Forgotten Enemy (The Powers of Influence Book 1)

by C. B. Haight

  Collett sighed and walked back to her seat next to him. “No, I won’t forget. I just don’t want to let any of you down. I want you to be sure that I will be able to play my part.”

  Rederrick considered her words and her tone. Collett was worried for everyone but herself. She spent long hours each day working and studying. She didn’t want to be anyone else’s weakness. “Collett, why don’t you ever consider your own feelings, or your own safety for that matter?”

  “I do,” Collett insisted.

  “No you don’t,” Rederrick replied. “You’re always concerned about our safety, letting us down. The word ‘I’ rarely enters your vocabulary. When it does, it comes out as an, ‘I’m sorry.’”

  Collett answered him without thinking, “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

  “Why?”

  Again automatically answering, she said, “Because, it’s part of my purpose.”

  Rederrick saw Cade enter the room quietly and said nothing about it. He didn’t want to distract Collett from her current automatic thoughts. He asked curiously, “Purpose to do what?”

  Collett looked at him, “My job, my calling.”

  As soon as the words escaped her mouth, her hand flew up, covering her lips in shock. Her blue eyes opened wider than Rederrick had ever seen them. She could only stare at him.

  Cade hearing the exchange, kept quiet. Like Rederrick, he didn’t want to distract her from her thoughts.

  “What calling?” Rederrick asked.

  Collett just stared at him with her surprised eyes thinking carefully over the words she had thrown out so easily.

  He tried again, “What purpose, Collett?”

  “I don’t really know…” she said softly. “I don’t even know why I said that. How do I know I have a purpose, a job, but not understand what it is? What do you think that means?”

  “I think it means, it’s coming back to you slowly, as you’re ready for it,” Rederrick answered. “Don’t think on it so much. Your answers were automatic before. Every time you try to force it, it gets harder for you.” As he finished, he lifted his gaze and looked over her shoulder.

  Collett quickly turned to see what Rederrick was looking at. Cade stood just inside the hidden doorway. His body was keeping the heavy, self-locking door open.

  Cade nodded and stepped forward, “Rederrick is right. It’s coming back to you now. Even though it’s only a few pieces at a time, it is coming back.” Then his eyes twinkled, and grinning, he teased, “Anyway, at least we know you have a job. I would hate to have to support you when all this is over.”

  Cade’s joke fell flat on her, though. In the back of her mind, she couldn’t help thinking about how his tilted smile warmed her heart. She looked at him as sternly as possible and said, “This is not funny. There is no way I would let any of you support me anyway. I can do my share, earn my keep. Besides, what if I am letting someone down right now because I can’t remember what my job or calling is?”

  Cade tipped his head to the side considering her words, but it was Rederrick who asked, “What about letting you down?”

  Collett turned, focusing her attention back to Rederrick, and responded, “I just don’t want anyone to suffer because of me, especially anyone here.”

  Now standing right behind her, Cade replied, “And you think we’re all suffering because you’re here?”

  “You’re all working so hard to help me. It has to be tiresome. I can see all the things you’re doing for my benefit. Nate hasn’t even had a proper night’s rest since he arrived. Jenny has to cook for two more people, make that soon to be three more. Rederrick spends any of his extra time away from his firm doing research and taking turns on security watch. Cynda is trying to help me tap into my magic side, which I can tell wears on her, and Cade, you have barely left my side since I arrived. I know you haven’t even left the house, unless you’re checking the perimeter outside.

  As he listened, Cade had a difficult time keeping a straight face. He could tell she needed to get this off her chest. He could see she was genuinely concerned for all of them.

  She had such a serious, stern look on her face though, and for some reason, he found it incredibly attractive.

  When she finished her tirade, Cade spun her chair to face him head on, and he bent down putting his hands on the armrests, leaning in so close she could do nothing but stare into his playful, tawny eyes.

  “What if I promised you that your continued presence here was not causing me to suffer in any way. Having to stay by a beautiful woman’s side is not my idea of hardship. Besides, when I’m standing next to you, it makes me look better.” He said lightly, finishing his words with that charming, tilted smile.

  Collett blushed at his reference that she was beautiful. Trying not to let his flattering comment or his smoldering eyes affect her, she moved her eyes to his teasing smile and couldn’t help smiling herself. She dryly replied, “Well… I wasn’t referring to just you, now was I?”

  His smile spread even more at Collett’s prim tone, showing his perfect white teeth. Without pulling his intense gaze from her, Cade directed his next question to his friend taking on a sarcastic proper tone himself, “Rederrick? Is Collett’s current occupancy in your home causing you to suffer in any way?”

  Even though she could no longer see Rederrick’s face, Collett could hear the smile in his words as he answered, “Nope, no suffering here.”

  Cade angled his smiling face again and said, “Okay then, there you go, no suffering. I’ll tell you what, I’ll ask Nate and Jenny for you, if you want. I can tell you though, feeding and fussing over people makes Jenny happy. You’re not the first guest we’ve had here, and you wouldn’t be the first to try to make her stop. It generally offends her when they do.

  Now, our Nate is a team player, and if he weren’t here he would be assigned to some other job so don’t worry about him. You’re welcome to ask Cynda yourself, since she is waiting for you upstairs right now. I will warn you…her Irish temper may come out if you do, and it’s not a pretty sight. You should also know that playing with magic is her thing. It makes her extremely happy, so I doubt you would find protest there, but by all means feel free to ask.”

  Collett stood, forcing Cade to straighten out or risk having her head smack into his chin. She stood so close to him that Cade felt enveloped in her sweet scent. How she got that wonderfully enticing scent of hers to stay with her each day was amazing to him. It was like a drug pulling him in and always left him wanting more.

  “Alright, I will.” Then she pretended to rethink it, “Although… it’s not as if any of you would actually tell me the truth. So, I guess if you’re suffering, you’ll just have to suck it up. Don’t say I didn‘t try.”

  Cade gave her an encouraging, “Atta girl,” as she finished.

  Rederrick kept smiling as Collett headed for the doorway. He was glad to hear a light, fun tone from her. She seemed to come by it much easier this last week.

  When Collett reached the door, she flipped her long, honey-blonde hair back, and looked at both men over her shoulder. She then said with her radiant smile still in place, “Thanks for giving me a boost.” Then she turned on her heels and left.

  Cade loved having a tense, verbal exchange with that woman. He inhaled one more deep breath of her now fading scent and closed his eyes savoring its flavor.

  “You lied, you know,” Rederrick stated with a grin.

  “About what?”

  “You are suffering, from being around her all the time,” Rederrick responded.

  Cade’s smile grew and he huffed out a breath as he said teasingly, “Yeah, I know, but what can I say? It’s the best kind of torture and as the lady so eloquently put it… I’ll just have suck it up.”

  Rederrick laughed aloud. Still laughing, he got up to leave Cade to his watch.

  Cade settled in for his shift to watch the perimeter with a huge smile on his face. He swung his legs up on to the table, crossing them at the ankles. He w
ondered to himself, just how much torture could one man take? He was absolutely positive he was going to find out, and it didn’t bother him one little bit.

  ****

  Cynda sat at her worktable in one of the two rooms across the hall from the workout area. This was her space, her room to study the Craft. Candles in a wide variety of colors and sizes sat on several surfaces.

  Cabinets and shelves lined every wall storing crystals, candles, bowls, herbs, and other various supplies. Books old and new took up the remaining shelf space. They had been passed down to her by aunts, great aunts, grandmothers and so on. One day, Cynda would pass these books on to her daughters and they would do the same for theirs.

  She was currently looking at one such book. It was an old leather-bound book, covering several empathic topics. Cynda was researching and studying on empathic abilities when Collett strode into the room with a wide smile on her face.

  Cynda set down her book, “Don’t you look chipper this afternoon.”

  Still smiling Collett replied, “You know, I feel chipper too.”

  “Well, I am very glad to hear that. Today I want to try something new with you, and it will help to have positive energy.”

  Her smile fell apprehensively, “Try what, exactly?”

  Cynda shook her head, “Now don’t go losing your good mood already. We need that smile in place to create a positive space. So, whatever put you in that good mood, hold on to it.”

  As the source of her good mood, Collett’s mind automatically flashed back to Cade. During the last week, she enjoyed more and more of their time spent together. Cade was moody, arrogant, and difficult, but he was also kind, generous, and supportive. Collett’s feelings for him continued to grow. There was a constant buzzing tension between them as well.

  Turning her attention back to Cynda, she watched her lay out three crystals in a row, setting each one on the floor. Collett carefully studied each crystal. She could identify two out of three. She said, “I know that purple one is Amethyst, and that clear one is Herkimer, I’m just not sure what the dark one is.”

  Cynda looked up at Collett surprised, “Its hematite, for grounding.”

  Collett thought about the other two and said, “People use Herkimer for dreams and memories, sometimes telepathy.”

  “That’s right Collett…do you know what the Amethyst is for?”

  The image of a beautiful young woman praying, clenching a small stone in her hand, popped into her mind. Collett carefully said, “Guidance… direction, maybe.”

  Cynda felt pleased. Collett had properly named the crystals’ uses. She would have to explore that further another time. Right now, she wanted to help Collett learn her capabilities and boundaries.

  Making a mental note to log Collett’s knowledge of the stones in her book, Cynda nodded, “Very good. Amethyst can also be used to bring wisdom, peace, and harmony. Some witches believe it can help contact your spiritual guides. Today we just need it for harmony and wisdom.”

  Collett was intrigued. Knowing the names of these crystals so easily, and understanding their purpose made her wonder to herself what else she might learn she knew.

  Cynda moved away from the crystals and gestured for Collett to sit down before them. Collett sat and crossed her legs, tucking her feet underneath her knees. She looked up to Cynda and asked, “What now?”

  “Now we are going to see if you can channel your empathic abilities better.” Cynda then grabbed the book she was looking at earlier and sat in front of Collett, folding her legs to the side and behind her. She laid the book on the floor in front of her and continued, “It says here in this book you can learn to control the feelings you receive. In some cases, you will be able to focus on them, reading the person’s thoughts behind their emotions. Ready?”

  Collett smiled, “As ready as I can be.”

  “Okay, first you need to understand that the crystals I laid down before you will help you through this. You can pick any one of them up if what you feel is too strong or too weak, and you need to channel into them.”

  “Alright.”

  Cynda looked in her book again and said, “I also want to remind you, I am not empathic, so I will not be able to guide you as well as I’d like. I am, however, here for you. If it gets too intense, you can grab onto me. I will try to be your anchor, okay.”

  Collett again gave a simple reply, “Okay, What next?” She felt almost eager to try something so new, so proactive.

  Concentrating on her book, Cynda said, “We need someone in the room with emotions to read, which would be me.”

  “You want me to read your emotions?”

  “Well, yes.”

  Collett looked at her skeptically, “Are you sure? It sounds like an invasion of privacy.”

  Cynda smiled reassuringly, “Not if I give you permission. Besides, if you’re ever attacked again, are you really going to concern yourself with your attacker’s privacy? We all have to start somewhere. You’re lucky enough to start with me.”

  Collett sighed, “You have a point. All right then, if I have to start somewhere, I’m grateful it is you.”

  Like Rederrick, Cynda realized how different Collett was now. In just two short weeks, she had begun to hope and trust in those around her.

  Moving on to the next step in the process, Cynda said, “Okay, first, you have to clear your mind. Similar to meditation, you will need to calm all of your own emotions. Then, you have to focus upon the feelings of the person you’re trying to read. If we can get that far successfully, we can try to move forward.”

  Collett nodded her head, and closed her eyes, breathing in and out, slowly and individually relaxing every part of her body. Clearing her mind of any doubts and fears, calming her excitement too, she pulled in, focusing on that clear white space in her mind.

  Once she found it, she focused on the energy in the room. There was positive energy swirling all around her. Collett could smell the burning waxy scent coming from the yellow candles Cynda lit.

  When she was ready, Collett opened her blue eyes, directing her gaze and her mind toward Cynda. She focused on Cynda’s facial expression, trying to feel for the thoughts that raced through her mind. After some time, she found it. It was a small feeling of worry.

  Voicing this she said, “You’re worried.”

  Cynda opened her eyes and locked her gaze with Collett’s. Keeping a smooth, quiet tone she encouraged, “Yes, I am worried. Now try to feel for the thoughts behind the emotion, try to tell me more.”

  Collett closed her eyes again. Picturing Cynda’s clear, sea-green eyes in her mind, she focused harder, pulling the emotion forward. Suddenly, she felt the worry in her own heart, felt the insecurity increase… foggy thoughts began to form, speaking carefully she said, “You’re worried… worried this won’t work. You don’t want to… cause me any more disappointment.”

  “Very good, Collett. Now try to focus on any other feelings I might be having.” Cynda said, keeping her voice low.

  Collett tipped her head, slightly pinching her features, as she tried to find some more of Cynda’s emotions and the reasons behind them. She was beginning to feel a slight drain on her physical strength. Dots of sweat broke out on her brow. Straining, Collett felt something else, so she focused on it, “You’re concerned for Cade too… you don’t…you don’t want him to be alone, but… you’re afraid he will be.”

  Cynda smiled and watched as Collett pulled these things from her. Truthfully, she was trying to keep herself as open as possible to help Collett tap into her feelings. That last bit about Cade though, wasn’t something she expected Collett to find.

  Collett fluttered her eyes open and looking to Cynda, she smiled. Her smile was full and excited. “I did it!” She blurted out quickly.

  Cynda returned her smile, just as excited and conceded, “Yes you did.”

  “I can’t believe it. I really did it. I get the feeling you helped me out some,” Collett said.

  Cynda looked at her and said, “I d
id just a little. When you focused on my worry, I thought about things that worry me to make it easier. I am very confident though, that with practice, you’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

  Collett leaned forward over her knees and gave Cynda a quick, excited hug, saying, “I don’t care if you helped me. Right now, I’ll take any small victory I can get. Thank you, Cynda.”

  It was a small victory for her, and Cynda enjoyed seeing the happiness on her face. However, her worry didn’t completely fade away with the success. Cynda hoped Collett could perfect the skill in time. With that train of thought popping into her head, her concern changed. Now that they knew she could do this, she wondered, would they figure out how to use it to their advantage?

  Cynda gave Collett a serious look, “We’ll have to practice this a lot more, but I think we have just taken a huge leap.”

  Collett reached forward again and put her hand on Cynda’s, then replied, “Don’t keep worrying. It worked. I’ll practice as much as it takes, but now, thanks to you, I know more about who I am. I understand something I didn’t before. Let go of your worry now.”

  Cynda felt Collett’s reassurance run through her. It was a warm, tingling sensation that spread through her body quickly removing the doubt, distributing reassurance and comfort in its wake.

  For a moment, Cynda completely forgot what bothered her only a minute before. Only after she basked in the warm feel for that minute of time was she able to snap back. Cynda’s thoughts rushed back to another memory.

  Cynda looked quickly down at their connected hands, unsure of how to feel. Then with shock in her eyes, she looked back to Collett and asked, “How did you do that?”

  Collett gazed at her with a perplexed expression and asked simply, “Do what?”

  Cynda didn’t need an answer though, her memory was clear now. She remembered keenly another time she had experienced that same warm tingle. It had been a time she heard Collett’s voice in that dark, cold place. She jumped from her position on the floor, as if an electric shock ran through her. She stood there for a moment rethinking it over in her mind.