll be nice then. Or at least I’ll try,” s
he said with a grin on her face.
I shook my head as I laughed, “Thank you so much, J. I know this worries you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get back to the boys. I’m not so sure they like each other.”
We made our way out of the crowded restroom, giggling about the thought of the boys waiting for us. Making guys wait while girls went anywhere together was fun. It seemed like the male species always commented that girls liked to go places in packs. So feeding the mindset was quite entertaining. Mark and Aiden were standing beside the concessions holding popcorn and drinks. They looked anxious for our return.
“Hey, guys, need a hand?” Juniper asked while sneakily letting her fingers slide over Mark’s arm and leaning her body closer to him.
“Yes,” Mark said while his eyes moved appreciatively over her.
I knew he liked her. I wondered why he wasn’t doing anything about it.
“You gonna help me, Whitehead?”
“Oh, sure,” I exclaimed, grabbing the drinks from Aiden’s hand.
He gave me a sly grin and a wink as his stride aligned with mine. I was unsure why, but he made me nervous. Yes, he was good looking. Yes, he was a bit intimidating with all his athletic skills, but why did I get butterflies in my stomach around him? I didn’t feel much attraction to him, but I couldn’t deny there was some. However, in the back of my mind, thoughts of my dream man haunted me, reminding me there may be more waiting for me.
A part of me wondered if the dreams I’d been having were false. Sorcery was pretty extreme…and that curse? If I was making all this up, maybe I needed to consider writing a book. Perhaps I was crazy and wanted someone that badly. But another aspect of me, deep within, knew he was a part of my life. He had given me a rose and a painting. How did that happen if he wasn’t real? If the sorcery stuff wasn’t real? I just didn’t know if I would ever meet him.
The White Aura Page 7
